NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
#012 Preparation for Enrollment – Enhancing Basic Abilities –
Among the many pieces of advice from players of “Planetarium,” there’s one recurring theme.
“If you plan to tackle the Academy story, start as early as possible.”
The reason is simple.
The Academy story is filled with events that help the protagonist grow, and the effectiveness of these growth events maximizes when the character is younger.
For instance, in “Greedy Debauchee,” the starting age is 15.
And since the Academy entrance exam event occurs at the end of the same year, players can complete the entrance exam event almost immediately after starting the game and then proceed with the Academy story at age 16, maximizing their efficiency.
Sure, that’s all theoretical.
“Efficiency or not, I just need to get through the entrance exam to see any results.”
I’ve experienced endings using the “Nameless Demon,” “Heir of the Red and Blue Blood,” and “Proud Barbarian” templates in my previous life, and I went through the Academy story twice.
However, in my first year with any of those templates, I never once succeeded at the Academy entrance exam.
Not just me, but based on the feedback from other players, successful attempts were few and far between, mainly due to the exam’s brutal difficulty.
Players often lamented whether they were picking Academy freshmen or national special agents.
No matter how talented the protagonists are within the templates, there are limits to their abilities at the game’s starting point, and many players aimed for maximum efficiency, only to waste time challenging the entrance exam right off the bat, hitting that restart button—because “Planetarium” doesn’t allow save & load due to its automatic save system—and giving up to try again the next year.
Most posts successful in the first year featured “Heir of the Red and Blue Blood,” which has the highest overall specs among the templates at the start, while those from other templates were rarely mentioned unless they had painstakingly attempted multiple times and finally succeeded by sheer luck.
“I’ve never seen a post from anyone succeeding in the first year with ‘Greedy Debauchee’.”
How could a template like “Nameless Demon” with potent combat abilities succeed by luck while “Greedy Debauchee,” with inferior skills, would have any chance?
Without wasting time, giving up on the first entrance exam and boosting the protagonist’s abilities for a renewed challenge the following year was the conventional playstyle for “Greedy Debauchee.”
In fact, many players chose not to proceed with the Academy story using “Greedy Debauchee” at all.
But not me.
“With two years to spare, I can make the most of this opportunity.”
If the starting abilities are the problem, then it’s a simple fix—I’ll raise those abilities beforehand.
Having secured the funds necessary for various preparations, all that remained was to level up.
And of course, this wasn’t just my story.
#012 Preparation for Enrollment – Enhancing Basic Abilities –
“Well, from today onward, I’m Pnos, and I’ll be in charge of educating Miss Ligret. Nice to meet you.”
“……………..”
Ligret’s expression soured in response to the polite greeting of the silver-haired man dressed in a suit.
She turned her head towards me.
– What the heck is this?
Through her gaze, I understood her intent and replied.
“I’m your teacher who will oversee your studies.”
“Wait, wait, wait a minute. Hold on.”
Ligret, pressing a hand to her forehead as if troubled, spoke up.
“But I’m a guard, right? I was hired as a guard, so why am I studying?”
“What are you talking about? This is part of your guard duties.”
“It has nothing to do with protecting you! Why do I have to study!?”
Honestly panicking, Ligret raised her voice, prompting me to explain.
“Listen closely. You’re strong. But you’re not invincible. Can you admit that?”
“…Fine.”
“So, you need to become even stronger. You wouldn’t be satisfied with your current self, right?”
“…I guess not?”
“However, without knowledge, there are clear limits to your strength. If you can’t read, you won’t be able to understand martial arts manuals and such. Plus, the more you know, the faster your judgment will be in challenging situations. It’ll be alright; it won’t be that difficult. Even if you’re a bit thick-headed, thorough repetition will help – wait! Put that hand down. Issues among civilized folks can be solved through conversation!”
“Maybe someone like you, but a clueless, thick-headed mercenary would prefer this approach instead of your elegant solutions, you know!”
