I Became The Academy’s Narrow-Eyes - Chapter 54: Achievement Clear (2)

[Hey dude, why did Redar suddenly act like this?]

[What happened?]

[Did Redar do a sudden action?]

[He should have just been kept in The Great Mana Field.]

[Why do we keep dragging out someone who just wants to enjoy the beam of light from The Great Mana Field, causing him to act abruptly?]

[You messed up.]

[No, it’s not that.]

[Why did his name suddenly turn red?]

[Ah lol, that.]

[So now we just need to kill him, right?]

[???????]

[He was originally an enemy.]

[Where was there an original enemy, damn it?]

[The only thing totally screwed is my life.]

[Lol.]

[Can someone explain why he became an enemy?]

[All Redar did was act like Redar, there’s no explanation.]

[He’s almost mad about the beam of light, he’s gone completely mad because of it]

[You know he entered The Great Mana Field to see the beam of light, right?]

[Yeah.]

[You know he was watching the beam of light to find clues to upgrade his own beam of light, right?]

[Yeah.]

[Yeah, you’ll understand soon.]

[He met a demon in The Great Mana Field.]

[A demon?]

[Yeah, a demon.]

[He met the demon and said, ‘Wow, your light beam is awesome. Where did you get that?’]

[So the demon seduced Redar by gently saying ‘Where it came from is…’ and led him to corruption.]

[Wait, what’s this spoiler?]

[You asked for it, you know. Lol.]

[So is he now a demon follower?]

[How can we save him?]

[Should we ‘Save’ him? LoL.]

[How can we save him? Lol, just kill him.]

[No;;]

[Isn’t there something like killing the demon he made as a minion?]

[Redar has already lost his mind.]

[From the moment that event appeared, it was over.]

[In that state, he would probably do anything unless it’s killing his family.]

[Isn’t there even a single route to save him?]

[There is one.]

[But we can’t do it in the first round.]

[What is it? How does it work?]

[It’s when Redar masters a combat skill before meeting the demon.]

[Oh, so does we become Redar’s teacher and lead him on the right path?]

[No, it still leads to a bad ending.]

[He despairs when he realizes his beam of light can never reach the same level as the player and falls into the demon’s temptation again.]

[What a damn fool.]

[So, how the hell do we deal with this guy?]

[If you refuse his request to become a teacher, a lot of choices will appear afterward.]

[Choose carefully, and tell him not to get too attached to things like the beam of light.]

[There are a lot of complicated choices, so you probably can’t do it without looking at a guide.]

[If you break it down without looking at the guide, you win 50 billion won. Lol.]

[And now with the achievement cleared, the event of him falling into corruption and becoming an enemy disappears.]

[What’s good about clearing the achievement?]

[Clearing a certain amount of achievement is a condition to unlocking the true route.]

[True route?]

[Yeah, a happy ending.]

[I didn’t know there was such a thing. This is my first time hearing this.]

[You have to clear it once for the achievement system to be unlocked.]

***

[Achievement Cleared!]

[Achievement: Unblemished Pure Colour]

“Was there such a thing as achievement…?”

I was doubtful.

I’ve never seen it while playing the game, but I think I saw it mentioned somewhere in the community.

“…I’m not sure.”

Well, it’s an achievement, so it should be a good thing.

‘Is there no reward?’

With a little hope, I opened my inventory.

‘Oh.’

I was momentarily surprised by a random box.

‘Ah, right.’

That random box was the reward for a quest that automatically got triggered and cleared when I defeated Long Nails Edony.

So, there’s no separate reward for the achievement.

‘Is this game’s achievement system just for gamers to score points?’

I cooled off quickly, deciding to put my interest in the achievement aside.

Now, remembering the ‘reward,’ I pulled something out of my pocket.

──────────────────

[Artifact: Necklace of Courage]

[Grade: Heroic]

Description: Increases resistance to the ‘fear’ status condition.

If you put this necklace into a vessel of courage, would it become a necklace of courage inside a vessel of courage?

──────────────────

What colour would the concept of courage be if it had a physical form?

Perhaps it would be like this.

A fancy necklace with a brilliant orange gem that radiated a light which encouraged such a thought.

This was something I had received when I defeated Long Nails Edony.

What I should be paying attention to in this necklace is the ‘Heroic’ grade.

Treasure.

That was the rating for the Heroic grade artifacts in this world.

So it could be said that I had a tremendous achievement.

