Academy’s Drunk Fighter

Scholar began examining the bracelet I’d shown him.

“This is... a control-type item? Is it from the Marbat line? No, wait, judging by the finish, it seems to have a bit more of a Bescal mix.” “Could you reinforce it for me?” “It’s possible, yes, but I can’t guarantee it’ll go well... Is that all right?” “I don’t mind.”
There was a really small chance it could be destroyed during the process, but no way something like that would actually happen in real life.
The only issue was that he tended to over-upgrade even unrelated repairs—but when it came to mechanical gear, I’d never seen him fail.

“All right, let me take it off first.”
As I removed the bracelet from my wrist, I felt the accumulated damage stored inside it transferring back to me.
‘Guh!’

A burning pain flared in my hands and feet.
The holes in my limbs couldn’t be sealed, but that damage and agony had been held back by the bracelet—until now.
The pain I’d grown numb to in just a short time came rushing back the moment I took it off.

Still, I hid the flood of agony behind a drunken daze, pretending nothing was wrong as I handed it over.
‘God, it hurts like hell.’
I bit down the pain and popped a chocolate into my mouth, using the intoxication to swallow it down.

“Do you think it’s doable?” “Yes, I think so. I haven’t seen this kind often, but... this is a defective item.” “What? Defective?” “Yes, the acceptable control capacity is way lower than standard gear. Even compared to other items of the same grade.” “......”
These bastards... Did they scam me?
Well, I had no way to inspect whether gear had flaws or not—I’d only ever seen them as 2D images outside the game.

Still, the idea that I’d bought a defective item pissed me off.
“Ah, but I don’t think the seller knew it was defective either.” “Wouldn’t that be obvious, normally?” “No, no. I only know because I’m looking at it up close. You can’t measure this durability or capacity accurately without specialized tools.”
There was such conviction in his voice and posture ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) that I nodded along before I realized it.

“But this is good for you, isn’t it?” “How so?” “Because I, of all people, am the one looking at it! I will personally make sure this item is reborn with jaw-dropping performance!!” “Ah... sure.”
Right, I’d been too thrown off by the tournament talk earlier to remember—Scholar’s original personality was brimming with confidence and narcissism.
And he actually had the skills to back it up.
It’s just that most people still didn’t know how to properly use him.

“Scholar.” “Yes?” “Just boost the existing specs. No need to add any new functions if possible.” “No! It’s fine! I can use this item to prove my limits—!” “Don’t prove anything with my stuff.” “...Yes.”
Scholar always over-boosted gear until it broke.
Sure, the boosted equipment performed insanely well in some situations—but outside those, it turned into a useless burden.

That’s why I only asked for a pure stat increase—no added functions or fluff.
Doing it this way lowered the chances of the gear getting a dramatic grade-up, but I’d learned from many failures that it made things much safer.
“By any chance, do you have another item...?” “Oh, this one!”

Scholar looked a bit disappointed, maybe because I’d cut off the potential variables ahead of time—but there was no way I’d let my most expensive item get ruined in his hands.
He wasn’t some clumsy blacksmith who’d destroy the item in one hit... but if something went wrong, the repair costs could easily pile up.
So I took out another item.

“Ah! I’ve seen this one before! This was... that staff from the person with no presence, right?” “......”
Charlotte herself didn’t remember handing it in, but Scholar remembered every single item he’d ever touched. He took the staff with a smile like he was reuniting with a long-lost child.
“It’s good to see this one back in my hands! So, what’s the reason for entrusting it to me again? Something wrong with it?” “You’re always so confident, huh.” “Eh? Have we met before?” “...No, I just saw you in passing once.” “I see! But this staff... it’s never been used. Why’s that?”

Well, because Charlotte doesn’t need a staff.
Normal mage characters usually cast magic with both hands if they’re unequipped. A staff boosts that efficiency, sure—but Charlotte never uses her staff to attack.
What she needs is a pen with endless ink, and a canvas to draw on.

So even if the staff had decent performance, it was useless to Charlotte—which is why I brought it.
“Wh–Why? This is clearly an excellent piece!”
He looked confused, not understanding the reason. But I had no intention of explaining it to him now.

Charlotte’s time to shine wasn’t now.
That moment would come at the peak of the Academy Festival. That’s when she’d shine.
Until then, I had no plans to spill anything—and honestly, she wouldn’t want me to either.

“Huh? Did I get something wrong here? What’s the issue?” “More than that... I think it’d be good if ink came out of the tip of the staff.” “Ink...? Did you say ink?”
Using a staff made controlling magic easier.
Since it redirected the output from both hands into one focused point, it improved precision significantly.

This wasn’t a game mechanic—just something I’d recently learned in class.
But Charlotte’s [Record Magic] didn’t work like standard magic. It didn’t draw mana from nature into her body.
It embedded information into the world itself, utilizing nature directly.

