Chapter 49

<49 - Always Turn Off Alarms Properly> In the game, she was referred to as Professor Easterada, and in the forums frequented by the players, she was dubbed "Professor Bronze, the Personality Bronze." Oknodie knew precisely how her lectures were conducted, based on experience. 'No matter what, she always includes a practical exam to test one's eyesight in every lecture.' Although experiencing it firsthand could be utterly unbearable, watching and listening to it was extremely enjoyable. Her first lecture often involved a high probability of playing hide and seek with objects. The mission was to find alarm clocks camouflaged as ordinary classroom objects, deactivate them, and thus, earn the right to leave the classroom. Naturally, the game favored seasoned second-year students and veteran players, while it was decidedly unfair to the uninitiated freshmen and rookie players. "There's a luxury bag with the Emeraldsa logo in the classroom, that's highly suspicious. It must be an alarm clock disguised as a luxury bag." "Stop! That's my backpack!" "Using such an expensive luxury item as a backpack?! Then, this lighting fixture scattering flower petals is obviously a frivolous luxury, unrelated to academics. It's an alarm clock!" "That's my light fixture! My sister said that with it, I'd become popular no matter which academy I entered!" "Did your sister send you to your doom?!" Giselle, who was neither a noble of the central empire nor a frontier noble but a freshman, was stunned by the possession of items that defied common sense among first-year students! Even from a player's perspective, it was exasperating. To think that students carried such items, which must have cost them a fortune in precious points and even required a permit to possess! Even for someone like me, who had plenty of points, it felt painful. Imagine how it would breed nobility-phobia and inspire searches for pitchforks and guillotines among beginner players. 'Tsk, tsk. Poor things.' The family members who had been blindly supportive at first would soon understand the exchange rate for gold points and reduce their financial support while trembling with anger. The nobles, pinched for points, would regret spending enormous amounts on such trash; unfortunately, the spent points would never return. The ones truly deserving of pity for splurging on permits for luxuries were the nobles themselves. Pitchforks and guillotines for those doomed to fail? They were merely pitiable children, not the true scourges. The pitchforks and guillotines should be reserved for the real pests. <Sin> <Swordsmanship - Sword of Opening> Thud Sin, having sheathed his sword, placed the halved carcass of a cricket on the instructor's desk. "I caught it. The alarm clock that was jumping around the desks, making noise." "You did well to catch it. It was an alarm clock with a difficulty level quite high for a first-year." When Professor Easterada tapped the cricket's head with a baton, the halved alarm clock was revealed. That's the real nuisance. How could a first-year manage to catch an alarm clock that even second-year students would struggle to find? "You've destroyed the equipment, though. I asked you to turn off the alarm clock, not destroy it. That's a penalty of minus 10 points." "......" Upon witnessing Sin's action, the freshmen who had hoped to accidentally discover an alarm clock by randomly attacking objects nearby hurriedly put their weapons away. "There really was a deduction." Isabella's eyes filled with trust. "Ehem. I did tell you, didn't I? Adding more to the lecture could result in more deductions." Isabella was lucky. The trick to avoiding deductions was almost second nature to a veteran like her attending the same lecture! "Instead of getting flustered, first distinguish one of the alarms and find where the sound is coming from. There, you'll likely find another object disguising the alarm clock." "And after finding it?" "The object, though transformed, will have a function acting as the 'button' of the alarm clock. Pressing it will definitely deactivate it." Once enlightened with the technique, Isabella quickly found her intuition and pulled out a marker from a box of classroom supplies gathered in one corner. Pop As soon as the lid was removed, the alarm sound stopped. Poof- A little smoke leaked out, and the pen reverted to its original form, revealing itself as the alarm clock. "You have an excellent sense. Good hearing is, let's say, a trait of a thief... no, an adventurer." "Thank you." Isabella's head tilted slightly, puzzled. Didn't they just mention a thief? "This tri-fold whiteboard is a piece of equipment not found in any other classroom. I hope no one brought a whiteboard as their personal property?!" After enduring a series of bizarre item challenges, Giselle asked with a voice half choked with tears. Fortunately, this time no one claimed the item, and Giselle was able to submit the alarm clock safely. "Preparing by researching equipment from other classrooms beforehand is commendable." "It's basic for a merchant to pay attention to unfamiliar equipment. Without knowing, one cannot supply." "Indeed a noble principle. A diligent approach to infiltrating a target building under the pretext of supplying equipment is the foundation of a righteous pre-survey fit for a bandit." Professor Easterada, now openly offering praise