The Entrance Ceremony Raid
It had already been a few days since I arrived in the Imperial Capital. Well, not that much had happened. Since I’d arrived with plenty of time to spare before the entrance ceremony, I didn’t have much to do.
I’d wandered around the city, and visiting places I’d only seen in the game was a surreal experience. I even managed to pick up a few Hidden Pieces along the way.
Iolet, who had followed me around with a sour expression at first, eventually started taking the initiative to explore the capital herself. She was a total homebody who had never really been anywhere outside of Denaris, so she must have found the capital fascinating.
You might ask, "Can't someone of Denaris's status come to the capital whenever they want?" Well, you need friends to hang out with, don't you? What was Iolet supposed to do in the capital all by herself? She didn't have a single friend other than me.
Seeing her so excited to explore made me feel a bit sorry for her, so I threw myself into the sightseeing, too. Before I knew it, time had flown by, and it was the day of the academy entrance ceremony.
The auditorium of Stella Academy was packed with a massive crowd. You could feel the sheer density of the magical energy and vitality in the air—a testament to the fact that geniuses from all over the continent had gathered here, regardless of their status, united only by their 'talent.'
Yet, amidst that sweltering heat, there was one area that remained as cold as ice. It was the section where Iolet and I were sitting. While others were huddled in groups, chatting away to ease their nerves, not even an ant dared to come within a few meters of us. The seats around us were completely empty, as if there were an invisible barrier.
Even without drawing my sword, the piercing gazes directed at us from all sides made the situation clear enough. Besides, my hearing is sharp—I could hear every word they were saying.
“…Hey, hey, look at that.”
“What is it… oh, it’s Denaris.”
“I guess Denaris is enrolling this year, too.”
“Wow… this batch is insane… but wait, is there anyone our age in Denaris?”
“You know, that one with the terrible personality…”
Aigoo… our young lady’s notoriety had already spread all the way to the capital. It seemed the rumors about her acting out during the succession struggle back home had been blown out of proportion and drifted all the way here.
Plus, she’d caused quite a few incidents in the capital before she met me. Well, she had been quite prickly back then, having no one to lean on.
Thanks to that, she had become the number one person to avoid among the incoming students. I glanced sideways at Iolet. She couldn't possibly have missed the stares and whispers, yet she sat there with her arms crossed, chin held high in defiance.
If anything, she was radiating such a chilly aura—as if to say, "How dare these lowly things look at me?"—that it was creating a vicious cycle where people were scurrying away even faster.
That’s my lady for you. That gutsy attitude of hers, treating the whole world like an outcast. It never ceases to amaze me.
Iolet was far more concerned with the boredom of it all than the stares of the crowd. Finally, unable to take it anymore, she rested her chin on her hand, slumped back in her chair, and spoke in a grumpy tone.
“Dia. How much longer do we have to wait?”
“My lady… is your patience really this thin?”
“It’s already been an hour since we got here!”
“There you go again, getting all worked up. I’ve told you time and again to maintain your composure. You must always act with the mindset of preparing for an ambush.”
“Ha! Ambush, my foot! Who would dare stage an ambush at Stella Academy in the middle of the Imperial Capital… wait? I feel like we had this exact conversation recently…”
Our young lady still doesn't understand how the world works… an ambush during the entrance ceremony is a staple.
That very moment.
Kugugugu-!
The massive ceiling of the auditorium began to vibrate violently.
“Is it… is it an earthquake?!”
“Shouldn't we evacuate?!”
“Whatever it is, let’s just get out of here!!”
The auditorium was instantly plunged into chaos, filled with the screams and commotion of the incoming students. My sensitive senses picked up a massive amount of mana gathering on the ceiling. I quietly drew my sword just a fraction from its scabbard.
Trait Sword Saint has been activated.
World's Trial has been negated.
I looked up at the ceiling, where a terribly alien and ominous blood-red mana was swirling.
Kuuuuung-!
Before long, a massive, bizarre geometric magic circle tore through the air, covering the entire auditorium!
Through the gaps in the magic circle, accompanied by a cold bloodlust that threatened to stain the earth red, the roars of the ferocious monsters I’d only seen in the original game began to pour down!
“Kyaaaaah!”
