The Prologue Was Never Normal (2)

The square emptied in an instant. Some students vanished to hunt monsters, others to search for the hidden markers. Everyone moved fast. Of course they did. Meanwhile, I—the guy with zero strength, zero agility, and zero mana—was left standing there like an idiot before trudging my way into the forest.

As soon as I reached the edge of the woods, Silph shot out with a cheerful pororong and began spinning circles around me.

“Found anything yet?”

-Yeah. That rock over there. That boulder. That tree.

I followed where Silph pointed, digging through the dirt and flipping over stones. When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I told her to cut down a tree because I had no idea how to handle it myself, she nearly made me cough up blood, so I decided to skip the trees entirely.

Goddamn it… Isn’t this a bit much?

I could feel that the stronger I grew, the stronger Silph became too. But the amount of life force drained from me every time she used her power was increasing exponentially. Wasn’t this kind of unfair?

Wait, let’s think logically. If my life force increases, then obviously the spirits should be able to use their power for longer periods and maintain it longer too. The game designers must have balanced this like absolute dogshit for a situation this broken to even exist.

-Cain. You. Mad?

“Hmm… No, haha… Just pissed at some idiot who set this up.”

Since this job didn’t even appear in the original game, they probably just slapped some half-assed settings on it, right?

I kept frowning as I thought about it, and Silph started hovering anxiously in front of me, clearly worried. It’s not your fault, so don’t look so down.

I waved my hand vaguely, telling her to look for the next marker, and continued wandering through the forest.

Every now and then I heard explosions and crashes in the distance. Looked like some people were already fighting monsters. Well, I was probably the weakest one here, so the smartest move was to avoid running into anything and stay hidden as much as possible.

Using Silph to fight based on my vague memories had worked out okay so far, but I needed something more concrete. I decided to organize my immediate plans once I officially ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entered the academy.

First, I had to study circle-based magic… and to make it look like I was actually using magic, I’d need to learn the theory too… Ugh. I thought I was done with studying after college. I knew people studied their whole lives, but I never expected to be reborn as a student again. And in another world, no less.

-Cain. Underground here. And… there’s a monster up ahead.

“A monster? Hmm…”

Honestly, I didn’t want to fight it. No matter how fast I leveled up or how strong I became, my stat limitations were painfully clear. I already knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the growth speed of the others. When I checked the status windows of the students who had rushed ahead, there were already plenty of ridiculous monsters among them.

My stats really were pathetically low. I clicked my tongue and looked back at Silph, who was waiting for my answer.

“What do you think? Can I take on a monster?”

-Hmm…

Silph rested her tiny chin on her hand and began thinking seriously. Was she running simulations in her head? After pondering for a long time without noticing my growing impatience, she finally opened her mouth with a refreshed expression, as if everything had been neatly organized.

-No. Cain dies.

“Can’t I at least try fighting it?”

-Yeah. Maybe a scratch or two.

Isn’t that a little too harsh?

When I made a slightly sulky face, Silph tried to show she was sorry, but whatever! I’m mad now!

No matter how calmly and coldly I tried to assess the situation, I was still human. It was impossible not to feel disappointed in my own abilities.

“Sigh… Let’s go.”

-Uh. Um… Yeah.

Did I sound too childish? Wait, but my current body really is a child, isn’t it? Anyway, Silph probably wouldn’t care, and she wouldn’t even understand the concept. Spirits experienced the flow of time differently from us.

The sounds of fighting echoed nonstop from every direction. They must have released more monsters than I expected. From what I remembered, the prologue was supposed to be about the player learning basic combat sense after the tutorial, then finishing by defeating the monster guarding the forest exit. Along the way, you sometimes had to avoid strong monsters or team up with others.

And sometimes you had to fight other students who were after the same markers.

“…Huh?”

A man stood silently in front of me, staring. The blood-stained club in his hand made it pretty obvious—he’d decided to steal other people’s markers instead of finding his own.

Destin Academy was a meritocracy. As long as no one actually died, the school practically encouraged these little “disputes.” Still, having someone jump out at me so suddenly was a bit much…

I used Spirit's Eye to check his basic information.

A guy aiming for the combat department, huh. He didn’t have many skills, but his level was the real problem. Classic strength build.

I slowly backed away, trying not to provoke him like one would a wild beast. Even if it wasn’t much, I had gathered some markers of my own. These were my precious points! No way I’m giving them up!

When I stared at him with clear hostility, Chrome watched me for a moment before letting out a snort of laughter.

“Hah, what the hell are you? I’ve been watching and you’re just a pathetic weakling. How did trash like you even get in here?”

The way he spat those words the second he saw me told me he wasn’t exactly raised with manners. Logically, I should run away right now. But after hearing that kind of bullshit, how could I just run?

I quietly called Silph and took a deep breath.

…Yeah. I can win. I can do this. …I can do this.

“Hand over all your markers. I’ve got a conscience, so I’ll give you back the one with the lowest points.”

“…Fuck off.”

“Huh?”

“I said fuck off, you bastard. You deaf?”

“This son of a bitch…!”

Chrome’s eyes immediately went bloodshot as he charged at me. Yeah, it was guys like this—simple-minded and stupid—that made provoking them actually fun.

I took a deep breath and felt my heart pounding violently. Thump. Thump. Thump.

In a way, this would be my first real fight. The tutorial had been prepared in advance, after all.

I swung my hand and sent Silph flying toward Chrome as I gave the order.

“Silph! Tie up his legs!”

“Silph? You some kind of summoner? I don’t see shit, you bastard!!”

Chrome roared as he raised his club high, charging in to swing it down—

Swish.

A faint sound of wind passed near his leg, and the area around his right thigh quickly turned red.

“K… Kuaaaagh…! You fucker! What kind of dirty trick was that?! A trap? Did you set up a booby trap?!”

“Why the hell would I tell you that, dumbass!”

I shouted back while increasing the distance between us. Why would I explain my moves? Are you stupid?

His right leg must have been cut pretty deep. He was starting to limp. Yeah. These idiots who only relied on strength. If I used my advantages properly, I could win.

“How are you using magic without a magic circle?! It really is a booby trap, isn’t it?!”

I ignored Chrome’s yelling and ordered Silph to attack again. She sent another sharp gust of wind at his right leg. This time he collapsed, screaming in pain.

“You… you fucking bastard…! Magic? Is that magic? Where the hell did you hide the magic circle?! I’m gonna kill you…!”

His words only confirmed my advantage. To use magic, you needed a kind of formula. To convert the attribute-less mana floating in nature into the form you wanted, you had to infuse it with your own mana and apply an attribute formula. In other words, magic was fundamentally about imitating the power of nature.

And I was commanding spirits—who were nature itself. There was no need for a magic circle.

…Huh? Could this actually be a viable path?

Even while limping, Chrome forced himself back to his feet. Just look at that venomous face. If I didn’t finish him off properly here, he was definitely going to cause me trouble later. Like hell I’d let that happen.

The thing I learned most while living this shitty life was that if you look weak, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you get stepped on. You hear me, asshole?

I ordered Silph to slice his left leg as well.

“K-Kuaaaaagh! F… Fuck…! Fine! I’ll leave! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Just let me go, damn it!”

“Is that how you ask for a favor, you piece of shit? Keep swearing at me and see what happens.”

How could I just let a guy with a mouth like a sewer walk away? Some random extra I didn’t even know.

I walked up to him, kicked his chest to knock him onto his back, then smiled as I spoke.

I can’t live with just taking hits. I’ll pay you back the same way, you bastard.

“Hand over all your markers. I don’t have a conscience, so I’m taking everything.”