Chapter 18

In a room of a certain building in the Vaiscel Empire, the temperature was maintained at a constant level, seemingly unaffected by the early summer heat. The bookshelves were filled with numerous books, and the air was thick with the unique smell of old books. A voice echoed in the room.

"Evil god... god... people..."

At the source of the voice was a girl, about 12 or 13 years old, who was engrossed in a thick book. She was well-dressed, giving the impression of a noble's daughter. The book was written in an ancient script no longer used today, and even with all her knowledge, she could only decipher a few words.

"Vessel... soul... evil god... seal... god... No, I can't read any further."

She sighed and pushed back her purple ponytail, then closed the book and returned it to the shelf.

"Is it time already?"

She sighed more deeply, her face momentarily showing a look of melancholy. But she cut off her thoughts and left the room.

"Princess Alexia, are you here?"

As she stepped out of the room, a young woman in a servant's uniform with short red hair called out to her. Her well-toned body and dignified appearance would normally leave a strong impression of her beauty and grace. However, her current complexion was not good.

"I'm sorry, Irene. I got a bit carried away reading. It's almost time for class, so I was about to head there. Is there something wrong?"

The girl called Alexia asked the red-haired woman, Irene.

"......Well, because Princess Alexia is so academically excellent, you have been instructed to study on your own until the other students' lessons catch up with yours."

Irene answered hesitantly. Alexia paused, then said, "I see."

Both of them knew that these words did not mean what they literally said, so there was nothing to say. Alexia showed a slightly disappointed expression, but this was not the first time her study sessions had been changed in this way.

"Oh, Princess Alexia, is something wrong?"

A group of noble children, about the same age as Alexia, called out to her with a giggle.

"No, nothing is wrong."

Alexia answered calmly, her expression blank. Her reaction seemed to slightly displease them, as their laughter momentarily stopped, but they quickly resumed their smiles.

"Princess Alexia, you have a class now, where are you going?"

(They know very well, why are they being so pretentious...!)

Irene, who stood by, did not show it on her face, but inwardly she despised them.

"Teacher has instructed me to study on my own, so I'm going back to my room to study."

"Oh! As expected of Princess Alexia, who has the best academic record in our school! You don't need the school's classes at all!"

"Really, that's amazing! You are the pride of our school!"

One of the noble children began to flatter her with exaggerated gestures, and the others followed suit.

"No, I am just a shallow and unlearned person. I still have a long way to go."

"Stop being so modest. While modesty is important, it can become sarcastic if taken too far."

"Oh, Princess Alexia, I envy you. We, who are unlearned, cannot master things without attending classes."

(They are just lazy, aren't they...?) Irene thought inwardly.

"Oh, we should go to the classroom soon, or we'll be late."

"That's true. Princess Alexia, we'll take our leave."

They bowed gracefully and walked briskly towards the classroom. As they gradually moved away, their laughter and conversation could still be heard by Alexia and Irene.

"Still, it's surprising that there are students in this prestigious Vaiscel Empire Magic Academy who can't even use magic properly."

"Oh, how tragic! It's hard to believe that such students exist in our school, which boasts the oldest tradition in the world."

"Why did such a person come to a magic academy? Don't they feel ashamed to bring shame to their family?"

"We, as students, can't understand the thoughts of the 'unlearned.' Besides, even if they were smart, if they can't use magic well, we wouldn't want to be like them."

A loud laugh echoed around. Irene clenched her lips so hard they bled, trying to endure. As a mere servant, if she denounced the noble children, it would cause trouble for her mistress. All she could do was glare at their backs.

On the other hand, Alexia ignored them and continued walking to her room. Irene, noticing this, hurriedly followed behind.

"......Do I really lack the talent for magic?"

Alexia muttered as she walked, not addressing anyone in particular, but speaking unconsciously.

