How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 111

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Chelsea! Kamon, do your best too!”

Jamie, who had summoned us to the place where Chelsea and I had previously dueled, shouted with a bright smile before disappearing.

“…….”

She had literally dumped all the annoying tasks onto Chelsea.

“…….”

I looked at Chelsea, who stood still, with a sparkle in my eyes and asked.

“So, what should we do now?”

She had mentioned there was a way not to lose to Kyle.

I hadn’t heard exactly what it was yet.

‘At least it’s worth trying.’

Chelsea was a character with great potential who appeared in the original work.

Although she couldn’t match the overpowered protagonist Kyle, she was capable enough to single-handedly take down an entire squad of the Demon King’s army in the future.

‘So, I have no choice but to trust her.’

“Wait a moment. I think we need to prepare before we start.”

“Prepare?”

“Yes, wait here.”

Thump, thump.

Without any emotional fluctuation, Chelsea spoke briefly and then disappeared into the bushes.

Time passed, and it gradually began to get darker.

Awoooo!

With the howl of a wolf echoing from somewhere, the sky also darkened, making me feel uneasy.

‘Ugh, this makes me feel bad.’

I felt a sense of discomfort as if it was foretelling my future.

At that moment.

Rustle!

There was a sound of movement from the bushes, and Chelsea Artin with her water-blue hair appeared.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

At Chelsea’s low-toned words, I quickly shook my head.

“No, it’s fine. Not much time has passed.”

Chelsea, who came out of the bushes, was holding a bunch of thick branches in her arms.

“What’s that?”

“Just wait a bit.”

Chelsea started placing the branches around the area one by one.

Seeing the branches being placed as if encircling me, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.

And a little while later.

“All done.”

“What is this?”

When I asked, looking at the branches densely surrounding me, Chelsea briefly answered.

“Kyle’s territory.”

“What?”

“It’s a temporary marking, but it should be somewhat similar.”

“……?”

As I tilted my head, not understanding, Chelsea began to explain.

“The branches I placed represent the area Kyle can dominate.”

“What do you mean by area?”

“Think of the places marked by the branches as Kyle’s sword range. The moment you enter that range, you’ll be cut.”

Listening to Chelsea’s explanation, I looked around again.

‘This is Kyle’s territory?’

Seeing the numerous branches madly scattered all around me, I was momentarily at a loss for words.

“…….”

“Of course, this is just a temporary setup and it changes according to the situation and opponent.”

Hearing Chelsea’s continued explanation, my spirit sank further.

Chelsea sighed and muttered.

“Seeing it like this, it makes me feel even more frustrated.”

“What?”

“No, I mean I never won a single time during training, no matter how desperately I tried.”

“…….”

The more she spoke, the more my confidence plummeted into the abyss.

‘I’m doomed. This won’t work. It’s all over.’

But then.

“That’s why I know for sure.”

“Huh?”

“There is a way not to lose to him.”

“What is it?”

“…….”

Chelsea held her breath and kept quiet at my question.

No, seriously, could you please tell me quickly?

I feel like I’m going to faint.

At that moment.

“Break his sword.”

“Huh?”

“Break Kyle’s sword. Then such a territory won’t exist anymore.”

As Chelsea spoke firmly, I was left speechless.

‘Is that even possible?’

But before I could ask that, Chelsea murmured again.

“Well, with your magic skills, Kamon, you should be able to break his sword easily….”

“No, no. Tell me properly.”

“Hm?”

“Tell me how to break his sword and overcome his swordsmanship. I need to know.”

Speaking firmly, I looked at her with eyes full of desperation.

* * *

Two days had passed since the first training session began.

“Ugh, stop!”

“No, move faster!”

“If this keeps up, I’ll really die.”

“Then you’ll be expelled from the academy.”

“No, that can’t happen!”

With my mind snapping back to focus, I started moving quickly again, dodging the branches chasing me.

In other words, it was training to escape from Kyle’s territory.

“…….”

Swish!

Closing her eyes and focusing her mana, she lifted all the fallen branches into the air and continuously shot them in the direction I was moving.

Thwack!

I quickly widened the distance, dodging the branches shot at me and escaping the area.

Swoosh, thud!

“Gasp, gasp!”

But in the end, I couldn’t see the branch coming from behind and got hit.

“That’s enough. Let’s stop for today.”

“Huff, huff. Already?”

Chelsea picked up the fallen branches as she replied.

