Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Deepening Misconception
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Rumble—!
The massive Blue Guardian crumbled into pieces.
At the same time, system windows popped up like fireworks.
Ding!
[You bring the boss yourself, leave the fighting to your teammates, and then kill it because it's annoying anyway!]
[A perfectly slothful boss strategy!]
[Sloth +300!]
‘….’
Hmm.
Well, it's not wrong.
But the wording makes me sound like total trash.
And this system—started off so straightforward, but now it feels like it's getting snarky...?
Nah, probably just my imagination.
Anyway.
It was an incredibly slothful and efficient strategy.
Using the wall-clip glitch to pull the boss out and take it down easily.
It was a common trick in the game, but doing it in reality made me look a bit insane.
Still, if it makes me stronger, isn't that a good thing?
I just gained a whopping 300 sloth points, after all.
That's when I was feeling pretty satisfied.
"Um, Jiron..."
A mumbling voice came from below.
It was Yuria.
Come to think of it, earlier I'd used [Shadow Barrier] to shield her from the Guardian's strike.
Even in the game, you could block allies with Shadow Barrier, but the hitbox was so narrow you had to overlap completely.
So I'd cast it right up against her, ending up in this awkward position like I was hugging her.
"Ah."
I immediately let go of my arms.
Her face flushed red as she scurried out of my embrace.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yeah, I... I'm fine...."
When I asked, she awkwardly expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, Jiron, I really would've..."
"As long as you're not hurt."
I waved it off casually.
It was a disaster I brought in the first place, after all.
Of course I'd do that much.
That's when Artel approached from a distance.
She first checked on Yuria's condition.
"Yuria, you're not hurt anywhere?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks to Jiron...."
"Phew. That's a relief."
Artel finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then she glanced at me briefly before lowering her eyes.
Her expression wasn't bright.
"I wanted to show a better performance. Sorry."
"Huh?"
"I let my guard down. I didn't expect it to switch targets that fast...."
‘Oh, Artel. We won, so why the long face?’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
She'd improved a lot traveling with me, but that self-blaming habit was still chronic.
Blocking a berserk Guardian was even tough for S-Rankers.
No need to beat herself up over that.
They'd held out until berserk mode—that alone was an impressive feat.
Plus, that final attack.
It was definitely the [Frostburst] spell.
Normally, Artel couldn't cast such advanced magic yet.
Even with the [Fragment of Eternal Snow] I gave her, using it in real combat already?
She was growing plenty well.
So I placed a hand on her shoulder to encourage her.
"Nah. You did great."
"...What?"
"Especially that last spell. It was awesome."
"You saw that, huh."
"Yeah. Let me just add the finishing blow and take it easy."
This wasn't empty flattery—it was the truth.
It might look like I one-shot the boss, but that wasn't the case at all.
No matter how powerful my [Hack and Slash] was, one-shotting a full-HP field boss was impossible.
I'd only landed the killing blow after Artel's attacks and Yuria's buffs pushed it into instant-death range.
"...Hehe. Even if it's just flattery, thanks for the high praise."
But Artel seemed to think I was joking to cheer her up and smiled faintly.
It wasn't a joke.
Anyway, her mood seemed lifted.
Then, she suddenly narrowed her eyes at me.
"But Jiron."
"Yeah?"
"Didn't you say earlier you used up all your energy stealing that gem?"
"...."
"That performance didn't look like someone who was exhausted at all."
She remembered that.
It was just my Jiron-style nonsense to slack off.
I averted my gaze and cleared my throat.
"Well, you guys held out so well that I got some recovery time in the meantime."
"...Liar."
Artel gave me a look of disbelief, then burst out laughing again.
She wasn't going to press further.
I smoothly turned to Yuria to change the subject.
"You did great too, Yuria."
She nodded shyly.
That's when it happened.
Vrrr!
The mana crystal slate vibrated.
Boss clear settlement complete.
[Blue Guardian defeated!]
[Score: 1000 points acquired!]
[Blue Crystal]
[Score: 500-point bonus!]
[Team total score: 3500 points]
"Not bad."
I nodded at the numbers on the screen.
"Wow...!"
Yuria's eyes went wide.
"Th-Three thousand five hundred points?! That's over a thousand more than second place?!"
Just as she said.
