Chapter 44

Time passed since the Titan attack incident, and it was now the end of the month.

—–

[Notice to All Students]

[Special Crackdown Period on Junk Chips (Illegal SS Chips)]

—–

At the sudden arrival of the email, Iri tilted her head.

“SS Chip?”

If she remembered correctly, an SS Chip was a technology that allowed someone to perfectly experience another person’s memories and emotions as if they had become that person.

Among them, a Junk Chip referred to extremely stimulating memories… for example, “the memory of dying,” “the memory of being high on drugs,” or “the memory of being bewitched by a [Mystic].”

Even though it was only an experience of someone else’s memory, the excessive stimulation could still have harmful effects on the user.

That was why the New Valhalla City government strictly prohibited the distribution of such illegal SS Chips by law…

‘But it’s basically a useless law…’

Back when Iri made her living moving between Sector E and the Fallen Sector, she had an acquaintance who made pocket money by dealing in Junk Chips.

According to that person, even if you sold Junk Chips openly on the streets, the police wouldn’t really crack down.

They explained it like this:

—“Illegal? Sure. But in this city, you’d have a hard time finding someone who hasn’t tried it at least once. And honestly, the people who love this stuff the most are those big shots in Sector A.”

Even high-ranking officials and celebrities secretly enjoyed Junk Chips. They would spend a fortune to get their hands on ones that were more dangerous and stimulating.

—“There’s no one in this world who hasn’t gotten tangled up with Junk Chips. The police are the same. If they start cracking down seriously, they’ll end up arresting a whole chain of people—so who would dare push it?”

They had even suggested to Iri that if she wanted to “sit on a pile of money,” they could help her get into the business.

‘Well, I refused.’

Back then, Peter was firmly against her getting involved with Junk Chips, and a few days later, that acquaintance died, making the matter moot.

The cause of death had been brain damage from the side effects of a high-stimulation Junk Chip.

Since then, she had seen many others ruined by Junk Chips and had made a point to avoid any association with them.

‘But Academy brats using Junk Chips?’

Iri tilted her head again.

After all, Academy students were being raised as human weapons for corporations, weren’t they?

She had thought they were all the type to practice strict self-management to earn corporate favor, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

‘Well, not my problem.’

She closed the email window and took a step toward the student elevator that had just arrived.

Ding—

The doors opened, and as she was about to step inside—

Someone suddenly emerged from within, brushing past her just slightly.

“Oh, sorry…”

Iri apologized and looked at the person’s face—then paused in mild surprise.

‘A mask?’

They were wearing a mask with an LED panel that completely covered their face. The appearance was suspicious to say the least.

On top of that, their shoulders twitched faintly from time to time. The sight instantly brought to mind the image of a Junk Chip addict she had seen before.

‘This person…’

Iri narrowed her eyes.

Ah. This person was a Junk Chip addict.

“Nice mask you have there.”

She made the effort to strike up a conversation. She had no intention of actively assisting in the Junk Chip crackdown, but letting such an obvious opportunity slip away felt wasteful.

‘The notice said there was a reward for reports. And I don’t like the idea of more cyber junkies popping up in the Academy.’

At her words, hiding her true intent, a smiling ‘{^_^}’ emoticon appeared on the mask’s display. At the same time, a mechanically synthesized voice came out.

“[Thanks.]”

“I’d like to have one too. Where can I get it?”

“[Well, it’s not for sale.]”

“Homemade? You did a good job.”

Letting the elevator go, Iri kept holding him there. Perhaps sensing her suspicion, the other person tried to get away quickly.

“[Sorry. I’m a bit busy.]”

“I won’t keep you long. I just…”

That was when—

A voice called out from behind Iri.

“Ah, what are you doing there, ‘Silence’! Everyone’s waiting for you!”

“[Sorry. Coming now.]”

Seemed like a friend.

The masked man called Silence tilted his head slightly toward Iri in apology.

“[Then excuse me.]”

And with that, Silence left.

It had been a short, anticlimactic encounter, but Iri had already gotten what she wanted. She remembered how Aaron had asked Miyu about SS Chips before.

‘Silence, was it?’

Sorry, but you’re going to have to be my bounty.

Academy General Combat Training Ground.

“…so that’s what happened.”

As soon as I called her out after a while, Iri launched straight into the story.

She probably didn’t realize it herself, but the expression on her face faintly resembled that of a puppy that had proudly brought back its catch. It was still more cute than dignified.

‘If she had ears and a tail, it’d be perfect.’

I pictured ears on her head in my imagination, feeling rather pleased, when she continued.

“If we look into that guy named ‘Silence,’ something will definitely come up.”

“Is that so.”

Of course it would.

The whole reason I had used my authority to declare a special Junk Chip crackdown period was to draw that guy out.

‘But what are the odds of this happening.’

I hadn’t expected Iri to run into Silence so soon. Not that it affected my plan in any way.

A completely chance encounter.

Even in a place as large as the Academy, the world still felt small.

And I was also impressed by Iri’s instinct—identifying Silence as a Junk Chip addict at first glance.

“…Alright. I’ll take care of it later.”

“There’s a reward, right?”

“If what you say is true.”

For now, I decided to just say that.

But that was all it was—words.

I was planning to recruit Silence as a scholarship student soon, and I couldn’t very well put the brand of a criminal on him.

