The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

Dragon Hunter.

Also called Dragonslayers, these were veteran heroes who hunted the rarely seen dragons.

Some kingdoms even bestowed noble titles based solely on this moniker.

This meant that Dragon Hunters were exceptionally talented individuals, lacking nothing in terms of physical or intellectual prowess.

Furthermore, hunting a massive and powerful creature like a dragon had long been tied to the honor of all warriors and knights, making Dragon Hunters objects of envy.

Naturally, it wasn’t a title attainable by a mere Academy student.

‘To begin with, you can’t even see a dragon near the Academy, so what Dragon Hunter……’

Thinking so, Kyle recalled the terrorists who had attacked the Academy recently.

When he had left the auditorium to save Arthur, a dragon had been flying in the sky.

At the time, saving Arthur had been his top priority, and the principal had been chasing after the dragon, so he hadn’t paid it much attention…….

‘Did she catch that dragon?’

Kyle looked down at Sera with a dubious gaze. Sera tilted her head, sensing his stare.

She was sure she had introduced herself, but this annoying musclehead seemed to be ignoring her words, as if someone else came to mind.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

“I can hear you.”

“Kim Sera, Dragon Hunter, I said?”

“So what?”

Kyle shrugged as if he didn’t understand, and Sera shuddered, slightly backing away as she glared at him.

“Wow- You even talk exactly like him. It’s creepy.”

“Like who?”

“Ah, there’s this guy. You wouldn’t know him. Anyway─ Kyle Meyer.”

Saying so, Sera explained why she had sought him out.

“I’m here to scout you!”

Her purpose was to recruit Kyle.

* * *

Sera was a Player. After a certain incident, she had been transported into the world of Dairus Academy, the game she loved most.

This world was truly fantastic. It was the very world she had dreamed of back on Earth.

Making full use of her knowledge as a Player, Sera successfully entered the Academy as the salutatorian, achieved remarkable growth, minimized the damage from the terrorist attack, and even succeeded in assisting the principal in taking down the dragon.

For this achievement, the principal bestowed upon her the title of Dragon Hunter, and she gained the opportunity to further advance as a Player.

‘I couldn’t save Arthur, but that’s the original story anyway…….’

However, she had failed to save Arthur, a feat that countless Players in Dairus Academy had strived for but failed to achieve.

She hadn’t even considered that possibility in the first place.

The enemy who tried to kidnap Arthur was Expert-level, and unlike the young dragon with its weaknesses, he had no exploitable vulnerabilities, making him an impossible target for her to overcome.

Moreover, if she somehow managed to match the Expert-level specs and challenged him, the enemy would evolve to a semi-Master level.

It was a difficulty designed to be unbeatable, and thus, everyone who played this game had accepted Arthur’s death as an unchangeable part of the story.

But then.

“Huh? There are…… no missing persons?”

“That’s right. There are some deaths, but…… there are no unidentified individuals. The damage assessment is complete.”

“That, that can’t be.”

Sera stared at the investigator in disbelief.

Seeing her reaction, the investigator shook his head, understanding the situation.

She must be a child who believes her family member is missing, not dead. How pitiful.

The investigator opened the list of victims once more and spoke.

“There are no missing persons. Whether deceased or injured, this list contains all the victims.”

“That, that’s impossible…….”

Thanks to the investigator’s kindness, Sera was able to meticulously examine the list of victims from beginning to end.

Surprisingly, Arthur’s name was not there.

Did that mean Arthur didn’t exist in this world at all?

Had her arrival as a Player into this world caused a deviation from the original fate?

Like a true Player, Sera immediately took action.

She discovered that Arthur did, in fact, exist.

‘What? Arthur’s alive?’

Surprisingly, Arthur was alive.

This meant that he had survived an encounter with a semi-Master level enemy. How? Finding that out wasn’t too difficult.

Her knowledge of the original story and the authority she gained as a Dragon Hunter.

With these two, she could figure out most things.

Sera immediately investigated the terrorist incident thoroughly and found the name Kyle Meyer.

In the original story, he was an insignificant character─ Yuri Grace’s fiancé, who would lose her to the Player.

A complete NPC pushover.

Surprisingly, Kyle Meyer had killed one of the terrorists and was imprisoned for investigation.

