The Five Academy Tournament was the most important plotline that spanned the first four chapters of the original game.
In the narrative structure of the original work, the main task of Chapter One was to familiarize the player with the basic environment of Glory Cael Magic Academy, the relationships between characters, and the daily systems, while planting numerous seeds for the future.
One of the most important seeds was Headmistress Olivia leaving to attend a high-level event called the Magic Tower Exchange.
This provided a crucial time window and background setting for the development of subsequent plots.
Moving into Chapter Two, the protagonist controlled by the player would experience a series of events within the academy, gradually rising to prominence as their strength and reputation grew, eventually catching the attention of the Headmistress upon her return from the Magic Tower Exchange.
This marked the moment the protagonist began to enter the true core levels of the academy.
The plot of Chapter Three then began to reap the seeds planted in Chapter One regarding the Magic Tower Exchange.
The player would learn that during that previous exchange, the headmasters of the Five Great Magic Academies had jointly planned a massive academic exchange event for the continent's most outstanding young mages.
Over a hundred magic academies would each send their best student groups, forming a massive exchange collective of thousands of people to participate in this grand event.
In the original work, this event was known as the Hundred Academy Exchange.
The Hundred Academy Exchange was the first major event that truly expanded the game's world-building.
Players would leave the familiar Glory Cael Academy to interact with geniuses from all over the continent with vastly different styles, witnessing a broader world of magic and more intense competition.
According to the setting, only by achieving an A-level evaluation in the Hundred Academy Exchange would one be eligible to be officially selected as a representative of their academy, gaining the right to participate in the more sublime and brutal ultimate stage—the core content of Chapter Four:
The Five Academy Tournament.
This was the real highlight.
The five magic academies recognized as the best on the continent would each send a handful of true elite representatives to engage in an ultimate showdown under the gaze of the entire world, representing the glory of their respective academies and potentially influencing the future landscape of the continent.
The winners of the Five Academy Tournament would receive unimaginable honors and resources, and their respective academies would gain a massive boost in prestige.
One could say that from the seeds in Chapter One to the buildup in Chapter Two and the selection in Chapter Three, the core of everything pointed toward the Five Academy Tournament in Chapter Four.
This was the key battle for the protagonist to prove themselves and the greatest climax of the early story.
Having sorted out this timeline, Greg was even more confused.
According to the original game flow, even without his involvement, Victoria, as the Hero, was fully capable of standing out in the Hundred Academy Exchange, earning an A-level evaluation, and representing Glory Cael Academy in the Five Academy Tournament, where she would achieve quite impressive results.
So, why was Olivia going to such great lengths to make him, a notorious former villainous noble, take the path that was supposed to belong to the protagonist?
Greg weighed his words, looking directly into Olivia's molten-gold eyes that seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts.
"I don't understand. Why does it have to be me? There are plenty of excellent students in the academy, aren't there? As far as I know, Her Highness Vivian Kahn in the second year, Her Highness Lilith Kahn in the first year, and... certain commoner students with great potential, like Victoria Cecil and Silvia Lorraine, all show great promise."
"Especially Victoria. If given enough support and opportunity, she could certainly achieve good results in the Five Academy Tournament. Wouldn't it be safer to let them strive for the glory?"
He tried to steer the conversation back to the original track of the game while also attempting to probe Olivia's true thoughts.
However, Olivia's answer completely shattered his logical deductions.
"Because of those sanctimonious bastards! During the Magic Tower Exchange, they actually ganged up and forbade me from drinking at the official meetings and banquets!"
She spoke indignantly, as if this were some heinous crime.
Greg: "..."
He remained silent for two seconds, trying to understand the logic, but ultimately failed and could only reply dryly, "...Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"
Olivia didn't seem to hear Greg at all, continuing to complain to herself.
"They even complained that I'm not like them! They said I haven't fulfilled my duties as Headmistress to educate students and set an example! They said I'm idle and neglect my professional work all day! Ha! What do they know? I call that balancing work and play! I call that individual liberation!"
Greg: "They aren't exactly wrong, though?"
"I don't care!"
Olivia suddenly slammed her wine bottle onto the desk with a dull thud. She squirmed in her chair like a petulant child, her molten-gold eyes glaring at Greg, burning with unmasked vindictiveness.
"In any case, I want you to take those so-called geniuses and elites sent by the other academies in the Five Academy Tournament—every single one of them—and beat them into the ground! Smash them to pieces! Make them cry for their parents! Ideally, I want you to shatter their arrogant hearts and stomp them into the dirt!"
