(Arin's POV)
The morning sun had barely begun its ascent, yet I was already standing tall in the center of my dormitory room with an unusually wide grin plastering my face.
My hands were now encased in a gift from Duke Edwin Rhyms. It was a pair of elegant black leather gloves, adorned with intricate gold thread embroidery. The item bore a name that sounded incredibly majestic: Feather-Touch.
"Alright," I murmured with anticipation. "Let us see if this gift from the Fierce Duke is actually useful or merely an expensive ornament."
My hand reached for the hilt of the standard iron longsword resting against the wall. Its actual weight was around three kilograms, a reasonable heft for an infantry weapon.
I lifted it high.
Whoosh.
My eyes widened instantly.
It was light. Incredible light! This solid iron sword felt as weightless as a dinner spoon in my grasp.
I tried swinging it through the air a few times. Swing! Swing! It felt akin to wielding a wooden toy sword. There was no burdensome inertia, no strain torturing my wrist.
"Incredible..." My eyes sparkled as I stared at the gloves. "If it is this light, I do not need a regular longsword. I could use a Greatsword! No, I could even swing a fifty-kilogram Buster Sword while snacking on potato chips!"
My imagination began to run wild. Visions of myself holding a gigantic sword the size of a city gate, slashing through monsters while laughing maniacally, danced in my head. What cool nickname would suit me? Arin the Destroyer? Arin Hercules? Or perhaps Arin the...
Suddenly, right as the sword was positioned high above my head, disaster struck.
CRACK!
The weight of the sword shifted abruptly. It did not merely return to its original three kilograms; rather, it felt as though I were holding up a concrete bridge pillar.
"WOAH!"
My body was completely unprepared for the drastic change. Gravity seemed to multiply itself tenfold, concentrating all that mass right at the tip of the sword.
BAM!
The blade slammed into the wooden dorm floor with a thunderous crash, dragging my hands and face down until I nearly kissed the planks. The tip of the sword embedded itself deep into the wood, while I ended up in a prostrate position that was neither aesthetic nor dignified.
"Ouch..." I groaned, trying to pull the sword out.
However, the object refused to budge even a millimeter. Its weight had likely spiked to thirty kilograms. My hands trembled violently, the veins in my neck bulging as I fought against the burden.
"Lift... Damn it... Lift!"
I took a deep breath, utilizing a minimal breathing technique to trigger a burst of extra strength. Finally, the sword began to lift slowly. My mouth exhaled a sigh of relief. Yet, that relief lasted only a second.
Beep.
Suddenly, the sword became light again. As light as a feather.
The problem was that I was currently exerting Aura-enhanced strength to lift a heavy load. Consequently, the sword shot upward with the speed of a bullet, smashed into the ceiling, bounced wildly, and nearly sliced off my ear as it fell back to the floor.
I threw the gloves into the corner of the room with absolute hatred.
"Damn it! This is a defective product!" I shouted at the innocent gloves lying pathetically in the corner. "No wonder that Old Geezer gave them to me for free! This is not Feather-Touch! This is Gacha-Gravity!"
Now I understood why Duke Edwin kept them in a drawer and called them a failed prototype. These gloves possessed a deadly 'surprise' feature. Sometimes light, sometimes as heavy as past sins.
Imagine if I wore them during a life-or-death battle?
Arin slashes the dragon's neck gallantly! Then Gacha-Gravity activates at ten times the weight mid-swing. As a result, Arin's waist snaps because of his own sword, and the dragon eats Arin as a snack. The End.
"You scammer Duke," I cursed, picking up the gloves again with a heart full of resentment. "Garbage gloves!"
I wrapped them carelessly in a dull rag. "I will just sell this thing. There must be some foolish rich person who thinks this is an extreme weight training tool."
The walk to the classroom building today felt vastly different from usual.
Typically, I was like a ghost in the school corridors. Invisible, unacknowledged, and if seen, only viewed with a fleeting glance of disgust.
But today? I felt like a circus animal loose from its cage.
