It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 106

Chapter 106: Preparation for the Luxemb Defense

“Whoa, is Kyung-joon going to become a social butterfly?”

“Kyung-joon is the nucleus and we’re the electrons. Get it?”

“Ugh, science jokes are the worst.”

“Literally kill me now.”

“……Phew.”

“Huh? Did Yoo Seol-ha just laugh?”

Yoo Seol-ha was reading a book as usual, far away from them.

There was no sign of her laughing.

“What are you talking about?”

“You must have heard wrong.”

“Sigh…”

Kyung-joon put his hand on his forehead and let out a long sigh at his friends’ foolish antics.

None of his friends were genuinely supportive of him studying.

Were all male friends like this?

Just then, he started to hear the girls talking nearby.

“Lee Kyung-joon is studying really hard.”

“I heard from the boys that he’s aiming for the top of the school?”

“Isn’t that to beat Yoo Seol-ha?”

“Huh. Is this going to work?”

“Who knows~ But I hope he does it. I want to see her get knocked down a peg~”

A female student with the name tag Han Soo-mi approached Kyung-joon.

“Kyung-joon~ Can I ask you about something I don’t understand in math?”

“What? Why are you suddenly hitting on Lee Kyung-joon?”

“This is the first time you’ve seen Soo-mi being sly?”

“That’s not it~ I really have something I don’t understand in math~”

“Oh please… The girl who never even utters the word ‘study’ is asking about math.”

“Let me see it first.”

Kyung-joon took the workbook from Han Soo-mi.

It was a very clean workbook with no sign of her having ever written anything in it.

“This problem.”

Han Soo-mi pointed to a random problem that looked difficult and asked Kyung-joon.

“What part don’t you understand?”

“Hmm, I don’t know~? I just don’t understand any of it~”

“Hmm……”

Han Soo-mi’s answer was hopeless.

Kyung-joon rested his chin on his hand and seemed to think about the problem for a moment before opening his mouth with an “Ah.”

“This is that problem. You can easily understand it if you refer to problem 1324 in the multi-question section of Seolha Publishing’s textbook and problem 17 in Chapter 7 of the C-level challenge section in the Sen Math workbook.”

“W, What…? What are you talking about? I want to hear the explanation from you~ Besides, that multi-what? I don’t even have that book~”

“If you don’t have the multi-question book and Sen Math, they’re in the library. Go and look at the solutions first. If you still don’t understand after that, I’ll explain it to you in detail.”

“Uh…… Yes. Well, yeah……”

Kyung-joon handed the workbook back to her.

Han Soo-mi took it and went back to her group with a dumbfounded expression.

‘At least try to figure it out on your own before asking. Does she think it’s okay to just say she doesn’t know?’

If she had shown any sign of trying, he would have been willing to explain it to her in detail later.

But would she ever even open that workbook again?

The probability was very low.

‘She might as well just give me that workbook.’

Kyung-joon moved his mechanical pencil diligently, lost in thought amidst the noisy crowd.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“Hey! Did you hear about the event in Luxemb? “

“Luxemb?”

Kyung-joon was studying, but his friends were busy chatting around him.

The topic was, of course, the most popular game these days, The World.

Among them was the story of the Luxemb event.

“Isn’t that a small border country between Francois and Deutsch? They’re saying a wave of mutated monsters will hit soon, so they’re gathering players.”

“Oh, really? But it’s not just a local quest, it’s an event?”

“Yeah. To be precise, it’s a regional event. The administrator gives out rewards based on ranking by points.”

“Aha. So it’s an event. But points? How does that work?”

The boy spoke as he scrolled through the announcement on his phone.

“You can earn points by catching mutated monsters that are invading Luxemb… I think they’re divided into attack teams and defense teams? And the rewards are 3 items from the prize list for 1st place, 2 for 2nd place, and 1 for the rest.”

“One each? What? So, what’s good about being ranked higher?”

“Ah, well…… Ah. You can choose the reward first. The prize list has all sorts of weird stuff. The later you choose, the worse the items you get.”

“Oh. That sounds interesting.”

“Is there something like a random box in the prize list? The one that says it gives you a random amount between 10,000 and 1,000,000 liyan but only 10,000 liyan always comes out.”