She grew more excited as she spoke, even waving a fist.
"When the time comes, I'll be able to stand on the podium—no, better yet, at the post-tournament celebration banquet, right in front of their headmasters. I'll cross my legs, sip my wine, and mock them in the most punchable tone possible: 'Oh my, look at these precious students you've so carefully cultivated. How is it that they couldn't even last three moves against a delinquent student from our academy? Is this the result of your diligent teaching and example-setting? Tsk tsk tsk...' Just thinking about that scene makes me feel like coming back early was worth it! It's going to be glorious!"
Greg: "What kind of bratty kid are you?! All because of a reason like that?!"
He understood completely now.
Olivia hadn't sought him out for some far-sighted strategic consideration or noble ideal. It was purely out of her own extremely willful and petty selfishness!
She wanted to use him to slap the other academies in the face on the grandest stage of the Five Academy Tournament, just to vent her frustration and satisfy her twisted sense of revenge!
He had to admit... this really did fit her persona as a disappointing beauty...
Greg complained inwardly.
But complaints aside, a practical problem immediately presented itself.
Olivia's plan sounded satisfying, but there was a fundamental contradiction.
Admittedly, with the power Greg currently possessed, even outside the dungeon, if he went all out, he had a very high chance of delivering a crushing blow to the geniuses from other academies, fulfilling Olivia's wicked wish.
But the premise was that he would have to use dark magic in front of a massive audience.
Wasn't the fundamental reason he was here making this deal with Olivia to avoid exposing the secret that he could use dark magic, so as to avoid endless trouble?
If he exposed his secret just to win the Five Academy Tournament, then what was the point of agreeing to this deal?
Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
"No."
Greg shook his head decisively.
"I cannot accept this condition. If I have to use... that power in public to win the match, then what is the point of me agreeing to this? There's absolutely no benefit for me."
"Oh? Do you really think... there's absolutely no benefit for you in doing this?"
The chuunibyou expression on Olivia's face vanished instantly, replaced by her usual lazy yet cunning demeanor.
She picked up the wine bottle again, shaking it gently. The remaining wine inside made a faint sound as her molten-gold eyes looked at Greg with a half-smile.
"What do you mean?" Greg frowned, a hint of wariness rising in his heart, though he was mostly confused.
Olivia didn't answer directly but began to analyze slowly, as if stating a simple fact.
"Look, if you successfully stand out among the many students of the academy and are then personally appointed by me, the Headmistress of Glory Cael Academy, as the representative for the Five Academy Tournament... then from that moment on, your identity changes completely."
She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping to an enticing whisper.
"You will no longer be Greg Sass, the delinquent young master exiled by his family. You will be the most outstanding student representative of the academy, personally discovered, cultivated, and held in high regard by me, Olivia Moore—a Great Archmage. You will be the one I value most, my very face, so to speak."
Greg's eyes flickered as he seemed to grasp something.
Olivia, satisfied to see his reaction, continued slowly.
"By then, your strength, the power you wield... no matter how special or unusual it may seem, as long as it has earned glory for the academy with my tacit approval, how will the outside world view it?"
She paused, letting Greg digest her words.
Greg's eyes gradually brightened.
A possibility he had never considered before surfaced clearly in his mind.
"They will think... that it was your arrangement, Headmistress. That it's a hidden foundation or a secret weapon of Glory Cael Academy."
Greg's voice carried a note of realization.
"Even if people covet it, as long as I have the halo of being a 'talent valued by the Headmistress,' they will have to weigh their options before acting. They'll have to ask if it's worth offending a Great Archmage at the peak of human combat power, and the entire Glory Cael Academy tied to you, just for the special power held by a student."
"Bingo!"
Olivia snapped her fingers, her smile radiant.
"Exactly! Once you become the academy's representative and gain this protective layer, your secret will no longer be something that needs to be hidden. On the contrary, it can become a power you use openly, a part of the academy's glory. And I will become your strongest backing and shield."
She leaned back into her chair again, her posture relaxed.
"You could say this is... the only chance you'll have to use my power and status to protect yourself. So, Greg Sass, don't you want to seize it?"
Greg fell silent.
He had to admit that Olivia's words held an irresistible temptation for him.
For a long time, dark magic had been like a double-edged sword. While it gave him power, it also hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles, ready to bring disaster at any moment.
But if... if he could obtain the public protection of a towering figure like Olivia, the situation would be completely different.
