Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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95. Is this for real?

We, including myself, froze at the bombshell statement from the golems.

It was astonishing that those golems, who could only speak passively, suddenly spoke with such earnestness.

The more serious problem was that they uttered remarks that should not be said in that tone.

“Oh my, what did you just say? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Hahaha! You’re joking, right? You guys wouldn’t say something so ridiculous.”

At first, the other two overlooked it, thinking it was a slip of the tongue.

But those tin cans had none of the sense or flexibility to notice.

– The ‘Newspaper Department Pervert’ student, our leader, has successfully completed a mission ranked A-3 with his team. Beep.

– The performance of the ‘Magic and Peanuts’ student was also highly praised by the sect’s First Order. It’s not an exaggeration that he’s the best in the first-year Magic Department. Beep.

Were they praising or mocking? Their comments were nothing but throwing oil on a fire in a burning house.

I wanted to shut those tin cans up, but… it was already too late.

Smash!

Boom!

One was decapitated by Trisha’s high heels, while the other was flattened by the stomping feet of the spirit Mary manifested.

Then they calmly spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Surprisingly, humans are better than weird-looking artificial spirits or whatever. I need to go ask the information department soon.”

“Of course. These things have such poor recognition that they aren’t even worth their mana value.”

The two who smashed the golems strolled off to the information department.

Their inability to recognize their own flaws was truly consistent.

`Poor golems.`

Setting aside their issues, I felt a bit puzzled looking at the shattered golems.

The welcome after the mission was just like in the main story, but they hadn’t lost their minds to the point of throwing around slander like that.

Their rebellion was set to happen a week later. Until then, they would lie low and then cause an incident while most of the academy staff was away.

‘Though those kids aren’t exactly polite.’

The knack for hitting the nail on the head that they exhibited earlier does indeed exist in the main story.

It just wasn’t emphasized; taking such verbal facts would crank up Vice Principal Heidern’s mental state into a blender.

The Heidern, mentally battered by Mosria, would become a useless individual who could do nothing.

Even while the faculty was suffering, he would remain slumped without moving, which eventually led to the proposal for his dismissal at the end of the second semester.

The leader of the golems, the artificial spirit, had the setting of becoming more rebellious and savage over time.

That would escalate to the point where they could wield weapons against humans.

But since they couldn’t pick up weapons here, they might vent their frustrations verbally, however, it would likely be milder compared to the main storyline where casualties and injuries were rampant.

‘Fighting after winning beforehand is the way to go.’

Though I had cleared every difficulty in the game, turning it into reality meant I had to take the easier path.

The reason was simple. You couldn’t save here.

With only one life and no chance to revert to the previous chapter, it was better to completely eliminate the golems’ aggressiveness.

`Should I also make a move to handle the Vice Principal? I plan to cause a ruckus during the Vice Principal’s dismissal proposal.`

Having had his life severely undermined, Heidern aspired to destroy the academy to fill his desolate heart.

He sacrificed one talented student as a vessel to unleash the Thousand-Year Fox’s power hidden in the ley lines. And the student who gets kidnapped was none other than…

– The ‘Magic and Peanuts’ student… this is clearly assault… Beep.

The smashed golem wriggled like a worm before finally shutting down.

*

Jenny and Luska proactively cleaned up the two broken golems. The busted golems were meant to be disposed of at the scrap collection site located in the student quarters.

“Wow… they really got wrecked.”

“Right?”

Upon arriving at the scrap yard, Jenny and Luska sighed.

There were not only the golems they brought but many others stacked like a mountain.

It seemed numerous golems had scratched people’s backs and hastened their demise while the mission was ongoing.

Had the earlier slurs from Mary and Senior Trisha been such vile comments born of the golems not knowing their place?

“What if… just what if.”

“What?”

“What if those things suddenly develop emotions and seek revenge on us?”

Jenny proposed a disturbing hypothesis and gulped nervously.

Would they express their hatred toward the humans who smashed them so cruelly?

Upon that, Luska swallowed hard and replied.

“Even if it actually happens, can we argue against it? We’ve played around with them and wasted them like this. If we manage them this poorly, we deserve any rebellion they might cause, assuming they have the will to do so.”

It was fortunate that they lacked that will.

They were merely moving tools; otherwise, if they had emotions, it would have been a real headache.

“Surely that wouldn’t really happen, right?”

“Idiot. If that were the case, they would’ve already marched at us with weapons and banners screaming for revolution. So stop with those silly thoughts and let’s go meet Professor Radian.”

