The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed

“……”

Eleanor pressed her lips together, staring at Yein.

After a moment, she let out a long sigh and set the hammer down.

“Follow me.”

She led him into the storage room, where inventory crates were stacked high—each one filled with the items he had instructed her to purchase.

There were too many to take out and store individually, so they’d been delivered packed like this.

“Just the stuff you told me to buy cost twelve million won.”

You thief, Eleanor added silently.

“Did you sell the rare items?”

He was referring to the three low-level rare items he had entrusted to her.

“…I sold them.”

“For how much?”

“The armor went for 7.9 million, the axe for 10.8 million, and the necklace for 8.9 million.”

The total was 27.6 million won. Since they had agreed Yein would take 70%, the rest going to Platinum Wings, she ended up with about 8.3 million.

“Hmm. Then I’ll give you an extra 3.7 million from my share.”

“That’s it? Stingy…”

“You don’t want it?”

“Tch. Fine.”

Right there, he had her transfer the money into his account.

In the end, he had earned about 15 million won from selling those three low-level rares.

“Now get your tablet. I’ll tell you what materials to have ready for next Saturday.”

“What? You’ve already ordered this much, and you’re ordering more?”

Eleanor’s eyes widened.

The materials he had her order before numbered around three thousand. Even if she worked in the workshop all day, every day, it would take her at least half a year to use them all.

“Yes.”

He gave a short reply and held out his hand for the tablet.

Annoyed by his attitude, she still sighed and went to get it.

Originally, after losing their bet, the workshop itself should have gone to him. The only reason Eleanor still owned Workshop Eleanor was because of the terms Yein had set.

I agreed to that match. Pretending I didn’t, or sending someone to drive him out, would be beneath my pride.

Still, she wondered if keeping her pride at the cost of her lifespan—shortened by the stress—was really worth it.

When she returned with the tablet, Yein’s fingers flew over the screen, quickly drafting a new list.

“Here. Put in the order so I can get these by next Saturday.”

She glanced over the list he handed back.

“What is this!”

“It’s the material list you’re going to order.”

“These are higher-level rare materials than last time!”

“But the quantity’s cut in half.”

“It’s still a thousand! At that price, twelve million won won’t even come close. You’d need at least thirty million.”

“Here.”

From his inventory, Yein tossed several lumps of smoke onto the ground.

They transformed into items before her eyes—fifteen of them, each glowing a deep crimson.

“These are higher-level than the ones I brought last time. If you release too many at once, prices will drop, so pace yourself.”

“W-wait a minute!”

“What now?”

“Did you really make these yourself?”

“Call the store manager and have them check the mana signature if you don’t believe me.”

“This is insane… Completely insane. Fifteen rare items in a single week? Is that even humanly possible? What, do you use clone techniques or something?”

Eleanor muttered to herself, sounding half-deranged.

“Then I’ll be back around this time next week.”

Hugging the small inventory crates to his chest, Yein left Workshop Eleanor.

Only after hearing the workshop door close did Eleanor come to her senses.

She knelt before the items he’d left, picking up a small shield.

No matter how she examined it, she couldn’t find a single flaw.

When she’d first seen the dagger Yein had made, she’d been impressed with his skill.

But this shield was on an entirely different level—so perfect it made her heart race just to look at it.

Working with someone who could create such things made her feel as if they could make anything together.

It was a feeling almost like infatuation.

At the same time, her hands trembled in frustration.

Even if she worked for over two months straight, she could never create something of this quality. The gap between Yein’s skill and hers was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.

“Even if I study this… could I catch up to him in my lifetime? And he’ll just keep getting further ahead…”

Tears welled in her eyes.

“Kh…!”

Biting her lip, she lifted her head, set the shield down, and ran to the anvil she’d been using earlier, grabbing the tongs.

If you’ve got time to mope, you’ve got time to swing the hammer one more time. Save the lamenting for when you’re dead!

She scolded herself as she placed the half-finished mid-grade magic steel back into the mana forge to heat it.