Every ten meters, there was a group of students whispering while glancing at me with strange looks.
"That is him," whispered a Class B student to his friend. "The Man Without Mana."
"I heard he uses black magic to charm Lady Elena and Lady Erika simultaneously," his friend replied with a tone of conviction.
"Not black magic, you fool! I heard he has monster pheromones!" chimed in another student who was even more delusional.
"Even Rose Carlos was brought to her knees! They say Arin slammed Rose with one finger during a practice duel!"
I quickened my pace, keeping my head low. Slammed with one finger? You have got to be kidding me! I was nearly pulverized fighting her!
"Hey, look at the bundle he is carrying," a girl whispered, pointing at my hand. "That must be the love artifact he used to hypnotize Duke Rhyms."
"True! I heard he was invited to dinner and Duke Rhyms actually gave him a treasure!"
I tightened my grip on the bundle of 'treasure' or more accurately 'trash' gloves. If only they knew this treasure had just tried to kill me in my dorm room five minutes ago, they would not be half as envious.
Upon arriving in front of Class C, the scene at the entrance made me pause.
Usually, our classroom door was quiet, frequented only by passing janitors. But today, there was a noisy little crowd. In the center of that crowd sat Erika atop her desk with an unusually casual posture.
Erika looked bored to death. She rested her chin on one hand, while three male students stood before her. Judging by the gold badges on their chests, they were clearly Class A students. Nobles.
"Miss Erika," said one of the Class A students, adopting a pretentious handsome pose while slicking back his oily hair. "Rather than wasting time with the commoners in this slum class, how about having lunch with me? I have special access to the VIP canteen."
Erika glanced at him briefly, then yawned widely without covering her mouth. "Not interested."
"Come on," the student insisted, his face starting to redden from being rejected so bluntly in public. "Do you know who my father is? I can buy you a new weapon far better and more expensive than that old staff of yours."
In the past, Erika might have looked down in fear or gotten angry out of insecurity. But now? Erika looked at the student with a cold, sharp gaze that reminded me of Elena.
"A new weapon?" Erika chuckled cynically. "If you buy me a weapon, can you also guarantee your head won't crack when I test that weapon's power on you?"
The student took a step back in shock. "Y-You are threatening a noble?!"
"I am not threatening, you know. Just asking," Erika replied casually while examining her fingernails. "Besides, if you force me... my friend, Elena Rhyms, might be offended. You know, don't you, that Elena is very protective of her friends?"
The name 'Elena Rhyms' worked more effectively than any exorcism spell.
The faces of the three Class A students paled instantly. Disturbing Erika meant looking for trouble with the Rhyms Family. That was practically social suicide for Academy students hoping for a future in government.
"Tch. Rude woman," the student muttered, then turned and left with his tail between his legs, trying to salvage whatever shreds of dignity remained.
The crowd dispersed. Erika let out a long sigh, then her eyes caught my figure standing like a statue in the doorway.
Her 'Ice Queen' expression shattered instantly, replaced by a familiar sparkle in her eyes.
"ARIN!"
Erika jumped down from the table and ran toward me like a puppy welcoming its owner home from work. She grabbed my arm and shook it enthusiastically.
"You are so slow! I almost died of boredom entertaining those fake princes!" Erika whined spoiledly.
"You looked like you were enjoying the moment of rejecting them," I commented flatly while walking toward my desk.
"It was exhausting!" Erika argued, dragging her chair to stick close to my desk. "They only want to get close to me because I am close to Elena. Or because they are curious why I went on a date with you yesterday."
"Good. Use Elena's name as a shield. That is one of the functions of having a rich friend," I said, placing the bundle of gloves on the table with a heavy thud.
Erika glanced at the bundle curiously. "What is that? Lunch? It sounds very heavy."
"Oh, this? No. This is my early retirement plan. I want to sell it to an antique shop as a 'Failed Hero's Artifact'."
