chapter_0060

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
60

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
60

The spear wielded by the
third-year senior is fast.

He has undergone countless
training sessions, exams, and dungeons.

Naturally, he has more combat
experience than I do.

His physical specs are also
superior.

They say he is below average
among the third-year NPCs, but how could someone who has been
training since birth and has reached the third year of the academy be
on the same level as someone like me, who has only been in this world
for less than half a year?

So, this is a match I can’t
originally win.

That is, if things were
normal.

But I have the power to make
things abnormal.

First off, the [Iron Wall]
skill is a significant help.

No matter how quickly the
third-year senior swings his spear, [Iron Wall] informs me faster
than he can attack.

Thus, his attacks are always
manageable to me.

Then there’s the presence of
Grandpa.

If [Iron Wall] reinforces my
defence, Grandpa supplements my lacking combat experience.

For someone like him, who has
fought in countless battlefields and harsh fights, there’s no
battlefield he doesn’t know.

Grandpa is like a navigation
system guiding me to victory.

And most importantly…

“Idiot Senior♡ You’ve
slowed down♡ Do you really think you can hurt me with that sloppy
spear?♡”

“Shut up!”

“Ahaha. Attending the
Academy for three years, and you still can’t take down a
first-year?♡ You’re totally sloppy♡”

“Shut up!”

I can control my opponent’s
emotions at will.

I didn’t understand the
significance of shaking my opponent’s emotions when I was new to
fighting.

But after sparring with
Possell, Karl, and many Knights from the Allen Family, I realised
that unsettling an opponent means more than just provoking them.

Just look at the third-year
senior right now.

At first, he attacked me
methodically, but now he’s emotionally driven.

He can’t hide his intentions.

He prioritises hurting me over
calculating gains and losses.

He doesn’t even think about
reading my intentions.

It’s because he fell for my
[Mesugaki] skill’s taunts.

This is such an effective
debuff.

A debuff where the person,
consumed by their emotions, doesn’t even realise they’re being
affected by a strange power!

Moreover, the angrier the
opponent gets, the higher my stats become.

In terms of performance, the
[Mesugaki] skill is definitely a broken skill!

The only downside is that I
have to sacrifice my manners and reputation!

Blocking his spear thrust with
my shield, I gauge the distance between the third-year senior and
myself.

At most, two steps.

That’s close enough to close
the gap.

According to what Grandpa
taught me, this is a distance that should make a spearman feel
threatened.

However, the third-year senior
hasn’t noticed it. Having lost his rationality.

Grandpa loved comparing a
Paladin to a crocodile.

He’d say we are like a
crocodile lurking underwater, a Paladin waits for an opportunity and
strikes decisively with sharp teeth to end the enemy’s life.

Although I found this analogy
a bit brutish for a Legendary Paladin, the explanation was undeniably
accurate.

Because that’s how a Paladin
fights.

The moment I blocked the
third-year senior’s spear again, Grandpa shouted.

Without a shred of doubt, I
moved my body following his words.

I knew Grandpa would never
make a mistake in such situations.

The senior, startled by my
sudden advance, tried to step back, but it was already too late.

The advantage that a spearman
holds was gone at this moment.

Now it’s my turn.

I raised my mace and brought
it down.

There’s no awkwardness in
this move anymore.

This is my ultimate move,
which even Grandpa acknowledged as flawless.

Head Crusher.

Anticipating the grim end, the
third-year senior tightly closed his eyes.

However, the worst outcome he
imagined did not come to him.

Because I stopped my hand at
the last moment.

The third-year senior,
cautiously opening his eyes, saw the mace hovering in front of him
and collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out.

‘Well done.’

“Ahaha. Idiot senior. So
confident, but is this all you’ve got? Pretty sloppy.”

As I laughed, somewhat
forcibly due to my [Mesugaki] skill, the third-year senior’s face
turned red with embarrassment.

I’m sorry.

But ever since it was
discovered that I could leverage the [Underdog] skill, this has
always been your fate at Soul Academy!

If you hate it, then you
should have been stronger!

Though, even if that were the
case, I would have found a way to overcome it!

[Quest Clear!]

[Rewards are being given!]

Seeing the message window
appear in front of me, I clenched my fist tightly.

The [Underdog] skill awarded
by this quest converts 5% of my damage to fixed damage when facing
opponents 20 levels higher than myself.

It’s a skill that’s
difficult to utilise in normal situations and becomes utterly useless
in the later stages, but it’s absolutely necessary.

Especially for dealing with
gimmicks in the future.

I would have been devastated
if I hadn’t obtained this.

I missed most of the quests I
was supposed to get on the Academy’s entrance ceremony day.

The most painful one to miss
was the ‘The Girl’s Worries’ quest.

At first glance, it seemed
like a trivial side quest when I received it without knowing
anything, but if you dig deeper, it offers great rewards.

I should have gotten that one
at least.

Sigh I
guess I’ll have to talk to her again next time.

“Wow, you’re strong!”

As soon as I put away my
shield and mace, Frey ran over to me and started talking.

“Isn’t the fight you just
had unsatisfactory? Let’s go again right away.”

‘No.’

“You sloppy swordsman.
Are you a chicken brain? Why do you keep making me repeat myself?”

“What?”

“Thank you for your hard
work, Miss.”

“Great job, Lady Allen.”

After half forcibly pushing
Frey away, Joy and Karl approached me.

How long have these two been
standing there?

Karl, being like my stalker,
might have come to see me, but what about Joy?

