After the demon attack, things at the academy took a strange turn.
Several disasters the Empire could never afford to let happen had erupted all at once.
Demons had appeared for the first time in a hundred years, those demons had attacked the academy, and in the middle of it all, the Hero had awakened.
With everyone still reeling from the chaos, the academy announced a weeklong closure to restore its damaged facilities.
The students cheered at the unexpected vacation.
Ex was the sole exception.
“During the closure, I’ll increase your daily training time to eight hours. If you’ve got a problem with that, come at me and win.”
Roxwell dragged Ex out of bed and hauled him to the training grounds.
Naturally, no one else was there.
Roxwell and Ex stood alone on the deserted ground, already baking beneath the sun.
For the first time in ages, Ex shouted in Korean.
“[Roxwell, you son of a bitch!!!]”
“…What does that mean?”
“It’s a dialect from my homeland. It means I’m eager to work hard.”
“It sounded suspiciously like an insult…”
“You’re imagining things.”
Ex resigned himself to his fate, knowing there was no way to escape.
Asking, ‘Do I really have to?’ would get him nowhere.
To Roxwell, ‘training’ was as essential as breathing.
Even so, this was excessive, so Ex protested.
“No, seriously, why are we doing this on a vacation?”
“The ‘Grand Festival’ has been moved up to April. In other words, you don’t get vacations anymore.”
“What?! The Grand Festival got moved up? Why?!”
The Grand Festival commemorated the Hero Party’s defeat of the Demon King a hundred years ago.
It was also the academy’s largest celebration, fitting for an institution whose motto was to cultivate Heroes.
On that day, the academy opened its gates even to ordinary citizens, and the students and professors hosted all manner of events.
In other words, the ‘Grand Festival’ was the classic ‘festival episode.’
‘Why the hell is this happening all of a sudden…?’
As Ex stared in confusion, Roxwell shrugged.
“I don’t know the details either. I have no idea what sort of agreement passed between the Empire and the Theocracy, but an official notice came down without warning yesterday. We’re rather bewildered ourselves. But that isn’t the important part.”
Right.
The real problem was that the event had been moved forward.
Which meant…
“If I don’t reach first place in the Academic Ranking by April, I’ll be expelled…”
“Good. I like how quickly you catch on. Understand now?”
Roxwell drew his practice sword.
“And if you fail, I might lose my professorship too.”
“You expect me to take first place in the Academic Ranking in one month? That’s impossible! Do you have any idea how many monsters attend this academy?!”
“That’s why I gave the matter some serious thought. There is a way. The one and only method by which you might reach first place.”
“Don’t tell me…”
Roxwell lightly tapped Ex on the head with his practice sword.
“Enter the Tournament. Your only chance is to take first place there. Winning and collecting the bonus credits gives you the highest probability of success.”
The Tournament.
An event where all sorts of characters fought one-on-one to measure their combat strength.
For the author, it was an easy way to pad the story. For the readers, it was a chance to watch students beat the hell out of each other.
‘When you don’t know what to write next, throw in one of these.’
The ‘tournament event’ was one of those universally useful plot devices.
Naturally, the original novel had featured a Tournament as well. It had been used to showcase Leon’s combat strength after his awakening as the Hero.
“No…”
Ex answered miserably.
“That’s completely impossible…”
“What part of it is impossible?”
“How could I possibly win?! Forget the Imperial Prince and Imperial Princess. How am I supposed to beat Leon now that he’s awakened as the Hero? There’s no way he won’t enter!”
He especially needed to avoid fighting anyone who wielded divine power, such as Leon or Frey.
‘Humanization’ came with the restriction that it would be undone if struck by sufficiently powerful divine energy.
‘And winning first place would be a disaster too!!’
The champion received their award personally from the ‘Emperor’ and the ‘Pope.’
The award ceremony took place under extremely tight security. There was no chance Ex could get through it without his true identity being discovered.
He could always enter the Tournament and lose at a convenient point.
However…
“If you’re thinking about deliberately losing, be prepared to lose your head along with the match. A grudge born from unemployment runs deep.”
The threat of violence standing right in front of him was far more terrifying than some uncertain danger in the future.
“How else do you intend to reach first place if not through the Tournament? What you needed was proof that you might be the ‘Hero.’ But a student has already awakened as the real Hero. No one expects anything from you anymore.”
“Urgh… I mean, that’s true, but…”
“During the faculty meeting, some professors argued that you should be expelled immediately. If Professor Lung hadn’t intervened, you’d already be outside the academy gates.”
“Professor Lung did?”
“That’s right. Even under these circumstances, Professor Lung continues to support you. Is there any way to repay that faith besides winning the Tournament and taking first place in the Academic Ranking?”
“…No.”
Ex’s shoulders sagged as he accepted his fate.
Seeing that, Roxwell sighed and pushed Ex’s forehead with one finger.
“And what happened to your hair? Why did you suddenly dye it white? Is this some kind of rebellion?”
“Ah, there were circumstances…”
“Kids these days. Tsk… Get ready. I may not be able to teach you how to study, but I can teach you how to win.”
