Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

71. Test Subject

As I mentioned before, I wasn’t just lazing around during the vacation. I signed a Spirit contract and learned swordsmanship from the knights of the Chain Silver Family.

Thanks to that, I can now use skills with a sword instead of a fishing rod. Infusing aura works the same way.

Of course, compared to when I was holding a fishing rod, my current technique is still incredibly weak. Even if I were to hold a real sword, my reflexes and destructive power would be less than that of a fishing rod.

Right now, I’m only holding a non-lethal weapon. The sight of me holding a wooden sword perfectly matched a practical test.

A person’s threat level changes based on the weapon they wield; however, with enough training, one can turn anything into a weapon.

Lyman’s branch is a prime example.

I wonder if I can stand shoulder to shoulder with the top students even while holding a wooden sword. That’s the focus of this test.

“Is this all the effort from all that hype?”

Twenty participants isn’t a small number, but expecting over sixty was probably too ambitious.

The students, filled with wariness, watched me slowly.

Ten students simultaneously vanished under the attack of a mere C-class student, no less.

No matter how much one improves, without a fishing rod, wasn’t I just a toothless tiger?

In reality, I had never shown the skills that matched my training when I held the wooden sword.

Professor Radian acknowledged this fact as well. No matter how much I grew during the vacation, how much could I have really developed? No one would think I’d become explosively strong in such a short period.

“Are you going to fight, or just stand there looking stupid?”

As I rested the wooden sword on my shoulder, provoking the students, their eyes came back to life.

Incensed, the group of students lunged toward me, so I dashed to the mansion’s window.

Trying to take on one against a hundred was too much; I probably looked like I was running for my life from the terrified faces. My speed was not particularly fast, and I was grabbed by the back of my school uniform by one of the students who had been sprinting after me.

“You little! Finally caught you….”

Just as the student was about to raise the wooden sword for a strike, he suddenly froze, unable to move. Not just his hand, but all of him seemed paralyzed in shock as if he’d seen something terrible.

Something was rapidly approaching from behind. It could be other allied students, but… if it was the presence of a human, I wouldn’t feel this sense of unease.

The ominous presence fitting the background sent shivers down the student’s spine.

“Yikes!”

Something was behind him. Something threatening his life.

Right now, my instincts were telling me that escaping was a priority rather than defeating Radon.

“Ahhh! Die! Die already!”

In the end, the student swung his wooden sword at the entity creeping up from behind.

And as expected… there was a serpent-like ghost behind him.

With a slight thrill, he felt justified in his action.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Whack!—

He struck the ghost accurately.

In fact, five times.

His expression was one of triumphant glee, believing he’d vanquished the embodiment of fear with his own hands.

“Uh…?”

But his smile quickly faded. The ones he hit were the allied students.

The student who had swung the sword stared wide-eyed.

There was no serpent ghost anywhere, and he soon realized he had done something completely ridiculous.

“What the hell is this!!”

“N-no! Just a moment ago, there was a ghost….”

“Shut up!”

Whack!—

In the blink of an eye, there was no time to explain.

As retribution for being struck, he was hit with a barrage of bludgeoning from the other students. Those who hadn’t been hit looked on in confusion, wondering what was happening.

Now was the chance while they were in disarray. I decided to try out the technique I learned from the knights.

– Charge Attack Lv2

A technique that sends fine aura from the sword into the distance. What one could call sword energy, I unleashed it upon an unsuspecting student.

“Gah!”

The struck student fell as if a giant wrestler had shoved him. Because it was done with a wooden sword and I was still unfamiliar with the skill, its power was weak. As a result, the student managed to stand again, but the shock had knocked his badge away.

“Uh?”

“Watch out!”

The students who had been bickering froze in shock upon realizing one of their own had gone down.

But by then, it was too late, and I unleashed sword energy several times to knock them down. Some lost their badges, but those who didn’t were met with a sudden attack from the ghost, which popped out of nowhere, whipping its tail to snatch away their badges.

『These are truly simple-minded fools. Just releasing a bit of bloodlust made them trust it blindly and do something foolish.』

The chaos among them just now was the doing of Muto’s trickery. The bloodlust from the high-ranking spirit must have terrified them tremendously.

『Is this the fun of catching humans? Experiencing it myself, I now understand why you find it amusing.』

“Do you want to be cursed too?”

『Why would I, already being a curse itself? But you should watch your back.』

“I’m well aware.”

