Chapter 4

Chapter 3 - 3. One Punch

●

Beatrix, the secretary of the student council at Elphant, is a decade-long friend of the student council president.

This also meant that she was more furious than anyone else about the current situation where Elnoir was running late for the scheduled time.

"Is this guy really crazy...!"

She gritted her teeth as she looked at the time on her magical wristwatch.

If it were anyone else, but especially someone as important as the student council president, they should have arrived ten minutes early and been getting all sorts of makeup applied to their body.

"Senior! Lord Claytan has just arrived...!"

"Lord Galantier has also just...!"

The information floating around only added fuel to her anger.

The Elphant admission duel was not just a school event but also a gathering where all the big shots of the empire came together to strengthen their ties.

Still, she couldn't show up late to such a basic thing as a scheduled time in front of those people...!

While thinking this, she tried to calm down the burning anger in her head, and then someone slowly opened the door to the student council room.

It was Elnoir, his entire body covered in blood.

"..."

"..."

As everyone, including Beatrix, fell silent at his appearance, Elnoir walked into the room and sighed, placing his sword on his desk.

Thanks to this, one of the students who saw the sword dripping with blood started to hiccup.

"What is it?"

Only then did Elnoir notice the strange silence and looked around, opening his mouth.

In response, Beatrix, rubbing her temples that were about to burst, replied.

"I have a lot of questions, but I can summarize it in one. Just answer me straight. What were you doing?"

"I did some cleanup."

Indeed, a decade-long friend.

The time it took for Beatrix to realize that this was a conversation that shouldn't be had in front of others was worthy of praise.

"...I'm sorry, but from here on, I think only the president and I should handle this. Can everyone please leave their seats?"

With a friendly smile, Beatrix dismissed the other students, and as soon as the last person left, she put on a demonic expression.

"What kind of trouble did you cause this time?"

"It wasn't trouble. I said I did some cleanup."

"I'll agree with you if no one died."

"Not many. About twelve?"

"..."

She managed to regain her composure with a few deep breaths and continued in a trembling voice to the still expressionless Elnoir.

"Why did you kill them this time?"

"By saying it that way, it makes me sound like a murderer who goes around slicing people for no reason."

Elnoir calmly wiped the blood off his sword as he spoke.

"They were assassins trying to kill me. They dropped rocks on the train to the academy, disguised as an accident. I found out who they were and killed them since they were nearby."

He said it with the same matter-of-fact tone as if he were stating that the sun rises in the sky.

"But you could just hand it over to the school...!"

"Isn't that troublesome?"

"..."

"Surely, someone must have hired them and is covering their tracks. It's impossible to catch them with ordinary laws. It's bound to be a hassle in the future, so I decided to get rid of the roots early."

"..."

Beatrix clenched her fists, feeling sweat forming in her palms.

Leaving aside how he managed to find out about all the students who were hiding their identities in the academy in less than a day,

if these were assassins hired by someone with the power to evade the law, they were certainly not amateurs. They must have been top-notch professionals.

The fact that he single-handedly killed twelve of them was indeed true.

It was bizarre. The way he calmly recounted it.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if it was perfectly fine for anyone he deemed an 'enemy' to die.

In a way, it seemed like...

he was releasing the evil he usually suppressed, whenever there was a trigger.

"Or, do you also expect me to be 'just and perfect'? To show mercy and spare lives even when threatened?"

Beatrix swallowed dryly.

She could read the deep-seated disgust in her eyes when she said this.

She knew better than anyone that this was Elnoir's 'taboo'.

"Well, it's fine. I don't expect you to 'force' such things on me."

Fortunately, Elnoir, who had finished cleaning his sword, turned his head, putting away that aura.

Beatrix, finally relieved from the oppressive feeling, wiped her forehead with a sigh.

She wasn't going to keep it up anyway. There was something urgent to deal with.

"Elnoir."

"Hmm?"

"Everything's fine, but if you don't change your clothes and get ready now, you'll be late. If you don't want to die, hurry up, okay?"

"..."

It would take supreme courage to say such a thing to someone who had just killed twelve professional assassins.

But the killing intent in Beatrix's eyes was undoubtedly genuine.

Elnoir sighed deeply, showing clear signs of annoyance.

"...Alright, alright. I hope the duel is at least a bit interesting. It would be a waste if I only had to face some slugs."

"Don't worry about that."

Beatrix rummaged through the information in her head.

"If you go now, you'll meet that prodigious genius freshman. The match is definitely Elijah Krisanak vs. Daud... Daud... what was it?"

"Daud Campbell?"

Beatrix's eyes widened.

"Right. How do you remember that? He was just a guy with no distinctive features."

Elnoir, who had been silent for a moment, chuckled.

"He's a strange person, that man."

"Strange?"

"Yes."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have said something like 'he seems like a good person, better than I thought' at first meeting.

As if he knew about the dark side she harbored.

Elnoir smiled faintly and stood up.

"Let's go. We'll be late if we don't hurry."

"Your attitude is different from before. Are you looking forward to something?"

"I'm interested in that man."

Elnoir smiled and replied.

"I plan to watch his actions in this duel a bit more carefully."

●

If there's a culture of betting on the outcome of duels in this academy, betting on me would probably give you insane odds.

The atmosphere of the people around me is exactly like that.

The looks flying from the stage are all filled with the expectation of how miserably I will be crushed.

And even I agree with that. I can't even think of betting on myself in this situation.

"How many rounds will he last?"

"Rounds? The goal is to get hurt as little as possible, right?"

