First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 93

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 93

“Half of it… you’re giving me?”

“Yeah, it’s nice to share and eat together.”

“N-no, I’m fine. I don’t like sweet things.”

Her desperate attempts to escape the situation were amusing.

For some reason, I felt like teasing her.

“Really? Can’t be helped then. So I’ll eat it all myself?”

I popped the chocolate into my mouth in one bite.

Helena beamed with a bright smile as she witnessed the chocolate going down my throat.

‘Hmm.’

I concentrated my senses to analyze the components of the chocolate that entered my stomach.

‘It’s not poison… Is it a laxative?’

As tricks go, it was rather cute.

I stirred up mana within my body and completely erased all traces of the laxative’s components.

Unaware of this, Helena wore a confident smile, thinking her plan had succeeded.

“Thanks for accepting it, Asel. Well then, see you during the match!”

Helena disappeared at the speed of light.

She must be expecting me to be writhing in stomach pain.

I was curious to see her reaction when I appeared perfectly fine right before the match.

* * *

“Next up are Asel from Class B and Helena de Roergarden from Class H. Please come to the training ground.”

Finally, it was my turn.

I could hear the murmurs of watching students carried on the wind.

“Asel versus Helena… Asel will win, right?”

“Absolutely. Didn’t you see him dancing with his sword in the Void Tundra?”

“Helena is strong too, but Asel is 5-star. He can even convert aura with darkness attribute.”

“You’d need someone like Meirei or Ragnor to make it a proper match.”

“Ah, the first round is too boring. When you get to about 5 wins and 0 losses, each match becomes incredibly exciting.”

Public opinion was confident in my victory.

I had already revealed too much of my power in the Void Tundra.

From now on, no matter who I fought, my opponents wouldn’t underestimate me or let their guard down.

‘That’s unfortunate.’

Nothing was more thrilling than thoroughly crushing an opponent who looked down on me.

From the opposite corridor, Helena walked majestically onto the training ground.

Her expression was already filled with the certainty of victory.

As expected, she seemed to have blind faith in the laxative’s effectiveness.

‘Today is the last opportunity.’

I really wanted to see that face contort with confusion.

I deliberately clutched my stomach and staggered as I walked onto the training ground.

The professor acting as referee looked at my condition with concern.

“Student Asel. Are you alright?”

“Ugh… I’m fine. My stomach just hurts a little.”

“If it’s difficult, don’t push yourself and feel free to forfeit. Safety comes first above all.”

“No. I’ll give it a try.”

The students also seemed to sense something was off.

“Doesn’t Asel’s condition seem a bit strange?”

“Did he eat something bad?”

“At this rate, won’t Helena win?”

“Nooo, that can’t happen! I bet all my allowance for this month on Asel winning!”

Helena looked at my pale complexion and smiled wickedly.

“Oh my, your stomach seems to hurt quite a bit.”

Not knowing it was an act, Helena, confident in her victory, urged me to forfeit.

“Just give up. I know you’re strong, but I’m no pushover either. Do you think you can beat me in that condition?”

I panted heavily and provoked Helena.

“Yeah. Even in this state, I think I can just beat the crap out of someone like you.”

“…This bug-like commoner bastard, really!”

“Student Helena. That’s a demerit.”

The professor glared coldly at Helena.

Bringing up social status to put someone down was a serious violation of school rules.

Helena flinched and apologized to the professor.

“Ugh, I’m sorry.”

I giggled as I watched her.

Helena’s fierce gaze turned toward me.

She looked ready to rush over and grab my hair if she could.

“Now then, both students please step back ten paces from each other.”

We stood twenty paces apart as the professor commanded.

“Match begin!”

Kwarrrrrrr!

The moment the start was declared, explosive aura swirled around Helena.

The watching students gaped at the sight.

“Helena, when did she become so strong?”

“That’s not the Helena I knew.”

The aura emanating from her was on par with Irin or Tanya’s level.

According to the information I’d heard from Fail before the match, Helena’s level was late 3-star.

Also, her strength lay in the precision of her swordsmanship rather than aura’s destructive power.

But Helena’s actual skill as I faced her far exceeded her previously known abilities.

‘So the laxative wasn’t the only thing she prepared to beat me.’

No wonder she was overly confident even before the match started.

She was too relaxed for someone whose only trump card was a laxative.

‘She must have taken some elixir that temporarily enhances aura achievement.’

Wouldn’t the professor disqualify her if he knew this fact?

Sure enough, from the moment Helena unleashed her aura, the professor’s expression had turned coldly rigid.

She couldn’t have thought she wouldn’t get caught.

She must have really wanted to beat me.

“Here I come!”

Whoosh-!

Helena stepped forward and charged.

A sound like an arrow flying through the air shook the ground.

The students also watched the match with anticipation that an upset might occur.

Meanwhile, I lightly raised the arm holding my sword.

Kwarrr.

Black aura overlaid the blade.

The sword covered in pitch black slashed down through the air.

Swoosh.

Helena’s charging sword was cleanly split in half and clattered to the ground.

