The Academy’s Guide to Useless Students – Chapter 46

The quiz went off without a hitch.

Undoubtedly, no one suffered as much as we did. However, there was someone else who excelled at the core function of the quiz.

“Oh?… What’s this? The top score goes to Lady Claribel Krauser?”

With Instructor Oliver’s statement, everyone’s attention shifted towards Ellie. I was surprised to find that this naive young lady had snagged the A-Class’s top student spot.

“Ellie? Where has your passion for being number one gone?”

“There was something more important than rankings.”

“Is that so?”

Ellie’s excuse wasn’t totally baseless, but Instructor Oliver’s vacant stare was becoming uncomfortable for me. It was only natural that misunderstandings were piling up.

And Owen Conrad’s weasel-like glare was painfully piercing as well. What a bunch of nonsense.

“By the way, was there a battle with a monster? I can smell magic strangely mixed with wild beast scents.”

No kidding.

Instructor Oliver sniffed around like a dog, as if he had figured it out purely by his sense of smell. I calmly dismissed the situation.

“I encountered a man-eating bear.”

“M-man-eating bear?”

Instructor Oliver’s face turned pale. It wasn’t surprising since he had organized lectures with the safety of the students in mind. It made sense that he was suddenly anxious, and Klara inadvertently confirmed his fears.

“It appeared with three of its buddies. This is definitely a problem, right?”

“Ha, haha! You’re making too many jokes! The planned course is quite far from the man-eating bears’ habitat!”

“I don’t know about that. Look at this.”

Klara took out a clump of fur from behind her. If it was Instructor Oliver, he would instantly recognize what it was.

“Yikes…”

He seemed to panic upon realization.

Before I could intervene, Klara began to put the pressure on.

“If I believe what the instructor said, then this might be a direct issue for the principal, right?”

“W-wait a moment!”

Instructor Oliver dropped to his knees in front of Klara. Is he really this pathetic for an instructor? Where’s his pride?

“Please… it was all my fault!”

“So?”

“I’ll give you the same prize as the top score to you all who faced the threat… how about that?”

“A prize to settle this? Instructor, do you think this is a joke?”

Wow, Klara’s going in hard.

Is she using the past situation to get back at him?

I’m a bit impressed.

Klara channeled her inner greedy merchant and started to grill Instructor Oliver.

“Isn’t there appropriate action for a situation where life and death are at stake? Right, Instructor Oliver? Say something.”

“Y-you’re right…”

“Wait, are you crying? Oh my, look at that. The instructor is crying?”

I get it. It might be over the top, but I wanted to take full advantage of this.

What should I ask for?

As someone who’s seen this type of plot countless times, I had one answer in mind.

“Let’s keep it.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ll definitely accept the prize, and for everything else, I’ll ask for compensation as needed later.”

“Hmm. Not bad, right?”

A ‘wish card’ that I can use whenever is a brilliant choice.

Klara also seemed to agree, closing her mouth in understanding. I gazed at Instructor Oliver. Whether she agrees or not, that’s up to her. It’s a dead end for him anyway.

Instructor Oliver rubbed his swollen eyes and composed himself.

“Hah… I got it. Let’s settle on that.”

“Deal! Now, let’s see the first prize!”

“But the artifact I had in mind is very precious… I only have three of them. What should we do? It’s extremely rare, and I can’t get more…”

I already know. I was aware of what the artifact Instructor Oliver was offering was.

Of course, it was a reward that had to be obtained in the main story, and I calculated the fact that there would only be a maximum of three.

“I don’t mind taking something else.”

“R-really? It’s super rare! Aren’t you disappointed?”

“It’s okay. I’ll give it to Ellie and Klara.”

Both had faces of deep gratitude, but in fact, I was fine just letting it go since I didn’t need it.

The artifact to be awarded as a prize was a treasure that even billionaires couldn’t easily acquire.

「Awakening Orb」

– A supplementary item rumored to awaken the potential of the target.

To those who have mastered a certain level, it’s an overpowered item that enhances their power to manifest ‘attribute Ether’. But for those with a small vessel, it only increases potential by several times.

In short, it was a catalyst perfectly suited for Klara and Ellie, who were on the brink of awakening.

Since I and Laura had already awakened our attributes, it was unnecessary. I initially intended to ask for something else.

“Instructor Oliver, I have a separate request.”

“Y-yes? What is it? Please ask for something I can provide.”

“You can obviously get it.”

Right now, she already has it.

I crouched down to meet Instructor Oliver at her eye level.

“W-what are you doing?”

As my face got closer, Instructor Oliver’s cheeks flushed red.

“Y-y-you, Yuto is a student! I’m an instructor, okay?!”

What’s she saying? I gently touched the amethyst earring hanging from her left ear.

“Instructor Oliver, I want this.”

“…Y-yes? Are you talking about the ‘Portal Creation’?”

“That’s right.”

“How do you know about ‘Portal Creation’? That’s a secret passed down only to our clan!”

“Do I need to say that too?”

“No, no! But this is problematic. It’s forbidden for anyone outside the clan to use it.”

“That old-fashioned prohibition is meant to be broken!”

They actually think only they should use that amazing thing?

That’s just cruel.

With that artifact, I could warp to anywhere saved in ‘Portal Creation’.

Of course, it consumes an enormous amount of magical energy, so I’d have to use it as a rechargeable item. After each use, I’d have a cooldown of two months, but its cheat-level performance remains unchanged.

“Are you not going to tell me where you plan to use it?”

“I can tell you.”

“Is that so? Then where does Yuto plan to go with it?”

I paused for a bit.

I would tell her, but timing is everything, so I decided to wait.

It should be about time.

Thud━Thud━Thud

I could hear troubling sounds approaching.

“What? Is the ‘man-eating bear’ still roaming around?”

No. This is a beast worse than a man-eating bear. Someone pointed up towards the source of the noise. A massive, gnarled tree was moving towards us above the bushes. Klara clapped her hands, having seen that tree somewhere before.

“Oh, isn’t that the tree that was binding Mad Woman?”

She was right.

It was Laura, who had recovered from trauma, arriving at the destination. She must have moved like that because she couldn’t untie the special iron chains.

“How sturdy is that thing to come here like that…?”

“It’s a special iron chain.”

“Is it that sturdy?”

“More than sturdy. It conducts electricity. It’s weak, but it does.”

I tried to experiment with the power intensity to assess the scale of the trauma. Any currents would render the target powerless.

What a mess.

Thud thud!

Eventually, the tree fully revealed itself…

Laura was looking at me with a resentful gaze.

“Yuto…”

“Welcome back, Laura.”

“Y-Yuto…”

Does she still have the strength to get mad?

Unfortunately, that question was swiftly doused. The moment Laura spotted me, she fell to the ground. Then, like a deflated balloon, she began mumbling.

“P-please… free me from this… please…”

I think it’s about time to end this experiment.

It seems I have effectively educated her enough.

Now, it was time to consider the growth of the regression person in earnest.

Using this as a starting point, I had some good news for Laura.

“Instructor Oliver, you asked earlier, right? Where will I go with ‘Portal Creation’?”

“Oh, right! I did ask that!”

I shifted my gaze from Instructor Oliver to Laura, ready to share the good news, smiling as I did.

“I’m going to the Ice Dragon’s Castle.”

A place in a realm that Laura couldn’t possibly reach at the moment… where Laura Freeze’s ‘ beloved weapon’ was quietly sleeping.

“Let’s go, regression person. To where your partner awaits.”

Give a little extra treat to someone you dislike.

You’ve got to take care of your baggage.