Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Gaining Points from Infamy
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How could it have increased by 50?
[400 people remember your face.]
[You have acquired 2,000 points as a reward.]
"......What the hell."
This definitely wasn't normal speed.
Plus, 400 people—that's more than the entire student body.
There's no way the number of people who know me could grow this fast.
Then, suddenly, a hypothesis came to mind.
"No way."
I pulled out my smart student notebook and immediately accessed the school community, 'Great Sage's Forest.'
〈Great Sage's Forest Anonymous Free Bulletin Board〉
[Who uploaded the video of the 2nd-year last place from today's public test? That thing]
[That guy's totally screwed lol]
[The 2nd-year guy is named Kim Sunwoo, apparently he was originally reinforcement-type.]
[It's already spreading on other sites keke
That shit's hilarious]
[Isn't this a bit problematic? How did that guy even get in?]
[Other communities are blowing up too lol saying the school's standards have dropped lol]
[Don't we seriously need to investigate admissions corruption?]
Sure enough.
The school board was full of posts related to me.
"No wonder the points were going up..."
That was when it happened.
Ding!
[You have achieved the 'Bronze Star' accomplishment.]
[You have acquired 5,000 points as a reward.]
[1,000 people remember you.]
[You have acquired 5,000 points as a reward.]
Huh?
1,000 people?
I figured out what was going on. After browsing the internet for about 10 minutes, I saw that the video from today's public ranking evaluation test was blowing up across various community sites.
[Magic Academy Public Test Current Situation kek =i .avi]
►Comments
[Magic school standards have dropped a lot these days keke]
[Only that guy's weird.]
[That guy's in the same year as Chairman Kim Jincheol's disciple, total opposites.]
[Shouldn't we investigate admissions corruption? World's top school's standards lol]
"Ha..."
Who would've thought my test video would blow up like this.
It was absurd and embarrassing.
There were so many negative comments that I didn't read them, but oddly, it didn't feel that bad.
[Possessed Points: 2570]
Of course. In just a short time, I'd earned a whopping 14,000 points.
Adding the points from today's ranking evaluation test, that made 25,000 points in a single day.
"Just 5,000 more points to go."
The 'Returner's Wristwatch' I'd put in my cart.
I'd planned to save up slowly, but now I was only 5,000 short.
Now that purchase was right around the corner, I felt rushed.
"No more fame points coming in?"
I kept checking the video views obsessively, but at some point, it got buried under other videos, and the views stopped climbing.
Guess I have to give up here.
No.
I opened the internet and logged into 'Hermes,' the famous community site. 'Hermes' had the highest concurrent users in this world, making it the best place to boost views.
I hit post and uploaded my test video.
It was ridiculous that I was spreading the video mocking myself, but it had already spread everywhere anyway.
Might as well earn some points while I'm at it.
[Recent Magic School Student Level.avi]
"This should do it?"
I wondered if the title was right, but I posted it anyway.
I waited 5 minutes, hoping for views to explode.
[Views: 13]
"......It got buried."
My post had already been pushed to page 5. This level of traction wouldn't earn points.
"Title too bland?"
Yeah, thinking about it. In a place with tons of posts and content, even I wouldn't click something that generic.
In that case...
[Today's Shocking Scandal of the S-Rank Wizard Who Blew Up the Internet CCC]
Felt a bit guilty, but I needed points right now, no choice.
Post complete.
About a minute passed.
[Views: 1,543]
"Yes!"
Views shot up by 1,500 in an instant. And it was dominating page 1.
[Video]
[Sorry, just baited some attention to show this. Is the level of magic school students these days for real?]
►Comments
[Blocked.]
[What's with that guy? Seriously problematic.]
[Fuck, got clickbaited.]
[Sick in the head?]
[The level is low.]
[Never cast magic in my life, but I can tell that guy's trash at it.]
As expected, negative comments. But that was fine. Views were steadily climbing.
"This is it."
I started posting the exact same thing on other communities—five sites in total.
How much time passed since I began the grind(?)?
Along with explosive reactions, messages popped up before my eyes.
Ding!
[2,000 people remember you.]
[You have acquired 5,000 points as a reward.]
"Got it!"
It was a crude method, but I succeeded in reaching my goal.
Now I had enough points to buy the Returner's Wristwatch.
I immediately opened the point shop.
And checked my cart.
[Returner's Wristwatch (B)]
Category: Item
Description: Wristwatch used by the Returner. Contains special power.
[Continuous Effect]
►Turning Clock Hands
Stamina and mana regeneration speed increased by 200%.
Stamina and mana increased by 2.
Durability: B
Price: 30,000
30,000 points.
Who knew I'd earn this much in one day.
Praise the ranking test. Praise the internet.
[You have purchased Returner's Wristwatch (B).]
A pure white light burst in front of me. The light gradually took form, becoming a wristwatch.
A classic design. But it felt oddly luxurious.
I put the wristwatch on my wrist, and a message appeared.