‘Thank you. But…’

“It was no big deal. But
Sloppy Knight aside, what brings you here, Airhead Lady?”

“I came because there’s
something I need to discuss.”

Joy’s expression turned
serious as she spoke. She’s probably here to talk about the Third
Prince.

Ugh, this is troublesome. It’s
not like I can do anything about it just because I don’t want to.

I don’t even know how they
come up with these nicknames in the first place, so how could I
possibly change them?

“Could you spare a
moment?”

‘Sorry, but…’

“Airhead Lady, do I look
like someone who has that much free time?”

“Are you busy?”

‘Yes!’

“Of course. Do you think
I have time to wander around idly like you, Airhead Lady?”

“What do you mean by
‘wander around’? I came here specifically because of you.”

It was easy to guess Joy’s
true intentions despite her furrowed brows.

She probably came to persuade
me, for the sake of the Third Prince who might get hurt because of
me, and for me, who might get hated by the Third Prince.

She may look like a Villainous
Lady, but she’s actually a good person.

If only there were fewer
downsides to this [Mesugaki] skill…

‘I don’t need your help.’

“Help? From the Airhead
Lady? Helping me? Hah.”

At my blatant mockery, Joy’s
expression turned even colder.

Ugh. I’m sorry, Joy.

But please understand that I
have no choice but to act this way.

Can’t you?

You probably can’t.

Thank goodness there’s no
indicator showing her favorability.

If something like ‘Joy’s
favorability has dropped’ had appeared, my heart would’ve surely
broken.

“…I see. Do as you
please.”

Watching Joy turn her back and
walk away, I sighed inwardly.

Will it even be possible to
raise her favorability to 70 like this?

No matter how I think about
it, all I can envision is my future of meeting an untimely death
after spending half a year here at Soul Academy.

‘Grandpa, be quiet.’

Don’t you know sometimes no
consolation is better than an awkward one?

Shut up, Grandpa, before I
lock you up in the Academy bathroom.

Ugh. Yeah. What good is it to
keep feeling down?

I need to focus on what I can
do right now.

‘Karl…’

“Hey, Sloppy. You’re
done for the day, right?”

“Huh? Yes, I guess so.
For now.”

‘Come with me.’

“Come on. We have things
to do.”

The last item on my to-do list
today could only be done when the sun sets.

I had to find the item
obtainable only in the areas accessible at night in Soul Academy.

“Miss, it’s time for the
academy to close.”

When I mentioned my plan to
leave the academy, Karl tried to dissuade me.

‘I know.’

“Sloppy, do you think I
wouldn’t know that?”

“But how do you intend to
go out?”

Soul Academy closes its gates
at 8 PM. After that, only certain professors can go outside, and the
same rules apply for coming in.

However, there is a gimmick
that allows one to wander around Soul Academy at night.

Although it’s usually found
around the end of the second year, if you know its location, you can
use it even from the first year.

‘Karl, follow me.’

“Sloppy, follow me.”

I led Karl to a corner of the
Soul Academy garden.

We walked toward a wall made
of plants that blocked the path. Normally, there would be branches or
walls in the way, but this path was different.

It was designed like this from
the beginning, so there’s no reason for it to be blocked except for
the plants covering it.

With my eyes closed, I walked
straight ahead and soon a large wall that encircles the Soul Academy
building came into view.

“Miss, isn’t this a
dead-end?”

‘No.’

“Sloppy, will you stop
being insolent?”

“I’m sorry.”

This appears to be an ordinary
wall, but it has a hidden gimmick.

I ran my palm over the
academy’s bricks and found one that was more loosely fitted than the
others. Pressing it, the wall made a cranking noise and a passage
revealed itself.

“This is…”

‘I told you I had a way,
didn’t I?’

“Insolent Sloppy Knight,
are you still doubting my words?”

“No. No, I’m not. Is this
also a revelation?”

‘Uh… yes.’

“Think whatever you
like.”

It really annoys me how the
reputation of that bumbling Armadi keeps growing every time I pull
off something amazing using my game knowledge.

He’s a convenient excuse, but
it feels too much credit for someone so incapable.

If he were a deity who
actually helped me, I’d gladly give him some credit.

Muttering to myself, I stepped
into the passage.

As soon as we exited the
academy, I touched something on the wall and the passage disappeared
again.

“Fascinating. I had no
idea there was something like this in the academy.”

Of course he wouldn’t.

This is a gimmick that’s been
forgotten over the long history of the academy.

I wouldn’t bother explaining
it because it would be a hassle.

“So, Miss. Where are you
planning to go?”

‘To Alsatine’s Tavern.’

“Alsatine’s Tavern.”

“The Alsatine’s Tavern I
know is a place where gamblers gather in back alleys.”

‘That’s right.’

“That’s exactly the
place.”

“Miss! Gambling is not
allowed!”

When I nodded, Karl freaked
out.

He started rambling on about
how he had seen many lives ruined by gambling, which made me sigh.

‘Karl, I’m not going there
to gamble.’

“Hey, Sloppy. Do I look
like someone who would do something that stupid?”

I continued my tirade on the
stupid Karl.

‘Do you think I’m crazy
enough to gamble there?’

“If I gambled there, I’d
just get ripped off by those con artists and lose everything.”

As a veteran of Soul Academy,
there’s no way I’d do something that dumb.

“Then why on earth?”

‘To meet the owner.’

“I need to meet the
sloppy dealer who runs that place.”

Black Market Dealer Alsatine.

I have to get something from
him for a small task to raise favorability levels.

Please support the series on
NovelUpdates

Read Here
for premium chapters