I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God

1st: Charon Woodjack, 43 points.

2nd: Zeros Silver, 31 points.

3rd: Sinbar, 29 points.

4th: Hans Bender, 28 points.

5th: Hector Bednicker, 25 points.

...

...

16th Luan Bednicker: 18 points.

...

There were a few oddities here.

Second and third place were new names I hadnt seen before, and who was that in fourth place? Hans Bender?

Even I, who hadnt been paying that much attention in class, knew that his name had been called multiple times.

Naturally, it wasnt because he was earning points. Most of them were deductions.

Hans Bender, one point deducted.

Hans Bender, one point deducted.

Hans Bender... you again?

That guy had more points than Hector?

Of course, what was even more odd was Charons points.

...Forty-three points?

Wed all started the training camp with 10 points.

Did that mean hed earned 33 points in a single week?

I turned to Evan for confirmation.

Evan had a grim face as he returned with a shake of his head.

Even the person who had been keeping track of all the young heroes points didnt know what was going on.

Then, I heard a low voice speak.

Charon Woodjack.

When I turned around, I saw Charon sitting at the table sipping some water and Hector standing before him wearing a cold expression.

Whats going on?

Who knows? I dont know what youre talking about.

Are you planning on feigning ignorance? Then I will ask you directly: what happened with the points?

In response, Charon smirked.

Do I need to tell you?

You do. You dared to cheat in the Bednicker training camp. Your father would be ashamed if he saw this.

Youre saying some funny things. Charon seemed unaffected by Hectors aggression as he calmly replied, To give a short defense to my and my fathers honor, I havent cheated at all.

What?

But I will give you this piece of advice, Hector Bednicker: give up on getting into the top ranks and focus on finishing the training camp. With your skills, you should be able to do at least that.

Hector ground his teeth.

You bastard...!

And just as hed done in front of me before, he grabbed the sword on his hip.

The moment Charons eyes started to narrow, I intervened.

Brother, calm down.

...Get out of the way, Luan.

What? Are you really planning on fighting here?

I glanced at the communication crystal.

Through that, the instructors were probably watching everything that was happening here.

The moment an actual fight started, they would intervene and people would be penalized.

Calm down. How many times have you lost something because of that short temper of yours?

Hector flinched.

Charon, who had risen from his chair, left the lounge followed by a group of young heroes.

I could see Hans and a few familiar faces among them... the ones in the higher ranks on the notice board.

A sharp voice pierced my ears.

Whats going on?

I could see the daughter of House Rubyeta fuming in anger.

I calmly looked around.

There are about 25 people here.

Although it seemed we had more people than them, I needed to be sure.

Karis. Gather the tables.

Why?

I have something to say.

Its lunchtime, though...

Nows not the time to be eating food.

I looked at Hector as well.

Brother, you sit down too.

...What do you intend to talk about?

Of course, its about Charon Woodjack.

Honestly, Id planned to not get involved in their fight and just focus on developing myself...

But it was difficult for me to stay still when the scale was this big.

Also...

For some reason, Charon being in first place was starting to annoy me.

* * * * *

* * * * *

The noble faction and the commoner faction gathered together.

Of course, the noble faction contained commoners, and the commoner faction contained nobles...

But the people from the two groups I had labeled as such were now in the same place, glaring at each other.Expplre ptodte stories at no/el//bin(.)cm

A total of 26 people remained in the lounge.

Although it wasnt a small number, it wasnt a large number either.

What is there to talk about? That disgusting guy must have done something dirty! shouted the daughter of Rubyeta, anger and sadness in her voice.

Although she looked pretty, her personality was harsh.

First, I fixed her misunderstanding.

If he had done something dirty, wouldnt the instructors know about it?

Of course...!

She raised her voice before immediately closing her mouth and glancing at Hector.

It was a natural reaction. Doubting the grand masters meant doubting House Bednicker and even the Lord of Blood and Iron who had invited them here.

And since Hector was the number one follower of the Lord of Blood and Iron, he wouldnt take that lightly.

Lets pretend what youre saying is right. Do you think its possible for him to control not just his own rank but also the ranks of his entire group?

Thats...

Doesnt everyone know now? Excluding Brother Hector, the young heroes in the upper ranks are all members of Charons group. Ah, I guess that also excludes Hans?

...Hans Bender has been sticking close to Charon recently, Hector said with a displeased voice.

At that, many different voices erupted from the sides.

Did he really just raise his own groups points?

How is that possible?

...He added a rule, said Hector.

Everyone stopped for a moment.

Yes. Now youre starting to think.

If theyd been able to reach that conclusion from the beginning, I wouldnt have needed to get everyone together like this.

Thats right. He couldve used that authority to do all sorts of things.

By things...?

I dont know for sure, but I do have a guess.

What is it?

Skull.

Skull, who was sitting in the corner, flinched.

Wh-what?

When did you drop to two points?

At my question, his already pale face paled further.

I-I dont know. Ive had a lot of deductions recently...

Evan, is that true?

Evan firmly shook his head.

No. Since the start of the training camp, Skull has only had one point deducted, and since he was awarded one point, that was neutralized. As for the spars, he won one and lost two.

Really? Then shouldnt he have seven points right now?

I looked at Skull again.

Then Ill ask you, Skull: where did your five points go? Its not like they left on their own.

...

Skull.

