Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

5. Fishing Rod! A Great Means of Communication! (3)

It wasn’t swung lightly, but it was certainly surprising.

Looking at the split rock, I realized something about the talent within me.

It was simply that the original owner never realized it. Being set up as a mere disposable villain was the real misfortune.

The operators wouldn’t assign such detailed settings to extras like me. I was destined to be a scapegoat merely for provocative developments.

Realizing one’s talent is a privilege exclusive to the main characters. If the status window hadn’t appeared, I would have never come to know it in my lifetime.

Shwoom—

As I swung the fishing rod once more, the wind picked up. Branches swayed as if caught in a typhoon, and countless leaves fell.

Was it truly a coincidence that this fantasy swordsmanship trait had awakened?

‘I thought my stats were so low I wouldn’t be able to survive, but I guess I don’t have to worry now.’

The practical exam for this month would soon come.

Like those guys who trampled me yesterday, many would be gunning for me.

There was no room for complacency just because my talent had awakened.

One of my goals was to secure a stable academy life, meaning I had to achieve adequate grades. They shouldn’t be too high, but they also shouldn’t be too low.

If they were low, I’d surely be labeled a failing student, and the professors would wear me out without any breaks.

But, if I, a scammer, were to show exceptional results, the students would obviously suspect I had pulled a trick.

To avoid getting tangled up in that, I needed to only show a slight improvement.

‘Last month’s practical exam scores for Radon…’

That moment marked the first practical exam after entering the academy. At that time, Radon’s rankings were above average in Class C.

To Classes A and B, it might be a joke, but among Class C, it was a commendable score.

‘Looking at it this way, he wasn’t just all talk after all. Radon.’

Mid to upper-tier in Class C. A score that’s neither too high nor too low.

There are cases where class standings change due to practical exams. If I slightly improve from my current score, I could smoothly slot into Class B, which isn’t bad either.

‘As long as I don’t get promoted to Class A.’

That’s where Jenny starts, and so does the main character Lyman—not to mention that right now, someone I must absolutely avoid, ‘Travell Viole,’ is also a part of that class.

He’ll soon become the dark side of Chapter 1, so I can’t get too close. If I become part of Class A and draw attention, it could disrupt the flow of the story.

As long as I don’t get expelled like in the main story, I should be safe as long as I don’t get involved.

‘Staying low-key will get me through.’

Swoosh—

Delving deep into the forest, I spotted a waterfall. I took off my top and stood at the river’s edge.

It was the perfect target for an experiment. I wanted to gauge my strength through the waterfall, which would be even tougher to cut than the rock I had just sliced.

[5000 Credits consumed]

[The level of ‘Cutter’ has increased. Lv1 -> Lv2]

Just raising a skill was insanely expensive.

Even in the game, it’s known that leveling up skills with credits is inefficient.

Thanks to false reports, I’ve been accumulating credits here and there, but I’ve already squandered quite a bit. I’ll have to save up moving forward.

That aside, it’s now time to test it out.

[Fantasy Swordsmanship – Cutter Lv2]

I placed my hand on my right side and brought the fishing rod’s tip to the creek. With that position, I swung upward towards the waterfall.

The wet ground gave way as the fishing rod soared high and struck the waterfall. The pressure from the water, governed by gravity, seemed to threaten to snap the skinny rod.

Chwaaaaak!—

In an instant, a much louder sound of water erupted.

The waterfall split apart.

Such fierce currents were cleaved diagonally.

Just like when I sliced the rock, I couldn’t contain my astonishment. After ten seconds, the waterfall returned to its original form.

With this level of power, it’s nearly…

‘Equivalent to Class A strength!’

Of course, wielding a fishing rod is no different from using a real sword. I’m not sure whether the same power would come out using a wooden sword.

Whether that’s something to celebrate or lament, for Radon’s current state, such strength was absolutely unthinkable.

No one would consider that I possessed such power. Even if there’s a professor who thinks highly of me, there will also be professors who are suspicious.

So I just need to fight on a moderate level and get knocked out just as moderately.

If I manage that, I can intuitively appeal my growth while evading their glare.

[Sebaceous Rate Decrease: -5%]

[Experience for the job ‘Scammer’ increases.]

[+500 Credits]

“Huh?”

Why did that pop up all of a sudden?

I haven’t even told a lie yet.

‘Is someone continuously being deceived by my lies?’

For some reason, my ears felt itchy.

*

“Radon!!”

The trees were cut, and the ground was heavily scratched. Everything solid around, starting with rocks, was shattered like apples.

This scene, which would be tough even with a real sword, was astonishingly all caused by a wooden sword.

Vwoooom!—

In the middle of the forest, a girl was swinging a wooden sword. The wind from her strikes broke even the frail branches.

“Woah! Hah!”

With every single swing, her blue hair surged like waves. Jenny Chain Silver was always passionate during her training.

However, judging by the destruction around, passion alone wasn’t enough. The root cause was the anger bubbling inside her.

“Radon! Crawler!!”

His face floated in her mind.

Anger boiled over, and what could hardly be called sword training turned into sheer violence that overtook her body.

Unable to control her emotions, her movements only served to wear herself out.

“Gah… Gah…”

Eventually, exhausted, Jenny collapsed to the ground. Her shorts and t-shirt were drenched in sweat.

Having swung the sword without a break, she didn’t even have the strength to rise.

Why was she pushing herself so hard? To gain the professors’ thumbs up for the practical exam? That was out of the question.