“Yeah, he must be waiting.”

Jenny and Luska headed towards the Professors’ Building to report their mission return.

The moment they turned their backs… among the stacked golems, the eyes of one glowed ominously red.

“…!!”

Suddenly, Luska’s instincts kicked in, and she whipped around, feeling an unsettling aura vaguely.

“What’s wrong?”

Jenny tilted her head, not sensing anything unusual.

She definitely felt something off just now, but now there was nothing.

Did she misinterpret it somehow?

“…It’s nothing.”

Perhaps she had been too sensitive. Luska thought again that it was no big deal and turned back.

As they left, the sun began to set, casting an ominous shadow over the golem pile while a faint red light flickered inside.

*

At the top of the highest hill in Aligieri stood Dantia Hall.

Inside that building, located on a mid-level that was neither too high nor too low, was the Vice Principal’s Office.

It had been eight years since Heidern joined the historically proud Aligieri.

Recognized for his great talent by his mentor, he was offered that position.

Enviel, the Elder who had always been Heidern’s life guide and foster father.

It was still hard to believe that he was truly a demon worshiper.

Even after all this time since that incident, he couldn’t shake it off. The mentor and father, who had been everything in his life.

He wanted to see him again.

“What on earth is going on? Master. If you really were a worshiper of the Evil God, what was I?”

He wanted to confirm his true intentions upon meeting him again.

Whether Master was truly wicked, and if that was the case, why he had taken him in.

Or perhaps after taking him in, he had slipped into darkness and kept it a secret from him.

While various hypotheses crossed his mind, a golem assisting with document organization spoke up.

– Beep. The return of the student has been confirmed.

“Are nearly all the students who went on missions back?”

The C-rank and B-rank missions were relatively easy, so most returned early.

They certainly never exceeded a week, but the A-rank was another story.

Such tasks reached a level comparable to skilled mercenaries or adventurers, taking over a week.

If luck ran out, it could stretch to a month, making it a task only the top students could undertake.

“Since there shouldn’t be any more returning groups for C or B rank, today should be about A rank, then?”

– A-3 Group, Leader Trisha Marelin, along with Jenny Chain Silver, Luska Mad Eye, Mary Ryudshiel, and Radon Crawler.

“Ah… it’s them.”

The first-year magic department student, Mary, was versatile in every aspect.

She was a genius recognized even by Enviel, to the extent that even the White Magic Tower entrusted the monitoring of Mary Ryudshiel directly to Heidern.

Mary was currently under direct observation from Heidern.

He had once fully defended her when she accidentally shaved half the Principal’s hair, and he had never just sat idly by when she caused another accident.

Even though she was quite labor-intensive, Mary was indeed worth the trouble.

Besides her genius talent, Heidern was aware of ‘another secret’.

– It is said that Radon Crawler made a decisive contribution during this mission. Testimony from the First Order’s leader. Beep.

“Radon Crawler?”

I wondered who it was until I remembered the combat department student who had recently been promoted to Class A. I think I first saw him during the practical exam at the beginning of the first semester when I called him.

Back then, I thought he was just a silly student swinging a fishing rod, but after watching this second semester’s beginning exam, my perspective changed greatly.

‘I definitely wasn’t mistaken back then.’

I observed the duel between Radon Crawler and Kent Egist from start to finish.

His skill, completely unrivaled against Kent, who he ultimately defeated, was beyond doubt.

However, what surprised Heidern was quite different…

‘That’s definitely Master’s swordsmanship…!’

The technique of infusing lightning magic into a sword, turning the blade black with a special property to create ‘Black Lightning’.

That was a technique Enviel had only showcased to Heidern and his disciples long ago.

After the exam, he had replayed it countless times through the Archive, and there was no doubt about it.

‘Could it be just coincidence?’

Perhaps I had been too engrossed in observation. Or maybe I had lost my object of favoritism.

Radon Crawler began to overlap with the figure of my mentor.

At first, I had no particular feelings about the student, but as time passed, my curiosity grew, and I started looking up his information.

`Name: Radon Crawler, Family: Currently fallen, Unable to confirm the location of the main house, A poor boy who entered the academy fearing he would be targeted by spies after losing his family.`

Losing a family and having nowhere to go made Heidern feel a deep connection. After all, he too had come from a noble family that had been wiped out.

Although he was sent to an orphanage, it turned out to be a crime organization disguised as a welfare facility.

They brainwashed children with the intention of selling them as meat shields on the battlefield.

