Tough Love

I steeled my resolve to turn Luden into a new man, then used Insight to check his status window.

"His stats have gone up quite a bit… Did he gain some experience in the Skeleton Dungeon?"

Seeing that he had risen a full four levels since last time, it seemed Luden had also received a share of the experience from defeating Melek. Unlike before, when his stats had hovered around B to C rank, A-rank stats now stood out prominently.

…Moreover, the fact that he had acquired the Explosion Affinity trait meant he had become far more proficient with the exploding greatsword technique he used last time. In the game, Luden possessed a skill called Heavenly Explosion Sword—a crude name, yet quite powerful. It was the same technique he had used against Melek.

"The in-game description said it works by destabilizing the mana flowing through the greatsword, causing it to explode on physical impact…"

It was a rather unique skill. He had probably felt confident enough to challenge me because of that technique and his improved stats. But—

—Luden's stats looked pitiful compared to mine, which had been enhanced by Goliath's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Shield.

"…Even considering the requirement that Constitution must be over twenty points higher than Strength and Agility, this item is ridiculously good for a tank."

Thanks to defeating the Goblin General, my level had also risen by four, granting me additional stat points. I quickly invested all eight points into Constitution, then declared to Luden,

"I'll make a new man out of you."

***

Luden and I glared at each other, spear and greatsword in hand. Then the professor's signal to begin rang out.

The moment the match started, Luden charged at me, greatsword raised. He let out a rough breath and swung. His eyes were completely filled with rage. …It looked as though all the humiliation he had endured had finally boiled over.

Clang! The sound of greatsword meeting shield echoed through the air. Sparks flew where they collided. It was a fairly heavy blow. He stomped the ground again and brought the blade down in a massive overhead strike. The barrage of greatsword blows rained down like a storm, so fierce that the legs supporting me sank into the ground.

—I parried Luden's strikes and thrust my spear into the opening.

"Ugh!"

My spear sliced through the air, grazing his chainmail and cutting into his flesh. Luden let out a pained groan and charged again.

"About now…"

…Just as expected, I could feel mana gathering around his greatsword. Luden's Heavenly Explosion Sword was a fairly powerful skill that could deal significant damage even to Melek if it landed cleanly. Of course, that had been under somewhat special circumstances.

His greatsword was now surrounded by mana that looked ready to burst at any moment.

—I immediately activated Invincibility.

The instant his greatsword touched my shield, a massive explosion erupted. The entire training ground shook from the force. Luden's greatsword shattered into pieces along with the blast.

…Was it really worth destroying an entire greatsword just to use the technique once?

The murmurs of the surrounding students reached my ears. As thick smoke from the explosion filled the training ground, I cut through the haze and thrust my spear toward Luden.

"Kuh… How…?"

"Proof that your strength was lacking."

In truth, I could have interrupted him before his Heavenly Explosion Sword was complete, but I deliberately let him unleash it to show a performance that would crush his fighting spirit. That would make it easier to reform him afterward.

I reversed my grip on the spear so the shaft faced Luden.

"W-Wait… What are you trying to do…?"

The thick smoke meant the professor still couldn't see our silhouettes clearly. Holding the spear backward, I swung it at Luden with the rod of love.

—Thwack!

"Agh!… What the… Kuh…!"

—Thwack!

—Thud!

"Kuh… Save m…"

—Thwack!

Luden grabbed at my pant leg and begged. But he still didn't look sufficiently reformed to me, so I continued the staff… no, spear therapy.

"P-Please… Kuhhh…"

"Whew… That really took the edge off my stress."

Luden was literally sprawled on the floor like a rag. Soon the smoke cleared, and the students around us stared in shock at the result of the match.

"I-Impossible… How is he completely fine after that explosion…?"

"Luden… lost to Logue…?"

Everyone had apparently expected me to lose, because the murmuring grew even louder. Meanwhile, Hero was staring at me with a hardened expression. …He was probably surprised by the skill of the Logue who used to get beaten like a dog.

"M-Match over!"

The professor called the end of the match and rushed over to check on Luden. Since the safety bracelets were in place, his life wasn't in danger, but the fact that he looked that miserable was proof enough.

I felt a twinge of guilt for going a bit too far, but I endured it with the heart of a father who raises the rod for his wayward son.

"Now you must become a new man… Luden."

With a heavy heart, I returned to the stands.

***

My first meeting with Logue had been the worst. The moment I stopped him from hitting on Serein, he realized we were commoners and spewed insults I couldn't even bring myself to repeat. When he even tried to force himself on Serein, I couldn't stand it any longer and challenged him to a duel.

The result was my overwhelming victory. I deliberately beat him within an inch of his life. Afterward, he even suggested that I be punished. On top of that, he had the audacity to claim that Serein had tried to seduce him first. When I heard that, I went to find Logue. But even then, he was hurling more abuse at Serein, so I beat him again.

I had been waiting for the punishment that would follow. Given that the professors already disliked me for being a commoner, and the fact that I had beaten a classmate to the brink of death, I had been prepared for expulsion.

Then one day, the professor in charge who had always looked favorably on me came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to see me.

"Hero. The disciplinary committee has decided on your punishment."

"…Yes."

Prepared for expulsion, I asked about the details.

"Seven days of suspension, and fifty hours of community service within the academy."

"What?"

The punishment was far lighter than I had expected.

"Logue apparently requested that you not be punished. Strange, isn't it?"

That Logue…?

***

"Was he hiding his strength…? Why?"

I was shocked as I watched Logue. The pathetic skill he had shown during our duel was gone, replaced by a man standing before me with overwhelming martial prowess.

The explosion that had erupted from Luden's greatsword earlier was so powerful that even I couldn't confidently say I would survive a direct hit. Yet Logue stood there completely unscathed.

"Really… Is that the same Logue from back then?"

The arrogant, condescending expression he always wore was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he wore a pained look, as if carrying some hidden story, as he returned to the stands. He maintained that complicated expression the entire time he sat there.

***

"Hmm… Should I have hit him with the shield instead of the spear…?"

Beating him with the spear hadn't felt like I'd hit Luden enough, leaving me with a complicated feeling. If I'd used the shield, I could have disciplined him more thoroughly…

While I was lost in such thoughts, it was already Hero's turn for a match. His opponent was Theo, a male student who unusually wielded dual swords. He wasn't a playable character, but he was a fairly prominent one. Checking Theo's stats, his Agility was A-rank while the rest were around B. Quite respectable stats—better than most upper-middle-tier students. And that trait—

Thanks to that trait, he was a character who played a significant role in the Homunculus arc. …He bought time until the other students could evacuate, then died a glorious death.

Anyway, he was a likable enough character that he had stuck in my memory. Then the match between Hero and Theo began.

The duel ended in an instant. Hero's sword clashed with Theo's dual blades a few times before one of the blades snapped, and Hero's sword came to rest at Theo's throat.

"…He's even stronger than I thought."

As expected, the difference in stats couldn't be ignored. I couldn't even see what skill Hero had acquired.

"Is he a magic swordsman…? Or a spirit swordsman…? Or just a pure swordsman…?"

Just as I was about to use Insight to check Hero's status window, I heard his voice.

"Logue. I challenge you to a duel."

"……What?"