Chapter 53: Group Work (1)
[A new letter has arrived in your mailbox].
[Do you want to check it?]
Dudeun. Dudeun.
I could feel my heart beating fast over and over again.
A new letter, the system tone announced.
It could mean only one thing.
"A letter left for me by the one who imprisoned me in this game.
I was certain.
A second letter had arrived from the mysterious entity.
'Well, I figured it was about time.'
I hadn't heard from the letter's sender since the time of my first possession.
The speaker had merely told me to enter Eldain.
It didn't divulge any information.
I would have thought that by now they would have contacted me in some way....
As expected, a message arrived.
'Checking messages.'
I mentally chanted the confirmation without even turning it off.
Then I remembered the jet-black letters on the worn parchment letter.
[Hi. Nox. It's been a while. Now, if this letter has arrived, it means you've been successfully admitted to Eldain.
It's you, after all. I knew you'd make it to Eldain.
I'm so glad].
The letter began with the same strange tone of knowing me.
A bit of relief, and an inexplicable faith in me.
Why?
Why does the letter's sender always seem to believe in me?
It's hard to answer all those questions in just a few lines.
I quickly rolled my eyes and kept my gaze downward.
[But the trial is just beginning.
It's been hard enough so far… but what lies ahead of you will be even harder, and it will hurt.
But it's also something no one else can do for you.
Because without you, no one will ever see the end of this story.
It's irresponsible to say… but I will help you as much as I can. Please accept what is enclosed in this letter, however small it may be].
That was the end of the letter.
"I wonder if there's anything big in this one...."
I muttered to myself. The letter was already gone.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but I quickly calmed down.
I can't help it. It's only the beginning of the scenario.
Besides, I can't really tell, but the sender of the letter is at least a GM.
'Given that they're freely interfering with the system, and that they have the power to send me something, that's the most likely explanation.'
Therefore, I should focus on the main storyline as much as possible, if only to clear up any doubts.
As the second letter says, to see the end of the story and regain my memory.
To do that, I'll have to work harder than I am now.
I've only just finished the prologue.
I will continue to run as I have been running, only faster.
Nothing changes.
"More than that… what is this gift you sent me?"
I muttered in a nonchalant tone, and touched something enclosed in the mailbox, which soon exploded with a loud popping sound.
[The 'Character Viewing' system has been added].
"A character viewing system?"
I muttered, scratching my head, and the system immediately popped up a window.
[Displaying a list of registered characters].
[Theo von Reinhafer / Allen von Reinhafer / Hartz von Reinhafer / Talia von Steiner / Zitri / Rona de Nero / Carl....]
The roster popped up, and every unit listed was one that I had a record of encountering as Nox.
Being the gamer that I am, I immediately realized what the system meant.
'I can see the current stats and skill proficiencies of all the characters I've encountered so far. Without the constraints of space and time.'
I felt my heart pounding loudly once again.
Such a feature didn't exist in the original Inner Lunatic.
You could only access their information by facing them directly and using the [Insight] talent.
This was quite cumbersome.
It was very annoying to see how far my other units had progressed, and whether I was nurturing them correctly.
Handy.{1}
What if you could see the status of your units more clearly in this way?
'Of course, it would make the game easier.'
As calmly as I could, I pressed a few buttons and checked each character's status. As expected, the system displayed the stats and skills of the current units.
Compared to the beginning, everyone's stats and skills had changed slightly.
Some stats had gone up, albeit slightly, while others had gotten better swordsmanship than before.
Talia, in particular, had grown quite a bit.
It seems that the story of her training to become a knight was not a lie.
'Moreover, she also has the [Gifted] talent, so she must have grown terrifyingly as she trained.'
A sword that will pierce my heart.
Of course, the spider story is still not without its doubts….
Anyway, I continued to peruse the statuses of the registered characters.
Paracelsus, Penelope, Talia, Lana, Leone....
Every single one of them is an immensely talented genius.
The incoming cadets are as good as they come, so the next three will be tested. I don't know how I'm going to face the four sages.
In the game, they were your allies.
But to the villainous Knox, they are all enemies….
'I can't face them all by myself, even if I increase my power. I need to build my own force.
This is why he joined Lunatic.
Lunatic would protect Nox properly.
If that happens, I'll have a better chance of surviving by playing the villain.
However.
'... it also hides a lot of the skills and traits of the top tier units.'
Unfortunately, 4 Sages, 3 Swordsmen, etc.
I didn't get to see all of their stats yet.
There's information, skills, and stats that are only unlocked later in the game.
Furthermore, even with the deceased characters of Inner Lunatic, there are thousands of skills and combinations in the game. There are also all sorts of talents.
People with traits I don't recognize seem to have tons of them. Regardless, I still have to keep my nerves in check.
