A Third-Rate Villain’s Sweet Life Exploiting Academy Bugs – Chapter 36

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Gailon Shaftie was convinced of his victory. There was no need to test the waters; he was the third son of the prestigious Shaftie family, renowned among elf lineages.

In contrast, Lev Denec was a mere human. Not from a lineage of archers,

nor a hunter’s son.

He was nothing more than a talentless good-for-nothing who put on airs.

How he had passed the ranger selection test remained a mystery, but

he had made a grave mistake, touching something he shouldn’t have:

Selena, whom Gailon considered his ‘possession’.

Gailon found it even more incomprehensible that Selena was helping Lev Denec with his training.

“Selena? What are you doing with him? You’re going to train that guy, my opponent?”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with my actions.”

“Haha… I know you’re kind, but there’s no need for such misplaced sympathy. After you graduate from this academy, you’ll…”

“If you’ll excuse me.”

Selena’s tone and gaze were ice-cold. Back at their family estate,

she would silently obey when Gailon ordered her to smile.

But ever since arriving at the academy, she had started acting according to her own will.

‘She’s mine! Mine!’

His obsession stemmed from a specific reason.

Selena’s aptitude as an archer was on par with that of a pure-blooded elf.

No, she was even more talented, one could argue.

That’s why the Shaftie family had taken her in and raised her despite her half-elf heritage.

‘Ungrateful bitch…’

If she had simply become his concubine and fulfilled her role as a child-bearing machine, he would have showered her with affection.

But here she was, helping another man.

‘Is she trying to make me jealous?’

She had never smiled at him, not once, when they were together.

Yet, during her training sessions with that guy, he had seen glimpses of her smile, felt her enjoyment.

To vent his frustration, Gailon had only one option:

to thoroughly beat Lev Denec, to break Selena’s spirit.

But…

as the duel began,

Pshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhewwwwww!!!

‘Wh-what the…?!’

Even Gailon, who considered himself well-versed in Wind Archery,

had never witnessed such a technique.

The first arrow and the last arrow fired defied order. The laws of nature seemed to twist and turn as each arrow, claiming to be the first, flew towards Gailon in a whirlwind of unpredictable curves.

All he saw in the end was a blue blur enveloping him.

.

.

.

When Gailon opened his eyes again,

the outcome was already decided.

“The winner is first-year B-rank student, Lev Denec..”

“Wh-what… Ugh!”

He wanted to contest the result, but he couldn’t speak. Arrows had pierced his body from all directions.

‘I lost… in a quick draw…?’

He had expected the first shot from the crossbow to be fast,

but nothing compared to Wind Archery.

The audience was equally bewildered.

-Is it over?

-Senior Gailon lost?

-To a freshman??

-What was that just now? Magic?

-Damn it! I should have bet against the odds…

-This is rigged! Rigged!!!

.

.

.

Instructor Sylvester, who had been watching alongside Professor Maclon, also found it hard to believe that the duel had ended in a single exchange.

“Wind Archery…?”

For a human, not an elf, to wield Wind Archery was unheard of, except in legends.

Professor Maclon asked in a grave tone,

“What do you make of this?”

“In my… opinion, it’s definitely Wind Archery. If it’s not…”

“If it’s not?”

“He must have… received an unknown Inheritance ability… from someone.”

Sylvester concluded that if this fell under the category of inherent talent, it had to be a demonic ability.

Though the bewildered audience remained oblivious, these two men had noticed something:

Lev Denec’s Wind Archery wasn’t particularly powerful.

Of course, it was partly due to the practice crossbow bolts and protective gear, but

the main reason was that he hadn’t infused even a minuscule amount of magic power into any of his arrows.

“If he had harbored any intent to kill, the result could have been horrific.”

Even Professor Maclon, known for his unwavering concern for his students, felt a chill down his spine.

With his potential as a mage, he could have easily imbued the arrows with magic power,

but he had restrained himself, or to put it less favorably, he had held back against his opponent.

“Moreover, what he used was clearly a basic Wind Archery technique…”

It wasn’t a particularly powerful or enhanced skill, just a fundamental technique,

yet it had rendered an upperclassman incapacitated in a single blow.

“How much time is left until the ranking matches?”

“It’s scheduled after the dungeon exploration practice, so about a month.”

Countless guilds, knight orders, magical societies, and most importantly, the imperial family attended the ranking matches to observe the students compete.

It was an opportunity for them to scout out promising individuals and recruit them after graduation.

“It would be best to assign him a dedicated professor until then.”

“Understood.”

“You were right, Sylvester. He’s not ordinary. We need to observe him further… Perhaps… we might witness something truly remarkable before I retire.”

Professor Maclon, a veteran respected for his skill even within the academy, had given such a high appraisal.

Sylvester’s curiosity about Lev Denec intensified.

His actions, skills, words… everything about him was unusual.

It was as if he had become a completely different person.

What was even more intriguing was that many, both inside and outside the academy, knew very little about him.

‘Interesting… isn’t it…?’

To exaggerate slightly, he might even be someone worthy of the imperial family’s attention, not just that of a large guild.

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The duel with Gailon… ended rather anticlimactically.

Of course, Gailon’s arrogance played a significant role, but

even I felt like I had cheated.

I had simply mashed the Q, W, and E keys randomly,

but the three basic archery techniques, Quick Shot, Multi-Shot, and Curved Shot, synergized unexpectedly, creating a chain attack.

