Chapter 309 - EASG 5

An unexpected incident happened after two nights.

I lived my days the same as every day. I went to the academic district in the morning and would come back to my camp afterward.

I would've usually already left the academic district by dinner time, but I somehow ended up staying quite late today.

I set a goal to have a safer living environment for myself and to do that, I was going to build a proper wood cabin.

The library was a great resource to learn the basic design of how to build one. It also had information on the necessary materials and how to properly cut down the trees to use.

I didn't really need to worry about food anymore, and there wasn't anything that needed my urgent attention or couldn't be put off until the weekend, like homework.

I thought it would have been fine if I stayed late in the academic district that day.

Nothing good ever came out of getting lazy after already deciding to work on it. I should use this time to collect information to build my cabin.

Since I was so used to living life by the hour, it only made sense that I did everything I needed to do at the library all out once while I was already here. After all, the northern forest and the library were so far away from each other that it wasn't efficient to take frequent trips to and fro.

The library also had a limit to how many books a student could check out, and I had already exceeded that limit for my academic studies. So since I was already here anyway, I might as well get all the reading I could.

It was around the time that I was passionately focused on reading for my cabin and had books piling up around me that I heard someone.

"It's already closing time. You have been studying quite hard."

Another student approached me. She gave off a warm impression and was modest in appearance.

I looked around and saw that I was the only one left. It seemed that time had passed by quickly while I was focused on my research.

I hadn't even eaten dinner yet but now it was already time for the library to close down.

I looked at the student that approached me and saw she had a blue badge on her chest. This meant she was a first-year and I could speak casually to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

It had already grown dark outside the window.

I looked at the books piled up like a mountain beside me. The librarian would have a hard time organizing all of these right before closing time.

"I would have cleaned up in advance if I had known earlier."

"No, it's okay. You were totally focused so I actually felt sorry having to bother you."

She had light pink curly hair. I couldn't seem to remember her well… and yet I had this strange feeling that I had seen her before.

Oh, she was an apprentice librarian at Silvenia's student library. What was her name? Moka? Elka? Delka? What was it… at the very least, she wasn't a main character in the story.

"Even though I know I should study, all I've been doing is sitting around eating snacks and gaining weight… Oh my! I overshared, didn't I? What am I saying?!"

I answered her half-heartedly as I closed the book.

I planned to construct the base by the end of the day but I don't think that was still feasible.

"Even still, seeing an upperclassman like you motivates me to study harder. You don't come here often, but every time you do, you are always focused and so immersed in your reading that I can't help but respect you so much for it."

She smiled.

"My name is Elka Islam."

It seemed she had been wanting to talk to me for quite some time now, considering how the flow of the conversation so naturally led to an introduction.

"Ed."

"..."

This reaction of them freezing up after they heard my name had become all too familiar now, and honestly, had rather become boring.

Though it had been a while since the entrance exam, rumors about Ed Rothstaylor never stopped. I had tried to stay on the down-low as much as possible, kept to myself, and studied quietly, doing what I needed to do. But it seemed my reputation hadn't gotten any better.

Just how arrogant and hateable was this guy?

I mean, in the first place, rumors never seemed to flow in a positive direction, but they always tend to flow smoothly like oil in a negative direction instead.

I was not so naive to be upset and offended by every single rumor, but I couldn't help but let out a sigh each time I got the occasional reaction like this.

"This… might be a bit rude, but—"

Nevertheless, if I lived as quietly as I could just doing what I had to do, all while diligently studying every day and striving to survive day by day, there would come a time when people's perception may change completely.

"You're very different from the rumors."

"The rumors?"

"No, uhm… I hope you don't think it's weird but…"

It was quite rude of her to be bringing up rumors. I should just go and quickly head back to camp. It was already pretty late.

But she kept going on.

"I usually spend my time here at the library after class since I'm an apprentice librarian. And every few days, you would borrow Elemental Studies books, right?

"..."

"You read and returned dozens of books with hundreds of pages each in just a few days, and you read five or six books all in just one sitting… seeing things like that makes me wonder if the rumors about you being arrogant while not knowing anything were actually lies… ack! S-Sorry if I offended you."

She suddenly hesitated to talk and quickly picked up the books.

"A-Anyways, I should clean this up quickly and head back to the dormitory. Have a safe trip back!"

She talked in a hurry and ran away, right into a bookshelf.

Then, out of nowhere, the bookshelves began to fall down like dominoes.

***

Living life outside of the main story could be quite exhausting.

I couldn't help but feel helpless, put in a position where I had no choice but to accept the always-changing situations.

"Eunghk!"

I pulled out the struggling librarian trapped under the bookshelves and put her on top of a table.

It had been fifteen minutes since a thunderous sound reverberated throughout the academic district, and a great tremor struck the entire student library.

Justifiably similar to an earthquake, the aftermath was just as enormous. The bookshelves had fallen all over, as did the books which had rolled over on the floor.

The reading materials and even the consumables had become a mess.

Even the expensive magic tools had smashed into pieces and the crystal orb, which acted as a light source, as well as all the candles, had gone out, rendering the library completely dark inside.

"Hey!"

"Egh—"

She seemed to have fainted, only mumbling out randomly.

I thought about it for a while. I couldn't remember her clearly, but I had this weird feeling that I had seen her somewhere before. Considering I had played the game multiple times, I couldn't remember her, then she probably wasn't anyone important.

It was probably already past 9 o'clock, and there was no source of light left inside.

However, I spotted a sort of soft purple color coming from inside the reading room.

My eyes hadn't fully adjusted in the dark yet but I was still able to roughly see it.

After looking at it some more, I was surprised to realize it was actually coming from out the window.

I went over and opened it. The student library was located on a small hill on the outskirts of the academic district, allowing me to see an entire view of the whole place.

There was a reddish pillar of light coming from the Student Center. It crossed over the sky above the academic district, triggering a spatial seal barrier that circled around the whole area.

The earthquake was surely the aftermath of casting such large-scale spatial sealing magic. And the fact that it was coming from the Student Center made it clear.

"Hmm… Isn't this a bit early…?"

Either way, there was nothing to be flustered about.

Although I had been suffering from all sorts of hardships in Ed Rothstaylor's pathetic body, at least I had the advantage of knowing the information I knew.

"Hmm…"

I scratched my chin as I thought about it.

I didn't know if this was something I should be worried about but there were still quite a few things I didn't quite understand.

The first of which is the spatial-sealing magic activated by the high-ranking dark spirit Velosper through Yennekar. Velosper used the high-ranking dark magic Shadow Curtain to block off the entirety of the academic district from the outside.

It was an impressive barrier, but it was just a plot device to set the stage.

It was the Glasskan subjugation chapter. It was the episode that marked the finale of Act 1 and brought out all the all-star first-year students to join together and form a subjugation squad to attack the Student Center.

But if you were to use your common sense, you would realize that this shouldn't have been possible.

Glasskan was the most infamous high-ranking dark spirit among the elemental spirits. That shouldn't have been an issue solved by mere students. If the Student Center had been taken over, it should've been the faculty members and professors who would've obviously come to defeat it.

That was why it didn't make any sense. In order to create an episode where Taylee could manifest the Swordmaster's Skill, the developers made it necessary to block the faculty and professors from intervening.

Hence Velosper's spatial-sealing magic.

It was a barrier that locked everything from the inside. That made it easy to realize the space was locked from the inside, but it made it hard for those on the outside.

And even if those from the outside were to recognize the barrier, it would still take them almost half a day to destroy the dark magic barrier using standard methods.

The only way to quickly break through would be to use overwhelming destructive power.

But using such an ignorant method would seem impossible. Although, as this was Silvenia, there were a few people who should be capable of doing such a feat. No need to look that far since Headmaster Obel would be able to destroy the entire barrier without even needing to examine it first.

But the high-ranking dark spirit Velosper was cunning.

This event happened late in the evening when most professors have already returned to their private labs or homes.

It was already 9 o'clock, which meant only a few professors would've been remaining in the academic district as the professors' private labs were grouped around their living quarters for convenience.

Either way, the Act 1 finale was a battle against time.

