Geusgeuscheong
Following the maid's guidance, I changed my clothes.
Something light and airy, a white fabric woven through with threads of green.
With even the storage-type bow that symbolized the elves now strapped to me, I bustled about and climbed aboard the carriage.
"Departing now!"
Rrrrumble...
The carriage rolled forward with a low rumble for a few moments, then lifted ever so slightly off the ground.
It didn't move on wheels at all — it traveled on life mana, and just like riding in a car, there wasn't the slightest sensation of movement.
Beyond the carriage window...
"It's beautiful."
An emerald-hued landscape of breathtaking beauty unfolded before my eyes.
"A scenario dungeon, you say?"
I waited until I'd cast a soundproof spell that the maid seated beside me couldn't hear through, and then spoke.
Most of my abilities were sealed, but magic was part of my knowledge. What channeled it was the talent and mana of 'Ria Elfosis'.
Sure enough, the soundproof spell I was casting glowed not blue but green — the color of life mana.
I nodded and turned my attention inward, taking stock of my body as we made our way toward a place called Eloni Academy.
Certainly, the bulk of my abilities had been sealed away — but I could see a few locks that would come undone if I fiddled with them.
The soundproof spell I was using right now was itself an ability the original 'Ria' wouldn't have known.
Of course, being sealed meant there were also abilities and talents I hadn't gained this time around.
'But this much should be plenty.'
Even without forcing anything open, my magic and the body's native talents would be more than enough.
This was, literally, a dungeon — no need to grit my teeth and fight for my life.
"It's 304 years in the past, so before long the Child of the World Tree will be Asuka Elfosis."
Asuka Elfosis.
She was appointed Child of the World Tree 304 years ago, served for three years, and then vanished.
A gap of one year.
Which meant the current point in time was one year before Asuka Elfosis became the Child of the World Tree.
"...Surely they're not expecting me to play through that whole year?"
That would be a bit much, even for me.
"In that case... it would be best to make my choices firmly before any time passes."
If I picked wrong, or wasted time somewhere pointless, the dungeon would end before I had any room to course-correct.
The safest choice, on the surface, was Asuka.
Even if I never lifted a finger, Asuka would become the Child of the World Tree all on her own.
Naturally, she'd brush aside her rival Merni, or any challengers from the other races.
But that was precisely the problem.
"I won't be choosing Asuka."
"Yes."
No matter how much I helped Asuka, I wouldn't be able to rack up contribution rate easily.
Asuka was all but a foregone conclusion; even if I taught her and lent her my aid, no dramatic change would occur.
To put it precisely: she herself might change, but the 'choice' would remain exactly the same.
And besides.
"The easy route is boring, isn't it? The rewards won't amount to much either."
After finally entering an event dungeon, was I really going to take the straight-and-narrow path?
If it came to that, I'd sooner release every restriction and take the road where I became the Child of the World Tree.
"...Actually, that might be rather fun."
"In any case. That's why I'm planning to look around a little. There are plenty of people with talent who never get their moment in the spotlight."
Those whose gifts were exceptional, but who never bloomed because their circumstances never gave them the chance.
It would be hard to beat Asuka — but with me intervening, the equation changed a little.
"We've arrived!"
"Here we are."
A white building so ornate that even a single glance made its grandeur plain.
We had reached Eloni Academy.
Eloni Academy was an enormous institution located in the Elfosis Kingdom, the land of the elves.
By its foundations it was built by elves, taught by elves, and stood upon elven land — but the student body was not elves alone.
Anyone among the World Tree's races could enter, provided they passed the demanding entrance examinations, and they all attended class under the same standing.
'On paper, anyway.'
A renowned royal high elf, and a nameless kobold from some backwater village down the road.
Would these two sitting in the same classroom truly be 'equal'?
No.
In practice, a measure of racial discrimination and class distinction persisted here as well.
Because of it, members of the same race clustered together, and those with no kin among the students gravitated toward the weaker races or trailed after the higher ones like retainers.
In the end, this place hadn't changed much from the past.
'Seia.'
Seems that was shorthand for Child of the World Tree.
