Episode 4. Sibori Musket Academy (2)
"Done."
For ten minutes, Ted had slowly shot nothing but the Great Eagle’s toes to kill it.
'22 Coopers and some Great Eagle hide. Well, nothing useful, as expected.'
From catching six eagles, Ted had obtained a few eagle hides and 37 Coopers. Converted to cash, it was a paltry sum—less than 37 won. Barely enough to cover the cost of ammunition.
Still, Ted was satisfied.
Because he had just reached level 10.
'Now I just need to go to the Sibori Musket Academy and change my class.'
With that, Ted moved his feet and stood before the main gate of the Sibori Academy.
But Ted hesitated at the gate.
'But will that old man still hold a grudge?'
It was back when Ted had reached level 200 in his previous playthrough and needed his second class advancement.
Each academy offered different skills through advancement. So Ted had rummaged through every academy in the world as if searching for lice.
To obtain the short-range dash skill,
As it happened,
Then a minor problem arose: Ted had been too good at shooting the musket.
'He clung to me desperately, saying he’d make me his successor...'
The master of the academy, Count Sibori, was a powerful NPC who had achieved the realm of the third class advancement (level 500) or higher. He had founded the academy to advance the class
Outsiders—that is, users—had flooded in, bringing a crisis upon the academy.
The musket was actually a very frustrating weapon.
Its rate of fire was far lower than bows, crossbows, handguns, or thrown daggers of the same tier. Each shot was slow.
Moreover, Musketeers had low stamina and dismal defense, so if melee combat broke out, they died quickly. In other words, maintaining distance was their lifeblood, and doing so wasn’t easy unless the player had fairly good sense.
The selling points were that each slow shot was powerful, and it was the only class capable of long-range sniping in the game.
But both were hopelessly ambiguous.
The sniping wasn’t as precise as sniper rifles in other games, and there were more than a few classes with stronger single shots.
For these reasons, users avoided the Musketeer class.
So the moment Count Sibori, the master of the academy, saw Ted, he grabbed him by the pant legs and clung on. He had been astonished by Ted’s talent and effort.
—You are the hope of our academy! Advance to the third class here and participate in the
Of course, Ted had no such intention. Knowing his own history, he had no confidence in elevating anyone’s name.
So he boldly shook off the man’s arm and left, advancing to the third class elsewhere.
'He really tried to kill me back then... The old man tried to strangle me with a musket. He won’t pick a fight with me now that I’m weak, right?'
Stopping his fretting, Ted opened the door to the Sibori Academy office and went inside.
"You're an Outsider. Have you come for a class change?"
"Yes."
The interior was as idle as expected.
An NPC who appeared to be a staff member welcomed Ted in the office.
"I'm sorry, but we are not currently offering class changes."
"What?"
An unexpected response.
"Why not?"
"It's difficult to share the details. I'm sorry. If you'll excuse me...."
This was a problem. He couldn’t learn the passive skill
And now, with his goal of reaching the rankings within five years, every day, every hour was precious.
Ted felt uneasy but decided to drop a name.
"I need a class change right now. I have a connection with Count Sibori, and I'd like to meet him."
"You have a connection with Count Sibori? May I ask what kind of connection?"
Ted hesitated for a moment.
Was it okay to reveal his identity?
But a moment later, realizing his opponent was a repetitive-action NPC, he opened his mouth.
He gave a slightly altered version of his past.
"I see. Then please wait a moment... I will call the academy's master."
'The academy's master?'
Ted had doubts about the clerk NPC’s words.
As far as Ted knew, the master of the academy was Count Sibori himself.
Soon, a hulking man Ted had never seen before burst out. One of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch.
Title
Specialist was the designation for the Musketeer’s third class advancement. This man was also a high-level NPC of at least level 500.
Moreover, the title
That man, Raiden, came out accompanying a hunchbacked man.
'That hunchback... It's been a while.'
A hunchbacked man. Since it had been so long, Ted was uncertain at first, but upon reflection, it was someone Ted knew well.
He was the armory manager of the Sibori Academy. He was someone who had been fairly close to the Ted of the past.
Ted smiled happily upon seeing Ronnaro.
But Ronnaro turned his head away, ignoring Ted.
'What?'
While Ted was perplexed by his attitude, the large man, Raiden, opened his mouth toward Ted.
"Are you that Outsider who was a candidate for the elder’s successor?"
A sudden switch to informal speech.
But Ted was the one at a disadvantage. He decided to hear the man out for now.
"Yes."
"As expected of one who speaks lies, wearing a strange mask."
"What?"
"Elder Sibori went missing seven years ago. And you mean to tell me a man who was his successor candidate didn’t know that?"
What? Ted’s eyes widened.
Missing. He had no idea.
Ted wasn’t the type to keep tabs on past connections or cherish them.
But Raiden didn’t seem to be lying. Ted could even feel anger in his eyes.
"Seems like those Partak bastards sent you, or something. If you’ve come to pull some Dalpung prank or whatever, this is your final warning. Get lost before you die."
"Partak? What are you talking about?"
"Hey! I told you to get lost right now! Don’t you dare speak lies in our master’s name, you filthy Outsider bastard."
What kind of situation was this?
