Chapter 3:One Punch

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Beatrix is Elfante Academy's Student Council Secretary and had been the President's confidant for over 10 years.

That also meant that she was the most angry than anyone else when it comes to Elnore running late for an appointment.

"That woman really went crazy...!"

Beatrix gritted her teeth, as she watched the time tick on her wristwatch.

If anything, shouldn't the most important person like the Student Council President be the one to arrive 10 minutes early?

"Se, senior! Count Creitan has just arrived...!"

"Marquis Galanti is here...!"

And as the cherry on top was these types of news, which were only fueling her anger.

Elfante's entrance ceremony was not just an 'academy event'. It's also a gathering of the Empire's key figures looking to build relations.

To think that she's unable to keep even the most basic thing like time commitment in front of such people...!

As Beatrix tried to douse her rage, someone opened the door of the Student Council room.

It was a blood-soaked Elnore.

"..."

"..."

Everyone, even Beatrix, was silent. Meanwhile, Elnore walked into the room and put her sword down on the desk with a sigh.

Eventually, one of the students couldn't hold it any longer and hiccupped at the bloody sight.

"Something wrong?"

It's only then did Elnore notice the strange silence.

Beatrix massaged her throbbing temple and replied.

"I have so many questions, but I'll sum it up in one, so please answer me straight. What have you been doing?"

"Just some clean up."

Having been together for 10 years, Beatrix instantly knew that this was something that shouldn't be talked about in public. She got it so fast, in fact, that she deserved praise.

"...I have to apologize, but the President and I will take care of things from here. I'd like to ask everyone to leave."

Beatrix kindly sent off the other students with a bright smile. However, as soon as the last one left, her expression instantly darkened into a devil's.

"What did you do this time?"

"Nothing, didn't I say that I just did some clean up?"

"If no one is dead, then I'll agree with you."

"Its not that many, only around 12 people?"

"..."

Barely keeping her senses after taking some deep breaths, Beatrix continued with a trembling voice to the still expressionless Elnore.

"For what reason are you killing this time?"

"You're making me sound like a crazed whimsical murderer."

Elnore calmly replied as she casually wiped off the blood from her sword.

"They were assassins trying to murder me. They dropped a rock on the train on the way to the academy and made it seem like an accident. I took care of them since I'm close by."

She spoke as natural as the sun rising in the sky.

"You can just leave it up to the academy...!"

"Isn't that cumbersome?"

"..."

"With someone behind them, there's no resolving this legally. It'll obviously be annoying in the future, so I nipped the buds in advance."

"..."

Beatrix clenched her sweaty palms.

Leaving aside how Elnore managed to find the guys behind this in less than a day, they were clearly the best among the pros. After all, no one in power that could evade the law would just hire some random thugs.

And the fact that she killed all 12 people of such caliber alone...

It's amazing how she could express such things calmly.

Like it's a very natural thing and it wasn't strange to kill as long as they're counted as her 'enemy'.

It's almost as if the dormant evil within her would awaken whenever there's an opportunity.

"Or did you want me to be 'just and perfect'? That despite having my life threatened, I'll benevolently spare the culprits?"

Beatrix felt her mouth dry.

Because she could see the utter disgust in Elnore's eyes when she asked this.

Beatrix knew better than anyone else that this was Elnore's 'Royal Ire'.

"Well, that's it. You won't 'force' me to do that."

Fortunately, Elnore withdrew her gaze after polishing her sword.

Freed from the pressure, Beatrix breathed sigh of relief as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.

This wasn't even supposed to be the topic, there's something more urgent right now.

"Elnore."

"Eung?"

"Everything's good and all, but you'll be late if you don't change and get ready. Shouldn't you hurry up if you don't want to die?"

"..."

Saying this sentence to someone, who just killed 12 professional assassins, requires the highest level of courage.

However, the determination in Beatrix's eyes was firm.

Elnore deeply sighed deeply with a hint of annoyance.

"…I get it, I get it. I hope the sparring is fun at least. If I have to face those snakes, shouldn't I have fun at least?"

"You won't have to worry about that."

Having said that, Beatrix rummaged through the information in her head.

"If you go now, you'll catch a freshman who's famed to be a prodigy. The match is Elijah Krisanax vs. Dowd... Dowd... what was it?"

"Dowd Campbell?"

Beatrix's eyes widened.

"Yes, but how did you remember? That guy has nothing going for him."

After a bit of silence, Elnore smirked.

"He's an odd man."

"Odd?"

"Yes."

Otherwise, there's no way she'd say something like this from the get go.

As if she knew the darkness within her, Elnore rose from her seat with a smile.

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

"...Your attitude is a little different from before? You look expectant?"

"The man's interesting, that's all."

Elnore chuckled.

"Let me see what you got in this sparring."

If there's gambling culture in this academy, betting on my side and winning would rake in a lot of cash because of the extreme ratio. On the polar opposite, they'll terribly lose if I lose.

This was the current atmosphere of the crowd right now.

Everyone's eyes were full of anticipation, that is in how I would get crushed.

Even I agree with them. In this situation, I didn't even think of betting on myself to get a reverse sweep because that's never going to happen.

"How long do you think he'll last?"

"How long? Shouldn't he be looking in getting the least injured?"

"Well, what talent would a guy who crawled out of some trashy baron family have?"

These were the types of conversations all around, however, I have no intention of refuting them.

This kind of ridicule was actually good since most wouldn't even care, knowing such obvious results.

'This is just sad...'

With that thought in mind, I looked at the other person.

It was just a girl warming up, doing some stretches.

However, to my eyes, she was like a giant serpent with its mouth wide open and tongue flicking towards its prey.

