After the dungeon incident, the academy was closed for a whole week. Considering that many students almost lost their lives, the academy had to explain to angry parents. And those who wanted to curb the expansion of the influence of Arcadia Hunter Academy would never sit idly by. Therefore, the college management needs to come up with the results of the investigation, and they are now fully investigating the matter. Although the devil's followers' actions were fierce, they lost their edge due to the college's investigation. Based on the game setting, I knew that this investigation would not reveal much truth. The real mastermind would still be hiding in the dark, and the saboteurs who were caught were just scapegoats. This is the usual method used by the devil's followers: coercion, kidnapping, impersonation... which eventually plunged the academy and the federation into a quagmire of mutual suspicion. The small group of demon-hunting believers in the college management is also trying to obstruct the investigation, and the college's posture of maintaining its autonomy has inadvertently provided them with cover. Although Arcadia Hunter Academy is a federal institution, it considers itself independent, and this pride makes them refuse to accept any external investigation. After all, if an external force investigates, it means that the academy will lose its autonomy. This is why the academy previously concealed the details of the "Misty Ghost" incident and did not disclose it to the media, and this move helped them a lot. Anyway, now that classes were cancelled, I had plenty of free time. 'Should we go check out that dungeon?'
I looked at my attribute panel and finally reached the average level of low-level students. Top students like Irina, Alice, or Julia were already able to fight against the peak level 4 monsters alone. No, the actual attributes of the snowman at that time were far beyond the level 4, after all, it fell into a violent state under the interference of the demon believers. Therefore, it can be inferred that Irina alone is enough to fight against the fifth-order low-level monster. This is exactly the setting of the game "The Weak Strikes Back". Ethan's starting point is extremely low. Even now, if ten Ethans besiege Victor, Victor can still win without any harm. Now that I have some free time, I can choose to train, or I can take the opportunity to explore another dungeon I have in mind. 'A summoned beast will help.' I walked out of the training room slowly while thinking. After resting in the room, I continued to train, and now the night has quietly fallen. Just as I was leaving, I suddenly sensed someone's presence. Actually, I had already sensed someone was watching me secretly, but they hadn't taken any action before, but now it seemed to have changed. However, this is also expected. Since the joint exploration, my smart watch has been bombarded with harassing messages. I even had to turn off the call and text functions of the watch. After all, it is really annoying to constantly block countless unfamiliar numbers. But because of this, I saw posts about me on the college forum. 'Whoever did this really put a lot of work into it.' I don't know who I offended that made them target me like this, but they have quite a lot of influence because they were able to publish this article about me and bring so much false evidence. They even found three girls to give false testimony. 'No wonder Irina looked so angry.' Ordinary people can't help but believe in rumors, after all, most people lack the ability to distinguish right from wrong. But Irina should have more judgment, after all, she herself has been troubled by rumors. 'Maybe I expected too much from that little girl?' Just as I was thinking this, there was a noise behind me. "Hey, trash."
I turned around and saw three arrogant students approaching with sneers. The guy in the lead with slicked-back hair pointed at me contemptuously and said, "You think you are so great just because you got into this college? You are just a wimp and don't deserve to be here at all." He grinned smugly. "It seems that he is also someone who has read that article." I said nothing but ignored them. There was no point in fighting these minor characters unless I could deal with the source of these rumors. A head-on confrontation is not necessarily a good idea, as they are quite strong. "Oh, why are you pretending to be so noble?" Another man nudged his companion with his elbow, "It's obvious that you are just afraid of a fight." Amid the laughter, memories of the past came flooding back. 'What would the original Morse have done?' I thought silently. "How great does he think he is? He must be trying to hide his identity as a family outcast." Someone said sarcastically. "Maybe he can't bear the pressure, so he wants to pretend here." Another person added maliciously. The man with slicked-back hair narrowed his eyes. "Look at how pitiful he looks like trying to prove himself. He is probably relying on forcing women to fill the gap in his family's expectations." If it were the original Morse, facing these people, he might not get angry, but would fall into self-blame and think "it's all my fault for being too weak." This is both right and wrong. He tried his best, but the world is cruel. It doesn't care how you feel. "Hey, you idiot! How dare you ignore us?" Bullies have one thing in common: they do it to satisfy their own vanity. I still didn't respond and continued walking. Whoosh One of the three people behind me blocked my way. "Waste... I'm asking you a question." "Get out of the way." 'I looked at this man and I quickly caught the key information: the unconscious withdrawal of the right foot, the slightly hunched posture, the strong trapezius muscles and back shoulders. Right-handed long gun user. There was no sweat or dirt on his clothes, and he didn't practice today. His eyes kept checking the clock, indicating that he had some connection with the mastermind behind the scenes.' "Don't you know how to respect others when they speak?" the other person yelled. His accomplices had already surrounded me from behind, trying to create the impression that I was surrounded. "Get out of the way," I repeated calmly. "Do you think you are so strong? How dare you ignore us?" His clamor was just bluffing. His eagerness to try was probably to prove his worth to the instigator. whoosh! He rushed towards me quickly, punching me, but his movements were clumsy and full of flaws.
