𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑: 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 (3)
In the vanguard, Oswald drew aggro from enemies with his martial arts and bayonet skills. His aggro management and combat skills were superior to even experienced tanks, and his score continued to rise.
Then, Natasha cast the agility buff spell Haste and the strength buff spell Strength on Oswald.
Alicia’s powerful magic swept across the field, annihilating all nearby skaven.
“Royman.”
The flag was given to Royman, who stayed by Natasha’s side to protect her. He had been diligently protecting Natasha, the support wizard, so Natasha had no complaints.
After several more attacks and captures of the banner, the average score exceeded 600 points.
A voice echoed throughout the dungeon.
[𝐄𝐥𝐬𝐚 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝.]
“. . . . . .”
Elimination meant death. It also meant that the Magical Watch had activated just before her death and had evacuated her.
And the penalty for this elimination was -100 points. Considering that there were only about 3 minutes left. . .
“We’re screwed.”
“. . . . . .”
“. . . . . .”
“. . . . . .”
It was a disaster.
[𝐄𝐥𝐬𝐚 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫: -𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬]
[𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧: 𝟐𝟐𝟏 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬]
[𝐎𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝟏𝟗𝟕 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬]
[𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐚𝐧: 𝟖𝟐 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬]
[𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: 𝟏𝟏𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬]
They had suddenly fallen to last place. The average score was 600 points. The current total score of the team members was 610 points, but after subtracting the 120 points that Elsa had lost, it was 490 points.
And the score of the party just above them was around 540 points. . . a significant difference. Moreover, they had managed to accumulate 540 points even though most of them were Bronze rank. . . . . .
“The last place team is Oswald’s team.”
At Professor Rosen’s words, everyone looked at Oswald’s team, and of course, they expected Oswald to be scolded. . . But the moment they checked the score, they were speechless.
At that moment, one of the five dukes, a student who had always disliked the sight of them, uttered a single sentence.
“That’s why Gilgamesh abandoned you. He’s taking care of the criminals and cleaning up the trash at the same time. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”
Buzz, buzz, buzz. . . . . .
Elsa, who had heard this, trembled. . . but she couldn’t refute it. Her score was already -120 points, and it was a minus 120 points.
“This is a new record. Since the academy opened. . . It’s the first time anyone has scored minus 120 points. Elsa, be proud that you’re the owner of this new record.”
Even Professor Rosen, who had been sarcastic. . . In the end, Elsa burst into tears and quickly left the training ground.
“And Oswald.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Your rank is Gold.”
“Huh?”
Oswald looked at her with a face that said,”Why Gold?”
“Tactics, command, tanking, combat, support. You’ve shown excellence in every category without exception. Your tactics in particular are remarkably outstanding. This is the result of your ability assessment.”
An evaluation chart drawn in the shape of a pentagon. . .
‘𝘛𝘴𝘬. . .’
The goal was to be inconspicuous. . . but instead, he was put in a very conspicuous situation. Even Gilgamesh was looking at Oswald with a bewildered expression. . .
Of course, it was a different situation from before the regression, so it was no wonder he was surprised.
‘𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.’
“By the way, you can only obtain the right to change party members if you are ranked within the top 10 of the League Rankings.”
League Rankings.
In this world, there was something called a ‘league’ that was similar to a sports competition. It was a game where ten players, five from each team, competed against each other on a huge field.
It was a game where you had to destroy each other’s bases and break their protective stones to win, and there were three paths leading to each base. In between them, there was a jungle, and there were monsters that gave various buffs to the teams.
The monsters were a system that respawned after a certain amount of time after being caught, so it was possible to change the direction of the game by constantly giving buffs to the team members.
In addition, there were battle golems that advanced towards the enemy’s base through the paths, and the way these battle golems were commanded could change the battle.
Of course, there was also a way to simply order them to fight automatically and defeat the golems and the opposing players with your own strength.
This elimination was a system created by the Magical Watch’s emergency evacuation function, which allowed players to return to their base and receive treatment for 1 minute before returning to the field just before they died.
Just because you received treatment for 1 minute didn’t mean that all your wounds were healed. . . so once you were eliminated, you would continue to hold your teammates back.
‘𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘖𝘚, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.’
Would injuries sustained just before death be healed by a 1-minute treatment?
Anyway, this ‘league’ was also held at the academy. It was a stage where the combat skills and leadership skills of the academy students could be tested.
The reason why only those who ranked within the top 10 of the league rankings could change team members was simple. It was because everyone wanted to belong to a team that ranked in the top 10.
However, on the other hand, it seemed unlikely that a party that had reached such a level would want to change its members.
In a word. . .
‘𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵.’
Unless you changed party members halfway through, you had to stay with the same initial members until you graduated from the academy.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
Anyway, after the first real-world training session. . . Oswald, who had finished his afternoon classes, had some free time. Alicia was persistently sticking to him, making proposals to recruit him for Vanguard, and he was on the verge of losing his temper.
“Phew. . .”
More than that. . . He also had to deal with the ledger of slaves that he had bought from the Penicillin Earl’s house the previous night. The problem was. . .
