The Key to the Ruins of the Beginning

The man who had groped every inch of my body in the most obscene way possible. Several weeks had passed since that final exam ended. And then, right in the open, Luden and I were ambushed in the park.

Normally, people would have noticed and stuck around. After all, Grillish had blatantly used demonic energy. But perhaps it was because of his Authority? Unfortunately, not a single person caught on.

'Well, when you consider his ability to create real illusions…'

Thinking about it now, it was only natural we weren't discovered. The ambush had only happened a short time ago. At most, ten to fifteen minutes had passed. Plus, the area had been almost empty anyway.

After that, nothing particularly major happened. Though if I had to point out one small change…

'Ugh. Why the hell did I say something like that?'

Things had gotten a bit awkward with Luden. How should I describe it? If we used to talk comfortably before, now it felt like we were both hyper-aware of each other, like we were in the middle of a budding romance. She used to be the easiest person to be around among the female group, but now even Luden made me conscious.

Whenever we ran into each other, we suddenly had nothing to say. It was strange.

“Huu…”

Anyway, that was that. There was no need to see her or the others for a while anyway. As of today, Edin Academy had officially begun its break. Most students returned to their hometowns during this time. And that included the female members of the group. So I probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wouldn't be seeing Luden for quite some time.

'It's been a while since I've been alone. Feels kind of awkward.'

With that thought, I quietly lay down on the bed. Soon after, a status window floated up in the air before me.

A completely different status window from before. Thanks to this recent growth, Mana Application had leveled up. On top of that, both High-Speed Movement and Divine Archer had grown as well.

'If you only look at the level, I still seem pretty weak.'

In truth, I was far stronger than my level suggested. It was partly due to my traits, but my stats were absurdly high compared to my level. 'Well, the broken class helps too.'

Anyway, at this point in time, I could be considered ridiculously strong. But still…

'I can't let my guard down.'

Thinking back to the last incident, I had prepared thoroughly to take down Grillish. Yet an unexpected crisis had still occurred. If I hadn't had that cheat-like Possession ability? If I hadn't remembered to use the trait upgrade ticket in that exact moment?

The ones who would have become corpses on the spot would have been us. The situation back then had been that dangerous.

Therefore…

'I guess I really should go.'

I quietly looked at the key in my hand. The Ruins of the Beginning Key, obtained as this latest reward. This was a consumable item required to obtain a first awakening skill. If I took it to the Ruins of the Beginning, I would face a trial. Passing that trial would grant me a first awakening technique.

'Well, with my current condition, fully using it will still be impossible…'

Regardless, there was no reason to sit still after obtaining this. I needed to visit during this break.

Let me organize the upcoming events.

— Ruins of the Beginning

— Time Dungeon

— Eldorado Merchant Guild

I'd roughly listed only the major ones. Actually, the Ruins of the Beginning wasn't really a major event ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so much as just going to learn an awakening skill, so it might be right to exclude it. 'The real core events for the second semester are these two.'

The Time Dungeon. Just as the name suggested, it was a dungeon where time was completely distorted. Once inside, people from various eras could appear. For example, I might even run into my future self.

'Just hearing that makes it sound incredibly dangerous…'

But inside the dungeon, there were guards. Those Time Soldiers completely controlled the interior. No matter how powerful someone was, they would be expelled without being able to resist. Therefore, accidents weren't supposed to happen there.

'At least until the Legion Commander launches his terror attack.'

A Legion Commander of the Demon Army would invade to obtain information about the future. Naturally, the guards wouldn't just stand by and watch. After all, the future could completely change if they did. That's why gathering future information inside was strictly forbidden.

But the Legion Commander would somehow succeed and try to change the future. And our role would be to join forces with the guards to stop him.

'Well, normally beating a Legion Commander at that point would be impossible…'

However, defeating a weakened Legion Commander alongside the guards wasn't that difficult. So it wasn't a completely hopeless, balance-breaking scenario.

