NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49
<49 - You should turn off the alarm properly before heading out>
In the game, she’s referred to as Professor Estrada, but in the player forums, they call her the personality of Professor Bronze.
Oknodie has firsthand experience of how her lectures are conducted.
‘In every lecture, she surely includes a practical exam that tests your insight, no matter what it is.’
When you experience it, it can be incredibly frustrating, but it sounds super fun to watch and hear about.
The first lecture is highly likely to be Object Hide and Seek.
The mission involves finding alarm clocks disguised as ordinary classroom objects and disabling them to escape the classroom.
Naturally, it favors second-year students and veteran players, making it a tough game for clueless first-year students and newbie players.
“This must be a luxury bag with an emerald logo in the classroom; too suspicious. It must be an alarm clock disguised as a luxury bag.”
“Stop! That’s my backpack!”
“Who brings such an expensive luxury bag for school?! If that’s the case, then this decorative lamp with falling petals over here is definitely an unnecessary luxury item—an alarm clock!”
“That’s my lamp! My sister said this would make me popular at any academy!”
“Wait, did your sister just kill you?!”
Jezel is bound by possessions that surpass the common sense of first-year Border Nobles!
Even I, as a player, find it absurd.
What kind of students carry such things? It frustrates me to think they must have spent precious points on permits for items like that.
Even I, as a noble with ample points, find it exasperating, let alone for beginner players, who would end up harboring unwarranted noble resentment and searching for pitchforks and guillotines.
“Tsk tsk. Poor souls.”
At first, people from the family who were kindly providing support would soon realize the point exchange rates for gold points and shiver in fear while reducing their financial aid.
Nobles who are tight on points will regret spending a fortune on such trash the moment they hit the ground, but the points already spent can’t be reclaimed.
The nobles who spent points to get permits for luxury items will surely regret it soon enough.
Should I bring pitchforks and guillotines to the inferior students waiting for natural selection?
Those aren’t real issues; they’re just pitiful kids.
We should save the pitchforks and guillotines for the real pests.
Bing
Slash – Sword of the Beginning
Chop
Sing sheathed her sword and placed a chopped-up cricket corpse on the instructor’s desk.
“I got it. The alarm clock that was hopping around and making noise between the desks.”
“You managed to catch it. That alarm clock was quite a challenge for a first-year.”
As Professor Estrada tapped the cricket’s head with her baton, a half-sliced alarm clock appeared.
Now that’s a real problem.
How could a first-year catch an alarm clock that would cause quite a stir even for second-years?
“However, the equipment has been destroyed. I said to turn off the alarm clock, no one said to destroy it! The penalty is minus 10 points.”
“……”
The first-year students, hoping to attack anything nearby just like Sing and accidentally find alarm clocks, sheepishly put their weapons back.
“I can’t believe there was an actual penalty.”
Trust was shining in Isabel’s eyes.
“Ah-hem. Didn’t I say? Stretching the lectures too much might bring more penalties.”
Isabel was lucky.
She was in a lecture with a veteran player who was practically at max level; she learned how to avoid penalties!
“Don’t panic; first, identify one of the alarms and find the source of the sound. There should be an alarm clock disguised as another object there.”
“And then what?”
“Even if the item transforms, there must be a function serving as the ‘button’ for the alarm clock somewhere. If you press it, it should surely activate.”
As I gave her the tips, Isabel immediately grasped it and took out a marker from the box of classroom supplies in the corner.
Pop
As soon as she pulled off the cap, the alarm sound stopped.
A bit of smoke wafted away, revealing the alarm clock.
“You have excellent senses. Good hearing can be considered an asset of a thief… or rather, an adventurer.”
“Thank you.”
Isabel tilted her head slightly.
Didn’t you just call me a thief?
“This three-panel folding whiteboard is equipment that doesn’t exist in other classrooms. I wonder if anyone happened to bring a whiteboard as their possession?!”
Jezel, who had been enduring the bizarre item challenge, asked with a half-crying voice.
Fortunately, there was no sign of the item’s owner this time, and Jezell was able to submit her alarm clock safely.
“Knowing about the supplies in other classrooms beforehand shows great preparedness.”
“It’s basic for traders to observe supplies in unfamiliar places. Those who don’t do their research can’t make deliveries.”
“What a commendable principle. Using equipment delivery as a reason to infiltrate the target’s building is the true essence of a rogue’s pre-visit.”
Now she’s not even trying to hide the compliment with thievery!
“Are people gonna start treating anyone looking for a desk clock like a thief?”
“Well, then you’ll be stuck in a classroom with alarm sounds for two hours!”
“Hey, it’s so easy to just escape the classroom!”
“Ah!”
“Hahaha! I’m heading out first, you losers!”
A first-year student dashed toward the classroom exit with a hearty laugh!
