Chapter 29

Human trash who failed the test and lost the will to live, lying sprawled out in a daze.

Their eyes, which had lost focus, suddenly snapped open. Even their closed ears twitched violently. A positive phenomenon of regaining human like energy.

That was clear. The problem was that the cause was not good at all.

“……Did I just hear something really bad? It sounded like a damn rotten sound.”

“You too? I think I just heard something creepy, definitely something about that Max guy scoring perfect…….”

“Puhahaha! It’s an auditory hallucination, an illusion, that trashy Max guy getting a perfect score? No way………… right…………?”

One guy, who had been laughing in scorn as if hearing some nonsensical bullsh*t, suddenly froze awkwardly. Because he felt the gaze of those around him, like looking at a madman laughing at a funeral.

“Uh… huh? Why, why is everyone like that?”

“……………It’s a perfect score.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a perfect score, you bastard! Read the room and shrink back.”

The guy frozen with horror. Only then did the others, realizing the reality, share the same expression.

“Gakh”

Someone let out a bizarre moan. But no one tackled him. Instead, they became solemn. Because they deeply empathized with the emotion contained within. My success is another’s misfortune.

Another’s success is my misfortune. It’s the truth of life.

The damage from that needs no further explanation. Especially for the people of the Royal and Noble classes, the shock was even greater.

It wasn’t just a scratch on their pride, but as if it had been hammered and dented.

‘Damn it. Can this even happen?”

Those doubting reality,

Doubting was free.

But what’s clear is that no matter how much you doubt, reality doesn’t change. In the end, only they themselves were left with a deep wound to their pride.

“Ugh, the heavens must be crazy.”

Moisture filled the eyes of Elaine’s friend beside her. Cause and effect. What goes around comes around. Where did all that go!

Elaine also looked genuinely surprised. But her emotions were different from the others. Not the emotion of a wounded pride.

Incomprehensible.

Her head was in turmoil because she couldn’t understand. Even if she didn’t want to care, she had no choice but to.

For her, who wanted to forget the existence of Max, a cursed connection, it was an extremely troublesome and unwelcome situation.

‘….There was another way.’

She knew there wasn’t just one way to the right answer. But she had been excluding those methods.

Why?

Because they weren’t verified, standard methods but rough and unrefined shortcuts. She thought it was impossible to solve it in 30 seconds with such shortcuts.

But then.

He did it. Of course, it might have been another team member who thought of the method. But Elaine was certain. It couldn’t possibly be unrelated to him.

‘Max Celtrine, you are………….’

She narrowed her eyes, pondering the unexpected incomprehensibility shown by this man with a cursed connection. Then, Max’s smug voice rang out as if for everyone to hear.

“Ah, scoring perfect is sweet, isn’t it, surely you guys didn’t fail to suck up such a honey like problem?”

‘……So annoying.’

Elaine quickly came to a conclusion with the help of the kind Max.

‘It’s a bit of stress relief.’

I laughed out loud. The disregard, contempt, and criticism from those around me after being possessed by Max,

The natural reaction to the disastrous behavior I had been persistently experiencing, I didn’t particularly mind. But being human, honestly, it couldn’t feel good.

Returning those accumulated feelings with provocation felt like relieving the stress of a tight daily life. Indeed, humans occasionally need to vent like this for mental health.

Besides.

This guy was already disliked to the max, so doing this wouldn’t make it any worse, which was comforting. He was that kind of guy. Just that alone made everyone accept him as a remarkable person.

And one more thing. I didn’t provoke the guys with a wide area taunt just because I wanted to relieve my mood.

‘I need to raise my presence.’

Presence.

It was a stat representing human power, along with fame. But it was different from fame.

If fame meant popularity outside the academy, presence was a stat related to the inside.

My presence among all the people in the academy, including students and faculty.

That was it.

Although it wasn’t a stat directly linked to strength like muscle or stamina and was often overlooked, users who understood the flow of the game knew.

Fame and presence were stats that must be taken care of.

‘Related to various things.’

First of all, it naturally affects human relationships. Another is that there are events and quests that won’t even open unless fame or presence reaches a certain level.

A kind of prerequisite. In the worst difficulty game, if you can’t take care of those, you’re bound to fail.

‘So leaving it as it is means you’re choosing to die..’

My status window opened before me.

But it was different from the status window I had seen in the dormitory. The status window for human power.

[Max Celtrine]

Fame: 244 (D)

Presence: 359 (C)

Max’s stats were displayed.

The interesting thing was that the stats weren’t low for an extra.

Considering that a B grade with values between 400~499 could be considered fairly decent.

He wasn’t a commoner but a noble, and infamy is still fame after all.

But the limit was clear.

