A long day.
After the entrance exam concluded, a meeting was held at Grandia Academy. The faculty members had all gathered at a round table.
"Everyone, great work."
""Great work!""
The entrance exam had proceeded for the past fifteen days. Finally, the schedule was finished, and the turn to settle accounts had come.
"This cohort has especially many noticeable talents."
"Indeed. Regardless of the category, I see several children we can look forward to."
The faculty members each manipulated the crystal balls held in their hands. Beyond the screen, the students' measurement results were densely contained. Just clicking a few times, dozens of profiles flipped past.
"Lanne Kihano. As expected, she passed easily. All ranks are B or above."
"The eldest daughter of the Count Kihano family. Didn't she make quite a name for herself before?"
"That is right. They say her talent as a knight is outstanding..."
This cohort had especially many promising rookies. Several names being mentioned.
"The top freshman is... as expected, the ducal daughter of Glacia."
"Overwhelming. Should I say she was practically already a complete mage?"
"In sorcery and divine power too, talents worthy of being called the best..."
The faculty members scanned the records with eyes filled with anticipation. Class A. Class B. Class C. Class D. And until reaching the last, the lowest, Class E.
Even while sharing heated discussions, the faculty members soon gave their attention to the last profile.
"Viktor..."
Viktor. The figure admitted as the joint last place among this cohort. It was a boy covering his face with a strange mask. Towards the screen, he was showing a humorous V-sign.
"Last place... a student who is the last even among Class E."
"He received Rank E in all sectors except theory."
"Fascinating. How did a guy like this enroll?"
"They say he got a perfect score in the practical, but is this a story that is sensibly possible?"
The faculty members each harbored doubts. They check the recorded video from the practical exam.
[Assistant instructor?]
[Are you alright? There is still one time left.]
Bugs are not recorded. Thus, even in the recorded screen, no particular effects or hallucinations could be confirmed.
What the faculty members saw were only shadows popping out here and there as if blinking. The eyes of those who were lukewarm sink seriously.
"What is... this?"
A professor mutters inadvertently. Everyone had a similar impression.
"It's ominous."
"Should I call it killing intent..."
Faculty members all furrowing their brows. A bizarre chill sweeps past the nape of their necks.
Smiling mask. Wide. Smiling mask. The air is sharp as if it would cut.
"A guy like this is in last place...?"
The continent's best educational institution, Grandia Academy. Matching such prestige, the level of the faculty members holding the teaching staff was also high. Sword, magic, sorcery... those in charge of the front lines in each field.
"The profile is also strange. Was there manipulation involved?"
"Stamina, Strength, Agility... they are all correct as Rank E?"
"He overwhelmed an assistant instructor with such stats?"
The eyes of such professors narrowed. Suspicion.
"This is last place? Just looking at the video, I would believe it if you said Class A?"
"It took exactly 1 minute 27 seconds to clear the practical with a perfect score."
"What was the record of the top student this time?"
"Serilla Glacia. It was 3 minutes 12 seconds."
"It means he was twice as fast as the top student..."
Clown mask. Whenever eyes met beyond the screen, it felt as if goosebumps rose riding the heart.
Murderous intent wasn't showing enough to call it killing intent. The stats were too meager to call it intimidation. If one had to point it out and define it...
"It's an unpleasant atmosphere."
Unpleasantness. No, a sensation more heterogeneous than that, scratching one side of the heart. The atmosphere the boy exuded was that goosebump-inducing. It seemed as if even a white blank paper would be dyed pitch black if placed next to him.
"It does seem... he handles a special power."
"No matter how I look at it, it is not a normal power. Magic power, divine power, sorcery... I can't even feel a trace of those."
"This smells a bit fishy. Isn't he a spy? Wasn't he sent from the cultist bastards' side?"
"Demonic energy was not detected. If there was even a little trace like that, we would have noticed from the moment he set foot in the academy. Besides, the approach method is too sloppy for a spy..."
"How can you be certain? We must always keep all possibilities open..."
The temperature of the conversation drops rapidly. Professors eventually engaging in an argument.
"It is not good to doubt easily! Isn't that child also a student we must embrace!"
"Who said to doubt blindly? It's suspicious. Then ignoring it when there are circumstances is also..."
"More than anything else, the performance shown in the practical. Unbelievable for those stats..."
"Certainly regarding that part, explanation is neede..."
The buzzing meeting hall. At that moment, an old man opens his mouth.
"Stop."
""...""
At that single word, the professors become silent like a lie. The old man at the head seat was wearing a wrinkled smile. That alone was enough to silence the surroundings. The faculty members bow their heads and listen to the old voice.
"We are Grandia Academy."
In the past, a figure called the Cultist Slaughterer. The head leading the Grandia teaching staff. Headmaster (學長).
"We do not place discrimination in learning."
Valter Droit. The old man expresses his opinion with a good-natured smile. Just with that, the professors could not make any more sounds.
"Student Viktor has the qualification. There is no problem with enrolling."
""...""
"Of course... since there are ominous parts, safety devices would be needed."
Fingers tapping the desk. As if hearing that signal, a shadow standing behind the old man steps forward.
"I will assign Professor Javert as the homeroom teacher for Class E."
