Seeking the Hero (2)
"Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than Dia; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of Deus is greater than she."
Deus ex Machina was a game set in a fantasy world, centered around an academy.
While it featured adventures in outer areas beyond the academy, most of the story and events took place on the academy map.
Since it wasn't a fully open-world game, the spaces outside the academy weren't perfectly implemented.
The buildings were there, but you couldn't enter because their interiors hadn't been made. Even some buildings inside the academy were inaccessible.
It was unavoidable given the tech at the time of Deus ex Machina's initial release. Who could've guessed a full VR open-world game would come out so soon?
Anyway, with Kallandra Academy as the main stage, most of the game's opportunities and hidden pieces were tucked away inside it.
This meant that my asymmetric advantage as a transmigrator—my exclusive 'game knowledge'—was heavily skewed toward the academy's interior.
But the academy's security was incredibly tight.
Even after over ten years in this world, I'd only managed to get inside yesterday.
In that time, I'd scoured every accessible area for opportunities and hidden pieces, but compared to the academy, it was just a fraction.
The real treasures are here, huh.
And with the entrance ceremony tomorrow, today I was free.
So I headed out to scout the academy buildings and test the waters by checking one hidden piece—maybe snag it if the chance arose.
Leaving the dormitory, I checked out the lecture halls.
Yesterday, I'd arrived exhausted, unpacked in the dorm, and dealt with that fiasco with Io, leaving no time to explore.
Today was my first real look.
An elite institution for nobles and a select few talented commoners, built with the empire's full might. The facilities were stunningly beautiful, top-quality.
Plazas between lecture halls featured elegant fountains and massive statues, with benches by flower beds for resting or chatting.
Scenes I'd seen countless times in the game, but in reality... they felt utterly different.
In the game, NPCs—non-player characters—just stood in fixed spots or walked preset routes, repeating the same lines endlessly.
But here, the academy students moved freely.
They were alive and breathing!
Girls clustered on benches, chatting away.
Boys tossing mana orbs back and forth, playing sports.
Yes, this is it.
The world I loved was alive and kicking.
This is the academy...!
The very place I'd wandered and reveled in!
After over ten years, I'd finally reached it!
"H-Honestly... I don't think it's right for nobles to shun fellow academy students just because they're commoners...."
That's when a snippet from a nearby group conversation caught my ear.
A voice I hadn't heard in ten years, yet was intimately familiar. The one with the highest story presence but shockingly little voice acting compared to others.
The protagonist of Deus ex Machina.
"What're you blabbering about, commoner?"
Turning, I saw a standoff: three people facing off against Deus ex Machina's heroine, Dia, who stood a bit apart.
What the hell?
I'd never seen this in Deus ex Machina.
Originally, Dia got caught in an incident on her way to the entrance ceremony, turning it into the early tutorial. She'd barely make it by the end of the ceremony.
But she was already here? Like with Saula showing up too early, was this butterfly effect from my changes?
The three staring down Dia after her outburst: redhead, bluehead, blonde—all girls I didn't know.
Probably minor extras too insignificant to remember, or academy students altered by my presence.
The redhead and bluehead wore academy uniforms with noble badges. The blonde also in uniform, but with a commoner badge.
The ceremony was tomorrow, so uniforms weren't required today—casuals would've been fine. Yet here they were in uniform.
What gives? Super school-spirited types?
Dia's line had been about nobles not shunning commoner students.
Did the red and blue nobles bully the blonde commoner, and Dia stepped in?
My name is Dia.
A commoner attending the academy thanks to that lord's help.
He wrote in his letter: Don't go wild like usual at the academy.
With so many nobles, conflicts could make life hell.
But things turned out like this.
Five days ago, I met another commoner girl in the dorms and we hit it off. She said two stylish girls in fancy uniforms would recruit her into their 'sorority' today.
My first friend here, and a sorority—noble-exclusive clubs! I was jealous but cheered her on. Maybe she'd pull me in later.
I snuck to the plaza to watch... but the vibe was off.
"See? Told you. A commoner thinking she can hang with us."
"Yeah. No idea of her place. Thought she'd measure up?"
"Hilarious, haha!"
Up close: my friend drenched in some gross sticky goo, her makeup ruined.
I knew how hard she'd prepped all yesterday, how excited she was. Her humiliation was unimaginable.
Nobles... I'd heard stories, but this brutal?
Just for being commoners? Same academy students?
My hands shook.
No.
Can't step in.
She's humiliated, but if I intervene, I'll be the target.
Ruin my academy life...
Break my promise to my sponsor...!
But I blurted it out anyway.
"H-Honestly... I don't think it's right for nobles to shun fellow academy students just because they're commoners...."
Idiot!
Nooo....
"What're you blabbering about, commoner?"
Eek!
That noble girl called me out! Knew I was commoner instantly! No uniform—how? Do I scream hick?
What now!
Gotta leave the academy?
The one who went out of his way for me...
Sorry... I promised I'd endure! Do well! But I couldn't...
Hng.
"Hey, commoner. What'd you say? Who do you think you are, huh?"
"N-No, that's not—"
Right. I did it to save my friend.
I turned to check on her.
She was gone.
...Huh?
W-Where'd she go?
"Ditched her friend and ran? Abandoned someone who stood up for her. Typical commoners."
"No loyalty, always scheming betrayal. The emperor was wrong letting scum like this in."
N-No! She didn't abandon me!
My friend wouldn't...
Would she?
We'd just met days ago. Not that close.
But...
"Exactly. That's why nobles need more power to aid His Majesty."
"Anyway, you insolently criticized noble actions and tried to stop us. Time for punishment—from our noble sorority."
Nobles...
Are they all like this? Just different birth status, and they bully like this?
These damn...
Then.
"Hey. You two. What's your business with my friend?"
A sky-blue-haired beautiful noble youth appeared before my eyes. Like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.