Erika laughed crisply, then stared at me intently. The look in her eyes turned a little softer. "By the way, Arin. About the date yesterday..."
"Do not discuss it. My wallet is still traumatized," I cut in quickly.
"Not that! I mean... it was fun," Erika's cheeks reddened slightly, and she toyed with the ends of her hair. "Sometime... let's go just the two of us, okay? Without that Ice Princess?"
Before I could answer, or more accurately find an excuse to refuse, the classroom door slid open with the sound of rusty hinges complaining.
Creak.
The classroom atmosphere, previously noisy with whispers about my date, suddenly fell silent. However, that silence was not due to respect, but rather due to a sudden boredom that seized the entire room.
Instructor Robert walked in. Or more precisely, he dragged his feet in reluctantly.
He was a middle-aged man with a potbelly protruding from behind a uniform shirt whose buttons seemed to be suffering under the strain. His hair was greasy, combed haphazardly, and a stain of dried sauce lingered at the corner of his lips.
"Good morning, you brats," he mumbled without spirit, placing a stack of papers on the teacher's desk with a soft thud. "The Final Semester Exam is near. You know the procedure. Do not die, do not cry, and for God's sake, do not make me fill out troublesome accident insurance forms."
He snapped his fingers. The stack of papers floated, divided in the air, and landed precisely on every student's desk with the help of low-level wind magic that was precise yet lazy.
I picked up the paper on my desk. Risk of Death Consent Form. Standard military academy procedure.
"This year the theme is 'Group Survival'," continued Robert while yawning so widely his small eyes watered. "You will be released in Forest Sector 4. Find points and fight monsters. Teams that fail... well, have fun repeating next year."
He began walking around the class, distributing exam badges. His steps were heavy, as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
When he passed Erika's desk, he smiled politely. A smile that was clearly forced. "Miss Erika. I hope you bring glory to our class."
Erika only nodded stiffly, slightly wary.
Then, Robert stopped right at my desk.
His large, round shadow blocked the window light, plunging my desk into sudden darkness. I looked up, staring at his round, sweaty face.
Robert did not immediately give me my badge. He twirled the metal badge in his fat fingers with slow movements.
"Ah... Arin," he said softly, his voice lowered as if he did not want the surrounding students to hear. The drowsiness and laziness from earlier vanished instantly from his eyes, replaced by a glint of cold amusement.
He leaned down slightly, bringing his face close to mine. The smell of cheap tobacco and stale coffee wafted sharply from his breath.
"I have heard many interesting things about you, boy. Defeating a tier-three monster, fighting Rose Carlos to a draw, even having dinner with Duke Rhyms," he whispered.
I stared at him flatly, unprovoked. "Just luck, Sir."
"Luck..." Robert chuckled softly, his shoulders shaking as he suppressed a laugh. "Yes. Luck is a funny thing. Sometimes it is on your side... sometimes it leaves you alone in the middle of the forest."
He dropped the badge onto my desk.
Clink.
As I picked up the badge, my eyes caught something. There was a small scratch on the back of it.
I looked up again, and that was when I saw his true face.
Robert's lazy smile widened to his ears. The corners of his lips lifted high, revealing a row of yellow teeth in a grin full of malicious satisfaction. His slanted eyes shone sharply, staring at me like a butcher staring at a cow that had already entered the slaughterhouse.
"Be careful in the forest later, Arin," he whispered meaningfully. "I heard... accidents often happen to students who act out too much."
Without waiting for my answer, he straightened up, put his boring lazy face back on, and dragged his feet out of the class as if nothing had happened.
"Alright, dismissed! Do not disturb my nap time!"
The door closed lazily behind him.
I stared at the badge in my hand. The cold of the metal seeped into my skin, piercing right to the bone. Erika beside me gripped her skirt tightly, her face pale. She too had felt the killing intent disguised in the form of that lazy teacher.
"Arin..." Erika whispered, trembling.
"I know," I replied quietly, clutching the badge tightly until my knuckles turned white.
The game had already begun before we even set foot in the forest.