Chapter 11
Whirr... Thud.
The descending elevator touches the ground.
Taking a big step forward to get off in the basement, a wide corridor greeted us.
"...I can't believe it."
Isolet's whisper.
I agree.
A breeze blows through the wide corridor. The wind brushing against our cheeks awakens a cool sensation.
Windows are spaced along the walls, reflecting the night sky outside. The full moon shining through the windows cast a dim moonlight on this place.
A scene that's hard to believe is underground.
This is the backdrop one encounters when entering the secret room in the basement of Olympia Academy's library.
'It reminds me of the original work.'
Beautiful illustrations, vivid sound.
While I was quite impressed by seeing it realized in reality...
"Let's get going."
We can't just be immersed in the scenery.
There are enemies lurking ahead.
"Do you know the way?"
"Just go straight ahead. After we pass through the corridor, we'll reach the archives."
The archives filled with martial arts manuals.
A boss monster is waiting there.
Of course, there are mobs we need to defeat before that.
Thud, thud.
I step forward confidently.
It's not a good idea to make loud noises in a field where monsters roam, but.
'Isolet doesn't have experience yet.'
She's someone who just entered the academy and hasn't even had any practical experience.
She'll soon face her first battle, so I should move proactively to reassure her.
"It's really amazing. I never imagined such a place existed in Olympia... I was curious about what the secret room would be like, but it's truly mysterious. How on earth can we see the night sky?"
"This academy has quite a deep history. If you look, you'll find quite a few structures woven with magic like this."
"I see."
As I walk ahead confidently, Isolet seems to have relaxed as well and follows right behind.
How far had we walked down the corridor like this?
"Shh."
I extend my arm behind me to stop her steps.
The sensory organs I trained in the library a few hours ago. I activate my sight and hearing to the maximum.
Then, beyond the darkness that the dim moonlight couldn't illuminate, I heard something hitting the floor.
Clack, clack, clack...
A noise like bones directly colliding.
Skeletons. Three of them.
"There are monsters ahead."
"We need to break through, right?"
"Yeah."
This place has a structure with just one corridor leading to the circular archives.
Since there's no other way to reach the archives, we have to encounter the skeletons in front of us.
Shing─
Isolet draws her sword from its scabbard.
The blade shines white in the moonlight. Even just drawing her sword, her posture is like a painting.
"I'll take on two of them, you handle the remaining one. We go on three."
"Alright."
Originally, the protagonist should take them all out alone to gain experience, but I need practical experience too.
'Let's think of this as practice before the Inter-year Exchange Competition.'
Also to be considerate of my junior, Isolet.
Yes, that's right.
Well then, it's time to engage.
To face the boss monster in the archives, we need to defeat these with minimal effort.
Let's go for a one-hit kill.
"Three, two, one─ Go."
We synchronize our timing with a 3-second count.
The moment I finish speaking, I step forward strongly with my foot sole.
Bang─!
My vision shifts backward. The windowed corridor passes behind, and I stand in front of the skeletons beyond the darkness.
─Kigik, kigigik?
The creatures that noticed us grip their bone swords.
And as they raise their arms towards me, before they can swing their swords─
Crack!
"That's one down."
I immediately thrust out a fist, shattering the bone joints.
Crunch...
The remains of the skeleton shattered in one hit. The bone fragments that formed its shape scatter on the floor.
─Kigik!
But the opponent isn't alone.
Another skeleton's bone sword swings.
Its trajectory is from the right shoulder to the left waist.
It's difficult to avoid. If I twist my posture recklessly here, I'll just get hit by a follow-up attack anyway.
That means I have no choice but to take the hit, but─
'Indestructible Body.'
The physical cheat that hardens the body.
I deliberately put my arm in the way of the bone sword that would have sliced the skin of an ordinary person.
Scrape...
The blade that cut through my clothes stops at my steel-like skin.
─Kik?
The skeleton makes a surprised expression.
Although its eye sockets are empty, somehow that's the feeling I got.
"Well, too bad."
Bam!
I knock away the bone sword and throw another punch.
The remains of the skeleton with its skull blown apart. I kick them aside and look to the opposite side.
There stands Isolet, her sword lowered as if drawing a line on the floor. The distance to the skeleton in front of her is about 10 steps.
Will she start exchanging blows with her sword now? What decision will Isolet, the protagonist, make?
She showed it through action.
Tah!
Isolet dashes forward quickly. She engages in combat similar to me.
However, the essence is different.
Swoosh
Isolet's sword rises from the ground to the sky, drawing a semicircle.
The sword, made heavier by the added speed, deflects the skeleton's bone sword and shatters its form.
It was Isolet's technique, 'Upper Slash'.
"......"
A cleanly executed first practical combat.
I give a casual compliment to her for defeating the skeleton in one hit.
"Well done. That was clean."
"Fufu. Thank you."
She sheathes her sword with a faint smile.
Isolet seems quite satisfied.
Well, my situation was different though.
'I guess I'll need techniques after all.'
We both defeated enemies in one hit, but the essence isn't the same.
Isolet's attack is based on technique and skill. It's not simply overpowering with superior specs.
On the other hand, I rely on pure physical prowess.
My foundation is the terrifying ability scores gained through physical cheats.
That's not to say it's a demerit, but it's still lacking to navigate the battlefield with just physical prowess alone.
I should learn some techniques to prepare for the future.
'Let's get one with this hidden piece.'
