ALL NOVEL Chapter 17
Chapter 17
—–CROW—–
“That concludes my report, Headmaster.”
“Yeah, alright. Good work.”
I relayed the information I’d gathered about the daily dungeons to Tia. Of course, I omitted any mention of in-game items like
“What do you plan to do?”
“With what?”
“Do you intend to use them as practical training locations?”
“No.”
Why was she so curt today? Normally, she would have complained unreasonably, but today Tia seemed quite displeased. Not angry, exactly. More like she had something on her mind, her attention elsewhere.
“Why not? The difficulty seems appropriate.”
“Do these dungeons look normal to you?”
“They aren’t normal. Haven’t you observed the strange phenomena?”
Dungeons in *Broken Sky* were usually structured as single chapters. Daily dungeons were added simply for resource gathering with a monotonous difficulty. It was more accurate to consider other dungeons as distinct regions.
But these daily dungeons were shrouded in strange rules, like the one-entry-per-day limit and the superficially threatening environments.
“Yes, they’re not normal. And I’ve heard that these types of dungeons have been increasing recently.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
“Yes… The sky, and the whole world, are going crazy. Would you be able to stay calm if you were me?”
“Yes, I would stay calm.”
“…”
At least for the time being, there was nothing I could do. The intrusion of outside forces was already underway, but there was nothing I could do about it here.
“Is that so… Well, I don’t understand it either, so it’s not something you humans can do anything about.”
“You seem down today.”
“No, this is my default state, you know? It’s because you’re causing trouble all the time that I’m getting pissed off, you crazy bastard!”
“They say holding back anger is bad for your health, Headmaster.”
“…If I hadn’t held back, you would have been ripped to shreds and killed.”
Tia’s expression turned serious.
Oh… So that was her restraining herself…
I’d need to be more careful in the future.
I offered her a candy as a peace offering. It was a popular candy these days, so Tia would probably like it. Lately, she seemed to detest me, so I’d prepared a bribe. It wouldn’t do to be on the bad side of the most powerful being in this world.
“Aren’t you going to take it?”
“Hmm…? I thought you liked sweets?”
She always had candy in her mouth, so I assumed she did. Then what was it? Was it nicotine gum? Well, as a fire dragon, she might have liked cigarettes. Since fire came out of her mouth, maybe it was a similar sentiment to crows liking shiny things. So, since she was now an educator, did she quit for the sake of setting a good example?
“I just keep this in my mouth to emphasize my youthful appearance. If I polymorph into this form, I can get away with causing trouble by playing it off as childish ignorance.”
“That’s cowardly…”
“Humans call efficient methods cowardly?”
A trashy being possessing both the cowardice of an adult and the ignorance of a child stood before me.
“Oh, I’ll be out of town for a while, so don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone, okay? I’ll really kill you this time. I’ll twist your neck off, so keep that in mind.”
“…Don’t worry, Headmaster.”
She really had a chilling way of speaking.
* * *
A week passed, and the joint practical training for the first-year students began.
The first-year practical training was divided into two groups: combat-oriented students, like mages, warriors, guardians, and hunters, and support-oriented students, like clerics.
The combat students’ training took place in a dense forest. It was designed to assess their ability to engage in combat using surprise attacks, improvisation, and other tactics. It was unavoidable.
It would be ridiculous for support students to be on the same stage as combat students in a 1v1 scenario. There were at least some matchups within the combat-oriented group, but for support students, encountering a combat student meant the end. Since the primary objective of combat was often considered to be taking out the support, having them participate in the same training would just make them walking targets.
It was the same in the game. Marksmen were responsible for taking down opponents from a distance with powerful attacks, while guardians protected party members from those attacks. And the warrior’s role was to break through the guardian’s defenses and disrupt the enemy formation. The mage’s role was to neutralize the incoming warrior with high firepower and status effects.
It was a simple game, but the balance between classes was more or less maintained. Of course, as power creep progressed, all-rounder characters started appearing, and that’s when it went downhill. Naturally, support characters became nothing more than scarecrows the moment their allies were defeated.
“Ahem! I will now explain the outline of the first-year joint practical training. The training will take place in the forest. Each of you will start in a different location, and you will be awarded points for each student you find and defeat.”
Simply put, the training was a deathmatch supervised by the professors. Since it was combat training, combat was unavoidable. Fight to earn points and eliminate opponents until only one remained. That was the gist of this training. It was truly barbaric.
“If the defensive magic inscribed on the cloak we provided is damaged to 50%, you will be transported to the nearest examiner. Do you understand what that means? This cloak not only protects you but also serves as your lifeline.”