Irene could not find the words to say. She was not knowledgeable about magic, but she knew better than anyone else how hard Alexia had worked since childhood. She had seen Alexia read the same magic books so many times that she could recite them from memory. She had seen Alexia swing her wand until blisters formed and chant spells until her throat was hoarse. She had seen Alexia report to her parents with tears in her eyes when she finally succeeded in a basic spell. But her parents' faces had clearly shown their disappointment. Irene had only been able to listen to Alexia's anguished cries as she secluded herself in her room, filled with despair.

Since that day, Alexia had not cried. She had entered the Vaiscel Empire Magic Academy and studied diligently, but even with the expert teachers, she had not received any clear advice. Instead, her existence, with no talent for magic but more knowledge than the teachers, was seen as a nuisance by both teachers and students, who began to avoid her for various reasons. Despite this, Alexia did not give up and spent her time in the library, searching through ancient texts to find a way to improve her magic. She had always continued to work hard, no matter what obstacles she faced. Having seen her efforts, Irene understood that offering empty words of comfort would not heal her mistress's heart.

The noble society of the Vaiscel Empire was dominated by a bias towards magic. This was because the first emperor of Vaiscel was a great magician, and the majority of the nobility were also magicians, leading to the belief that a talented magician came from a noble bloodline, which spread throughout the society.

Magical talent was believed to be inherited through blood. Talented magicians often had talented parents and children. Therefore, the nobility placed more importance on bloodline and magical talent than other countries.

In such a society, what would happen if a child without magical talent was born into a family of magicians? Some were disinherited and reduced to commoners for their lack of magical talent. Others were confined for life. In recent years, there have even been cases of poisoning and passing it off as a natural death. The inability to use magic was considered a fatal flaw in the noble society.

The Zavareish family, Alexia's real name being Marie Alexia von Zavareish, also held the belief that magic was paramount. Alexia was able to attend the magic academy because she could use magic, but if she couldn't, she would have faced the same tragic fate. However, her parents did not send her to the magic academy to develop her magical talent. They had already determined that she lacked magical talent and sent her to the academy to build a reputation for marriage to other nobles. The family, being a baron, could still find a suitable match even if they lowered their status slightly. They wanted the prestige of a Vaiscel Empire Magic Academy graduate to form alliances with promising lower nobility. They also hoped that she might be noticed by upper nobility students at the academy.

In fact, the intelligent Alexia was not unattractive and had a charming appearance for her age, so some of the male students secretly had feelings for her. This, in turn, caused resentment from other female students, leading to the gossip and backbiting, but the master and servant, who were inexperienced in matters of the heart, had not yet realized this.

"Hey, Irene."

Suddenly stopping, Alexia called out to her servant.

"What about tomorrow's extracurricular fieldwork?"

At the Vaiscel Empire Magic Academy, theoretical studies were not the only focus; students were also required to go outside the school to hunt monsters as part of their extracurricular fieldwork.

Of course, the academy could not risk involving noble students in accidents or incidents, so the monsters to be hunted were low-level and weak, and it was mandatory to include adventurers in the party. Hiring guards in advance was also allowed.

"I haven't heard of any changes. I took the liberty of hiring adventurers in advance. I will also accompany you."

Irene, as Alexia's servant, was skilled with a sword and could handle a novice knight. However, she had no experience fighting monsters, which was why she had hired experienced adventurers.

"That's fine. I'm counting on you, Irene."

Alexia smiled.

The next morning, the students participating in the extracurricular fieldwork gathered in the classroom, and the teacher explained the details and precautions of the fieldwork. The fieldwork was coordinated with the Adventurer's Guild, and subsequent fieldwork would be conducted directly through the guild. Students would receive quests from the guild and complete them as part of their fieldwork. Their grades would vary based on the completion rate and difficulty of the quests. Students could hire up to five adventurers, with a minimum of one required for the fieldwork to be approved. Preparations were also part of the curriculum, and students had to prepare individually. After about an hour of explanation, the fieldwork officially began.

Alexia and Irene immediately headed to the Adventurer's Guild to hire adventurers. They were supposed to meet the adventurers they had hired in advance at the guild's reception.

"What is going on! This is not what we agreed on!"

