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I walked out of the Dean’s Office and headed back to the dormitory.

When I answered Lucia’s question, she showed a completely different side of herself than the Lucia I knew.

It was amusing to see Lucia, who calmly directed the students even when a demon appeared right in front of her, suddenly flustered by just a few of my words.

– “What? No.”

– “Huh? What do you mean?”

– “I said I don’t know.”

That was the end of our conversation.

What could I say to someone who said they didn’t know?

‘If you don’t know, just say you don’t know.’

I had no idea why Luke enrolled in this school.

He wasn’t even a character in the story.

‘Honestly, it’s none of my business.’

Why should I care what an extra does?

After all, this world was created for the protagonist to roll around, beat drums, and get it on with the heroine.

After returning to the dormitory, I started unpacking.

Living in this cramped dormitory, all I had brought was a longsword and a money pouch that I wasn’t even sure had money in it.

There were no gold coins, the currency used in this world, just a few coins rattling around inside the pouch.

‘Now that I think about it, I’m a complete broke loser.’

How did I manage to pay for school?

I had no idea how I made money for food or tuition.

‘But now it’s my problem, right?’

Having withdrawn, I didn’t need tuition anymore, but I didn’t have money for lodging or meals either, so starving would all fall on me.

“Hmm… it’s a hassle to carry around.”

No matter how much I had, money was money.

It was annoying to carry, and there was a chance I could lose this pitiful sum of money.

“Or I might get pickpocketed by some thief.”

As I pondered what to do, I suddenly remembered that I had a skill.

“Hoho… this is definitely the otherworld.”

In my previous life, I would have had to keep it in my pocket or bag.

But I have the blessing of a skill!

“Inventoryyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!”

As I shouted with my chest out, a translucent blue window popped up.

A screen lined with square boxes.

It was just the type of inventory you’d see in a game.

It was a little underwhelming, but it was still sufficiently unreal, so I was satisfied.

‘Isn’t it the case that it’s realistic in this world?’

I don’t know.

But how do I put this money pouch into the inventory?

‘Does it go in just by thinking?’

I imagined the money pouch slipping into the inventory in my mind.

…

Nothing happened.

“Move money pouch.”

…

Again, nothing happened.

“Dammit.”

I just threw the money pouch at the blue screen in front of me.

And then the screen shimmered, and the money pouch slipped into the inventory.

“See? No matter what, if you give it a whack, it’ll listen.”

Inside the inventory, I could see the money pouch sitting snugly in a square box.

“Wow! This is what a skill is! Who said inventory was an F-rank skill?”

In web novels or webtoons, characters with ridiculous and useless skills can rampage, so what’s wrong with having an inventory!

Anyway, as long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters.

*

As I left the dormitory and walked towards the academy, I began to think about what to do next.

‘Should I go to the Adventurer’s Guild?’

In the stories I read, monsters roamed rampantly.

Even though the academy was an elitist training ground, the number of students wouldn’t be enough to fend off the countless monsters in this world.

That’s why the Adventurer’s Guild exists, where even commoners who couldn’t attend the academy can legally hunt monsters and receive rewards.

To put it simply, it’s like choosing between going to university or getting a job to gain experience.

Well, I personally prefer the latter.

But since this isn’t Earth, the academy’s employment rate would probably be 200%, not just 100%.

Just graduating from the academy already labels you as a talent, and everyone wants to recruit you.

‘Still, it’ll probably end when the protagonist defeats the Demon God.’

The point where I had been reincarnated was exactly when the story had just concluded.

I had no idea what happened in any after-stories.

“Hey, loser.”

Should I take a selfie with the protagonist and the heroine before I go?

Lucia was really pretty earlier; if she’s not the heroine, then the real heroine must be some top-tier knightess.

“Hey! Loser!”

Lost in thought, I turned my gaze when I heard a voice beside me.

Some guy at a distance was looking at me with a scornful expression, surrounded by what looked like his minions.

“Loser? Are you talking about me?”

“Who else would it be? You’re the only loser at the academy. Pathetic commoner with no magical power.”

Even though he spoke harshly, I had just been reincarnated, so I probably wouldn’t have reacted even if he called me by name; hearing “loser,” however, made me understand even less.

And come on, I withdrew, so I wasn’t even a loser anymore.

The one who ranked 199th is probably the loser now.

“That said, what right does a commoner have to talk back to me?”

“Exactly! Commoner! Do you even know who this is!?”

“This is Bernard Clinton, the second son of the Count’s Family!”

The guy who started the trouble and his lackeys chimed in with added commentary.

To me, they just looked like a bunch of losers.

‘What are these chubby kids doing?’

They start by talking down to me and then feigning offense when I talk back.

And if I remember correctly, the social hierarchy of nobility doesn’t hold any weight in the academy.

Yet this guy was proudly flaunting his class.

“So what?”

“Hah? This commoner dares to think he’s on my level!”

Seeing that I didn’t recognize him, he was either an irrelevant character with no impact on the story or an extra.

