A Third-Rate Villain’s Sweet Life Exploiting Academy Bugs – Chapter 51

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Hazel Thewonder, a member of the Alchemy Club,

nervously entered the black market alley, glancing around to make sure no one was watching.

-Remember, if we don’t deliver results this time, our club is doomed.

-Professors will be attending this event, so we have to succeed.

‘If they want to exploit us, the least they could do is provide proper support…!’

Hazel sighed heavily.

She had managed to avoid expulsion so far.

She had even barely scraped by during the entrance exam thanks to that guy, Lev Denec.

But alchemy…

It didn’t pay!

She had been working in crunch mode for a week straight with little to show for it.

Alchemy was a field with lofty goals but a notoriously low success rate.

Yet, the Alchemy Club had managed to stay afloat financially, thanks to one method:

The black market.

Selling academy-approved potions was strictly forbidden; confiscation and disposal were the norm.

But selling unauthorized potions on the black market could at least cover material costs.

-It’s your turn this time, Hazel.

-…M-me…? Yes!

The inevitable had arrived.

Today was Hazel’s turn to visit the black market.

It was a terrifying agreement; if caught, she would bear full responsibility.

‘They’re all… so…’

It was the best they could do, these underdogs, to survive in the academy.

Suddenly, a red-haired man with a sly smile appeared before Hazel, who was adjusting her round glasses.

“Hello? Who are you looking for?”

“…Who are you…?”

“We’re both freshmen. You don’t recognize me?”

Hazel might have been timid, but she wasn’t oblivious.

“Kaelan Heath…?”

One of the most handsome freshmen, with exceptional skills, and a mysterious background rumored to be descended from a war hero…

His name was even ranked among the top students at the Evolution Chamber.

He was everything Hazel wasn’t.

“I heard your club is working on something interesting. Perhaps you could enlighten me?”

The Alchemy Club’s projects were top secret.

This time, they were attempting to create a combat-ready homunculus.

If they succeeded and managed to mass-produce them,

they could replace vanguards, which were notoriously difficult to recruit due to the high risks involved in mercenary work, with homunculi.

However, it was a costly project; any doubts regarding their funding

would undoubtedly hinder its progress.

Therefore, Hazel couldn’t simply divulge this information.

“I’m just a low-ranking member; I don’t know much…”

“Come on, you’re talented, aren’t you?”

He wasn’t lying.

Everyone, students and alchemists alike, acknowledged Hazel’s skills.

The recent acceleration in the project’s progress was largely thanks to her efforts.

“If you do me a small favor, I can offer you this as a down payment.”

“Wow…”

He pulled out a bag overflowing with gems.

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At Clarice Academy,

there was an exclusive circle known as the ‘Royal Class’ for the S-rank first-year students.

It included Kaelan, Aveline, the daughter of the empire’s greatest swordsmaster, Lily, the S-rank summoner, Melissa the princess, and other high-ranking students from the Evolution Chamber, regardless of gender.

Since reaching S-rank as a freshman usually implied a prestigious background, the Royal Class served as a social gathering for the elite.

Selena, the half-elf who had previously shown no interest in such gatherings, had recently joined.

“Selena, you’re here?”

“…”

Frowning slightly at the sound of Kaelan’s melodic voice, Selena moved to a seat further away.

Kaelan, finding her reaction amusing, grinned.

She had been promoted to S-rank after awakening her Wind Archery,

but being a half-elf, whispers and gossip were inevitable.

Of course, with Kaelan’s recommendation, no one dared to openly question her promotion.

Melissa had also been spending a lot of time with these people.

-Melissa, finding a suitable partner within the academy is crucial, you know!

Her parents, the king and queen of the duchy, had drilled this into her.

-I’m sorry, Aria!

-It’s okay. You must be busy…

She had apologized to Aria and reluctantly joined this gathering, but

it was more enjoyable than she had anticipated.

Kaelan asked Melissa,

“Melissa?”

“Yes?”

Melissa, who had been reading a book, took a moment to compose herself before responding.

Ever since their encounter at the Chamber, he had been talking to her more frequently.

-If you know anything about Lev Denec, tell me.

Kaelan was a capable person.

Melissa, a stickler for self-discipline, wished she had a servant like him back in her duchy.

He helped her prepare for upcoming exams, procured rare items that were difficult to find within the academy,
uni
-Since you’re a mage, Melissa, stay within my sight.

-Okay…

and most importantly… the green-haired boy from the Dungeon Exploration Practice had long been forgotten.

She had been… impressed… by Kaelan’s dominant performance that day. Perhaps even more than impressed.

‘Did he notice that I’m wearing the hairpin he gave me?’

Unfortunately, Melissa’s hopes were dashed.

“Aria Bluebell, was it? Aren’t you close with her?”

“Well… yeah?”

“You asked me to include her in our gathering before, right? I’ll add her to the list, so could you invite her?”

“Uh… sure.”

“What? Did you change your mind about her?”

“N-no!”

Truthfully, Melissa had been seeing less of Aria since she started spending time with Lev Denec.

-I’m sorry I missed our dinner date. I’ve organized my notes, would you like to take a look?

-Oh…

Aria hadn’t been bothered by Melissa’s change in attitude and still shared her notes and lecture information like she used to…

but Melissa no longer needed them.

The Royal Class provided everything she could possibly need.

‘But why is Kaelan…?’

He had never shown any interest in Aria before.

What had changed his mind?

Melissa felt a pang of unease.

Aria, and Lev Denec.

That annoyingly handsome Lev Denec…

She had heard he had encountered another monster during the Dungeon Exploration Practice.

