Ch.9999. From Human Resource to Human Disaster

The women’s dormitory was always noisy at the end of the day.

Many girls didn’t return to their rooms right away, instead gathering to chat endlessly in the hallways.

This was simply part of the dorm culture and didn’t violate any school rules, so nobody could really complain. Still, some residents found it annoying.

Celia was one of them.

“It’s so noisy again today.”

Normally, she would have just ignored it, but today it seemed to particularly grate on her nerves, evident from her sour expression.

Clearly, she was in a bad mood and finding fault with everything around her.

The reason for her foul mood was obvious. She had sent Ludion off alone with Alkine on what was essentially a date.

Of course, she had planned it herself and sent them off… but she’d done it out of obligation, not because she wanted to. So naturally, she felt terrible.

Her mood was so bad that she had even skipped dinner, despite normally being meticulous about never missing meals.

Irritated and hungry, it was no wonder even small annoyances were getting under her skin.

But she knew making a scene wouldn’t help anything. While no one would likely say anything to her directly, the mere act of drawing attention to herself made her uncomfortable. Within the academy, Ludion’s attention was the only kind she welcomed.

Perhaps that’s why Celia enveloped her entire room in mana, completely isolating the inside from the outside.

Even knowing that isolating herself in her room wasn’t good for her mental health, right now she just wanted to be alone.

Grumble-grumble-

‘I should just go to sleep.’

That’s why she didn’t notice anything unusual despite the commotion outside.

Normally, her keen senses would have detected it immediately, but ironically, her perfect isolation spell had become the problem.

Well, even if she had noticed, she might have just thought, ‘Ludion will handle it well enough,’ and gone back to bed.

Either way, she went to sleep alone, completely unaware of what was happening outside.

Meanwhile, the situation outside had become quite urgent.

A massive wave of energy pulsed through the academy—strong enough that anyone with even slightly heightened senses could feel it.

Not a single person dismissed it as “probably nothing.”

That was natural. Such a chilling aura couldn’t possibly be harmless.

The academy staff naturally had the strongest reaction.

From the professors to the headmaster, everyone was startled by the sudden surge of energy.

Inside the headmaster’s office, Headmaster Dane was processing paperwork while Professor Reina snacked beside him. Both simultaneously sensed something and looked out the window.

Reina spoke first.

“…Hey. Did you feel that?”

“Yeah. I felt it too.”

The window faced directly toward where the Rift had appeared.

Though they couldn’t see anything specific, they could definitely sense it.

The Rift that had just formed could potentially cause the academy to collapse… no, it might even bring disaster to the surrounding areas and the empire itself.

“Reina. You should go check it out first.”

“What about you?”

“I need to contact everyone first.”

“…Is there any chance this can be handled within the academy? We have talented people in our student council.”

It was obvious whom Reina was referring to.

Alkine, Celia, and Ludion.

The headmaster considered it briefly but then shook his head.

“I don’t think they’re ready for this yet.”

“Well, if that’s your judgment.”

Reina didn’t argue with his assessment.

The energy emanating from the Rift was clearly beyond what even the most talented and powerful students could handle.

“So go check out the situation first. And just to be clear, don’t even think about going inside, no matter what.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“I’m saying this because I know your personality. If you’re not going in, fine. Contact me if anything happens.”

After that conversation, Professor Reina headed toward the Rift, where she discovered something.

-[The Student Council President and Secretary are inside.]

-[Please rescue us if we don’t come out.]

These words were written on a wooden sign stuck in the ground.

She could immediately recognize Ludion’s handwriting.

The lighthearted message seemed completely at odds with the dangerous situation.

Seeing it, Professor Reina suddenly felt all her tension drain away.

“I should tell him to hold off on sending out those alerts.”

She felt foolish for having been so tense just moments ago.

Dane, the headmaster, was usually spot-on with his judgments, but this time, he might be wrong.

It couldn’t be helped. How could anyone predict outcomes when such an unpredictable person was involved?

“Dane told me not to go in… so I’ll just wait nearby.”

Reina sat down near the Rift, confident that it would be conquered soon, and decided to simply wait rather than trying to help.

///

As I ran toward the suddenly appeared Rift, I realized I was running side by side with Alkine.

So the upgraded evasion without cooldown was fast enough to keep pace with Alkine.

