Chapter 28

The time when dusk faintly settled.

After the first department meeting ended.

Lloyd walked along the corridor leading to the dormitory.

Flutter, flutter.

What swayed at his fingertips was the slip of paper from the group assignment lottery.

'Group 3.'

Lloyd's lips curved up slightly. Not bad.

It was a moderately middle position, convenient for slipping back and forth between the front and rear.

...But one thing was disappointing.

'Would it have been more interesting if I was closer to the back?'

Hmm, the scene from before flowed through Lloyd's tilting head.

Ethan staring down at the slip marked 5, seemingly lost in thought.

Mikhail clicking his tongue in displeasure as he watched his own name being written in the same group.

'Either way, both of them. They're interesting.'

Lloyd giggled and stuffed the slip into his pocket. Just as he was about to place his hand on the door handle—

Rustle.

In front of the dormitory door.

A letter was stuck in his personal mailbox. The Cloelle Grand Duke family's seal was stamped clearly on the red sealing wax.

"......"

Lloyd's eyebrows drew together. He roughly grabbed the letter and entered the room.

Click.

His continuing steps crossed the red carpet and stopped in front of the fireplace. His slender but strong hands tore open the envelope's seal.

Riiip.

Lloyd examined the text written on the letter.

Just one line. But carved in elegant handwriting.

[Do not cloud your vision with playing soldier, young master.]

Lloyd's gaze fixed on the letter.

His two feet didn't even twitch, as if rooted in place.

"Ha."

Then soon, an empty breath burst from his lips.

Lloyd tilted his head back with a rather bored expression and tossed the letter into the fireplace.

Whoosh.

The white paper turned to black ash in an instant.

What remained was only the crackling mockery rising from the red embers.

In the room darkened by drawn curtains.

Lloyd fixed his indifferent gaze on the flames and muttered.

"I know without you telling me. Damn old hag."

---

Meanwhile, at exactly the same time.

Inside the most remote dormitory at the academy. Mikhail sat slouched in a rocking chair, looking down at a letter in his hand.

[Be careful of the eyes watching you. Mikhail.]

...Mm.

Mikhail's face scrunched up slightly as he set down the letter. He could roughly guess the circumstances behind this hint.

'As he said, troublesome gazes will start reaching me soon enough.'

His expulsion that everyone had expected.

Since it was withdrawn, his title as the North's legitimate son was maintained as well. His social standing and status had revived.

'The Senit family.'

A great mage family that governed the eternal snowfields.

But they had something different from other nobles.

Originally humble commoner origins.

As such, all sorts of gazes and interests easily got entangled with his own actions.

'Especially in a time when confusion is sprouting like now.'

The movements of factions surrounding interests.

One side would start thinking about winning him over, while the opposite side would scheme to keep him in check.

And from the highest place...

'They'll try to put a leash on me.'

The faction based on the existing order.

Among them, the most powerful ones.

Rustle.

'I'll have a bit more to worry about.'

Mikhail was about to push the letter into the envelope when he suddenly stopped.

He stared blankly at the North's official seal carved on the envelope's exterior.

"......"

His quietly sunken gaze narrowed once.

Mikhail put strength into the hand holding the letter. He turned his head toward Han and Ul.

"Hey you two, about this escort mission. Want to come along?"

"Kang!"

The two who'd been swaying their tails immediately approached.

They climbed onto both shoulders and purred contentedly.

It seemed to be acceptance. Mikhail smiled slightly and pushed the letter into the back of a drawer.

'Well, that aside.'

Mikhail crossed his arms and tilted his head. He recalled the situation in the office earlier.

...The lottery slip he'd drawn first and the group number written on it.

[5]

"......"

Talk about rotten luck.

Of all things, the same group as Ethan.

'But well, what can I do about it now.'

...I'll just have to think about what comes next.

Mikhail shook his head and fiddled with his chin.

'Actually, handling this won't be difficult. I'll just act distant with Ethan as usual, then slip away to the back before the first battle happens. He won't have time to pay attention to me.'

The first main storyline's core battle, the magical beast attack.

Things would be quite chaotic before and after the magical beasts appeared, so using that commotion to slip away would be a piece of cake.

'I'll hide somewhere out of Ethan's sight like that, then reappear when things are wrapping up.'

Even if he happened to encounter a magical beast in the meantime, it didn't matter. The ones that appeared would all be weak creatures.

He could subdue them even using magic without overlays.

'If I use magic weak enough at that level, the Abyss's annihilation trait won't manifest either.'

...However, he'd continue growing, so someday he'd need a skill to suppress the trait.

But that was something for much later at least.

He had no intention of standing on the problem's front lines for a while anyway.

Skills that controlled trait manifestation could only be obtained in the game's latter half.

"......"

Mikhail moved his head to look at the calendar hanging on the wall.

Ten days remained until the main storyline began.

'I've grown to the first target level, but I'm not comfortable slacking off. Should I keep moving?'

The stats he possessed and the skill obtained at the Firefly Cavern.

If he utilized those, he should be able to break through up to Stage 10 training.

---

While Lloyd and Mikhail were each reading their letters and lost in thought.

Inside a combat department personal training room.

Ethan cut down an illusory magical beast manifested with mana.

Slash!

The beast dropped a golden crystal then disappeared as smoke. Text was carved on the notification board floating in the air.

Beep!

[Combat Department Stage 9 Training Complete.]

• Would you like to proceed to the next stage?

Ethan shook his head while looking up at the notification.

[Cease training progression.]

• Entering rest state.

The message disappeared, and the hall settled into stillness.

Ethan sheathed his sword and sat down in place.

His breathing rose and fell rapidly four or five times. His flushed cheeks gradually cooled.

