Musou Knight: Crow of Cinders-Chapter 70: Oh, Shit

Chapter 70 - Oh, Shit

I mean, you go, Paul. I cheer for you now. Kill that sell out.

Minz’s face was livid, yet he scoffed and looked away from Paul. He seemed smart enough to understand his position in the army and the politics.

Sylveria sighed and turned to face me. She smiled.

"I haven’t explained the second method of obtaining the pins yet. You can get one by finishing academy-assigned missions or by earning seven S grades in the monthly evaluations. There will be tests in seven categories: Physical Fitness, Martial Arts, Musou Abilities, Navigation, Stratagems, Military Logistic, and General Education. Students who achieve a perfect or nearly perfect score will receive an "S" grade. A score of 90 to 100 points earns an A grade. The range for a B grade is 80-89. And so forth. As for missions, it depends on the requesters."

I let out a long sigh of relief. At least, the academy allowed students to earn them by studying and working hard, not killing each other for loot.

But Sylveria’s next word stunned me.

"You could also be awarded multiple pins for presenting a thesis on musou abilities validated by your research outcomes. A successful thesis can be exchanged for multiple pins at once."

Cunning wench. I knew she targeted me.

She continued. "To encourage our students to compete fairly, we shall distribute these pills to the current ten knight candidates with the elite pins. If you were given a pin this morning, please step up to exchange it."

I stood up. However, as soon as I was about to step onto the stage, a voice boomed from one of the top seats.

"I would like to declare a wager duel against a fellow student."

No, shit. Not again. Not me, please.

Or rather, please pick me. Paul clearly stated that one student could be challenged twice. Let’s get this over with.

Unfortunately, the guy turned to the ninth seat, whose table was next to me.

"I challenge him."

Well, screw you and screw him. Don’t waste my time.

I stepped onto the stage and presented my pin to Sylveria while the commotion was ongoing. Sylveria returned me a smile and passed me the chest filled with four musou gauge enhancement pills.

She whispered. "I hope you can awaken wonderful abilities. If you hand me a report, even one that’s an incomplete theory, I’ll give you a big reward."

I teased back. "I doubt you can read my handwriting. As the matter of fact, I don’t even know how to read."

"Don’t worry. You’ll learn to read and write soon enough. After all, if you fail the general education exams, you’ll be expelled automatically. And once that happens, you won’t have a choice. You’ll be drafted straight into my logistics department. So, if you don’t want to spend your days hauling crates or working under me, you’d better study properly."

Well, shit.

I hate schools.

After taking the pills, I had no value as a target for challenges.

Meanwhile, Paul dragged those ambitious idiots who wanted extra boxes of pills to the coliseum, while the uninvolved students sat patiently in the hall, not interested in the bouts.

Four of the ten elites got "love calls" from the other four elites. No one dared pick a fight with the prince, yet Minz strutted into the arena along with the other challengers.

Sylveria gestured to the remaining students.

A paper manifested in front of everybody, except the followers. I picked mine up and read it.

It was a schedule paper. However, the time and date system of this world was weird. A week comprised ten days, and a day had thirty hours. There was no concept of hours. Only the sun and moon’s positions in the sky indicated time.

I showed the schedule to Lenitia and asked,

"What date is today?"

Lenitia whispered back, "Ignis Day. The third day from the top. Do you want me to teach you the rest?"

"...Please?"

Lenitia sighed. "Solarii, Lunaris, Ignis, Ventoris, Aquarii, Terralis, Aetheris, Umbrae, Stellae, and Mortalis. We get three holidays in Umbrae, Stellae, and Mortalis."

"...Oh, wow. Three? How kind!"

"It’s consecutive holidays. Poor design by choice. It should have been one every two or three days for proper rest and stress relief. This will be very taxing for the body and the mind."

She made a point. Exercising seven consecutive days would shred muscle mass, though it would thin the fat.

But Lenitia’s next warning stressed me.

"Oh, do you see this? Even though you get three days off, you still have administrative tasks and light training. I’ll read it for you: Public Service, March Drill, Rapid Deployment Drill, Gear Maintenance, and Free Military Duties."

Was this place a bootcamp all along? Where could I submit a resignation letter?

Too late for regrets. Sylveria ordered us,

"It’s nine in the morning right now. Head to your first class. Your academy life starts today! Welcome, and good luck, our knight candidates."

Everybody took their papers and headed out of the hall.

Lenitia, Lia, and I remained in our seats. I opened the box and distributed one pill to each girl.

"I take two, you two take one each, deal?"

Lenitia scoffed. "I used to eat those for breakfast. What do you take me for?"

I smirked since I knew she lied. "Really? If that’s the case, your musou energy should be almost infinite. Your stamina should be limitless by now, right?"

"O-Of course!" She puffed her chest.

Lia shook her head. "Your Highness. You only had seven in your entire life. I had three."

"..."

Lenitia paused for a long time. Without seeing her face, I knew she was red from embarrassment. In the end, she snatched one pill from my hands and lifted her visor, popping it in her mouth.

Lia took hers, and I ate mine.

If status panels existed, my parameters should have been:

HP: 160

MP: 170

Attack: 160

Defense: 190

Speed: 180

These stats included the items I had farmed from training dummies, the level-up, and the consumables. Accuracy questionable, but that’s how I felt from my past performance.

Comparing my stats to Louis Zen? All parameters of that guy should be over 800. His sneeze would have killed me.

But I didn’t need to pursue the "Lu Bu." I only needed to get strong enough to defeat Zoli. As a level-5 boss, his stats should be in the 500s, plus the boosts from his hammer artifact and other pieces of equipment.

This would take a while to catch up.