"So, how do you think he did it exactly?"
"Ahn~ I'm not sure, but the elf princess lost in quite a spectacular manner"
"Yeah, but it didn't look like he did anything special, that guy is well known for being a failure... I can't imagine that he won plainly based off his skills. You saw her face during that fight, she was completely out of it!"
"Hmmm~ Well, perhaps he used some sort of trick?" Cassenia said as she put her finger to her chin.
"Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if that guy performed some foul play, he has no honor after all." Iris scoffed, unable to imagine him beating the Elven princess legitimately.
'Would it kill them to discuss it a bit away from me? I can hear them so clearly....'
Truthfully, they had every right to be suspicious of my unexpected victory, my ability was incomparable to the genius princess of the elves, Aria.
Perhaps some would've begun considering me as a genius if I had defeated her in a flashy way, struggling throughout the fight.
But of course, anyone would be wary after seeing me defeat her with such ease, only using basic moves.
It wasn't exactly something out of my expectations.
'But hey, there was also a hidden reward from such a show'
I smiled happily, seeing my rising credits.
Credits could be earnt through a variety of ways, including causing 'mass confusion', and right now, the majority of the first years in the academy must have been wondering how I beat Aria.
At that moment, many were reassessing their perceptions of me.
[Total Credits : 1247]
Almost a thousand credits were earnt from the confusion caused by my battle.
It gave me some rather devious ideas for the future.
It seems that the joker would thrive in crisis.
I was brought out of my thoughts after noticing our class had begun.
"My name is Theo Letzt, and I will be one of, errr... your many teachers during your stay at the academy."
He was a young man with black hair and tired eyes. He was most likely not even in his thirties, yet he spoke with a tired and lazy tone.
Theo was a genius magic swordsman, and the homeroom teacher of class A.
He participated in the last war between the empire and the elves, earning many achievements.
Yet after all that bloodshed, he decided to kick it back and simply join the academy as a teacher.
Overall, I didn't have many thoughts on him.
In the game, if the player had taken the route of a magic swordsman, or at least a similar class, they could come under Theo as a disciple.
But apart from that, he wasn't particularly useful in helping me accomplish any of my goals.
His gaze washed over the classroom, lingering on each student for a moment.
Whenever he recognized someone of note, his eyes gained a sudden sharpness.
He started explaining some of the basics of the academy to us.
"Righttt... So to make things simple, there are a few things you need to remember whilst you're here."
He stared at the papers in his hands.
"Uhmm..... There will be 3 major tests taken throughout the year, and if you fail more than one, you will be expelled... You guys seem pretty competent though... So I suppose you'll be alright, right?"
Nobody in the class seemed worried about failing, as expected of class A.
He didn't reveal the 3 major tests, but I was well aware of what they'd be like from over a thousand hours of gameplay.
"Most of your classes will be uh... practical. Yeah, you won't be writing essays all day, thankfully, I think I'd die if I had to mark those." Theo gave a wry smile as he spoke.
"Anyway... I'll be your homeroom teacher for your next 3 years in the Academy, so I hope to be acquainted with you all... For the ones who are joining the knight wing of the academy, I'll be teaching you swordsmanship."
Some light reentered his eyes upon thinking of swordsmanship.
The lesson, well, more like introductory class, ended after some time.
I made my way to the lunch hall.
It was an extravagant place, the tables being made of polished white marble, and the seats being covered with velvet cushions and lined with gold.
Considering the academy had received considerable funding from both the empire and elves as a show of peace after the war, such a sight was to be expected.
The food being served was at the level of Michelin Star restaurants back in earth, it was something I was excited for.
"The food sprites always looked so delicious from my screen... to actually taste it.. Ah~ It's heavenly" I gushed upon tasting the pork tenderloin in my plate.
The gravy coating the tenderloin glistened, it was just begging to be eaten.
Anyways, I was currently sitting alone. Originally I had wanted to sit with some of my fellow class A students...
Well, they didn't seem to be very receptive of my presence, so I decided to make the situation less awkward and sit alone.
