DPAA 26

chapter 26

Claude was, as usual, bustling about noisily with his friends.

The group he led ran a social club that only children from prestigious families could join, so there wasn’t a second-year student who didn’t know Claude.

And on a typical afternoon, Claude heard something from his close friend, Andrew Findillo.

“Hey, did you guys hear about that?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

The boy with ice cream in his mouth slurred his words as he replied.

Andrew glanced at him and whispered:

“Canis Escliff! During the Applied Combat Magic class, the professor apparently praised her a lot!”

“What?”

Of course, Claude, who was in between them, couldn’t have missed that.

He frowned deeply at the news about his own sister, whose mere existence was a nuisance.

“That idiot got praised? I must have misheard something sarcastic.”

“Um, uh… yeah, seriously.”

“Leon, take that ice cream out of your mouth and speak properly…”

Hearing Andrew’s scolding, the boy, Leon, took the stick out of his mouth and spoke clearly:

“Canis Escliff solved all of Professor Vernua’s insanely difficult problems, and the professor got really angry.”

“Oh, right! I heard that rumor too!”

Andrew chimed in on Leon’s words, unaware of Claude’s ever-changing expression.

“Plus, she handed in Vernua’s exam in just ten minutes and left, right?”

“Hah.”

Claude, who had been quietly listening to his friends—or rather, his subordinate classmates—chattering excitedly, scoffed.

“Do you really believe that stuff?”

“But… the seniors in the fourth year have been talking about nothing else recently…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Claude’s sharp outburst made Leon immediately shut his mouth.

He shouted with a ferocious face, unable to control his emotions as always:

“Do you realize how ridiculous it is that such falsehoods are circulating in this prestigious magic department? That girl isn’t even a magician! She has no right to be here in the first place!”

“Hmm…”

Andrew groaned softly at Claude’s words. Being indecisive by nature, he always found it hard to deal with friends from families far more distinguished than his own.

“You’re probably right… Even if the rumor were true, if she can’t actually use magic, it’s worthless.”

“Finally, some sense.”

Claude sighed and ran his hands roughly through his hair.

“Anyway, everyone seems to have forgotten what the magic department is actually about these days.”

Grinding his teeth, Claude stared ahead with a look so fierce it was hard to believe he was only eighteen.

“She’s just a bug that doesn’t know her place, sticking around this academy. And for her to be even half-blood-related to me… damn it.”

“W-well, don’t worry too much.”

Leon patted Claude on the back in consolation.

“Tomorrow’s the tournament, right?”

“Yeah, the tournament.”

Remembering that fact suddenly, Claude’s lips curved into a cruel smile.

“Too bad. If she were in the same year, I’d stomp her with my own hands.”

During the tournament, anything goes in the arena.

Survival of the fittest!

In the arena, the weak get trampled, and the strong trample the weak to rise above.

For Claude, with his cruel nature, the tournament was the ultimate festival.

“But still, I’m looking forward to seeing that idiot get humiliated.”

“That would be quite a sight.”

A male student laughed in agreement with Claude.

“How was it last year? Didn’t the opponent beg on the ground to be spared?”

“That guy was ruthless too. He could’ve stopped, but… Oh, now that I think about it…”

A small exclamation escaped Leon’s mouth.

The two boys turned their gaze toward him.

“The senior who faced Canis Escliff in the preliminaries last year… apparently she’s the first opponent again this time?”

“Wow.”

Recalling last year’s horrific scene, the male student leaned forward, clearly intrigued.

“This… this is going to be something.”

Claude felt the same.

“This is going to be fun.”

The black-haired devil chuckled wickedly.

I was lying on the bed of my semi-basement room, where mold sprouted here and there and the smell of sewage drifted in.

[Hunter is such a sweet job?!]
[The top 1% can be Hunters, living the dream life!]
[Today’s elementary school kids’ number one career choice: Hunter]

These always appeared on my XTube feed.

Most had yellow backgrounds with red text, or exaggerated images designed to grab attention—the typical thumbnails of cyber clickbait.

Clicking on the videos usually revealed nothing significant.

But that day, it was a bit different.

[Top-ranked Wizard’s salary last year revealed! / Year-end summary]
[Views: 7,342,331]
[First revealed 5 hours ago]
[Likes: 17k]

The man in the video proudly displayed bankbooks with more than ten zeros in them.

“Damn, I’m so jealous…”

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; most comments either praised him or complained in envy.

The most noticeable comment was:

[Hunter is such a sweet job lol]

‘This hits hard…’

Hunter is a sweet job?

I risk my life running dungeons daily, barely surviving like a mayfly—what does that make me?

“Just a human disposable item, I guess.”

F-rank Hunters are often called trash. And I was that trash.

No guardian, no friends to warn me not to enter dangerous areas… nothing.

“Damn it.”

It was then.

Rrrrrk!

The window of my room suddenly opened, and my deceased younger brother’s face poked through.

He shouted:

“Unnie, wake up!”

“…?”

Was he crazy?

Suddenly calling me “Unnie” in that creepy way.

I was about to scold him for suddenly acting like he had switched genders, but I opened my eyes.

“Unnie, unnie!”

“What… what…”

“Wake up!”

In front of me was not the annoying Chae Jihoon, but the cute May Escliff.

I raised one arm to cover my forehead. My heart was still pounding.

‘Crazy. Why the hell do I have such a dream…’

I swear it wasn’t nostalgia. Any sane person wouldn’t long for the life I had then.

“Unnie, hurry! They said everyone must gather at the arena by 8 a.m.!”

“Oh, right…”

I grabbed my throbbing head and got up.

“I have orthostatic hypotension… uuuaaah!”

Where did she get that strength? May pulled me along desperately.

Her blue eyes gleamed with obsession.

“If you don’t hurry, you’ll starve, and I won’t allow that! Today is the tournament, so there will even be special roast beef!”

“Uh… okay…”

I nodded for some reason.

‘She really takes food seriously…’

May had grown up starving in the Duke’s household, and now she ate like an animal.

I followed May and hurried into the hallway.

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, someone tapped my shoulder as they passed.

“Ah, mi…”

“Look at her. She’s totally scared of you, right?”

I swallowed my words.

When I turned my head, two male students were snickering at me.

One of them had excitedly picked my number yesterday.

The brown-haired boy beside him poked him with a mischievous grin.

“Last semester you said you missed meeting her. This time, you’re really going to have fun with her.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

He spoke loudly, as if for me to hear.

Tilting his head mockingly, the other boy sneered:

“Even if you surrender like last time, it won’t end easily, so remember that.”

He extended his right hand and ignited a small flame in his palm. Just about the size of a fist, but the heat shimmered around it.

“Try begging on the ground like a dog for your life.”

With a petty threat, he spoke in a vile tone.

“Maybe I’ll let you off with just fainting, who knows.”