Ch.97Chapter 97. Only I Can Do the Kidnapping (1)

“There’s nothing here.”

It had been several weeks since the incident occurred.

As expected, I couldn’t find any special traces at the scene of the incident.

The O’Neil Kingdom had cleaned up so thoroughly that there wasn’t even a trace that multiple knights had been sacrificed here.

Professor Amillion also seemed to be looking around like me, trying to find something, but it appeared she hadn’t found anything either.

‘I should go deeper inside.’

While Elizar was giving various explanations to the students, I headed toward the forest visible ahead.

At the end of the vast open field, a forest with enormous trees suddenly spread out.

It looked like there was nothing there because it was too far away, but I instinctively started walking.

I had no evidence, but I had a feeling I might discover something.

Before I knew it, I had gone far enough that I could no longer see the group I came with, and the forest that had seemed distant was now close.

I thought the trees were large when I saw them from afar, but they were even bigger up close.

“Wow, they’re huge.”

Just as I was muttering to myself and about to step into the forest, I felt a strange energy.

‘This feeling…’

It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation.

A strange energy I had experienced relatively recently.

Thinking about where I had felt this before, I remembered.

It was the feeling I had when passing through the barrier Landgar had set up when we fought at the Academy.

A strange, sticky feeling like passing through something blocked.

Crack-

The sound of a twig breaking under my foot seemed extremely loud.

The forest and the open field had completely different atmospheres, as if a boundary line had been drawn between them.

All I did was take one more step from the open field into the forest.

I stood still and heightened my senses.

I was almost 100% certain.

I had just passed through some kind of barrier, and that was probably why the atmosphere around me had changed in an instant.

In other words, either an enemy was nearby or I had entered enemy territory.

Woong-

Without lowering my guard, I first gripped my sword in my right hand.

With a familiar sound, space opened, and I held the Black Shadow Sword in my hand.

Sling-

Drawing the sword from the space, I slowly began to move.

Pabat-

“Hm?”

With my heightened alertness, I clearly saw something moving.

Something skillfully jumping between trees from inside the forest.

I was about to rush in, assuming it was an enemy, but hesitated for a moment.

‘Did I see wrong?’

Pabat-

“Oh!”

I hadn’t seen wrong.

The person who just leaped between trees was someone I definitely knew.

Someone I knew too well to simply call an acquaintance.

“…Addy?”

The person jumping over the trees in formal attire with short brown hair swaying was Addy.

I was certain.

There’s no way I could mistake or misidentify Addy.

“What is this?”

When I called her name, Addy paused on a tree branch and looked at me.

Now that she was still, I could see more clearly.

It really was Addy.

‘What’s going on?’

I thought calmly.

Addy was standing comfortably on a thick branch, looking down at me.

‘There’s no way the real Addy could be here.’

Although she looked exactly like Addy, realistically, Addy couldn’t be here right now.

Addy couldn’t teleport like me, and hadn’t I met her in the office just last night?

So the person standing there was most likely not the real Addy, but an impostor mimicking her appearance.

‘But how?’

Pabat-

After staring at me for a while, whoever was disguised as Addy quickly leaped deeper into the forest.

“Escaping from me won’t be easy.”

Woong-

I teleported to the branch where Addy had been standing.

As I suddenly approached, the fake Addy who had jumped to the next tree seemed startled.

“I’ll have to catch you and ask some questions.”

Pabat-

As if hearing my words, the fake Addy began to run even faster.

I needed to catch them to find out who they were and how they were disguised as Addy.

Woong-

I calculated the path of the person running in Addy’s form and teleported ahead.

I moved in front of them according to my calculations and was about to strike when:

<A new main quest has begun.>

“Huh?”

Pabat-

My attention was momentarily diverted by the sudden system message.

The person disguised as Addy narrowly avoided my fist.

Pung-

Almost simultaneously, with a bursting sound, they disappeared.

As if they had never existed, leaving absolutely no trace.

‘What is this…’

Only then did I notice the system message blocking my view.

Of all times for a system message to appear.

<Main Quest (4) ‘Making a Name’>

Objective: Rescue Elaine Sinclair and thwart the Nameless Organization’s plan.

Details: Rescue the kidnapped Elaine and identify the mastermind, the Nameless Organization.

Reward: 10 Stat Points, Title Acquisition (Hero of the Kingdom)

Penalty: Game Over and Reset, Death of Elaine Sinclair

“Uh…”

My face crumpled as soon as I read the quest content.

