Ch.9999. Infiltrating the Octagon (1)

“…I still can’t believe it.”

Me, actually possessing Mizar-type mana…

I was still confused.

But the mana coiled around my hand makes me relive that sensation of cleaving Arispea in two.

I clench my fist tight then release it, staring intently at my palm as it turns white then returns to normal.

Indeed. This isn’t a dream but reality.

“Hoho, still having trouble adjusting, I see?”

“…Professor Muniher.”

She must have noticed me repeatedly clenching and unclenching my fist, wondering if this was real.

“You achieved this through your own efforts, so why deny it yourself?”

But I can’t help it. After all, I’ve always been stuck in a vanguard position, and now they’re telling me I have the same type of mana as Goden, the head of Tembris.

It’s hard enough adjusting to being placed on the same level as that guy, but I nearly fell over in shock when I heard the names of historical and existing figures who also possessed Mizar-type mana.

“How could I adjust to hearing that I share the same mana type as you, Professor…”

To think I have the same type as this professor standing before me, the foremost expert in magical engineering, and the Imperial Chancellor.

After hearing something like that, I couldn’t just say “Oh, I see” and move on easily.

Not that I dare to think I’m equal to Professor Muniher. It’s just… awkward.

Having lived my whole life as a nobody, a useless person, I could have accepted being assigned to a vanguard position, but something this unbelievable happening to me was bound to feel awkward.

“…Is there any chance that thing malfunctioned?”

“My, my. Seeing you still doubt it, am I really that untrustworthy?”

“No, no! It’s not that I don’t believe you… I just wish I could accept it more easily, but I’m having trouble adjusting.”

As I scratched my head and confessed this, Professor Muniher laughed with a “Haha” at my underwhelming reaction.

“Well, you’ll understand when the time comes. More importantly, Denis should have returned recently. Have you received any guidance from him?”

“He did teach me… but the guidance session wasn’t very long. He said he was tired.”

When Professor Jake came to get me, Denis had said he was exhausted from working like crazy for several days and couldn’t provide guidance for a while.

“To think he’d slack off like this. I’ll have a word with him later. So, about your skills now that you’ve manifested your mana armor?”

“Ah, about that.”

I asked about something Denis hadn’t even given me a hint about during our guidance session, as if I was supposed to figure it out on my own.

Professor Muniher also refused, saying, “I can’t answer that either.”

Seriously, where are all these people who were supposed to guide me? Are they all telling me to learn by myself? Is this really what they call guidance?

While I was complaining internally, Professor Muniher seemed to read my thoughts from my expression.

“If you try to get ahead of the curriculum even here, you’ll be useless. Sometimes walking slowly is more effective than running quickly, so start by reviewing what you’ve learned.”

Professor Muniher turned toward his office with his hands behind his back, leaving me with those parting words.

Don’t be hasty and proceed slowly.

I’d heard this advice before my regression too. Of course, my reaction then and now is the same.

“…I can’t help feeling anxious, Professor.”

Because if I don’t prepare, I’ll be no different from my incompetent former self.

***

After the Class 1 Mana Typology lecture ended, I stared into the distant sky until the reddish sunset darkened to black.

“…It seems like Cain is still alone for now.”

When I checked several routes near the capital Levrant recently, Cain was the only student who could be said to frequent Mirpark Province.

Mirpark Province is known as the administrative district of cutting-edge industry, including the second most developed city after Levrant.

However, that was just like oil spread on the surface to make it look glossy.

Since most of the residents are lords and nobles who have accumulated wealth and power, the dark side is even rougher and darker than other administrative districts.

All kinds of illegal activities banned by the Principality occur there, from gambling to slave trading and drug dealing, but because they quickly cover up any traces by coordinating their stories, it’s almost impossible for the activities buried in Mirpark’s shadows to come to light.

The most serious place among them is the gambling den.

The massive underground gambling den houses the Octagon, an arena where slaves fight for the nobles’ entertainment.

“Sigh. If only it had nothing to do with the students, I wouldn’t need to worry about that place.”

One might wonder what a gambling den that merely caters to nobles’ entertainment has to do with students, but the relationship is surprisingly close.

The trade between the Principality and the Empire that failed due to the typhoon.

This causes prices to rise, and students from poor and lower-class backgrounds start looking for work.

These students are very good prey for them.

Just when they’re starting to get bored of watching the same slaves fight, they start licking their lips at the thought of academy students entering the arena.

