Chewing— Chewing—
Epherene, lying on the floor of the study room, chewed on a piece of dried squid. She then drank a soda to quench her thirst.
Gulp— Gulp—
She took three sips and fumbled through the plastic bag, seemingly still unsatisfied. Her eyebrows furrowed when she found a chocolate bar.
“You bought some good stuff. I can eat it, right?”
“Uh… yeah. You did more on this project, so this is the least I can do… but weren’t you in pain?” Eurozan felt dumbfounded by Epherene’s behavior.
“Huh? Oh, well… I admit it’s my fault this time for making no sense.”
Dreaming? Hallucinating? What she said wasn’t something wizards that always focused on reality should even think about.
Chomp—
She looked at Sylvia as she chewed on her snack, the taste of which couldn’t be found in the countryside. She couldn’t even fathom why it was white.
“…”
Sylvia closed her eyes, sharing her familiar’s vision outside the tower as it flew around the campus.
Everything looked fine at first glance, so much so that the students didn’t even pay much attention to it.
However, using magic, she saw an entirely different sight.
The tower’s entire lower portion was buried in ashes.
Bzzzz— Bzzzz—
Her familiar alerted her as well, signaling that their connection was in danger of being cut off.
Sylvia opened her eyes after ordering it to ‘go home.’
“The situation’s dire.”
“Dire?”
The other four people in the room asked, their eyes growing wider.
“The University Tower is engulfed in ashes.”
“The University Tower?!”
“Then are we locked in here?!” Dane asked.
Sylvia nodded.
“Encroachment occurred on the lower floors, and the entrance has also been blocked. No one seems to be aware of it, though.”
“No one?”
“The ashes themselves seem to have been imbued with the nature of ‘enchantment.'”
“What about the professors? Can’t they help?”
The ashes covered floors 1 through 25.
The middle and upper floors where the professors stayed didn’t seem aware of what was happening yet, and even if they were, most of them would be away, preparing for the final exams.
Boom—! Boom—!
“Ugh!”
The study room door shook.
Boom—! Boom—!
Roton banged on their study room’s door outside. Possessed by the ashes, he seemed to have forgotten how to open it, but his fists were slowly scorching its surface.
“Roton, that crazy bastard, what happened to him?”
“… Whew.”
Epherene took a deep breath.
With her eyes closed, she composed a formula using ‘wind’ and ‘earth’ as constituent elements.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
“What are you trying to do, E-Epherene? Just leave him be!”
“If we do, the door will burn.”
Epherene grabbed the doorknob and swung it open. Roton’s unfocused eyes looked bizarre, but she didn’t panic.
Simultaneously, she manifested her magic.
Grrrr—!
Roton rushed from the door as soon as it opened, but the wind from Epherene’s hand engulfed him.
[Invisible Shackles].
What she conjured was magic that detained the opponent by imparting the properties of the earth to the wind.
Roton’s body shrank as if trapped in a coffin.
Puaaaah!
“Is he—?!”
He spewed ashes from his mouth as he fell, but they stopped right in front of Epherene’s nose, blocked by Sylvia’s barrier.
“… Huh. Almost.”
“Move.”
Sylvia walked over and looked at Roton’s face.
His eyes were out of focus.
His face was covered in black veins.
“…”
His bare, ash-covered feet looked glued to the floor. It was as if the building and his body were connected.
“It’s controlling him.”
From those clues, Sylvia reached a conclusion.
It was unknown where the mysterious ashes came from, but it indirectly controlled his brain.
“Control?”
“A kind of ‘puppetry.’ He’s like a zombie.”
Epherene nodded and sneaked out of the room, looking around the hallway.
The ashes clinging to the ceiling and walls of the hallway were wriggling like blood vessels. Not long after, the high temperature started affecting her.
“It’s hot out here. It feels like the whole hallway is burning.”
Epherene closed the door and turned to Sylvia.
