Is This Even a Class?
Is this even supposed to be a class?
“First of all, all of you get lost. That includes you, Your Highness.”
“Liu, have you already forgotten how you looked like you wanted to kill Namgung Min on the first day? Talk about shameless.”
“You just get lost, you vicious bitch.”
“Why is the crazy woman whose greatest joy in life is suspecting everyone acting like this?”
“………….”
“…………….”
While Liu Yen and Lane Arthur glared at each other as if they wanted to tear one another apart, I was secretly breaking out in a cold sweat. The saint I could have asked for help had already bolted into the forest, and the prince had snorted before vanishing somewhere. As for the hero, he was already nowhere to be seen, so he was probably handling things on his own. The problem was right here. The five men and women still gathered at the starting point. While those two women were squabbling over there, Lucas and Kim Eun-ha were approaching this way… No, stay away. Didn’t you hear what Liu Yen said?
“Hey, fortune teller. I think I was a bit harsh with my words at the entrance ceremony. How about we build some friendship starting with this test?”
“Namgung Min, you remember the promise we made at the entrance ceremony, right? For the sake of a smooth relationship, how about we stick together this time?”
I could understand the princess doing this, but Lucas approaching me so amicably gave me the creeps. He did treat capable people casually, and that was true, but he was the type to hold grudges. Wasn’t he keeping the entrance ceremony incident in the back of his mind? You don’t mean…?
“Ahem, Your Highness. Would it be all right if the fortune teller and I spoke first?”
“Lucas. What might you want to talk about? It wouldn’t be because of this class, would it?”
“To be honest, it’s not that I don’t have that in mind at all, but I’m approaching him because of his main occupation.”
“…His main occupation?”
“Fortune-telling.”
For now, the fact that they were talking among themselves without me saying a word was one thing. Fortune-telling?
“Fortune-telling, huh. I didn’t expect someone as esteemed as the Master of Magic to want to… see something like that.”
“Haha. Even I have moments when I’m so desperate I want to cling to superstition. Things like the future, fate… or love, for example.”
He gave three examples, but this guy Lucas definitely only wanted to see his love fortune. But… why wasn’t he even glancing toward Liu Yen? Didn’t he say it was about romance? Don’t tell me this bastard had already fallen for another female student?
“Um, if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be fine to do it after class ends…?”
“Now that I’m actually about to get my fortune told, my heart is pounding and I want to see it quickly. If I move together with the fortune teller and pass the class, I can get my fortune told right away, can’t I?”
Yeah, the reason these four people were approaching me now was obvious. What? The class was about reaching the target point in the mountains? But it was a maze full of obstacles? Having a fortune teller would basically be a cheat key, right?
…I understood that was what they were thinking.
…But I don’t know anything about it.
There was no such class in the game at all! In the first place, classes and everything else just ended with a single click! Of course I didn’t know where the target point was or how to find it!
But if I honestly said I didn’t know?
I can manage for now.
But what if there were classes like this every time? Would I have to say I didn’t know every single time? Since I had become a fortune teller with zero combat ability, I needed to secure a solid position. When important characters had worries, questions, or major decisions to make, they needed to come to me without fail. Only then could I reliably involve myself in their character events.
I had already built a good image during the entrance exam and ceremony, but if I showed incompetence in every class, that image would crumble…!
I need to come up with something…!
“So you find it interesting? Why does someone who usually suspects everything and annoys people suddenly cling to Namgung Min like this?”
“I don’t want to hear that from a vicious bitch whose hobby is watching people fall into ruin.”
“Anyway, I can’t yield this time, Your Highness.”
“How interesting. I have no intention of backing down to a magician either.”
…Wait a minute.
Let’s change my thinking. These four were trying to take me with them to reach the mountain target quickly anyway, and as long as we got there fast, they wouldn’t care much about the process. They had chosen ‘fortune-telling’ as their tool for speed.
But aren’t there four tools right here?
One archmage for dispelling magic barriers. One princess with the academy’s strongest violence. One great wealthy who could supply anything. One psychic who could perform every role. And me, the driver who would gather them all and steer.
Perfect, right?
“Everyone, could you look this way for a moment?”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
“Hmm?”
“Yes?”
Looking at the four people staring at me with various reactions, the fortune teller smiled the same mysterious smile as always.
