Chapter 104
#Chapter 104: Demonic Sword Forte (6) - Graduation Requirements
An educational institution ranked among the top three on the continent.
To bear a lofty-sounding title like that, an institution had to possess something special to match it.
For example, the Imperial Academy of the Aizern Empire, one of the empire’s prides and the foundation of its solid middle tier, was known for its scale and versatility.
It had more than five hundred professors who were experts in their respective fields, as well as an abundant budget on the level of an earldom’s operating funds.
It offered such a wide range of educational fields—swordsmanship, magic, liberal arts, engineering, administration, and so on—that it was said, ‘Anyone who simply graduates safely from here can be put anywhere and still pull their weight.’
Contrary to the perception that it was the strongest superpower on the continent, even the average martial ability of its graduates, limited to combat-oriented fields, was only around the 3rd tier and not particularly high. The empire’s high-ranking officials did not care, however.
After all, the Imperial Academy was essentially a supplier of new recruits. Once they took in the talent that graduated from there, they could further train them on their own side, whether in a knight order, mage tower, or government department.
And in this respect, Sky Academy occupied a position diametrically opposite to that of the Imperial Academy.
Its teaching period was long, and its number of students was small.
As far as its budget was concerned, the two institutions were not even comparable.
Yet the reason Sky Academy was considered one of the finest educational institutions on the continent was simple.
Even with the empire’s massive resources and lofty technological prowess, it was impossible to copy Sky Academy’s special ‘environment.’
【‘Quest: Strike the Scarecrow Ten Thousand Times with a Wooden Sword’ has been completed.】
【Your strength has increased slightly.】
【You have acquired 5p.】
“Haaah.”
As she watched the system message floating before her eyes, Pina lowered the wooden sword she had been holding and slumped to the floor.
Around her, a dozen students were sweating profusely with exhausted faces, wooden swords in hand just like Pina. Seeing that more than half of them had stopped swinging their swords, Swordsmanship Professor Raizenol nodded.
“Are we more or less finished? Then let’s move on to the next stage.”
【‘Quest: Strike the Scarecrow Exactly Ten Thousand Times with a Wooden Sword’ has been unlocked.】
【Clear Condition: Strike the scarecrow’s red glow precisely 0/10,000】
【Time Limit: None】
【Clear Reward: Slight increase in physical control/5p】
【Special Note 1: Strikes do not count when the body is enhanced through mana】
【Special Note 2: The count decreases by 1 each time a precise strike is missed】
As soon as the new quest appeared, the scarecrows of the students who had finished the previous quest emitted a strange light and began to glow.
A red glow about the size of a circle made with the thumb and index finger appeared on each scarecrow’s forehead, and just as it seemed about to disappear, it reappeared at the scarecrow’s side.
The interval between the glow appearing and disappearing was about one second.
Even though it was not moving too quickly to react to, it was not easy to keep striking the changing locations with a heavy wooden sword.
To make matters worse, enhancing one’s body through mana was prohibited as well.
Perhaps because he saw all the students making faces as though they had bitten into bugs, Raizenol burst out laughing.
“Don’t worry! It doesn’t mean you have to start right now! Those who want to can do it, and those who think it’s not for them can try a new quest somewhere else or just rest in their rooms!”
At his words, the students let out sighs of relief.
In truth, they were only dissatisfied because they were already exhausted from hitting the scarecrows so many times. If they were told to challenge the quest after getting plenty of rest, it was not impossible by any means. It would be even easier if they could divide it into several attempts.
“Does anyone have any questions? Apparently not. Then I’ll go check another place, so I’ll see you again at this time tomorrow!”
When Raizenol left with jaunty steps, some students immediately set down their swords, while others continued striking the scarecrows enthusiastically.
The demonic sword Forte observed the students with interest.
《Truly freewheeling.》
It was a very different scene from the Imperial Academy, which, despite receiving massive budget support and offering abundant scholarships, boasted an atmosphere so overflowing with enthusiasm that it was almost cutthroat.
It could hardly be attributed solely to Swordsmanship Professor Raizenol’s personality, since most classes at Sky Academy followed this format from the outset.
At an ordinary academy, guiding students along the path they should take was the teacher’s role.
But at Sky Academy, it was the quests presented by the system that guided the students.
There were professors in charge of the warrior, mage, and priest tracks, but they merely served as advisers who answered students’ questions, and rarely took the initiative to lead classes themselves.
At least for freshmen like Pina, who had only recently entered the academy, the professors selected and presented quests to them to some extent. But as students advanced into the upper years, apparently quite a few lived by doing nothing but completing quests without even seeing their professors, which already said it all.
《Though it calls itself an academy, its overall structure is closer to an adventurers’ guild. I can’t tell whether to call it inefficient or say it has been thoroughly automated.》
Most importantly, the system virtually guaranteed growth.
Even so, it did not seem to have reached the point of assigning numerical values to every one of a person’s abilities, such as Strength +1, and letting them invest points into those stats. However, students who completed quests could feel the rewards listed in the reward section, however minutely.