“M-monsters!”
“Run away!!”
The entrance ceremony was instantly turned into a living hell.
“What is that now!?”
I heard Iolet’s voice, filled with shock. But this wasn't the time to worry about her!
“My lady, I’ll be right back!”
“Hey! Where are you going!?”
I instantly focused my mana into my feet and unleashed it.
—Earth Shrink
Kwaaaaang-!
The marble floor of the auditorium buckled violently, and a thunderous boom erupted.
The hem of my maid outfit fluttered violently, and in that split second, my speed had already far surpassed the limits of the human eye. It was literally the Godspeed of folding space as I ran.
A powerful shockwave tore through the vacuum, swirling like a storm along the trajectory I had taken. The incoming students standing nearby were knocked off balance by the terrifying wind pressure, tumbling like fallen leaves.
It was certainly fast enough to be difficult to control… but that didn't matter.
Trait Mind's Eye has been activated.
Sight, touch, hearing, taste, smell… every sense broke through its limits and expanded infinitely.
A precise map covering the entire auditorium began to be drawn in my mind in real-time. The trajectories of the scattered creatures, the ragged breathing of the students, and even the crude flow of the monsters' mana were all etched into my brain as lines and points.
Trait: Mind's Eye. It was the very first Hidden Piece I acquired after realizing this world was that of Saintess Hero. The effect is simple: it increases the range of my perception.
In the game, it wasn't a particularly good trait since it only expanded the mini-map range, but for me now, it was the best trait I could ask for.
Thanks to Mind's Eye, I could move freely with my non-visual senses heightened to the extreme even when my sword was sheathed, and it was a godsend that helped in many ways even when Sword Saint was active.
Anyway, I navigated the auditorium, controlling the explosive momentum gained from Earth Shrink through the senses of Mind's Eye.
Sreureung-!
While running, I twisted the handle and fully drew the silver-white blade from within the staff.
Slash!
Not a single wasted movement; the shortest possible path. The monsters blocking my way had their heads separated from their bodies and scattered in all directions before they could even realize what they were facing. My light, effortless sword strikes were gouging out the monsters' vitals more precisely than any top-tier swordsman.
And finally, I captured the largest mana signature at the center of the battlefield.
It was a monster boasting an overwhelming, massive body that seemed to reach the high ceiling of the auditorium all by itself. While the other geniuses were busy struggling with the small fry, this was the Titan—a named monster that served as the 'boss' of this raid, crawling out from a rift in dimensions.
Kwaaaaang-!
The moment I reached the feet of the giant monster, I kicked off the ground once more. With the tremor, my body soared into the air, defying gravity. My form, having vertically pierced through dozens of meters of altitude, had reached a position exactly level with the giant monster's grotesque face.
It was only for a split second that my reflection in the creature's massive pupil filled the giant's vision, as if it were about to swallow the world.
“Hello? Mind if I borrow your shoulder for a moment?”
I landed right on the giant’s shoulder and looked down at the battlefield. The Titan glanced at me, sitting on its shoulder, with an expression that seemed to say it was dumbfounded, but I lightly ignored it.
This giant wouldn't move until the very end anyway. It was more of a prop, really. Even in the game, it was nicknamed a 'folding screen' because it never moved.
Regardless, for me, it was just the perfect viewing gallery to survey this mess at a glance.
The reason I had rushed to the Titan so urgently was to identify who was fighting below. In fact, this entrance ceremony raid event was one of the essential events that always occurred in Saintess Hero.
If you had to define it, it was the opening and tutorial-like battle of the academy arc. In the game, the player would learn the combat mechanics and systems while fighting monsters… but for a veteran player like me, understanding such systems was completely irrelevant.
What really mattered was the fact that the 'major characters' who would be entangled with the protagonist in the future were making their debut in this chaos.
As I mentioned before, Saintess Hero was a game that pursued extreme freedom. Because of that, except for a few essential characters like the Saintess Lumina or our young lady Iolet, the lineup of major NPCs for each grade was completely randomized every playthrough.
And this entrance ceremony raid was the stage where those randomly selected geniuses would show off their martial prowess for the first time.
“Now, let’s see… I wonder if this batch has a good lineup?”