No matter how much of a disgrace he was from the Celtrine family, it was only infamy known around the territory and its surroundings, and in the academy, he was famous as a troublemaker, but there was a limit to his presence because he lacked skill. That was what these numbers showed.

‘At least you should have a presence that ranks among the top in the grade.’

If it was the main grade of the game, the first year, maybe, but in the second year, which was treated as etcetera, that level of presence was necessary.

Excluding Elaine, the named heroine, the characters with significant roles were almost wiped out.

There was Riviera, who I learned about after being possessed, but that girl was on the enemy side, so she’s an exception.

Anyway, that’s why I was blatantly provoking more. Among the second year students, there were many who openly disliked or despised me, but there were also not a few who were completely indifferent to trash.

Making those indifferent guys aware of me. That was what I was aiming for. Just making them conscious was the same as saying it was an opportunity to raise presence.

Of course, what numerical result I would get depended on what kind of performance I showed in this evaluation, but

‘Presence is something I create.’

Today was the monumental start for that. Until now, there was neither the skill nor the opportunity to show such presence. But finally, that opportunity had come.

An opportunity to imprint my presence anew to all the second years, teaching assistants, and professors.

‘Now there’s only one problem left.’

Strictly speaking, two problems remained. But there was no need to go to the last question. That was a question that only Elaine’s team, which scored perfect on all three questions, could challenge. Not even in the cheat sheet.

So it would be better to finish with just securing a high rank in the third question.

That alone wouldn’t be a problem in getting presence. It would be a loss to the image if I challenged the last question, which I didn’t even know, and ended up disgracing myself differently from before.

‘Yeah, just up to the third question’

I made up my mind. It should have been like that.

“Wow, excellent again this time. It’s a perfect score.”

Professor Karen’s words

“Another perfect score? Again?”

“………Are we dreaming?”

“Let’s just die. What’s the point of living? I’m just a dumbass worse than that guy, I should just die.”

“Hey, catch him!”

Once again, the second year guys were in an uproar.

In such a chaotic atmosphere, I was also flustered.

“HUH?”

A sound that involuntarily popped out of my mouth.

“Why are you like that, Student Max?”

Professor Karen asked as if it was strange. I quickly fumbled.

“Ah, no, I just can’t believe it…….”

“Huh, accept it comfortably as it’s a result earned with your own skills.

“……Okay.”

After nodding, I pushed Riviera on the back and gestured for her to return to her seat.

“Have some manners.”

Riviera rolled her eyes, but I ignored her.

“……What was that?”

As soon as I returned to my seat, I snapped at her.

“I need help.”

That’s right.

An unexpected incident occurred in the third question, and for the first time, I asked Riviera for help. Because it was a hidden card I had saved for this moment.

So I managed to use the carrot book I had prepared and succeeded in using it. That’s good.

But then.

“Why is it a perfect score?”

“That’s the price…”

price?

Is it worth not taking the basic magic tutoring anymore?

Yeah, let’s say that’s the case. It seems like she hates annoying things quite a bit. But the problem is that because of that, I ended up going to the last question.

“Yeah. Let’s say that.”

“Let’s say What?”

“I think I’ll need help with the next question too.”

“What’s the price?”

“Conscientiously.”

“I’ve done all the conscientious work.”

“Ah, just once.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“Hey, why are you making a fuss, About getting a perfect score I just told you to just mark a decent score.”

“That’s the price…”

Yeah, right.

she was a fourth dimensional villain. Anyway, one thing was clear. I have to solve the last question by myself, no, with a tofu mental who’s no help.

…………… What the hell is this!

“Ah.”

I clenched my eyes shut.

‘Another perfect score’

Elaine’s pupils wavered.

She wanted to stay calm, but she couldn’t. The third question was very tricky even for her to see.

Especially since it laid a cunning trap route that looked like the answer, making it even trickier.

Even the teams of other Royals, except for her team, fell into the trap and ruined their evaluations.

‘She was definitely flustered.’

She was somewhat concerned and checked briefly, and Max definitely seemed flustered.

It seemed like he realized it was a trap too late. She thought that was the end.

The tight time.

There was no room to derive the correct answer again.

But then.

As if to mock her expectations, Max scored another perfect score. In the end, he survived until the end.

‘I’ll find out for sure.’

The truth of today’s incomprehensible events The true colors of the man named Max Elaine furrowed her brows and bit her lips tightly.

“Damn bastard. Cowardly bastard. Petty bastard. He bribed with money. Cunning bastard. A guy with only money. A guy without integrity……..”

Someone was spewing curses non stop. It was Dennis the Double Faced.

Right, it was him. The target of the curses was, of course, Max. The feverish madness in Dennis’s eyes spoke of his sharply honed emotions.

“You’re dead after this.”

Dennis gritted his teeth and vowed.