Chapter 40

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: penny

Chapter: 40

Chapter Title: Comprehensive Evaluation Week ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠(7)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Sparring match over! Victory to Cadet Aden."

The referee's announcement echoed through the arena, signaling the end of the duel.

I sheathed my sword, which had been pointed at Isabel, and extended a hand to her.

"Ha... You really don't hold back even once, do you?"

Isabel let out a short, wry laugh before taking my hand, her voice playful as she continued.

In response to her teasing words,

I headed out of the arena for the next cadets' match and replied,

"Going easy wouldn't make it a real fight."

If I'd held back there,

given Isabel's fiercely competitive nature, she would've been even angrier for sure.

And even if I'd won by going easy,

neither Libia nor Isabel would have accepted that victory.

"Fair enough."

She nodded in agreement at my point and walked out of the arena with me.

We passed through the waiting area,

heading toward the spectator seats to watch Libia's match, which hadn't started yet—passing the entrance—

A chill ran down my spine.

My eyes met those of a single cadet at the spectator entrance,

and the eerie sensation made me freeze in place.

"Hold up."

That prickling feeling made me call out to the cadet whose eyes had met mine.

He didn't have an overwhelming presence by any means.

He wasn't even an S-Class cadet,

just your average, everyday kind you could spot anywhere—someone I'd never seen in the game either.

Or so he seemed.

'No...'

It'd be more accurate to say he was forcing that perception on everyone.

If not for the {Ode to Humanity} skill activating the moment I saw him—nullifying the mental attack—I would've just passed him off as an ordinary cadet too.

"What's up, Aden?"

Isabel beside me saw him as just another regular cadet too.

She gave me a puzzled look for suddenly stopping some random passerby and asked.

"Wh-why are you stopping me...?"

The cadet I'd called out to spoke in a voice tinged with fear, like an innocent kid startled in a dark hallway.

But the translucent window announcing the {Ode to Humanity} activation and the growing sense of wrongness

were warning me loud and clear: this guy wasn't some ordinary academy cadet.

I stayed tense, bracing for a possible fight,

and began wrapping my body in mana.

"Eek!"

"Aden! What are you doing?"

The moment my mana flared,

reactions came almost simultaneously from the innocent-looking cadet and Isabel.

The passerby was now screaming in full-blown terror,

and Isabel urgently tried to calm me down.

"Who... are you?"

Despite Isabel's frantic pleas, a cold voice questioning his identity slipped from my lips.

At a time when the chairman was still unharmed,

someone who could infiltrate the academy without suspicion...?

No way was this guy ordinary.

'Worst case, I use {Life and Death Resolve}.'

No matter how I sliced it, this was an intruder with zero info even in the game.

Which meant I had to uncover the truth now, risks be damned.

"Whoa..."

The intruder let out a faint exclamation, as if his terrified act had been a lie all along,

and fixed me with a chilling gaze.

Then,

he unleashed an overwhelming surge of mana that could easily devour the mana I was emitting and spoke.

"A mental interference strong enough to fool even professors... How did you see through it?"

The instant I heard that,

convinced he was even more dangerous than I'd thought, I moved to activate {Life and Death Resolve}—

"Huh...? Master?"

But Isabel's voice right beside me forced me to halt.

'Master...?'

If it was Isabel's master, only one person came to mind.

Magic Tower Lord Bella.

"Oh, my disciple! Long time no see!"

No one else but her—all her related events and quests randomized.

'Why is Bella here...?'

Even for the Magic Tower Lord with her random events and quests,

showing up at the academy now was wildly out of left field.

Especially since she was notoriously hard to encounter even once in the game.

'No, not the time for that...'

But my moment of doubt at her sudden appearance was cut short

by a mounting unease. While Isabel and Bella chatted casually,

I tried to slip away quickly.

Just like when I'd checked Isabel's matchup earlier,

I attempted to back off discreetly... but

"Hey, top cadet! Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"

Bella, who seemed distracted by her chat with Isabel, caught the moment perfectly and called out.

'Tch...'

Truth be told, sneaking away was impossible from the start.

She was the Magic Tower Lord.

Right now, excluding Eris, she was on par with the Elf Queen or Sword Saint—top-tier powerhouse.

So of course,

she noticed my escape attempt, paused her talk with Isabel, switched targets to me, and spoke up.

"Anyway, I watched your duel! Impressive skills for your age—truly amazing!"

Her lively, innocent tone and demeanor.

Exactly as rumored,

a lighthearted, un-Tower-Lord-like vibe as she launched into chatter.

Starting with her reason for visiting the academy—to see Isabel—

then asking about my training regimen, how strong I'd gotten,

what my childhood was like,

question after question like a full background check,

all delivered with genuine curiosity and sparkling eyes.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more her un-Tower-Lord-like behavior and prying questions piled up,

the clearer it became: the random Magic Tower Lord event I'd been dreading had triggered.

'And there's the quest window too...'

The translucent window floating before my eyes was proof enough.

This urgent event staring me in the face?

The penalty for failure was brutally harsh compared to the reward.

That was exactly why I'd wanted to avoid the Magic Tower Lord.

All her events and quests were like this:

high risk, low return.

Insanely tough difficulty, but rewards that were laughably meager.

'At least this one's manageable...'

The silver lining? Clearing {Urgent Event - Magic Tower Lord's Suspicion} wasn't hard in this situation.

As long as I hadn't joined Ixion or taken in any evil god mana,

just heading to the Magic Tower auto-completed it.

"With that in mind, why not come to the Magic Tower this weekend with my disciple? I'll invite you!"

As I mulled it over,

just as expected, Magic Tower Lord Bella invited me to the tower.

She was softening the suddenness by bringing her disciple Isabel along too,

a smooth segue that impressed me for a moment—

"An honor. Thank you for the invitation."

I had no real reason to refuse, so I accepted.

On the contrary, since she'd already suspected me once,

letting it linger unresolved could've spelled big trouble.

"Great! I'll pick you up at your dorm by 10 a.m. tomorrow!"

My acceptance prompted

Bella to promptly say she'd fetch me from the dorm by 10 tomorrow.

"Be there tomorrow, for sure! You too, disciple!"

And with that,

like her business was done, she told us both to show up and bounced.

Her willful innocence felt so childlike.

Hard to believe she was the Magic Tower Lord, no matter how you looked at her...

But as someone who'd played the game, I knew.

Magic Tower Lord Bella's innocence was all an act.

'That it's all fake...'

Even knowing, her performance was so seamless it almost fooled me,

as I marveled inwardly,

Isabel asked from beside me if heading to the Magic Tower on such short notice tomorrow was okay.

"Sudden trip ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the Magic Tower tomorrow alright with you?"

"Yeah, no problem. Libia's match is starting—let's go watch."

I replied it was fine

and headed back to the spectator seats for Libia and Cecilia's duel.

A visit to the Magic Tower.

Thinking about it, not a bad deal at all.

There was an achievement for just visiting,

and it was a mid-to-late game location in the game.

Best part, though...

'Artifact shop.'

A special shop exclusive to the Magic Tower.

One selling tools inscribed with all sorts of magical engravings—artifacts.

'Money might be tight...'

Of course, with just the top cadet scholarship from the academy, most items there would be out of reach,

but there were definitely affordable artifacts with great efficiency...

Since I was going anyway,

I planned to snag the best ones I could.