How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game

“Wow, what’s this?”

From the moment I got out of bed early in the morning, I couldn’t hide my surprise. There was one reason for it.

I felt light. My mind was clear.

In other words, it meant that today was an exceptionally good day in terms of my condition.

And I realized that I hadn’t been restless in my sleep last night.

The effect was beyond what I could have imagined.

My senses were sharp. My mind was clear, and an inexplicable energy flowed through my whole body. Even my footsteps felt light.

‘This… is the best condition?’

It was said that my basic abilities would triple.

Since I usually only used half of my strength, it felt like it had increased six-fold based on my perception.

‘Could it be because of the potion room?’

The Herbology class I started a week ago had continued every day. We were making potions, but we also learned about herbs.

After all, herbs were used in making potions.

Thinking it was because of the potion room had a similar reason.

Since there were extremely poisonous substances stored separately, there were many herbs in the potion room.

I thought maybe it was because I had been smelling the herbs for a few days that my body had improved.

Well, it wasn’t certain. It could just be a coincidence.

Maybe Mohen leaving also played a role. I gave him a hard time at the end.

It was a joyful event because the eccentric actions I took without thinking about anything else led to unexpected results.

It was only level 1, but it meant something.

‘Stratagem levels don’t usually increase.’

Moreover, gaining the value trait “Inexperienced Trickster” was an unexpected bonus.

Normally, value traits were given one at a time every five levels based on the player’s actions.

However, there were cases where additional rewards were given based on the difficulty and achievements of the Stratagem, and this was one of those cases.

Perhaps it was because of the difference in skill between Mohen and me and the presence of the duke, the Chief of Intelligence. It seemed that extra points were added.

[Inexperienced Trickster]

-You receive a slight bonus experience when gaining Stratagem experience points.

-The chance of being suspected by others when performing Stratagem actions is slightly reduced.

Even if it was just a slight bonus experience, it could accumulate significantly over time.

Normally, you wouldn’t gain a trait at level 1, so it was quite a substantial advantage to have obtained it early on.

Plus, the reduced chance of being suspected was also a benefit.

It meant that even if I did something, people wouldn’t suspect it was me.

‘It will create a positive cycle.’

On the other hand, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

If Mohen hadn’t left, I might have been able to accumulate more Stratagem experience by using him.

Well, no. He probably would have caught on if I had dragged it out.

Fortunately, this time I didn’t face any suspicion. It was a common occurrence even if you didn’t have any digestive problems.

Anyway, maybe because my condition was good, I felt quite alright. I found myself humming a tune without realizing it.

“What’s up? You look in a good mood today. You’re always on the verge of exhaustion.”

Just by looking at Denif’s reaction, who arrived a little later than me while I was casually having breakfast, I could tell.

“Yeah, I’m feeling great today.”

“…Hello.”

Orhen, who was behind Denif, greeted me in a soft voice.

Although we had gotten a bit closer by messing with Mohen, still, it wasn’t as close as between Denif and me.

‘But since my condition is good today, maybe I should try to get closer.’

Thinking that now was the perfect opportunity, I smiled and greeted her, asking if she had a good night’s sleep.

Orhen nodded slightly.

Apart from my own physical condition, the breakfast table was relatively quiet. It was natural since the kids were usually still asleep.

So, I felt a little more excited than usual.

Denif looked at me with a questioning gaze and then yawned before picking up his utensils.

When you were tired, it was best to leave someone alone. I’d start a conversation during lunch.

Since I woke up earlier than usual, I finished my meal and turned my gaze out the window.

Considering toothbrushing, I still had plenty of time.

Then, I felt someone’s gaze.

To be precise, it wasn’t a gaze directed at me but rather at the bread I had left.

Orhen was staring at my bread.

Hmm, did she like this?

Even at a glance, the bread wasn’t ordinary. Its golden surface shimmered as if it were coated with syrup.

It was today’s special breakfast and dessert.

You could eat something else anytime, but the special dish was only served once a meal.

Hmm. If I give it to her, will we get closer?

As for me, I didn’t particularly care for bread or desserts, so it didn’t matter to me if I didn’t eat it.

That was why I was just leaving it untouched.

“Would you like to eat this?”

“……”

Orhen looked up and stared at me.

Within her enlarged pupils, the desire to eat and a question of whether it was real coexisted.

“Here.”

“…really?”

“I’m not really fond of bread.”

Denif, who was beside me, was taken aback.

“You don’t like Elif?”

“Elif?”

Denif nodded as if he finally understood.

