The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 16 - After the Storm Has Passed

It was a tremendous shock.

The fact that the ducal family's failure, who had returned after a year and a half, had won an overwhelming victory against the heir of the Count Gloss family.

It would have been a hot topic even if they had only fought a close match. Milo Gloss was not an easy opponent to that extent. He was a proven upper-middle-tier talent with a

reputation built since his middle school days.

Of course, there wasn't actually a pure skill gap between the two as wide as the result suggested. If one were to consider only simple skill, Rain would have had a slight edge.

Milo had the weapons of excellent physical ability and a powerful, albeit rigid, swordsmanship that had been refined.

And Rain had excellent swordsmanship and a combat sense honed through hundreds of battles.

And here, the weight added to Rain's scale was ‘information’.

Before the spar began, Rain had easily obtained information on all of Milo's hands, that is, his techniques.

On the other hand, Milo had no information about Rain at all.

This information imbalance became fatal for Milo, who absolutely lacked the ability to apply his techniques.

Even if his techniques had been seen through, if Milo had used the difference in physical ability to drag the fight into a chaotic brawl, it might have become a close match.

But Rain had constantly shaken Milo with provocations……. and Milo's own temperament would never have allowed for such a fighting style.

As a result, such an overwhelming victory was staged.

Regardless of the absolute conditions, to everyone watching, Rain would have been seen as this.

A genius of the sword who completely saw through sword strikes upon first sight and claimed an overwhelming victory.

Through this process…… Rain was able to present himself as stronger than his actual skill.

And that might have become a factor that would drag Rain into deeper confusion in the future.

***

Thwack-!

Late at night, I was striking a straw dummy in the training hall with a training sword.

There was no particular reason. Perhaps due to Rain's unique disposition, the pouring gazes were quite uncomfortable.

Also, I was tired, so as soon as the test was over, I went to my dorm and passed out…… and just woke up a while ago.

With nothing to do after that, I just filled my moderately hungry stomach and came to the training hall. It was late, so there was no one around.

Anyway, because of this, I hardly ran into anyone, so it didn't feel real that I had turned the academy upside down with the sparring test.

‘I'll probably feel it in full tomorrow, though…….’

Thwack-!

I was training by repeatedly striking the straw dummy. There was the reason of wanting to get a feel for striking, but I also wanted to clear my head a bit.

“I've been thinking too much lately…….”

Resting the mind is as important as using it. As someone who had successfully navigated the hell of South Korea's entrance exams, I was well aware of that fact.

‘……But there's something I just can't stop thinking about.’

Yes. There was one element that kept pulling at my attention. And that was…….

《 Stats 》

[ Strength : D- ]

[ Agility : C+ ]

[ Stamina : D- ]

[ Intelligence : B ]

[ Mana : F+ ]

[ Dexterity : B+ ]

Trait Details>>

Skill Details>>

Proficiency Details>>

Aptitude Details>>

《 Aptitude List 》

『Aptitude : Origin Magic』

:

Possesses an aptitude for Origin Magic.

This 『Aptitude : Origin Magic』, which was added after Episode 2, the entrance examination part, was what it was.

Aptitude was a system in that showed the potential of a character that had not yet blossomed.

Not having an aptitude didn't mean you couldn't learn that field, but in a field where you had an aptitude, you definitely had an advantage.

However, there was an exception in one field……. and that exception was the ‘Origin Magic’

I mentioned before. That magic that deals with the laws and causality of the world.

In the lore, Origin Magic cannot be learned or used by anyone who does not have an aptitude for it.

In the latter half of the game, the playable characters are temporarily granted the power of Origin Magic, but they don't learn it as their own.

In the world, the only ones who could wield this Origin Magic with their own power were the final boss and Arien Ortega.

“……But why do I have this.”

I just couldn't understand it. I wondered if it was the effect of 『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths』, but if it was because of this skill, it should have been a proficiency, not an aptitude.

Yes. This was what kept bothering me. It was a situation where I was trying to rest my head, but ended up thinking more.

Thwack-!

Just as I was swinging the training sword harder to clear my head.

“You're the same as ever, Rain-ssi.”

A voice that was slowly becoming familiar to my ears was heard.

It was the voice of the playable character with the moniker ‘Light of Salvation’, Serene El Stellia.

“……What brings you here at this hour.”

I wiped away the flowing sweat and looked at Serene. Her tied-back blonde hair and emerald eyes were still impressive, but this time, unlike the last, she had a rather comfortable smile.

“Oh, no. I was just taking a walk and saw the lights on in the training hall. It just…… reminded me of the old days.”

The old days?

What old days.

“The old days, you say.”

I was curious, but I didn't show it and subtly prompted a response. Then, Serene replied with a small smile.

“Fufu, because you used to practice late into the night every day in middle school, Rain-ssi.”

“…….”

This guy Rain, he worked much harder than I thought. But it made even less sense why his swordsmanship rank was F.

“You've grown so much it's surprising, I wondered if you had perhaps changed……. I'm glad you seem to be the same.”

I scratched my head at those words.

How Rain lived in the past, or what incident caused him to go into seclusion……. there was a mountain of things I wanted to ask, but I couldn't ask directly.

“If you're happy, how about we train together sometimes.”

