'Ah, come on. Play fair, seriously.'
I had painful(?) memories of choices like this. Irritation surged up almost as a reflex.
'Haaah.......'
Pointless.
There was no way for me to back out anyway.
And if it was going to be equally fucking awful whether I took it or not, wouldn't it be better to take it and then suffer?
'Take it. Even if I die, I'll take it first and then die.'
[Skill Draw Ticket received.]
Well, look at this. A Skill Draw Ticket?
It's steadily acquiring every element of a fucking garbage game. Not even a selection ticket, but a draw ticket. Isn't this seriously too much?
It's a reward I got for an achievement I earned, yet I have to leave the result up to luck. How utterly bleak......
[New notification received.]
[FlaccidEjaculation donated 1,000G.]
'Huh?'
The irritation I'd been feeling until now melted away as if it had never existed.
Donations are always a thrill!
But at the same time, I remembered the prices in this fucking garbage game and let out a sigh.
From next time on, I'd need at least 5,000 Gold before I could even start choosing. For now, the best option was to convert it into Points and raise my Stats...... wait.
'If this is a luck-based fucking garbage game, then I just need more Luck, right?'
Wasn't that a brilliant idea for beating a fucking garbage game?!
I immediately exchanged the precious Gold I'd just received for Points. Together with the additional Points I'd accumulated so far, I now had enough to raise my Stats by a total of 13.
As I said before, you need to put at least 10 into a Stat before you can really feel the effect.
The donation's incredible timing had created a sliver of possibility where my chances had been approaching zero.
I converted the Gold into Points and spent every last one on Luck.
All right. Time to test my luck.
When I used the Skill Draw Ticket, a roulette wheel that filled the translucent window overwhelmed my vision. There had to be more than a thousand slots: shitty-looking bronze-colored ones, somewhat better silver and gold ones, and then multicolored slots that looked like the final boss of the whole thing.
The slot I had to aim for was obvious. I needed one of those rainbow-colored slots. Of course, that was what I wanted, but I'd be grateful for a gold slot-no, even a silver one.
'Please, anything but the shit-colored slot!'
The wheel began turning with a heavy grinding noise.
GRRNNNG—!
It spun faster and faster, and just as all the colors blended into one spectacular sight,
[Luck is with you! Chance of a higher Grade increased!]
A single star appeared above the wheel.
But that wasn't the end.
[Luck is with you! Chance of a higher Grade increased!]
[Luck is with you! Chance of a higher Grade increased!]
Three stars had appeared in total.
With an effect that flashy, there was no way I couldn't get my hopes up.
'Please, gold! Please!'
The wheel gradually began to slow.
GRRR.......
The arrow was making my insides burn with suspense as it passed through a stretch where shit-colored and gold slots were mixed together.
Grr, grr, grr.......
Only a single slot separated gold from bronze. The arrow teetered right at the point where the bronze slot gave way to the gold one.
'Don't stop there. One more slot, just one more......'
I practically blew at it in my head, praying it would move just one slot farther, but,
CLICK—
'Ah, fuck.......'
The wheel stopped on a bronze slot.
BANG—!
Without realizing it, I slammed my desk hard.
"H-huh? Professor Lucas, what is it?"
I didn't have the presence of mind to answer. After everything I'd invested, bronze? Bronze?!
The moment I thought that,
CRACK—
SHATTER—!
Cracks spread across the bronze slot, and when it burst apart, a brilliant violet light filled my vision.
Jackpot. It's a jackpot!
WHOOSH—!
I shot out of my seat.
"P-Professor Lucas...... what in the world......?"
The professors, who had no way of knowing what was going on, stared at me in bewilderment and asked, but there was no way to explain this joy and ecstasy. Too bad!
I wondered how to talk my way around it, then decided to finish this simply by acting 'like Lucas.'
"The interview is over. Do you need an explanation?"
"N-no. Yes, we happened to be thinking the same thing. Is that not right, everyone?"
"Y-yes, th-that's right."
"We were just about to end the interview ourselves!"
As expected. Works like a charm.
Once the atmosphere shifted toward wrapping up the interview, I quickly left.
