Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The Heroine of the 1st Playthrough Remembers My Training.

Episode 25: Lucia Is Smiling (8).

Have you heard of a lucid dream?

A lucid dream was when you were aware that you were dreaming while still in the dream.

…The reason I was bringing this up out of nowhere was that I was currently experiencing a lucid dream.

In my dream, I was floating alone in an endless, white void.

There was absolutely nothing there.

Normally, such a place would creep me out, but instinctively, I felt it wasn’t dangerous, so I actually felt quite relaxed.

I floated around for what felt like ages, exploring every corner, but no matter how far I traveled, I couldn’t find an end.

Not only was the space empty, but so was my body.

It felt as though I was in a state of being a soul—when I looked down, I saw nothing.

‘…I’m bored.’

If I had a body, I might at least pinch my cheek, but as a soul, I couldn’t even do that.

All I could do was drift aimlessly in this void.

‘….!’

Just as I was wishing for something to read to pass the time, I suddenly remembered what I had.

‘Status window’

[Name: Yujin Calliope]

[Class: Unique Ability User]

[Title: Possessor of Heroic Qualities (NEW)]

[Stats]

Strength 13 Agility 13 Stamina 14

Intelligence 11 Magic Power 11 Luck 25

[Skills]

[Telekinesis (Rank E ▶ D)]

[Trainer (Rank EX)]

[Blessing of the World Tree (Rank C)]

…I called it out just in case, and to my surprise, it appeared even in the dream.

I was astounded by the status window’s functionality.

Looking at the newly acquired title, I thought to myself, this wasn’t just decent.

‘…Honestly, it was more than decent; it was extraordinary.’

It wasn’t self-praise—the status window itself confirmed it with a title.

I managed to defeat the Chapter 1 boss without anyone dying or getting injured, except for me.

Of course, Lucia helped, but wasn’t that because I guided her?

Just as a soldier’s merit is attributed to the commander, Lucia’s achievement is mine as her master.

‘And my telekinesis rank increased too.’

A unique ability at rank D is equivalent to a mid-tier spell in magic.

At this level, I could now confidently boast about being a first-year student at Carnea Academy.

As I was smiling while checking the status window, a ‘dark light’ caught my eye from afar.

Dark light—an oxymoron, but that’s the only way to describe it.

As it felt strangely familiar, I tried to approach the dark light, but at that moment, I felt my body being slowly pulled down, signaling that I was waking up from the dream.

I was curious about what the dark light was, but I was more eager to wake up, so I didn’t resist.

‘I’ll get some praise when I wake up.’

Thinking I might even receive a commendation from the professor, I let myself go with the flow.

“Grrrr…”

A powerful and refreshing morning.

Seeing the unfamiliar ceiling instead of the dormitory’s familiar one, it seemed that Professor Loreos had moved me to the hospital inside the school.

Checking my arm, which had been bitten by the wolf, I found that there wasn’t even a scar left.

The ‘Blessing of the World Tree’ was definitely worth the effort.

‘This is nice.’

Sunlight was warmly streaming through the window, and my body was in perfect condition.

“Grrrr…”

If it weren’t for the groaning sound someone kept making since I woke up, it would have been even more perfect.

‘Then, shall I get discharged?’

I stretched lightly, opened the curtain, got up from my seat, and walked out.

…I should have just kept walking until I reached the door.

I shouldn’t have peeked through the slightly open curtain of the adjacent bed.

“Grrr…”

The continuous groaning was annoying, so I took a peek at the student. He didn’t have a left arm.

‘…Huh?’

The bandages wrapped around where his arm had been were soaked with blood, no longer showing any trace of white.

“…What… is this.”

My voice cracked.

I couldn’t understand.

I thought I had done well.

I had devised and executed a flawless plan where no one would be harmed or lose their life.

Hadn’t I risked my own life in a confrontation with the wolf for that exact purpose?

‘…Then why?’

Dizziness overwhelmed me.

I nearly fell, but managed to steady myself by grasping the edge of the bed as people entered the room.

“Doctor! The student is waking up!”

“Administer more painkillers and sedatives! We haven’t received support from Parthenon yet! We can’t let him wake up.”

“The sedatives we’ve already administered are at their maximum dosage!”

“But we can’t let him wake up! Quickly, administer more!”

