Award Ceremony (1)
Deep underground in the library, in a profoundly secluded corner—a tiny, secret space so small it could barely hold a single box. Ten layers of magic enveloped that minuscule chamber.
These spells were designed for protection from the outside world. Starting with shields to block enemy attacks, illusions, distortions, and assimilation magic to deflect attention, and traces of magic to erase any evidence. Unless one possessed exceptional senses or knew the exact location, no one could possibly discover it.
And then, a voice emanated from within.
-Groooan… How long has it been since I broke free of the seal, and I'm already in this pathetic state…!
The voice came from the lich's soul housed in its life vessel. It groaned in agony, laced with seething rage. But soon, it swallowed its fury and murmured quietly.
-Once my body regenerates, I'll tear you all to shreds. I'll make you die in the most humiliating, agonizing way possible.
Even so, hatred and malice seeped out bit by bit.
-Especially the descendants of Kiran and Keilon. For daring to interfere with me, I'll seal you in the abyss for a millennium until even your souls crumble away…
"Really? Then I guess I can't just leave you be."
I'd been listening to the lich's nonsense up to that point, and now I opened my mouth.
-Wh-what?! How are you here?!
"How? I found my way just fine, didn't I?"
-Impossible! This magic—even Kiran would need at least an hour…!
"That's none of your concern."
I had no intention of chatting further with the lich. I simply grasped the life vessel in my hand.
Pssshhh—!!
Black energy surged toward me explosively. Black magic.
-Did you think I, of all people, wouldn't prepare countermeasures for my own life vessel?!
The lich cackled. It seemed delighted at the prospect of me rotting away and dying soon.
Darkness burrowed into my body. The curse's power writhed, trying to blacken me entirely.
In response, I channeled magic into Karsa and swung.
Slash—
The sound of something being sliced. The energy that had enveloped my body scattered and struck the life vessel.
-Countering my magic in such a short time?!
The lich was aghast. I tossed it a single line.
"You think I haven't dealt with scum like you before? Your tricks are way too obvious."
Most liches didn't tamper with their life vessels, but the cunning ones sometimes pulled dirty stunts like this.
-Impossible! My magic isn't something a brat not even twenty years old can dispel! And how is a mere swordsman cutting magic…!
"No point wondering when you're about to vanish anyway."
I saw no need to explain to it. Besides, curses were easy to handle once you knew the countermeasure. Just wrapping yourself in holy energy halved their effect.
I gripped the life vessel again. The lich's soul groaned in torment.
-Grrgh…! Wait! Let's make a deal—a transaction! Release me, and I'll repay you. I can even swear on mana if you want…!
"No need. And don't worry. Your soul won't disappear entirely. It'll just lose its ego and become a mana battery."
-That's even worse! Kill me instead!!
Even as a degraded monster in this form, the soul's quality was 8-circle level. Harnessed properly, it would make an excellent tool.
"It's fine. You're sacrificing yourself for this world, after all."
Especially helpful if used for the heroine, Rana. Though Elraim would benefit too.
"At the very least, someone will surely rejoice at your contribution, even if it's not a god."
I coaxed it gently while manipulating the energy around the life vessel.
-Spare me—please! To fade away like this after becoming a lich…!
"Pathetic. Anyway, farewell."
Crunch!
The lich's voice gradually faded, and moments later, its ego was completely erased. The life vessel was now little more than a mana stone.
Thud.
I slumped to the ground.
"Ugh, what a shitty chore."
Dealing with hundreds of golems, the gatekeeper, and this episode's boss had been brutally exhausting. Chasing down the lich on top of that had completely drained my stamina and mana.
I'd steeled myself for this level of hardship the moment I decided to intervene in the episode proper. Still, resolve and execution were different beasts. It was truly grueling.
"Ah… Hurry up and come already."
My aching body led me to lie flat on the floor. I'd left without telling the others, but with Shasha, they'd find me soon enough.
See? The library's mana was vibrating. That meant cleanup was underway.
Moments later, space warped directly in front of me. Ariel, the others, and Shasha appeared.
"We were worried sick when Kyle vanished!"