Irene's angry shout echoed. Dressed in leather armor instead of her usual servant's uniform, she looked like a female swordsman. Her usually sculpted beauty was distorted by anger, and the guild staff cowered before her. Alexia, seeing Irene's unusual reaction, could not hide her unease.

"I apologize. The adventurers you hired contacted us and said they had urgent matters that could not be postponed, so they paid the cancellation fee and canceled."

"Still, it's impossible for all three adventurers to coincidentally cancel their requests at the same time!"

The adventurers Irene had hired through the guild had all abandoned their jobs at the last minute, and all at the same time. Normally, such last-minute cancellations would lower an adventurer's rating, so it was rare for this to happen. The fact that it happened with multiple adventurers suggested that someone had interfered.

(Damn it, another harassment from the school. How long will they keep hurting Princess Alexia's heart...!)

While she was seething with anger, she had to ensure the fieldwork went smoothly. Without adventurers in the party, the fieldwork would not be approved. Although Irene had no experience fighting monsters, she considered registering herself as an adventurer and finding the best solution.

"......Is there anyone else?"

Irene tried to ask calmly, but her voice trembled with anger.

"As you know, most of the other students have already hired adventurers."

"Anyone will do. Is there no one who can form a party with us?"

"Anyone will do?"

The response did not come from the guild staff but from a boy with black hair and black and blue eyes, wearing a shabby shirt and pants, far from the image of an experienced adventurer she had in mind.

---

Logging into the game world, I found myself in a place surrounded by stone pillars—think of a smaller, more solid version of Stonehenge. This seems to be the "Portal," the destination of the "Warp Portal" skill and the respawn point after death. It is designated as a "non-combat zone," so no monsters can approach.

I don't want to die, as death comes with penalties like losing experience, money, and items. If you die, you lose 5% of the experience needed to reach the next level, a random percentage of your money, and a random item from your inventory (excluding equipped items). While this is a concern at the beginning, it becomes even more critical at higher levels when you have expensive items and it takes a long time to gain the experience needed for the next level. However, no one has reached such high levels yet, and the game is designed to level up relatively easily, so the penalties might be relatively lenient.

Anyway, it seems the data has been reset, and my level is back to 1, with my items reset to the initial equipment except for the "Blessed Book." I'm a bit disappointed to lose the staff I got from that memorable event, but it's not that rare, and I won't forget the event even if I lose the item.

I immediately checked the map and moved to Sturbrussen. Fortunately, the portal was in the outskirts, so I reached it quickly. However, there seem to be fewer testers than expected for an open beta. There were fewer people around the monument than I anticipated.

I completed the procedures at the Adventurer's Guild and started working on quests. Thanks to my experience from the closed beta and the information from the strategy wiki, I progressed quickly. Despite the tedious travel, I managed to reach level 5 on the first day. Mmm, maybe I'll reach the second class sooner than expected.

Today, I went to the Adventurer's Guild to receive quests before going hunting. I need to earn as much as possible, as I need a lot of items.

There was someone shouting at the reception, and people were keeping their distance, as if trying to avoid getting involved. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter. There are multiple reception desks, so I decided to get my quests from an empty one.

---

"Anyone will do. Is there no one who can form a party with us?"

The woman shouted.

What, what is this? Is this a setup?

It seems to be a pair of women, with a girl standing next to the one shouting. Normally, they would be easy to invite to a party, but the atmosphere seems to be keeping others away.

Hmm, I can understand why they might be hesitant. What should I do?

No, wait, what am I hesitating about? I'm a solo player, not a loner. A solo player is someone who doesn't join parties, while a loner is someone who isn't invited to parties. If a solo player is someone who plays alone, a loner is someone who plays alone out of loneliness. I just thought I didn't want to play alone and was considering joining a party, but now I'm being picky? What a joke!

This is a divine revelation...! I can't miss this chance!

I quickly made up my mind and called out.

"Anyone will do?"

The woman noticed me and turned her gaze. She looks incredibly beautiful but is shouting fiercely, which makes me a bit nervous. But I have to be clear!

"Can you let me join your party?"