Chapter 52

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Episode 11 - Mysterious Murder [4]

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We went down a spiral staircase. The guide, who would explain the Academy’s underground facilities to us, said calmly:

"There are more entrances leading underground. Normally, we would use the main entrance, but because there are many researchers there at the moment, we cannot interrupt them, so we’re going down through here."

The group leader, Julian, nodded at every word that came from the female guide. Then he asked:

"By the way, what is your name? We’ll be with you for the next few days."

The guide, as if she had only just realized it, responded kindly:

"Oh, my name? Goodness, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Celestia. I’m a commoner, as you can see. Almost all of you are from the Five Houses, so I hope I can be of help to you."

Julian, having a protagonist complex, waved his hands.

"Don’t worry, Miss Celestia. Whether someone is a noble, a commoner, or whoever they may be, I only judge them by their actions."

Celestia smiled, but after that, she said nothing more.

The rest of the group, myself included, had not asked anything.

Meanwhile, my thoughts were elsewhere.

’Ironically, the killer is always different in each of Lumina’s regressions.’

It could have been easy to overcome this Part Two, but in my memories, whenever Lumina appears in a Chapter, it is as if an event she had never seen before suddenly appears before her.

Which is why, in the game, it is specifically stated that Lumina does not know who the murderer is.

’But was this person the guide in the game? Wasn’t it supposed to be a man?’

Although confused, it was only a brief thought.

At this point, I no longer know what my fate has changed about the game’s story that exists in my memories.

Most likely, the theme of the Chapters will remain the same or, at best, similar.

But there will always be an anomaly in the Chapters, like during the Hunting Festival.

’Either way, if the guide were the killer, I would have been able to sense the Power of Chaos, but I can’t even sense mana from her, much less the Power of Chaos.’

She was just an ordinary human, with nothing special about her.

Probably someone who managed to get a job at the Academy.

So, setting my thoughts aside, we soon arrived underground.

Although anyone would think it would be a place filled with research objects or something extravagant, like a military facility, it was actually as elegant as the interior of the Imperial Castle.

There were chandeliers hanging from the hallway ceilings and paintings of perhaps someone who had made a great discovery in this place.

On the floor was a kind of carpet made from some Wild Beast, as I could feel how soft it was.

Even with boots on, I could clearly feel how soft and warm the carpet was.

In front of me was a large hall with tables covered in reports.

There were only a few people: some writing, others eating, and so on.

"This is the North Hall. The facilities down here are divided into four halls: North, South, East, and West."

She asked us to sit at a large table where what appeared to be a huge map was laid out.

"Take a look at the map of the Four Halls."

Julian asked while looking around:

"And the Labyrinth? Is it beneath us?"

The guide nodded and said:

"Yes, it’s beneath us. I’ll guide you down there on the last day, so look forward to it."

Then she turned around and went to bring some drinks so we could continue exploring the place later.

The group looked at the map. Since I couldn’t see flat things and could only perceive their edges and outlines, I didn’t even pay attention to it. Instead, I focused on using my senses to explore the surroundings.

’There are no traces of the Power of Chaos, that’s strange.’

The villains might be able to hide from the headmistress herself, but I possess the senses and unique vision of a blind man. It’s impossible for a villain to escape me.

’Unless those villains possess "that" trait, but since only one person can have it, nothing can escape from me.’

Of course, I’m not interested in all the villains hiding down here.

I only have one objective, and that is to find the murderer to complete the Main Mission.

’As long as I locate their Power of Chaos, I’ll be able to figure out who they are.’

The reason I immediately went to the main building this morning was to identify the "Source" of the murderer’s Power of Chaos.

Every mana or Power of Chaos belonging to villains, humans, or any other race had a "Source" that distinguished each individual.

In this world, that source would be like a person’s ID card or fingerprint.

If I use my senses and Mana Sense, I’ll find the murderer sooner or later.

’I just need to search this entire place. If the murderer isn’t here, I’ll personally look outside.’

With that idea in mind, I used my senses and Mana Sense, sweeping through the hallways, rooms, secret chambers, and so on.

An endless stream of information flooded my mind.

In a matter of seconds, I had already explored the entire North Hall.

"..."

But my expression changed slightly.

There was a reason for that, and that reason was none other than...

’There isn’t a single villain.’