“It’s dangerous here. We have to go to the safest place possible until rescue or help arrives.”
“Safest place…”
“Yeah. I think…”
Epherene and Sylvia’s minds dawned upon the same answer.
A place made of state-of-the-art engineering and mana stones that could prevent the heat of ashes from penetrating.
Class A, 3rd floor.
The Head Professor’s classroom.
* * *
Peek—
Epherene’s face popped out of the door.
Peek—
Sylvia’s head appeared above hers.
The two of them watched the situation, glancing from side to side.
The hallway, covered in ashes, looked terrifying, but they couldn’t see any zombie-like entity.
“It’s clear.”
Three men came out at Epherene’s whisper. They crept their way through the floor, each of them wearing a gas mask.
Their study room was on the 5th floor.
Thinking it would be foolish to use the elevator in this situation, they headed for the emergency stairwell.
Tip— Tap—
Epherene kept glancing at the study rooms’ windows as they moved, finding no debutantes left in them. Everyone seemed to have run away as soon as it began.
“…!”
While advancing, the one leading them, Epherene, hastily stopped.
“What is it? Sylvia asked.
“There are a lot of monsters in the hallway. I think there are more than ten of them.”
The entrance to the emergency stairwell and the hallway near it was infested with monsters.
Epherene bit her lower lip.
“We can’t even kill them all…”
If they were real abominations, they could’ve easily killed or destroyed them.
But they were all debutantes. That left them with no other choice but to avoid alerting them.
“Sylvia. Can’t you make a passage down here?”
“This building’s structure is made out of state-of-the-art magic engineering. I can’t even touch its ceiling and floor. However…”
Sylvia drew a map on the floor.
│Emergency Stairs││★│
│Central hallway│Study Room 1│Study Room 2 │
It was the structure of their vicinity.
There were many monsters in the space leading from the central hallway, where they were, to the emergency stairs.
“If we can get to Study Room 1, I can make a passage where the star is. It’ll allow us to enter the emergency stairs from the side.”
“What if those monsters are on the stairs too?” Eurozan asked.
Resolutely, Epehrene replied, “We’ll just have to suppress them. I’ll attract their attention. You go into the study room.”
Epherene imbued mana in her bracelet.
After that, she ran out into the hallway.
“Haaaayaa—!”
A strong, tornado-like wind blew through the hallway, pushing the monsters away helplessly.
Utilizing that opening, Sylvia and the other group members entered the study room.
After causing a mess, she soon followed after them safely.
“Are you okay, Epherene? Did you get bitten or anything of the sort? Are you going to turn into a monster too?”
She only nodded at Eurozan’s question.
“Let’s go.”
Sylvia had already painted a passage on the wall, which they used to walk down the aisle and reach the emergency stairs.
Grrrr— Grrrr—
However, upon reaching it, they found far too many opponents scattered all over it. With one on each step, they immediately realized they wouldn’t be able to detain them all.
“T-there’s too many of them.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect this.”
Epherene frowned in embarrassment, but Sylvia thought differently. She pressed her index finger on her lips.
“Shh.”
Staring at the stairs, she concentrated mana on her retinas; three primary colors engulfed her eyes.
“…”
The stairway profusely swayed and wobbled momentarily. Soon after, it disappeared like an illusion.
Just as an eraser erased pencil writing, she deleted the stairs with her gaze.
Craaash—!
After the numerous monsters prowling around them fell, she closed her eyes, restoring what she removed.
Cold sweat was forming on her forehead.
“S-Sylvia. That was some really amazing magic…”
“We don’t have time to talk.”
They went down the stairs together.
“Stop.”
They had reached the door of the 3rd floor’s emergency passage.
But they didn’t hastily go inside, knowing full well that would be a mistake.
More corrupted entities blocked the passage.
Sylvia made another door some distance away from the entrance, which they then used to enter the floor.
“Let’s go.”
They first looked for the Class A classroom.