– Crisis Detection Lv6

The protective skill activated, and I tilted my head to dodge an arrow flying through the broken window.

The blunt arrow ricocheted rather than embedding itself into the wall. While it didn’t have lethal power, it was strong enough to separate badges.

From the second year onward, the number of students from the Combat Department adept in archery increased. It was thought to be unique to Luska, but many began to realize its utility and switched during the vacation thanks to the advice of the representative from the first year, Kent Egist.

“The fact that they’ve shown up means….”

Step by step—

An immense presence could be felt beyond the closing door.

The students I had faced just a moment ago, no matter how many they were, felt like mere drops in the bucket compared to this overwhelming aura, reminiscent of either Jenny or Luska’s fearsome presence.

“You’ve finally arrived.”

Boom!—

Before my words could finish, the door exploded open along with the wall.

The aftermath was nothing short of astonishing, as the room seemed to be engulfed by the shockwave, which must have been five times the size of my dormitory.

Thankfully, Muto stood in the front to block, but the impact forced him through the broken window and out into the air.

『He’s stronger than I thought. It’s best to be cautious.』

“I know.”

As I landed near the grave, the being that had just flung me landed in front of me.

Kent Egist, the representative of the first year, lifted his gaze. His thorough and blazing eyes scrutinized everything.

“You’re not just all talk with that notice. But I won’t acknowledge you until I see it with my own eyes.”

He looked slightly taken aback because I had just blocked that attack. Judging by the archers he had surrounded me with, he clearly didn’t want to concede easily.

『There are five hidden snipers.』

‘Then provide some cover for me.’

『Hehe.』

As I began to trust him, Muto smirked. Praise can make even a boa dance.

Bang!—

Kent slammed the wooden mace he was holding into the ground. Although it was made of wood and not metal for practice, it made quite the loud sound.

Typically, Kent would carry around a wooden sword, but that was merely for motivational purposes. His true weapon was bludgeoning types.

I considered mesmerizing him again with hallucinations. This place was perfect for startling people, and trickery is a valuable strategy that no one contests against.

However, relying solely on sneaky tactics for an ambush wouldn’t get me promoted to Class A.

With just that, I couldn’t prove that I had overwhelming strength.

“Then… prepare yourself!”

Kent’s lower body muscles tensed, ready to spring. He compressed the mana flowing through his legs like a spring to propel himself forward. With that explosive release of mana, Kent lunged toward me with prodigious speed.

“Then I’ll retaliate too….”

I also unleashed the mana flowing in my lower body, propelling me just as explosively. The drawn arrow flew straight toward the enemy with incredible force.

A technique similar to Jenny’s Snowfall but executed by the direct knights of Chain Silver. While it was only a fundamental level, it was better than being toyed with by Kent’s speed.

Bang!—

The wooden sword and wooden mace collided, creating a loud sound.

Kent gritted his teeth and poured strength into his arm, forcing himself back. As expected, he was physically superior, and given the nature of our weapons, close combat favored Kent.

He was like Jenny, a trained noble born into this world. In terms of experience, he was above me.

But I had my own means to match this. All the grueling experiences I had absorbed from Enviel flowed into me.

He was a nuisance throughout the game, but not only was he adept in magic, he had also mastered swordsmanship to the extreme.

Borrowing his experience would make escaping this situation quite easy.

I quickly pulled back my wooden sword, baiting him. Before his body could lean forward, I swung at his neck.

“Urk!”

As expected, Kent was no pushover. Instead of losing his center, he recovered his stance and raised the mace to protect his neck.

To wield a heavy weapon like a bludgeon, one had to be cautious to avoid swinging off-balance. But seeing him maneuver it like a feather showed he wasn’t just all show.

“You’re quicker than I expected. But is that all you have?!”

The mace glimmered with silver.

Finally drawing out his aura, he slammed the mace into the ground, creating a tremor, and with shockwaves erupting from the cracked earth, I swiftly dodged.

But Kent wasn’t my only opponent. Taking advantage of the distance Kent created, arrows flew toward me.

At that moment, when my badge was about to be hit… suddenly, a translucent serpent’s tail swatted the arrows away.

I wasn’t alone either. It was just that they didn’t see me.

“What was that just now?”

Kent had also seen the arrows deflected, but that was where it ended.

Before he could wonder, he quickly lunged again, this time with aura wrapped around his sword.

