Chapter 53

EP.53 Prologue (3)

"Hehehe, the time has come. Commoner."

A somewhat evil laugh.

Keridna, who loved acting, was deeply immersed in the role of a 'villainous young lady.' Therefore, she often pretended to be a villain, calling herself a 'villainous young lady' and clumsily acting the part.

The current laugh was also influenced by this.

In the northern Whiteclaw Duchy, at the Whiteclaw family mansion, the sky, which was slowly turning dark, was quietly sprinkling snow.

Keridna Whiteclaw, a woman with short pink hair, was sitting alone at a desk in the room.

She had been able to see Isaac's perspective through the surveillance magic [Sight Synchronization], but due to the intense psychological burden, she had taken a few days to compose herself.

Now, she was ready. It was time to resume monitoring Isaac as originally intended.

"Hehe... It's time to reveal your true face, pitiful commoner."

For a while, Keridna had been grinning and sweating, awkwardly delivering lines as if she were in a play.

She hesitated. She was just as nervous as she had been a few days ago.

However, thinking it was necessary for the future, she finally closed her eyes.

[Sight Synchronization] activated. Static electricity crackled through her mind, and Isaac's perspective from the Merhen Academy grounds began to appear.

"Huh?"

Something... was off.

All she could see was a scene of a snowstorm raging in pitch-black darkness. For three seconds, it would turn completely dark, then briefly show the scene again, and then turn dark once more. It seemed that Isaac was enduring a bitter cold, making it difficult to even open his eyes.

While the Whiteclaw Duchy was almost always winter, the other areas, including Merhen Academy, were clearly in summer.

Had he gone to the northern region? No, that couldn't be... The environment itself, with a snowstorm raging in the pitch-black darkness, was unnatural. It wasn't that late yet.

And Isaac seemed to be advancing steadily into an unknown and dangerous place.

"Ah...!"

Suddenly, Isaac fell to the ground, and Keridna jumped up in shock.

He seemed to have lost consciousness with his eyes closed. As a result, Isaac's current perspective was completely dark.

Keridna, still with her eyes closed, ran her fingers through her hair.

"Is... Is this a disaster...?"

Keridna's voice trembled.

"Get up... Why aren't you getting up...!"

For a while, Keridna was in a state of panic. [Sight Synchronization] only allowed her to see the physical perspective, so she couldn't know that Isaac had entered a trial.

All she could see was a human dying.

She couldn't just stand by. Keridna snapped her eyes open. As soon as [Sight Synchronization] automatically deactivated, she rushed out of the room.

Her parents were out visiting other noble families. The only person left in the mansion to help was her sister, Aithel Whiteclaw, the acting head of the household.

"Aithel-nee!!"

Aithel is wise. Perhaps she could find a solution to save Isaac, who was in mortal danger in an unknown place.

With this thought, Keridna called out Aithel's name and rushed through the mansion's corridors.

* * *

<The Magic Knight of Merhen> Final weapon acquisition trial.

Overcoming the trial allows one to obtain a specific elemental final weapon.

What exactly does 'overcoming the trial' mean? Finding the meaning itself is part of the trial, but my game knowledge already knew the answer.

Simply put, you have to face the crisis without fear and survive.

In the protagonist Ian Fairytail's trial, he had to confront the noble who had tormented him.

In the past, Ian was often beaten up by the noble and his subordinates.

In the trial, he had to face death multiple times. The noble's actions in the trial were far beyond the pale. It was a contrived setup, but it did provide a cathartic ending.

Various backstories were also covered. The background of why Ian aimed to become a magic knight, his personal traumas...

Now, it's all for the better.

Ultimately, Ian overcame his past trauma, defeated the noble, and cleared the trial.

'For me, the one to overcome is the evil deity.'

The scale of the trial is completely mismatched, but lamenting won't help. It's already happened. Well, the context is the same.

In my case, is the condition to clear the trial to prevent the world's destruction?

