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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Final exams.
That precious last stage that marked the end of the first semester of the first year.
The early-game wall of tears in “Survival Academy”.
How well you developed your character up to this point greatly impacted your ability to clear the mission.
Most build concepts were determined around this point, making it a crucial turning point for players.
Because once this period passed, the chance to change your build wouldn’t come for a long time.
There was no resetting in the middle.
Therefore, the third trial that awaited the protagonist would be a very important test.
One that would gauge how he would overcome the events to come.
…The problem was that Karina wasn’t here.
I wasn’t sure about anything else, but I wondered if there was a way to replace Karina.
To put it mildly, “Survival Academy” wasn’t known for its good balance, and the healer category, in particular, was in such a bad state that the strategy guides explicitly stated “Karina or bust”.
Especially in the early game, there weren’t any decent healer characters besides Karina.
It got to the point that unless you were skilled enough to clear it without Karina, it was common sense to always have her as a party member.
The problem was… Karina hadn’t even enrolled in the Academy.
The Hell Hound incident had already resulted in casualties due to Karina’s absence, and the Demon Summoning incident was handled before it could even occur by eliminating the cause.
However, the last incident, the Dimensional Rift, couldn’t be prevented in advance due to its nature.
To stop it, I would have to cancel the final exams or change the location, but both were impossible with my power.
I was not the chairman of the board, I was just an escort knight.
There was no way I have that kind of authority.
In the end, my only option was to secretly infiltrate the scene and discreetly look after the protagonist.
The protagonist of the game received all sorts of unreasonable buffs, so if I just helped him a little, he should be able to handle the rest.
After all…
The quest to become friends with Elisa had been cleared without me even realizing it, and the new mission blatantly told me to interfere with the main story.
In the meantime, I learned that Lewis was the protagonist.
But still, what was the intention of forcing me to participate in the main scenario?
Because I was an anomaly? Or was there another intention?
Could it be that the character Johann Quartz was actually related to the main scenario, and I just didn’t know his name?
I didn’t know the names of all of the NPCs, but I didn’t remember ever seeing the name Johann or the surname Quartz.
No one reacted in any particular way when they heard my last name, so it probably wasn’t a well-known name on this continent.
Why the hell was the owner of this body stranded on a deserted island? And what was with this strange status window?
…Should I have Sif make some inquiries later when I have time?
If he really was a nobody, I wouldn’t be able to find any clues within the Academy anyway.
“…Forget it. What’s the point of dwelling on a question with no answer?”
I got up from the bed in the secret hideout I had built underground.
It was one of the hideouts I had hidden in the tunnels I had dug under the Academy.
I had only packed the bare minimum and entered the tunnel.
To achieve the purpose of my vacation, I needed to enter the tunnels without anyone knowing.
I entered through a secret entrance I had carefully hidden in the workshop.
Since I had entered secretly, only Sif knew that I was here.
I didn’t want to attract attention, so I had asked Sif to deliver the items.
It was a method I had been using frequently ever since I dug this tunnel.
Especially when I was smuggling mithril, I wouldn’t have been able to safely bring it into the workshop without this tunnel.
“…When is Sif coming?”
“Did you call me?”
The cat burglar, who had poked her head through the entrance to the hideout, entered with a mischievous smile.
The backpack that was as big as her body was a bonus.
Perhaps because the reward I was going to give her was so good, the cat-beastkin, who loved money more than anything, hummed a happy tune as she put the backpack down next to the bed.
“I bought everything you asked for, so give me the money!”
“Here.”
I dropped three gold coins that I had set aside as a reward into Sif’s palm.
“Uhuhu…”
“How are your siblings doing?”
“They’ve gotten so chubby these days that I’m wondering if I should make them exercise~”
Well, considering that she had earned at least 50 gold coins working for me, there was no way they would be starving.
50 gold coins would be more than enough to live for a year without worrying about food, assuming they lived frugally.
“That’s good to hear.”
“So, our respected employer, do you have any more work for me?”
More work… I stared at Sif, who was looking down at me while rubbing her palms together like a sycophant.
Our eyes met with her gaze full of anticipation.
This cat girl, who seemed to be the embodiment of greed, was a pretty useful pawn if I paid her properly.
I didn’t know about loyalty… but her stealth ability, which allowed her to approach unnoticed, as well as her unique skill, “Plunder”, were both very useful.
