The Transfer Exam (1)
The same moment.
On the first floor, Miroel was panting heavily as she wiped away cold sweat while fighting the Demon God.
“Haa. Haa. It really is too much to handle alone.”
No matter how much information she had about the Demon God, facing him by herself was simply impossible. Even though he had been weakened, there was still an insurmountable gap between them.
[I commend you. I didn’t expect a mere mortal to hold out this long against me. But—?!]
“?!”
In an instant, an overwhelming aura surged from above. It seemed the Demon God sensed it too, as he shifted his gaze upward.
'It’s on par with the Demon God… No, even stronger.'
The energy she felt from above was even greater than what she had sensed during their battle long ago. Just what kind of being was up there?
As she pondered this, it happened.
-Kwaaaaaang!
A sudden burst of light poured down from above, engulfing her. At first, she thought it was an ambush and tried to resist. But then—
Return to where you belong.
The moment Miroel saw the message, she instinctively understood. The one who sent it was an ally.
So she didn’t resist the oncoming light. And with that, her vision went dark.
The light that suddenly swallowed me.
Without hesitation, I opened my eyes and shouted.
“You damn author bitch! If you show up in front of me later, I’ll smash your skull open!!!”
-Kyaaaaaaaah!
My outburst made Miroel, who was right beside me, flinch in surprise.
“Are you alright? Master?”
-If my disciple hadn’t screamed like that, I would’ve been fine! Seriously, the author didn’t even explain anything and just kicked me out. How was I supposed to know?
Since she didn’t know the full story, her reaction was understandable in a way. But anyway, that was beside the point.
'Haa, let me organize my thoughts.'
What was certain was that the woman I saw at the end was most likely the author. Or more precisely, the one who had possessed me into this body.
After all, she had sent me a message right at the end.
'And what? It’s not time for me to learn the truth yet?'
She had spoken as if she would tell me everything later. At this point, it was basically the same as admitting she was the one who had forced me into Baran’s body.
'Hey, author. What do you think? My deduction’s spot on, right?'
I said that in my head, but unfortunately the system didn’t respond to my question. Silence is usually a form of affirmation. So it was clear she really was the author.
'Of course, the one I saw before was a man…'
If she had the power to possess someone, changing her appearance to a man would be child’s play.
'Yeah. Yeah.'
Just as I was feeling certain about it—
Congratulations! You have successfully cleared all trials!
As an additional reward, experience points will be granted to the player!
Congratulations! The player has reached the required experience threshold and leveled up!
Reward messages appeared before my eyes. I let out a small sigh as I read them.
'Haa, well, at least the rewards from this trial were pretty decent.'
The moment I stood up with that thought, someone suddenly tapped my shoulder. And of course, it was—
“Disciple?”
“Now you have to tell me, don’t you? What exactly happened?”
It was Miroel, arms crossed with the most terrifying smile I had ever seen. It felt like there was no way I could brush this off this time.
Baran told Miroel everything—except for the truth about his eyes and the game-related details.
She looked quite shocked at first, then asked again to confirm.
“So… you’re saying you’re someone who came from another world, disciple? And you don’t remember what just happened either?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hmm. Then what about the being that was above us? From what I felt, it seemed like an existence that could rival the Demon God.”
“That’s… I’m not entirely sure myself. I think it might be the one who sent me here.”
“The one who sent you here…”
Miroel stroked her chin as she listened to his answer. Then she quietly observed him for a moment.
'He doesn’t seem to be lying.'
If she had suspected him of lying, she would have simply let it slide. Everyone had their own circumstances, after all. But contrary to her expectations, he had been completely honest. As his mentor, she couldn’t help but feel grateful.
'Still, I never imagined my disciple would turn out to be someone from another planet.'
She had thought something about him felt different, but this was beyond anything she could have imagined. Who would ever expect to meet someone from another world in their lifetime?
'He looks quite shaken too, judging by his expression.'
There was only one thing she could do for him in a moment like this.
Miroel quietly wrapped her arms around him from behind. Then, gently stroking the top of his head, she spoke.
“Disciple. You must still be very confused, but take your time. I’m sure one day you will learn the whole truth.”
