[Achievement Shop]
– You can purchase perks using achievement points.
– Achievement points are earned by clearing death flags.
[Currently Available Points: 24]
One instance was calming down and sending off the fiancée who showed up with a knife on the first day when I transmigrated here.
Another was winning the fight against Kenneth of Twin Flames right after that.
The following day, surviving three assassination attempts at work, along with a few minor death flags cleared…. these added up to 24 points.
The Achievement Shop offered five types of perks:
“Enhance”, “Awaken”, “Exchange”, “Prophecy”, “Save”.
“Enhance” lets you increase the rank of a stat or talent.
However, the higher the rank you were aiming for, the more achievement points it consumed.
For example, raising a stat from E rank to D rank costs 5 points.
But raising it from A rank to S rank costs 3,125 points.
“Awaken” allows you to acquire talents or traits you don’t currently possess.
“Exchange” allows you to obtain desired items in exchange for achievement points.
All three were useful depending on the situation.
But the final two perks were more dramatic:
[Prophecy]
– (One-time use) Shows you the death you’ll face in the near future. The cost increases with each use.
[Save]
– (One-time use) When you die, time rewinds to the save point.
Foreseeing the future and rewinding time—
At this level, they were practically extra lives.
I had to buy one of them.
…Or so I thought.
[Prophecy] – Price: 100 points
[Save] – Price: 500 points
They were completely out of reach.
With only 24 achievement points, the only thing I could afford was “Enhance”.
[Winter Winslet]
Strength: D
Health: E
Dexterity: A
Wisdom: B
Intelligence: A
Even then, the best I could do was raise the lowest of all my stats. It was my Health from E-rank to D-rank.
Still, it was better than nothing.
Regretfully, I invested my achievement points into the Health stat.
[Winter Winslet]
Strength: D
Health: D
Dexterity: A
Wisdom: B
Intelligence: A
If I couldn’t fix Winter Winslet’s personality, then at the very least, I could raise the Health stat to offset the penalties.
That was the core of my plan.
[Notification]
[Willpower has been restored.]
Maybe it was thanks to raising my Health stat, but the headache quickly faded, and I continued walking toward the main auditorium to attend the freshman entrance ceremony.
Since I had wasted time earlier, the ceremony had already begun by the time he arrived, but no one was going to scold me for being late.
I was Winter Winslet, after all.
“This way, Professor.”
When I arrived at the front of the auditorium, a staff member from the planning department rushed out to greet me, clearly flustered.
With a polite gesture, the man escorted me into the waiting room.
Then he asked,
“Have you reviewed the script, Professor?”
Script?
What script?
“First I’ve heard of it.”
“Huh? But Professor, you’re supposed to give the commemorative speech for the entrance ceremony. I’m sure it was sent to your mailbox a week ago…”
Ah.
Now that he mentioned the mailbox, I remembered.
Among the documents that had included a trapped explosive scroll, I vaguely remembered seeing a title like that.
“I burned it.”
“…Huh?”
“It was an accident.”
“Ah, yes. An accident… you… burned it… sir.”
The man’s expression darkened in an instant, but even so, he couldn’t bring himself to blame Winter Winslet.
I asked,
“Is there no backup plan?”
“Please wait just a moment. We’ll arrange something… I’ll prepare a prompter.”
At his command, someone began hastily scribbling the speech in large letters on a big sketchbook.
The plan was to cue me with lines from a suitable distance once I stepped up to the podium.
As soon as the prompter was ready, I took the stage.
The inside of the auditorium was shaped like a fan.
The audience was arranged to look up at the stage.
The hall, which could seat up to twelve hundred people, was nearly ninety percent full.
A murmur ran through the crowd.
The idle chatter of students who were bored from the delayed schedule had already reached an uncontrollable level.
However, the moment I stepped up to the podium, an almost unreal silence settled over the auditorium.
In place of the vanished noise came countless curious gazes.
Winter Winslet.
This man possessed a kind of magic.
Even just standing still, he drew people’s attention like a magnet.
“Ladies and gentlemen.”
As the voice amplifier orb carried Winter Winslet’s deep, steady voice through the hall, not a single person looked away from me.
I skimmed the prompter with my eyes.
It seemed the speech began with a self-introduction.
“I am Winter Winslet. I doubt there’s anyone who doesn’t know me, but I teach magic here.”
The staff member flipped the sketchbook to the next page.
The hastily thrown-together script was short and to the point.
That worked out well for me too, since it was more comfortable this way.
At least I wouldn’t accidentally misread anything.
Next up was…
<Welcome, proud freshmen of the Royal Academy.>
“So, another batch of clueless fledglings has gathered this year.”
<We welcome your admission.>
“Talentless trash shouldn’t even think about signing up for my class. I’m a busy man.”
…?
Something felt off.
I looked over the script again.
But I had read it correctly.
It was just my mouth that had decided to go rogue.
“That’s all.”
I finished the short speech and looked around the auditorium.
But I couldn’t make out the students’ reactions.
Because the constantly updating notification windows were filling my entire field of vision.
[Notification]
[A death flag has been raised by this character.]
[A death flag has been raised by this character.]
[A death flag has been raised by this character.]
……
……
Winter Winslet.
This crazy bastard.
***
“Hey, student. Would you reconsider?”
“Reconsider what?”
“This course registration form. I think it’d be better for a first-year to take a different class…”
“But we’re allowed to choose two electives freely, aren’t we?”
“That’s true but…”
“This is the most famous professor in the whole academy! I really wanted to take his class. And no one said first-years couldn’t.”
