How This Fortune Teller Becomes Famous
The conference room on the upper floor of the grand hall was usually filled with the instructors' constant chatter during exams. They watched the students below, offering running commentary: This one performed well. No, it was thanks to that student. Pure luck. Instructors were only human. They made mistakes and misjudged situations, so these debates had become routine.
— That wall over there is broken! We did it!
— Waaaaaaaaah!!
— Not yet! That wall is also extremely harmful! Everyone, charge!!
— Break it! Break it! Break it!
— I, Sasaki Ito, will take the lead!
— Ito! Ito! Ito!
“……How the hell are we supposed to evaluate this?”
Redfield, the Swordsman instructor at Romance Academy, clutched his head in frustration. The exam had been proceeding normally. Right up until eleven o’clock. They had planned to end it there.
After all, Romance Academy hadn’t asked the students to escape the maze.
“Originally… it was a test meant to observe each individual’s character in a place where escape was impossible.”
“Why did it turn out like this…?”
The Romance Academy entrance exam only evaluated proficiency with one’s class. There were no personality or character assessments. The worst psychopaths were filtered out during the application process, but a few rotten apples still slipped through. There simply weren’t enough Job Holders to be picky. Excluding people based on character alone wasn’t feasible when their numbers were so tiny.
“……What about that Swordsman, Sasaki Ito?”
“He spent two hours and twenty-one minutes lost in the maze. There were some harsh words here and there, but nothing excessive. That level of patience and endurance seems adequate.”
“And the way he actively volunteered to lead the group… suggests excellent cooperation skills as well.”
“Good… This is good, but……”
That was precisely why the Academy locked them in a maze with no exit. No matter how much they ran or wandered, they couldn’t leave. The starting point that reappeared the moment they turned around. The constantly ticking timer. The unreasonable penalty that followed failure. All of it gradually pushed people to their limits, and those with bad character quickly revealed their true nature.
That had been the original purpose. Yet the current situation had completely deviated from expectations.
— Success! We’ve demolished twenty-one buildings and destroyed over fifty walls! We can do this!
— We can do it!
— Can you see it? That starting point that tricked us inside the maze! No matter how much we moved, it was always right there when we turned around! But look at it now!
— It’s getting farther away……!
— Breaking the walls was the right choice!
— That damn grand hall is slowly disappearing into the distance!
— That’s right! We can do this! If we all work together, we can break through this godforsaken maze and escape!
— Waaaaaaaaah!!
“………How many instances of this kind of agitation have there been in the Academy’s history?”
The vice principal, seated in the highest position, muttered to himself. Instead of smiling, he watched one male student with wary eyes. The Fortune Teller who was leading that entire crowd with mere gestures.
“This is the twelfth time.”
“Has the scale ever been this large?”
“Five times. The largest was when half of the freshmen banded together.”
“How did they usually behave?”
“Three times it was protests against Romance Academy. Twice it was when the Mages gathered to cast large-scale magic.”
“Haha, I see.”
The vice principal let out a hollow laugh after hearing the report and continued.
“So this kind of destructive operation… is a first.”
Destructive operation. The instructors flinched at the vice principal’s word choice, but they soon sighed, unable to find a better term.
“……There have been attempts before, but this is the first time it’s been done on this scale… and the first time they’ve actually succeeded in breaking the walls.”
“Amazing. Truly amazing. Can you see that?”
Where the vice principal pointed, students were breaking down walls in real time. Shouting, moving, charging forward. Yet they weren’t disorganized or chaotic.
“The physical classes are hammering the walls, while the non-combat classes rotate in when they get tired or clear away the debris. The magic classes gather in one spot, wait until the wall is sufficiently weakened, retreat to a safe distance, and then fire their spells all at once.”
It was clumsy, but they moved like a small army. That was exactly what had left the instructors speechless. There was a world of difference between a simple agitator and a strategist who could make students move like troops.
Not just the vice principal, but most of the instructors were watching their coordination closely. Of course, as students, there were occasional slip-ups and awkward moments… but the ones smoothly covering for those mistakes were a small group of elite students.
“Recovery potions are pouring out from the Great Wealthy’s inventory. Just how many is she carrying?”
“Look at Sasaki Ito over there. His movements are clean and precise. As expected of the Swordsman Japan is pushing. Without that student, breaking the walls would have been impossible.”
“What about the Psychic, Lane Arthur? Her psychokinesis is top-notch. She’s clearing debris, transporting students, and even helping destroy walls……”
“Are none of you seeing the firepower of that Mage? In my entire life, I’ve never seen a mage that young wield such powerful magic. A genius, as expected of a Special Class.”
“And the Fortune Teller is……”
The moment the root and center of all this chaos was casually mentioned, the conference room fell into silence once again. They clearly needed to address it, but no one knew how to even begin.
“……Are we certain his class is Fortune Teller? Not a Negotiator or the Special Class Swindler?”
