I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 33

I slowed my pace and lifted my head to scan my surroundings.

Since it was close to lunchtime, there were more students out than usual. Most likely, they had come out early to grab seats before the cafeteria became crowded.

Among those students, quite a few groups glanced at me as I headed toward the library.

Even when my eyes happened to meet theirs, they quickly turned their heads away, covering their mouths with their hands as they whispered among themselves.

‘Didn’t everyone who needed to know already find out that Karl Evenhart ripped off my thesis? Then why are they staring like that?’

Or had some new fucked-up incident happened without my knowledge?

No matter how hard I racked my brain, nothing came to mind.

If I had to point to something, maybe the fact that I had been going in and out of Evan Bell’s office was worth gossip, but I hadn’t gone often enough for rumors to spread yet.

And the strange part was that only some groups were whispering about me, while the rest seemed not to care. If anything, they acted like they wanted to quietly avoid being involved with me.

It was a very unsettling atmosphere, but it wasn’t as if I could walk up to them and ask why they were gossiping about me, so I decided to ignore it and move on.

Besides, I didn’t have the mental energy to grab people like that and pick a fight right now.

I tore my gaze away from them and walked toward the library as if I had seen, heard, and felt nothing.

Before long, the familiar sight of the library came into view.

Fortunately, unlike me, the library looked fine, standing there the same as always.

Other than the fact that there were a few more students than usual who had come out for lunch, everything seemed completely ordinary.

‘I should hurry inside. Hopefully, Ruad is here again today.’

Unlike earlier, when I had worried about what kind of face I should show him, now I found myself really wanting to see Ruad.

On the way here, I had kept feeling like something was following me, and I couldn’t shake the sense that something unpleasant was about to happen.

It wasn’t that I wanted to use Ruad as a shield, but it still felt more reassuring to have even one more person nearby.

‘And I should ask him if there are any rumors going around that I don’t know about…’

“Hey.”

Just as I was about to climb the stairs to enter the library, someone shouted from behind me.

The voice was so rough and delinquent that I couldn’t just ignore it, and my thoughts scattered in an instant.

‘Surely they’re not calling me, right?’

Tilting my head, I wondered if a fight was breaking out somewhere and ignored the sound, unsure whether it was a shout or a call, as I climbed the stairs. But the farther I went, the louder the voice grew.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Hey!”

“……”

“Hey. Hey! Hey!!”

At the voice, which was close to a scream, I could no longer deny it.

He wasn’t calling anyone else; he was calling me. Like a thug, fully prepared to pick a fight.

I swallowed a sigh rising from deep in my gut, stopped walking, and turned around.

And I saw some of the faces I had glimpsed earlier, whispering about me.

They huddled together like a swarm of insects as they approached me.

From the malicious looks on their faces, it was obvious they hadn’t called me over for anything good.

The one who looked like the leader of the group came closer, looking annoyed that I had ignored his call.

“Hey. When a noble calls you, you don’t answer?”

“……”

If I said it was such a petty provocation it wasn’t worth answering, it would only anger him more.

So I stayed silent.

Maybe they thought my reaction meant I was scared, or maybe they saw it as trivial defiance. Either way, more of them stepped forward, ready to pick a fight.

“You’re just a parasite clinging to nobles to barely attend the Academy, so when one speaks to you, shouldn’t you answer right away instead of just staring?”

“……”

“What? You think because you go to an Academy for nobles, you’re a noble too? You and I are different from birth. Just because you attend Calypse Academy doesn’t make you the same kind of wizard as me.”

With that, he stepped closer threateningly, poking my shoulder with his index finger as if pushing me back. His lips twisted into a sneer.

I had no idea how to take this groundless provocation.

The touch of his finger on my shoulder was unpleasant, but more than that, it was baffling. Why wait until spring, until now, to pick a fight, when he had done nothing all the other times I came to the library?

What the hell had they been doing all this time?

“Fuck. A person’s talking to you. If you’ve got a mouth, why don’t you use it? Or is your mouth too busy sucking off your new advisor’s cock to have time to talk?”

At his words, the group surrounding me burst into snickers.