The goal was to defeat Yennekar before she could summon the highest-ranking dark spirit Glasskan before sunrise.

Even though it would be destroyed anyway if left alone, it still delayed time enough for Glasskan's summoning to complete.

I looked out the window and stuck my head out. It didn't seem like the spirits Yennekar had manifested were occupying the streets yet.

"I guess we haven't entered the first phase yet."

The flow of this Act's boss battle was as follows:

Gathering a Subjugation Force.

Operation Reclaim the Student Center.

The Battle at Nail Hall's Corridor.

Final Phase.

Glasskan Subjugation.

That would start now and would end before dawn.

Simply put, this was going to be extremely difficult. I couldn't help but pray for Taylee.

I had to run around like crazy during Phase 1. I felt like a real idiot running all over the academic district trying to find all the scattered aces of the first-years to bring them all into one place, all while having to subdue all the spirits on the streets.

"He should've met up with Ayla by now."

I was sure he'd have figured out the solution by now.

Taylee's childhood friend Ayla was well-versed in Spiritual Studies. And with all that spiritual energy flowing around the Student Center, she would have already told Taylee what was going on.

The students needed to start working together from now on to defeat that monster of a dark spirit Velosper. Because the moment Glasskan gets summoned, the damage to the whole academic district would be indescribable. That's why gathering all the people who would help at the Student Square was needed.

The soft purple I could see outside the window soon changed into an ominous dark red. The chanting to summon Glasskan must've already begun.

And it was clear who was doing it.

The cute Elementalist star student that was admired and loved by all the second-years.

"Looking at it from here, it's quite the scene."

Taylee should already be right next to the Student Center the moment the barrier magic was cast.

The barrier's mana flow exploded, creating a reddish curtain covering the starless sky. I was large enough to cover the entire academic district.

It could obviously be assumed that a large-scale event had begun just from seeing the barrier.

Be it Glasskan or something else, I was sure Taylee would figure it out and solve it.

Even if I just spend my time here sitting around reading books, this whole thing would eventually end.

There was no reason for me to go out there and suffer. It would be better if I spent my energy and efforts on building my cabin instead. Getting unnecessarily involved could only get me hurt or suffer one way or another.

Plus I didn't want to go where all the important characters in the story should be gathered by now. My biggest weapons were knowing the future and having inside information. Getting myself involved and creating an unknown variable would be like stupidly giving up my powerful weapons.

"Wait…"

However, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

"Isn't this the time for that thing?"

I sat on top of the library table looking at the imposing barrier.

I remembered something from a strategy article I read a long time ago.

If you intend on investing in your Alchemy or Spiritual Skills in the future, it will be beneficial to improve your Spiritual Understanding and Spiritual Resonance during this phase.

"That's right!"

The final stage of Act 1 was where dozens of spirits that signed a contract with Yennekar would manifest and show up. There would also be a large number of Fluid Spirits.

It was an opportunity to improve my proficiency in both the annoying Spiritual Understanding and Spiritual Resonance at the same time.

Spirit-type skill proficiency could only be accumulated through contact with a spirit. Whether it be through communication or contact, there needed to be an exchange with the spirit to increase one's proficiency. Combat experiences were great for filling up this proficiency.

The problem was that ordinary people couldn't even see a spirit, that was unless they were lucky enough to be born with a tremendous amount of Spiritual Resonance like Yennekar.

The only way for ordinary people to come in contact with a spirit was with those manifested by an Elementalist.

Spirit-related skills had such an exclusive requirement that acted like a difficult barrier. But the chance to easily overcome that difficult barrier is here, in the final chapter of Act 1.

Because Yennekar was an Elementalist who manifested many spirits during this stage, this was somewhere you could accumulate a lot of combat experience through defeating them.

It would be foolish of me to just sit around while an event as generous as a pot of gold was handing out experience points right around the corner.

In addition, this would be an actual battle.

The amount of experience I would get was gonna be very different from the type I would gain from mock battles throughout the academy's curriculum.

My top priority right now should be to defeat as many spirits as possible and focus on my own growth.

"I shouldn't have been spacing out."

I quickly jumped off the table and opened the door, ready to leave, when the apprentice librarian laying on the table caught my eye.

"Hmmm…"

I didn't think there would be any danger of being inside the library building but just in case, I picked up a piece of parchment and quill that I saw scattered about.

"Don't panic when you wake up. And stay right here. Everything should be over before daybreak so you should stay calm and block the entrance. And don't provoke the spirits. Always think about your own safety first and don't hastily move about."

Hmm… it didn't feel right just leaving one note behind.

It was unlikely for a wandering spirit to invade the library's reading room and suddenly start attacking a sleeping girl, but there was still a possibility. If she were to get unnecessarily hurt or her life gets ruined… living with the guilt would leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

I picked up a blackboard that fell over in the corner and grabbed a piece of chalk that was laying around. Then I wrote the same thing again, only in large letters. Just in case she missed my note on the paper.

I covered all the windows before leaving, making it less dangerous since the spirits wouldn't be able to see inside. I also took a blackout curtain laying around and roughly covered the exit as it looked to be too wide open. Doing this, I hoped the entrance could be hidden and escape would be possible if she needed to.

Covering everything made it a little bit darker inside. But since I wrote my note on the board, she should still be able to see it.

It should be fine now.

I hurriedly ran towards the hallway. There would be an event to gain lots of experience starting soon. I needed to move quickly.

I should be able to easily handle Fluid Spirits, even Elemental Traces. I should even be able to defeat a low-ranking spirit if I really tried.

As the player, I had to prioritize how to defeat that monster Velosper over my own growth, but now, thankfully, there was someone who could take that responsibility and handle all the hardships and adversities for me.

Taylee.

He could just figure it out and take care of it.

It would probably be a lot of work…

Well, good luck to him!

***

"No matter what type of burden I may carry, it shouldn't be any heavier than the weight the princess carries."

"While it's definitely necessary to pay attention to politics and social problems, why don't you try putting your mind at ease? This isn't a place where the royal family needs to establish authority over everything… it's just Silvenia Academy."

Ed Rothstaylor's words suddenly came to mind.

Though she could easily see into the hearts of others, very rarely had she had the experience of someone else taking a look into hers. This was why she couldn't easily forget it.

His blunt matter-of-fact words that he indifferently told the princess.

She thought she still had a long way to go…

But she once again set her mind straight.

"This is the situation right now."

A first-year named Ayla completely summarized the situation to them.

Their temporary meeting place was the Student Square at 11:30 PM.

That meant it had already been nearly two hours since the catastrophe had occurred.

The square was packed with students who were trapped by Velosper's barrier.

They collected all sorts of junk lying around and created a barricade around the fountain in the middle, blocking the entrance from the north, south, east, and west.

Although crude, it provided them cover, at the very least, and blocked the spirits scattered about from coming in.

"There was no way this massive barrier would last this long. It'll be discovered quickly and help will come from the outside. Once they notice it, the professors will surely come to help."

The crowd nodded their heads at Ayla's words.

Princess Penia became the head of their temporary base, as voluntarily decided amongst the students.

The most important thing in a crisis like this was a person who could take charge and control the situation. A person with legitimate authority and power who could control such a chaotic situation.

Needless to say, Princess Penia was the best person for the role in their current situation. No one could question her authority.

There were a total of fifty-seven students gathered in the Student Square.

That was largely attributed to Taylee McLaure, a freshman in the Combat Department. He plowed his way through the hordes of spirits occupying the academic district and acted as a messenger so that all the students could gather in one place.

The result was more than half of the remaining students in the district were gathered together.

The students who could be considered the core of the group were having a meeting at the center of the camp.

These were The Benevolent Princess Penia, The Golden Daughter Lortel, The Spear from Nature Ziggs, Head Escort Claire, Failed Swordmaster Taylee, Companion Ayla, Nosy Elvira, Gloomy Clevius…

They were freely discussing the countermeasures they could take as they sat on the floor, while others leaned against the barricade, or modestly stood around. All the while, Princess Penia was at the center of it all.

"Just like I said a while ago, I believe we should enter the Student Center even if it was just us."

