Second Day of the Rank Battles, Hall of Struggle.
Today, the coliseum was packed with spectators.
Unlike yesterday, today featured a fight between Rank S fighters.
Raymond Roleno, using sword and shield, faced Caeran Hiss, who wielded dual swords.
The same front line, with both being Rank S, promised a high-level and thrilling duel, attracting many spectators.
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the match ended in an instant.
-Thud!
“Ugh!!”
It was nearly a one-sided display of Raymond taking hits.
There were opportunities for a counterattack, but…
-Clang! Clang!
“Wha, what are you doing…!”
-Thud!
“Ugh!”
The speed difference between the two was stark, and thoughts ran through Caeran’s mind: What, how is he this fast? Was it this level…?
The sword strikes flowed seamlessly like a dance with no room to catch a breath.
Then, the moment Raymond squinted his eyes shut and opened them again, Caeran’s dual sword dance was unexpectedly aimed at his neck.
Caeran looked at him as if he were a bug and casually said, “Mind moving aside?”
“Ah… I surrender.”
In the end, Raymond Roleno couldn’t even use his strength properly and declared defeat.
-Winner, Caeran Hiss…
In a word, it was an overwhelming display of skill.
-Waaaah!!
The crowd erupted in cheers.
-Wow, he’s seriously merciless.
-Guess he made a mistake on the first day?
-Still seems stronger than the top student Melissa, though?
-Isn’t it the opposite? Raymond underperformed, while that Rank B might be worthy of reevaluation.
Despite the enthusiastic responses from the audience, Caeran paid them no mind and headed to the Student Waiting Room.
–Oh! Do you happen to have a guild in mind? We’d love to introduce you to ours…!
–What was different compared to the first duel?
“I’m good.”
–Just a week, just a week of experiencing our guild…
–Junior! You did pretty well, huh? Want to join me…
“I said I’m good.”
Caeran flashed a deadly smile as he said this.
–…
The shocking choice of words for a student seemed to make those trailing after him awkwardly shuffle away one by one.
–Clank.
Once Caeran entered the waiting room alone, he threw down his dual swords.
-Bam!
-Clatter!
With his impulsive throwing, the glass mirror shattered completely.
“Damn it, damn it!!”
The one who had looked down on him, Raymond, hadn’t even tried to engage in conversation.
Even this was a humiliation for the proud Caeran.
His initial plan was to crush Lev so he wouldn’t crawl back again, showcasing a gap in their skills so that no one would dare to challenge him.
But Lev Denec had ruined everything.
“Damn it! That lazy underachiever was supposed to be expelled at this point!”
Caeran was even more frustrated for another reason.
He wasn’t pleased with today’s match either.
What Caeran desired was a complete slaughter, pushing his opponent until they had no chance to retaliate, yet he had shown weakness twice due to that sneaky shield trick.
Under normal conditions, he could win even with his eyes closed.
So why was his body not responding as he imagined?
He felt even worse than yesterday.
“Right… I’m just not focused… because of that jerk…”
Ultimately, the only thing Caeran could think about was Lev Denec.
“He was originally on the magic side, right?”
Caeran believed that in terms of magic or mana, Lev Denec was completely beneath him.
He definitely let him off easily last time.
“Sooner or later, I’ll give him a proper humiliation.”
Caeran could handle both swords and magic, and he was quite proficient in both.
Thinking that way eased him up a bit.
–Clank!
At that moment, another male student entered the waiting room.
Brown-haired, glasses-wearing, Rank S, Dailen.
He was a member of the same Royal Class Circle as Caeran and fought in the front line with a spear.
“This is my waiting room, you know?”
When Caeran impatiently asked, Dailen casually replied, “I was assigned here too.”
Though Dailen’s words were rational as he sat across, to Caeran, it felt like yet another argument.
“Congratulations on your two wins.”
“…?”
“Huh? I said congratulations on your two wins.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Was it the unfamiliar feeling of self-consciousness?
Even this congratulatory remark felt to Caeran like it was laced with mockery.
–Swoosh.
Eventually, Caeran stood up first.
“Where are you going?”
“…Just leave me alone.”
He was headed to the training room to regain his scattered senses.
He had a strong aversion to the words effort and practice, so he typically didn’t train.
But in this mood and situation, he didn’t want to face the Royal Class circle.
For some reason, he felt he wouldn’t be able to show his face to someone like Selena.
As he grasped the doorknob, Dailen handed over the two swords Caeran had thrown.
“Caeran, do you know Edwin?”
“…?”
“Edwin Gwynn.”
The only ones Caeran cared about were those in Rank S.
They were so few in number and had to be invited into the Royal Class, so usually, he at least remembered their names.
But Edwin?
That was a lousy rookie who had been trained by Aveline and Melissa.
“Damn, my head is already spinning.”
Caeran grimaced and spat at Dailen, “If you have something to say, say it straightforward!”
What followed was something shocking from Dailen.
“On the last day of the ranking battles, he was supposed to challenge you.”
“What?”
“Go check it out.”
“He challenged me to a duel…?”
“Yeah, he’s Rank C, or so he claims.”
Was it because of Caeran’s sensitive personality?
There was a hint of amusement in Dailen’s tone as he spoke.
“What a joke.”
Rank B was troublesome enough, and now it was Rank C too?
*
Restoration Chamber.
Suddenly, the two people began watching me cautiously.
–…
Then came the awkward silence.
I sighed lightly and cautiously said, “Sorry, I want to be alone.”
“…!”
“Lev…?”
At my one statement, the two looked as though they had a great misfortune.
“First, Aria. I can see you’re fighting sleep. You haven’t rested since you’ve been taking care of me, right?”
“…”
Aria, who couldn’t lie, had nothing to say.
With the rank battle week being busy, she must be worn out from nursing me, purification of the erosion level, and all that.
