EP-13 Double

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"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

Elijah suddenly threw out such a question as I was warming up before entering the final stage.

Seeing someone like her say that with a dumbfounded expression really shows the absurdity of the situation.

"I know that instructor is good, but can you really challenge the previous record…?"

"Yes."

"…"

Elijah blankly opened her mouth. She was unable to utter words upon hearing such a wild reply that was said a matter of fact.

"…You have high confidence. Is there any reason for that?"

Of course there is.

The monsters in this artificial dungeon have patterns. As someone who knew them like it's at the back of my hand, targeting their vitals is as easy as one, two and three.

It's not that difficult to get the timing right.

And, above all.

[It's Conrad. Are you ready?]

"A long time ago."

[Good. In this last section, you are able to choose the difficulty. Naturally, the higher the difficulty, the more points you get-]

This is where my confidence stems from.

"Please make it the highest difficulty."

[…]

After a moment of silence, the person speaking on the other side suddenly changed.

[Listen up freshman. I know that you're confident, but isn't this too much?! Even if you lose the bet, there is no penalty, so why go this far…?! The highest difficulty is no different from a real battle! Death is highly probable!]

Basing from the voice, that should be Percy.

She might sound angry, but it's apparent from her concern that she's a true teacher who really cares about her students.

"Yes, I am aware."

In that level of difficulty, the monsters will literally be coming after you with the intent to 'kiII'.

"Since it doesn't make any sense otherwise."

[…Yes?]

"Because anything easier than that isn't worth the effort."

[…]

I smiled at the thought of her stun-locked expression.

And it is easier for me that way.

●

"Why did you agree to that?"

"Why not, didn't we also go on this difficulty as freshmen?"

"Not at the Colosseum. They could really die there."

Percy said with a bitter expression.

The Colosseum, the last section of the artificial dungeon, is all about defeating as many monsters as possible that are being infinitely summoned.

In other words, recklessly raising the difficulty would summon more and more monsters, which can become really dangerous without any countermeasures.

"I don't think he would have said that if he's not confident. Let's just wait and see."

"I have also observed what's been going on so far. Is it really okay to rate this student so highly?"

Percy folded her arms and said disgruntledly.

"He has no aptitude, no combat skills-"

"- It's a mess. That's right. But you got fooled too."

"Yes?"

Conrad smirked at Percy's dismay.

"Let's just watch for now. If it really does get dangerous, we can just go in and save them."

In the meantime, the screen is showing the two freshmen having already entered the Colosseum.

Percy sighed inwardly as she watched the artificial monsters pour in from all directions and surrounding the two in a circle.

As the highest difficulty, the scenario is naturally different from others. A weak-willed student would easily get intimidated by the sheer amount of murderous monsters.

'I just hope you don't overdo it…'

Percy thought as she got her dose of tea, that had just been served. She had a habit of drinking tea whenever she's worried about something.

She and Conrad killed 50 monsters within the time limit, which was a transcendental record for freshmen.

She was feeling uneasy and unsure about this whole record breaking attempt.

However.

That anxiety was immediately thrown away when Dowd Campbell clashed with the first monster.

-!

-!!!

She gaped when she saw the monster getting 'shattered' by Dowd Campbell's sword.

"Wha, what?!"

Seeing her jump out of her seat, and even shout, Conrad couldn't help but chuckle.

If the monster had been simply cut in one blow, there's really nothing to be so surprised about. Any skilled combatant can do that.

However, what about using a sword as if it was a huge hammer?

This could only be achieved by getting the perfect direct hit to a vital point, but how is that possible?

"See? Everyone will be fooled at first glance."

Percy would've normally reacted to such a sentence, but right now, she couldn't care less.

The scene that's unfolding right in front of her eyes was shocking.

"No, no, no-! How does that make sense?! How could a human who clearly had nothing suddenly—!"

"Have you ever considered that it wasn't that there was nothing, but rather it was made to look that way?"

"…"

Percy slumped back to her seat from all the shock.

Her gaze then rested on those two blazing through the record on the screen.

It is an unrivaled feat that no one can match, not even in the last few years.

The sentence that that student said before the battle started continuously echoed in Percy's mind.

–Anything easier than that isn't worth the effort

He was really serious about it? He wasn't bluffing?

He's making the challenge seem like child's play.

"…I now understand your interest, Conrad. I guess the only shallow thing here was my narrow vision."

"I don't blame you. If I hadn't seen it beforehand, I probably would have been fooled too."

In fact, even the faculty didn't pay attention to a single thing until they saw the sparring with the hero candidate.