That was Taylee, who was covered in wounds due to making his way through hordes of spirits to gather everyone.

He was standing up with that body full of small cuts and wounds, clearly stating his stance.

"We shouldn't wait for outside support. That barrier was purposefully made to stall help. There may be a large number of casualties if Glasskan gets summoned as Ayla said."

Coming from Ayla who was well versed in spirit-type magic and Taylee who ran around the whole scene… That information was shocking.

The spiritual skill covering the night sky was magic used to summon the highest dark spirit Glasskan.

There were only a few students in Silvenia with a good enough Spiritual Resonance to be able to summon a spirit like that.

Using the process of elimination, the culprit was probably the second-year star student Yennekar Palerover.

"Princess Penia, I disagree with this plan. The most important thing here is the princess's safety. To act conservatively, the princess shouldn't be allowed to leave this base."

Of course, Head Escort Claire only thought about Princess Penia's safety.

"People outside the barrier will notice soon enough. It should be resolved quickly once the Imperial Guard station and the professors take action."

"A barrier cast by a high-ranking dark spirit can not be easily removed unless broken by force. And to be honest, I'm not sure if they will make it in time. I'm not sure if Headmaster Obel will personally come, since you know he tends to be away often."

Claire's words were rebutted by the Alchemy Department's first-year star student, Nosy Elvira. She was an alchemist who had a tomboy appearance.

"Hmmm~ I agree with Taylee. Above all, if all the students of this quality were to work together, while it might be too much to take down Glasskan, don't you think we would be able to at least defeat a high-ranking dark spirit like Velosper? Hmmm~ Honestly, do you guys not have confidence at all?"

"So, you want us to break through… over there…? Eeek… Nope…"

A male student with dark circles around his eyes called Gloomy Clevius pointed towards the Student Center.

The Fluid Spirits and low-ranking spirits scattered about the academic district weren't that dangerous. If all the students here stuck together, then it should be 100% safe.

But the situation at the Student Center was completely different.

That was where the owner of all these spirits was located, Yennekar Palerover.

There should be two or three times the amount of all sorts of mid-ranking spirits and even a spiritual beast standing guard.

"You want us to push through all the mid-ranking spirits, defeat them, enter the building and then stop Yennekar? Is… is that even possible? That probably isn't even everything! There are also two high-ranking spirits inside! The high-ranking fire spirit Takan and the high-ranking dark spirit Velosper."

Everyone fell silent at Clevius's words.

They had all seen the power of a high-ranking spirit during the Join Combat Practice class. Takan was a giant fire-lizard that wrapped around the top of Nail Hall and let out a roar.

Even Lortel, who was one of the students Professor Glast recognized and assigned to Class A, was completely overpowered without being able to put up a fight.

What's even worse was that this Takan was more powerful than before since all the spirits in the area were affected by Velosper's Berserk magic. And Takan was no exception to that.

"I won't commit suicide like that! I won't!"

"Please calm down, Clevius."

"…I'm sorry, Princess Penia."

Clevius bowed his head at Princess Penia's words.

However, the words Clevius said had already affected the morale of the students around, making them feel despair.

The fifty-seven students in their small camp were wary of the situation. Their conversation could be heard by everyone, and she couldn't have anyone continue making such discouraging comments in this situation.

"Even if she is the top student among the second-years, isn't she a bit too strong? She already manifested this many spirits, can she even still summon Glasskan?"

Ayla was the one to answer Lortel's question.

"Most of the power actually comes from Velosper. Yennekar is just a medium to express that power. That's why all Elementalists make sure to always have a clear mind so as not to be consumed by a dark spirit."

Princess Penia already knew what Ayla explained.

Originally referred to as the natural enemy of an Elementalist, a dark spirit had an enormous amount of power but would never follow the will of an Elementalist.

Rather, they were like demons who ruled over Elementalists and made them move according to their will.

"But nobody knows how Velosper ended up taking control of Yennekar, who is more familiar with Spiritual Studies than anyone else. She would definitely have known the dangers of a dark spirit better than anyone else."

"That's not important right now."

The Spear from Nature Ziggs, who was sitting in a corner, responded to Ayla.

"Isn't the important thing to do now is to figure out our course of action?"

A serious and dignified voice. The boy had long hair coming down just to his neck. He spoke:

"And the only person who can decide is… Princess Penia."

Silence filled the air once again at Zigg's words.

More than fifty students turned their eyes toward Princess Penia. Meanwhile, Head Escort Claire's worried gaze stung the princess's back.

She understood that the most important thing for Claire was her safety. However, sitting around and waiting for help wasn't the princess's style.

"Let's enter the Student Center. If, by chance, we encounter anything different from what we expected, we will retreat."

The students had a divided response.

Head Escort Claire and Gloomy Clevius, as well as the students that had a more conservative view, let out a heavy sigh. While the more proactive students let out a smile.

"However, there is no need for all the students to enter. Rushing in together will only increase the number of injuries. The right thing to do is to only enter with the people who are capable of taking care of themselves."

A regular student would get swept away by a mid-ranking spirit, let alone a high-ranking spirit.

There was no reason to take everyone.

"Everyone here, including my Head Escort Claire, the top students from each grade and department, as well as the Class A students, will all go. That's because your skills have already been verified."

"Then that means there is no reason for the princess to go?"

"No, I will also be accompanying them."

Claire's face instantly became serious, like a flash of lightning. But Princess Penia shook her head.

"It would be absurd not to go to the front lines when I am the one giving orders."

"Princess, your body is not just your property. As a member of the royal knights, I have no choice but to stop you."

"Don't worry Claire. I haven't been neglecting my magic training. Also, Taylee and Ayla, please accompany us as well. The two of you have walked around the outskirts of the Student Center while trying to search for students, so you probably somewhat already know the internal situation."

And with that, the subjugation team members were decided. Sadly, none of the upperclassmen students were there. Except for Claire, who was an adult, everyone else was a first-year.

However, each member of the team was a powerful student. The first-years had an unusual amount of strong students in the first place. Even though it was unfortunate that Lazy Lucy was nowhere to be found, even the upperclassmen wouldn't have been much better than this lineup they already had.

"We will enter in an hour. Everyone, please finish your preparations. And also, prepare your hearts."

Everyone nodded their heads at the princess's words.

"Princess! Princess Penia!"

A student came running in, breaking the solemn atmosphere.

"We've identified the remaining people in the academic district!"

A male student with reddish-brown hair came through the barricade and stood right in front of the princess. Identifying the number of people in a crisis was the most important thing to do.

Time was crucial. The number of people trapped by the barrier in the academic district wasn't high since it happened when most people were already heading back to their living quarters. Thanks to this, they could somewhat estimate the overall number of people left by gathering information from the students with them.

The male student that was in charge of investigating took in a big gulp of air as he began to report.

"There were alchemy students at the Taneth Magic Supplies Storage. They were researching chemicals and started a sit-in of their own. There shouldn't be any reason for worry since they were mostly third-year students."

"What else?"

"The faculty and staff who were in charge of locking the doors for the night, along with the building management, are gathered at Audrey Hall. However, as they are general staff, they don't have the means to deal with the spirits."

"Do they need support?"

"I heard Professor Kali is in charge of that. However, it seems it would be difficult for them to join us."

Although most of the professors would have already returned to their living quarters, it seemed that there was still a professor or two remaining.

However, it would be difficult to take care of and manage all the general staff. The distance between Audrey Hall and the Student Square was too far, so gathering those workers and having them move all the way here would be expecting a bit too much. However, they couldn't just be left unattended.

"They have also decided to do a sit-in."

"Yes, that is the best way to minimize damage. I shouldn't make a decision that would risk the safety of the administration and the teaching staff."

"I think we're the only ones who are capable of entering the Student Center."

The princess made up her mind once again. The place they were at was right in front of the center anyway. More than anything else, they were the ones who could quickly deal with the situation.

"Other than that, there was no other recognized stud–"

"There is!"

A girl raised her voice somewhere around the barricade.

Everyone's eyes instantly went to her. A freshman girl was anxiously clenching her fist tightly, arms wrapped around her chest. With closed eyes, she shouted.