Snap!

I slapped both cheeks with my palms. To steel my resolve.

The ceremony host and students all looked at me. What are you looking at, brats.

The ceremony lasts 20 minutes. After 30 minutes, the evil deity Nephid will be resurrected. So, each session gives a maximum of 50 minutes.

Time flows much faster here than in the real world. I had already experienced this in <The Magic Knight of Merhen>.

I don't know exactly how much faster, but if a character is dying, it's easy to tell.

'How do I prevent the world's destruction?'

The fundamental problem.

No matter what, it's impossible to match the final boss's stats already. The shortcut of becoming overpowered in [Fictitious Hell] doesn't work here.

'I need more information... I need to understand the situation first.'

I got up and started running. My destination was the center of Merhen Academy, the massive administrative building, the Bartos Hall, where the evil deity Nephid would be resurrected.

To figure out why the evil deity was resurrecting prematurely and to identify the cause.

The luxurious exterior of the Bartos Hall, which resembled a castle. As soon as I looked up, I found the answer to my question.

A semi-transparent golden barrier covered the wide rooftop. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"So this is the setup..."

It's absurd.

The semi-transparent golden barrier covering the rooftop had numerous analog clock models engraved on it, swirling around the space. The hour, minute, and second hands were rotating rapidly.

In the center of the rooftop stood a gravestone with an unusual color. The barrier originated from this gravestone.

It was a 9-star time magic, [Gravestone of Eternity].

Within the area where this magic was active, time accelerates. This was the reason the evil deity, who was supposed to appear in the third year, was resurrecting prematurely.

It's a common trope, but even in this world's magic, there are forbidden areas.

Magics that seek to surpass the realms of truth and gods. Time manipulation magic is a prime example.

Right now, such a magic was deployed on the rooftop of Bartos Hall.

'To get to the rooftop, I have to enter the building.'

It's impossible to break through the barrier created by [Gravestone of Eternity]. Everything that touches its surface stops in time. No shock could even reach the barrier.

Even mana detection is impossible because the flow of mana stops.

What about destroying Bartos Hall itself?

No, that's not possible. Upon closer inspection, a semi-transparent light yellow protective barrier, similar to the color of Bartos Hall's exterior, was in place. It was likely a defensive magic cast by one of the familiars inside Bartos Hall.

'The only person who could do this...'

In the story of <The Magic Knight of Merhen>, it could only be 'that woman.'

'I'm going to lose my mind.'

I was on the verge of losing consciousness. The evil deity, and now 'that woman' blocking my path...

The trial is designed to be overcome if you find the method.

Conversely,

This virtual world is set up to make it as difficult as possible for me to overcome the trial, blocking me with all its might.

I swallowed hard and opened the luxurious door of Bartos Hall. I was heading up to the rooftop via the stairs.

As soon as I entered the building, I couldn't help but frown at the expected situation.

The grand central hall. The beautiful structures, statues, and walls adorned with pretty patterns were splattered with chaotic red blood.

And the rows of soldiers.

Huge men in white uniforms with the Trump card emblem, holding spears in one hand, stood orderly along the walls.

The Trump soldiers, wearing masks with a design that grotesquely grinned on one side.

[Trump Soldier ♠]

Lv: 130

Race: Ein

Attribute: Water

Danger Level: High

Psychology: [D*](&%& A()!)!so(* ]

[Trump Soldier ♥]

Attribute: Fire

[Trump Soldier ♣]

Attribute: Wind

[Trump Soldier ◆]

Attribute: Rock

The Trump soldiers' presence dominated Bartos Hall.

"Hey... cute...! I've never seen such a cute cat before!"

[Meow?]

"Whose cat is this? Wow, look at that fur. Amazing."

[Meow?]

They say flattery can make even a whale dance.

Cheshire is weak to flattery. Extremely so. He doesn't care about the context. Whether it's the middle of a battlefield or a murder scene, he loves being flattered.

