Ch.44. Aftermath

# Paradoxically, people seem unable to react properly when they witness something too shocking.

Even as Elia Krisanax was carried away by emergency medical staff after being smashed into a wall, a heavy silence settled over the entire building—so quiet you could hear if someone took a slightly deeper breath.

It felt as if everyone’s souls had left their bodies.

“Victory, Darwood Campbell.”

But as the judge announced this with a dumbfounded expression—

“…What the hell was that?!”

“Who the hell is that guy?!”

Ear-splitting roars erupted from all directions.

Who is Darwood Campbell? What’s The Campbell Barony all about? This isn’t the time for that—we need to gather information about that guy quickly…

While the world around me erupted into chaos, I stood alone, blankly staring at the sky.

Me.

All stats F.

A bottom-tier freshman with only two unidentified skills to my name.

Currently on day one at the academy.

And I just took down the protagonist with a single blow.

“…Ah, shit.”

How am I going to clean up this mess?

#

The Imperial Academy Elphante is among the top educational institutions across the continent. Comparable places would be limited to the [Great Temple] of the Holy Empire or the [Crucible of Struggle] built by the Tribal Union.

And naturally, such an institution boasts an impressive faculty.

“…”

“…”

So the current situation was undeniably bizarre.

Even these distinguished individuals couldn’t hide their bewilderment.

In the magic crystal embedded in the center of the table, footage of Elia Krisanax being knocked down by a single punch played on repeat.

“The first possibility,” the head of the Knight Department began in a heavy voice.

“This student, Darwood, appears to be an exceptional fraud.”

“…Suddenly harsh in your assessment, Conrad?”

“I’m saying it simply doesn’t make sense.”

In response to the headmaster’s amused reply, the middle-aged man with a cross-shaped scar on his face ran his hand through his hair.

“Anyone with some insight would have noticed immediately. This Darwood Campbell clearly had nothing before the duel began. No combat skills, no innate abilities whatsoever. But…”

He manipulated the footage to the moment Elia was struck.

“This single blow was undeniably ‘real.'”

“Real, meaning?”

“I’m saying no one in this academy could withstand a direct hit like that. Starting with myself.”

His statement intensified the silence in the room.

The person making this claim was from the Imperial Guard, considered the pinnacle of all knights across the continent. Considering his background, it was hardly praise one would expect for someone with student status.

Especially considering everyone in this room was part of the faculty comprised of the continent’s most exceptional talents.

“Whether it was illegal drugs, an undiscovered magical tool… some ‘means’ to temporarily generate tremendous power. That seems most probable. I imagine everyone thinks the same.”

Because.

If that wasn’t the case, this Darwood Campbell’s existence would become much more troublesome.

“And the other possibility,” he paused briefly and smirked.

As if even he found his own suggestion ridiculous.

“He’s a genius who could be called a monster. One of the rarest even by historical standards.”

That description wasn’t exaggerated at all.

Anyone could see that Darwood Campbell’s chances of victory were less than one in ten thousand.

His opponent was THE Elia Krisanax. A candidate for the next [Hero] closely watched by the Imperial family.

Combat skills that ordinary talents could never reach in a lifetime, vast reserves of innate abilities, and an indomitable spirit that never breaks under any circumstances.

All talents that Darwood lacked. At least on paper, this man truly had insect-level abilities.

“…”

The problem was that such a devastating gap had been bridged with a single punch.

By someone whose method was so incomprehensible that he could only be described as having “talent.”

And truly.

If he wasn’t a fraud but genuinely possessed such extraordinary talent.

‘He would become the eye of the storm.’

He would become someone who brings about tremendous upheaval.

Conrad stroked his chin with this thought.

“But it’s difficult to simply acknowledge the student’s victory. Count Kendrid won’t stay quiet about this.”

Conrad nodded at the headmaster’s gentle remark.

Count Kendrid of the Borderlands. A member of one of the Empire’s oldest prestigious families, known for their hostile relationship with the Tristan Dukedom.