"But still, setting a new record is a completely different story. The Colosseum produces stronger monsters the further you-"

Percy suddenly stopped her sentence midway.

It's probably because she saw that the monsters that appeared in the second wave were also shattered by Dowd's sword just like the ones before.

'…Uh?'

There was a big question mark on top of her head.

The situation that followed shattered the common sense she knew.

Even the third wave suffered the same fate.

Swing, swing, swing.

At the same pace, regardless of how strong the opponent is, it always ends with the same result.

'…'

Were monsters could be beaten so easily?

Even when Conrad and her broke the all-time record, they didn't do it with this ease.

This is just like cutting down weeds.

It was not a battle, but a simple repetitive task.

It looked so absurdly easy that even the hero candidate's hard fought battle next to it was being overshadowed.

It should get harder the longer this goes on and the stronger the waves are, so why is the situation the same as before?

Is there any bug in the system?

'…No, there's wasn't.'

It's not like that.

It's not that trivial.

The more she watched the video on the screen, the more that feeling became more and more concrete.

'He's getting stronger.'

As his enemies get faster and stronger, Dowd Campbell also get faster and stronger.

'How could this be…!'

As she was immersed in her thoughts, the death counter of the monsters recorded on the screen were accumulating at a tremendous speed.

More than 10 monsters were hunted within a minute after starting.

By the time half of the time limit passed, Conrad and Percy's record had already been broken.

Still, Dowd Campbell's pace did not slow down.

Rather, it's the opposite, he's actually getting faster and faster.

As if the stronger the opponent, the stronger he becomes.

And just like that, the time limit was up.

It was so silent that you could even hear someone breathing.

[ Congratulations! Incredible Feat! ]

[ You broke the All-time Record! ]

[ Team Dowd Campbell & Elijah Krisanax hunted a total of 100! ]

The teacup that Percy was holding fell and shattered on the floor.

But no one even spared a glance at it.

Everyone was looking at the record with bewildered expressions.

"Bravo."

Inside the intensely quiet room, only the applause of Conrad, who had a fierce smile on his face, could be heard.

"Well, that's fine."

It is, in many ways.

Attributes are mostly built up from real combat experience, so this event significantly increased my proficiency in the Tristan Style Swordsmanship.

"Fine?"

Next to me, Elijah was patting her forehead.

Why are you getting angry?

"No, this…"

She stared at the papers in her hand in disbelief.

On the other side, Conrad was wearing a proud expression while Percy looked lost as she handed it over.

It says that we can select and rent an item from Elfante's 'Vision Warehouse'.

"Doesn't it need the Imperial Family's permission to open the Vision Warehouse…?"

"That's why it's written as for 'rent'. Otherwise, if it's 'awarded', there will be a problem."

I calmly replied, but this was a very big deal.

Just the act of opening the Vision Warehouse was a rare event itself, only happening twice in the entire game.

And both of those openings were only possible after resolving major events in the story. This is absolutely not something you can do as a freshman.

Above all, Percy, the Magic Faculty Dean, has given permission to 'request anything'…

'This is really good.'

This is a very good start even for a veteran like me.

"…"

As I was in my thoughts, Elijah looked at me with a strange expression.

"Mister, I've noticed that you're always calm regardless of anything."

{T/N: changed Instructor to Mister since it felt weird, just realized Mister is also applicable }

"Uh?"

"You already planned out everything. It feels like you already knew what to expect. Hmm…"

She said while thoughtfully stroking her chin.

What?

"Umu, yes. I should prepare at least one surprise."

"…What?"

"I have been thinking about it before, but it became clearer during the mock battle. If I don't do something now, I would lose it sooner or later."

"…"

What is she saying?

I looked at Elijah in confusion, but she just grinned and held her fist out in return.

"…What's this?"

"Oh, a fist bump. Don't men do this with their friends?"

"…"

This is new.

She seems to have a good affinity with people like in the original game, but there is something different somewhere that I can't quite put my finger on.

Our fists bumped and Elijah hurried away with a bright smile.

"Then, see you tomorrow, Mister! I'll be sending you a letter back to your dorm!"

"…"

Hearing her say those words was making me worried.

In the first place, she's saying that we'll meet tomorrow.

< Gift-related Character Notification >

▼ Elnore

[ Trust Level 5 ]

[ Close to favorability status change! ]

[ She is an important character. A special event will trigger after a successful status change! ]

[ D-1 until related event occurs ]

▼ Elijah

[ Curiosity level 5 ]

[ Rewards Currently Unavailable! ]

[ Close to favorability status change! ]

[ She is an important character. A special event will trigger after a successful status change! ]

[ D-1 until related event occurs ]

Tomorrow is the day when the main quest and character events overlap.

