Chapter 4
CHAPTER_TITLE: The First Event Unfolds (Part 2)
I glanced around uneasily for a moment, waiting for something.
There had to be a noticeable prelude before the first event kicked off.
How much time had passed? Finally, a faint vibration began.
I exhaled slowly, then rose from my seat. I already knew that vibration signaled the start of the first event.
Students were still wandering through the academy grounds, so no one had noticed me getting up.
Breathing steadily, I took a step forward. Even so, my gaze remained fixed on a single spot in the lecture hall.
I already knew why. Something was about to appear there.
This event wouldn't affect grades or the main story much. It was simply a test for the new students.
But if I completed it successfully, there would be a reward.
The A-Class.
A player ranked 289th would slip straight into the A-Class packed with the protagonists.
In the original game, clearing this tutorial and entering the A-Class was basically the starting line for the real plot.
From that point on, the protagonists would treat me like something to be avoided. Even the ones who showed curiosity about a player with an unusual ability despite ranking only 289th.
Forming connections with them all started with clearing this entrance ceremony event.
In the last timeline I hadn't bothered to make it stand out, so I'd skipped it.
But skipping it wouldn't cost much anyway.
The protagonists would step in to deal with it themselves. Even if they didn't, the professors would eventually show up and explain it was just a test.
And there was another reason.
I had the Curse of Equivalent Exchange and Regression. I lacked the talent for fast growth, so even if I got into the A-Class I wouldn't stand out.
As I'd already said, there was no need to focus on academy life while sacrificing my lifespan.
But this time was different. With the memories and inherited stats from the previous timeline, standing out at the academy wasn't impossible.
Or rather...
I have to get into the A-Class.
In the last timeline the problem had been that the protagonists were too weak. If they'd been a little stronger, I might have preserved more of my lifespan.
Of course, my own weakness had played a part too... Given the game's nature, thinking I could solo the tutorial had been arrogant.
Still, the most efficient route to getting close to the protagonists was to enter the A-Class.
That realization came from the failure of the last timeline.
So I walked slowly toward the raised platform in the lecture hall.
This time I'd decided to give my all and clear every event.
"...It feels like it's shaking a bit."
"Yeah, it does."
By the time I'd crossed half the hall from the back row, students started noticing something was off.
But no one would have figured out what "it" was yet. They could only sense that things were vibrating faintly.
It was that subtle.
The protagonists?
Of course. The high-ranking protagonists sat up front, so they wouldn't notice me.
Before the protagonists realized what was happening and dealt with it first, I would strike.
If everything went according to plan, even the chief professor Elcia might notice me, and getting into the A-Class would be no problem.
I gripped the sword hilt at my waist and fixed my gaze on the exact spot where it would appear.
Any second now.
I felt the tension rise.
With every sense on high alert, I exhaled deeply and kept my eyes locked on the spot.
And then...
BOOM...!!
"Uwaah...!!"
A strong vibration rolled through. It was the moment the students caught the unnatural feeling and small screams erupted.
Most still had no idea what was happening, but some began to stir, half-risen.
Only I had lowered my stance and prepared to slam into the ground.
One thrust.
CRRRROOOOMMM!!
The single powerful vibration had grown so intense it shook the entire lecture hall.
"Is it an earthquake?!"
"Run...!!"
Even though faint magic was leaking from the platform, students fled in panic, reacting only to the vibration. No one seemed to realize it was a test. They simply wanted to escape the so-called quake's damage.
Of course, the protagonists near the platform had noticed something strange. They rose slightly and stared at the leaking magic on the raised area.
But...
That's fake.
The leaking magic came from the platform. The real thing would appear...
"...The ceiling is collapsing!!"
Above.
If it had emerged from the floor I would already have been on the platform. That spot would have been far more efficient. But emerging from the sky changed everything.
Keep maximum distance, set up support, then leap in for one strike.
I mentally rehearsed the plan, looking up. The lecture hall ceiling had indeed begun to crack.
"What is that...?"
The appearance point was always random. But there were a few consistent points, so guessing the location was easy.
Even though the spot changed every time, guessing it wasn't difficult.
"...Dragon?"
A pitch-black dragon.
One student nearby stared with mouth agape at the dragon spewing ominous mana from its whole body.
"No... a magic dragon?"
Mana-devoured dragon. A disgrace to the dragon race.
Dria.
The shape was visible on the collapsing ceiling, spewing mana that looked like it could melt anything nearby.
"Uwaaah!! Run away!!!!"
"Kyahaaa!!"
The moment students spotted Dria, screams tore through the hall.
In the chaotic rush toward the exit, shoving and trampling each other, I planted my feet in the opposite direction... straight at Dria.
Magic dragon Dria.
Even though it had been consumed by mana, it was still a dragon. A legendary race humans were said to be unable to defeat.
Of course I could win if it grew strong enough, but as a student I couldn't hope to face it head-on.
But I planted my feet without hesitation.
If it had been the real Dria, fleeing to its lair would have been the only way. But no true magic dragon would appear from the very beginning of the tutorial.
Thinking about it for even a moment made it obvious.
If a magic dragon had appeared and the academy professors hadn't shown up, that alone was a giveaway.
That's not the real one.
Placing a real Dria in the tutorial was the same as telling the game to stop clearing.
In other words, this was just an illusion. A test to measure the protagonists' courage and bravery in dire situations while also revealing their true nature.
At the same time...
A trick to get a bottom-ranked player into the A-Class.
It was nothing more than the developers' way to force someone into the A-Class.
I lightly kicked the ground and locked onto the illusion Dria's weak point in my vision.
Even as an illusion, its specs were superior to any player at this stage.
So to take it down I needed two methods.
First.
Focus every protagonist's power at once for a massive burst.
Even then, since I'd figured out the test, they'd praise my leadership and let me into the A-Class.
I'd even gain some trust from a few protagonists.
But that wouldn't earn the trust and curiosity of all of them.
In the end I had to use the second method.
Overwhelming power to one-shot Dria.
But I didn't have overwhelming power yet. I had Regression, but I didn't know which stats it would carry over. I wasn't sure of anything.
Still, that didn't mean I couldn't one-shot it.
The illusion Dria was, after all, just an illusion.
Weak point...
There was a spot that vanished instantly if struck once. Just aim there and one-shotting the illusion Dria would be trivial.
Just below the chest. The area called the "pit of the heart."
Striking that spot and the illusion Dria would vanish instantly. In reality it would require mana or something with eyes like that, but to me who had already spotted the weakness it was meaningless.
I kicked off lightly and charged. Gazing fixed on its weak point, I took a step forward and unconsciously smiled.
With this, the A-Class is locked in.
That's when I thought it.
"Burn...!!"
"Charge...!!"
"Huaaah!!"
At the voices ringing out, I had no choice but to stop walking.
Eh...?
Soon different attacks slammed into the illusion Dria.
Red flames that looked deadly, roaring blue-cold wind, and a pure white light streak from a sword slicing downward from above.
I couldn't keep moving forward. The protagonists' attacks forced me to halt in place.
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!
"...I took it out."
"I took it out."
"...I guess I did."
Looking at each other, the girls murmured. I blinked slowly.
Standing frozen with my hand on the sword hilt in the swirling dust, I thought to myself.
Was this from the last timeline?
My second timeline had already gone off in a completely ridiculous direction from the very beginning.