“I have a very… good idea.”
*
“…Good grief, this academy really works people too hard.”
“Still, playing with the freshmen gives good credits, doesn’t it?”
“Credits are credits, but does it make sense to have to go this far?!”
Romance Academy second-year Drukas shouted as if complaining. With his credits already lacking, choosing this class that gave points equivalent to two or three regular classes might have been a mistake. The joy he had felt when he passed the ‘Freshman Class Assistant’ position was gone, replaced entirely by irritation.
“It’s a strict order from Instructor Redfield.”
“That’s what I don’t understand. Even if it’s the special class, today is the first class for the freshmen, right? To have to camouflage in the dirt against such rookies?”
“That is a bit… much, yeah.”
Digging up dirt under a tree in the middle of the forest, camouflaging themselves, hiding, and then ambushing. That was all they had to do, but the itching while camouflaged like this was driving him crazy. What special class? In the end, it wasn’t much different from a normal class. If it weren’t for his classmate Andy, he might have quit and gone back long ago.
“Ugh, a bug.”
“What? Didn’t you see plenty of bugs during your first-year midterms?”
“Is that the same as getting used to it?”
Just how many more hours did they have to stay like this? Drukas, with a deeply furrowed brow, aimlessly looked around.
Grrrrrrrrr……...
“No, it looks like the artificial monsters over there will clean everything up.”
The beast-type monsters camouflaged with protective coloring, growling as they waited on the trees, had an imposing presence that could intimidate even Drukas. There were swarms of monsters that even he, a second-year, would barely beat in a one-on-one fight, and on top of that they were making them camouflage too? No matter how he looked at it, it was excessive.
“…Since it’s come to this, we need to properly mess with those freshman bastards.”
“Hey, restrain yourself. Don’t you know that in this special class there are two from the Imperial Family and even the Saint?”
“The saint is one thing, but even if they’re from the Unified Korean Empire’s imperial family, to me it’s a country on the other side of the globe. If the country steps in because I was a bit rough during class, that would be truly embarrassing.”
“Then what about the Arthur siblings?”
“If we get them, it’s a jackpot. Thinking about the humiliation I received from that collateral Arthur bastard in the third year, I should at least pay it back through them.”
Clank.
Drukas tapped his sword sheath inside the pile of dirt. Andy, who was hiding with him, frowned at the blatant display.
“If you want to get marked by the Arthurs, do it alone. You can say that because you’re from the upper class, but for commoners like me, it’s over.”
“Don’t worry. You just aim for the hero or that fortune teller guy.”
“…Fortune teller.”
The special class’s fortune teller. Andy tilted his head at the name that was being frequently mentioned in the academy these days.
“But is it real? A fortune teller at Romance Academy?”
“Every freshman I meet says the same thing, so it must be.”
“No, how on earth did someone with a job like fortune teller get into a place like──”
“──Shh.”
“Huh, Drukas?”
“…Don’t you hear some sound?”
Sound? Andy also fell silent and listened carefully, following Drukas who suddenly lowered his voice. As a Fighter, his senses were better than Drukas’s. If Drukas heard it, he should be able to as well.
Vroooom……
“You hear it?”
“Right? What sound is that?”
“What… engine sound? It’s coming from up ahead.”
“Engine? Isn’t it just the guys who were camouflaged ahead of us moving out?”
“Seems like it?”
“Aish. If it ends there, that’s no good? Please, at least one of them, run well!”
Vroooooom……...
“Huh? It’s coming this way.”
“Oh really? Someone’s running this way! Let’s at least get the last hit!”
“W-wait a second.”
“Huh?”
“This…….”
Vroooooom──
“Something’s off?”
Vroooooooooom──
Master of Magic
Kwaaaaang!!!
“Hey! Fortune teller! Is this the right direction!?”
“According to feng shui, tarot, and physiognomy, this direction is definitely correct. Liu Yen, just focus on driving properly!”
“Yeah, you bastard!”
Along with a sudden explosion, crushing trees and grass as it appeared—a single roofless jeep.
…A car? Were they seriously climbing the mountain in that thing right now? More than that, was it even allowed to ride a car during class?
At the scene that went beyond common sense to an excessive degree, the moment Drukas and Andy stood stunned.
