Exiled from the Hero Party (3)

Holy shit.

Unlimited Authority Formation.

Even I — a top-ranked veteran who had completely mastered the original game — had never seen an Authority like this.

And above all else — this broken, game-breaking Authority was my own 2nd Awakening.

By all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rights, I should have been jumping for joy. That was my personality. But my mood was surprisingly calm.

Wait. Something's off.

Just moments ago, a panic attack had left me gasping for air. Merely thinking of those three — merely remembering the exile — had been enough to set it off again.

Why am I accepting this so easily?

I had denied the panic attacks out of sheer embarrassment, forcing myself to act tough. But now, even that felt unnecessary.

What's going on? Was I always this composed?

And then it hit me. I recalled the warning notification from just earlier.

It said I'd come to possess a special Title, didn't it?

Sure enough, the System's Title slot had activated. Titles were names earned in the original game through a character's special actions — separate from Authorities, with effects so powerful they were a critical game element. Naturally, extras never had Titles. But things were different now.

I need to check this right away.

What I found left me stunned all over again.

Cold Flame Avenger. And Unknown?

Both Titles had absurdly overpowered effects.

Cold Flame Avenger. That one was tied to the Side of the three who had exiled me. A Side was a faction a character belonged to across the original game's various content tracks. For now, all three were confirmed to become cadets at Theia Academy, so they fundamentally belonged to the Academy Side.

If I enroll at Theia Academy, that means double resources on every quest.

It would apply to any other Side they belonged to as well. In short, getting involved with those three was a permanent double-resource event.

And the Hidden Title "Unknown" was just as broken.

"Destined to reign at the apex of the Underworld, huh?"

An unidentified villain — Unknown. The description hardly suited a powerless extra like me, but reading carefully, I could see why I'd been given this Title.

I was an extra, yes. But the moment I succeeded at my 1st Awakening, I had recovered the memories of my past life. Realizing I was a transmigrator had activated the current System, and a tutorial had suddenly begun. Back then, instead of my worthless Authority, I had been able to use a broken, top-tier Authority from the original game.

In the Underworld, that tutorial buff had let me take down a fairly well-known named villain almost by accident.

A named villain those three couldn't have handled even now.

Of course, it was a tutorial — a one-time buff. As a former top-ranked player, I had hoped for some kind of transmigration perk in this reality. But the only Authority I gained afterward was Mirror Summon. Realizing I was stuck as an extra, all I could do was curse more.

Still… that record from back then must have been recognized.

In the original game, the tutorial and actual gameplay were completely separate. But Hidden meant Hidden — maybe this really was a transmigration perk.

Either way, the Underworld Side was major content in the original. The rewards were huge, but the difficulty was higher than the Academy Side. With this Title, though, everything changed. Increased Attack Power in the Underworld Side, plus a debuff on enemies. And unlike skills, Titles had no activation conditions or cooldowns.

Between the two Titles, my Mental Strength had jumped by a full sixty points in an instant. Whether Academy, Underworld, or any other content Side down the line — Mental Strength had always been one of the hardest stats to manage in the original. With mine now past ninety, my mental state wouldn't waver no matter the situation.

Just like how my panic disorder had completely vanished moments ago.

In that case, there's something I need to do right now.

The System had warned me: the fate unlocked through these Titles could not be defied. That meant I had to pass the retest at Theia Awakener High School — the original story's starting point.

I checked the retest schedule on my phone. One week away.

The next day, I waited for the high school staff to arrive at work.

Just yesterday, I had awakened a new Authority — the Throne of the Shadow Mirror. A Hidden Authority with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the broken skill of infinite Authority generation. Naturally, I had tested it immediately in the dorm.

I needed to check the range of conditions for Authority generation. I tried applying it to the smartphone in my hand. Phone glass was mirror-like enough — maybe it would work.

Just as I'd hoped, the Authority applied. But I was a little disappointed.

That was it? The generated Authority was basically the same as my 1st Awakening Authority — a peacefully glowing mirror, nothing more. It was even unranked.

A skill like this is just a waste of mana.

Everything else around me was the same. Any object with a mirror-like reflective surface could generate an Authority, but the grade was always just one star. I didn't panic, though. With better items, I was sure I could get better Authorities.

The original was a mobile game. As an RPG, it had countless items — and rarities to match. My dorm room was full of things you could find anywhere. The occasional decent item I'd gotten, I couldn't use myself anyway, so I'd poured everything into club activities — into Aegis.

If I'd known I was going to get exiled, I would have kept a little for myself.

Those three seemed to think I'd embezzled Aegis's public funds. The opposite was true. I had poured even my own share of the rewards into Aegis activities. That alone should have been enough to make my rage boil over — but my sharply elevated Mental Strength, combined with the Title Cold Flame Avenger, kept my head ice-cold.

I will strip all three of them of every last scrap of renown.

What I needed to do was build higher renown than them on their own Side. That came first. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As a veteran of the original, I knew exactly how to acquire high-rarity items.

And there's a good item I can get right now.

Only a week left until the retest. For the practical exam — which meant hunting monsters myself — I needed a usable Authority and skills.

This retest matters. More than just getting into the academy!

The main story of the original began with the Theia High School retest. The first episode of the Academy Side. Pass that retest, and rewards were guaranteed. Double System resources thanks to the Title — and the original game always gave bonus rewards for clearing a quest in first place. That rule applied to this reality as well.

The retest medal. That might register as a mirror.

I had a Hidden Authority now, but as an Awakener, my stats and skills were still pathetic. Meanwhile, the three who exiled me were top-tier even by Academy standards. To catch up, I needed to exploit Theia Academy — the original's primary character-training ground — for everything it was worth.

"Alright. Time to head out."

I set off for my destination. I should have collected it yesterday, but I'd gone straight back to the dorm and never picked up my graduation commemorative gift. Fortunately, a message had come through with a separate pickup location.

I entered the Holy Knight Department building at Theia Awakener High School.

No one else around.

Naturally — graduation had ended yesterday, and the lower years were still on break. I collected the commemorative gift from the Holy Knight Department office. Fortunately, the staff member was a curt man who checked my student ID and handed over the item without a word.

This might just work.

The graduation gift had considerable weight. Fitting for a Holy Knight Department memento, it was a longsword polished to such a brilliant sheen that my face reflected clearly in the blade. The Theia High School emblem and graduating class number were engraved on the blade.

My hunch had been right. The System confirmed the item's grade as Rare. Back in the dorm, I wasted no time activating the Throne of Mirrors.

Light and darkness. Two mirrors materialized, facing each other with the Holy Knight Sword between them. Moments later, a new Authority activated in the System.

Meanwhile, a little over a month had passed since the incident in the clubroom.

The hero-activity club Aegis. An Yumin, Song Sia, and Ha Yeeun of Aegis had left their clubroom at Theia High School. They had already moved into a new club office at Theia Academy a full week ago.

As a group well-known to the public, Aegis received special treatment — though Song Sia being the daughter of a major corporate guild certainly played a large part. They could freely use Theia Academy facilities despite not even having enrolled yet. Beyond that, their club activities themselves had been early-promoted to official hero work through the Hunter Licenses formally issued upon high school graduation.

But inside the new club office, An Yumin's bewildered voice rang out.