episode_0008

With the adorable greeting from the pink-haired, large-breasted Saint-nim, the entrance ceremony finally came to an end.

As I let out a huge yawn, a woman in her mid-20s, dressed in a suit, approached the row where I was sitting.

“Everyone, listen up! I am Sara Kaiman, the professor in charge of Provisional Class 3. Line up and follow me!”

Sara Kaiman shouted, leading the way out of the grand hall. With every step she took, her wine-colored ponytail swayed near her hips. Her firm physique showed that she didn’t neglect her training.

‘Just as before.’

With her confident face and hearty voice, she was no different from how she was in the game.

Sara Kaiman, a former mercenary, is in charge of close-quarters combat classes at the Academy. She was the protagonist’s homeroom professor, playing an active role while getting entangled in various incidents.

‘What was Sara Kaiman’s level again?’

I recalled Sara Kaiman’s stats based on my memories from the early stages of the game.

*

Sara Kaiman

Level – 263

Strength: 248

Stamina: 227

Durability: 196

Senses: 172

Magic Power: 203

*

I think that’s how it was.

Considering the difference in levels and realms, it’s estimated that she’s purely over 100 times stronger than both me and Alisa.

Thinking that even someone like Sara struggles with power balance in the later stages, I truly have a long way to go.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Abel. Come here. Your tie is crooked.”

“Oh, really? Thanks, Uni.”

Abel and Uni. At those words, which simply could not be ignored, I turned my head to stare at them.

‘So they were here after all.’

A handsome man with clear, striking features, black hair, and black eyes, and a beautiful girl with gentle eyes, straw-colored hair, and orange eyes.

These two were Abel, the protagonist of the Abel Chronicles, and Uni, his childhood friend heroine.

I remembered them being assigned to the same provisional class as Ruan Friuli, but no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t see them. It seems they arrived quite late.

Still, it’s a relief that for now, the development hasn’t deviated from the game.

Not long after, they arrived in the classroom.

“Find a suitable seat. Those in front, pass out the handouts. I’ll explain once the bell rings.”

I took a seat at the back.

I wasn’t the type to prefer the front to begin with, and most importantly, this was the best spot to observe Abel and Uni.

Soon, the classroom became bustling.

Sara didn’t seem to intend to stop the commotion before the bell rang, as she sat cross-legged in her chair, focusing on her own work.

I listened in on Abel and Uni’s conversation while scanning the handouts.

‘As scheduled, the class assignment test is in three days.’

The class assignment test is in a survival format.

With the cooperation of the Grey Magic Tower, each student must survive on an island 50km in width and length, created with illusion magic in the grand hall.

The method for calculating rankings is based on surviving for a long time or earning points by hunting monsters.

Of course, it’s also possible to defeat other students and steal their points.

If one is strong, that would probably be more efficient.

However, since classes are appropriately assigned by selecting students from the top, mid, and low tiers, the rankings virtually have no great meaning.

For me, there’s only one reason: I must be in the same class as Abel.

‘Abel was in the mid-tier, right?’

His actual skill is good enough for the top tier, but unfortunately, he meets Alisa on the island and gets eliminated a bit early.

As far as I remember, the class Abel was assigned to had relatively few mid-tier students, so if I just reach the mid-tier, I can be in the same class as him.

Reaching the mid-tier with a level less than half of other students would normally be impossible, but…

‘It’s not like there’s no way.’

Even without actively hunting monsters, just surviving until the end makes the mid-tier easy.

It was when I was diligently making plans.

“What are you two talking about, meow?”

A cat beastkin suddenly interrupted Abel and Uni, who were chatting amicably.

With a cream-colored bob and amber eyes, she approached with a peculiar speech pattern, wagging her tail.

Naturally, Abel and Uni were bewildered.

“Uh, huh? Us?”

“Yes, you two, meow! You seemed to be having such a fun conversation, meow! Let me join, meow!”

“Uni. What do you think?”

“I’m fine! Let’s talk together!”

Uni readily accepted her, even though the cat, who was interrupting time with her secretly-crushed-on childhood friend, might have been annoying.

“Wow, thank you, meow! I’m Pernia, meow! I came from the Beastkin Kingdom, Beastroad, meow!”

“I’m Abel. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Uni! Pernia. Nice to meet you.”

After introducing themselves, they began chatting amiably together.

I stared at the beastkin named Pernia.

‘Suspicious.’

This kind of event didn’t exist in the game.

No matter who I was, I couldn’t know if Pernia actually existed, but at least among the characters linked with Abel, I hadn’t seen anyone matching her.

