The crater on the central island.
This field, devoid of trees but filled with grass, is the dwelling place of Urugios.
There were already two figures scouting the area.
In the center of the crater, performing a ritual, was Aria Lumines Bell, a saintess candidate.
And a short distance away, a man was watching her. He was Dave, her escort knight.
Dave stood still, gazing at Aria with eyes full of passionate emotions.
Was it admiration or perhaps affection?
One thing was certain: he was constantly engraving his resolve into his heart.
‘Candidate, I will absolutely make you a saint.’
Dave was prepared to do anything for that purpose.
He had already dealt with Ian Blackangers.
He was the greatest obstacle in Aria’s path. Ian Blackangers, who had been by her side since she was young, constantly manipulating her, was someone who deserved to die.
Even now, when Aria has nightmares, she sometimes utters his name even in her sleep.
He had already been thrown to Urugios as prey.
He wouldn’t survive.
Dave let out a sigh of relief.
‘The only thing left now is for Aria to be promoted to Aether.’
Currently, the saintess candidate had 750 coins.
Even if an unexpected incident caused her to be knocked out, she had accumulated enough to advance smoothly.
Thanks to that, Dave had secured enough coins for himself as well.
As long as he wasn’t knocked out, he would ascend without issue.
‘That means I’ll have even more time to spend with the saintess candidate.’
Even though they were together every moment, the future was important as well.
While Dave was lost in these thoughts,
“?”
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
Just as he was about to turn his head,
— Thud!
Dave’s body collapsed to the side.
He had been struck hard by something.
Lying on the ground, Dave blinked blankly as he stared at his bracelet.
[ 0 ]
The bracelet had turned gray, signaling his defeat.
The meaning was simple.
Dave had failed the Aether promotion.
Who on earth?
Through his blurring vision, he saw a man with black hair.
– Close your eyes.
Dave gritted his teeth, but it was no use.
His consciousness faded.
◆
“Phew.”
This was quite a nerve-wracking experience.
Ian dispelled the invisibility scroll.
His figure gradually appeared.
Perhaps because he had used the exact same method Dave had used on him, Ian felt immensely satisfied.
“I’m glad I brought the Copy Scroll.”
Ian had prepared extensively for the Aether promotion battle.
He had packed his backpack full of supplies.
One of them was this ‘Copy Scroll’.
At first glance, it seemed no different from a game item like ‘Reflective Counterattack Scroll’, but among the veterans of Fantasy X Academy, it was a highly useful item.
As the name suggests, it copies the function of the scroll the opponent uses.
Of course, there are some restrictions. The most notable penalty is that you must come into direct contact with the scroll’s function to copy it, the copied function is unstable, and the duration is short.
Despite these various drawbacks, this scroll is valuable for one reason alone.
It’s cheap.
Items like the ‘Invisibility Scroll’ or the ‘Advanced Shield Scroll’ can cost hundreds of millions of Krone each.
But with this scroll, even if imperfectly, you can use such items for a relatively low price of around ten million Krone.
“It was a worthwhile investment.”
Ian was confident as he looked at Dave, who lay unconscious.
“Now, let’s go claim the reward.”
Field boss Urugios.
The reward it drops is unique.
The reward is a ‘Player’s Special Item.’
Stepping over the fallen Dave, Ian walked forward.
There, he saw a girl in a nun’s habit kneeling on the ground.
Aria Lumines Bell.
The saintess candidate.
Swish.
She was drawing a magic circle on the ground.
So focused was she that she didn’t even notice Ian approaching.
For a while, Ian watched the magic circle over Aria’s shoulder, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“Hey, how do you know this?”
His sudden voice startled her, and Aria scrambled backward across the ground.
As she crawled away, her nun’s habit rode up, revealing her pale white legs, now dirtied by the soil.
“Eek!”
Her eyes trembled with fear.
But Ian didn’t care. He walked toward her and grabbed her hand.
“How did you know that?”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I did something wrong.”
Aria mumbled, her eyes downcast.
… This girl seems really broken, Ian thought with a sigh as he knelt in front of her.
“Aria.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Look at me. Do you remember who I am?”
She briefly met his gaze, then flinched away as if burned.
“I-I don’t know.”
Ian’s voice softened.
“Look properly.”
(Illustration)
Aria’s eyes hesitantly returned to Ian’s face.
Gradually, her eyes widened in recognition.
