‘An Item Draw Ticket…….’
Fortunately, I had good memories of draw tickets.
Teaching and Learning Advance Together, my main skill right now, was also a gem I had gotten from a draw ticket.
There was no reason to hesitate.
I used it immediately.
Honestly, I was not expecting much.
You should never get your hopes up with this fucking garbage game.
I emptied my mind and used the draw ticket.
The familiar enormous roulette wheel filled the notification window.
‘Huh?’
But something felt unusual.
The roulette wheel was flashing gold and silver.
The multicolored jackpot slots were nowhere to be seen, but the gold and silver still made it dazzling.
‘What’s gotten into it? Is it actually being generous?’
Gold covered nearly the entire wheel, with silver occasionally flashing between it.
There was one shit-colored slot, but it was barely worth worrying about.
‘Huh? Is this turning into a king-god generous game?’
Filled with anticipation, I spun the roulette wheel.
GRRNNNG-!
The roulette wheel began turning with a heavy sound.
My happiness circuit was also running at full throttle.
Grr, grr, grr…….
The rapidly spinning roulette wheel gradually began to lose speed.
No matter which slot it stopped on, I was ready to accept it with a smile.
‘Uh, uh…….’
It was about time for it to stop.
Is it going to stop now?
Then it would land on a gold slot.
It passed.
Then is it stopping now?
That would still be a gold slot.
It passed.
Surely it’ll stop now.
It’s a silver slot, but that’s fine.
……It passed.
And so, completely ignoring the laws of physics, the roulette wheel passed every single gold and silver slot…….
‘Ah, fuck.’
It headed straight for the shit-colored slot.
My instincts, honed from all the abuse this fucking garbage game’s system had put me through, were certain it would stop there.
CLACK-
‘Huh?’
But apparently it had at least some conscience, because it barely crept one more slot forward and stopped on silver.
‘Phew…….’
Relief washed over me.
Seriously, if it had landed on that shit-colored slot, I would’ve sent a protest truck by any means necessary.
[Obtained consumable item, ‘SB-Ⅳ’.]
▶SB-Ⅳ
Single-use item.
It gives a Skill(S) a massive power Boost(B).
The multiplier varies according to the Roman numeral.
It can be stored between the teeth and activated by biting down when used.
[‘SB-?’ has been registered in the Gold Shop. You can now purchase this item from the Gold Shop.]
‘……This is good?’
Honestly, it was better than expected.
According to the description, since it had Ⅳ, the Roman numeral for four, attached to it, that meant it boosted the original power fourfold.
Depending on how it was used, the possibilities were endless.
If I used this item on a skill copied with Teaching and Learning Advance Together……
It seemed like it could at least serve as a way to save my life in a crisis.
‘It said I can buy it from the Gold Shop now too, right?’
I should stock up on a few more, just in case.
The Gold Shop had a repurchase cooldown as well, so buying them in advance was better.
I entered the Gold Shop and searched for items beginning with ‘SB’.
.
.
-SB-? 10,000G
.
.
.
Hmm.
I thought I saw something.
Maybe it went by too fast.
I must be seeing things.
Ha, ha, ha.
I checked again, slowly and carefully this time.
-SB-? 10,000G
You fucker.
***
In connection with the recent series of incidents, all classes across every faculty have been canceled due to the schedule for repair work and follow-up measures.
Current students and all others visiting the academy are asked to take note.
-Details: Temporary class cancellation for post-incident response
-Dates: XXXX, X XX to XXXX, X XX (5 days)
-Additional make-up classes may be scheduled depending on the course. Please contact your department office for details.
Heinz
Chancellor of Grasco Academy
***
Grasco remained unsettled for some time.
All classes were canceled, and a committee was formed to investigate the series of incidents involving the appearance of Demons.
“Professor Lucas, did you know something like this would happen before the practical training began?”
“I had no knowledge of it whatsoever.”
“Then how do you explain a Demon appearing specifically during your class?”
……This absurd hearing had begun for exactly that reason.
The committee members pelting me with these ridiculous questions probably knew perfectly well that the hearing itself made no sense.
But with them unable to find even the smallest clue, going through the motions like this was the only way to calm public attention.
“I heard that one of the systems in was created by a student taking your class.”
“That is correct.”
“Did you know that beforehand?”
Hmm.
That one was a fairly sharp question.
The fact that Eilon had developed all of Dust Industry’s core technology was not widely known.
Answering truthfully here would make things a little complicated.
“I only suspected that there might be a connection.”
I glossed over it with that.
Many more questions followed, but none of them were particularly productive.
To begin with, there was no way they could uncover the circumstances behind Levi’s summoning.
‘I need to find the real mastermind.’