In other words, Pernia was a variable that didn’t exist in the game.

If it’s a variable at this moment, there’s only one possibility that comes to mind.

However, rashly concluding could lead to a fatal mistake, so for now, I decided to take my time to determine it slowly.

Just then, I overheard something I couldn’t ignore.

“But Abel. What did you talk about with the Saint-nim yesterday?”

“Huh? Th-the Saint-nim?”

“Yes! She suddenly came to the inn where we’re staying yesterday afternoon. What did she say then? Something about an intruder from another world? Nothing happened between you two, right?”

At Uni’s remark, I forgot that I should be observing secretly and ended up staring intently at her.

Abel hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Ah! U-Uni. That’s a secret. Let’s talk later. Okay?”

“Hmph! You don’t want to tell me? Abel, your reaction is too strange. You’re not, like, d-dating the Saint-nim, are you?”

“No! It’s not like that, so let’s talk later. Understand?”

“Then you have to tell me, okay? Otherwise, I won’t talk to you for a while!”

While Uni was subtly revealing her jealousy towards the Saint-nim and making her appeal, I checked Pernia’s expression.

‘As expected.’

As anticipated, her expression was frozen stiff just like mine.

She quickly regained her composure and feigned nonchalance, but she couldn’t escape my keen eye.

Pernia is, with high probability, a transmigrator.

Once I reached that conclusion, I couldn’t help but let out a sudden burst of cynical laughter.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s funny.’

A woman who lived her whole life on Earth, claiming to have transmigrated into a cat beastkin, and adding a ‘meow’ sound to her speech.

She must have just been immersed in her role, thinking no one would know, but from my perspective, it looked like nothing but a joke.

See? She’s still meowing now, isn’t she?

I, who was chuckling, hurriedly regained my composure and organized the situation in my mind.

‘First, Pernia is a transmigrator. And the Church also caught a whiff of it.’

Yesterday afternoon was only a few hours after I transmigrated. No matter how excellent the Church’s intelligence, it’s too early to say they noticed so quickly.

Of course, I might have transmigrated especially late, but such assumptions have no end.

Anyway, if everyone transmigrated at the same time, it would be more correct to say they noticed the transmigrators’ existence through something unusual, not a typical route, for example, through an oracle.

This increased the probability that Repentia, the Goddess of Light, brought me to this world.

If it’s true, I intend to rape Repentia someday. She will apologize with her vagina. There can be no other way.

‘Still, I don’t understand.’

Why would a Goddess revered by humanity bring me here, even giving me a strange skill like ‘Rape Declaration’? I don’t know for sure, but something must have gone wrong in the middle.

That’s why she’s trying to root out the transmigrators, even issuing oracles.

Somehow, the situation got more complicated.

Clang—clang!

Holding my throbbing forehead, I shook off my thoughts at the sound of the bell ringing from the clock tower.

Sara Kaiman stood up.

“Alright. Now, I will explain about the class assignment test.”

The explanation wasn’t complicated.

What the students essentially had to do was just go to the grand hall in three days, survive on the island by hunting monsters and fighting each other until the end.

Moreover, since the test ends on the same day, there’s nothing special to prepare.

“For your reference, the results will be announced on the same day, and the top six students in rank will become provisional class representatives. Class assignments will be announced via the bulletin board the next day. Keep in mind that dorms are also assigned according to rank. The lower ranks will have three people sharing one room.”

With her last words, gasps spread through the surroundings. Given the considerable number of nobles, it was difficult for them to accept living with others.

In contrast, the commoners, though they didn’t like it, predominantly reacted by saying it couldn’t be helped.

If you have complaints, just get stronger.

‘What kind of guy will my roommate be?’

I don’t wish for much, but it would be good if they weren’t a named character or a villain.

In the beginning, it was wise to avoid getting involved in the main story if at all possible. At least until I could pull my weight, it was wise to focus solely on growth.

“That’s all for the explanation. Any questions?”

Extra 1 raised their hand as if they had been waiting.

“You said dorms change according to grades. What’s the cycle for that?”

“It’s every semester. Midterms and finals. And practical scores will be combined to produce the results. You’ll be notified in advance, so don’t worry. Next?”

After a few more questions, as the sun began to rise towards its zenith, Sara Kaiman declared dismissal.

“Everyone, no more questions, right? Don’t forget to gather at the grand hall by 9 AM, three days from now. All artifacts can be detected, so be careful not to bring one unnecessarily and get disqualified. There’s no leniency for nobles or commoners. Dismissed!”

Solias Academy was a thorough meritocracy.

