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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The first day of the festival.
Kanion watched Tia singing on stage. Her long, red hair was tied back, and she looked beautiful.
Her slightly pointed ears, smaller than a full-blooded elf’s, peeked through her hair.
He liked that. Not grotesquely long, just subtly pointed.
The pink-haired girl and the blonde girl beside her were also beautiful.
But Tia was the most captivating.
Like a siren’s song.
And she was the famous heiress of the Erze Trading Company.
A trading company run by a half-elf. Tia must have inherited some elven blood.
‘I like her. I hear elves are flexible.’
Kanion smirked. And with an elf, there was no risk of… complications.
‘I’ll take them down one by one. Starting with the elf.’
He imagined them beneath him, moaning and panting. A predatory grin spread across his face.
He followed Tia that night and saw her leaving the hotel with Ethan.
‘Is he her boyfriend?’
Even better. Virgins were always a hassle, demanding commitment and responsibility. He enjoyed stealing other men’s women.
The look in their eyes as guilt and pleasure warred within them was intoxicating.
Kanion pulled out his communication crystal.
He wasn’t going to let this night go to waste.
[Lunia, it’s me. Come out. Let’s go on a date.]
[I’m… busy tonight…]
[I want to see you.]
[…Alright.]
Kanion called his seventh conquest, Lunia, a junior at the academy, and headed to the hotel.
Their “date” consisted of nothing more than rolling around in bed.
Kanion collapsed onto the bed. He wasn’t feeling Lunia tonight.
“Why are you so quiet today?”
“I… I have something to tell you…”
“What is it?”
“I’m… I’m pregnant.”
Lunia finally managed to force the words out. Kanion Amos. A descendant of the hero Luke Amos. A member of the prestigious Amos family.
Even though he was from a branch family, his name still carried weight.
“Pregnant?”
“…Yes. So…”
“So you’ll get rid of it, right?”
Kanion replied calmly.
“Or are you expecting me to marry you?”
His voice was sharp. He had plenty of women. He could call up three or four girls right now who would be more than willing to spend the night with him.
Lunia bit her lip and remained silent.
“Lunia, you know… I love you, but… we can’t be together…”
This clueless country bumpkin. He swallowed the harsh words and continued in a softer tone. Tears welled up in Lunia’s eyes.
“Don’t cry, Lunia. Okay?”
“Do you… do you even love me?”
“Of course I do. But what can we do? The world is against our love.”
Kanion sighed inwardly.
‘This is why I should only date elves.’
He coaxed and cajoled Lunia until she agreed to get an abortion.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Tia stared at him blankly. He smiled and continued.
“I’m Kanion Amos. A second-year student at Neydia Hero Academy.”
Third-year students and above were busy with demon subjugation missions. They didn’t have time for social gatherings.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Tia Erze.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Tia Erze.”
Kanion extended his hand. Tia hesitantly reached out. He was expecting her to shake his hand…
“I don’t like shaking hands. I apologize. I don’t like physical contact.”
Tia pulled her hand back.
“Haha! My apologies. I was being too forward.”
Tia just smiled. He was speaking to the daughter of the Erze family. She might be a commoner, but she was wealthy and influential.
“Are you here alone?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Would you like a drink?”
“Ah, thank you, but I’m on a diet.”
It was a lie, of course.
Kanion was taken aback by her blunt rejection. Every woman he had met had accepted his offer of a drink, even if they claimed to be on a diet.
“That’s a shame. You know, Lady Tia…”
“What?”
“I saw you dancing at the festival.”
Tia smiled awkwardly. She was embarrassed.
“It was a bit… much.”
“You were amazing! Your singing and dancing were both incredible.”
“Is that so? I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“What’s your class?”
He already knew.
“I’m a Spirit Summoner.”
“Really? Me too! I even formed a contract with a high-level spirit during summer break.”
He was showing off. He would probably be able to contract with a Spirit King by his third year.
“Oh, really? What type of spirit?”
“Guess.”
“Hmm… Ice?”
“Bingo! But do I really seem that cold?”
Tia smiled and tilted her head.
“I’m actually very passionate.”
‘Ugh… even though he’s a senior, I want to punch him.’
But Tia forced a smile. It was customary to politely laugh at bad jokes at social gatherings.
“What kind of spirits do you use, Tia?”
He was even dropping the formalities now.
Tia hated it when seniors acted like they were close to her. But it was difficult to call them out on it.
“I use all four elements.”
“Really? That’s impressive. Must be your elven blood.”
“Yes, that’s right. Excuse me for a moment.”
It was customary not to ask where someone was going when they excused themselves. They might be going to the restroom.
Kanion waited.
‘She’s taking a while…’
He sipped his drink and waited. Thirty minutes passed, and Tia returned, an apologetic smile on her face.
“I’m sorry, Kanion. Something came up, so I have to leave.”
“Something came up?”
Kanion blinked. If something had come up, she shouldn’t have come to the social gathering in the first place. Tia turned and left.
‘Did she just… ditch me? Me? Kanion Amos?’
He couldn’t believe it. He had never been ditched before. He chuckled in disbelief.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It was midterm season.
Exams always followed festivals. Like the first semester, the midterms were mostly written exams.
