Ch.38The Last Shred of Conscience in Group Projects… It’s When the Professor Assigns the Group Members Directly!

That day, the lecture was held indoors.

The sky was clear, and students still kept their heads down and avoided me.

As if praying that the lion prowling beside them had a full stomach.

Kenneth was nowhere to be seen.

He should have recovered by now, but surely he hadn’t dropped out?

My brow furrowed with an inexplicable uneasiness.

That type usually harbors grudges and shows up later.

I hope nothing troublesome happens.

From one corner of the lecture hall, I noticed Ophelia spotting me and giving a slight smile.

I just greeted her with my eyes and sat down next to Demian.

“Ah, Haschal. It’s been a week?”

Demian welcomed me with a light smile.

Millia, who had been sneaking glances at me from beside Demian, flinched when she saw me sit across from her.

Her leaf-green hair trembled slightly.

I should try to get friendly with her too. I’ve got a long way to go.

Still, fortunately, she didn’t seem to harbor that much hostility toward me.

That’s surprising, considering I practically shattered her right arm.

Maybe Demian talked to her about me?

“Yeah, it’s been a while, Demian. And Millia, right? It’s been a while for you too.”

I tried striking up a conversation.

I needed to force some dialogue if I wanted any chance of becoming friends.

Millia reluctantly turned toward me and gave a slight nod.

“…Hello.”

“Is your injury okay now? I think I went a bit too far.”

I scratched behind my ear while looking at Millia’s right arm.

There didn’t seem to be any bandages, so the wound itself must have healed completely.

If nothing else, this world’s healing capabilities were incomparably superior to my original world.

Though plenty of people still die before receiving treatment.

“It’s fine now… And I was the one who agreed to the duel, so you don’t need to feel so sorry.”

Millia nodded while lightly touching her right shoulder.

She really does have a good personality. Though she still seems wary of me.

She’s actually a nice, decent person if you set aside the Demian-related issues…

Regardless of her skill level.

“Well, if that’s the case. Let’s consider this a reconciliation.”

I casually extended my right hand.

After hesitating a bit and staring at my hand, Millia reached out.

Our clasped hands trembled slightly.

Still, this is a good start, right?

I can slowly get closer to her from now on.

And once our relationship improves, I can subtly suggest that a bow would suit her better.

After greeting her, I stepped outside to the corridor to smoke a cigarette before the lecture started.

Since we were indoors, it didn’t feel right to smoke during the lecture.

Plus, Demian and Millia were sitting next to me.

“…See? He doesn’t seem like such a bad person after all.”

“I don’t know…”

I could hear Demian and Millia whispering inside the classroom.

They seemed to be trying to keep their voices down, but unfortunately for them, my hearing was exceptionally good.

Leaning my back against the window frame, I stretched my upper body outward, looking up at the sky and adding a piece of smoke to the drifting clouds.

Peaceful.

People passing through the corridor glanced at me and whispered as they walked by.

I ignored them, figuring it wasn’t worth listening to.

Not long after, I saw Professor Carlain entering through the front door of the classroom.

I put out my cigarette and returned to my seat.

—-

“Last week, we evaluated the duel results and discussed the characteristics of mages. Today, I’ll be lecturing on the characteristics of priest classes and how to deal with them.”

Duel evaluation and mage characteristics. That’s a lecture I somewhat regret missing.

Come to think of it, I wonder if they talked about me?

“…Hey Demian. About that evaluation, did they mention me?”

I lowered my voice and asked Demian discreetly.

“Uh… yeah. A freshman asked how to deal with someone like you, Haschal.”

How to deal with me? I suppose such questions could come up precisely because I wasn’t there.

If I had been present, they might have felt awkward asking such things.

Well, that’s good. This could be quite helpful to know.

“So, what did the professor say?”

Demian tilted his head slightly before speaking.

