Ch.150Chapter 150. Final Chapter (End)

During my absence, there had been quite a few changes on the Arcaria Continent.

First, the biggest and most difficult change to adapt to was the status of the Black Shadow Corps.

In the past, people who had no interest in the so-called “dark world” might not have known the name of the Black Shadow Corps, but that was no longer the case.

The name Black Shadow Corps had spread widely throughout the continent.

And not in a bad way like during the Dragon Heart theft incident, but in a very positive direction.

Now the name Black Shadow Corps was no longer something to be hidden on the continent, but had become the name of heroes.

It was a bit burdensome, but nevertheless, it was a very good outcome.

The Black Shadow Corps had become famous, and Satan, who had briefly but intensely threatened the peace of the continent, had been stopped.

Additionally, many of the dangerous monsters lurking in the northern part of the continent had been eliminated.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back?”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard too!”

Cynthia and Emily asked in bright, curious voices.

The two of them were enthusiastically welcoming me back to the academy.

“I thought so too, but somehow things worked out well?”

I never expected that the quest failure penalty would actually work in my favor.

The “Play Reset” penalty literally reset the achievements I had made between main quests.

For me, who couldn’t do anything for months after being trapped in the spatial rift while dealing with Satan, it was essentially a meaningless penalty.

The only slightly regrettable thing was losing the stat points I received for clearing the Satan sealing quest, but that was nothing.

I could have gone insane, trapped in the spatial rift forever without being able to die.

Besides, I’ve felt for a while that stat points don’t seem that important anyway.

“I’ve been wondering something!”

Cynthia whispered to me in an excited voice while trying to lower her volume.

When I shrugged my shoulders without answering, suggesting she should go ahead, Cynthia carefully began to speak.

“About the Black Shadow Corps leader. Do you know how badly he was injured? He hasn’t shown himself to the world since sealing Satan.”

“Ah, I see.”

I already knew from Addy how my whereabouts had been explained to the world during my absence.

The story was that I had suffered critical injuries during the battle with Satan and was recovering.

“I don’t know much about that either. From what I’ve heard, he’s almost fully recovered?”

“Wow, really?”

This time Emily responded instead of Cynthia.

Emily seemed just as curious about the Black Shadow Corps leader “Ryuyeong” as Cynthia was.

Elaine was walking silently beside us with a faint smile.

Elaine, who had hugged me crying when she first saw me, now seemed too embarrassed to look me in the eye after calming down.

Even after I cleanly finished the sixth main quest with a second-place prize and visited Addy.

“Yeah. I wonder if he’ll appear somewhere soon.”

“Wow, finally.”

Cynthia muttered to herself with an excited expression for reasons I couldn’t understand.

I never imagined that “I” would receive such positive evaluations from people.

It’s quite amazing when I think about it.

“By the way, Elaine, that sword looks nice?”

“Ah, this…”

Elaine flinched in surprise when I spoke to her, then lowered her gaze to look at the sword at her waist.

The sword at Elaine’s waist was the Sword of the Sword God.

My Black Shadow Sword.

I had wondered where it went after I roughly tossed it aside during the final battle with Satan, but Elaine was using it.

“I, I should return it to its owner…”

Elaine hesitated as she tried to unfasten the sword from her waist.

I had just commented on her carrying the Black Shadow Sword, but she seemed to have interpreted it as me asking for the sword back.

That wasn’t what I meant.

“No, I think you can keep using it?”

“Huh…?”

Elaine looked at me in surprise, but quickly lowered her head again when our eyes met.

Then she began fidgeting with the Black Shadow Sword.

Just by watching how she handled the sword’s hilt, I could tell Elaine had become quite familiar with the Black Shadow Sword.

The sight made me smile without realizing it.

Since I didn’t particularly need a sword anymore, it seemed fine to give the Black Shadow Sword to Elaine.

Somehow it suited her quite well.

“Ahh. Anyway, it feels good to be back at the academy.”

Cynthia and Emily smiled at my muttering, while Elaine continued to fidget with the Black Shadow Sword, looking unsure of what to do.

Just keep it already.

“I hope this semester passes without any incidents.”

Cynthia muttered to herself worriedly.

Emily nodded vigorously beside her in agreement.

‘There were a lot of incidents.’

Hearing Cynthia’s words naturally reminded me of everything that had happened during the academy’s first semester.

It started with that ridiculous feeling when the “quest” to enroll in the academy suddenly appeared.

The academy entrance exam wasn’t smooth from the beginning.

Starting with the quest to rank first in the entrance exam, and as soon as I enrolled, the inter-grade competition was waiting for me.

I expected an ordinary and peaceful academy life, but suddenly black magicians appeared, and even a demon was resurrected.