I knew I’d gotten faster, but not to this extent. I couldn’t help but be impressed.

“I’m curious about something. Were you always this fast and just pretending to be slow, or did you actually get faster?”

“I got faster. I’ve never hidden my abilities.”

“Fair enough.”

The difference was so significant that Alkine, who knew my previous speed, couldn’t help but question it.

But since I’d never hidden anything, I could easily explain it in a few words.

Though I feel like I could move even faster if I ran in a straight line without controlling my speed… but I probably won’t need to go all out like that. For now, I should consider my ‘evasion speed = Alkine’s speed.’

I wonder if my evasion skill is overpowered for keeping up with Alkine, or if Alkine is just amazing for being able to run alongside me despite my cheating skill…

“…Telling the others not to come was the right call.”

“Did you contact them again?”

“Just doing my duty.”

Either way, this wasn’t something to worry about right now.

All this conversation was just to lighten the mood as we faced the massive Rift that appeared when we reached our destination.

The Rift that formed when Alkine’s favorability reached 20 was, surprisingly, something I’d seen in the game.

It was called a Boss Rift—end-game content for veteran players.

Simply put… as the name suggests, it’s a Rift where only bosses appear.

It wasn’t directly related to game progression and was more of a challenge content. The opening conditions were so complicated that I hadn’t paid much attention to it… yet here it was.

‘What exactly is this favorability system?’

It seems like the favorability system somehow forced it open, but I couldn’t make any detailed guesses without more information.

[You cannot view this information.]

I couldn’t even see the favorability system myself.

So, the only thing we could do right now was to conquer this Rift.

“But… are just the two of us going in?”

“Even if we searched the entire academy, you and I are the elite.”

Alkine answered casually when I asked.

She wasn’t wrong.

If I had to name others, I could include Celia and some professors, but even then, Alkine would still be at the top.

It’s a bit strange that such an overwhelmingly powerful person attends the academy, but if she wants to attend, what can anyone do?

Her parents probably wanted her to have academy memories, no matter how strong she was.

They must have sent her to the academy hoping for a peaceful experience, but now she’s conquering Rifts… that must be heartbreaking. But joining the student council was her own choice, and experiences like these become part of who you are, beyond just combat power.

Still, I wonder if students should really be involved with such dangerous Rifts… but overthinking things gets you nowhere. We’re doing this because it’s right in front of us.

“Will we be okay?”

I asked just to be sure. She was strong, but not yet fully developed.

However, she was surprisingly more confident than expected.

“Of course. Let’s go in right away.”

“You’re remarkably calm.”

“Oh, that’s because my trait was completely unlocked as a favorability reward. Sword Master, I think? Thanks to that, I’m feeling incredibly empowered right now.”

So that’s why she seemed uncharacteristically bold. The subtle change in her behavior stemmed from that.

Complete unlocking of the Sword Master trait. By her standards, she had transcended a barrier, so her confidence made sense.

And… hearing that made me feel relieved too. An Alkine who had transcended her limits was truly unstoppable.

Compared to before crossing that threshold… she went from being a capable person who could pull her weight in a Boss Rift to someone the Boss Rift itself should fear.

Of course, without future spec upgrades, just unlocking the trait wouldn’t let her solo the Boss Rift… but the situation had definitely improved.

“Let’s finish this quickly, go back, shower, and sleep.”

“Right. If we’re too late, Celia will have something to say.”

Just as we were about to enter the Rift, a thought occurred to me and I stopped.

“Oh right. Let me do this before we go.”

I took out a suitable wooden board from my inventory and stuck it in the ground.

Then I took out a pen and wrote:

-[The Student Council President and Secretary are inside.]

-[Please rescue us if we don’t come out.]

“There. Now someone will come rescue us if something happens.”

“What about the possibility of them looking at us awkwardly after we conquer the Rift and come out?”

“That’s more likely, but it’s good to be prepared for anything.”

“You’re really carefree.”

Well, it’s because I’m familiar with this.

Even though the Boss Rift was challenge content for veteran players, it wasn’t much to me. Especially now with Alkine, who had transcended her limits, by my side.

…I was thinking too casually about this.

I had unconsciously forgotten that we were walking into danger of our own accord.

The price for such carelessness was predictable.