"I-I'm sorry… The atmosphere was too solemn so… I wasn't able to say anything."

"Please explain in detail."

"I am… an apprentice librarian in charge of managing the student library. I'm Tisika… Actually, I still have a friend left behind at the student library."

The girl's twisted face looked like she was in pain. It seemed she was struggling to confess.

"We usually close the library together, but there was someone in the reading room today and he wasn't leaving until closing time. My friend said she would wait and close up the library herself, so she let me head back first. I was on my way home when…"

"Then that means there is one apprentice librarian and one student in the reading room who are still isolated. Wait… did you say librarian?"

Ziggs stood up from his seat in the corner. He then approached the girl who was struggling to speak and looked her straight in the eyes before asking.

"Your librarian friend. What's her name?"

"Elka Islam."

The girl was sweating as she struggled to say her friend's name, trying to avoid Zigg's gaze.

Zigg's eyes began to tremble as soon as he had confirmed the name.

"Did you say… Elka…? Are you sure? You're sure you're not mistaken?"

"Yes… we are learning how to manage magic books as apprentice librarians in class."

Zigg's clenched fist hit the barricade behind the girl. The girl was caught by surprise and closed her eyes, taking a step back. The barricade behind her made of wooden benches and various decorative objects had collapsed.

"Shit! Princess Penia, I'm going to go look for her now."

"Ziggs?"

"Elka is really good at managing magic books and researching magic but she doesn't have the power to defend herself. She was just an aspiring scholar. If we leave her alone, she'll definitely be attacked by the spirits running rampant."

Ziggs walked back to the center of the camp and dropped to his knees in front of Princess Penia.

"I need to go to the student library and look for her right now."

"Ziggs Eiffelstein, do you know that your words are filled with too much emotion?"

But the one who responded was someone else—The Golden Daughter Lortel.

"Going from here to the library is going to take you too long, even if you run at full speed. You would also need to somehow pass through all those spirits. Who knows how long that would take? Rather than that, we need to prioritize stopping Yennekar right now. She's the cause of all of this, after all."

A calm and assertive tone. A realistic plan.

Polite and calm when talking to superiors, but relentless to those she considered as equals or lower.

That was only natural for Lortel, who grew up in the cold harsh reality of the Elte Company.

"I know you have some sort of attachment to Elka, Ziggs. But what we need right now is to figure out how this could work."

Elka Islam.

The Spear from Nature Ziggs' thought of her as his savior when he was near the edge of a cliff.

Elka supported and embraced Ziggs despite his lineage as part of the northern nomadic people. People who had walked a bloody path all their lives.

Due to this, Ziggs believed he could no longer live a normal life but Elka showed him what human warmth was

He remembered seeing her smile between the gaps of the thick magic books in the library's reading room. Because of her, Ziggs was able to leave his life as a bloodthirsty monster behind.

For Ziggs, losing the smile of the girl who gave him a chance at a new life was more frightening than losing his own life.

"Hmm…"

But at the same time, Lortels words were irresistibly persuasive in that they were both rational and realistic.

Lortel's words were always justified despite her being a sneaky and greedy merchant. That's just the type of Lortel was.

"Please calm down, Ziggs. Being this emotional isn't like you. Lortel had a point."

Ziggs had always been the calmest student among the three Class A appointees.

Lucy was a weirdo while Lortel was always acting suspicious and was someone who couldn't be trusted. But unlike the two of them, Ziggs was always righteous and had common sense. He was also someone who communicated well. Zigg's calm demeanor actually earned him the catchphrase, "In Ziggs, we trust."

But that Ziggs and this Ziggs were vastly different. You didn't need Princess Penia's Insightful Eyes to know how important Elka was to Ziggs.

"Tisika said there is still one other student in the library with her. Why don't you try trusting that student right now?"

"That's… Uhm…"

In front of them was the Student Center where the root of the problem was. It would be selfish to ignore that and run to the library.

Ziggs knew that. That was why he couldn't refute the princess's words.

"Are you certain that there was another student with her, Tisika?"

"That… That is…"

Tisika took a step back as sweat rolled down her face, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

A sense of anxiety washed over the princess.

"Is there something you're trying to hide, Tisika?"

"That's… Uhm… Eghh…"

Paying no mind that he was in front of the princess, Ziggs kicked his chair and stood up once again.

He quickly stomped over to Tisika and grabbed her by her collar.

"Say it right now!"

"Uhm… S-I'm sorry..!"

Tisika fell to her knees with tears in her eyes as she confessed.

"It was… Ed Rothstaylor."

An ominous silence enveloped the group at the mention of the name.

"He was just sitting there until late at night. And I didn't want to talk to him because he was so annoying. You know what I'm talking about! What kind of person Ed Rothstaylor is! So I just left Elka to take care of everything. Elka… she isn't the type to care about rumors. And she didn't even know that student was Ed Rothstaylor, so I thought it should be okay…"

The heavy feeling of guilt pushed her into a corner. The fact that she had taken advantage of her own friend was too heavy to bear.

"So Elka let me leave early without making a fuss… that's what happened. I'm… so sorry…"

The string of patience Ziggs was hanging onto finally snapped.

Ed Rothstaylor.

Ziggs was also taking the entrance exam when Ed came and caused a commotion. Ziggs had seen well enough just how ugly of a human being Ed was.

"Let go of me! Don't you know who I am? I am Ed Rothstaylor, the second son of the Rothstaylor family! Get your dirty hands off me, you pigs! Just where are you touching me?"

"You think I would stoop so low just to mess with a nobody failure like Taylee? Let go of me! These dirty and ignorant commoners! Do you even know what you're talking about!"

"Taylee? Ha… A low-ranking failure of a student who's all talk."

Luxuries and pleasures. Prideful and lazy.

Incompetent, too.

Ed Rothstaylor was a pathetic human being with despicable qualities. He took advantage and threw away his closest friends when an opportunity arose, never caring about the kindness he had received. He was truly selfish in every sense of the word.

It was obvious what everyone else at the base was whispering about.

"Ed? That Ed Rothstaylor? Doesn't that mean the librarian is in big trouble?"

"There are so many rumors that say he's seriously disgusting and pathetic."

"Doesn't this mean the librarian is alone with such a person?"

"Oh, no…"

It was too dangerous to leave the room with these many berserk spirits occupying the streets, let alone the building.

The fact that the cruel Ed Rothstaylor and Elka were in such a situation…

Nothing good would come out of such a situation. Elka had no power in such an extreme situation, and she may even be taken advantage of by Ed Rothstaylor and thrown away. Or worse, he could even lay a finger on her fragile body.

Ziggs had complete confidence he knew the type of person Ed was. The rumors about him also added credibility.

The fact that Elka's fate rested in the hands of such a person made Ziggs lose all sense of reasoning.

"I'm heading to the library right now."

His anger has already surpassed his limit. Rather than not, it now felt cold.

Ziggs notified them in a soft subdued voice.

The one he notified was The Benevolent Princess Penia herself, someone that even Headmaster Obel respected.

Zigg's intentions were clear. He was rejecting a royal order.

"You're crossing the line, Ziggs Eiffelstein."

The first person to step up was Head Escort Claire. But Ziggs didn't care.

In Lazy Lucy's absence, no one among them could defeat The Spear from Nature Ziggs. Even Claire, who was a member of the Royal Guards, couldn't guarantee how many strikes she would be able to withstand.

He was considered one of the best magicians amongst the first-years alongside Lazy Lucy and The Golden Daughter Lortel, the three of them recognized by Professor Glast solely for their skills.

And as he was born among the northern nomads, he had been living his life with human blood on his hands for longer than he had matured.

He had always lived a life at the crossroads between life and death, no one could compare to him in terms of practicality.

If Lazy Lucy was like a tank or a fighter with how her magic couldn't be blocked, then The Spear from Nature Ziggs was like a well-trained special agent his whole life. There might be a massive difference in terms of pure power and scale between the two of them, but within Zigg's specialized field, he would be able to fully dominate and demonstrate his power.

And his specialized field was dueling with no outside interference.

"I'll beat anyone who tries to stop me from leaving."

"I can't let you do that."

