"Hey hey!"
I was able to control the corners of my mouth from turning upside down through sheer superhuman restraint.
Because I came back to an uninvited guest at my camp after gathering some edible plants and herbs.
The guest was none other than the second-year top student, the so-called genius Elementalist, Yennekar. She was sitting on my log by the fire, waving her feet around in greeting.
We met by chance at the Guardian Tree of Merilda before, and she would often greet me because we had overlapping classes. Though I never properly returned any of her greetings.
It was because I was trying to avoid Yennekar. Besides, her best friends would always appear like ghosts to take her away from me.
I was actually thankful for that since I wanted to minimize my contact with her. But to Yennekar, who wanted to become friends with everyone, I must have been a big obstacle.
I was sure her friends had already reminded her multiple times that nothing good would come out of befriending a jerk like Ed Rothstaylor. Unfortunately for them, Yennekar had the attitude of a toddler.
She always had a bubbly appearance, and even when she seemed to just be sitting still and not thinking, she would ultimately still go ahead and do whatever she thought was right.
This very situation was conclusive proof.
"Wow, this is amazing! It's totally like a secret base here!"
She raised her hand and excitedly walked around in admiration, like an innocent child watching the first snow.
"Can I keep coming over to play?"
'No you can't,' was what I wanted to say. However, I was afraid she would get hurt if I said it so straightforwardly. Ah, this bright and energetic girl had some type of talent that made people want to protect her. That must be why our classmates cared so much about her.
"Well, if you find anything good about this place, then you can come."
"My heart is pounding because this place feels like such an adventure. Ed, don't you think so too?"
Of course, my heart was pounding every day. A few days ago, I made a mistake when managing the campfire and the flame went out at dawn so I almost got attacked by a wild boar.
So even though both of our hearts were pounding, there was definitely a difference between the two.
"I want to talk to you more… There are things I want to ask you… And there's something I also need your advice on."
Out of all the many people out there, why does it have to be me?
But that would have been too cruel of a question to throw right at her face.
No matter how necessary it was to keep my distance, treating others too rudely would just make my personality complete trash.
But on the other hand, it was also true that there was nothing good about being too friendly.
"How did you know how to find this place?"
My camp was located in a corner of the wide northern forest, far away from both the academic and business districts.
There were only a few people who knew that I lived out here.
"By any chance, did that Wolf tell you?"
The most likely answer had to be Merilda.
The high-ranking wind spirit Merilda was like family to Yennekar. And this was her forest too, so it would make sense if she had told Yennekar about me surviving in a corner of her forest.
"No, Merilda talks about you a lot but… but she never told me about the location of your camp or any of your personal secrets. Because that was your personal business."
Wow, that bastard. She was surprisingly protective of others' privacy, wasn't she? I thought she would have told Yennekar everything about me already since she was such a chatterbox.
Then who the hell told Yennekar the location of my camp?
"And the answer is…"
Yennekar made a drumroll sound as if to announce who.
Twisting my own hair around, I didn't give my answer right away. Though I had already figured out who through the process of elimination.
"So it was Bell…"
"Wow! Y-You're quite quick-witted!"
Bell Maya. That name, which I was somewhat unfamiliar with, referred to a senior maid at Ophelis Hall, famous for being the most luxurious of the three Silvenia Academy dormitories.
How was she able to tell Yennekar about the location of this camp?
Well, to talk about that, we'd have to go back to about a week ago.
****
[ Name: Ed Rothstaylor
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Academy Year: 2nd
Species: Human
Achievements: None
Vitality: 6
Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 9
Willpower: 8
Luck: 6
Combat Skills Details ⇒
Magic Skills Details ⇒
Life Skills Details ⇒
Alchemy Skills Details ⇒ ]
It was my long-awaited weekend, a time when I could finally take care of the things I had delayed the whole week.
First, I washed my sweat-soaked clothes from hunting all morning and hung them out to dry on a stone by the stream.
It had already been two weeks since that troublesome Joint Combat Practice class.
Getting tied up with the main characters of the story had aged me by about ten years. I also felt twice as tired, feeling like I was walking on a tightrope, always anxious about adversely affecting the main story while living my daily life.
Though thankfully, after combat practice there hadn't been any time when I got involved with the main characters. It had been a comfortable time for me.
Being able to solely focus on my studies and survival, my stamina rose by an additional point. Although my relatively high Dexterity stat slowly began to decrease in gaining experience for another point. From level 10 onwards, raising its level by even a point won't be easy.
My Vitality stat was really not that bad. Of course, it would look pathetic to Combat Department students who had overwhelming combat specs, but it was already at a level that could serve me well as an ordinary person.
After all, the reference point for a high-performance stat was 10. Whether it be one's proficiency level or basic stat, the gains would become extremely low once level 10 is hit. From then on, bone-crushing efforts would be needed to raise them by even a little.
And considering how the end specs were around 20, there was still a long way to go.
But that was for extraordinary playable characters that went beyond the standards of an ordinary person. My current stats were already enough to live my life.
Besides, thanks to my efforts, my body had already gained some muscles.
Having taken my top off, I looked at my body's reflection on the water.
"As I thought, the Vitality stat has a real impact."
I had continuously been on a tight schedule for the past two months, pushing my human limitations. In order to keep up, my body started to adapt.
Even if I couldn't become a macho man with thick wild muscles, at least my body had started to form muscles on my stomach, shoulders, and my forearms. This was a great achievement as Ed's original body was as skinny as an anchovy.
Since this body had no physical talent to begin with, I thought it was fair to say I had made quite a bit of progress.
However, my proficiency level for both my bow and my dagger was very low. My dagger was one of my most useful weapons but it hadn't even accumulated any proficiency. I had been going at this for quite a long time now but I still had a very long way to go.
"I should be training now so I can afford to be more comfortable later on… This isn't the time to be unnecessarily lazy."
I had some pretty significant results, but I shouldn't be satisfied with them alone. I began to stretch my limbs, then bent my back and twisted my torso. I needed to start moving to take care of the work I hadn't been able to do all week.
I was planning to make more firewood and cut some logs again. Then I plan to weave a net with my remaining time in the afternoon. I would gather all my remaining silk threads and layer them diagonally, then twist them into each section to make a complex net.
But why was I making a net? While it would be for fishing, I planned to use it more importantly with fish preservation.
I usually stored my meat in underground storage, but since I hadn't been preserving them for much longer, they also spoil quickly. Salting them all together had also become a problem since the salt I could harvest from my rock salt was never enough.
The method I thought of was to smoke it. I could smoke the surface with wood which would slightly cook it. Then I could dry it out. Doing these would extend the shelf life of my fish by a few days, and would allow me to invest more time in my studies and other activities around the camp.
But the smoked fish was still not as efficient as meat when it came to shelf life. Also, it tended to alter the taste which made it hard to cook.
This was why I thought of making a net. I would hang it on a branch by the stream and serve as a fish farm. If this were to work out well, then I can even store my fish alive. I can have both the freshness and the real taste of the fish.
It should be a worthwhile attempt. I never had the energy to do it during the week because of my classes and having to collect resources to live day by day. But having free time during weekends allowed me to experiment.
