I Became The Academy’s Joker Character

Chapter 14

—–CROW—– 

The second basement level was also nothing special.

The only monsters that appeared were noisy fire lizards, and the dungeon’s structure was the same, a cave engulfed in flames.

“Kieeek!”

I shot a [Mana Bullet] at the fire lizard that was trying to ambush me from behind while loudly announcing its presence.

Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even need basic magic.

As long as I could hit its head, [Mana Bullet] was enough to defeat them.

“Kieeek…”

“Honestly.”

I crushed another fire lizard that crawled under my feet, screaming.

“Kiek…!”

“So annoying.”

I blasted the head of the idiotic monster that tried to ambush me from the ceiling while still screaming.

“Ugh!”

“Nothing’s dropping!”

I had killed at least 40 fire lizards on this floor alone. But I still hadn’t gotten a single material item.

Did they really drop here?

“…Or is Oz’s luck stat garbage?”

There was no luck stat in the game, but I suddenly thought it might be a possibility.

Oz, regardless of his in-game performance, was a laughingstock even in the story.

He was strong, but he had bad luck with matchups, got caught off guard, and was often silenced, repeating a truly comical series of events.

Perhaps it was because of an abysmally low luck stat?

Perhaps it was because of his ridiculously bad luck stat, which was invisible yet undoubtedly present?

I would kill the second-floor boss and then go back.  Luck or no luck, I would return after that.

I would return.

I was now a member of the disciplinary committee.

Of course, because of my position and personality, I wouldn’t be patrolling with them.

But since it was the first day, it would be good to show my face.

There was no reason for me to join the disciplinary committee other than symbolism.

I didn’t have to be bound by their rules.

My role was to prevent other idiots from imitating me by having me, the biggest troublemaker, join the disciplinary committee.

Mainly easily influenced idiots like Eleanor.

So, I had to at least set a good example.

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, no more fire lizards were appearing.

The magic I had been mechanically casting had nowhere to go.

In this case, there was only one possibility.

In the game, to encounter a boss monster, you either had to find the boss room or defeat all the monsters in the dungeon to summon it.

I had killed at least 40 fire lizards since entering the second floor.

If no more monsters appeared, it meant the boss monster was about to appear.

[Contemplation – Activated]

“Ugh?!”

I increased the output of [Contemplation] and looked around, and saw a giant fire lizard crawling just two meters ahead.

Invisibility? No, it was different.  Its color simply blended in with the surroundings.  A simple camouflage.

The second-floor boss monster, Salamander.

It looked exactly like a fire lizard, but the tattoos on its body gave it a camouflage effect that allowed it to blend in with its surroundings.

In the game, since its HP bar was displayed above its head, it was just a comical setting, but it was different now.

I was surprised. And it was dangerous.

It was even humiliating that I was caught off guard despite knowing about it.

[Erosion Rate 10%]

The [Erosion Rate] shot up to 10% from the shock.

What an insidious method.

I shouldn’t forget that this wasn’t entirely a game world.

All the monsters that appeared so far had approached while screaming loudly.  Not just when they charged head-on, but even when they ambushed.

I was distracted by that.

That was why I failed to notice the camouflage, not invisibility, with [Contemplation].

Even though it was right in front of me, I was too focused on the sounds to notice it.

“This is…”

Despite the situation, Headmaster Tia’s words came to mind.

She told me to leave the weekday dungeons be if they were of a suitable difficulty for practical training.

In my opinion, this weekday dungeon was a perfect training ground.

Didn’t it teach a lesson to fools like me?

Hiss─!

“Insidious to the very end?”

The Salamander flicked its tongue out like a frog and grabbed my wrist.

I heard a sizzling sound like grilling meat, and felt a stinging pain.

Even its attack was silent.

If I had been caught off guard, ordinary people might have panicked.

Flinch!

I could feel the Salamander’s surprise through its tongue wrapped around my wrist.

It must have tried to pull me closer, but unlike ordinary mages, I had considerable strength.

“Let’s see.”

[Master of Mana Lv. 1]

I grabbed the Salamander’s tongue and pulled it towards me.

I could have just blasted it with magic from a distance, but there was something I wanted to check.

The magic generated by [Master of Mana] was an R-rank area-of-effect spell.

[Lightning Burst]

This intermediate magic inflicted both knockback from the explosion and paralysis, characteristic of lightning-attribute magic.

In the game, it was usually used to disrupt enemy formations.

Then what would happen if I used this area-of-effect magic at close range?

Crack─!

I shoved my fist, along with the magic, into the Salamander’s mouth as it was pulled towards me.

