EP.126 The General Store Owner is a Treasure Goblin (5)
It's true that the Academy's written exams are difficult, but more students find the practical exams even more challenging.
Only the students in Class A seemed to handle the practicals with ease.
The Academy's exams cover a wide range of areas.
First, there's the physical ability assessment.
This evaluates one's physical abilities using their own magic, with all equipment and buff scrolls prohibited.
Of course, this could lead to unfair evaluations depending on the type of ability, so the focus was on how much one's abilities had grown, which was the highest scoring factor.
'Then there's the ability assessment, party cooperation assessment, and the hill capture assessment, among others.'
For ordinary students, it's natural to feel burdened by the practicals.
Even Class A students didn't completely disregard the practicals.
'I have to do well. This time, I must win.'
There's no lack of competition in Class A.
As long as there are students who want to outperform others, competition will persist.
And such competitive spirit led to an unexpected situation.
Shine became prey for the other students. More precisely, Shine's weapon sparked their desire for ownership.
"What on earth is that weapon?"
"Yeah, share some good info! Where did you buy it? There was no light before, so why did it suddenly appear?"
In fact, Vine and Ariane had a lot to say too. But because Ariane and Vine's families were so prestigious and powerful, Shine became the easier target.
Besides, isn't her weapon quite eye-catching? Thanks to that, Shine had to experience a maddening ordeal.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
“Hey, stop following me! I told you I have nothing to share!”
“Are you really going to keep this up? Is it that hard to give us a hint?”
“Let us benefit from some good gear too. Come on, just tell us which workshop it’s from.”
“I’m curious about where you got it, but I’m also curious why it started shining one day! Can I make my gear like that? It seems stronger too.”
“Don’t hog all the good stuff to yourself. We’re going to be comrades fighting back-to-back once we enlist! What’s the point of camaraderie, huh?”
Where did I get it? From a general store near the Academy!
But if I say that, Mister place will be overrun, so I can't tell them.
'That's our secret hideout.'
Initially, I worried about the lack of business and whether we should advertise.
But now, I've grown attached to the store, and I wouldn't feel good if other students came.
“Why should I share that? No. Have you ever shared anything good with me? No, right?”
“Come on~ If we knew something good, we would’ve shared it!”
Yeah, right.
“Exactly, I would’ve done the same.”
“Do you think I’d want to share after you say that? If there’s something you want, just say it. I’ll reward you.”
Oh, now they’re offering rewards if I tell them.
“What are you doing?”
With the kids crowding around and pressuring me, my head was spinning. Just as I was about to firmly refuse, Ariane and Vine appeared.
“Vine? Oh, Ariane’s here too.”
“We were just chatting with Shine.”
“Yeah, it’s nothing serious.”
As soon as the two showed up, the kids backed off as if they had never been pressuring me.
Seeing that, a sudden wave of frustration and sadness hit me.
I hadn't thought much about family differences before, but now that I'm in Class A, I feel it acutely.
It's the first time I've faced such blatant discrimination, and I'm at a loss for how to respond.
But I realized I couldn't just let this slide.
“You guys are really something.”
“What did we do?”
“We even offered a reward.”
The kids were still watching Ariane and Vine for cues.
“Sigh.”
I guess I seemed too easygoing since I joined Class A. I’m not someone to be underestimated like this. Anger surged to the top of my head, and a wave of frustration overwhelmed me.
“Is a reward all it takes? You practically tried to rob me!”
“Oh, when did we do that?”
“Yeah, she’s making things up.”
I know how impressive Class A students are. I’ve heard enough about them in Class B to be sick of it. But so what? I’m a proper Class A student now.
“What? Did you guys bully Shine?”
Seeing me angry, Ariane glared at the kids. Though with her cute face, it wasn’t intimidating at all.
“Ariane, it’s a misunderstanding.”
“Yeah, a misunderstanding.”
“I didn’t know Shine was so sensitive. We were just asking, didn’t know she’d get hurt.”
“Yeah, we didn’t think Shine would be upset. We were just being casual because we’re friends.”
“It’s absurd to act like the victim.”
They were busy making excuses in front of Ariane, who had a powerful family. The anger that had been boiling started to cool into a cold chill. Are these kids out of their minds? They think they can make someone look foolish by ganging up on them.
