It was soon the last subject for the day, which was 'Introduction to Survival Science'.
The class would be held within walking distance from the academy, in a lush, verdant forest called 'Fairy Forest'.
On the surface, it looked like your standard jungle. But sharing a history with Arivelle, an Eternal, meant it was anything but ordinary.
The forest was home to all kinds of beasts, magical plants, and rare minerals. Some could literally kill you.
By now, Lirielle and Elize had finally quieted down.
Maybe they got tired from constantly bickering. But the real reason was simple: there was no arguing here—not with the one running the class.
"Welcome, chicks."
Roderick Baltador, the Knight Faculty Dean, said with zero enthusiasm.
Even so, the freshmen looked nervous. Anyone with even a bit of knowledge about Elfante knew the reputation of this class.
"Survival Science is the distillation of practical combat skills from miners and dungeon explorers. If you don't want to die, pay attention."
The Dean's expression was flat as a board. And starting a class with talk of death? Great way to lighten the mood… not.
Still, it had been tradition for the Dean to lead the first class. There was no way around it.
It was clear this was an important subject. Some students' eyes gleamed—not with fear, but at the extra credit. Especially useful for Imperial Family recruitment.
"The task is simple."
But Roderick's next words promptly smothered that excitement.
"Bring me something I like from the forest. Ten minutes."
"…"
"And scream as loud as you want if you think you're about to die. I might come save you. Don't expect a high grade."
"…"
A brave student raised their hand.
"What is it?"
"…Um, are there no rubrics?"
"Like I said: bring me something I like. You'll be graded accordingly."
"…"
"Remember, little chicks, life is a battle. You have five minutes to prepare."
"And Student Council President, please assist me in grading."
While the others panicked at Roderick's words, I drifted into my own little world, staring at the status window.
Gift #2 – Taint of the Virtuous
[ Obtain rewards as you gain favor with characters of a good alignment. ]
[ Rewards are much smaller compared to those for dark-aligned characters. ]
[ However, if you push a virtuous character past a certain threshold toward corruption, you gain a substantial bonus! ]
I still had no clue what this meant.
'Taint a character with a good alignment… negative tendencies…'
Way too abstract.
'…Well, at least it has something to do with making good people bad.'
The name of the gift already sounded like it came straight from a "bad idea generator."
"Mr., wanna go together?"
Elize suddenly appeared, dragging me out of my thoughts.
I looked at her and… no. Not happening.
"You can go with your friends," I said, pointing at the "main character party" across the way: Garran the warrior, Fulluin the mage, Trisha the healer, and Neak the marksman. Post-assassination incident, they'd officially graduated from random NPCs to actual teammates.
"…Um, Mr. is also my friend, so why not go together?"
"No, thanks. I'll manage."
Seriously, she can't be with me. Tagging along would just slow them down, and me helping them? Please, I'd be the world's most useless sidekick.
"And we're not that close, are we?"
"…Exactly."
Elize pouted, looking like someone had just canceled her ice cream.
"…This makes me sad, really. Ah, whatever!"
She stomped off, muttering to herself. Fantastic.
"Excuse me."
Someone called from the side. I turned.
A blonde-haired guy, radiating "model student" vibes like it was physically painful to look at, was standing there.
Oh, right. The spear on his back. That's him.
Gallion Arsmed.
Perfect. Exactly what I needed. Another golden boy to make my life more complicated.
He's the eldest son of Arsmed, an honest viscount. Among this year's freshmen, he was definitely one of the shining "I'm too perfect for this world" types.
I remember him from the game. Practically flawless, even under the harshest scrutiny.
Integrity? Check.
Humility? Check.
Composure? Check.
Disciplined? Check.
And his combat skills? Just a hair below Elize's.
No wonder he had a fan club already—freshman or not.
More importantly…
'…Wait, wasn't he the mid-boss in Chapter 1?'
Yeah, this guy's supposed to be corrupted by some plot device and turn into a full-blown boss later. And here I am, running into him like it's casual small talk day.