"Are you speaking of... Chief Investigator Javert?"
"She is a figure more certain than anyone for this kind of problem."
Chief Investigator Javert. A professor specializing in teaching cultist response methods. A woman whose count of killed black mages alone reached three digits.
"Professor Javert."
"Yes, Headmaster."
"I will assign you as the homeroom teacher for Class E starting this semester."
"Yes."
Dry answer. Air and impression sharp enough to cut, beyond cold. The woman seemed born molded from steel. Red hair flows down.
"I ask for the surveillance of Student Viktor. If by any chance he is connected to cultists, or you discover suspicious traces..."
"I will handle it at my discretion."
"I ask of you."
Surveillance, investigation, disposal. At the direct mention, the atmosphere of the meeting hall dies heavily. Still, the ominous mask stands beyond the crystal ball. Distrust and wariness shimmered in the eyes of the faculty members.
Meanwhile. Whether knowing or not knowing of such a crisis of his own. The person in question was walking while tilting his head.
"Ah~ sucked honey sweetly with bugs!" (TL Note: 'Sucking honey' is a Korean slang for having an easy time / getting easy benefits.)
While making carefree sounds.
After finishing the entrance exam, I was walking along a gloomy alleyway. Relaxed satisfaction melts into the steps I take.
'It was perfect.'
I recall the time of the practical exam. It was the result of diligently getting the feel for the past month after possession. Among the bugs used as steps, this is a guy counted as quite high difficulty. If the timing is off even a little, it is prone to failure.
'Step twice with the left foot, once with the right foot, turn around largely...'
Crackle-. When I stepped matching the order, vision blinking and flashing. I had teleported about 5 meters. I continue to stack chaotic movements.
Crackle-. This time, a step popping out even further. It was a bug utilizing command twisting. Although difficult, it is a bug useful anywhere once learned.
'Thanks to that, the practical is a perfect score.'
If there is just one flaw, is it that motion sickness is severe? If I use it a few times in a row, the world spins.
'Anyway, admission is a success, and...'
I think I will probably be organized as the bottom of Class E. Well... honestly, there were ways to enter the top-ranking classes using exploits. Stealing a recommendation letter with a bug, or manipulating the measurement results.
'However.'
There was a reason for enrolling into Class E purposely. It means it was a buildup intended from the start.
'Because a big incident breaks out there too.'
Although it is a story quite later, this side was also a share I had to handle. I cross the pitch-black alley while rolling miscellaneous thoughts. The sky that had become dark in the meantime.
'Semester starts in a week.'
Until then, I had to wait at a nearby lodging.
'Then... shall I take care of some business in the meantime.'
There was a person I had to meet.
Clomp, clomp-. Before I knew it, my steps had reached a corner of the city. A place with few signs of people. The night trembles following the breath.
"Oh, it's here."
Turning the fifth alley, I walk exactly 3.5 meters. Simultaneously, a wall entering my vision. A stone slightly stuck underneath it.
I lie flat on the stone without hesitation. Then I start rubbing my body against it.
Thud, thud-thud-.
'Is it because I'm getting poked by the stone, it hurts a bit...'
However, I endure it and rub my body. If someone else saw, I would truly be a genius of wild floor-humping.
There was a reason for doing this kind of idiotic act.
'This, when will it go through...!'
Because this place is a point where a bug occurs. I was serious.
'Map Clip Bug.'
If you rub your body at a specific point, a bug where the character pierces through the wall and passes. I wondered if it would work in reality too, but it operated with a similar concept to teleportation. A format where you are moved if you rub your body at the point. I already went through a few tests too.
'If I pierce this floor, I can go to the destination at once...!'
I am also a member of society who has honor. (While floor-humping in a late-night alley.)
I merely endured a bit of insult and shame for the greater cause. About 3 minutes since I started mating with the floor like that? I felt a sensation as if my body was sliding.
Lurch-!
"Whoa!"
Splat-. Following that, a body sprawling on the damp floor. It seems the bug finally worked.
'Almost went there.' (TL Note: "Went there" implies dying or passing out.)
The surrounding scenery had changed quite a bit. Musty stench stabs the nose and enters. Underground sewer. And a secluded scenery far removed from the Academy at that.
I raise my body.
"Hmm."
Familiar view. It was a background I saw several times while playing the original work. It seems I arrived properly. Is it reacting to a nearby event? A reaction rings from the status window side too.
Ding-!
[Story 'Carmilla's Night' in progress.]
[Would you like to accept the Main Quest?]
I click Yes without hesitation. Immediately after, the status window flipping chwaruruk and unfolding like book pages.
[Main Quest]
-Rescue the last princess of the Vampire Dynasty, 'Carmilla'.
-Time remaining until Carmilla is murdered: 1 hour 36 minutes
The last Vampire, Carmilla. A supporting character who is murdered in the early part of the story if the player does not save her.
It was also the reason I took the trouble to visit this old sewer. Because she was a figure I absolutely had to recruit.
"Then... shall we go save the Princess."
Screams heard beyond the darkness, and signs of people. I advanced while fluttering my pitch-black robe. Towards a certain girl who would be waiting for a savior.