“……”
Her warm touch comforted him. It was the first time since his possession that he felt truly consoled. For some reason, his heart grew warm.
Baran accepted her gentle touch and nodded slowly.
“Yes, Master.”
The same moment. Somewhere in the Demon Realm.
In that place, a being whose face was obscured by mist slowly opened his eyes for the first time in a long while.
[It’s been a long time since memories of the past surfaced.]
Long ago, two beings with hidden faces had interfered with his invasion for a short time. Back then, due to the interference of some god, his power had been temporarily weakened, so he couldn’t deal with them. But once those two disappeared, his original strength returned. And after that, he succeeded in his invasion. At least until the Sun God appeared.
'Hmm, even now I still don’t understand.'
Of the two who had interfered back then, he could roughly guess one of them. The first High Elf who had sealed him alongside the first Hero long ago—Miroel. He suspected she was the one who had gotten in his way.
'The fighting style I saw before was similar, after all.'
But the other one… even now, he still couldn’t figure it out. If that being had been with Miroel, it must have been someone extraordinary. So why hadn’t they brought him along during the sealing?
More than that—
'That elf didn’t seem to know me very well.'
Thinking about such old memories brought up too many questions. The Demon God shook off his thoughts and called for his direct subordinate, the Demon King.
In an instant, the Demon King appeared before the space where he resided.
[So. How far has the plan progressed?]
“We have just completed about half of it.”
[Half? It’s progressing slower than I expected.]
“Shall I issue orders to all the Legion Commanders immediately?”
If he commanded them through the Legion Commanders, the demon forces would immediately descend upon humanity. But doing so recklessly could ruin everything. Even without a Hero yet, humanity still had countless powerful beings besides him.
To move with certainty, it would be best to wait until his seal was completely undone. Still, just in case—
[Issue the order only to Gram, the 4th Legion Commander.]
“Understood.”
It was the moment when the demon legion commanders began to move exactly as they had in the original story.
About a month had passed since they cleared the trial.
During that time, nothing particularly major had happened. He had simply undergone grueling training under Miroel.
“Haa, haa. It really isn’t going as planned.”
“Well, it’s still a technique that’s too early for you to use, disciple.”
What she was currently teaching him was none other than his First Awakening skill. Because it was such a massive technique, they had been training in the forest, but unfortunately he still hadn’t succeeded perfectly even once.
However—
“Still, at this level, it should be usable in real combat.”
Just as Miroel said, the previous attack had completely devastated a section of the forest. If he used it after activating Possession, its power would increase dramatically compared to now.
'It’s a bit annoying that the author kicked me out at the end, though.'
Setting that aside, he had gained an enormous amount this time. So there was no need to feel like it was a loss.
“Then let’s wrap up training here.”
“Eh? Already?”
She made a slightly disappointed face. But there was no helping it. The entrance ceremony was coming up soon.
“I can’t be late on the first day.”
“Ugh. That’s true.”
She nodded as if she understood. And so we headed toward the academy.
Just before we arrived at the academy’s main gate—
-Buzz, buzz!
Students were gathered in groups of three or five in front of the gate. What was going on? Did something happen?
I quickly scanned the area with Mind’s Eye. And at that moment—
“Huh?”
I spotted a rather familiar face in front of the gate. And it was none other than—
“Mister Baran!”
It was the Saintess I had saved back in the Holy Federation. She waved at me with a bright smile.
It seemed the students had gathered because of her. I was about to wave back at her as well.
But then—
-Poof!
“I missed you!”
The Saintess suddenly threw her arms around me in a hug! Caught completely off guard by the surprise attack, I flinched without meaning to.
-Ugh! That vixen, jumping on my disciple the moment she sees him!
Miroel’s eyes widened in outrage at the Saintess’s behavior. Worried that unnecessary rumors might spread, I quickly tried to pull her off.
But of course, things never go as planned.
“Baran?”
“Mister Baran?”
“What are you doing over there?”
A voice as cold as ice came from behind me. Thanks to Mind’s Eye, I could clearly tell who it was. But hoping against hope, I tried to rationalize it to myself as I turned my head.
And sure enough—
“Ah.”
A group of women with terrifying expressions filled my vision. Nothing was going right from the very first day of the semester.