Chapter 37

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 37

Chapter Title: Ambiguous Start

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Akarite's world.

There were no mage towers, the kind commonly found in fantasy settings.

Instead, there were numerous guilds established by mages, along with noble territories hailed as holy lands for wizards.

Among them, Count Malroy's territory was the ultimate sanctuary for non-combat mages.

It was so renowned that people said if you couldn't find experimental materials in Count Malroy's lands, you wouldn't find them anywhere in the Empire.

True to its fame, the Malroy family had consistently produced brilliant mages, holding a dominant position in research and experimentation rather than combat.

The current head of the family had etched his name into imperial history by successfully researching a way to exponentially extend the range of gates.

So, when his son—who had inherited that bloodline thick and strong—enrolled in Lofty Academy's Magic Department, it was only natural that it became the talk of the mage community.

-

"Ugh..."

Robert's face scrunched up at the musty smell of reagents filling the room.

Even though the sun shone brightly outside, the blackout curtains blocked nearly all light, making the room feel depressing the moment you stepped inside.

And the cluttered floor, strewn with unorganized mess, was nearly impossible to navigate unless you were the owner.

Robert wove through the piles of stuff with barely any space to place his feet and finally reached the table. Without a word of explanation, he handed Isaac the dimensional fragment.

"...Mind if I take a look for a bit?"

Isaac's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes widened as he took the lump, then he started turning it over and examining it from every angle.

He shone light on the fragment and even dabbed it with some strange liquid.

It was amusing how this guy, who was usually slow in speech and sluggish in action, moved so nimbly only in moments like this.

"Isaac. Figure out what it is yet?"

"Just... just a sec."

Robert waited as Isaac became absorbed the instant he saw the dimensional shard.

A decent amount of time passed, but Isaac's mouth stayed shut, and Robert started feeling a bit irritated.

As Robert sat there jiggling his leg, Isaac wiped his glasses and returned to the table, sitting down.

"...No clue at all? This is my first time seeing anything like it. It has a unique mana wavelength... but looking at the pattern, there are similarities, but nothing exactly the same..."

Robert smirked as he watched Isaac mutter to himself, eyes blazing with excitement.

Just as expected, Isaac was hooked.

Robert decided to open up to Isaac about some information, excluding a few facts like his true identity.

"This stays between us, but... how I got this is—"

A man sprinted under the streetlamps at night.

Thud! Thack! Thud—! Thud!

"Hah! Haah...! Hah!"

His flashy dress shoes pounded roughly against the cobblestones.

The coat he wore bore an image of a crow trapped in a glass bottle. Flasks filled with colorful liquids clinked against the leather strap across his chest and the belt at his waist.

—Grab him!! He said we can kill him if he resists!!

—Squad 1, circle around and surround him!! He's a rat in a trap now!!

—If he tries to throw anything, shoot to kill!

'Shit...! Shit! This was supposed to be my last real experiment!'

No one would believe it, but this truly was going to be his final one.

He'd even sworn to himself that this would be the last kidnapping for the greater good, and then he'd quit for real.

'No wonder that kid followed me without a single suspicion...'

He never imagined the vigilantes would use a child as bait to catch him.

'Wh-where do I run to...'

The moment they caught him, his head would be strung up at the city gates like holiday decorations.

—There he is!! Over here!!

—Smash his legs first!!

—That guy's hands are the real danger!!

"Eek—!!"

The vigilantes charged at him like wild beasts, eyes burning with fury.

The thick clubs in their hands looked utterly terrifying.

As the fugitive, he bolted down a dark alley devoid of even a single friendly light.

"Gahk—...!"

Blood filled his mouth, his lungs burning at their limit, but he couldn't stop.

That was when he turned into some unknown alley.

Crack—!!

The air fractured like shattering glass, birthing a space that spewed eerie colors.

"Wh-what?! Hah... haah..."

This inexplicable phenomenon suddenly blocked his path, and now the vigilantes were right on his tail.

Stop here and get beaten to death with clubs before being hanged? Or plunge into that unknown rift?

No question—it had to be the latter.

-

Crash—!

"Haah... hah... hah..."

When he opened his eyes again, he was in someone's room.

Looking around, he saw no sign of the rabid-dog-like vigilantes chasing him.

"Phew—! For now... I'm... alive?"

He cautiously explored the room, which showed traces of human presence.

A few thick books stacked on the desk caught his eye first.

'History of the Harun Empire...? Where the hell is that?'

Even he, who had once dreamed of becoming a diplomat and graduated from a prestigious university, had never heard of it.

