episode_0002

“Yawn…”

Below, a fierce battle was unfolding for entry into the academy, while a beautiful woman looked down on it all from where the sponsors were gathered, a haughty expression on her face.

Her maids around her eyed each other nervously, fearing their necks might be cut off if they upset her.

Killing people out of boredom was not something she did once or twice.

“Princess-nim, you seem bored.”

An old man beside her spoke to her.

The woman, called the Princess, merely glanced at him without a word.

Receiving no response, the old man felt a little awkward and went elsewhere to talk with the other sponsors.

“Um… young lady… His Majesty sent you here to make some connections…”

Even when several people approached, the Princess ignored them or glared.

Finding such a situation difficult to bear, one of the maids cautiously addressed her.

“I observe and judge my own connections. Whether someone is worth replying to is for me to decide. And,”

The Princess let out a sigh as if answering reluctantly, then said,

“Don’t speak to me presumptuously.”

“Eek… Understood… I was presumptuous… Princess-nim…”

The maid who had offered advice covered her neck as if checking if it was still there, then retreated.

‘I asked Father to come to the Central Continent because I thought there might be something interesting… but it’s boring…’

The Princess was not someone who found enjoyment in watching battles between people who were one, no, five steps below her.

At the very least, a strong individual of her caliber was needed to capture her interest.

And no such person seemed to be present in the training ground.

“Hmm…?”

As she was feeling bored, someone caught her eye.

He was walking, continuously tapping the ground with a staff, and his eyes were closed.

He was, without a doubt, a blind man.

‘A blind man in this fierce academy exam…?’

She felt a curiosity strong enough to dispel all the boredom she had felt until now.

Surely, no, he would perfectly lose, but there must be a reason and power for him to apply here.

She was curious about that.

‘His opponent… seems like someone he can absolutely never win against…’

A large, burly man was huffing beside him.

However, even with such a giant before him, the blind man merely smiled.

‘Is that bluster, or is it genuine?’

The Princess decided to quietly observe their fight.

‘Well, it’ll end quickly.’

And the fight truly did end quickly, just as the Princess expected.

When she came to her senses, she was already standing, her face pressed close to the glass, staring intently at the blind man.

With an incredibly astonished expression.

***

“Gasp…!”

Blood gushed from Victor’s chest.

He had bloodshot eyes and seemed to be preparing to counterattack me somehow, but he no longer had the strength to even hold a sword.

Before him, I stood as before, not moving an inch, continuously tapping my staff against the floor.

“Was it Victor you said…? So, didn’t you say you’d kill me? Where did all that bravado go?”

I began speaking, mocking him.

Blood continued to pour from his heart, and I saw the student in charge, who had been watching other matches from afar, race over in shock at the sight.

“Shut… up… Even if I die, I’ll take your mouth with me…!”

He struggled to pick up the sword that had fallen to the floor, trying to stop the bleeding with one hand and swing at me, but,

Having read the flow of mana my entire life, there was no way it would hit me.

“If you insist on hastening your demise. I shall oblige.”

I once again drew my hand through the air.

This time, I created a slightly thinner blade, a rapier, and pierced his wound once more.

Once I finished all my attacks, Victor, to an observer, appeared to be falling with blood dripping in mid-air.

“Huff… huff… gasp… Did… he… die…?”

The student who had been running from afar checked Victor’s pulse, his face pale with fright.

Leaving the busy student behind, I continued tapping my staff against the floor and spoke.

“He won’t die. It missed his heart. But even if he recovers, it will be difficult for him to live a normal life.”

With that, I tried to leave the spot.

I didn’t particularly want to project mana to see the student’s face.

Because I somehow anticipated what his expression would be.

‘People who express malicious feelings towards me must be cut off at the root… but without killing them… There aren’t just one or two stories where the protagonist showed mercy and then got stabbed in the back…’

I realized one thing while playing this game.

The story in this game is determined by the player’s choices.