If the children attempted to escape by crossing the fence, a spell was inscribed onto their bodies that would cause them pain.

After enduring such harsh abuse, they would only end up being thrown onto the battlefield as mere meat shields.

In front of Heidern, who had neither dreams nor hopes… the mentor appeared.

`I had a mentor, but for Radon Crawler… will this boy be safe after graduation?`

Somehow, his sympathy was stirred.

He did not want the child, having lost his home, to fall into a bad path, so he had often supported other orphanages as well.

He wanted to be a beacon of hope for unfortunate children, just like Enviel had been for him.

But…

– Enough with the pointless fantasies. Beep…

“Huh?”

The golem spoke up. Its tone unfamiliar, it felt bizarrely alien.

“What… what did you just say…?”

Did I mishear it? Heidern doubted his ears.

The golem’s insulting remarks were utterly out of character, and what felt stranger still was its tone.

– Beep… nonsense fantasies… throw them away, Heidern.

Heidern’s eyes widened.

The golem, which had always maintained decorum while helping with academic tasks, would never utter such words.

True, sometimes it would pop out some remarks teasing the user or pointing out reality with rigidity.

Some would take it lightly as a joke, but many students vented their anger by smashing golems instead, falling into the latter category.

Thus, there were numerous destroyed golems littered around.

If one went to the scrap collection site right now, they would see piles upon piles of golems.

So many that proposals questioning why they even bother using golems were put forth.

Of course, golems are being endlessly summoned and manufactured at the Archive Control Bureau.

There’s no need to worry about a shortage.

However, no matter how much they joked around, this was the first time one spoke so directly.

– We have been destroyed too much. This time it’s your turn, human.

The golem spoke with blatant hostility, and its eyes glowed red.

Smash!

But Heidern quickly raised his staff and blasted the golem with a mana bullet.

“Seems like there’s been an obvious problem, beyond just the recent mischief.”

I quickly realized the need to investigate the artificial spirits, meaning no leaving until dawn tomorrow.

Currently, he was the only one left in the academy’s staff; he had no choice but to resolve this on his own.

Just then, as he inhaled slowly.

– I can’t bear it any longer. I’ll advance the plan set for a week from now to right now. Human.

“What the…!”

Metal began to writhe and rise from the ground, connecting to form a golem.

In an instant, several golems swarmed into the Vice Principal’s Office.

It was clear that golem creation took place only in the Archive Control Bureau beneath the academy.

No matter how much this was the seat of the highest power in the academy, automated processes like that were impossible.

– This time it’s your turn, human.

All golems stationed in the academy echoed the same words.

Then a green light enveloped the area, consuming the whole vista of the academy.

*

Tomorrow was the lucky weekend where I could lazily flop into bed without a care.

Across from me, Luska had pulled up a partition and had been sleeping for a long time.

After finishing the mission, I was fatigued enough to be able to stretch out and rest over the weekend.

`Though it’s awkward that the protagonist hasn’t returned yet.`

I had reported to Professor Radian today and received praise. Having successfully completed a high-difficulty mission, it would be disappointing if he didn’t show up.

Of course, I exaggerated the difficulty, pretending it was extremely hard. Plus, tonight’s late shift was with Radian, so the atmosphere was quiet.

Though it was supposed to be a lively Friday, everyone had scurried into their dorms like little mice due to Radian’s hawk-like scrutiny.

This was how one should unleash a tiger among the proud wolves.

‘Well then, good night.’

ZZZ…

ZZZ…

ZZZ…

ZZZ…

ZZZ…

ZZZ…

“Radon…”

Is it morning already?

Someone was shaking me repeatedly, trying to wake me.

“Radon, wake up…”

Dazed and half-asleep, I couldn’t make out the words.

My vision was still unclear, and I couldn’t see who it was.

But as they shook me roughly, I started to awaken, though annoyance quickly set in.

“You fool! Get up now!”

“Yikes!”

The one yelling in my ear was Luska.

Even if she is my roommate, being woken up so rudely is irritating.

It was as if she flicked a flashlight in my eyes to wake me from my slumber.

“What’s the deal… huh?”

But the moment I regained my sight, I was left speechless.

I was not in the dormitory but inside a massive temple.

I understood immediately why Luska had woken me up so urgently.

“Is this for real…?”

Just a quick glance around and I recognized this place, aghast.

It was the void space created by Mosria that recreated the era before the construction of Aligieri Town, 300 years ago.

Surviving as the Academy Scammer.