CHAPTER 45: I ONLY THREW ONE GUY INTO A FROG, CALM DOWN.

What is failure?

I asked that question a lot in my previous life. I never understood it.

I didn’t mean, I never failed... but I never considered my failed tries as failure.

No.

Instead, I considered them my step toward perfection.

Rather than crying about failing, I tried understanding the reason behind it so that the next time, something like that won’t happen.

But you see, still I had feelings.

I was a very emotionally sensitive guy. Oh, right and humble and innocent too.

So, when this peasant, an average-looking trash of a girl called me a failure as a human, it irked me.

I mean, I was a failure in being ugly.

But failure as a human?

That’s straight-up blasphemy.

How could someone try to call someone as noble and pure as me a failure just because I pushed one of her friends into a beast’s mouth?

Tsk,

That’s why I don’t like to do good work.

Not just that girl, but most of the students, the ones who had just been thrown here with me from the Empire’s Sky Cruiser, were looking at me with disgust...

Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t toss the boy without a reason.

...Okay, it was kind of impulsive. But not stupid.

You see, this was Noxvalen’s version of an initiation ceremony.

The massive frog monster was the tamed beast of the academy’s headmaster.

A unique creature which had a portal in its stomach... so the moment someone enters its mouth, they would be teleported directly to the orientation hall...

That was also why it wasn’t moving. It had been ordered to sit still with its mouth wide open and wait.

But if no one went in for too long?

Well... then it would start swallowing students at random, one by one.

Or at least that was mentioned in the novel.

I liked the concept so much, I even used it as the loading screen before the game starts.

And people liked it.

Well, the internet had all kinds of weirdos.

In any case, I knew that the frog was the true entrance to Noxvalen but...

... those imperial bastards—the ones in charge of escorting us here—just dumped us like luggage and left without bothering to explain a single damn thing.

So when the academy gates opened and a massive beast stood there with its mouth wide open, ready to "greet" us?

Chaos.

Some students panicked.

Some optimistic idiots tried studying the creature like it was a rare field specimen.

Others just stared, frozen in place, probably rethinking their life decisions.

No one knew what to do.

No one... except me.

But just because I read it in the novel doesn’t mean I was stupid enough to trust it blindly.

Unlike a book written by a human, reality is unpredictable like a yandere with trust issues, a sharp knife and way too much free time to plan how to chain you in a basement and call it love.

And, I had no interest in playing a guinea pig.

So, I decided to test it first.

So, I ordered Bearlo.

"Pick that one and throw him in."

He didn’t even blink.

Just kneeled, placed a paw over his heart like a damn knight and said: "Understood, my liege."

Now, if you’re wondering why I chose that particular guy...

It’s simple.

He was annoying.

While most students were either screaming and bouncing off the invisible mana barrier while trying to escape...

... Or frozen stiff like they have accepted their fate.

This bastard was kneeling.

Not in fear.

Not even in prayer.

But in front of a girl.

Proposing like this was some tragic drama and he wanted to confess before dying, hoping she would scream "yes" and they’d get swallowed into hell holding hands or something.

Ugh.

Romantic nonsense.

Clearly, he had no survival instincts.

So naturally... he was the perfect test subject.

If anything, that guy should thank me for saving him from heartbreak... The girl was definitely one of that kind, you know the entitled kind—the one who’ll marry you off to the gravity by throwing you down the cliff while kissing her new lover as you fall.

And yet, she had the audacity to grab my collar, glare at me and say:

"You’re a failure as a human."

Tsk.

People these days have absolutely no chill.

In any case, my little act of tossing that guy into the beast’s mouth had at least done one thing right:

It calmed the chaos.

Now everyone was staring at me—some in shock while others in horror.

But mostly?

They were looking at me for answers.

Which, frankly, is a terrible idea.

In the middle of all this, that entitled girl tried to slap me.

I didn’t move.

Because Bearlo was here. Before her hand could even touch my noble cheekbone, Bearlo caught her wrist mid-air and gently... politely pushed her back like a true gentleman.

Before anyone could say anything, Viola’s voice cut through the tension.

"Why did you do that, Rael?"

Honestly, even as I pushed that guy—into what others could only think of as death—Viola wanted to believe that I was innocent.

Tch. Stupid as always.

She tried walking towards me, but a hand stopped her. "Young Miss, wait, that man is dangerous."

What was his name again? Dicklick?

Ahh, right, Cedric.

In any case, I had no intention to answer just yet.

You see, in Noxvalen, the rule was always first-come first serve.

And that glow from the beast’s stomach as I dropped that idiot in was proof enough.

This was the correct entrance.

It’s not like even Noxvalen would be insane enough to feed all the human students to a monster...

But try explaining that to a bunch of paranoid nobles.

So, I slowly walked towards the monster, my cloak fluttering with each of my steps.

And for a moment, the crowd went quiet.

Like they were watching a fool walk to his doom...

Bearlo, as always, followed me without a hint of hesitation.

Even Viola ran after me, pushing Cedric aside as he tried to stop her.

"What are you doing?" she shouted.

I didn’t answer right away as a smirk appeared naturally on my face.

No one else even tried to come close except her.

As she stopped in front of me, I met her eyes.

And said just one word:

"Trust me, Viola."

Her eyes widened, but before she could do anything or even say anything, I grabbed her hand and jumped straight into the beast’s mouth, pulling her with me.

Her fingers trembled but she didn’t resist.

As we entered the beast’s mouth, a blinding light swallowed us whole...

...and then, just like that, we were somewhere else entirely.

A grand hall stretched before us, lined with towering pillars carved with some glowing bullshit—probably some ancient mana runes—pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.

But what pulled my attention was a single man in the center of the hall.

He had pitch black hair, and eyes so dark they seemed to devour the very light around him.

He looked at us calmly without a change in his expression.

Just then, before I could get used to the new surroundings, an angry voice echoed from behind me and my instincts flared.

"You bastard."