Chapter 5

<Card Velik was notorious.>

He was a well-known blonde troublemaker at Jerion Academy.

He had no qualms about hitting on girls, of course.

He always brought disaster wherever female-related shenanigans were concerned.

In Act 1, he unnecessarily flirted with the protagonist Lucas’s childhood friend, Isabel, which landed him in a duel with Lucas.

Surprisingly, despite his looks, he was quite skilled, and Lucas struggled quite a bit.

However, upon hearing Isabel’s encouraging little voice, Lucas mustered his strength and defeated Card.

‘Now that’s what you call a classic development.’

I felt a bit of camaraderie with him.

After all, I was also one of the extras who got easily defeated by the protagonist.

But unlike me, his story had a twist: instead of being expelled from the Academy like I was.

Card, on the other hand, didn’t get to mess with Isabel anymore but took on the role of the protagonist’s advisor, often giving relationship advice.

Maybe that’s why.

There was one defining quirk about Card that became a problem.

‘The meddler.’

Card was a meddler.

In other words, he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Lord Card, this is Lord Hanon Irey. You’ll be sharing a room from today onward.”

After hearing the introduction from the head maid, Marie, Card looked down at me.

My height, disguised as Hanon, was considerably shorter than his.

Perhaps that’s why Card casually placed his elbow on top of my head.

Oh, what a little brat?

“Yeah, I know. This guy’s a celebrity.”

Card flashed a cheeky grin.

“Good to know you’re already acquainted. Well, I’ll take my leave now. Lord Hanon, you can check your luggage inside.”

Marie didn’t pry into the matter further.

She was the head maid at the dormitory.

Regardless of rumors, she treated everyone equally who lived in the dorms.

So after she gave a polite nod and left, Card waved goodbye to her.

In the meantime, I gave Card’s arm a light shove.

Then I strode confidently into the room.

“Little midget sure is prickly.”

Sorry, but it doesn’t hit home.

My original height is a good 3 cm taller than you.

In my real form as Bickamon, I’ve got the looks and height of a handsome giant.

I didn’t respond to Card’s remark and checked my bag lying on the bed.

Everything was neatly packed.

“Hey, hey.”

Card’s voice kept babbling from behind me.

As expected, this meddler wasn’t keen on shutting up.

Moreover, he had taken it upon himself to rename me.

And of all names, he chose one that sounded ridiculous.

“Call me by my proper name.”

“Come on, it sounds good. Or are you feeling insecure?”

I glanced at him for a moment.

Then, I gave a short laugh.

It’s fine. You’ll find out soon enough.

Oblivious to the meaning behind my knowing smile, Card blinked in confusion.

Then he shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

“I hear you had a huge blow-up with Isabel.”

Card, contrary to his appearance, was part of the Magic Arts.

So he didn’t see what happened in Martial Arts firsthand.

“So, you dissed Lucas as soon as you showed up, right? No wonder Isabel had a meltdown.”

Lucas and Isabel were tight, after all. They likely would have become lovers someday.

I finished checking my stuff and zipped up my bag.

No issues there.

“Lucas is Isabel’s meltdown button, and you sure pushed it well.”

Now I need to wash up and sleep for tomorrow.

There’s plenty more to do.

“Did you do that on purpose?”

That made me pause for the first time.

Slowly, my head turned back.

As our eyes met, Card flashed that cheeky grin again.

“You did that on purpose for Isabel, didn’t you?”

“I don’t get what nonsense you’re rambling about.”

I brushed it off nonchalantly.

“When Lucas got like that, Isabel has been really anxious lately.

Despite everyone around her fussing over her, she still felt off.”

Her childhood friend had died.

For Isabel, that was like having a part of her heart crumble away.

“It was like she was a person who lost the will to live. I swear, she didn’t even flinch when I talked to her; she just responded.”

It felt a bit too self-deprecating.

But Card didn’t seem to care as he clicked his tongue.

“Honestly, I thought Isabel wouldn’t recover if this kept up, and she might end up following in Lucas’s footsteps.”

Card saw right through Isabel.

Or maybe it wasn’t just Card who noticed.

Many around her could tell that something was off with Isabel.

“She needed something to divert her attention. And that’s where…”

Card pointed a thick finger directly at me.

“You sparked some anger in Isabel.”

“That’s an overinterpretation.”

“Of course, it could be an overinterpretation.”

Card didn’t outright deny it.

Instead, he lifted the finger that pointed at me.

“So, I’m just saying. For the time being, at least, I hope you can be that source of anger for Isabel.”

I stared at Card.

“Do you, like, actually have feelings for her?”

Card had a history of hitting on Isabel.

So when I asked, he chuckled lightly.

“I like any girl. They are all charming.”

There wasn’t a hint of sincerity in Card’s eyes when he said that.

“But Isabel is my friend’s childhood friend first.”

My friend.

I knew exactly who he was referring to.

The protagonist, Lucas.

The one who was no longer among us.

“I can’t just stand idly by and watch my friend’s childhood friend get ruined.”

Card genuinely regarded Lucas as a friend.

His friend was dead.

He didn’t want to let the childhood friend of such a friend go to waste either.

Recognizing his intentions, I shoved my bag into my arms.

