Chapter 7
Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Word of Command
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What the hell.
“That weirdo, the one who takes first place among the freshmen! They’ll be placed in at least B Class, no exceptions!”
I’ve never wanted to be top of the class.
I’m not the type to chase after fancy titles, nor do I crave recognition that matches my skills.
This body of mine has to cough up blood just to utter a single word.
And yet, because I caught the dean’s eye, I end up as top freshman without even taking the exam, turning me into the target for every newbie.
If this isn’t ridiculous, then what is?
‘….’
At first, I just went with the flow passively.
It felt easier that way, like the bare minimum safety net.
‘But what the hell is this?’
Everyone’s treating it like a game, assigning scores, rankings, sorting the strong from the weak.
Some swing around power under the guise of noble rules, while others cling desperately below them.
‘I'm tired of it.’
I just wanted to stay quiet.
No, moderately so—just enough.
Without bothering anyone or relying on anyone.
Not stepping out more than necessary, but getting the minimum results when I need them.
In my own way, at my own pace.
Just surviving in this academy, breathing, without any incidents.
Is that really so hard?
Even my single step forward becomes an opportunity for someone else.
‘Opportunity.’
…Ridiculous. Opportunity, my ass?
For some, I’m a stepping stone to trample and climb.
For others, something to exploit.
Violence and coercion, all justified by that damn word “exam.”
Yeah, this whole situation is just an extension of that bullshit game.
‘….’
A deep-seated revulsion boils up from inside.
I raise my hand and stroke the edge of my mask.
It’s not for show.
More like a brief prayer to steady myself.
Even knowing I’ll cough blood, knowing my throat will tear and my guts will twist.
I force these words out, deliberate and clear.
“Kneel.”
- *Thud!!*
A wave of impact crashes in.
At my 【Word of Command】, the freshmen’s knees slam the floor in unison.
‘….’
My throat burns.
‘Swallow.’
Blood surges up my esophagus.
The metallic tang.
Every muscle in my body screams.
‘Endure.’
If I spit this blood out now, it’s all over.
If I do, they’ll think, “Oh, so even he has limits.”
‘No chance.’
Might as well use it since it’s come to this.
That “top freshman” title.
Make sure they never even dream of surpassing it.
- *Step.*
I walk toward Carnel, who’s half-kneeling, still out of it.
“E-eh…?”
A bewildered voice.
Her trembling eyes look up at me, mind still foggy.
I take her hand and lift it.
Like a handshake.
I hold it just like that, motionless.
“Eh….”
Carnel flails about, clueless to the meaning.
About ten minutes pass like that.
I let go.
‘This should be enough for A Class, right?’
But does it even matter?
Veronica’s shoving me into S Class anyway.
‘Hmm….’
My arm’s sore.
Shouldn’t have held on so long?
‘Damn it.’
Yeah, definitely a mistake.
I activate 【Silent Step】 and slip into a corner.
‘Plenty of time left… might as well rest.’
Blood trickles from my mouth.
I roughly wipe under my chin with my sleeve.
‘Daring to make me look like this?’
Mana threads weave through the air.
- *Plop.*
A few small gold coins drop into my hand.
A petty revenge on Carnel.
***
“Hah…!”
A freshman reaches desperately for Carnel.
Just before their fingertips brush her hem.
《Time / Advanced Magic》
「Rewind」
A ripple shimmers, and the hand retraces its path exactly.
As if nothing happened.
“…”
Carnel stands frozen in place.
‘Damn…!!’
But the mood is utterly foul.
‘The more I think about it, the worse it gets…!!’
Something surges up inside her.
The reason was clear.
Something inexplicable had happened—something even she couldn’t analyze.
‘…Adel!!’
That masked weirdo made everyone kneel with a single word.
‘Kneeling from one word?’
Does he think he’s a dragon or something?
‘What kind of magic is that…!?’
Carnel was undeniably at the pinnacle of magical talent.
Yet even she couldn’t grasp a single clue about what Adel had just done.
‘No way… spatial attribute…?’
The ultra-rare attribute, maybe one in a million.
‘But that shameless bastard…?!’
No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t add up.
She didn’t want to accept it.
Absolutely not.
‘No, to begin with… it doesn’t make sense….’
Magic circle? None.
Lingering mana? Zero.
And above all.
‘His mana level was 0, wasn’t it?!’
Literal “zero.”
Meaning he can’t use magic.