I decided to quickly get on with making more firewood, then check on my school uniform which should be dry by then, and then I could start working on my net.
"Zzz… Zzz…"
I started stretching my body some more, warming up with my top off. But as I arrived at my workbench, I found Lucy Mayreel curled up on the tree's base, sleeping.
I naturally picked her up and carried her on my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, then threw her inside the wooden shelter.
"Ooo, aghk!"
Lucy tossed and turned on top of the soft marten and squirrel leather-covered bed. She then quietly breathed through her lips and fell sound asleep.
It was Lucy's naptime. Right when I was just about to forget about her, she would come into my camp and use my bed. I don't even sigh anymore when I see her.
"I'll go cut fifty pieces of firewood and then check on my school uniform. I should be done in an hour."
I spat on both my hands and grabbed my ax, then swung it down to my first firewood of the day.
Clank!
"Waaahk…"
I heard a loud crash behind me so I turned around and saw Lucy gently stroking her forehead, as if she had jumped up and hit her head on the wooden support stick.
Lucy never woke up unless you pinched both her cheeks. But now she had suddenly jumped up on her own.
"What are you doing?"
"…Something stinks!"
She then grabbed her witch hat and ran out of my camp like the wind.
I couldn't help but admire her lightning-like movements. In the blink of an eye, she had gone and disappeared. All that was left was the aftermath of the wind magic she used to blow off my sweat.
"What's with her?"
But it didn't take long for me to realize her reason.
"Who's over there?"
Out from the grass came Bell Maya, a senior maid at Ophelis Hall, Silvenia's most prestigious dormitory.
****
I knew the detailed setup for the maids of Ophelis Hall.
Ophelis Hall was where all sorts of nobles and talented students lived. And as the people who managed this dormitory, the Ophelis Hall maids all worked with the same skill and pride like that of a royal maid. They were usually specialists in their field and had received special education for it since childhood.
But that was just part of their setup. I couldn't remember anything memorable about them having a huge influence on the game's story.
They were just meant to emphasize just how special Ophelis Hall was, but there was none among them who had a significant impact on the main story.
In other words, the Bell Maya I had just encountered had no recognition. If you were to look at her level of importance in the story, she was just a side character comparable to Ed Rothstaylor, a villain who was written for a few scenes and then thrown away.
"I was thinking about walking deep into the forest for the first time in a while, but I didn't know I would be meeting the young master Ed here."
"Ah, yes. It's been a while."
"You don't have to speak formally to me."
Bell Maya was a very minor character in the story, but she would show up every so often and deliver a meaningful line.
As an example, when the protagonist or heroine was faced with a challenge, she would say, 'But the will in his eyes is still alive. I'm sure he will definitely win' or 'If it's her… She can surely overcome it,' and other such lines. She was someone who gave some meaningful foreshadowing.
She never actually did anything to solve the problem, but she would give the player the confidence that the problem would be solved. She was a necessary character that actually seemed kind of unnecessary.
Other than that, she was the only person Lucy Mayreel, a magician who only did whatever she wanted, was scared of.
Whoever she was wouldn't really change no matter how much meaning was put into it.
She was just a member of the 'Side Character' club like Ed Rothstaylor.
"I'll just speak formally."
"I'm more uncomfortable with you speaking so formally."
"Either way, I am no longer a noble."
"But you are still a student at Silvenia."
Her neat black short hair and modest behavior explained how she became a Senior Maid at Ophelis Hall, a place full of professionals.
Even though she had come this deep into the forest, her elegant maid uniform didn't have a single wrinkle, despite her being unable to use beginner's magic.
"If I'm speaking honestly, I am quite surprised."
She didn't look the tiniest bit sincere despite saying such words.
"Your tone of voice has changed quite a bit, and you now have such a strong physique."
Only then did I realize that I was half-naked. I rarely get embarrassed but seeing her unchanged poised expression was rather embarrassing.
"I think it's quite a wonderful change. I am happy."
"Oh, yes…"
"You can speak casually."
"But I don't want to."
"..."
I couldn't tell because of her expressionless face but I may have poked at her strange pride just then.
"You have to."
"But I don't want to."
"When you lived in Ophelis Hall, you did so."
"That was then. When I used to live in Ophelis Hall."
All of the Ophelis Hall maids had a strange stubbornness that was hard to understand.
I saw that Bell was holding a big basket in one hand. Glancing at its contents, it seemed like it was filled with all kinds of mushrooms, wild vegetables, and fruits.
Meals at Ophelis Hall mostly used high-quality ingredients delivered from various stores. But when fresh ingredients were essential, there would be times that the maids would obtain them locally.
Seeing her do this made me understand that internet meme about calling Ophelis Hall maids, 'Human Livestock Manufacturers.'
The students didn't have to do anything, all they needed to do was sit still and open their mouths.
"I knew that you still attended the academy. I help the young lady Yennekar with her morning preparations and she always talks about you, young master Ed."
"Is that so?"
"But I had no idea that you are living like this. When you left Ophelis Hall, your face looked like it was the end of the world. I thought you would end up leaving the academy."
How strange for maids like her to feel uncomfortable when someone talked to them with respect. Just what kind of education did they receive to have this kind of mindset?
But what caught my eyes was the basket she was holding.
It was full of all sorts of mushrooms, wild vegetables, and fruits.
I felt limited by the knowledge I was getting from books when it came to edible plant life. Since the contents of that basket should all be edible, if I could just get one, then the types of plants I could collect would increase dramatically.
I never touched mushrooms and fruits, in particular, because there were quite toxic ingredients if not handled properly. I couldn't help but drool at the opportunity to open my door to more options.
Bell Maya may appear quite cold, but she was actually quite nice. She would willingly accept if I were to ask for help.
Just as I mentioned, she was just a side character that had not much influence on the story. Nothing big would change or happen should we interact or become closer to each other.
In fact, there may be more benefits than harm. If we become a bit closer, then wouldn't I be able to ask for ingredients, fabrics, and other various work tools left around Ophelis Hall?
At this point, wouldn't it be more stupid if I were to push her coldly away?
The faces of the Ophelis Hall maids were rarely even shown throughout the entire game. That's right! It shouldn't matter if we become close to each other!
After I came to that conclusion, I adjusted my voice and spoke to Bell Maya in a welcoming tone, with a comfortable smile.
"Coming all the way deep into the forest to procure such ingredients, you have been through so much. But as for that basket…"
That's right, it should be fine if we become friends! And that was a choice I would regret making until the end of the story.
****
"Yeah, yeah. I talk to Bell so much about you, Ed. That's why when Bell and I were talking, she suddenly told me about how she met you here."
Was Bell really going around revealing my private information like that? Something that even a high-ranking wind spirit was protecting?
No, I was sure the Bell Maya I knew was quiet and wouldn't talk about others so carelessly. After all, being tight-lipped was one of the most basic qualities of an experienced maid.
And as far as I knew, Bell Maya was an elite maid equipped with such a basic skill.
"Since it's the weekend, she told me to come and visit you. Look, she even tied my hair up so prettily today? Look here, isn't it pretty when it's braided to one side like this?"
Oh, would you look at this kid?!
