Academy’s Drunk Fighter

“Charlotte, it’s time to go.”
“Uuh… al, already…?”
Naturally, you can’t bring in items that can directly influence the match, like magic scrolls.

That’s why the only things I have to carry with me now are Charlotte and the single staff she’ll be using during the tournament.
Scholar boasted that this thing holds enough mana ink to draw with for dozens of days, so I should be able to trust it.
“It’s been… a while since I went outside…”

Charlotte’s dark brown hair fluttered and shimmered in the cool outdoor air and brilliant sunlight.
“Alright then, let’s get up now, shall we?”
“Y-Yes… yes!!”
Like a newborn giraffe taking its first steps, Charlotte slowly moved one foot after the other out of the supply room.

“Take it easy~ nice and slow.”
Charlotte’s stamina is even worse than mine was back when I first got possessed into this world.
She barely walks around normally, spending almost her entire day in the library.

Of course her body wouldn’t be in good shape.
So like soothing a child, and to make sure she wouldn’t get startled by the outside world, I guided her to the waiting room, leading her to remember and read only the bare minimum of information.
“Oh, this is her, huh?”
“Didn’t we meet her before?”
“Ah—well, yeah, but we didn’t really get to talk, so I didn’t remember her face well.”

When we got to the waiting room, Scholar was already there, waiting, and I could see the pouch I had dropped off earlier.
“I’ve already placed my stuff here as well. I couldn’t bring in the works from other workshops, though…”
Just like Charlotte, Scholar’s equipment pieces were each too powerful, so only the basic workshop tools were stored inside the subspace.

“Ah, then allow me to give a quick greeting—”
“Eek…!”
As Scholar reached out a hand toward Charlotte, she held her breath and hid behind me.
Not that it helped much, since I was way smaller, so she just ended up looking like some animal awkwardly crammed behind a small rock.

“…What’s wrong with her?”
“Charlotte, it’s okay. He’s the one who agreed to fight with us this tournament. The guy who helped fix your tool last time.”
“R-Really… I see…”
She nodded like she understood, but she still didn’t offer her hand.
“There’s… just a lot in my head right now… give me a little more time.”
“That’s what she says.”
“Hmm, well, it can’t be helped. Forcing a handshake on someone who doesn’t want one would be rude, after all!”
Thankfully, Scholar withdrew his hand with a generous smile.

“Ah, and one more thing.”
He reached into the subspace, and from the extended hand emerged a bracelet.
Actually, two bracelets came out.

“I figured this might be better as I kept making them. I increased the quantity to two!”
“…You didn’t add any weird features or anything, right?”
“W-Well, just put them on and see for yourself!”
Avoiding my gaze, he handed them over, and as soon as I slipped one onto my wrist, something quite interesting happened.

With a smooth sliding motion, the bracelet wrapped around my hand and instantly integrated with my gloves.
“…?”
“I read a paper recently about materials that auto-repair themselves. I got inspired and tried crafting one! It’ll absorb all shock, not just daily wear and tear but also impacts during combat.”

“…This…”
I looked at Scholar for a moment, then gave a positive answer.
“Not bad.”

“A-Aha! I knew you’d like it!”
He was clearly nervous, but this function was far more useful than anything I had imagined.
The moment I threw a punch, the glove moved smoothly, didn’t get caught on anything, and the impact bouncing back to my hand was drastically reduced.

And he said it even had an automatic repair function.
“There really aren’t any other hidden features, right?”
“Of course not! Please don’t look at me like I’m one of those inventors consumed by their own twisted desires.”
“Ah, sure.”
Well, the result is good, so whatever.

Just as I thought that, the broadcast finally rang out.
[All participants, please exit the waiting room.]
“I-I really have to go now, huh…”
“It’s time to reveal my masterpiece!!”
“…”

Watching the two of them react in completely opposite ways, I pulled another bottle of booze from my pouch and took a drink.
“Let’s go.”
 

****
Welcome, everyone, to the Academy Festival.
That voice echoed from the display screens and across the city beyond them.

The sensation of an overwhelming number of people watching us from outside the dome was so intense that I almost went limp and blacked out—though the person next to me was in an even worse state.
“Uuh… uuwaaa…”
“Charlotte, want to drink this—no. No, this isn’t it.”