The forge’s blue glow reflected in her eyes.

She’s probably hammering away even harder right now.

I thought to myself as I walked down the Hunter Market street.

Back in Latesai, I’d grown quite fond of Eleanor’s character.

Proud, stubborn, a little clumsy—but her passion for her dream, her resilience in the face of hardship, made me respect her despite her being a fictional character.

Eleanor was the type to grow stronger the more she swung her hammer.

I hope she keeps growing fast.

That way, it’ll be worth tossing her a batch of rare items every week.

“Th-then I’ll give you a question.”

Lumina held her tablet with a nervous expression.

“Go ahead.”

Meiling, arms crossed, answered with her eyes closed so she couldn’t see anything.

“What’s the estimated average level of the Seven Pioneers?”

“Ninety.”

She answered without even pausing to think.

“Correct!”

Lumina beamed.

“Next question. Who were the ones that didn’t enter the dungeon during the Seven Pioneers’ disappearance incident?”

“Cheon Ji-won and Nadia Hassan. Cheon Ji-won’s now the mayor of Seoul, and Nadia Hassan was last seen in London in 2093 before disappearing.”

“Exactly right! You’re amazing, Meiling!”

“It’s nothing. Keep the questions coming.”

A faint smirk tugged at Meiling’s lips.

Lumina asked eight more questions, and Meiling got every single one right.

“Okay, I think we’ve covered everything for this Demonlogy exam.”

“Good work. Thanks.”

“!”

Lumina’s eyes widened.

“What’s with that look?”

“N-no, nothing. Hehe.”

“…That laugh is kind of creepy.”

“……”

Her smile faltered instantly.

“Anyway, during this exam period, you’re on my side.”

“Huh??”

“You helped me prepare for my match against Nam Yein. That makes you my ally.”

“Uh, no, that’s—”

“From now on, if I call you with a question, you come right away. We will beat Nam Yein and make him kneel.”

That’s… not why I helped you study…

“And I will make him lick my shoes.”

Ignoring the flustered Lumina, Meiling’s fighting spirit burned brighter.

Monday of the second week of April—the first day of midterms at Gwangcheon Academy.

I arrived at school later than usual, at ten o’clock, and took the written exam.

For first-years, the written exam only covered two subjects—Demonlogy and Monsterlogy.

Subjects like language arts or math weren’t tested at all.

It said a lot about how Gwangcheon regarded courses unrelated to Hunters.

In other academy scenarios, there was a setting where general education subjects had exams as well.

However, even there, the quiz-style mini-events only featured Hunter-related subjects.

Since the questions were similar across all academies, the answers naturally became memorized.

Even if a question hadn’t appeared in the game, it wasn’t difficult for me—I knew the lore by heart.

So, I’d already filled out my answer sheet and was now just waiting for the bell to signal the end.

Did Gwangcheon give prizes for placing first in the exam?

I couldn’t remember what the prize was. That probably meant it had been some kind of Magic-grade weapon or gear.

If it had been a Unique item or a high-performance Rare item, there’s no way I would’ve forgotten.

After dozing off for a while, the first day’s exams ended.

“How was it, Yein?”

Lumina came over to my desk and asked.

“So-so. What about you?”

“I got a little mixed up on Demonlogy, but for Monsterlogy, I think all that time wandering around in dungeons helped. I could answer without thinking.”

She looked fairly cheerful as she said that.

“Tomorrow’s the practical exam.”

I nodded.

“Tomorrow is the mock battle on campus, and the last day is the dungeon practical test, right?”

“Yeah. They said they’d announce the exam details right before it starts.”

Of course, I already knew from the game.

But I didn’t plan to tell her in advance.

Not because I saw her as a competitor, but because I didn’t want to risk being suspected of cheating.

“Since we won’t get self-practice permits during exam week, let’s just spend the rest of the day separately.”

“Okay, got it.”

When we stepped into the hallway to head back to the dorms, I spotted Meiling coming out of Class A.