Such a thing wasn't really usual for me.
Despite becoming a shut-in after graduating highschool, in the time that I was there, I actually had a few close friends.
I still played online games with them regularly afterwards.
'I wonder what those guys are thinking now...'
I reminisced over some good memories, wondering what was happening back in my actual world.
Had my original body simply died? Was it comatose? Hell, had I disappeared?
My last memory was using the joker's heart, but before that, I was totally fine.
So I had to ask the question, what exactly would've happened to my original body? Perhaps it was a case in which time was dilated, one second in my world being a year in this world.
I really didn't want to think about the more dark possibilities.
"Lord Ares, are you perhaps feeling ill?"
I exited my thoughts upon seeing Evelyn sitting across me.
It seemed I had been caught daydreaming.
I softened my expression and spoke with a soft tone.
"Ah, no, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern... But I have to ask, why are you sitting with me, you don't have to force yourself just because you're my attendant..."
I used [Analyze] on her at that moment.
[Confusion, Wariness, Disgust]
In other words, she was trying to get an understanding of how I defeated Aria.
My kind response most likely added to her confusion. Before taking over this body, I was not exactly the kindest person towards her.
She gave a small smile and brushed her black hair backwards.
"No, my lord, it's natural that I stay seated with you during lunch."
Despite her undeniable beauty, I couldn't really feel much attraction to her considering I could clearly view her emotions towards me.
Would anyone be attracted to someone who currently feels disgust towards them?
Well, I suppose some people would.
"But my lord, I'm curious to know, how exactly did you defeat her? Her prodigious use of spirit magic is famous, yet it seemed completely ineffective during that fight."
She batted her green eyes at me, awaiting my answer.
She was clearly digging for information on me. Up until now, she had most likely only viewed me as human garbage, so seeing me dominate that battle would've been shocking.
I felt annoyed at the moment.
In the game, all it took to clear the effects of terrible reputation was to just perform some notable feats and give some gifts to the main cast.
But of course, such a simple method would no longer work.
What kind of idiot would forgive someone after they committed terrible actions, just because they gave them a croissant as a gift?
"Hmmm~ If you wanna know how I did it, you'll have to help me in the first term's final exam..." I answered teasingly.
She sighed and for a moment, I could see the irritation in her eyes.
Evelyn considered my offer for a moment, before making a decision.
"Yes, my lord, it would be my honor to be of help to you."
She smiled at me, hiding any previous hint of irritation she may have had.
It was a good scenario for me. I would need her help if I were to handle the exam that came at the end of the first term, more so the crisis that would happen during it.
As for revealing my abilities... I'll just lie about them.
I ate the final piece of the tenderloin, wiping my mouth with a handkerchief.
At least I could look forward to the food in this place.
I made my way to the final class of the day, Monsterology 101.
Unlike what my homeroom teacher, professor Letzt, had said, it was a boring pen and paper type class.
I excelled back in highschool, yet that didn't mean I liked any part of it.
My teacher must have seen my bored expression and decided to ask me a question.
"Mr Ares, since you're so uninterested in what I have to say, how about you answer this question?
When faced against a skinwalker demon, what is the most optimal choice to make?"
The fat NPC teacher asked me, not expecting me to be able to answer.
What kind of cliche is this?
The classroom looked at me, curious to see what kind of bullshit I'd spew.
Of course, I was well aware of how to handle it considering how many I had killed in game.
"Well, the most optimal choice would be to kill it, right?" I answered jokingly.
My fellow students looked at me as if I were a fool, and the teacher became furious, his face turning red.
"Ha, ha, a very funny answer, student Ares... Do you take my class as a joke? If you are unable to give me a satisfactory answer, I will be awarding you a detention!" He shouted at me, saliva flowing down his triple chin.
'Honestly, a guy like him wouldn't know the first thing about fighting a monster..'
I decided it would probably best to give a proper answer, I didn't feel like staying in class during for a detention.