The Golden Daughter Lortel cast a spell. The moisture in the atmosphere froze in an instant, creating a huge ice spear in the air. It was Ice Spear, the same intermediate magic that destroyed the ceiling of Nail Hall.

The two first-year top students from the Magic Department of Silvenia. Ziggs and Lortel stared at each other. It was a rare scene for anybody to witness.

Everyone gathered and watched nervously, swallowing their dry saliva at the sudden extreme turn of events.

"I'll give you credit, Ziggs. You are the strongest person amongst everyone here in terms of power. If you leave the subjugation, then our chance of success will sharply drop. Which is why I'm sorry, but you can't leave your position as a member of the team."

"That's hilarious, Lortel. Do you think I'll cooperate if you try and force me to do so?"

"You have completely lost your mind. I know how much you cherish Elka, but you need to at least distinguish between your public and private life. Look over there."

Following Lortel's gaze, everyone could see Glasskan's summoning circle gradually turning a darker shade of red. There was an assortment of spirits occupying the hall as well.

"And where would you be going to leave that behind?"

Lortel looked Ziggs straight in the eyes. And she hated the burning passion within them.

Passion, hot blood, spirit, loyalty, vigor, strong will.

Lortel hated the fact that such words would show up in such an urgent situation.

Humans needed to be calm and rational. No matter the predicament or harsh the situation may be, one needs to make the right judgment without being misled by wrong emotions.

That was the type of person who would be extremely reliable.

It didn't matter how many magic skills you knew, or how powerful you were. If your heart wasn't strong enough, then you couldn't be trusted. This was the first great principle that Lortel learned in business ethics.

"I wouldn't be able to win over you in a one-on-one battle, Ziggs. But if I gave it my all, you wouldn't be able to walk away unscathed."

"Ha…"

Ziggs was superior to Lortel in a duel. But that didn't mean Lortel was an easy opponent. They would be able to exchange even blows at first, but over time, someone would eventually get extremely hurt.

It was too much pressure just for Ziggs to push through all the spirits and head to the library. And yet Ziggs shook his head.

"If that's your opinion, then I have no intention of giving up either."

The atmosphere between the two shifted to that of one just before a big fight. The atmosphere where if one so much as steps forward, the fight would begin…

"What are you two doing?! What would happen if we fight amongst ourselves?!"

Princess Penia had reached her limit and shouted.

"But Princess Penia! Right now… that Ed Rothstaylor…"

Ziggs responded. But his forceful words grew rather tame towards the end.

With a face of complete desperation, Ziggs spoke in between tears. He was no longer the strong-minded and reliable The Spear from Nature Ziggs.

"If something happens to Elka, I really… I won't know how to live anymore."

His tone had shifted from anger to sadness, and now desperation.

Princess Penia did not expect this reaction.

She would have scolded a furious Ziggs for his actions and taken control of the situation. But this Ziggs had now completely become desperate, so clearly visible with the princess's Insightful Eyes.

His heart was more desperate than a dying man's. Elka was truly like family to him.

"B-But…"

Princess Penia stuttered at his sincere desperation. No sounds came out even though her mouth was open.

"That guy. Ed Rothstaylor. Princess Penia, you also know what he's like…!"

Princess Penia, you also know what he's like.

She couldn't nod her head at the words.

Because she didn't actually know anything about him.

Her thoughts were complicated when it came to Ed Rothstyalor. Even the most obvious facts about him had become a fogged mystery.

The clear image she gets when looking into somebody's inner self, and yet she couldn't even manage to figure out the outline of the guy.

What was their current situation?

They were in an extreme crisis where nothing was guaranteed.

A reality where one minute, let alone one second, was a waste. Glasskan's summoning circle was increasingly growing darker, and the students' safety couldn't be guaranteed. Now everyone was looking amongst each other for decisions.

And that decision-maker also became the person in charge. The weight of her title would stay with her for as long as she was alive. But here, it also meant that everyone in the base would follow her.

The realization of this uncertain reality made her dizzy, driving her into a corner.

"E-Even so…"

Everyone in the camp had their eyes on Princess Penia and Ziggs. It was an urgent situation that carried responsibility for the princess as everyone awaited her decision. A situation where a mistake in her judgment could lead to the loss of another person's life. A situation where nobody could speak up.

And it came back to her…

The sound of a burning campfire. The back of a boy who poked the fire with a poker. Looking straight into her eyes without emotion. And those words that penetrated her heart as he left the training center.

The distasteful act of crawling on the floor during the entrance examination. His back when he pushed past her to chase after Taylee with an emotionless face. His eyes never clearly revealed anything.

Princess Penia was completely pushed into a corner… and in that corner she suddenly uttered the words, pointing to the direction of where her sixth sense was leading her.

"Even so… how about… just once… let's just… believe in that guy…?"

Silence filled the air once again.

Everyone stayed silent for a long time. Not a single word was said.

The expression on their faces showed how absurd they thought it was. As if the sun would rise from the west.

"Why…"

Ziggs lamented.

"Why do you have to say such a cruel thing? The Princess of Benevolence that I know… she wouldn't say something so irresponsible!"

Ziggs only saw her words as a disregard for his worries and opinions.

"I will… be on my way."

Ziggs shook his head as he headed towards the exit.

"Where are you going…?!"

"Lortel."

Unexpectedly, it was Princess Penia who stopped Lortel from chasing after Ziggs. Although she was just in the middle of talking about how absurd trusting Ed was.

To be honest, she herself didn't understand why she had said that.

"Just let him go."

"Princess."

"However, you need to take responsibility for the outcome, Ziggs."

There were already too many things to think about. The Princess was at her limit.

"I will pay for all my sins when I get back."

Finally getting permission, Ziggs bowed his head politely. He fully understood just how selfish his choice was. Nevertheless, since he had decided to save Elka, then even Princess Penia couldn't stop him.

Ziggs slowly lifted his head and left the base with a stern face.

"Princess Penia."

Watching his back as he slowly walked away, Lortel called out to the princess.

She turned her head to find Lortel staring at her in a rather obedient manner.

Princess Penia could tell what Lortel was thinking without having to use her Insightful Eyes.

Being an excessive realist, she would condemn Princess Penia's decision. Even if somebody were to get hurt or be harmed, she would tell the princess that she should've never let Ziggs leave.

The princess steeled her heart.

But Lortel actually had a wide smile across her face.

"Thinking about it, it may have been necessary to respect his opinion."

"Lortel."

"It must have been a decision made by the princess after much consideration. Anyways, he's always had a noble will, so he couldn't just blindly judge if something was wrong or right."

Lortel spoke so calmly and coolly, as if she didn't care about the tense situation just a moment ago. And she also affirmed the princess's decision.

"Anyway, if there aren't any changes in our original plan of entering the Student Center in an hour, we should begin preparing for the subjugation now. I'll be taking a short break and checking my body's condition. Princess Penia, I hope you too could get some rest."

And with an elegant smile, Lortel Kehelland politely greeted Princess Penia as she walked by.

Although the situation didn't go the way she had thought it would go, the way Lortel stepped down and even encouraged the princess's decision was that of a model vassal.

However, it was very clear to the princess.

Behind her heartfelt smile and act of encouragement was a deep feeling of disillusionment.

She felt it the moment Lortel passed her by.

Her relationship with Lortel wasn't very good, to begin with, but now she felt that this incident had somehow created a distance that couldn't be narrowed.

Even if the world were to turn upside down, Lortel would never believe in Princess Penia.

The princess had a strong feeling about that.

"I'll be taking a break too, Claire."

She spoke to her loyal escort as she leaned her back against the barricade in a corner. Claire nodded and went on guard with a stern face.

And just like that, the tense situation in the camp had ended.

They didn't know where Lazy Lucy was, the strongest person amongst them all.

One of the most important combat forces, The Spear from Nature Ziggs, had completely left the base.

And the most realistic and rational person, The Golden Daughter Lortel, was now psychologically and completely hostile towards her.

Nevertheless, she was the only one who could manage the weight of these students.

The princess hid behind the barricade so nobody would see, and held her knees to her chest.

