Preparation (1)

"So this magic is—" Scratch, scratch. Elena diligently copied the lesson into her notebook. Most of the material was already familiar, yet she filled every blank space without missing a single character. Then, suddenly, one particular seat caught her attention. Kiren sat leaning back, chin propped on his hand, his gaze sweeping across the blackboard without taking any notes.

Kiren……. She wanted to look away and focus on the lecture, but she couldn't. Her eyes kept drifting toward him. The image of him at yesterday's entrance ceremony flashed through her mind—how he had listened to her words and agreed they made sense. He knew my name……. His delicate, precise mana control, the overwhelming power behind it, his seasoned arrogance, and his undeniable strength. And just a little… maybe a little handsome, too…….

W-what am I even thinking?! Elena shook her head furiously, trying to erase the thought. Right! Think about something else. She recalled the technique Kiren had displayed during the entrance exam. That was definitely my skill. No one else might have noticed, but she had recognized it instantly. How had he done it? And how could she become that strong herself? Could she ever reach Kiren's level? …I should ask him…….

She glanced slightly to her left. Another girl was staring at Kiren just as intently. Black hair with hidden green streaks. I don't remember seeing her at the entrance ceremony……. Who was she? They had seemed friendly earlier—were they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already acquainted? Or perhaps… a g-girlfriend—

Aaaah, what am I saying?! That can't be possible……. Even if the thought was a little rude, Kiren's personality made close friends seem unlikely. Probably just an acquaintance, nothing more. Elena turned her attention back to the blackboard.

**

"Haa……." Kiren let out a sigh that barely contained a yawn. The balding professor at the front was lecturing with great enthusiasm, but Kiren's interest remained nonexistent. The content was boring, yes, but more importantly—

I've already memorized all of this. Having replayed the in-game story until he was sick of it, every setting and basic theory was already etched into his mind. Still, he never slept during class.

Oh, it went up a little. Simply attending class helped with stat growth. If this reduced the arrogance points needed for stats, then all the better.

…Still.

"How long do you intend to keep staring?"

The blatant gaze from his left was obvious. There seemed to be another one from behind, but that was probably just his imagination. Kiren glanced sideways and saw Eli staring at him with her chair turned fully toward him, radiating enthusiasm.

At his question, Eli tilted her head. "Because I have to keep watching you, of course! Monitoring Kiren is my mission!"

"…Do as you like."

"Really?"

Eli rummaged through her bag, pulled out a notebook, and began scribbling. A quick peek revealed she was recording his every action. This isn't the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty……. Even if he asked her to erase it, she'd probably write "Kiren Montella requested the memo be erased." Better to leave it alone. It's not like I'm planning to cause trouble right now anyway.

Just as he was about to pretend to focus on the lesson again, Eli spoke up. "Oh, right! Kiren, when are we doing our next training session?"

Why does this girl talk so much……. He had considered ignoring her, but decided against it. Training with Eli genuinely helped his stats. "We'll probably start next week."

"Eeeh!? You're not doing it today? It's already been two days……."

Kiren wanted to train today as well. Raising stamina and strength stats early would be beneficial. However—

An unexpected variable appeared. The survival game. An event he had never seen in-game, triggered by catching the spy. Details would likely come tomorrow, but the name alone made it clear: all first-years gathered for a battle-royale-style event. Win and become champion.

"Eli, did you see the notice on the bulletin board?"

"Yeah, I saw it?"

"Planning to participate?"

"Of course! I never miss a single academy event!"

"I see."

Another new variable—Eli's participation. The gap between first- and second-years was larger than expected due to real combat experience. If Elena, who had slept well and was in top condition, fought Eli after an all-nighter, the latter would almost certainly win. In that case—

I need to prepare in advance as well.

At that moment—

"You there! Why are you chatting during class!?"

Something flew toward him. Kiren caught it instinctively.

"Ooh! Kiren, you're amazing!"

"No need to make a fuss over something so obvious."

Was this the result of raising his agility to D-rank? Still—

Even with just D-rank, this level of reaction speed…… How exceptional is this body's physical specs? He couldn't even imagine the performance once every stat reached max level.

Kiren opened his palm. A pristine piece of chalk lay there. Then the one who threw it was—

"The professor, I presume."

"Correct. Come down here, student."

Had he been too loud? Kiren glanced left and saw Eli already face-down on her desk, pretending to sleep. Her reaction speed is impressive too. He stood and walked toward the podium. The professor immediately handed him a fresh piece of chalk.