“Yep. Of course there is.”

“Ah……”

“Administrators’ salaries should also be paid with random boxes.”

The students chuckled, exchanging jokes satirizing the current state of the Korean gaming industry.

“Wow. Look at this. I found a really useless reward.”

“What is it?”

The boy who delivered the update news showed his phone screen to his friends.

The students gathered around the phone, narrowing their eyes.

“…… A complete set of Seolha Publishing high school textbooks? What is this?”

“What, they’re giving out textbooks as event rewards?”

“Yeah. Heh heh. They’re telling us to study in a game?”

Bwahahaha!

The kids burst into laughter.

Textbooks as event rewards!

It was unheard of as a game event reward.

“Wow! That’s a truly crazy reward! Puahaha!”

“Puhuhu……! The guy who gets this last will probably get so angry that he’ll be forced to log out.”

“Hypertension ending, crazy.”

It was then.

Thud! Bang!

Kyung-joon, who had been concentrating on his studies, suddenly stood up and slammed his desk.

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Silence hung in the air.

“Ah……”

“Dude…… I told you to just let him study……”

“Right. Why are you bothering someone who’s studying……”

“No, but I even brought people from other classes.”

“Hey, hey. That’s enough. Let’s apologize.”

“Kyung-joon, sorry. We went too far with our jokes.”

The friends thought Kyung-joon was angry because they had disturbed his studies.

Of course he would be angry, with dozens of people gathered around him talking while he was trying to study.

Of course, Kyung-joon was a little annoyed by their antics.

However, he didn’t put down his pen to chase them away.

Rather, he wanted to hold them back and ask them something.

“Guys. Tell me that story again. What kind of textbooks are they giving out as event rewards?”

It was the moment Kyung-joon became interested in the Luxemb event.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Okay. Then I will send Wagon there by the end of this week.

Kyung-joon and TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant were having a business discussion through whisper chat.

This weekend, Wagon, who is in charge of distribution at Beginner’s Village, will come and take Kyung-joon’s bread.

And then, the official sale at the World’s Best main store will begin.

Since the sales had been entrusted to World’s Best, Kyung-joon didn’t have to bother getting involved.

But suddenly, a worry came to mind.

▶Kyung-joon: Now that I think about it, the average shelf life of food is about 15 days, right?

▶Kyung-joon: But there is a lot more rare bread than I thought.

Kyung-joon was about to type his next message, worried about the bread’s shelf life.

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant sent a message first.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: I will also send a cook who can use preservation magic. So you don’t have to worry too much about the shelf life of the bread.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Even if it takes about a week from Beginner’s Village to Plovdiv by carriage, if you use preservation magic, it will last for over a month.

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant was someone who communicated very well with Kyung-joon.

Whenever Kyung-joon asked a question, he would immediately give him an answer.

Was it because they were both considerate of each other?

Previously, when they discussed the sales strategy and method for the product, they were able to reach an agreement without much time.

▶Kyung-joon: ^오^

▶Kyung-joon: Thank you for the quick and clear answer.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: ^오^

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: You’re welcome.

The second reason why they communicated so well.

This time, TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant also started using the ^오^ emoticon.

To think that he recognized the true value of the ^오^ emoticon.

As expected, TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant was his kind of person.

That’s why they clicked so well.

Anyway.

He thought this would be the end of their conversation.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Oh, I thought this information might be useful to you, so I’ll tell you.

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant started a new topic.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Do you know the border country 『Luxemb』 that is stuck between the Kingdom of Francois and the Kingdom of Deutschland?

” ……Luxemb? “

It was a name he had heard once at school 『a few days ago』.

Moreover, it was the place he was most interested in right now.

But to think that he would hear it from TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant.

As expected, they were on the same wavelength.

▶Kyung-joon: Yes. I’ve heard the name recently. Are they holding an event?

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Oh! Then it will be a quick story. Actually, that place is……

Kyung-joon became interested and began to focus more on the chat.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

『Lothar Francois Deutsch de Luxemb』.

This was the name of the lord currently ruling Luxem.

He was usually called Margrave Lothar.

A margrave was a count who ruled a frontier country.