I frowned as I felt the unexpected heat inside the Salamander’s body.

“Die.”

Crackle sizzle──!!!

The moment I unleashed the magic held in my hand, the Salamander exploded.

There was no sign of knockback or paralysis. It just exploded upon detonation, so I couldn’t tell.

“Oh…”

Decent power.

Perhaps because the area-of-effect magic, meant to attack multiple enemies, was concentrated on a single target, it was more powerful than I expected.

This was only possible thanks to [Master of Mana], which didn’t harm me. If I had done this normally, my hand would have exploded too.

“Not bad.”

[Master of Mana] still had many hidden advantages.

I thought it might become useless once I learned intermediate and high-ranking magic, but it still had plenty of potential for creating variables.

“Now, did any currency drop?”

I shouldn’t forget my objective.

I came here to check if the weekday dungeon rewards actually worked in this world.

“There it is…”

I examined the exploded Salamander’s remains and found a red orb.

I almost missed it because it was engulfed in flames. In the game, it was just a red orb placed on a fiery background, so there was a sense of dissonance.

I checked the currency with [Contemplation]. A flaming orb obtained from Tuesday’s weekday dungeon.

In the game, this item was used as an experience potion to level up characters.

Then what about now, when there were no experience points or levels?

Perhaps levels existed, and I just didn’t know.

Or it could just be a simple flaming orb.

That would be quite disappointing.

I hoped there were levels, and that I could raise them…

“Huh?”

I checked the with [Contemplation], and an unexpected answer emerged.

To put it simply, the did increase experience.

But it wasn’t character experience.

[Master of Mana Lv. 1]

Exp: 1/200

[Spatial Barrier Lv. 1]

Exp: 1/300

The moment I checked the , the information window displayed by [Contemplation] for my skills changed slightly.

“Skill level…?”

Come to think of it, it was there.

It clearly said [Lv. 1], but I hadn’t thought about it.

Although the purpose of in-game currency had changed, it was good news that I could strengthen my powers through grinding.

The problem was that it was a useless skill like [Master of Mana]…

I stared intently at the in my hand.

It was burning, but it wasn’t hot.

If I used this, I could gain 1 experience point.

What a ridiculously inefficient system.

“Third floor… shall we?”

Should I really just go up to the third floor?

In games, the drop rate increased as you went deeper into the dungeon.

Perhaps a lot would drop on the third floor.

“Well, the third floor is within the safe zone anyway.”

I stepped towards the stairs leading down to the third floor.

* * *

By the time I left the weekday dungeon, it was already night.

The sky was filled with brightly shining stars, undeterred by the bright streetlights.

It was a sight only possible because this was a game, a game world.

I conquered the weekday dungeon up to the fifth floor today.

Although I initially intended to stop at the third floor, those of us who played collection RPGs had an unfortunate habit.

“I can’t stand dying with leftover currency…”

It was our nature to see things through to the end if we died with remaining currency.

But what did it matter? I hadn’t made a mana oath or anything.

Thanks to that, I was able to obtain seven .

I could gain seven experience points with this.

Damn it.

“Hmm…”

As I walked, I came to a fork in the road.

If I turned right, I would head towards my solitary dormitory.

If I turned left, I would head towards the academy building.

And if I turned slightly from the academy building, I would reach the disciplinary committee room.

“It’s late…”

I had to wear the disciplinary committee armband starting tomorrow.

It wouldn’t matter if I picked it up tomorrow, but if Headmaster Tia found out I was walking around without it, my life would be in danger.

I had already crossed the line with her many times.

“…Alright.”

I would just stop by for a moment.

I turned left and headed towards the academy building.

The stars were shining in the sky, but the streetlights were also bright.  It was well-lit.

Perhaps because of that, I saw a few other people besides myself.

Among them were some familiar faces I had seen in the game.

“…”

All the familiar faces avoided my gaze and ignored me.

It felt like they couldn’t even bear to look at me.

Oz, although a commoner, was a monster who had risen to royalty through his own power.

Moreover, in the Demon King’s Kingdom, , where everything revolved around power, it was even more pronounced.

To others, I was probably a walking strategic weapon.

But would ordinary people talk to a bomb?

Unless they were insane, they wouldn’t.

I tried to make excuses, but the conclusion was simple.

“This is bitter.”

I was successfully isolating myself in .

Moreover, to assert my presence, I was acting somewhat arrogant and haughty.

Coupled with [Contemplation], it was inevitable.

Yes, I intended it.

It wasn’t because I was a loser.

The only ones who approached me were Lucia and Eleanor.

