How to Survive at the Academy - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Day Before School Starts (1)
“Now… What should I do…”
In the middle of a small lake in the southeastern part of the forest is a rocky island where ‘The Guardian Tree of Merilda’ stands.
I found the Elementalist Yennekar lost in thought there, concentrating while leaning against the tree.
Before I knew it, the start of school was only a day away.
I needed to prepare a lot of things. First of which was my unsightly appearance.
Spending ten days in the wild, I looked more like a commoner than I did a noble. Although I did wash in the stream every day, I still needed to shave off my sparsely growing beard.
I sharpened the edge of a hinge I removed from my suitcase, scared of actually using it. If I accidentally cut myself with a rusty blade, I could get an infection like tetanus.
However, to maintain a lowkey academic life at Silvenia, maintaining my dignity was the most basic of basics. My goal was to graduate and remain unnoticed as much as possible. There would be nothing worse than catching the attention of the academic staff for looking like a beggar.
I would need to find a way to get a clean razor blade.
I got dressed and finished my other preparations for school before finally picking up my bow.
[ Combat Skills Details ]
Grade: Combat Beginner
Specialized Fields: Bow
Bow Proficiency: Level 1
Without hesitation, I decided to specialize in bow mastery for my Combat Skills.
There are four skill categories in ‘Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster’:
Combat, Magic, Life, and Alchemy.
It was a system that decides one’s profession by combining two skill categories.
Specializing in combat and magic would enable a student to become a magic swordsman or a magic fighter.
Specializing in magic and alchemy would enable a student to become an alchemist or a spiritualist.
For a player who is in a position to freely choose their profession, it would be wise to consider their options. But in my case, I was left with no choice for my two skill categories.
I had to train my Life Skills in order to survive.
I was also in possession of a student’s body from the Magic Department, making magic training inevitable.
In other words, specializing in Magic and Life Skills wasn’t an option, but a necessity.
These two categories weren’t a good combination, but there was a possibility of becoming a magic engineer or an enchanter.
As I said, there was no weapon I was as compatible with as the bow.
It would be hard for me to engage in close combat because I lack endurance, muscle strength, and fast reflexes. Attacking enemies from a distance would be the most ideal strategy.
When my proficiency with production skills improved, I would be able to craft high-quality arrows and enchant them with magic.
Due to this, the best course of action was for me to specialize in bow mastery for my Combat Skills and specialize in elementalism for my Alchemy Skills.
“Elementalism…”
However, Elementalists were born with an innate ability called spirit resonance.
There was a limit to what one can train to interact with spirits. Therefore, historically great Elementalists had all been born with this innate ability.
“I guess it can’t be helped if it doesn’t work… but that would be a bummer.”
There weren’t many good specializations for Alchemy Skills. The most I could think of was specializing in herbal medicines.
Even then, it would be impossible to force Spirit Resonance if I didn’t have it. If it were not to work out, I would just have to find another way.
“Anyway, I need to try out this bow I made all night.”
I was overjoyed when I finished crafting a bow with a production difficulty level as high as level 2, but I was still skeptical if it would work or not.
I sharpened the hinges of my suitcases and attached them to wooden sticks to make an arrow. I used all the hinges to make four. But if I were to be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to kill anything with them.
They might be useless against large beasts like wild boars, but they might work against smaller animals like squirrels and rabbits.
With the bow on my back, I went out to hunt.
Two hours later, after having achieved the result of two squirrels, I found Yennekar at ‘The Guardian Tree of Merilda’.
At the youngest age, she was able to sign a contract with Takan, a high-ranking fire spirit. She was a talented Elementalist currently attending Silvenia Academy as a second year student.
She would later on be controlled by the high-ranking dark spirit Velosper, the right hand of the highest-ranking dark spirit Glasskan. She would then take over the entire student center.
She was ‘Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster’s’ final boss in the first act.
* * *

* * *
Without any ambition, I just wanted to graduate from this academy. That was my best course of action.
But truth be told, it wasn’t like I didn’t have any dreams.
It wasn’t like I didn’t want to be the hero of this world and walk a path of praise from everyone.
However, the path a hero would walk on was usually a thorny one.
There was a reason they received praises. It was because they silently pressed forward on the thorny path where blood flowed, just as if it was a flower road.
The same goes for this word’s hero, Taylee. No one knows who he was yet, or where he was or what he’s doing.
But I’ve played countless times as Taylee, so I knew it all too well.
With a total of 5 acts and 43 chapters, the story was similar to that of an epic novel. The ordeal that the main character Taylee would go through was not something a weak feeble mind could endure.
What awaits at the end of his romantic and youthful academy life was the countless suffering of death and formidable and overwhelming enemies.
His last semester would be where the scale of his ordeals would increase drastically, with constant threats and pressure on Taylee’s personal affairs.
The pleasure and triumph of overcoming them may be sweet, but I didn’t want to go through all of those. Above all, overcoming them didn’t always mean that a great reward was waiting.