“Ah, I see. It’s an incredibly precious specialty made from ingredients that only come from a specific region in the northern part of the continent.”

Orhen looked at me again with an anxious gaze. It was a precious specialty apparently. I did want to try it at least once…

It felt a bit uncomfortable for a 13-year-old girl to look at me like that. Did I say something unnecessary?

“But it’s fine.”

I said that and cut off the end of the bread, then handed the rest to Orhen.

Orhen’s eyes widened.

“…Is it really okay?”

“Yeah. I told you, I’m not really into bread. I just try a bite.”

“…Thank you.”

Well, she was quite reserved. But at least her gaze toward me had become slightly friendlier, so that was a relief.

Denif also tried to persuade Orhen, saying he only wanted half, but Orhen turned her body slightly to clearly express her refusal.

“Ugh, what a stubborn girl.”

Denif grumbled with a slightly dissatisfied expression.

It was a sharp remark, but it didn’t really bother her when she heard it. It was just his characteristic way of speaking.

He tended to be straightforward in his speech.

Denif turned to me.

“But you don’t like bread?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Aren’t you an orphan?”

I always felt that, oddly enough, Denif was closer to having the Eccentric Actions than I was.

He didn’t hold back in his behavior.

Although he was also an orphan, he wouldn’t openly say he was an orphan or call someone a stubborn guy like that.

Sometimes he would tease Marhan but within certain limits.

“Hey, even orphans have their own preferences. Haven’t you ever tasted something delicious when you picked up something off the floor?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“And I don’t even know what this tastes like.”

I put a piece of bread, unsure if it was Elef or Elif, into my mouth. The bread melted smoothly in my mouth.

Hmm, um… this is really delicious?

I could sense Orhen, who was sitting in front of me, looking at me anxiously. It was a gaze that worried if I would ask for it back.

If I showed too much excitement about it being delicious, the situation might become strange. So, I maintained my expression.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it? Any regrets?”

Denif piped up from beside me. I deliberately shrugged my shoulders.

“Just okay.”

“Just okay? Is there something wrong with your taste buds? Did you lose your sense of taste from eating something wrong from the trash?”

“Ugh, whatever.”

I barely held back the desire to smack Denif’s forehead and stood up from my seat.

“I’ll go first.”

“Are you going to brush your teeth?”

I nodded my head in response.

But for some reason, because I was feeling good, I wanted to act a bit sassy.

“You two should eat quickly and brush your teeth if you don’t want your teeth to rot.”

Actually, it wasn’t sassiness. It could be called constructive advice. They’d probably be grateful to me later.

Anyway, I leisurely brushed my teeth and was the first to arrive at the training ground.

There was nothing particularly surprising.

It was a familiar sight. I always woke up first, ate breakfast, and got ready.

It wasn’t a difficult task for me. Tossing and turning ten times a day was routine.

No matter how hard I trained, it never changed.

When I got up around dawn at the boundary between sleep and reality, it was time to get up.

It wasn’t always at the exact same time, but it was around a similar time. I had plenty of time.

I just needed to do some light exercise without overexerting myself.

Diligence was a virtue wherever you go. The increase in evaluations about me was just an incidental benefit.

Anyway, while I was warming up at the training ground, Denif and Orhen came running in a hurry.

It seemed like they had followed my advice and brushed their teeth.

Orhen had recently started following my lead and brushing her teeth, and Denif, who used to complain, was changing as well.

It wasn’t something they always did, though.

For me, it was a good thing. Sometimes, when Denif spoke beside me, I could smell his breath.

It didn’t take long for Marhan to appear.

Exactly on time, he had never once been late.

However, behind him were two unfamiliar faces.

‘Who are they?’

One man and one woman. The woman seemed like a magician, judging from the staff she held.

Both of them had a somewhat sharp atmosphere. I wondered if they were the duke’s direct intelligence agents.

“Oh? Boutreaux and Sally.”

Denif murmured. Did he already know their faces? I could roughly understand how the situation was unfolding.

Since there were multiple instructors for evening classes, maybe they were instructors in combat, I assumed.

When there were missions, Marhan took charge of us, and when there weren’t, responsibilities were divided.

And my guess turned out to be true.

The man named Boute took Denif, and the woman named Selda took Orhen and moved to the side.

Marhan stood in front of me. But there was something strange in his gaze as he looked at me.

* * *

“From today, we will learn weaponry. We will train one-on-one for a while.”

Marhan said, focusing his gaze on Carlyn. As soon as they entered the training ground, Carlyn felt that something was different today.

