“What… did you say?”
I replied in a casual tone to the Elf Professor, who was looking at me with a blank expression.
“I said I cannot agree.”
“…Why do you think that?”
I am a High Elf.
At the same time, I carry the blood of Elposis and have the longest lifespan in this class.
In other words, I relate more deeply than anyone else to the professor’s words about giving up if you’re not a Long-lived Species.
“If you cannot live long, graduating is difficult. So it’s better to give up than to awkwardly attend. You know that applies to Long-lived Species too, right?”
All the students who have attended the Academy for decades are Long-lived Species.
They’re stuck in their 3rd or 4th year, just going through the motions, without a care for graduation.
They take the graduation exams every year, but hardly anyone approaches it with seriousness.
“It’s more pathetic to just drift along for decades thinking you’ll graduate someday.”
“Are you saying that right now…”
“But students who aren’t Long-lived Species are different.”
They strive at every moment.
Because their lifespan is short, they run tirelessly towards their goals.
“Even if it may seem like a desperate struggle from the perspective of Long-lived Species.”
It is by no means a struggle.
“…Huh.”
Heh heh heh.
The Elf Professor chuckled politely. Then, he changed his expression and glared at me coldly.
“Is that the will of Ria ‘Elposis’?”
“It’s the will of ‘Ria’ Elposis. I just don’t get it when I see those students.”
“Then Ria student will graduate immediately rather than attend for decades?”
The title changed.
He was a somewhat skilled Elf, and I was a ‘High Elf,’ so he had been using honorifics—yet, we were still just professor and student.
According to the rules, there was no reason for him to use honorifics or treat me with respect.
“If what you say is true, you would surely graduate within four years. Oh, that might be a bit tough for the Princess, so ten years should be sufficient, right?”
“……”
“What do you think, Ria student? Do you think you can graduate in ten years?”
-…Ten years?
– Isn’t that possible only for absolute elites?
– But why suddenly are you defending us…
The students began to stir.
Indeed, at Eloni Academy, graduating within ten years is regarded as a remarkable genius.
The graduation exam for the 4th year is designed by ancient Elders.
In other words, to graduate, you need to meet the expectations of the Elders.
“Of course, ten years would be tough. Even for Ria student, merely—”
“That’s too long.”
Who in the world takes ten years just to graduate?
Nothing more, nothing less.
“Let’s settle on graduating within four years.”
“…What?”
“…What?”
The professor’s expression froze, as if it turned to ice.
Even the other students were in shock at what I had just said.
The only ones who seemed unaffected were the Beastman Duo sitting in the back.
[Ten years? LOL]
[Ten years, lmao]
[Giving a lecture to Professor Lily?]
[If it’s Lily, early graduation is totally possible, lolololol]
[Yeah, four years is more than enough~]
[Fact: the episode will end in a year anyway.]
[Isn’t that a one-year cut?]
[If it’s Lily, graduation in a year is possible, right?]
[How arrogant, towards Professor Lily.]
“Nonsense…”
“Care to make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“Yes. With me.”
My fingertips twitched.
The Mana of Life faintly shimmered, and small mana bracelets appeared on the wrists of both the professor and me.
“If I don’t graduate within four years, I will drop out. Furthermore, I will apologize in front of the entire student body for my outrageous statement.”
“…If you do graduate?”
“Then the opposite applies.”
Tap.
“You’ll have to resign from your professorship.”
An eye for an eye. A dropout for a dropout.
“Oh, by the way, there’s no need for you to apologize. I will, though.”
“…Are you crazy?”
“I’m completely normal.”
[Normal?]
[It’s a deathly dilemma, lol]
[I guess normal is okay if it’s Lily, hmm]
[Get out.]
“…Fine. I accept.”
Rustle.
The magical pact was sealed.
“I look forward to four years from now.”
“Likewise.”
Though I probably won’t be there.
■
After Lily made her bombshell announcement, the class continued normally.
The Elf Professor, Denver Elbua, intentionally had Lily solve a problem to point out her mistakes, but…
-Wow, amazing.
-They’re using the Mana of Life like that?
-So she’s really a High Elf.
-That’s magic…
Lily instead perfectly executed the problem the professor assigned.
As the tension between Lily and the professor escalated, when the bell rang, the professor glared at her and left the classroom.
“Ugh…”
What the hell is going on here?
“…I certainly drew attention.”
“Attention?”
“Can you see over there?”
Students were crowding around Lily.
Mostly Beastmen, Kobolds, and other students with short lifespans or low grades.
The students expressed their gratitude, excitedly thrilled, while the Long-lived Species shot her disapproving looks but couldn’t bring themselves to speak up.
Elves have very keen ears, and above all, ‘Ria Elposis’ was incredibly skilled.
