chapter_0127

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
127

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
127

In the game Soul Academy,
there are three main ways to increase your charm score.

Like other stats, you can
either enhance the character’s basic performance, leverage items,
or use consumables.

Usually, when players in Soul
Academy need a high charm score, they rely on items or doping.

Since charm isn’t
particularly useful for conquering dungeons, most players don’t
bother with it.

Of course, there are
exceptions where players focus solely on charm to resolve situations
by charming other characters, but those are rare cases.

The method I’m going to use
is the same as in the game.

At this point, how much can I
realistically increase my charm in just a week?

Given the inherent charm score
guaranteed by the [Mesugaki] skill, I’ll fill in the rest with
items and doping.

“So, I just need to get
these items?”

‘Yes, that’s right.’

“Sounds right. Have you
developed a bit of intuition from acting as an informant’s dog?”

“Haha. Of course.”

Alsatine glanced over the list
I had handed him and slightly furrowed his brow.

“Is this really correct?”

‘Why?’

“You seem pretty
interested, for an informant.”

“My apologies. It’s just
that these aren’t items the Lady would usually be interested in.”

That’s understandable.

The items I noted are indeed
all appearance-related.

Clothes made by famous shops
in the capital.

Cosmetics and perfume. Along
with various accessories I’ll be using.

Considering that normally, I’m
more focused on enhancing my physical strength, it’s only natural for
Alsatine to find this peculiar.

‘Yes, exactly, Alsatine.’

“Information Seller.
That’s right, so just do as you’re told quietly. Don’t act all
cheeky. Got it, you sloppy guy?”

“Yes, I understand.”

‘How long…’

“How long will it take to
get these?”

“Do you have a specific
timeframe? I’ll try to meet it as best as possible.”

‘One week.’

“One week. Is that
possible?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Alsatine nodded without
hesitation at my request.

That’s how it needs to be.

Since I had to hurry this
time, I compromised as much as I could.

I would have been disappointed
if he said no.

‘Then…’

“Please handle it as quickly
as possible, Information Seller.”

Just as Alsatine had assured
me, he brought the items I requested before the field trip began.

Seeing the items in person,
after only seeing them beyond the monitor, made my head spin.

In the game, it was no
trouble. Any item I equipped was worn by the in-game character. But
now, things are different.

If I prepared an item, I was
the one who had to use it.

So that means I would be the
one to wear the Bunny Girl outfit that Alsatine brought. When I first
thought about it, I thought it would be okay.

These days, I’ve grown quite
accustomed to wearing the Academy’s uniform.

I believed I could endure it
even if I went a bit further.

Besides, I only needed to
change into it when meeting the Master of the Forest.

In my mental simulation, it
seemed fine.

I figured I just needed to
endure a moment of humiliation.

But seeing it in reality and
holding it up to my body, it felt entirely different.

No matter how you look at it,
this isn’t clothing!

It barely fulfils the basic
function of clothing, which is to cover the body!

You might think it’s okay as
long as it covers the important parts, right?

Try being in a position where
you have to wear a Bunny Girl outfit!

Would you still say that?

Given the situation, I had no
choice but to put it in my inventory, but honestly, I didn’t want to
wear it at all.

If it weren’t for the Quest
given by Armadi, I would’ve just burned it.

But I was too afraid of the
word humiliation blocking my path.

The fear stemming from the
unknown was that immense.

Think about it. When Armadi
enhanced the [Mesugaki] Skill just to tease me.

That time, he even made me say
fat chunks (boobs) to Phoebe, a literal Saint.

Armadi is serious about
punishments. Would Armadi prepare a light punishment for failing the
quest?

Of course not.

Looking back, the Bunny Girl
outfit does seem a bit much.

While the Bunny Girl outfit
maximises charm, there are other outfits that also enhance it.

But when I was preparing this,
I was worried.

What if my charm score isn’t
high enough, and the Master of Scytil Forest refuses to meet me!

If I wore another outfit and
ended up with an embarrassing memory and still got punished, I’d be
resentful!

Ah, what’s the point of
regretting it now?

It’s too late to turn back.

Alright. I’ll just close my
eyes and wear the Bunny Girl outfit.

That’s it.

In front of Frey, Joy, and
Phoebe, wearing the Bunny Girl outfit.

Aaaaaaaagh!

Sloppy, you perverted Armadi!

You’re so cunning!

You knew that pushing me to
the brink would make me wear the Bunny Girl outfit, didn’t you?!

Right?!

You prepared it knowing that
whichever path I took, I’d end up with an embarrassing memory?!

God, shouldn’t use divine
powers for such things, you damn pervert!

“Dear students!”

Cursing out at Armadi, I
snapped out of my reverie when I heard a shout from the front.

“That forest is the Scytil
Forest where we’ll be having our field trip!”

To sum it up, the Academy’s
field trip involves hunting in the forest. The concept is to give
students, who have never experienced real danger in a safe
environment, the chance to face genuine threats.

