Yippee! Jackpot!
The Paper Company was ecstatic after racking up points.
He was one of the few students who went all-in on Oknodie.
Seeing this, Miini had a sudden realization.
‘Paper’ airplane.
‘Paper’ Company.
Could it be a coincidence?
From the name alone, it was suspiciously linked to paper.
Surely, he was also the president of the Paper Dungeon Expedition Team club.
That guy was up to something!
Once suspicion crept in, everything started to look suspect.
“Hey, could you look into someone named Paper Company for me?”
“Of course. The Dark Trading Company doesn’t only handle information about first-years. We also have a fair number of second-years working in our company. However, since it’s a busy season for information activities, you’ll need to pay a premium for quick intel.”
“I can afford that.”
Jezel sold her the information she wanted.
With the information in hand, Miini’s suspicion solidified into certainty.
━━━
Paper Company
As a second-year lower class student, he was an ordinary student in the Magic Department until mid-semester when he suddenly scored perfect on the professor’s talent identification test in the Let’s Increase Our Mana Through Mana Depletion lecture, making a name for himself.
Recently, he had been offered a position as a teaching assistant by the professor, frequently visiting the lab.
The professor’s name was Pinkberry.
The lab’s research subject was Using Curse-Inflicted Food to Enhance Mana Consumption.
━━━
He was definitely not an ordinary character.
Mana Depletion.
A simple yet difficult method to increase mana.
Normally, living beings feel an excruciating pain as they squeeze their mana to the limit.
This sensation intensifies as the mana reservoir grows larger.
Without risking death, continuously using mana to increase the absolute amount through depletion is practically impossible!
Getting involved in such ominous experiments is no small matter.
The man known as Paper Company seemed really suspicious.
‘Could he… be associated with the Foundation?’
Surprisingly, it was a possibility.
The Foundation might be inclined toward such suspicious and dangerous research.
Maybe they were the hidden dark shadow helping Oknodie.
Feeling the danger of this Paper Company fellow, Miini decided to back off.
However, the Student Council operative discreetly observed Miini’s investigation and was intrigued by Paper Company.
“Hmm~ The vice president of the student council with a talent for collecting talents might find this interesting.”
“…What? Is there a ghost in the academy that hasn’t graduated casting a curse?”
Paper Company felt an unexplainable shiver run down his spine, shaking him slightly.
The Dark Princess Oknodie tricked a naive second-year student, snatching points through wicked dark sorcery!
Warrior Ishtar nodded knowingly at the rumors stirring the academy.
“That evil child seems capable of such a deed.”
“Ishtar, are you going to find that child’s individual event and confront her again?”
“No.”
Oknodie was dangerous.
But right now, she was surrounded by numerous guardians.
Above all, Oknodie was using a strange mosquito that contained a minuscule amount of Dark Mana to take down students, who also emitted a trace of Dark Mana.
“There’s no need to go after Oknodie through the professors’ interference when those little nuisances are doing the job for me.”
After all, many students were targeting Oknodie as it was.
Especially now, the aura of the approaching presence was undeniably superior among the second-years.
“A second-year upper class student is targeting Oknodie.”
With the jackpot points from the paper airplane, Isabel gobbled up a serving of cup tteokbokki from a stall run by seniors, special for the sports day.
“I wish every day could be like this!”
“Yeah, if the points keep increasing like this daily, we won’t hold back on using high-grade materials.”
“Wait. You buy ingredients with points?”
“Gotta save time if I want to finish assignments.”
“You can’t do that! Without points, you can’t become a second-year!”
“I learned that from the instructor’s explanation. I now know that a first-year needs a hundred thousand points to advance to second-year.”
It takes a hundred thousand points to advance to second-year.
One million points to advance to third.
Ten million points for fourth year.
That’s an enormous sum, indeed.
“Do they all find ways to earn points as they advance in grades? Where do they magically get such staggering points to level up?”
“Shall I tell you?”
“Oknodie knows a lot, especially when professors won’t share any details. Normally, I’d find it creepy to know this much, but I want to hear it this time.”
Isabel was quite the coward.
Basic information would be a given for a player.
There was no need to fear sharing information that a secret organization wouldn’t go after you, nor would professors kill you for it.
Coward. Useless. Can only cook!
“You can borrow points from the student council or professors!”
“And if you can’t pay them back?”
“Then the family pays it back, or you become a servant of the student council or professors.”
