“By the way, Reysir. When are we going to arm wrestle?”
“Oh! That’s right. We promised to arm wrestle once the semester started, didn’t we? Because you didn’t believe my Strength stat was over 100.”
Taking advantage of a brief lull in the conversation, Liolikin spoke up as if he had been waiting for this moment, demanding that Reysir fulfill the promise made back in chapter 140.
Reysir readily agreed, but…
“I object. Do the arm wrestling later by yourselves. Don’t go damaging someone else’s place of business or flipping tables for no reason.”
At the time, Liolikin had mentioned that his Strength stat had barely surpassed 100.
Even in a simple stat comparison, the original protagonist held the upper hand, and he also possessed the sense to handle any task skillfully.
Simply put, it was a match that Reysir was bound to win anyway.
Since I already knew the outcome, why should I risk a table being overturned just to watch?
“Oops, I didn’t think of that. Liolikin, is it alright if we do it later instead of right now?”
“Yes, that is fine, sir…”
Reysir accepted my opinion without hesitation.
And although Liolikin agreed to wait without any particular protest, his face was full of disappointment.
Perhaps to divert that lingering interest elsewhere, Reysir glanced at me and spoke.
“Now that I think about it, arm wrestling wasn’t the only thing we promised, was it?”
“Ah…! R—Right! Master Karbaldr said he would tell us the name of his sky-blue Aether skill…!”
I had eaten with the protagonist of another novel every day for the past week, yet he hadn’t asked about it once, so I thought he had forgotten.
Looking at him now, it seemed he had been holding back until we were all gathered.
Or maybe he really did forget and only just remembered.
If I were to ask which one it was, some nonsense would surely fly out of the protagonist’s mouth about whether I was upset that he hadn’t shown interest.
Therefore, I didn’t add any unnecessary comments and answered concisely.
“It is [Weather Change].”
“When you introduced yourself earlier, you just explained it as making it rain. It’s a much broader ability than that, isn’t it?”
“My proficiency is currently lacking. I said it because I can only create rain clouds for now. If I apply it, I can form something like a mist, but…”
Actually, this was also something I should have mentioned during the introductions.
Still, since I told the original protagonist now, it would likely be reflected when we plan strategies later.
“Can you specify the location and range accurately?”
“It is possible.”
“If we cover the monsters in a mist with the density of rain clouds, and I release lightning inside it… I might be able to paralyze many monsters at once…?”
“Most likely. Though it’s a strategy that will only work against monsters with low electrical resistance.”
“Yeah, but it’ll definitely be a big help! It can also obscure the enemies’ vision!”
Seeing him praise my ability so cheerfully, it seemed this protagonist of another novel mistakenly thought I had omitted it during introductions because I considered the mist-making ability trivial.
It was much better than being caught having lost my composure due to a slight panic at the time.
So…
“Hmph, I know that much.”
I spoke as if snapping at him and then pretended to be busy stroking Yor.
It was a habit of mine when I wanted to end a conversation.
Perhaps sensing this, Vigdis spoke up as if taking the baton to start a new topic.
“Um… shouldn’t we start planning our schedules soon? There’s still time before the dormitory curfew, but wouldn’t it be more comfortable to finish our tasks first before we play?”
“I think so, too.”
Hailga agreed with Vigdis and took some papers out of her [Inventory], spreading them on the table.
It was the list of sophomore subjects and the syllabi.
For the record, most of the combat-related syllabi were meaningless.
They seemed to have been written by office staff when professors hadn’t all been recruited yet, as the spaces for professor names were blank.
At the bottom of the last page, there was a note stating, ‘This content has been drafted tentatively.’
‘If those syllabi had been accurate, I would have spotted the names of the original supporting characters and realized things were going haywire…’
My stomach churned seeing the bogus syllabi again, but what could I do?
It wasn’t like Hard would have accepted my request to drop out even if I had asked.
Even if I had staged a protest in his office and managed to drop out, the situation would be the same.
The fact that I was an Awakened was already known.
The Imperial Family would have dragged me into the Awakened Special Class one way or another.
And since Hard wouldn’t want the family’s honor tarnished, he would have naturally gone along with the Imperial Family’s wishes.
“It must have been unexpected to have four mandatory lectures suddenly added… but you’ve managed to bring all the necessary materials, haven’t you?”
“I was planning to only take theoretical lectures this semester anyway, so I had to make a new schedule regardless. But as you know, I don’t know anything about combat. Even looking at the syllabi, I didn’t know which ones to take, so I brought them to ask everyone for advice while I remade my schedule.”
Hailga replied in a heavy voice to the casual question Vigdis asked while rummaging through the documents.
Even though she had resolved to accept reality and prepare for the Demonic Realm, she had to overhaul not just her schedule but her entire life plan, so it was natural for her to feel troubled.
“On that note, does anyone have recommendations for combat lectures?”
“How about Swordsmanship? We don’t know what your main weapon will be, but the sword is used by many. Was it said that learning it makes it easier to deal with people holding swords? Anyway, Kar learned Swordsmanship last semester for that reason.”
At Hailga’s words, Vigdis quickly recommended the Swordsmanship lecture, clumsily quoting what I had said last semester.
“Um… I’m sorry to say this, but unless Hailga’s main weapon is decided as a sword, it might be better to take other lectures. The targets we have to fight aren’t people, but the monsters of the Demonic Realm.”