"Well... Skinwalkers have long and wiry limbs. Their attacks have a long reach, but their patterns are predictable. My choice would be to just dodge one of their attacks and trip them to the ground. There isn't much point going for a frontal attack considering it has a hardened skeleton. After that I'd aim for the neck, its weak point."
I gave a textbook answer, and the class murmured upon hearing my answer.
Really, wasn't this a bit too cliche?
Surprisingly, the teacher smiled at me,
"Well, it's good to know that you aren't a fool, but regardless, I would request you to pay attention in my class from now onwards."
It wasn't the reaction I was expecting.
I gave him a nod and he continued teaching the class.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Throughout our classes, I had kept my eye on Ares, observing his actions.
I was completely shocked after he defeated Aria Le Fay with such ease.
Even armed with my overwhelming flare magic, I imagined that I would lose 8 out of 10 times in a match against Aria.
I had always known that Ares was talented.
When we were children, we met every day, with him showing me a new spell he had learnt every time without fail.
At that time, he was without doubt my closest friend.
In fact, our friendship was quite famous, the first son of Duke Castellan and the Empire's princess.
My father had even considered marrying us at one point, of course, I only learnt of that later.
But eventually.. Ares, he became trash, a shitty bastard.
It must have been when we had reached puberty, his once warm and soft blue eyes, lost their luster and became lecherous.
His voice, once caring and friendly, became cold and unempathetic.
He drowned in women, wine and drugs.
I tried to pull him out of the pit he had fell in many times, yet eventually, I was had no choice but to give up.
From that day, I hated him. I hated him for ruining our friendship.
More than that, I hated him for making me happy.
From a young age, I lacked friends, for two reasons.
Retinus Valorian, the crown prince of the empire.
He was talented, receiving great praise for his usage of our family's signature magic.
When my talent was eventually discovered, far exceeding his, he flew into a rage.
Even though I wasn't a threat to his position, he still hated me for being superior to him in terms of abilities.
From then on, nobody in the imperial palace would talk to me.
Even beforehand, they were cold to me, but after brother used his influence within the palace, they were almost completely unresponsive towards me.
Even my father, the emperor, saw me as an eyesore.
Why? It was simple. My mother, the former Empress, died giving birth to me.
I was considered a cursed child, but at that time, my brother showed me kindness.
Yet of course, even he began to hate me.
The only reason I was even able to stay in the imperial palace was because of my sheer talent.
I was given the cold shoulder by other noble children, once again due to my brother's influence.
But one day, during an imperial event, I met Ares.
And of course, to keep a long story short, we became best friends.
I banished thoughts of the past from my mind.
Right now, I merely wanted to know what change happened in Ares.
The strength and speed he wielded when fighting Aria was not something someone as untrained as him should ever have.
On top of that, he must have used some sort of magic to make Aria falter so much.
But I knew none of it, and it irritated me to no end.
Before coming to the academy, I hadn't seen Ares in a little over a year.
'If he had changed in that time... I would've heard of it.'
During that year, he continued his debauchery, and as such I had minimal expectations of him when I saw him in the academy.
I just wanted to forget our past and leave him to rot on his own.
Yet now, he sits in the same classes as I.
And upon hearing the answer he had given to the professors question, my head once again become unorganized.
I wanted to know how and why he had changed so much.
To answer such a question, he must have studied extensively.
'Ugh.. thinking of that guy only gives me a migraine...'
"Ah~ Princess, is there something wrong?"
I looked towards one of the friends I had made in my class, Cassenia Haven.
She was someone I had met briefly before joining the academy.
Although it had yet to be publicly announced, I was aware that she was the Saintess of the Church of Solan.
She could only be described as a paragon of purity and kindness.
"Nah... I was just thinking about something annoying."
She smiled at me.
Her golden hair shone from the sun coming in from the windows.
'It's as if the world wants her to appear holy, huh?'
Her appearance could only be described as angelic, with golden blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. She bore a perfect figure, with an ample chest size.
We left the class together, and I took one last look at Ares.
As expected, he appeared to be off in his own world, thinking of god knows what.