“That’s because the professor didn’t properly submit his course plan.”
“Course plan?”
Gloria, a staff member in the Academy of Magic’s administrative office, had lost count of how many times she’d had to give the same explanation today.
“Professor Winslet is, how should I put it… very free-spirited when it comes to course structure. So, there’s no submitted course plan.”
“Oh…”
“So think it over again. Do you really want to take a class when you have no idea what you’ll even be learning?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the freshman nodded at Gloria’s question.
“Yes! It sounds like so much fun!”
“Oh dear…”
Gloria rubbed her throbbing temple with her fingers, and the freshman asked curiously,
“Why? A free-spirited and flexible teaching style….that actually sounds awesome!”
“That’s… not quite what it means…”
Gloria couldn’t really blame the freshmen for idolizing that blond professor.
To kids that age, Winter Winslet’s looks and charisma must’ve seemed dazzling.
And then there was the reputation that preceded him.
Truthfully, the appeal he held as a person didn’t differ much between children and adults.
Which is why there had already been so many victims.
Deceived, used, discarded.
Only those who experienced it firsthand or watched it happen knew the danger hidden beneath that charming exterior.
That’s why adults who do know should protect the budding youth from Winter Winslet…
“Anyway, I’ve already made up my mind!”
The freshman’s eyes sparkled with excitement about the new school life, and not even Gloria’s heartfelt advice could shatter that illusion.
In the end, Gloria reluctantly gave her permission.
As she added yet another course registration form to the growing pile of paperwork, Gloria let out a deep sigh.
There goes another freshman, about to fall prey to Winter Winslet’s clutches!
What’s going to happen to this academy…
***
Right after the welcome speech for the new students, the number of death flags I confirmed had already reached the triple digits.
That meant there were just that many people outraged by that absurd speech.
But what followed took me a little by surprise.
The freshmen who had initially shown hostility soon began displaying intense curiosity about me.
The result was now piling up in front of me. A mountain of course registration forms.
Thud.
The heavy sound of a box being set down.
The one who had come to my office to deliver the box full of documents was Professor Corrigan—
The same professor to whom I had previously yielded some of my department’s budget during a faculty meeting.
“I’ll just leave it here, Professor Winslet.”
“How much more is there?”
“This is the last box. I brought it myself because I had something I wanted to tell you.”
“Something to tell me?”
I looked at her without much thought, but Professor Corrigan flinched as if pricked by a needle and quickly replied.
“I-It’s nothing major! I just wanted to thank you. Thanks to the budget you approved last time, our department’s situation has really improved! We replaced all our teaching materials with new ones, and we were finally able to resume the students’ graduation projects that had been postponed indefinitely…”
If graduation projects had been delayed that long, things must’ve been seriously messed up.
“Anyway, I really appreciate it.”
“It wasn’t a big deal to me.”
“Haha, still…I mean it.”
There was a mix in Professor Corrigan’s polite bow. A half portion of sincerity, half of that in flattery, and a slight touch of wariness.
It was a natural reaction.
After all, no one at the Academy would believe that Professor Winslet had truly changed.
Maybe time would eventually resolve that.
Professor Corrigan looked down at the box full of course registration forms and let out a small exclamation.
“Still, your popularity is incredible. I suppose that’s just what we’d expect from Professor Winslet.”
“Too many can be a problem, too.”
I had a lot to do at the Academy.
First, I had to retrieve the item lost in the deal with Sakis Lubas, and I also needed to find reliable allies.
Of course, since I’d signed a contract with the Academy, I had to teach my classes. But I didn’t want to spend too much time on them.
So teaching too many students wasn’t exactly ideal…
I asked Professor Corrigan,
“What would you suggest in a case like this?”
“Huh? What kind of case?”
“When there are too many students signed up for a class.”
“Hmm… The transformation magic I teach is an unpopular subject, so I’ve never had that experience…”
Watching my reaction, Professor Corrigan hesitated a bit before continuing.
“U-Usually, if the number of applicants exceeds the limit, we just cut them off. Since you didn’t submit a course plan, the administration office probably just accepted all the registrations as they came in… But you do have full discretion over your course structure, don’t you Professor Winslet?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you could start with as many students as you want and adjust the number as the course progresses. For someone like you, Professor Winslet, that shouldn’t be a problem. You’ve handled similar situations plenty of times before.”
Adjusting the number of students. Basically, that meant I could remove students from the class at will.
And if a student suddenly got kicked out, whatever mess it caused with their academic records would be handled by the administration staff. That’s what she meant.
“That’s a helpful suggestion. Tha—”
I was about to say “Thank you”, but shut my mouth.
[Warning]
[Willpower and Health have temporarily decreased.]
[Activated Trait: Innate Pride]
[Innate Pride]
– A person born with innate pride has no concept of two things in their vocabulary: apologies and gratitude.
– Expressing gratitude or apologizing will temporarily decrease Willpower and Health. The latter also triggers additional penalties.
Classic Winter Winslet.
As expected of one of the top-ranked personality disasters in Candela of Judgment.
“Don’t waste my time with something as trivial as a thank-you. If we’re done here, you may leave.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll get going, then.”
Professor Corrigan gave a polite nod and left the office.
Left alone, I reached for the box of documents.
On top was a list of students who had submitted course registration forms.
The administration staff must have cramped their hands putting together this long list.
Recalling Professor Corrigan’s advice, I scanned the list from top to bottom.
Then, midway through, my eyes stopped.
One unexpected name had slipped in.
“Shannon… Quinlivan.”
I didn’t think I’d see that name here.
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