However, between his territory, Luxem, and his name, Lothar, were ‘Francois’ and ‘Deutsch’.

A name is like a person’s alter ego.

In other words, it meant that ‘Luxemb’, which Margrave Lothar was currently running, was bound to the Kingdom of Francois and the Kingdom of Deutschland.

With this background.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: The 『Luxemb Variant Monster Wave Event』 that is being held this time was actually an order that the Kingdom of Francois and the Kingdom of Deutschland semi-forcibly imposed on Luxemb.

▶Kyung-joon: Something like, ‘We’ll support you with supplies and weapons, so block the variant monsters instead’?

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Exactly. Francois and Deutsch can block the variant monsters without getting their hands dirty, and they can also significantly weaken the military power of Luxem, which wasn’t a major threat but was always a nuisance, like a thorn in their side. It’s killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, Margrave Lothar of Luxemb also saw through this much.

But he couldn’t protest.

He couldn’t refuse.

That’s because Deutsch and Francois were too powerful compared to Luxemb.

Fortunately, the 『administrator』, who called himself the representative of the players, appeared and offered a helping hand.

That was the 『Luxemb Variant Monster Wave Event』.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: ‘Let’s ask the immortal ‘players’ who come back to life even if they die to block the variant monsters!’ Simply put, that’s the feeling.

Fortunately, since players were a completely different third party, Francois and Deutsch didn’t object much.

After all, they were like the ‘Free Mercenaries’ of Humanity Cantons, who would do anything if you just gave them a reward.

Anyway, if Luxemb couldn’t block the variant monsters, they would have to step in themselves.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: But the Kingdom of Francois and the Kingdom of Deutschland used that as an excuse to significantly reduce the supplies they promised to support Luxemb with. I bet the lord of Luxemb is burning with frustration right now.

▶Kyung-joon: That’s pitiful.

This was the sorrow of a small and weak country.

Although it had overcome it a lot now, Korea was in a similar situation about 10 years ago, in 2020, so he could relate to it a lot.

But it couldn’t be helped.

International politics wasn’t about good and evil, but a world of gangsters ruled by the logic of power.

The world was a very harsh place with no rules, no referee, and no rewards for good children.

Anyway, the reason TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant brought this up was……

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Why don’t you take advantage of this opportunity and build a good relationship with the lord of Luxemb? You know, the business you’re running? It could be a huge breakthrough for your future growth.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: I wish World’s Best could help you directly, but…… If a large trading company like us takes a big step, it may cause a backlash.

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant was saying.

『How about making connections in advance for the future of the territory you are currently running?』

That’s right.

TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant was somewhat aware that Kyung-joon was running a territory.

Of course, Kyung-joon had never told him directly.

It was just a guess that TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant himself had made, vaguely feeling it while talking with Kyung-joon.

Anyway, from now on, if World’s Best’s merchant wagons come and go from the territory, it will soon be revealed.

‘This person is amazing too.’

He was similar to himself.

Every word and action was calculated.

Now that they are in a cooperative relationship, it is a win-win, but if they had met as enemies, it would have been a big headache.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Of course, if Kyung-joon-nim joins our trade company, we can solve the problem much more easily…… What do you think? Haha

Even now, isn’t he subtly seducing Kyung-joon?

He’s a person you can’t really underestimate.

Teemo replied to TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’s intentions.

<Master. Aside from joining the World’s Best trade company, his point is quite reasonable.>

<For now, it may be okay because it is still an Unofficial Territory that no one knows about, but if it starts to be revealed to the world later, it is clear that there will be various obstacles.>

That obstacle could be a player guild or a neighboring kingdom.

There are really countless obstacles.

Currently, Kyung-joon’s Study Villa is located tens of kilometers away from Beginner’s Village.

Except for monsters, it is a very remote place where players and NPCs rarely pass by.

But.

If you look just a little further, you will reach the bandit village 『Black Secret Village』 to the south, and beyond that, the dominion of the Kingdom of Francois and the Kingdom of Deutschland.

<In that sense, TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’s suggestion is terrifyingly timely and accurate. Luxemb is sandwiched between Francois and Deutsch, but far from Study Villa.>

“Yes. As the saying goes, keep your enemies close and your friends closer.”

