A Third-Rate Villain’s Sweet Life Exploiting Academy Bugs – Chapter 97

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Time passed, and the day of the raid arrived.

-Lev! It hasn’t been long since that incident…!

-Lady Yerial is right. You suffered severe injuries, so you should rest…

Having somehow heard about my participation in the raid,

Yeriel and Aria followed me around, trying to dissuade me.

-Lev, I’m really going to scold you! I’m going to scold you…!

-As someone involved in healing, I can’t let this go easily either…!

Were these two always so in sync?

They were clearly scolding me, but it felt 1% threatening and 99% cute.

-It’s okay. I’m not alone this time.

-That’s true, but…!

Professor Diena had already written me a recommendation letter,

and since I had also been discharged, the two had no power to force me.

-Don’t worry. I’m really fine.

-…Really…!

Yeriel puffed up her cheeks.

I was always grateful for her concern.

But for her sake, I had to participate in this event.

.

.

.

Following the guide dispatched from Claris, I arrived at…

the guild [Eternal Flame], supported by the Prominence Dukedom.

As befitting a mage guild that focused on fire magic, the red brick building boasted an imposing presence.

-Wow!

-So this is it!

The new cadets, who had come here for raid experience, were in awe.

Eternal Flame was one of the seven major guilds, a place where every magic department cadet dreamed of joining.

Therefore, such a reaction was natural.

Anyway, when everyone gathered in the guild’s main hall, a man who seemed to be an executive of Eternal Flame stepped onto the platform.

“First, let me briefly introduce myself. I am Centurion Tayron, and I will be leading the 17th class. Since things will be hectic during the raid, let’s just call me ‘Captain’.”

The cadets nodded, and Tayron continued.

“First, I understand that your participation in this raid is entirely voluntary. Therefore, the guild will not take any responsibility for any unfortunate incidents that may occur.”

Like Instructor Sylvester, despite his seemingly intimidating words, the cadets didn’t show much reaction.

Those who had applied here were all S-rank, with a few A-rank top students mixed in.

In short, they were elites, and they had confidence in their own abilities.

‘And I’m the only B-rank here…’

“However, the executives of Eternal Flame and Divine Valhalla have no intention of killing you. As long as we are together in this raid, we are comrades, and that’s the only fact.”

His words were blunt, but they instilled a strong sense of camaraderie, and some cadets’ eyes were already shining brightly.

“Now, with the introduction out of the way, let’s begin the briefing. Everyone, focus on the front.”

Just like in the game, where the raid leader would give a brief overview of the boss,

the explanation of the target for this raid began.

In front of them, a hologram projected by a magical device began to appear.

And what took shape was the image of a red bird in flight.

“B-rank monster. [Blood Ash].”

At those words, I could hear murmurs around me.

-What, B-rank? It’s nothing special, is it?

-I know, right. I’ve heard of it, but still…

The cadets’ words weren’t entirely wrong.

It wasn’t incredibly large, and its rank was lower than the Lord of Pleasure.

“I know what you’re thinking better than anyone, as I’ve been in charge of the raid every quarter. If you think Blood Ash is nothing special, that means you’re being careless. And carelessness means death.”

At the word ‘death’, the murmurs died down.

Tayron continued.

“There are two reasons why Blood Ash is classified as a B-rank monster. First, it’s corrupted by black magic. Therefore, it’s highly aggressive towards humans, and in the past, it has actually caused damage to villages. If we don’t raid it every quarter, this guy will definitely harm civilians. And second, it cannot be permanently killed.”

I already knew all of this.

The reason why they could practice raiding every quarter was the second reason: it couldn’t be permanently killed.

“Blood Ash is…”

To summarize Tayron’s explanation…

The [Blood Ash] that appears in [Hero Academy>]is the phoenix that you can commonly imagine.

It flies, it manipulates fire, and its entire body is blazing, so it’s hot and dazzling when it approaches. It’s also weak against ice and water attributes.

A monster with abilities that are exactly as they appear.

Since its weaknesses and patterns are perfectly analyzed,

it’s suitable for raid practice, where mutual cooperation is important.

However, like the [Lord of Pleasure], which had a separate body and tentacles, monsters corrupted by black magic have unique gimmicks unlike regular bosses.

The reason for this is because of the original game [Hero of Another World].

Unlike demons in Pandemonium, monsters are in nature or sanctuaries,

so if a player wanted to, they could solo farm low-rank monsters with an inflation-advanced character.

Perhaps the author was aware of this, so he gave [Blood Ash] the ability of immortality as a preventive measure.

When this guy’s health drops to a certain level, it bursts into a cloud of bloody ash and enters an ‘immortal’ state.

During this time, it takes no damage and revives in the next quarter.

Moreover, it doesn’t give any rewards in the process.

Nevertheless, the reason why [Eternal Flame] and [Divine Valhalla] exclusively support and compete with each other in this raid is simple.

There was a legend that the essence that could be obtained by successfully killing this phoenix, [Blood Ash], could unlock the 9th circle of fire magic.

Of course, knowing the true story, I knew the ending of this Blood Ash.

In the later part of [Hero Academy], this phoenix does get captured.

And it’s by Kaelan, who copied Edwin’s [Execution] trait…

That guy is able to use [Immediate Execution] before Edwin through [Absolute Growth],

and although it’s not explicitly described in the novel,

it is stated that this skill was used to break the immortality condition of [Blood Ash].