“…Isn’t that basically what the contract scammers were doing?”
“At least they didn’t do it illegally. If you get repaid with labor, it’s considered healthy!”
“So a lot of students become servants from second year on? From looking at the second years roaming around during the grand sports day, it doesn’t seem like that at all.”
“Servants don’t usually show in public like this! If they can attend lectures, it means they have fewer points to repay, enabling a normal academy life.”
“Then what about students who don’t have a normal level of debt?”
“They likely end up trapped in research labs or become experimental subjects for the professors, discontinuing their studies and ending up as someone’s mistress or hunting dog, you know, roughly that sort of fate.”
It’s a pretty obvious outcome.
In reality, people who can’t handle debt end up working on distant fishing boats or construction sites, juggling multiple jobs or having their hands bashed with sledgehammers!
Students who impulsively take on huge debts for their academic ambitions are at fault.
“If you think about it, the Foundation doesn’t seem so bad!”
“…The Foundation? Why?”
“They send dangerous directives to students who can’t keep up, urging them to give up on their dreams quickly, right? If they have their wits about them, they would withdraw before hitting a wall!”
After all, the world will be protected by the player, so NPCs can resign comfortably!
“……”
Isabel became significantly pensive.
Her quiet pondering expression looks somewhat cool.
I should keep making Isabel reflect from now on.
“Hmm?”
Ever since the paper airplane throwing, each place visited had no challengers, simply observing Isabel participate, but now, a tremendous killing intent radiated from a classroom.
Looking at Isabel’s calm expression indicates that the pressure was directed solely at me—an indication of a highly skilled person.
“Here.”
“Who are you?”
†???(???/???/???)
†Isabel(Human/Novice Cook/Potential Adventurer)
With the observation experience points of 200 and the special privilege Automatic Analysis, their name remained hidden.
The 200 stealth experience points activated the special privilege Personal Protection, meaning they concealed their identity.
“Deadcat.”
“Hello!”
“Nice manners. Makes me feel bad.”
“Why sorry?”
“I want to hurt you.”
“Why?”
“My claws are satisfied only when tearing the flesh of the strong.”
From those fur-covered hands, sharp claws slid out smoothly.
Unlike the spy maid April with a fake tail, this one was a Cat Beastfolk with a genuine tail.
“That’s unfortunate! I’m a first-year.”
“That’s why Bello scolded me. Since you’re a second year now, it’s time you adhered to the rules, so I’ve waited for a suitable opportunity. I can’t hold back any longer.”
The Deadcat Senior provocatively licked his fur with a slender tongue.
“Join me for a personal dodgeball match.”
“Sure thing!”
“Wait a second. Oknodie, why are you accepting so readily? That senior radiates a dangerous vibe at first glance.”
“But he said he waited long for me. I feel sorry to deny him when he wants to fight so badly.”
“No, don’t accept and just dodge.”
“Why? I’m going to win anyway.”
The senior merely scoffed instead of showing anger, continuing to groom his fur while keeping the same fixed stare since our first eye contact.
Isabel stopped Oknodie.
“No way. I can’t let Oknodie fight such a scary senior alone.”
“Isabel, are you going to join? Hmm, it might be dangerous…?”
I can’t breathe.
That Oknodie mentioned “danger.”
Meaning that senior is definitely not an ordinary opponent in her eyes.
“Then wait a moment. I’ll bring another first-year to help.”
“That works!”
“Doesn’t matter how many you bring, whoever it is.”
The Deadcat senior displayed utmost indifference, making Isabel anxiously dash off to find strong first-years.
“Hey you! If you reach Jezel, tell her to bring a combative first-year upper class student to the Personal Dodgeball competition venue immediately!”
After contacting a member of the Dark Trading Company, it wasn’t long before two powerful first-years appeared.
Seeing who they were, Isabel was startled.
“What has happened to Oknodie?”
“Who do we need to kill?”
Hestia and Sing.
Though she called for help, it turned out they were both terrifying fighters.
“That’s… Oknodie is in a personal dodgeball match, but the opponent is a dangerous second-year senior…”
“…So you called us to dodgeball with her?”
“Is dodging allowed in dodgeball?”
Though Hestia sort of made sense, Sing was genuinely a mess.
As Isabel felt a light dizziness due to the sudden increase of dangerous people after asking for help, it left her bewildered.
