Chapter: 57
After the professor told us to take a break and left, I immediately stood up from my seat.
I had a plan in my head, so there was no hesitation.
When the Soul Academy starts, what a user needs to do is set in stone.
First, you have to choose the subjects to enroll in.
It’s essential because taking classes at Soul Academy rapidly increases your proficiency in those subjects, making it the most crucial part of the Academy experience.
I wasn’t worried about this part at all.
The subjects needed for a blunt weapon tank are pretty straightforward.
Next, I needed to grab something useful from the starting area of Soul Academy.
After all, Soul Academy is, at its core, a game.
So, it’s set up in a way that you can’t get overpowered items right from the start.
Take the mace I’m holding, for example. It’s a weapon that you can only get after becoming a second-year student and stepping outside the Academy.
However, among the seemingly useless items, there are some that can be handy in the early stages.
I’m planning to go pick those up now.
“Where are you going?”
I froze in surprise at the voice from behind and turned my head to see Frey trailing behind me. Wow, talk about a shock!
When did she start following me?!
[Didn’t you notice?]
‘Of course, I didn’t! Why didn’t you say anything?!’
[I thought you were pretending not to know.]
Grandpa! Do I really look that much like a jerk?!
I may speak roughly because of my skill, but I’m not a bad person!
Sure, I think Frey is annoying, but I wouldn’t blatantly show it!
“Hmm?”
I snapped back to reality at Frey’s voice.
Sigh. What can I say to someone who doesn’t even think they did anything wrong?
This is all Grandpa’s fault for not telling me. Whatever.
‘The library.’
“Library?”
“Library? What are you doing there?”
‘I’m…’
“Why is it wrong for me to go to the library?”
“It’s boring there.”
Oh, so that’s her reasoning?
I mean, fair enough—libraries can be boring.
Having used a school library as my snooze zone before, I can’t really argue with that.
“Instead, come train with me. It’ll be fun.”
‘Sorry, but…’
“Ha. Pathetic knight. I’m not as free as you are.”
“Aw, that’s too bad. Fine.”
After saying that, Frey turned her back and walked away.
Damn, she walks without making a sound.
Of course she snuck up on me like that.
[So, what are you going to the library for? You’re not exactly the scholarly type.]
‘I can study when I want to!’
[Is that so? I’ve seen you plopped down with a book more times than I’d like.]
That… that was because I lacked the foundational knowledge, okay?!
If I had been taught properly from the start, I could’ve been a straight-A student too!
[Enough with the excuses. Just tell me why you’re going to the library.]
‘…To get an artifact.’
[You’re receiving a revelation from Armedi? ]
‘Yes.’
Actually, Armedi hasn’t done anything for me, but that was the excuse I gave to Grandpa.
Honestly, it was easier to blame Armedi than to explain that I got possessed by a game!
[Hmm. So Armedi really does watch over the apostles, huh?]
‘…Yeah.’
It’s annoying when my knowledge is credited to Armedi, but what can I do?
Damn it. One day, I’ll expose Armedi as a pathetic excuse for a god!
As I opened the door to the library, familiar sights greeted me.
Back when I was leveling up a magic character, I used to spend all day here.
Thank goodness I decided to go with a tank.
If I had picked a job that involved too much thinking, I’d have to go through that suffering myself.
I’d rather endure physical pain than a headache, thank you very much.
Once inside the library, I didn’t even need a librarian’s guidance to find what I wanted.
If you look beneath the third shelf of section C62… there it is.
‘Thesis on the Source of Magical Power.’
Upon spotting the title, I immediately opened the book to the last page.
There, I found what I was looking for.
[To the junior who reads this.]
[Thanks for seeking out my foolish research. I’ve hidden a special device in this book for you. If you write the right word in the blank space below, you’ll receive an incredible gift. The hint is: it’s the core word of all my papers! Good luck!]
– Ding!
[Gifts from Kerta]
[Please unlock the book’s secret]
[Reward: ???]
Awesome.
This is one of the hidden quests in Soul Academy: Kerta’s Gift, which you can find while rummaging through the library.
At first glance, it seems like nothing special, but this quest posed a riddle that stumped players when the game first launched.
Kerta, who left a significant mark in magic, wrote hundreds of theses, and finding the commonly mentioned word in them was nearly impossible.
People who enjoyed solving puzzles gathered to put their heads together, but the quest was not so easily solved.
As people grew weary, many began to theorize there must be a bug in the quest somehow.
Then, suddenly, one person claimed they cleared the quest.
Everyone was shocked.
Why? Because that person was just one of those clueless newbies!
Excited veterans bombarded that newbie with questions.
How did they clear it?
The newbie simply replied, “Isn’t the core of the thesis the author?”
That was it. The problem wasn’t academic.
It was just nonsense.
Man, that was genuinely frustrating.