"Ah, is that so…"
"So, about this concern I talked about earlier…"
Yennekar sat down and held her knees, slowly getting to her point.
At first, I wondered why she went to me amongst so many other people.
While looking at the burning campfire, Yennekar finally managed to say it.
"Ed, you might not have seen it since you left first. But during the Joint Combat Practice last month, I ended up hurting some people."
It was the event in which she summoned Takan, a high-ranking fire spirit, and covered the entire Nail Hall in flames. It was one of the largest-scaled events that would take place this semester.
It was obvious who she ended up hurting. Although it was just a natural reaction, considering the first year Lortel broke the rules first and used intermediate magic, that was only a secondary fact for Yennekar who had a good heart.
But why was I the one counseling her?
In the first place, all of the students were on Yennekar's side.
Yennekar was bubbly and lovely, and to the second-years, she was a precious treasure. Whenever she felt guilty or would blame herself, everyone would rush and come forward to encourage and side with her.
However, Yennekar knew that all of their evaluations and opinions were one-sided.
They weren't able to make objective and fair judgments because they cared about Yennekar. While she may be thankful that they were always on her side unconditionally, that didn't mean any of the mistakes she had made would disappear.
That was why she came to me. She knew I was less inclined to take her side. I wouldn't be judging the event simply from her perspective.
She was very kind and upright, that's why her relationship with Lortel was this bad.
"You know, even when I try to forget it all, 'As I thought, I went too far…' and 'Did I overreact so much that I ended up hurting her that much?' I can't get rid of these thoughts."
"I see…"
"Should I go and apologize?"
"Do whatever you want."
"But my friends always stop me from apologizing because she did something wrong in the first place."
"Then don't do it. As long as you think it's right."
"Hmmm~"
Yennekar sat still, her chin resting on top of her knees.
I decided not to force my opinions on her. This was a situation where I couldn't be sure how it would affect her. Yennekar was too important for me to influence her behavior by making a right or wrong judgment.
But I couldn't help but want to promise her everything would be alright.
"As expected of Ed."
However, her response was more surprising than I thought.
"Ed… you never unconditionally take my side."
"I can't help it if it makes you sad."
"Huh? No, no. Don't misunderstand."
Yennekar smiled as she enjoyed the burning campfire. Somehow, the tension in the air seemed a little less than usual.
"I don't feel bad at all. Not one bit. In fact, I feel relieved."
"Simple meaningful words kept on coming out.
"I wish that everyone in the world was more like you, Ed."
I didn't have the time to think about what those words meant. Because I had a pile of work I had to finish today.
****
"I would like to purchase two hours of your time, Ed Rothstaylor."
It happened two days later. The moment I came out of my Elemental Studies class to eat lunch.
She looked elegant and quite polite at first glance, but her bright turquoise eyes were filled with greed for money.
Her reddish-brown hair was neatly combed and was tied up to her shoulder blades, running down her shoulders.
There was a small bandage from the bottom of her neck to her forearm, a result of her injury during the Joint Combat Practice class. It had been a long time since then, it made me realize just how serious her injuries must have been if she still had some wounds left. That nice girl Yennekar must have completely stomped on her.
She was waiting for me in the academic district, sitting on a bench with a rather dignified posture. I knew who she was.
She was someone who would become at odds with Princess Penia, acting like cats and dogs. She was one of the four heroines of 'Silvenia's Failed Swordmaster.'
The only daughter of Elte Kehelland, the greatest merchant on the continent. A rare businesswoman who climbed to the top of the tower of gold coins with only her desire for wealth.
In the future, people would pay respect to her by calling her 'The Golden Daughter.'
-x-X-x-
Lortel was someone who understood human greed better than anyone else.
She wasn't someone who would have an active role until Act 2, well after Yennekar had left, but her face would pop up here and there in Act 1 as well.
Her roles before and after Act 1 were clearly different. Although she was already quite infamous, even in Act 1.
'Bad Ending Maker', 'Newbie Grinder', 'The Developer's Curse'.
These were what players used to call her. Other than these nicknames, people also used to say such hurtful words against Lortel in Act 1.
I couldn't remember much of my newbie days from long ago, but just remembering how many times Lortel used to ruin me in Act 1 still made me shudder.
Getting involved with Lortel in Act 1 always guaranteed a bad ending.
During Taylee's Class Assignment Examination event, you could choose to rescue Lortel from a Kobold raid, but rescuing her would result in Taylee witnessing Lortel's 'secret.' Later on, Lortel would have Taylee kidnapped and taken out of the academy until he was declared missing. That was Bad Ending Number 2.
In the monster subjugation episode, there was an opportunity to be in the same group as Lortel. But if you chose to join the same group as her rather than join your friend Ayla's group, Ayla would fall off a cliff and die. Why? Because Ayla stumbling off a cliff would trigger an event where Taylee would be able to quickly catch her. But of course, if you joined Lortel's group, Taylee wouldn't be able to save Ayla, resulting in her death.
That was Bad Ending Number 7.
During the Joint Combat Practice event, there was an option to protect Lortel from the high-ranking fire spirit Takan summoned by Yennekar, but in doing so, Taylee would get burned and seriously injured. That was Bad Ending Number 13.
Then during the subjugation of Glasskan, there was an event to reclaim the Student Center by breaking into Nail Hall using the way proposed by Lortel. But if you were to follow her advice, Taylee would be ambushed and killed by a bunch of spirits that were waiting on that path. That was Bad Ending Number 22.
Swearing at the developers for creating such a character couldn't be helped, but if you were to play 'Silvenia's Failed Swordmaster' all the way to the end, you would start to understand the developer's intentions and even begin to admire it. The intentions weren't that complicated either.
Lortel Kehelland's role was as the 'hidden heroine.'
A character that was the complete opposite of the righteous and benevolent Princess Penia. Lortel had only been treated as a character to control and take over, but her true character would be revealed in the second half of the story.
The twist in her story and the unexpected gap between her two sides made the players recognize her strong charms as a character. Only talking and understanding calculations, Lortel grew up with no choice but to gradually view the world calculatingly.
She led a life of picking up and eating bread thrown away at the slums, she developed beliefs that were built on fraud and deceit, she harbored a loneliness that had swallowed a part of her heart, yet no matter how much money she accumulated, it never disappeared.
While the player's opinion of Lortel would slowly improve little by little, and they finally began to understand the loneliness engraved in her life, it was at that precise moment that a question would be asked:
Would you be on the side of the 'Student Council', led by The Benevolent Princess, or on the side of the 'Top Class', led by The Golden Daughter Lortel?
Would you support the upright beliefs and idealism shown by the noble Princess Penia, or would you support Lortel's realism, who had been fighting loneliness in the wild-like reality?
"Excuse me? Ed?"
To summarize, the system that had constantly been driving players into bad endings in Act 1 was intentional.
The players began to consciously avoid Lortel due to them falling trapped in her bad endings. This formed a psychological gap between the players and Lortel.
The larger the gap, the more dramatic the twist reveal would be to the player in the future.
I was talking about the true harmony between the system and the story.
"Ed Rothstaylor? Hello? Can you hear me?"
It was quite amazing when I looked back on it.