He could use that power much more freely to ensure he could... survive.
Moreover, forming a deeper connection with a powerhouse at the combat ceiling like Olivia couldn't be a bad thing no matter how he looked at it.
It might even help him avoid many fatal crises that could arise in the future.
Risks and opportunities coexisted.
But at this moment, the scales of opportunity seemed to be tipping in his favor.
After a moment of thought, Greg looked up, his gaze steady once more.
He looked into Olivia's molten-gold eyes, which were filled with expectation and amusement, and slowly nodded.
"Fine."
He spoke simply and firmly.
"I agree. I will strive to obtain the representative status, and then... at the Five Academy Tournament, I will do as you wish."
"Excellent!"
Olivia's eyes lit up, and the smile on her face became even more wicked and expectant.
She leaped up from her chair and extended a fair, slender hand toward Greg.
"Then the deal is struck! I look forward to... seeing the wonderful scene of you making those high-and-mighty beauties from other academies wail in front of everyone!"
"You're so wicked..."
A similar expression appeared on Greg's face. "But I like it!"
A strange rapport began to flow through the air.
However, this harmony lasted for less than three seconds.
Olivia: "Oh, right, I forgot to mention. I think I drank too much before you arrived and went to throw up. When I came back to clean up... well, I was so busy opening a new bottle that I think I forgot to wash my hands."
"........"
The smile on Greg's face froze instantly.
He jerked his hand back as if he had touched something filthy. His face turned green, and he desperately wiped his hand on his pants, his eyes filled with unbelievable disgust.
Olivia didn't care at all. She laughed loudly, turned around, and lazily flopped back into her high-backed chair. She let out a comfortable sigh and casually picked up a newly opened bottle, waving her hand at Greg as if dismissing him.
"Alright, alright. Now then, remember to attend your academy classes properly from now on, Student Greg. I'll be keeping an eye on your attendance and performance. I look forward to the day you openly become the academy representative through your excellent studies and strength~"
Greg's hand-wiping motion stopped abruptly. He looked up, his face showing even more shock and resistance than before.
"Wait! What did you just say?! I still have to go to class?!"
"Well, obviously?"
Olivia took a sip of wine and looked at him as if he were asking a stupid question.
"If you don't even attend the most basic academy courses, yet suddenly defeat all your diligent classmates in the selection to become the representative... wouldn't that make it look like there's something very wrong with Glory Cael Academy's teaching standards and selection mechanism? How would I be able to mock the headmasters of other academies for their poor teaching then?"
Greg felt a wave of suffocation. "But you didn't mention this condition before!"
"I'm mentioning it now. Is there a problem?"
Olivia blinked, her expression a shameless 'what are you going to do about it?'
"It's just going to class. It's not like I'm asking you to die. Why such a big reaction? Countless people would kill for a chance to attend classes at our academy."
Greg: "Is it possible that this is asking me to die?"
"Oh, don't be so dramatic."
Olivia waved him off, her tone light, but her molten-gold eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with an undeniable sharpness.
"In any case, it's too late to back out now. The deal is struck, and I'm the one in charge. If you dare to back out now..."
She set down her wine glass and leaned forward slightly. One hand supported her chin, while the fingers of her other hand brushed against Greg's nearby handsome cheek with an ambiguous yet dangerous pressure.
Greg's body stiffened; he didn't dare move.
Olivia leaned closer. Her warm, wine-scented breath almost brushed his ear, and her voice dropped to a magnetic rasp, filled with unmasked amusement, like a predator eyeing its prey.
"Then, according to our cowboy customs... before I finally execute the hostage, I might... enjoy myself first~?"
As she finished, she even intentionally flicked her tongue out to lick her full lower lip, her molten-gold eyes reflecting Greg's instantly petrified face.
Greg: "What kind of messed-up cowboy movies have you been watching?! You're a devil in a beauty's skin!!!"
Olivia burst into loud laughter. Her voice echoed in the room filled with wine bottles, full of the delight of a successful prank.
"That's not for you to worry about, my dear representative candidate~ Now, scram from my office. Remember, starting tomorrow, be in class on time~ I'll have the Student Council President give you some special attention~"
Greg gave one last glare to this troublesome woman who was laughing uncontrollably. Carrying a stomach full of frustration and deep anxiety about his future campus life, he turned and walked with heavy steps, stepping over a floor of empty wine bottles as he left the den of evil that had exhausted him both physically and mentally.
Rate on N.U.
