The Academy’s Guide to Useless Students – Chapter 10

“Who is fighting with whom?”

The news of Laura Freeze and Cletta Barriet’s duel spread like wildfire.

“It’s buzzing everywhere.”

The spectator seats in the arena were packed to the brim. Two women, who could only be described as breathtakingly beautiful, were showing off their physiques while panting heavily as they prepared to duel. Of course, a gallery wouldn’t miss this!

But what’s with all these girls?

“That’s her. Laura Freeze.”

“Yep, isn’t she super cool? She has that cool vibe!”

“She really looks like a princess…”

It seemed Laura Freeze had become famous after the serpent incident. A fandom was already forming, drawing fans from both genders.

Some people hated her for being rude.

But there were defenders too.

Such is the curse of being the protagonist.

“But why are those two fighting?”

“Don’t you know? Cletta Barriet is famous for being a battle fanatic!”

“True, it’s like there’s not a single peaceful day for her.”

“But isn’t she good?”

“Are you kidding? Did you forget Cletta’s position?”

“Huh? She’s a frontliner, right? Uses a greatsword.”

Greatsword, my foot.

She’s a tank.

A mid-tier tank wielding a shield as big as her body.

“That’s strange… I heard she has a super aggressive style?”

“Definitely. Even during practical classes, she didn’t act like a tank at all. Just drew aggro like a mad dog.”

The conversations among the nameless extras were surprisingly close to the truth. That crazy girl had a flaw as a tank.

That mad woman doesn’t defend.

She slams monsters with her giant shield.

Hits, dashes, strikes, retreats—she does it all. Cletta’s tanking skills are top-notch, but that flaw is fatal.

The reason Cletta doesn’t defend.

The only one who knows the truth is probably me.

Not even the reincarnators know it.

To be precise, no one except Cletta herself knows her true intentions.

Cletta won’t reveal her motives until her last breath.

I know because I once read about her in a strategy guide in this world.

The developers probably never intended to reveal Cletta Barriet’s backstory.

By the later chapters, when Cletta becomes the protagonist’s ally, her flaw is somewhat compensated for.

Is it even fair to call it compensation?

Ultimately, it was clear that that flaw led to her demise.

Thud.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

As I stood up from the spectator seats, a stranger grabbed me.

“I have urgent business.”

“What? You’re leaving this epic match?”

“I think I might need to hurry.”

“Oh, it’s about a urgent poop.”

“Haha. Something like that.”

It’s still poop.

Not the poop I had, but that reincarnator’s massive turd.

Only thing left was for me to hustle and snatch a profit.

‘Hey, reincarnator. I’ll feast well.’

I left the arena, glancing at the two girls standing in the center.

Cletta Barriet.

That’s my name.

Not poor enough to be destitute, nor rich enough to be noble—a household in the middle class.

My birth and childhood took place in a cozy haven fit for three people.

As narrow as it was, it fostered strong bonds, and as shabby as it was, countless memories and attachments were built there.

The low ceiling that greeted my waking eyes was so worn down that morning sunlight streaming through the cracks sparkled like stars.

I loved it very much.

“Kakung! Our little princess! What are you gazing at so intensely right after waking up?!”

“Ah! Daddy, don’t cover my view! I’m observing!”

“Observing?… Where did you learn that complicated word, my daughter?”

“I read it in the books you bring.”

Dad was an adventurer.

Not one of the top ones, but a modest adventurer who earned enough to make ends meet for a small clan. He always brought me gifts from every dungeon he visited.

All kinds of books, broken magical tools, harmless loot, and so on. Those were my only leisure activities during childhood.

Maybe that’s why.

Whenever Dad set out on an expedition, I felt a bittersweet blend of disappointment and bubbling anticipation.

“Dad, how long will you be gone this time?”

“Um, this time it might take a while… I caught something big this time!”

“Something big? What is it? Will you make lots of money?”

“Y-yeah. But you know, there are things more important than money for adventurers.”

“Dad, there’s nothing more important than money.”

“Ahem. Princess, shall we talk about something else? Anyway, when I come back, I’ll get you a triple-tiered cake worthy of a princess, and that ultimate star map book you’ve wanted!”

“Wow, no way! You’re the best, Dad!”

“Princess… Use prettier words…”

“Yeah, I got it. Easy peasy.”

It was two days later that Dad left after a period of preparation.

Typically, a process that would take half a day took two full days, so it was clear he’d caught something significant.

More than anything, even I could tell.

Dad’s youthful face told me just how much he was anticipating this adventure.

So I couldn’t help but feel disbelief.

Dad’s face after returning home a week later.

The sturdy and reliable body I once knew was nowhere to be found.

It was hard to comprehend that the face of the friend who came to our home was now so pale.

I just rushed out to greet the rare visitor when I was alarmed to find his companions hastily hiding him from view.