At least, even if she might not graduate within four years, she was a standout talent in Class C.
“Whether others notice or not, their Contribution Degree is certainly on the rise. Of course, they can’t become the child of the great ancestor, so it probably doesn’t mean much…”
“What’s important is that Ria Elposis has gained influence, right?”
“Right.”
Ria Elposis became famous.
And that fact would become a good reason to approach ‘talents.’
Whether they come looking for a fight because Elposis supported the Inferior Species, or to stir up interest with tales of challenging the professor,
either way, there are plenty of justifications to approach now.
The Sword Saint perked up his wolf ears and stood up.
“…I don’t have time to be doing this.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to meet some talents. You’d better go find some yourself.”
“Huh? Wait!”
Aisha hurriedly got up, but the Sword Saint disappeared so fast that weak Aisha couldn’t even see him.
“Ugh…”
Normally, she wouldn’t have let him slip away.
Aisha lamented her weakened self and slumped back down in her seat.
Yeah, if I stay like this, I’ll only be a burden to my brother.
I might as well move in another direction.
For example…
-Yes. Oh, your specialty is spontaneous combustion?
-Body enhancement…
-…You say you use a spear?
‘To reclaim my original purpose.’
“….Hehe.”
Everything is for the Sword Saint, after all.
■
[You have influenced multiple talents. However, it is not enough to affect their choices.]
[Contribution Degree – Arc Budata 17.5%
Horyeong Jin 15.3%
Isa Lydia 14.9%…]
She drew attention in Class C and gained contributions from many.
The moment she enrolled, or rather, the moment they got held back, those who had given her a hard time thanked her, especially when her contribution shot up while solving the professor’s problems.
The person they thought would ignore them the most, the one who seemed to look down on them,
actually stood up against authority, even putting herself on the line.
[How’s that?]
“…Indeed.”
But is ‘indeed’ really indeed?
Their talents were mediocre.
To be precise, they may stand out within their ‘race,’ but compared to the overall picture, they’re lacking.
“There are no talents in Class C. I guess I should go to Class A.”
The entrance exam isn’t just a written test; they also check for ‘talent suitability.’
Commonly known, it is a judgment of unawakened talents or an assessment of items, and those with special talents are placed in Class A or B for instruction.
Unfortunately, as the professor said, they might never graduate.
But it’s not like there’s a 0% chance.
‘Nothing is impossible.’
I was merely the young saint of a small village.
I, who couldn’t even catch a Goblin and hid in a room.
Even Lin couldn’t catch me, who was cooped up in the room.
I stepped out into the world and faced another Saintess, feeling defeated.
Confronting “that day.”
“……”
In the end, it was as if I pierced through the evil of impossibility.
They can do it too.
“Life is a series of hardships, right? Huh? What does that have to do with stabbing a spear a million times?”
Well…
“If you want to kill me, you gotta put in this much effort, right?”
“…You bastard.”
Of course, there will be some really, really big hardships.
■
[Ep.1 The new semester has ended.]
[Ep.2 The magic class is in progress.]
[The contributor with the most contributions so far is ‘Lily Elbrite’.]
[The top contributor will unlock a portion of their stats.]
“…So, the formula can be used like this. It’s a light trigger made to prevent mana deviation.”
“…….”
“Professor?”
“…Ah, ah! R-right!”
The female professor, who had been blankly staring at the magic circle I wrote on the blackboard, was suddenly startled and responded.
It’s been about three hours since we entered the dungeon, but somehow, time skipped, and it’s already been a month since I’ve been at Eloni Academy.
I had become quite renowned in the academy regarding magic, and I kept hearing from professors to be wary of ‘Ria Elposis.’
The reason being…
“Can we go in now…?”
“But, Professor.”
“Huh, huh?!”
“It’s about this part. The mana core here in the center.”
I pointed to the center of the magic circle that the professor had drawn.
“Wouldn’t it be better to arrange the mana in this way? Rather than causing mana loss by rotating it, stabilizing the spell structure vertically would…”
“Uh… um… I see. H-however! The students might not understand if the formula is too complicated…”
“……”
“M-maybe I made it a bit too simple…?”
The professor gulped, looking at me with desperate eyes.
Please don’t point out my ‘mistakes’ anymore, they seemed to plead.
I looked at the magic circle somewhat discontentedly but reluctantly nodded in agreement.
“Oh, is that so? I didn’t know.”
“Y-yeah… that could happen…”
[LOL!]
[Who is this professor, anyway? ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Lily’s Professor Lecture ㄷㄷ]
[What are we even learning?]
[Now, do we have to learn this from Leo and Yena when we get out of the dungeon?]
[Guess it’s time to study in the game…]
[Rankers, emergency!!!!!]
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