The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

34. Recruiting Hell’s Party Members (1)

Afternoon class time.

I took a moment to check my status while waiting for the instructor to arrive.

—-

[Si-on Esperando]

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Magic Power: 2,800

◇ Status

Strength: 2.47

Vitality: 2.77

Endurance: 3.17

Agility: 3.57

Magic Power: 1.77

Luck: 2.27

◇ Possessed Talents

[Nameless Shooter Lv.1]

◇ Possessed Traits

[Thousand-Mile Eyes] [Observer’s Eye] [Ki Sense]

[Magical Bullet’s Savior] [Player]

—-

First, my magic power has increased by around 400. This is the result of combining the achievement rewards with the additional bonus for clearing the dorm’s ghost incident without a hitch.

My stats have increased by a whopping 0.27. Thanks to that, my overall stats are now neatly rounded to 7.

“Well, that’s nice.”

At this rate, the results aren’t bad considering the time invested.

I slowly clenched and released my left hand, feeling like my grip strength had increased. If this trend continues, I’ll be able to keep up with the main storyline’s protagonists.

From noble mtl dot com

However, I mustn’t slack off on physical training. As I clear the main storyline, I’ll receive stat bonuses, but I’ll need a well-trained body to break through it.

My right arm, which I overexerted last night, is injured. According to the doctor, it’s fortunate that it’s not severe, and I’ll recover quickly if I take it easy.

As an idol’s body, my recovery ability is different from that of a normal person, which is also a big help. Still, I’ll need to be careful with my body for the time being.

The classroom door creaked open, and Professor Isabella, holding a coffee cup, slowly walked up to the podium.

“Everyone’s here, I see. Are you all participating in Ignatios Persio enthusiastically?”

There was no response from the students. They exchanged glances, remaining silent. They knew it was a trap question.

If I answered, it would be equivalent to acknowledging myself as Pelteus or Letoim. Professor Isabella, seemingly satisfied, took a sip of her coffee.

“I’m doing well!”

“Yes, yes!”

Two people who were weak against lies fell into the trap.

Professor Isabella’s eyes flickered for a moment, as if she had suddenly spat out her coffee.

The classroom’s attention focused on the two. Reactions varied.

Kyle looked around, seemingly unaware, while Airee covered her mouth, as if she had made a mistake. Those two were too innocent.

“Ah… Today, we’ll have a pre-announcement for the mock dungeon experience next week.”

Professor Isabella, who had momentarily forgotten what to say, coughed and pointed to the blackboard. A beam projector suddenly projected a guide with multiple images onto the board.

“The mock dungeon experience will be conducted in teams, and each team leader will be a 2nd-year student. The team leaders will be randomly selected, and you’ll be working with seniors from the year above.”

“Do you have a question?”

“Please speak, Kyle Ivanstear.”

“If it’s team-based, does that mean this experience is a team project?”

Someone always asks the obvious questions.

Professor Isabella momentarily closed her mouth, choosing her words carefully.

“Yes, this experience learning is a team project. And, Kyle Ivanstear, from now on, please introduce yourself before asking questions.”

“Yes!”

The classroom was quiet, but I let out a silent sigh. Most people here would be experiencing their first team project.

Just looking at Kyle Ivanstear, who asked questions with an innocent face, made me think so. Everyone was successfully climbing the mountain of ignorance.

Perhaps the pride of being an Arsen student was supporting everyone’s shoulders. This would be a good motivator for our future school life, and it wasn’t bad at all. Having some confidence is better than being discouraged.

“You’ll each form teams and conquer the mock dungeon prepared by Arsen. As I mentioned, the team leaders will be randomly selected from 2nd-year students, but the team members—”

Professor Isabella paused, taking a sip of her coffee. The guide on the blackboard silently turned to the next page.

“The team members will be those you find yourselves at Arsen.”

This experience learning was designed to let us directly experience the difficulties of party matching.

It’s hard to create a balanced party, and we’ll have to experience it firsthand. This will also be an essential experience for future hunters.

In this regard, Arsen is quite demanding. Unlike other academies that teach 70% theory and 30% practice, Arsen’s curriculum is 50% theory and 50% practice.

If our daily schedule consists of six classes, it’s equivalent to having 1-3 classes for theory and 4-6 classes for practice.

Arsen places great importance on students’ practical experience. That’s why it’s been selected as one of the top three academies.

As Professor Isabella continued her explanation, whispers began to spread throughout the classroom.

Everyone was already trying to recruit team members. The competition for team recruitment had begun, and it would only intensify. Dozens of teams would be formed, and we’d embark on the mock dungeon experience next week.

And everyone would realize: team projects are social evils.

Time remaining until the event – 03:10:32

***

Afternoon, after all daily tasks were over.

I wasn’t at the guest house, but standing in Arsen’s grand plaza.

In the previous lesson, Professor Isabella said, “You’ll have to find your teammates directly in Arsen.”

If we turn that around, it means it’s okay to recruit anyone as a teammate. The professors won’t do it, but students can recruit teammates regardless of their grade level.

Unexpectedly, Arsen is quite lenient in this aspect.

Whether you bring a 1st-year student or a 3rd-year graduating student, it’s all up to you. Arsen doesn’t regulate this separately. That’s also because it’s related to the students’ “abilities”.

