The Only Male Student in the Academy

007. Placement Test (4)

“I don’t know if I’m going well…”

Looking at the map, I casually muttered that.

First of all, I heard a brief explanation of how to read a map from Lucius. However, the map of this world was completely different from what I knew.

I feel all over again how much I enjoyed civilization in my previous life. Smartphones were truly gods. How convenient and easy to understand.

Compared to that, this map is difficult to understand anyway.

‘If this was downtown, we would have been able to identify the current location with buildings and structures….’

But this was a forest, not a city.

How to specify the current location in a place full of trees?

‘Should I ask Lucius right now….’

Thinking so, I glanced at Lucius and the others behind me.

“See that red mushroom over there?”

“……I can see it.”

“If you ever get lost in the woods, don’t eat that mushroom. It says it’s a red devil’s mushroom.”

“……Yes.”

We were having such a conversation.

… No, can we call this a conversation? Lucius was talking almost one-sidedly.

Tia’s expression is hardened, but that’s only because she can’t express her emotions well. If you look closely, you can see that he is responding appropriately, such as nodding his head subtly.

The atmosphere looks pretty good.

‘Fortunately, Tia seems to have a crush on Lucius.’

She is a heroine who gets a crush on her even if she is treated well. For that reason, among users, she is nicknamed ‘a heroine suitable for NTR’.

As much as she is that kind of guy, Tia must have already fallen for Lucius.

As she felt relieved by that fact, Lucius suddenly turned around.

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“Ariel? Why did you suddenly stop?”

Then it comes this way in a month.

Doesn’t she remember that I swung her sword at Tia earlier? She was looking at me with her face, as if there was no ill feeling at all.

“……I was just checking the map for a while. Don’t mind it.”

“It’s a forest, so it’s hard to find your way, right? It’s full of trees.”

Lucius looked at the map I was holding from the side. …… The distance is too close.

The smell of shampoo. And the smell of sweat is mixed with it, as if he had sweated during the battle earlier.

Truly the smell of a girl.

… I was taken aback by the alluring smell that I had never felt before.

‘… Doesn’t this guy have a sense of distance?’

This guy may not be aware that I am a man and that she is a woman.

… Maybe. Come to think of it, this guy was a male character in the original story.

“Hmm, I think I’ve been a bit misled. But no problem. Just go this way.”

“I see. I understand.”

“Isn’t it hard to look at the map? Shall I change it?”

Lucius asks that.

Lucius learned a skill from his hunter father in a mountain village. This guy knows not only combat skills, but also knows how to read maps.

So Lucius must be looking at the map first, but….

“I should have told you. You watch over that damned woman.”

“hahahaha… Ariel, you’re very stubborn.”

“……What’s going on?”

Did you hear the conversation? Tia, who was a little further away, approaches.

I reacted immediately.

Pulls out a greatsword from his back and aims it at Tia.

“Do not come, cursed woman. I would have told you not to bring misfortune to me.”

“…….”

“Ariel, you’re too sensitive. Tia was just worried about us.”

Lucius gently pulls my hand holding the sword down.

Then, as if trying to protect Tia, she dug between me and Tia.

“First of all, Ariel agreed to have a party with the three of us. So, for this exam, will Ariel trust Tia?”

“To believe in an unknown human…And a cursed clan? Don’t talk nonsense.”

I roughly shake off Lucius’s hand, which is still holding my arm.

Then I looked towards Tia.

“There, the cursed woman. Don’t approach me if you know the subject. I am the second son of Duke Beheritt.”

“…….”

“It’s not a difference in status that makes it okay to talk to a lowly person like you. Be thankful that I didn’t kill you just because I caught your eye.”

After saying that, I put the sword back in and started walking.

I could feel the gaze from behind, but I tried to ignore it.

“Tia don’t hate Ariel too much. Ariel is just… A bit sensitive, right?”

However, the ear picks up the voice coming from behind.

The first thing I heard was Ariel’s voice covering me.

“Don’t worry too much, Tia. I’ll help you so you don’t fight with Ariel.”

“……Yes.”

“Perhaps Ariel isn’t such a bad person either. I’m sure Ariel will understand you through this test.”

That’s what I was saying.

Seriously, I’ve become kind enough to have no answer.

‘What should I do?’

It was rewarding to play the arrogant youngster. It was because Lucius became more and more caring for Tia.

And in the future, I will continue to accumulate unfavorable stacks against Tia.

It must have been about an hour since then. Finally we came out of the forest.

As soon as I came out of the forest, I saw the entrance to the cave.

This is the entrance to the Fall Dungeon.

“Ariel, let’s take a break.”

As soon as I left the forest, Lucius suggested that.

“You’ve fought quite a bit to get here. Even if you haven’t, you’ve come a long way.”

“It’s a break…”

“Yes. Once you enter the dungeon, you will have a tougher battle than now. So let’s rest here.”

Lucius explained it that way.

Instead of looking at Lucius’s face, I glanced towards the entrance of the dungeon.

The entrance to the cave is quite large.

It’s about 5M vertically and 10M horizontally. It is a fairly high and wide entrance.

Nevertheless, it is in a position where sunlight does not reach exquisitely, so you can hardly see the inside of the cave.

At first glance, it looks like the giant is opening its mouth wide.

Looking at the ominous entrance, I organize my thoughts.

‘The Shadow Wolf will be waiting there.’

Tutorial boss ‘Shadow Wolf’. As its name suggests, it is a huge wolf whose body is made of shadows.

Because of its nature, it can hide in the dark, and if I remember correctly, it’s probably waiting for Tia on the ceiling near the entrance.

