New events always make my heart race.
New achievements, new challenges.
You never know just how great the rewards hidden behind novelty might be.
It’s like scratching off a lottery ticket!
If you hit a dud, you lose the opportunity cost, but if you hit the jackpot, a ton of points come rolling in.
“Miss. Just to let you know, if you make it into the final two in this test, there are big rewards awaiting you. Do you have confidence against the first years?”
If Jonnas is blowing some wind my way like this, I can’t help but feel pumped!
“Hehe. Since enrolling in the Academy, I’ve become incredibly strong, you know?”
“That’s something I already knew from seeing your growth during break. To be honest, I have quite high expectations.”
“Really?”
“Yes. For the sake of fairness, rewards are given up to second place, but I’m certain you’ll surpass even the Warrior. So please make sure to collect the rewards I’ve prepared for you.”
After all, before being the students’ teacher, I’m always the Miss’ butler.
Jonnas’ words of encouragement really did give me strength.
Enough to challenge the measurement test with an 11-ton weight!
…I’d like to say that, but honestly, even without Jonnas’ encouragement, 10 tons isn’t that challenging.
When I first enrolled, I was blocked by the wall of 30 strength, but consider all the events, lectures, and monster collections I’ve encountered since then.
My strength training has significantly improved.
Stat points in increments of 10 require a hefty amount of experience, and thanks to all my experience, I easily broke that barrier and reached an impressive 50 points in strength.
‘It’s certain that Jonnas’ early training helped!’
Yeah, this is a great opportunity.
The Jonnas who remembers me is the younger me, training together in the mansion.
Isn’t that the past of a character that’s 10 or 11 years old?
Children grow taller every day, and veterans grow stronger just as quickly.
Let’s show off my gains, double what the veteran child has achieved!
“15 tons. Let’s try 10 rounds of spread-eagle high jumps.”
Protecting my joints with the Mana Flow Technique, I forcefully move my heavy body.
At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it’s not even movements by the body but by mana instead.
Seems we’re both stubborn; even the Masugaki Princess is blushing bright red.
“Grrr…!”
“Why not just give up if it’s too hard?”
“Not a… single! bit! hard! Hah… pathetic♡ sluggish!”
How can they keep whining about being pathetic?!
Though, if the princess has mastered the royal-exclusive Mana Flow Technique, it’s only natural it would perform better.
But the princess has a weakness.
A life of abundance.
Overflowing support.
That abundance is indeed her weakness.
A child raised without lack.
With surroundings that can fulfill desires even if their own abilities are lacking.
Like poverty amidst plenty, those from royalty are used to taking, not to effort.
‘A life where the princess can survive with a bit less strength and effort. That itself is her weakness!’
In Joseon, the crown prince would be pushed to exhaustion by studies and training, but the Holy Central Empire is not Joseon.
Not knowing the torment of endurance makes hearts easily break before hardship.
At the moment when the burden becomes unbearable, the Masugaki’s deep red face is like a tomato ready to burst at the seams.
Thunk.
As the exhausted Masugaki Princess bends one knee, the metals that weighed down on her suddenly slipped off, pooling onto the ground.
Jonnas, without a trace of worry, looked back at me, having recovered every drop of liquid metal.
“Masugaki’s first year has a limit of 20 tons. If you manage to overcome this stage, you’ll secure first place, but if you fail, it’ll just be a shared first place.”
It’s fine if I give up.
I have enough achievements.
In a situation where my body screams, it’s better to forfeit than to get injured while being stubborn.
Jonnas’ gaze conveys that very meaning.
He understands.
The difference in weight we can endure is not that huge.
Stats are tight.
Refinements are tight.
The limit weights are tight too.
In actual academics or combat, my primary opponent is the Warrior, but stripping away the Holy Sword, the strength of a human is equal to the Masugaki Princess.
However, there’s a small but crucial difference between us.
It’s the difference in persistence.
‘What matters is an unyielding spirit. In other words, the body can bend a little!’
Ignoring the piercing screams of my bones, I activated the Numbness technique.
Finally executing the 20-ton actions at Jonnas’ request, first place was secured for me.
