Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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4th Chapter. Fishing Rod! A Wonderful Means of Communication! (2)

Was I seeing things wrong? That thought dominated my mind.

It’s generally impossible for a fishing rod to defeat a wooden sword. Especially since the wooden sword wasn’t even wrapped in aura.

It was a fight no different from branches clashing against iron bars.

“But is this really happening?”

The fishing rod defeated the wooden sword. And not just any wooden sword, but one infused with the aura of Jenny from Class A.

[A new skill has been developed in the ‘Combat Skill List’!]

– “Illusion Swordsmanship”

[Some skills suited to this skill will be transferred entirely.]

– Illusion Swordsmanship (Steel Fishing Rod Lv1, Fish Filleting Lv1, Threat Detection Lv1)

The status screen obscured something as it tried to inform me.

It seemed I had achieved something by merely swinging the fishing rod, but right now, that wasn’t what mattered.

First, I pulled the submerged Jenny out of the water. When I hit her, I heard the sound of bones breaking, so I carried her on my back and rushed to the infirmary.

It was early morning, so the hospital doors wouldn’t be open yet. But at least the infirmary was different.

Professor Stella was always the steadfast guardian there.

“Your ribs are pretty damaged.”

“Is that… so?”

Professor Stella observed Jenny lying on the bed. Hearing the result left me looking dazed.

“Who did this?”

“Um…”

I timidly confessed the truth without thinking.

“It was me. We accidentally collided at the lake.”

“You did that?”

“Yeah. I accidentally hit her with the fishing rod I swung.”

Professor Stella stared at me with a blank expression for a moment.

Though I sat properly, looking apologetic, she suddenly laughed.

“Hahaha! So, the rumors are true; you’re a master of lies.”

“Huh?”

“Make some sense. With your skill level, you couldn’t even touch Jenny’s toes.”

‘No… I really did that!’

Being regarded as lying despite telling the truth was an uncomfortable situation. But it couldn’t be helped. It was rare for someone in the academy to believe the words of Radon the Scammer.

“Be honest. What really happened?”

Eventually, I resigned myself and fabricated a story that didn’t even exist.

“I did meet her while fishing. But unfortunately, a monster jumped out from the lakeside and injured Jenny.”

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -3%]

[+300 Credits]

“What about the monster?”

“Jenny cut it in half. But she lost consciousness, so I ran here with her on my back.”

This part was true, so the erosion rate didn’t decline.

Yet, somehow, while I wasn’t looking, the erosion rate had risen to 30%. Did it rise that much overnight?

“You did really well. I’m glad to see such exemplary behavior from you.”

“Thank you.”

“But honestly, I was scared. If it got out that Jenny was hurt, the professors of the Combat Department would have been up in arms.”

“I see. It’s a relief that no one knows.”

Jenny is an outstanding talent among the first years. She was already recognized as an excellent member of Class A, ranking among the top. Professors certainly wouldn’t overlook a student with such talent.

In fact, she’s one of the playable characters in the game. Her well-being could be considered important for the course of the story.

‘I must be crazy. Normally, I would have had all my hair shaved off by now.’

Grrr—

I was worried about the future, and my stomach growled. Wait a minute; I realized I left the fish I caught from fishing today.

“Have you not eaten?”

“No. My family stopped sending me living expenses.”

“Then eat this.”

Noticing my thin appearance, Professor Stella pulled out a sandwich she had saved in her drawer and handed it to me.

“Can I really have this?”

“You did something good today. Think of it as a reward for that.”

“Thank you so much!”

As soon as I accepted it, I unwrapped the plastic and took a bite. It was a blend of egg and ham flavors. Really, it almost brought tears to my eyes with her kindness.

‘If she’s this sweet, how has she not gotten a boyfriend by the end of the game’s last season?’

That just made me want to cry more.

“And it’s surprising. I heard you caused some trouble at the Newspaper Department yesterday? I saw that public notice.”

“……”

She pulled out a mirror, and reflected in it was an article. My article—more specifically, the false news reported by Radon.

“Isn’t this a newspaper you wrote? People are going crazy over this. They’re glaring at me, thinking you’re lying through your teeth until the end.”

Of course, they would. Some of the wrong information in there included Jenny’s incident.

Right now, those victims must be itching to beat me up.

But that wouldn’t be enough for expulsion. It could still be seen as a rookie student’s mistake. It could be settled among students themselves without needing a professor’s intervention.

But was Radon mesmerized by the article views? Due to the more sensational misinformation spread, the call for my expulsion amplified.

“Are you not going to inquire further?”

“It could be that you did your investigation poorly.”

“Do you really think I, who eats lies for breakfast, made a mistake?”

“A true liar wouldn’t say something like you just did.”

Professor Stella placed the mirror back down.

“Bringing Jenny here and your current attitude. If you really were spreading misinformation, you wouldn’t be acting like this.”

“……”

“I still don’t know much about you. But at the very least, I have no intention of treating you differently as a scammer.”

I had only heard rumors about Radon. But meeting him was completely different.

I realized he wasn’t the kind of student who could be called a scammer at all.

“The practical exam for this month is just a few days away. Are you preparing well?”

“Uh… a little.”

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -1%]

[+100 Credits]

That was hardly anything.

“But I’m confident about getting a good score.”

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -1%]

[+100 Credits]

I wasn’t confident. Not yet.

“As you know, monthly practical exams are competitions among students. What would happen if a student with a grudge targeted you there?”

There was a high possibility.

Many students were glaring at me due to the false news. I would be the perfect punching bag to use. The bullies who stomped on me yesterday would feel the same.

