Clang! Sing sharpened her sword.
Jiang, chosen to embark on the empire journey instead of Oknodie.
Until she could be certain of surpassing her.
‘There won’t be an assassin in Class 981 who can surpass Jiang. A top-class assassin, even peak level.’
Objectively speaking, Jiang had been a sufficiently powerful competent person since her entrance.
Even Sing, caught by her ‘ambush’, found it hard to counter.
Even now, without an ambush, she still felt the tremendous pressure.
Whoosh! Hiding in her blind spot right in front of her with [Stealth].
Following it up with [Ambush].
Leading to a fantastic situation where even a preemptive strike could turn into an ambush against her.
Systemically, Jiang’s ambush was a threat.
The damage coefficient of an ambush was a base 300%.
General sword crit damage was only 200%.
To achieve a 300% damage coefficient, she had to land a solid hit like a vital strike.
Moreover, Jiang was a prodigy trained in assassination.
With skills like Flailing (+100%), Deep Wound (+100%), Decapitating Strike (+250%), and Poison Release, etc.
She had mastered and internalized various functions that increase damage coefficients and add effects.
Jiang’s actual damage from an ambush was 1550%.
The added effects totaled up to 13 types, including wrist paralysis, limb slowdown, heart pain, hallucinations, and deadly poison.
If caught properly in an ambush, even armor could be penetrated by weak point detection or piercing attacks, making it impossible to surpass Jiang without ample preparation.
‘My swordsmanship isn’t weaker than Jiang’s. Yet, the reason I chose Jiang instead is… perhaps because I lacked [Survival Ability] in battles against strong opponents.’
Sing had lived a life unafraid of death.
If she couldn’t achieve her revenge, living was meaningless.
With that mindset, her swordsmanship focused on offensive power.
So she couldn’t protect herself.
Though she possessed power that could work even against the strong, it wasn’t enough against those who had a major gap or true masters.
Frustratingly, she had to admit that herself.
“Please help me.”
She couldn’t awaken techniques she didn’t know by herself.
Sing bowed her head and sought guidance.
Professor Raregrills.
The one who had brought Northern Grand Duke Yuda, known to be an associate of Oknodie and said to be Oknodie’s master, to the Academy.
Professor Raregrills, known to have a friendly disposition towards Oknodie, showed a perplexed expression at Sing’s request.
“That’s a misunderstanding. I’m neither an ally of Oknodie nor is Northern Grand Duke Yuda Oknodie’s master.”
“Understood. Please help me.”
“…You really don’t seem to believe me at all.”
Professor Raregrills felt a headache from this sudden nuisance, a pain he had never thought he’d feel.
“Why me? If you’re looking for someone with ties to Oknodie, there are plenty of professors who could teach you, like Professor Sadako or Professor Bronze. If you want to learn combat techniques, you could also go to Professor Plato or Professor Mahabharata.”
“Professor Plato is a master of external techniques and requires consistent effort and time to train. I don’t know what I could learn from Professor Mahabharata. But what I can learn from you, Professor Raregrills, is clearly evident.”
Professor Raregrills felt a bit of pride hurt.
Is this kid saying I’m easy to underestimate?
“What do you think you can learn from me?”
“Survival Ability.”
Professor Raregrills’ [Surviving as a Commander on the Battlefield] lecture was notorious for its difficulty, but it was also widely known for its utility.
Thanks to the case of Warrior Jaidas, a member of the top three of Class 981, who was crushed by Oknodie, it spread quickly.
“No matter how complicated the battlefield, regardless of the strong opponent faced, the focus was on survival. It doesn’t neglect the responsibilities of a commander, primarily aiming to achieve objectives while alive. Survival Ability is the most necessary virtue for me right now.”
“It looks like something unusual is going on. A swordsman who disregards survival typically has good reasons for clinging to life.”
Sing openly expressed her concerns.
Oknodie’s straightforward, no holds barred language would always surprise Sing, but looking back, Oknodie had always achieved goals thanks to direct communication.
Upon hearing Sing’s true intentions, Professor Raregrills’ gaze softened.
“If you learn defensive swordsmanship, it will certainly fill the gaps in your sword. But saying you came to increase your survival ability instead of swordsmanship means you want to grow comprehensively from a broader perspective rather than just through short contests.”
“That’s right.”
“Although it wasn’t intentional, you’ve come to the best teacher possible. I’ve been preparing for a course to start from the year after next.”
The course [Surviving as a Commander on the Battlefield], which involves individual tactical briefings and personal tactical guidance through tactical tables and Mana Boards for up to 100 people, granting individual choices and situational direction was also part of a [War Simulation] enabled by improvements in the complex computing device [Jarvis].
The simulations incorporate a separate [Great Army Part] and [Strong Enemy Part], allowing for a variety of combat scenarios against strong enemies.
Although only the data for the Great Army part was stacked as teaching materials, there was no need to worry.
The strong to fill the latter Strong Enemy part were plentiful at the Gift Academy.
Boom!
‘The training equipment in the training room from the start was actually an information collector modeled after Jarvis’ AI.’