I had to drown my sorrows in soju that night because of the existential crisis.
‘Kerta Vulcan’
[Quest Clear!]
[Rewards coming your way]
As soon as I wrote that name, a magic circle lit up behind the bookshelf, and from its center, a ring popped out.
As I infused my feelings into the ring, a message window popped up in front of me.
[Kerta’s Ring]
[A ring inscribed with countless magic circles beneath it. You can feel a mysterious power radiating from it.]
Although the appraisal was basic due to my low skill level, the effect of this ring was as follows:
20% reduction in mana consumption for all skills.
It’s not that impressive and would probably get tossed aside in the late game when my stats skyrocketed, but it’s different now.
Currently, I can’t use magic after just five uses of Armedi’s touch.
So for a magic newbie like me, Kerta’s Ring is a precious item.
Additionally, this ring becomes a key trigger for an important quest later on.
I need to hold onto it.
As I slipped Kerta’s Ring onto my thumb, it adjusted to fit my finger perfectly.
This ring is definitely made by a great mage!
As I watched the ring gleam on my finger, I checked the clock hanging in a corner of the library.
It’s almost 4 o’clock.
Is time flying by too quickly?
Realizing I didn’t have time to dawdle, I hurriedly moved my feet.
*
After that, I rushed around the Soul Academy non-stop.
I was on a mission to pick up quests and find hidden items throughout the Academy.
Gathering quests came with its fair share of struggles and challenges.
The hitch? My reputation and that Mesugaki attitude of mine.
When Soul Academy was a game, anyone I talked to would give me quests, but now that it’s real life, it’s different.
Not trustworthy people like me get shut down before they can even ask for help.
On the flip side, looking for items was a breeze.
I was so happy I didn’t have to engage with people!
So, having wrapped up what I needed to do in the Academy, my last stop was the training grounds of Soul Academy.
Since it was the first day of orientation, most people training in the reddish setting sun were those already enrolled in the Academy.
Typically, the freshmen would be dining in the Academy’s cafeteria with their newly found friends or figuring out their schedules.
Of course, not everyone was like that.
There are always outliers.
Frey, who had earlier suggested we hit the training grounds, was now there alone, swinging her sword in a corner.
Her eyes, devoid of light, were completely focused on the sword dance playing out in front of her.
What was even more astonishing was that she had sweated so much that her perspiration had formed a circle on the ground below her.
Did she start swinging her sword the moment I rejected her invitation?
She’s definitely a training fanatic.
I can relate to that a little bit.
I spent my days doing the same at the Alrn family estate.
Maybe she sensed my gaze.
Stopping mid-swing, Frey looked over at me, her eyes lighting up as if coming back to life.
Then, with her sword lowered, she sprinted towards me.
“Are you here to spar?!”
‘I said we’d do it tomorrow!’
“Pathetic knight. Does your memory function like a goldfish? I said tomorrow!”
“Then why are you here?”
‘I’m meeting someone.’
“Thought you were looking for a pathetic knight.”
“Pathetic?”
Here comes the classic case of the first-time protagonist being misled by a kind senior who teaches various things at the training grounds.
But if you manage to knock them down, they reward you with good skills, making them an unfortunate NPC who gets beaten up by users at all times.
As a veteran of Soul Academy, I came to bother that guy.
Since it’s evening, they should be making their appearance at the training grounds by now.
Oh, there he is.
I spotted a guy in the center, leaning on a wooden sword, surveying his surroundings. I immediately approached him.
Seeing my face approach, he stepped back as if surprised, but I was faster at initiating the conversation than he was at running away.
‘Excuse me.’
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes?!”
‘You’re a third-year senior, right?’
“Are you asking because I look like an idiot? Am I a third-year?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
‘Can you spar with me?’
“I think it’ll be good for warming up, so idiot senior, will you spar with me?”
His forehead twitched at my blatantly disrespectful comment.
He probably wouldn’t back down if he’s this mad.
“Hey.”
As I was thinking the quest might actually go smoothly, Frey, who had been following me, piped up.
“Why spar with this weakling? It’s not even going to be fun. Spar with me instead.”
‘I’d rather not…’
“Nope. Today, this idiot senior looks like a perfect match. Pathetic knight, you entertain yourself.”
“Bothersome to bully weaklings. A strong person should fight with a strong person.”
‘So that’s why…’
“Exactly, I’m…”
Desperate to shove Frey away, I tried to reason with her, but I felt the sharp glare of the angry senior and turned my gaze.
“There you kids! Just because you’re promising first-years doesn’t mean anything! I’m a third-year senior!”
– Ding!
[Shatter the Senior’s Dignity]
[Defeat the third-year senior.]
[Reward: Skill ‘Underdog’]
I didn’t mean to provoke him, but it seems things are unfolding quite nicely.
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