Chương 4: Chapter 04:Aftermath
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Paradoxically, people don't react as much to shocking things compared to minor ones.
Even as Elijah was being carried away by the emergency team after getting smashed into the wall, there was only a heavy silence. If someone were to breath a little too heavily, it would probably be heard by everyone due to the extreme lack of sound.
It felt like everyone's souls had left their bodies.
"Victory, Dowd Campbell."
At the same time the dumbfounded referee announced the results...
"...What was that?!"
"What did that guy do?!"
A deafening uproar erupted from every direction.
Who is Dowd Campbell? What the hell is going on in Baron Campbell's territory? No, this is not the time for this, gathering information is the priority.
Amidst the chaotic world around me, I simply stood in solitude while staring blankly at the sky.
I.
An F allstat.
A bottom dwelling freshman with only two unknown skills under his belt.
Right now, on the first day of admission to the academy.
The literal start of my academy life... I somehow defeated the main character with one punch.
"…Ah, f_ck."
How do I explain this?
●
The Elfante Imperial Academy is one of the best educational institutions in the continent. The only places that could compete with it are, at most, the Holy Land's [Great Temple] or the Tribal Union's [Fighting Furnace].
With an institution like that, the faculty were naturally exceptional.
"..."
"..."
However, the current situation was arguably completely outside of everyone's expectations.
And even such people couldn't hide their surprise.
In a magic crystal embedded in the center of the table, a video of Elijah Krisanax getting KO'd in one punch was being played repeatedly.
"This case."
The Knights Faculty Head said in a heavy tone.
"This student named Dowd looks like an excellent con artist."
"... Isn't your evaluation too harsh, Conrad?"
"It just doesn't make any sense."
The middle-aged man with a cross-shaped scar on his face shook his head and replied to the president's smiley words.
"Anyone with some insight would have noticed this as soon as they saw him. This Dowd Campbell had nothing going for him before the start of the spar. No fighting capabilities nor skills. But..."
He then manipulated the video to the moment when Elijah got hit.
"For this one blow, it is unmistakably 'real'."
"What do you mean 'real'?"
"I dare say no human in this academy can survive a direct hit from that. At least not me."
With those words, the silence in the room unironically became even more deafening.
This was coming from an Imperial Guard, the pinnacle of all knights on the continent. Considering his background, there's no reason for him to flatter a mere student.
Especially considering that the people present in this room were faculty only composed of the best talents on the continent.
"Regardless if it's some Illegal drug or unknown magic tool, there's a high chance that something was used to temporarily generate that strong firepower. I think everyone here has the same thoughts."
Because.
If not, then the existence of this Dowd Campbell would become much more troublesome.
"There's also other possibilities."
He paused for a moment, then smiled.
It's as if it was a ridiculous thing for him to say.
"Let's say... He's a peerless genius! A terrifying monster that only a handful of people could compare."
This wasn't a strange thing to say.
Simply put, not even one among ten thousand people believed that Dowd Campbell would win.
After all, his opponent was 'her,' Elijah Krisanax. The next [Hero] candidate that the Imperial Family had been keeping an eye on.
[T/N: 용사 could mean different things like warrior, knight or brave. But I'll use Hero since Elijah is the 'hero'/MC of the game]
The Hero possesses combat skills that reached an unattainable level, an intellect comparable to the Gods, and an unwavering spirit that would never falter in any situation.
Dowd Campbell had none of these talents. At least on paper, this man was truly on the level of an insect.
"..."
The problem is, that catastrophic gap was closed in a mere punch!
Done by an unknown existence with highly questionable 'talent'.
However, if they're not a cheater, but an actual genuine talent then...
'They'll become the eye of the storm.'
An existence that would bring about a great upheaval.
Conrad thoughtfully stroked his chin.
"However, we couldn't just acknowledge that student's victory. Marquis Kendride won't sit still."
Conrad nodded at the president's words.
The Kendride Family is one of the oldest and most prestigious family in the empire, famous for having a rough relationship with Duke Tristan.
As an avid supporter of Elijah Krisanax, Marquis Kendride would definitely not want to compromise Elijah's 'marketability'.
"..."
Conrad's expression hardened.
Politics in a space that was clearly established for teaching?
If you find a talented student, you should treat them accordingly.
"But it would be a big loss for the academy to abandon a student who clearly stands out. Anyway, whether he is a fraud or not will be revealed sooner or later. Let's wait and see."
The president continued with a light smile, seemingly to have read Conrad's thoughts.
Conrad's eyes widened.
"What do you mean?"
"There are a lot of interesting freshmen this particular year. A few with strong personalities that need to be managed separately."
Although the tone used was still light.
"If this student is good enough for the president to say that… then he must have a role to play. For them."
It was undoubtedly significant.
●
I've been thinking of ways to work out the aftermath of knocking out the main character.
I'll need to solve this problem in the future.
"..."
No, it's already a problem now.
Currently, there are countless people clamoring outside my dorm for a chance to meet me. Alas, I have no way of dealing with this right now.
Thanks to my outstanding performance, my reputation and the attention on me has skyrocketed.
[ Shocking Sparring Defeat Of Marquis Kendride-vouched Rising Star?! ]
[ Featured Article: Hot Topic Dowd Campbell. Who Is He? ]
I've discovered one unnecessary fact about the media.
There is no difference between the original world and this game world I got transported into.
I bitterly smiled looking through the number of tabloids giving nonsensical information about me in just one day.
There's some sh¡t about me being the hidden child of the Imperial Knight Commander, 'Kadra'. Speaking of, 'Kadra' is the strongest being secretly raised by the academy.
Are you kidding me?
Well, there are still some things that are salvageable in this media dumpster fire.
Having locked myself in my room for a day, collecting information about the current situation, there's bound to be something that stands out.