“I… Ian? Is it really Ian? Ian… is it really you?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Why? Why did you come for me? I… I did such horrible things to you…”
“I didn’t come here for you. You just happened to be here.”
“Oh… Ugh…”
“So, answer me. How did you know about that?”
Ian pointed to the writing Aria had been engraving into the magic circle.
『Laye Specia』
The letters were crooked but unmistakably written in Korean.
As soon as Ian pointed to them, Aria began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Eek!”
“Don’t look away. Tell me, how do you know this?”
Aria’s expression crumbled.
Her pupils quivered as she murmured.
“…No, this isn’t right. Ian isn’t supposed to be this scary.”
Her eyes plunged back into despair, as if she was beyond reasoning. Ian clenched his eyes shut.
“Haa…”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry. Please don’t hit me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
She’s completely broken.
How did she end up like this?
At this point, Ian couldn’t see a way to restore her mental state.
Should he just knock her out?
After a moment’s hesitation, Ian shook his head.
It might be better to let her promote to Aether and keep an eye on her.
There’s a chance Aria could be responsible, but in this state of mental collapse, she would be easier to manage.
Given a little time…
‘The real danger seems to be that guy, Dave.’
Ian would have preferred to bury him while he had the chance, but that wasn’t an option.
The professors would likely rush in, and if they found out, not only would Ian be expelled, but he’d also end up in prison.
For now, he should claim the reward.
“Close your eyes for a moment.”
Ian blocked Aria’s view and crouched by the magic circle she had been drawing.
The crooked Korean characters,
『Laye Specia』
“You might as well have written it in English.”
The reward would manifest as long as the meaning was correct, regardless of the language. Ian quickly erased the letters and wrote them correctly:
『Player’s Special Item』
Soon, the ground glowed yellow.
A box, 50cm by 50cm, emerged.
The item reward was determined randomly.
But the item that emerges is something the player will almost certainly need in the future.
Therefore, this “Player’s Special Item” carries a prophetic nature.
— Click!
Ian opened the box without hesitation.
A brilliant light surged from the box.
The color was orange, indicating at least a legendary-grade item.
“… Jackpot?”
Ian clenched his fist in excitement at the sight of the light, but his enthusiasm quickly faded when he saw the actual item inside the box.
A rusty chain-shaped ornament.
The item, consisting of exactly three linked iron rings, was called [Rotted Chain Links].
“Haa.”
Ian let out a quiet sigh as he examined the reward.
It was indeed a powerful item, but…
To reiterate, the “Player’s Special Item” has a prophetic nature.
And the effect of this item is…
【Prevents fatal threats to your life three times.】
Ian grasped the Rotted Chain Links in his hand.
Without needing to equip it, the item naturally absorbed into his body.
Three chain links were now etched like a tattoo on his right index finger.
What kind of danger is about to come my way?
Before he could ponder it further,
— Fwoosh! Crackle!
A massive firework burst in the sky.
It was the signal marking the end of the Promotion Battle.
◆
The signal announcing the end of the trial filled the sky.
Ian left Aria and Dave behind and rejoined his group.
“… What’s going on? Wasn’t there at least two more days left?”
Lina tilted her head.
She was right.
The professors had subtly hinted that the duration of the Promotion Battle would be between 5 to 7 days.
It was only the end of the third day, so the battle was ending at least two days early.
It did seem unusually quick.
But Ian had a rough idea why.
The gathering point for the end of the Promotion Battle was on the western side of the island.
It was an area with a few rather impressive buildings along with the port.
As the students gathered one by one, the area became quite crowded.
“Wow, that was brutal. I just want to go home.”
“Let me take a bath… Give me something to eat… Please…”
Grumbles echoed from various directions.
It was understandable, as most of these students looked exhausted and disheveled.
It was a wonder they had managed to survive the past three days.
Meanwhile, other rumors circulated.
“Did you hear? A few students from the Priest Department got seriously injured and were sent straight to Lichten.”
“There were a few from the Knight Department too.”
“A huge bear was reportedly attacking students.”
The better-off students exchanged these kinds of rumors.
“Do you know? They say it was one of those dangerous species, a ‘Crimson Grizzly’, and that one of the students even killed it.”
“… Jennifer, I know you like attention, but isn’t that a bit too far-fetched?”
The gathering point buzzed with various rumors.
Then, a professor rose into the air, ready to make an announcement.