I placed my sword against the neck of Helena, who stood dazed after losing her weapon.

“Victory, Asel!”

The professor calmly declared my victory.

Waaaaaaah!

Thunderous cheers echoed throughout the colosseum.

“Amazing!”

“One strike! It was one strike!”

“I thought they’d exchange a few blows at least, but she was completely outmatched.”

“Yes! My money! Thanks Asel! You’re the hero of my wallet!”

Helena still stood there dazed, unable to believe the situation.

I lowered my sword from her neck and sneered mockingly.

“Getting beaten in one strike by someone with a stomachache. Just how weak are you?”

Helena’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

She swung her sword with only the hilt remaining at me while stamping her feet.

“You! I’ll really kill you!”

“Stop it, student Helena.”

The Professor restrained Helena with a cold tone.

“If you took the Ascension Elixir, you should have at least won… What kind of disgraceful display is this.”

“H-how did you…”

“Student Helena’s aura exploded dramatically in just a few days – you didn’t think I’d consider that natural growth, did you?”

Knowing she should be ashamed, Helena hung her head low.

What was more shocking was that she really thought no one would notice.

“Student Helena will face disciplinary action. Please return now. And student Asel, congratulations on your victory.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

I gave a brief bow and returned to the spectator seats.

Fail and Cathy greeted me with smiles.

Especially Fail’s grin was so wide it showed no signs of closing.

“Thanks Asel! I made money thanks to you! The odds were low so I didn’t earn much though.”

“…Don’t tell me you were the one who bet all your allowance for this month on me earlier?”

“Haha, of course! I believe in you!”

Cathy looked at Fail with disdain.

“Ugh, really. You’ll only come to your senses after gambling yourself into ruin.”

Gambling.

I don’t think of it that way.

“Why is this gambling?”

When I suddenly defended Fail, Cathy’s eyes widened.

“It’s money printing.”

If you can definitely win money, wouldn’t it be stupid not to do it?

“Hey, Fail.”

“Yeah?”

“Where do you place those bets?”

“Ah, it’s like an event run by the student council. By the way, you can’t bet on your own matches.”

“Then instead of me, you bet on me from now on, Fail. I’ll give you the money.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll give you as much money as possible, so just bet it all on my victory.”

When I lived in the Imperial Capital, I never even thought about money, but since living at the Pluton Sect, I’ve lived a tight life if not exactly impoverished.

Let me try earning some pocket money with this opportunity.

If I bet money on not just my matches but all matches and correctly predict all the winners, I could earn quite a decent amount.

“Can I bet on tomorrow’s match now too?”

“Of course. You can bet right after the brackets are set.”

“Then let’s go right now.”

Cathy puffed her cheeks and started nagging.

“Hey! Are you two going gambling again? Fail is one thing, but Asel, you shouldn’t do this too!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. If I win, I’ll buy you something delicious too. Let’s go, Fail.”

Fail stopped walking for a moment as if shocked.

“Cathy… What did you usually think of me?”

I patted the dejected-looking Fail and arrived at the betting booth run by the student council.

Unfortunately, there was a limit to how much you could bet at once.

Still, there was no limit on the number of times, so it was consoling that you could bet on every match if you wanted.

‘This match will be won by this guy. That one… this person will win.’

I can’t help it with matches between people I don’t know at all.

But if I know even a little about both fighters’ abilities, I can clearly see who will win and how the match will unfold.

It was a structure where I couldn’t lose money.

‘The closest one is this match though.’

Perhaps because others also found it difficult to predict the outcome, this had the most even odds of all matches.

[Carno de Argent (Class H) VS Irin Kramer (Class I)]

Of course, I have a rough idea of who will win this too.

I bet all my remaining money on one side without hesitation.

“Huh!”

Fail was shocked beside me.

“Is this right, Asel? If you lose, you lose all the money you bet?”

“I know. You bet on the other side. Lower the odds.”

“Hmm…”

Fail hesitated for a moment, then really did bet money on the opposite side from me.

“No matter how I think about it, I think this person will win.”

“Go ahead then.”

Thanks for lowering the odds.

When I win money, I should go eat something delicious.

* * *

The next day.

The first week of individual matches was gradually coming to an end.

As the outline of groups with wins and losses was becoming somewhat organized, we were now facing the biggest match of this round.

“Carno de Argent from Class H, Irin Kramer from Class I. Please come to the training ground.”

Today’s referee was Amelia, the Class B homeroom teacher.

Following her call, Carno and Irin slowly walked to the center of the Colosseum.

The spectator seats were packed with far more students than yesterday.

It seemed like almost all the first-years came, and several upperclassmen seemed to have come to watch too.

It meant that much attention was focused on this match.

“Both of them have really bad luck.”

Cathy whispered sympathetically.

Indeed, both had outstanding skills to start in the one-loss group.

If they had faced someone else instead of each other, both could have won easily, but they happened to be matched against each other as top-tier fighters among the first-years.

It couldn’t help but be unfortunate.

“…”

“…”

Carno and Irin’s gazes met in mid-air.

Irin was the first to speak.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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