NOVEL NEXT 12 - You Should Let Go. If You Don't Want Your Wrist Broken
People waiting in the stadium talk in a commotion.
“W-wait a minute, isn’t that a Minotaur? Why on earth would there be a Minotaur in the instructor exam…?”
In the [Tower of Trials] that exists in the middle of the continent, where numerous monsters and beasts appear, Minotaurs were considered high-tier beings.
Even considering that those participating in the academy instructor exam were more skilled than students, given that many of them had never even entered the [Tower of Trials], the difficulty of the exam was close to extreme.
This is because for those who have never fought monsters, fighting creatures with movements, strength, and durability completely different from humans is never a familiar task.
Ariel, who was next to him, was also scared and tightly grabbed Jeff’s sleeve and said.
“M-Mr. Jeff… this has never happened in instructor exams before… the difficulty of this year’s exam is strange…?”
Despite being a 3-element magician, Ariel had failed the instructor exam several times. However, this wasn’t because the exam difficulty exceeded the level of a 3-element magician, but simply because Ariel often had panic attacks due to being too nervous. This meant that there had never been a crazy difficulty exam like killing a Minotaur in just the second stage.
“This has never happened before? What kind of exams were there usually?”
Naturally, Jeff, who had never taken or been interested in the Riness Academy instructor exam, had no way of knowing what level of difficulty had been set for the exam so far. Ariel explained to him.
“L-last year, for the second stage cooperation task, there was an exam to create a building using mana together, and the year before that, there was a task to restore broken artifacts….”
“Such easy things came out?”
“Yes… originally, since the instructor exam applicants have to fight each other in the third stage competition, the second stage was intended to simply combine forces and explore each other… but….”
Ariel looked at the howling Minotaur and added.
“W-why is such a monster suddenly in the second stage exam….”
Jeff looked around at the people.
[T-this is serious. Did you bring weapons?]
[What are you saying! In the 2nd and 3rd stage exams, you can only use weapons provided by the inspector. It’s disqualification if you use other weapons!]
[Oh right… t-that’s right… by the way, we can’t withdraw from this, right?]
[If you, as my assistant, withdraw, I’ll automatically fail with you. Absolutely not.]
Listening to what each person was saying, it seemed that they also hadn’t expected such a difficult exam to be given.
‘Why? Why on earth from this year of all years?’
The difficulty was the same last year and the year before that, so why on earth would such an absurd difficulty exam come out from this year?
Jeff looked at Mellin floating in the air.
‘What?’
Strangely, Mellin was looking at Jeff. She wasn’t just looking in his general direction. She was making eye contact with Jeff and had been ‘observing’ him for a while.
‘That can’t be….’
He’d only met her for the first time today. But the name Mellin was so famous that he had heard of it. A legendary genius magician. She was famous for not only inheriting vast wealth from the previous generation but also for having an absurd amount of mana and utilization ability. In fact, the fact that she alone created such a large stadium was proof of her competence.
However, Jeff knew Mellin simply because she was famous. They had only seen each other face to face at the first stage exam. Therefore, Jeff considered her gaze towards him to be a misconception. But.
Mellin waved her hand towards Jeff and grinned. She spoke softly.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
‘Shit….’
Jeff cursed as he thought. It wasn’t a misconception. Mellin was looking at Jeff. And quite obviously at that.
‘Perhaps, is she being petty because I solved the first stage exam too quickly and her pride was hurt?’
If not that, he couldn’t understand.
‘A grown adult, acting like this just because someone solved a lock quickly. How annoying.’
Jeff clicked his tongue inwardly and shook his head.
At that moment. Some of the people gathered in the waiting room caused a commotion.
“Fuck! I’m not doing this! No matter what, why are we fighting a Minotaur? Get trampled to death by a monster for just 50 gold a day as an assistant? Don’t talk nonsense. I’m leaving.”
“W-wait a moment! If you leave, I’ll automatically fail!”
“Fuck it! Is the exam more important than life? Who in their right mind would risk their life for 50 gold? I’ll return the money, so know that.”
“W-wait!!!!”
— Bang!
A man, seemingly scared, gave up the exam. The applicant who had formed a team with him was automatically failed.
“Damn… I have to wait another year?…”
The man collapsed on the ground in frustration.
Ariel looked at Jeff with an anxious expression and asked.
“Mr. Jeff… if you want to g-give up, that’s okay… I’m fine with it… If you got hurt because of me, that would make me feel even more sorry… I-I’ll definitely give you the money… since we’ve come this far….”
Ariel spoke with sad eyes. Jeff asked her.
“If I give up, you’ll automatically fail the instructor exam, right?”
“That’s… correct….”
“Didn’t you say that if you fail this exam, your parents will prevent you from taking the academy instructor exam anymore? You said this was your last chance.”
“That’s… also true…”
“Then, are you afraid of the Minotaur? Do you not want to take the exam?”