They came here every week, but there were a lot more blocking their way today. The dozens of monsters roaming the hallways made it hard for them to reach their destination.
“What do we do?”
“I’ll draw their attention. You open the door.” Epherene declared.
Crack—
After cracking her knuckles and looking around her, she quickly left.
“— You idiots! I’m over here!”
As soon as her shout caught the attention of every single abomination in the hallway, Epherene ran away immediately. Sylvia and the members rushed quietly and grabbed their classroom’s doorknob.
Click— Click—
Locked.
Eurozan and the men’s complexion turned pale. Sylvia also bit her lip.
“W-What should we do? We’re doomed…”
But Sylvia, soon after, heard whispers inside.
“There are people in there.”
Boom—! Boom—!
Sylvia knocked on the door.
“Open it.”
When her voice passed through the door, she heard a commotion inside.
Boom—! Boom—!
Eurozan and the men banged on the door as well.
“Open it! Now!”
“Sylva is here too, you know?! If you don’t open it, you’re all dead!”
Sylvia.
Her name caused the commotion to grow louder.
Boom—! Boom—!
“Ahh!”
At the same time, Epherene, dragging their opponents’ attention, began running back. There seemed to be at least 100 monsters attached to her tail.
“Open the door—!” Epherene yelled.
Slam—
Julia, a commoner, opened the door, allowing them to hurry inside.
“Wait for me!”
With everyone barely managing to get inside, she closed the door.
Epherene grabbed her chest and flopped to the floor.
“Wow, pant, pant, wow… We got here somehow…”
“Ifi! Are you okay?!” Julia worriedly rushed to her side.
“Julia!” Smiling brightly, she hugged Julia.
“Gosh… If it weren’t for Sylvia… How can you drag all the monsters here? You’re so stupid.”
Lucia’s sullen words fell on them at that moment.
She had become Epherene’s new enemy these days, but she was particularly annoying right now.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
Monsters kept banging on the door from outside. Startled, Julia looked at it.
“…Ifi. What do we do now?”
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
“We have no choice.”
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
“We have to wait for help.”
Rustling—
Epherene took out a small bag full of treats, which she kept safe even while running.
In this situation, food meant survival.
“What’s that?” Epherene pointed at the blackboard.
——[Four things to keep in mind]——
1. Break through the core of the barrier.
2. Avoid charging head-on and focus on cooperating with each other.
3. Survive.
4. Never forget that this blackboard serves as the only link between you guys and me.
─────────
“I think it’s just a sum-up of the last exam.”
“Hmm….” Despite Julia’s answer, Epherene stared intently at it.
‘The only link between you and me.’
There was chalk placed under it.
“…”
Epherene took it and wrote something.
[Deculein, you idiot]
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
“Gosh, that scared me.”
Then, without much thought, she sat back.
* * *
The emperor’s study— a place of learning.
“Your Majesty. Magic Educator Deculein has arrived.”
When her servant knocked on the doorknob held by a golden lion sculpture’s jaw, her voice sternly came out.
—Come in.
As the door opened, Emperor Sophien was revealed sitting in a somewhat loose position.
She gave me a once-over, her eyes seemingly rotting due to constant boredom.
“I see you, Your Majesty.”
“Humpf. They say your attire is the trend of the continent. Certainly, your outfits are different from those wandering around the royal court.”
I walked over to her without a word and sat down in front of her, noticing the chessboard in between us.
“Are we playing chess today too?”
“No. Before that, let’s talk. I’m slowly getting tired of chess.”
I nodded. It wasn’t incomprehensible.
She was the type of person who never seemed to get absorbed in anything and was rather quick to get sick of any activities.
“I heard you met Rohakan.”
“Yes.”
“And that you let him go.”
“… My skills weren’t enough.”
The Emperor grinned.
“If you weren’t strong enough, imagine how weak my knights are. Rohakan was your teacher, wasn’t he?”