Reysir carefully voiced his opposition.
It would be great if we didn’t have to fight people, as he said, but the author Senna wouldn’t let that happen.
It might not be frequent, but the time to face humans would inevitably come.
However, I couldn’t explain that.
Unlike last semester, where we could choose seven lectures excluding one mandatory theory class, this semester required careful choices as we only had four slots left after the four mandatory ones.
I reinforced Reysir’s opinion by saying the following.
“Speaking from experience, I believe observing Vigdis train is enough to analyze a swordsman’s movements. Or you could visit the Swordsmanship professor for help when you have time. It’s a luxury to waste time every week learning a weapon art you won’t use when you haven’t even gripped your main weapon yet.”
I also didn’t intend to take Swordsmanship this semester.
After a whole semester of lectures and even private tutoring from Vigdis, the fact that the skill still hadn’t registered meant further learning was likely pointless.
Besides, I had already achieved the goal I wanted through the Swordsmanship lecture.
“Why don’t you try learning Dagger Arts instead? Dagger Arts is good for use as a secondary weapon. That’s why I was thinking of learning Dagger Arts this semester as well.”
I had expected Reysir would learn Dagger Arts.
Even in the original work before the remake, he had learned daggers from Skadi and used them quite effectively as a secondary weapon.
I just didn’t expect him to suggest Hailga take it with him.
‘I was worried I’d have to be the one to recommend it, so this worked out well!’
Since Skadi’s Dagger Arts involved all sorts of acrobatic movements, one could also learn how to increase flexibility and precisely control body movements.
Applying that would make dodging enemy attacks and counterattacking much easier.
Even if one never actually held a dagger during combat, it was a guaranteed gain.
“That’s perfect! Since Master Kar gave me a set of daggers as a gift during the break, I was already thinking of taking the Dagger Arts lecture anyway!”
“Then… I should try taking it as well, sir.”
I already expected Vigdis to take that lecture since I had purposefully given her the daggers.
I hadn’t specifically planned to recommend Dagger Arts to Liolikin, but I didn’t feel the need to stop him either.
I couldn’t quite imagine Liolikin performing flexible acrobatic movements, but since a tanker often has to engage in close-quarters combat, knowing how to handle a dagger would be beneficial.
‘Does this mean we’re all taking Dagger Arts…?’
Thinking that made me feel a bit strange.
No matter who said they’d learn it, the conclusion always came back to ‘it’s good to know how to handle a dagger.’
It felt like Dagger Arts was practically a mandatory course, and the school was just pretending to give us another choice.
‘Still, it’s a relief that Martial Arts and Basic Physical Training can be taken during the dawn training hours…’
Reysir completed his childhood friend’s schedule by recommending a few more lectures that would be helpful to Hailga.
After that, he turned his interest toward my schedule for no reason.
“Karbaldr, what else are you taking besides Dagger Arts?”
“Isn’t it time you stopped poking into others’ business and decided on your own lectures?”
“I’m planning to decide by referencing your schedule.”
“…Why?”
“It’s better to take lectures together than alone.”
“Don’t do that; learn what’s helpful to you.”
When I firmly refused, Reysir looked quite troubled.
“Actually, besides Dagger Arts, I have no idea what to choose.”
Looking at the dialogue above, I think some readers might be wondering, ‘What about Spearmanship?’
Allow me to explain on his behalf.
The original protagonist’s [Spearmanship] skill rank had already reached S-rank.
Taking Spearmanship lectures with other students would mean the pace wouldn’t match, and there would be nothing left for him to learn… or so it goes.
‘Besides, the Spearmanship professor is just a nameless extra, right? So the skill rank of their [Spearmanship] probably isn’t that high… A-rank at best, or S-rank if I’m being generous.’
Even so, in terms of experience and seniority, they would be far ahead of Reysir, so there would likely be something they could teach him.
But those are the kinds of things that should be acquired through sparring.
Thus, it would be right to visit them outside of lecture hours and request a spar.
“My schedule won’t be very helpful to you either. I plan to take Aether Cultivation, Biology, and… one elective lecture I’m taking as a hobby because I’m personally interested in it.”
“Why wouldn’t it be helpful? Aether Cultivation and Biology sound great. For Aether Cultivation, the more time and consistency you put into it, the more your Aether capacity increases and your control improves. Plus, considering how you deduced the location of the Boss Monster’s core last time, Biology should practically be a mandatory lecture for you, shouldn’t it?”
He rambled on, but to summarize it in one sentence, he meant he would take those lectures with me.
“But what’s the hobby elective?”
I figured he’d be interested.
Recalling Reysir’s personality, avoiding the answer would only lead to persistent questioning.
Even if I didn’t say it now, he’d probably find out somehow.
So I just decided to tell him.
“…Understanding and Criticism of Literature.”
“That really is a lecture that has absolutely nothing to do with the Demonic Realm or combat.”
That was true, but I judged that it was something I should learn, considering the existence of the [Writing] skill.
…That was an excuse.
To be honest with my readers, I had vaguely thought for a long time that I wanted to learn professional knowledge related to writing or creation in depth.
So, just one lecture.
Not out of necessity, but out of a greedy desire to learn something solely because I wanted to.