I nodded my head in satisfaction as I walked.
Well, there's that.
And then there was this.
"How long are you going to keep following me?"
"I had no idea you would be this stubborn in ignoring me."
No, I need to be stubborn and ignore her.
Wasn't it obvious?
It was always better to set the mood first in whatever you did. That's what this was.
Seeing her in front of my Elemental Studies class in the academic district, she immediately threw out a meaningful line. Not bad.
"I would like to purchase two hours of your time, Ed Rothstaylor."
That was certainly a great start.
This student was The Golden Daughter Lortel.
Someone such as her coming out of nowhere to make me an offer was certainly something that made me curious.
Normally, I should've started asking her questions.
What did you mean you wanted to buy two hours of my time? What were you planning on making me do? If you wanted to buy it, then did that mean you would give me money? How much money would you give me? Would you give it to me right now? What were your true intentions?
If I asked such questions, Lortel would continue the conversation with a grin on her face. That was probably what Lortel thought was going to happen.
Naturally, she would steer the conversation to form around the questions I asked, controlling and avoiding certain questions while taking the lead in the situation.
Considering Lortel's specialty was her silver tongue, she had the ability to negotiate and talk until you found yourself falling into her proposal before you could even come to your senses.
But that would be if I didn't know what her intentions were.
"Maybe you've heard parts of the story already?
As I knew, I shattered all her expected developments and strode along, ignoring her. And yet she kept on following me. The difference in our strides were quite wide. She had to follow me at a quicker pace, but this didn't slow her down.
"I heard you are having a hard time after being disowned. Perhaps I could be of some help?"
"Don't say things you don't mean."
"Oh my, speaking politely is more important than you might think. It means you respect the other person."
She didn't care at all about my rude manners due to her nature.
Lortel ran in front of me and adorably held her hands behind her back with a cute smile on her face.
Don't you want to hear me out? It's not a bad suggestion!
She had that look on her face.
"I felt touched after seeing you…"
She then spat out her story in her sly way.
"Of course, it's not like I haven't heard the rumors that you were a little, small, tiny bit arrogant and egotistical, but that's fine! It's honestly not that important. Hahaha!"
Everyone already knew how awful Ed Rothstaylor was, but she said it so fast—like rapid gunfire.
"It's only human nature to want to give out a helping hand after watching you continue to learn here despite it being such a difficult environment. After all, there was a time when I was also poor and hungry."
"So?"
"A deposit of three plain gold coins."
It was as much money as the maids at Collen Hall, one of the other dormitories where ordinary students lived, would make for a full month's work.
I wouldn't have to worry about next semester's tuition payment if I had twenty gold coins.
"I want to become friends with Yennekar."
"Hahaha!"
I started laughing even without her explanation. I knew it. The difference in values between Penia and Lortel was a key conflict throughout the story.
Ultimately, it was going to become important who Taylee would decide to side with. It was still uncertain at this point, so I shouldn't be too hasty and take either side just yet.
"Can't you introduce me, please? All you have to do is come with us, and the three of us can all talk together. I don't think it will even take the full two hours."
"Since becoming The Daughter of Gold, do you buy personal connections with money?"
"Well, I won't be coy about it then."
Lortel took three gold coins from her sleeve and put them in my pocket.
"Here, keep this for now. I know it well. The more people on my side, the better."
Lortel seemed to have realized this intuitively. After all, she had been living her whole life walking on a tightrope, people watching her from below.
She would eventually get into a political battle with Princess Penia soon. It was best to make as many allies as she could from now on. The rift between the two wasn't something that could be closed by being considerate and giving in a little bit.
As I stood still, staring at her, Lortel began to smile that cunning smile of hers again.
"You're looking at me as if I'm a pathetic person. Usually, by now, people would be trying to hide their faces, thinking, 'Wow, what a jackpot!'"
I spoke with a big grin on my face.
"Alright, let's shake on it once."
****
Nobody knew the true nature of greed as well as Lortel did. At least, that was what she thought.
Mad and immature greed was like a disease that had reached the incubation period. It was quite easy to control when the situation was calm, but the moment you were pushed into a corner and urgently needed a bit of money, then that greed could take over an entire person's being.
Those who didn't have food for tomorrow soon became those who no longer have a place to rest. And just a bit of money would make their eyes look bloodshot. As a native of the slums, Lortel knew that feeling very well.
Not only that, but the bigger the difference in wealth there was, the more the power of greed would consume a human's heart, making it uncontrollably strong.
Those that had once lived a lofty lifestyle would collapse the moment they faced poverty. She had seen too many debtors take their own lives because they couldn't accept the difference between when they had money and now that they were broke.
The amount of gold it took for them to break down wasn't at the scale of a house or a property either. Ultimately, it came down to one small coin.
No, it wasn't the amount of money that was important. Because even if you were to offer the same amount, someone would always be willing to sell more.
Selling one's pride for just one gold coin.
Selling one's family for just one gold coin.
Even selling one's self for just one gold coin.
The market price of a gold coin wouldn't change and was set, but those who were cornered without a choice would always bring more and more things to sell.
Because there was no other option.
Because it was the only path they could see.
That was why the 'first time' was really important.
Holding that gold coin in their hand after the first time, thinking it was fine because it was just once, it would then become the beginning of a disaster that would drive a cornered person off a cliff. The first time was the starting point of all subsequent schemes and tactics.
It was so easy and simple to take advantage of someone who was desperate.
It was quite sad.
"..."
When Lortel finally came to her senses, Ed Rothstaylor had already left. Was it because she was flustered for a second?
"Well, that was quite interesting."
Looking at Ed's back as he left, Lortel let out a giggle.
When he shook her small hand, the three gold coins she had shoved in his pocket had found their way back into her hands.
He had an attitude that didn't even let them become a bit closer.
It was as if… he had understood all of Lortel's intentions from the very beginning.
-x-X-x-
Lortel was an extreme realist that was also very good at compromising.
It was Lortel's fate to become one. She had big ambitions but lacked natural ability.
Hearing that from someone else would probably make one wonder what it meant.
That was because as soon as Lortel was admitted into the academy, she was one of the only three students that qualified for Class A by Professor Glast. She had a photographic memory, so much so that reading something only once was enough for her to memorize the core concepts of a book. Her mana resonance was also high, so high that ordinary students couldn't follow. And she even came from a rich background, coming from the Elte Company.
However, no matter what she did, she couldn't reach the very top.
There was 'Lazy Lucy' in the Magic Department, who was treated as some sort of celestial being.
Lortel's combat senses, such as her agility, improvisation, and judgment, were no match for 'The Spear from Nature Ziggs.'
Her family's background and her noble status, coupled with her innate personality and her ability as a leader, all of these were useless when compared to her nemesis, Princess Penia.
Fate mischievously only allowed her to live a second-rate life.
And the means that Lortel used to break through Fate's curse was 'pure desire.'
"Oh my, it's Yennekar."
Understanding profits and losses, income and expenditure, doing calculations. It was Lortel's perseverance that made both arms of the scale lean towards her, even for a little bit.
She had a compromising attitude that was willing to join hands with an awful and merciless realism or a necessary evil without any hesitation.