[The effect of Returner's Wristwatch (B) has been activated.]
[Stamina and mana regeneration speed increased by 200%.]
[Stamina increased by 2.]
[Mana increased by 2.]
I felt vitality surge through my body. The mana depleted from mana discharge slowly began recovering.
Very satisfying.
The next morning, on the way to school.
Walking the hallway for morning classes, I felt students' gazes on me.
I knew it wasn't good—they weren't friendly looks.
"That's the guy, right?"
"Yeah. The one that blew up the internet yesterday."
From their whispers, it seemed to be about yesterday's video. Makes sense—I'd spread it everywhere, so rumors had spread through school.
Thanks to that, I got flak, and the whole school got dragged down too.
Of course, I didn't care much who got hate.
"Hey? Sunbae!"
Then, a voice called out to me from somewhere.
Turning, I saw a female student approaching.
"Hello."
A short-haired girl smiling brightly at me.
Acting like she knew me well, very friendly.
Glancing at her name tag on her chest: 'Song Seung-ah.'
Song Seung-ah? Who? Feels familiar.
As I stood there, the short-hair spoke.
"Don't you remember me?"
"Uh? ......Yeah."
"On the first day of school, I woke you up on the bus when you were sleeping, sunbae."
Ah...
I remembered.
The one who woke me on the bus the first day.
She was the one.
"Oh, right."
"Hehe. Nice seeing you again like this. Oh, but sunbae. You know you got famous on the internet overnight?"
"......Kinda."
"Don't pay it any mind. People are just bored and latching on."
Song Seung-ah patted my arm warmly, offering comfort.
Of course, it didn't really comfort me.
Was she mocking me? Though probably not.
"Seung-ah, we have class."
Then, another woman appeared behind Song Seung-ah. Her voice sounded very familiar.
Peeking behind Song Seung-ah, a face I knew well appeared.
'Choi Seo-yoon?'
The woman behind Song Seung-ah was none other than 1st-year rank 1, Choi Seo-yoon.
'No wonder she seemed familiar...'
Now I remembered.
Choi Seo-yoon's best friend, Song Seung-ah.
She had so little presence in the story that I'd forgotten.
"Ah, Seo-yoon. You know this sunbae, right? We watched the video together yesterday."
At Song Seung-ah's words, Choi Seo-yoon's gaze turned to me.
She flashed her signature bright smile and bowed politely.
"Hello, sunbae."
"......Hey. Hi."
I greeted back awkwardly, but it felt uncomfortable.
Choi Seo-yoon's bright smile at me. Maybe because I knew it was calculated.
My lukewarm reaction made her stare piercingly while keeping her bright smile.
"What?"
"Huh? Oh, no. You seem down. I saw the video—don't let it get to you!"
Choi Seo-yoon pumped her fist with a "Fighting!"
Her positive energy was overflowing as always.
"......Yeah, thanks."
Glancing at my wristwatch, class was starting soon.
The spot felt awkward anyway, time to head to the classroom.
"Gotta go to class."
"Ah, yes! Have a good one! We have class too."
"Alright."
"Yes, good luck!"
Leaving Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah's greetings behind, I headed to the classroom.
"Right."
Thinking about it, interacting emotionally with major characters gives points.
Should've talked more?
'No. Class is starting soon anyway.'
Opportunities to talk to major characters come plenty.
Later it is.
Then, a message appeared before my eyes.
[Character 'Choi Seo-yoon' feels curiosity toward you.]
[You have acquired 500 points as a reward.]
......Huh?
Why suddenly?
"The first origin of magic begins from the u century. Unlike today, magic consisted of 2 systems instead of 4..."
Morning class was Classical Magic Studies.
A woman teacher in her 60s droned on boringly.
The dull content induced sleepiness, but I focused anyway.
With my school-wide last place confirmed.
To raise my rank even a little, I had to participate actively in every class.
"Now, the sturdy 2-system magic structure collapses. What was the reason?"
I shot my hand up.
The teacher's gaze turned to me. She called me with a gentle smile.
"Yes, Kim Sunwoo."
"The emergence of the first reinforcement-type wizard in the 18th century, Blood Sword."
"Correct. Very good."
School grades include conduct points. Conduct makes up 20% of total score. For grade-raising accomplishments, manage conduct first.
"Blood Sword's emergence was a shocking event for medieval wizards preaching manifestation-type supremacy. Back then, manifestation wizards couldn't compete with Blood Sword at all. From that point, explosive research into manifestation magic began. And..."
Magic academy classes are quite complex and difficult.
Especially classical magic theory—full of intricate formulas, hard even for Lee Seo-jun to unravel easily.
But I could unravel them easily.
Because my unique trait 'Outsider's Benefit' provided all the basic external info.
In other words.
I was confident in note-taking subjects more than any student.
Even against Lee Seo-jun.
"......The Ancient Magic Society turned a blind eye to this situation. What resulted from that?"