“There is no Special Class called Swindler.”
“It’s a figure of speech. Did you see him speak in the grand hall earlier? His tone, gestures, the inflection in his voice. He’s definitely someone who knows how to talk.”
“To think he could agitate students so easily, no matter how young they are……”
Agitating students? That was possible. It wasn’t even unprecedented in Romance Academy’s history. Hot-blooded young superhumans were simple and easily swayed.
Insisting on breaking the walls? That was also possible. While this was the first time they had succeeded, there had been many previous attempts.
But he was a Fortune Teller, not a class that specialized in speaking or agitating people. The students who had previously led such movements had been Negotiators or Imperial Family members—classes naturally gifted with words, or those whose position made them natural focal points.
Wasn’t that Fortune Teller different?
“……Still, his ability as a Fortune Teller is clearly exceptional.”
“What? Instructor Redfield, what do you mean?”
“The directions he gives after reading those tarot cards actually lead toward the exit.”
“……? Didn’t we block the exits? It’s a maze where escape is supposed to be impossible……”
“No, no. I mean a real exit that can be opened by ‘breaking the wall.’”
“……!!”
That group was smashing through them like they were breaking cookies, but the maze walls were by no means easy to destroy. Even for superhumans, breaking concrete walls the size of buildings was nearly impossible. They wouldn’t have even attempted it without the Mage, the Psychic, Sasaki Ito the Swordsman, the Great Wealthy, and nearly half of the freshmen working together.
Even if they broke through the maze, it didn’t mean they could always escape.
“The exit itself exists. But moving walls block it. If they break down the exact right spot…… it’s not impossible.”
“T-to do that, they’d need to know the maze’s structure……!”
“He’s a Fortune Teller. He probably just read the fortune.”
“………….”
The look that passed between the instructors seemed to ask: Is that even allowed?
How were they supposed to prepare for a student like that? He would simply read the answers for every future exam. He was essentially using a cheat key all by himself.
“………Should we impose restrictions on his skill?”
“That’s ridiculous! It would be an unjust act!”
“Then are you saying we should give special treatment only to that student?!”
“It’s not special treatment! If it’s his ability, Romance Academy does not interfere!”
“There are limits to that! Let’s be honest—if someone got every question right on a written exam by reading fortunes, would that even count as taking the test?!”
“It would be a test of their class ability!”
“This person—!”
“E-everyone, please stop!”
“Someone separate them!”
“………….”
The conference room was gradually turning into a battlefield. The instructors’ opinions clashed fiercely, escalating into outright arguments.
The question of whether to allow Namgung Min’s near-future-predicting fortunes had become critical. It was an issue that could shake Romance Academy to its foundations. If allowed, every test would lose meaning. If not allowed, the problem would arise that the Fortune Teller had simply “read a fortune.”
The vice principal, who had been watching the entire spectacle, finally turned his head to the side.
“So, Instructor Charles Teddybear.”
“………….”
“You were in charge of that student during the practical exam. Do you have any thoughts?”
“………….”
“Silence, I see. Well, that might be the best approach.”
In the center of the still-chaotic conference room, the vice principal turned away from Charles Teddybear and made a solemn declaration.
“Everyone, quiet.”
“……………”
“…………”
“………………”
“For now, let’s observe a little longer. We can decide what to do about Namgung Min… after all of this is over.”
“Ahem, hmm!”
“If the vice principal says so……”
Would Romance Academy allow Namgung Min?
The vice principal’s eyes gleamed as he watched the Fortune Teller who was still drawing tarot cards and directing all the students even at this very moment.
Ah, this is comfortable.
“Break it! Break it! Break it!”
“Those in front of the wall, fall back! It’s about time to launch the magic!”
“There are cracks! It’s about to collapse!”
This is seriously comfortable.
I smiled as I watched the automated system I had created. All I had to do was occasionally say a few words, strike a cool pose while drawing a tarot card, and point in a direction. Everything else took care of itself. Wasn’t this the true definition of leeching off others?
If we keep going like this, we’ll reach the exit.
More precisely, we would reach the wall blocking the exit.
The maze event during the entrance ceremony was one that made players curse like sailors. The maze was ridiculously huge, yet no matter how much you walked, the exit never appeared and the scenery never changed. It was incredibly frustrating. I once tried following only the right wall to escape, but that didn’t work either.
Technically, escaping the maze itself was fake, but as a twenty-fifth-round player, I had wanted to experience it at least once. After spending an entire day in this maze, I finally discovered the existence of the moving walls.
There are five moving walls in the maze.
Of those five, only one blocks the exit from the outermost part of the maze. It moves to block the exit when the player gets close, making it look like a dead end. In the game, reaching a blocked path only gave you the option to turn back, so you were screwed. But what about here?
So, what will you do?
If it doesn’t block the exit? Just walk out through the exit. If it does block it? Just break it down. In the game, breaking walls wasn’t even an option, but things are different now!
