The Blind Archer's Secret
Luden stood in a daze after the class placement exam ended. He had never imagined that the monster he had just fought was an illusion.
“That concludes today’s lesson. Your assigned classes will be decided by the end of this weekend, so please select two liberal arts courses before the next class.”
With those words, Dale left the lecture hall. Immediately after, the students began rushing out in a hurry.
Luden quietly shifted his gaze toward Baran.
‘That guy was the only one who got a perfect score?’
Most students had scored at most fifty points. Of course, those who had charged at the monster—including her—had received higher scores. Even so, no one had reached one hundred. In fact, none of them had even received feedback.
But Baran hadn’t just gotten feedback; he had been lavishly praised by Dale.
‘How on earth did he realize it was an illusion?’
Curiosity stirred within Luden, and she approached him. Then, carefully, she asked her question.
“Um… may I ask you something?”
“Pardon?”
For a split second, he flinched in surprise.
‘Why is he so startled?’
Harboring that brief doubt, she opened her mouth again.
“How did you know it was an illusion?”
“Ah, you mean the class placement exam?”
“Yes.”
When she nodded, Baran stroked his chin. Luden rolled her eyes at the sharp gazes she felt from all around. The students who had attacked the lycanthrope earlier were now staring at Baran with eyes full of curiosity. It seemed they were just as eager to know.
“In my case, as you can see, I cannot see.”
“Ah… right.”
Luden nodded awkwardly, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Baran offered a faint smile as if to say it was fine.
“There’s no need to feel uncomfortable. I have been this way since birth.”
“I… see.”
“Anyway, to explain—I may have poor eyesight, but my other senses are exceptionally developed.”
“Other senses?”
“Yes. Specifically, my hearing and my sense of energy, I suppose those two are the most relevant.”
“Oh…”
“There are things I can see that none of you can.”
“Things we can’t see?”
When she tilted her head in confusion, Baran answered.
“Yes. I can see all of your mana.”
“?!”
In that instant, Luden and the supporting cast listening nearby widened their eyes. They had never dreamed that someone capable of seeing mana existed.
“Of course, it’s only faint. It’s nothing that impressive. Regardless, while I was digressing—the lycanthrope’s mana was visible to me. That’s how I realized it was an illusion magic.”
“Ah.”
It was true. Ordinary monsters usually carried demonic energy rather than mana. From his perspective, it made perfect sense that recognizing the lycanthrope as illusion magic wouldn’t have taken long.
While she was silently coming to that understanding, Baran continued.
“I discovered a line of mana connecting the lycanthrope to something behind the blackboard. Then I destroyed it with a single shot. Is that explanation sufficient?”
“Huh? Y-yes.”
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
With that, Baran left the lecture hall. Luden and the rest of the supporting cast stared blankly at his retreating figure.
The protagonist of the game has taken an interest in you.
As a reward, 1,000 points have been granted.
The moment the reward message appeared in Baran’s field of vision, he looked at the text floating before his eyes and muttered inwardly.
‘Looks like staying quiet for a while is out of the question.’
At the same time, right after the class placement exam ended, all the professors gathered in the conference room. A heavy silence filled the space.
“……”
“……”
Amid the quiet, Dale was the first to speak, flashing a sly grin.
“So, how were the results for everyone?”
“Sigh… as expected, most of the students tried to run away.”
Eldin stroked his rough beard and let out a deep sigh.
Dale looked around at the other professors and asked again.
“What about the rest of you?”
“Same here. Most of them tried to flee.”
“Hmm. And you, Professor Dale?”
A female elf with silver hair and an expressionless face—Ilya—looked at him and asked in return.
Dale spread both arms wide as if he had been waiting for the question. Then, with exaggerated flair, he declared,
“Well~ in all my years, I never thought I’d see a freshman break through illusion magic.”
“What?”
“He broke it?”
At Dale’s words, every professor’s eyes widened. None of them had imagined a new student would appear who could shatter illusion magic instead of fighting the monster.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. Have you ever seen me lie?”
“You joke a lot, but you’ve never lied, that’s true.”
Sasha nodded as she spoke.
Dale scratched the back of his head and laughed slyly.
“Ahahaha. Saying it like that hurts my feelings, you know.”
“That was the point.”
“More importantly, who broke it? Was it the young lady from the Patrick family?”
“No, wouldn’t it be the heir of the Gloucester family?”
“Come on, what about Lillia, the daughter of the Eldorado Merchant Guild?”
“Why are you leaving out the young lady from the Luden family?”
Famous names poured out of the professors’ mouths one after another. Dale smiled as he watched them. None of the names they mentioned was Baran.