Thanks to Sepia’s tutoring, I was able to do well on the written exams.
But one course, “Introduction to Hunting,” had a practical component.
‘The raid is one of the main events of the midterm exams.’
I walked down the hallway towards the bulletin board. It was a joint raid with senior students.
The exam announcements were posted on the board.
━━━ Team 5 ━━━
Reus
Tesha
Ethan
Mentor: Kanion Amos
━━━━━━━━━
Was this the Lucky Ring’s effect?
I was on the same team as the top two students. I hadn’t been on the same team with Tesha since the first practical exam. The problem was Reus.
‘Three close-range damage dealers. Well, Tesha is also good at magic. Should I be happy about this, or not?’
In terms of combat power, it was a good team.
‘But that jerk probably still holds a grudge…’
Reus, despite being a demigod, was petty. In Greek mythology, he had even prayed for his own side to lose the war because he was angry.
He and Arthur wouldn’t become friends until after the second semester midterms.
Reus would discover a dungeon during summer break.
He would try to clear it alone, but he would fail. He would realize he needed help and recruit Arthur and Sonny.
‘And after that, they became rivals, I think? Why did he fail to clear the dungeon alone, when he’s supposed to be so strong…?’
“Ethan! Checking your team? The announcements are already up? I thought they were going to be posted at noon.”
Tesha approached me. She hadn’t checked the announcements yet.
“Ah…”
She fell silent after seeing her team. She had fought Reus during the final exam and had witnessed his unpleasant personality firsthand.
“W-well, at least we’re on the same team… haha…”
She tried to sound positive. Heroes could choose their own party members. But sometimes, they had to work with people they didn’t like, especially during large-scale subjugation missions.
“Let’s do our best.”
“Yeah, let’s.”
“Go, team! Fighting!”
Tesha clenched her fists and nodded. But there was something else that bothered Ethan, aside from being on the same team as Reus.
‘That jerk is our mentor…’
Kanion Amos.
He wasn’t a major character in the novel, but he had made a lasting impression, and not a good one.
He was Arthur’s senior, and he had constantly criticized and belittled him. He had also hit on Vivian.
His nickname was “Onion Amos.” Because he was like an onion: the more you peeled back his layers, the more you wanted to cry.
‘I’ll have to be on my best behavior.’
The practical midterm exam began.
Like the Arvis Island exam, it was conducted in a virtual reality environment. We had to explore a virtual dungeon and defeat the final boss.
Kanion chuckled when he saw Ethan’s name on the team list.
‘I’ve got you now, kid.’
He was planning to nitpick every little mistake, to take out his frustration on Ethan for being rejected by Tia.
He could find fault with anything.
The exam began in the afternoon. The teams were transported to the virtual dungeon one by one. Reus, Tesha, and Ethan didn’t speak to each other.
Kanion smirked, observing the tense atmosphere.
‘Their teamwork is going to be terrible.’
It wasn’t uncommon. They might seem like rivals, but the academy was a jungle.
Tesha spoke up. Kanion recognized her from the festival performance.
“Reus, can we talk?”
“Tesha, was it? What do you want to talk about?”
“Reus, I don’t like you. And I know you and Ethan don’t get along either.”
Reus had his spear slung over his shoulder.
“So?”
“But personal feelings are private matters. Teamwork is important. Let’s cooperate, just this once.”
Tesha extended her hand. She wasn’t intimidated by Reus, who was much taller than her.
Kanion smiled, amused.
“…Perhaps I was… out of line.”
Reus shook Tesha’s hand. She hadn’t forgiven him, but she knew they had to work together.
Tesha called Ethan over.
“Ethan, come here. Don’t just stand there.”
The boys could settle their differences later.
But they needed to clear the air for the sake of teamwork.
“I don’t hold any grudges.”
I had defeated Reus in the final exam, after all.
“Neither do I, Ethan. It wasn’t a fair fight.”
“That’s good. Reus, you take the lead. Ethan and I will cover your flanks.”
Reus nodded. He liked the arrangement. The strongest member usually took the center position.
Tesha and I were like the sword and shield of the party.
‘Tesha… she’s trying to clear the air and establish roles before the exam begins. Smart.’
Kanion observed them critically. It was Tesha’s team’s turn.
“Let’s move. You will escort me through the dungeon. And as you know, if I’m injured, your entire team will be penalized. Keep that in mind.”
They entered the virtual dungeon. Kanion followed them, observing their every move.
They walked through the damp, dark corridors of the dungeon, leaving small marks on the walls to track their progress.
‘I’ll criticize every mistake they make.’
He had more experience and knowledge than they did.
They encountered a group of hobgoblins. They wouldn’t be used to fighting in the close quarters of a dungeon.
‘If they recklessly release their mana, the dungeon could collapse. It’s a common mistake.’
But they fought flawlessly, defeating the hobgoblins with hand-to-hand combat, without releasing any mana.
‘What the…? They’re perfect. There are no wasted movements.’
Reus and Tesha were the top two students in their class, and Ethan had been trained by Sylvia, who had drilled efficiency into him since the beginning of the semester. It was only natural that they were skilled.
And each of them was as strong as an entire party.
‘These monsters… they’re strong and efficient…’
Kanion’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe it.
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That’s messed up.