Chapter 2
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The accident was dealt with quickly.
Train damage caused by rockslides in the mountain range they’d just passed through was fairly common, so all sorts of safety measures were in place.
The fact that not a single person died—or even suffered serious injuries—in an accident that left the entire train wrecked and overturned proved as much.
As for me, I’d been hit directly by a boulder, so I really had come close to dying.
The students were quickly transferred to other forms of transportation and sent straight to the academy. Just in case anything was wrong, they were given the highest level of medical care.
And a full-body check like that was bound to leave me with some time to spare.
Enough time to take a close look at my situation, at least.
<Special Gift>
Gift #1- Fated Attraction
[ As your favor with evil-aligned characters increases, you acquire various rewards. ]
I stared incredulously at the words written beneath the window.
So that was the condition. No wonder I couldn’t figure it out, no matter what I tried after being possessed.
The Campbell Barony was such a soft and cozy place that it was hard to find anyone with even a neutral alignment, let alone an evil one. Since I couldn’t meet the basic condition, it was only natural that the Gift hadn’t unlocked.
I sighed and switched the window over to my skills. Still, I had to see what I’d gotten.
< Skill Info >
[ Skill: Life-or-Death ] [ Rank: ??? ]
[ Your stats are boosted in moments of crisis. The lower your chance of survival, the stronger the effect. ]
[ Skill: Fatal Charm ] [ Rank: ??? ]
[ You’re more likely to earn the favor of evil-aligned characters. The more extreme their alignment, the stronger the effect. ]
[Life-or-Death] was probably an ability that would directly help with survival and combat. Its activation condition, ‘moments of crisis,’ was a little vague, but a skill that boosted my stats was bound to be a huge help.
On the other hand, [Fatal Charm] was...
“...”
Was I even allowed to have this?
I had no idea just how much easier it would make earning someone’s favor, but every evil-aligned person in this game was dangerous as hell.
A pugilist who went wild for a fight.
A sword-crazed lunatic who’d cut down anyone who came within three paces.
A ruthless assassin who’d kill anyone if the conditions were right.
A genius mage who seemed indifferent to everything.
As one after another, I recalled the profiles of people who’d be a pain to get involved with even once, my temples began to throb.
Ah, whatever. I’ll worry about that later.
‘...For now, isn’t something good better than nothing?’
I let out a dry laugh and closed the window.
Getting even one skill that could directly help me survive was a major success.
Ever since I was possessed, every principle guiding my actions had revolved around ‘my own survival.’
Even my commitment to staying true to my role as an extra came from that.
So why would I turn down something that could help me survive in a world with a hellish scenario waiting for me?
‘If there’s anything strange...’
The skill ranks were listed as ???, though. What was that about?
Normally, the rank should be listed as something from F, the lowest, to EX, the highest.
This was something even I, a Sera veteran, had never seen before.
“What have you been doing, staring into space this whole time? Want me to run another mental exam?”
“No, I’m really fine.”
When I answered the medic in front of me, the man filling in my chart looked at me suspiciously.
“Your numbers are all normal, that’s for sure...”
“Then could you let me go already? No one was even hurt in the accident. Why are you making such a fuss...”
“That’s true. Officially, anyway. This will probably be classified as an accident, too.”
The medic replied with a sigh.
“But we should think a little about whether it really was an accident.”
“Huh?”
“You were riding with Lady Tristan, weren’t you?”
“...And?”
“And you’re from a baronial family without a single powerful backer, right?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m giving you serious advice. I graduated from Elphante Academy too, and I came from a nameless family of frontier nobles, just like you.”
The medic continued with a wry smile.
“Do you really think it was a coincidence that, out of all those compartments, only yours was hit directly?”
“...”
“House Tristan has a lot of enemies. I know you couldn’t help meeting her this time, but from now on, you’d be better off avoiding her whenever possible. If you associate with high nobles, you’ll be the one who suffers.”
You don’t have to tell me that, old man.
Do you think she’d have the title of final boss candidate for nothing, in an academy crawling with schemes and vicious slander? Just being around her meant I was destined to face deadly situations as naturally as breathing.
The problem was...
< Gift-Related Character Alert >
▼ Elnore
[ Trust Level 1 ]
[ Related event in D-2 ]
...I was already involved with her, whether I liked it or not.
Fuck.
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The entrance ceremony ended in the blink of an eye.
The everlasting glory of the Imperial Academy Elphante, and how this year’s freshmen were truly the best yet, and so on.
Geniuses from this region. Royalty from that one. A barbarian warrior from beyond the distant mountains. A bandit who’d made a name for himself in the next town over. And so on.
As long as they had talent, the Academy Elphante accepted all kinds of people. Of course, being an imperial academy, it only admitted nobles or those with a noble’s letter of recommendation.
Naturally, with so many different sorts of people gathered in one place, this damn academy was somewhere that never knew a moment’s peace.
For example, even the ‘practical assessment’ immediately after the entrance ceremony had that same sort of feel to it.
