Become a Hype Man
“Hold on—in the original, it was definitely…”
I was muttering to myself, trying to recall the original novel, when—
“Eugene!!”
“Ghk!!”
Rania seized me by the scruff of the neck and yanked.
Clang!
In the same instant, a spear came flying from behind and split the chair I'd been sitting in clean in two.
“…So that's where I hear that line.”
“F-Fuck, everybody up!!”
“Damn it!! I don't even know anymore!!”
Starting with a girl with rose-pink hair, several examinees began attacking on the proctor's orders.
“Th-thaank—!!”
“Spare me the thanks!!”
Rania drew her sword, scabbard and all.
Clang!
She shoved back the ones charging in as one, then turned to me, urgent.
“Eugene!! Forgive the suddenness, but could you hold out on your own for about a minute?”
“Obviously! Let's meet again as a corpse!!”
“…Never mind. I shall protect you, so rest easy.”
“Thanks, then!”
To keep my word to Rania, I found an intact chair and sat down comfortably. It was still a little uncomfortable, so I just half-reclined across it.
“…What are you doing?”
“You told me to rest easy.”
“No, even so—”
Rania's expressionless face flickered with bewilderment.
“Pfft.”
From among those surrounding us, a woman with golden eyes stepped forward.
“I said we'd see each other again soon, didn't I?”
It was Yuria.
As if nothing at all were happening, she waded through the heavy air and came toward me.
“That's far enough.”
Rania leveled her blade at Yuria's throat. Yuria, still wearing that sunny smile, said:
“Put it away.”
The instant the two of them locked eyes, crimson aura poured from Rania's side and platinum mana from Yuria's, and the two forces collided.
RRRRUMBLE!!
Vibration radiated out from the two of them, and nearby examinees staggered on their feet.
“M-monsters…”
“What are you lying there for!! Run, you idiot!!”
“Shit, how the hell are those two even applicants!!”
The uninjured and the wounded alike fled far from the epicenter of the clash.
“Fuck, take me with you…”
Everyone except me.
They were all wringing out every last drop of aura and mana to run for it. I couldn't use any of that. Until just a few hours ago, I'd been an utterly ordinary young man from Korea.
“Ghhhk—uhhh…”
And of all things, the body I'd possessed was an F-Rank extra. I'd confirmed I had a broken Unique Trait, sure—but I'd never actually used it.
Which meant:
“Put the sword away.”
“I shall, once you withdraw first.”
“I didn't come here for you, you know?”
“Then I am even less inclined to sheathe it.”
RRRRRRUMBLE!!!!
In other words, I could be crushed to death by the pressure Rania and Yuria were putting out alone.
“Gyaaaaaaah…”
Please stop, you lunatics.
Their auras grew even more vicious, and thanks to that, even my consciousness started to blur.
Uh…
Was I actually going to die?
This pathetically?
The density of power climbed until I couldn't even scream—
Ding!
A bright, cheerful chime rang out from somewhere.
The web novel Protect the Academy!.
The people inside the story wouldn't know it, but the truth was that they possessed superhuman abilities. Those abilities fell into two categories, named Unique Traits and Skills.
Skills are exactly what they sound like.
Things like the Red Heat Sword technique Rania had used in our duel, or the Aura Emission and Mana Emission unfolding right in front of me, all belonged here. Unlike Unique Traits, anyone could acquire them after the fact through study and training.
Then what about Unique Traits?
Something you're born with.
A domain of talent you came into the world already holding. In the world of Protect the Academy!, possessing a Unique Trait meant you were the kind of person who could leave a mark on the age itself.
And right now—
Rank:EX
Effect: You admire with a sincere heart.
Upon activation, you borrow 1 random Skill from among the Skills possessed by the target of admiration. Borrowed Skills can be viewed in the Borrowed Skill List.
*The same admiration cannot be duplicated.
—I had one of those Unique Traits.
Because I possessed Eugene the hype man, maybe?
Admire someone, and I borrowed one random Skill from among those they possessed.
"Whoa! That way of talking is so goddamn boomer!!!"
"Cute."
In the time since I'd possessed someone in the world of Protect the Academy!, there had been exactly two instances of admiration, both of them completely outside my will. Both had been the Unique Trait firing, and thanks to that, I'd borrowed two Skills from Rania.
Borrowed Skill List.
├─ Aura Emission (B+):1 use
└─ Red Heat Sword (F):1 use
The growth-type Skill that had once put the Evil God to sleep, Red Heat Sword, and the Aura Emission unfolding right in front of my eyes.
The Skill that fit this situation was—
Obviously this one.
The instant I chose it—
RRRRUMBLE…!!
The entire arena began to shake.
From this moment on, kill each other.
