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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The carriage proceeded towards the academy without any particular incident.
Thanks to the carriage Shasha had arranged, my backside didn’t hurt a bit.
‘Making a contract with Shasha was definitely the right decision.’
If I had taken a regular wagon with many others like most people, without meeting Shasha, my backside would have been under a lot of strain.
There were no particular incidents during the journey, but.
If I had to call it a happening, it was just that I had exterminated some goblins loitering on the road.
Being stuck in the carriage was boring, so the appearance of goblins was a good way to freshen my mood.
But in the end, I had to spend most of my time riding in the carriage, so.
Before arriving at the academy, I once again opened my status window to check my current situation.
‘Status Window.’
Name: Ishihan
Gender: Male
Stats
Stamina: 6
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Magic: 2
Luck: 3
Fame: 5
Points Possessed: 1
Skills Possessed: Penetration (EX), Spearmanship Mastery (MAX)
Title: Bandit Hunter.
I didn’t get any special titles or fame from catching a Stone Orc.
I suspected that I could only get points and fame by defeating a named enemy, like the bandit captain.
I had left the point I got from defeating Rubid without using it on my stats.
Investing it in my stats would increase my overall power, but I didn’t feel a great need for it in my current situation.
Thanks to Penetration, my thrusting attacks would be fatal to any enemy.
And thanks to Spearmanship Mastery, my body would perform the optimal movements according to the desired trajectory, or spear path.
I probably wouldn’t have any problems with my current stats until the main quest progressed and stronger enemies appeared.
So, if I had to get something.
‘It has to be a skill.’
Penetration and Spearmanship Mastery were passive skills.
I needed to know how it would work when I acquired an active skill.
Of course, there were skills I could get with my current points.
For example, there was Screw Sting, a rotating thrust; Double Pierce, a two-hit thrust; and Spear of Encouragement, a self-buff that increased attack power—or in this case, potency—by 15%.
However.
‘If I’m going to get one, I should get a better one.’
Basic skills weren’t bad, but with the combination of Spearmanship Mastery and Penetration, they didn’t seem very appealing.
If possible, a skill that couldn’t be substituted by Spearmanship Mastery.
In other words, a skill that could perform an area-of-effect attack would be the most ideal.
For example, like this skill.
[Severing Spear (絶槍): A giant spear filled with power falls from the sky, blowing away surrounding enemies. Points required to learn: 5]
Severing Spear was a skill that a player on the spearman path could obtain only after reaching the 5th character level promotion.
The moment you used it, there was a cool camera work for a moment, and the giant spear falling from the sky to defeat surrounding enemies gave a real sense of satisfaction.
For reference, gacha characters had all their skills, up to their ultimate, unlocked from the moment you obtained them.
However, the currency required for skill level-ups was no different from the player character.
‘But why is this 5 points?’
5 points required to learn.
It could be easily obtained if you were lucky enough to defeat a named enemy or complete a quest.
Of course, compared to basic skills, it was 5 times the requirement, but I thought 5 points was a bit too easy to learn.
‘Well, there’s no point in worrying about it now.’
In the first place, I was the one who felt like I was getting it too easily; this could be the norm.
Besides, other than the Spearmanship Mastery and Penetration I had brought as a special perk, the acquirable skills only described what kind of action the skill performed, and there was no percentage increase display like in the game.
‘It was written properly on the equipment effects, though.’
On the Wind Leather Armor and the Crescent Moon Spear, it was clearly stated how many percent it increased when striking a weak spot.
The percentage display that was on the equipment was not on the skills other than the special perks.
It was certainly strange, but this too, there was no way to research it until I acquired a skill.
‘I’ll just have to accumulate points quickly and get a useful skill.’
Two days later, I finally arrived at the Lucadia Academy.
In Lucadia Fantasm, the Lucadia Academy was sometimes used as a general term for the city, not just the school.
According to the lore, there was a reason why this Lucadia Academy was necessary.
The Demon King of Chaos was currently treated as a legendary being, but in this world, there was the threat of monsters.
There was the power of chaos, said to be a remnant of the Demon King of Chaos, and the Chaos Cult, which was fascinated by that power and worshiped the Demon King of Chaos.
Nominally, the Lucadia Academy was a place where promising talents from each country were gathered to make their talents bloom in order to counter the Chaos Cult, which was steeped in the power of chaos and caused suspicious incidents here and there, and monsters.
This nominal reason was, of course, a prerequisite, but for other purposes, it was also a place where promising nobles from each country sent their children to build connections.
And for commoners with good skills but low status, it was a place of opportunity for advancement.
Of course, that was also possible because the nominal reason was truly necessary.