I watched them changing bandages and forcing medicine into his mouth.

Yellow fat, white bone, red muscle.

The urge to vomit was strong.

“Oh, Yujin, you’re awake. I heard from Professor Loreos. You did exceptionally well. Your injuries were severe, but your recovery….”

“….”

Someone who had entered the room with the others spoke.

I couldn’t make out their words.

All I wanted was to leave this place as soon as possible.

“Oh, Yujin! You can’t leave yet. We need to assess your condition….”

I shrugged off the hand that was holding me and bolted.

‘Why?’

Why did this happen?

Wasn’t it supposed to end perfectly with no one getting hurt?

…I didn’t know.

I was clueless.

All I wanted was to rest in the dorm without a single thought.

‘Just a little… rest, then think.’

After some rest, I’d be able to think clearly. I was certain of it.

As I sprinted across the field toward the dormitory, I noticed something wrapped in a white cloth passing by.

Don’t look.

I cautioned myself.

I knew that the moment I saw it, there would be no going back.

…But I had to see it.

I couldn’t resist the urge to look.

“Please… Just a moment.”

As I approached, the staff managing the area blocked my path.

“Step back. It’s not good for you to see this.”

“…Just… for a moment. Please.”

“No, I said no!”

While the staff was stopping me, the others carried it farther away.

“You should go back to your dormitory too.”

…Should I use telekinesis to break free?

Just as I was seriously considering using telekinesis.

“Stop.”

Professor Loreos’s voice rang out.

“Professor….”

A voice so cracked, I could hardly believe it was mine, emerged.

After briefly examining me, Professor Loreos let out a short sigh and then looked at me with a stern expression I had never seen before.

“…Yujin, this is not something you need to see. Do you still insist on seeing it?”

His words, filled with magical power, sent a chill through my skin.

But I couldn’t back down.

“…I must see it.”

At the very least, I couldn’t look away.

“Haa… Fine, follow me.”

“…Professor, this is not something a student should see.”

“He’s my student. I will take full responsibility. You may leave now.”

“…Yes.”

I followed Professor Loreos, leaving the bowing staff behind.

A storage room in one corner of Carnea’s auditorium.

Thud-

The air inside the storage room was chillingly cold. Including the newly brought-in one, there were now three ‘somethings’ wrapped in white cloth.

“…Four seriously injured, three dead, one missing. This is the tragedy that happened during this test.”

Somethings…

It was a euphemism.

Those were corpses.

As I stared blankly at the white cloths covering the corpses, Loreos bowed to me.

“I’m sorry.”

“….”

“This should never have happened. On behalf of the faculty, I apologize to you.”

Why was he apologizing?

All of this was because of…

“….”

With trembling hands, I uncovered the cloth over the first corpse.

【Class 4 Emery Sylvester】

A name I had never seen before.

An extra whose name I wouldn’t even remember in the game.

…But these weren’t data; they were people living in this world.

Emery’s corpse had no lower half.

“…Let me say this upfront. None of this is your fault.”

─It was my fault. I could have prevented this.

“This was an unfortunate accident that no one could have foreseen.”

─It was a predetermined event that only I knew about.

I covered Emery’s corpse again and moved on to the second one.

“Because of you, many other students were kept safe.”

─Because I didn’t speak up, these people died.

【Class 4 Winfred】

Winfred’s face was contorted in pain.

His corpse had a gaping hole in his stomach, with the entrails partially eaten.

“Once again, I tell you, this is not your fault.”

─There was nothing here that wasn’t my fault.

As I reached for the last corpse, Loreos grabbed my shoulder.

“…Isn’t this enough? Do you really need to see more?”

“…I… must see it.”

In truth, I didn’t want to see it.

But it happened because of me.

I, at least, couldn’t turn away from this.

Swoosh-

I uncovered the last cloth.

…There was no person under the cloth.

Only pieces of a body remained, like a broken mannequin, an arm and a leg.

It was in such a terrible state that I couldn’t even identify who it was.

I looked at the name attached to it.

【Class 5 Eloise】

‘Studying? Don’t lie. If you study so hard, why are you ranked 144th?’

‘Tired? Should I give you a massage? I learned a bit from my maid at home.’

Eloise.

…The name of a girl who laughed with me.