Chapter 184
<184 - Opposing Faction Group Training>
Bikini armor slipped right inside the heavy armor.
The mob, now wearing two layers of armor, was more concerned about shame than the weight.
“If I get caught, I’ll definitely be labeled a pervert.”
“So I have to grit my teeth and be careful not to get damaged!”
“… Oknodie. I have to ask, but…?”
“Yeah?”
“Ha. Never mind. There’s no point in asking.”
It was said that wearing the armor drastically increases dodge ability.
But if the wearer didn’t want to be socially ostracized, they had to grit their teeth and evade attacks.
He never imagined such a mechanism for armor, but upon reflection, it surprisingly made sense.
‘Ever since my body got heavier, I’ve only focused on taking and deflecting attacks with the armor.’
Lost in the thrill of stable defense and high power due to the weight, he had neglected dodging for a while.
Perhaps Oknodie putting him in this embarrassing armor was a lesson against his laziness, reminding him to always be on the edge and dodge incoming attacks.
It was a rather persuasive imagination.
“Tch. I can’t see anything. I thought the bikini armor would rise up.”
“…”
Ppyoi just seemed to want a spectacle. Luckily, Oknodie wasn’t a bad kid.
[The mob is satisfied with the wearing of a new cursed item.]
[Insight Experience Points +3]
[Good Child Experience Points +1]
Gasp.
This guy, the mob, pretended to hate it upfront but suddenly gained skill experience points from behind.
Does he actually have a taste for bikini armor or cross-dressing?
‘I didn’t want to know that information…’
But if it’s a friend’s preference, there’s nothing to do but respect it.
I should probably buy him another cursed item someday when the chance comes.
“Oknodie. It’s a big deal!”
“Dorothy? What’s wrong?”
“Our midterm exam got suddenly set as a magic battle with the Imperial Students!”
“[Fundamentals and Understanding of Mana Usage] class?”
“Yeah! They said we’ll fight against the kids from [Fundamentals and Understanding of Imperial Magic].”
It wasn’t a secret that the relationship between the Imperial professors and the border region professors wasn’t great, but it seemed like the conflict had begun quite early this time.
‘Usually, it would start from the second year. Or am I wrong? I only didn’t notice while it was a game, but now that it’s real, isn’t it normal for the first years to have bad relationships?’
Professor Sadako’s pet tree, Poppy.
The key element of Chapter 4, the chapter boss, in the Silent Forest.
That alone serves as a starting point for its infamous reputation.
The incident begins in the summer vacation of the second year.
However, things come to a head when Professor Sadako, worn out from resisting the Imperial professors, chooses to retire.
When the professor who feeds them leaves, Poppy will evolve into a cursed forest that devours people with the farewell message of “Grow strong.”
All of this happens because of the pressure from the Imperial professors.
‘Since there hasn’t been a single war in the border region, it seems problems are brewing within the academy!’
In the survival-themed trash game, of course, there’s trash in every semester and every test.
This time, it seems the trash is originating from some petty tactics of an Imperial professor.
[Opposing Faction Event]
After experiencing the tough taste of the border region in the material robbery war, the students from [Fundamentals and Understanding of Imperial Magic] have scheduled a second round.
The midterm exam opposing faction battle is on the line for students taking the mandatory mana lectures!
The losing faction will face overall grade deductions, while the victorious side will receive overall grade bonuses.
Can the opposing faction of students from the [Fundamentals and Understanding of Mana Usage] class, clearly at a disadvantage, achieve victory against the students from [Fundamentals and Understanding of Imperial Magic]?
In an unexpected twist, rather than a regular magic demonstration battle, this competition has been upgraded to a higher-level magic duel.
Despite it being an unfair match, Professor Weird accepted the challenge for reasons unknown.
“I really don’t understand what the professor is thinking.”
Dorothy blamed the professor, but that didn’t mean their grade points were any safer from deduction.
“Still, the exam is next week, so there’s some time. Do you want to have special training?”
“Oh, that would be great! But other kids want special training too. Can we all do it together?”
“Hmm… Bring all the kids who want to!”
Since the professor was trying to subtly teach their students by beating the easier border kids to boost their scores, there’s no way I wouldn’t take care of Professor Weird’s group!
“Isabel, I’ll be late today helping my friends with their midterms.”
“Wait a sec! I’ll pack you a lunch.”
“Does it have meat in it?”
“I’ll make sure!”
“Yay!”
Carrying the lunch Isabel packed, I headed to the meeting place.
Dorothy is such a nice person.
When this kind of opportunity arises, usually, people try to keep it all to themselves, but she’s letting others get help.
As a veteran player myself, I know that for our class to do well in the opposing faction battle, it’s beneficial for everyone in the same class to score well.
But Dorothy, who isn’t exactly like that, still tries to help her classmates, right?
‘In the end, the game shines through cooperation rather than competition.’
Even if the academy’s basic growth stats might be high due to the desperation of the war generation, the overall peaks are generally lower due to mutual antagonism and conflicts of interest.