Arsen aims to cultivate strong, practical hunters. Autonomously trained students…

What a great story. That’s why so many villains who expose Arsen’s weaknesses appear.

Anyway, Arsen doesn’t intervene in team formation. All teammates must be found by themselves.

That’s why, right now, the Arsen grand plaza is filled with 1st-year students holding placards.

“Looking for a tank to join our team! Beginners welcome!”

“We have two magicians and are looking for teammates!”

“Please help us just once! We have a senior!”

Each student is standing with their elaborately decorated placards, as if putting on a show.

The Arsen grand plaza is located in the center of the campus, so it’s a place where students inevitably pass by during their daily routines. Naturally, it’s crowded during lunch and afternoon hours.

Most of the students gathered here are 2nd and 3rd-year students. They’re desperately trying to recruit upperclassmen as teammates.

“What’s with these kids? Are they new students or something?”

“They’re cute. Looks like they’re trying to find teammates.”

…But the 2nd-year students who passed by just smiled at the 1st-year students, without offering to help.

Among the people walking by were professors. Specifically, the assistant professors who handle Arsen’s miscellaneous tasks.

Assistant Professor Exion, who was walking ahead, was also one of them.

“Ah, haha, please stop. This is getting troublesome. You guys.”

“Don’t say that, Professor, just help us once…”

“I’m not a professor, but an assistant professor. Unfortunately, I can’t join as a teammate.”

“Aaah! That’s not fair!”

It seems everyone is quite desperate. It’s the first group project, after all, and they lack experience.

Anyway, as time passes, the isolated individuals will gather and form their own teams. So, there’s no need to worry about not being able to join a team.

Of course, the popular students have already recruited all their teammates.

Representatively, Serin Anet is one of them. Due to her overwhelming performance in the entrance exam, Serin Anet was surrounded by students as soon as classes ended, and was dragged away somewhere. It seems they were going to auction her off or something.

Kyle Ivanstear is the same. Since he took 1st place, beating me, Kyle has already received love calls and joined a team.

If I think about the original story, he might have formed a team with ‘Kai Alma’. They would have argued throughout the group project, building a rivalry. That’s a good thing, as they would have created a positive synergy.

But I still haven’t formed a team.

– Hey, are you really not going to join us?

– We’re looking for a senior, want to join us?

– If you don’t have a team, want to join us?

I’ve received a few team recruitment offers, but I’ve already thought of a teammate, so I brushed them off.

Until now, I’ve been watching from the sidelines, seeing how Kyle and the others were doing. If there were any issues with team recruitment, I was going to take them in.

But it seems everyone is doing well on their own. Then, I should start looking for teammates too.

I’m currently sitting quietly on a bench in the grand plaza. I can feel gazes from all directions. Unfortunately, my characteristics are [Thousand-Mile Eyes] and [Sense], so even if I try not to pay attention, my body reacts first.

“Over there.”

The second-year student, who was approaching with an awkward gait, was coming towards me. I could sense that they were heading in my direction without even looking back. Soon, a shadow fell before me.

“You’re a first-year student, right? It’s almost time for group projects, so do you need help with something? I have some spare time.”

“I apologize.”

“Huh? Uh… yeah…”

The second-year student, who was wearing a backpack, took a step back, seemingly intimidated by my firm rejection. However, it wasn’t just one student who approached me.

“Are you also looking for team members? I can help you.”

“I apologize. I already have a team.”

“Ah, ah? Really? That’s too bad…”

I saw that the student who approached me was also a second-year student. When I turned to look, I saw some first-year students standing nearby, staring at me with an unusual gaze.

Their eyes seemed to be asking, “What are you doing here?” It was as if they were wondering why I was here.

But I couldn’t do anything about it. Right now, I had a blank schedule, but I already had a team in mind.

The other person’s timing was unfortunate, and I had to wait all day.

“Ah, then! Let’s exchange contact information just in case. If you have any questions, you can ask me.”

But the second-year student didn’t seem so easy to deal with.

“Take this. We might need to contact each other later.”

They left a piece of paper with their ID written on it and disappeared quickly. I glanced at the paper, and my watch automatically read the tag.

[Arsen A.C – User ID: Celia Leffard#3175 Would you like to add as a friend?]

I saw the panel on my watch and hesitated for a moment.

If I didn’t accept and rumors spread among the second-year students, it could lead to trouble. Accepting a friend request wouldn’t be a big deal.

[Accept friend request.]

Ding!

As soon as I pressed the accept button, the chat window popped up.

[Silvia: Hi? (rabbit waving hand emoji)]

[Silvia: I’m Silvia Leffard, a second-year student. What’s your name… how do you read it?]

[Shion: I’m Shion Illeonhart.]

[Silvia: Ah, really? That’s a cool name.]

The favorability of ‘Silvia Leffard’ increased slightly.

…I thought it was Celia, but it was Silvia.

But the name seemed familiar. I might have heard it somewhere before.

I remembered that it might be someone from the student council. If so, Silvia’s words might come true, and I might need their help later.

I didn’t respond anymore and put down my watch. It wasn’t a big deal, and time was running out.

Tap-tap—

A familiar silhouette was walking towards me from afar.

“…Shion Illeonhart.”

I stood up in response to the other person’s greeting.

I need to finish recruiting team members today. I might have to stay up all night.

Time remaining until the event – 01:32:11