The moment Tia steps into the dungeon, the shadow wolf will attack.

‘The tutorial ends as the boss battle begins there.’

Because Ariel was killed by the Shadow Wolf, the test was temporarily suspended there.

In other words, our party has no plans to go inside the Faol Dungeon today.

‘I’d like to skip the break and finish this damn tutorial quickly.’

“Okay. Let’s take a break.”

I sat down with my back against a suitable tree. It was because there was no good reason to refuse a break.

You can’t explain that you don’t need to take a break because you know the future. However, I couldn’t think of any reason to say otherwise.

That’s how the break started.

In order not to cool off, Lucius made an impromptu bonfire and Tia helped with it.

I just quenched my thirst with the water bottle I brought after I fell off.

“Ariel, I finished the campfire. How about coming closer?”

“No need.”

“I’ve prepared the soup, too. If you don’t mind, come and eat.”

Having said that, what Lucius brought out was an anti-joint pain. Apparently, the soup had been prepared in advance.

“You can’t use your strength when you’re hungry. Ariel didn’t bring anything to eat, right? I’ll share.”

“I would have said it wasn’t necessary.”

“hahahaha… Ariel is really stubborn.”

He smiled bitterly, and after a while, Lucius came with a small bowl.

There is soup in it.

“Now, I’ll give it to you. Eat it now.”

“You really have a knack for making me say the same thing over and over again.”

“I have something to tell you. Listen while you eat.”

“A story to tell?”

I don’t think there was such a development in the original work.

With that thought in mind, I had no choice but to accept the bowl that Lucius held out.

“Tsk. So, what is the story to talk about?”

“You’re going to enter the dungeon soon, right? Then let’s change the position back to normal.”

“Changing the position means you want to look at the map.”

“Yes.”

Lucius makes a rather serious expression.

It means an important story.

“Until now, Ariel has served as a pathfinder, right? But things will be different in dungeons, not outdoors.”

“So?”

“In a dungeon, there can be various gimmicks and traps. Having an inexperienced person act as a pathfinder… If you do something wrong, Ariel will be in danger.”

“So you’re asking me to protect that woman from the rear?”

“Yes.”

“I refuse.”

I said firmly.

There are two reasons for the refusal.

The first is to build up a stack of disliking for Lucius and Tia.

The second is because I must enter first.

‘The Shadow Wolf attacked from the front.’

Lucius leads the way in the original story as well, but is attacked by the Shadow Wolf at first.

Thanks to Ariel, who followed him, he was attacked instead, so Lucius survived and Ariel died.

To put it differently, it means that if Lucius is to be in the lead, Lucius must be in danger first.

It’s not easy for me to save Lucius at the right timing like Ariel in the original work, and if you’re even a little late, Lucius will be killed by the Shadow Wolf.

If the main character, Lucius, dies, it is obviously game over.

Then it would be better for me to take the lead.

Of course, if that happens, I will be the first to be attacked, but I can prepare to some extent. Because there is a ring I got while climbing the dorm wall yesterday.

“I should have told you not to bring me the misfortune that she brings.”

“Well, I understand your feelings. Ariel, isn’t Tia a particularly bad person?”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m saying that the fact that he’s from the cursed Black-Haired Eyes is the problem.”

“That means… That Ariel will take the lead with the map?”

“Yes.”

“Listen up, Ariel. It can get really dangerous in a dungeon. That… Ariel has no experience in navigating.”

“It’s better than being with the black-haired red-eyed clan.”

“…….”

Lucius is silent and examines me.

He seems to be looking at me cautiously, but his eyes are wide open.

Unwavering eyes. A face full of sincerity.

See it and realize it. Lucius has no intention of backing down.

“No, Ariel. I can’t put my comrades in danger.”

Then he says so.

Lucius is a nice guy, but he is neither a jerk nor an idiot.

He himself has convictions, and he has an indomitable will to keep those convictions.

“Colleague? Don’t be ridiculous. We met for the first time today, what kind of colleague are you?”

Saying that, I threw the bowl Lucius gave me.

The contents of the bowl spill out and wet the floor.

Ariel is called the duke’s madman.

In that case, I’ll use that to thoroughly become an idiot.

“Stand back, commoner. If you disobey me, a nobleman, I will cut you down.”

“…Ariel.”

“Stop it.”

It wasn’t Lucius who stopped me like that.

At some point, Tia was right near me.

“Because of me, stop fighting.”

Tia spoke with her characteristic mechanical tone.

That was unexpected.

Tia is, if I had to question it, a person who quietly buryes herself.

He is not strong in assertiveness, and he is a character who always follows Lucius.

I didn’t expect Tia to speak on her own.

“It’s all because of me, that’s it.”

Squeezing it out.

It was a trembling voice as if he couldn’t stand it.

“So, at this point, that’s enough. From now on, I’ll do it alone.”

“Tia…?”

“Thank you, Lucius.”

With those words, Tia suddenly ran out.

I couldn’t understand for a moment.

Why is Tia behaving like that?

Why does it behave differently from the original?

Then you realize it belatedly.

Tia running towards the entrance of the cave.

“Ah, f*ck. f*cked up…”

Unknowingly, swear words came out.

Cave entrance. A shadow wolf hides there.

And the moment Tia stepped in her foot.

A monster in the form of a wolf appears from the ceiling and rushes at it, emitting red eyes.

“Oh, really…!!”

I pushed Lucius away and ran towards it.

f*cked.

f*cked…… !!

If you do it wrong, the story will be twisted…… !!!