"Okay, I've got that out of the way, now all that's left is…."
My fucking relationships with the various units.
The messes I've made.
And....
"Orientation and class registration tomorrow."
A small sigh escapes me.
Even here in the Inner Lunatic world, there is a so-called enrollment hell.
"Haah…."
I let out an involuntary sigh.
***
The next morning, a boy came to visit me.
He was short and wore a checkered newsboy cap.
He was wearing suspender pants and a white shirt, and his face looked suspicious. The corners of his eyes were crooked.
It was as if he was looking at me to see what I was thinking.
A merchant's eye, if you will.
"How do you do, Master Knox?"
"Who are you?"
The boy waiting for me outside the Sidious Hall smiled.
"My name is Rick, servant of the Honorable Eleanor de Rivalin."
"…Rick?"
Suddenly, a thorn in my voice.
This asshole…
'The dangerous bastard found me early.'
Rick, one of the central characters in the next three chapters of the story, an imperial knave who will betray Eleanor and thereby deepen the story.
Betrayer.
'Rick the liar.'
I looked at him and furrowed my brow.
Rick smiled his best human smile.
"This is a gift from my lady to my master. It's a very valuable artifact…."
"Get lost."
I said, and walked away, struggling to control my expression.
Was something wrong? Why did he come to me now, when he wasn't supposed to start moving until Chapter Three?
Trying to ignore the shivers running down my spine, I reached for my pocket watch and checked the time to make it to orientation.
I was nervous, but I couldn't help it.
I mean, you can't be on time for a stupid subject.
* * *
Eldain Academy has many buildings for the convenience of its students, but there are a few that stand out from the rest.
A facility that can only be found here in Eldain.
The so-called 'Hale Hall'.
This building is where the maids and servants brought by the nobility receive their lessons, and it is a special place that does not exist in any other academy.
9:00 AM.
The place was packed with students, all of whom had gathered for lessons to serve their masters. Among them was a young girl with green hair and pure white skin.
Zitri. She was Nox's commoner maid.
There were murmurs around her.
-Wow, is that her, the one who became a commoner?
-What the hell did she think she was doing following us all the way to Eldain….
-Trying to make a name for herself, I suppose… She's got a pretty face, and she's good at manipulating people with the length of her skirt.
Zitri tuned out the sound of familiar voices.
This sort of thing was quite common in her family.
Of course, Nox had told her that she shouldn't put up with it any longer than necessary, but she didn't want to cause her master any trouble.
That was when Zitri ignored them.
-I mean, she's Nox's maid, how can she be normal?
-That, too. Haha!
Snap.
(Ppajig.)
A vein sprouted on Jitri's forehead.
'I can tolerate insults to me, .... but I can't tolerate insults to Master.'
No matter how much of a scoundrel he is, he's still our scoundrel.
He didn't deserve to be called names by others.
'Huh.'
Jitri spat lightly, then quietly stood up from her seat.
She straightened up and began to pace.
She then stepped in front of the group of people who had gathered around to curse her and Nox. She flicked back a stray strand of green hair and gave them a cold smile.
"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could spare a moment?" {2}
"Ha, a moment?"
One of the most disparaging maids stepped forward and crossed her arms.
A sneer accompanied it.
"I am Giselle of House Polas, scion of the prestigious Earl's House, in the service of Master Kane. I have no time for a commoner like you."
"You just said something very rude towards my Master."
"Oh, that was…."
Giselle was taken aback for a moment.
She had to be.
After all, Nox was a scion of the Reinhafer family, a third-generation Dark Master. No matter how great the Kane she serves is, she cannot dare to speak of the Duke.
It was self-evident that nothing good would come of speaking ill of the son of a Duke.
But….
'…My, you think I'm going to fall for this?!'
This is Eldain, a place where young boys and girls still gather.
Emotional judgmental people are everywhere, and Giselle was one of them.
An extra A, a character who is broken by the protagonist, well, because.
Because.
"So? If you're going to ask me to apologize, I'm going to refuse."
"...."
Zitri let out a small sigh and looked at Giselle, who held her head high.
Then she remembered what Nox had told her yesterday.
[It can happen at any time, especially to you].
[So, when it does, open this thing I gave you].
'I'm not sure what the hell is in ... that's supposed to make things reasonable, but whatever, I'm out of options right now.'
Nox had told him that when she got screwed over by Schultz in Chasers, that if it happened to her in the future, she shouldn't put up with it.
He'd even given her an artifact for the situation.
After much deliberation, Zitri took out the artifact Nox had given her and opened it.
It was the moment.
Pow!
(Paang!)
With the sound of a small firecracker going off, the image of a little boy appeared.
"Mom! What a surprise!" {3}
"…Young Master Nox?"
