Chapter 45: Vacation (1)

Wooooong—

The air rippled like waves as the sky split open.

Golden shimmer spiraled in a helix, opening a shining portal that glowed with warm radiance.

Spatial Transfer—a Gate.

One of Rookie’s signature abilities.

“Time’s still frozen, huh.”

I’d been holed up inside the special dungeon Spirit Zone for quite a while,
and yet not a second had passed outside.

That was the unique property of the Spirit Zone.

While I was lost in thought, a shrill voice echoed from afar.

—

“Ahh… so this is what fresh air feels like…!”

—

Rookie, the Scout.

Right—she’d escaped with me too, hadn’t she?

‘Not important right now.’

No time to worry about her.

I was in the middle of the end-of-term survival exam,
and just happened to slay Arcon along the way.

Naturally, the test was still ongoing.

‘Not much time left.’

Before entering the dungeon, I’d spent most of my time camping in a hideout.

I hadn’t earned any points.

I wasn’t prepared at all.

Which meant…
If I wanted to maintain my S-Class rank, I’d have to start hunting monsters immediately to catch up.

‘My score right now should be…’

I slowly raised my wrist.

To check the points on my bracelet.

I wasn’t expecting anything.

Obviously, I should have 0 points, since I hadn’t done anything.

But then—

[Current Score: 9,942,241]

“…Huh?”

I blinked dumbly.

The absurd number left me speechless.

“Ten million points?”

Was that… even possible?

No—no way.

The scoring system for the end-of-term exam was simple:

You earn points by killing monsters.

Or you can steal points from other students by attacking them.

So that means the only possible explanation is—

‘Don’t tell me…’

The trash mobs I killed in the Spirit Zone.

The field bosses modified by Arcon.

And finally—Arcon, the demon himself.

‘They all counted toward my score…?’

It was plausible.

Even if the Spirit Zone was a special dungeon,
it was still located inside the Orte artificial island.

Which meant monsters slain inside the dungeon still counted as monsters slain on the island.

“…Is this okay?”

I mean, free points are free points.

But still…

“There’s way too many.”

I thought back to the game’s data.

In the original game, the top score during the end-of-term exam was 11,000 points—achieved by Aisha.

But I?

I just scored a thousand times more.

There was no way this wouldn’t cause an uproar.

They’d accuse me of bribery, score tampering, insider abuse—
all the usual garbage.

“…Whatever.”

It’s not like I can lower the score myself.

And it’s not like I can just reset it either.

So let it be.

What are they gonna do, expel me?

More important was…

“Hey.”

–”H-Hiiik…!”

Rookie the Scout.

Right. This girl.

“Hmm…”

What to do with her?

Dragging her around would be annoying.

But leaving her behind felt kinda wrong.

—

“O-Oh Great One…?”

—

Still trembling, Rookie glanced up at me, huddled like a frightened puppy.

Apparently, she still thought I was a dragon.

‘Wait a sec… now that I think about it…’

Rookie the Scout was a named monster in the Spirit Zone.

Which meant—

She was a spirit.

‘Should I just make her a familiar?’

If she became my contracted spirit, she wouldn’t be able to pull any funny business.

And her skills were absurdly useful, to boot.

—

“You’re a spirit, right?”
“Of course! I’m a high-grade spirit, you know!”
“Yeah? Then how about signing a contract with me?”
“…A c-contract… with you?”

Rookie’s eyes trembled violently.

Not that I cared.

—

“Yup. A familiar contract.”
“Hiiik…! That’s basically a slav—mgh! Mmph!”
“So you do want to? Great. Hold still.”

—

I clamped her mouth shut with my hand and drew in mana.

The spell I cast was:

[Special Magic: Familiar Contract]

A Familiar Contract.

A binding system in Eterna Online that forms an absolute master-servant relationship between summoner and familiar.

Infamous for its complicated rituals and lengthy process, but the core was simple.

Only one thing truly mattered:

—

“You’re doing it, right?”

—

Mutual consent.

That’s it.

As long as both parties agreed—it worked.

—

“Contract.”
“Huh…?”
“I said, contract. What? Don’t want to?”
“N-No, it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just…”
“Then why do you think I pulled you out of there? You’d have been buried with the collapsing dungeon otherwise, right?”
“…Hhic.”

—

Rookie the Scout.

A level 73 spirit.

A utility-type Tier 1 familiar stacked with every mobility spell imaginable.

Kind of a hassle to manage, sure. But she’d be ridiculously useful from here on out.

It wasn’t a bad deal for her, either.

Familiar contracts were mutual geass-style bindings—she’d get to share my mana pool too.

—

“You’re doing it, right?”
“F-Fine…! I’ll do it… I’ll sign the contract…”
“Alright. I’m sending mana in now, so relax your body.”
“Nnh…!”

—

Heh.

Should’ve just agreed from the start.

A pretty solid familiar just rolled into my lap.

---

The end-of-term exam wrapped up without any issues.

The students gathered in the auditorium collectively held their breath.

Rankings started appearing on the big screen.

