Occupation

I watched Nelson disappear like smoke, and only then did my legs give way, and I collapsed onto the floor. My mana is depleted.

Still, thanks to the newly learned space magic, I was able to create an unexpected variable and defeat Nelson.

Defeating Nelson was an attack using dimensional leap, but it was a different way of using the dimensional leap I had used before.

Previously, I was directly sucked into the dimensional passage, but this time, I was using the dimensional leap to attack with a weapon instead of me.

Using the newly learned magic [Space Occupation], I could recognize the weapon as a target of dimensional leap for a certain period of time.

Due to the nature of dimensional leap, which flies in a straight line in the specified direction without the need to recognize spatial coordinates, no special control was required.

Space Occupation could basically fix objects at any recognized spatial coordinate until the occupation time ended.

To put it simply, it means you can fix a foothold in the air and create stairs to climb into the sky.

Using this characteristic, I was able to fix the Shadow Spear, which was implemented as a target for dimensional leap.

The reason I threw more spears at Nelson than usual was to prepare in advance to hide the dimensional leap.

Among the many spears that flew in, the spear that disappeared right in front of his eyes was thought to be a consumable item for a simple feint, and he was caught off guard… a trick within a trick, I guess.

The surrounding scenery disappeared as if melting away, leaving only one door. Seeing the appearance that seemed to tell me to open the door and go inside, I took a moment to catch my breath and struggled to get up.

I brushed off the dirt on my body, opened the door, and found a passage like a cave. There were several light-emitting stones embedded in the passage, so the path was not dark.

Smelling the damp smell unique to caves, I moved my steps inside and found a treasure chest with a familiar design at the end of the passage. I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

It’s not just because the design is familiar, but because it reminded me of the treasure chest I found when I practiced with Luna.

Could it be that, like then, there is a scroll inside, and when I unfold it, something shiny like a mirror reflects my face, and the ending is as futile as, ‘The experience you have gained while coming here is a valuable reward!’?

Well, even if that’s the ending, the fact that my skills have improved tremendously while challenging the Trial Room is a valuable reward. There’s no training that accumulates experience as quickly as learning while dying.

So, comforting myself, I opened the treasure chest without much expectation.

“…?”

There was something I had never seen before in the treasure chest. I took the contents out of the box, placed them on the lid, and checked them in detail.

At first, I thought it was a statue carved from stone.

“What is this…?”

The statue was in the shape of a petrified egg of a creature with a round oval shape. The elaborate patterns on the surface of the egg and the rough texture of the surface caught my eye.

I couldn’t tell whether it was simply a realistic and elaborately carved stone, or simply a petrified egg.

I checked the box again, but there was no manual or anything like that inside.

It seems that I need to hear the explanation about the reward directly from Nelson.

Whatever it was, as soon as I acquired the final reward, a door appeared that seemed to lead out of the Trial Room. I was somehow moved by the normal method, compared to being kicked out after dying.

I put the statue in the space warehouse, opened the door, and left the Trial Room.

***

The next day, I received a call from Estelle and headed to Modiste. It was a call that the colleagues who had scattered for their respective missions had returned.

Arriving at Modiste, I was guided by the ever-kind Amber to the large basement where Modiste’s meetings had been held before.

“Welcome.”

Estelle, who was sitting at the head of the long table, greeted me first.

I raised my hand to greet her, but I had no choice but to stop when I saw a strange face sitting at the table.

There’s no way I could be confused. Red hair like that is not common.

The person sitting next to Bella was Lakar’s older sister, Lamine.

“How are you here…?”

When I asked with a flustered face, Lamine smiled and turned her head to Bella.

Following her gaze, Bella shrugged her shoulders as if it was nothing.

“I just recruited Lakar’s older sister, Lamine, as my person. It’s a shame to let a talented person who could become Conphsion rot, isn’t it?”

As expected of Bella, who has a strong desire for talent, she used the memories I gave her to recruit Lamine as her own person.

Certainly, Lamine’s combat sense was outstanding enough to put Roel in a difficult situation.

Even without the Spear of Destruction, there would be no better person to take on the role of commander.

Bella rested her chin on the table, shifted her gaze as if glaring at Estelle, and continued.

“In addition, I took Estelle and Amber to the Imperial Palace’s secret archive, which greatly helped Modiste’s lack of information.”

As soon as Bella finished speaking, Estelle interjected in a sweet voice that I couldn’t usually hear.

“Oh my, you can’t really let your guard down against a woman’s jealousy. Lack of information? How can the world’s best information guild have a lack of information?”

“Ha, so it wasn’t helpful?”