'Thinking of the original game, nothing much happens at this time…'

The only thing I remember happening as slight 'monster trouble'.

However, I can't help but be nervous knowing that two major character events would intertwine.

"What are you thinking about?"

I suddenly heard such a question while I was preoccupied with my thoughts.

When I turned my head, I saw Elnore, who was exuding a gloomy aura all over her body.

"…"

"…"

What?

What's wrong with her?

She still had her expressionless face, but seeing the wrinkles between her eyebrows and twitching eye corners, she is really angry.

"Looks like you two had a good time together. Do you like that freshman named Elijah?"

"…"

What's happening right now exactly?

Desperation did not activate, so it seems that she has no intention of hurting me. But even so, I feel like something big will happen if I don't appease her here.

I have to say something…!

"Um, Student Council President?"

"What?"

"I missed you."

"…"

The moment Elnor shut his mouth, nonexistent words from an imaginary dictionary flashed through my mind.

A fool – it's synonymous for Dowd Campbell.

There's no way someone high-profile like the Student Council President would fall for this.

"…Did you?"

How, her voice actually became much softer than before.

And her expression also feels more relaxed, perhaps because of her lightening mood.

'…Uh?'

That worked?

This?

A bad throw away, hail mary nonsense?

While I was stumped at this unexpected development, Elnore crossed her arms and said sharply.

"You mean you wanted to see me even while being with that freshman?"

"…"

No, I didn't mean that actually.

"Ah, don't get me wrong. Not in the sense of a male-female relationship… Hmm. I meant it like between friends. We're not in that type of relationship yet."

"…"

I was speechless for the most part.

"…Umm, yes."

"Then that's it. Just remember your priorities."

"…"

What priorities?

What do you mean?

"Well, since I'm already her, I'll pass this on in advance. It's originally meant to be delivered tomorrow."

Having said that, Elnore handed me a letter.

What is this now?

"…Make sure to open it somewhere quiet. Alright, then..."

After saying that, Elnore left just like a passing wind.

She seemed embarrassed handing this over.

"…"

But what is it though?

Both Elijah and Elnore are suddenly giving me letters.

I gotta go and see what's the deal.

●

"I shouldn't have opened them."

I squeaked like a dying old man.

On the desk were Elijah's and Elnor's letter.

They have the same content.

An invitation to be their 'partner' at the freshmen welcome party.

"…"

In fact, being a 'partner' is not a big deal in itself.

It's just going around and having fun together during the event. So to speak, a date.

It's the fresh spring bloom of youth.

But I know the implications of this event since this happened in the game. The favorability of the rejected party drastically drops, and later, there would be a severe penalty when proceeding with the related scenario. It's to the point that it's no different than digging your own grave.

That's why, I usually choose the character that I can 'bypass' or at least able to handle.

"…"

But the people involved in this is the main character and the final boss!

Regardless of who I choose, hell is the only thing that's waiting for me. If I turn either of them into enemies, my life would be no different than a candle in a storm.

Events cannot be avoided either. As mentioned before, this is part of the 'main quest'. Not participating in the event would most likely lead straight to death.

How about rejecting both? Then the penalty would be doubled! It's still death.

I'm stuck in quite the predicament, having enemies on all sides.

This is a life or death situation.

No, this is just unfair. Especially so when this isn't even considered a real date.

In the first place, there is no goddam way these two would ask me out for a date. The last time I checked, their favorability status is only at 'Curiosity' and 'Trust'. It's not something like 'affection'.

It would be more appropriate to call them 'interest'.

'I can't just die like this.'

I gritted my teeth and squeezed every bit of power from my braincells.

Think Dowd Campbell, think!

There has to be a way to save my life without antagonizing either of them…!

"…Ahah."

At this time, a plan came to mind.

A plan that would inevitably lead to death if it fails, but could overcome the situation if it succeeds.

"…"

It's kind of trashy though.

But this is the only way out. My life is at stake here, I don't have a choice…!

I closed my eyes and began to flesh the plan out, extracting key information in the event.

"It's worth the shot…"

It doesn't seem impossible, does it?

"…"

Come to think of it, no matter who I choose, I'm practically dead.

Therefore...

"…Why not both?"

All I have to do is to not get caught, right?

You can read 255 chapters for $20. p.atreon.com/casca02