Chapter: 126
In the game called Soul Academy, there are three main ways to increase your favorability stats.
Just like with other specs, you can either enhance your character’s basic abilities, rely on lucky items, or use consumables.
Typically, when you need a high favorability score in Soul Academy, the usual methods are item acquisition or doping.
Since favorability stats are pretty useless when strategizing dungeons, most users tend to ignore them.
Of course, if you’re playing with a specific concept, there is a way to charm all characters using just favorability, but that’s an exception among exceptions.
The method I want to use is just like in the game.
Now, how much can I really raise my favorability score in a week?
With the nature of the Mesugaki Skill, my basic favorability score seems guaranteed, but the rest needs to be solved with items and doping.
“So, I just need to get these items, right?”
‘Yes. That’s correct.’
“Accurate. You really picked up on things being an information peddler, huh?”
“Haha. Of course.”
Alsatine lightly scanned the list I wrote down and frowned slightly.
“Uh, is this really correct?”
‘Why?’
“You seem really interested in me, don’t you? For an information peddler?”
“I’m sorry. But those items don’t seem to be something a young lady would be concerned about.”
And that’s understandable.
All the items I listed are related to outward appearances.
Clothes made by a famous shop in the Capitol.
Cosmetics and perfume.
Plus, various accessories I plan to use.
Considering that I usually focus on growing stronger in terms of brute force, it makes sense for Alsatine to have doubts.
‘That’s right, Alsatine.’
“Information peddler. Just do as you’re told and don’t get cheeky. Got it? Sloppy God?”
“Yes. Understood.”
‘That…’
“How long will it take to get them?”
“Do you have a desired timeframe? I’ll try to accommodate it as much as possible.”
‘A week.’
“A week. Is that possible?”
“Not a difficult task.”
Alsatine nodded without hesitation at my request.
That’s how it needs to be.
I had to rush this, so I compromised as much as I could.
If he had said it wasn’t possible, I would have been disappointed.
‘Then…’
“Please process it as quickly as possible. Information peddler.”
*
True to his word, Alsatine brought me the items I had requested before the field trip began.
Seeing the items I had only seen on the monitor in real life made my head spin.
In the game, it was fine no matter what I made my character wear, but now it’s different.
Once I prepared these items, it was me that would have to use them.
Which means I had to don the bunny girl outfit that Alsatine brought.
I thought it would be fine when I imagined it in my head.
I had gradually gotten used to wearing the academy uniform these days.
I figured I could endure it if I only had to wear it for a little while.
What’s more, I could just change into something else when meeting the forest master.
When I simulated it in my head, it seemed okay.
I thought I could just endure a little humiliation.
But when I actually saw the outfit up close, it felt completely different.
This is not clothing, no matter how you think about it!
It hardly even fulfills the basic function of covering the skin!
Isn’t it fine as long as the important parts are covered?
Just try being in a position where you have to wear a bunny girl outfit!
You can’t just say such things!
Given the situation, I reluctantly stuffed it into my inventory, but honestly, I didn’t want to wear it.
If it weren’t for the quest from the Shoddy God, I would have just burned it.
But the word “humiliation” blocking my escape was too frightening to ignore.
The terror that starts from the unknown was immense.
Think about it. When Shoddy God enhanced his Mesugaki Skill in order to mess with me.
Back then, I was blabbering about being an obscene saint to Phoebe.
The Shoddy God, who was genuinely serious about punishment.
Would he prepare something light for quest failure?
Of course not.
Looking back now, the bunny girl was a bit over the top.
The bunny girl increases favorability the most, but there are various outfits that can raise it too.
But I was anxious when I was preparing this.
What if my favorability score was too low and the forest master wouldn’t meet me?
It’d be a bummer if I wore the wrong outfit and ended up making a dark past!
Sigh. What good is regretting now?
It’s too late to turn back.
Right. I’ll just close my eyes and wear the bunny girl outfit.
That’ll be it.
In front of Frey, Joy, and Phoebe, in the bunny girl outfit.
Gyaaaaaa!
Shoddy Perverted God, you!
You’re so cunning!
You knew I’d have to prepare the bunny girl outfit by pushing me to the edge, didn’t you?!
Right?!
No matter which way I go, you knew I’d end up making a dark past, didn’t you?! Don’t use your godly authority for such messed up things, you damn perverted jerk!
“Students!”
As I was cursing the Shoddy God, I snapped back to reality by the shout ahead.
“That forest is the Saitil Forest where we will be doing our field study!”
*
In short, the academy’s field study is hunting in a forest field.
It gives students who have never faced danger in a safe environment the experience of real threats.
After all, the academy’s goal is to cultivate talents to face the dangers of dungeons that bring hazards to the world.