And at first, with a soft heart, I spared or showed mercy to those who held malicious feelings towards me.

But they stabbed me in the back with a knife, and in the end, I had no choice but to kill them.

This was an action born from experience.

As I tapped my staff on the floor and moved forward, priests and several medics began rushing into the training ground’s entrance.

“What’s… going on…?”

“Over there… someone said another student was almost killed…?”

“Who could it be…?”

The student in charge of us knew that I was the one who nearly killed Victor,

But he couldn’t tell anyone.

That was the rule.

If one’s face and abilities became known during the first exam, they could suffer disadvantages in the second exam, so students in charge of the first exam had to keep their mouths shut.

“Pant… pant… Over here… No… excuse me…?”

The student who had been checking Victor’s pulse ran up to me, panting, trying to tell me something.

“Please take a deep breath and speak slowly.”

I spoke politely, standing still and observing him with mana.

“Th-The second exam is coming up… The first exam will end around 5 PM… so about two hours from now… In the meantime, there’s a lounge next to here, so please wait there… The explanation for the second exam will begin when it starts later…”

Only then did I extend my mana more widely and intricately, confirming the presence of the lounge far away.

“Thank you. If you hadn’t told me and left me out in the sun, I might have torn that other student apart, just like before.”

“H-Heeek…”

“Haha, I’m joking.”

I wanted him not to speak about me even after the second exam, so I gave him a slight scare.

***

Tap tap tap.

As I walked towards the lounge, I observed the mana and movements of the students competing around me.

Most people had ordinary mana, but I could clearly sense the strong mana of particularly skilled individuals.

It was a fresh feeling to think that I would either be on the same team or fight against these people in the second exam later.

Click.

When I opened the lounge door and stepped inside, I felt a space as vast as the training ground itself.

‘Did they expand the space with magic…?’

Inside, students who had already passed the exam were already chatting and getting to know their peers.

I wasn’t particularly interested in making such connections, so I sat on a small bench nearby and spread my mana, searching for any heroines, supporting characters, or even the protagonist.

“Um… are you… Longinus Rapier-nim…?”

As I focused on the mana far away, I didn’t notice someone approaching me.

“Ah yes, I am?”

I instantly withdrew all my mana, reducing its range to a minimum to get a closer look at the person who spoke to me.

She was wearing something like an Eastern-style dress and was almost bowing her head towards me.

“Her Royal Highness wishes to see Young Master-nim.”

‘Princess…? Is it the Princess I know…?’

In my mind, the image of the noblewoman I had seen in the game before came to mind.

Black hair, red eyes, and wearing a very modest white dress for a princess,

She was a villain-like character in this game.

With somewhat sociopathic ideas and a tendency to acquire anything she desired, she was the one who killed her surrounding siblings and became the emperor herself after the current emperor of the Eastern Continent died.

Of course, she would fight alongside the main villain of this game later, but to me, she was one of the scariest characters I encountered while playing.

“Is there an option to refuse?”

I asked the person who looked like a maid, just in case, but she replied succinctly and firmly.

“No.”

“Then I suppose I have no choice.”

I leaned on my staff and stood up, intending to follow her.

However, perhaps thinking I would have difficulty walking as I couldn’t see, she suddenly linked her arm with mine and led the way.

“Her Royal Highness said to bring you whole and unharmed.”

She simply said those words and guided me to the Princess with her arm linked to mine.

Still, I didn’t mind being escorted by a woman, so I followed her. Before I knew it, there was a door with a dragon drawn on it in front of me.

Tap tap tap.

The maid carefully opened the door, and inside was a figure who seemed to be the Princess.

To confirm it was her, I minimized the range of my mana and slowed the time it took for mana to reach me, allowing information to be conveyed to me more precisely.

“So, you are the one who struck down that burly master with a single blow?”

Her noble voice pierced my ears.

And my returning mana constructed her image for me.