'But why is he even here?'
Before I could figure it out, Gallion cleared things up.
"You—what's your relationship with the hero candidate?"
"…Uh?"
I made a noise that was somewhere between confused and mildly terrified. Not intentional; my brain just short-circuited.
"What do you mean? Relationship?"
"Why did you approach… I mean, how did you get acquainted?"
Polite words, but his eyes were sharp enough to slice through steel. Basically: "I will know everything about you, one way or another."
'Ah… right.'
Elize is his "idol," the perfect role model he wants to match. Even once, just one glimpse of her, he wants to reach her level.
"I guess it's because she wanted to be friends?"
The corner of his eye twitched like a live wire when I answered honestly.
"…To someone called a fraud?"
Tone got a little aggressive there. My eyes widened—not at him, but because…
[ A character with a good alignment was enraged by your influence! ]
[ Some gift conditions have been met! ]
Oh. So that's how this works. Anger counts as a "negative tendency."
"…Perfect."
Cogs in my brain started spinning. Kill two birds with one stone: activate the gift and potentially drop 'Taint of the Virtuous' on him. Bonus rewards? Oh, sure, why not.
'This could actually be fun.'
Remember, this guy isn't your average NPC—he's a mid-boss. That means plenty of ways to leverage him.
'I could even use his corruption event to my advantage…'
If I play it smart, shouldn't be that hard.
Simple goal: aggravate this guy until the gift triggers.
"But there's no evidence of it, though?"
"I saw it, trust me. And besides, there's no proof your sparring with the hero candidate isn't staged either, right?"
The academy's keeping a good eye on things.
Despite standing out in multiple incidents, I can still move under the radar.
"As I said."
I smiled bitterly to myself. Honestly, this awareness is pretty convenient right now.
"I don't know why, but she wanted to be friends, that's all."
"…I don't believe it."
"Why not?"
Because, honestly, I could practically watch him steam from here.
"Is it because you feel hard-stuck after seeing your role model get one-shotted? That's why you don't think the sparring was fair?"
His eyebrows twitched.
Ah, jackpot. This right here is the crux of the situation. He can deny it all he wants, but the reason he's picking a fight with me is staring him in the face.
"And…" I added with a smile that should've come with a warning label,
"Let's say it was a fraud—what would you do?"
"…What?"
"I'm saying even if I'm a scammer, I'd still be better than you."
Gallion's face twisted in anger so fast it practically had its own weather system.
"…Then, let's make a bet," he spat out, eyes gleaming like he was about to challenge me to a duel of destiny.
"Let's see who gets the better grade in this! How about that?"
[ Gift Prerequisites Met! ]
[ The other party was enraged! ]
[ You'll be rewarded for your opponent's humiliating defeat! ]
…Oh yes. Jackpot indeed.
●
"…Hey, Student Council President."
Roderick looked slightly dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Lirielle's face remained perfectly calm, expressionless as a marble statue.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Although I asked you to help me grade the outputs, I didn't ask for… whatever this is."
"I haven't been sloppy."
"…Then explain why Adrian Merrick got a perfect score before the class even started."
"Because it's perfect."
"…What?"
"He got full marks."
What is she even saying right now?
Roderick squinted at her, still trying to read her, but Lirielle didn't flinch.
"It seems that you're not satisfied."
"Would you be if you were in my shoes?"
"Then, I'll observe him more closely and note why he got a perfect score. I'll check back after going into the woods."
"…You just wanted to stick with him from the start, didn't you?"
"No," Lirielle replied, calm as ever.
"I just don't want him alone with that freshman, Elize."
"…Ah."
"I have a feeling something will happen between them in there. Please let me join."
"Thanks for your honesty."
Yep. Spot on. That's exactly why.
Roderick grinned like a man who just spotted a bug he could squash.
"Stay put, before I kick you out for disrupting the class."
"…"
Of course, just because Lirielle was brutally honest, it didn't mean Roderick was about to hand her a participation trophy.