Apart from the secrets of Esdinas Academy and the world itself, there is a specific reason why Changyeom chose Esdinas Academy as my ‘training ground’.
“Get used to it from now on. In about 10 years, by Middle World time, this will likely be exactly how it looks.”
After arriving at one of the training rooms in the academy with Changyeom, she snapped her fingers toward the wall.
“This might be a new experience for the freshmen, but it will become a familiar battlefield for you.”
The idea was to get accustomed to the environment of the future.
Just like Olympic athletes train in environments similar to their competition venues, Changyeom wants me to get used to the ‘stage’ for the final battle against the Goddess.
“Above all, it’s a battlefield where you can make the best use of the terrain, isn’t it?”
Changyeom tapped a spot on the training room floor with her foot.
Unlike the neatly polished floor, this spot had a fine crack as if it had been damaged.
“Of course.”
This is the place where an event from the original work unfolds.
It’s where the protagonist character stumbles over a stone while battling a senior supporting character.
In the game, the so-called ‘unfair difficulty’ was visible as graphics, and now it is clearly present.
“Of course, I can’t say the surface of the world will be exactly the same in 10 years…”
“If it’s been repaired or changed, just adjust to it. If it’s the same as the original, you can use it to your advantage.”
“That’s right. In that sense… hmm.”
Changyeom, with her cat tail extending from behind her skirt, tilted her head and looked at me.
“Are you training? Or just showing off your body?”
“…I’m just dressed the same way as when I exercise.”
I pointed to my body, meaning my physical form and clothing crafted by magic.
“Are you wearing that on purpose? I keep noticing your upper body.”
“Oh. I was actually looking at your face, not the muscles.”
“Are you trying to dodge the subject?”
“Anyway, Slave, you’re always looking at my entire body.”
“…”
In conversations with Changyeom, I always end up being defeated.
“You don’t need to be so flustered. Being healthy as a male is a significant advantage for our plan!”
I couldn’t find a rebuttal to Changyeom’s comment.
“Dating sims should be like dating sims! I have strategies for 16 characters, so there’s no need to put it down. Hehe.”
“If you put it that way, it makes me sound like I’m deliberately building a harem, so could you call it a ‘plan to cut off the Goddess’s hands and feet’ instead?”
After checking the state of my training clothes, I picked up one of the many weapons Changyeom had created by snapping her fingers.
“A gun?”
“Because this is ‘realistically’ familiar.”
I picked up the handgun.
Although it is a weapon that doesn’t exist in this world, the concept of a handgun itself is not unknown here.
“The Academy has a Magic Engineering technician, so we can have her modify it into this shape.”
“You know, right? A handgun is basically just called a magic missile wrapper.”
“It’s better if it’s convenient for me to use.”
I aimed the handgun sideways, and a target quickly appeared.
Ta-aanng!
I pulled the trigger.
The blue bullet made of magic pierced the exact center of the target.
“Are you trying to use it as a magic missile wand?”
“In reality, it’s all about how you apply it. Otherwise, you’d end up having to use something else eventually. Isn’t it a bit awkward to use it as a weapon?”
I picked up a weapon that Changyeom seemed to have deliberately created.
“If it were a golf ball, it might be different, but you can’t hit golems or Sword Masters with a 7-iron.”
“Well, in Korean movies or dramas, it’s normal for conglomerates to hit people with golf clubs.”
“Excuse me, the Archduke of the Fantasy World of Demons. Can you stop talking about distorted K-culture like that?”
After releasing the magic power from the gun, I grabbed a 7-iron and took a swing.
“Wow. Impressive. Now, instead of a ball, you’re going to put a person’s head there, right?”
“Just drive the Goddess into the ground with a clean shot.”
“With a 7-iron?”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s not for hitting the ball accurately and far, but for hitting the head precisely and hard, right?”
“Hehehe. That’s true. Well… good mindset. Motivation is crucial for becoming stronger.”
Changyeom snapped her fingers.
My position was naturally moved to the center of the training room, and iron bars appeared at the doors to the north, south, east, and west of the room.
“Then, let’s jump straight into a real battle?”
“Starting a tutorial battle from the center is against the rules.”
“Then just from one of the doors?”
A blue flame ignited right where I was looking. The flame, shimmering like a hologram, began to take shape, and it formed the most basic demonic creature you’d see in a tutorial—
“Three Dire Wolves. Can you handle them?”
“…”
The Dire Wolves, each about 1.5 meters in size, were closing in.
If you were to ask whether an ordinary gamer like me could handle them:
“How far can you go?”
With only modern experience, it would be impossible, but my training as Regif Habsderk can cover that.
“I’ll adjust according to your ‘combat skills’.”
Changyeom lightly tapped my chest with her hand.
“Even though you can use mana infinitely since you have a contract with me anyway, you don’t really know ‘how to use’ mana, do you?”
“Umm.”
“In modern terms, it’s like someone who was making 3 million won a month suddenly getting 200 billion won.”
“…”
“Oh, sorry. Was it 330?”