So they can’t just leave the students to frolic inside the fences.
What if they just avoid battles with monsters during the field study?
Naturally, there are measures in place to prevent that.
If you don’t bring back at least 15 pieces of loot obtained by defeating monsters in the forest, you’ll face a penalty on your grade.
To move up to the next grade, you need to score much higher than the academy average.
For someone average, being held back is practically guaranteed.
So if you don’t want to stay in the same grade, you have to fight, that’s the deal.
But it’s not just a whip; there’s also a carrot.
At the end of the field study, the number of loots you bring back will give you bonuses for your grades.
I remember that if you bring back 100 pieces, you’ll get the maximum bonus.
Additionally, the top five parties receive material rewards according to their rankings.
So, my goal is just one.
“Our goal is simple.”
“To become number one. I can’t allow other shoddies to stand above us!”
Winning first place in this field study.
Moreover, meeting the forest master to earn his acknowledgment.
“I knew it.”
When I declared that, Frey nodded as if she expected it.
“Let’s do our best.”
Joy showed her enthusiasm by clenching her fists.
“I’ll do my utmost.”
Phoebe nodded with a smile.
Seeing my party’s members made my heart swell.
This isn’t the level of a party that can be formed at the beginning of the academy.
Usually, at this point, just adding one of these three characters would earn a nod for effort, and if you added two, you’d be called a veteran, but three?
If I posted this in the community, I’d be called a cheat.
Feeling like the crap I had been doing finally bore fruit, Frey raised her hand.
“Do we have a strategy?”
‘Yes, we do.’
“We have one. Curious, Shoddy Swordsman?”
“Yeah.”
‘We’re going to hunt people.’
“We’re going to hunt the shoddy trash.”
“Huh?”
Before I even finished speaking, a question burst from Phoebe’s lips.
What? Did I say something weird?
“Um. What exactly do you mean by ‘hunting people’?”
‘Just what it says. So…’
“Shoddy Saintess. Are you becoming more like Joy and getting foolish? It literally means we’re going to take the items from the other shoddy lackeys. I’m sure those shoddies will be happy to get some help, too?”
What’s the most efficient way to gather loot in the field study?
It’s to steal from other students who are hunting monsters and gathering loot.
If you kill each monster one by one to obtain loot, there will be limits.
If this were a game, you might get first place doing it like that, but sadly I’m not the player behind the monitor anymore.
I have no choice but to become the villain.
“Is that even allowed? Breaking the rules…”
“Phoebe. It’s fine.”
Joy answered Phoebe’s question.
She shook her head while holding Phoebe’s shoulder.
“Robbing is encouraged during field studies.”
“…What?”
“It’s something I heard from my brother.”
It’s simple.
The number of monsters lurking in the forest is limited.
No matter how large Saitil Forest is, it’s not like monsters are infinite like in a dungeon.
At first, you might encounter monsters around every corner, but after about two days, that won’t be the case.
So what should you do to obtain loot then?
You could scavenge the forest for a few monsters, but that’s extremely inefficient.
It’s way easier and more convenient to target other students who are full of loot.
“But…”
“Phoebe, think about it. Was there any rule mentioned by the professor that said you shouldn’t harm other students?”
“There was definitely a warning about not threatening their lives.”
“It’s the opposite. As long as you don’t threaten their lives, it’s fine.”
If the academy was serious about stopping robbing, they would have specifically said not to steal from other students.
But they didn’t mention anything. They basically turned a blind eye to robbing.
When it was a game, robbing was the standard; hunting was considered the play of veterans.
“But that…”
The kind-hearted Phoebe seemed troubled by the idea of taking someone else’s stuff, but that doesn’t change reality.
Just like the bunny girl outfit lurking in my inventory.
‘Don’t worry. We won’t start robbing on the first day.’
“Don’t worry, Shoddy Saintess. We won’t start robbing the shoddies right from day one.”
There’s almost nothing to gain by robbing people who haven’t even started hunting yet.
There’s no reason to ambush those who are chuckling and having fun on the first day.
The best time for ambush is on the first night.
When tired from battling the lurking monsters, we should strike when they are about to fall asleep.
Once someone has been robbed, they become more cautious, causing more trouble.
“In the end, does that mean we’re stealing from others who worked hard to get their loot?!”
‘Exactly?’
“What about it?”
Phoebe, it seems like you’re misunderstanding something here; this is not a bad thing!
The academy itself encourages this behavior, so what should I do!
I’m not the perpetrator!
I’m a victim created by the academy’s unavoidable circumstances!
Even if you ask someone in their second or third year, they’ll tell you this is the standard; it feels unfair that I’m the only one getting scolded!
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