Since the cloak’s durability and elemental affinity played a role, it wasn’t always best to engage in direct combat. Using the terrain for ambushes or targeting only the cloak’s defensive magic to avoid a full-blown fight were also viable strategies.
“Above all, you must not forget the cloak provided by Headmaster Tiamat.”
While I was organizing my thoughts, Professor Prudence Loa, the Advanced Magic instructor and supervisor of the exam, warned the students. He was surprisingly busy.
“Let’s see…”
I examined the red cloak draped around me with [Observation]. Naturally, as a magical tool created by Headmaster Tia, this cloak was imbued with various enchantments. It would be nearly impossible to get injured under normal circumstances. But it was inferior to my dedicated equipment.
“Ah, Oz. You’re here. I’ve been looking for you.”
As I was basking in the sense of victory over the magical tool, Professor Prudence Loa, who had just finished explaining the exam procedure, approached me. A faint spark of fighting spirit flickered in the kind-looking old professor’s eyes.
He was said to be a talent personally scouted by Headmaster Tia, and I could already see that tendency in him.
“Ahem! …As you know, the cloak’s performance isn’t perfect. Therefore, the use of advanced attack magic will be prohibited. Is that acceptable?”
He meant that if a mage of my caliber used advanced magic, there was a chance it could penetrate the cloak’s defensive magic and cause injury.
“I had no intention of using advanced magic against the students, so you don’t need to worry.”
In short, he was imposing a penalty on me. Even better. He was giving me an excuse in case something happened. Fortunately, I couldn’t use advanced magic in my current state anyway.
“Hahaha, thank you. Then I must go and speak to the other students. Excuse me.”
With those words, Professor Prudence Loa departed. He probably wasn’t just making this request to me. He would likely speak to all the SSR-ranked students. As proof, he headed towards Alexios from Class 1-2 next. It was only natural, as the secret techniques of the [Fist King] would also be powerful enough to pierce Tia’s defensive magic.
“…”
As I turned my gaze towards the direction Professor Prudence Loa had gone, Alexios started glaring at me. He was consistent. I wouldn’t mind responding, but I wasn’t a child. So, I simply gave him the middle finger.
“This bast…!”
Alexios tried to yell something, but as an adult, I didn’t play with children. I ignored him and decided to look for Eleanor. Perhaps because she was the protagonist, or perhaps because she was an attention seeker, she was relatively easy to find.
“Noah.”
“Master? Where have you been?!”
As I approached Eleanor, I noticed another female student besides Lucia next to her.
[Observation – Activated]
Wavy white hair cascaded down to her waist, and her eyes were a bewitching violet. If Arieta’s hair gave off a sense of purity, this girl’s felt like a cold, snowy mountain.
“Hic… Ufufufufu. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Oz~ It’s an honor to finally meet you.”
“We’re in the same class, you know.”
“Oh, really? Don’t worry about such trivial matters~”
Her identity was a character from the
[SR White Goblin]
Baekyang (白蜽)
In the game, she appeared alongside the Goblin King in the
“By the way, why is she drunk?”
“Goblins die if they don’t drink alcohol, you know? So, I secretly brought her some.”
“Noah is such a good girl~”
“Right? Right? Baekyang thinks so too, right? Our Noah is so kind and cute.”
It was already enough dealing with Eleanor’s strange mind and Lucia’s strange theatrics, but now there was another oddball added to the mix. These three were all airheads, yet their inner thoughts were disturbingly dark.
Eleanor deceived people with a straight face. Behind that innocent, naive expression lurked a cunning serpent. Lucia blended in seamlessly anywhere. Before you knew it, she’d be part of the conversation. And Baekyang, the goblin, went without saying. Her very race was deceitful. Tricking and playing pranks on people was their daily routine.
“Sometimes I get scared talking to you guys.”
“Really? Anyway, I’m glad I finally met you, Master. We were just planning our strategy together.”
“I don’t know what kind of strategy you’re planning, but please don’t do anything that’ll get you caught by the disciplinary committee.”
“Fufufu, don’t worry. This strategy will perfectly evade even the disciplinary committee’s gaze.”
“Can you not see me standing right here?”
This delinquent! She was so brazen, I almost forgot I *was* the disciplinary committee.
This was enough. If she was this blatant about her plan, I could report her to the disciplinary committee without any issues.
“Noah, let’s go talk over at the disciplinary committee camp for a bit.”
“…I won’t fall for the same trick twice, Master.”
Eleanor started running away with a determined look. I couldn’t chase her. That kind of attention was exactly what she wanted. So, I had to take a different approach. Ignoring Baekyang, who was half-drunk and starting to doze off, I beckoned Lucia.