What Jenny cared about was only having a rival she could compete against. There’s no greater joy for her, born from a family living and dying by the sword.

Losing wasn’t a concern. After all, she had learned a lot from losing, so she wasn’t weighed down by pressure.

Her only issue was the one who defeated her. That person who broke their promise to her.

‘Radon Crawler…!’

If it hadn’t been for that guy, if she had just not believed him… her mother’s pendant wouldn’t have been destroyed.

And now today, she had fallen due to that guy’s sword strike.

It was frustrating that the sword broke, but it was more shocking that her ribs were hurt too.

‘I… lost to that cowardly guy!’

That was simply unacceptable.

It was already ridiculous that Class A would lose to Class C, and what that guy had used was not even a wooden sword but merely a fishing rod.

She was covered in goosebumps from the shame.

Losing? That didn’t matter. With so many excellent swordsmen in the world, she felt like just a pebble on a gravel road.

But losing to that cowardly guy was the issue.

‘That kind of guy isn’t even a rival!’

Merely a scammer and the enemy who made her lose her keepsake. That was all he was.

An object of hatred and disdain. Not an opponent to engage with, just trash to be gotten rid of.

“I will definitely… definitely!!”

In two days, the practical exam would take place. She would definitely break Radon’s nose there.

She had to avenge her keepsake, and she had no time to lie around reflecting on today’s loss.

‘My body….’

She stretched out her hand to rise. But all she could manage was to flail in the air without any other movement.

Perhaps because her boiling blood was cooling down, her hands became increasingly cold. It felt as if her hands had turned into ice blocks.

Suddenly—someone grabbed her hand. Recovering from that touch, Jenny looked up to see who it was.

“What are you doing here?”

A boy with white hair and wall-like eyes was holding her hand.

He was a fellow first-year student from Class A, and her only close friend, Lyman Begilius.

Lyman helped Jenny to her feet, saying, “That guy… Radon… he sure is a real parrot, isn’t he?”

“…Did you see it?”

“Ah, if it was an invasion of privacy, I apologize.”

With Lyman’s support, Jenny sat on a conveniently flat rock among the cut ones.

“Did you meet Radon?”

“Yeah.”

“Then he must have taken you by surprise. You were all bragging about how you’d handle him.”

“Uh… no…”

At her vague words, Lyman raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Jenny was a girl who always did what she said. Lyman knew this from their first meeting.

So for Jenny to have failed at something she set out to do?

“Did Radon have enough skill to survive after running into you? Or were you just scared of the school rules and let him off the hook for once?”

“No. I definitely charged him. And….”

Jenny, hesitant at first, eventually confessed,

“I lost.”

“Of course you did. You lost… what?”

Lyman tilted his head as if he couldn’t believe it, as if today were April Fool’s Day.

Jenny told him everything about her encounter at the lake that day. Lyman was left dumbfounded by such an absurd and shocking fact.

The breeze rustled as leaves fell on her head, snapping her back to reality.

“Ha ha, hanging out with Radon, and suddenly you’re prone to lying. No lies towards me, please.”

“I’m not joking. Why would I lie? If you don’t believe me, ask Professor Stella. That guy—Radon—carried me to the infirmary.”

Jenny’s mind was still in chaos.

Radon was the enemy of her keepsake. Not to mention, he was among the worst of those who spread false news. Even if she did shave his head, the professors would still take that into consideration.

That wretched guy had saved her when she fell into the lake.

Of course, she was the one who fell in, and it was possible he simply intended to clean up the mess it created.

The top students of Class A were valued highly by the professors.

So how… did he manage to have the strength to break that top student’s sword?

“He was a completely different person. His demeanor, even his strength.”

“Did he gain strength from training with you?”

“No. He told me he ran away out of fear. Would it make sense for him to run away when he had power to defeat me?”

“Ha….”

The more Lyman thought about it, the more he felt confused. If Jenny’s words were true, what were Radon’s actions all this time?

“If it gets out that you lost to him, the whole school will be in an uproar, right? Especially the professors will be furious.”

“That won’t happen. There were no witnesses, so it’ll all be taken as a tall tale.”

There would be no spread of rumors. Given Radon’s involvement, the chance of it being perceived as fiction was very high.

Thanks to that scammer, he turned out to be the only one to benefit from this situation.

“I want to shake off this guy from my head. Even when wielding a sword, he won’t leave me. It feels like everything I’ve leaned on until now is being denied.”

The guy she thought was just a Class C loser had the power to break her ribs? Had he been hiding such power all along?

It was an element she could not possibly forget.

“I really want to forget… is that what I’m saying?”

He was the culprit who had destroyed not just her ribs but her keepsake too. It wouldn’t be easy to forget such a thing.

“If it becomes really hard, I can help.”

Lyman picked up a branch that lay at his feet. He checked if it swung well and wore a satisfied expression.

“To be honest, I’m confused too, Jenny. But at this rate, you won’t be able to make it through this month’s practical exam.”

“……”

“So how about you forget for a bit? If it’s too tough alone, I can keep pace with your sword.”

I saw Lyman point the branch toward me.

Come to think of it, Lyman was always the type to train with such things. Compared to that, what was a fishing rod?

“Thanks.”

Thanks to him, I could forget even just a little.

A blue aura enveloped the wooden sword. Seeing that, Lyman smiled.

The sound of cracking wood echoed in the middle of the forest.

Jenny’s cold hands regained their warmth.

Surviving as the Academy Scammer.