I would be interacting with Lucia, an imperial soldier, several times in the future.  It would be easier to consider it a business relationship.

She found my gaze intimidating, but it was better than being looked down upon.

As for Eleanor, she simply put all my actions on the same level as hers. She thought I was acting.

It was the same when I activated [Contemplation].  How humiliating.

Although it was indeed an act, it felt degrading that Eleanor was the one who thought that way.

I wasn’t the same as her.

“Huh?”

Just like that, without talking to anyone or making eye contact with anyone, I arrived at the forest where the disciplinary committee room was located.

I thought it would be difficult to find the disciplinary committee room, which I visited yesterday, since it was in the middle of a forest, but it was easy to find the path because of the light bulbs strung along the way.

Well, even without the light bulbs, I would have been able to find the way with [Contemplation].

“Is anyone still there?”

The lights were on in the disciplinary committee room.

Was there a poor workaholic still working at this late hour? Or perhaps someone was waiting for me?

Either way, it would be awkward to run into them. But I couldn’t just not go in.

If someone was waiting for me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep because it would feel strange.

Click

I opened the door and saw an empty room.  No one was there.

Perhaps they forgot to turn off the lights, but that was unlikely.

[Contemplation] was telling me that someone was there.

If anyone was there, it would be over there.

“The office…”

Come to think of it, if anyone was waiting for me, it could only be her. The other disciplinary committee members disliked me.

So, if anyone was there, it could only be the Saintess, who was kind to everyone, who couldn’t help but be kind.

I knocked lightly, and heard a rustling sound from inside. Were they flustered?

“Yes, come in.”

I could tell from the voice.

As expected, Arietta was inside.

I opened the door and saw the large executive chair, along with the refreshing scent of apple mint.

Whirl.

Did she have to do that every time?

It felt unnatural, like a boss monster’s entrance.

“What a coincidence, Oz…”

“Indeed.”

It wasn’t a coincidence.

It couldn’t be.

Arietta was definitely waiting for me.

She was the head of the disciplinary committee, but she couldn’t do paperwork because she was blind.

There was no reason for her to stay here.

“You recognize who I am.”

“To be precise, I don’t ‘see’ you, but I sense you.”

Arietta couldn’t see.

But she was just blind.

Even in reality, there were people whose other senses became sharper because they couldn’t see.

It was similar to that.

She couldn’t see, but she sensed the world.

This immense divine power that permeated the surroundings could be considered her extended senses.

In a way, she could be said to see more than others.

But that didn’t include how the ink was arranged on paper.

In exchange for seeing more than others, she couldn’t see what others took for granted.

“Oz… would you mind if I touched your face?”

“Not at all.”

As I approached the chair Arietta was sitting in, she cautiously reached out her hand.

Her warm hand touched my face.  It felt a bit embarrassing, but I quietly accepted her touch.

I had seen on TV that blind people memorized faces like this.

She could perceive the shape of my being, but she couldn’t know what my face actually looked like.

“How is it?”

Although I wasn’t trying to brag, Oz’s face was quite handsome.

I wasn’t sure if she understood human standards of beauty, but I believed it wouldn’t be unpleasant for her.

“How is what?”

“Didn’t you check what I look like?  By… memorizing the shape of my face by touching it…”

“I can’t do that.”

“…?”

She couldn’t?

Then why was she touching my face like that?

I looked at her face and saw the corners of her mouth subtly twitching upwards.

Was it a prank?

I could check with [Contemplation], but I stopped myself.

It felt like a sin to scrutinize her with [Contemplation].

Besides, if it was a dark joke about her blindness, it would be unfortunate.

I couldn’t laugh at all.

“You’re cold.”

“I just came in from outside.”

“Then shouldn’t your face be flushed?”

“It varies from person to person.”

Even while we were making small talk, Arietta didn’t stop touching my face.

Was this sexual harassment?

But her touch felt too respectful to push away.

Her touch was endlessly gentle, as if she was carefully caressing something precious and fragile.

“You’re cold.”

“…”

Arietta said that again. But the nuance was different this time.

It was a melancholic, understanding, yet bitter and regretful tone.

“You’ve become truly cold.”

Arietta continued to caress my face for a while.

I could feel a slight tremble in her touch.

“…My welcome was a little late. Welcome to the disciplinary committee.”

And from that moment on…

“Oz.”

The slight gap that existed between my name and the honorific disappeared. 

[T/N: Korean Honorifics]

[Erosion Rate 21%]

And as if severing something along with that gap, something between Arietta and me broke.

—–CROW—–