Entrance Ceremony (1)

"Hah!!" With Elena's spirited shout, a Wind Blade shot forward. The scarecrow in front of her was instantly sliced into four pieces. The two blades had become three.

But—

"This isn't enough."

The scene from that day remained vivid in Elena's mind. His magic—countless blades she couldn't even track with her eyes. At the same time, it had been absurdly similar to her own.

"I'll show you once, so watch carefully……."

Those words had clearly been directed at her, and she knew it.

Yet—

How the hell am I supposed to do that…?

Elena adjusted her stance once more. She copied the arrogant posture of the man who had mocked her. Right leg extended behind her, right arm swung forward.

In that instant—

"…Ah."

Elena realized blood was trickling from her nose. Mana exhaustion. How long had she been training? She wiped her nose with her sleeve and thought, How much training would it take to reach that level?

Elena fell into thought for a moment, then found her answer. She would ask that person—Kiren Montella. And grow stronger, so she wouldn't bring shame to her family.

"…He's probably still training right now."

Elena stood up. After wiping her nose, she prepared her magic once more—to chase after the one who had shown her the way, and to become even stronger.

'Ah, I love this bed, love it, love it.'

This was the taste of being an ability user…! They say good-looking rice cakes taste good too, and the thick blanket was just as fluffy as it looked.

Maybe it's a placebo effect.

Once a person gets excited, it takes quite a while for that feeling to settle. And I had just gotten excited.

'Getting an S-rank skill right from the start—my luck's pretty good.'

My first pure S-rank skill. I wonder what kind of skill it is? Since I'd received it with my eyes closed, I still didn't know. An attack skill would be nice, or a passive. An S-rank skill is like a backup battery. Just having it makes you feel secure, like a massive bowl of pork bone soup.

'Time to open it up!'

"Status Window."

-Flash!

…What the hell is this?

Why is the skill description like this? Well, it's S-rank, so that's good, but I have no idea what this skill actually does. When superiority is confirmed, I grow stronger… That sentence was too difficult for someone with E-rank intelligence like me. Still, if I keep it, it'll probably come in handy someday.

"Anyway, even without an S-rank skill, there's no one who can beat me."

With that self-consolation, I fell asleep. I should probably raise my Intelligence stat later too.

The next morning.

A strange ceiling……not really. I'd seen it before going to sleep yesterday. But it wasn't familiar either. A room structure rarely seen in the modern world.

"Thankfully, it wasn't a dream."

Only now did it truly sink in that I had possessed someone inside Tinesy Academy. Anyway—

…So what do I do now? I had zero plans until the entrance ceremony in six days. But lying around alone in bed felt a bit pathetic too.

I guess I can just make do with that for breakfast. I took a big bite of the sandwich the dorm supervisor had given me when I was assigned to the dormitory yesterday. It wasn't exactly delicious, but it was enough to fill my stomach.

So—

"What should I actually do?"

Sitting still and wasting time didn't suit my personality. …Should I go explore the academy?

I dragged myself out of the fluffy, warm bed and finished a quick shower. Using a magical hair dryer, I slicked my hair back, put on my uniform, and my preparations were complete. I stepped straight out of the dormitory.

"I'll just step out for some fresh air."

"Sure. You know the dorm curfew, right?"

"It's quite displeasing to have my actions restricted, but I shall at least observe that much."

"……Right."

Don't look at me with those eyes. I need to earn some Arrogance points too. Anyway, I successfully escaped the dormitory. …But—

What should I actually do? Now that I was outside, I couldn't think of anything worthwhile. Should I head to the training ground?

I checked the clock tower towering near the center of the academy. The seniors would still be in class. At this rate, I could train alone for about two hours. Good. Six days until the entrance ceremony. I'll raise my stats as much as possible ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠until then!

I walked the same path I'd taken when entering the dormitory yesterday, heading toward the training ground. I was grinning at the thought of having the empty training ground all to myself when—

-Clang! Clang-clang!!

The sound of sharp objects clashing echoed from inside the training ground. There's a student here at this hour? Using the wall as cover, I peered inside.

"Hah!!"