“Spill it, Lucia. What the hell is that idiot planning?”
“Sigh… Prince Oz. We were having fun, so can you please refrain from being a wet blanket?”
“…I’m glad you’re getting along with Eleanor, but the current situation isn’t very good.”
“You mean Professor Gerard?”
Well, in this small academy, there was no way the Empire’s intelligence agency,
“What have you guys decided to do?”
“We’ve been ordered to keep an eye on things and leave them be for now. Well, we’ll intervene if it seems dangerous.”
“Really? Then tell them to stay out of it.”
“Are you planning to get involved personally?”
In Chapter 1 of the main story, Professor Gerard, misunderstanding the direction of the resentment, attacks Eleanor. His dagger-like words would wound her. Of course, those wounds would contribute to her mental growth later on, but I thought differently. There was no need to intentionally reopen old scars that had already formed scabs.
“Yes, so tell them.”
In the game, he dies in front of Eleanor. The Empire intervenes and kills him to protect Eleanor, who was in mortal danger. It wasn’t Gerard’s hateful words that hurt Eleanor. It was the guilt of failing to protect the people of Chrysos once again. She would be hurt, but she would also grow. She would become mentally stronger. But I didn’t think those wounds were necessary.
“As you said, I’ll handle it myself, so tell them not to hang around if they don’t want to get caught in the crossfire and die.”
That was the arrogant and selfish decision I made.
* * *
As the practical training began, the students were scattered to different locations by Professor Aira’s magic. I was a bit uneasy because Professor Aira desperately tried to avoid eye contact with me while teleporting me, but thankfully, I arrived safely.
[Observation – Activated]
I activated [Observation] to its fullest as soon as the training started. Information about my surroundings flooded in.
[Observation] detected something approaching me. Its movements were unsteady, but it was clearly headed in my direction.
“…Well, a Chimeimōryō wouldn’t come here just to play around.”
“Hic… Hello, Oz~”
Baekyang, a member of the
“I don’t have time to play with you. I’ll let you off if you go back now, so why don’t you quietly disappear?”
“Ufufufufu. Don’t be so harsh~”
“Because I look weak?”
Is that what she was going to say? I’d considered using that line myself as a bluff a few times, but I’d given up on it. It was a bit much.
“My leader told me… The world is vast, so go and see that vast world~”
“Then why are you messing around here instead of traveling?”
“Ufufufufu. Where else is the world condensed into such a small space like this place~”
I understood. Scientia, where all sorts of people from all over the world gathered, could be considered a microcosm of the world.
“Besides, will you be alright? I’m a renowned guardian in the Goblin Forest, you know? Are you sure you want to let me get this close?”
“I don’t really care.”
The compatibility between mages and guardians was ambiguous. Guardians specialized in defense. A mage’s attacks could hinder them to some extent with status effects, but guardians weren’t weak against them either. In other words, a fight between the two would be a battle of obstruction and approach.
“Ufufufu, Oz, you’ve been penalized and forbidden from using advanced magic, right? Yet you’re so relaxed against me? How amusing~ As rumored, aren’t you a bit too arrogant?”
[Erosion Blade 22%]
“Arrogant?”
Oz’s [Mana Dominator] could use any mage character’s skills. So, what was the most useless skill among them?
“Who are you calling arrogant?”
Even basic magic could deal damage as long as it had a magic coefficient. But there was one truly useless skill.
“With such a relaxed attitude, to whom do you dare speak like that?”
The basic attack for mage characters was [Magic Bullet], which had a magic power coefficient. It was rare to see a physical attack other than [Magic Bullet].
For the past week, I’d been attending classes and learning intermediate magic. But I was still unskilled. No matter how hard I tried, it still took time to draw the formulaic structures. Yes, I needed to focus. So, for my plan, I decided to concentrate on practicing drawing the formulaic structures of two specific spells.
Intermediate Magic
[Physical Enhancement]
The most useless skill in the game, since there was no need for physical attacks, had now become my best offensive option.
“Prejudice, such a scary word. Even you looked at me as a mere mage and acted arrogantly.”
*Bang!*
Instead of waiting for Baekyang to approach carelessly, I closed the distance, grabbed her face, and slammed her down.
“Gah?!”
She hadn’t expected me to engage in hand-to-hand combat and was caught off guard.
Baekyang gasped as the back of her head hit the ground. If we’d clashed head-on, I would have lost, but this was the price she paid for being careless and only wary of my magic.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Stop annoying me and get out of my sight.”
“Y-Yes…”
With [Physical Enhancement] active, my physical attack power was close to SR-rank.
That meant I could inflict significant damage even against a guardian.
—–CROW—–