"Since you were talking so much, I assume you've understood my entire lecture? Solve this yourself."

"Hmm……."

……Me? My intelligence is only E+ now. The professor stepped back, leaving Kiren alone at the podium. Okay, time to brute-force it! With intelligence on his side, it should work out somehow. He turned to the blackboard. A single problem was written there—an equation presumably related to some magic.

"……I see."

I have no idea. He understood the magic itself; it was a common spell he had used occasionally in-game. But the problem required more than understanding—it demanded reassembling and rearranging the formula to create a new magic. That part was beyond him. He had only ever followed builds created by veteran players. His creativity was on par with a dolphin. Maybe even lower. And my intelligence stat is still a bit low.

Should he spend arrogance points to raise it? D-rank might be enough to solve it. But wasting points felt wasteful. Even after earning 500 points for free yesterday, it still stung. That amount could buy five skill gacha rolls or two Wind Blades.

In that case, there's a better method.

"Hah!"

The thing he did best.

"You summoned me here just to solve this trivial problem?"

Arrogance, full throttle.

"……What did you say?"

"Asking me to solve such a worthless question is worse than using a holy sword to kill a chicken. You've merely wasted time."

Kiren turned and walked back to his seat. Still, he should maintain minimal courtesy. No point in completely antagonizing the professor.

"That said, I do apologize for disrupting class time. I shall be more careful henceforth."

"Uh…… Y-yes……."

Without looking back, he returned to his seat. Everyone was staring at him—including the professor. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kiren ignored them and focused on the message window floating before his eyes.

Oh, 300 points? To others, he probably looked like he was blankly staring into space. Before anyone could find it strange, he dismissed the window and looked toward the professor. The man stared back for a moment before speaking.

"Ah! Could it be…… the top-ranked new student this year……?"

"Who else would hold that position if not I?"

"Hmm, so you're that peculiar student. Very well. Class will continue! This magic formula is—"

The professor began drawing on the blackboard. It seemed he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had gotten away with it safely. I should stay quiet from now on.

"Also, Eli, stop pretending to sleep. You should focus during class as well."

"Eek! How did you know I wasn't sleeping!?"

"……."

She really didn't know? Regardless, Kiren was about to resume his intelligence stat farming when—

So this is the effect of Despise the Weak. The S-rank skill he had acquired recently. Since it wasn't a combat skill, he hadn't known how to use it—until now. It strengthened him when superiority was clearly established. In other words, the more he believed himself superior to others, the stronger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he became.

This skill is ridiculously overpowered. Just by saying a few arrogant words at the front, his intelligence had jumped straight to D-rank. The others must have felt he was superior after witnessing his bluff. This changed everything.

"Wait a moment!"

Kiren rushed back to the podium. The formulas and diagrams that had been incomprehensible moments ago now made sense. He could see how to rearrange them, where to adjust. He hadn't fully mastered it, but a path had opened. At this level, he could solve it himself.

"I'll continue the explanation from here. Consider it punishment for disrupting class."

"Huh? Uh, okay."

He successfully completed the substitute lecture.

**

After all classes ended that day—

Was the forge over that way? While everyone else headed to the dormitory, Kiren walked alone toward the blacksmith. He needed a weapon for the upcoming survival game. A staff would be best, wouldn't it? A staff wasn't strictly necessary for a mage, but the difference between having one and not was obvious. If a mage was chicken, a staff was the dipping sauce. Therefore, having a staff was preferable.

Here it is. A low, small building stood slightly outside the academy grounds. And the blacksmith…… She's probably here, right?

Knock, knock. No response.

Knock, knock, knock. Still nothing.

Bang! He knocked harder, and the door came off its hinges entirely, allowing him to enter. The moment he stepped inside, intense heat washed over him. Though the sun was setting, the furnace was still active. A figure hammered away in front of it—a girl with voluminous pink hair wearing goggles.

"It seems I came to the right place."

Tap, tap. He tapped her back. The girl stopped hammering and removed her goggles, revealing pink eyes that matched her hair. Just as he remembered. An ambiguous existence hovering between hero and villain. The one who would later mass-produce legendary-grade items like a factory—the Adjuster of Magical Tools.

"Lilith. I have a weapon I want made."

Lilith. If she became an enemy, she could turn the game into something beyond hardcore. If she joined their side, she would become their greatest asset. She scanned him from head to toe.

"……I don't take custom orders, y'know."

With that, she resumed hammering. Her money-obsessed nature hadn't changed at all.