Chapter 31
I’d been so busy with the entrance ceremony and classes that I hadn’t even considered how to earn achievement points, but I had unknowingly completed a challenge.
As it turns out, the challenge list gets updated periodically, and one of the available challenges was apparently called “Fist Fight.”
Who would have thought that my body acting on its own could result in me completing a challenge? It seemed like a good thing, at least for now.
While everyone was standing around dazed, I checked the list of challenges for the first time in a while.
At the very top of the list was the current challenge that could earn me the most points.
[Come in first in the fitness exam - 4000 points]
The old “Power slap the emperor across the cheek” challenge had disappeared and been replaced with another.
Unless I somehow managed to cripple those with better physical fitness than me, this challenge was impossible. Honestly, if I were able to cripple Ellen Artorius’s legs in the first place, I would probably be perfectly fine without the 4000 achievement points.
[Place in the Top 10 in the Midterm Exams - 3000 points]
This challenge wasn’t referring to the midterms that only the twenty-two students in the Royal Class took, but the common subjects exam that nearly ten thousand students would participate in.
While individual subject grades were kept separate, the common subjects were combined for a collective score. Hence, here, where the geniuses were aplenty, placing in the top 10 without cheating was nonsensical.
[Get a classmate to confess to you - 1,000 points]
‘A thousand points because you’re assuming it’s never going to happen, right? What would you do if it did? What are you going to do then?’
[Write a love letter to a classmate and get rejected - 200 points]
Miss classes for a whole day - 100 points]
Talk back to a teacher and get penalty points - 100 points]
Sneak out after curfew and leave graffiti on the Temple’s Main Street - 100 points]
Why were the only challenges that seemed feasible all tailored towards turning me into a delinquent youth? Most of them were antics that were either difficult to carry out or downright bizarre.
Amongst all those bizarre ones...
[Fist Fight - 100 points (Cleared)]
I had somehow cleared one of them without intending to.
The fact that it had been entirely unintentional made me feel even worse.
***
It was normal for everyone to scatter after physical education class because it was the last class in the common curriculum. That was why the fight had broken out just when the teacher was about to dismiss all of us for the day.
Not long after Kaier returned, Mr. Effenhauser came back to the classroom to offer his closing remarks.
Though Kaier looked a bit deflated after his dressing-down, it was clear he had no more intentions of picking a fight with me.
‘I hope you’ve learned, kid, that I’m someone whose words can sting more than my fists.’
“Everyone, please submit your class enrollment forms. Those who are still undecided should remain behind.”
Those who had filled out the forms handed them to the teacher, and I submitted mine, which had been prepared in advance. It seemed there were many who still hadn’t finished considering their options yet.
“Those who have submitted the form can return to their dorms. Of course, you’re free to wander around the Temple, but try not to stay out too late. And remember, you can’t leave the Temple without permission from me or the dorm supervisor.”
After leaving these instructions, Mr. Effenhauser left, and about half of the class stood up to leave, while the other half stayed put.
Each person had a different way of using their personal time after classes.
Some were dedicated to self-improvement...
“Hey, let’s go to Main Street.”
“I’m tired... I just want to rest...”
“I know a great place to eat there! You’ll like it too! It’s your first time in the Temple, right? I’ll show you around!”
There were also those like student A-8, Connor Lint, who put all their energy into having fun.
It seemed that Class B had also been dismissed, as they were gathered in groups of three or five and were heading back.
“Is there anywhere that’s fun around here?”
Ludwig, also new to the Temple, was asking his classmates for suggestions on places to go. Of course, thanks to this first day of physical training, everyone was pretty exhausted.
“Damn it, that bitch with the freak eyes...”
Suddenly, a low curse came from beside me.
I knew what it was about.
They were talking about one of the girls who had just left Class B’s classroom.
“Every time I see that girl, I can’t help but feel uneasy.”
“Yeah, she definitely gives me the creeps.”
Erhi de Raffaeli said it loudly enough for everyone to hear. The girl must have heard it, but she pretended not to, and continued walking ahead.
Her strikingly conspicuous red hair and crimson eyes made her stand out.
It was B-3, Scarlett.
“There’s no way such an ominous appearance could occur naturally,” Erhi said, gritting his teeth as he glared at the back of Scarlett’s head.
“How detestable that something like that made it to the Royal Class.”
He couldn’t even notice a literal demon enrolled in the Royal Class with him, so what was he complaining about?
Erhi nonchalantly approached Scarlett, then bumped into her shoulder suddenly and walked past.
“...”
Without saying a word, as if it was an all-too-familiar occurrence, Scarlett began to pick up the items she had dropped. Seeing this, Ludwig tilted his head, watching Erhi’s retreating figure.
“What was that? He bumps into you and doesn’t even apologize? Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Let me help.”
“It’s okay.”
Seemingly refusing his help, Scarlett quickly gathered her dropped belongings and then walked off, ignoring Ludwig.
It wasn’t just Erhi.
Most students from both Class A and Class B seemed to be subtly avoiding Scarlett. Their attitude to her was the same, whether they actively avoided her or just didn’t care, all except Ludwig.
Tsk.
Watching the bullying I had set up happening before my eyes wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling.
***
Red was an ominous color.
Scarlett had been abandoned by her parents from birth due to her red hair and crimson eyes. The story was that she had been pitied and raised by beggars. While my story of being raised by beggars was fully fabricated, she was someone who truly came from the streets.
She was caught by the guards several times while living on the streets and surviving on stolen bread. Her talent had been accidentally discovered by a passing magician, and she was subsequently sent to the Temple. After that, obtaining a scholarship due to her exceptional talent was the natural progression.
