ALL NOVEL Chapter 42
[Academy Achievements]
[Congratulations! Awakening Chamber Cleared!]
[Reward Granted: Stat Bonus, Supporting Role Points]
[Luck Triggered! Strength, Stamina, and Agility Slightly Increased]
[Awakening Essence 2 Detected]
[Wind Archery Level Increased!]
The result is… passed Trial 2.
Liris held on excellently.
No wonder she’s the student council president.
And only after 20 minutes did the mind control wear off.
[Debuff Cleared: Mind Control]
Thanks to the error, the curse debuff vanished as well.
She had to endure the Curse of Pain while using the mind control spell, reaching her limit.
If things went south, I was ready to either go demonized or use that potion with severe side effects, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
–Cha-rang!
[Curse Resistance Level Increased!]
[Can Resist Level 3 Curses]
‘So much for resistance…’
–Dull-lung!
When I emerged from Trial 2, unexpectedly many were waiting for me.
–…
The chamber caretaker, Sinatis.
“…This is unbelievable…”
Professor Diana, who bet against me.
“Lev Denec…?”
Melissa. Why is she here?
“……”
And if that big-headed jerk is here… could it be Caeran?
“You’re a pervert.”
I never thought I’d meet him so soon.
I tore my gaze away from him and approached Diana.
“It’s good to see you here. As you can see, the bet is my victory, right?”
“This doesn’t make any sense…”
Diana’s eyes were losing focus.
Sinatis was no different.
–How is that possible?
“I clearly remember your student record showed your magic and mana quality wasn’t that high.”
“Well, it needs an update.”
“How did you do it?”
“I thought individuals are not obliged to disclose their strategies according to chamber rules.”
Chamber strategies are supposed to be confidential.
In reality, if an upperclassman secretly tells a lowerclassman, that can happen, but at least when someone else asks, they have the right to remain silent.
And the result must be accepted unconditionally.
This is the Evolution Chamber set by Hero Kroon at Claris Academy.
“Anyway, Professor, I’ll look for you separately.”
As I politely bowed and attempted to leave the chamber, Diana caught my arm.
“Ah… wait a moment.”
Her crimson eyes were sharp again, as if she had regained her senses.
“Lev, I must apologize first. I briefly forgot the chamber regulations and questioning the results of a bet isn’t appropriate either. It’s undermining your efforts…”
“Forget it. I don’t mind.”
“Just a moment! How about reconsidering entering as my personal assistant? It’s definitely not a bad proposal for you, Lev. I will prepare the head assistant position for you!”
Head assistant, huh…
I wasn’t sure if there was even a position for that, but anyway, it seems she’s preparing something special.
Well, having guidance from a professor can’t be a bad thing.
“Alright.”
At my single word, Diana lit up with joy.
A professor getting overly excited over a freshman’s reply… how precious is that?
“But, please allow me to quit anytime I want.”
“Ah… that’s…”
“If not, then I can’t help it.”
“Okay! We can do that.”
Diana’s expression was one of utter disbelief.
–Is that so…
As I responded briefly, I noticed Melissa’s expression had turned tense.
“Let’s talk about specifics tomorrow… or the day after, when you have time in my office.”
–Chamber, prize, payout, later.
“Yes.”
I responded shortly and turned my back on Melissa’s debating eyes.
…
Outside the chamber, the students in the lounge were enjoying drinks while their gazes were fixed on the central magic scoreboard.
–Ding ding ding.
——————————————————
Awakening Chamber
1st Year Rankings
1 – Anonymous: Trial 2 (6 hours 54 minutes 10 seconds)
2 – Aveline Valantes: Trial 1 (00 minutes 25 seconds)
3 – Melissa de Prominence: Trial 1 (00 minutes 41 seconds)
4 – Caeran Hiss: Trial 1 (00 minutes 58 seconds)
5 – Andre Sbenia: Trial 1 (01 minute 21 seconds)
6 – Raymond Toledo: Trial 1 (10 minutes 30 seconds)
7 – Lily Forget: Trial 1 (10 minutes 52 seconds)
…
The rankings for the first year had been updated.
–Already? Someone cleared Trial 2?
–Who exactly is that Anonymous?
–Must be one of the S-ranks… just ignore it.
–But it stands out too much with a 7-hour time!
–Attention-seeking—weird, right?
Once again, the aggro started to build.
In an academy where meritocracy reigns, the rankings shown visually are clearly an eye-catcher.
Whatever the case, I walked past and lazily plopped down onto a lounge chair.
It was time to check the much-anticipated second stage of Wind Archery.
‘Wind Archery.’
As I focused my mind, the status window greeted me.
——————————————————
[Wind Archery] [Lv.2] (None)
: A technique that can be used after forming a contract with the Wind Spirit King Ariel.
As the level increases, new techniques can be acquired.