As Elia Krisanax’s enthusiastic sponsor, Count Kendrid clearly wouldn’t want any damage to Elia’s “marketability.”

“…”

Conrad’s expression hardened.

Since when did they need to worry about politics in a space established to educate students?

If a talented student was discovered, they should naturally receive treatment befitting their abilities.

“But ignoring a remarkable student would be a significant loss for the academy. Whether he’s a fraud or not will be revealed soon enough, so let’s wait and see.”

As if reading Conrad’s thoughts, the headmaster continued with a light smile.

For Conrad, these words were eye-opening.

“Wait and see, you say?”

“This year we have particularly interesting freshmen. Many students with strong personalities who require special attention.”

Though his tone remained light as he spoke—

“If the dean speaks so highly of this student… there will certainly be a role for him to play. For them.”

It was undeniably a statement with profound implications.

#

So.

I’ve been thinking about how to deal with the aftermath of knocking down the protagonist.

And I’ve decided that’s a problem for future me.

“…”

No, really, it is.

Even now, crowds of people are clamoring outside my dormitory just to meet me once, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now.

Thanks to my spectacular performance in front of countless witnesses, my recognition has skyrocketed.

[Kendrid Borderland Count’s New Star Suffers Shocking Defeat on First Day!]

[Special Report: Who is Darwood Campbell, the Talk of the Town?]

One unnecessarily realistic detail:

Tabloids are the same whether in the real world or this game world I’ve been transported into.

I smirk bitterly as I skim through tabloids that have produced absurd information about me in just one day.

They say I’m the hidden child of the Imperial Knight Commander, “allegedly.” That I’m actually the strongest life form secretly raised by the academy, “allegedly.”

Are you kidding me?

Well, but even among such garbage media, there are things worth noting.

After being holed up in my room collecting information about the current situation for a day, certain things stand out.

[Kendrid Borderland Count Officially Requests Truth Investigation from Elphante Academy—]

[Experts Claiming the Duel Was a Perfect Hoax Continue to—]

The backlash to my surging popularity—public opinion isn’t entirely favorable.

Elia was a “supernova” who had piled up achievements like mountains before entering the academy. He has a solid fan base, you could say.

It’s hard to receive applause when some random extra A suddenly appears and takes him down with one blow.

‘Well, that can’t be helped.’

I don’t care what others say about me. My only goal is to survive and head straight to the ending.

Whatever butterfly effect comes from beating the protagonist on the first day of school, future me will handle it somehow.

I can recite methods to become stronger and navigate crises in this world with my eyes closed. I’ll just come up with solutions as situations arise.

More importantly:

< Gift-Related Person Alert >

▼ Elnore Erinarise la Tristan

[Trust Level 1] >>> [Trust Level 2]

[Rewards available!]

[D-1 until related event occurs]

▼ Baron Armut

[Curiosity Level 2]

[Rewards available!]

▼ Viscount Lupin

[Curiosity Level 1]

[Rewards available!]

▼ Viscount Gront

[Interest Level 3]

.

.

.

That’s right.

I can’t help but smile seeing the characters listed in the gift-related person window.

Perhaps partly due to the influence of my [Fatal Charm] skill, but my impressive display of sending Elia flying seems to have made quite an impression, as numerous names are stamped in the window.

I organize the information while looking at the personal details with different words stamped on them.

Curiosity → Interest → Trust seems to be the progression of affinity status. There appear to be higher states above these, but for now, this is all I can see.

Within each state, there seem to be 5 levels total.

The highest is, of course, Elnore. Trust Level 2.

‘It’s a bit strange though.’

The “important villains” in the story must have seen me too, but none of their names appear. Only characters closer to extras are listed.

There could be several reasons.

Some might be too full of ego to care about others. Some might be born crazy with a different perspective on life.

The problem is:

Why does the final boss, who should be the least interested in me, have the highest affinity?