“So be careful. You’re a target for everyone.”

“Thanks for the advice. And thank you for the sandwich as well.”

“If anything happens, come find me.”

I stood up from my seat. Before leaving, I threw in one last line like yesterday.

“And I’ll root for you to get a boyfriend.”

“Thanks a lot. In that case, take this bread with you.”

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -2%]

[+200 Credits]

Clunk—

As Radon exited, only Stella and Jenny remained in the infirmary.

“Stop pretending to sleep and wake up.”

At those words, Jenny opened her eyes. She didn’t look pale at all. It made the claim that she had fainted feel absurd.

“When did you wake up?”

*

As soon as I left the infirmary, I headed for the fishing spot. I had left something behind and needed to go fetch it.

Along the way, I encountered several people, and each time, I had to tell a lie.

“Sir, the weather is quite cloudy today.”

“It’s sure to rain heavily.”

“I caught about 200 fish today.”

“We might even be able to catch a shark next time.”

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -1%]

[+100 Credits]

“Sir, you’re totally a flower boy!”

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -2%]

[+200 Credits]

These trivial lies only reduced the erosion rate by 1 or 2 each time. If I wanted to decrease more, I’d need to tell stronger lies.

Noticing I also had the bread Professor Stella gave me, I openly ate it in front of the kids. They flocked around me with shining eyes.

“Hey big bro, just a bite!”

“Sure, here you go.”

“Woah!”

“Ha, you’ve been tricked!”

“Uaaah!”

I pretended to give them bread while pulling it back. It would definitely be shocking for the kids.

Those little ones already trying to pull tricks.

[Erosion Rate Decrease: -40%]

[+4000 Credits]

Lying to upset or shock others dropped the erosion by 10 or more. Since there were 4 kids, the total drop was 40.

Thanks to that, my current erosion rate was at 0. Did hitting the lowest point mean nothing would change?

‘…….’

Nothing happened. And as I glanced up for a moment, it began to rise again.

Lying wouldn’t bring any advantages. In the end, the only choice I had to suppress the curse was to do something I didn’t want to do.

“Who dares to make our kid cry?”

“What department are you from? Who’s your professor?”

Damn, I couldn’t avoid the glares of the people. Since I couldn’t explain my situation, to others, I was just a scammer.

“I’m so sorry! I truly apologize!”

I expressed my regret and dashed off madly.

I returned to the dorm and set aside my worries to prepare the fish I had caught today.

I laid the caught carp on the kitchen board and chopped off their heads. My hands moved automatically; Radon must have done this several times before.

‘Well, he’s good at fishing, so he must have tried filleting at least once.’

I split them in half to separate the bones from the flesh. I minced the flesh finely and checked that there were no leftover bones. Just as I finished one—

[The proficiency of ‘Illusion Swordsmanship’ has increased.]

“What’s this?”

I checked the status screen for the skill I’d never seen before.

__________________________

[Radon Crawler (16)]

Race: Human

Job: Scammer (Experience: 10/100%)

– Health: 10

– Strength: 8

– Intelligence: 4

– Grit: 6

– Mana: 15/15

[Combat Skill List], [Living Skill List], [Magic Skill List]

__________________________

There weren’t any abnormalities in my stats, aside from the ‘Strength’ stat which had increased by 1 due to points used.

However, a new skill besides ‘Swordsmanship’ was now part of my [Combat Skill List].

“Illusion Swordsmanship?”

Did this skill even exist in the game? It seemed to be a kind of swordsmanship technique, but I had no idea what it was.

I needed to find out what this was.

__________________________

[Illusion Swordsmanship]

– A groundbreaking swordsmanship technique differentiated from basic swordsmanship. Its specialty lies in creating intentional openings to catch the opponent off guard or creating afterimages to trick the enemy.

The main weapon is not a sword, but a fishing rod. Only by wielding it can the true value of Illusion Swordsmanship be unleashed.

[Applicable Skills]

Fish Filleting Lv1, Steel Fishing Rod Lv1, Threat Detection Lv1

__________________________

This characteristic was born when I swung the fishing rod at Jenny this morning. It appeared that the ‘Swordsmanship’ characteristic was influenced by ‘Scammer’ and ‘Fishing.’

At that moment, I had been defenseless. No doubt, Jenny had confidently attacked, thinking I was weaker. Neither of us imagined that I would gain such characteristics. Of course, I didn’t know either.

In other words, the opponent must have underestimated me, leading to their carelessness.

The fishing rod I happened to have was the perfect backdrop for the birth of this Illusion Swordsmanship.

“The conditions fit perfectly, resulting in this unconscious activation.”

At that time, I was, in essence, feigning weakness to deceive Jenny. So then, could it be that the fishing rod breaking her wooden sword was a result of this?

That too was characteristic of Illusion Swordsmanship. As the explanation mentioned, the fishing rod was essentially the same as a sword to me. The fishing rod I held meant I held a power surpassing even a genuine sword.

Thus, that confrontation became a duel of ‘Wooden Sword vs Fishing Rod (disguised as a real sword).’ Although it was a wooden sword wrapped in aura, it probably couldn’t surpass a real sword given the inexperienced aura of an academy student. It was no wonder the wooden sword broke.

“Should I try it out?”

I moved to the forest near the dorm, holding a fishing rod. Standing in front of a massive boulder I found, I held the rod like a sword.

[Illusion Swordsmanship – Fish Filleting Lv1]

And then I swung it. In that moment, a sound like sticks grinding against stone rang out.

Craack!

The moment I swung, I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

The rock, boasting a thickness of several meters… was split in half.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer