Turning Point
Bang! Bababang!
It was time for close-quarters combat training. As always, Alissa showered me with her vicious punches. The difference this time was that her fists moved so fast and traced such bizarre trajectories that my defenses could barely keep up.
It was clearly different from before the break.
I suspected as much, and I was right.
From the moment I first saw her, something had felt off because her presence wasn't the same. It looked like she'd achieved some kind of enlightenment. Of course, breaking past level 150 didn't bring any particular boost in stat efficiency or new unique skills, so the physical changes wouldn't be dramatic. Still, her combat ability had risen sharply just from the improvement in technique.
Besides, Alissa had never been the type to rely purely on her body anyway.
When I failed to match her attacks and simply held my guard stubbornly, Alissa twisted one corner of her mouth into a smirk.
"No leeway, huh? Why don't you try a little harder? Before the break you looked bored out of your mind, didn't you? Well?"
The force behind the blows hammering my guard grew even stronger. It seemed she didn't like the fact that I was growing and trying to stand on the same level as her.
She deliberately dragged it out, tapping every part of my body evenly. Then, just when I was starting to get sick of it, she changed the trajectory mid-swing and drove her fist straight into my jaw.
Thwack!
My body tilted backward. My brain must have rattled because the whole world flipped upside down and shook violently before everything faded to black.
Damn it.
When I regained consciousness, what filled my vision wasn't a pair of massive breasts but a pair of small, red lips.
"Huh?"
The moment the small sound of confusion left me, the warmth pressing against my forehead pulled away and the lips moved back to a safe distance.
What appeared was the Saintess, Iris. She stood with both hands planted on her hips, frowning as she shouted.
"What kind of weird thing did you eat?"
"Pardon?"
"Your body's condition is way too strange! It feels like I'm examining a divine beast instead of a person!"
"Ah..."
I'd wondered what was going on, but it seemed that while treating me she'd sensed the change in my body and had been checking it over.
I thought she was about to kiss me again.
If the Saintess wanted it, my conscience might not let me respond enthusiastically, but I would have gladly gone along with it. Feeling a twinge of regret as I licked my lips, I suddenly thought of something.
"But Saintess. Didn't you treat me last time? You didn't notice anything back then?"
"Ah, during the attack? I wasn't the one who healed you."
"Really?"
"Yes. By the time I arrived, the treatment was already finished. I only took care of you afterward!"
Her tone suggested I should have known that, and it left me feeling unfairly accused.
"Wait, you talked like you were the one who did it. When I thanked you for treating me, you said it was no big deal. Now you're telling me it wasn't you?"
"Ah! D-did I say that? I don't remember..."
"Does saying you don't remember make it okay? Then I guess I can say I don't remember touching your breasts either, Saintess."
"You can't!"
"See? You're only lenient with yourself."
People are naturally lenient toward themselves and strict with others. It was an unavoidable instinct. But openly showing it wasn't morally right.
The Saintess couldn't come up with any real rebuttal to my point and simply fidgeted, mumbling to herself. I offered a considerate joke.
"By the way, I didn't realize you'd examined divine beasts before, Saintess."
"What? Examined a divine beast?"
"You said my body's condition was similar to one, didn't you? Don't tell me that was a lie too?"
I narrowed my eyes as if I'd be genuinely disappointed if it was. The Saintess jumped in her seat and shook her head frantically.
"N-no, that's not it! I was basing it on ancient texts! It's only possible because it's me! Unless someone is as skilled with divine power as I am, they wouldn't be able to tell!"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
She'd said she only nursed me last time, so I'd been worried the priest who actually treated me might have noticed something about my body. It seemed I could relax.
I decided it was time to change the subject.
"More importantly, Saintess, I have a question."
"Yes? What is it?"
Her eyes sparkled like she'd been given an escape route from an uncomfortable topic. I brought it up casually, pretending I wasn't thinking much of it.
"You mentioned there were transmigrators at the entrance ceremony. Is there a way to identify them?"
"A way?"
"Yes. You said you know the future, but that alone isn't enough to tell who they are. If we knew the future too, we could investigate who intervened and root them out, but that's not the case."
In truth, it would be possible using Deborah's Yeojian, but that secret was currently known only to Roxana and the transmigrators. The church wouldn't think of using her.
The Saintess nodded in understanding and continued.
"That's true. Ever since the Starlight Witch passed away twenty years ago, no new owner of the Eye of Prognostication has appeared."
"The Starlight Witch?"
"Yes! You don't know her? She was a very famous prophet. Her accuracy rate was a staggering ninety percent. At one point it was fashionable among noble families to have a newborn child's future divined. Didn't the Priuli family do it?"
"I'm not sure. I wouldn't know."
The original owner of this body had been an extra, so such detailed background never came up. I shrugged and asked another question.
"But Saintess. Is there a particular reason you're revealing information about the transmigrators now?"
"Well... the truth is I've been searching since the first semester but couldn't identify a single one. On top of that, the Dark Church has started to make moves. If I can't find them, I at least want to stop them from acting freely. And above all!"
"Above all?"
The Saintess paused, then pointed her index finger at me and declared energetically.
"This will change the future! It means the transmigrators will have a much harder time using their information!"
Revealing such shocking information would indeed have a massive impact on the story. The Dark Church's altered movements were already a huge variable, but this would become a catalyst that changed the entire academy.
So that's what it was.
Understanding, I gently folded the Saintess's pointing finger back down. Everything else was fine, but I really wished she'd stop jabbing her finger at people.
"I understand. Thank you for telling me."
"Really? That's a relief. But you seem surprisingly interested in the transmigrators?"
"Pardon?"
"Don't tell me..."
The Saintess trailed off and narrowed her eyes. The suspicion in her gaze sent a ripple of tension through me.
