Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Not All A-Rank Items Are Necessarily Good
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Midterms were over, and the next day was Saturday.
I had come to the mana training room early in the morning as usual and was checking the rewards from safely clearing this main story.
Reward: Differential SP based on final ranking (2000 SP), 1 F-Rank Skill Draw Ticket, 1 F~A-Rank Item Draw Ticket acquired.
"Not bad... but overall, it's a bit disappointing."
I had already been certain that I couldn't take first place due to my stats and the growth limits available early on.
But I never imagined I'd lose to Sophia so overwhelmingly.
Even depending on player skill, rankings could shift, but without Wol Ha-yeon,
Kang Hyun-sol had always placed first or second in midterms.
So I guess I thought about it too simply.
I figured Sophia Litwell would be weak, but... she wasn't at all.
I had somewhat suspected from the artificial dungeon evaluation that she was different from the Sophia I knew.
But once we actually fought, excluding minor habits like the left index finger tremble noted in the setting document when casting her personal magic,
everything from basic judgment to actions was completely new.
Thanks to that, I suffered a clean defeat in this spar...
"Well, 2000 SP means it's not a total loss."
Grateful for the rewards, I pulled out the skill draw ticket.
Ding—!
Will you use the F-Rank Skill Draw Ticket?
[YES / NO]
"YES."
Pressing the button in midair triggered a roulette wheel like the trait draw before. It spun rapidly and stopped, arrow pointing to a skill.
Congratulations! You have acquired the F-Rank Skill [Magic Spark].
"... Oh, um..."
I hadn't expected much from an F-Rank skill, but this was even more useless than anticipated.
F-Rank skill Magic Spark.
As I recalled... it gathered a small amount of mana at the fingertips to generate irregular currents.
Too weak for direct damage to enemies, but it temporarily stimulated the target's nerves on hit, briefly slowing their movements.
Hard to control, so beginners might feel a recoil like a numb fingertip.
That was the gist of its effects.
Gazing at the newly added skill in my status window, I shrugged lightly.
"Hm... at least it's a magic-type skill... silver lining?"
Some skills could be upgraded and strengthened by accumulating proficiency.
But only a tiny fraction out of hundreds,
and the conditions were so strict it was practically impossible...
Magic-type skills were among the easiest to upgrade, though.
Of course, I didn't think this Magic Spark could be upgraded.
"Yeah, let's think positive. I used up the bad luck, so the item should be good, right?"
Riding this momentum, I hoped the F~A-Rank Item Draw Ticket would beat the insane odds for an A-Rank. I used it.
And...
"What...? No way!! This actually dropped?"
A golden flash unique to A-Rank item draws appeared, and a square something dropped from midair.
Congratulations! You have acquired the A-Rank Item [Infinite Bento Bag].
"......"
The joy of drawing an A-Rank item was short-lived.
Checking the item info killed my surging adrenaline instantly.
"... Sigh, guess today just isn't my day. Should've saved it... Item info."
Ding—!
[Infinite Bento Bag][Rank: A]
A magic tool that looks like an ordinary bento box but has a small sub-space magic circle inside.
It can store food or drinks, and time inside the bag is frozen, preserving everything—temperature, humidity, aroma, texture—in its original state.
It automatically optimizes the food's condition to the user's specified time.
*TIP: Hand it to Amelia, and you might get an amazing reward?
Confirming the item info made it even clearer.
This... was a total dud.
Or more precisely,
for me, it was completely useless, but
as the description said, giving it to Amelia could make it pretty valuable.
The Infinite Bento Bag was a super-rare 0.01% drop from the heroine gift bundle,
a cheat item that maxed Amelia's affection if drawn.
For Amelia, who was dead serious about cooking and loved eating,
a bento box that let her enjoy food in perfect condition anytime, anywhere was worth its weight in gold.
"Ha... fine, it's drawn, so it's good. Good."
Yeah, at first glance, you might think: it's something Amelia loves, so give it to her and get something in return.
I even thought that briefly upon seeing the bento box.
But the problem was the unmentioned effect: it permanently fixed affection at maximum.
I was already in a precarious state, forcibly entangled with heroines amid all sorts of bad luck.
If I gave it to Amelia and the effect somehow maxed her affection (assuming affection stats exist),
it could genuinely break my already shaky restraint.
With pretty high... no, very high probability.
"... What should I do..."
I rubbed my dry face and stared at the bento box on the floor again.
Giving it to Amelia could net an A-Rank item of equal value.