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna take back what I said.”

“Oh, that’s great to hear.”

No matter what, he was worried about Isabel.

Aside from being a meddler and a flirt, Card was a pretty decent guy.

“So, why are you all bandaged up? You’re not cross-dressing or something, are you?”

What the heck?

I deadpanned.

“Let’s find out if I’m packing heat, shall we?”

Right here, right now.

I’m gonna show you that even if my height is compromised, some things remain standing proud.

“Oh, I’m not really into guys, so…”

This guy’s meddling and chattiness really deducts from his points.

***

The next day.

Before dawn, the tranquil morning was shrouded in a bluish hue.

It was still a time when everyone was asleep.

Through the trees, a man was running, panting rhythmically.

Right now, the one racing through the woods was someone.

Who else could it be but me?

An hour of running already passed.

I was still going strong, showing no signs of fatigue.

‘I vaguely knew this already from before.’

I kept my legs moving forward without stopping.

‘Bickamon really has some impressive stamina.’

It had already been over an hour of running.

Yet, this body wouldn’t relent and still had more to give.

‘Why was Bickamon even in Magic Arts, anyway?’

I had possessed Bickamon Niflheim.

He was enrolled in Jerion Academy at that time, under the Magic Arts.

Honestly, Bickamon had little to no magical talent.

While he wasn’t as devoid of talent as Nikita, his magical finesse was minuscule at best.

Having entered Magic Arts with such talent, he accomplished almost nothing in magic and plummeted to the bottom of the ranks.

‘The reason Bickamon liked Nikita was…’

A sense of kinship and admiration.

Even born into a magical family, he had no magical power whatsoever.

Yet, undeterred, Nikita rose to vice-presidency through sheer effort.

Bickamon, observing her contrasting persistence, began to harbor feelings for Nikita.

Thus, Bickamon persistently bullied Lucas, who had a rivalry with Nikita.

Lucas kept disrupting the achievements Nikita worked hard for.

He simply couldn’t bear it anymore.

But Bickamon always got taken down by Lucas.

The flame of a fighter awakened in Lucas had made him top-tier even in Martial Arts.

No way Bickamon’s petty magic would fare well against that.

However, the real problem was Bickamon’s stamina.

With no fighting spirit like Lucas, this guy still had an impressive amount of stamina.

A mage who could take Lucas’s fierce blows and bounce back—what kind of sorcery was this?

‘The bounce-back Bickamon.’

Communities often discussed how inexplicably fit this mage was.

Thus, the community labeled Bickamon as a “practice character for skill combos.”

To help beginners get used to the controls in the bonus Butterfly chapter, his stamina was deliberately boosted for a varied experience.

The real issue was who embodied such a Bickamon.

‘Me.’

Sure, having great stamina is something to celebrate.

I could run a marathon all day long.

My legs are worth a million bucks.

‘Having stamina is the best advantage.’

Before entering Bickamon’s body.

Though I had to quit due to an injury in high school, I had participated in sports for quite a while.

I still remembered how to move my body.

I remembered how to utilize my vision.

And this memory intermeshed nicely with Bickamon’s stamina, providing considerable efficiency.

‘Is this because of this body’s fitness?’

Honestly, it felt like I was already in peak form again.

So, having good stamina, I’ve been jogging every morning since I possessed him.

As the saying goes, nurture your strengths.

Stamina is national power.

I run again today.

Just then.

Woosh!

Something swung through the air and reached my ears.

Woosh!

The sound was clean and repetitive.

Plus, it was quite heavy.

My gaze instinctively followed the sound.

There stood a girl with her hair tied back, swinging a massive sword in her hands.

A girl with long, dark blue hair.

She looked graceful, but I quickly realized that assumption was off base.

The enormous greatsword she wielded was as tall as she was.

And upon seeing that, I recognized her instantly.

The first year greatsword prodigy.

Aisha Bizbel.

Who knows who gave her that nickname?

One thing’s for sure, it’s a name that fits her well.

I had never seen anyone swing a sword that massive with such audacity.

‘Thinking back…’

When I was playing as Lucas.

You could only witness Aisha’s morning event once.

The event triggered after getting caught in a ghost incident in the girls’ dormitory in Act 4.

When sneaking back to the dormitory in the morning, I would hear something huge being swung.

If you choose to follow the source of the sound, you’d encounter Aisha training in the morning and share a few lines of conversation.

The downside was that it would cause a delay, leading to a maid catching you outside, resulting in a dormitory penalty.

It was essentially a trap event.

‘Lucas had restrictions on his activity time, but…’

This is reality.

I could easily get out for a morning jog if I had prior permission from the attending maid.

Thus, witnessing an event meant to see in Act 4 came first.

‘It’s not something to worry about right now.’

I chose not to engage with Aisha and continued running.

Whoosh! Bam!

Until a great sword almost came crashing down right in front of me.

“…What the hell?”

As the sword crushed down onto the stone-paved ground, I was taken aback.

If that sword had connected, I’d be a goner today.

“Ah, a-are you okay!?”

I heard Aisha’s startled voice as she rushed toward me.

Seeing her sprinting over, I quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Seriously? Just for skipping an event, you’re trying to kill me?