NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
Chapter: 59
The spear swung by the Senior Year 3 student is fast.
He has passed through countless training sessions, exams, and dungeons until now.
It’s no wonder that he has more real combat experience than I do.
His physical specs are also on a different level.
Even though he is below average among Year 3 NPCs, could his specs really be comparable to mine, who just reincarnated and has been working hard for half a year at this academy?
So, originally, this was an unwinnable match.
At least, that’s how it should be in a normal situation.
But I have the power to make the situation anything but normal.
For starters, the existence of the Iron Wall Skill is huge.
No matter how quickly the Senior Year 3 student swings his spear, my iron wall tells me things faster than he can act.
So, to me, his attacks are nothing more than what I can counter.
[Slow down. Don’t rush.]
Next, there’s Grandpa’s presence.
If the Iron Wall makes my defense thicker, Grandpa compensates for my lack of combat experience.
To Grandpa, there is no battlefield he hasn’t encountered before; he’s been through countless wars and hard-fought battles.
Grandpa’s like a navigation system pointing the way to victory.
And most importantly…
“Moron senior ♡ Did you just get wrecked ♡ Do you really think you can wound me with that shoddy spear? ♡”
“Shut up!”
“Hahaha. You’ve been at the academy for three years and still can’t take down a first-year? ♡ You’re totally sloppy ♡”
“I said shut up!”
I can manipulate my opponent’s emotions at will.
At first, I didn’t understand what it meant to shake the enemy’s feelings during a fight.
But I learned while dueling with Possell, Karl, and various knights from the Allen Family that causing turmoil in an opponent goes beyond mere provocation.
Just looking at the Senior Year 3 student now makes it clear.
He started off methodically attacking me, but now he’s emotional.
He can’t hide his intent.
He values inflicting damage on me over calculating his profits and losses.
He doesn’t even think about reading my intentions.
That’s because he fell for the Mesugaki Skill’s provocation.
This is such an efficient debuff!
He’s consumed by his emotions, completely oblivious that he’s being taken by an odd power!
Plus, the angrier he gets, the higher my specs rise.
If you look at the performance, the Mesugaki Skill truly is a cheating skill!
The painful part is that I have to pay in terms of my manner of speaking and reputation!
After blocking the spear aimed at me with my shield, I gauge the distance to the Senior Year 3 student.
No matter how many times I tried, it’s only two steps away.
That’s manageable.
According to what Grandpa taught me, this is the distance at which the spear bearer should feel a sense of crisis.
Yet the Senior Year 3 student hasn’t noticed that at all.
He’s lost all reason.
[Now is the time to bare your teeth.]
Grandpa loved to compare holy knights to crocodiles.
Like how they lurk beneath the water, waiting for the moment to strike with their sharp teeth.
I thought it was a ridiculous analogy coming from a legendary holy knight, but the explanation itself was undeniably true.
That’s how holy knights fight.
[Now!]
The moment the Senior Year 3 student swings his spear again, Grandpa shouted.
Without a shred of doubt, I moved in accordance with those words.
I knew Grandpa wouldn’t make a mistake here.
The startled senior tried to withdraw, but it was already too late.
At this moment, the spear bearer’s courage was gone.
Now it’s my turn.
I raise my mace and slam it down.
There’s no awkwardness in this movement.
This is my finishing move, validated by Grandpa himself.
Head Smash!
The Senior Year 3 student shut his eyes tight, anticipating the worst.
However, the worst conclusion he foresaw didn’t come to him.
I stopped my hands at the last moment.
Carefully opening his eyes, the Senior Year 3 student saw the mace hovering in front of him and collapsed, his knees giving way.
‘Thank you for your hard work.’
“Haha. Moron senior, and you were so confident? Is that all you can do? So sloppy.”
As I let out a half-forced giggle due to the Mesugaki Skill, the Senior Year 3 student’s face turned red.
I’m sorry!
But the moment the underdog skill build was discovered, your fate at the Soul Academy has always been this way!
If you were going to complain, you should have gotten stronger!
Even then, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome!
[Quest Cleared!]
[Rewards are being given!]
I clenched my fists at the notification window that appeared before me.
This quest gives the Underdog Skill, which converts 5% of damage dealt to opponents 20 levels higher into fixed damage.
In normal situations, it’s hard to utilize, and it becomes completely useless later on, but this skill is essential.
I need it for the tricks I’m planning in the future.
If I couldn’t obtain this either, I would’ve been sad.
After all, I missed most of the quests I was supposed to receive on the day of the academy entrance.
Among those, the most painful was the ‘Concerns of a Female Student’ quest.
It looked like a mere side quest when I accepted it without knowing anything, but if you dig deep, it offers great rewards.
I could have at least accepted that quest.
Sigh. I guess I’ll have to find a chance to talk to her again next time.
“You’re really strong!”
Before I could put my shield and mace away, Frey rushed over to me.
“Aren’t we short on fights? Let’s go again.”
‘No, thank you.’
“Sloppy swordsman, you blockhead? Why do you keep repeating the same thing?”
“Eh.”
“Thank you for your hard work, milady.”
“Good job, Lady Allen.”
Pushing Frey aside forcefully, Joy and Karl approached me.
When did these two get here?
Karl is like my stalker, so I can understand him coming to see me, but why is Joy here?
