The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 39 - When I Came to My Senses, I Was Human Scum (3)

After leaving the garden, was it time to return to the dormitory? Of course not.

I hadn't trained today, so I had to go to the training ground to loosen up my body.

It wasn't that something big would happen if I skipped training for a day, but what was important was not to break the habit of training.

‘And well, there are faces I’ll see if I go.’

I quickened my pace and headed for the training ground in the center of the academy campus. Perhaps because it was quite late, the training ground was rather deserted.

Arriving at the training ground, just as I was loosening up and picking up my sword…….

“Mr. Rain, you are late.”

The one who approached me, calling my name in a deep voice, was one of ’s main characters, ‘Windsfang’ Khan.

Lately, I had been training with him at the training ground, and it had been quite fruitful. Especially in training through sparring.

Yuna was weaker than me in her current state, so it was ambiguous to fight on equal terms, and in Serene’s case…… she was too strong, so the balance was off.

Arien, like Serene, was on a different level, and besides, she was a mage, so it was a different category altogether.

Of course, Khan was also much stronger than me if he went all out, but in simple hand-to-hand combat, our skills were similar.

‘His main strengths are archery and spirit arts, after all.’

He lacked technique, and I lacked physical ability. We were training by facing such contrasting styles.

“I will not lose today.”

Clang-!

The sound of training swords clashing rang out as always.

‘But this guy, he’s not bringing up the rumors.’

If he had heard the rumors, he might have brought it up at least once to ask what was going on, but Khan didn't say a word about it until the training was over.

‘Did he not hear?’

He was quite the lone wolf type of character, so that was plausible.

Or maybe, though he seemed insensitive, he was a deep person and was being considerate of me.

Either way wasn't bad. It was enough to confirm that our relationship hadn't been fractured by the baseless rumors.

Anyway, Khan had come to train long before me, so he left first. Overworking wasn’t good, after all.

Thus, I was left to train alone when…….

“……Mr. Rain, do you have a moment.”

A familiar voice was heard from the entrance of the training ground.

And where I turned my head, there stood a girl with shining golden hair and emerald eyes.

In other words, Serene was standing there.

***

No matter how much I had memorized the story of , there were still things I didn't know.

And those unknown things were the unresolved foreshadowing in the story, and the content not shown in the story.

As I said, there were several unresolved foreshadowings in , and the reason was that was a work made with a sequel in mind.

The logic was, if they revealed all the characters’ stories here, what stories would they have when they appeared in the next work?

I understood, but it was still a decision that was heavily criticized. Like the game's story lacking completeness.

Well, anyway, for that reason, there were unresolved foreshadowings for each character. And an unresolved foreshadowing also appeared in Serene's story.

It was described that Serene held some kind of pain, but that part was not directly revealed.

And what was presumed to be one of those unresolved foreshadowings was the relationship between me - Rain Enlight - and Serene El Stellia.

Rain Enlight is a background character whose actions are not described in the main story.

He's only mentioned in passing. A character of that level shouldn't have any particular connection with the main characters.

But Serene spoke to me as if we had been friends since middle school. And with a somewhat sad look.

‘What on earth is our relationship.’

I couldn't understand it. What connection could there be between Rain Enlight, the complete failure, and Serene, who would become the world's strongest being in the future?

That question, which I had forgotten for a while while engrossed in academy life, now reared its head again.

The fact that Serene had taken the time to come find me was the trigger.

As I continued my training, Serene's voice was heard from the entrance.

‘Today isn’t a day I train with Serene.’

Certainly, Serene and I sometimes trained together when our schedules overlapped. But today was a day she wouldn't come because her classes ended late.

I wondered what was going on, but…… I actually had an inkling.

I put down my training sword and approached Serene.

“A moment to talk, is that alright?”

“Yes, I was just about to take a breather anyway.”

I said so and plopped down in a corner of the training ground.

“What is it? I thought you wouldn't be coming today.”

“……There are bad rumors circulating about you recently, Mr. Rain.”

Ah, as expected. It was the reason I had anticipated.

I didn’t answer and just looked at Serene. It seemed like she wanted to say something more.

“Are you…… alright?”

“Yes, it’s something I’m used to.”

The fact that it was a malicious attack was annoying, but I had no problem with my mentality.

Was it because I had gotten used to hearing those whispers since enrollment, or was it-.

『Iron Will[A]』

: You possess a strong mentality.

: You receive a bonus to resisting mental abnormalities and enduring pain.

Was it because of this skill I obtained after going through two hundred regressions before enrollment? Maybe it was both.

“……”

But in contrast, Serene still had a worried look in her eyes. And the more Serene reacted like that, the more my questions grew.

‘What on earth is the existence of Rain Enlight to Serene?’

That thought came to me, and-.

“Miss Serene.”

“Yes?”

“May I ask why you became friends with me?”

I immediately turned my doubt into a question. Serene had an inherently straightforward personality, so I judged that this was better than beating around the bush and speculating.

And at my question…….

“……”

Serene’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Miss Serene?”

“……Ah, I’m sorry. I was a little surprised.”

“Surprised?”

“Because, Mr. Rain, you’ve never once asked such a question before.”

Listening to Serene's words, it seemed Rain had a personality that was extremely reluctant to communicate with others. Well, after living a life of such scorn.

Anyway, at my question, Serene raised her head and looked at the ceiling of the training ground.

“……You’re right. It’s a long story, but…… if I had to say it in one word, I think I could say it like this.”