"Indeed, what skills could a guy from a trashy viscount family have?"

I heard such conversations, but I didn't feel like refuting them.

Even those sneers were better than the indifference of most people who didn't even care about the obvious outcome.

'Sad, isn't it...'

Thinking this to myself, I looked at my opponent.

A girl was stretching lightly, warming up her body.

But to me, she looked like a giant dragon opening its mouth, licking its lips in front of its prey.

If I were a small mouse, it would probably be a realistic assessment of the actual combat power.

And.

That's why I'm really lucky.

My stats are at a joke level, trash. If I were to get hit by her blind attack, I could die on the spot.

And that is clearly a 'crisis situation', no matter how you look at it.

"..."

The plan is really catastrophic.

I might be relying too much on a skill with a question mark for its rank.

'Ah, whatever.'

No matter how I think about it, there's no other way for me to keep up with the growth rate required of me.

With an event that could endanger my life in two days, I can't afford to hold back.

It's all or nothing.

'The key is...'

The duel following the opening ceremony is a main event where all sorts of people gather to watch.

There are probably 'high-ranking nobles' and 'key academy figures' who have a significant impact on the world and the scenario.

That means the 'villains' I will face in the future are also likely to be present.

I don't plan to win this match. My maximum goal is to lose but fight well.

The expectation for me now is probably 'don't die', so if I can show that much, I might at least pique the interest of the villains, even if not their goodwill.

It's not impossible.

I'm a veteran player of this game and know exactly what kind of attacks this guy can use.

With the information advantage and stat buffs combined, the possibility is quite high...

"Excuse me."

While I was thinking this, Elijah, who had drawn his sword, tilted his head and spoke to me.

He lowered his voice so that others couldn't hear.

"Be honest. You're incredibly weak, right?"

"..."

Why are you suddenly hitting a sore spot?

"I was going to punch you, but now..."

I tilted my head at the sentence he said with a bitter smile. It contained some strange words.

"Why would you punch me?"

"You were in the same compartment as Lady Tristan, right?"

Elijah continued with a smirk.

"I don't like that person. I don't just dislike her; I dislike the entire House of Tristan."

His voice was filled with icy hatred.

"They're a demonic family. Really."

That takes a lot of courage.

In this world, mentioning 'demons' is taboo. They are considered the cause of major disasters in the world.

If the House of Tristan heard this, they would probably try to kill this guy immediately, and it wouldn't be strange.

'...It's not entirely wrong, though.'

The problem is that they are actually involved with demons.

Not just 'demonic', but there are characters who have actually made contracts with demons.

Additionally, this guy has a deep personal grudge against the House of Tristan.

It's understandable, given the family history, but...

"...I was just in the same compartment, that's all."

"That makes me think of her. It's annoying, so I wanted to give you a good punch."

"..."

What am I supposed to do with that?

"Still, seeing your skills, I feel a bit softer. How about we just pretend to fight and end it? You don't want to get hurt, right?"

The guy winked slightly and whispered.

I don't know.

He might think he's being considerate, but from my perspective, it's not an option.

I need to grow rapidly in the next two days or my life will be in danger.

The only way is to make an impression here.

In other words.

"I think a good punch would be fine."

"..."

"I actually like that person quite a bit."

There's plenty of reason to provoke this guy like this.

The guy blinked in a dazed expression for a moment, but then his face changed as if he had understood something.

"That person does have a good public image, doesn't she? It's understandable to be annoyed by that. But all of that is—"

"—just a facade. I know that too. I have a rough idea of what she's been up to."

"..."

Elijah's expression instantly hardened.

"...Are you serious?"

"As serious as you are about hating her."

It's a lie.

Actually, I don't want to get involved with Elnoir. Mainly because I want to protect my life.

But right now, this is the only way to make this guy seriously attack me.

According to the timeline, Elnoir is probably making an impression on high-ranking nobles right now. He wouldn't be interested in a duel like this during such an important event...

"..."

But why did this message suddenly pop up?

Confused, I looked at him, and Elijah, who had maintained a rigid expression, slightly tilted his head.

"Is that so?"

His voice was clearly different from before, carrying a chilling tone.

"Then I don't have to feel guilty."

And in the next moment.

His body instantly reached in front of me.

The speed was insane, as if the process of the movement was completely skipped, leaving only the start and end.

'What the hell...!'

I screamed in my head and launched my body. I managed to fall backward, and the wooden sword grazed the edge of my body.

The sight of the 'cut' fabric fluttering in front of my eyes made my hair stand on end.

Who in the world uses a wooden sword like a real sword? If I hadn't known what kind of initial attack this guy uses, I would have been seriously injured.

"Surprised? You're not completely a weakling, then?"

But this guy showed no signs of stopping. He quickly took another stance, tilting his head slightly.

It would definitely hit me directly, as I hadn't even recovered my posture.

"Then I'll hit you a bit harder?"

Next, his sword aimed for my chest in an instant.

'What a crazy guy...!'

He must have thought I had some skill just because I dodged that. It was purely due to the information advantage.

If I get hit by this, I'll really die.

"..."

I clenched my teeth and punched with my bare fist.

There was no time to draw a weapon, but this was clearly a crisis situation. The skill would definitely activate.

I'm not sure to what extent, but it would definitely have some meaning.

'...EX rank?'

Isn't this the highest rank?

But before I could be surprised by the content,

-!

-!!!

-!!!!!!!!!!

-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elijah, who was hit by my punch,

flew at an invisible speed and crashed into the wall of the building.