‘In the first place, there’s no way looking into him right now would turn up anything.’

Silence was someone who had been running his business in the Academy for the past two years without leaving a single shred of evidence.

That meant he was thorough when it came to destroying it.

If I suddenly went to him now and said, “I know everything! If you don’t want to be arrested, sign the scholarship papers!” there’s no way it would work.

On the contrary, Silence would probably respond with, “You’re saying I’m a criminal? Got any proof?” and act all confident.

‘So I have to wait for him to show his tail.’

The spread of illegal Junk Chips in the Academy was tied, in part, to the Act 3 Android Rebellion incident in Part 1.

Therefore, I could afford to wait until the timing was perfectly ripe.

In the meantime, I had more urgent matters to handle.

I naturally shifted the topic.

“More importantly, Iri, there’s something else you should be focusing on right now.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t it almost midterms?”

“Ah, of course, I’m preparing for it.”

Oh-ho.

Even though there was still some time left before the midterm period, Iri had already started preparing.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

She still needed a bit more shaping.

I took a hologram device from my pocket and projected it into the air.

After glancing through the data, I grabbed it like a stack of papers and waved it in front of Iri.

“But looking at the reports, your academic performance isn’t so good. In most theory classes, your achievement level was below average.”

“T-That’s because there’s a lot of material I’m hearing for the first time, so…”

“Sure, that’s understandable. But are you going to be satisfied with that? It’s the same with the practical courses. With pure specs like yours, why are you only performing at this level?”

“Ugh…”

Iri averted her eyes.

She clearly didn’t want to hear this.

Well, truth be told, I didn’t really enjoy nagging someone who had already resolved to work hard either.

It’s like—

When you finally sit down to study, your mom walks in like a ghost and asks, “Aren’t you going to study?” making you lose the mood.

I’d experienced that myself, so I didn’t want to push her too hard.

‘If I push too much, she might completely rebel. I have to keep the balance.’

An image flashed in my mind—

Iri, with hollow eyes, absorbed in games, while I collapsed beside her shouting, “Sponsors are people too!”

Of course, it wouldn’t go that far. The reason I was being this way was simply because I was worried that in running ahead learning all sorts of things on her own, she might pick up bad habits.

Besides, her current low performance wasn’t due to a lack of specs or motivation.

It was because she had a tendency to act on instinct, showing more individualism than teamwork.

Her “wild instincts” were still sharp, but she hadn’t yet learned the “hunting methods” that involved working with others.

So it was time for her to learn “how to hunt” rather than just “how to survive.”

‘By the [book], at that.’

Past grades were in the past.

Iri was still like an uncut diamond, with many parts unpolished compared to other students.

If she wanted to catch up later, there would have to be a lot of work done on her.

“…Let me be blunt. At this rate, you’re going to end up with a bad report card for midterms.”

“Well… I am doing my best though.”

“I know your passion well. But there are things that can’t be overcome with willpower alone. And regardless of the reason, if you can’t deliver results, I’ll have no choice but to take special measures.”

“A-Are you saying you’ll punish me?”

“If necessary.”

“What kind of punishment…?”

Well, that’s obvious.

I knew better than anyone what kind of punishment would hit Iri the hardest right now.

“I’ll restrict your access to the Stingray Dorm cafeteria. Until you achieve satisfactory grades in the next comprehensive exam, you’ll be eating nothing but nutritional porridge made from synthetic protein.”

“Gasp…!”

“Think that’s too harsh?”

“N-Not exactly.”

Not exactly, but she clearly had a lot she wanted to say.

Probably something along the lines of, “How can you be so petty about food!”

“Haa.”

I let out an exaggerated sigh before continuing.

“Get ready, Iri.”

“G-Get ready for what?”

“Haven’t you realized yet? Private lessons.”

We were currently in the Academy’s combat training ground.

I had borrowed the place from the Academy to personally train Iri. While assigning her a tutor wouldn’t be bad, if not now, when would I get to spend time like this with her?

“Training starts now. I don’t have much time. I barely managed to make this time to personally teach you, so I hope you don’t waste it.”

“…”

“You still trust your instincts too much. Winning against Donovan last time must have made you underestimate the skills of other Academy students.”

“…That might be true.”

It seemed she was at least partially aware of it, as she obediently agreed. That last incident had clearly changed her mindset quite a bit.

Noticing that, I softened my tone slightly.

“Alright. Your problem now is that you’re getting conceited. You think as long as it’s not a Wizard, you can beat them, and that with my sponsorship, you just need to keep installing modules one by one to raise your overall output level and substitution rate.”

“…I won’t deny that.”

“I like that you’re being honest.”

I smirked.

“But unfortunately, that’s a misconception. Your talent may be greater than anyone else’s in this Academy… but for now, that’s all it is.”

No matter how sharp a blade was—

If it wasn’t properly honed, it would rust and break, losing its edge.

While scolding Iri, I—

Clack.

—pulled a pistol from my pocket.

Of course, I aimed it at Iri.

“From now on, I’ll be shooting at you. Prepare yourself.”

“…!”

Her eyes widened as she instantly tensed. I could see every muscle in her body tightening.

She must have realized it as well—

That I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

“Stay sharp.”

I said that—

And pulled the trigger.

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