Ch.380380 – The Answer to the Quiz in My Heart

<380 – The Answer to the Quiz in Your Heart>

“Oknodie. Why is the path to the library so treacherous?”

As if that had been bothering him all along, Titosoga popped his head out with a bright light.

“Argh. Too bright.”

“Oh, sorry! I’ll switch to the gray of stealth.”

Click.

As the light’s saturation lowered, my eyes felt much better.

I could also see Titosoga’s curious bare face much more clearly.

“Because the library is dangerous!”

“More than the gates we just passed through?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

“The library is a treasure trove of knowledge, right?”

“Yes?”

“Valuable knowledge would attract many people, wouldn’t it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And there would be various security measures to repel such people.”

For Titosoga, who still couldn’t grasp it, I just told him straight out.

“If you break security protocols, you get thrown into places like detention rooms, puzzle rooms, or the Gimmick Forest that we came out of!”

“Wow. Cutting-edge security! Sounds fun.”

“There’s no newbie rescue policy there that automatically lets you out after a week if you don’t escape on your own!”

No one realizes how frightening the law is until they consider themselves becoming criminals.

Titosoga’s eyes were wide open like a baby woken from sleep, thinking what reason would a good person like himself have to break library security protocols.

“But newbies don’t know the security protocols!”

“Uh… then where do you find the security protocols?”

“In the library!”

“Then you can just ask the librarian to find the security protocols, right? What’s the problem?”

“Getting caught by the librarian is a violation of security protocols!”

“Huh?? Then how do you find the security protocols?”

“Without the librarian knowing!”

“…That’s weird!!!”

After pondering for a while, Titosoga shouted.

“If they’re that strict with visitors, there’s no point in opening a library. New users can’t use it!”

“That’s the library’s reason for existence.”

“Liar. What kind of library in the world works like that?”

“Surprisingly many.”

“I agree.”

Arcadia and Northern Grand Duchess Irene, who were listening from behind, expressed their agreement.

“During the duchy era, the ducal archives had different levels of access depending on pre-assigned ranks. Those ranks were determined by one’s status and position within the duchy. Those who weren’t assigned ranks were completely prohibited from entering.”

“The Northern Grand Archives are the same. We never know when demons might infiltrate to steal valuable knowledge or use that knowledge to create weapons against us. We don’t allow entry or use to anyone who can’t be trusted.”

The royal archives of various countries or the imperial archives of the Empire are even stricter, not less.

Libraries aren’t like 21st century Earth’s public libraries that are open to everyone.

“That’s weird. We’re first-years! They should be open to students.”

“They are open to students. To upper-class students who know the ‘security protocols’.”

Arcadia gave a self-deprecating smile.

“Like any membership facility, new members can’t use the library without recommendation, introduction, or knowledge transfer from existing qualified members. They’ve managed to implement a miniature version of the outside world within the academy. So even students unfamiliar with high society can learn about it.”

Knowing there must be a clear reason, Titosoga hesitated before closing his mouth.

If you lived in a fantasy world, you’d naturally understand.

In a world where the class system prevails, discrimination, oppression, the tyranny of the privileged, and the absolute superiority of knowledge weren’t so strange.

It’s just that the reality of the academy hidden behind the point-based meritocracy, the structure that makes one face all the malice of the world first, has now entered Titosoga’s eyes and mind.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt your chat, but the fourth gate has appeared ahead.”

The fourth gate of the library expedition team, which can only be reached by sacrificing someone, solving knowledge-based puzzles, and passing through an ominous forest.

What greeted us was a large signpost and numerous branching paths.

[Sudden event <Quiz Corner!> has occurred.]

━━━

[Quiz Corner!]

Numerous quizzes are scattered ahead.

Correct answers will speed up your journey to the library, but wrong answers will make the path increasingly difficult.

The door of knowledge opens to those who seek correctness.

Is your correctness strong enough to open the final trial door leading to the library?

Don’t be discouraged if your knowledge is lacking.

The library definitely awaits at the end of the path.

It’s just that for the ignorant, a very long and arduous journey awaits before the door opens!

━━━

Dorothy quickly ran to the signpost with the problem written on it.

And froze in place.

The students who followed also covered their mouths in shock.

“Quiz 0001…?”

“Are there problems going up to four digits?”

This would certainly be bewildering for newbies.

It’s like being lured in by “Respond to our survey and get $1,” only to find a mountain of questionnaires with over 200 items to click through.

“So which way does everyone want to go?”

“What do you mean which way?”

“Do you want to quickly get the right answers and head to the boss battle, or enjoy a longer endurance battle?”

At my urging question, even Son Ocheon now fully understood the gimmick of the library gateway.

“Hey, mouse bell. Are you saying the faster we go, the harder it gets, and the longer route means less suffering?”

“That’s right!”

“Judging by what you’ve been doing, taking the long way seems like the right answer, but we have this much strength. Wouldn’t it be okay to take a shortcut just once?”