‘𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘯?’
When he thought about Hecaton’s other side, he thought that things might not be resolved. Especially when he looked at the ‘liberal revolutionaries’ who had made their base in the sewers and were active. . . Hecaton was the last organization he could trust.
Of course, if he handed it over to Sword, it could be made public and the Penicillin Earl could be impeached. . . but it could also lead to a rift with Hecaton. Since he had raided the slave market and obtained the ledger there, it would soon be revealed that the source of the evidence was himself, a demon hunter. Then, things could get awkward with Hecaton.
‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. . . 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. . . 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦. . . 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴.’
In the end, Oswald went to the Headmaster’s office to get a pass and went outside. After the last incident, he had made an agreement to get the Headmaster’s permission and a pass when going out, so he had no choice but to take this approach even though it was a bit inconvenient.
Although his true identity was that of a dragon. . . outside the academy, he was in a position where he could not exert any influence. It meant that he would not be able to get any help from the Headmaster even if he showed him the evidence.
That was why Oswald headed straight for the Chronos Central Parish. The problem was. . .
‘𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?’
He sensed that someone was following him stealthily. The problem was. . . Unlike Elsa, the other person’s stealth was quite good.
‘𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.’
He was going to the cathedral anyway. Other than thinking that he was very religious, there was no particular reason to be suspicious.
Oswald followed the footsteps as much as possible and headed towards the Central Cathedral naturally. After a long period of tailing. . . Oswald arrived at the cathedral and went inside. Then, the sound of the stalker panicking. . .
“Welcome, brother. What brings you here?”
“I would like to see the Cardinal.”
“To meet the Cardinal, you must first. . .”
Before the priest could finish speaking, Oswald took off his shirt and showed his back, and he shut his mouth.
“I will guide you, brother. . .”
Oswald followed the priest and arrived at the Cardinal’s room.
“Your Eminence, a member of the Order of the Holy Knights has come to see you.”
“Let him in.”
The door opened and an old, white-haired cardinal appeared.
“Praise be to the noble sacrifice. . . I have heard the story from His Holiness the Pope, Sir Oswald.”
“Although I am cooperating with Hecaton. . . I do not believe I can trust Hecaton, so I have come to you for help.”
“A wise choice. Hecaton’s purpose is ultimately a group that represents the interests of the emperor, not those who seek to protect the empire, so you should not trust them completely.”
“Here are the incriminating documents on Earl Penicillin, who is suspected of being a worshiper of the Plague God.”
“Hmm. . . A slave trade ledger.”
“Yes, it seems that he is buying slaves to study the plague.”
“How can I help you, Sir Oswald?”
“I would just like you to take care of the aftermath.”
“You intend to punish him yourself.”
“Yes, I originally intended to use Sword or Hecaton. . . but after seeing what was going on in the sewers. . . It was obvious that it would be used for political purposes, so I decided to handle it myself.”
“Indeed. . .”
In the end, it was nothing more than an attempt to justify his actions to earn Fate Points for himself.
The cardinal, who did not know such things, was naturally moved by Oswald’s nobility. . .
“Then I will contact you separately.”
As he finished his work and went outside, he sensed that familiar presence again.
‘𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯. . . 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴? 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦. . .’
Oswald suddenly started running to get rid of the stalker. As he started running, the stalker started running after him.
Soon, Oswald arrived at the Academy Park restroom! It was closer to the academy’s main gate than the academy’s dormitory, so given the situation, it would be thought that he had run there because he needed to use the restroom urgently.
At that moment, the presence no longer seemed to care about hiding and entered the restroom where Oswald was.
‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘩?’
To his surprise, the stalker was the regressor Gilgamesh. Oswald glared at Gilgamesh with a wary look, but he calmly came to the next stall to Oswald and started to urinate.
Oswald did not bother to acknowledge that he had noticed his tailing here. Then, Gilgamesh finally spoke first.
“Where have you been?”
“Do I have to report everything to you?”
“. . . . . .”
If he pressed further here, it would be an overreach and a reason for suspension. Gilgamesh had only grasped the fact that there was some kind of connection between the Headmaster and Oswald, for some unknown reason.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“You really are an unbelievable guy.”
Of course, to a regressor, the current Oswald would be a shock beyond freshness.
‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰? 𝘏𝘦𝘩. . .’
After all, Oswald had played as Oswald 99 times, so he must be in a position similar to that of a regressor.
“Do I really have to explain to you what I’m doing? We’re not that close, are we? You ask me things as if it’s natural, as if we have a master-servant relationship.”
“. . . . . .”
“Moreover, judging by the fact that you came all the way to the park restroom, which is not a very convenient place, it seems that you were stalking me?”
“. . . . . .”
“You’re not even denying it, so it must be true? Ha, this is an honor. To receive so much attention and love from the great Gilgamesh.”
Oswald was openly sarcastic. Thanks to him, Gilgamesh’s face turned red, but Oswald didn’t care.
“I should get going now, so finish your piss and go.”
With that, Oswald left the restroom, and Gilgamesh muttered softly.
“I will definitely find out what you are hiding.”
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