“So who was it? The one who cleared the class placement exam?”
“Yes. It was this person right here.”
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Dale showed them Baran’s admission application. The next moment, the professors tilted their heads at the name written on it.
“This student… isn’t he that blind one?”
“Professor Dale, don’t you think this joke has gone too far?”
“It doesn’t seem appropriate to joke about a blind student, Professor Dale.”
“Yes, I knew you would all say that. Just in case, I installed a recording crystal in the lecture hall. Please take a look.”
Dale took out the recording crystal and infused it with mana. A mana screen appeared from the crystal. And shortly after—
“Hoh, a student like that has been hiding all this time?”
“That sniping skill is unbelievable for a blind person.”
“I’ve never heard that name before…”
The professors clicked their tongues in awe as they watched the footage. Their shock was understandable. The sniping Baran had displayed was not some ordinary trick that just any archer could pull off. What archer could twist the trajectory of an attack with a single shot? And the fact that a blind man—not even an ordinary person—had shown such skill left them no choice but to be astonished.
“Now do you believe me?”
“Yes. Still, it’s incredible. It’s surprising enough that a blind man can use a bow, but to think he could even see through illusion magic… I never would have imagined it.”
“Right? Honestly, even I was so shocked my eyes nearly popped open. Hahahahaha.”
Dale spoke with a strangely smiling face. The professors, who couldn’t picture Dale opening his eyes wide, ignored his words and moved on to the main topic.
“More importantly, let’s decide on the class assignments now. First, this student Baran should…”
“Obviously Class A. And may I be the professor in charge of Class A?”
Dale spoke in a resolute voice he had never shown before. The professors swallowed dryly. The man who always wore a foolish smile suddenly looked completely different when he turned serious.
“Yes, please do so.”
“Then it’s decided—Professor Dale will be in charge of Class A this time.”
It was the moment Dale, whom Baran had desperately wanted to avoid getting involved with, became the professor in charge of Class A.
After arriving at the dormitory, I immediately began organizing my belongings. Well, calling it organizing was a stretch—I simply hung my clothes on the hangers. There wasn’t really anything else to tidy up.
‘Everything I need is already here anyway.’
I slowly scanned the room, which was on the level of a studio apartment.
‘How is the academy dormitory nicer than my own house?’
The academy studio was better than anything from the modern world or from Baran’s original home. It gave me a strange sense of reality shock, but good things were good things.
‘More importantly, I should check my status window.’
Deciding to think positively, I opened the status window without hesitation.
Everything had changed completely in just one day. My stats had each gone up by one just from clearing a single quest. On top of that, I now had points that hadn’t existed before.
‘With this, I can buy things from the cash shop too.’
Part of me wanted to use them right away, but it seemed better to hold off for now. Using them only when absolutely necessary to prepare for unexpected variables was the smartest move. Besides, I would need them when purchasing materials for my first class advancement.
‘More importantly, what should I do now?’
I had planned to live as a background character, but I had stood out far too much. So much so that the protagonist had approached me and spoken to me right after class ended.
‘The rumors are definitely going to spread…’
I groaned. I’d think about it later. No matter what, the fact that I needed to become stronger remained unchanged. Worrying about it now wouldn’t change anything. It would be more helpful to spend this time training instead.
‘There’s no point in worrying about it at this stage.’
I stood up and headed toward the training room. A short while later—
‘As expected, it’s completely empty since it’s the first day.’
When I arrived at my destination, I looked around. Even though I had seen it several times in the game, it once again struck me how little sense of urgency the people of this world had.
‘Soldiers are fighting desperately on the front lines, yet the students are just sitting around playing.’
Well, that was something the protagonist would take care of anyway. It wasn’t my concern. All I needed to do was secretly eliminate any unexpected variables.
Just as I was about to enter a private training room—
-Whoosh!
A red mana appeared in my vision. Wondering what it was, I turned my head and saw Sherry von Patrick. As expected of the protagonist’s rival, she was training diligently.
‘She becomes a mid-boss in the first main episode, though.’
That had nothing to do with me. Luden, our protagonist, would take care of it anyway.
After watching her for a moment—
‘Hm?’
Suddenly, Sherry stopped her magic and turned her gaze in my direction.
Ah, right. She didn’t like men staring at her. According to the setting, noblemen had been pestering her constantly. That was why she hated it when men looked at her. Most of the men who approached her did so because of her appearance or status.
‘If you look closely, she actually looks like a beautiful girl, but to me…’
Before any misunderstanding could arise, I quickly slipped into a private training room. Unaware that Sherry was staring intensely at me from afar.