Chapter 29

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 29

Chapter Title: Elective Subjects (8)

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Something had gone wrong.

I'm screwed.

I'd made a huge mistake.

Simply put, I'm fucked.

That summed up my current situation perfectly.

"So...? Why the hell did you smash the golem?"

Inside the Academy Chairman's office.

I'd been here a few times since possessing this body, but it wasn't a place with many good memories.

And this time was no different—I certainly wasn't here for anything pleasant.

If it had been, I wouldn't be kneeling on the floor with my head bowed, arms behind my back, getting grilled with questions laced with fury...

'Who could've guessed Eris would be watching when I wrecked the golem...'

Destroying the magic golem she'd painstakingly crafted to clear that achievement and snag the stats? All good up to that point.

But I never imagined she'd witness it firsthand.

"You gonna talk or not?"

When I stayed silent to her initial question, Eris followed up with even more rage dripping from her voice.

But soon enough, she rubbed her temple like her head hurt, let out a sigh, and reined in her anger to continue.

"Haa... Did you smash it because that magic golem was gonna be a threat in the future or something?"

"It won't be a threat in the future..."

I answered truthfully right away.

I'd considered lying just in case, but she'd see through it in a heartbeat, and it'd only piss her off more. So I ditched that idea quick.

"Not a future threat... Then why...?"

Eris shot me a genuinely puzzled look mixed with anger.

A few minutes passed under that glare.

"Haa... Get up."

She sighed and spoke. I cautiously stood, keeping my head bowed.

She stared at me like I was ridiculous for a moment, then continued.

"It's not like there was no reason... right?"

"No, ma'am. It was definitely something that helped me out."

I answered her question politely and honestly.

Eris sighed again and opened her mouth.

"Haa... Fine, whatever. If a regressor says it helped, there must be a reason."

With that, she flopped back into her chair and waved me off like she was done dealing with me.

Even if there was a reason, she was clearly still pissed about me smashing the golem she'd poured her heart into.

'It is my fault, though...'

This one was squarely on me, so I had nothing to say.

It must've felt like watching her cousin's kid smash their favorite toy...

So instead of bolting out of the office, I carefully spoke up to soothe her anger.

"Chairman. It's not much in compensation, but... I'll get you that core you've been looking for."

"What?!"

At my offer to fetch the core she needed to complete the magic golem I'd destroyed, Eris's eyes lit up as she shot out of her chair.

Then, with undisguisable excitement in her voice, she asked,

"You...! You know where that core is?"

"I do. I'll bring it to you later."

"Ahem... Yeah, that makes it hard not to forgive you."

She cleared her throat awkwardly, but her eyes and tone brimmed with clear anticipation.

"Now head back. You must be beat from the dungeon run."

Her follow-up telling me to return to the dorms lacked any of the earlier anger.

'Phew... Dodged a bullet.'

Confirming her anger had subsided, I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside, slipped out of the office cautiously, and headed to the dorms while summoning my status window to check my gains.

'Status window.'

Compared to the start, all my stats had risen across the board—and

the duration of {Life and Death Resolve}, the derived skill from my unique trait, had noticeably increased from before.

'This might actually be usable now...?'

Nearly two full minutes of uptime.

Unlike the initial 0.2 seconds, this was enough time to hold the power and fight.

'+1 second per stat point increase, huh...'

As expected from a unique trait—it exceeded expectations.

'Gotta test it out later.'

With gains like this, it'd probably see frequent use, so I needed to gauge that "extreme pain" penalty at least once.

'First time should be somewhere safe, though...'

With a full minute of duration, it was plenty of time to test the power from my previous playthrough, where all stats hit the player cap of 1000.

But that pain penalty meant a safe spot was best.

'Safe spot...'

In a situation where activating the skill could lead to who-knows-what, the Academy came to mind, but too many eyes and powerhouses who might sense it made me uneasy.

'Guess I'll ask Eris and Elina tomorrow...'

To secure a test site, hitting up the two who thought I was a regressor seemed smartest.

Lost in thoughts of asking Eris and Elina tomorrow, I suddenly spotted the dorms ahead.

Just as I was about to head in—

"Hey! Aden!"

My head whipped around at the voice from behind.

There was Libia, waving enthusiastically despite her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disheveled state, and Isabel beside her.

'Hm...? They still haven't gone in?'

The dungeon practical was structured so parties returned to dorms in the order they cleared the basic dungeon.

So I voiced my to the two just now arriving at the dorm entrance.

"Hey, you two. What've you been up to? Still not back in the dorms?"

Isabel shot Libia a cold glare, while Libia guiltily averted her eyes.

Isabel spoke up soon after.

"Libia took forever to escape the maze, so we were late."

That only deepened my confusion.

Even as a non-mage, Libia was a swordsman who could manipulate mana—she couldn't miss the mana residue.

I eyed Libia with that in mind, and she dodged my gaze while mumbling an excuse.

"Ah... no! How was I supposed to know the spot where mana got thicker was the exit?!"

'Ah...'

It clicked.

'She didn't realize the exit was where the mana residue intensified and just wandered the maze...'

Now her messy state made sense.

Her uniform was caked in dust, hair a wild mess—likely from dodging countless traps in the maze.

"Yeah... that could happen."

It was plausible enough.

And charging in headfirst without overthinking? That was her charm, right?

With that in mind, I turned to Isabel.

"You slept like a rock in the dungeon, but you're up now."

"You—! You knew?!"

Mentioning the sleep trap from the basic dungeon's end had Isabel glaring daggers and snapping at me.

Meeting her eyes, I replied with a mix of concern and teasing.

"Didn't expect you'd fall for something that minor. If basic sleep magic takes you out, you're not dungeon-ready yet..."

"What."

She flustered at the blatant provocation.

Just like during the entrance exam—baffled, like she couldn't process what she'd heard.

Always disinterested in others and rarely bested since childhood, she had zero tolerance for taunts, making her reactions hilarious.

"N-Normally, I wouldn't fall for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it!"

Snapping out of it, she hurriedly defended herself.

It was true—normally, she'd block that level of sleep magic. But she hadn't.

Spotting my provoking smirk, she glared venomously, drawing a faint chuckle from me.

As I enjoyed her reaction—

"Still, it was seriously fun!"

Libia chimed in from the side.

The basic dungeon had been unexpectedly enjoyable.

"The vibe felt just like a real dungeon!"

"Can't argue there."

Libia was right—the atmosphere was overwhelmingly immersive, unlike a tutorial.

"Not just the vibe—the traps too—"

Libia kept praising the basic dungeon's surprises.

Once she wrapped up—

"I'd love to chat more, but..."

she trailed off wistfully.

I offered to keep talking before heading in, but

"I'm fine with more, but...?"

"No, no! I'm a total mess—I can't stand it! Let's go, Isabel!"

Libia vehemently disagreed, dragging Isabel inside.

'Feeling grimy, huh...'

After tumbling through the dungeon like that, wanting a quick shower made sense.

'Time for me to crash in the dorm too.'

Watching Libia and Isabel vanish from sight, I headed to my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room.

It felt like a day packed with events, so I was in the mood for an early night.