Chapter 49

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Episode 11 - Mysterious Murder [1]

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"Well, I’ll let you live."

She was breathing heavily. She quickly took a potion out of her pocket and drank it.

Soon, her injuries began to heal, and she finally breathed in relief.

"Thank you for letting me live, older brother."

She was really still calling me that, even after she had been about to kill me.

However, I didn’t have enough patience right now; I could kill her at the slightest provocation.

"It will only be temporary, and if I notice even the slightest suspicious movement from you, I won’t hesitate to kill you, keep that in mind."

I turned around, leaving her behind. With my senses, I could feel her obediently nodding.

So I let out a long sigh as I returned to my dormitory; I was mentally exhausted.

I wouldn’t train today.

’My master must have heard everything. Even so, she doesn’t seem willing to ask anything for now.’

I shrugged. In any case, when I accepted her as my master, I already knew I wouldn’t be able to keep all my secrets hidden.

So, if she asks, I’ll answer calmly.

’I hope I made the right decision.’

If things go out of control, I won’t hesitate to kill her.

I have no chance of returning to life as Lumina if I die.

’I only have one life, that’s all.’

And I had to protect that single life no matter the cost.

Soon, I left the campus and returned to my dormitory. Liora had already returned to my head and fallen asleep.

***

Veronica watched Adel walk away.

Then, suddenly, a screen appeared before her eyes.

〖■■■■ says that you were very reckless and that you shouldn’t do anything foolish again〗

Veronica looked at the screen; then, a pained smile formed on her face as she said:

"I’m sorry, but it still seemed like he intended to kill me from the very beginning."

〖■■■■ says that, in a way, you’re right, but you still shouldn’t have drawn so much attention to yourself; your actions could become a danger to him〗

Veronica sighed as she picked up her sword and sat down on the bench.

’I was close to dying, but even though I managed to survive, I won’t be lucky enough to make it out next time.’

The thought crossed her mind before fading away; then the screen flickered and new words appeared.

〖■■■■ says that it would have been better if he had done everything instead of you〗

Veronica clicked her tongue.

"Stop saying stupid things already. You’d still be dealing with these kinds of restrictions anyway, so nothing changes, idiot."

The screen did not appear again. Then Veronica sighed and murmured:

"I don’t want to die again... especially not because of you, older brother."

She looked at the white lilies and cleared her mind. Then she took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

***

It was already the first week of February.

And today, the Mission Window appeared when I woke up.

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■| Chapter 1, Part 2: Mysterious Murder.

Category: Main Story.

Difficulty: ★★★★

Description: On the morning of February 3, in front of the Holy Academy’s main building, Professor Harris Miller’s head was impaled on a spear. He was a researcher investigating something extremely important; however, he was suddenly murdered, and the Directorcalled an emergency meeting.

∆ Time Limit: 12 days.

∆ Reward: The Trait: Growing flower.

∆ Failure: The player will lose one Star.

∆ Status: In progress.

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When I saw the Mission Window, I looked directly at the reward.

It was a trait I didn’t recognize and, moreover, I had no idea what it actually did.

’Growing flower... just from its name, I can’t guess what it actually does.’

But the Mission Window wouldn’t give me a useless reward or something with no purpose.

Seeing that the difficulty was still 4 Stars meant that the trait matched the level of difficulty.

’And above all, the consequence of failing the mission is extremely severe.’

My power would fall back to three stars.

I couldn’t allow that to happen, and in any case, failing a mission would prevent me from reaching the True Ending.

With even greater determination, I absolutely had to complete this mission.

’Well, I should head to the Academy’s main building.’

It was dawn, and Professor Harris’s head was probably already impaled on the tip of a spear stuck into the ground.

I quickly took a bath and reheated the food I had cooked yesterday with Liora’s guidance.

Finally, I finished and left my dormitory, crossed the campus, and then arrived at the area where all the parliament buildings were located.

I walked through the corridors and soon reached the plaza, where the main building stood.