“Your Highness! Tree ahead!”
“You’re the only one who would treat me like this!”
Along with the long-haired petite female student driving the jeep, the black-haired female student in the passenger seat clenched her fist and swung it with full force into the empty air.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!
“Uwaaah!”
“Andy!”
Even though the fist didn’t touch anything and simply struck the air, the same explosive sound rang out, and trees and dirt exploded away. At that transcendent power, Andy was sent flying somewhere, and Drukas quickly grabbed his sword.
“These bastards…!”
“Ah, there’s a senior over there. Lane?”
“This makes the fifth one… yeah.”
“Huh, huh!?”
He had tried to cut the jeep in two in one strike, but his body wouldn’t listen as if it was being controlled by something. What reflected in his eyes was a silver-haired female student reaching her hand toward him and some guy with an annoying smile.
That was Drukas’s last memory.
Crunch!
“…I think we just ran over a senior with the wheels.”
“Don’t worry, Lucas. He’s an academy senior, after all. He wouldn’t get hurt by something like this, right?”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
“More importantly, ahead! There’s a barrier ahead!”
“Got it.”
Namgung Min, who had broken through the fifth nameless senior, urgently pointed ahead. Following that finger, Lucas activated his class skill.
The effect was simple. Lucas could use and dispel all forms of magic. Even if it was an academy instructor, if they were a mage, they couldn’t help but be a lesser version of Lucas. It was a fraudulent skill. With a simple gesture from him, the magic barriers installed throughout the forest began disappearing one by one.
“Excellent!”
The princess’s punches that blew away obstacles and Lucas’s barrier dispels. The hidden seniors or monsters were stopped by Lane’s psychokinesis, and they overtook them riding the jeep that Liu Yen had taken out. What an amazing combination!
“As expected of Liu Yen! This jeep’s performance is incredible! It’s not even a paved road but a mountain, yet it’s speeding along smoothly!”
“It’s normally toy-sized and grows when I want it to. It’s an artifact. Comparing it to a normal car is an insult, you bastard!”
I had only said it would be nice if there was something to ride, but to think she’d take out something like this! Liu Yen, I really love you!
“…Liu. As far as I know, this thing costs several billion. Is it okay to use it so casually?”
“Hey, Lucas. Didn’t I tell you to stop meddling? I have ten more of these.”
“Hmm, then there’s no problem.”
Vroooooooom!!!
Trusting in Liu Yen who was driving the monstrous jeep with its distinct engine roar roughly yet skillfully, Namgung Min picked up a tree branch he had placed on the passenger seat. He roughly stood it on the rattling vehicle floor and moved it around with his hand.
“Aha, it’s that way!”
“…Namgung Min, it’s not that I don’t trust your ability, but is that one tree branch really enough?”
“Of course, Your Highness. It’s a state-of-the-art fortune-telling method using feng shui and the Eight Trigrams.”
“State-of-the-art fortune-telling…!”
Of course it was bullshit. In the first place, where was there a fortune that told you the exact location? If he just told them the direction without doing anything, they might get suspicious, so he was pretending to tell fortunes appropriately. Of course, the directions he gave them──
“Haha, it seems the academy has twisted the ley lines.”
“What do you mean?”
“This fortune-telling looks at the ley lines and the sky, but the ley lines are twisted like a maze. It won’t be easy to find it in one go?”
“Well, since Namgung Min’s… fortune-telling was proven at the entrance ceremony, the academy side must be on guard… too.”
“Indeed, if they just let fortune-telling be, this kind of class would be meaningless from the start, right? Knowing all the directions, locations, and traps, why would they do it?”
──If I made excuses like this, it was solved. Of course there was a limit to this too. He had said it was hard to find, not that he couldn’t find it, so if they kept wandering they would get suspicious. But he had something to believe in here.
“…There’s a senior hiding up ahead.”
He had noticed it a bit late, but the academy side wasn’t telling them to find it without any hints. When he looked around with Observation, along with camouflaged academy students, traps, and barriers, hidden arrows or marker-like hints were visible! How much he had cheered inwardly the moment he saw those, these guys probably had no idea.
“Turn right up ahead!”
“Having a fortune teller sure makes it convenient. Okay, let’s go!”
I’ll end this stupid class quickly!