“Now that the entrance ceremony is over, we’ll proceed directly to the ability assessment-”
“The assessment will consist of various practical exercises, including one-on-one duels-”
Right. It was an educational institution. It’d be strange if they didn’t divide the students into classes.
As I watched the assistants diligently organizing the students into lines and keeping them in order, my thoughts wandered idly.
The event was proceeding as it should, but an even greater gloom was settling over me.
“...”
Let’s be honest.
I was already screwed when it came to living as an extra.
I’d certainly dreamed of that possibility when I first came here, but it felt like everything had gone wrong the moment I met the student council president in the same compartment.
No, more precisely, the problem was that after my Gift unlocked in a way I never could have predicted, I suddenly had a related event coming up.
Given her position, she was involved in every major main event in Sera. The moment I got entangled with her, my original plan was as good as finished.
Farewell, quiet life as a contented, voluntary loner.
Welcome, game scenario full of all kinds of dangerous incidents.
And facing that scenario was Dowd Campbell, with his glorious all-F stats.
How could I not be depressed?
“Then we’ll start by dividing the students into pairs for one-on-one duels-”
I let the assistant’s words go in one ear and out the other, once again absorbed in my thoughts.
But does that mean I should give up?
No. Not at all.
Even if there’s no obvious answer, it’s important to try everything I can, isn’t it? My life is what’s at stake.
‘The immediate goal is...’
First, I need to get through this.
< Gift-Related Character Alert >
▼ Elnore
[ Trust Level 1 ]
[ Related event in D-2 ]
I had no idea what this ‘related event’ was, but given her background, it was hardly going to be a pleasant little gathering with tea and snacks followed by a friendly chat.
Someone’s blood was definitely going to be spilled.
That meant my immediate goal was to improve my specs as much as possible within the next two days.
“...”
Am I fucking insane?
In other possession stories, they give you at least a little time before things go wrong. Why do I have to risk my life and speedrun my growth within forty-eight hours?
‘...Can’t be helped.’
I silently wrote the character for patience thirty times in my mind and continued thinking. I couldn’t afford to waste time getting angry in the first place.
All right, let’s think.
“Student. Hey.”
Of course, as a Sera veteran, I knew every way to power myself up within the academy by heart.
But every one of them ran up against the barrier of having only two days.
The only way to get a satisfying boost in that amount of time was this, after all.
<Special Gift>
Gift #1- Fated Attraction
[ As your favor with evil-aligned characters increases, you acquire various rewards. ]
I didn’t know what I’d get, but earning even the tiniest bit of Elnore’s favor had given me two skills. There was no questioning its efficiency.
In other words, I had to somehow earn a ‘villain’s favor.’
As soon as possible.
“Dowd Campbell!”
A thunderous shout erupted right in front of me, and my consciousness snapped back to reality.
What came into view was an assistant scowling furiously.
“Where have you got your mind! I’ve called you over and over!”
Judging by how his voice rang out all around us, he really was furious.
Thanks to that, everyone in sight was looking at me now.
“Every student except you has been assigned a sparring partner. Your opponent has therefore been decided automatically, so take note.”
At those words, I became a little more aware of the situation.
Most of the people looking at me wore expressions of pity or ridicule.
Normally, students were paired up more or less by level, with a little tact and common sense. But anyone who, like me, spaced out and missed their chance to pair off with someone would be in for hell.
Naturally, that left only opponents ‘no one wanted to spar with.’
‘Ah.’
I sighed inwardly and looked over ‘my opponent.’
A girl with reddish-orange hair. A shabby set of training clothes that had clearly been well worn for a long time. A nondescript longsword at her waist.
But even that plain appearance couldn’t hide her bizarre ‘presence.’
She radiated a charisma so overwhelming that just facing her was enough to make you feel cowed.
I shifted my gaze to the name on her badge: [Elijah Chrisanax].
I knew her, too.
No, there was no way anyone wouldn’t know her. She was nearly as famous as Elnore.
“Um, hello?”
The greatest genius in the world.
The protagonist of ‘Savior Rising,’ who would one day grow into its savior, gave me an awkward smile and said hello.
“...”
Am I fucked?
The protagonist’s stats at the start weren’t all that high, but later on, she’d be able to blow away a mountain range with a single sword strike or spell. Even at this point, before she’d grown at all, her talent was the real deal.
The setting probably had her accomplishing all sorts of feats beyond belief for a student. She’d taken part in hunts for magical beasts that normally required regular knights, and even conquered an entire dungeon by herself.
You could tell from the fact that, even among Elphante’s many talented freshmen, she was the one everyone avoided. She was probably the most famous of all the incoming students.
The gap in our combat abilities was apocalyptic, to say the least. I could really die...
“...?”
Wait a second.
I dug a little deeper into the thought that had just occurred to me.
I recalled the ‘abilities’ I had, then the ‘information’ I had about my opponent and my immediate ‘goal,’ one after another.
Then I drew my conclusion.
“...Hello.”
I took her shyly outstretched hand and shook it, thinking to myself.
This...
Maybe this wasn’t a crisis, but an opportunity.
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