While others remain at Curiosity~Interest levels, she alone marks Trust Level 2.

Why?

“…”

Well, I’m not sure.

But Elnore’s related event is tomorrow. If there’s a reward, there’s no reason to refuse.

I was able to subdue the protagonist with just one of the two skills I received as rewards. I’m looking forward to what might come this time.

[Receiving gift reward from ‘Elnore’.]

[You have acquired ‘Trait: Tristan-style Swordsmanship’!]

< Mastery Info >

[Trait: Tristan-style Swordsmanship] [Grade: Basic]

[This is the sword technique of the prestigious Tristan Dukedom.]

[■ You can exert a consistent level of power regardless of weapon.]

[Raise the trait grade to gain more benefits!]

“…This is another.”

Amazing.

As expected from the final boss’s gift reward. After throwing me an EX-grade skill in one go, now she’s handing over a high-performance trait.

The Tristan Dukedom is one of the most renowned sword houses in the entire Empire. Its power is already guaranteed.

“…”

The problem is that most abilities associated with that family are related to demons.

Even if what’s written here is swordsmanship, the Tristan Dukedom is a place where the more you dig, the more ghost stories emerge.

Learning abilities derived from there might cause problems one way or another later.

Well, that may be true, but.

‘I don’t care, damn it.’

I’ll use it since it was given to me.

I’m not in a position to be picky, and this trait’s performance is already proven.

I’ll leave the cleanup to future me.

With that thought, I collect the remaining rewards.

[Receiving gift reward from ‘Baron Armut’.]

[You acquire 100pt!]

[Receiving gift reward from ‘Viscount Lupin’.]

[You acquire 50pt!]

.

.

.

By the way.

Somehow the gift rewards from the rest of these people are substituted with a currency called points.

What’s this about?

[Points can be used in the currency shop!]

Ah, I see.

So the extra villains are just replaced with bulk rewards?

I’m familiar with the currency shop system. If I remember correctly, it was like a helper that made gameplay smoother by purchasing various consumable items or buffs.

[Current points: 3,500pt]

But isn’t this too much?

3,500 points is a figure you could only reach much later according to the original work?

Even with the effect of the Fatal Charm skill, how many bad guys have I impressed?

“…Let’s just take the good with the good.”

I scroll down the window with that thought.

It feels a bit odd to think too deeply about something being given freely.

Still, just collecting this much is a great achievement. At the very least, it means I have many more options available for tomorrow’s event.

As I was about to close the window with that thought, something strange caught the corner of my eye.

A phrase embedded in black letters at the very bottom of the window.

< Gift-Related Person Alert >

▼ Elia Krisanax

[Curiosity Level 4]

[Reward collection not yet possible!]

“…”

Why are you in here?

“Hmm.”

I stroke my chin and ponder for a moment.

I clearly know that gift-related persons are only listed when they are “villains” who have “affection” for me.

“…Hmm.”

No, seriously, why are you here?

Why is someone who doesn’t meet either condition here?

As I was pondering this bewilderingly, suddenly there was a knock on my door.

“Ah, is this Darwood Campbell’s room?”

“…”

Somehow a familiar voice.

“This is Elia Krisanax. May I come in?”

“…”

I sigh while rubbing my face.

Apparently, this guy isn’t going to be decent.

I don’t know why he suddenly came looking for me, but let’s hope he’ll back off if I just keep quiet.

“Um, sir. I already know you’re in there? If you don’t answer, I’ll break in?”

Is this guy a psycho?

“…What the hell kind of ‘sir’ am I supposed to be.”

“Oh, so you were inside after all.”

Despite my grumpy response, only a cheerful voice came from the other side.

“Will you open the door? I have something I’d like to talk about.”

“…What is it.”

“Well, just getting to know each other a little better?”

“…”

An acute migraine hits me.

I groan with an expression full of death-like agony while clutching my head.

Darwood Campbell. Academy enrollment day 2.

The original protagonist has started to cling to me.

This is truly a disaster.