“…Are we really training for eight hours?”
“Hmm, you’re right. Eight hours might be difficult.”
Roxwell swung his practice sword and declared,
“We’ll increase it to twelve.”
Ex barely deflected the incoming blade before shouting,
“[Roxwell, you son of a bitch!]”
***
‘This should be enough to fool Elysia too.’
After twelve hours of training, Ex collapsed.
Roxwell left after promising to return tomorrow.
Still sprawled alone across the training ground, Ex slowly sorted through his thoughts.
‘I said all that, but I had a feeling the Grand Festival would be moved forward.’
Originally, the demons would have run rampant across the Empire, then attempted to exploit the gap in its military strength created during the suppression campaign.
However, the Empire’s response had been far faster than anticipated, and no such gap had appeared.
Up to that point, events had followed the original novel.
But then something changed.
‘The problem was that it happened on the day of the Hero Memorial Ceremony.’
The Hero Memorial Ceremony honored the day the Hero died after defeating the Demon King. In other words, it carried profound religious significance.
And demons had appeared on that very day.
To calm the public, the authorities needed something grand enough to overshadow the disaster.
The only viable option was to hold a major event on a newly designated commemorative day.
‘I was hoping it wouldn’t happen… but here we are.’
Ex let out a sigh.
Even if his prediction had been correct, losing precious vacation days was still tragic.
‘I can prepare for the Academic Ranking too, at least to some extent.’
Academic credits were divided into base credits and bonus credits.
Base credits were determined by averaging a student’s three highest exam scores.
Bonus credits were additional points earned through academy events and outside activities.
A student’s Academic Ranking was determined by the combined total of those two categories.
Ex intended to target the bonus credits.
‘There are plenty of ways to earn bonus credits at the academy.’
A plot where someone ‘studied hard and surpassed everyone else’ wasn’t very entertaining.
That was why the story created a wide range of incidents, and through those incidents, the Hero Party proved their academic merit.
Aside from the Main Scenarios, most of the novel progressed in that fashion.
If Ex collected enough bonus credits from those opportunities, reaching first place in the Academic Ranking wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
‘Winning the Tournament is obviously impossible, and more importantly, I can’t allow myself to do it.’
The Tournament marked the beginning of the fierce conflict between Imperial Prince Darius and Leon before the Imperial Schism Scenario.
Darius demanded that Leon swear allegiance to the Empire, but Leon refused, declaring that he would follow his own path. Leon then defeated Darius in the finals and became the ultimate victor.
That caused the Imperial Prince and the Hero to become outright enemies, which in turn placed both of them in grave danger during the Imperial Schism Scenario.
‘And that’s a crucial part of the plot.’
Ex couldn’t recklessly change the Tournament’s outcome.
All he needed was ‘first place in the Academic Ranking.’
He didn’t need to become number one by gloriously winning the Tournament like some heroic protagonist.
If he survived, no matter how dirty or pathetic the method, that alone would be the ultimate victory.
“Ugh, every bone in my body hurts…”
Ex slowly rose to his feet. It was already past six in the evening.
He didn’t have so much as a speck of strength left, but if he was going to rest, he would be better off doing it in his room.
“Still, maybe because my race changed, this is surprisingly bearable…”
Perhaps because he had repeatedly received thorough instruction and endured sparring sessions under a Six-Star martial artist, his skills were improving at a rapid pace.
Ex channeled internal energy through his sword and manifested his aura.
It shone a vivid blue.
“I’m already Three-Star and Third-Tier. No wonder people pay bribes for Seat Trading.”
The academy’s educational system enabled an extraordinary rate of growth.
Even without support from the system, anyone who followed the same training schedule as Ex would undoubtedly grow just as quickly.
They might even progress faster than him. They certainly wouldn’t be any slower.
‘I wonder if Lola’s doing all right…’
The thought came to him at just the right moment, and he was about to check Lola’s Character Information when…
“Hello!”
A clear, lovely girl’s voice rang out behind him.
Ex turned around to see who had called to him.
A pair of bright pink eyes immediately drew his gaze.
The girl’s pink hair fell to her neck, with a short section tied behind her head in a distinctive style.
She met Ex’s eyes with an easy, natural smile.
Everything about her radiated kindness and vibrant health.
The light of the setting sun reflected off her, surrounding her in a mysterious aura.
She looked like a ‘goddess.’
That was not a metaphor, nor a rhetorical flourish, nor a poetic expression, nor some theoretical comparison, and not an embellished description of any kind.
She was a ‘goddess.’
‘Who is she?’
Which was precisely why Ex found her suspicious.
There was no possibility that a goddess would simply stroll across the earth in broad daylight.
He could dismiss her as nothing more than a mysterious-looking girl, but there was no way he would have forgotten such a distinctive character.
“Ah, yes…”
It was a little suspicious that a girl like this had suddenly approached him and said hello.
Still, common courtesy demanded that he return the greeting.
“Hello…?”
“It’s nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too…?”
