Chapter 87
The match is over.
After being recalled from the field, we returned to the original waiting area.
The place we arrived at after crossing the desert turned into a snowy field, the devastated jungle, and the lush green plain.
It was the center of the arena, with countless spectators looking down at us.
As we appeared in midair, cheers poured forth as though everyone had been waiting for us.
-Waaaaaaah!
-There, they just came out···!
-Should we film this with a crystal ball or something?
-This is front-page news! We have to put it on the front page of the next academy newspaper···.
I had expected a reaction, but the decibel level easily exceeded even that.
It was so loud that even Ranne, standing beside me, flinched in surprise.
I let out a short laugh, then listened to the clamorous noise.
The cadets were wildly excited.
-What in the world was that attack you showed us at the end···!
-I can’t believe you’d been hiding a move like that all this time!
-Isn’t that guy’s overall stat rank E? Did they really test him properly?
-I think we should give him a doping test. No, even mana doping couldn’t make him that strong···.
-I’m telling you, this is a record worthy of going down in academy history! A cadet who entered as an E-class student defeated the top student in less than half a semester···!
All kinds of commotion could be heard.
They marveled, were astonished, and cheered wildly.
-How did the entire field get destroyed like that?
-They’re even going to have to repair the field because of you!
-My match got pushed back! Take responsibility!
-Then take responsibility and show us that thing from earlier one more time···!
The reaction was much better than I had expected.
Well, I suppose it was only natural after witnessing something like that.
‘Was that a little excessive?’
At best, I was the top student in the E class.
On top of that, my overall stats were firmly labeled as E rank.
I had raised my stats to a certain degree by now, but there was no way for the other students to know that.
‘The regular rank evaluations are only conducted once per semester···.’
It was strange to begin with that someone’s rank would rise as rapidly as mine.
It must have been thanks to the system, which allowed me to grow through Good Deed Points.
In a mere three months since enrolling, I had raised my overall stats by several ranks.
Still, since it would be troublesome to arouse further suspicion, I decided I should get a separate evaluation sometime soon.
I needed to update the information.
“Haa···.”
As I organized my thoughts, the fatigue that had built up came rushing in.
Moans and yawns mingled and slipped past my lips.
I felt like I could collapse on the spot.
‘That was terrifying.’
Lin Glacia.
Given who my opponent was, I had used the bug like crazy during our brief clash of only a few minutes.
Not to mention Parrying—I felt like I had used the Slowdown (watch click) bug over a hundred times.
Perhaps because of the aftermath, a bout of nausea hit me, as if I had been spun in a centrifuge.
‘Ugh, I feel sick.’
Ding-!
[Bug Collector]
-Category: Title
-Description: When a single bug is used 30 or more times, it is registered in the collector. Bugs registered in the collector greatly reduce the user’s burden.
[Bug Collector]
1.Step Skip(Step Skip)
2.Slowdown(Slowdown)
3.Parrying(Parrying)
4.Status Effect-Parrying(Status Effect-Parrying)
It was fortunate that I had the title equipped. Otherwise, I might have vomited my guts out right there.
My whole body was aching as well from exchanging blows with Lin···.
‘······And Predation was unbelievably powerful too.’
Jaber’s full-power punch.
I had mixed the double-counting bug into it, multiplying the damage fourfold.
Honestly, for me as I was now, it was no different from a double-edged sword.
‘Because I can’t control it.’
My body was not yet complete.
Only my Agility was awkwardly high; the rest of my stats were pitiful.
The previous attack had been powerful enough for the recoil to catch even the user in its blast.
If not for the mask’s protection, I would have turned into a tomato that had burst open.
‘The fact that it can’t distinguish friend from foe is a problem too.’
Since the field had been prepared earlier, I had fired it off without a care, but I couldn’t go around making explosions like that in my everyday life.
There was always a chance of nearby allies or civilians I needed to rescue getting caught up in it.
It was a card that required consideration in many ways.
