The More Rabbits You Catch, the Better (1)

The week the comprehensive assignment was underway, the students who had been eliminated midway found themselves in a rather awkward position. Out of the 183 current students, only 96 had passed the first assignment. In other words, nearly half the student body had lost their right to participate on the very first day. Naturally, they sought out the academy administration or teaching assistants they knew and asked the same question.

“What are we supposed to do now?”

“There are no classes for the week, so feel free to spend the time as you like.”

“Uh… isn’t there some kind of supplementary class or anything?”

“No.”

It was literal abandonment. Even the normally impossible freedom to leave campus outside of designated leisure hours had been opened without restriction. The only rule was that they had to return to the dorms to sleep, but with curfew set at a generous midnight, it wasn’t much of a burden.

Most students were delighted at first.

“So we’ve got a whole week of free time?”

“What should we do for fun?”

“I heard a new play just opened.”

“I want to check out that new place by Chef Vibrant.”

They slept in as much as they wanted, enjoyed cultural outings they’d never had time for before—though it wasn’t as if they’d had zero leisure, the constant pressure of self-study and training had made it feel that way—and happily went shopping or dining around the streets near the academy. But that only lasted a day or two.

Once the days of complete non-interference continued, unease began to creep in.

Is it really okay to just stay like this?

I feel strangely guilty…

The professor’s definitely going to come back and chew us out for not preparing ahead, right?

Whether they studied martial arts, magic, or support disciplines, the same ominous future began to surface in every student’s mind as if by agreement.

The scene was so vividly imaginable that the students felt goosebumps rise across their skin.

I’m going to throw up.

He’d absolutely do that. That man is more than capable!

I’d rather get yelled at outright. Just thinking about all the girls in our class glaring at us together…

Without anyone ordering them to, the number of students running laps around the training grounds gradually increased. Others voluntarily headed to the library or the magic practice halls to fire spells at targets. Once the students eliminated in the second assignment returned, it was only natural that attention on the ongoing task skyrocketed.

“What? They dropped them in the forest and made them fight each other again?”

“Someone got a hole in their stomach from sword fighting? At this rate, people are actually going to die during regular classes.”

“I know they can heal any injury as long as you’re still alive with recovery magic, but this is a bit much.”

Discussions about the students who had advanced to the third assignment—though many wondered if that was even the right word for it—and debates over who would ultimately claim victory continued without pause.

“The Imperial Princess will win, obviously. There’s nothing she can’t do in magic class.”

“Come on, good grades and real combat ability are two different things, aren’t they? Crow Vein already has a record of subjugating monsters before he even entered the academy.”

“Maybe Alphons Betuart will shine. Team battles are more about overall team capability and coordination than individual strength, after all.”

“Chrome Midas made it through too.”

“No way that guy actually wins, right?”

And then the results of the third assignment were announced.

“Chrome Midas’s team won?!”

“He probably pulled some dirty trick again.”

“He must have snatched victory while the other teams were busy tearing each other apart.”

“That guy really has all the luck.”

The students’ reactions were overwhelmingly negative. Those who already held a poor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opinion of the Midas family naturally expressed discomfort, while even students without any particular grudge against the Midas family or Chrome personally refused to see the outcome as a pure ranking of skill.

After all, magic users were high-value talent. The gap between noble-born students who had received constant training since childhood and commoner-born students who had only learned to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handle magic after entering the academy was significant, with only a few exceptions. Some students acknowledged Chrome’s ability after his fight with Kaspar Hundert, but public opinion largely claimed that it was less because Chrome was impressive and more because Kaspar had been pathetic.

Of course, there were students who pushed back.

“Trick? Snatching victory? If he used the situation where the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other teams were clashing to his advantage, doesn’t that count as skill too?”

“If he really had no ability, he wouldn’t have survived this far.”

“More importantly, isn’t it stupid to dismiss the winning team as nothing special? What does that make us, who lost to them? There’s a limit to spitting on your own face.”

Arguments flew back and forth among the students.

“Why are you even defending that commoner? Did he bribe you or something?”

“I’m not defending him. I’m saying we should distinguish right from wrong. And the fact that you’re still talking about commoners in this academy tells me you’re the one who hasn’t come to your senses.”

“So you’re saying this Chrome Midas guy is stronger than the Imperial Princess?”

“When did I say that? The stronger side doesn’t always win. Whether it was luck or strategy, if he won, we should acknowledge the result properly!”

It was the moment the name Chrome Midas was once again burned into the academy students’ minds—this time following his reputation as ‘the son of a merchant family with a bad name in the Spero Kingdom’ and ‘the vicious commoner who beat a noble who picked a fight with him to a pulp in a duel on a rainy day.’

And in the middle of all that commotion, Chrome Midas himself…

“Wow, this thing is completely plucked clean.”

…was confronting a major crisis that threatened his very identity.

Before the assignment began, Thoth’s Bag had been packed with every kind of potion, gold coin, and magic tool imaginable. Now, staring at the noticeably hollow interior, I let out a long sigh.

“I guess I did use a ridiculous amount…”

Throughout the assignment, I had been chugging potions like water—the kind other people only used carefully when they suffered serious injuries. I had thrown Attribute Fragments around like pebbles on the side of the road, even though each one cost at least ten silver coins in base magic stones plus processing fees and materials. I had even been forced to use three Attribute Crystals that I couldn’t craft myself yet and had to import from outside.

Direct comparison was difficult since the economic scale and logistics were completely different, but thinking that ten silver coins was roughly equivalent to a million won in my previous life, I had essentially fought while scattering gold into the air.

“On top of that, Ligret broke her equipment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again, and this time even her light armor is in tatters. I’ll have to replace that too.”

The set of daggers, the shield with the shrinking spell engraved on it, the Impact Amplification Hammer… Honestly, aside from the Ancient Guardian’s Greatsword and Feldous’s Summoning Gloves, I basically had to remake all her equipment. She had performed incredibly, so I had no intention of complaining, but the money it would cost still made me sigh.

I had to replenish the consumed supplies, remake the equipment, and since the academy was building us a mansion in the Special District as a future base, I’d need to get the team’s understanding and give them appropriate compensation. On top of that, to proceed with my plan to turn the Imperial Princess into an ally, I needed to secure more drugs to raise our base specs.

In short, there were money pits everywhere I looked.

Of course, the funds I had saved up weren’t completely depleted yet, and the steady income that came in from Theo Midas every cycle meant I wasn’t exactly broke. Still, considering that situations where huge sums would vanish in one go would likely keep happening in the future, I needed to start thinking of ways to make money.

“Oh, right. I need to start preparing for the other main events soon, too.”

Recruiting and strengthening allies was one thing, but separately from that, I had to deal with all the death flags that existed in this world and prepare for the various dark forces that were beginning to stir. If I kept putting things off because I still had time, I had no idea what kind of terrible fate would be waiting for me later.

“Something that can make money, restore Ligret’s equipment, secure bait to draw in the princess, and prepare measures for the future…”

There was a saying about failing to catch even one rabbit while trying to catch two, but to survive the countless disasters waiting ahead, I had no choice but to forcibly grab as many as I could at once.

“Alright. Time to raid a dungeon.”