It was not Ritt.
Levi’s implication had been that ‘Ritt is merely the tail.’
In other words, someone higher up the chain existed.
The only ‘Demon hiding in Grasco’ that I had written into the story was Ritt.
The others were humans who had sold their souls to Demons, like that pet bastard.
And yet, something I had never written was hiding here.
I could not cooperate with these people, either.
There was literally no way to know who among them might be a Demon.
One could be mixed in among the committee members, and in the worst case, every single one of them could be Demons.
‘I need to meet Ritt.’
Ritt had not been seen since the practical training.
I needed to find him if I wanted even the slightest lead.
Normally, I would not have even considered doing something like this out of concern for my life.
But things were different now.
Thanks to Ritt’s greatly increased Favorability, I no longer had to fear for my life.
“……In that case, we will end today’s hearing here. You may leave, Professor Lucas.”
The moment the hearing ended, I hurried to my feet.
I already knew where Ritt was.
***
This was where all the garbage produced in Grasco gathered.
Enormous flames licked at the piles of refuse, burning them into acrid smoke while blasting out a foul stench.
It was not one of Grasco’s forbidden grounds, but simply a forbidden place.
A lone silhouette flickered in this deserted area.
‘That bastard Lucas will kill me if he finds me.’
The moment Lucas killed Levi had been exhilarating.
It had felt as though years of pent-up frustration had finally cleared, as though an old grudge had been washed away and Ritt’s soul had been purified.
The problem was what came afterward.
Lucas knew Ritt’s true identity.
And then a Demon, Levi, had appeared.
It was obvious who Lucas would suspect of being responsible.
That was why Ritt had gone into hiding.
Ritt was curious whether Lucas had made it out of there safely afterward, but survival instinct smothered that concern and drove Ritt into hiding.
No one came here.
That made it a suitable place to hide.
And the scenery was strikingly similar to the place where Ritt had been born and raised.
It put Ritt at ease.
‘Brother…….’
Watching the wavering flames, Ritt dug up a memory buried deep within their heart.
Ritt’s older brother had lost his life because of Levi’s betrayal.
He had practically been a father to Ritt, yet he had died because of Levi’s scheme.
The young Ritt, who had been forced to watch it happen from hiding, was only now able to face that memory in full.
“It’s over now, Brother. I wanted to get revenge myself, heh…… but what could be more satisfying than him dying impaled by his own bones? You think so too, don’t you?”
But naturally, the answer that came back was—
***
“Hmm.”
I knew where Ritt was.
The problem was…….
‘Why does it have to be the garbage disposal site?’
-All of Grasco’s garbage gathers there. The Demon Ritt has a hideout in that place.
Because of one stupid sentence like that, I now had to set foot in this stinking, sweltering place.
I curse you, past me.
Ritt was definitely somewhere inside, but I could not bring myself to take another step.
For all appearances to the contrary, I had an extremely weak stomach.
The sour smell was already tickling my nose so badly that I was on the verge of gagging.
But I had to go.
I needed to meet Ritt, who was hiding in there, and interrogate them about whoever was above them.
That was the only way I would survive.
I know that…….
I know it very well…….
But this is not easy.
Just as I was considering simply turning around—
[A new notification has arrived.]
[jsjang0626 donated 1,000G.]
[k2929 donated 100G.]
[MYTHOFSOMA donated 10,000G.]
[Hyewoni donated 3,000G.]
[ricky9239 donated 500G.]
[ricky9239 donated 500G.]
Yep, not disgusting at all.
It’s basically FeXreze in here.
The enormous wave of donations wiped away my hesitation completely.
Enjoying the fragrant scent, I went deeper into the garbage disposal site in search of Ritt.
‘I should be seeing them by now…….’
The effect was starting to wear off, and the stench was beginning to stab at my nose again.
Why the hell is a garbage disposal site this damn huge?
I hurried after Ritt’s trail.
“It’s over now, Brother.”
I heard someone’s voice.
The only lunatic who would talk to themselves alone in a place like this was Ritt.
I hurried toward the sound.
“……I wanted to get revenge myself, heh…… but what could be more satisfying than him dying impaled by his own bones? You think so too, don’t you?”
Apparently, there was some kind of story behind it.
I never wrote anything like that.
There was no time to wonder about it.
I needed to get out of here quickly.
“……It seems I took away your chance for revenge.”
“P-Professor…….”
At the sound of my voice, Ritt stared at me with eyes as wide as a rabbit’s.
“I think we have something to talk about.”
Let’s get out of here first and talk.
Something in what Ritt had said bothered me, but right now the stench was on the verge of penetrating all the way into my brain.
I could think about that later.
For now, we needed to get out of here.
“Follow me.”