Starting from 10th place and going up.

Everyone’s eyes were locked on the display.

—

“3rd Place: George Arrote – 8,721 points.”

—

George Arrote?

Wait—why is his score that high?

Guess he’s not even trying to hide his power anymore.

—

“2nd Place: Aisha Claire – 11,023 points.”

—

Expected.

In the original storyline, Aisha was the top scorer of the exam.

—

“And in 1st place…”

—

Professor Louise paused briefly.

As if doubting her own eyes, she double-checked the score sheet.

—

“…Luke Richter.”

—

Yeah.

That was expected too.

But…

—

“……9,942,241 points.”

—

The auditorium went dead silent.

—

“…What?”

—

Someone muttered, stunned.

But the number was still there, clear as day on the screen.

—

“Nine… nine million…?”
“How is that even possible?”
“Did he hack it?”
“Isn’t Luke Richter the one from that sage video?”

—

Whispers filled the entire auditorium.

Well, yeah.

That was expected too.

The score had to be absurd.

I just stared blankly out the window, face unreadable.

Whatever happens, happens.

—

“…This concludes the end-of-term exam.”

—

Yawn.

Finally over.

I casually stood to leave.

But then—

—

“Luke Richter.”

—

Louise called my name.

And then:

—

“Head to the principal’s office when we’re done.”
“…The principal’s office?”
“Yes. The principal has summoned you.”

—

Stella, huh?

What’s that woman trying to pull now?

—

“Alright, got it.”
“Good work out there.”

That brings us to now—
Right after the end-of-term exam, I headed straight to the principal’s office.

I was sitting back on the sofa.

Stella, sitting across from me, tilted her head with an intrigued look on her face.

—

“Be honest with me.”
“About what?”
“You’re still playing dumb? I’m talking about your score.”

—

Tch. Of course.

I had no reason to lie, so I told her the truth.

—

“There was a dungeon inside the island.”
“A dungeon? Don’t tell me you cleared a dungeon?”
“Correct.”
“…There was a dungeon? Wait, forget that. What kind of dungeon gives you a score that ridiculous?! Do you have any idea how many complaints I’ve had to deal with today because of you?”
“A demon.”

—

She froze.

Stella, who’d been ranting non-stop, suddenly halted in place.

—

“A demon was inside.”
“A demon? Inside a dungeon?”
“More precisely—a whole legion was hiding in there.”

—

Stella rubbed her forehead with a sigh.

—

“So let me get this straight… You found a dungeon on the island, stumbled across a demon legion hiding inside, and since you’re some overgrown lizard, you wiped them all out?”

—

Seriously, I’m not a dragon.
I couldn’t be bothered to correct her, so I just nodded.

—

“That’s right. I didn’t expect the score to turn out like that though.”
“…”

—

Stella scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

If what I’d said was true, then technically, she owed me another favor.

—

“…Thanks.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“Forget the score. I’ll take care of smoothing things over.”
“That’s music to my ears.”

—

That should’ve been the end of it.

I stood up, getting ready to leave.

—

“You know break’s about to start, right?”

—

I paused.

—

“I know.”

—

Of course I knew.

I’d been waiting for the break.

I needed to learn dark magic as soon as possible to unlock the Necronomicon.

—

“You said you wanted to study dark magic, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“Then I assume you remember the condition for learning it from me…”
“I do.”

—

The Archdragon Pafnir.

The monster sealed in Blackmoor, Stella’s hometown.

The deal was that I’d get dark magic tutoring in exchange for taking it down.

That wasn’t difficult.

The Demon Realm made for a convenient trash bin.
Once the seal was broken, I could just chuck Pafnir in there and be done with it.

—

“When do we depart?”
“Right at the start of break.”

—

So, two days from now.

I nodded and turned to leave.

Just as I reached the door, Stella’s voice called out behind me.

—

“This’ll probably be the last thing I ask of you.”
“…?”

—

The last thing?

—

“If you get rid of Pafnir for me—
I’ll back you completely, no strings attached.”

—

“…”

—

“You already know, don’t you? What happened to my clan because of that damn geezer, Sakila the Ancient Dragon.”

—

Yeah, I knew.

Sakila the Ancient Dragon.

The one who broke the taboo and was consumed by evil—
Thus becoming the Archdragon Pafnir.

—

“Everyone died. Just to seal that old bastard.”
“…”
“My only home became a cursed wasteland.
And the sins of that disaster fell squarely on my people’s shoulders.”

—

Her voice carried barely concealed fury.

Honestly, I felt a little unfairly targeted.

I’m not even a dragon. Why am I hearing this lecture?

But—

—

“I understand.”

—

I couldn’t brush it off.

Stella was one of my favorite characters, after all.

And Pafnir?

That thing was always on my list of eventual boss fights anyway.

So—

—

“You don’t have to worry.”

—

I gave my word. Clear and confident.

I would keep the promise.

—

“…I hope so.”

—

Stella let out a small chuckle.

I gave a brief nod and stepped out of the principal’s office.