The Golden Apple

The training grounds fell into a cold silence at Dale's sudden appearance. Judging by the reactions, it seemed he'd gathered the students without the other professors knowing. 'Good thing I told Edin to call him.' I'd specifically asked for Dale to be brought in, just in case. Of course, it wasn't because I thought I'd lose. I simply hoped a professor would take this incident seriously. 'Especially since Dale, who's unusually interested in me, will probably love seeing this situation.'

More importantly, what kind of reward would I get? As Baran pondered this, Dale spoke up.

“So, Kiesa. Could you explain why Baran ended up like this?”

“Uh, well… this junior here attacked me first—”

“Hmm. From what I know, Baran isn't the type to attack someone first. Is that true?”

Dale stared at Kiesa with his usual smile. On the surface, it looked like his typical sly grin. But perhaps it was the pressure radiating from him—

Gulp!

Cold sweat poured down Kiesa's back like a waterfall. Dale simply gazed at him steadily, then turned his head toward the first-year students.

“It seems these students will tell me the truth more reliably than you. Gain.”

“Y-yes!”

“Can you tell me everything that happened just now, without leaving out a single detail?”

At the question, Gain nodded stiffly and explained everything that had occurred that day. After hearing the full story, Dale glanced down at Baran.

'Ah, so that's what happened.'

Thinking about it, it made no sense for Baran to lose to the guy in front of him. His growth rate lately had been on a completely different level from the other students. Considering his hidden power, losing to this punk was simply impossible. Therefore, it was safe to assume he'd taken the hits on purpose.

'Calling me here was intentional too.'

It was only natural to punish a student who tried to use a professor. However, if the situation promised to be entertaining, that changed things. Deciding to play along with Baran, Dale turned to Kiesa and spoke.

“Kiesa.”

“Y-yes!”

“You just got back from a mission and now you're disciplining juniors?”

“T-that's…”

“This alone would warrant penalty points, yet you went so far as to assault a junior using mana?”

At his words, Kiesa clenched his fists with a resentful expression. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.

“Haa. This won't do. Kiesa, follow me right now. Let's have a talk about your disciplinary action.”

“What?!”

The next moment, Kiesa's eyes widened. He hadn't imagined the punishment would be decided so quickly.

But at that instant—

“Just a moment.”

Baran struggled to his feet. All eyes immediately turned toward him. He slowly opened his mouth.

“Professor. If you discipline that senior, what measures will be taken?”

“Hmm. At minimum, he'd be placed under probation. Community service would likely be assigned as well.”

“What about expulsion?”

“Even so, we wouldn't expel an A-class student that easily.”

At those words, Baran nodded as if he'd expected as much.

'We can't end it with just disciplinary action.'

Guys like him would repeat the same behavior even after being punished. Therefore, it was necessary to drive him out of the academy entirely.

“Professor, I'd like to make one suggestion.”

“Yes?”

“If I duel that senior and win, how about changing his punishment to expulsion?”

“What?”

“Oh?”

Kiesa's eyes widened at the statement. In contrast, Dale smiled with clear interest.

“What benefit would I get from—”

“Instead, if Kiesa wins, there will be no disciplinary action. How about that?”

The moment he heard Dale's words, Kiesa shut his mouth tightly. He hadn't expected to be given a chance to avoid punishment like this.

“I have no objections.”

“Hmm. What about you, Kiesa?”

Dale quietly observed him. Kiesa pondered for a moment.

'Something feels off…'

Honestly, there was nothing bad about it for him. If he received disciplinary action, it would seriously hinder him when he started job hunting later. An opportunity to erase that had presented itself.

'There is the penalty of expulsion if I lose, though…'

Frankly, he couldn't imagine losing. Baran had been mercilessly beaten without even using magic. Sure, his movements had suddenly become sluggish, but Kiesa hadn't gone all out either.

“I'll accept.”

“Very well. Then, with both sides in agreement, we'll hold the duel the day after the observation period ends.”

“Understood.”

Kiesa nodded and left the training grounds. Baran watched his retreating figure, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

A day passed after that. Even though only a single day had gone by, news of the duel between Baran and Kiesa had spread throughout the academy. Well, considering how big the incident was, it would have been strange if rumors hadn't spread. In fact, Kiesa had probably spread them on purpose.

However, I honestly didn't care much. After all, I was confident I could beat him. If anything, it had drawn the attention of the student council, which was a nice bonus.

I stared at the status window floating before me, lost in thought. Lately, it felt like my growth had slowed down. I'd leveled up thanks to messing with Kiesa last time, but considering the main episodes ahead, it still felt too slow.

'Though this is actually incredibly fast growth, realistically speaking…'

Still, now that this was reality instead of a game, I couldn't help feeling anxious. At least there was one silver lining.

Another quest had appeared. Thanks to that, my growth hadn't completely stalled. Still, it somehow felt lacking.

While I was taking a short break in the training grounds, a familiar voice spoke up beside me.

“Did that senior say something to you again?”

Lillia naturally approached and asked the question. At her appearance, Miroel, who had been floating nearby, narrowed her eyes.

-That fox. What is she up to this time, coming to my disciple?

As if refusing to hand me over, Miroel wrapped her arms around me from behind. I tried my best to ignore the soft sensation pressing against my back and shook my head.

“No, it's not that. I've just been thinking that my growth has been slow lately.”

“You think your growth is slow?”

“Yes, that's right.”

At my answer, both Miroel and Lillia stared at me with utterly dumbfounded expressions. Miroel shook her head.

-Disciple. Being in such a hurry will only do you harm.

It seemed I'd said something unnecessary. If Miroel was speaking this seriously, then…

“By the way, your timing is perfect.”

“Pardon?”

Her sudden remark made me tilt my head in confusion. Perfect timing? What did she mean by that?

When a question mark practically floated above my head, she pulled out a spatial pouch. Then—

“This is what I wanted to give you as thanks for helping me last time.”

A golden apple appeared in her hand. I was so startled I nearly jumped. I immediately activated Mind's Eye to examine it.

Insane! Even during game testing, elixir items like this were incredibly rare. Most of the time, you could only obtain them by clearing special quests. I never imagined Lillia would give me one for free like this.

“You're giving this to me?”

“Yes. You helped me so much. It's the least I can do.”

Lillia smiled seductively as she handed me the apple. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swallowed dryly while staring at it, then slowly spoke.

“Thank you, Miss Lillia.”

“Not at all. You helped me first, so this is only natural.”

She gave me a bewitching smile in response to my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gratitude. Inside, I was dancing with joy as I brought the apple to my mouth.

The moment I finished eating the entire apple—

Whoosh!

A vast amount of mana began flowing from my body. The next instant, Miroel spoke urgently.

-Disciple! Quickly, don't let the mana escape!

Following her instruction, I sat in the lotus position. I focused with all my might to suppress the wild mana raging inside me so it wouldn't leak out.

A short while later—

I had successfully absorbed the elixir completely. Now, I could only wait for the day of the duel to arrive as quickly as possible.