‘How can someone without mana even cast spells…!’
The premise crumbles, the theory invalidated.
‘…So that’s why he’s top freshman…?’
It could be true.
Maybe that’s exactly why.
But still!
She couldn’t accept it no matter what.
‘Ugh…!’
Humiliating!
The fact that she felt defeated by that guy…!
‘I’ll expect better…!!’
Next time, no mercy.
***
The class placement exam ended.
Naturally, I landed in A Class.
I held Carnel’s hand for a solid ten minutes—anything less would’ve been weird.
And it’s not over yet.
The newly created S Class.
I heard the confirmed S Class students get dragged to the dean’s office soon.
Probably teleport there in the blink of an eye.
And then.
[ ! ]
[ You have earned the recognition of Student Council President ‘Carnelia von Delbar.’ ]
[ Achievement ‘A Class’ acquired! ]
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【A Class】
You’re overflowing with talent!
: Intelligence stat increases by 1.
You might even make some friends!
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘Is this thing mocking me?’
Overflowing with talent?
‘You little shit.’
At this point, it feels intentional.
Of all things, it gives me ‘Intelligence.’
What I need right now is stamina or strength.
Not a few extra grams of brain cells.
‘Does it directly boost my IQ? Or magic aptitude?’
‘Either way, it’s meh.’
Ambiguous, half-assed, and seriously pissing me off.
What grinds my gears even more is that this is the first stat increase since possession—and it’s Intelligence.
‘This is making me extremely, extremely pissed.’
A monumental day, my first stat-up.
And it feels this tragic.
Truly lamentable.
‘Sigh, time to sleep.’
At least now that placements are done, I can officially use the dorms.
As top freshman, the dorm should be decent.
‘Oh, Lev.’
On the way to the dorms.
A familiar silhouette catches my eye.
Lev de Lumière.
I turn to say hi.
‘…Huh?’
Another figure enters my view.
‘…Klaus?’
Someone brushes past me.
A face so familiar it’s etched into my memories.
The protagonist of ‘Akarejang.’
Klaus.
But…
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Klaus ]
Attribute
: 「Light」
Unique Skill
: 【…】
Unique Traits
: 【Growth-Type Protagonist】
: 【…】
Stats
: Stamina: 18 (C)
: Strength: 16 (C)
: Intelligence: 16 (C)
: Willpower: 11 (D)
: Mana: 10 (E)
Talents
: 【…】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Oh god.
‘Who dis?’
The Klaus I knew wasn’t this weakling.
‘Where’d all those skills and traits go?’
The unique skill slot’s empty.
The traits look trimmed down, with just one left.
‘Growth-Type Protagonist?’
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Growth-Type Protagonist】
A protagonist who grows!
: Talents will grow.
Even if they fall, the story doesn’t end.
The protagonist will surely live up to expectations.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘Well, look at you.’
Trying to flex protagonist vibes, huh?
Talents grow?
So right now, you’re trash.
‘Ah.’
My head throbs.
Forget greetings—I’ll die if I don’t lie down now.
It could be aftereffects of 【Word of Command】 or backlash from 【Stigma】.
My condition’s was off.
My whole body was aching since earlier, and blood’s rising again.
- *Thud!*
My knees finally give out.
The body I’d been propping up collapses.
‘Ah, nosebleed.’
Even a nosebleed now.
My nose stings, all sticky.
Perfect timing to resent Carnel.
Not entirely her fault, but I wanna vent anyway.
At least 【Silent Step】 was active, so no one saw this pathetic scene.
‘…But should I be happy about that?’
Yeah, good that it didn’t get caught.
But even in pain, I can’t show it.
‘Something… something’s off….’
Is calling that a relief right?
Or is the whole situation just fucked?
‘Whatever.’
Thinking more just hurts my head.
‘I’ve done enough.’
I drag my shaky legs toward the dorm.
***
“We keep running into each other, huh? Nice to see you.”
And before I even glimpse the dorm’s ‘D’ in “Dorm,” I’m warped to the dean’s office.
“Oh god… talk about bad timing, huh?”
To reiterate, I didn’t teleport myself—I got teleported.
“Hmm… anyway, you’re in S Class.”
Veronica chats away like it’s nothing, eyeing my state.
Her shamelessness inspires awe beyond admiration.
“How about it? Pretty great, right?”
Seriously.
I’m thrilled to death.
“Huh? Say something. Isn’t it great?”
I’m seriously gonna die.