“Hey, since when were we friends? I’ve never had friends like you.”
Even if they feel some internal closeness, I have no intention of being friendly with them.
“…Are you really going to be like this? We can settle this amicably.”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it, Shine.”
The kids subtly pressured me, as if I’d only be hurting myself by getting angry here.
“Screw that. Yeah, I’m going to make a big deal out of it. What are you going to do about it? If you didn’t want this, you shouldn’t have done it. Just because you change your tune when they show up, doesn’t mean what happened didn’t happen.”
“Of course not.”
It was Vine who responded to my words. As Ariane and Vine’s gazes turned to them, the kids hastily changed their tone.
“We just asked because it looked so good… If it upset you, we’re sorry.”
“I don’t think asking was such a big deal, but since you’re upset, what can we do? We’re sorry.”
Even their apologies are like that? I’d rather not accept such apologies. It only makes me feel worse.
“What was all this about…?”
Vine clicked her tongue in disbelief at the kids’ words. Ariane’s reaction was the same.
“Shine, why did you put up with that? It’s not like this happened before, right?”
“I noticed they were trying to ask me indirectly. But I didn’t expect them to suddenly gang up and pressure me like this.”
I regret not outright rejecting their nonsense from the start.
“If it were me, I would’ve told them to shut up. It’s not enough to ask nicely, but they pressured you for information? That’s beyond rude.”
It’s amusing to think of Vine, who looks like a lady raised in luxury, cursing.
“This time, you guys were wrong. Everyone, apologize to Shine properly.”
With Vine’s cold words and Ariane’s final demand for a ‘proper apology,’ the kids were shocked.
“What?! Properly?”
“Isn’t that too much? We already apologized!”
“We just asked out of curiosity, this is too much!”
Was their earlier apology even an apology? No, definitely not.
That was a reluctant concession.
So when Ariane demanded a proper apology, it felt liberating.
A proper apology meant it would escalate to a matter between families.
With Ariane on my side, my family wouldn't have to do anything.
Once they sent an apology letter to my family, we'd decide whether to accept the apology and the accompanying gifts.
Of course, the apologizing family's pride would take a hit.
“Do you realize your attitude is making this situation worse?”
Even Ariane and Vine couldn’t force them to apologize properly, so the kids protested vehemently.
“Is asking where you bought something such a big crime?”
“Of course. You tried to extort important family information by force.”
“F-family information? I didn’t know it was that serious!”
The kids turned pale at Ariane’s calm lie about it being family information. Asking for a workshop recommendation and demanding a family artisan’s information are vastly different in severity.
“Trying to extort information by force is definitely a misunderstanding.”
“If Shine felt that way, we’ll apologize again. So please, let it go.”
“Did you stop when Shine asked you to?”
“…….”
“…….”
The kids’ expressions turned gloomy. Ariane showed no intention of changing her stance, and the kids, realizing they were in deep trouble, looked at me with desperate eyes.
If I forgave them, the situation could be resolved. But why should I?
“You guys are only apologizing because you’re afraid of Ariane and Vine’s families. You can’t possibly be genuinely sorry to me. I don’t want a formal apology that makes me feel bad.”
The kids sighed in relief at my words. They probably thought I’d let it go. In a way, I did.
But I decided to punish them myself.
I won’t rely on Ariane and Vine’s family power to receive an apology. This is about preserving my pride.
“I’ll make you regret it with my own hands. Every time you see me, remember this and regret it. I’ll make sure to torment you as viciously as possible for the rest of my life.”
“!!!!!”
The kids froze in shock at my unexpected harsh words. Watching their faces, I continued.
“Imagine how fun it’ll be when we enlist. What if my rank is higher than yours?”
“Sha, Shine…”
Fear finally crept into their voices. I hardened my expression and smiled at the frightened kids.
“So work hard from now on. Get better grades than me. The bigger the rank difference between us, the more you’ll regret it.”
I can make them regret it without relying on family connections.
My skills are underestimated because I came from Class B, but I’ll shatter their prejudices in the upcoming practical exam.
‘Once they experience being under me, they’ll wake up.’
Now I have a solid reason to ace the practical exam.