Honor and glory were valuable things, but they never came for free. Instead, a lot of sacrifices had to be made in the process.
To know that the path in front was a thorny one, it would be stupid to willingly walk on it.
That was my conclusion.
Whatever it may be, I would follow the ‘authentic path.’
The path of ‘Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster’ that I knew.
One way or another, Taylee, who had been through all kinds of ordeals and tests, would solve all the crises on his own.
I would just tell him he was doing a good job and clap for him while I focus on taking care of myself and getting my diploma.
And besides, I was one year his senior.
The storyline of ‘Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster’ would get fiercer around the last year when Taylee was about to graduate. This was also the climax of the storyline.
It was when all kinds of forces outside the academy were in full swing, students were threatened and the atmosphere became desolate. All the students were met with various hardships.
The year before that, I just needed to get my diploma and leave.
My strategy was to take all the benefits and go find my own life while I leave all the difficulties to the protagonist.
Wasn’t that the perfect plan?
As for this situation…
One of the most important characters in the game and the first person to take Taylee down–Yennekar Palerover.
I didn’t want to get involved so I should just go on my way.
That was the reasonable course of action.
But just as I was about to leave,
“Oh my, isn’t that the funny friend Merilda mentioned?”
Yennekar opened her eyes and spoke to me.
Of course, this was my life, where rarely anything ever goes the way I wanted.
* * *
“The entirety of this forest is Merilda’s territory. And although she’s not a very high-ranking spirit, she talks about everything on her mind.”
She talked as if the old high-ranking wind spirit that had been protecting this forest even before Silvenia Academy was established was her friend.
Her plentiful light pink hair was brushed down well, and both sides of her hair were neatly braided, giving off a warm impression.
She was dressed in the standard uniform at Silvenia Academy, a red coat and navy blue skirt. But perhaps, since it was cold, she had a fluffy shawl wrapped around her shoulders.
Spread around her were a couple of magic books. She must have been reading while being surrounded by the trees in the forest.
“I just arrived back at the dorm after the break, but why do I have so many things to say… I’m admired for having a high-ranking spirit, but I guess I’ve been lonely without someone to talk to. I don’t know how I survived the break, being so bored.”
She smiled and kept chatting, but from my point of view, this was a dilemma.
Because I didn’t want to get involved with her.
I had to do something when it was with Princess Penia as she was directly related to my situation, but this is a completely different story.
“I guess it can be lonely for anyone, not having someone to talk to.”
She looks so cozy and sweet with her bright smile, which is why it came as a big shock to players in the first act when she was revealed as the main antagonist.
A reliable and warm second-year senior, and yet she took over the student center with the cursed seal of Glasskan all over her body.
It was a slap to the back of the head for players who were just starting to adapt to the rules of the world.
In fact, it was the point where I got immersed in the story. I couldn’t help but say ‘What the shit–’ when I played through that part.
So…
Why was she talking to me?
Somehow, I felt like I could answer that question myself.
“I heard you were living in this forest? After being excommunicated?”
“The owner of this forest told you that?”
“Merilda is a bit nosy. She loves this forest after all.”
With a smile on her face, it seemed like blooming flowers were flying around her. She looked like someone who was always positive no matter how bad the situation may be.
The gap in appearance from how she looked now to when she would take over the student hall made me feel uncomfortable.
“She loves this forest very much, isn’t it only natural for her to know about one uninvited guest?”
“Uhm…”
I became worried about the two squirrel bodies hanging behind my back. I had also cut down a lot of trees.
“Don’t worry about those useless things~ It’s the providence of nature that the living is to catch and eat each other. Would Merilda be uncomfortable with just that?”
“I guess even a scary-looking giant wolf has a soft heart.”
“It’s unexpected right? Hahaha!”
Merilda, who protects the forest, was a high-ranking wind spirit in the form of a giant wolf. From what I could remember, she didn’t usually appear in front of humans. I guess she was more tolerant than I had originally thought.
Then it wasn’t as strange that I had been setting up camp, hunting, and gathering in her forest thus far.
“Your appearance changed a lot. Hmm… The Ed from last semester was more… We haven’t talked a lot but how should I say this… Your voice sounded a bit more ‘whiny’, but now it’s more serious. Was it an image change?”
“Something like that.”
“Aha! I feel the same. The Ophelis Hall maid braided both sides of my hair. What do you think? Do I look more tomboyish?”
I couldn’t respond as she twisted her hair.
I wanted to commend her for cheerfully talking with Ed Rothstaylor, who was known as the biggest jerk in the world but…
Knowing her future, I couldn’t respond with a cheerful smile.
Well, if I wanted to keep my distance, that would be easy.
I know a ‘magic spell’ that would make anyone nervous and suspicious of me, no matter their saintly personality or how nice of a person they may be.
“Yennekar, it must have been fate that we met the day before school started. May I ask you for a favor?”
“A favor?”
“Recently, I’m in urgent need of money, so I have been looking for a place where I can borrow.”
I naturally cast the magic spell.
“Can you give me a guarantee?”
And cut–