It’s only natural for me to monopolize the first-place rewards for the challenge measurement, which I was supposed to share with the Masugaki Princess!
[You have achieved first place in the Health Measurement performed in the first week of Professor Jonnas’ Mana Refinement Technique lecture.]
[You gained 2000 additional points for completing the challenge in the lecture.]
Ugh. That’s too little.
With my body confirmed to be in the state of needing treatment, 2000 points is just too insufficient.
Did I hit a dud event?
With a sulky face, the instructor brought me a small amount of medicine, a cup’s worth, boiled down from the smallest pot.
“Take it. You won’t need to go to the infirmary for your broken bones to heal right away.”
“Woah. You knew?”
“You seem to have forgotten whose ability the measurement armor you’re wearing is wrapped in.”
I glanced around, worried I might get scolded, but thankfully, Jonnas didn’t have that strict an attitude.
Relieved, I gulped down the medicinal brew from the cup.
Maybe because I was maintaining the state of numbness, I wasn’t really tasting it, so Jonnas subtly advised me.
“Let the energy you’ve closed off return. It might hurt, but it will help you feel how the medicine works in your body for growth.”
It’s like asking me to do something horrific like setting a dislocated bone without anesthesia, but Jonnas looked like he truly believed that the Miss could handle it.
Ugh. I don’t want to, but there’s no helping it.
Being a veteran means I don’t have to worry about efficiency; it’s better than doing the same task multiple times when I could do it just once.
“Not… pathetic…?”
Even the Masugaki Princess, unable to whine about being pathetic, was aghast. As I swallowed the pain, the truly dislocated bones were realigned, and my body grew stronger.
To put it precisely?
[You consumed a special decoction necessary for the Mana Refinement Technique.]
[Your stamina experience points rose by 50.]
[Your stamina increased by 1.]
My stamina surpassed the dreaded 49.
[You will recover when your remaining stamina hits 0.1% in a near-death state.]
[You acquired the title Experienced Near-Death State.]
[Experienced Near-Death State: For you, healing is when you don’t just hurt but also when you resurrect after teetering on the brink of death?]
[Holding Effect – Instant Death Immunity increased by 10%.]
[Equipped Effect – Instant Death Immunity activates once a day.]
Acquiring that sweet title is just a bonus.
With just 0.1% left after exhausting my stamina from Professor Plato’s grueling lecture, it’s truly a miracle.
Veterans calculate stamina too, but Jonnas ensured maximum training efficiency by applying the utmost pressure until the last moment.
The in-game element of how the butler’s aid changes based on the master’s character is faithfully implemented.
‘For a wine-collector player, I helped as a wine management officer collecting wines, and for a training-hungry player, I helped as a personal trainer!’
Jonnas, matching my identity as the Chief Scholarship Student and Top Student, became a professor, so he seems to be fulfilling his role as a superior training instructor too.
“Are you satisfied with the reward?”
“I love it so much!”
So much that I couldn’t help but hug Jonnas’ leg and chuckle, causing gasps of shock among the students surrounding us! Guess they’re just jealous we look so close!
But no way! Jonnas’ leg is mine. Only I can hug it!
*
I heard a sound.
Definitely the sound of bones breaking.
“Are you really just gonna let this continue without stopping…?”
I finally witnessed the brutal reality of the education that the Foundation had put OkNoDie through.
Having taken the medicine, I was healed, but…
That didn’t mean the pain disappeared.
Even that professor, no, the butler, told me to release the technique that alleviates suffering.
Hestia shook her head slightly at the glance I shot her.
Even Berserkers wouldn’t undergo such a ridiculous training regimen.
The pinnacle of absurdity.
The unnatural strength OkNoDie had shown for someone her age finally clicked for me.
Having endured that kind of training, that’s how OkNoDie has acquired her current strength.
Behind that strength, there was a past so harsh it could make what I just witnessed seem trivial—far too harsh for a child.
A thin glint of malice leaked from Jezel’s squinted eyes.
Indeed, the Foundation needed to be eradicated for OkNoDie’s freedom and happiness.
Jonnas Wahyhiemhai.
He too shared that same fate.