I was wrong.

What had returned was not a living being.

It wasn’t a memory; it was a conscious state that had settled too deeply.

It clung thickly and persistently to me.

“Uh…Ah…Oh…”

My voice.

Words.

Feelings.

All tightly shut.

“Princess… Words… should… be… pretty…”

Dad’s face…

…wouldn’t leave my mind.

With eyes void of moisture, he stared at me.

His mouth, smeared with blood and saliva, parted slowly and distinctly as it spoke those dreadful words to me.

‘Is mom okay?’
‘I’m fine.’
‘Mom, don’t cry.’

Words like those didn’t come out.

No good words.

Not even comfort for Mom was allowed.

“Stupid.”

“Trash.”

“Worthless…”

I couldn’t say pretty words…

The only form of communication permitted to me was to defy Dad.

“Mom, I’m going to be an adventurer.”

I didn’t expect a response.

Mom’s health deteriorated after Dad’s absence, and she passed away a year later.

This was more of a notification.

A plea to watch over me.

“There’s no need for a worthless tank in this world.”

They said Dad’s death was triggered by the tank. The quest he accepted was one level above the tank he belonged to. Rumor had it, that he failed to draw aggro from the boss monster they faced during the expedition.

Instead of drawing aggro, he fled.

Naturally, his attempt to draw aggro was supported by Dad, the great swordsman acting as the frontliner. But it was all in vain against a highly intelligent monster.

Monsters first deal with high-firepower ‘casters’ and then the fast ‘rogues’ or ‘hunters.’

Slow frontliners are often left as the main course.

Dad couldn’t bear to let the boss head toward his companions.

They say he did everything he could to draw its aggro.

Ultimately,

Dad managed to draw aggro, allowing his companions to escape.

It was a brief glimmer of hope; it was a miracle that they could save even a part of Dad’s head.

“A miracle? Don’t kid me.”

There’s no miracle.

The miracle was born from Dad’s sacrifice and the aggro he drew.

If a miracle isn’t borne from those efforts, then it isn’t a miracle at all.

‘What a joke.’

I don’t blame that stupid tank.

I don’t blame the clan members who survived because of Dad.

I want to be an adventurer so that there are fewer sacrifices like Dad’s.

I may not have the talent to be a tank, but I absolutely don’t want to see my party members die.

“Life. It’s all about drawing aggro. You worthless fools.”

Cletta Barriet.

That was my creed.

“Are you giving up now that you’re rambling?”

“Ah… I was in the middle of a duel, right?”

I was thoroughly beaten.

Laura Freeze?

I thought she was just some weird girl when she came to challenge me.

Turns out, she was one strong weirdo.

Aggro, schmaggro.

Didn’t I barely last?

“Now you’ll acknowledge it, right? That I’m stronger than you.”

“Yeah. So what? You beat a tank in a one-on-one and you think it’s impressive? What a ridiculous person…”

“A duel is a duel. You’ll have to follow what I say now.”

“What are you talking about?”

What’s her deal?

Her eyes seem out of it.

“Well, I admit I lost, but why should I do what you say?”

“You have a personality that submits to strong people.”

“What a dumb thing to say.”

This girl isn’t sane.

I didn’t like her from the get-go.

Who does she think she is, acting like she knows me so well? Infuriating!

“Hey, get lost. If you want to make someone submit, save up for your allowance and buy a slave. ‘Mad Woman’.”

“What?… This can’t be happening?”

“What’s not happening?”

It’s best to avoid the Mad Woman.

Just as I was about to make my exit, someone’s shadow loomed over me.

“What’s this, who are you…?”

“I’m Yuto.”

Wait a minute, he looks familiar.

That guy who just recently leveled up.

He started a fight out of nowhere with me when we first met.

Did he come to draw aggro on the Mad Woman?

I recall he was there when she and I first met too.

“So, you here to pick up the ‘Mad Woman’? Your girlfriend?”

I raised my pinky in a flamboyant gesture.

Yuto casually brushed it off.

“You have business with me, Cletta Barriet.”

“What… what about me?”

“Here, take this. It’s for you.”

“Huh? For me?”

These two keep pretending to know me.

It’s so infuriating.

But what is this? A book?

What? Am I supposed to whack my head with this?

Yet,

As I touched the book, a brilliant flash of light erupted, and rough text materialized.

༺═──────═༻

Attention Seeker

༺═──────═༻

“This is an acquisition-type artifact, right?”

I knew it was incredibly rare…

But more than that, reading the detailed explanation made me burst out laughing.

༺═──────═༻

Draw aggro from all living beings.

Author – Ping Pong –

༺═──────═༻

My ultimate goal had just come within reach.

“What the hell… who are you?”

“I’m Yuto.”

“No! I meant, what are you?”

What the hell is this guy?