Then, I noticed that several cadets were already there.

Especially those who arrived early in the morning to their classrooms.

Some whispered in horror at what could be seen at the end of the main building’s staircase.

I slightly raised my head and "looked" toward the end of the staircase.

And, as expected, Professor Harris’s head was there.

It seems there was some kind of interference preventing the professors and Director Bernice from noticing this.

Not until the cadets reported it.

And, using my senses, I noticed that some cadets were heading directly toward the reporting office.

Minutes passed, and suddenly, the professors arrived, and shortly afterward, Director Bernice appeared.

’That was pretty fast.’

Soon, the professors’ voices echoed throughout the plaza.

"Cadets, please return to your classrooms."

"You will be notified, and an announcement will be made later."

Then Director Bernice spoke.

"Gather all the staff, we’re going into an emergency meeting."

He said it to one of the professors. The professor nodded and quickly moved away.

Then the Directorsaid:

"Today’s first class will be suspended. However, remain inside your classrooms. The professors’ assistants will be watching over you, now move."

The cadets quickly left, some out of fear after seeing a professor’s head, and others because of the principal’s final shout.

At this point, they knew she was truly furious.

I also started moving.

’Soon, the strongest students from the three years will be called to her office.’

Naturally, this is part of the game’s story, so the players take part in this search for the murderer.

Since almost all of the professors cannot search for the murderer.

The emergency meeting concluded that the strongest students from the five years would assist in the search.

These cadets would be divided into three groups.

The first-year group, the second-year group, and the third-year group.

’And the group that finds the murderer will be rewarded with a favor from the principal.’

And that was a favor from a 10-Star individual.

You could literally ask for anything, except for something irrational, of course.

So I soon arrived at the classroom.

Several minutes passed, and the classroom was finally filled with all the cadets who were present.

Lumina was the one who took attendance, since Professor Ashly looked at her first instead of me and handed her the list.

The atmosphere in the classroom was tense, and everyone was talking about the head they had seen earlier.

"Did you see that...? That can’t be real, right?"

"It was Professor Harris... there’s no way to mistake him."

"His head... was impaled... what kind of monster would do something like that?"

"Shut up, you’re making me even more nervous."

"This isn’t normal, not even for the Academy..."

And the murmurs continued without stopping.

Lumina, who was sitting at Professor Ashly’s desk, looked toward the windows and stared outside.

Meanwhile, the cadets continued their conversations.

Rinna, beside me, also seemed somewhat uneasy and said:

"There really was a murder without anyone noticing, even the director didn’t find out until someone informed her."

In response to her question, I remained silent for a brief moment.

I already knew how the villains had managed to keep both the professors and the director from noticing until someone alerted them.

’The villain who killed Professor Harris has a rather strange trait that interferes with anyone’s perception, no matter how strong they are.’

It was also the reason why this mission was difficult for me.

’Because of her trait, mine won’t be of much help, but if I find clues or tracks, I might be able to follow her trail.’

With the help of my traits, I might not find her easily, but if she leaves behind footprints or some kind of clue, it could become a little easier.

"No idea, it seems the infiltrated villains have unique traits that keep them hidden even within the Academy."

Rinna nodded, agreeing with my words.

"You’re right. Reports have been received within the Holy Church about villains with traits never seen before."

"It’s good that you’re telling me that."

She shook her head and said:

"I’m the next Saint. I can reveal information if I want to."

"But you’re not officially a Saint yet. You will be after graduation."

She closed her mouth and whistled inconspicuously. Seeing this, I sighed and thought about how foolish she used to be around me.

In any case, Director Bernice should be in the middle of a meeting right now.

All that remained was to wait for her to call the strongest cadets from the three grades.

’Among the first-years, the strongest of us are here.’

I looked at some of the main characters standing before me.

I was certain I would be called because I was ranked number one and because I knew the director was aware that I was a 4-Star.

Just like Lumina.

Soon, the first period ended and the break period began.

There was only one hour left before being called to the director’s office.