Or even a solid B-Rank weapon, but the restraint risk escalates.
And if the restraint vanishes, A-Rank items and S-Rank traits mean nothing.
Skills, items, traits matter in fights against demons, but stats are paramount.
"Sigh... I really don't know."
Leaving the bento box on the floor, I leaned against one wall of the mana training room and sighed.
Countless scenarios swirled in my head.
The benefits of giving it to Amelia, and conversely,
the overflowing potential downsides.
Both equally realistic, making my head ache more.
After agonizing, I decided to finish mana bullet training first and ponder more later. I stood.
"Yeah... handle what needs doing first, clear my head. Rash decisions could end me."
I stored the bento box in my inventory, then approached Yoon Seo-rin, who had silently been firing mana bullets from one side—unclear when she'd arrived.
Kaboom—! Bang—!
Continuous explosions ringing in my ears from afar, shockwaves scattering all mana in the room.
"When did you get here? Make some noise if you're here. Why shoot mana bullets alone?"
As I approached cautiously, Yoon Seo-rin dropped her held pistol to the floor and replied.
"You were staring at the bento box deep in thought, so I didn't want to interrupt. Just warming up. Done agonizing?"
"Ah... you saw all that? Embarrassing."
"Yeah, your eyes were piercing right through it. If you'd put that intensity into mana bullets, you could've done better against Sophia."
"R... really? Then I'll try harder from now on."
"... Huh?"
Seeing Kang Hyun-sol take her joke seriously, a flustered Yoon Seo-rin waved her hands and yelled.
"Ah, no, it was just a joke. I... heard friends exchange light jokes, so I tried..."
"Oh, a joke? I never imagined you'd make one."
'Getting a joke from Yoon Seo-rin... is this what ultimate fan service feels like? Feels better than expected.'
With the game world real, even the model soldier high school girl Yoon Seo-rin was cracking jokes.
No regrets if I died now... well, plenty actually,
but things to brag about were piling up—like Sophia and Amelia's spar eval. If only community access worked.
Though no way to communicate with users now.
Shaking off stray thoughts, I continued.
"Anyway, just checking the bento box. Good luck with today's spar."
"... Okay. Using flame, penetration, and scatter engravings today. Make mana bullets to counter."
Yoon Seo-rin listed today's engravings, conjuring 20 mana bullets midair and engraving them.
As I watched them spew flames and spin wildly, I promptly
used a tiny bit of Star Mana like in the last spar, fusing it into 1-circle spells for mana bullets.
"Then... I'll attack first?"
"Anytime."
Thus began the spar with Yoon Seo-rin. A happy weekend.
I believed today would be ordinary.
Of course, until meeting that woman.
Four hours later.
After finishing mana bullet practice with Yoon Seo-rin, and hearing Wol Ha-yeon couldn't do sword training due to personal matters, I met Sophia and wrapped up shapeshift rune research.
Like player days, after main story, I'd rest three days doing nothing but self-improvement.
Even in this reality, diligently keeping the routine: blankly sitting on a park bench near the dorms for a break.
"Ah... nice and warm."
The perfect sunlight wrapping my body made me want to nap right there.
I tilted my head back blankly, gazing at the sky.
Peaceful. Quiet.
Such time felt long overdue.
Then.
"Excuse me... are you Kang Hyun-sol?"
A unfamiliar female student's voice came from the side.
Turning, a perfectly ironed-uniform student council member stood beside me.
"Uh... yes. What's up?"
"Ah! Glad I found you on time. Please follow me. The Student Council President is looking for you."
"...... What? The Student Council President wants me?"
"Student Council President Yoo Ji-an! She has personal business with you. Come along."
Her words froze me solid.
'... What? Yoo Ji-an summoned me personally? Why?'
My mind went blank.
Yoo Ji-an never moved first unless the player sought her or met conditions.
Her suddenly calling for me?
Staying calm, I didn't follow immediately and probed her purpose first.
"Um... could I know what it's about first?"
"That's... I don't know details. She said she'd explain everything upon meeting and to relay that."
"......"
Bad feeling.
Past variables were manageable, but this felt like big trouble.
I sensed a reason for Yoo Ji-an seeking me out.
"Got it. Lead the way."
I stood from the bench and requested guidance.
The member nodded and led ahead. Once some distance apart, she whispered inaudibly, like to herself.
"Phew... good thing. If you'd refused, I'd have used the special anesthetic perfume—made with the President's help recently—that can subdue a B-Rank beast in one go, and dragged you by force."