“Seemed like you gave it up to your last professor too. Think you can give it to me as well? They say you’re good in bed. I heard you spread your legs for your current professor too.”

“Since you’ve already been fucked everywhere else, what difference does one more time make? Go on, beg me to fuck you. Who knows? If I like you, I might even keep you as a mistress after graduation.”

One of his friends jerked his chin at him and laughed while looking at me, egging him on in my humiliation.

“Yeah, yeah. Stop acting expensive and spread your legs.”

“What’s a commoner going to do after attending the Academy anyway?”

“I heard you’re top of the class, but isn’t the only thing you’re number one at spreading your legs?”

The walls of bodies around me all laughed together. They looked like they were having the time of their lives mocking and degrading me.

“What are you glaring at, commoner? You think I’ll get scared if you glare?”

“Oooh, scary.”

One of them exaggeratedly shook his body, pretending to be afraid.

“Her eyes look like she’s going to kill someone. Hey, the commoner’s getting mad!”

“……”

“If you’re that pissed, why don’t we fight with magic right here and now? Until one of us dies.”

The leader smirked with a nasty grin.

I silently stared at him.

“Unlike someone who spreads her legs to get grades and strolls through the Academy without a care, I got in here fair and square on ability.”

“……”

“I’ll personally show you what a real wizard is, noble to commoner. I’ll make sure you never crawl up again.”

Then he tapped my cheek with his palm. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to humiliate.

The man probably thought acting like this would scare me. Maybe he even thought I would submit to his rough violence.

But I smiled. Because that pathetic intimidation was laughable.

The moment he saw my smile, his expression stiffened.

“…You’re smiling, now?”

“……”

“Ha!”

As if to show he had completely snapped, he let out a hollow laugh toward the air, then suddenly grabbed me by the collar.

His eyes staring straight into mine blazed with murderous intent and threat.

“Fuck. Are you seriously laughing right now?”

“……”

“You think I’m just talking? I could really kill you.”

“Then go ahead and try.”

At my calm reply, the man shut his mouth.

I continued flatly, “Didn’t we already agree to fight here? Until one of us dies.”

“……”

“I agree. I want to personally teach you so you never run your mouth again.”

“……”

“I’m going to kill you.”

I delivered my decision to him. Clearly, straight into his ears.

‘You picked the wrong fucking person to mess with.’

I wasn’t someone who enjoyed fighting. I wanted to avoid exhausting trouble and didn’t want to get dragged into incidents.

But today, unlike usual, I was in a foul mood, and on top of that, he reminded me of Karl Evenhart, the very cause of my rotten mood, and then spewed filth straight to my face.

In this situation, letting him pick a fight and walking away wasn’t something my pride would allow.

So I decided I would utterly crush this bastard.

I would ram a sweet fist into his mouth and knock out his teeth so he could never run his mouth again.

He was the one who first suggested a death match. That much I could do without issue.

Even though as the possessed Lucia I had the fatal weakness of being unskilled at magic, I didn’t care.

Because this was the world inside a game, and I was the protagonist of this game.

If the protagonist died, the game would end. Which meant the system, like a god, would intervene to save me the moment I was truly in danger.

Just like when Evan Bell had asked me for my dorm address and I almost couldn’t answer, it had helped me.

Yes. God was protecting me.

Besides, even if I couldn’t use magic well, the setting was that Lucia Even possessed exceptional magical skill.

The setting was already perfectly prepared for her to show outstanding magic, and even if it manifested now, there would be no problem.

‘Yes, I’m the protagonist of this game. I’ll show you what system favoritism means, you fucking noble bastards…!’

And after burying him in the dirt so he’d never look down on me again, I would kick his head like a soccer ball.

At first, the man’s face stiffened under the weight of my murderous intent, but then it slowly returned to normal. Soon, he let out a bold laugh.

“Fine. Let’s do it. Even if you kneel and beg me to spare you later, I won’t let you off.”

“You just said exactly what I was going to.”

“Ah, fuck. This commoner’s filthy mouth… I’ll beat that out of you properly…!”

The man spread his big hand wide and went to slap me across the face.

But suddenly, his hand froze in midair.