It was definitely unlike the usual.

“Yes.”

The boy replied, his eyes filled with determination and overflowing energy.

Usually, he carried himself like an old man who had seen everything in the world, but today he seemed truly like a thirteen-year-old child. That was what Marhan thought.

“And your body?”

“I’ve already warmed up.”

Marhan nodded approvingly.

Despite Carlyn’s unsatisfactory progress, his diligence was an aspect that Marhan quite liked.

Thanks to Carlyn, other children had also become a bit more diligent.

Marhan walked towards the weapon rack he had prepared in advance in the early morning.

“Take them one by one from left to right. And swing them.”

“Is that all?”

Marhan casually nodded his head as if it were insignificant.

“Yes, whether you swing or thrust them.”

Carlyn felt that those words were somewhat vague. Swing or thrust. It was a simple statement, but it left him perplexed. Was that really all?

Seeing Marhan’s urging gaze, Carlyn couldn’t continue his train of thought. He picked up the spear placed on the far left.

Marhan’s gaze became sharper.

He was observing every aspect of Carlyn at that moment.

From gripping the spear to positioning it in front of him, he closely scrutinized even the slightest movement.

Not bad, unlike usual. That was what Marhan thought.

Carlyn felt that the spear was quite substantial.

It wasn’t overly heavy, but due to its length, he had to adjust his hand position to maintain the center of gravity.

And under Marhan’s watchful eyes, he pierced through the air.

The movement was light, and the spearhead was sharp. That was the end of it.

The given task was to swing or thrust, after all.

When Carlyn raised his head, Marhan was watching him with a complex expression.

‘What’s going on?’

Marhan thought to himself.

He had already sensed that something was different today, but it was far more different than he could have imagined.

And after seeing Carlyn’s movements, he was convinced.

Yesterday’s Carlyn and today’s Carlyn were the same person, but they were so different that they couldn’t be considered the same person at all.

“…Next.”

Was this really the end? Carlyn wondered silently, but without questioning, he hung the spear back on the rack and picked up the axe.

Then, he swung it lightly.

“Next.”

Marhan’s expression remained complex, but his response was faster than before. The process repeated itself.

Mace, dagger, club…

As Marhan continued to call out “Next,” something changed when Carlyn grabbed the longsword.

Carlyn also knew that something was different. The moment he held the longsword, it felt familiar in his hand.

He simply thought it was because he had learned swordsmanship before.

Carlyn swung the sword diagonally. A wicked, sharp sound followed. Carlyn instinctively turned toward the rack.

“One more time.”

However, Marhan’s words made him pause his steps and readjust his stance.

And he acknowledged Marhan’s keen insight. He had noticed the subtle difference himself.

‘Yeah, the duke doesn’t recruit him for nothing.’

With that thought Carlyn swung the sword diagonally downwards. It was a simple thought of doing it again since he had done it once before.

It had been just a few seconds ago, but Carlyn recognized that his movements had become much smoother.

‘Is it because of my condition?’

In Carlyn’s thinking, it seemed that it wasn’t solely due to an increase in physical ability.

It was evident that it also had an impact on acquisition and learning.

And Carlyn wondered if this peak condition was similar to what he had seen in “Guti’s Day” on the internet a long time ago. (+)^[1]TLN: Guti, was a football/soccer player for Real Madrid in 1995. It was called Guti’s Day because, in a match vs Sevilla, Real Madrid was behind 0:2 on the score. And then Guti came in after replacing one of Real Madrid’s players, even though the time was already 60 Minutes (90 Minutes for one match btw) he contributed to many goals in that match with the last score of 3:2 for Real Madrid, which turn helped Real Madrid become league champion. So basically, the MC mentioned Guti’s Day because his condition somehow explode drastically.

For some reason, he felt like he knew how his body should move.

He was moving instinctively, beyond the realm of conscious definition.

As Carlyn turned his body to place the sword on the rack, it was at that moment.

“…Have you been hiding your skills all this time?”

In the stillness, Marhan asked, his voice chilling.

• 1. TLN: Guti, was a football/soccer player for Real Madrid in 1995. It was called Guti’s Day because, in a match vs Sevilla, Real Madrid was behind 0:2 on the score. And then Guti came in after replacing one of Real Madrid’s players, even though the time was already 60 Minutes (90 Minutes for one match btw) he contributed to many goals in that match with the last score of 3:2 for Real Madrid, which turn helped Real Madrid become league champion. So basically, the MC mentioned Guti’s Day because his condition somehow explode drastically.