“Well… he said you respond to attacks instinctively, so you can’t distinguish between strong and weak attacks. Therefore, if fighting from a distance, use mainly weak feints to make you complacent, and mix in strong attacks to confuse you… and in close combat, don’t confront you head-on but try to deflect your attacks as much as possible.”

“Hmm… is that so? Not a bad assessment.”

Completely wrong, though.

A satisfied smile spread across my face.

If the professor judged me like that, then Knut probably thinks the same way.

And others in the academy who hold grudges against me would think likewise.

All according to plan.

They think I can’t distinguish between magical strengths?

I know mages’ main techniques inside out.

Thanks to my mana resistance, which sensitively detects mana, I can immediately feel how powerful each spell is.

They think they can deflect my attacks with technique?

Go ahead and try your best. That’s why I concealed the fact that I’ve mastered Imperial swordsmanship.

The special dorm guys know since they’ve seen me train, but they’re not the type to gossip about such things.

It was worth the effort to display mediocre skills.

So I hope you think that way too.

I glanced slightly toward Knut.

—-

The lecture continued.

“A mage’s magic and a priest’s miracles operate in completely different ways. A mage’s power is free but has clear limitations. Once they exhaust all their mana, that’s it. No matter what they do, they cannot use any more magic.”

Carlain made a gesture of cutting his neck with the edge of his hand.

Does he mean that a mage who has used up all their mana should just have their throat cut?

“In contrast, priests can use miracles endlessly as long as their body and mind can endure it. It’s just that the human body struggles to withstand divine power for long. In the end, compared to mages, a priest’s will and tenacity are much more important.”

In other words, once a mage’s mana is depleted, no amount of effort will help, but a miracle user can continue fighting by burning their life force.

Therefore, when facing battle priests or paladins, you should never let your guard down even if they seem exhausted, and make sure to finish them off decisively.

If left alone, they might launch a final attack by sacrificing their own life.

Carlain continued his explanation.

“However, the powers they can wield are limited to the abilities granted by the deity they serve. They have less versatility. In some cases, certain deities don’t even grant the common blessing of recovery.”

As he said, for priest-type characters, which god they serve is most important.

Usually, characters serving Elpinel of Grace or Saulite of Sun and Life were popular.

Buff specialists and healing specialists. They were the most useful church affiliations for priest characters.

“For details on the attributes and powers of each deity, refer to the faith lectures.”

I already know that part, so it doesn’t matter if I skip it.

After that, the content shifted to general countermeasures against priest classes.

Battle priests don’t have particularly high offensive capabilities, so in one-on-one combat, endure physically and push forward.

Paladins strengthen themselves with blessings, fight like knights, and recover while enduring, so there’s no chance in a prolonged battle.

However, their close combat skills are often lower, so exploit that weakness.

Overall, the explanation emphasized short-term battles.

“What if our skills are similar?”

Someone asked Carlain.

“Then die. If someone who has only trained in swordsmanship for the same amount of time has worse sword skills than a paladin who has mastered both swordsmanship and blessings, they deserve to die.”

A resolute answer that left no room for objection.

—-

After the morning lecture, I discussed the upcoming outdoor training with Demian and Millia.

Neither seemed to know much about it.

Like Asha, they were just guessing it would involve kobolds or trolls.

“I hunted a troll a few days ago, and it wasn’t much. They heal quickly, but if you tear out their neck, they die. Someone like you, Demian, should be able to kill one fairly easily.”

“Is that so? I’ve never seen a troll in person, so I wouldn’t know.”

Demian scratched his head and smiled. At times like this, he really does look like a boy his age.

I still don’t understand why I find him subtly unsettling every time I see him.

“…What about me?”

“It would be difficult with a rapier. They heal piercing wounds instantly.”

“That sounds tough……”

Millia looked a bit dejected. Her round eye corners drooped slightly.

Good. Let me comfort her a bit.