The reason the examinees had drawn their weapons and obeyed an order that absurd was simple: fear. The proctor's command had been absolute, as if someone had put a knife to their backs and shoved. Panic had started the bloodshed, and even those who hadn't felt that much of a threat had eventually been forced to draw.
But now, again—
As if they'd all agreed on it beforehand, the examinees stopped fighting and stared in one direction.
“Are you kidding me?”
“This isn't the time to be fighting each other…”
“There goes our shot at A-Rank.”
Rania and Yuria. They were only pressing their power against each other, and yet it was fiercer than any actual fight. Just being nearby was a vicious pressure that felt like it could snuff out your mind.
And behind those monsters, the black-haired examinee Eugene was draped comfortably over a chair, lifting his head.
“Wh-what the hell is that guy!?”
“He's just sprawled on a chair?!”
“Don't tell me he was sleeping through all that?!”
Eugene, head raised, let out a dry little laugh.
I just almost fucking died, you lunatics.
The moment I barely clawed my way back to consciousness, the Skill I'd chosen activated.
Aura Emission (B+)
My core burned hot. As if a light had been switched on in a dark room, the inside of my body came into focus, bright and distinct. I closed my eyes and laid a hand over my core.
So this is aura.
An instinctive understanding. If the heart circulated blood with its beating, the core drew forth aura with its turning. I sent it through every part of my body, then clenched down with my whole being, wringing myself out.
The aura that had been circulating quietly inside me erupted in every direction at once. As ripples tore through the stillness of my body, an equal uproar broke out outside it.
“Eu-Eugene!?”
“What is this?!”
Only then did Eugene open his eyes.
Rania was holding on, still emitting aura of her own—but Yuria's hands were trembling.
“So you were hiding your strength after all!”
“Uh, yeah. Something like that.”
Eugene's startled expression hardened. He hadn't noticed while he was focused on the aura, but the output was far more impressive than he'd expected.
If the clash between Rania and Yuria had been a smooth pressure steadily adding force, the aura Eugene was pouring out was closer to a crushing weight. And it was hot, besides.
Because I borrowed Rania's Skill!?
Sizzle…!
The tips of Yuria's fingers, stretched toward Eugene, began to scorch as if they'd been pressed to a flame.
“Kh!!”
Rania froze in shock.
“Eugene?”
“…”
“Eugene! Withdraw your aura this instant!!”
“…”
However much this woman had come here aiming for Eugene, there was no mercy in his hands.
“Is this not enough!!”
She shouted it—and the moment she checked Eugene's face, Rania went rigid where she stood.
“Eugene…?”
That was not an expression she knew.
So. What's that supposed to be?
I don't have any friends here yet. If it's all right with you, I'd like you to be my first.
Cute.
This was not the bold, kind Eugene who had smiled through every moment she'd seen. The Eugene in front of her now was simply—
“…”
“Nngh… Eugene…!!”
—a cold-blooded man, intent on cutting down without mercy whoever had crossed him.
Rania drew her sword.
I have to stop this.
That, surely, would be the path that was best for him.
No, fuck, how do I turn this off.
I was going to lose my mind. Thinking about it, I only knew how to activate it. I had no idea how to stop it. I'd figured if I just waited, it would end on its own.
“Nngh… Eugene…!!”
Not even close. Surviving had been great and all, but if this kept up, Yuria was going to go down. And that meant the flow of the story would go off the rails.
If I wanted to use my knowledge of the original, things needed to proceed more or less as they had. Especially Yuria—she's the early main villainess. If she collapsed because of me, or failed to get in, the early game would fall apart, wouldn't it? And if that happened, the midgame, the endgame, even the ending itself had a high chance of collapsing with it.
In other words, villainess Yuria wasn't someone I needed to kill. She was someone I needed to save. I'd already been planning to try saving her right after the entrance exam anyway.
So please!!
I focused so hard I couldn't even answer. I threw everything I had into trying to control the aura. It did absolutely nothing.
Should I ask Rania for help?
Only then did I look at her.
“Cease this, Eugene.”
Ah. That's my Rania. She'd read the situation I was in, and she was going to help before I even had to ask.
“Otherwise I shall cut you down with my full strength.”
Never mind.
“…One such as you ought to be able to block this much.”
Uh, no. That's even worse.
This was exactly like—
My computer won't turn off.
Ah. Then I'll smash it for you.
Excuse me?
What the hell do I do now?
If Yuria went down, I died for failing the happy ending. If I sat still, I died to Rania.
Guess there's no other choice at this point.
If I was dead either way, I might as well pick the road with the slightly better odds of living. I slowly turned my head—toward the one who'd caused this whole mess. The entrance exam proctor.
“…?”
An expression like, What are you looking at? I mouthed something in his direction.
And the next instant—
WHAM!!
The proctor closed the distance in a single breath and subdued me, clean as you please.