Therefore, I will find it when we reach the archives.
A martial arts manual that can create techniques using only the physical body.
"Is this enough? I don't see any more enemies."
"Probably. I think the boss will be at the end of this corridor."
I gesture to Isolet as I lead the way.
She diligently follows behind.
How far had we walked down the dim corridor like this?
Finally, we arrived at the boss room.
The circular archives that open up as soon as we exit the end of the corridor.
Countless martial arts manuals are inserted in bookshelves reaching the ceiling.
As much as I'd like to run over right now and pull out each book...
That's impossible.
There was an enemy blocking the stairs leading to the bookshelves.
"That's..."
Isolet trails off.
A single monster is captured in her blue pupils.
A body covered in coarse hair.
Despite being a monster, it stands on two legs as if it were human.
Yet its snout is that of a beast, and it has wolf ears.
The boss monster of the secret room, a werewolf.
It was guarding the archives while asleep.
***
It was pure coincidence that Irina witnessed that scene.
"...Hmmnya."
She rubs her swollen eyes and gets up.
Looking around wondering where she is, it's an attic room in the library.
"Yawn."
Did I study too hard?
It was all because of what that senior said yesterday about becoming his disciple.
I got needlessly proud of being a talented mage.
That's why I was determined to get a good score in this Inter-year Exchange Competition.
I don't know how long I've been in the attic room. I think I came in as soon as lectures ended and stayed continuously.
I didn't go out once and just kept reading books, and before I knew it, I got tired and fell asleep.
Looking out the window, I can already see the dark night sky. I should hurry back to the dormitory.
Just as Irina, who had roughly tidied her clothes, was about to leave the attic room.
Rumble......
A loud noise echoed throughout the library.
It was so loud that it vibrated through the walls of the attic room where Irina was.
"...What's that?"
She blinks.
There's no way such a loud noise would occur here at this time.
It's long past closing time, so there shouldn't be anyone here.
"Could it be a ghost?"
She gets goosebumps.
Suddenly, she feels incredibly regretful.
Ah, why did I fall asleep? Why did I stay in the library and end up encountering a ghost?
With such worries in her heart, she steps out of the attic room with trembling legs─
"I believed in you, senior."
"Yeah, yeah."
She heard one familiar voice, and one unfamiliar voice together.
"...Isn't that person?"
The senior she met during the entrance exam. Herak, was it?
Why is his voice coming from here?
And the other one is a woman's voice I've never heard before.
Something's going on.
Convinced of this, Irina carefully stepped forward.
Quietly, carefully approaching the source of the sound so as not to make any noise, and.
Finally, she discovered it.
"How should we enter?"
"Just go inside and stand still for a moment."
A man with dull golden hair.
In contrast, a woman with bright silver hair.
'That person is...'
Irina knows that woman.
She can't help but know.
As the top student of the Magic Department, she's heard countless times that this is the opponent she must defeat.
'Isolet.'
The top freshman of the Knight Department.
She's close to Herak.
...Why?
'What kind of relationship do they have?'
She hides her body behind a bookshelf, peeking out slightly.
Irina's brilliant mind thinks rapidly.
Isolet, the promising talent of the Knight Department.
And Herak, known as the loser of the Magic Department─ but actually a mage with power rivaling the Chairwoman.
Why are these two, at this time, in this place together?
Thousands of possibilities unfold in her mind.
She eliminates them one by one, starting with the most likely. The process is swift and smooth.
The conclusion she reaches is this:
"Disciple...!"
Thump
She covers her mouth with both hands.
Irina remembered clearly.
Well, it's hard to explain clearly. Just think of it as being able to gain powerful strength.
Herak definitely said that.
That he would give powerful strength.
That he would take her as a disciple!
Then...!
'Is he crazy...?! That person is from the Knight Department!'
Herak is trying to take Isolet as his disciple!
A Magic Department student taking a Knight Department junior as a disciple!
'This can't be. How could such a thing...'
Why would an excellent mage like Herak do such a thing?
Her thoughts, chasing one after another, finally produce an answer.
But I, Irina, the rightful successor of the Magic Tower, am not weak enough to need your teachings.
"Ah."
Herak's first disciple contact.
That was Irina.
But she rejected that golden offer of her own accord.
Therefore, Herak has defected.
With the outrageous idea of teaching the promising talent of the Knight Department with his own power...!
"This can't be..."
To think that this shocking reality was due to her own ambitious aspirations.
If she had accepted the offer right then and there, it wouldn't have come to this.
But regret is meaningless. There's no use crying over spilt milk now.
"Here."
"...Thank you."
Look.
The sight of Herak extending his hand in the distance.
The sight of Isolet shyly smiling and taking it!
"......"
She watches the scene with empty eyes.
The two stand silently for a few minutes.
Then, with a whirr─ they descend and disappear from view.
What conversation did they have in that short time?
What kind of rapport did they build while holding hands?
What on earth are those two planning to do down there!
"...W-What should I do?"
Irina's eyes spin.
An unexpected situation. Encountering such a secret romantic tryst for the first time, her mind went blank.
She may have followed an elite course at the Magic Tower, but she's still barely an adult.
In such a romantic scene, she becomes just a girl.
"I-I should follow them for now."
After standing frozen for a long time like that.
Irina approached the scene intermittently.
Standing in front of the space filled with pitch-black darkness.
Thinking about the two who had entered the secret underground.
Gulp, she swallowed hard.