Either way, the atmosphere around the base was not that of taking a rest. It wasn't like a powerful spirit was going to attack them right away. As long as there was someone who kept watch, there was time to check themselves and their equipment.

In her corner, where nobody could see, Princess Penia spoke quietly.

It was something that a person of royal status should never say for the entirety of their life.

"It's hard for me, too."

Even though she was afraid that somebody might hear her by chance, she couldn't help but let the words slip from her mouth.

"Really… it's hard for me, too…"

She was a girl who had never acted like a child in her life.

Though it was sad, even saying those small words was accompanied by guilt.

The time to defeat Yennekar was approaching.

Looking up to the sky, Glasskan's summoning circle, which was dazzling in the night sky, was drastically getting brighter.

***

[ Magic Skills Details

Grade: Ordinary Magician

Specialized Field: Elements

Common Magic:

Fast Casting Level 4

Mana Sense Level 5

Fire Element Magic:

Ignite Level 10

Wind Element Magic:

Wind Blade Level 10

Spirit-type Magic:

Spiritual Resonance Level 3

Spiritual Understanding Level 3 ]

"Gasp, gasp…"

Completely exhausted, I dropped down on the ground.

It had been two hours since Phase 1 started. My proficiency for spirit-type skills rose as I captured and defeated Spirit Stigmatas and Elemental Traces around the library.

I wiped off my sweat and felt a sense of satisfaction as I looked at my skills window.

That would enable me to imbue spirit magic into my arrows. A breakthrough in terms of my combat power.

"Ahh! But seriously… This is way too hard."

I had been diligently training but there were still some dangerous moments because of the wind that kept pushing me away.

I looked around. It seemed I had already cleared all the spirits wandering around the library. All that's left were traces of my continuous use of Wind Blade, and the burnt debris laying around from using Ignite. But if I wait a bit, I knew new spirits would eventually come.

"Phew… I need to get Spiritual Resonance as close to level 10 as possible. That way, I can even sign a contract with a spirit… If I don't do it now, there'll never be a better opportunity again. So let's keep working hard. Alright!"

I couldn't waste this golden opportunity.

"Ugh… phew… not yet. I haven't reached my limit yet…"

The key to training was pushing yourself to the limit. Wasn't that a known fact to anyone who lifted even just a little bit at the gym?

This wasn't the time to be lazy. I needed to keep pushing myself to the extreme until there wasn't a single drop of strength left in my body. Surely, doing that much would bring me a significant stat change.

Oh, I saw a bunch of new spirits approaching. I got up, filled with renewed fighting spirit. This wasn't an opportunity that would come by easily. It was time to train and train again until the moment I didn't have an ounce of energy left.

"I can still do more…! I can do it…"

-x-X-x-

The phrase 'rags to riches' wasn't enough to fully explain the miracle that was Zigg's life.

The barbaric grasslands up north were a place that the empire had no rule over. It was a place where one constantly worries about their potential death every day.

Ziggs was a descendant of the nomadic people who resided in those lands.

By the time he had grown enough, he was already separated from his family. He didn't know when or why he was abandoned, or if he would ever be capable of reintroducing himself back to the company of others.

Rather than learning how to read, Ziggs learned how to cut the throat of a deer.

Rather than learning how to purchase things from stores, he learned how to procure supplies from roadside corpses. His life was closer to an animal than to a human being.

"Ziggs, you're like a wolf that walks on two feet."

Ziggs reflexively nodded his head at Elka's words the first time they met.

The reason why she said that was obvious. The first time they met, Ziggs had a filthy appearance as he dragged an elk's corpse behind him, his shaggy hair hanging down his face.

Elka was the only one who knew how different his current neat and tidy appearance was from how he was before.

But the reason that Ziggs nodded then was not just because of his shabby appearance.

Their first meeting was but a distant story now. The civilized world moved much faster than Ziggs had expected, so much so that he could no longer remember what his life in the grasslands was like, back when his every day was the same.

When Elka's archaeologist father discovered Ziggs's talent in magic. When they brought him to their mansion. The first time he had a proper meal of warm soup and bread. When he learned the rules of civilization, step by step. When he first used elemental magic to pull out an old tree in the mansion's garden. When he got admitted into Silvenia with Elka. And even the day they walked together to the entrance examination.

Even these passing memories of his life were becoming a distant past.

However, there were some memories that would come to mind whenever he looked up at the sky.

"Ziggs, you're like a wolf that walks on two feet."

He had been living in the vast grasslands. He had eaten the bodies of animals found on the side of the road and had protected himself with the magic he had awakened alone. He had fallen asleep under the moon…

He was a baby wolf that had been abandoned by the pack.

Ziggs had no choice but to reflexively nod at Elka's words.

Thinking back on it, he had lived a very lonely life.

The day he first met Elka, Zigss realized what loneliness was.

That was a very old story now.

"Gasp, gasp…"

The date had already changed. It wasn't until way past midnight when Ziggs finally arrived at the library.

Fluid Spirits and low-ranking spirits were no match for Ziggs, but they were constantly rushing towards him, causing his Vitality to wear down as he ran and used mana to defeat them at the same time.

He would've arrived much later if he fought Lortel.

In that situation, when every second and every minute mattered, he felt grateful to Princess Penia for stopping Lortel.

He would have to eventually repay the favor, but paying the price for what he did would have to wait for now.

"Gasp… Gasp… Phew…"

Contrary to what he expected, it was completely quiet around the library.

The annoying spirits that ganged up and attacked him all the way here were nowhere to be found.

However, he found traces left behind.

"This, This is…"

Analyzing the situation using traces left in the environment was not uncommon for Ziggs, who had a strong sense of survival.

There were traces of magic all around the entrance of the library. The cutting marks all over the floor and benches must have come from Wind Blade, and the burnt marks on the empty floor and walls were signs of Ignite.

Ziggs calmly looked around.

It was quiet around the library like usual. It was like nothing had happened despite the disaster that was taking place at the Student Center. The library located on a small hill was still completely in place.

The traces of fighting started at the entrance of the library all the way to the outskirts of the district. This wasn't a simple defensive battle protecting the base, but a sign showing someone had deliberately beaten all the spirits circling around the area.

There were even footprints at the exact same spot several times. They seemed to have secured the safety of the library like a guard.

Whoever it was had beaten all the spirits around the library.

But it didn't matter who it was who left these traces. Ziggs quickly rushed inside the library to find Elka. Through the large wooden doors was a lobby with an elaborate corridor extending to both sides.

And right there in the lobby was a familiar boy, laying with his back against a statue.

"Ed Rothstaylor!"

A boy that was completely exhausted and was resting. A name that made Ziggs lose all reasoning.

Ziggs ran to him like a bullet.

"Eh? What? You…"

Resting against a statue, he rose on one knee supported by an elbow.

Ed Rothstaylor didn't look quite normal. His school uniform was torn and worn out. His body was a wreck, and his Vitality had completely depleted.

A boy that is completely exhausted and resting. A name that made Ziggs lose all reasoning.

He looked like he had been fighting to the extremes. But these were things Ziggs couldn't afford to pay attention to calmly.

"Elka! Where's Elka?"

"You… What are you doing here…?"

"Tell me where Elka is first!"

Ed frowned as he looked straight at Ziggs. In any case, he wouldn't be able to communicate with Ziggs right now, as Ziggs had completely lost his mind.

"Reading Room 3."

Ziggs ran to the reading room even before Ed could finish his answer. He had to secure Elka's safety right away.

He ran like crazy toward the end of the hallway, where a door labeled Reading Room 3 came into view.

But it had an unusual entrance. There were bookcases used as a barricade and a blackout curtain was blocking it from view. Though simple, the reading room looked to be fortified.

Ziggs removed the curtains hanging from the door, opening it with such force that it broke the sliding door.

"Elka!"

Ziggs entered the room yelling her name.

And just as he hoped for, Elka was there, safely laying on a desk. She was unconscious, however.

"Elka! Are you okay? Elka!"

Ziggs took a deep breath and observed Elka's conditions.

She was breathing peacefully. Looking at her from head to toe, there was not a single scratch, and it didn't seem like she had been attacked by a spirit.