And in that state, after hesitating as if choosing her words…… Serene finally looked into my eyes and spoke.

I felt Serene’s emerald eyes shining under the lights.

“Because you, Mr. Rain, were my idol.”

“……”

Even though I heard a hint from Serene’s mouth, the questions still piled up one after another. Serene El Stellia’s idol was Rain Enlight?

There was no contradiction greater than this. For the top model student to revere the worst underachiever as an idol.

I could only tilt my head.

“Fufut.”

And at my reaction, Serene gave a small laugh.

“I thought you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

“……You’re more mischievous than you look, Miss Serene.”

“You’re also more sly than you look, Mr. Rain.”

And Serene stood up from her seat with a slightly relieved expression.

“I’m glad. I was wondering if you might have been hurt…… but you seem okay.”

At those words, I let out a chuckle.

“Thank you for your concern.”

As Serene stood up, I also stood up to see her off. As she disappeared beyond the door of the training ground, Serene left behind such words.

“Do your best, my idol.”

“……”

Serene…….

Wasn't that a little too sentimental? I thought. No, I mean, I’m sorry but.

“……”

And as if Serene also thought so, the girl’s ears, visible from her departing back, were flushed bright red.

Well, whatever.

That's the age for it. Yep.

***

Anyway, although malicious rumors had spread within the academy, it surprisingly…… didn't have much of an effect on the people around me.

Among my acquaintances, I hadn’t had a chance to meet Yuna and Arien yet, so I hadn't seen their reactions, but both were individuals who wouldn't be swayed.

Arien was inherently indifferent to worldly affairs, and Yuna wasn't the type of person who enjoyed this kind of insidious slander.

‘Well, anyway. That's not what's important.’

Yes, what was important now was something else. The problem was how to restore my tarnished honor.

[ Episode 3. Restoring Honor ]

Fallen honor must be picked up again.

System : 『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths』 has reached a checkpoint!

When I woke up, a checkpoint had been set like this; did that mean this matter was that important?

To be honest, I didn't really understand the criteria for setting these checkpoints. It didn't seem to react only to the main story, so I could only vaguely guess that the criterion was me.

Anyway, to get back to the main point…… I had some thoughts. No, in fact, I could confidently say that this would be the optimal answer.

What was the original reason I wanted to take on requests? Wasn't it to make money?

But what if there was a way to make money while restoring my honor in the current situation? It could be called killing two birds with one stone.

And what was that method? It was bounty hunting.

In , besides ordinary sub-missions, events would occur at specific times and places if you wandered around the map.

And bounty hunting was one of those types of events, where you just had to beat up the wanted criminal or monster that appeared in a specific location.

‘I could get some pretty good money and experience.’

If there was a characteristic, it was that unlike the main story that everyone had to clear, there was a somewhat clear compatibility factor.

For example, there were guys who were strong against magic attacks and weak against physical attacks, and there were also guys to whom ranged attacks were completely ineffective, but melee attack damage was multiplied by 1.5.

And after rummaging through my memories as much as possible, I found that there was one boss who had an extremely favorable matchup for me in a positive sense.

‘In the original work, he was a tricky fellow for any character.’

Anyway, since I had set my direction, all that was left was to execute it.

For now, I spent the remaining weekdays quietly attending classes. To have my personal time completely to myself, I had to wait for the holiday.

And as soon as the holiday came, I immediately headed to the city center of Endinium. To be precise, my target was the wanted poster hanging in the plaza.

“Let’s see.”

On a large bulletin board located in the middle of the plaza, wanted posters of all kinds of heinous criminals and monsters were posted. Their crimes, appearance, and even their bounties.

‘It doesn't seem like a very healthy system.’

Although I was about to use this system now, honestly, it didn't seem like a very sound system.

Realistically speaking, there would be more than one or two people who would challenge these heinous criminals and monsters for the bounty and end up in a sorry state.

……Well. There was no point in questioning a game's system, but since this was reality now, I just said it for the sake of it.

Anyway, my target was…….

“Found it.”

[WANTED]

[JUDGMENT]

[Crimes: Serial murder of knights, serial murder of civilians]

[Features: Lizard's head, surface slimy like a maggot, hunched human body]

[Danger Level: A]

[5,000,000 CRS]

Judgment. It was this guy.

***

The sewer in the middle of the night was quite quiet, and, as you might expect, filthy.

It was partly because sewage was flowing through the drainage channels, but also because people rarely used it, so piles of dust and garbage had accumulated in the passages.

Splash, splash.

With a somehow unpleasantly sticky sound, I continued to advance. The only light source was the light leaking from the ventilation shafts from time to time.

The reason I was walking through this filthy sewer in the middle of the night was very simple.

It wasn't for a night stroll, of course, but because the hideout of the wanted criminal ‘Judgment’ was here.

‘It’s so classic.’

A serial killer hiding in a secluded corner of the sewer. It was a cliché of clichés. Though the person named Judgment was as strange as could be.

Anyway, I continued to walk through the sewer like that. While continuously looking at the right wall of the sewer.

‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.’

‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.’

There was a pattern on the sewer wall, and that pattern was that after a seven-brick interval, there was always a brick engraved with the imperial crest.

And as I continued to advance, counting the pattern in my head…….

‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.’

‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…….’

Thud.

6.

There was a wall where the interval to the brick engraved with the imperial crest was only 6.

I stopped where I was walking and stood in front of that wall.

Behind this wall, was Judgment.