“The academy wouldn’t make all freshmen face trolls right away anyway. Even if they appear, it would probably be just two or three at most. Besides, your boyfriend will help you out.”

Millia’s face turned bright red. Kind of cute.

She waved her hands frantically in surprise at my words.

“Bo-boyfriend…! It’s not like that! Demian and I are just childhood friends…!”

“In these situations, it’s better to just boldly admit it. If you’re this timid, someone else might snatch him away, you know? That guy has both skills and looks, so he must be quite popular.”

“Ughhhh…”

Millia hung her head low. Demian just stood there with an awkward smile.

Judging by his attitude, he seems to be taking our conversation as a joke.

…Millia, you have a long way to go.

—-

I leisurely prepared for the training over the next two days.

I visited Asha’s room, which was cluttered with unidentifiable gears, tools, and mechanical devices.

There was barely any space to step.

Asha smiled sheepishly under my gaze.

On the desk was what looked like a large blueprint, with a wind-up clock ticking beside it.

I also got to see the automaton that served as Asha’s guard.

It had a metal exterior resembling a knight’s full armor, with countless gears, pipes, pistons, and power lines packed inside.

Flight devices similar to Asha’s were attached to its back and legs, and instead of hands, it had large gun barrels on both arms.

She said it was made by the elders of her clan, but I wonder if it’s stronger than Asha herself…?

Kalix had gone on a dispatch mission, which explained why I hadn’t seen him lately.

As for Frider, well, as always, he was eating alone without any friends.

It’s almost starting to look pitiful, but he gets irritated whenever he sees me, so it’s awkward for me to approach him first.

Eventually, there will be opportunities for us to get closer, so I’ll leave him be for now.

I also practiced dueling with Nigel using the knockoff Frosting I was provided.

The difference was mainly the addition of grabbing the enemy’s sword or stabbing and clawing with fingertips to my existing attack style.

This one would break quickly if I tried to use it properly.

Still, compared to my previous method of simply grabbing and tearing with my fingers, the boldness and tempo of my attacks had improved.

“Not bad. If used for surprise attacks, it could be quite useful.”

Nigel, with a faint wound on his cheek, praised me.

I also received a new longsword.

When I complained that the academy sword I had been given was too weak, they provided one of slightly better quality.

I’ll also bring Imelia’s sword and Frosting just in case, but since they’re too conspicuous, I plan to use them only in emergencies.

Besides that, I packed about twelve daggers for throwing.

Nigel gave me a leather belt to hold the daggers.

He said it wasn’t that expensive, so it was fine.

—-

Finally, the morning of the outdoor training arrived.

The atmosphere among the students lined up in front of the review stand was quite unsettled.

A strange heat filled the training ground, mixing tension, anxiety, expectation, and excitement.

Due to various circumstances, about 11 students couldn’t participate, bringing the total number of participants to 140.

The professor standing on the review stand finally announced the training content.

The destination was the Gray Forest in the southwestern part of the islands.

For training purposes, knights had released captured kobolds and trolls there.

There were only four trolls, with most being kobolds.

The training involved surviving in the forest for five days in groups of four while eliminating monsters.

The top priority was survival, and bonus points would be awarded for the number of monsters eliminated, so we should collect evidence.

Warnings followed that the academy would not intervene at all during the five days, and even if someone died there, they would not get involved.

I guess if four people together can’t handle trolls or kobolds, they have no future anyway.

Soon after, 35 groups were announced.

Knut and Ophelia were placed in different groups, and Demian was in the same group as Edgar.

My group members were Millia, Hans, and Lena.

Two people I had beaten up, and a religious child who probably doesn’t have good feelings toward me…

Is there some malice in this group assignment?

I already felt tired seeing the three of them looking at me with trembling eyes after the group announcement.

So I have to spend five days with these people.

While also being wary of Knut’s attacks, who’s over there burning with murderous intent, determined to kill me.

This won’t be easy.

I’d rather-