It was impossible for Gailon, caught off guard, to defend against it.

-I-I was careless! I’m perfectly fine… ugh… so let’s resume the duel…!

He pleaded desperately to continue, convinced he could still fight, but

-The decision is final. You were clearly knocked down, and it was deemed impossible for you to continue.

Bella ruthlessly ended the match.

-As agreed upon, all penalties for this duel will be imposed on Gailon Shaftie.

Gailon Shaftie, the third-rate villain, was left kneeling on the ground, his defeat a spectacle for all to see.

He probably wouldn’t be able to hold his head high for a while out of shame.

-Cha-ching!

The reward window for the duel appeared.

“Cheap, so cheap. Okay, Wind Archery.”

I opened the Wind Archery skill window to allocate my Supporting Character points.

-Cha-ching!

If the First Style was this powerful, I could only imagine the might of the Second and Third Styles.

‘I need to level up Wind Archery quickly…’

But something was strange about the experience bar.

“2 Awakening Essences…”

Damn that closed beta version.

During the closed beta, leveling up signature skills of key characters required ‘Awakening Essences’, obtained through trials, or rather, by defeating monsters.

In other words, I couldn’t level it up using Supporting Character points.

So that’s why this status window had appeared yesterday.

Wait, wasn’t this actually a good thing?

Supporting Character points were scarce and had various uses; it was better to focus on leveling up through combat.

“Alright. My next goal is the Trial.”

Trial 2 of the Evolution Chamber,

a challenge no Clarice Academy freshman had ever conquered.

That’s where I would obtain the 2 Awakening Essences I needed.

Trial 2, divided into two parts, wouldn’t be easy.

Therefore, I needed to become stronger…

“That’s right, I should start focusing on increasing my Magic Power.”

Since Lev Denec was capable of using Circle Magic, I had to make use of it.

Increasing my Magic Power would allow me to enchant weapons and significantly enhance the power of Wind Archery.

‘So much to do…’

And this wasn’t all. Chapter 2 was packed with events.

The dungeon exploration practice, the ranking matches… characters succumbing to darkness, demon ambushes…

And most importantly, my arch-nemesis, Kaelan, would make his appearance…

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

“First, let’s celebrate with a nice meal outside.”

Yeriel’s cooking was great, but now that I was in a fantasy world, I couldn’t miss out on experiencing its unique cuisine.

The street food I saw at the black market last time looked delicious.

As I was organizing my thoughts, I spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

Lavender-tinged silver hair, azure eyes, and an impassive expression.

It was Aria, seemingly searching for someone desperately.

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Aria, after finishing her tea with Melissa, rushed to the Yegudi Dormitory.

It was already past noon.

She still had so many questions about him.

She needed to investigate Andras’s whereabouts.

If he got expelled, all her efforts would be wasted.

Truth be told, beneath all these concerns, she was mostly worried about his well-being.

Knowing Gailon’s personality, there was no way he would let that annoying Lev Denec off easy.

‘What was he thinking, accepting that duel…!’

Since the incident in Ebenbahu, Aria couldn’t bring herself to ignore him.

Even though she knew he had a family, a lineage,

she couldn’t help but feel…

the same emptiness and loneliness… the feeling of being abandoned in this world, that she herself experienced.

‘I’m here…!’

Many people had already left the Yegudi Green Dormitory arena.

-It ended so quickly.

-I know, right? Kind of a letdown.

-But the guy who won, isn’t he kind of handsome?

The conversations among the students who had witnessed the duel were all similar.

It ended quickly.

The winner was handsome…

It felt empty.

Pointless.

“…”

Judging from this, it seemed Gailon had won easily.

‘How badly is he hurt?’

Most of the spectators must have been cheering for Gailon.

It left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Perhaps her concern reached him.

“?!”

She spotted Lev Denec without difficulty.

“Lev.”

“What brings you here?”

He seemed nonchalant, and surprisingly unharmed. He must have surrendered right at the beginning.

“It’s about the duel, obviously. I see you’re not injured.”

“Of course not.”

“So you… surrendered?”

“…?”

“Why accept the duel if you were going to give up immediately…! Even if you surrender, the loser’s penalty still ap…”

“I won.”

“…What?”

“I won.”

“……”

Aria, who had been checking him for injuries, looked up at his face in disbelief.

“…You won…?”

“Have you eaten?”

He won? Against an upperclassman, Gailon, the second-best archer?

And had he always been this… charming?

His jawline and nose, which she had never noticed before, seemed sharp and defined.

If she had to categorize this ‘bad boy’ style, it wasn’t exactly the type that would appeal to her and open her heart.

But while she had previously found him unpleasant and difficult to approach,

he no longer seemed repulsive, unlike before.

“Food.”

“…What?”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet…?”

“Since you helped me out, let’s grab a meal.”

“…Are you asking me? Why would I…”

Aria, usually composed,

was still struggling to process his victory.

How did he do it?

What kind of trickery had he employed?

Regardless, it was a good thing, right? He had avoided expulsion.

‘I need to ask him about Andras too.’

Her mind was in turmoil.

And Lev continued, as if it were the most natural thing in the world,

“You were going to follow me around anyway, to keep an eye on me.”

“Follow…?”

Aria, mumbling the word to herself, quickly snapped back to reality.

“Follow…! No, I wasn’t.”

“Well, you can do a proper job of it this time.”

“……”

And so, Aria ‘reluctantly’ followed behind Lev as he walked ahead.

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