"Where's the fun in me doing it? They wouldn't have set it up to be that easy."
Only someone who had climbed as far as the trunk of the World Tree could even enter this dungeon.
A user capable of pushing through the World Tree's leaves, its countless labyrinths, or its guardian spirits was bound to be a top-tier ranker.
So would the designers really have arranged it so the possessing player could become the Child of the World Tree?
'Absolutely not.'
At the very least, the odds of 'Ria Elfosis' becoming the Child of the World Tree had to be close to zero.
"...Hmm."
The vast majority of those passing through the main gate of Eloni Academy were, naturally, elves.
Next came nymphs and dwarves, and then beastkin — few in number, but conspicuous all the same.
Beyond them, rock golems and other races I was seeing for the first time in my life drifted past in the crowd.
Races that seemed to have come into being after the Great War...
"It's the princess!"
"The princess!"
"Where?!"
"Oh, come on, let me see!"
"Over there!!"
As I watched the spectacle, the crowd suddenly surged toward a single point.
At its center walked a rather petite elf, proud and unflinching.
Platinum-blonde hair cropped in a bob, delicate features gathered in perfect order.
Despite her small stature, her figure was impossible to dismiss — yet it was never lewd, carrying instead a striking elegance.
Exactly as she had looked in the photographs.
Asuka Elfosis.
A genius who, at the mere age of nineteen, had overwhelmed high elves who had lived for more than a thousand years — and in one year's time, the one destined to become the Child of the World Tree.
And the one walking behind her with a somewhat gloomy expression was...
"Sis! Hurry up!"
"...Coming. Would it kill you to walk a little slower."
"Hehe. Okay."
Merni Elfosis.
Asuka's older sister — and the ill-fated elf who would lose her place to her.
⊳ While the episode is in progress, you may approach 'talents' to accumulate Contribution Rate. Once progress exceeds a certain threshold, the next episode will begin.
⊳ Contribution Rate:
Asuka Elfosis — 0%
Merni Elfosis — 0%
⊳ You have not yet exerted any influence.
⊳ Players: 1
If I wanted to make either of them the Child of the World Tree, I'd need to make contact now.
Building up contribution rate early meant better rewards — and above all, I needed to find Asuka.
Not the Asuka inside this dungeon, but the 'future' Asuka.
"Let's head to the classroom first."
But for now, I decided to leave them be.
Clearing the dungeon took priority.
"...Why do you all love killing things so much?"
What a strange bunch of people.
Doing my best to ignore the strange people, I made my way toward the classroom.
.
.
.
"...?"
The spot where Lily had been standing.
Asuka, still at the center of the bustling crowd, turned her head.
Somewhere along the street, now emptied entirely.
But Asuka remembered clearly.
That someone had been standing there.
'Who was that?'
It was the feeling one got from gazing upon an elder of long standing. Her strength had clearly been modest, and yet she was the sort of person one could never defeat with ease...
'I'll have to remember her.'
Asuka committed the presence that had been there mere moments ago to memory.
"Why did it go up?"
Stepping into the classroom, I tilted my head at the message informing me that my contribution rate had risen by 0.3%.
No, seriously — how had it gone up when I hadn't exchanged a single word with anyone?
"......?"
But then why hadn't Merni's gone up, when she'd been right there with me?
"...Anyway. It's about to begin."
I took my seat in Class C, the temporary placement I'd been assigned.
Ria Elfosis's entrance scores had been dead average.
Class A held the top tier. Classes B and C held the middle. And Class D held the bottom.
By rights, her talent shouldn't have been out of place in Class B — yet for whatever reason, Ria Elfosis sat in Class C. Right at the tail end of it, at that.
Asuka and Merni would naturally be in Class A.
The other talented students would all be there too.
They said classes could be reshuffled through exams later on, so for now, my goal would be climbing into Class A.
Scanning Class C, I couldn't see any students with particularly notable talent...
Clatter!!
"Sorry I'm late. My bad."
"Why are you apologizing, big brother! I'm the one who made us late!"
"Glad you know it."
A noisy pair of beastkin filed in.
And one of them looked very familiar — like I'd seen him quite recently.
Why on earth was he here?