It felt as though black mud was persistently pushing down his throat.

"Haaa…!"

Ziggs collapsed into a chair, his whole body exhausted.

Elka Islam was safe.

That one fact felt like great salvation for the boy.

"Thank goodness… Really… Thank god."

He wiped his face for a while, Elka sleeping peacefully in front of him.

Five minutes passed by before Ziggs came back to his senses.

After his breathing had calmed down, and his Vitality had recovered back to some extent, his rational and logical mind began to return. Having confirmed Elka was safe, he was now able to judge the situation objectively.

Ziggs looked around the room.

The windows were completely covered by large bookshelves. A rampant spirit looking through the window wouldn't have been able to see inside, the view completely blocked.

And the blackout curtain hanging on the entrance. Since it was a doorway, it wouldn't have been a good idea to block it with a bookshelf like the windows. In a situation where you would need to run away, a bookshelf would only block your way out.

Indeed, the blackout curtains were a good replacement for that.

It was a decision that showed a lot of skill and thought. Since there weren't enough blackout curtains, the door at the back was blocked by another bookshelf, and outside it was a simple wall of defense, in case there were spirits in the hallway.

It was set up in a way that any other entrance or exit other than the door nearest to Elka would have been dangerous.

"That's right, Elka. No matter how urgent the situation is, you were always calm and made the right decisions. Of course, it's not like I didn't already know that."

It wasn't that he didn't trust Elka, rather, he was so worried he couldn't bear it.

However, the more Ziggs thought about it, the more he realized something seemed strange. The reading room was barricaded with bookshelves outside. They were so big that even adult men wouldn't have been able to lift them properly.

It was hard to believe Elka did everything by herself. She was born weak, enough to even struggle to lift a hand ax.

Then the person who did all of that…

By the process of elimination, there was only one person who could have done it.

"That guy…?"

Come to think of it, he didn't realize this at first because he wasn't in his right mind, but Ed Rothstaylor was lying in the middle of the lobby, looking completely exhausted.

Ziggs heard he was an extremely cruel and selfish person, the biggest piece of trash there was, someone who had no problem backstabbing others.

But looking at this situation right now… it was all too strange.

The traces of a battle outside, and the simple fortress around the reading room to conceal an unconscious girl. On top of that, Ed's appearance looked like he dealt with all the spirits approaching the library to protect Elka.

The endless onslaught of spirits from the Student Center until here, where a boy was holding his legs together in the lobby, looking worn.

It wasn't difficult for Ziggs to figure it all out.

"But…"

As someone who lived in the wild, it was obvious to Ziggs what the best course of action would have been in this crisis situation.

It may sound cold and heartless, but in a situation such as this Elka was nothing more than dead weight.

If you wanted to keep your own life and secure your own safety, the rational and logical way would have been to abandon Elka, or use her as bait and run away.

Humans had no choice but to feel guilty for such acts, but humans in need also had no choice but to worry about their own survival.

Ziggs thought that someone like Ed Rothstaylor would have no problem doing such things without any sense of guilt.

That was why Ziggs lost sense of all reasoning and ran all the way here.

"That guy… There's no way."

Ziggs couldn't help but repeat the words again.

Ed Rothstaylor's reputation in the academy was already rock bottom. You wouldn't be able to find anyone who approved of him. Ziggs himself had seen that despicable side of his very clearly.

There was no way a single slice of selflessness could be in such a person. That was what Ziggs thought.

There is no way that there would be even a single piece of selflessness left in such a person. That's what he had thought.

"Don't panic when you wake up. And stay right here. Everything should be over before daybreak so you should stay calm and block the entrance. And don't provoke the spirits. Always think about your own safety first and don't hastily move about."

"..."

On the other hand, this was written on the blackboard.

Judging by the crooked letters, you could tell it was written in a hurry.

Even though he was in a hurry and was most likely busy, he brought a blackboard all the way here and set it up, and then wrote this message…. It was easy to figure things out.

Ziggs was left with no choice but to sit for a while, staring off into space.

***

[ Magic Skills Details

Grade: Ordinary Magician

Specialized Field: Elements

Common Magic:

Fast Casting Level 5

Mana Sense Level 6

Fire Element Magic:

Ignite Level 12

Wind Element Magic:

Wind Blade Level 11

Spirit-type Magic:

Spirit Resonance Level 7

Spirit Understanding Level 7 ]

"Ehh, what a shame."

I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I crouched down in the lobby of the library.

My beginner magic had finally broken through the wall that was level 10 after training against the spirits til I reached my limit. Ignite had reached level 12, to the extent that I could now one-shot low-ranking spirits with its fire.

It was a good enough foundation to try and start acquiring intermediate magic. I was able to break some ground tonight.

Nevertheless, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of regret.

Spiritual Resonance and Spiritual Understanding were both at level 7. Just a little bit more…

When the sum of the level of these two skills exceeded 15, the field of spirit-type magic would become available and Spirit Contract slots would open up. Then you could form a contract with an appropriate spirit in proportion to your Intelligence stat, your amount of magic power, and your Spiritual Understanding.

My capabilities in combat and production would greatly expand if that were to happen. I would be able to apply various attributes to enchant my arrows using spirit skills. And by raising my production level, I could try and begin crafting basic magic tools with the spirits' protection.

With such a hopeful dream, I fought and trained until I was completely out of energy in my entire body. But I was ultimately blocked at the very end of the threshold.

I could no longer see any spirits wandering around the academic district. There were no new spirits coming towards the library either.

That clearly meant the Glasskan Subjugation team had already entered the Student Center, marking the start of Phase 2. The main stage for the story would now be the Student Center, where Yennekar was summoning Glasskan.

"This is too cruel. Even though I caught so many…"

The two spirit-type skills had been stuck at level 7 for a while. I kept hoping for one more level, just one more! With that in mind, I defeated and depleted all of my magic until my whole body was completely exhausted. But the experience points I needed at that level had already increased significantly, so both their levels had barely risen.

"I guess this is it… since I've only been catching Fluid Spirits and low-ranking spirits."

If I were to catch a mid-ranking spirit instead, I could probably gain a lot of experience points all at once, and maybe even open up a Spirit Contract slot.

But I would need to go to the Student Center to do that, and I would have to push past all the low-ranking spirits just to get there. It might be possible now with how much their numbers have dwindled since Phase 2 started, but my body was in too bad a shape to even attempt it.

And not only that, but all the important characters of the main story would be there.

And nothing good would come out of hanging around a place where the all-star cast of the first-years was gathered.

I had no choice but to just wait for the next chance. Although disappointed, I called it quits and promised myself to do it another time.

Main story.

After ignoring it for a while, a question came to mind the minute it came up again.

"What is Ziggs doing here?"

I let him in since he was in a hurry, but now that I thought about it, Ziggs was a key member of the subjugation team.

An ominous feeling dawned on me. At that moment, I realized I needed to reorganize this whole situation.

Stomp. Stomp.

I heard footsteps coming from Reading Room 3.

Sure enough, I looked and Ziggs was slowly making his way down the lobby with Elka on his back.

He stopped right in front of me and slowly asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"..."

I couldn't read any emotion in his voice. It must have been hard for him to completely ignore me when he saw I was resting and wounded.

"I asked what are you doing here."

This was a question I didn't need to lie to answer.

"…training."

"Ha!"

Ziggs laughed for a bit.

"Haha! That's quite some training."

I didn't expect him to laugh. Ziggs continued to talk in a less serious voice than I had expected.

"This is a crisis situation. We don't know what will happen next. There's a barrier all across the sky and spirits won't stop attacking us… and yet you were here training all by yourself? When you should be worrying about your life?"

And with that, Ziggs stopped smiling.

"No matter how naive a person is, who would believe that?"

"..."

"Okay, I feel like I'm beginning to understand you a bit as a human being. You're this kind of person in the first place, anyway."

A stretch of silence engulfed us.

Ziggs looked at me with a serious look on his face, and then after a while, he closed his eyes and got lost in his own thoughts.

After standing still for a long time, what Ziggs did next was completely unexpected.

With Elka still on his back, Ziggs bowed his head and bent all the way to his waist.

