A Third-Rate Villain’s Sweet Life Exploiting Academy Bugs – Chapter 99

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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As the afternoon arrived, the raid passed the entrance of the Pypes Mountains and reached the riverside far below the ridge.

‘I didn’t expect a nuisance to appear…’

The blonde knight, Aveline Valantes, was agitated by the unexpected, uninvited guest. Wasn’t there a saying,

“If you can’t have it, destroy it”?

First of all, Lev Denec, similar to Kaelan, preferred a rough, masculine type.

Therefore, she couldn’t win him over with friendly methods. Of course, unlike Kaelan, she hadn’t properly seen his skills, so she couldn’t make a proper assessment.

However, she thought if she could entice even Timon Zigilta, a man completely opposite of her taste, to provoke him, she might be able to see his true colors.

‘But why… why!’

An unexpected third-year cadet began to protect him. And not just any third-year, but Violet D’Crescent, the cadet with the strongest influence in the Archer Department.

Even Aveline, a knight, was well aware of the prestigious D’Crescent family.

The last flagship left to the Empire, an unparalleled genius, a hero who would surpass Diena… the epitome of aristocratic dignity. There were countless phrases describing her.

-Creak.

It was already difficult enough to contend with Yeriel alone around Lev Denec, and now Violet appeared too.

‘Don’t tell me, she’s caught wind of Lev Denec…?’

For a moment, Aveline’s inferiority complex almost ignited.

‘Calm, calm down.’

That wasn’t important right now. There was something else Aveline needed to focus on.

It was the reward that [Crimson Ember] held. Legend had it that the previous hero, Kroon, in his youth, dealt the final blow to [Crimson Ember] and obtained the essence of immortality.

The reward of immortality, said to be obtainable only by the one who drove the divine beast to death.

Therefore, if someone who hadn’t undergone their coming-of-age ceremony destroyed [Crimson Ember]…

‘This condition might be met.’

The current [Crimson Ember] was corrupted by black magic and resurrected through dark magic, so it wasn’t perfectly the same, but the essence of a divine beast or a dragon was priceless.

If this legend were to be reenacted, it would undoubtedly cause a great stir.

Therefore, if Violet was participating in the raid with this in mind, it was understandable to some extent.

And with Melissa of [Eternal Flame] also aiming for it, she couldn’t let her guard down.

But Aveline had a trump card. The sword she wore on her left hip wasn’t a standard academy-issued sword, but a custom-made one.

-Aveline, want this?

-What is this?

-A gift for joining my circle. Something like that?

*…! *

-Be my sword from now on.

A gift from Kaelan when she joined the Royal Class. The sleek, highlander-style blade boasted a subtle, silvery-white sheen.

She had originally intended to use it as a decoration, but…

‘Kaelan, I think I might understand your intentions a little.’

Recently, as Aveline became more proficient in handling divine power, she had learned a way to imbue this sword with divine aura.

This was a top-secret matter known only to Aveline, which she hadn’t reported to her family or guild.

Moreover, when she had it appraised in the Imperial City last time, she was told that although faint, something unknown was imbued within the sword.

‘In other words, the key to suppressing Crimson Ember’s resurrection is this…’

Aveline’s original role was as a guardian, holding a shield and enduring, but she had pride in her skills. Even [Crimson Ember] must have an opening during its descent.

She just needed to aim for that moment.

‘This time… I will become someone recognized as much as my brother.’

She preemptively secured the essence of immortality, and a bright future unfolded before her eyes. An image of herself commanding the Knights. She looked at Melissa and smiled coldly.

‘It’s all within my grasp.’

Perhaps, [Eternal Flame] wouldn’t be sitting idly by either.

Melissa must have prepared a demonic extermination spell formula with this raid leader, Taylon.

However, Eternal Flame was a master of fire magic, and fire magic wasn’t suitable for targeting the weakness of a fire-attribute boss like [Crimson Ember] or for dealing the final blow.

“I’ll gladly take it. Miss Melissa…”

Pypes Valley.

Following the flowing water led to a ruined sanctuary. A moonstone that had completely lost the power of moonlight.

Thus, it was a place where no miracles could be activated. On the altar here, where the scorch marks hadn’t yet faded, [Crimson Ember] would soon be resurrected.

They had been rehearsing repeatedly for an hour under Taylon’s instructions. As the six parties took their positions in a triangle, two parties at each point,

-Fwoosh!!!

The altar began to blaze.

-!!

“Everyone, get ready.”

Taylon’s short instruction, amplified by a magic tool, tensed all the cadets.

-Flutter…

The fire was soon extinguished, but…

-Fwoosh!

The ashes from the altar scattered everywhere, then gathered and reignited.

And…

-Screech!!!

A roar signaling the appearance of the divine beast echoed, and for a moment, the temperature around the sanctuary seemed to rise, and

-Whoosh!!!

Heat erupted.

-!!

-Kiiiiii!!!

A Y-shaped flame began to blaze in the air. Certainly, [Crimson Ember]’s motif was a phoenix. So, it felt like a divine beast, but the sound it actually made was a high-pitched screech that hurt the ears.

Seeing it in person is a bit… scary, isn’t it?

-It’s okay. We’ve already learned the strategy.