“And Yeriel, you experienced something quite intense yesterday. Resting is helping me too.”
Yeriel was also a patient.
Even now, he was trembling, possibly shaken from yesterday’s shock.
Yeriel looked at me demurely, as if trying to say something with his eyes, but then he replied, “Okay…! Got it…!”
And he nodded in compliance.
…
What is this feeling?
I feel a strange sense of liberation.
It seems a story not found in fanfics is about to unfold.
Still, both of them, who had never complained in the fanfic or game, made the situation easier to manage.
“…”
Left alone, I felt an indescribable sense of freedom and opened the status window.
“State window!”
-Ding!
—————————————————
[General Traits]
▶ [Contract with Ariel] [Lv.1] (0/200)
– Having contracted with Wind Spirit King Ariel, you can use Wind Archery.
– Simultaneously, you receive the blessing of the wind, significantly increasing specific stats.
▶ [Empty Slot] [Lv.]
-(Empty)
▶ [Plausibility] [Lv.3] (0/500)
– You seem to be considered one of the ten most handsome individuals within the Academy.
– You might easily charm someone.
—————————————————
“Looks like I didn’t cheat.”
It was disheartening how clearly the supporting role trait had vanished.
This was the trait that had restricted my actions due to the collapse of the world line.
Well, even though I lost the only advantage it had, in comparison to freedom, it was nothing.
I had spent all remaining supporting points while moving with Sinatis.
With 235 points left, I invested 200 into the ‘Dark Magic’ skill level up, 20 into Luck, and the rest hastily into Magic.
“Stats.”
-Ding.
—————————————————
▶ Status
[Strength]: 3.25
[Health]: 3.3
[Dexterity]: 3.25 (4.22)
[Magic Power]: 2 (2.2)
[Mana]: 2.55
[Mental Strength]: 2.45
[Perception]: 2.1
[Luck]: 3.45
—————————————————
Even now, with the first semester nearing its end, I couldn’t say my abilities were high.
Thanks to bugs, helpers, dark magic, gray ashen bolt, and everything else I could mobilize, I managed to take down high-ranked named bosses.
But what can I do?
The game difficulty was ridiculous.
I plan to keep taking the easy way out going forward.
“Next…”
I need to check the rewards from that Tarchangel who had trapped Yeriel yesterday.
▶ [Selective Reward]
He wasn’t a boss nor did he have fixed rewards, which was unfortunate.
As I focused on the rewards,
-Cha-ching!
A momentarily pleasant sound echoed.
[Luck has activated, allowing you to acquire a high-grade skill!]
▶ [Selective Reward]
—————————————————
▶ [???]
[Undergoing Error Correction]
—————————————————
▶ [Well of Souls] [Lv.No] (Passive)
: When you receive lethal damage, you resurrect from a designated well of mana.
(*The state following resurrection is determined based on the size of the remaining ‘Vessel’)
(*One-time use)
Acquisition Difficulty: Very Hard
—————————————————
▶ [Rank B Named Defeat Reward]
: Acquire 200 SP.
A randomly chosen stat increases by 0.3.
—————————————————
“Um…”
Forget the error correction for a moment,
At the very least, the ‘Rank B Named Defeat Reward’ currency known as the ‘Supporting Points’ had changed to Skill Points or SP.
It’s the same as the original game. That shouldn’t be an issue.
The skill in the second slot, Well of Souls, was a tech that a high-level demon form possessed.
“Gukbap skill, woohoo~!”
I would have had to go through hell in the game to obtain that…
Anyway, it’s essentially an insurance as per the description, so there are no doubts about its performance.
Thus, selecting the Well of Souls would be the right move, but…
That error window remains intriguing…?
At that moment.
-Ding!
The familiar sound rang out in quick succession.
-Ding!
[Errors are being corrected: Tarchangel Transformation]
-Ding!
[From now on, ‘Lev Denec’ can also undergo Tarchangel Transformation.]
-Ding!
[Trait – Gamer activates! You can store skills.]
“Uh… what?”
▶ [Selective Reward]
—————————————————
▶ [Tarchangel Transformation (墮天使化)] [Lv.No] (Active) (Ultimate Skill)
: Control the power of the Tarchangel and be engulfed in darkness for a certain time.
All stats slightly rise. (*The increase is proportional to the required evil.)
All skill consumption costs, except for Tarchangel transformation, decrease.
[Passive – Necessary Evil] – During this skill’s activation, defeating demons will permanently enhance the skill ‘Tarchangel Transformation.’
(*Currently, the time maintainable with existing mana: 45 seconds)
Evil counters evil.
-Tarchangel, Belial.
Experience: (None)
Acquisition Difficulty: Extremely Hard
—————————————————
▶ [Well of Souls] [Lv.No] (Passive)
: When you receive lethal damage, you resurrect from a designated well of mana.
(*The state following resurrection is determined based on the size of the remaining ‘Vessel’)
(*One-time use)
Acquisition Difficulty: Very Hard
—————————————————
▶ [Rank B Named Defeat Reward]
: Acquire 200 SP.
A randomly chosen stat increases by 0.3.
—————————————————
“!!!”
This is… a bug.
Among the selectable skills was ‘Tarchangel Transformation.’
Another transformation skill following Demon Transformation.
In the original game, you could have only one type of transformation skill, but now with the error corrected, it seemed it could be selected.
“What do I do…”
Having both Demon and Tarchangel skills makes resolving misunderstandings even harder…
-Shimmer-shimmer~~
But the skill with the acquisition difficulty marked – Extreme Hard glimmered enticingly before me.
–Gulp.
Unlocking a character’s skill restriction would mean building a private illegal server for gameplay.
Honestly, it’s fundamentally flawed…
But I really can’t resist this…