I could easily read his body movements and the look in his eyes. I leaned back and dodged easily. He was faster than most, but he had clearly underestimated me. "Huh?" He was stunned and froze, not expecting me to dodge. "You!" Anger rose in his eyes. Just as he was about to attack again, a majestic voice sounded in the corridor. "That's enough." Everyone turned around and saw Irina approaching. She had a strong aura, emitting authority and power. 'Here we go...' I glanced at her. She'd been there for a while, but hadn't done anything but watch and try to hide herself. I could handle these guys without her, but I'd have to take some beatings to get the most out of them. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes fixed on me. "It's okay," I replied. "Report them to the Academic Affairs Office." She glanced at the bullies with a sharp gaze, "Don't let them get away so easily." The three exchanged confused looks. Irina's dual identities as "third in the academy" and "Phoenix's successor" were enough to make these bullies run away with their tails between their legs. "This isn't over yet!" The leader spat, trying to save face. Irina had a blank expression on her face, but her aura was still confident. "I suggest you think twice before you act. Disgusting bugs are not worth my bother." The bullies hesitated, then reluctantly turned away. “Should I thank you?” I turned to her and asked. Although this woman was annoying, she was the one who helped me in the end. "It's just a small favor. I'm not going out of my way to help you." "Yeah?" "Then we're even," she said in a haughty tone, reminding me of what she looked like in the game. In the game, she is a person who does what she wants, but this doesn't work for me. "Of course not," I responded, refusing to let her have her way. "What?" "That's not what I asked you to do. And, you just said that you weren't doing this specifically to help me. Does that mean it's not a reward?" She curled her lips, stunned by my logic. "You said that yourself," I said, crossing my arms. "I know..." She began to stare at me, as if she wanted to ask something. "What's wrong? If you have questions, just ask." "Why don't you fight back?" "What?" "I mean those rumors...why don't you clarify them?"
"So you believe me now." “…” "It seems you still have some brains." "Tsk...If you keep talking like this, I'm leaving..." She glared at me and turned away. "You can't blame me for thinking this, right? What would you think if it were you in my shoes?" Indeed, this attitude is what she should have. “…” "Right?" "Ah..." She sighed, turned around and walked closer, standing in front of me. "Tell me, what do you want?" "What do I want?" I asked back. "Don't make excessive demands." She said, slowly covering her body, as if alluding to the rumors. "What do you take me for?" "Well...arrogant, rude, selfish..." "Are you talking about yourself?" "Um?!" "Don't worry, even if you are the only one left in the world, I won't touch you." "Really? That's exactly what I thought." "So? What do you want?" she repeated, crossing her arms. I've thought about it for a long time, and the best thing I can get from her is money. "Give me the money." "How many?" "One hundred thousand valers." "Ha! One hundred thousand? Are you kidding?" "no." "Why so many then?" “That’s the price for saving your life,” I shot back, reminding her of the time I’d protected her from the snow wolves and snow squirrels while she was unconscious. "this……" She was speechless. We all knew that if I hadn't protected her at that time, she might not have died. But that was only a "maybe", while my protecting her was a "fact".
Although she could apply my previous logic to refute, she can't do it now. "This is my bank account." I opened my watch and displayed a small QR code. "You can play as many lives as you think your life is worth. I won't complain." "Tsk, I really hate you." She scanned the QR code and started operating on the virtual keyboard. "Yeah?" I turned around and started to leave. There was no need to stay here any longer. “That’s right!” bite! Notification sounded: ———— 150,000 Vale has been received ———— 'At least it's generous.' My evaluation of her slightly increased.