Ch.4141 – Stop Fighting Already

# 41 – Stop Fighting Already

1.

“A cleaner? That was strange. At first, I thought they’d done something to make the sheets wet. As you can see, beastkin like me commonly go into heat.”

Zenya, the resident of Room 110 which was another room adjacent to Room 111 where Oknodie lived, extended and retracted the claws from her furry forepaws.

“But when I sniffed, it wasn’t heat. I was suspicious, so I spied on them and heard strange sounds of a different kind.”

“Strange sounds?”

“They were having disconnected conversations.”

“Disconnected conversations? Between Oknodie and that berserker Hestia next door?”

“They both talked as if someone else was there. Poor loners with no friends.”

Imaginary friends?

Isabelle felt her heart sink.

‘Oknodie was young.’

No matter how much she acted as a guardian, she couldn’t be perceived as a peer friend.

It was entirely possible that Oknodie, who only had older people around her and no friends her age, might be emotionally disconnected and talking to imaginary friends in her room.

But how could she handle the heartbreak of learning this fact?

“But what’s a stat stone? I often heard them saying they’d give stat stones to raise likability.”

“Sigh… stat stone is the name she gives to the rocks she collects.”

“She collects rocks? Uwnyanya! Just like the little ones in my village. What an adorable hobby.”

If only she would talk to this cat beastkin Zenya and give her stat stones to become friends.

After a moment of feeling betrayed, she suddenly realized something.

“How old are you, Zenya?”

“I, the great me, am 15 years old!”

“Ah… I guess you’re not quite suitable as a peer friend for Oknodie.”

While 15 is certainly young enough.

It’s insufficient to match Oknodie’s genius.

‘The loneliness of being too exceptional to have friends your own age is truly pitiful.’

Isabelle felt a pang of sympathy.

* *

Raising the Responding Wall’s likability was making little progress.

“Is there anything you want?”

“Come visit my home.”

When I asked about likability items, it casually made a dangerous suggestion.

The Responding Wall lives in Room 111.1.

It’s an invitation to enter inside the wall.

Obviously, I shouldn’t go in.

According to veteran players, the only way to escape from that wall is if someone else enters in your place.

No matter what happens, you must never enter the wall.

“Oknodie. You’ve been spending a lot of time alone lately. Do you have something you’re working on?”

“Just doing this and that.”

“If you ever have any worries, you can always tell me. I’m on your side.”

Isabelle was being unusually kind today.

Arcadia at the tea party was the same.

What’s going on?

It’s not even Children’s Day yet.

“I don’t have worries, but I do have something to brag about!”

Rather than asking the wall how to raise likability, I might as well brag.

I untied my pouch of stones, which had grown quite heavy.

“You collected rocks?”

“Look. I’ve collected so many, right?”

Isabelle seemed speechless, perhaps moved by my special collection.

“If I eat any more, I’ll be too full to eat food, so I’m just collecting them for now.”

“How many have you collected?”

“Eight.”

I’ve scraped together five stat stones just from the dormitory and nearby grounds.

[You’ve pilfered a stat stone from the guard’s post.]

[Hiding Experience +10]

[Infiltration Experience +3]

[Magic Detection Experience +3]

[Tracking Experience +2]

[You’ve pilfered a stat stone from a bird’s nest in a tree.]

[Climbing Experience +5]

[Hiding Experience +3]

[Tracking Experience +1]

[You’ve found a stat stone in a suspicious dirt mound where dogs play.]

[Digging Experience +9]

[Evasion Experience +4]

[Deception Experience +3]

[Hiding Experience +3]

[You’ve found a stat stone embedded in a decoration on the dormitory building wall.]

[Climbing Experience +13]

[Hiding Experience +7]

[Balance Experience +7]

[Mountaineering Experience +3]

[Night Movement Experience +3]

[You’ve pilfered a stat stone from the dormitory supervisor’s bedroom.]

[Hiding Experience +8]

[Lockpicking Experience +3]

[Infiltration Experience +3]

With [Hiding], I got one from the guard’s post, one from a bird’s nest, one from a suspicious dirt mound, one from the dormitory building wall, and one from the dormitory supervisor’s bedroom.

I’ve collected most of the stat stones that a new academy student can gather on the island before enrollment.

As expected, Hiding is truly versatile.

I was right to develop it!

“So that’s why the dormitory supervisor has been sighing while staring out the window with a gloomy face since morning.”

Isabelle grabbed my ear firmly.

