All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 41

21. Just a Little Interference – 1

After parting ways with Arian, Ian headed to Perrin’s Song with Blanche.

As they entered the inn, they saw several burly men carrying luggage.

After easily overcoming their resistance, they secured the remaining counterfeit goods and handed them over to the city guard.

Once the task was done, Blanche looked displeased.

“This seems to be getting bigger than I initially thought?”

The sheer quantity of counterfeit goods and the number of people involved were surprising.

Blanche watched the fake goods being carried away and muttered in a serious tone.

“Who could be behind this operation? And are these all the scammers there are?”

“Is this really the time to worry about that? That’s the guard’s job, isn’t it?”

“I suppose you’re right. Hey, Ian, I have an appointment, so I’ll head out first.”

“Where are you going?”

“Heh. I made friends with a cute girl while on patrol last time. Yeah, it’s time to follow up on that.”

“If you have time for that, you should be studying. Who are you saving your knowledge for?”

“Haha! Heroes don’t need to study!”

He shouted with a laugh, waved to Ian, and ran off.

Watching him go, Ian shrugged and headed toward the academy.

“Hmm? Isn’t that Ian?”

On the way to the academy, he heard someone calling his name.

It was Scranda.

“What brings you out here?”

“The Hero Festival means no liberal arts classes, so I was taking a break. By the way, I heard you received the iron lump that Headmaster Karzid had?”

“Yes, I did.”

When Ian took out the Adamantium from his chest, Scranda examined it and nodded.

“Items from the Forgotten City are somewhat special. Some are cruder than things made by novices. But others are things that even dwarves wonder how they were made.”

“You seem to know a lot about it.”

“Some are sent to Dwarven City for research. Who knows what kind of artifacts come from the Forgotten City?”

Ian knew about the smoke bombs used by the swordsmen of the Sword Flower Troop.

When Ian mentioned them, Scranda nodded.

“It’s similar to that. The Magic Tower was shocked when they first saw it. They say it’s very simple but works in a way no one had ever thought of.”

“I see.”

“There are also quite a few that they can’t even figure out how they work. Like guardians or defense facilities.”

“Hmm… Isn’t that because they’re from another dimension’s items and knowledge?”

“Well? I don’t know that far. By the way, didn’t you say you were going to make a sword last time? Are you thinking of making it with this?”

When Ian nodded, Scranda groaned.

“It will be difficult to smelt this with the academy’s level of furnace.”

As he said, Adamantium was beyond the capabilities of the current furnace.

Without stronger firepower, it wouldn’t even melt, let alone be processed.

“It seems possible in Dwarven City. I heard they have black lava there.”

Black lava that only chosen dwarves can use.

Its firepower would be enough to process this.

Scranda stroked his beard, satisfied with Ian’s answer.

“Yes, that’s possible there. Are you thinking of coming during vacation? I can give you a tour.”

Ian had many things to do during vacation.

When Ian shook his head, Scranda held out his hand.

“Then leave it to me. I’m planning to visit Dwarven City during vacation. I’ll make you the best sword.”

It was a kind of favor, and there was no reason to refuse.

Besides, Scranda’s skills were decent enough to entrust it to him.

Ian readily accepted his favor.

“Thank you. I’ll leave it to you. I’ll give you the sword design before the vacation.”

“Good. More importantly, how are the Hero Festival preparations going?”

“Yes, they’re going reasonably well.”

“There are quite high expectations for you.”

“Yes? Why?”

“The instructors are betting.”

Individual matches and class battles.

They were betting on who would win.

All the instructors, from the lower to upper levels in the academy, were gathered, making such bets.

Scranda had naturally bet on Ian.

“Well… there are many instructors who bet on you.”

“Does a dwarf need money?”

“Don’t you know this saying? Even fairies need money to live.”

He returned to the academy, chatting idly with him.

Ian greeted him as he headed to the faculty office and then headed to the Temple of the Sun.

Perhaps because it was during the Hero Festival, there were quite a few students in the temple praying for good results.

“Please let me improve my rank this time…”

“Sun God, even if nothing else, please let me be partners with Wire after the Hero Festival…”

Passing by the students who were desperate only at times like these, he saw Willis, who was warmly gazing at them.

“Saint Ian, you’ve arrived.”

“Yes, Priest.”

“Mya mya~.”

While patrolling, he often went to dirty places.

That’s why Mya, who was sensitive to smells, had been left at the Temple of the Sun.

Perhaps because all the priests and nuns were completely captivated by Mya’s cuteness, they had accepted her with smiles.

Willis looked regretful as he watched Mya struggle to go to Ian.

“It’s a shame to send her back.”

“Would you like to keep taking care of her?”

“Myaaaa~!”

Mya vehemently ran to Ian.

Willis smiled as he watched Mya burrow into his arms and start kneading.

“Mya seems more comfortable by your side, Saint. She kept looking out the window while she was in the temple.”

“Did she?”

“Mya mya~.”

Mya climbed up Ian’s clothes and settled on his shoulder.

Willis chuckled at how satisfied she looked, as if that was her spot, and said to Ian.

“Class B will have their monster hunting exam soon, right?”

“Yes. It’s tomorrow.”

“What are you planning to do with Mya?”

Mya seemed to dislike the idea and clung tightly to Ian, continuing to act cute.

“I’ll take her with me.”

