I Will Carry as an Academy Veteran

99

I dreamt.

A truly strange story, but so far, I had never dreamt a dream in this world after coming here.

So, dreaming after a long time might have felt even more remarkable.

A blue sky, grass swaying in the wind.

I was the ‘me of ten thousand hours’ standing there, and the guy in front of me was somehow Adrian.

We sat on a fallen log and talked for a long time. He listened to me, occasionally sighing or nodding his head.

Then, after touching my shoulder twice and saying ‘I’ll leave it to you,’ he turned and left.

I don’t remember what we talked about, or what he entrusted me with. Nor do I recall how I responded.

After that,

I woke up in the dormitory bed.

As I got up, Kalen, who was sitting there sharpening a sword, jumped in surprise and hastily brought me a cup of water.

Apparently, I had been asleep for two whole days.

Then Kalen rushed out, saying he would bring the others.

*Bam!*

As I stared at the closed door, I turned my head to the mirror.

Disheveled golden hair.

“Sigh.”

…Was it really two days that I slept?

It wasn’t hard to accept. I had mentally prepared for it, honestly.

Since I hadn’t fully recovered my strength but only ‘partially’ before waking up, I naturally expected this kind of rebound if it took two days instead of the roughly estimated three. So, it would be right to consider that my recovery speed and my stamina had grown compared to the past.

“It’s going to get noisy.”

These guys are already talkative enough, so if I, who has been asleep for two days, wake up… my head will already start to ache.

Thinking about six people barging into this tiny room and chattering away…

“First, I should get things done before those guys arrive.”

Right.

That’s the deal.

[There is an unreceived reward!]

How can I stand this?

As I reached out my hand, numerous messages popped up simultaneously.

[Congratulations! You have executed the 3rd act boss ‘Bellanio’ and cleared the 3rd act!]

[You saved Salenium from an unseen threat by defeating numerous Chimeras and ultimately exterminating the ‘Demons’!]

[The friendship level of all Student Council members is rising. Now, all members of the Student Council do not see you as an enemy!]

[Except for students turned hostile due to your actions, from now on, all Salenium students will have a fixed level of friendliness towards you, either ‘neutral’ or ‘friendly’!]

[Route progress is increasing! You are one step closer to the ending! There is still a long way to go, but the destination seems to be slowly appearing!]

[Demons have detected the death of one of their own. All relationships with ‘Demons’ are fixed as ‘hostile’!]

Not bad.

The Student Council, of course, and now my favorability and reputation among Salenium students are practically settled.

With the possibility of being stabbed almost gone, I should be able to roam more freely now.

As for the Demons, well, hostility is natural if my bloodline is Repelhite.

“Next.”

[Skill, ‘Fateful Technique: Crescendo’ has been fully unlocked. It can be used when the ‘condition’ is met!]

[Acquire the skill, ‘Unyielding Heart’!]

[Due to repeated use of magic, the level of ‘Wind Elemental Magic Aptitude’ increases!]

[Obtain the Dark-Tainted Armor Set!]

[Dark-Tainted Longsword, Dark-Tainted Longbow, Dark-Tainted Bow… and more…]

I gained two new skills and raised the level of Wind Elemental Magic Aptitude.

In addition, a lot of random items like the ‘Dark-Tainted Armor’ series and ‘Stone used by Demons’ have also dropped.

Since they’re useless, I’ll just exchange them all for money later.

I quickly gathered them into my inventory before anyone could see, then checked my skills.

[Fateful Technique: Crescendo]

Magic is soon to fulfill wishes.

It can be activated when everyone’s desires unite as one.

When the affinity levels with ‘party members’ and ‘combat comrades’ exceed level 8 and level 5 respectively, it can be used once per battle, dealing ‘fixed damage 100%’ proportional to ‘magic power’ to the target!

It ignores the target’s defense, delivering a fixed damage based on magic power.

Also…

[Unyielding Heart]

When the owner is ‘in battle,’ it suppresses fatigue, pain, and other effects caused by stamina consumption.

The ‘willpower’ strengthens in ‘adverse situations’!

Caution! You won’t feel exhaustion until your stamina reaches 0, so use it carefully!

Hmm.

This seems to be a buff-type skill that eliminates fatigue caused by the decrease in stamina during battles.

Truly, isn’t this skill perfect for me?

No matter how much I may decay from being exhausted, humans will naturally tire as battles prolong.

However, with this skill, I should be able to distribute stamina more efficiently.

And most importantly, this.

[Party members, and to the strategy group ‘All’ who participated together, the title ‘Demon Hunter’ is granted!]

[Demon Hunter]

[The title holder, limited to ‘Demons’, can deal an additional 1.2 to 1.5 times damage! However, killing ‘Demons’ leaves a ‘scent’ behind, making them targets of caution and ambush by other demons!]

“Hmm.”

The reason I must exclusively strategize with our ‘party’ was precisely this.

The Sagas of Sareneum will progress beyond Act 4, into Acts 5, 6, and beyond.

Occurrences of demons appearing like now will likely happen quite frequently.

Hence, the presence or absence of that title greatly determines the character’s life or death.

Alright.