‘That’s impossible…….’

Although she couldn’t find out who Kyle had fought or who the terrorist was─ Sera instinctively knew that Kyle had fought Damian, the one who tried to kidnap Arthur.

Assuming that all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Arthur’s survival, the lower-than-expected casualties.

Of course, there was one thing she couldn’t understand.

‘How did he beat a Master?’

Expert-level─ yes, she could understand that.

Expert-level individuals were common within the Academy.

But Master-level?

Only two people within the Academy were Master-level, and this number wouldn’t change unless a Player specifically trained an NPC.

‘He was a nobody, a nameless character in the original story…… What changed to make him like this?’

Could it be that, like her, a Player from Earth had possessed him?

She diligently investigated.

Investigating a noble wasn’t easy, but fortunately, she was the Academy’s salutatorian, and she belonged to the Magic Department.

It gave her both the justification and the ability to become close to Yuri, Kyle’s fiancée and the top student in the Magic Department.

“Yuri! I have something to ask you!”

“……What is it?”

“It’s about Kyle….”

Although Yuri felt uncomfortable discussing Kyle with Sera, Sera relentlessly extracted information without a care.

No one had ever so boldly demanded anything from her, a Duke’s daughter with a cold demeanor.

Unwittingly, Yuri found herself spilling details about Kyle.

Successfully gathering information about Kyle, Sera became convinced that he wasn’t a Player like herself.

‘Hmm… He was rude to His Grace the Duke at their first meeting, and at 10 years old, he spoke casually to the Prince?’

If he were a Player like her─ such actions would be unimaginable.

Being disrespectful to a Duke and speaking informally to a Prince right off the bat?

One misstep with such actions could lead to a beheading.

Noble or not, no exceptions.

Someone who acted so thoughtlessly couldn’t be a Player.

That was the logical and reasonable conclusion.

‘Then, is it a bug?’

For some reason, her arrival in this world might have triggered a change in Kyle, resulting in him becoming a Master─ this scenario was entirely plausible.

If so, Kyle was a jewel lying on the ground, waiting to be picked up.

If he had become a Master because of her, probably no one else would know……!

The opportunity to recruit a Master wandering around without any affiliation.

A hardcore gamer like Sera couldn’t miss such a chance, and she immediately sought out Kyle.

The moment she met Kyle, Sera became certain of one thing, regardless of everything else.

‘……He’s big.’

Definitely a bug.

Anyway─ upon meeting Kyle, Sera immediately ran up to him and proposed recruitment.

* * *

“You’re mine!”

“What?”

“Ah, that’s not it. Make a contract with me and become my familiar─.”

“What nonsense are you spouting…….”

She had met her old childhood friend.

Seeing his face brought back memories, making her feel nostalgic.

But that was it─ he had already lived in this world for 15 years, and those 15 years, which weren’t always smooth, were enough to weather the memories and nostalgia from Earth.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“No, that’s not it… um- I, I need you! Kyle!”

“Oh, really? Sorry, but I don’t treat women with smaller chests than me as human beings.”

“Huh?”

As he walked past Sera, she dashed in front of him and, in disbelief, began pointing at him.

With trembling hands pointing at him, Sera cautiously opened her mouth.

“You, you, you, are you…?”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“Don’t joke around… Really? Is it really you?”

“Who are you?”

“Kang─.”

“I am Kyle Meyer.”

Seeing Sera about to utter my name from Earth, I coldly cut her off.

Sera looked up at me with teary eyes.

“……It’s really not you, is it?”

Gazing down at her as she was about to cry, I chuckled.

“Do you think it’s not?”

“……Ah, ah-.”

She began to lament the fact that she had been deceived.

And just like the last image I saw of her before I died, she started running and shouting.

“You idiot─ Go to hell!”

Watching my childhood friend shouting and running away, I chuckled.

* * *

I thought we had parted ways.

“Due to the recent terrorist attack, there have been some changes to the classes. I’m Professor Taylor, and I’ll be in charge of your Basic Magic class from today. You’ll form partnerships with the people I call out now. First, Max……”

“Here, we meet again.”

“Oh.”

The first class after the terrorist attack.

I became partners with Sera in the new class.