That’s why if her drawings on the ground didn’t get erased in the middle of a mess, her effectiveness could skyrocket.
“She’d use it a lot more that way.” “Would it be possible for me to meet this person again? I’d like to ask—” “Hmm...”
Would that even work?

Charlotte, talking to someone other than me?
I couldn’t even imagine it.
It’d probably feel incredibly sentimental if it did happen, though.

“I’ll talk to her about it. We’ll be meeting soon anyway.” “Ah, is she the one you said you’re entering the tournament with?” “Yeah, that’s her.” “I figured—it did seem like too few people. Got it. I’ll hold on to this item for now. Oh, and ink too.” “Thanks.”
We finished the equipment hand-off, but there was still the matter of the operation.
I hadn’t explained the tournament strategy to Scholar yet—and unless I handled that perfectly, I wouldn’t be able to recruit him to the team.

It had to be a strategy he’d fully understand and be convinced by.
“Let’s talk about the plan now. Scholar, you were held back a year, right?” “...”
Originally, he should have been a second-year like Noah, but due to repeating the grade, he was still in his first year.

Which meant Scholar had already experienced the Academy Festival once before.
“If you saw last year’s Academy Festival, then you’d know.”
There’s a separate area built for the tournament during the festival.

No matter how much capital Central Academy has, they can’t afford to demolish and rebuild buildings every year just for a single festival.
So instead, there’s a massive dedicated stage set on campus, constructed specifically for the tournament.
And while the configuration of this stage changes every year…

There’s a certain pattern to it.
“What was the battlefield like back then?” “What do you mean, ‘like’? What are you asking...?” “I mean the general concept they were going for.”
The parts that make up the set change every year.

Sometimes it’s a forest, other times a city, and occasionally the ground is a literal lava zone.
There are even years when these environments are split and mixed across different sections.
But since they can’t afford to create completely new terrain every time, the Academy secretly rotates the stages in a way that people won’t notice.

Maybe most wouldn’t pick up on it—but following the pattern, I can predict what’s coming next.
“That year... I think the entire battlefield was a forest terrain.” “Oh.”
That was excellent news for me.

After the forest terrain is used, there are typically two possible maps that follow:
Urban terrain or an industrial zone.
There’s still a chance of a mixed setup, but I didn’t care either way.

As long as there’s machinery and steel, it’ll be more than enough for Scholar to work with.
“Hmm... yes, that does make sense. Very well! If everything you’ve said proves to be true, then I shall follow your plan to the letter!”
Having convinced yet another person, I collapsed from exhaustion onto the bed in the corner of the room, the one Scholar seemed to be using.

“Is this just a normal bed?” “Ah, this baby contains my latest technology—!”
But before he could finish, sleep swept over me and pulled me under.
“Wait—! Why are you falling asleep now?! Even if my magnificent bed truly is a technical marvel!!!”

I thought I heard some weird shouting behind me.
 
****

Scholar sighed, staring at the girl who had somehow already dozed off.
“Can I really do it...?”
He pushed aside the question of how she could know all that information. The real issue was—if that situation really came to pass, could he actually be useful?

He had no idea.
He’d spent his whole life working on other people’s equipment. The idea of stepping into battle himself had never even occurred to him.
“Still... I guess I’d better be prepared.”

But now that he’d made a promise, backing out would be cowardly.
Once you decide, you move forward.
There’s never enough time to create more masterpieces.

And so, he took out one of the two items the girl had entrusted him with—the bracelet—and began his repair.
“Huh. What’s this...?”
He quickly discovered that the bracelet held a disturbingly large amount of accumulated physical data.

Does she have some kind of chronic condition...?
This device was designed to regulate the amount of impact the body received.
If the usage cap was already showing signs of wear, it meant the girl had already taken—or was currently taking—an extreme amount of damage.

The gear itself wasn’t particularly expensive, but even then, it wasn’t something the average person could afford easily. He’d assumed she must come from a decent family background.
But for someone to take this much damage and not get it repaired... It might mean this wasn’t just defensive gear.
It could be a desperate attempt at survival itself.

“There’s no way she’s enduring all this...!”
She had specifically requested that he not add or remove anything beyond the original control capacity and durability.
But from an inventor’s perspective, this item screamed potential. It could go so much further.

And so, Scholar made up his mind.
“She seemed like a good person... She won’t notice if I don’t tell her, right...?”
He knew full well that the quiet ones were the scariest when they got mad—but the inventor in him couldn’t hold back.

Failure wasn’t an option.
Every mistake was just a stepping stone forward.
And so, the bracelet began to sprout some excessive new additions.

“Yes! That’s it! Oooh... the inspiration’s coming!”
And soon, the quiet hum of welding and the mechanical whirring filled the room.