'And next is the Eldorado episode.'

Lillia's episode. You could call it the main heroine's arc. In a way, this was the moment when our relationship would truly progress.

But… 'Hmm. Haven't we already progressed quite a bit?'

For some unknown reason, she had developed feelings for me. In the original story, she had never shown it this openly. I had no idea what had changed.

'Well, regardless, I still have to help her.'

Helping Lillia would bring quite a few benefits. Therefore, it was only right to save her when she fell into danger.

'There are some minor episodes too, but…'

Those weren't worth worrying about right now, so I'd set them aside for the moment.

As I thought that and moved to store the Ruins of the Beginning Key into my subspace ring—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

What? I was sure there shouldn't be any students around at this time. Wondering who it could be, I opened the door.

“Miss Sherry?”

The next moment, I saw Sherry standing there with her cheeks puffed out, carrying a huge amount of luggage. When I showed clear surprise at her unexpected appearance, she pouted her lips and spoke.

“Baran, it looks like you completely forgot.”

“?”

Forgot? What was she talking about?

“Haa, we promised to go to my house together during this break, remember?”

“Ah…!”

In an instant, a memory of my past conversation with Gray flashed through my mind. After the practical evaluation incident, Gray had indeed said something like that. He had invited me to come to his house with his daughter during the break. I'd been so busy that I'd completely forgotten.

“Uuuu…!”

She must have noticed that I'd forgotten, because her eyes were now glaring at me fiercely. Well, I had nothing to say to that. Feeling genuinely sorry, I scratched the back of my head and apologized.

“I'm sorry. I've had a lot on my mind lately.”

“Haa. Fine, just hurry up and come out. The gate will open soon.”

“Yes, understood.”

With those words, she closed the door. By the way, how did Sherry even get into the male dormitory? Holding onto that question, I quickly finished my preparations.

After finishing our preparations, we headed to the gate located in the royal capital. As we stood in line in front of the gate, I asked her.

“Miss Sherry.”

“Yeah? What?”

At my call, she crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks again. It seemed she was still quite upset that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd forgotten. I felt like I was trying to cheer up a sulking girlfriend.

Anyway, that aside.

“I was curious about something. How exactly did you get into the male dormitory? I thought the security guard wouldn't let anyone in.”

“Ah, he just let me in when I said you were the only one inside, Baran.”

“Ah…”

No wonder she had walked in so confidently.

“Haa, anyway, are you confident?”

“Pardon?”

“I told you before. We have to prove it to Dad.”

“Yes, that's right…”

I wasn't sure exactly what I was supposed to prove. But I figured showing my strength would be enough. What I'd said back then was that Sherry was stronger than Gray had been during his school days. So honestly, she should be the one feeling more nervous.

“More importantly, are you okay with this, Miss Sherry?”

“Huh?”

“It's really about getting your own strength acknowledged rather than mine, right?”

“Ah, that's true, but… I'm not that nervous about it.”

“That's a relief then.”

“The two of you may enter now.”

Before we knew it, it was our turn. We quietly stepped into the gate. The next moment, a brief wave of dizziness hit me as the scenery completely changed.

As I tried to look around, a voice called out.

“Young Lady!”

A girl in a maid outfit was waving at us. When Sherry saw the girl before her, she broke into a wide smile.

“Ari! Have you been well?”

“Yes!”

From her reaction, it seemed this girl was Sherry's personal maid.

Then, at that moment—

“Huh? And who is this person?”

Ari turned her head toward me. Sherry looked at me and introduced me.

“Ah, this is Baran. The one I mentioned in my letter.”

“Hello. I'm Baran, a friend of Miss Sherry.”

“Huh? Baran, you said…?”

She jumped in surprise upon hearing my name. And then, completely unexpected words spilled from her mouth.

“You're the man who groped every single inch of Young Lady Sherry's body in the most obscene way possible!”

Excuse me? I did what?