“I haven’t learned anything from him to label him as such.”
“… Right. There would be nothing to learn. Because of that damn bastard, the last emperor’s health deteriorated. It’s as if he killed not only the empress but also the emperor.”
There was no anger in her voice. She was merely pretending to be angry.
For her, even emotions were boring.
“Deculein. The eunuchs said that you are one of the best brains on the continent.”
“Me?”
“Yes. A genius who made hundreds of millions just through auctions.”
These days, there are many rumors that even I didn’t know. They kept adding more labels to my name like Rohakan’s Nemesis, The Smartest Human on the Continent, and so on.
“So, let me ask you this. I intend on going on an expedition.”
“An expedition?”
“I will conquer ‘Extinction.'”
The Emperor placed a map on the desk.
“To do that, I must first get rid of internal hindrances. I must punish the demon-blooded.”
That was a bit bothering.
I lifted my head and looked into her eyes.
“What?”
“… They don’t seem to be the ones causing internal hindrances.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’m the best brain on the continent.”
“…”
Sophien bit her lip without a word.
Her eyes, which had always been indifferent and hazy, curved into arcs.
“Hahaha—”
Even her laugh sounded monotonous, almost robot-like.
“You’re funny.”
“I’m not lying. I see the world differently.”
If it would allow me to stop the massacre of the demon-blooded, I would gladly be the smartest person on the continent.
The emperor’s lips parted.
“Humpf. If so, you should already know that no matter what you say, I won’t change my mind. I intend to destroy the demon-blooded first, then gain Extinction’s resentment on my own.”
“… On your own?”
“Yes. I will be at the forefront of this expedition. I will wield my sword and use magic. That’s how I’ll leave myself in history.”
Her mischievous eyes stared at me.
She seemed to be expecting a reaction from me. I read her ‘power’ displayed in the character magnifying lens.
──「???」──
◆ Rating: Authority
◆ Description: ???
───
Even the magnifying glass couldn’t read her, but I knew the emperor’s secret even without it.
…[Regression by Death].
The reason for her boredom was the lack of death.
Humans willfully lived since they knew death would one day come for them, but Sophien, lacking that definite end, grew full of laziness and boredom.
That was why she was dangerous.
The moment she died in-game, the game would be over, and the player would be forced to regress. I was no longer a player, however.
Therefore, the emperor of this world shouldn’t die no matter what.
I had to make sure she wouldn’t give up on life.
Her existence itself was my ‘death
“I see. But Your Majesty speaks as if there is no death awaiting you.”
For a moment, her face hardened, and red flames engulfed her mischievous eyes.
“… What does that mean?”
“Your Majesty will learn of what I mean through magic.”
“I asked what you meant.”
“Once you have mastered my lessons and I can no longer provide more meaning to you, then the true point of my words will show itself to you.”
If she were to learn enough magic, I would let her know what I meant.
Bang—!
Sophien slammed her hand on the desk.
“… Are you disdaining me? I told you to tell me.”
She stared at me with eyes that seemed to scorch me, making me feel like she wanted to rip me apart.
“Your Majesty.”
However, I didn’t avoid her gaze.
I just sat and endured the pressure she emitted.
“I am Deculein.”
Her brow twitched.
“Once I’ve made up my mind, no one can break it,” I said with a smile.
Veins appeared on Sophien’s temple.
* * *
Tick… tock… tick… tock…
Epherene looked at the clock.
It was already 10 PM.
Twelve hours had passed since the incident began.
No, maybe 24 hours.
The windows were covered in ashes.
With only darkness around them, they couldn’t measure the passage of time.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
The rescue they called for didn’t come.
The banging on their classroom door didn’t stop either.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
“Gosh, this is driving me crazy.”
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
They couldn’t break the door, but the sounds they made alone were extremely stressful, piercing into their brains even if they covered their ears.
“Can’t we activate the barrier? Fuck! Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!” Beck yelled.