“Oh, Meiling. Did the written exam go well?”

“Of course it did. How about you, Lumina?”

Hearing them talk, I was a little surprised.

Lumina had always seemed somewhat intimidated by Meiling, and Meiling had never paid her much attention.

But now, they were talking to each other like ordinary friends.

It wasn’t hard to guess why—Meiling had probably asked Lumina for help studying over the weekend.

That would explain why they’d grown closer.

For me, this was a very good development.

The closer she got to Meiling, the easier it would be to clear the side scenario.

Of course, ideally, you’d befriend the protagonist… but I wasn’t the protagonist. I was Nam Yein.

And right now, to Meiling, I was the perfect enemy.

“Lumina, let’s go to the outdoor training field after lunch.”

“The training field?”

“I need to practice my skills. In the mock battle, they’re testing our basic combat proficiency, after all.”

What she said wasn’t about the exam content, but the purpose of the class.

It seemed Kai was still keeping his promise not to interfere with our school life.

Otherwise, Meiling would’ve already heard the exam details from him.

“You’re not coming with us!” Meiling suddenly shot me a glare.

“Let’s go, Lumina.”

“Ah, um… Yein, I’ll see you later then.”

“See you later? No, Lumina, you’re training with me all day today.”

“What?”

And just like that, Lumina was dragged away by Meiling.

Guess I’ll just head back to the dorm and work on my Craftsman EXP.

I already knew the exam contents and was fully prepared.

With no tedious training classes, I might as well put the free time to good use.

The next day.

At 9 a.m., the first-years gathered at the outdoor training field.

Unlike the written test, the mock battle was conducted with both Class A and Class B together.

The dungeon practical exam tomorrow would probably be joint as well.

“What is all that?”

“Why are there so many training robots?”

“They’re not seriously going to have us take on all of those, are they?”

I overheard students murmuring.

On one side of the field, at least a hundred small, quadrupedal training robots were lined up.

Their paint was chipped, and many had visible dents—none of them looked to be in great shape.

“Everyone, attention!”

Jo Miye, the instructor in charge of the mock battle, called out in a loud voice.

The murmuring stopped immediately, and the air grew tense.

“For the first round of the mock battle exam, you will have thirty seconds to destroy as many of the hundred training robots as you can. The robots will attack you during the test, and if your belt’s protective shield is depleted, you’re out.”

“W-we really have to face all of those?”

“Damn, that’s way tougher than I thought.”

“Mommy…”

“Daddy…”

“In the exam, you can use your abilities and the basic supply skills, but weapons are limited to those provided by the school. Now, put on your belts, choose your weapons, and line up in order of your attendance numbers.”

She pointed to two storage containers—one with belts, the other with an inventory of weapons.

I strapped on my belt and chose the lightest wooden throwing star.

All the weapons were wooden again—probably to minimize damage to the robots.

“All right, Class A will start. Number 1!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

A girl raised her hand nervously and stepped forward.

“Ready?”

“Y-yes!”

“Begin!”

As Jo Miye tapped her tablet, the robots’ eyes lit up red—the test had started.

Seven seconds later…

Class A’s number 1 had her shield depleted and was eliminated.

That’s a full-on swarm attack.

The robots charged her all at once, their body slams knocking her down before she could swing more than a few times.

“Stop! Kang Da-young, two destroyed. Head to the back and wait.”

The girl trudged off with her head down, looking close to tears.

“…This is insane.”

“It’s way too hard.”

“How are we supposed to pull this off…?”

The voices of tense classmates reached my ears.

“Next, Class B number 1!”

“Ah, y-yes!!!”

The boy at the front of my line stepped forward—only to be eliminated after seven seconds as well.

He didn’t even manage to take down a single robot.

One after another, most students were eliminated in under ten seconds.

The current highest record was three robots destroyed.

“Next! Class A number 16, Chen Meiling!”

The moment her name was called, murmurs broke out in both Class A and Class B.

(End of Chapter)