For example, it was only natural for muscle training to make a person stronger.
Yet the human body had limits, and it was inevitable that one would reach a limit at some point through the same training alone.
A person could eventually reach the point of dragging or lifting a log with their bare hands, but swinging a stone or metal pillar of the same size was impossible.
Knights displayed superhuman physical abilities because they reinforced their bodies with mana. Even they were not all that different from a warrior who had merely trained their body if they used no mana at all.
But Sky Academy was different.
If a quest reward said, ‘Strength increases,’ then strength increased, even if the person’s body had already reached its growth limit.
What was more, this increase in strength operated through a mechanism entirely different from ordinary physical growth, so even someone who had never trained their muscles could use the reward to overpower a muscular giant in sheer strength.
《If it accepted and developed a large number of students, it could produce truly tremendous results… but that would probably be difficult in terms of resources. That is, unless it merely maintained its special properties within its domain. Since we’re told the power doesn’t disappear even after leaving, all the more so. That must also be why it selects its members and accepts only a small elite.》
Unlike ordinary 7th-tier ‘domains,’ Sky Academy was famous even across the continent, but there was still a considerable difference between understanding something from documents and experiencing it firsthand.
It was unfortunate that Forte could not directly see the system because it was not recognized as ‘human’ within the domain, but hearing about it indirectly from Pina was more than enough to find it fascinating.
Of course, Forte did not forget its own role out of curiosity.
To thwart the demons’ schemes and protect Pina from them.
That was the mission granted to the demonic sword at the moment of its birth—or the mission it had assigned to itself.
And what it needed to do for that purpose was glaringly obvious.
***
Until she enrolled, Pina Vallestia had secretly feared the place called Sky Academy.
It was renowned as the best in the central region, but it also possessed a grim reputation for people dying during class.
Among those who claimed to be graduates, some described it as a paradise, while others called it a brutal hell.
People assumed that one side must be lying, but the result of Pina’s own experience was different.
They had not lied.
That was because Sky Academy could transform into either paradise or hell depending on the student’s own choices.
【Quest: Graduation】
【Clear Condition: 13p/1,000,000p】
【Time Limit: None】
【Clear Reward: Graduation from Sky Academy. Rewards acquired within the academy can be retained outside.】
【Special Note 1: The p (points) in the clear condition is based on the amount currently held, not the accumulated total.】
【Special Note 2: ‘Provisional Graduation’ is possible by spending 10,000p. In this case, rewards gained at the academy cannot be taken outside, but growth not assisted by the system is retained.】
Unlike other academies, Sky Academy had no concept of graduating simply because one had studied for a few years or taken a few exams.
All sorts of trivial actions within the academy were rewarded with a separate score called p, and graduation was possible only after accumulating one million points.
The harder and more dangerous the quest, the more powerful the reward and the more p it granted.
And the ‘difficult quests’ in question were not merely tasks carried out obediently under the professors. They were quests that could only be completed by roaming all over the academy, whose internal structure was impossible to fathom, and taking on every dangerous task imaginable.
It was a system in which students could take the slow but easy route if they chose to do only simple tasks, while the difficulty rose to its extreme if they wanted rapid growth.
Pina thought.
‘I’ll take the slow and easy path.’
At present, ordinary classes offered an average of 5p per subject. Assuming she took about three classes a day, that came to around 15p.
True graduation was still unimaginably far away, but provisional graduation was within reach after repeating that routine for a few years.
Fortunately, Sky Academy had restaurants, shops, and other places where p could be used as currency, so if she made a reasonable effort without wasting too much, she should be able to lead a fairly uneventful life.
《─Hmm. It looks like we could finish in roughly half a year.》
And so, when Forte muttered that, Pina asked in bewilderment,
“H-half a year is too tight a schedule, isn’t it? Even if it’s only provisional graduation….”
《Hm? Provisional graduation?》
“…?”
Forte was puzzled, and Pina was puzzled as well.
Eventually, the demonic sword spoke.
《Provisional graduation? After going to the trouble of entering a special academy like this, that would mean wasting the opportunity. I meant it looks like it’ll take about half a year to graduate officially.》
“Eek. Eeeeeek!?”
Pina was aghast.
“I-it’s impossible! I hear that even veteran upperclassmen with more than five years of experience building up their skills and achievements while seriously pursuing graduation rarely earn more than 500p a day…!”
Five hundred p a day sounded enormous, but even at that rate, it would take more than five years to graduate.
In reality, they had to spend points on food, leisure, and other things, and there were also days when they earned less than that, so the period would be even longer.
If even the seasoned experts who had been worn down by this place were in that position, how could a freshman who had just enrolled dream of graduating in half a year?
Faced with Pina’s justified and perfectly reasonable protest, Forte gave a simple answer.
《Don’t worry. We’ll know once we try.》
It was a statement filled with such confidence that it allowed no rebuttal, as though it were saying that the sun would rise tomorrow as usual.
Pina’s face turned pale.
That was generally the fate of a foolish contractor who laid hands on a demonic sword (not).