Epherene replied with a sigh. “We don’t know the password. Only the professor knows.”
“Shut the fuck up!”
“You’re the one who asked, so why are you swearing?”
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
Again.
They put them on the edge of insanity.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
Was it just their mental stress, or were the ashes that had taken over the tower sucking in their souls?
“Sigh….”
Epherene took a plastic bag of snacks out of her pocket.
At the rustling sound, all the debutantes in the classroom turned to her.
“W-what is that?”
“Epherene. Where did that come from?”
Their long tormented eyes glistened with hunger.
“Yeah. I was about to share it anyway—”
“… Wait. T-That’s mine!”
Eurozan reached out and grabbed the bag.
“Eurozan? W-What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
“I bought it with my own money!”
Eurozan’s eyes were bloodshot.
“O-Okay—”
“I bought it!”
Epherene was startled. He looked as if he had lost his mind. Regardless, she got angry at him.
“Why are you mad at me?”
“I bought it!”
“I got it, so get your hands off of it!”
“You let go!”
“Why are you so childish? Are you going to eat alone in this situation?”
“I said I bought it! Just fucking give it to me, you poor bastard!”
Rip!
The plastic ripped and spilled cookies, chocolate, and drinks.
Thud, thud, thud…
The eyes of the wizards followed the falling snacks.
“Stop.”
Sylvia’s voice echoed just as a commotion was about to begin.
“That’s pathetic. Fighting over just food.”
“… Hehe~” A rather disrespectful laugh intervened.
“Then what shall we do, Sylvia?” Lucia asked, a rotten smile hanging on her lips. “What kind of solution would a noble like Sylvia come up with in this situation, I wonder?~”
Sylvia looked at Lucia as she pondered about it.
What would she do?
… Maybe.
She would have done this.
“The nobles must concede.”
“… I beg your pardon? The nobles should be the ones to eat, gain strength, and lead the commoners—”
“Take care of your elegance that you’re always concerned about during times like this.”
“… Huh.”
The nobles, including Lucia, looked at Sylvia with a distorted face.
Simultaneously, Epherene packed the sweets and came to the desk.
“I will distribute everything equally.”
“Distribute what?! I bought it!”
“Oh, you shut up!” When Epherene yelled, Eurozan trembled.
“Enough. Instead, I won’t eat either. I already ate a lot—”
Rumble—!
At that moment, a thunderous sound caused the entire classroom to vibrate.
“What was that?!”
Everyone looked at the door in shock.
Boom—!
Its entrance was shaking.
… Class A was the sturdiest classroom in the tower.
Boom—!
Regardless, debris ominously fell from its walls.
“B-Barrier. W-we need a barrier…”
Boooooooooooooooooom—!
A shattering roar echoed.
The classroom’s blackboards fell on the floor.
Booooooooooooooooooom—!
“Ahhhhhhhh!”
Screams and annoying wails filled their vicinity.
“Come on— Come on!”
Out of fear, most of them shouted and yelled gibberish.
Amid that wretched mess, Epherene grabbed her head.
Boooooooooooooooooooom—!
She then looked at the blackboard behind the table.
“…”
Despite all the other blackboards being torn off, it remained intact.
——[Four things to keep in mind]——
1. Break through the core of the barrier.
2. Avoid charging head-on and focus on cooperating with each other.
3. Survive.
4. Never forget that this blackboard serves as the only link between you guys and me.
─────────
“Never forget that this blackboard serves as the only link between you guys and me.”
The only link…?
“Ah!”
At that moment, Epherene came to a realization.
Scratch— Scratch—
Some letters began to be engraved on it.
Boom—!
The vibrations were growing more and more intense.
Soon enough, a blow hit the entire wall of the classroom.
During such great chaos, a sentence appeared on the blackboard’s surface.
[This is Deculein. Communicate with me.]
The moment she read it, Epherene felt like she was about to cry.
[However, Epherene gets a penalty point.]
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