She was bullied at the Temple, and considered a bad omen by the students.
However, since Scarlett had nowhere else to go if she left the Temple, she clenched her teeth and endured the humiliation, continuing her life there.
Although she had exceptional physical abilities and talent, she was powerless against those who tormented her. If she caused any problems and got expelled, everything would be over for her.
Thus, she reluctantly continued her life on a scholarship until she reached the Royal Class. But Erhi, who had tormented Scarlett countless times throughout the middle school years, had also progressed to the Royal Class with her.
That was the plot, unmistakably.
Anyway, “Freak Eyes” Scarlett had been notorious among her peers for some time.
Now, though, I was suddenly aware of how irresponsible it had been for me to set up the plot in such a way that she was an outcast just because she stood out.
It seemed as though no one else could quite pull off red hair and crimson eyes as she did. Even from a distance, she was noticeable, and she was a very pretty girl.
Red was equated with the negative. Was that why she was bullied?
That was some seriously flawed logic. I’d made her an outcast for no good reason when she could have easily been the superstar idol of the Temple. I mean, realistically, it would have been more proper if Erhi were tormenting Scarlett because he has a crush on her and didn’t know how to express it properly.
But the things Erhi was going to do were definitely not the kind of things anyone would do to someone they liked.
Comments like “If I become an inquisitor, I will capture you and tear you limb from limb” are certainly not something someone would say to someone that they liked, right?
How could Erhi, that son of a bitch, say such things to a cute and kind girl like her?
But then, I realized that I was the one who’d written all of that...
So the son of a bitch was actually me?
Yeah... I was the piece of trash.
To even think of making such a sweet person endure such harsh words.
Yeah, I probably deserved the ill fate of dying from a blood pressure spike just from reading hate comments.
Sigh...
Watching Scarlett’s figure from a distance as she walked towards the dormitory area, I couldn’t help but sigh at the guilt I felt, and how odd the setting I had created seemed.
If things were left alone, Erhi’s bullying would only escalate, and an angry Ludwig would challenge Erhi to a duel on behalf of Scarlett. From there, a fight would break out, and after various events, Scarlett would eventually break free from the bullying she endured, and they would all somehow become friends.
And so, I had to watch this mess unfold until Ludwig stepped in...
I had to sit and watch the rest of the kids saying that the color red was ominous, while the students who were on the side of justice remained silent for a while.
Sigh.
***
Those who returned to the dormitory would spend their time as they pleased until dinner. It looked like Ludwig from Class B had taken several students to hang out at the Temple’s Main Street.
Dinner started at 6 pm. Since each dormitory had its own dining hall, I would eat in the dining hall in the dormitory that was reserved for the first-year students in Class A. Sometimes the entire student body had meals in the banquet hall, but that was an exceptional case.
Anyway, there was time to spare until dinner. Class A was relatively quiet compared to the noisy Class B.
Although, the silence seemed to be bordering on eeriness, rather than just simple quietude.
Since I had gathered 1000 achievement points, there was no need to worry anymore. I had also decided on the talent I wanted to choose.
[Self-suggestion - 1000 points]
Self-suggestion.
I acquired the talent without any hesitation because I figured it was the most overpowered ability conceivable.
It was so overpowered, in fact, that although I had included a character with this ability in the initial setup for the novel, I decided to remove it because it seemed too game-breaking.
Essentially, what I did was recycle a scrapped piece of an idea — a latent but unused concept, much like imagining a neighborhood as grand as Seoul without ever actually depicting it in the story.
The fact that it was an evolutionary ability but required the same number of points as other lesser talents was also quite advantageous.
I checked my status.
[Name: Baalier Junior
Age: 17
Current Stats:
[Strength 3.5 (F)]
[Agility 4.4 (F+)]
[Dexterity 5.2 (D-)]
[Mana 9.9 (C-)]
[Stamina 5.9 (D-)]
[Race: Archdemon]
[Talents: Supernatural Power - Self-Deception (Locked)]
[Skills: [Control Demon (D)] (Not usable in the current state)]
[Overall rating: Low-level Demon King]
[Combat Ability: F]
There were slight increases in my strength, agility, and health. This was not solely due to today’s physical education class, but also thanks to all my hard work up until this point...
But there was something odd.
What was that “(Locked)” sign all about?
“....”
As I lay there on the bed, I felt certain that something about the situation was twisted, or perhaps I had just been seriously screwed over.
Yes, I had a cheat code, but it was clearly a non-cooperative one. I should have realized there was a catch when I saw how cheaply the ability was being offered. Supernatural powers could be universally useful, even if it was just one power, so there had to be a reason it was so cheap.
I could sense how this was going to go.
It was widely believed that it was impossible to awaken a supernatural ability through effort.
But the reality was a bit different. Those identified as having a talent for supernatural abilities had all “awakened” their powers to some degree, and were trained to a level where they could at least wield their abilities.
However, there were rare individuals who possessed latent supernatural powers that simply had not manifested yet.
Such latent abilities sometimes awakened during severe trauma or under intense psychological pressure. There were current superhumans in the Temple who had awakened their abilities through such traumatic experiences.
Well, it was a common trope.
An explosion of rage leads to the awakening of powers.
It sounded a bit like adolescent fantasy, but kind of cool...
Was it not...?
“Dammit.”
So, I had some feelings about this, but you know, I thought maybe it would be different in my case.
It was a cheat code, after all.
I thought because it was a cheat code, I could just use it right away, but that wasn’t the case.
I hadn’t bought an active supernatural power; I’d bought a latent one.
Yeah, I should have realized it whe`n I saw that it was being offered so cheaply.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