This is an unwritten rule of thousands of years of history.

In terms of South Korea, the enemies would be Japan, China, and Russia, which are close by.

Friends are places like the United States or Europe, which are farthest away.

Likewise.

The enemies of Study Villa are Black Secret Village, Kingdom of Francois, and Kingdom of Deutschland, which are the closest.

A friend is Luxemb, which is far away.

<I think it would be very helpful later if we secretly get close to Luxemb from now on.>

“I see. Later, when the territory grows, the day will come when we will make our debut in international wars.”

The day when Kyung-joon’s territory became known to the world and made its debut in international warfare.

If you don’t build any relationships, you’ll get beaten up.

Therefore.

Relationships had to be built in advance before their debut.

Identify the enemy and recruit allies.

‘Yoo Seol-ha’s grandfather and TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant both give similar advice.’

If one person gives you advice, listen to it.

But think carefully about whether to accept it or not.

But what if two people give advice and they both agree?

In this case, it’s one of two things.

Either the two of them planned it.

Or it’s really good advice.

Kyung-joon made a decision on how to respond and typed in the chat.

▶Kyung-joon: Thank you for the information. But I don’t know if this is a coincidence or inevitable.

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: Yes?

Kyung-joon smiled and continued typing.

Why did Kyung-joon smile?

▶Kyung-joon: ^Oh^

▶TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant: ??

▶Kyung-joon: I was just on my way to Luxemb.

That’s because Kyung-joon was already putting it into action even if TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant didn’t tell him.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

It had already been a few days since Kyung-joon decided to participate in the Luxemb event.

There were various political reasons that TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant had mentioned earlier.

But the biggest reason was to obtain the『Seolha Publishing House Complete High School Textbook Set』.

Even the Beginner’s Village library only had textbooks up to the sophomore year of high school.

“Besides, the library has a severe lack of workbooks, and the books I got from clearing the Contaminated Underground Villa before were all college-level textbooks.”

<But isn’t the Seolha Publishing workbook set a little different?>

“Yeah. I heard the components are amazing. From concept books to actual past exam questions, they have everything, regardless of major or minor subjects.”

Therefore.

The workbook set was essential for Kyung-joon to continue studying in the game.

A few days after deciding to participate in the Luxemb’s variant monster wave event.

During that time, Kyung-joon made preparations.

To secure first place.

There were three main reasons why he wanted to win.

①Just in case there’s a weirdo who chooses the workbook set as a reward, winning first place and claiming to be the weirdo would prevent any potential incidents.

②To build a good relationship with Luxemb and not be underestimated, he needed to show them something impressive.

③Since he was participating in the event anyway, he might as well do his best. The first-place reward allowed him to choose three items, so there was no harm in getting extra.

A day passed.

Two days passed.

Finally, all the preparations were complete.

And today was the day to go to Luxemb to participate in the event.

Naturally, the mode of transportation was the Warp Gate.

Kyung-joon left the territory in Liant’s care for a while and came to the Beginner’s Village Warp Gate.

But then.

“Hey, human! Do you know where Brother Kyung-joon is?”

“He-heek……!”

“Heek? What was that? Speak properly! I’m asking if you know where Brother Kyung-joon is!”

“Heeeeek?!”

Beastkin, rarely seen in Beginner’s Village, were causing a commotion at the Warp Gate.

Then, a familiar-looking tiger beastkin stepped forward.

“Hey, Speedy Spots. What good is it to threaten them like that? Watch and learn.”

The tiger beastkin cleared his throat and asked a passing child and a woman who appeared to be her mother.

“Excuse me, little miss and madam. Do you know where I can find an otherworlder named Kyung-joon?”

“Waaaaah!”

“Kyaaa! Please, please don’t eat us! At least spare my child……!”

“Captain. They’re totally crying, see?”

“Shut up! I know!”

“Waaah!!”

The child started crying, making the situation even more chaotic.

Beastkin suddenly appearing from the gate.

Every time they lifted a finger, all the humans around them were terrified.

The Beginner’s Village NPCs, unfamiliar with beastkin, were mistaking them for monsters.

The players, unlike the NPCs, reacted more aggressively.