If you replace me with a mouse, it might have more chances.

My only saving grace was this.

[ Skill: Desperation ] [ Class: ??? ]

[ Gain stat enhancement at the moment of danger. The lower the chance of survival, the stronger the effect. ]

My stats were a joke, complete garbage. It wouldn't be strange if I died after getting hit once.

No matter how you look at it, this was a 'moment of danger', right?

"..."

This could turn horrific.

I wondered if I'm betting too much on a weird skill with question marks as its class.

'Ah, I don't know.'

No matter how much I thought about it, there's no other way to keep up with the growth rate required of me other than this craziness.

I'm not in a position to be picky when I'll face a life-threatening event in two days.

Anyway, let's go for broke.

'I should aim for...'

According to the story, the sparring event following the entrance ceremony is a main event where all kinds of people gather to watch.

There's probably 'high-ranking nobles' and 'key figures of the academy' who have major influence participating.

Meaning, I'll definitely encounter the 'villains'.

I have no intention of winning either. Losing after a hard-fought battle was the best I could hope for.

Right now, I should focus on 'not dying'. In that way, even if I might not necessarily gain the 'favor' of the villains, but I'll definitely be able to attract their 'interest'.

It won't be impossible.

I'm a veteran at this game, and I know what kind of attacks this person can use.

If you combine that information advantage with stat buffs, the possibility is quite high...

"Excuse me."

Elijah, who had drawn her sword, spoke to me while I was preoccupied with my thoughts.

She said it in a low voice so no one else could hear it.

"Tell me honestly. You're insanely weak, aren't you?"

"..."

Why are you suddenly stabbing a sore spot?

"I was originally planning on hitting you once, but..."

She smiled bitterly while uttering some odd words.

"Why?"

"You were in the same cabin as Princess Tristan, right?"

Elijah smiled and continued.

"I hate that person. No, it's not just her, I hate the entire Tristan Family."

Her ensuing voice contained frost-like hatred.

"They're a devilish family."

Now that some courage right there.

In this world, the existence of 'devils' is taboo to even mention. It's a harbinger of disasters.

It wouldn't be strange if Duke Tristan tried to kill her immediately upon hearing these words.

'...Well, I can't say she's wrong.'

The problem is that they're tied to a devil.

It's not that they're 'like' a devil, but people who actually signed a contract with the devil.

Further, this person has a deep-seated grudge towards Duke Tristan.

It's probably a grudge that dates way back in the family history, so it's not like I can't understand where it's coming from...

"... But I was just riding in the same cabin as her though?"

"You remind me of that person, which annoys me, so I was gonna make it painful for you."

"..."

"However, seeing your skills made me reconsider. Should we just pretend to fight each other and end it? You don't want to get hurt either, do you?"

She winked while whispering at me.

Well, I'm sure she's doing this for my own good. However, this doesn't really make sense for my current situation.

My life is at stake and I badly needed to exponentially grow within two days.

And the only way to achieve that is doing the opposite of that.

In other words.

"I think you should just hit me as painfully as you want."

"...Yes?"

"I quite like her."

I have a reason to antagonize this person.

Elijah blankly blinked. Though, it soon changed to a convinced face.

"She has a good public image, doesn't she? Something like that definitely trick people. However, that's just all-"

"- Facade. I know. In fact, I have a rough idea of her actions."

"..."

Elijah's expression hardened in an instant.

"…Are you serious?"

"I like her as much as you hate her."

That's a lie.

Heck, I didn't even want to be involved with Elnore. Mainly because I don't want to, you know... die!

But right now, this is the only way to get Elijah to seriously attack me and trigger the skill.

Anyway, according to the story timeline, Elnore should be meeting with high-ranking nobles at this moment. There's no way she'd pay attention to me in such an important event...

[ Skill: Fatal Charm has been activated. ]

[ The villain's favor towards you has greatly increased! ]

[ Rewards are added to the Gift tab! ]

"..."

So I don't know why these messages suddenly popped up.

As I looked at her in bewilderment, the hard-faced Elijah was popping her neck.

"Is that so?"

Her tone was distinctively different from before, paired with a bleak expression.

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

Then the next moment, I found her right in front of me.

She was insanely fast. It was as if there was only the beginning and end of the whole movement, no in-between.

'Sweet mother of Jessus...!'

I internally screamed and threw my body. I barely managed to dodge, as the wooden sword passed by.

The sight of the 'cut-out' clothes fluttering in front of my eyes made me shudder.

How on earth is there a human that could wield a wooden sword like a real blade? If I hadn't known that her attack was coming, I would've been seriously injured.

"Ara~? You dodged it? I guess you're not a complete weakling.

She didn't seem to have any intention on stopping. Turning her head slightly, she immediately started preparing for another strike.

It'll definitely come directly to me, who hasn't even recovered from the last attack yet.

"Then should I hit it a little harder?"

Then, in an instant, her sword went straight for my chest.

'This crazy b¡tch...!'

She probably thinks I got some ability because I avoided her attack. However, that was just a fluke! I only managed to do so because I have the information. Otherwise, I would've had an extra hole in my body!

If I get hit with something like this, then I'll really die!

"...!"

Left with no choice, I gritted my teeth and struck with my bare fist.

I have no time to pull out any weapon. Also, this is clearly a 'moment of danger.' The skill will definitely activate.

I don't know how much it'll help, but it should have some impact.

[ A moment of danger has been detected. ]

[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]

[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX Class. ]

'...EX grade?'

Isn't this the highest class?

However, there was no time to express my surprise.

-!

-!!!

-!!!!!!!!!!

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

Elijah met my fist.

Then, her body flew at an invisible speed and landed on one side of the building wall.

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