Giselle gasped in surprise, and Zitri was puzzled by the familiar face.
A boy with snow-white hair and lavender eyes.
Surely he was her master.
As she pondered this, the figure of Nox spoke up.
-I don't know what happened. But if Zitri is going to open this, one thing's for sure: you in front of me, or you.
Knox crossed his arms and sneered.
-You'll all die. Only your heads will be delivered to the family.
Pow!
(Paang~!)
With a boom, Nox's form disappeared.
"...."
Zitri was at a loss for words.
He said he would settle this humanely and peacefully....
Apparently, Nox was going to use his privilege to solve the problem the old-fashioned way. Zitri sighed in disbelief.
At that moment.
"Hiccup!"
Giselle and the group behind her hiccuped in surprise.
They had been sentenced to death by the Young Master of House Reinhafer himself. A cold chill ran down her spine, raising goosebumps.
"I will… die…!!"
With a bang!
Giselle's knees and those of the maids and butlers around her fell to the floor at the same time.
She had to live now.
"I… what's your name…?"
"It's Zitri."
"Zitri, we're still young and have a lot of work to do…? So if you could have mercy on us just this once, we could somehow...."
Zitri felt her eyes glaze over, but she decided to take advantage of the situation Nox had created. After all, they were the ones who dishonored him.
It wouldn't hurt to give them a little trouble.
"It is not for me to decide how the Master will treat you."
"...."
"Just."
Zitri smiled brightly.
"I could use a little… persuasion. How about it, would you cooperate?"
The others in front of her nod vigorously. Zitri couldn't help but smile.
She felt like she might get addicted, so she decided to be as careful as possible.
* * *
Let's not even get into why Rick came to see me.
Anyway, dealing with what's at hand right now is the most important thing.
"Eh… we will now begin our orientation to [Joint Martial Arts]. Eh… I am Professor Flitchell. I'd like to welcome everyone." {3}
A man named Flitchell appeared at the podium and began to speak.
He was an old professor who taught a course called [Joint Martial Arts], and in his prime, he was quite skilled and was the head of the Knights of the Ackheim Empire.
However, he was not a very important professor in the game.
In the first place, Joint Martial Arts was a common subject, and most of the interactions with units in Inner Lunatic were elective.
In other words, I have no idea what [Joint Martial Arts] is all about.
Sh*t.
I'm as excited as I am to see ... something I've never seen in a game before.
I'm stuck in the moment. Anyway, it was interesting.
I was a big fan of Inner Lunatic, after all, and a gamer who can't get enough of games.
But my fun didn't last long.
Flitchell pushed up his round, horn-rimmed glasses.
For some reason, he looks a little sorry for himself as he arches his back.
"So… today we're going to team up and do a little socializing. After all, it's important to get to know each other in order to organize a party."
F*ck.
I'm in trouble right from the start.
I'm already the unpopular Nox.
Now I'm a guy who has nothing but what I look like!
In fact, I can feel the people sitting around me slowly shifting away.
"Eh… I'll let the cadets who like each other form teams of four. Err… you have 30 minutes."
To make matters worse, Prof. Fletchell tells us to form teams of four. This is out of line. How am I going to get this Asa Knox three friends in 30 minutes…?
"Haa…."
I let out a short sigh.
The cadets had all done pretty well on their entrance exams, and they'd organized themselves into teams, except for me.
Unsurprisingly, no one approached Nox.
Haha.
Of course, there were some who were particularly popular among the cadets, such as Penelope, Paracelsus, and Eleanor.
Loud voices echoed around her, grating on her nerves.
-My Lady, I'll take care of you!
-Paracelsus, I'll join you! I've seen what you can do.
-Ah. Bother… whatever.
-Eleanor! Please let me accompany you!
-Ah, Eleanor is going to be working with me, isn't she?
Eleanor was especially popular.
She had definitely rewarded her teammates after the last entrance exam.
'F*cking capitalism...!'
That's what I was thinking.
Eleanor descended the stairs of the lecture hall and suddenly said.
"Nox von Reinhafer."
My head snapped around. My crisis radar went off.
Eleanor is looking at me, smiling broadly.
"You'll join me, won't you?"
In that moment, I brace myself for the heated stares I feel around me, forcing myself to face the jealous stares of others.
-That bastard… with Eleanor on a dark alley deal…! {4}
-What?! Did you have a soul after that?
-Godd*mn it! Kill yourself!
'... I'd rather do this alone.'
I thought, but didn't say it out loud.
But I was sure of one thing.
'Sh*t, this is starting to get ugly.'
Things were starting to go wrong again.
To make matters worse, she added in a whisper.
"I guess you didn't like my response, huh?"
Weekly Power Status
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