“Hey! It’s a monster event! Let’s all gather and take them down!”

“Yeah! We might get amazing rewards if we clear this!”

“Don’t they look super strong……?”

“Come on! It’s Beginner’s Village, how strong could they be? Let’s go! If you’re not coming, I’m going first!”

“W, Wait! Don’t be so reckless……!”

“Die! You tiger b@stard! Take this!”

One player recklessly swung their sword down.

Clang!

The reckless sword strike was easily blocked by a single claw.

“Swinging your sword first means……”

The tiger beastkin glared at the player with cold eyes.

“That you’re prepared to face the same fate, right?”

Roar!

The tiger beastkin’s unique skill 『Intimidation』!

Thud!

“Uh-uh-uh……. “

A sticky, yellow liquid, the exact nature of which I’d rather not mention, splattered on the ground.

The novice player couldn’t even think of moving under the immense pressure.

He could only wait for the approaching death, his eyes wide open.

“If you draw your sword, be prepared to die.”

The tiger beastkin then extended his gauntlet back.

Whoosh!

Soon, a giant fist covered the player.

That’s when it happened.

“Teemo, please calculate the Master equation.”

<Calculation complete. Mana information transmitted.>

Kyung-joon stretched out his finger.

[Advanced skill 『Energy Shooter (Lv.2)』 ]

[Unique skill 『Multi Mana Control: Nano (Lv.1)』 ]

Bang! Bang!

Two energy bullets were fired with a very slight time difference!

One of them hit the fist part of the gauntlet first.

Boom!

The energy bullet exploded in a small way, slightly bending the tiger beast’s arm.

Then the remaining bullet exploded on the very back of the gauntlet.

Boooom!

This time, the tiger beast’s arm straightened out.

[The target’s attack is deflected accurately.]

Through this series of processes, the tiger beastkin’s fist did not hit the novice player’s face.

Wheeew!

It just grazed past it.

The novice player’s hair fluttered wildly in the wind pressure created by the fist.

“Ah…… Ah……. “

Thanks to Kyung-joon’s quick judgment, he barely survived.

[A new skill application method has been devised.]

[Unique Auxiliary Trait 『Shooting Guard』 is added to advanced skill 『Energy Shooter』.]

[100 hours have been added to the Dimensional Study Room.]

[Progress in the study of 『Mana Mechanics』 has improved.]

[1.7%→5.3%]

[Energy Shooter – Shooting Guard]

▶Uses the rapid calculations of the mythical skill 『Just A Rather Very Intelligent System』 and the precise control of the Unique skill 『Multi Mana Control: Nano』 to fire energy shots that accurately deflect the target’s attack.

▶Skill Type: Auxiliary Trait

▶Skill Rank: Unique

Shooting Guard.

Simply put, it’s a 『technique to change the trajectory of an attack by firing energy bullets』.

When fighting Mutated Minto Morco at the Fairy-Elven Magic Academy.

Kyung-joon had fired countless Energy Bolts to deflect his attacks countless times.

Using the memories and data from that time, Kyung-joon devised a ‘Master equation’ that could deflect all attacks, and now it has been established as a skill.

Three Pandora’s boxes that Kyung-joon had risked his life researching during the event preparation period.

This was the moment when the very first one was revealed.

‘…He deflected my fist so perfectly? A mere human wizard, not even a Fairy Elf?’

The tiger beastkin was greatly surprised.

He had recently surpassed level 250 and finally reached the true realm of Weak Ignorance.

He could understand if it was a punch from a mediocre human fighter, but to deflect the powerful fist of a tiger beastkin so cleanly…….

Moreover, what was even more amazing was that his arm was a little numb from the bullet, but there was not a single scratch.

‘It feels like he shot it with perfect accuracy, without a single inch of error…… It’s like that time……’

Just as the tiger beastkin was about to realize something, Kyung-joon greeted him first with a wave of his hand.

“Hey, Mr. Beastkin. Don’t you think you’re going overboard, especially when beastkin already have a bad reputation?”

“Brother Kyung-joon?! It is you! “

“Haha, long time no see, Mr. Brave Fang.”

The connection made at the Fairy-Elven Magic Academy.

They met again sooner than expected.

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