I needed to check it right away.
If I checked it in a place with that many people, there was no telling what kind of scene I'd make again. I might not be able to control myself.
I hurried back to the faculty residence at a brisk pace. After confirming no one was there, I opened the dazzling violet Skill Card.
▶Teaching and Learning Advance Together
Grants ‘Mark - Disciple’ to a target you have taught and allows you to borrow the Skills of a marked target.
However, when a Skill is used, the Mark is removed, and a new Mark can be granted after a set amount of time.
※Marks are recognized retroactively for instruction given before acquiring this Skill.
The duration of Skill copying scales with the target's Favorability.
'Uh...... um...... ah.......'
Teaching and Learning Advance Together.
A four-character idiom meaning that teaching and learning help both sides grow together.
So, it sounds like I can use the Skills of the kids I've taught......
'This is huge.'
This is huge.
The only technique I can use is .
That means my limitations are bound to be exposed someday, but with this Skill, the story changes.
'But...... the duration scales with Favorability?'
Of course a fucking garbage game would shove a Favorability grind into this too.
But who cares! The performance is more than good enough to keep me from complaining.
And what is my profession? A professor. A professor! And not just any professor, but a professor to characters overflowing with talent.
One lesson is enough for me to borrow the Skills of all those talents.
How beautiful is that?
'Still, this whole ‘Mark’ thing bothers me.'
I needed to get a rough sense of the criteria for granting that Mark before I could make any detailed plans.
There was nothing I could use as a reference.......
[Current marked targets: 5]
Huh?
Why does this already have five people?
[Mark - Disciple]
-Harriet Bloom
-Pekran Mora
-John Michern
-Aiden
-Thomas Baldwin
'Uh...... why are the professors on here?'
Those five were professors from the Faculty of Combat Studies who had been conducting interviews with me just a little while ago.
What had happened moments earlier suddenly came back to me.
-Eilon meets Grasco's admission age requirement. Other conditions cannot and must not affect whether he passes or fails.
That was practically the only real discussion I'd had with those five, so nothing else came to mind.
'So this is roughly the threshold for granting a Mark?'
That's awfully generous for a fucking garbage game. I had a sense of the criteria now, and all that remained was to test the Skill.
I took off the uniform I'd worn for the interviews and changed into...... another uniform.
I can't seem to reach for anything but uniforms, damn it.
***
"So these really are the people Professor Lucas chose."
"That is correct."
Vice Chancellor Ronald asked once more.
"Hmm...... yes. I heard what happened during the interviews. Rather than Jesse Athlon, he was more interested in the fellow named Torres who came with him, was he not?"
"Yes. I cannot fathom what he is thinking......."
Torres was the first name on Lucas's list.
The applicants had been packed with names carrying overwhelming prestige, yet Lucas's list contained almost nothing but unfamiliar ones.
"And Eilon of the Dust Family, along with Luina Elaim, heir to the Magic Tower...... hmm."
Ronald's voice was full of questions as he read through the list one name at a time. It was obvious he was forcing them down. In truth, the list was packed with people who ordinarily should have failed if Lucas had not chosen them. Luina was about the only one who made any sense.
"I clearly granted Professor Lucas priority in selection."
"You did."
"Even I cannot fathom his intentions at all......."
Could Lucas be rebelling because he disliked Ronald's proposal? The thought crossed his mind, but he soon realized that could not be the case.
In Ronald's judgment, Lucas was not such a petty man. Besides, the list did not contain only incomprehensible names.
There was also someone like Deyan from the final group, who had left a rather sharp impression.
But.......
"It truly is unexpected that he did not choose Jesse Athlon."
Lucas had shown no interest in him during the interview, but Jesse was the greatest talent on the continent. Ronald had still expected his name to be on the list.
Ronald could not even begin to guess Lucas's intentions.
"How could an old man like me understand the intentions of such a superhuman? In any case, the reason we proposed a new class for him was to isolate him and His Majesty's influence from Grasco. Tell him to carry out his will."
The vice chancellor gave his approval.
***
"The top-ranked entrant, Jesse Athlon."
Spring was in full bloom.