‘Thank you. But…’
“It was nothing. But let’s put aside our sloppy friend. What’s the matter with the foolish young lady?”
“I came to talk.”
Joy’s serious expression kinda makes me feel uneasy. She must be here to say something related to the Third Prince.
Ugh. This is troublesome. It’s not something I can just refuse to do.
I have no idea what standard to use to name someone, so how could I change that?
“Could you spare a moment?”
‘I’m sorry, but…’
“Foolish young lady, do I look like someone with that much free time?”
“Are you busy?”
‘Yes!’
“Of course. Do I seem like the kind of person who has time to lollygag like a foolish young lady?”
“Lollygag? I came here specifically because of you.”
I can roughly guess Joy’s true feelings by the crease of her brow.
She’s here to persuade me for the sake of the Third Prince, who might get hurt because of me, and for the Third Prince’s sake, who might come to dislike me.
Even if she looks like a villainess, she’s a good person at heart.
If only the disadvantages of the Mesugaki Skill were a little less harsh!
‘I don’t need any help.’
“Need help? The foolish young lady is talking to me? Haha.”
Joy’s expression froze at the blatant sarcasm.
Ugh. I’m sorry, Joy.
But you have to understand why it’s like this for me.
Is that too much to ask?
It probably is.
Thank goodness no notification about my favorability appeared.
If I had seen a message saying Joy’s favorability is dropping, I would have definitely lost heart.
“…Fine. Do as you like.”
Watching Joy turn her back and leave, I let out a sigh inwardly.
Will I be able to raise my favorability to 70 like this?
No matter how I think about it, all I see ahead is my future of dying a miserable death after spending half a year at the Soul Academy!
[Living alone isn’t too bad sometimes…]
‘Grandpa, you’re so loud.’
Don’t you know that awkward comfort does more harm than good?
Shut up, Grandpa, before I shove you into the academy bathroom.
Sigh. Alright. What good will come from staying gloomy?
I need to start with what I can do right now.
‘Karl…’
“Hey, sloppy one. Are you done with work?”
“Yes? Well, for now.”
‘Come along.’
“Come along, we have things to do.”
*
The last of my plans for today could only be completed after nightfall.
I need to go find items that can only be obtained in the area accessible only during the nights at the Soul Academy.
“Milady, the academy is about to close.”
As soon as I mentioned my plan to exit the academy, Karl attempted to dissuade me.
‘I know.’
“Sloppy, do you think I don’t know that?”
“But how will you get out?”
The Soul Academy closes its doors after 8 PM.
After that, unless you’re one of a few professors, no one can go out, and vice versa.
However, there is a gimmick that allows you to sneak out and wander the night at the Soul Academy.
It’s a passage you usually discover in the latter half of the sophomore year, but if you just memorize its location, you can use it as a first-year student.
‘Karl, come along.’
“Sloppy, follow me.”
I led Karl to a corner of the Soul Academy’s garden.
And walked towards a wall made of plants blocking the passage from one path to another.
Normally, there should be obstacles like branches or walls in between, but this path is different.
It’s designed this way from the start, so there’s no reason for it to be blocked other than the plant cover.
With my eyes closed, I walked straight forward, revealing the enormous wall that surrounds the Soul Academy.
“Milady, isn’t this a dead end?”
‘Nope.’
“Sloppy, do you want to keep being cheeky?”
“Sorry.”
Though it looks like an ordinary wall, there’s a hidden gimmick.
As I brushed my palm against the bricks of the academy, I found one particularly shoddy brick unlike any other and pressed it down.
With a creaking sound, a passageway opened up.
“This is…”
‘Didn’t I say there would be a way?’
“And you still doubt me?”
“No, of course not. Is this another revelation from Armadi?”
‘Uhh, right.’
“Think whatever you want.”
I hated how the reputation of the perverted sloppy god rises every time I pull off something weird with my gaming knowledge.
It’s quite the excuse, yet the incompetent god who does nothing doesn’t deserve the credit!
I’d gladly pass the credit to a god who actually helped me!
While I inwardly grumbled like that, I stepped into the passageway.
After stepping outside the academy and touching somewhere on the wall, the passage vanished from sight again.
“How fascinating. I had no idea such a thing existed in the academy.”
I’m sure he didn’t know.
This is a gimmick forgotten over time as the academy grew older.
I wouldn’t explain it since it would only become bothersome.
“So, milady, where do you plan to go?”
‘To Alsatine’s tavern.’
“To Alsatine’s tavern.”
“I know the one you mean; it’s the place where gamblers gather in the back alley.”
‘That’s right.’
“That’s the place you’re thinking of.”
“Milady! Gambling is not allowed!”
When I nodded, Karl panicked.
Having seen many lives ruined by gambling, he freaked out so I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
‘Karl, I’m not going to gamble.’
“Hey, sloppy! Do I look like the kind of idiot who would do something so foolish?”
Would I be crazy enough to gamble there?
If I gambled with all the scammers lingering around, I’d get cleaned out completely!
There’s no way a veteran gamer like I am would do such a foolish thing.
“Then why on earth?”
‘I’m going to meet the owner.’
“Because I need to see the sloppy one running that place.”
I need to procure something from that underground dealer, Alsatine, for favorability points.