Moreover, unlike my unexpected mask, this was a true Heroic artifact with a practical effect that fit the Heroic grade!

‘How disappointing.’

Still, I was disappointed.

Because I already have immunity to most mental status disorders due to the effect of my attributes, this artifact won’t be of much use.

‘What do I do with it…’

Even to use simply as decoration, it’s awkward.

From the pretty gemstone delicately crafted in the shape of a flower to its design, it was too flashy and exquisite.

Quite a bit of courage and open-mindedness is required for men to wear it.

It’s so much so that even our Long Nails Edony, who usually grows long nails and paints them red, didn’t wear this necklace. He carried it in his pocket instead.

The only thing I can do now with this necklace is to crack the rubbish joke written in the description.

That was the conclusion I’d arrived at.

‘Should I…sell it?’

Adonis used to just put this necklace in his pocket without wearing it.

Meaning.

No one knew that the owner of this necklace was the protagonist of the currently shaking back alley world’s death incident.

There would be no problems if I were to sell it and get a fair price.

– Ching.

Thinking this, the necklace which felt like a waste just a moment ago now seemed utterly endearing.

“Hmm~”

I vaguely felt the mana contained within that necklace.

Was it really a Hero grade artifact?

I could feel an enormous amount of mana from the artifact.

With this, could I not live quite comfortably at the Academy?

‘But where and how do I sell it?’

It was a game? If I just threw it at the owner’s face at a general store, they would have paid the proper price.

But if I did that in reality, the owner of the general store would definitely try to swindle me.

‘Auction.’

Yeah.

In fantasy terms, the orthodox route to sell such valuable goods was General Store > Appraiser > Auction House.

The moment one would try to get swindled by a merchant who realized the value at a general store, they would find help from an appraiser who was conveniently nearby, get a proper appraisal, and exhibit it at an auction house.

‘An appraiser…’

A few NPCs – no characters came to mind.

I was about to go meet that character when I decided to first listen to the opinions of others.

Miss Drin.

Miss Adryn.

Miss Mizu.

Yena.

Adella.

The upper nobles were all over the place around me.

Auction meant high quality.

High quality meant nobles.

Wouldn’t our esteemed upper nobles happen to know a trustworthy appraiser or an auction house?

Thinking that, I decided to first return to the Lebringer Mansion.

To ask about the appraiser and the auction house from whoever was at the Mansion among Miss Drin, Miss Mizu, and Yena.

“Huh?”

When I finally walked out of the Moss Street and arrived in front of the Lebringer Mansion,

“What?”

An unexpected figure greeted me.

Her hair was a rumpled orange color.

“Why are you appearing here out of nowhere, fool?”

It was Miss Adryn.

“It should be me asking you that, Miss Adryn. Why did you appear?”

“Me, me?

Miss Adryn trembles with a start of astonishment.

“Hmm.”

Then she immediately coughs unconvincingly to regain her composure-

“I am here because-”

She began to speak in an artificial tone, as if reading from a script.

“I had a meal with Sir Drin a few days ago, right? Huh? Right?”

Then she sought agreement again and again, as if trying to convince me.

“That’s right.”

Feeling puzzled as to why Miss Adryn was acting this way, I still decided to play along for now.

“Good. So, it’s only fair that we return the favor if we have received something, right? Huh?”

“Wow~ As expected of you, Miss Adryn. That’s right. That’s what a decent person should do.”

“Hmm. Therefore!”

Bang, bang~

Miss Adryn showed me the basket she had been carrying.

“I bought a dessert from my favorite cafe, ‘Sky Room,’ to thank Sir Drin. He seemed to enjoy food – no, gourmet food!”

“Yes, Sir Drin does have a strong passion for food – no, gourmet food. But-”

I glanced at the basket and made a vague face as I hummed.

“Wha, what? That reaction. Don’t tell me you’re annoyed that I’m here…?”

Miss Adryn glared at me.

Perhaps I just imagined it, but her attitude seemed rather tentative.

Hastily, I waved my hands to dismiss this misunderstanding.

“No, no, how could I ever be annoyed by Miss Adryn’s visit? That would be absurd! Far from being annoying, it’s rather delightful! Almost like the sun rising in my gloomy world just a moment ago.”

And that was no joke, but the truth.

Just a moment ago, I was in Moss Street looking at dirty men who looked like they reeked of sweat. But the moment I saw our Miss Adryn, the world seemed to brighten suddenly.

“Wha, what did you say!? You’re really behaving in an obnoxious manner.”