Besides, her cooperation was essential for smuggling in some expensive materials without the Academy’s knowledge.
After a moment of contemplation, I casually said,
“Sif, are you interested in doing something big with me?”
“Something big? Is it something that makes money?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Honestly, I didn’t think it would make money.
What we were going to do this time was closer to tailing someone, so there might not be any income at all.
In the worst case, we might have to step in…
But I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
With Karina out of the final exams, I wasn’t sure if it was even possible.
Since it was a game with set roles and positions, it was bound to falter if even one of them was missing.
Especially if that role was a healer.
“Sure, why not!”
“That’s unexpected.”
“You’ve never done anything that didn’t make money!”
Her voice was strangely confident.
Come to think of it, she wasn’t wrong.
I always made sure to grab anything that could make money.
Just the money I’d earned from this tunnel alone was an amount that most people wouldn’t see in their lifetime.
Most of it was spent on mithril, though…
“The operation starts tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow… Isn’t that when the final exam is taking place?”
“How did you know?”
“I pick up information just by walking around the streets!”
“Then it’ll be easier to explain. We’re going to sneak into the final exam tomorrow. More specifically, we’re going to infiltrate the dungeon.”
“What?”
Why was she making that dumbfounded expression? Shouldn’t she be able to figure out what I’m trying to do by now?
What am I going to do with this clueless cat burglar?
I added a kind explanation for Sif, who was slow on the uptake.
“I’ve received information that a dimensional rift will appear in the final exam dungeon tomorrow. We’re going into that rift.”
“What are you talking about? A dimensional rift will appear tomorrow? How do you know that?”
Sif’s gaze sharpened at the words “dimensional rift”.
Was it because she knew the danger of dimensional rifts?
She rattled off the information she knew like a machine gun.
“Who doesn’t know that? When that appears, the surroundings are devastated! Monsters pop out of it! A week ago, a dimensional rift opened in a dungeon, and all the adventurers exploring it died.”
Annihilation…huh.
It was understandable.
A dimensional rift was a phenomenon where a hole suddenly opens in space and a dungeon appears.
They could appear in places other than dungeons, but they were the most dangerous when they appeared in dungeons.
If they appeared in a city or a plain, you could just run away, but if they appeared in a dungeon, you would be trapped.
“Did something like that happen? Don’t worry. The rift that opens tomorrow won’t be that dangerous.”
The rift that opens tomorrow is a rift with meticulously adjusted difficulty for players to level up.
The difficulty level would be a bit higher than the previous two incidents.
“Is that reliable information?”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“Well… This is a bit too outlandish to believe.”
“You don’t have to participate if you don’t believe me.”
I only offered it to her because it would be more convenient.
I didn’t ask her because she was absolutely necessary.
Sif thought for a moment, crossed her arms, and groaned, then answered me in a resigned tone,
“I’ll trust you since I don’t think our money… I mean, our employer would lie!”
I think she was about to say “moneybags”.
When I glared at her, Sif immediately averted her gaze and looked away.
Feeling annoyed, I lightly flicked her on the forehead and said while waving my hand,
“Then unpack and rest. We’ll be busy starting tomorrow morning.”
“Okay~”
Sif unpacked her backpack with familiar movements and began to organize the items.
She might look like she lived recklessly, but she was more organized than she looked.
I watched Sif neatly organize her things and lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
I wasn’t particularly sleepy, but I didn’t want to go out and start working right now.
I was thinking of taking a short nap and starting work late at night.
“I’m going to sleep for a bit, so rest up.”
“I’m hungry… Do you have anything to eat?”
“There are sandwiches in my bag, so take them out and eat. Don’t eat them all, because I need to eat too.”
“Sandwiches?”
Sif’s voice sounded excited, perhaps imagining the sandwiches made by the servants at Yeomyeong-gwan.
The sandwiches made by the cook at Yeomyeong-gwan were delicious.
But the sandwiches I brought wouldn’t taste anything like the ones Sif was expecting.
…Because I made them.
I stared blankly at the ceiling and closed my eyes.
When I would open my eyes next, the operation would begin.
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[Bro is actually gonna make a gold digger fall for him lmao]
Considering that she’s more than willing to work hard to earn money and hasn’t tried to enter a relationship (as far as I can remember) with Jonathan, I don’t think calling her a gold digger is quite accurate. His money almost certainly does increase his attractiveness by a lot in her eyes though lol