‘Well, I guess quests start because incidents happen.’

Looking back now, it all made sense.

The quest appearing suddenly after 10 years without any signs was itself a signal that something was happening.

I just didn’t expect it to be on such a large scale.

“What’s happening in the second semester?”

“All the events that were going to be canceled are now happening! Students from other academies in O’Neil will be sent here, and we’ll also go to the north! And there was something else…”

Listening to Cynthia mutter excitedly, I felt worried first.

Usually, whenever there was an event like this, a quest-related incident would break out.

‘Now that Satan is sealed again, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?’

Just as I was thinking that this felt like raising a flag, while hoping it wouldn’t be the case…

<Main Quest (7) ‘Consistency is Key’>

Objective: Get assigned to S-class in the Crescen Academy second semester class assignment test.

Description: Achieve good results in the upcoming second semester class assignment test to remain in S-class for the second semester.

Reward: 5 Stat Points, Title acquisition (Consistent Achiever)

Penalty: Play Reset [Penalty reduced due to increased difficulty]

A new quest was created as if reading my thoughts.

And with unexpected content.

Of course, it was very peaceful compared to the overwhelming quest of sealing Satan.

‘Class assignment test…?’

“Do we have to take a class assignment test?”

“Oh, right. That’s the first thing we’ll do. Normally, new classes would be assigned before the second semester based on first semester grades, but this year they’re giving a new test after the second semester starts.”

Cynthia clapped her hands as if she had forgotten something important.

Another test, seriously.

“Wow, but how did you know that, Ryu? I thought you didn’t know anything about the academy schedule!”

When Emily asked curiously, I could only smile awkwardly, feeling a bit guilty.

I knew because of the quest, of course.

“Somehow? Haha.”

“Oh, S-class students. Nice to see you.”

“Uh…”

Someone interrupted my words with perfect timing, greeting us as if they knew us.

The owner of the familiar voice was Yuria.

Yuria was looking directly at me in particular, smiling brightly.

“Oh, Aun… I mean, Vice Principal!”

“Vice Principal??”

I couldn’t help but be surprised at Emily’s words.

Vice Principal?

Yuria?

‘She didn’t mention anything about that when we met earlier.’

After seeing Addy in the office for the first time in a while, I had already met with each of the corps leaders once.

They were all surprised to see me and welcomed me in their own ways, though not as much as Addy or Elaine.

Yuria had welcomed me most calmly, but she hadn’t said anything about being Vice Principal then.

“Huhuhu. Student Ryu might not know. I recently became the Vice Principal.”

“I see.”

Yuria gestured toward me while laughing as if she found something amusing.

I wasn’t sure if having Yuria as the academy’s Vice Principal was good or bad, but one thing was certain.

At least I could attend the academy much more comfortably than in the first semester.

“I hope you all can stay in the same class for the second semester?”

“Hehe.”

Cynthia scratched her head and nodded in response to Yuria’s words.

As long as there’s no written test in the class assignment test, it should be fine.

“Then I’ll see you all later?”

Yuria left, her blue hair swaying as she looked at me pointedly.

I felt once again that many things had indeed changed during my absence.

After Yuria left, we also parted ways at the main gate.

Elaine seemed to have something to say as she hesitated, but ultimately left without saying it.

Well, if she has something to say, she’ll say it eventually.

We have plenty of time ahead of us.

Woong-

After parting with the others, I habitually entered the space.

Perhaps thanks to spending the last few months in the spatial rift, entering the void space was now effortless.

I no longer needed to focus on a destination to teleport like before.

I could just enter the void space and slowly decide where to emerge.

Woong-

And the place I emerged was in the air, with a panoramic view of the academy.

A place where I could see everything from the Training Forest in the center to all the buildings in detail.

“Ahhhh.”

A refreshing sigh escaped me, audible even to myself.

After greeting everyone including Elaine and Addy, I felt it even more clearly.

I was back.

Looking down at the academy landscape, I felt both overwhelmed and amazed.

Snicker-

With a small laugh, I took out the familiar mask from within the space.

The black mask symbolizing Ryuyeong, leader of the Black Shadow Corps.

I would probably have many occasions to walk around wearing this mask in the future.

Swish-

As I brought the mask to my face, it attached to my face like a magnet.

“Hmm.”

It felt somehow welcoming.

Additionally, as soon as I put on the mask, an idea flashed through my mind.

For this class assignment test, wouldn’t it be good to gather some information in advance?

Grin-

Though it wouldn’t be visible from the outside, I moved with a deep smile behind the mask.

Checking out the test information “a little” in advance shouldn’t be a big deal.

Woong-

I stepped into the space that opened according to my will.

This kind of thing is really fun after all.