"Hyungnim, you have no idea how hard we searched."
"You villain! We're already swamped as it is!"
I waved cheerfully in greeting. Rana and Evan rushed to my side. That's when the princess noticed the item in my hand.
"Did you disappear to retrieve the life vessel?"
"That's right."
"I was just about to ask Shasha to help track it down. Good thing."
Rana, who had approached by then, placed her hand on my forehead.
"You're burning up—your whole body's like a fireball…."
Her hand moved from my forehead to check my condition overall.
"Why push yourself alone? We could've gone together…."
Rana scolded me lightly. Her face and voice were both crestfallen.
"Rana, don't cry. A few days' rest and I'll be fine."
This was fallout from the curse partially infiltrating me earlier. It wasn't much, so rest would fix it quickly. Besides, go together? Everyone was in rough shape. Plus, unlike the novel, I had to handle the life vessel myself.
"Anyway, the barrier?"
"It's done. Shasha says it'll lift soon."
"Good."
Hearing that eased my mind. Now I could finally sleep. My eyes grew heavy.
An 8-circle mage's curse—even a fragment—packed serious power. But there was no choice. To nullify it for good, I had to analyze it, and the fastest way was to take it into my body.
"Then, Your Highness, I'll leave the cleanup to you."
"Got it."
Next to the princess stood Evan, looking as woeful as Rana.
"Hyungnim…."
"And what's your deal…? Sigh, never mind…."
No point snapping—it'd just tire my mouth. I had no energy left anyway. This was truly the limit.
I closed my eyes and surrendered to the overwhelming drowsiness.
'Not an unfamiliar ceiling.'
I regained consciousness to the sight of a familiar white one. The scent and the soft sensation against my back confirmed it: the infirmary.
Scritch-scritch.
Besides that, something was being whittled nearby. As I tried to sit up to see who, gentle hands pushed against my back to help.
Now I could see her.
"Elraim?"
"Yes, Young Master."
"What are you doing here?"
"I wouldn't know how to answer such an obvious question."
Two days apart, and I'd forgotten she'd been by my side every day.
"Am I here alone?"
The infirmary had multiple beds besides mine, all showing recent use.
"The others went for lunch."
"All three?"
"Yes."
With that, Elraim finished peeling the apple beside her. That must've been the sound.
Scritch-scritch.
The apple-peeling sounds filled my ears again as I gazed at the sky through the window. It felt refreshing to see it after so long.
"Young Master, here."
"Ah, thanks."
Elraim handed me the apple. As befitting a knight, it was perfectly peeled. As I reached for the fork—
Clink.
It dropped before I could grab it. My reflexes weren't that dull, so I caught it instantly. Then I stared at Elraim.
"…Elraim?"
"Yes, Young Master."
She replied with her expressionless face. I brought a piece of apple to my mouth and asked,
"Something wrong?"
"Nothing at all."
"Hmm, but why…? Ah, it's still in my mouth."
Even so, she snatched the fork and shoved apple into my mouth. Ignoring my signal, she crammed it in roughly. And it didn't stop there.
No time to chew before the next piece approached.
"Wait…."
There was still space to speak, but the third piece filled my mouth. I hurriedly tried to bite through with my teeth, but the next was already incoming.
"Ah…."
"Here's more of the apple you like, Young Master."
I shook my head vigorously side to side, but it was futile. Another piece went in. My mouth was now stuffed full. Fortunately, she showed no sign of adding more.
I finally chewed and swallowed, freeing my mouth. Cautiously, I asked,
"Are you… mad?"
"No."
"Feels like it."
Elraim glared. Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that.
"Sorry. My bad."
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
"Leaving without a word and getting hurt?"
That was the only reason she'd be angry. At my words, she looked at me with exasperation.
"…And you knew that, yet did it anyway?"
"Sorry, sis."
No reaction even to "sis." She was really pissed.
"Young Master."
"Yeah."
"I won't complain about helping others. But… please don't get hurt. Someone worries about you greatly."
"Got it, sis."
"Sigh…."
Her deep sigh conveyed her anguish. The heavy mood needed changing, so I shifted topics.
"When did they leave?"
"An hour ago, so probably…."
Then the infirmary door burst open, and the three from the library raid returned.
"Oh? Kyle's awake!"
Rana's cheerful voice. She wore patient garb like me and rushed over upon seeing me.
"Kyle, you okay? No pain? No fever, it seems. Ah, we need a priest…."
"I'm fine, so don't fuss."
Even reassuring her didn't convince her fully—she fetched a priest anyway.
"Hmm, the curse is fully gone. I thought even with purification it'd take three days, but as expected of that person…."
The priest glanced at the back of my hand. He'd probably seen it during treatment. It was gloved now.
"So he's good now?"
"Yes. Just focus on stamina recovery like the rest of you. Though with his unique constitution, he'll recover by tomorrow."
The priest left after confirming, saying,
"May the God of Light always bless you."
"Thank you! Priest uncle!"
Rana bowed deeply, beaming for some reason. She turned to me, pressing close.
"You're okay, Kyle. They said so."
"I heard. And I wasn't hurt that bad to make a fuss…."
"Nah, hyungnim, you didn't see yourself. Right before you passed out, your face was so pale—I thought you were done for!"
Evan chimed in.
"…It wasn't that bad."
"No, really, you looked dead. Right, sis?"
"Correct. When I saw you, Young Master, I thought you'd passed."
"……."
No, surely not to that extent. If anything, they looked worse…. Whatever. Not the point.
"Anyway, how much time passed?"
"About a day since escaping the library."
"Slept a while."
I hadn't expected a mere curse fragment to knock me out that long. Thought half a day tops.
"As for cleanup…."
"I'll explain."
The princess took over.
"First, thanks to you fully dealing with the lich, no additional casualties. Everyone trapped escaped safely."
Princess Ariel explained.
"What about the artifacts? Where's the life vessel?"
"Shasha recovered all artifacts. She said they can't be taken without proper acquisition."
I nodded. The reason we could use opportunities freely was the unsealed monster. Post-raid, the library system reclaims them. Sure, knowing locations might let us retrieve again, but no—positions and methods change. The founding emperor was thorough.
"We didn't tell the professors. Shasha said to keep opportunities secret. Rana told your guardian, but that's fine. Plus, Shasha said she already knew about them."
Elraim knew from helping rescue Rana.
"Professors took the life vessel for inspection. They'll return it once confirmed safe."
"I see."
Good, no risk of confiscation.
"All sorted nicely."
"Yes. And we owe you big time. Kyle, without you, we wouldn't have resolved this in two days. Might've been hurt worse."
"Right! It must've been brutal!"
"Without hyungnim, we might still be struggling."
Rana and Evan agreed with the princess. Fair enough. At student level, liches were beyond handling. No wonder the library episode took a week. Even in the novel, conveniences shortened it. In a game, poor prep led to bad ends where the protagonist and all died.
'Not bad getting praise like this.'
Thinking that sometimes made me realize how much I liked this place.
"Enough recap. Now, what the professors said."
"More?"
"Of course. Tianis Academy is strict on rewards and punishments. Especially nearly causing mass casualties."
"What's our reward?"
"Well…."
Grrrrumble~!!
My stomach roared, echoing through the infirmary. The apple hadn't replenished the energy burned by the curse.
"Kyle hungry? I don't have sandwiches now…."
"……."
Embarrassment silenced me. I wasn't one to blush over hunger, but interrupting serious talk made it mortifying.
"Th-the staff can bring food if asked."
"Your Highness, why not all go out? I saw desserts earlier."
"I'm fine, but…."
"Kyle, let's go!"
"Young Master, I'll assist."
Rana and Elraim grabbed my arms, pulling me up.
"Hyungnim, get up quick. Food here's better than the cafeteria!"
True enough. Special rooms got extra care.
"…Yeah, let's go."
I masked my feelings and followed the guidance. We ate at a specially prepared dining area.
'That rotten punk….'
Evan's prank mid-meal irked me a bit, but I let it slide. The food was delicious, incidentally.