"I really owe you a great favor, Ed."

Ziggs suddenly speaking to him with respect was surprising enough, but the unexpected action made it even more difficult to figure out what would happen next.

"I will definitely repay this debt when the opportunity arises."

It was at this moment that I finally figured out what was going on. That girl Elka on Ziggs' back was definitely… his lover, or would be his lover, someone who had been with him since their childhood.

I couldn't help but think about it. Ziggs' past was not given much importance in the game. The name Elka was only mentioned in a supplementary book, so it was an unknown name for even the most dedicated of fans.

"Then hurry and go back to the Student Center."

The words came out on their own.

Ziggs, who still has his head down, looked as if he had been stabbed in the lungs.

"Didn't you abandon the Student Center and run all the way here to save Elka?"

Fortunately, he didn't ask me how I knew all of that. Ziggs was in shock and didn't have time to argue about such things.

"I'm not going to scold you for making such a selfish decision. But now that you've confirmed Elka is safe, you should go and hurry up and do what you have to do."

There was no need for me to say much.

Ziggs was one of the most talented first-year students in Silvenia. Ziggs participation would determine the victory or defeat of the subjugation force. There was no need to worry if the main story was progressing the way it should, because if Ziggs was here right now, then the subjugation force itself won't get established in the first place.

They might be able to go past Phase 2, but Phase 3 with the high-ranking fire spirit Takan was a different matter.

The only way to break through Takan was with Ziggs.

The main character Taylee would knock off some of Takan's scales, and then cut his tail off using the Elemental Slash skill. Then Ziggs, who had excellent battle sense and agility, would climb on top of Takan's body and directly inflict magic damage on its torn flesh.

Takan would scream in pain from this. Meanwhile, Ziggs would make a hole in its neck, and Taylee would jump down from the ceiling to cut it off again.

In order for this battle to happen, Ziggs needed to be there.

"Go and give Taylee a hand. Just do whatever he wants. Some way or another, everything will work out just fine."

"Taylee… Do you mean Taylee McLaure?"

"That's right. That guy who barely escapes failing every single day."

Although, Taylee shouldn't be that weak nowadays, given that it's already the Act 1 finale. I'm sure he'd been training to increase his stats. Plus, he had already gone through various events at this point. He must have already gotten some sort of special skill or abilities.

If he had been fostering his skills with optimal efficiency and not wasting an inch, he should be able to use intermediate magic. Although, I didn't think he would've gotten that far by now.

I was sure Taylee's efforts in raising the level of his skills were not up to my satisfaction. But he should still be trying his best… This episode was when he would receive a swordmaster skill, which meant that he would be able to take care of things by himself soon enough.

Ziggs made a weird face.

"Ed, don't you hate Taylee?"

Shit!

Since Ziggs saw the incident at the entrance exam, he would've definitely felt something was off from my words.

"This isn't the time to be arguing about what's right and wrong."

I waved my hand, dismissing the topic away.

Either way, he was still an important character in the main story, so I didn't need to give him more information, nor should I get too close.

"And I don't see why people value Taylee so highly… I never had the chance to talk with him properly yet…"

"It's not over-evaluating him. A particular example would be the high-ranking fire spirit Takan. You won't be able to deal damage to it unless Taylee uses Elemental Slash. It's not about the destructive power, it's about the compatibility of the skills in a given situation."

Since it had already come to this, giving this much of a tip should be fine.

"Listen carefully. Don't go trying to break through Takan's scales with magic. Wait until Taylee cuts through the scales with his Elemental Slash. I don't think there is anyone on the subjugation force with enough pure firepower to break through Takan's scales. So don't go around wasting your magic power trying to. Stay calm and wait for the right moment."

The key to this battle was to attack the part of Takan's scale that had been exposed by Elemental Slash.

I didn't really want to give too much away, but I figured I might as well tell him this for insurance. The moment Ziggs appeared at the library, the original timeline had already been messed up anyway. I thought it was only reasonable to take some backup measures such as this. Just in case.

"…I'll keep that in mind."

Ziggs seemed like he still had a lot of things to stay, but he held them in and merely accepted everything I had said.

It seemed he may have realized it too. That the summoning circle for Glasskan in the sky kept getting darker and darker. We didn't have much time left.

"There is a temporary base that the first-year students had built in the Student Square. I'll escort you there."

"Forget it. Go by yourself. There's not much time left, so hurry up and get moving. I'm going to just rest here."

"Ed, you never know when the spirits might come over here again."

Phase 1 had already ended. The library should be safe from this point onwards. But Ziggs didn't know that and was worried for me.

"It's fine, just go. I'll figure this out."

"..."

"The most important thing right now is for you to get back to the Student Center. You know that too."

Even though he already knew that, Ziggs had already left everything behind just to come here. My words seemed to have hit a sore spot as a shadow passed over Ziggs's face.

"Whether you may be feeling guilt or shame, worry about that after all of this, okay?"

With that, I was able to clearly deliver my message to Ziggs.

Ziggs closed his eyes for a second to weigh in the pros and cons before nodding his with a stern expression. He fixed Elka on his back when he very clearly said.

"Thank you for the advice."

And just like that, Ziggs headed towards the entrance of the library.

I let out a sigh as I leaned my back against the statue, watching Ziggs walk away.

Ugh, what a headache.

Anyways, this should be the end of that. As long as Ziggs returned back to the Student Center before Phase 3, in one way or another, things should work out fine…

"Hold on a second…"

All of a sudden, I thought of something that made me feel a weird sense of anxiety enveloping my chest.

A weird echoing of words was going through my head as I stared at Zigg's back as he walked away.

I remembered the countless times I played 'Silvenia's Failed Swordsmaster'. I understood the basics, did my best to control the variables, and made sure that there were no harmful influences that would affect the main story.

And yet… I still kept feeling the strange claw of anxiety in my chest. I had no idea where it could be from.

No, if I really thought about it. It was…

"And I don't see why people value Taylee so highly… I never had the chance to talk with him properly yet…"

It was because of something Ziggs said.

From what I remembered, Ziggs was a supportive character that recognized and helped the main character Taylee. Whether it was a crisis or whenever deemed necessary, Ziggs would work together with Taylee, thus creating a closer bond between them.

To put it simply, he was a character designated to be the main character's friend. A 'reliable colleague' or a 'friend'.

So it was strange he didn't have much appreciation for Taylee. Wasn't Act 1 already about to end? Maybe, there wasn't enough time for them to build a proper bond just yet.

But even then, Ziggs was talking about Taylee as if he had never even met him before… that was definitely strange.

I went through my memory and wracked my brain for when Taylee and Ziggs became friends for the first time. It was…

Act 1, Chapter 9: End of Semester Evaluation.

It was the first time Ziggs and Taylee fought each other in a duel. The story followed their battle and how Ziggs started to recognize Taylee, the boy continuing to grow each and every moment of the battle.

But after thinking that far, all kinds of possibilities unfolded in my head.

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

"Hey, Ziggs."

"Huh?"

I called out to him as he made his way out.

"I changed my mind. I should go to the Student Center, too."

It was a place where all the main characters would be gathering. There was no reason for me to go, originally.

But unfortunately… everything had just collapsed.

The finale of Act 1, Glasskan's Subjugation, was currently underway.

However, I didn't know why, but the finale happened last night instead of at the end of the semester. It had moved a whole month forward.

There was no way to know why Yennekar's actions had been accelerated so soon, or what type of variables came into play here. I wasn't sure if we would ever find out in the future, either. But right now, every move Yennekar Palerover would make was like an empty piece of the puzzle.

But there was one fact that I became certain of.

Because Glasskan's Subjugation happened earlier than scheduled, 'Act 1, Chapter 9: End of Semester Evaluation' hadn't happened yet.

And what did that mean?

A phrase from a strategy guide I read a long time suddenly came to mind.

■ 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.

At this point in time, when Act 1 Chapter 9 still hadn't happened, Taylee didn't have Elemental Slash just yet…

But what this meant was that right now, Taylee couldn't beat Takan.

Needless to say, it meant the collapse of all the major premises of the story.