“……Hey, I’ve finished distributing supplies up front.”
“Ah, thank you, Miss Liu. Please put the cost on my tab.”
“Of course I will. If you can’t pay it back……”
“You can harvest my organs.”
“………Goddammit, I don’t deal in that shit, you son of a bitch.”
Liu Yen was taking out various items from her subspace pouch and distributing them. Recovery potions, mana potions, weapons, and more poured out endlessly. It was almost alarming.
Pay it back? There were plenty of ways to make money anyway. Once this escape succeeded, paying her back would be nothing.
I smiled at Liu, whose face was twisting in disgust, then turned my head.
“Miss Lane? You’re not overdoing it, are you?”
“Not at… all.”
“As reliable as ever. You’re the best, Miss Lane.”
“………!”
Lane Arthur, who reacted so cutely to every single word, was handling all sorts of support roles. Clearing debris from broken walls, relaying commands through telepathy, using teleportation to help in emergencies. As expected of a Psychic. The pride and joy of her family!
“As for Mr. Lucas……”
“Ha! That guy’s having the most fun. Can’t you see him commanding the mages right now?”
“It seems to be his calling.”
For some reason, Lucas Arthur had been glaring at me while I stood with Lane and Liu, but at some point he had mixed in with the mages and taken charge.
“Sir Lucas! As expected of an Archmage, incredible!”
“It’s only natural.”
“As expected of Sir Lucas! You’re completely different from us!”
“It’s nothing special.”
His face remained expressionless on the surface, but I bet he was grinning inside from all the praise and compliments the mages were showering him with. Well, Lucas’s meritocracy wasn’t at the level of mental illness like Liu’s paranoia, Lane’s strong-weak mentality, Kim Eun-ha’s violence, or the Saint’s fanaticism. And since he wasn’t the type to ignore people calling him amazing, he was eating it all up.
After all, meritocracy meant he had that much pride in his own abilities. How could he not react when they kept praising him? From a player’s perspective, I remembered that following Lucas’s route and constantly praising him raised his favorability.
“That side seems fine. What about Mr. Sasaki?”
“That side is decent enough to watch.”
Decent enough? He’s the key player, Liu. Sasaki Ito the Swordsman. In terms of pure combat power at Romance Academy, he ranks second only to the princess. He only placed seventh in the entrance exam because it evaluated class abilities rather than combat strength. In a duel, none of them would stand a chance against him.
With his massive frame over 180 centimeters tall and his unique swordsmanship that treated a greatsword like a regular blade, my judgment that he would be the key to breaking the maze walls had been correct.
“……Namgung Min.”
“Ah, Mr. Sasaki. Is it time already?”
“Yeah. Which way should we break?”
“Just a moment.”
I shuffled the tarot cards with disciplined movements, then drew one with an unnecessarily stylish flourish. The card that came out was… the Six of Pentacles from the Minor Arcana. Honestly, it didn’t matter what card it was.
“We should head northeast.”
“Good. You all heard him! We’re heading northeast!”
Waaaaaaaaah!!!
Normally we could have gone in a straight line, but the Academy seemed flustered and was changing the positions of the moving walls, so we had to adjust our direction slightly. Besides, I needed to step forward like this occasionally so they wouldn’t forget my presence.
“This is pretty easy.”
“……………”
“…………”
Liu and Lane seemed to be looking at me with strange eyes. Must be my imagination?
…That aside, it was almost time.
“It’s coming soon.”
“Soon?”
“According to my reading, the final wall will appear soon. However……”
“However?”
“We’re running out of time.”
“……Ah.”
The current time was 11:55. Those students over there were so collectively excited that they didn’t seem to care about the time, but only five minutes remained. Everyone had gotten skilled enough that they could break one wall in roughly a minute now, but there was still some distance left, so we would barely fail.
If only Sasaki Ito had arrived faster… Well, it couldn’t be helped. If there had been just one more student of Sasaki’s caliber……
“………Ah.”
“What? You’re making a really ominous face right now.”
“What are you talking about, Miss Liu? I’m just smiling?”
“That’s the same face you made when you came to collect your payment from me last time!”
“Haha, that was a pleasant moment, wasn’t it? Don’t worry. This is something different.”
“……Different?”
“Yes. I just remembered. A way to escape within five minutes.”
Since I had caused this much commotion, they must have noticed me by now. There was no guarantee of success… but since failure was certain at this point, I had nothing to lose.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Huh? Where are you going? You’re not running away, are you?”
“I don’t want my organs harvested by Miss Liu, so no!”
“Hey! I don’t buy organs, you son of a bitch!”
“……Really?”
“Don’t look at me with those eyes, you bitch!”
Leaving behind Lane and Liu who had started bickering, I slipped away from my spot. Time was running short and I needed time to persuade her, so I’d better find her quickly.
“This time, I will definitely escape……!”
Now then, our violent princess. I wonder where she might be?