With the freshman competition looming, the entire atmosphere at Kyoto University had subtly shifted. There was a new energy in the air—competitive, intense, and slightly chaotic.
Perhaps in anticipation of the event, the faculty had taken a lenient stance toward this new batch of career transfer students. Daily schedules were light, with only a couple of morning classes, leaving the rest of the day wide open.
And no one was wasting that time.
Every serious freshman—especially those aiming for the championship—was out grinding.
Their goal was clear: hit Level 20, unlock their second Talent Awakening, and push their power to the next level.
Everyone was going all in.
They skipped meals. Sacrificed sleep. Formed temporary alliances. Campus training fields were packed, and the dungeon queues never stopped.
Lucas was no exception. His monster-hunting and level-grinding schedule had kicked back into full gear.
This was the life of a true job changer. Unless you gave up on progressing, you had no choice but to embrace the grind.
---
But unlike most students, Lucas had an added burden:
He was the class monitor.
As the monitor of Class 1 in the Output Department, Lucas had become the go-to guy whenever a random task needed to be done.
And those tasks came from all directions—faculty, the department head, the counselor...
"Here's another paperwork request."
"Lucas, can you collect everyone's magical aptitude scans?"
"Lucas, you need to supervise the classroom enchantment test."
"Lucas—"
He couldn't escape.
But he was also no fool.
He began to investigate.
Something about how he was "elected" monitor had always felt off. He never signed up. He never wanted the position. Yet he won by a landslide.
So he dug a little deeper.
Turns out, he'd been set up.
In Class 1, there were seven S-Level freshmen—including himself. The rest were high-A or lower. Among the elite seven were:
Lucas
Mason
Alexis Lane
And four others—three boys, one girl.
As it turned out, those three boys had secretly conspired to put Lucas's name on the ballot.
Why?
Jealousy.
He was the top-ranked student in this year's assessment and, to make things worse, he had a past with Alexis Lane, the goddess of the class. There were rumors he had even pursued her in high school.
That was enough to provoke resentment.
They encouraged other students—many of whom feared Lucas as competition in the tournament—to vote for him.
Everyone agreed silently: if Lucas was burdened with chores, maybe they had a better shot.
The result?
Lucas won with a huge margin. He was ahead of the actual candidates by miles.
After learning the truth, Lucas grinned.
"Oh, so that's how it is?"
If they wanted to play dirty, he could play dirtier.
From that point on, every time the school assigned him a task, he would rope in the three conspirators as "volunteers."
"Come on," he'd say with a warm smile, "you three are S-Level talents. You should be setting an example for the class. Let's work together!"
They couldn't refuse. He had the monitor's authority. And Lucas made sure they worked as hard as he did—maybe harder.
They'd hoped to trip him up.
Instead, they found themselves carrying boxes, sorting scrolls, cleaning magical residue, and filing class rosters.
It was delicious revenge.
And to Lucas's satisfaction, the school wasn't assigning too many tasks. So his leveling plan wasn't slowed down too badly.
---
In the following days, Lucas returned to his grind.
He cleared the Nightmare difficulty Spider Cave three times a day.
After that, he'd head out to the wild zones to hunt high-level monsters for extra EXP.
His luck held steady. Over the next few runs, he scored:
One rare blue armor
Two uncommon green gear pieces
One plain white equipment item
All Level 20.
None were suitable for him, but they sold well. After offloading them, his account balance crossed 200,000 credits.
A great milestone.
---
With money in his pocket, Lucas turned to the next big challenge:
Upgrading the Pale Blade.
He needed rare-quality weapons as sacrifice material. Specifically, Level 1 purple-grade daggers.
He searched every weapon store and Blacksmith Shop in Kyoto.
Nothing.
Finally, a kind Blacksmith apprentice gave him the answer.
Those weapons? The rare, purple, low-level kind?
They were bought immediately by the City Lord's Mansion.
They were used for the genius training program—not sold in stores. Crafted for skill development, they were snatched up the moment they appeared.
Suddenly, it all made sense.
Lucas had been the beneficiary of one such weapon before. But now, that very system was keeping him from progressing.
He sighed. "Figures."
But he wasn't giving up.
If he couldn't find Level 1 purple weapons, he'd get higher-level ones—even if they were expensive.
Eventually, he found a Level 10 purple dagger in a shop. Its stats were inferior to the Level 20 blue dagger he already owned, but as a sacrifice material, it would work.
The price?
70,000 credits.
Lucas bargained hard, eventually bringing it down to 60,000. Gritting his teeth, he bought it and fed it to the Pale Blade.
Upgrade successful!
Attack Power +200
Bonus Attributes +50
Star Rating: 3 stars
The boost was decent, and his weapon continued to evolve.
As for the Level 20 purple daggers?
They were still out of reach, each costing hundreds of thousands. Even if he sold his soul, he could barely afford one.
No thanks.
He'd rather stay above water and keep options open.
---
Still, he was frustrated.
His thoughts drifted to the Kyoto University scholarship, which the Admissions Office had promised. But that wouldn't arrive until the end of the semester.
And there were no early payouts.
That stung.
For now, Lucas had to keep hustling. More dungeon runs. More loot. More money.
---
That afternoon, Lucas exited the Spider Cave after another successful Nightmare run.
He dusted himself off and glanced around the entrance area—
And paused.
"Amelia Su?"
There she was, standing confidently near the swirling star vortex.
Wearing gleaming armor. Holding a sturdy shield. Standing tall.
Not alone.
Beside her were several other girls—likely her party members.
And among them was a face Lucas hadn't expected:
Alexis Lane.
"Wait—what?"
When did Amelia and Alexis start teaming up?
He felt like he'd missed a chapter.
He was the one who'd helped Amelia overcome her social anxiety. He was the one who first teamed with her.
And now she had gone and formed a party—with someone like Alexis Lane?
Openly? In front of him?
Lucas coughed and shook his head. "Alright, calm down. Not that deep. Don't get dramatic."
---
"Lucas!"
Amelia lit up the moment she saw him.
She ran over with tiny, eager steps, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"You're here too?" she beamed.
Lucas chuckled. "Of course. I've been farming this dungeon for days. But what about you? Didn't expect to see you here."
"I hit Level 20!" she said, practically bursting with pride. "And I wanted to tell you!"
Lucas raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That's amazing. Congratulations."
She nodded enthusiastically. "I've been working hard… and today, I'm helping my team run the Spider Cave."
"You're here to get better gear?" Lucas asked, casually scanning her.
Amelia shook her head.
"I already have a full set of Level 20 purple gear," she said proudly. "I'm just here to practice combat skills and help my friends farm drops."
"…"
Lucas blinked.
Full purple set? Already?!
He stared at her in disbelief.
Wasn't her family poor? Weren't they struggling financially? Was she secretly rich all along?!
He looked down at his own gear—a scattered mix of high-quality blue items.
"…Unbelievable," he muttered.
---
End of Chapter 59
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