With Ligret cracking her knuckles silently, I shouted back.
“If you master reading and writing, I’ll give you the best weapon that can come out of the Cube!”
“…………”
Ligret appeared deep in thought for a moment but eventually sighed and replied.
“…Make it two. And really, do something about that ‘Miss’ title. It gives me the creeps.”
“Got it, got it. You heard that, Pnos?”
“Understood, Lord Chrome.”
I thought to myself.
I had initially intended to negotiate up to three but ended up getting a good deal.
This also provided a reason for other teacher candidates to call Ligret ‘Miss.’
<><><>
[Month X, Day X. I’ve started writing a diary to improve my proficiency with written characters. According to Pnos, considering I started late, I’m learning quite quickly, but honestly, I’m not buying it. Every time Clark teaches something new to another mercenary, his phrase is always, ‘You lazy bum! You can’t do anything except for learning this one fast!’]
[Month X, Day X. Living at the House of Midas, I often feel a sense of discomfort due to the strikingly different environment than my mercenary days. Everything’s unnecessarily lavish, like the overly spacious rooms or meals that come at regular intervals even without preparation.
Especially at mealtimes, there’s a massive banquet table stocked full, prepared with generous portions, topped with some kind of strange powder.]
[Month X, Day X. According to Chrome, it’s a kind of medicine that enhances physical abilities when taken over a long period, but when I asked about the price as a test, I was told it’s better not to know the answer.
“It’s the worst value for money,” or “It takes talent to eat a lot and absorb it,” grumbling these words while forcibly shoving meat into my mouth is quite the sight. Maybe I really filled my stomach with just that?]
<><><>
[Month X, Day X. A martial arts instructor has arrived. Apparently, he’s a knight who retired after being suspected of bribery while working for the royal family. Chrome remarked, “We wouldn’t have anyone else in our family except for a person like that.” However, it seems he’s quite skilled; at least he looks stronger than I currently do. By the way, can we drop that creepy title of ‘Miss Ligret’?]
<><><>
[Month X, Day X. Chrome’s routine now includes physical training. Following the ex-knight’s guidance, I joined in, but it somehow turned into a racing match with Chrome halfway through. Eventually, Chrome, pale and exhausted, asked if he had trained like this before, to which I replied, where would he have found the time? Somehow, his face turned even paler.]
<><><>
[Month X, Day X. Moving my body feels refreshing, but having to keep up with Chrome’s pace leaves me feeling a bit lacking. After a few civilized exchanges, while running together, I switched tactics to carrying Chrome when he got too tired to move. His loud protests of dropping him from behind were bothersome, so I intentionally took the difficult route, and he quickly quieted down. In the end, the contrast between Chrome’s exhausted expression and the struggling old knight trying desperately to hold something in was impressive. So who was it that told me to mess around with someone’s titles?]
<><><>
[Month X, Day X. I officially began learning martial arts from the ex-knight. Chrome seems to be putting in effort, but the results aren’t great. In fact, I can’t really criticize others. I managed to land a few hits with a wooden sword, but knocking anyone down seemed impossible. He’s still quite strong. The ex-knight, whose expression was a little darker than usual, assessed Chrome saying he has the talent of a top student. When it came to my own abilities, he skirted around saying it wasn’t his place to judge. I didn’t pry further.]
<><><>
[Month X, Day X. I accompanied Chrome on an outing related to the House of Midas. He started sweet-talking a creditor, who was frantically trying to pay off overdue debts, and ended up tearing numerous books from the poor fellow’s possession. A book on various weapon handling was given to me, and our already thrifty employer, acting like a crook, flipped through a variety of things before settling on information about crossbows and throwing weapons. When he asked me what I wanted, and I replied everything, he made a strangely perplexed expression. “Damn, a full kit is a tough build…” “But it’s still the final spec,” he mumbled, and honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about.]
*Clunk.*
Ligret closed her diary and thought. Despite everything, this life isn’t so bad after all.