"......"

Ethan clenched his hand tight and lowered his gaze.

'Ten days from now, cargo carriages passing through the Gilteur Mountains.'

...He didn't have good luck with cargo carriages.

Ethan clicked his tongue with a displeased expression, but soon shook his head to shake off the following distractions.

Next, he pulled out an old book from inside his clothes.

「Contemplation on the Origin and Types of Mana.」

Several days ago, it was the item Maxwell had left behind at the Firefly Cavern.

If he wanted to know more information about that mysterious mana.

It said to head to the archive accessible only to Salvator's valedictorians.

'...Whatever the case, it's also the clearest form of information at this point. I can't ignore what it's pointing to.'

But it was a clue too dubious to dig into completely.

The information's source was utterly unreliable.

Separate from the book, there were parts he needed to think through himself.

"......"

Ethan mulled over the encounter at the cavern.

Scenes that could serve as clues struck his mind.

[...Our deal ends here.]

The moment Maxwell's mask crumbled.

The instant their gazes met.

The intense déjà vu that struck down like lightning.

'It wasn't unfamiliar. That was definitely...'

Ethan narrowed his eyes with a small groan.

For what reason? What kept connecting in his head along with that familiarity was a rather absurd silhouette.

'Wasn't he quite similar to Mikhail?'

Deep blue eyes. Similar build.

And really coincidentally...

[Click.]

[...None of your business. What do you want?]

Like Maxwell, on his left arm.

He had the exact same cut wound.

Ethan narrowed his eyes sideways.

"......"

But he couldn't be certain of the identity with just that.

The déjà vu was purely Ethan's own feeling, and the cause of the cut wound could actually be various.

Things were a bit calm now, but wasn't he originally willful by nature? He might have gotten hurt while causing trouble again.

As such, in a normal situation, it would be right to withdraw his suspicions, but...

Ethan clenched his lowered hand tightly.

"......"

But this time was a bit different.

The degree of desperation that Ethan himself held.

Mana that suppressed regeneration.

If he used that, he might be able to suppress the monster-like regeneration ability dwelling in his body.

He wouldn't have to worry about a single wound, wouldn't have to fear gazes that could flip in an instant.

He could be considered the same as other people, just like them.

That's why even if it was a dubious, extremely dubious clue, he couldn't let it go. He wasn't in a position to be picky.

...Whatever it was, a bit more.

He felt like he needed to find out more details to feel at ease.

'Right, this worked out well.'

Ethan steadied his trembling breath and clenched his hand.

Wasn't he assigned to guard the same carriage as Mikhail? It was a perfect opportunity to approach naturally.

Taking a chance to examine the wound on his left arm closely, questioning his whereabouts last weekend. Or if not that...

'I could also observe the magic he uses closely.'

About the length of one breath passed.

Finally, Ethan moved again. He stuffed the book back inside his clothes and stood up. He gripped his sword sideways.

[Combat Department Stage 10 Training Progression Start.]

With the carved message, the training process began.

Ethan mercilessly cut down the appearing enemies.

---

Time passed quickly.

Classes, personal training, escort mission preparations...

The academic activities over nearly ten days progressed smoothly. Including the pop quiz that was suddenly administered.

Mikhail looked at the exam questions before him.

[Practical Biology & Combat Studies Written Exam.]

[Q. Comprehensively describe the definition of magical beast transformation, its external characteristics, and methods to defeat magical beasts.]

'It's not difficult if I think about the game's settings.'

Mikhail wrote down the answer in the blank space.

Unlike other pen tips that repeatedly slowed and accelerated, Mikhail's pen tip advanced across the paper at a constant speed.

[A. Magical beast transformation. A phenomenon where plants and animals excluding humans are affected by an unknown anomaly, lose their ego, and are consumed by destructive impulses. Characterized by golden crystals sprouting throughout the body. The golden crystals proliferate and transform the body structure of the transformed plants and animals, often taking forms advantageous for combat. However, since the habits and characteristics of the beast's original form are maintained in most cases, using these as weaknesses is an effective strategy....]

—Next period.

[Practical Geography & Tactics Written Exam.]

[Q. You encountered a magical beast beyond your capabilities in the deep forest called a demon realm. Describe the general code of conduct in this situation.]

[A. Magical beasts in demon realms have excellent physical abilities, and the variables demon realms possess are more diverse than other forests. Attempting to flee or retreat hastily easily stimulates the enemy and draws unnecessary attention. It's more likely to succeed by maintaining confrontation and reconnaissance until information that can be used as weaknesses about the terrain, the opponent's appearance, and behavioral characteristics accumulates...]

—Next period.

[Practical Magic Combat Written Exam.]

[Q. A surprise test was applied to Stage 10. Write what form of test it is and how to break through it.]

'This is just... a freebie question.'

[A. Self-destruct. Blow the whole thing away before it explodes.]

It wasn't an exaggeration to say he'd basically created the exam questions himself.

He passed the exams without any real problems.

【Character Stat Change Notification】

• Mana Capacity: C → C+ (Tier increase)

• Mana Quality: D- → D (Tier increase)

His stats also rose smoothly as a result of training.

Thanks to rolling around and running wild, his stamina seemed to have improved a bit too.

'Even if it's just slightly better than before, it's still a good thing.'

With that, several days' time flowed by like water.

The day of field training arrived.

Early morning.

In front of the carriage waiting area at the entrance to the Gilteur Mountains.

"—Alright, everyone's here! We'll move after all the carriages in front pass by. It'll take about three or four hours until departure. Everyone wait somewhere suitable!"

With Captain Ann's cheerful announcement, the first escort training began.