“Well, experiencing it wouldn’t be bad!”

There’s no reason to stop newbies when they’re motivated.

━━━

[Quiz 0001]

Deep-sea fish rise to the surface at Valhermina Coast.

Some say the fish come up to escape earthquakes, while others say they’re fleeing from ocean megabeasts.

Marine biologists also call these deep-sea fish “pathetic fish.” Why do they rise to the surface?

━━━

[Sign #1]

Maternal love: To protect the eggs they carry from deep-sea predators

━━━

[Sign #2]

Pathetic: Their sensory whiskers malfunction at the slightest turbulent current, making them drift like duckweed♡ and get swept to the surface by currents, like fish bait♡

━━━

[Sign #3]

Just because: They felt like it.

━━━

“An easy hint.”

“My forest keeper’s intuition says this is the right answer!”

“This one looks more fun to me.”

The expedition team’s votes were split.

Dorothy for maternal love, Irene for pathetic, Son Ocheon for just because.

“Oknodie, you choose. Which is the right answer?”

I know this one. It’s that pattern where if I pick one person, the other two lose affection, right?

“They’re all correct, so let’s split up!”

The three grumbled but gathered students to follow them.

Eventually, the expedition team split into three groups.

I feel proud watching them excitedly disappear down different paths.

“So the real answer was something else, right?”

Zhang, who remained until the end, asked, and I nodded with a grin.

“Flip over the question sign!”

━━━

The answer is #4.

━━━

“But there’s no sign #4?”

“If it’s not there, we have to find it.”

Realizing something from my words, Zhang gathered mana in his eyes and activated Search Eye, Keen Sight.

Looking at the path that opened high up in the ceiling, Zhang couldn’t hide his astonishment.

“So that’s the shortcut?”

“Yes. Want to try it?”

“Don’t we need to bring Titosoga?”

“It’s a bit dangerous for Tito!”

“That makes it even more tempting.”

Zhang lightly jumped up using the sign as a foothold and reached the ceiling passage.

I also used my jump function that I’d developed as a utility skill to climb up, and we took the shortcut meant for just the two of us.

“Oknodie. I can see below.”

“That’s the privilege of taking a shortcut!”

Through the ventilation grill cover below, we could occasionally see students struggling with the signs, Son Ocheon fighting off monsters that appeared after choosing wrong answers to buy time to solve problems, and Titosoga cheerfully choosing wrong answers.

Son Ocheon, who mistook Titosoga for an intelligence character, must be having quite a hard time!

“Oknodie. Those kids over there.”

“Huh? They’re not our kids.”

“It’s Hector’s faction.”

Coincidentally, Hector’s faction was in the direction Dorothy was heading.

Surprisingly, the one leading them was Yuie.

She appeared to be a 2.5-tier character in the female character popularity rankings.

Thanks to receiving Dorothy’s random starting buff, she seemed to have quite a high rank within Hector’s faction despite being a playable character who suffered from nerfs.

Still, she couldn’t be better than me!

‘Huh?’

But there was one person.

Someone who caught my eye.

Standing behind everyone in Hector’s faction, pressuring them like herding sheep toward us.

Dark green messy hair and large round glasses.

A kind, friendly smile but cold, ruthless eyes.

All these elements came together in one person.

“Ugh, Tetrapos!”

“What’s wrong? A senior you know?”

“I know him extremely well. A dangerous senior.”

“How dangerous?”

“I died three times because of that senior!”

Zhang chuckled.

“I won’t fall for it this time. If I ask how the perfectly alive Oknodie standing before me could have died, you were going to say that before entering the academy, you experienced potential dangers within the academy through training at the foundation, right?”

“…Yes!! That’s exactly it!”

Despite the rather brutal scene, Zhang couldn’t take his eyes off the injured students.

His gaze lingered on friends supporting each other, limping in sync, or guiding those too dizzy to see straight.

“Hmm~ So Zhang wants to do something like that?”

“You misunderstand. As if I’d ever envy such weaklings.”

“Hehe. I didn’t say anything!”

Zhang frowned and pulled down the mask he had pushed up on his forehead.

Alright, I’ll be generous.

“Here.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll support you.”

When I positioned myself as if tending to a patient, Zhang gave me an incredulous look.

“You only get supported when you’re injured.”

“Is that so?”

I just received it when I wanted to raise affection.

Though 90% of the time, instead of affection, it raised fear or submission levels.

“If we fight that senior, I’d definitely get seriously injured.”

“Maybe?”

“Not that I particularly want to be supported.”

Zhang has the heart of a delicate girl.

“Alright. I’ll attack the senior and in the confusion, I’ll injure you!”

“…You don’t need to go that far to force an injury.”

As expected, the genius assassin who has lost emotions thinks differently from the start.

I felt somewhat proud at Zhang’s muttering.

Being called a genius – I’ve been complimented!