After hearing my words, Miss Adryn turned away in disgust.

“So, what was it? That reaction just now. The dessert I prepared. Is there a problem? This is from the Sky Room… It’s very popular and hard to find…”

Miss Adryn turned her head and asked cautiously.

“It seems that a dessert at this point should be handmade cookies made by Miss Adryn, shouldn’t it? That’s the idea I was entertaining. Full of sincerity, but with a lopsided appearance as if they were made in a hurry. Yet surprisingly, they taste pretty good. Miss Adryn’s signature homemade cookies.”

“Hey! What’s with that unnecessarily detailed and rude setup!?”

“Hahahaha, I apologize if you were offended.”

Then, Miss Adryn thought about something and asked me.

“Hey, fool.”

“Yes? Miss Adryn.”

“You… do you, by any chance, want to eat the cookies I baked…? It’s a bit troublesome, but if you really want them, I can bake them. I usually bake often myself, but I’m not that good at it, so the results may not be great…”

Miss Adryn hesitated and repeated her words, her gaze meeting mine.

Watching her reaction, my mischievous side couldn’t help but flare up, beyond my control.

“Haha, so you’re not that good at baking? Well, then it’s okay.”

Splash.

Miss Adryn smiled very pleasantly (?) as she looked at me.

“Really? That’s great then. I wasn’t thinking of wasting my time baking cookies for someone like you.”

“Is that so? Haha~ That’s really something. I almost made an unnecessary fuss thinking I could have some of Miss Adryn’s cookies!”

“Hahaha~ Is that so~?”

It was at that moment that Miss Adryn’s smile became more and more refreshing (?) with each passing moment.

“Yes?”

Miss Adryn’s gaze fell upon my left hand.

To be exact, she was looking at the necklace with a container hanging from it in my left hand.

“What… what’s that…?”

After looking at the necklace for a while, Miss Adryn cautiously pulled out her question.

“It seems like a necklace for women…”

“Ah, is that so? It certainly looks like a necklace for women, doesn’t it?”

“A necklace for women…?”

Miss Adryn repeated my words with a meaningful look.

“Ah! Then is that a gift you prepared for Miss Drin?”

Miss Adryn clapped her hands and spoke cheerfully, but for some reason, her behavior felt awkward.

It was like she was trying to force herself to be cheerful.

‘Why is she acting like this?’

I tilted my head and looked at her.

“No, it’s not specifically a gift I prepared for Miss Drin.”

“Ah… then maybe for Mizu…?”

“Yes? No, it’s not for Mizu either.”

“Then, then…”

Miss Adryn’s mouth and cheeks were slightly rising and falling in a repeated cycle.

The moment she let go of her power, it seemed like she might ascend immediately.

Miss Adryn, in that state, carefully spoke as she pointed at herself with her index finger.

“Ho, are you possibly giving this to me…?”

“…”

Ah, no, it’s not.

It’s mine.

It’s supposed to be my academy living expense.

But the atmosphere didn’t allow me to tell the facts.

– Swoosh.

I undid the necklace I was holding in my hand and showed it to Miss Adryn.

“Um, what do you think…?”

There was still hope.

Given Miss Adryn’s personality, wouldn’t she just look at the necklace and go ‘Heh, heh! How tacky! Just wear it yourself!’?

Then I could just say, “Alright then,” put the necklace back in my pocket and change the subject.

However, despite my expectations, Miss Adryn didn’t do as I thought. When she saw the necklace –

She nodded vigorously!

“Yes, it seems pretty! Maybe it’s my style…!?”

“…”

Oh no…

“That’s, that’s, that’s, that’s really a relief.”

“Huh, why? Why is it a relief…?”

Even if she tries to hide it, the anticipation in her gaze is all too clear.

Powered by that gaze, my hand inevitably reaches out.

“This is something I prepared for Miss Adryn. Will you, will you accept it?

“Really!?”

Miss Adryn took the necklace while blushing, and immediately put it on her neck.

“How, how does it look…?”

Miss Adryn asked, blushing.

I tried my best to put on a refreshing (?) smile.

“It is indeed a match like no other…! It’s as if the necklace has finally met its rightful owner…!”

And with that, my academy living expenses flew away.

“Hehe…”

The price was to see Miss Adryn’s disarmed smile.

‘Well, it sure suits her well.’

To this degree, it might as well be a heroic grade artifact, effectively used.

‘… Is it?’

That’s what I chose to believe.