Then she blurted out some nonsense.
"You're planning to blackmail them when you find them!"
"...Blackmail?"
"Yes! You'd threaten them to hand over their breasts if they don't want to be exposed! You pervert!"
The tension that had filled my whole body escaped like air rushing out of a balloon.
I'm an idiot for getting worked up.
How dare she scare me like that. If I could, I'd want to roughly knead those lewdly huge breasts of hers. I shook my head with an incredulous look.
"Aren't you the pervert, Saintess?"
"W-what did you say? I'm a pervert?"
"Yes. Seeing how you only ever think about things like that, it seems accurate. Aren't you getting a little too obsessed while claiming you're trying to stop me? Take it easy. It's bad for your health."
I gave her a knowing once-over. Her face flushed bright red—a cocktail of shame and anger.
"N-no, that's not true! I don't know anything about that stuff!"
"Yes, of course. Well then, I'll be going."
"I'm telling you it's not true! Stop right there! I'm not a pervert!"
I easily ignored the Saintess as she desperately proclaimed her innocence and left the recovery room.
Thanks to her, I gained plenty of information.
For now, it seemed the church had no clear method to catch the transmigrators, so I could relax a little. It was time to think about the next problem.
I need to do some tailing this weekend.
My roommate, Kenneth. I needed to follow him to figure out exactly what kind of person he was.
It looked like I'd have to borrow the tracking magic tool from Deborah again.
*
-Kihahaha! Die! Die!
Along with the deranged shouts, the monsters' screams and the sounds of slaughter came through the magic tool.
It had been two hours since I started tailing Kenneth. In that short time, I'd already figured out exactly what kind of person he was.
"He's a complete lunatic."
He'd seemed perfectly normal when he left the academy and visited the inn run by Grant, the man who raised him. But the moment he entered the dungeon and started fighting monsters, his personality flipped one hundred and eighty degrees.
The more blood stained his sword and body, the more savage he became. Now he couldn't even control his own madness.
I needed to stay on guard.
Good thing he's still weak.
It seemed he hadn't achieved enlightenment yet. Kenneth couldn't use sword energy. Aside from the boosts from his unique skill and various other methods, his physical abilities were exactly what you'd expect from a level 99.
"Still, this thing really is well-made."
I fiddled with the tracking magic tool. It was tiny and light, perfect for secretly attaching to someone. The range was wide and the audio quality excellent, making both tracking and eavesdropping easy.
Giving away something this good for free—Deborah really was an angel.
Though I still don't understand what she said in the middle.
-If you're grateful, treat Master well. Got it?
I couldn't tell if it was a threat—be careful if you don't want to get caught—or advice for when we eventually met. Well, I'd find out once I met Roxana someday.
"Though I'd rather put that off as long as possible."
At my current level, I'd be completely at Roxana's mercy no matter what she did. She cherished Deborah, so she probably wouldn't harm her disciple's friend, but that was something I'd only know when it actually happened. I wanted to avoid even the smallest risk.
"Haaam... It's getting boring."
I leaned back deeply in the chair, still listening to the nonstop scene of madness and slaughter, and looked around.
I'd positioned myself near the dungeon so I could intervene immediately if needed, but the outskirts didn't offer much to look at. If it had been a busy district, the time would have passed quickly.
As I grumbled quietly, the battle between Kenneth and the monster finally ended.
-Good! Time to check the reward!
Even a slaughter-obsessed madman felt the same anticipation for rewards. Kenneth shouted in an excited voice.
What was the reward here again?
It was probably the Absorption Boots. They could freely suck in and release wind, allowing the user to run up walls or leap through the air. They didn't raise direct combat power, but their versatility made them a high-tier item.
-Found it!
The sound of a treasure chest opening was followed by Kenneth's cheer. Then—
-Out of the way!
Slash!
Along with a familiar cheerful voice, the sharp sound of something being sliced rang out.
I shot up from my seat.
"Pernia?"
I'd thought she'd been quiet lately, but here she was in a completely unexpected place. It seemed she'd gained quite a harvest during the break—her voice overflowed with confidence.
Kenneth must have taken damage. He let out a small groan and growled warily.
-Who the hell are you? You a transmigrator too?
-You catch on quick. Those boots—I'm taking them.
-Like hell you are.
-It's not up to you. Get lost if you don't want to die!
Shweeeeeek!
With her shout came the sound of something shooting forward with terrifying force. It didn't just cut through the wind—it felt completely fused with it.
Just from that, I knew what Pernia had obtained.
Slicing Wind!
It was a dagger imbued with the blessing of the Wind Elemental King from the Storm Canyon hundreds of kilometers away. Its sharpness and power were unmatched. It could be summoned and dismissed at will and could call forth wind elementals, making it useful in countless ways.
The current attack had surely used a wind elemental to throw the dagger.
"What should I do?"
Not long ago Abel had told me that Pernia had also awakened sword energy. At this point, Kenneth had no chance of winning.
The question was whether to let him die or intervene.
Letting him die would let Pernia grow stronger and become a threat to me. Intervening would reveal my existence to Kenneth.
Of course, I could just kill Kenneth and solve the problem, but after what I'd seen so far, I hesitated.
He's not completely irredeemable trash, at least.
He was a crazy bastard who might do anything, but so far all he'd done was show filial piety to the man who raised him and slaughter monsters. What he might have done on Earth was none of my business.
After thinking it over, I made my decision.
I'll save him.
The gap in power between Kenneth and my current self was despairingly clear anyway. Even if I killed him and took his unique skill, there was no guarantee it would help me. Keeping the current balance wasn't a bad idea.
Besides, Kenneth might become a useful ally someday.
-Kraaak! Damn it!
Let's hurry.
Before Kenneth dies.