“How have you been?”
“Not bad…?”
“I’m glad!”
“Thank you…”
“I hope we’ll get along from now on!”
The girl extended her hand for a handshake.
Ex was about to take it before his hesitation became rude, but then his intuition sounded an alarm.
‘Her name tag is blue. That means she’s a first-year.’
Ex attended every elective class available.
That meant he remembered the faces of every student.
Yet he had never seen this girl before.
Ex took a step back, openly revealing his wariness.
“I don’t believe we know each other well enough to exchange such friendly greetings. Who are you?”
“My name is ‘Elia’! And your name is ‘Ex,’ right?”
At those words, his vigilance shot to its maximum.
It wasn’t as though Ex was unaware of his own fame within the academy.
But it was strange for a complete stranger to approach him and ask whether he was ‘Ex.’
That was generally the sort of question an ‘assassin’ asked.
“You have the wrong person. I’m not someone named Ex…”
“But she told me you were!”
“She…? Who are you talking about…?”
“Oh, right. Mr. Ex! May I ask you for one favor?”
Elia rushed toward Ex with the force of a storm.
Startled by her sudden advance, Ex retreated another step.
It was the correct decision.
Shing-!
A sword strike flashed past his eyes.
Had he not stepped back, the blade would have cut across the bridge of his nose.
“Urgh…!”
“Ah! I missed! It’s my first time holding a sword, you see!”
“Wait, what the hell are you…”
“Mr. Ex! Please have a duel with me! Or how about a match?! Please fight me!”
At the same moment, Elia swung her sword again.
The blade trembled from the sheer force behind the blow.
‘Is she really an assassin…?!’
Ex snapped to his senses and hurriedly withdrew, evading the sword.
Now that he looked more closely, the weapon in Elia’s hand was a blunt practice sword.
It had no sharpened edge, so it wouldn’t cut him.
But if even one strike landed, there was no doubt it would crush every bone it touched.
“Wow, you dodged!”
Elia seemed to find the entire situation amusing. Still smiling, she continued swinging her sword.
Ex responded calmly.
The mysterious strength behind her attacks was troublesome, but she was merely swinging the weapon through brute force.
‘If that’s all it is, I can handle it.’
Elia’s sword came crashing downward at a diagonal angle.
It was the very definition of a beginner’s swordsmanship. A completely unimpressive strike.
Ex swiftly assumed a middle guard.
That alone should have stopped her blade against his crossguard.
The moment her sword was blocked, he would step forward and safely bring his own blade to her throat.
That was how it should have gone.
Booom-!!
The instant Elia’s sword struck his crossguard, an overwhelming force traveled through the blade and slammed into Ex’s entire body.
“Gah…!”
The tremendous impact sent him tumbling across the ground in a pathetic heap.
The only reason he didn’t lose his grip on his sword was Roxwell’s brutal training.
And because he still held it, he managed to block the next attack.
Before Ex could recover his senses, a merciless strike descended toward his head.
The instincts carved into him through endless training responded immediately, raising his sword to block.
Booom-!!
“Cough…!”
Another surge of violence traveled through the sword and crushed Ex beneath it.
Blood burst from his mouth.
Something was undoubtedly wrong with his internal organs.
‘I can’t block another one…!’
The difference in strength was absurd.
How could such overwhelming power come from those slender arms?
She wasn’t even using aura.
He couldn’t block the next attack. It would hit him without fail.
The moment that thought crossed his mind…
“How strange. You’re the evil being destined to destroy the world, aren’t you, Mr. Ex? There’s no way you should be this weak.”
Elia withdrew her sword and peered down at Ex with a puzzled expression.
“This doesn’t count as a trial. The trial I imagined should be terrifying enough to make it feel like the world is ending, and so difficult that no one could ever overcome it.”
“What… kind of bullshit are you talking about…?”
“Goddess? Gooooddess~ You haven’t answered me for a while now… What should I do? Is killing Mr. Ex like this really the correct answer? But something like this could hardly count as a hero’s trial…”
“Did you say… Goddess?”
Many goddesses flashed through Ex’s mind.
Deuslute was the first, followed by the various minor goddesses worshiped in remote regions.
But among them, there was only one goddess his intuition singled out with absolute certainty.
Hearing Ex’s mutter, Elia smiled brightly.
“That’s right! The Goddess! The Goddess told me to kill you, Mr. Ex!”
There was only one goddess who would order someone to kill him.
Still smiling with perfect innocence, Elia continued.
“She’s the Goddess who created and shaped this very world! She granted me grace and blessings I could never repay, even if I devoted my entire life to her! When she enrolled me in this academy, she told me!”
Ex hurriedly opened Elia’s Character Information.
Then he doubted his own eyes.
「Basic Information
Name: Elia
Race: Human」
“She told me to kill the source of the world’s destruction! The utterly wicked and evil being known as Mr. Ex!”
「Special Traits: System Holder」
“Her name is ‘Elysia’!”
Elia was a ‘System Holder,’ just like Ex.
–TL Notes–
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