**

‘This is perfect timing.’

The First Elder of the Nameless Organization smiled quietly with his eyes closed.

Though his eyes were closed, the First Elder was clearly seeing something.

Through the eyes of the observer he had released outside, the First Elder was watching students.

Not the Academy students in the O’Neil Kingdom, but students from the Crescen Empire Academy.

‘The catalyst has appeared.’

What the First Elder called a “catalyst” was nothing else but this.

It was the catalyst for the O’Neil Kingdom to mobilize forces to capture him.

The First Elder had deliberately leaked information about his hideout to the O’Neil Kingdom.

Originally, there was no need to rush like this, but the problem was that the Third Elder’s operation had completely failed.

With all of Landgar’s subordinates captured, they could no longer do anything in Crescen.

Therefore, they needed to create an incident here as quickly as possible, but for some reason, the O’Neil Kingdom knew where he was but wasn’t attacking.

From the First Elder’s perspective, it was an extremely frustrating situation.

He planned to execute his plan in O’Neil, starting with an attack on his hideout.

The First Elder carefully examined each student through the observer’s eyes.

Who would be easiest to kidnap?

The first to catch his eye was a fearless male student wandering around alone.

A male student with rare black hair who looked full of confidence.

The student was heading boldly toward the Enchanted Forest without properly listening to the guide.

‘That one would be easiest.’

Kidnapping a student who was separated from the group and alone would be child’s play for the First Elder.

Just as he decided on his target and was about to move, someone else caught his eye.

“Let’s go together!”

A female student with flowing blonde hair, shouting as she followed the fearless male student.

‘That one is…’

The First Elder stared intently at the female student following the male student.

It was definitely a face he had seen before, and he wasn’t mistaken.

The daughter of the Sinclair Family, one of the six great families of Crescen.

Elaine Sinclair.

‘To think such a big fish would be here.’

Siiik-

The First Elder couldn’t help but smile as he looked at Elaine.

Target change.

While anyone would serve as a sufficient catalyst, if it was a student with influence in Crescen, it would create an even bigger and more certain catalyst.

Having changed his target from the fearless male student to Elaine, the First Elder moved immediately.

Once he had made his plan, there was no reason to hesitate.

The timing was also perfect.

In the center of the open field, an O’Neil knight and the Crescen guide were gathered with the students, while the black-haired male student walked steadily forward alone.

And behind him, Elaine Sinclair followed awkwardly.

Pung-

The First Elder immediately teleported to the location his observer’s eyes were watching.

As soon as he teleported behind Elaine, the First Elder took action.

Shwaaaa-

“Oh!”

Sling-

‘Quite sharp.’

The First Elder thought as he watched Elaine instinctively draw her sword the moment he teleported behind her.

But even though she quickly drew her sword based on her sharp senses, it was already too late.

“Wh-what?”

Elaine couldn’t even turn around and was frozen in an awkward position, unable to move.

It was the First Elder’s binding magic.

And not just any magic, but black magic.

It was twice as fast to cast as regular mana and its power was incomparable.

Step- Step-

“Nngh! Urgh!”

While Elaine struggled with all her might to break free from the binding that rendered her immobile, the First Elder leisurely moved to her side.

‘Her resistance is quite impressive.’

Normally, people caught in this binding spell couldn’t even make proper sounds, but Elaine was managing to resist.

Elaine was making groaning sounds as she tried her best to speak.

The First Elder looked into her eyes and stared at her calmly.

Though Elaine probably couldn’t see his face.

“Urrrgh!”

Clang-

With a flick of the First Elder’s hand, the sword fell from Elaine’s hand.

The loud metallic sound of the falling sword drew the attention of the gathered people.

The first to react was a female knight wearing the O’Neil Kingdom Knights’ uniform.

The female knight immediately drew her sword and charged fiercely.

‘According to plan.’

Following her was what appeared to be the guide from Crescen.

Probably the professor in charge of these students.

Shwaaaa-

Black mist began to spread from the First Elder’s hand.

As the mist spread, the female knight who had been charging fiercely slowed down and stopped.

Taking advantage of that moment, the First Elder touched Elaine’s shoulder and spoke to them.

If they wanted to get this student back, they should come prepared.

Pung-

With just those words, the First Elder didn’t hesitate and disappeared from that place with Elaine.