The Crown Prince's team in second had just over 2000 points—an overwhelming gap.
The first exam results were basically decided.
Reminded me of elementary school, when I'd cheat through summer homework in one day and spend the rest at the PC bang.
"Now we can relax."
"With this lead, maybe we really can."
"We can't slack off completely. Other teams might catch up."
Artel said, but she looked relieved too.
"Oh, here, Yuria—fruit for you too."
For a mood booster, I pulled out another bipir fruit I'd saved.
"Hm? Oh, thank you."
Yuria hesitated at the weird-looking fruit but trusted me and took a bite.
"......!"
Her face lit up in surprise.
"It-It tastes amazing! So sweet...!"
Her reaction piqued Artel's curiosity.
She pulled out the fruit she'd pocketed and tentatively bit into it.
"...!"
Artel's eyes widened slightly too.
Shocked by the luxurious taste contrasting its appearance.
Yuria munched away like a hamster, then suddenly looked at me.
"By the way, Jiron."
"Yeah?"
"How did you do it? Racking up points at that insane speed—when did you even have time to grab these fruits?"
I pressed a finger to my lips and grinned.
"Secret."
"Not fair!"
And so, we leisurely passed the remaining exam time in high spirits.
***
At that moment, the base camp control room was wrapped in silence.
Everyone had witnessed Jiron's outlandish strategy.
The Guardian takedown was shocking enough, but what came before was even more astonishing.
"Whoa...."
The chief mage from the Magic Tower sighed first.
He looked utterly baffled by the magic Jiron had just shown.
"That teleportation was definitely spatial transfer magic. But no chant, no magic circle...."
Advanced spatial transfer magic....
Cast instantly by a mere 1st-year cadet?
It shattered all magical common sense.
"What's even crazier is that positioning."
One magic department professor muttered in disbelief.
"That spot beyond the unmarked wall on the map. How did he know the exact coordinates? A slight miscalculation could've caused a massive disaster."
"He sensed the mana emanating from the blue crystal in the cave."
Professor Kate answered.
"We designed the dungeon boss room to leak mana so teams could locate it... but I didn't expect anyone to detect it precisely from outside the cave."
She wore a smile that was now openly proud, beyond mere satisfaction.
The other professors were speechless.
"Unprecedented."
"Frightening genius."
They swallowed dryly watching Jiron on the screen.
"...And just as slothful as his talent."
Someone added.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
***
The first exam ended.
Final rankings:
[1st. Jiron Team - 3750 points]
[2nd. Crown Prince Team - 2550 points]
[3rd. Saintess Team - 2200 points]
[4th. Askal Team - 1950 points]
[5th. Cain Team - 1920 points]
As expected.
Our team took an overwhelming first.
Followed by the Crown Prince and Saintess.
Askal and Cain settled comfortably in the top ranks.
[9th. Karen Team - 1600 points]
[10th. Ciel Team - 1550 points]
Surprisingly, Four Emperors members Karen and Ciel barely scraped into the top 10.
"Those top S-Rankers in 9th and 10th?"
Cadets wondered, but I knew exactly why.
First, 10th place—Ciel's team.
Total disaster, no doubt.
‘She probably went solo the whole time.’
I could picture it.
"Bored— so boring—"
Stubbornly my-pace Ciel.
Gave up syncing with teammates ages ago, roamed the forest as she pleased.
Result: Teammates tried without a leader, got picked off one by one.
Massive score penalty from team wipes.
Yet she soloed enough for 10th... honestly monster performance, maybe even beyond my first place.
Then 9th—Karen's team.
Different reason from Ciel.
"Just follow me!!!"
Overzealous—she outpaced her team.
She charged ahead; followers exhausted chasing.
Scary part: zero malice.
Always pursuing strength, hanging with powerhouses—Karen doesn't get the weak's perspective.
‘The rest matches the original mostly.’
The first exam curtain fell successfully as planned.
But...
One unexpected thing happened.
Weird rumors about me spread.
I'd considered sharp-eyed folks noticing my last-hitting, possibly souring opinion.
Kinda sorry, but extras got hit—‘What can you do?’ mindset, ignored.
But no.
"Jiron...! Rumor is you didn't move a step from spawn and massacred hordes of beasts—is that true?!"
What the hell is that?