Living her life like this stigmatized Lortel as an opportunist, but she didn't find that particularly insulting. Rather, she thought it far more disgraceful to not seize the string of opportunities that came her way.
"I was going to visit you with a present, but I ended up meeting you here."
"Hm? Oh, you're… Lortel. You look really different with your hair down."
"I hear that often."
They met in a corridor in Ophelis Hall, the dormitory that boasted the most luxurious facilities among the three dormitories in Silvenia.
For a student to be allowed to stay at Ophelis, one of the two conditions had to be met: overwhelming status or overwhelming grades.
Yennekar satisfied the latter while Lortel satisfied both as the successor of the Elte Company. But this didn't mean their living conditions were significantly any different.
Lortel was heading back to her room after taking an evening bath, attended by an Ophelis Hall maid. Due to that, her outfit was rather simple, and her hair, which had yet to dry, was untied. To Yennekar, her impression looked quite new.
"I caused a big commotion awhile back after I arbitrarily used intermediate magic during the Joint Combat Practice class. Truth was, part of me was particularly impulsive. It's been a while since the incident, but I still wanted to apologize."
"I see…"
The reason Lortel attached Yennekar with the intermediate ice magic Ice Spear and Flash Freeze was to gauge her skills as the top student of the second-years.
There was no denying it, the leading force in Silvenia's Magic Department were the first years. Despite that, they couldn't be guaranteed a victory in a duel when their opponents were of a higher grade than they were.
Nevertheless, Yennekar's title as being the best student among the second-years wasn't in vain.
Among the first years, Lucy Mayreel was the undisputed 1st place so it didn't make sense to discuss who the top student was. But at least Lortel's name wasn't left out when discussing who was second.
But she wondered what the gap was between her and Yennekar. Unfortunately, Lortel's attempt to gauge it had not much meaning. Because even her intermediate elemental magic, which even third years couldn't handle, didn't cause any significant damage to Yennekar, who summoned a high-ranking fire spirit.
Arrogance was expensive. Even though it had been a while since the class ended, Lortel still needed to wear bandages inside her clothes due to minor wounds that hadn't healed yet.
"Your wounds haven't completely healed yet."
Lortel sharply caught on to the fact that Yennekar still felt a bit of guilt about her wounds.
Yennekar Palerover was too nice. It was because of her good nature that the people around her felt a strong protective instinct towards her, making her an idol among the second years.
Moreover, the second years had been feeling miserable from being overshadowed by the first years. As Yennekar was the only one who showcased her competency against them, she became a savior to second years as well. In a way, this was all due to Lortel, who she beat horribly in the Joint Combat Training class.
She was just the adorable and cute top second-year student who was also an Elementalist, but now, she had become the only light and hope for the second years.
Those eyes filled with anticipation, following her, had made her an object of envy.
"It should heal soon. You don't have to worry about it too much."
Lortel believed that personal connections led to social power. Since Lortel had lived her life realizing this fact, she didn't put on a smile for the cute second year.
Having someone indebted to you could be considered an asset. And it would be foolish of Lortel to not use the assets she had.
With this in mind, Lortel thought of starting an exchange with Yennekar through her debt as an opportunity.
"I guess you didn't get along with Ed?"
Once in a while, Yennekar's smile could truly take your breath away.
In business, such a sly smile could be seen as being double-faced. This was because merchants were the type of people to take advantage of those with a kind and pure smile.
But strangely enough, Lortel didn't feel any sense of malice in Yennekar's smile.
Lortel was also pretty sharp by nature. Yennekar's question was a pure question. It was without any malice or hidden intention.
"I hear everything around the northern part of the forest. Spirits tend to be quite the chatterboxes."
Yennekar must have chased after Ed after he ignored Lortel's words. But wasn't the route he took leading towards the entrance of the northern forest?
Originally, the northern forest was Yennekar's territory. That was because most of the spirits playing in the northern forest were on Yennekar's side.
But Lortel could only see far enough into the edge of the entrance to the forest. And to say that Ed Rothstaylor was in Yennekar's territory was just ridiculous, because the conversation Lortel had with him was not something she could just proudly reveal, even as empty words.
Lortel thought of using money to buy Yennekar as a personal connection. And then use her as an opportunity to gauge Ed Rothstaylor who was currently stuck in a tight spot. He really wasn't in a situation to be acting this stubborn.
"You probably have your own way of doing things, but…"
Given the amount of respect Yennekar received, she was certainly worthy enough of being called a saint.
"Ed must have his own way of doing things too. And from my point of view, I am more moved by his efforts."
"..."
"Of course, your willingness to use gold coins as a means to become closer with me also made me feel really emotional. But sincerity isn't something that money could buy. Am I being too condescending? It's my first time having someone younger than me, so I think I may be acting like…"
"I'm too full of myself… Ah! This is so embarrassing…"
Even after knowing what Lortel did, she didn't deny or swear at Lortel's methods.
Lortel finally understood why everyone loved Yennekar.
A girl who walked straight out of a fairytale.
But this description of her, of someone who was cute and lively, also had a subtle diss.
It could also mean that she was someone who didn't know much about the world, someone who had lived in a flower garden all her life. It sounded like that to Lortel.
But they must have severely misjudged Yennekar.
She understood the darkness of the other side of the world, she just chose to continue living her life without losing her cheerful nature.
To be standing in front of such dazzling light, someone with a black heart would crawl back into the darkness in shame.
If everyone lived in dirt together, then being dirty would be the standard appearance of all humans. But that was just an illusion, of course.
Because there would definitely be people like Yennekar. And it wasn't like Lortel didn't know that.
"Ed is probably someone who's much more strong-willed and funnier than you think."
"What? Is that so? But why do you think so?"
Yennekar giggled and spun around, untying her braid.
"It's a secret."
Lortel then realized they had arrived in front of Yennekar's room.
Once Yennekar entered the room, she planned on relaxing comfortably by untying her braids and loosening the straps on her cute and frilly casual clothes.
"Well, the spirits always keep gossiping amongst themselves, but whenever something stands out, it seems very stalkerish."
"Isn't being friendly with spirits something to be proud of?"
"Thanks for saying that~ Hehe~ But I'm the only one in the whole world who knows those fun facts."
Yennekar spun in front of her door and smiled brightly. Only she knew what the spirits had told her about Ed.
"I should get going now. Dean McDowell told me I should try and sign a contract with another high-ranking spirit next month. In order to do that, I have to study and prepare a lot of things."
"Didn't you just sign a contract with a high-ranking fire spirit?"
"These days, expectations from me have risen quite a bit. I need to work hard, hmm. Yeah, it's a good thing that people were expecting a lot from me."
After saying that, Yennekar opened her door wider.
"Ahh, that's right, Lortel."
Yennekar said her name with her unique and charming smile.
"I'm sorry about last time. You got hurt a lot because of me, right? I hope you get better soon."
Yennekar slowly closed the door after saying that, looking relieved. And Lortel herself saw how much consideration Yennekar had for her for saying that.
In front of the softly-closed door, Lortel thought it over for a long time.
Ed Rothstaylor is definitely an interesting person.
Lortel couldn't guess why Yennekar had such a high opinion of him.