I put on my best natural smile, using all my acting skills.

"Who's your owner? I'm so jealous... I want to raise a cat as beautiful and well-groomed as you."

Cheshire is gender-neutral. He likes flattery from both men and women.

[You have a good eye, kid. It's obvious that this body is beautiful and well-groomed.]

Cheshire straightened up, looking proud.

As I continued to shower him with contextless flattery, Cheshire started to nod happily.

"Good, good, good~!"

[Meow!]

At some point, Cheshire began to show off his figure-skating-like spinning skills, and I was clapping while bent over.

Amid the solemnly lined-up Trump soldiers, it felt like we were having our own little show.

[How about it, my dazzling skills? What score would you give me?]

"Um... 9 points?"

[Meow! 9 out of 9 points!]

Cheshire laughed happily and started to nod again. Despite the tension, I had to keep flattering him.

'I'm dying pointlessly. Realizing this...'

Click, click—

A vague shock pierced my entire body.

My eyes rolled back involuntarily. I guessed I had been hit by some magic, causing my body to lose function.

I couldn't feel anything. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.

Complete numbness. I couldn't even move a finger. I couldn't breathe. My mind was also starting to shut down.

I was dying pointlessly. Realizing this—

Click, click—

A blurry image of a wide central staircase with a red carpet and a tall girl in a school uniform with long silver hair appeared in my fading vision.

She was adorned with a black and white checkered headband and a choker, and after dispelling a gray magic circle, she approached me.

"You were the one causing the interference."

Her light pink eyes stared directly at me.

Her alluring voice. A sticky, seductive voice that seemed to exist to captivate all men.

'Alice Carroll...'

The mastermind behind <The Magic Knight of Merhen>. The student council president. Alice Carroll.

She smiled seductively.

[Alice *()(&^% Carroll &*]

Lv: 1&^*&%$

Race: &*@ian

Attribute: $&^%!#)

Danger Level: Highest

Psychology: [♠♥♣◆]

Due to Alice's unique trait [Paradox of the Red Queen], her information cannot be confirmed.

Her metaphysical ability, which makes all information about her disappear from observers, even affects the status window.

This is also why Dorothy couldn't see Alice's essence with the power of [All Creation].

Alice crouched down in front of me, resting her chin on her hand and looking down at me.

Silence. Alice was simply admiring the sight of me losing my breath.

My brain started to shut down. I couldn't think deeply about anything.

Soon, my life faded away quietly, like a dying ember.

● ● ● ● ● ● ●

"I will now begin the summer vacation ceremony for the first-year students of the Magic Department..."

"Choke!"

After holding my breath for a while, I exhaled with great effort. The sudden loud cry must have startled the ceremony host, who paused and, along with the students, stared at me.

"Phew, phew... Ha."

I placed my hand on my chest and took a moment to catch my breath. Once my breathing stabilized, I started to organize the situation in my mind.

The host looked at me for a moment before continuing the ceremony.

The students also turned their gazes away from me. Except for friends like Luce and Kaya. Luce's worried gaze was particularly noticeable.

Of course, I had no time to worry about that.

'I get it.'

Alice used [Gravestone of Eternity] to hasten the resurrection of the evil deity.

So, the evil deity resurrected prematurely.

In other words,

'I need to defeat Alice and prevent the evil deity's resurrection.'

The method was clear. I needed to break through Alice first.

Alice, as the strongest force in Merhen Academy, was on par with Dorothy.

During the [Alice Annihilation Battle], Dorothy was already dead. In the end, Ian and his companions had to defeat Alice's subordinates and engage in a fierce battle with her at Bartos Hall.

However, Dorothy was still alive at this time. Moreover, it was impossible to gather all the forces needed to defeat Alice immediately.

So, to break through Alice, I needed to recruit Dorothy. There was no other way.

But...

'Where is Dorothy?'

Only then did I realize.

On the day of the ceremony, I hadn't seen Dorothy at all.