Even if one was a commoner, if they were strong, it was a place where they could aspire to an equal standing with nobles. While it doesn’t mean status is completely meaningless, at least they don’t openly discriminate based on it.

That’s why, despite being founded 1000 years ago, it could still spread its reputation.

Leaving behind the students who were beginning to get acquainted with each other, I exited the classroom.

Strolling through the school grounds, I examined my temporary student ID.

‘Nothing special about it.’

Since it was only for use before class and dorm assignments, it was just an ordinary card, except for having identification magic enchanted.

With this, I could use both the communal training rooms and private sparring rooms provided at the Academy.

‘Shall I go right now?’

Julie and the coachman would be anxiously waiting, but I had no time to waste. Even if training wasn’t feasible, it was right to grasp the layout beforehand.

I turned my steps and headed towards the training rooms.

A short while later…

“It’s certainly magnificent.”

Even though it was a training room exclusively for first-years, its scale could truly be compared to a large library.

Separately from that, the fact that no one was using it on the entrance ceremony day was regrettable, but it was rather good for me.

Because I wouldn’t have to be considerate of others.

Stepping inside, I quickly arrived in front of a private sparring room.

Click!

As I swiped my temporary access card, the light on the door turned green, and the lock was released.

“Oh, it’s quite spacious, isn’t it?”

I didn’t really get a sense of its size when I saw it in the game, but it looked almost 1,776 square feet. At this size, I probably won’t need to use the communal facilities.

I looked around the wooden weapons adorning one entire wall, then picked up a wooden sword and swung it.

Whoosh—woosh!

I instinctively shook my head.

“I really don’t have talent in swordsmanship.”

I thought maybe it would be different since my soul changed, but this body was completely unsuited for swordsmanship.

If someone were to ask how an amateur who’d never swung a sword in his life could know that, I would be at a loss for words, but Ruan Friuli himself admitted long, long ago that he had no talent for swordsmanship, so it wouldn’t be wrong.

This time, I took a stance and threw a punch.

Swish! Swish swish!

My fist drew a sharp arc, making a fairly strong tearing sound in the air.

For having swung it spontaneously without any training, it was quite excellent. With the strong lingering sensation, I clenched and unclenching my fist, and nodded.

“So Ruan Friuli was the Fist Demon after all.”

Fist Demon (拳魔).

A being that is human, yet not human.

He was one of the Apostles in the Abel Chronicles who played a major role in the Dark Church, displaying earth-shattering power with his destructive martial arts.

In the game, he was a character whose identity was never revealed, even until his death.

However, by a very fortunate chance, I discovered the connection point between the Fist Demon and Ruan Friuli.

It was a scar engraved on the same spot.

More precisely, it was the remnant of a blessing received at the Holy Site when he was young, which later ended up remaining like a scar.

The blessing transforming into a scar was due to Ruan Friuli’s unique characteristic later on.

The Ultimate Demonic Body (極魔持身).

It refers to a body that transcends humanity by implanting a demonic spirit containing infinite demonic energy.

Ruan Friuli must have been kidnapped by the Dark Church as an experimental subject for the Ultimate Demonic Body after being expelled from the Academy due to attempted rape.

And he must have survived through astronomical odds and become an Apostle of the Dark Church.

At the time of his appearance as an Apostle, no one could associate the Fist Demon with Ruan Friuli, perhaps due to a side effect, as his face was disfigured by demonic energy.

“Or maybe? Perhaps Isis knew.”

The drastic decrease in Isis Friuli’s appearances after the Fist Demon episode might be because she realized his true identity.

Knowing her personality, she would have felt considerable guilt over her brother’s fall.

I briefly speculated, then realizing it wasn’t the time for this, I shook my head.

“Anyway, I’m glad my prediction was right.”

If even the talent for martial arts was an effect of the Ultimate Demonic Body, it was obvious that I would have been aimless for a while, unable to set a direction for growth.

Smiling contentedly, I left the training room behind and moved to the main entrance.

Julie, who had been waiting, came rushing over, panting.

“Young Master! Where have you been? I was worried!”

“I just looked around a bit. More importantly, let’s go quickly. I’m hungry.”

“Really… Alright. Let’s go.”

Although Julie seemed to have a lot to say, perhaps fearing that saying something might upset me, she quietly got into the carriage.

And when we arrived at the mansion after much riding, I was met with an unexpected situation.

“Young Master! You’ve come at just the right time! We currently have a guest.”

“A guest?”

“Yes. It’s Young Lady Skadia Maryland. Your fiancée. She’s waiting in the reception room right now.”

At the butler’s words, I furrowed my brows.