If this were a novel, fine—but the contents inside followed a textbook format perfectly.

'Feels like I've been bewitched by a witch. Why can I read this...?'

These were definitely letters he'd never seen before.

Yet they read so naturally, like he was dreaming.

A chill ran down his spine.

'Maybe I'm already dead or something...'

Hesitating in this utterly incomprehensible situation, he decided to open the door and leave the room.

Worried vigilantes might be waiting outside, he pressed his ear to the door, but heard nothing.

Creeeak—

Opening it slowly just in case, he peered out.

'A hallway...?'

An antique hallway stretched before him.

With doors lining both sides, it seemed like a dormitory for communal living.

The good news: no people.

If he acted like he belonged and headed down those stairs, there had to be an exit.

"Ahem—"

Confidence could get you halfway there.

He straightened his clothes and squared his shoulders.

Now, just step out and—

Stab—!

"...?!"

His mind went blank at the sight of the black blade piercing through his chest from behind.

"Th-that... kuhuk!"

In this unbelievable situation, he raised a trembling hand to stem the gushing blood.

He'd stabbed others with blades before, but being stabbed? This was a first.

'Just a chunk of metal the size of my palm pierces right through...'

His hand wouldn't move as he wanted. Blood backed up, flooding his throat and filling his mouth.

As he thrashed desperately to move, a man's voice wormed into his ear from behind.

"You should've come after hours. Then you might've lived a bit longer."

Slice—!

I'd planned to leave tonight, so nothing to lose.

I perched on a spire with a clear view of the academy, keeping watch on the library.

Partly to observe Rike in class, but mostly to stay vigilant until after hours.

'...That bastard?'

Spotting Robert heading to another dorm with the dimensional fragment tucked in his coat, I immediately slipped into the Knight Department dorm.

The academy was in the middle of classes, but there were presences in the dorm—not zero, like Robert's case.

'...!'

Waiting a moment, I caught a presence that hadn't even registered on my senses before.

The answer was clear.

'Either someone deliberately hiding at an expert level I can't detect... or someone who just suddenly appeared for some reason...'

-

And so, now.

Even after handling it, something felt off.

'...So Robert really did borrow the book.'

I felt this coercive force—like you can't go against the main current.

More than that... me cleaning up after Robert?

I gained something, but it still soured my mood. Like scrubbing toilets?

"Hoo..."

I sighed and looked down.

There lay the man, twitching faintly as blood poured out.

'...Just like the script—Romerius showed up first.'

I'd expected it, but it was still fascinating.

If not for his distinctive clothes and dangling potion set, I might've killed the wrong guy.

'Episode 1 is literally the gamer's first main episode...'

The current Robert, at the starting point, could handle this enemy just fine.

Originally, while Robert was away, Romerius flees through a dimensional rift, uses his potions to sow chaos in Lofty Academy, and escapes.

'Robert needs to take down Romerius for the story to flow cleanly...'

He investigates traces left in his room, suspects Romerius crossed from a dimensional gap.

...Without the gamer's perspective now, wouldn't Robert just raise hell thinking it was a thief?

"Ngh..."

Too much to think about—my head itched.

Romerius's appearance was a warning: recklessly opening dimensions to return home might let wanderers cross over.

A signal flare for the gamer's main episodes.

'Can't tip off Robert... gotta think this through.'

Even if he takes the fragment to Isaac, analyzing it and attempting the next try will take significant time.

Since the start's later than I thought, maybe after this semester?

'Now that it's happened, he really is a blockhead. Should I help him get back faster...?'

"...Gulp!"

While I pondered, Romerius—gushing blood like a waterfall—finally stopped breathing.

Crumble—crack—

The blood and corpse that had spilled from Romerius's body fragmented like digital erosion, vanishing piece by piece.

Wanderers who cross dimensions unlawfully aren't permitted even a grave for body or soul after death.

That's why you can't just kill and loot them despite the tempting items.

'...Can't kidnap wanderers and use them, huh?'

A dizzying thought crossed my mind for a second.

Clink—

In the game, wanderers who die leave behind fixed items like this.

Pop—!

I uncorked it right there and downed the liquid.

'Is this the 30% efficiency boost? Can't quite remember clearly...'

If my memory's right, a potion that restores 100 stamina now does 130.

Recovery types cover health, mana, stamina, etc.

This is ideal as a playable character's starting item.

But right now, beyond the potion, removing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this potential threat is the big win.

'...Now I can move around a bit more carefree.'

Time to go.

To Dobat.