Looking back, there was a strange sense of danger in her lively and relaxed appearance.
But no matter how hard she thought of what the reason might be, she couldn't come up with a clear answer right away.
****
[ Name: Ed Rothstaylor
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Academy Year: 2nd
Species: Human
Achievements: None
Vitality: 6
Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 9
Willpower: 8
Luck: 6
Combat Skills Details >
Magic Skills Details >
Life Skills Details >
Alchemy Skills Details > ]
[ Newly Crafted Product
Farming Fishing Net
After weaving the net, it is installed onto a branch so it wouldn't collapse into the flowing stream.
Caught fish could be kept alive for several days.
Production Difficulty Level: ●●○○○ ]
[ Production completed. Production Skills have increased. ]
The net I invested half my day into ended up becoming more effective than I had thought. I made the fishing net for about half of it and used up the net immediately. But for the other half, I set up something like a hammock, making it a good resting place. I thought it wouldn't be so bad so I was quite satisfied with the results.
I started to become greedy as my living space became more and more furnished. My diet had also diversified and improved in one way or another. Above all else, the amount of physical strength I needed to use had decreased a lot.
In the past, running to the academic district rendered me exhausted the entire day. But I had started being able to lightly walk even on my way back just recently.
Even if I were to fall asleep late at night, I could open my eyes feeling refreshed the next morning.
I was becoming more and more confident and satisfied with this life.
[ Magic Skills Details
Grade: Low-grade Magician
Specialized Field: Elements
Common Magic:
∴ Fast Casting Lvl 2
∴ Mana Sense Lvl 5
Fire Element Magic:
∴ Ignite Lvl 10
Wind Element Magic:
∴ Wind Blade Lvl 10 ]
Since I hadn't been able to use any intermediate magic properly just yet, I could still only use two beginner magic skills. But since I could repeatedly practice these skills until I was sick of them, and because I was in an environment where I could only survive by actually maintaining a fire going, I was able to reach my initial goal of having a skill reach level 10.
So if I focused on casting them, I was now able to knock down a thick tree in one fell swoop. Even controlling the campfire became a piece of cake.
Of course, I wasn't able to use it freely since my inherent mana capacity was rather small. But with this, only a few of the first-years would be more skilled than I was when it came to Wind Blade and Ignite.
After becoming more proficient in elemental magic, my daily life had become more convenient. Cutting firewood with just a small bit of magic or adjusting the fire during the night. It also helped a lot when processing materials for production.
If I were being honest, I was actually having quite fun.
Before going to the academic district in the morning, I looked at my camp, all of my things packed and ready to go. It may not be that amazing, but it was something I had built with my own two hands. And with this unknown sense of pride and satisfaction, I wanted to try doing many more things!
First things first today, smoking meat was taking too much time and effort.
I wondered if I could make a proper smoker so the smoke wouldn't spread and flow out. But I couldn't think of a good idea on how I should go about designing it.
"Hm… I guess I could just make one some other time."
After I finished trimming my bow, I checked on my laundry and then on my jerky on the drying rack, then sat back down by the fire.
My schoolwork from that day went somewhat well. After looking over Senior Professor Eskin's written assignment for Elemental Studies, I should be done for the day. Considering it was still early in the evening, I'd say I've developed quite the talent in managing my time and daily routine.
I hummed while finishing up trimming my last arrow. These days, everything I did was producing better results so I couldn't help but feel good throughout the day.
If I could somehow spend every normal day until graduation just like today, then, there wouldn't be any problems with my plan.
Thinking about these relaxing thoughts, I wrapped up the day—
Bang!
And just like that, a monster suddenly flew in, smashing through the drying rack that I worked so hard to make, its body rolling over on the ground before coming to a stop.
A flock of birds flew overhead and a thick layer of dust obscured my view for a short while.
When I looked down where I had been trimming my arrows, I saw a familiar witch hat that I was reluctantly getting used to.
Sure enough, looking up a bit farther ahead was Lucy Mayreel on the ground, the smashed drying rack beside her. It was quite a spectacle to see her covered in dirt, face stuck on the trunk of an old tree.
"Wh-what is this?"
I stood up, reacting a bit late. Lucy, who was lying down, responded slowly.
"I almost died…"
That wasn't a line I expected to come out of Lucy's mouth.
Why was that girl, who was supposed to be walking around and floating like some sort of spirit, suddenly falling here in such a way?
From what I knew, the only one in this academy that could fight Lucy on equal footing was Headmaster Obel at best.
But if there was someone who could fight her to the point of nearly killing her… then there must have been a variable I wasn't aware of somewhere.
In this suddenly escalating crisis, I stood up quickly and asked Lucy.
"You almost died. Just who was it?"
"Be… Bell Maya…"
The name of a senior maid at Ophelis Hall.
"What the hell!"
I picked up the fire poker that I could grab nearest and threw it at Lucy. I thought it would just bounce off, but surprisingly, she didn't use any reactive defense magic to block it.
The poker triggered her like a finger flick to the forehead, making her tear up and lay down on the ground. Ah, the black mark on her forehead was quite impressive.
"Is lying down here the right thing to be doing?"
"I'm out of mana…"
That speed that couldn't be followed by mere human eyes, not to mention the tremendous aftermath… it must mean she used the high-ranking spatial-type magic Space Leap.
High-ranking magic was something that even professors were only able to use by reciting the incantation with full concentration.
"After dinner, I was going to skip the monthly meeting called by the head of the dormitory, but I got caught…"
"So?"
"Bell was so angry that she clenched her fist and came towards me."
I began to remember some of Lucy's even scenes that I remembered. The troublemaker whom no one could contain had one natural enemy—none other than Bell Maya.
Lucy had no way to deal with the incarnation of fear that was Bell, who would tighten her fists as if to attack whenever Lucy caused an accident, or forgot her schedule, or wasn't keeping a tidy appearance. It was a stance with a deep-rooted tradition of overpowering troublemakers such as Lucy.
It would be a bit funny to see Lucy, an extraordinarily rare genius, being overpowered by one maid.
However, no matter how talented Lucy was, she wouldn't do anything absurd enough to touch the maids of Ophelis Hall. It was an unwritten rule in Silvenia that the maids of Ophelis Hall, who supported students without an inch of error, must always be respected.
Before such an unwritten rule even made its rounds, the students living in Ophelis Hall already subconsciously felt a sense of indebtedness to the maids.
Even though they were students already used to always being treated with respect, the Ophelis Hall maids' competence was enough for them to still be in shock. That's why they were considered an elite group of maids. Housework such as cleaning and cooking were basic skills, but they could also support the student's academic life or even demonstrate simple magic.
Since they were extremely faithful to their job of supporting the students, they never took unnecessary actions and most of them were reserved. This meant Bell Maya's rougher outer appearance and personality were not her individually.
"I thought that it would hurt so much so I ran away. It all happened so suddenly."
In short, Lucy applied 'fast casting' and 'wordless casting' with spatial-type magic to fly, not just a far distance, but all the way from Ophelis Hall to here.
If you forcibly increased the casting speed or overlapped the casting, or if you were thinking about other things, the magic efficiency would be ruined. Such actions were cause for worry, not just two or three times more, but two or three times squared more.