The second-year students who had just opened the door turned back with wide eyes, gesturing for them to stop.
“What are you, seniors, doing! Just because you want to survive, you’re abandoning us? Life’s each one for themselves! I’ll find my own way out!”
Just as the confident first-year step foot through the door, a crackling sound erupted, and they jerked back, falling with a thud.
“What did the seniors say?”
“The soundproofing magic in front! Anyone who tries to escape from the classroom without the professor’s permission will be knocked out by an electric shock?”
“Ahh! I think I’m going to lose my mind!!”
“H-How can an educational institution knock people out with electric shocks for trying to escape the classroom?!”
“I’ll tell my mom!!”
Professor Estrada twirled her finger through her hair with a bored expression.
“It would be appreciated if you could find the clock quickly. The longer you slack off, the more my head rings.”
Then why don’t you refrain from giving such assignments?
First-year students, driven by their realistic reason of not wanting to experience electric shocks, entered the clock search again.
However, fearing penalties, they couldn’t haphazardly smash furniture, so they just wandered around the classroom, gingerly poking at chairs and desks.
‘Have all the people who would search found what they needed?’
There were 29 individuals remaining in the classroom.
Out of 20 alarm clocks, only 9 had been found.
The other 11 were unlikely to be found by the first-year newbie NPCs.
Isabel and Jezel turned to me with questions.
“Is Oknodie not searching?”
“I’m about to start. I’ve let them wait long enough; no one can complain if I find them all now.”
“Can we go out first if it takes too long? My head’s starting to hurt.”
“Oh, just bear with it a little longer. I’ll finish finding the rest and then head out.”
“Eh? Why would you go through all that trouble… Do you mean you’re trying to aim for bonus points that the professor mentioned?”
I’m not that eager for lecture points, but I’m certainly very eager for other points.
[Found an alarm clock disguised as floor tiles.]
[Observation Experience +5]
[Hearing Experience +2]
[Found an alarm clock disguised as a fake wall.]
[Observation Experience +5]
[Hearing Experience +2]
[Successfully caught an alarm clock disguised as a lamp without breaking it with a stone.]
[Observation Experience +5]
[Sling Experience +3]
[Hearing Experience +2]
[Precise Experience +1]
The first-year students were astonished as I skillfully caught alarm clocks one after another.
“Oknodie is finding clocks at an incredible speed!”
“Why are they looking for several clocks when they only need to find one?”
“I got it! Oknodie is searching for us!”
One student expressed genuine joy and shouted,
“If we find all the clocks, everyone can escape the classroom! Oknodie must be setting an example for us, fellow students in Group A, trying to lead all of us to safety!”
“What a noble thought!”
“How can that child be so kind? They could think a bit about their own safety too!”
“Thank you, Oknodie! As thanks, I’ll play the violets set on the lamp!”
You just want to play with it, don’t you?
As I rolled my eyes at the lamp, a sudden clarity and vigor flooded over me.
“???”
[You observed the Blessed Violets Lamp.]
[For 10 minutes, stamina and mental state increase by +1.]
So it actually has an effect?
It seems that even stunning luxurious items can surprisingly help.
With the headache and fatigue lessening, I picked up the pace and found clocks even faster.
“You’ve done excellently. You’ve found 19, but there’s still one clock left.”
“The professor said earlier, right? The more we slack off, the more our heads will ring. That last alarm clock is inside the hat, isn’t it?”
A smile crept onto Professor Estrada’s face.
“Exactly! Incredible! To have found 11 out of the 20 clocks all alone! The last one was quite a tough challenge, even with the illusion magic, but you made good use of hints.”
“Oh, it’s basic for me.”
“Impressive! Skills and precision, plus consideration for the weaker ones. Truly exemplary of a rogue.”
Is that praise?
“Well then, today’s lecture has come to an end. All the remaining students in this classroom will receive bonus points for attendance. And those who found the clocks will receive an additional 100 points for each clock found.”
The students stared at me in shock.
“Does that mean Oknodie earned 1100 points alone in this lecture?”
“The last high-difficulty alarm clock was worth 1000 points. The points Oknodie will receive as a first-year student are 2000 points.”
First-year students looked at me with envy-filled expressions.
“Ugh. With 2000 points, I could get another lamp.”
“How unfair! To bring my puppy home will need an additional 1500 points.”
“But still, Oknodie helped all of us find the clocks. They didn’t know about the points beforehand and just helped us out of goodwill, so they have no complaints.”
“I agree.”
“If anyone tries to be jealous of Oknodie, I’ll be the first to smack them!”
Among the actively supporting first-year students, Isabel and Jezel exchanged looks that said, “You knew all along, didn’t you?”
Hah, me? Innocent?
I felt pity for the newbies; I gave them enough chances to find the alarm clocks, but it’s not my fault they couldn’t!