Not even the slightest trace of the Power of Chaos, not even a residue or anything that suggested villains had been here.

It was as if...

"...they had left."

I muttered in disbelief, not knowing exactly what was happening here.

Normally, I should have detected the presence of villains in the underground area.

’No, maybe they’re in another Hall. I just need to go to the other halls.’

I wanted to explore further, but my mental fatigue hit me hard.

I still haven’t tempered all my organs, nor have I reconstructed my body yet.

So using the Senses of the Nine Heavens causes me far too much fatigue.

Sighing, I slowly rubbed my forehead.

In situations like this, I would ask Rinna to use her Light Magic to restore my mental state.

But she wasn’t here.

’She must have come.’

With that thought, I took out a mental recovery potion and drank it in one gulp.

Then I stored the bottle in my inventory and let out another tired sigh.

At that moment, Julián, as if he had noticed me, asked:

"Hey, Adel, I saw you pull out a potion from nowhere and also make it disappear. Is that one of your Traits? It looks incredible."

Suddenly, I noticed Charlotte and Julián staring at me intently. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Aside from Lumina and Verónica, they were the only two looking at me with various emotions.

’Mhm, so she’s finally paying attention to me.’

The emotions of suspicion, intrigue, distrust, and several others from Charlotte had started to become quite obvious.

And there was a reason for that.

’To her, the game called Holy Land is nothing more than a novel where the protagonist is Julian Reinhard.’

Ironically, she would also be my companion from Earth.

But I am a real human being, so to speak, who comes from the true Earth, if it actually exists.

Because, in the end, she is a character who participates in the main story until the end of the game.

Whereas I am a player.’

Meanwhile, Julian showed surprise and curiosity.

No other emotion beyond that.

Shaking my head, I simply said:

"Yes, it’s a Trait related to storage, similar to storage-type magical items."

Although the Time attribute does not exist, there are Traits and Unique Traits related to Time.

But they are extremely rare or, at best, practically nonexistent.

Julian smiled with obvious surprise.

"Incredible, I’ve never seen a Trait with the power of Time."

Shrugging my shoulders, I simply said:

"Yeah, well, I can only store a few things, and it’s very limited."

In reality, there is no Trait that possesses storage capabilities.

And regarding my inventory, I had noticed that it perhaps had infinite space.

Because I tried filling it according to the amount of space it originally had in the game.

But I simply kept putting more and more things into it, and it never filled up.

So I assumed it was infinite.

Anyway, Julián didn’t ask anything else, and after a while, the guide named Celestia returned with five drinks of different flavors.

"I’m back. Here are some drinks for you, since we’ll be walking around the entire North Hall today. Tomorrow will be the South, the day after tomorrow the East, and finally the West."

The guide explained the flavor of each drink. I chose the chocolate-flavored one.

To me, it had the flavor closest to coffee.

I had already drunk chocolate-flavored coffee before, so I enjoyed it quite a bit.

"Have you already looked at the map?"

Julián nodded.

"Yes, we’ve memorized every location on the map."

"Great, then let’s get moving since that murderer could be hiding really well if we don’t hurry, right?"

The guide said in a playful tone.

I briefly focused on her words, but in the end, there wasn’t any villain in the North Hall.

After finishing our drinks, we continued exploring the rest of the North Hall.

There were so many rooms with different themes.

Some laboratories, gardens with strange plants, and other places even stranger than the previous ones.

There were a few in particular where they kept Summoning eggs. I thought about Liora; perhaps she had lived in that room for a long time.

In the end, several hours passed. The guide wouldn’t stop talking, and Julián was the only one asking questions.

Finally, we returned to the starting point.

"You should head back. In a few hours, classes will start again, so it’s better for you to get whatever little sleep you have left."

We explored the entire place for most of the night, and at this point, dawn was not far away.

"Understood, I’m sleepy too."

Julian said that, although he did not look like someone who was actually sleepy.

Nodding, the guide said:

"You already know the way back, so I’ll see you after classes."

Nodding, Julian said goodbye to the guide, and the rest of us simply left.

After reaching the surface, I returned directly to my room without saying a single word.

I was tired and also frustrated, since there was no villain, and that was far too suspicious.

’It doesn’t matter. Today, after classes, we’ll go to the next Hall.’