Two-toned hair—black and green—whipped through the air. A greatsword rested in her hands.

Ah, I remember now. There was one senior who trained like crazy every day ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at this time. Her name was definitely…

"Eli, was it?"

"Huh? Who's there?"

Ah, I got too close. Eli, wiping sweat with a towel, was looking my way. There was no reason to hide, so I slowly walked into the training ground, remembering to keep my hands in my pockets.

"…Who are you? I've never seen you before."

"Kiren Montella. The top-ranked incoming student."

"Top-ranked? They've already decided the top student?"

Eli's golden eyes sparkled as she scurried over. Then she began examining me from head to toe—sniffing, poking, prodding. After a while—

"Hmm, doesn't seem like a lie. But what brings you here?"

"Is there anything else to do at the training ground besides training?"

"Haha! Fair enough. Oh, by the way, are you a magic type, junior? Or more into martial arts?"

"This body possesses talent in all fields, but for now, I am focusing on magic."

"Ooh! Really? Then—"

Eli tossed her greatsword into a corner of the training ground. Then she clenched her fists.

"Wanna have a match with me?"

"I must decline."

"Eh?! Why!?"

Eli kept pestering me for a spar, but I firmly refused. I'd lose anyway. With my current specs, the chance of beating Eli was zero percent.

"Huuuung……"

Eli stared at me with an expression on the verge of tears. Then, as if she'd had a brilliant idea, her face suddenly lit up.

"Then how about I help you train?"

"Help me train……"

That was tempting. Eli was a martial artist, and one at the peak among students. Getting one-on-one coaching from her? Not bad at all.

"I shall permit that much."

"Really?! Yahoo!! Then let's start right now!"

Eli brought over all sorts of things—sandbags, various exercise equipment.

"Hmm, how about we start simple? Run 100 laps around the training ground?"

"……What?"

I somehow managed to pull it off.

'Agh, damn, my back… feels like it's about to snap.'

I checked the calendar hanging in the corner of the room. After rolling around like a dog with Eli for six days, the day of the entrance ceremony had finally arrived. That aside—

"The results are good. It's useful."

I could feel my basic stamina had noticeably improved.

- Strength: E-

- Endurance: E+

- Agility: E+

- Intelligence: E

- Mana: D

The Status Window confirmed my intuition. Not bad—stats went up even without acting arrogant.

Meeting with Eli often might be a good idea. In the original story, her position was nothing more than a supporting character. She wasn't even a romance target, so I hadn't thought much about her. "Getting close to her wouldn't be bad either."

Anyway, I glanced behind the curtain. Hundreds of first-year students sat in chairs, waiting for my speech. Whoa, this is kinda nerve-wracking. Not dozens—hundreds. No wonder politicians start rambling the moment they stand in front of a camera. I shook my legs to ease the tension.

[Now, next up is the top-ranked incoming student, Kiren Montella's speech!]

I heard my name being called.

"Kiren, are you ready?"

"As if I would feel something as trivial as nervousness."

No, I'm not. I'm insanely nervous. Heart, calm down. I shoved both hands into my pockets, slicked my hair back once more, and walked toward the podium. It was called a speech, but it wasn't anything grand. Just reading the script on the podium and reciting some kind of oath.

"I am this year's top-ranked student, Kiren Montella."

But—

"First, those who will be entering alongside me……"

"…What? Why'd he stop?"

"Did he bite his tongue? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He's suddenly gone quiet."

The auditorium grew noisy, but I couldn't say a word. Because—

Shit, what the hell is this now? Something strange was floating in front of my eyes. There's a spy in the auditorium? More importantly, an urgent quest was a system that didn't exist in the game. No, focus. This is no longer inside a game. For me, this is reality. Then what I need to do is clear. Catch the spy. If I just show the spy my arrogance, I'll get 500 Arrogance points. This is a jackpot quest, isn't it? So first—

Finding the spy takes priority. I adjusted my posture to be slightly more crooked, then grabbed the microphone again. And—

"…Be quiet."

The auditorium fell silent once more. I readjusted the microphone and spoke.

"There is a worm-like creature inside this place."

I couldn't resist earning Arrogance points.