Seeing Charlotte’s expression—like her soul was about to leave her body—I almost offered her some alcohol, but reconsidered. It might lead to something worse.
Honestly, I wasn’t in a great state either.
The feeling of all those people watching us from beyond the magical and technological barriers of the Academy—it was weird as hell.

And not in a good way.
“Well, we just need to hang in there for a bit longer. Probably…”
“Uwaaah… y-yes… yes…”
In a rush, I threw the outer coat I had brought onto Charlotte’s head and started listening to the announcements from the front.

[All participants have been confirmed.]
[The tournament will now begin.]
The cheers of the crowd filled the area as the letters rose into the sky.
Because of the earlier terrorist attack, there were no spectators allowed inside the arena, but from here in the waiting area, people could still watch our every move on the screens.

And finally, the details of the tournament began to pour out.
[This tournament will be °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° conducted as an individual competition, but a shared victory is possible with up to four people.]
[Now, let us show you the prizes for the winner of the tournament.]

The prize list unfolded, from first place on down.
And among the rewards for first place, was the exact information I had told Scholar about.
Everyone started murmuring after seeing it.

Of course, it was a prize that no one could have imagined before now—something you could only obtain here and now.
[1st Place: Entry Permit to the Academy’s Grand Archive]
[2nd Place: Choice of Rare-Grade Equipment]
…
…
…
“……”

Scholar’s gaze was bothering me, but I held it in and focused on the next announcements.
[The tournament will run for a total of five days.]
[The arena is divided into Safe Zones and Danger Zones.]

[In the Danger Zones, all actions are permitted except those that result in death or seriously violate human rights.]
[In the Safe Zones, from 18:00 to 22:00, any form of attack or pillaging is prohibited.]
[Also, you may take the food and rest-related supplies prepared in advance within the Safe Zones.]

[However, outside of those hours, attacks are permitted even within Safe Zones.]
Safe Zones and Danger Zones.
But of course, even Safe Zones aren’t always truly safe.

[All participants will be assigned random starting points, and these scores will influence their rankings.]
[Scores can be voluntarily given to others, or forcibly stolen.]
[There are two ways to steal scores: one, based on whether the opponent remains conscious or not.]

[The other is to force the opponent out of the tournament arena.]
Each player is given a random score, and you can either give or take them.
You can steal by attacking, or by forcing them out of bounds.

Up to this point, it’s all exactly the same as what I knew.
The rules for this part of the tournament haven’t changed.
The problem starts from here.

[The student with the highest score will have their location revealed to all participants. If they are in a one-on-one situation, both participants' locations will be exposed.]
I was worried it might be a random location reveal every time, but luckily it was decided to be a shared reveal instead.
Naturally, with Yoon Siwoo’s party expected to sweep up all the scores, this was the kind of condition we needed more than anything—since we’d be the ones running away from them.

[And finally, before noon on the first day, all attacks are prohibited.]
[Then, please—try to survive.]
And at last, with that final line, our bodies glowed and were instantly transported somewhere else.

Thankfully, the people nearby were moved together, so I didn’t get separated from Charlotte or Scholar.
“Everything’s going just as expected.”
All around us were concrete structures and collapsed steel buildings, just like I’d guessed—a massive area spanning dozens of kilometers.

Their financial power, building an entire island into a set like this, was once again impressive.
Of course, with so many participants and people already nearby, avoiding combat completely might not be possible—but for now, it’s 11 a.m., so no one can attack yet.
“First, let’s gather supplies from the Safe Zone in advance. We also need to find a hiding place.”
“Ah, come to think of it, what’s our strategy?”
“Did I not say?”
“No.”

In countless games, there's a particular strategy you need if you want to at least make second place.
It’s called “Johnber.”
Short for “Johnna Beotigi”—basically, survive like hell.

“We’re going to endure all the way to Day 5. Without getting spotted by anyone.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“U-Um… Esha…?”
Just then, a nervous voice came from Charlotte.
I turned toward her, and she showed me the score she had received.

“This is…”
[1,000,000 Points]
“…Shit.”

A million points.
That number was glowing proudly above her head, broadcasting her location to the world.