[ The Kendride Family, Headed By Marquis Kendride, Officially Requests An Explanation From The Elfante Academy- ]
[ Experts Claim The Match Was Rigged- ]
The reaction to the sudden rise in fame isn't as good as expected.
Elijah was a 'supernova' who has accumulated a mountain of achievements even before entering the academy. It's not strange if she has a solid fan base.
Naturally, it would be difficult to applaud Extra A popping out of nowhere and taking the star down in one blow.
'Well, that can't be helped.'
I don't care what others say about me. My goal is to survive and see through the ending.
The future me will definitely have to do something about the butterfly effect that's created by beating the main character from the first day of admission.
I'll need to get stronger and survive whilst taking appropriate measures on the situation.
Rather than that.
< Gift-related Character Notification >
▼ Elnore Elinalise La Tristan
[ Trust Level 1 ] >>> [ Trust Level 2 ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
[ D-1 until related events occur ]
▼ Baron Armut
[ Curiosity Level 2 ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
▼ Viscount Lupen
[ Curiousity Level 1 ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
▼ Viscount Gront
[ Interest Level 3 ]
Right.
I couldn't stop myself from smiling, looking at the people listed in the gift-related character window.
Perhaps the amount of names was influenced by [Fatal Charm], but blasting Elijah away was a spectacle in itself.
I then organized each of their information.
Likeability seems to go up in the following order; Curiosity → Interest → Trust. It feels like there are more above, but this is my current reach.
Then, there's up to 5 levels in each stage.
The highest one is, of course, Elnore at Trust Level 2.
'It's a bit weird.'
The 'important villains' in the story must have seen me, but I can't find any of their names. There's only those near-extra characters.
There could be several reasons.
For example, some are just egotistical and do not care about others. Some are just born crazy, with a different perspective on life.
The problem is.
The final boss, who should have the least interest in me, is the one with the highest likeability!
At the very least, she's at Trust Level 2 compared to others who are just in between curiosity ~ interest.
As for why?
"..."
I have no idea.
Elnore's related event will be tomorrow. Well, there's no reason to refuse a reward coming your way.
I was able to overpower the main character with one of the two skills I received as a reward. So I'm looking forward to what's to come.
[ Received Gift Reward from 'Elnore'. ]
[ 'Attribute: Tristan Style Swordsmanship' has been acquired! ]
< Mastery Info >
[ Attribute: Tristan Style Swordsmanship ] [ Grade: Basic ]
[ Duke Tristan's masterful swordsmanship. ]
[ ■ Can exert a certain level of power regardless of weapon. ]
[ Raise your attribute level to gain more benefits! ]
"...this again."
It's great.
As expected of a reward from the final boss. After giving out a skill that can directly shoot its class to EX, it now gave a high performance attribute.
Duke Tristan is one of the best swordsmen in the entire empire. It can be said that the power of the skill is already guaranteed.
"..."
However, the problem is that most of the things related with that family are related to devils.
It may be swordsmanship for now, but the more you dig into the Tristan Family, the more weird things become.
Learning skills derived from them might cause problems later in one way or another.
Well, that is true.
'Ah, I don't f_cking know.'
But since I got it, I might as well use it.
In the first place, I am not in a position to be choosy. There's also no question about its capabilities.
I'll leave the clean-up to the future me.
With that mentality, I accepted the rest of the rewards.
[ Received Gift Reward from 'Baron Armut'. ]
[ Acquired 100 points! ]
[ Received Gift Reward from 'Viscount Lupen'. ]
[ Acquired 50 points! ]
.
.
.
Somehow, the rest of the gift rewards were replaced with something called points.
What is this?
[ Points can be used in the item shop! ]
Ah, I see.
So you're saying that extra villains just give out lump sum rewards?
Naturally, I'm familiar with this system. I remember it as like an aide where you can purchase various consumable items or buffs to make the gameplay smoother.
[ Current Points: 3,500pts ]
But isn't this too much?
3,500 points is a figure that can only be obtained after a long grind in the original game.
No matter how effective the Fatal Charm skill was, how much could it possibly boost my favorability towards villains?
"... Well, good is good."
Thinking so, I lowered the window all the way down.
Gathering this much was still a great achievement. At least, my options for tomorrow's event have increased significantly.
However, just as I was about to close the window, something strange caught my peripheral.
There was something greyed out at the bottom of the window.
< Gift-related Character Notification >
▼ Elijah Krisanax
[ Curiosity Level 4 ]
[ Rewards Currently Unavailable! ]
"..."
Why is she here?
"Hmm."
I thoughtfully stroked my nonexistent beard.
I'm pretty sure that gift-related characters are only those considered as 'villains' who 'favors' me.
"…Hmm."
No, like legit, why is she here?
Doesn't she have no connection to either conditions?
At this time, my brainstorming was cut short by a sudden knock on the door.
"Ah, is this Mr. Dowd Campbell's room?"
"..."
It was a familiar voice.
"This is Elijah Krisanax. May I come in?"
"..."
Scowling, I couldn't help but let out a sigh.
It seems that she's not a good person after all.
I have no idea why she came here out of the blue, but I can only hope that she'll leave if I don't make any sound.
"I've already asked the teacher, I know whose dorm this is. If you don't answer, I'll break myself in."
This f_cking b¡tch...!
"...I pray for whoever that teacher is would freeze to death."
"Oh, so you were inside."
Despite my direct response, only a clear voice returned from the other end.
"Could you open the door? There's something I want to tell you."
"...Talk about what?"
"Well, maybe we could get to know each other a little bit?"
"..."
I felt a headache.
Facepalming, I let out a groan.
Dowd Campbell. Day 2 of Admission to the academy.
My fate began to intertwine with the main character.
I'm going crazy.
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