– Deceive and Strike Lv5

“Ugh!”

At first, I feigned an attack to his lower body, causing him to lower his mace. As I approached him with incredible speed, Kent took a deep breath, and his reaction wasn’t unexpected.

“Uh?”

The lower strike was a decoy.

The sword arc aimed at Kent’s ankle bypassed him without clashing, and I spun to add centrifugal force for a second strike.

Bang!—

Kent barely responded as he miraculously raised his mace to block. However, he couldn’t withstand the unexpected power and was lifted off the ground.

The mace was deflected, leaving him off-balance, and he crashed into a tombstone.

Kent staggered back as arrows from the archers flew. Yet again, they merely ricocheted off an invisible barrier.

“I didn’t expect him to be this strong.”

Kent thought as he stood up again. Indeed, that notice was no bluff.

But what if that was just a fishing rod disguised as a wooden sword? If lying were Radon’s specialty, he could convince anyone. However, there were no issues with the swordsmanship taught to the artificial golems.

There was no evidence I had brought a fishing rod. But…

‘What does it matter? What’s important is that he’s become stronger!’

For the first time since the start of school, I felt exhilarated. I had been so engrossed in student council duties that I felt the combat senses I had in my hometown returning. The joy I had forgotten surged back, lightening my heart.

However, if I continued to fight, Kent’s strength would only be displayed, and if I truly rose to Class A, I’d have to bow my head before many people.

It might already be too late. Observers must have seen all our battles.

“Radon Crawler. I’ll test one last thing.”

Swish—

The mace Kent raised sparkled brilliantly. An aura reminiscent of the sun infused into the mace.

“I’m looking forward to seeing if you’ve strengthened enough to handle this.”

Seeing him smile, I also lifted my wooden sword high.

“This works out well.”

Crash!— Lightning struck from the sky, and my wooden sword absorbed it like a lightning rod.

As I wrapped the Howling Thunder around the sword, I also activated Curse Aura, enveloping it in a dark aura.

“I was needing a test subject as well.”

Black lightning flickered around the wooden sword.

A technique born from combining magic, spirit power, and swordsmanship came to be.

It seems this skill is not noted separately, given the lack of unification. Should I just call it ‘Black Lightning’?

Seeing this fearsome technique, Kent forced a grin.

“Didn’t you say you’d grant any request from the person who knocked you out?”

“As many as you like.”

“Just to clarify… whoever wins between us will allow you to rise to Class A. Our duel will certainly be etched in the professors’ minds.”

No matter the outcome, as long as I proved my ability, that would suffice.

I had no idea what kind of training Radon had gone through, but he had the strength to ascend to Class A. If this continued, I would indeed suffer the humiliation of bowing my head before the entire student body.

“Then have you developed a mind for apology in front of me?”

“No, while I might not be able to prevent your promotion, I just thought of a way to avoid bowing before you.”

“What?”

“If you’re knocked out by someone, you said you would grant that person’s every request. So all I need to do is knock you out and make a request, that’s all. Ask you not to bow before me.”

For a muscle-bound guy, he had quite the head on his shoulders. He didn’t enter the student council by mere chance, but he sure knew how to get under my skin.

Coming right up and chastising me about how the weak should hang out with the weak, I found it hard to show mercy toward someone like that.

Whoosh!—

Both sides unleashed their best techniques, colliding fiercely.

The mace created a fiery storm akin to the sun, while the current of sword energy unleashed from my wooden sword met it head-on.

Not long after, the flow of mana from both of us intensified. Every vein pulsed in a rapid race.

Ultimately, the increasing wind pressure made it impossible for the arrows from the archers aiming for a shot to reach their targets.

However, I no longer needed their help. I was a body that had endured rigorous training since childhood. I boasted more stamina and could exert my mana more effectively. Prolonging the fight would only benefit me.

“Muto!”

As I murmured softly, darkness descended upon the ground.

Due to the sun’s brightness, the shadows grew thicker. From that darkness, a massive serpent emerged with a fearsome roar.

As Muto stood beside me, Kent’s triumphant smile vanished. He had identified the translucent entity that had swatted away the arrows.

“Sp-Spirit?”

Muto bared its fearsome teeth and opened its mouth, prepared to devour the holy winds.

The shadows of gluttony that devoured everything in sight.

With the final blow lost to him, Kent realized the black lightning was right in front of him.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.