‘As expected··· great power is difficult to wield.’
It was powerful, but precisely because it was powerful, it was a card that required the right conditions.
I should quickly make up for these deficient stats first.
I smacked my lips and dusted off my hands.
‘I need to accumulate Good Deed Points, but when am I ever going to save that many people···.’
A sigh escaped softly.
When I was distracted for even a moment, the announcement that followed brought me back to my senses.
《You have all worked very hard, students.》
《Cadets who have completed the practical exam, please move outside the waiting area.》
《Today’s practical exam will be graded over the course of a week, then combined with your written scores and announced.》
Sliiide-.
The doors opened at the front of the arena.
We walked straight toward the exit.
‘Ah.’
That had been one ridiculously long hour.
***
Afterward.
We headed to the infirmary located near the examination grounds.
It was where those who had withdrawn or been injured during the exam were transported.
“Here it is.”
Caitlyn, Gale, and Lin.
All three were sharing a ward divided by curtains.
I passed through one partition and greeted the girl on the bed.
“Miss Caitlyn.”
“You came.”
Caitlyn was sitting on the edge of the bed.
She had been forced to withdraw during the match after being left battered and broken.
Perhaps she had been treated in the infirmary, because there was no sign of any notable injury.
“How are you feeling?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m fine.”
“Amazing. All those injuries healed without leaving even a scratch···.”
Grandia Academy.
I suppose it really was the finest educational institution on the continent.
When it came to facilities and infrastructure, it displayed remarkably high quality.
“More importantly, how did the match go?”
Caitlyn casually tossed out a question.
She must have already heard, yet she had gone out of her way to ask.
I gave a short laugh and answered the unnecessary question anyway.
“We won.”
“You lunatic. You really came back after winning that.”
“You said it yourself, didn’t you? That you’d kill me if we lost.”
“Did I?”
“I’m someone who always keeps the promises I make.”
I lightly held out my fist.
For once, Caitlyn didn’t pull away and responded to the fist bump.
Her characteristic prickly demeanor remained, but there was something refreshingly direct about her reaction.
Tap-.
“You worked hard too.”
“Oh.”
The words came from the bronze-skinned girl.
Since the remark was so unexpected, I couldn’t help being surprised.
“Good heavens.”
“What? Why are you reacting like that?”
“I simply didn’t expect Miss Caitlyn to say something like that.”
“What do you mean, ‘something like that’?”
“Something that praises another person?”
“What do you take me for?”
“Hmm··· an antisocial psychopath genius racist?”
“I’m seriously going to kill you.”
We bickered back and forth for a few words.
Ranne, who had accompanied us as well, suddenly joined in and praised Caitlyn.
A hundred percent pure goodwill descended upon the blonde, tanned delinquent girl.
“Miss Caitlyn!”
“W-what is it?”
“Your performance was incredible! Sir Victor told me everything! You crossed the boundary with the flag in your possession, for our sake and to complete the mission, even after your body had been battered to pieces···!”
“Wait, back off! Don’t grab my hand···.”
“I was deeply moved! I never imagined you were nurturing such a passionate flame within you, Miss Caitlyn!”
“No, I mean, you’re way too close!”
“I would like to become close friends from now on!”
Ranne charged forward recklessly.
Caitlyn’s reaction, on the other hand, was strangely stiff.
Was she worse at handling this kind of praise than I had expected?
Even as Caitlyn frowned, she couldn’t bring herself to roughly push Ranne away.
‘So she’s weak against people who press forward.’
I learned another useful thing.
I’d have to tease her with this later.
“Ahem.”
Light conversation continued.
With my teammates in front of me, I stole a glance toward the other side of the ward.
“······.”
The bed where Lin lay.
That side had the atmosphere of a funeral home in every sense.
Perhaps crushed beneath the heavy mood, her teammates were all frozen stiff and unable to open their mouths.
Meanwhile, a certain young man stood opposite Lin.
‘That’s···.’
He wore a neat uniform.