On top of that, the magic Lucy forcibly used was high-ranking magic, not to mention spatial-type magic.
It was the equivalent of flying a private jet to a convenience store right in front of your house. It was only natural that even Lucy's magic, which was overflowing like the sea, would run out in an instant. You couldn't even call Headmaster Obel over for this type of thing.
Thinking about this absurd situation, I was left speechless.
Bell Maya, who was very angry, approached her with a whirling fist. In response, like a cat that jumped on a cucumber that fell on the side of the road, Lucy flew all the way over here.
Lucy, still on the ground in her loose pajamas, let out a whine.
"So tiring…"
"Isn't this what you deserve?"
"I'm having an especially hard time these days. Particularly because of that senior maid that has become extra sensitive…"
"Bell Maya?"
That robot-like maid who was always focused on her responsibilities without a change in her facial expression?
"You might not be able to tell from the outside, but I could… She's really sensitive nowadays… I guess there is someone she is worried about… But being like that, I wonder if her anger would fall on me too…"
Lucy, who was covered in dirt from lying on the ground like that, finally began to say it.
"You know…?"
She would always say the same thing whenever she knew I was here. The end of her sentence was obvious without even having to hear the rest of her words.
"Do you have any beef jerky?"
She must be really craving it.
I took a deep breath and raised my finger, pointing at her.
At the spot where Lucy had flown in and crashed into, were the remains of the drying rack and the strips of jerky that were drying on it.
Needless to say, the jerky had fallen on the floor and was covered in dirt, obviously in a state where they couldn't be eaten.
"Hah…"
Lucy's face quickly turned blue at the sight. I took advantage of that moment to flick my finger on her forehead.
Lucy, who had no magic power left, just rolled on the floor, screaming.
-x-X-x-
The true nature of 'Silvenia's Failed Swordmaster' would start to appear the more you play it.
The game was filled with small details that unexpectedly had an intent and meaning. Not to mention the fact that the story was full of hidden episodes where you could learn new things about characters, even the ones who were already out of the story.
The game put so much effort into fleshing out the characters of various students, the faculty, and the side characters, that it created an immersive experience for the player. This was what made the players want to play the next episode immediately after finishing a chapter.
That was also why it felt so impossibly unfair that I became a character whose role was done the minute the story began, and then, later on, was shown as a beggar.
But that wasn't my point.
My point was that, given how huge the story was, it was obvious how all characters could be given the same level of importance.
It was only natural that there would be important and influential characters, and characters who would just be there in the backdrop.
But there was at least one time when I felt this shouldn't have been the case.
'Inquirer Glast' was the Act 2 boss, while 'The Awakened Lucy' would be for Act 3, and of course, Act 4's boss was 'The Head of the House, Krepin Rothstaylor'.
It was clear the developers put more effort into making these bosses. They all had a variety of motives and circumstances and were coming from different backgrounds, resulting in a situation where they were blocking the main character Taylee.
Defeating each boss gave the players a strange sense of appreciation for their aesthetics and their values, and the variety of powers they possessed.
But that feeling didn't exist for the Act 1 boss, 'Yennekar Palerover.'
She was the only boss who had no sense of identity.
She fell victim to the whispers of the high-ranking dark spirit Velosper. She released all the spirits she made contracts with using Velosper's 'Berserk' and wreaked havoc on the Student Center atop Nail Hall. Yennekar stood there and watched as the darkness took over the buildings… it definitely had some great impact.
It left a strong first impression on players due to the gap between that image and when she was running around campus full of energy.
But that was it.
The Glasskan Subjugation Expedition marked the end of Act 1. It was the episode where Taylee realized the ways of the sword and succeeded in cutting down a high-ranking spirit for the first time, signaling the start of the game's grand story.
I even had to consult an online guide to beat the chapter because the difficulty level was quite high. What was the nickname of the person who wrote the strategy? Was it Peppero? But yeah, it was such an old distant memory that it seemed useless to think about it now.
Anyway, my point was that Yennekar was pushed to the sidelines due to the entire chapter focusing on Taylee's growth. Her story, and thus, many parts about her ended up becoming unknown.
All they said about her was how she fell victim to the cruel whispers of Velosper and had her heart swallowed up by the darkness. It was so vague, what else could I do but move on?
But I knew the game would never waste such an important character like that.
They didn't even use some other character, but specifically used Yennekar as the final boss of Act 1. There must definitely be a reason, or maybe a message they were trying to convey.
But till the very end of the game, no such thing was found. I passionately analyzed and thought about this plot point a lot as a dedicated fan of the game. But I didn't have many clues to go on.
Maybe there were parts that got cut off during the production? Or maybe during the quality control inspection process?
In the end, this part of the game left me feeling unsatisfied.
Oh well, there wasn't anything that could be done about it anyway.
"Just as I thought. I need to build a cabin."
I said with full determination.
I had already raised my Vitality. I was now able to prepare materials faster using magic. And I had already gathered food to the extent that I didn't need to worry about what to eat the next day.
With these things established, I needed to start working on the basics to survive in the forest long-term.
I couldn't even lie and tell you the wooden shelter I had right now was durable. It wasn't useful enough for the amount of work I do to maintain it.
A shelter without a proper roof and walls would have awful heating options. Of course, the weather was still good as it was still spring, but I had to take into consideration the fact that I had to spend three winters in this forest. This wooden shelter couldn't guarantee me a safe living accommodation, given how it kept on falling apart every other day.
But not only that! My production skills would exponentially increase if I were to do long-term projects like building a wood cabin.
This would be a great opportunity for me to raise my Daily Life Production Skills in one go, given how its increase had gotten slower. My Handicraft proficiency had been stuck at level 10 for a while now, and my Design proficiency's growth had been too slow, although this was indeed relatively difficult to raise compared to other skills.
The goal was to utilize Ed Rothstaylor's innate talent in production. The only option for him was to focus on developing his production skills, which would positively affect his stats.
This was no different from reality or other games. If you had a special talent, you should take advantage of it.
"Hm… Come to think of it, I heard he already defeated the mid-stage boss for Act 1."
It seemed that there hadn't been any unexpected variables that would change the story's original progression.
Lucy did beat Taylee up pretty badly during the Joint Combat Practice, but it didn't seem to be too big of a variable given how he still defeated the mid-stage boss 'Nosy Elvira' from the Alchemy Department. It was said that she passed out after being hit by Taylee.
I also heard that Princess Penia frequently visited the student council, and there had already been talks among faculty members about her being a candidate as the next student council president.
There was also the episode where Lortel reconciled with Yennekar and seeing how Lortel's visit was a while ago, things seemed to be going well on that front as well.
There was no reason for me to worry about the story's progression given how everything seemed to be going according to the timeline that I knew of.
Besides, why do I keep on worrying about things I could do nothing about? What I needed to do was continue developing myself and taking care of the things I needed to do so I could live a comfortable life.
"I need to make myself busy…"
I still had a bit of time before Act 1 finished. I also had to solve my tuition issue. Thankfully, my grades are coming along fairly decently, so I thought I could expect some surprisingly positive results.