A new semester began at Grasco, and the academy welcomed its new students.
The year's biggest event: the entrance ceremony.
And there, the protagonist was unquestionably Jesse Athlon.
He had been admitted with the highest score in the history of Grasco's Faculty of Combat Studies. Being regarded as the greatest talent on the continent alone would probably have earned him more than enough bonus points, but he had not rested on that and had proven himself.
For someone like him, the honor of ranking first was only natural.
Jesse himself took first place for granted. But what mattered to him was not something as trivial as being Grasco's top-ranked entrant.
Lucas.
Only Lucas's recognition mattered.
His gaze searched for Lucas.
On the dais where the professors sat.
Among them, Lucas looked down with the most overwhelming presence of all.
Jesse's eyes met Lucas's.
'Look. I've proven myself. I'm the only one worthy of learning from you.'
Surely this would force Professor Lucas to acknowledge him.
But the moment the entrance ceremony ended, that belief shattered to pieces.
***
"Why?!"
God, my ears.
After the entrance ceremony came orientation.
It was my first meeting with the students who would be taking my class- more precisely, the ones who would become my meat shields and skill shuttles.
But one uninvited guest had shown up.
Jesse Athlon.
Grasco's top-ranked entrant, whom I thought of as a pet, and this year's protagonist.
He had a solid diaphragm, all right. His voice boomed through the room.
"Why did that bastard get your pick instead of me?!"
My pet pointed at Torres as he demanded an answer.
And as his eyes swept around the classroom, his suspicion only deepened.
Well, that was understandable.
Starting with Torres, who had spent his entire life as Jesse's punching bag, there was Eilon with limbs that looked like they'd snap from a tap, and then a room full of people who seemed far below Jesse himself.
"It appears you came to the wrong classroom. Leave."
"Explain yourself!"
I'd tried to send him away quietly, but that pet of mine was stubborn.
"The explanation is simple. You cannot enter my class because you are weaker than the people I chose."
And also because you're planning to sell Grasco to the Demons. Being around you feels like it would shave even more time off the roughly thirty months I have left.
"If you understand, leave."
"Weaker? Me?"
BOOM—!
My order to leave apparently did not work. He drew his sword and poured energy into it.
The razor-sharp energy prickled against my skin.
"I'm the top-ranked entrant. The top-ranked entrant. Grasco chose me as number one."
"You do not meet my standards."
SHFF—
He slowly approached.
Scary.
"That is far enough. Come any closer and you die."
Me, of course. I'm already so scared I could die.
"I'm trying to show you. I'll prove that I'm far better than bastards like them."
"Haaah."
Apparently, if I did not make him accept it, he was going to shove that ominous thing right under my nose. My legs felt ready to give out. I had to stop him.
"You said you would prove it. Then I will give you the chance. Fight one of the people I chose and win. If you do, I will accept you into my class."
"One? That's it? I can sweep every bastard in this room."
"One is enough."
I slowly swept my gaze over the talent freaks I'd chosen. Some avoided my eyes, but others met my gaze head-on.
It did not matter. I'd already decided who his opponent would be.
"Eilon."
At my call, Eilon smiled brightly and maneuvered his wheelchair.
"Hah. You're telling me to fight a cripple like that?"
"Why? Do you think you will lose?"
"Are you kidding me?!"
Whoa...... I almost pissed myself.
I calmly steadied myself and spoke.
"The rules are simple. By any means necessary, force your opponent to declare defeat."
"P-Professor! What if someone dies?"
Eilon asked brightly.
"Whoever becomes unable to declare defeat loses."
Killing him was fine.
No, please kill him.
I wanted to remove one obstacle while I had the chance.
"You'll regret this."
Jesse spoke with a look as if he were ready to devour me.
Who knows.
"Then begin."
"HAAH!"
At my signal, Jesse drew out even more energy.
His razor-sharp sword energy looked ready to tear space apart at any moment. There did not seem to be even a trace of mercy in it.
But.
WHIRR— CLICK CLACK-CLACK CLANG—!
-Magic Beam Cannon, target on.
WHIIIRR—!
Eilon's Magic Beam Cannon actually tears people apart.