“Ah, that sounds great. This also reminds me of the old days.”

After a moment of thought, the conclusion I came to was to become closer with Serene for now.

I needed to get close to her to twist the flow of the story, and by talking with her, I could also get more information about the past Rain.

Since Serene was also actively approaching me……. there was no need to refuse.

About an hour and a half passed like that.

While training with Serene, I roughly gauged her level……. I knew she was strong, but it was truly astounding.

Her physical ability, mana, and agility were needless to say, and she was even more skilled in swordsmanship than I was.

‘What kind of talent is this, really.’

There was a plausible background, but it really didn't make sense.

Still, if you were to ask if I just felt the gap and despaired, that wasn't the case. On the contrary, it was as if the ideal of strength was right in front of me. There was much I learned from watching.

“Phew, shall we call it a day? You were already training before, so if we go on any longer, it might affect your activities tomorrow.”

I nodded at Serene's words. This was one of the strengths of the person named Serene; despite having outstanding strength, she could think from the perspective of others.

Yes. It meant she was an outstanding person in personality, intelligence, and skill.

That's why she seemed even more unrealistic, more inhuman……. no, I think I've gone too deep into the character of Serene, so I'll stop.

“Serene-ssi, thank you for your consideration.”

I approached Serene, who was wiping her sweat, and said so. In fact, I had received a lot of consideration from Serene since the first day.

Serene is a person who does not belong to any faction within Archenia Academy. At the same time, she is also a person who is not disliked by anyone.

That was partly due to Serene's overwhelming popularity and skill, but maintaining such a position required excellent social skills.

She had to not be disliked by both the heirs of the haughty conservative faction and the heirs of the radical progressive faction.

And I, Rain Enlight, was in a position to be despised by both sides. Nevertheless, Serene had approached me without caring about the unfavorable gazes.

In the auditorium, in the training hall, and at the examination hall.

I had to express my gratitude for that kindness.

And to my gratitude…….

“We're friends, Rain.”

Serene said with a bright smile.

***

After that……. there was nothing special. We were in the same dormitory, but we went back separately.

Serene had said she would endure the noise that came with associating with me, but going back to the dormitory together late at night was another story.

Anyway, I washed up and quickly went to sleep……. and thus morning came.

In the morning, as I left the dormitory and entered the main school building, I finally felt the changed gazes. I hadn't felt it yesterday because I had gone straight to my room and passed out.

The piercing gazes and whispers were still there. The only difference was that now, they were gazes that did not contain contempt.

“That's the guy from yesterday……”

“What happened to him after he quit school?”

“He seemed pretty close with the princess too.”

‘That being said, it's not like I'm going to become the popular kid at the academy.’

The nobles who had despised me so much wouldn't be able to approach me because of their pride, and even if they had the nerve to, I would refuse. Most of the commoner students would also be entangled with noble families, so it would be impossible…….

‘Maybe I can hang out with the commoner students who aren't related to the noble families.’

Well, whatever. As long as I'm not ignored, that's enough. I can build friendships with the main and supporting characters of somehow.

More importantly, there was an important event today as well. It was the supervising professor assignment I mentioned before.

A supervising professor. A person who would foster my growth during my three years of academy life, and at the same time, become a connection. As such, I hoped a good person would be assigned…….

As I was walking with that thought.

Grab!

Suddenly, someone ran up from behind me and put their arm around my shoulders. Quite familiarly, at that.

“Student Rain!”

A somewhat energetic voice I had heard somewhere before.

I scrunched up my face and looked in the direction the voice came from. And what was there was…….

“Wow, I was impressed yesterday. Did you sleep well?”

‘The noticeable pink hair.’

It was yesterday's test supervisor, Jenna.

“……Professor Jenna, we're drawing attention.”

As I said, as Jenna approached me like that, the gazes that were already focused on me became even more concentrated.

“Eh, who cares?”

Jenna poked my cheek and laughed good-naturedly.

Could she be my supervising professor? No, considering her specs and personality, it wouldn't be bad…….

She's too energetic, though. I feel like she wouldn't be a good match for a gloomy character like me right now.

“Are you perhaps my supervising professor?”

“Huh? Ahh, honestly, I wanted to be, but I got snatched away~.”

Phew, I let out a sigh of relief.

“What's with that reaction?”

I quickly changed the subject.

“……Anyway, snatched away?”

At the academy, professors with excellent performance, or knights who had outstanding achievements before being appointed as professors, get priority nomination rights when assigning students to supervise.

And Jenna was a fairly high-ranking knight, so she should have had a high nomination order.

‘Someone with a higher nomination right than Jenna chose me first?’

Although I achieved excellent results in the entrance examination, due to my background, there wouldn't have been enough merit to be chosen first. Who on earth chose me?

“Well, you see~.”

Just as Jenna seemed about to launch into a complaint.

“It was me.”

Suddenly, the figure of a tall, handsome man appeared before my eyes.

‘You scared me.’

I was inwardly surprised but didn't show it, and slowly looked up at the tall man.

“Sen…… Professor Acaite~”

Yes, as Jenna said, the one in front of me was Acaite. The Masked Knight, Acaite.

I was surprised that Acaite had nominated me, but I thought I had to point this out first.

‘……Why do all these knight-types have to suddenly pop up and startle people.’