“Since I cleared the game, it was 200 billion.”
I aimed the handgun forward.
As the iron bars opened and Changyeom vanished…
Grrr…!!
Three Dire Wolves began to amble into the training room.
“In the next 10 years, to… defeat other Dukes of Hell and the Demon King and conquer the Demon World—”
Click.
“You’re going to learn by dying.”
I pulled the trigger, directing mana from my chest and heart into the handgun, transforming it into a magical bullet and firing—
Kwah- bang!
The intense shock was felt in the hand gripping the gun and on my face.
Pain and death surged as if a bomb had exploded right in front of me—
Wham.
When I opened my eyes after a brief moment of closing them—
“…Hah, huff.”
“Beep. 1 death. Death due to excessive mana use.”
I died.
“You put too much power into it. Be a bit more delicate. Only use as much mana as you can handle with your current mental strength.”
“…Ah.”
“One of the most common cases of death when students go out for external exams. Should we take a break?”
“No. Death is, the second time.”
Pain isn’t familiar, but I need to get used to pain and death.
“I died once when making the contract.”
Though I tried hard to suppress it due to the situation, even now, the pain of my entire body burning still sends chills down my spine just by thinking about it.
“I’ll probably die many times while fighting in the future.”
That pain will continue to assault me in various ways.
“But.”
I reformed the handgun with mana and infused the barrel with mana like a bullet.
“Phoenixes are beings that resurrect from their ashes, even if they die.”
“…Phehe.”
Changyeom laughed.
“You had a lot of game overs fighting my avatar, didn’t you?”
“Ah.”
The embodiment of the Archduke of Hell.
The gigantic blue phoenix that I thought was an insanely difficult SS-rank, no, SSS-rank boss up to the 999th playthrough.
“If I want to become like that demonic creature to my enemies, I need to become numb to dying and resurrecting.”
Click.
Ta- bang!
“…”
The Dire Wolf exploded.
The first stage was successful.
But reloading—
Beep.
“Ah.”
Before I knew it, a Dire Wolf with its mouth wide open was about to pounce on me.
“You need to rotate your mana faster.”
Crack.
* * *
Esdinas Academy is fundamentally made up of dormitories.
Although influenced by other magic schools, the idea behind the political neutrality zone means that all students are required to stay in the dormitories, wishing for them to interact with each other.
And these dormitories are a bit different from typical university dorms in some ways…
Ah.”
On the first floor, there’s a large bathhouse.
As a remnant of modern civilization integrated through the advancement of magical engineering, students at the academy can not only take showers but also soak in a spacious tub.
“How is it?”
Changyeom asks.
“What are you thinking about right now?”
Her voice comes from beyond the wall.
“If I’m not hearing this through magic, do you think that when I get to the academy, I’ll have to immediately tear down the dormitory?”
“Hehe, don’t worry.”
Changyeom appears like a ghost from the wall and steps into the bath where I am soaking.
“Hey, Master. This is the men’s bath.”
“It’s a world I created, so what does it matter?”
“Hah.”
“We’ve seen everything already. Oh, or maybe not~?”
A suspicious fog surrounds Changyeom.
It’s like that white fog you see in anime that’s hidden from TV but can be removed if you buy the Blu-ray disc; it completely envelops Changyeom’s body.
“Are you curious?”
“I already know because I saw you with a swimsuit once.”
“…Hmph.”
Changyeom enters the water.
“You probably want to see me with one more layer off ~”
“Of course.”
I stared intently at Changyeom.
“Master, as far as I know, you’re-”
“Shut up.”
“…”
“Shut up.”
Although her words were close to a command, I raised my hand lightly.
“It’s okay, Master. There’s no reason to be embarrassed. After all, unicorns are…”
“If you say more, I’ll make them smaller.”
“Smaller? What do you mean?”
When Changyeom snapped her fingers, the fog vanished, and the two objects floating in the water disappeared in an instant.
“I was being rude. I apologize. Put them back to their original size.”
“How can you tell if they were originally like that or if they were inflated with magic?”
“Of course, I know that was the original size. The ‘setting’ of this world is like that.”
What Changyeom reduced was not just her chest.
“In this world, the more mana is stored in the heart, the larger the mana pouches in women, which means they have more mana.”
“Well, that’s not incorrect. The amount of mana is directly proportional to the size of the magic stones.”
In this world—
“Esdinas Academy is called ‘Bread Academy’ for a reason.”
As an academy setting, there’s one particular aspect that can be seen as either grim or a truth.
“No entry for those below a C-cup.”
“…Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that only those who can form at least a minimum-sized mana vessel can be admitted?”
“That’s not incorrect.”
Changyeom infused mana into her chest, restoring her physical form to normal.
“Having large mana pouches is proof that you have talent for mana, and Esdinas Academy is a place to raise heroes to deal with the beings of the Demon World that may arise.”
“…”
“Being ‘well-endowed’ means being that much more exceptional.”
Esdinas Academy.
Contrary to the notion that educational opportunities are open to everyone, those with small mana capacities are barred from admission.