The nobles, already dissatisfied with the changes that prevent them from laying hands on students, tempt them with money.

The students who get lured in one by one are, naturally, those who are just beginning to raise their heads and take their first steps toward growth.

Those in vanguard positions, or support positions that can temporarily take on vanguard roles.

They’re the ones who will stand in the most important positions during the Great Subjugation of Shute.

“Once those kids enter the Octagon, it’s over.”

Before my regression, Charlotte caught the scent and Senia followed the trail, exposing Mirpark Province’s dark side, but by then it was already too late.

Their bodies, broken and damaged from being treated like objects in the arena, couldn’t fulfill their roles in the Great Subjugation of Shute and lost their lives in vain. This led to a butterfly effect where half of Shute Province was swallowed due to the shortage of vanguard positions.

Half is just a way of saying it. It was equivalent to losing a quarter of the Principality’s military power and territory.

The Great Subjugation of Shute is the starting point of the snowball that leads the Principality to the brink of destruction.

So, I need to move preemptively.

Since Cain has already started moving, other kids must be getting anxious one by one.

“The arena they call the Octagon, was it?”

Though it’s full of problems, I can use it to my advantage to solve everything I’m currently worried about.

If Cain is frequenting that place, it must be because he needs money, and they must be offering some prize money.

So it’s the perfect place.

My performance, which consists of techniques that are difficult for people to recognize in person-to-person combat, should be more than enough to catch the nobles’ eyes.

Additionally, given the nature of the arena, it’s good for checking my skills, and I might be able to find weaknesses in the gambling den later.

Money issues. Skill verification. Internal whistleblowing.

With these three goals in mind, I headed for the Octagon.

***

-Flutter.

The carrier pigeon returns to its owner with vigorous wing flaps.

Senia, checking the contents of the letter tied to the pigeon’s leg, had anticipated this day would come eventually, but now that it had actually arrived, she couldn’t shake off her anxiety.

‘So they’ve finally decided to move their base.’

The first semester’s initial evaluation was canceled and held again.

Afterward, exams were postponed due to the Canolattle Subjugation and the Osoptera Defense Battle.

Then there was the Ripol Gorge isolation incident, the annual festival, Count Kutelli’s student abduction case, and the Dubeiguan terrorist attack.

With lectures being postponed multiple times, all the ropes that were barely holding had finally burned through.

‘I thought I could finally resolve this by taking the alchemy lecture… but it’s too late.’

The Sirens sent a message saying they could no longer hold out against the Devourers and would be moving their base.

Another line of defense that the Principality wasn’t aware of has disappeared, meaning those terrible beasts will now invade Shute.

But she couldn’t tell anyone about this fact.

While races like Elves and Dwarves were accepted to live among humans because they helped rather than harmed humanity, the Sirens were different.

In fact, they were falsely accused of harming the people of the Principality.

No one would believe the Sirens’ claims.

“Senia unnie? You were taking so long, so I came to find you. What are you doing here?”

“Oh. I just had something to think about.”

“For something like that, you look really troubled…”

Even though her youngest teammate was beside her, and she belonged to the team called Tembris, she obviously couldn’t tell them either.

Senia pinched Charlotte’s cheek lightly with a composed face and said:

“You cute little one. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Hmm, really…?”

“Of course. I was just wondering whether I should attend the sudden Mana Typology lecture.”

Her face was so composed that Charlotte couldn’t possibly notice.

For Senia, who had hidden her true feelings from people many times, this was all too easy.

This skill was her own countermeasure to avoid being deceived in the same way again.

Her prickliness, her gentleness, her expressionless face—all were meant to hide her true feelings.

Had Charlotte noticed this mask?

-Senia. We need to go to the Mana Typology lecture!

“Ah, that’s Erika unnie’s voice.”

Of course not.

Due to the sudden Mana Typology lecture assigned to Class 2, not even a speck of Charlotte’s suspicion remained.

Senia just needed to respond nonchalantly and move on.

“Ah. Really, why do we suddenly have to attend an additional lecture? Maybe I should just skip it.”

“You can’t do that! From this semester, unexcused tardiness or absences will accumulate penalty points without mercy… Oh, this isn’t the time…! Unnie, let’s hurry!”

“Alright, alright.”

Even Charlotte, with her merchant’s intuition among the Tembris members, couldn’t uncover Senia’s secret.

The revelation of this secret would come… much later.