I began cleaning the fish I caught on my farm with a satisfied smile on my face. I actually caught a fairly large rockfish. This would be my first time cooking a fish like it so I thought a lot about how I should go about approaching it.
Well, simple salt on the grill should make it delicious.
Yeah, I should cook that for dinner. And using the herbs I had collected with Bell Maya's advice, I would also make some fragrant herbal tea to drink while I study later in the evening.
Yennekar Palerover took over the Student Center the evening after tomorrow.
The final phase of Act 1 came a month earlier.
It was a catastrophic and unexpected change.
***
This is PepperoPepe's 'How to Attack the Act 1 Boss for Beginners: Detailed as Much as Possible!'
(
This is a summary of the basic information and strategies.
If you want a more detailed strategy guide, please refer to the original article!
1-10 Act 1: Final Chapter
Boss: Elementalist Yennekar (The Elemental Summoner)
This boss has a total of 5 phases. Takes quite long so make sure you check your consumables and equipment durability before starting the boss battle.
■ Phase 1: Gathering your subjugation force
Achievement Conditions:
Please gather these characters at the Student Square!
'The Princess of Benevolence Penia'
'The Spear from Nature Ziggs'
'The Golden Daughter Lortel'
'Companion Ayla'
'Nosy Elvira'
'Gloomy Clevius'
For additional achievements, also gather:
'Romantic Adele'
'Lazy Lucy'
'Senior Maid Bell'
Appearing Enemies:
Spirit's Stigma x120
Protected Young Fluid Spirits x60
Elemental Traces x60
Low-ranking Fire Spirit Gouda x1
Low-ranking Ice Spirit Elkyra x1
Low-ranking Wind Spirit Norton x1
Low-ranking Earth Spirit Pique x1
Low-ranking Light Spirit Rakie x1
Approaching the outskirts of the academic district caged in by a magic seal will result in instant death. Don't go near the outskirts!
The most efficient path to follow is in this order: Olin Square > Obel Hall > Taneth Magic Supplies Storage > Western Archery Center > Neilton Training Center > Student Square.
You don't have to defeat all the spirits roaming around. But defeating the fire spirit Gouda and the light spirit Rakie will make moving around easier so defeat them first!
Meeting the additional achievement conditions only give a little bit of Likeability for each character. The characters will not participate in the subjugation. But try to meet 'Romantic Adele' since she gives a useful buff for attacking the boss later on
If you're trying to 100% clear the stage: Adele can be found playing ukelele in the grass behind the Western Archery Center, Lucy can be found taking a nap on the roof of Obel Hall, and Bell can be found next to a statue in Olin Square.
If you intend on investing in your Alchemy or Spiritual Skills in the future, it will be beneficial to improve your Spirit Understanding and Spirit Resonance during this phase.
■ Phase 2: Operation Reclaim The Student Center
Achievement Condition:
Find the location of Elementalist Yennekar
Appearing Enemies:
Spirit's Stigma x30
Elemental Traces x30
Mid-ranking Wind Spirit Pesci x1
Mid-ranking Fire Spirit Olgoas x1
Spiritual Beast Altair x1
Elementalist Yennekar is located in Nail Hall. But don't enter Nail Hall first. If you choose 'Enter Nail Hall first' as proposed by The Golden Daughter Lortel, you'll get a bad ending so please take caution!
Mid-ranking spirits can't be damaged by same-elemental attacks. If you want, just wait until your subjugation force takes down the mid-ranking spirits.
Entering Hayes Hall first will give you the wind spirit Pesci. Entering Glock Hall first gives you fire spirit Olgoas. So please choose which building to enter while considering your Elemental skills.
There's a trick you can do using Straight Slash when you attack Altair at the entrance of Nail Hall. Please refer to the original article for more information.
■ Phase 3: The Battle at Nail Hall's Corridor
Achievement Condition:
Get to the Combat Practice Field where Elementalist Yennekar is waiting
Appearing Enemies:
High-Ranking Fire Spirit Takan x1
The entrance will be different depending on what you chose after defeating Altair. The turning point will pass by quickly so make sure to pay attention.
The key to defeating Takan is to continuously damage its tail using your Elemental Slash, which you should've learned from Act 1 Chapter 9. After you cut off the tail using Elemental Slash, use it again to attack the head.
Avoid getting hit by Takan's periodic skills Ignite and Tail Whip. Bleeding and Burn statuses will stack with each repeated hit.
There are three outcomes mid-battle where the pillars around the corridor will collapse. You will instantly die if a pillar falls on you so be sure to watch out for it!
■ Phase 4: Final Phase
Achievement Condition:
Stop the summoning ceremony of the high-ranking dark spirit 'Glasskan'.
Appearing Enemies:
High-Ranking Dark Spirit Glasskan x1
Elementalist Yennekar x1
The 5th phase is just an event outcome so this is the real final phase. Proceed with the mindset that you will have to use all your remaining consumables.
Immediately attacking Yennekar, who is conducting the summoning ceremony, will reflect the damage back at you due to Dark Curtain.
Attacking Velosper first will temporarily remove Dark Curtain which will allow Yennekar to take damage. But be careful of her counter-attack magic!
If The Benevolent Princess Penia dies, you will get a bad ending so make sure to keep track of her health!
If the Princess of Benevolence Penia who is building the defense dies, a bad ending is unavoidable. Make sure to keep track of her health.
If you met with 'Romantic Adele' in phase 1, then you should be immune to Velosper's 'Blood Curse.' But still, be careful because not all the members of your subjugation force are immune.
■ Phase 5: Glasskan Subjugation
Achievement Condition:
Defeat the Highest-ranking Dark Spirit Glasskan's' right hand.
Appearing Enemies:
Highest-Ranking Dark Spirit Glasskan's' Right Hand x1
This is just an event cutscene. All you have to do is watch it.
'Swordsmaster's Skill' will be added to your skills tab afterward. Make sure to train this whenever you have the time because increasing this skill's proficiency gives generous bonus stat rewards!
■ Other Notes
You need to defeat Yennekar Palerover before dawn or you will trigger a bad ending, 'Intact Glasskan' will be summoned! So make sure to work quickly.
This is the end of this guide.
It seemed there were many beginners who rage-quit because they can't complete Act 1. I already selected the important information and summarized everything so please make sure to check the whole guide before entering the final stage.
Good luck!
***
I heard an owl's cries somewhere in the dark forest.
The cicadas buzzed along in harmony with the occasional sound of the leaves shaking in the wind.
I realized that even the forest had its own charm in the middle of the night.
I looked up at the countless stars that filled the sky like sand on a beach and had a sentimental thought strike me.
I couldn't help but wonder how trivial the struggles I went through were from the perspective of this vast universe.
It was so useless though.
But then another thought came to mind.
There were no guarantee things would progress exactly as they did in the official timeline.
That extremely obvious fact was so abrupt that I couldn't help but smile.
I had already adjusted to this lifestyle. But I shouldn't completely lose my sense of urgency.
I made up my mind and threw the poker into the campfire.
It was time to end the day.
I stretched my body before quietly laying down in my shelter.
I hoped tomorrow would be another peaceful day.
***
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