Just in case, Ted frowned and looked at Ronnaro, his eyes pleading for help in this absurd situation.
But Ronnaro still had his head turned away.
'Why is he acting like that?'
Turning his head away meant, conversely, that he recognized Ted.
So why that attitude?
But that wasn’t important now. Ted thought about what mattered most in this situation.
He was under suspicion, and what he needed right now was proof.
One word came to mind.
"Forty Test."
"Hmm? What?"
"I said the Forty Test."
"Hah...."
At a single word, Raiden’s aggression softened.
The Forty Test was a class advancement exam that only Count Sibori had favored.
It meant four tens: 10 Coopers, ten coins, ten meters, ten seconds.
The exam placed ten ten-Cooper coins and required the shooter to hit them from a ten-meter distance within ten seconds.
Ted had just mentioned the exam of Count Sibori, who had disappeared seven years ago and whose lineage was now completely severed.
Ted felt a glimmer of hope in the change of his expression.
"You...."
"Please watch your language. I am an Outsider, and quite old."
"How insolent...."
"I’m likely ten years older than you."
"......."
Of course, it was a lie.
Outsiders were commonly perceived by NPCs as impossible to gauge in age.
In reality, it was true—expensive cosmetic magic was quite rampant.
Honestly, Ted was obviously younger than Raiden, who looked to be in his forties, but being spoken to informally by some NPC left a sour taste in his mouth.
At Ted’s words, Raiden frowned briefly and sighed.
"Hng... If you know of the Forty Test, we would be senior and junior under the same teacher, so very well. But I still cannot believe you are the elder’s former successor candidate. Why would his former successor candidate come here again for a first class change?"
"The details are difficult to share."
"Hah, then that makes me even more suspicious. Honestly, I cannot believe you are the successor."
"I’ll prove it with skill. I need a class change here immediately."
So it was.
Ted didn’t have much room for patience.
He would simply prove his qualifications, change his class, and leave. He had to level up explosively as soon as possible to obtain Indomitable, farm items, and raise his Yukmang Constellation skill tree.
At Ted’s words, Raiden’s eyebrows drew together.
"Ronnaro."
"Yes, Master."
The hunchback who had been ignoring Ted until then opened his mouth.
"Prepare the Forty Test."
"Yes!"
Done.
Ted smiled faintly. Now, once he cleared this test, the class change would be achieved.
Raiden led Ted toward the testing ground.
It was a shooting range with a few trees growing in an open lot.
Ronnaro brought ten ten-Cooper coins and hung them between the trees.
Then, after sneaking a glance at Ted, he scurried over and held out the test musket.
At that moment, Ted grabbed his hand.
"You. You know me, right? When I changed to my second class in the past. You’re the one who gave me that rare scope, saying I was top of the class. Why on earth are you acting like this toward me now? Why are you pretending not to know me?"
"Urk... let go of me."
Ronnaro glanced at Ted’s eyes with an anxious expression, then eventually shook off Ted’s hand and went some distance away.
He was a low-level NPC. That is, a repetitive-action NPC.
Repetitive-action NPCs carried out only their instructed actions repeatedly. The algorithms of their emotions and behaviors existed solely within controlled commands.
Yet such an NPC was showing this attitude? Ted felt puzzled.
Soon, when the test preparations were complete, Raiden spoke to Ted.
"It’s too late to back out now. This test is no easy feat."
"I know."
Ten meters. Not a particularly great distance.
But hitting ten ten-Cooper coins the size of hundred-won coins was no easy task.
Especially with a ten-second time limit.
'Hm? Wait.'
But as Ted held the test musket, doubt rose in his eyes.
'The zeroing is a complete mess.'
The musket the hunchback Ronnaro had brought had its sights unaligned.
No, it was worse than unaligned. The crank was twisted all the way to one side.
Even the barrel was slightly bent.
In other words, Ronnaro had given him a defective, unusable piece of junk.
'Has this bastard gone mad?'
Ted glared at Ronnaro with a furious frown. Ronnaro, meeting Ted’s eyes, flinched and turned his head.
At that, the string of reason in Ted’s head snapped.
"I should zero the sights before starting, shouldn’t I."
Ted aimed the test musket at Ronnaro.
And,
BANG!
He fired at him before anyone could react.
But the bullet missed Ronnaro and pierced the distant air, disappearing.
"Uwaaah!"
Ronnaro shrieked and covered his head with both arms.
"What do you think you're doing right now!"
At the same time, Raiden spoke up in agitation. A beginner who had come to change his class had dared to shoot an academy staff member inside the academy?
Without answering, Ted aimed the muzzle toward the targets.
At that moment, Raiden stopped the motion of drawing his own musket from his waist to punish him.
'What... is this Outsider?'
Thinking calmly, something was strange.
This Outsider had just shot at Ronnaro, saying he was zeroing the sights. Yet a bullet fired from less than ten meters had missed Ronnaro.
In other words, the zeroing had been abnormally off.
And now, was Ted not aiming at the targets with that ruined gun?
'You mean to say an Outsider beginner who just came for his first class change is going to hit those with a broken musket?'
The moment his eyes filled with doubt.
BANG!
Ted pulled the trigger.