I-I didnt expect things to end up like this either...! Skull shouted with tears in his eyes. He covered his face and said, At first... at first, they were just small trades.

Trades?

Yeah...! If I gave them one point, I could eat the best steaks as much as I wanted...

Steaks?

Where can you find something like that here...

Of course, it wasnt like the cafeteria food was of bad quality, and naturally, we had meat as well.

The problem was the taste. As expected, healthy food didnt use a lot of seasoning.

It meant that many factors for growing boys and girls were missing.

More importantly, how can you give points? Can we even give and take points like that...?

I held a hand to my chin as I spoke. You can use points to trade. If Charon added a rule like that, its possible.

Exclamations and murmuring were heard all around.

Hector narrowed his brow.

Lets say he did that... Where did he get steaks? He shouldnt have been able to smuggle any in.

He probably doesnt have a magic item either. We were thoroughly searched on the first day.

That was true.

The instructors had searched our bodies quite thoroughly the day we entered the training camp.

They hadnt said anything when theyd seen my mystic bead, but Id brought it for training purposes, and it wasnt as if that would be enough to cause problems for me.

...Zeros Silver

By Zeros, you mean the one in second?

Hes been hanging around Charon for a while. The one who acts like the know-it-all.

Skull nodded.

Thats right. I dont know what kind of blessing it is... but hes got a lot of things that cant be found here. A lot of food, beer, cigarettes, even rare armor that would be difficult to find outside...

Is it something like a teleportation blessing?

I didnt know for sure, but I now had a general understanding of what was going on.

So hes the smuggler. Then...

I looked around at the rest.

Skulls not the only one who traded with Zeros, right?

At that, more young heroes than Id expected flinched. They seemed to conclude that they couldnt hide it any longer as they began to confess.

...Honestly, I havent been able to eat dinner a single time since coming here, but they suddenly said theyd give me something to eat last night.

I was lured in by beer. When a newly opened beer bottle bubbles up in front of me, I cant pass it up and still call myself a dwarven warrior...!

...I-I bought perfume. It was great at covering the smell of sweat...

Hearing them confess like this, the daughter of Rubyeta shook her head in disbelief.

How pathetic... Im going to have a stroke thinking about how people like you are going to be heroes like me.

Ms. Rubyeta.

What?

In a calm voice, Evan said, From what I know, you should currently have 23 points, but it says 20 on the board.

H-how do you...

...

Ah!

Everyones eyes fell on her in an instant.

She realized her mistake and stuttered for a few seconds before lowering her head in shame.

...Th-there was a limited edition tiara from Janeta Jewelry. I was able to get it for just three points...

...

Thats something you cant even get with money anymore...! Dont you know how much I can sell it for later? If I can get it here for only three points...!

Yes, yes. I get it, so shut up.

Ms. Rubyeta seemed a little offended, but she closed her mouth, seemingly from shame.

It might be obvious, but dont hand them any points no matter what they offer. If the gap between us gets any bigger, itll be difficult for us to catch up.

The reaction to this was colder than I expected.

Although a lot of young heroes agreed with my words, there was a near-equal number who didnt seem to want to do so.

What is it? If you have something to say, speak up.

...I-Im well aware. With my skills, I cant enter the top ranks.

It was Skull.

Its not a problem of will or ambition; its just the limit I was born with.

So?

...Points only matter to those competing for the top ranks. I just need to pass. If I can get through the Bednicker training camp without a problem, that alone can boost my career.

I see...

I understood what Skull was trying to say.

So youre going to keep selling your points?

Skull ground his teeth as he glared at me.

Do you know what Zeros said to me? He said hed pay me 100 gold for every point I sell here! He looked around before shouting, Ten points is a thousand gold! Dont you know how much can change with that much gold? You wouldnt know since youre part of a great noble house...!

Youll regret it.

...No. Even if I dont have any points, I wont have any problems completing this training camp. So... sorry, but I'm going to keep selling my points as I want, Skull said before getting up from his seat and leaving the lounge.

... I'm ashamed, but me too.

Sorry.

I cant help it.

With that, a few more people left with Skull.

Nearly half of the members left. Only about 10 people remained.

Naturally, Hector was still here, as were Evan and Karis. I could see Sellen as well, though she hadnt said anything all this time.

I took note of everyone who had stayed.

It seemed these were the only ones who werent shaken by money or desire.

...Looks like the situation is worse than expected.

Goodness. A hundred gold per point? Do they think gold just appears out of nowhere?

As Evan and Karis each said something, the daughter of Rubyeta sneered.

It does for them. Zeros House Silver is a pretty big merchant house. As much as the Imperial House, if not more.

...Are they?

Then do we not have any way to stop them?

Well have to wait and see.

Hearing that, the other young heroes looked at me.

Do you have a plan?

Ah, if we tell the instructors that Zeros is bringing things in from outside... Karis said, but I shook my head.

No... Most likely, the Instructors already know. They monitor everything that happens within the camp.

Which meant that the instructors were allowing whatever Charon and Zeros were doing.

Charon had started this. If we could end this just by reporting them, he wouldnt have bothered.

I got up from my seat.

Lets go eat lunch.

...Why are you so calm about this? A dozen people said theyll continue to sell their points. Were no longer the majority.

Who knows?

For some reason, I felt that the ones who had just stormed out would regret it later.

But for now, that was only a feeling, so I didnt say anything further.