“Ow! That hurts!”

“It’s supposed to hurt. No matter how much you like rocks, how could you steal something someone else cherishes?”

“That’s not true. The supervisor isn’t sad because of the rock!”

“Really?”

When her grip on my ear loosened, I swatted her hand away and jumped back to create some distance.

“Owww. Big sis Isabelle. I trusted you. How could you do something so mean?”

“Anyone would misunderstand if they heard you entered someone’s room and stole a rock. So why is the supervisor depressed?”

“She’s depressed because she doesn’t have a boyfriend!”

It’s true.

<Dormitory Supervisor’s Worry Event>

The dormitory supervisor has a problem.

She’s spending her youthful years at the academy and losing opportunities to meet men!

Let’s introduce a nice man to the teacher who’s losing her confidence as a woman.

You can confidently introduce yourself.

Actually, that’s what this event is for.

Players who like the <Old Maid But Actually Beautiful When Dressed Up> type actively pursue the supervisor’s likability and share strategies.

It’s a favorite route for people who play the game like an adult game!

It’s not my taste, so I’ve never pursued it.

“Sigh. I worried for nothing.”

“Then let’s go to the training grounds now. What I said…”

“Yes, I’ll keep it our little secret.”

On the way to the training grounds, we saw many people.

Everyone was spending their time before the entrance ceremony in their own way.

A student from the Thief Guild wandering around the academy grounds, exploring buildings.

A druid student dozing off on a bench in the warm sunlight.

A sadist woman who found a new “doggy” and was playing fetch while commanding “sit” and “fetch.”

Giselle asking the instructor how to collect and use <Points> to adapt, and so on.

“That frisbee woman just now, wasn’t she making people do strange things?”

“It’s okay. That person is a masochist.”

“…Oknodie. Where did you learn such words?”

“Masochist? That’s common knowledge. Even kids know that much.”

“…Next time you meet with your butler and maid, please call me. I have something I want to tell them.”

“I’ll think about it.”

After spending 10 minutes focused on jumping over differently colored paving blocks,

Isabelle tapped my shoulder to get my attention.

“We’re here. That’s not the way to the training grounds.”

[You played the pavement block jumping game for 10 minutes.]

[Balance Experience +3]

[Rhythm Sense Experience +2]

[Long Jump Experience +1]

[Playing Alone Experience +1]

Hehe, that was fun.

As we were about to enter the training grounds with bright smiles, we noticed a crowd gathered in front.

The rising voices suggested some kind of dispute was happening.

“Looks like a fight broke out. Should we just pass by?”

“I want to watch!”

“…You’re not one to miss a spectacle.”

Running over excitedly was fine, but a problem arose.

I’m too short to see anything…!

Seeing me hopping up and down behind the applicants, Isabelle chuckled and put her arms under my armpits.

“Ahaha! That tickles!”

“Stay still. It’s hard to lift you.”

“Hnng… ngh…”

“No weird noises.”

“But it really tickles.”

In the end, instead of lifting me by the armpits, she gave me a piggyback ride like Son Ocheon had done.

“My neck will hurt, so stay still.”

“Okay.”

Placing my hands on Isabelle’s head and stretching my neck up, I could see the center of the commotion.

But this situation looked really bad.

“Is she that mercenary? The only advanced class entrant from the Western Mercenary Union.”

“That’s right. Only mercenaries have such crudely large muscles for a woman. A commoner who doesn’t even know mana refinement techniques to compress her muscles. Hehe.”

“So unsightly. Her body shape is just like a gorilla.”

“Yeah, and she’s a berserker too.”

“Ew~ Isn’t it because they’re berserkers that they all failed? Didn’t they kill their own allies?”

“I heard she’s never actually gone berserk but pretended to be crazy to eliminate all her competitors.”

“Kyaa~ So creepy!”

<Group Competition (2) Event>

Berserker Hestia.

She’s one of the advanced class entrants from Group A, and she’s being bullied by Group B advanced class entrants.

Hestia is suffering from Group B’s tyranny as they try to monopolize the training facilities.

She might tear people apart if she gets angry!

But if people get torn apart, wouldn’t Group B students be a bit more cautious around Group A?

Whether to help Hestia or ignore her is your choice as the player!

<Hestia’s Rage>.

A trigger event for early awakening of a chapter boss has appeared.

‘What? Is this some new way to commit suicide?’

If Hestia snaps, she’ll literally tear off their limbs.