While the peace generation might lack urgency, their combined effort and growth prove that their overall peak is much higher.
‘Good thing I helped Dorothy instead of teaming up with someone like Yui, who’s a nasty NTR character.’
Yui, who has carved out a niche as a merchant, tends to spark strange reactions from the group’s male members if she’s hired as a comrade.
Now that the game has become reality, those odd reactions aren’t just because of human nature causing conflicts but because Yui has likely pulled some tricks.
“Hey, Oknodie. You arrived early?”
“I was thinking about what to teach! Where are the other kids?”
“They’ll come in a bit.”
Dorothy’s friends from the [Fundamentals and Understanding of Mana Usage] class entered one by one through the door.
I was expecting only the weak kids from the border region, but surprisingly, competent kids like Rosgini and Sandkooker from the Empire’s magic tower also showed up.
“Hmph. I didn’t think the Red Magic Tower’s magic was lacking. I just came to see your skills. Don’t misunderstand, okay?”
“That idiot doesn’t want to learn, so let’s ignore him. Instead, teach me! I wanted to learn if there’s any application technique like the Dark Sand Wall for the sand wall creation magic.”
“Sandkooker! I came first!”
“But you said you didn’t want to learn!”
“Still, I’m in line! In this place, it’s only fair that I learn magic too!”
Did they come because I helped them during the material robbery event?
More people than expected showed up.
I don’t particularly dislike it.
If the students are skilled, it’s better for me.
Smart kids are fun to teach.
“Hello.”
“Oknodie, you look small even on the weekend!”
But just as the same number of people came in, a stampede of others followed.
“Your lips looked super chapped today. Want some lipstick?”
“I-I can paint my nails!”
And yet, even more groups of people followed.
“Oknodie is just a kid. Don’t you care more about food than beauty? I bought this at the concession stand on my way here, so feel free to take it.”
“Do you like fried squid?”
“Melon bread is delicious too.”
Not getting bored and continuously trailing behind.
So many, it’s overwhelming.
“… Dorothy. How many did you bring?”
“Um… I asked them, and they all said they wanted to listen?”
“… You didn’t bring the entire class, did you?”
Dorothy bashfully fiddled with her hairpin while she laughed, “Hehe.”
“M-uh, it hurts, don’t pull my cheek!”
“This is all Dorothy’s fault for bringing so many!”
How can you have all 100 students from the class come to one place just asking for people who want to learn?
“So… is that not okay?”
The students behind Dorothy stared at me wide-eyed.
Clenching their hands in anxiety, fearing rejection, yet unable to avert their gaze.
They all know there’s nowhere for them to lean.
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask Professor Weird for extra help directly?”
“That professor is a bit… I heard from Sandkooker while preparing lecture materials in the professor’s office that he fed fourth years strange rocks like basalt, granite, and elemental stones collected from all over the world.”
“Yikes. Why would he do that?”
“No idea. Anyway, he’s a weird professor.”
“I see. Then I’ll teach you instead.”
At that, everyone erupted in cheers as if celebrating a festival.
Whatever it is, they must think it’s better for me to teach than Professor Weird.
I think so too.
Professors are often excellent in skills but terrible in teaching.
When it comes to teaching mediocre students, what they really need is a veteran player like me to provide direct, leveling-up educational support.
“Oknodie. What are you going to teach first? Perhaps some hidden magic or tips on using magic?”
With an innocent face, Dorothy asked, unaware of the fate that awaits.
I bestowed upon her a kind smile.
“Run, run, keep running!”
“Huff, huff, huff…”
“This isn’t mana training…”
“I think I’m going to crumble…”
“Oknodie… how long are we just going to run…?”
The students, exhausted from this morning’s continued training.
Next to them, I emphasized the necessity of running while matching their pace.
“The Imperial kids have gathered much more mana and honed their magic over the years. No short training can compete with the quality of their magic!”
“But just running is weird…!”
“Think reasonably. Even if you pump up your magic-related stats, it’s all in vain if you can’t escape. It’s better to develop the stamina and agility to dodge!”
“Is that so…?”
“Then let’s run one more lap!”
Running 100 laps around the field.
92 dropouts.
8 finishers.
Students aiming for the Magic Department, who had been neglecting physical training, sprawled on the dirt, shattered.
“W-We ran it all… so now it’s over…?”
“Yep. Physical training is!”
“‘Physical’ training is…?”
“If you just run without dodging, you’ll tire out faster. Agility training doesn’t have training as effective as this…”
I slammed down a stick with a circular ring on the ground, hammering it in and setting the edge on fire.
Ta-da!
In an instant, the field was transformed into a circus training ground!
“Alright, everyone, get up! We need to work on agility training too!”
Deep regret appeared on the students’ faces.
They probably regretted not being able to do this excellent training sooner.
With all their enthusiasm, it’s probably unnecessary to mention that the size of the ring will gradually decrease every hour, right?