“I understand. Then you’ll have to do volunteer work again today.”

“Yes.”

“Many saints come during the Hero Festival. Thanks to that, there’s a lot to do. Now, let’s begin.”

They went to the temple’s warehouse to carry luggage and start cleaning.

Ian, who quickly finished the work with the help of the trainee nuns and priests, entered the chapel as usual.

Lachid seemed to be getting used to his life as a trainee priest.

Ian glanced at him standing among the priests, preparing for the service, and closed his eyes to gather the energy of the sun.

After the service, Head Nun Hestian approached Ian.

Ian was puzzled as she smiled softly, her wrinkles crinkling around her eyes.

“What is it, Head Nun?”

“Saint, I heard you’re going to the Miyal Mountains for the monster hunting exam tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps you should take this with you, just in case.”

What she gave him was a small ceremonial dagger.

It also felt like a holy object, with a subtle divine power.

But it looked a little different from ordinary holy objects.

“Ghosts sometimes appear in the Miyal Mountains at night. You know what ghosts are, right?”

“Yes. They’re undead monsters. I heard that the dead appear in specific times or places with resentment.”

She gave a bitter smile as Ian nodded.

“During the Hero Festival, some people go to the side of the sun in the Miyal Mountains. Those people sometimes become ghosts during the Hero Festival.”

So it’s better to be careful.

“If you have this, ghosts won’t be able to approach. Actually, I wanted to give it to the other saints as well, but…”

This was a holy object given to only a few nuns in each temple.

That’s why she gave it to Ian, who had become close to her by frequently helping with volunteer work.

After all, blood is thicker than water [family bonds are stronger than other relationships].

“I hope it will be helpful to you, Saint.”

“Thank you.”

Becoming close to the Sun Order meant receiving many unexpected gifts like this.

Ian returned to the dormitory, satisfied with the ceremonial dagger.

As soon as he arrived, Haryun took him to the conference room.

Ian frowned when he saw Grajin, Wildy, and Oerina gathered there.

“What’s this about?”

“It’s the monster hunting exam tomorrow.”

“So?”

“We need to make a plan.”

“What did we do last time?”

There was no plan last time.

It was a monster hunt conducted by class, but everyone went out and fought as they pleased.

Still, they managed to achieve the feat of coming in third.

“We came in third even doing that. If we make a good plan and move strategically, can’t we aim for first place?”

“I’ve looked into it a bit, and it seems like we’ll be first in the written exam.”

“For cooperative combat, everyone attacks, and Ian defends. That way, we’ll get a high score.”

“So, we must get high scores in the monster hunting and survival exams. That’s the only way to be stable.”

The mages each said a word.

In the end, their suggestion was that if they wanted to aim for the championship, they had to make a proper plan.

But would the Class B students listen to a plan made by the mages?

“We’ll make the plan, and you give the instructions. Then everyone will follow.”

“Will they really?”

When Ian nodded, Grajin tapped the blackboard.

“Okay. Then let’s get to the point. First, we need to find the ley lines [natural energy pathways].”

The monster hunting training lasts for a week.

During that time, they must catch as many strong monsters as possible.

To do that, it’s best to find the ley lines, set up a barrier, and use that as a base.

“I’ve already found a few good ley lines. Let’s move based on those.”

“Let’s do that. By the way, Class C took the monster hunting exam last week, right? What did they catch?”

“I don’t know exactly, but the strongest was an ogre.”

Ogres are A-grade monsters with great strength and cunning.

Like Three-Eyed Trolls, their skin is so thick that they can’t be cut without aura, but they managed to catch one.

“Acewin must have caught it. And there must be guys with family heirloom swords.”

“They must have found the locations of the habitats during the monster hunting liberal arts class and immediately went to catch them.”

Oerina sneered, and Ian shook his head.

“There’s no rule against doing that, is there? We found them too. Okay. Let’s talk about the plan. I also have monster habitats that I’ve investigated. Let’s reflect that as well.”

So the mages and Ian devised a plan until late at night.

* * *

The next day arrived.

All the Class B students moved to the Miyal Mountains for the monster hunting exam.

As they stood at the entrance of the Miyal Mountains, the instructor who had been waiting tapped a bag and said.

“The goal is to catch as many monsters as possible for a week. Also, if there are injuries and you can’t continue the exam, tear the rescue scroll.”

After giving the explanation they already knew, he handed out the prepared bags.

The Class B students, who received the bags containing simple supplies and rescue scrolls, headed to the ley lines they had investigated in advance.

As everyone arrived and tried to set up a base, Ian raised his sword.

“Balla and I will go check the monster habitats.”

Taking only Balla, Ian headed to the habitat of the plant-type monster, Krend Bile, which he had seen before.

And.

“What? This…”

The Krend Bile habitat, which had been investigated in advance, was destroyed to the point of being miserable.

Balla looked around, flustered.

Was it an attack by another monster?

While he was surprised, Ian looked at one place.

A small arrow hole was pierced in the base of a large tree.

“Let’s go look at other places first.”

They went around to several nearby monster habitats.

But the habitats of monsters that would give high scores were all destroyed.

In the end, Ian returned empty-handed and explained the situation, and all the Class B students were dumbfounded.

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“Ian, do you know anything?”

Ian smirked at their questions.

Someone suspicious?

Of course, there was.

“Hastings.”