Current Skills Acquired
: First Skill: Wind Arrow
: Second Skill: Wind Barrier (new)
Exp: (Awakening Essence 3 needed)
——————————————————
——————————————————
[Second Skill: Wind Barrier] (Active) (General Skill)
: [Active 1] – Forms a barrier surrounding with wind.
The barrier absorbs a certain amount of damage while consuming wind energy.
[Active 2] – Removes debuffs as the wind caresses.
[Due to the contract with Ariel, the consumption of wind energy decreases, while durability and the levels that can be cleared increase.]
——————————————————
“Ohh…”
Unlike the original game’s Wind Archery, this wasn’t an attack skill.
It was a defensive skill that protects against damage, and a debuff-clearing skill.
However, having two skills integrated into one makes it highly efficient.
‘I’ve been lacking skill slots anyway…’
The true challenges of the academy and purification of the sanctuary will only ramp up in difficulty.
So, I won’t be able to keep relying solely on sneaking and archery indefinitely.
It should be handy in emergency situations.
And through this, one thing is clear.
‘This must be determined by the Awakening Essence of Sinatis.’
Trial 1 was before I learned Wind Archery, so it’s understandable.
And since Trial 2 was about endurance and perseverance, it seems appropriate that the skills given match that.
So what about Trial 3? An attack skill, I bet.
Of course, it’s going to be ridiculously hard to clear.
It might be necessary to build rapport with Sinatis beforehand for the攻略.
‘Next up… the stats.’
——————————————————
Status
[Strength]: 2.6 -> 2.7
[Stamina]: 2.9 -> 3.0
[Agility]: 2.2(2.86) -> 2.3(2.99)
[Magic Power]: 1.45(1.59) -> 1.8(1.98)
[Mana]: 1.7 -> 2.0
[Mental Power]: 1.9 -> 2.1
[Response]: 1.45 -> 1.65
[Luck]: 3.0
[Specialization]
Circle Magic (1)
Crossbow – Mastery (6)
Curse Resistance (3)
——————————————————
[Remaining Supporting Role Points: 155]
Thanks to luck, all stats increased evenly except the ones needed for B Chamber.
For now, since the maximum for luck as a support stat is 5 points,
It’d be better to keep investing solely into luck until then.
‘I’ll invest all in Luck.’
[Luck: 3.0 -> 3.3]
[Remaining Supporting Role Points: 35]
“Am I finally catching up with the first years?”
But I can’t be satisfied here.
The first main event of chapter 2, the dungeon investigation practice, is coming.
There, Edwin will encounter a raid-level demon creature.
If I can fend that off, the second main event, the rank battle, will follow.
After building up expectations for Edwin with the previous event,
Kieron, the author’s character, will officially intervene in the scene.
Here, Kieron will form a royal-class circle and gaslight the heroines’ weaknesses to create a harem.
I, too, have been practically cast as a villain in the fanfic.
Kieron’s forced and absurdly twisted flag points left me quite speechless.
Now that I think about it, it’s infuriating…
I tried to brush it off, but it wasn’t going to work.
‘Time for a mad dash.’
Suddenly rising from my seat, I headed back to the chamber.
*
Among the first years, someone had cleared Trial 2.
“Professor, thank you for your efforts.”
–Yeah. You did well.
Was Diana accepting the situation? She left first.
‘Crazy, what’s happening?’
Surprisingly, not just Melissa but even Caeran Hiss, who prided himself as the best among the freshmen, was thrown off.
For him, the only rival worthy of a glance was Melissa.
Of course, even she was a close match, limited only to mana manipulation,
Caeran, who possessed both swordplay and magic, deemed her insufficient.
It was just because she was a princess and a bit feisty that he found her cute enough to toy with, yet he hesitated.
In the meantime, he lost the top rank for Trial 2.
“Sigh.”
What was even more annoying was Melissa’s demeanor.
Her gaze held more than just astonishment.
“Do you know him?”
“Yeah, B-rank… Lev Denec…”
I sensed a mix of admiration and budding interest in her eyes.
‘What the hell, just a B-rank?’
This was a feeling Caeran, who considered himself superior, had never experienced before.
At that moment, Sinatis asked Melissa and Caeran.
–You two, challenge Trial?
“Forget it.”
It would only sour the mood further.
Caeran waved dismissively at Sinatis as if disgusted.
Normally all charming charm, today he was just losing control.
“Hey, you…!”
Instead, Melissa apologized with a sorry look to Sinatis.
‘Who am I supposed to do about this nasty feeling…’
As Caeran pondered whom to vent his frustration on while trying to exit the chamber to the lounge, Lev Denec blocked the way.
“Yo, what’s up with that attitude towards the professor?”
“What?”
“Apologize.”
“Um, who are you?”
“Then how about we have a little duel?”
Ha, you’ve gotta be kidding.
He’s picking a fight with a mere B-rank.