Perhaps due to the fear of their first real battle, exclamations erupted from the cadets here and there. And the dark-blond man, the main tank of Group 4 where I was, who was next to Violet, said softly,

“Don’t worry, everyone. It hasn’t started yet. And as long as I’m here! It’ll be alright.”

He introduced himself as Raymond Loggins.

“As I’ve said before, I will block the direct attacks. But Crimson Ember leaves flames in its path, so there might be residual damage.”

Wait, I think I’ve seen this guy somewhere before?

“So, as I mentioned earlier, Cadet Timon will cast a barrier at my signal.”

-……

The briefing ended vaguely with Timon’s silent nod. Violet seemed to already know everything. Anyway, there was a slight variable. Our party’s main tank was…

‘That guy from the Pleasure Lord raid.’

The man who had been dispatched from Divine Valhalla and had trembled, unable to do anything.

And the one in charge of the protective magic was Timon Zigilta, who had picked a fight with me.

Our party already seemed unstable.

.

.

.

[Crimson Ember], having finished its resurrection ritual, began to circle in the sky. It was probably targeting whoever attacked it first for its initial aggro.

According to the original story’s setting, its left eye was damaged when it was corrupted by black magic, so the aggro order would then proceed clockwise.

-Kiyoooo!!!

As it regained its full strength and took on a complete form,

-Ding.

A status window popped up in front of my eyes.

‘A-Rank?’

Taylon had definitely said [Crimson Ember] was B-Rank.

But what I was seeing was an A-Rank monstrous beast, a higher rank than even the [Pleasure Lord]. There had been casualties even with the Pleasure Lord.

This time, the probability of an accident was even higher.

‘Wait, traits… Darian’s dark magic.’

Darian. The dark elf who had tried to lure Selena away under the pretext of teaching her demonic wind archery.

Somehow, her touch had reached [Crimson Ember]. As I organized my thoughts,

“…?”

Violet was staring at me with her unwavering purple eyes.

-…

Only when I openly met her gaze did she turn away.

‘This is crazy.’

It seemed like hiding my power wouldn’t work this time either.

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Around the same time, at Clarice Academy.

-Is this right?

-Yes, Senior Yeriel, th-thank you very much!

-Hmm… You’ll greet me if you see me next time, right? Promise!

-…Yes?! Ah, y-yes! Goodbye!

The boy who had asked Yeriel about magic theory darted away shyly.

He was a prospective student who hadn’t even entered the academy yet… She had unintentionally gained another fan today.

‘He’s a shy one…’

Anyway, seeing him reminded Yeriel of something familiar.

‘Come to think of it… I think I was like that in front of Lev…’

-Thump!

‘No thinking about Lev…!’

Yeriel had been very careful since the festival.

-Yeriel, are you alright?

-Huh? Oh, no…?!

Whenever she thought about him, her face would flush, and people would constantly ask her if she was okay.

More than anything, she was afraid of being swept away by an unknown, mysterious impulse like she had been at the liberal arts building.

In any case, the academy without Lev was more relaxed than she expected.

So, like before she met him, Yeriel helped the juniors she met at the library after a long time.

‘I couldn’t bring myself to ask them to come to the Black House…!’

Although her recruitment attempt had failed, helping others was still enjoyable.

‘Oh! It’s already this late…!’

Checking the time, Yeriel gathered her things and went down to the student cafeteria.

.

.

.

“This taste… after so long…”

“Edwin…! Eat slowly!”

Edwin, having been discharged from the hospital, came to the student cafeteria with Aria and Yeriel.

“When can I start training…?”

“You need to rest for at least a week. We need to monitor your progress.”

“Ugh.”

It was like a bolt from the blue. For Edwin, training was a daily routine.

Edwin, who looked as if he had received a death sentence, began to examine Aria’s neck.

“By the way, Aria. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

He asked Aria without thinking,

“What’s that necklace? Is it a ring?”

-Hiccup!

At Edwin’s question, Yeriel hiccuped involuntarily.

“Yeriel? Are you okay?”

“Ah… I’m fine! I think I swallowed wrong…”

“Would… you like some water?”

“…Yes, thank you…!”

‘Haaa…’

It was something she had been curious about but hadn’t been able to ask Lev. The pure white ring.

For the answer… Aria’s mouth opened. “This… is a gift from Mr. Lev.”

“Lev?”

-Thump!

Following Edwin, Yeriel’s heart sank.

‘I-I expected it…! It’s okay to give a gift! Aria always helps Lev, and more than anything, it suits her well… Yes, yes!’

Even though she knew, it still hurt. …So Lev really did give it to her as a gift.

Lev gave a gift, a gift…

Various thoughts filled Yeriel’s mind.

‘Was I this greedy…?’

Would anyone think of Yeriel, who dedicated most of her time to helping her juniors, as greedy? Anyway, Aria continued,

“Yes, he said it would be helpful for me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Is there another meaning to it?”

“…!”

Edwin, oblivious as ever. His question could simply be interpreted as, ‘That’s unlike Rev. Is it some kind of bribe?’

But this question was fatal to the two in a different way…

At that moment, Yeriel’s eyes met Aria’s.

-……

An awkward silence passed between them, and as if they had the same thought… they both averted their gazes, seemingly embarrassed.

And after a moment, Aria’s mouth opened.

“Indeed. …If there’s a meaning……”

“…!”

Yeriel’s heart began to pound.

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