And Kaelan uses this reward as an excuse to completely take Melissa for himself.

In the end, this is also why Melissa betrays Edwin once again.

On the other hand, the original heroine, Yeriel.

She is also an excellent elementalist who can manifest a phoenix, but she is no match for Melissa, who obtained the essence of Blood Ash.

This is ultimately why she loses her presence in the later part of the story.

To summarize…

Melissa is an upgrade to Yeriel,

Selena learned Wind Archery late, but was held back by Red Wind Archery.

And Aria, the healer, is pushed aside when Lily loses her dragon but obtains healing magic through the essence.

This is the whole story of the fundamentally flawed Kaelan party.

‘Sigh.’

As I was sighing, Tayron’s last words continued.

“The detailed explanation of the raid will be given by the elders of each respective division from now on. Everyone, gather around your elders.”

With that one sentence, the cadets dispersed.

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“Lady Melissa, you participated as expected.”

“Yes. It’s been a while, Abeline.”

After discussing the whereabouts of the royal class and the festival, the two met again after a long time and exchanged simple greetings before parting ways.

Melissa looked at Abeline’s retreating figure and muttered to herself.

‘I must… I must find out.’

The Feiffs mountain range, boasting the longest ridgeline in the empire.

The monster that is considered ‘immortal’ that resides here.

[Blood Ash].

It was clearly the guild supported by the Prominence Dukedom that first discovered it.

[Eternal Flame].

However, since [Blood Ash] is not completely eradicated and revives again…

the Empire brought in Divine Valhalla and Claris under the pretext of monitoring it and using it as a teaching material for the academy.

‘Faster than Abeline… I must find a way to defeat Blood Ash…’

What could she not do for the sake of the dukedom.

Prominence’s wishes were in line with this.

Above all, Melissa, who was proud of her fire magic, firmly believed in the legend of Blood Ash, so today was a very important day.

If she could only obtain the essence of immortality, she could become the main character, leaving behind the many geniuses of Claris.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t bring Edwin…’

Melissa thought that Edwin had a good sense of insight and intuition.

‘It was like that when he defeated Kaelan… wasn’t it?’

A superhuman appearance that showed up in an instant.

So she wanted to talk to him about the method for completely destroying Blood Ash.

-No. Lord Edwin has just entered the recovery period.

Aria refused, saying that it was not allowed to bring someone who had not yet fully recovered to a raid,

and Melissa had to come alone.

‘…I wonder if there’s anyone useful.’

It wasn’t ideal, but…

She approached a man who was an elder of the magic department and greeted him with a smile.

“Hello! Senior!”

“Oh. Um, ahem. You’re the one called the Red Flame among the first-years…?”

“You can call me Melissa!”

While greeting her seniors…

She saw a familiar face over there.

Selena. And… the ashen-haired man.

Lev Denec.

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“What? Why is he…?”

“Gather around here.”

The elder of the archer division was…

a familiar face.

A beautiful woman with purple hair that exuded a noble aura.

Violet D’Crescent.

-Wow! We made it! It’s Senior Violet, isn’t it?

-Hey, hey, wake up. She doesn’t even notice anyone who isn’t exceptionally skilled.

-Hey, I didn’t say anything, okay?

“Please be quiet.”

When Violet spoke with an expressionless face, it became quiet in an instant.

For some reason… Selena and she felt strangely similar in their cold demeanor.

In fact, there was a narrative that Violet, who didn’t open up easily, tried to make Selena her junior.

Anyway, that was later.

I headed towards Selena.

I wanted to keep my distance, but since our positions were the same, I had no choice.

As I lined up, Selena said, as if telling me to listen, while keeping her eyes on the front.

“The two people’s care must have worked well?”

“?”

Two people?

Did she mean Yeriel and Aria…?

“I heard you recovered not too long ago.”

“Did you worry too?”

“……”

Selena smiled faintly and said, as if testing me.

“The appearance of an archdemon. I’m curious how you did it this time too…”

“Well… Why are you overestimating me so much?”

At those words, Selena finally looked at me and said.

“There must be a reason why you’re participating in the raid, right?”

“……”

‘Because of you.’

I thought that in my mind but didn’t answer, and Selena went to check her equipment as if she was bored.

Pale skin and platinum blonde hair… an elf is definitely an elf.

‘Her senses are too sharp.’

Anyway…

‘Hmm?’

The next thing that caught my eye was a pink-haired woman.

It was Melissa, subtly making physical contact with the seniors’ arms and flirting.

‘What would Edwin say if he saw that?’

He’s just a pushover, so he’d probably say, ‘Haha! Melissa is popular as always!’

Of course, that wasn’t Melissa’s true intention.

She was just trying to make connections with anyone she suspected might be useful for the sake of the dukedom.

That’s why she was trying to create ‘openings’ like that.

It was the same reason why she kept the royal class even after Kaeran left…

‘…Salvation… I wonder.’

While I was having complicated thoughts,

-…!

Just like during the dungeon exploration practice orientation,

our eyes met unintentionally, hers and mine, Melissa’s.

Melissa made a surprised expression for a moment, then looked around and approached me.

“You… why are you here?”

“…?”

“You definitely need a professor’s recommendation…!”

She frowned slightly as if something was bothering her, then bit her lower lip.

And she came up to me and whispered.

“Just tell Edwin.”

“…”

‘Sigh…’

As expected…

I should take the essence of immortality.

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