As the game progressed, it was naturally revealed that the activities of monsters and the Chaos Cult were a real threat to each country, so they were not in a position to discriminate between commoners and nobles when it came to teaching.
For reference, the player started as a commoner, and the story progressed as they gradually built up their achievements and were recognized by those around them.
“We have arrived, Sir Ishihan.”
Hearing the coachman’s words, I got off the carriage and looked around.
‘Wow, this is really amazing.’
I had felt it in Valendia too, but seeing the streetscape of the Lucadia Academy, the most frequented place in the game, and the ‘Lucadia Academy’ building that I always saw on the title screen, as a user who had played for over 10 years, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
‘If it wasn’t for this ridiculously difficult situation, I could have been happier.’
“Then, I shall take my leave.”
I expressed my gratitude to the coachman who bowed his head.
“Thank you. Please tell Shasha that I arrived safely.”
“Yes.”
After parting with the coachman, I walked towards the academy.
Around me, I could see others who, like me, had gotten off carriages and were walking in the same direction.
Some looked like nobles, and some looked like adventurers who had gotten off a group-ride wagon.
And some looked like characters from the gacha that I knew.
I could immediately tell that everyone was here to take the same entrance exam as me.
Following the signs that had been set up for today, I headed to the entrance exam site.
After walking for about another 5 minutes, I arrived at the entrance exam site, where people in all sorts of colorful outfits were gathered.
They were prospective students who had gathered from seven countries to enter the Lucadia Academy.
And among them, the one who particularly caught my eye was.
“Oh, oh, oh, what should I do… I’ve come to the academy, but… can I really pass? My master said there’s no problem, but someone like me…”
It was a woman wearing a black witch’s pointed hat, with long, wavy hair of a dark purple color, wearing a black cloak, and a long side-slit skirt that revealed her thighs slightly above.
Her slightly hunched posture and her stammering mumbles revealed a timid and unconfident personality.
‘I’m seeing her already.’
One of the gacha characters I planned to recruit as a fixed member.
To Lu-Fan users, she was known as the “Cowardly Debuff Queen,” Pamela.
There was still some time before the entrance exam began.
‘It’s best to get to know the people I’ll be partying with as soon as possible.’
I moved behind Pamela and spoke to her.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-yes!?”
Pamela flinched and trembled, slowly turning around.
“D-did you, did you perhaps speak to me?”
“Yes. You don’t look well. Are you sick?”
“N-n-no! I’m fine! I’m healthy! I-I’m sorry! To have made you misunderstand! For someone like me to make someone else worry. Ahh, as I thought… I should have just stayed by my master’s side. To come to a place beyond my station and cause trouble for others…!”
Pamela’s trademark extremely low self-esteem and the resulting self-deprecation were on full display.
‘The best communication choice here is.’
“You didn’t cause any trouble. I just asked because I was curious. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“R-really? Th-thank you! B-but why…”
Her words trailed off, but here she was asking why I was worried about her.
“Judging by your attire, you must have also come from another country to enter the academy.”
“Th-that’s right.”
“I thought it would be a big problem if you weren’t feeling well after coming all this way. That’s why I asked.”
“Y-you were worried about me?”
“Yes.”
“W-why someone like me…”
“Hmm, that’s strange.”
Here, I stroked my chin and asked as if I was curious.
“Do you need a reason to worry about someone who doesn’t look well?”
“Ah…”
Pamela stared at me blankly, blinking her eyes.
The answer I had just given was probably very unusual considering Pamela’s backstory.
In the first place, that was the answer I was aiming for.
“Y-you’re very kind. Ah! I-I’m sorry!”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because someone like me is carelessly giving a compliment. D-does it make you feel bad? Does your stomach feel upset? I’m sorry!”
“No? I’m happy.”
“Huh?”
Pamela stared at me blankly again.
“I don’t know what kind of person you are, but there’s no reason to be upset about receiving a compliment.”
“Uh, uhh…”
As if she had experienced a culture shock, Pamela’s mouth hung open and wouldn’t close.
It was at that moment.
“Everyone has gathered.”
An academy entrance exam proctor with a scar on one eye appeared in front of the numerous prospective students.
“We will now begin. Face forward and focus.”
“Ah, y-yes!”
“I am Delt, and I will be supervising this entrance exam.
“Delt?”
“The one called the Shattering Sword, Delt?”
“The Delt who subjugated a basilisk?”
Thump!
Delt slammed the greatsword he was carrying on his back onto the ground and shouted.
“Quiet!”
As the murmurs stopped, Delt nodded and said.
“I will now explain the entrance exam!”
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