“Yes, we’ve already tried more than twenty-two times, and it’s past midnight. If we keep going, you’ll collapse from exhaustion first, Kamon.”

Past midnight already?

Time had flown by.

“Besides, you’ve been lasting longer each time. You couldn’t last even 5 seconds at first, but now you’ve held on for over 6 minutes.”

After two days of continuous effort, I managed to extend the duration from 5 seconds to 6 minutes.

But.

“…….”

“I told you, didn’t I? To avoid losing to Kyle, you need to last at least ten minutes.”

To break Kyle’s sword and make the fight meaningless, we needed preparation and time.

And the minimum requirement to achieve that was avoiding Kyle’s merciless domain for ten minutes.

“But we’re more than halfway there now, so let’s call it a day.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Chelsea.”

Plop!

Nodding at her words, I collapsed onto the ground.

As Chelsea finished tidying up, she stood silently for a moment, watching me, then tossed something.

“Here, take this.”

“……?”

It was a small brooch she threw.

“It’s something Master gave me. It allows teleportation to here and the dormitory. Use it from now on.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

I was already tired of going up and down the mountain drenched in sweat, so this was a relief.

“…….”

As I gratefully took the brooch, Chelsea briefly shouted at me.

“Then I’ll go first.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Tap!

With a click of Jamie’s brooch, Chelsea disappeared.

Swoosh!

Left alone in the open space, I felt the chilly wind and let out a small laugh.

“Who knew I’d be doing this kind of training?”

I thought I’d just hide away in the dormitory forever, but here I was, training hard.
It felt like being in military training.

“Ha, will this really work?”

Although nothing was certain yet and there were still uncertainties, if I continued training with Chelsea like this…

‘I might really be able to break Kyle’s sword.’

Hoping for such a miracle, I ended today’s training.

* * *

For several more days, we continued training without rest.

“Huff!”

Thwack, swoosh!

Watching Kamon Vade desperately dodge the flying branches, Chelsea finally shouted.

“That’s enough, stop!”

“Huff, how long was that? It felt like a long time.”

“…….”

Sweating, Kamon asked, and Chelsea looked at him silently for a moment.

‘He’s really working hard.’

Although she had had several encounters with Kamon before, this was the first time they worked closely together for something.

Even during the group test for Dungeon Studies, they only took the test together and didn’t prepare together.

What she newly realized was.

‘He’s so desperate. Like someone being chased by something…….’

Kamon Vade had been following his training diligently for the past few days without taking a break, improving his skills significantly.

While it wouldn’t have been possible without a certain level of talent, the fact that he grew this much in such a short time couldn’t be attributed to just talent or potential.

The more she saw, the more puzzled Chelsea became.

‘Why?’

Why was he choosing this method over the much easier and more familiar magic he knew?

It was still the biggest unresolved question.

“Hmm? Chelsea?”

Hearing Kamon’s voice, Chelsea quickly nodded.

“Oh, it’s been over ten minutes. You passed.”

“Nice!”

Kamon clenched his fist in excitement at the announcement, making Chelsea smile as well.

“Good job, Kamon.”

She didn’t know exactly why, but still.

‘Not bad…….’

Watching Kamon Vade cheer genuinely, Chelsea found his actions and appearance unexpectedly agreeable.

‘No, what am I thinking?’

She quickly shook her head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts.

Just then.

“What do you mean good job……. I’m the one who had it rough!”

Jamie, standing nearby, grumbled in a sullen tone.

“You worked hard too, Master.”

Chelsea smiled at Jamie as she spoke.

Jamie shrugged and asked.

“So, I don’t have to do this annoying stuff anymore, right?”

“Yes.”

At Chelsea’s firm reply, Jamie stretched as if finally freed from a terrible burden.

“Ah, it’s over.”

“It’s not over yet, we haven’t even started properly.”

“That’s your problem, I’m done.”

Jamie snapped at Kamon, who had interjected, and Kamon bowed his head with a smile.

“Anyway, thank you, Master. And thank you, Chelsea!”

Jamie waved off Kamon’s gratitude.

“Save it. Thank me after it’s all over. You haven’t won yet, so no need for thanks.”

“That’s only natural.”

“Natural my ass. You look like someone who’s already won.”

“Oh, come on, don’t say that.”

As Kamon and Jamie exchanged words, Chelsea spoke again.

“Alright, now that the basics are done, let’s get serious. Our goal is just one.”

Kamon nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I know.”

And the two of them said in unison.

“……Break Kyle’s sword.”