Chapter 17.1: Helper Part 1

Bonus chapter thanks to @Sage, the ascended outer for subscription to 'Blink' tier on Ko-fi.Helper

"Ouch... I think I broke a bone..."

A groan echoed in my ears.

I stopped organizing my equipment and looked to my side at the sound.

There, sprawled on the ground in a comical pose, was the Golden Boy.

"I'm... dying... I'm going to be murdered..."

He writhed on the floor, exaggerating his pain.

I kicked a mace lying at my feet towards him and said,

"Stop whining and get up."

"Ugh... Ouch... Sob, you bastard..."

Touched by my thoughtful gesture, the Golden Boy hugged his mace and shed a tear.

He clutched his stomach, where I had kicked him, and whimpered,

"Ugh, you... Are you a psychopath...? Why are you doing this to me... What did I do wrong...?"

I silently hung the wooden sword I had used on the rack.

He looked at me with uneasy eyes for a moment, then asked cautiously,

"...Are you... coming back tomorrow?"

"..."

"Damn it, why aren't you answering?"

"I'm coming back."

Because I didn't get the title this time.

If I had dodged his last attack, I would have succeeded, but my footwork messed up.

Sorry about that.

Actually, I'm not really sorry.

"This crazy..."

As if touched by my answer, the Golden Boy's eyes welled up again.

"W-Why are you doing this to me..."

"Blame your strength."

If you were just an average C rank, I would have gotten the title in one go and wouldn't have come back.

But you're almost B- rank.

Do you know how hard it is to beat you with my Strength, Stamina, and Agility stats?

"Damn it."

He let out a small curse, oblivious to my struggles.

Of course, I pretended not to hear him.

If someone who didn't know the situation saw us now, they might scold me for bullying an innocent commoner student.

But they would be mistaken.

This guy wasn't actually in pain.

Just look at the corners of his lips curling up into a smirk.

"...You have a really stupid look on your face."

"Pfft! What's with the sudden insult about my looks? Why, are you jealous because I'm so handsome?"

"..."

As you can see. He's not normal either.

I mean, cursing at the eldest son of a Duke is crazy in itself.

'Isn't he worried that he might get killed...?'

I tilted my head.

Well, I don't care about this kind of thing, so it's fine for me,

but he shouldn't act like this towards other nobles.

-Zap

"...?"

Lost in thought, I was brought back to reality by a sharp pain in my arm.

I rolled up my sleeve and saw a blue bruise on my elbow.

It seemed to be the aftermath of the last attack, which I failed to dodge.

"Hmm..."

Yesterday, and the day before that too.

He was quite skilled, managing to land attacks on me every time.

Well, it made sense.

Unlike nobles who entered the Academy with money and family connections,

commoners mostly entered through exams.

This guy in front of me was ranked among the top students in the second year.

'Was he around 50th place?'

Recalling last year's rankings, which I had looked up recently, I rummaged through my crossbody bag.

I took out a bottle of healing potion and started applying it to my bruised elbow.

As the strong antiseptic smell of the potion filled the air, the Golden Boy crawled over to me.

"...What?"

"Give me some potion too."

"Buy it with your own money."

When I spoke coldly, he protested with an indignant look,

"No way, I can't afford that expensive stuff...! Besides, you're the one who beat me up!"

"Hmm."

Come to think of it, he was right.

I obediently took out another bottle of potion and tossed it to him.

"This is the last time."

"Hehe... Thank you, Sensei."

He barely caught the bottle and grinned foolishly.

Wow... He really looked like a simpleton from the countryside.

I'd never actually met someone like that, but if I did, I imagined they would look like him.

As I was marveling at his appearance, he poured the potion all over himself and asked,

"By the way, are you really the Raiden who was last in the ranking matches last year?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well~ It's hard to believe~ I'm pretty confident in my skills, but you completely destroyed me."

His ranking last year was 53rd out of 3086 students.

It wasn't a skill to be scoffed at.

If he maintained this ranking, he would be scouted by prestigious noble families by the time he graduated.

"And I heard you've been picking fights with other high-ranking students too?"

"..."

"Rumors are flying around that you won without getting hit once, that you slammed someone's head into the ground... How did you do it?"

...Damn it.

This was just karma for my actions, so I couldn't say anything.

Even if it was for title farming, I think I went a bit overboard.

"You must be really damn strong."

"Yeah."

I answered vaguely with a troubled heart and got up from my spot.

The Golden Boy, who had been excitedly chattering, stopped talking and looked at me.

"Oh, are you leaving?"

"Yes, I'm done here. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't come back, damn it. Never come back."

"See you tomorrow then."

"Don't come back!!"

I ignored his voice and left the training ground.

Strange noises continued to come from behind me, but I didn't care.

I checked the time and thought about my next schedule.

'Next training is mastering my unique talent, right?'

Busy, busy.

I headed towards the carriage stop.

.

.

.

The Magic Department building was located a ten-minute carriage ride from the training ground.

This place, designed for students to practice magic freely, boasts high-quality equipment and robust facilities.

Thanks to this, the students could train their magic with peace of mind,

and the Magic Department building was always filled with the sounds of mana exploding and shattering.

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