tinged with thievery! "Does this mean anyone looking for a table clock is being treated like a thief?" "Would you rather be trapped in a classroom with an incessantly ringing alarm for two hours?" "Idiot, just escape the classroom!" "Ah!" "Ha ha ha. I'm going ahead, you fools!" A freshman laughed heartily as he ran toward the classroom exit! The sophomores who had opened the door first widened their eyes in shock and gestured for him to turn back. "Those seniors running away as if only they deserve to live! Life is every man for himself. I'll find my own way to survive!" The moment the freshman stepped on the door, he was struck by an electric shock accompanied by a crackling sound and fell backward with a thud. "What did the seniors say?" "This front is soundproofed by magic. Unauthorized personnel escaping the classroom will be knocked out by an electric shock?" "Aaaagh! I'm going insane!!" "Are you crazy? What kind of educational institution knocks people down with electric shocks for trying to escape a classroom?!" "I'm telling my mom!!" Professor Easterada twirled her hair around her finger with a look of boredom. "Would you mind hurrying up and finding the clock? The more you dawdle, the more my head throbs." Then maybe you shouldn't have assigned such a task. Driven by the realistic fear of not wanting to experience electric shock, the freshmen plunged back into finding the clocks. However, afraid of deductions for destruction, they couldn't just ransack and search destructively. Instead, they tentatively felt around chairs and desks, roaming the classroom. 'Have all who could find them, found them by now?' There were 29 people left in the classroom. Of the 20 alarm clocks, only 9 had been found. It seemed improbable for the newbie NPCs in the first year to find the remaining 11. Isabella and Giselle asked me. "Aren't you searching, Oknodie?" "I'm about to start. I've waited long enough so that no one can complain even if I find them all now." "Can we leave if it takes too long? My head is starting to hurt." "Ah, could you hold on a bit longer? I’m going to find the rest and then we can leave." "Really? Why go to all that trouble... Don't tell me you're after the extra points the professor mentioned?" I'm not that interested in lecture points. But I am very interested in other kinds of points. [You have found an alarm clock disguised as a floor tile.] [Observation XP+5] [Hearing XP+2] [You have found an alarm clock disguised as a fake wall.] [Observation XP+5] [Hearing XP+2] [You have managed to catch an alarm clock disguised as a lighting fixture with a stone, without breaking it.] [Observation XP+5] [Sling XP+3] [Hearing XP+2] [Precision XP+1] The freshmen were agape at how effortlessly I found the alarm clocks. "Oknodie is finding clocks at an incredible speed!" "Why find so many when you only need to find one?" "I get it. Oknodie is finding them for us." A student exclaimed sincerely, delighted. "If we find all the clocks, everyone can escape from the classroom. As part of the same A Group, she's setting an example by leading the way." "What a noble thought!" "How can someone be so kind-hearted? It's alright to think a bit about oneself too!" "Thank you, Oknodie! To show my gratitude, I'll play violets from my light fixture!" You just want to play that yourself. I shook my head at the ridiculousness but then suddenly felt clear-headed and energized. "???" [You have viewed the blessed violet light fixture.] [For the next 10 minutes, your physical and mental strength will increase by +1.] So, it actually has an effect? Noble luxuries can indeed prove useful, it seems. Feeling less of a headache and fatigue, I found the clocks at an even faster pace. "Well done. That's 19 clocks found, but there's still the last one." "You mentioned earlier, professor, that laziness begets a throbbing head. The last alarm clock, it's in your hat, right?" A smile formed on Professor Easterada’s face. "Excellent. To have found 11 out of 20 clocks all by yourself. And the last one was under a disability magic spell, quite a high difficulty level, but you used the hint well." "It’s all in a day's work." "Outstanding. Your skill, precision, and the mindset of caring for the less fortunate. Truly the epitome of a noble outlaw." That's a compliment, right? "That will be all for today’s lesson. Everyone who remained in the classroom will receive bonus points towards their lecture grade. And for each clock found, I’ll add a bonus of 100 points." The students looked at me in shock. "So, Oknodie single-handedly earns 1100 points in one lecture?" "The last high-difficulty alarm was worth 1000 points. Oknodie, a freshman, will receive 2000 points." The first-year students looked at me with eyes full of envy. "Sniffle. With 2000 points, I could get another light fixture." "Jealous. I need 1500 more points to bring home and raise our Poppi." "But Oknodie found the clocks for all of us. It wasn't for the points; it was out of goodwill, so there’s no room for complaints." "I agree." "If anyone is jealous of Oknodie, I'll be the first to teach them a lesson!" Surrounded by supportive freshmen, Isabella and Giselle sent me knowing glances. Humph, do they think I knew? It’s their fault for not finding them even when given ample chance! Author's Note Indeed, befitting a stone thief, Oknodie truly possesses the qualities of a rogue.