First during the entrance exam, and now during the practice?

He was definitely suspicious.

.

.

.

After the gathering, Melissa sighed as she stood before Aria’s door in Raphae Blue Dormitory.

“…This is such a bother.”

Then, in a moment of frustration, she uttered words she shouldn’t have.

‘!’

Melissa was surprised by her own thoughts.

But that’s how frustrating she found Aria.

She had so many connections, so many people who could help her, like those in the Royal Class.

Why was she fixated on Lev Denec, who had nothing going for him except his face,

constantly putting herself in danger?

And now he was stealing Kaelan’s attention as well…

Just as Melissa was about to clench her fist,

something caught her eye.

“What’s this?”

A familiar paper bag, commonly used within the academy, hung from the doorknob.

But its contents were far from ordinary.

Expensive items…

Rare potions that were impossible to obtain within the academy.

“Wait, isn’t this a purification potion…?”

Even in her duchy, potions containing holy water were treated as precious commodities…

Who would leave something like this here?

-Knock. Knock.

Driven by curiosity, Melissa knocked on the door.

.

.

.

After a slight delay, the door opened.

Aria, looking pale and fragile, stood in the doorway.

“Lady Melissa…?”

Melissa felt a strange sense of relief, seeing Aria in this state.

Her silver hair, braided to one side, exuded an aura of vulnerability that tugged at a man’s protective instincts.

“This was hanging on your doorknob.”

Melissa handed her the mysterious bag.

“Oh, thank you.”

Aria accepted the bag, seemingly understanding its contents. Melissa stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Then, she said,

“Sigh, Aria…”

“Yes?”

“Stop… getting involved with Lev Denec. You almost got into serious trouble again.”

“…I’m fine. Thank you for your concern…”

“Sigh.”

‘There she goes again.’

Was Aria always this stubborn?

Exasperated, Melissa said,

“You really… have a thing for those pretty-boy faces, don’t you…?”

“It’s not like…”

“Whatever. Do what you want. I came here to tell you something…”

“Tell me…?”

“Kaelan said he’d include you in the Royal Class.”

“…”

“You won’t regret it. It’s a gathering of elites; it’ll benefit your future, not just your academy life…”

Melissa spoke as if offering a lifeline, as if she had nothing to lose.

Someone of Aria’s status wouldn’t refuse such an offer.

But…

“…?”

“I decline.”

Aria’s words were cold and firm.

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I was sweeping the black market for potions that were effective in purifying divine power when

I witnessed Kaelan trying to bribe Hazel.

-If you do me a small favor, I can offer you this as a down payment.

Fortunately, Hazel, with her cautious nature, had bought herself some time, saying she needed to think about it.

According to the original storyline, Hazel should have been expelled from the academy, like me.

Therefore, their encounter wasn’t supposed to happen.

Stumbling upon this scene was a stroke of luck.

In a side story towards the end of Chapter 2, after the ranking matches and written exams,

Kaelan, already aware of the Alchemy Club’s involvement with the black market,

would bribe and threaten a member to expose their operation and reap the profits.

‘That little…’

Of course, I wasn’t going to let that slide.

This guy, not even a main character, was trying to line his own pockets through any means necessary?

I wouldn’t allow it.

To prevent this, I was waiting for Hazel at the cafeteria on the first floor of Yegudi Green Dormitory.

Female dormitories, whether Green or Blue, were off-limits to males, so I had to rely on a dormitory maid to deliver the package for Aria to her door.

I was worried about her, knowing she was bedridden because of me, but

even if I saw her again,

-It’s nothing serious.

-Don’t worry about it.

Those were the only words she would utter.

-…

As I observed the Clarice students passing by,

I opened my skill window.

“…”

I was running out of skill slots.

Obtaining Afterimage Shot was a good thing.

The problem was that switching skills had a one-hour cooldown per slot,

and the Wind Arrows were registered through a bug; once removed, I wouldn’t be able to re-register them.

I could sacrifice Curved Shot, but to keep utilizing this bug, I needed more skill slots.

-Ding!

.

Even in ‘Reincarnation Hero’, you started with 4 skill slots, which increased as your character grew.

Therefore, I assumed investing Supporting Character Points into the ‘Gamer’ trait would unlock additional skill slots.

Investing in ‘Classic’, on the other hand, seemed to affect the patch version, so I was holding off on that for now.

I needed 265 points to level up the ‘Gamer’ trait…

Now that I was considerably stronger,

I needed to find a place to farm Supporting Character Points for skill level-ups.

This meant hunting named monsters. Dungeons were the ideal choice,

but the dungeons in ‘Reincarnation Hero’ were balanced for party play, making solo runs rather tricky.

I could handle boss fights, but clearing the trash mobs along the way was a pain.

‘Was there a dungeon with only a boss…?’

Even if there was, it would be a super-hell difficulty.

‘I guess I need an accomplice…’

But as a student, I couldn’t hire outside help, like mercenaries.

Too much risk of betrayal and other messy situations.

Taking Edwin under my wing and guiding his growth was an option.

As I contemplated my limited options,

a timid voice spoke from beside me.

“I-I’m grateful for your help back then…! B-but why did you call me so suddenly…?”

It was Hazel, her voice unusually shaky.

I cut to the chase.

“What did Kaelan say?”

“H-how did you…? ”

“How much did he offer?”

“Uh… um…”

“I’ll double it. I’ll even help you clean up your black market operations. Just give me the information exclusively.”

“D-double…? ”

I planned to unleash the parasitic monster on Kaelan.

This information was mine alone.

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