Without notifying the students or obtaining their consent, he had not mentioned the use of gathered combat information in the lectures, but had offered the opportunity to experience quality training functions, so there was no need to fuss over such trivial matters.
Though Professor Raregrills displayed the teachers’ virtues of being brazen in a ridiculous situation, it ultimately became a chance for Sing to not only experience strategic survival but also firsthand battles against strong opponents.
“Who is the target enemy?”
“The Demon Minion Orde Taco that appeared at Vesuvius Volcano Four of the Southern Sacred City-State Federation. The Revolutionary Army and revolutionaries that raided Kanelle City in the same federation. The mother-class creature of the Chimera Great Army hiding in the imperial meeting area. The Imperial Nineteen Corps deployed to defend the imperial capital. The Popes of the mainstream 24 Divine Classes. The historically shortest reigning emperor, obsessed with taboos. The underground forces of the Underworld.”
“…Are you perhaps hoping to become a Warrior through a second job change?”
Professor Raregrills was taken aback at the formidable lineup that appeared, but Sing was sincere.
“If I can’t overcome all of this, I won’t be able to follow Oknodie on her journey again. It is a trial I must definitely surpass.”
“Unfortunately, the information you seek is purely about inaccessible targets. Most of them aren’t even in the data base for diverse combat scenarios against strong opponents. The cost for information collection is a concern, but there’s no reason to bear it for just one student.”
“I see…”
“So instead of being just a student, become a Jaku.”
“…!”
“Why the shocked face? A test subject who could help execute and complete the simulation just showed up at my doorstep. What professor would just send them away? It’s going to be an excruciatingly hard time, but I’ll make sure you experience at least half of the combat scenarios you want. Would you like to be my Jaku?”
Sing’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“That’s what I hope for.”
*
Professor Raregrills fell into a sense of helplessness for a while.
“Even in the Northern Retired Commander Alliance, it’s nothing but wars or battles without information, so it looks like I can only train conventional combat with all of this big talk.”
For now, Sing wouldn’t mind improving her skills, mastering survival skills, and developing a tactical overview, but her learning speed was absurdly fast.
At this rate, in a month, she would be asking for the combat simulations against strong opponents.
“It would be really nice if we had the Thief Guild around now.”
“Are you looking for the Thief Guild?”
Professor Raregrills’ gaze shifted upward.
Hanging by a beam on the ceiling, a guild member of the Thief Guild was hanging upside down, deep in thought.
“…What are you even doing hanging around up there?”
“I am a guild member from the Thief Guild residing in the academy on the orders of Destroyer.”
“All good, but can’t you stick to more normal places?”
“That’s an unreasonable request for a thief. Ceilings, windows, and rooftops are the traditional habitats of thieves. That being said, I see you have a huge concern; can our guild offer any help?”
“…Well, if it’s an opportunity, then it’s an opportunity.”
Professor Raregrills tentatively broached the subject.
The guild member nodded after communicating with someone and said.
“If you provide an appropriate price, we should be able to provide you with information.”
“Ooh. Whose battles are we talking about?”
“The Demon Minion Orde Taco and Box Cat. The Revolutionary Army and revolutionaries. The Imperial Nineteen Corps and the power equivalent to the Popes of the mainstream 24 Divine Classes, Taboo Emperor Pake Hiuqmag.”
“How do you know so much information?”
“Worried about Oknodie’s crazy antics, Destroyer personally followed or sent guild members, inadvertently mastering the details.”
Upon receiving the intel, Professor Raregrills was instantly left speechless after running the simulation based on the given information.
Wondering if the calculation results were wrong, repeating the simulation multiple times only resulted in increasingly horrifying outcomes.
“I’d die at this rate, no joke…?”
Oknodie’s series of perilous adventures that could wipe out even your ordinary professors, viewing Sing’s journey to catch up made Professor Raregrills think Sing was attempting an impossible objective.
Effort within a year wouldn’t be enough to resolve this.
If it were that easy to catch up, how could those opponents have spent decades building their power?
It wasn’t just her effort.
The allies, helping hands, inspired spirits that participated for a greater cause.
The church, revolutionaries, the empire, the Demon King’s Army, and other globally recognized major organizations supporting them.
All of this was something Sing had to catch up to alone.
“If I succeed in even one of these in my lifetime, I’ll immediately make a name for myself on the Imperial Ranking Board.”
After worrying for a moment.
Professor Raregrills realized.
“But it’s not me doing it, is it?”
The one who wanted to do it was Sing.
He would just be extracting the calculation results through her.
While other students would refuse high-risk combat experiments for fear of side effects, here was a willing participant arriving at his doorstep voluntarily.
Even more so, Sing lacked any significant background.
Meaning no noble families or sponsoring organizations that would go crazy if a student died.
No need to worry about safety protocols or welfare benefits.
He had no reason to refuse such insane difficulty training.
“From today onwards, I’m going to work you hard.”
“That’s what I hope for.”
The encounter between a frayed professor and an out-of-his-mind student.
It would only take three months for the synergy effects to show.