Looking at the trio before me, who would probably endure a lot of hardship because the protagonist attended the academy, I felt a sudden sense of pity.

Or maybe they’d get expelled before they even had to struggle.

“What the hell… what kind of look is that?!”

“What’s my look got to do with anything?”

“Why are you looking at me with such a pitiful expression?!”

I must have looked sympathetic without even realizing it.

I have no mirrors, so I can’t see my own expression now.

Since I was looking, I might as well keep looking.

“Ugh! You pathetic commoner! How dare you belittle me!?”

“What are you blabbering about? Getting all worked up just because I’m looking at you. Are you paranoid or something?”

The moment I said that, both the chubby guy and his skinny friend widened their eyes, shocked.

‘Wow, the reactions here are generous. They fly off the handle over anything.’

For a while, the chubby boy stood there dumbfounded with a blank expression, but suddenly his face turned red, and his forehead bulged with veins.

“You commoner…! Today, I will personally teach you some manners!”

With that, he pulled a white glove from his pocket and threw it at me.

Seeing that, I thought.

– Wham!

I swiftly kicked off the ground and leapt away.

*

At first, I thought I’d tease him as usual while watching him run away.

But today, something was off about him.

He couldn’t even recognize the nickname I called him, and not only did he miss that I was looking down on him, but he also dared to talk back to a noble.

It seemed today was the day to teach him some etiquette, so Bernard threw the glove to challenge me to a duel.

But as soon as the glove touched him, he charged at me without thinking.

‘What kind of madman is this…!’

As Bernard saw his opponent rushing in, he quickly turned his body to dodge and put some distance between us.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, wasn’t the glove meant to challenge me to a duel?”

“Normally, you accept by picking up the glove! But you just rushed in without any reason!”

“Why are you talking so much? You threw down the gauntlet.”

Honestly, Luke was disappointed.

‘Too bad. I wanted to finish this quickly and run away.’

Gathered around us were students who had come to watch the fight.

Murmurs echoed from the crowd.

– Pfft. Guess those low-tier students only fight like that.

– Seems like lower-ranked kids can only bicker like that?

Despite mocking Bernard and Luke, nobody was leaving, as they found the spectacle entertaining.

“Ugh…”

“How dare you sigh during our duel!”

“Just shut up.”

Luke was getting pissed to the max.

Ignoring the fact that he turned into a monkey at the zoo, just watching this idiot’s silly speech and attitude was enough to slowly build up his stress.

“Hey, this won’t do. I’m just going to take a beating.”

In an instant, Luke kicked off the ground and lunged at Bernard.

Luke pulled his right side back.

This was a signal that he was about to throw a punch with his right hand.

Bernard recognized this and prepared to dodge the punch at the right time to counter back with his own magical strike.

However, the punch that should have hit didn’t come; Luke’s punch stayed drawn back.

‘…What?’

The moment Bernard had this question, he felt the impact.

– Whack!

“Ugh!”

Luke’s fist landed directly on Bernard’s left side.

Re-establishing his stance, Bernard reflected on what had just happened.

He was sure he had dodged just in time.

But the problem wasn’t his timing—it was Luke.

Despite pulling back his right hand, he had no intention of reaching forward even after Bernard dodged.

By the time he sensed something odd, Luke’s fist had already struck his side.

‘What kind of childish attack is this…!’

But before Bernard even had time to regain his composure, a second attack came swinging in.

Once again, Luke pulled his upper body back to the right.

‘It’s coming!’

This time, he decided to dodge slowly, prepared just like before.

But then—

– Whack!

This time, the attack came much faster than before.

Bernard had no choice but to give up his side again.

“Ugh!”

*

‘What an idiot.’

You think you can dodge that after seeing it just twice?

His thinking sure is simplistic.

If dodging two ridiculous attacks was enough, words like “fallen hero” or “demon king” wouldn’t even exist.

Luke, probably benefiting from not having any magical talent, found his body moving easily, like it was feather-light compared to his heavier past life.

Even someone like me, who spent my days lazing around, could win a fight, proving how absurd this was.

‘How on earth does a guy like this end up ranked 200th?’

That’s why magical talent shouldn’t be the only standard.

In no time, Bernard was drooling after just two hits.

Clearly, he looked like breathing was a chore now.

‘Looks like it’s time for a one-sided beating.’

Before Bernard could catch his breath or reset his stance, I charged and knocked him over.

Then I mounted him and began raining down punches on his face.

“Ugh! Cough! Stop!”

“What are you saying? Stop? Where’s that coming from?”

You can do what you like at the start but not at the end?

No way in hell.

“I… I give up! So please, just stop! Ugh!”

“Too bad.”

If I lost, I would have been the one getting beaten, so why would you stop?

In a world with monsters, just look at how you’re thinking.

This guy would probably be the one saying, “I’m sorry I lost! Spare me!” even after getting trampled by a monster.

I continued pounding his face for quite some time after that.

The only time my fists finally stopped was when his face became all swollen, and he fainted.

 

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