Although the difficulty suddenly spiked compared to Act 2, we managed to advance without anyone being overwhelmed.

All members survived.

The punitive force I commanded had no casualties.

Moving forward… we should continue like this.

Then, someday, we might witness the end of this world, its ending.

With that determination, just as I was about to turn off the status screen.

[Hold on!]

[There is a hidden reward!]

“…What?”

[The hidden reward can be received by the Student Council President ‘Canaria’!]

“Wait, you want me to go see her without giving any hints?”

A hidden reward?

What could this hidden reward be at this point? Was there one?

As I pondered for a moment.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter.

“…Oh no.”

The noisy footsteps from outside were heard.

Shortly after, with a bang!, the dormitory door was broken open.

“They’re here.”

“Adriaaan!”

“Senpaiii!”

“Oh, Adrian! Are you okay?”

“The Lord has arrived!”

“Hmph, he’s not dead.”

They came.

* * *

In any case, I stopped them and listened to each of their stories, as they could truly lead to death if they hugged or punched me.

“Adrian….”

Reyna worried and sniffled, but then laughed, saying she was relieved to see me looking healthy.

“So, is your body okay?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph, then I’ll go back.”

“Adrian, even though Evnis looks like that, she’s been sitting here watching you for half a day yesterday.”

“T-there’s no such thing, right? I-I don’t want my rival… to just die easily, because it wouldn’t be fun for the future competition…”

“….But you did it, didn’t you?”

“….”

He clenches his fist.

Stop.

What are you trying to do? No, don’t. This isn’t the Rubrium Pavilion; if anything breaks, you’re responsible.

Anyway… Milijae and Kalen kept crying, and Relbrian…

“I knew you’d get up. Haven’t you always been like that?”

“….hahahaha.”

Yeah. That’s what friends are for. I trust you, so I won’t do anything other than lightly laugh.

“Senior Lizeriliaus…”

“Adrian.”

The white-haired princess sat down and looked at me with a calm face.

Please, please take better care of your body. It’s really unsettling to see you lying down. Don’t hurt yourself.

“…Alright. Senior, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, and the president of the Canary Student Council called for you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, so go now, as she said to come together. She’ll be waiting in the lobby, so tidy up and come out.”

After saying that, she stared at me intently.

“…Is there something on my face? Senior.”

“…No, it’s just that, seeing you wake up like that for the first time… no, never mind. Hurry up and come out properly!”

The princess led everyone outside.

Well, I guess I should go see.

I wonder what hidden reward she’s trying to give. I have to see it with my own eyes.

* * *

And so, we arrived at the student council with everyone.

When we reached the top floor, Canary, who was working on documents, looked over at us.

“You came?”

“I came when you called.”

“Well, I just wanted to properly thank you for this incident, which I haven’t been able to do.”

She jumped out of her chair and gestured.

“Come this way, if I have something to give you.”

Following her lead, we arrived at the Student Council annex building, and after arriving in front of the place marked as room 101, she opened the door with a key she took out of her pocket.

What appeared then was an empty space with nothing in it.

Except for the window and the curtain, there was nothing in that space.

“…This is?”

“Well, it’s the reward given by our Student Council.”

She walked in first, turned around, and looked at me.

“You directly organized and commanded the recent punitive expedition, not only handling the job neatly without any casualties but also without any serious injuries.”

With her hands on her hips, the petite Student Council President said.

“So, after much deliberation on what reward to give you other than from the Student Council, this room is what we came up with.”

“…A room?”

“Yes, from now on, the ownership of this room belongs to Adrian. You can sleep here, eat here, rest here, all as you please. You can put in furniture, we won’t mind.”

So.

They were giving us this ‘room.’

Does that mean?

“…Is this for real?”

“Hmph, I have decided to overlook your boring and uninteresting misdeeds from now on.”

Really.

Was this the reward?

It’s a truly spacious place, different from the cramped spaces like the university dorms.

“Take good care of it.”

“…Of course, I will.”

Canaria handed me the ‘key,’ and I accepted it.

“Well, I’m off to work. Oh, don’t follow me. You can think about what furniture to put in that room and make it look nice.”

The Student Council President disappeared with brisk steps.

We stared blankly at the empty room.

“…S-So.”

Reyna clenched her fists, trembling, and shouted.

“This is going to be our hideout from now on!”

“Is that so….”

I never imagined such a reward… not even in my dreams.

“Our… hideout! Adrian! What furniture should we bring in? I think we need a sofa, a carpet, and a chandelier!”

“I think we’ll need a bookshelf and a desk!”

“Oh, I want a bed!”

Yes, that’s right.

Just as Reyna said, this place is our hideout.

Really….

“Think of all the furniture each of us wants to bring in.”

“Adrian? Adrian, are you interested too!”

Well…

[Received Hidden Reward!]

[Housing system is now open!]

[Install and decorate furniture freely in ‘Student Council Annex Room 101’!]

[With the ‘Housing System’, you can gain beneficial effects in the ‘Hub’ and increase your abilities with party members!]

It’s hard to believe it’s not there.

No way, you can receive buffs endlessly and increase your abilities.

It’s the best.