He had blue hair and eyes sunk into profound depths.
In appearance, the young man strongly resembled someone I knew.
‘Valteric Glacia.’
He was Lin’s elder brother.
At the same time, he was also a member of the faculty at Grandia Academy.
He was one of the figures representing the Glacia family, a prestigious and long-established house of magic.
“······.”
The man was looking down at Lin.
There was no concern in his gaze.
His pupils were unfathomably deep and cold.
It was less the look of someone gazing at his younger sister than the look of someone who had come across garbage in the street.
‘Was it because of him?’
Only then did I realize.
The reason Lin had been so unusually obsessed with victory today.
Her elder brother, Valteric, had come to watch the match.
‘Lin··· is treated poorly by her family.’
I held my breath and watched quietly.
Before long, Valteric spoke.
“Garbage.”
“······.”
“You lost.”
“Brother···.”
“I believe I told you not to call me that.”
“······I’m sorry, Lord Valteric.”
It hardly sounded like a conversation between siblings.
There wasn’t even a trace of warmth; the atmosphere was so cold it felt as though her throat might be strangled at any moment.
Lin lowered her head.
“Garbage. A mutant born with the Glacia name, yet unable to use magic in the slightest. I thought you might at least handle that inferior swordsmanship well, but apparently not even that anymore. You couldn’t even defeat the top student of the E class.”
“······.”
“You were sprawled out in a truly pathetic state. In front of the entire student body.”
“······.”
“You insist on bringing shame to the family name.”
“······.”
The air was as sharp as a knife.
The girl neither argued nor rebelled.
She merely kept silent, as though she had become a criminal.
“······.”
“Tsk.”
Perhaps even that sight was unpleasant to him.
Valteric clicked his tongue once, then immediately turned around and left the ward.
A faint scent of winter lingered behind.
Only then could Lin’s teammates begin to make a sound again.
Of course, whether they did or not, the girl remained frozen in place.
“······.”
A complicated family situation.
I turned my head and pretended not to notice.
‘If I want to bring Lin onto my team, I’ll have to deal with that side of things someday too···.’
Today was not that day.
If I approached her carelessly, it would only backfire.
For now, I should let it pass and have a separate conversation with her sometime soon.
“Miss Caitlyn, are you interested in chivalry? I would be happy to teach you···!”
“I already told you I’m not interested in knights or anything like that···!”
Meanwhile.
Perhaps they hadn’t noticed what was happening over there, because our teammates were all fussing among themselves.
Everyone was distracted, so it seemed I could attend to my own business.
I quietly sat down on the chair opposite the beds.
A blue window appeared before my eyes.
Ding-!
[Special Reward]
-Acquired item ‘???-Grade Reward Selection Ticket.’
-You may choose and acquire two of the rewards presented.
‘I can’t resist checking a reward.’
I had been curious about it for a while.
A Reward Selection Ticket.
It was a type of reward I was receiving for the first time.
Besides, the grade marked as ??? was intriguing.
Without hesitation, I clicked one of the two selection tickets.
Ding-!
[???-Grade Reward Selection Ticket]
-Would you like to view the list of rewards you can choose from?
I immediately clicked the Yes button.
Right afterward, the status window unfolded with a rustle.
-Selection Ticket-
[Choose one of the items below!]
1.Acquire Good Deed Points(10000p)
2.Damaged Item Repair Ticket×1
3.Broken Item Restoration Ticket×1
4.Item Rank Downgrade Ticket×1
5.Spatial Leap Ticket×1
6.■■■ ■■■ ■■■■(???)
7.■ ■■(???)
.
.
.
28.■■■■■■(???)
29.■■■ ■■(???)
30.■■(???)
“······.”
The letters continued to scroll down for a long time.
Every item presented on the list appeared to have formidable capabilities.
After checking the message all the way to the end, I could only stare blankly.
‘No···.’
I can choose a reward here?
Two of them, at that···?
An unexpected treasure trove had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.