“T-that’s absolutely not it! Even if there was a scarier monster than a Minotaur, I’d still want to take the exam… Being an instructor has been my dream, and this is really my last chance… I want to participate even if it means risking my life.”
Jeff thought to himself.
‘How frustrating.’
She’s too kind-hearted. A personality that prioritizes others over one’s own benefit or feelings ultimately becomes a knife that returns to oneself.
If Jeff had a weak character, he would have just taken the money and given up the competition right away. After all, Ariel said she would give the money, and then there would be no need to take the risk and take the exam. But no matter how money-crazy Jeff was, he didn’t want to do such a thing.
‘Taking money without doing the job is something that trash like Cloria and Lunia would do.’
If he only took the payment without doing what he should, how would he be any different from the fools at the magic tower?
Jeff told Ariel.
“I’ll proceed with the exam as planned. It’s a bit different from what I expected, but I’ve already received the money. However.”
Ariel swallowed hard and waited for Jeff’s words.
Jeff waved his hands and said.
“I’ll charge an additional hazard pay.”
Only then did Ariel smile brightly and say.
“Yes! I’ll give you 300 gold plus an additional hazard pay!”
When she gives everything he asks for, it becomes awkward to extort her. It’s like taking candy from a child. Of course, even so, Jeff didn’t refuse the money being offered.
‘I just need to help her pass. If I help her pass the second and third stages with top marks, I’m providing results that would be worth more than 500 or 1000 gold.’
As Jeff was thinking this, a big man next to him approached and said.
“Hey. You.”
At first, Jeff didn’t know if he was being called and ignored his words. But Kedrick shouted once more.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’m talking to you.”
“Who are you…?”
Jeff looked at him with puzzled eyes. Solid muscles, and a balanced movement, even at a glance, made it possible to deduce that the man was an excellent expert.
“Who am I? I’m Kedrick.”
“Mr. Kedrick. Why did you call me?”
“You… don’t you know who I am?”
“Do I need to know?”
When Jeff spoke, Kedrick ignored him and shouted.
“It doesn’t matter whether you know who I am or not. However, I can’t overlook what I just heard. I heard the disgusting behavior of taking advantage of a girl’s desperate situation to pursue your own interests.”
“What are you talking about?”
As Jeff looked at him as if dumbfounded, Kedrick replied.
“I just heard from the girl’s mouth that she’d give you 300 gold and additional gold as hazard pay, so don’t pretend not to know. I didn’t try to find out, but I heard you’re a 1-element magician expelled from the magic tower. Why on earth are you receiving 300 gold? No, even if I give you the benefit of the doubt a hundred times over, you’re also asking for hazard pay? Taking advantage of an uninformed young lady is one thing, but it’s not right to behave like that by exploiting someone else’s desperation. What’s the difference between using someone’s desperation to extort money and being a scammer?”
Jeff momentarily flinched but told Kedrick.
“I’m receiving what I deserve. Isn’t compensation received according to one’s ability? No matter how much money is paid, isn’t it fine as long as I can do that much work?”
“Ha. That’s the point that makes me angry.”
Kedrick came right up to Jeff and rolled up his sleeve.
“What can a 1-element magician expelled from the magic tower do to extract 300 gold from a young girl? Did you perhaps threaten her? If that’s the case, I’ll beat you up right here.”
“D-don’t do this! I asked him to come, why are you doing this! I paid the money because I wanted to! Please go away!”
Ariel desperately struggled to block the space between the man and Jeff, but it had the opposite effect.
Kedrick ignored her words and muttered.
“How scary must his threats have been for her to block like that with such a desperate expression? You… you’re really a vicious guy. Seems like you need some education.”
Jeff realized in an instant. He had met a crazy person who wouldn’t listen to reason. This guy is acting out of a sense of justice right now. He’s a person who judges himself to be right and thinks he’s doing the right thing. It’s unreasonable to persuade such people. For guys like this, citing regulations is more effective than logical persuasion.
“Don’t you know that using force before the exam starts is grounds for disqualification?”
“It doesn’t matter. When helping someone in trouble, it’s not right to help while considering my own situation. Even if I suffer a loss, it’s my duty to help someone in trouble.”
“It’s not what you think, so please just leave.”
Jeff said that and turned his head.
‘Shit… I was unfairly expelled from the magic tower, but why do this guy and that guy nitpick about it without even knowing properly.’
Jeff felt wronged. Jeff was the one who enhanced all the artifacts in the magic tower, and Jeff was the one who filed numerous patents. To employ such a high-caliber personnel, not just 300 gold, even 500 gold would be insufficient. But he thought explaining all these things would sound self-serving coming from his own mouth, and even if he did, no one would believe him, so he just tried to shut up and move on.
But then.
— Grasp….
Kedrick grabbed the back of Jeff’s neck, lifted him up, and spoke.
“The conversation isn’t over yet. Where do you think you’re going, you scammer. Return the money you unfairly took from the girl.”
Jeff, suspended in the air, looked at Kedrick and coldly said.
“You should let go. If you don’t want your wrist broken.”