After all, the Academy’s
philosophy is to train people to handle the dungeons that bring
danger to the world.

We can’t just let the
students sit around chatting inside a cushy campground.

So, what happens if someone
just avoids fighting monsters and hides during the field trip?

Of course, there’s a measure
to prevent that.

If you don’t bring back at
least 15 pieces of loot from defeating different monsters in the
forest, you’ll get a penalty on your grade.

To advance to the next grade,
you need to achieve much higher grades than the average.

For most people, it pretty
much guarantees getting held back.

So, if you don’t want to
remain in your grade, you have to fight.

It’s not all about the stick;
there’s also a carrot.

You get a bonus on your grade
based on the number of loot items you have at the end of the field
trip.

I remember that you get the
maximum bonus if you bring back 100 pieces of loot.

And the top five parties
receive material rewards in addition to their rankings.

So my goal is simple.

‘Our goal is…’

“Our goal is simple. First
place. There’s no way we can tolerate any sloppy groups being above
us, right?”

To come in first place during
this field trip.

And on top of that, to meet
the Master of the Forest and gain his acknowledgment.

“I knew it.”

When I declared this, Frey
nodded as if she had already known.

“Let’s do our best.”

Joy clenched her hands with
enthusiasm, aiming for the top.

“I’ll try my hardest.”

Phoebe smiled and nodded.

Seeing the lineup of our party
fills me with pride. This is not a party you would typically assemble
at the beginning of the Academy.

Usually, having just one of
these three characters in your party would earn admiration, and
having two would get you called a veteran, but to have all three…

If I posted this online,
people would call it a cheat.

As I was feeling pleased,
thinking that my hard work was paying off, Frey raised her hand.

“Do we have a strategy?”

‘Yes, we do.’

“We do. Curious, Sloppy
Swordsman?”

“Yeah.”

‘We’re going to hunt
people.’

“We’re going to hunt
sloppy trash.”

“What?”

As soon as I spoke, Phoebe
burst out in surprise.

Why? Did I say something
strange?

“Um, what exactly do you
mean by hunting people?”

‘It’s literal. So…’

“Saint, are you getting
dumber like Joy? It’s literal. We’re going to take the items from
other sloppy lackeys. They’ll be happy to be of use to us, don’t
you think?”

The most efficient way to
gather loot during the field trip is to take what other students have
hunted from monsters. Catching monsters one by one to gather loot has
its limits.

If this were a game, you could
achieve first place this way, but unfortunately, I’m not a player
behind a monitor right now.

I inevitably have to become a
villain.

“But is it really okay?
Breaking the rules.”

“Phoebe. It’s fine.”

It was Joy who answered
Phoebe’s question.

She held Phoebe’s shoulder and
shook her head.

“Pillaging is encouraged
during the field trip.”

“…What?”

“I heard it from my
brother.”

It’s quite simple.

The number of monsters lurking
in the forest is limited.

Even though Scytil Forest is
wide, it does not have infinite monsters like a dungeon.

In the beginning, you can
encounter monsters wherever you go, but by the second day, that will
no longer be the case.

Then, how can we acquire loot?

You could scour the forest for
the remaining few monsters, but that’s extremely inefficient.

Instead of spending half a day
hunting two or three pieces of loot, it’s easier and more convenient
to target other students carrying a haul of loot.

“But still…”

“Phoebe. Think about it. Did
the Professor say anything about not harming other students in the
rules?”

“He certainly said not to
threaten their lives.”

“Exactly. As long as we
don’t threaten their lives, it’s fine.”

If the Academy intended to
prevent pillaging, they would have clearly stated that you cannot
take loot from other students.

But there’s no such rule.They
just haven’t explicitly told us, but in effect, they’ve condoned the
pillaging.

Back when this was a game,
pillaging was the standard, while hunting was for veterans.

“But still…”

Phoebe, with her kind nature,
seemed uncomfortable with the idea of taking from others, but reality
wouldn’t change to accommodate her feelings.

Just like how there’s a Bunny
Girl outfit lying in my inventory.

‘Don’t worry. We won’t start
pillaging from the first day.’

“Don’t worry, Sloppy Saint.
We won’t start looting the slackers from day one.”

After all, looting from those
who haven’t even started hunting yet would yield almost nothing.

There’s no reason to attack
the ones laughing and having a good time on the first day.

The best timing would be the
first night.

When they’re exhausted from
battling the monsters and start falling asleep, that’s when we
should strike.

Once they get looted even
once, they’ll become more cautious, and that’s troublesome.

“So, you mean we’re just
going to take what others have worked hard to obtain?!”

“Yes.”

Phoebe, you seem to be
misunderstanding something. This isn’t a bad thing.

The Academy is essentially
pushing us to do this from the get-go!

I’m not the perpetrator here!

I’m just a helpless victim of
the system the Academy has created!

Even second and third-year
students say this is the standard method. It’s unfair to blame only
me!

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