“I received a very small amount of help. Modiste doesn’t lack anything!”

The way they snorted almost simultaneously and turned their heads away from each other looked as perfect as if they had rehearsed it in advance.

I scratched my forehead and sat next to Estelle, who was empty. As soon as I sat down, Raelan said in a cold voice from across the table.

“I’ve been told the situation roughly by Estelle. You’ve lost most of your abilities to the Saintess.”

I stroked my chin and said as if making an excuse to the gaze that was staring at me as if glaring at me.

“Well, I’ve recovered to some extent. It’s a blessing in disguise.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a subtle silence flowed over the table.

The strategists exchanged glances silently, and finally Raelan nodded and opened his mouth.

“Can you show us the memories of when you met the Saintess?”

“If it’s showing it all at once, I’ll have enough magic power.”

As Raelan requested, I immediately created a snow globe of the memories of meeting the Saintess and shared it with everyone.

The colleagues who received the memories by overlapping their hands on the snow globe sighed as soon as they opened their eyes.

“We’ve lost a lot, but it’s a relief that Ross avoided the approaching destruction.”

Bella and Estelle nodded in agreement with Eunice’s words. Lamine, who had not received the memories, was busy trying to figure out the situation with her intuition.

Raelan, who was frowning and lost in thought, asked.

“What did you mean by saying you recovered to some extent?”

“I used Quantum Jump.”

“…What?”

At those words, everyone looked at me with surprised faces. It seemed that they thought I hadn’t considered the biggest problem with Quantum Jump.

But Raelan twisted one corner of his mouth with a cold face.

“So, you finally found a way to break the connection with Roel.”

“…That’s right. How did you know?”

“If you get stronger by using Quantum Jump, Roel will get stronger by that much too, so there’s no way you wouldn’t know that. I don’t think you, who still feels inferior to Roel, would willingly do something good for Roel.”

I sighed at Raelan’s appearance, who was giving off a sly smile while saying that.

“I thought that if Roel gets stronger than he is now, the variables will increase to the point where they can’t be controlled.”

“Yeah, of course you would.”

Raelan, who was ignoring my words, stroked his chin and said.

“But how did you succeed? I thought it would be impossible right now.”

“I received help from Ellie.”

“Ha, so the future Archmage is different, huh?”

Then, as if it were natural, Raelan gestured to me and told me to pass on the related memories, so I sighed and put all the memories I had with Ellie into a snow globe and shared it with everyone. Of course, excluding private conversations.

“The talent you chose with this Quantum Jump is a good one. I think it’s a good choice. As Ross inferred, there are definitely traces of him being induced to hold a spear.”

I smiled at Eunice’s support, which gave strength to my choice. Following her, Estelle also praised my choice.

“I think so too. Space magic is the only thing you can call an advantage. It’s right to take the direction that can maximize it.”

Bella didn’t have anything to say in particular, so she just lowered her gaze and was lost in thought as if recalling the memories.

Raelan, who opened his eyes last, tilted his head slightly and said to me.

“It was a good thing to recruit Ellie. Her magical knowledge will definitely be a great help to us. Yeah, it wouldn’t be bad to recruit Roel’s other lovers on this occasion.”

“His other lovers?”

Raelan nodded slowly at my question.

“Considering the title of the novel, I think it’s best to bring Roel’s harem to our side. Our goal is the final victory, isn’t it?”

That makes sense. The magician Flavia, who has infinite magic power, Rosalyn, who has the setting of a genius of alchemy, and Ilia, who has the same skills as Roel.

It was true that they would be a great help to us if they joined.

But Bella immediately opposed Raelan’s opinion.

“I’m against it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s too risky. Of course, it would be great if the remaining three became our colleagues. But will Roel really not notice our changes? Not just one or two people, but all of them.”

That’s a possibility. If it’s Rosalyn, who has the setting of not being able to lie to Roel, there’s a high possibility that she’ll be caught by Roel before long and reveal everything.

And I didn’t feel the need to increase the number of colleagues right now. There’s also the saying that too many sailors will cause the ship to go up the mountain.

Eunice, the strategist who reads the situation, nodded in agreement with Bella’s opinion and opened her mouth.

“I agree too. If Roel finds out that everyone around him is trying to block his path… there’s a high possibility that he’ll go on a rampage in an unexpected direction. A person with a blind purpose doesn’t hesitate to turn the tables to reach his goal.”

Two strategists are against it. I turned my gaze to Raelan and looked to see if he had anything else to add.

“It’s true that the risk is increasing. It’s not like we need their help right now either. It won’t be too late to recruit them when we need them later.”

I nodded at Raelan’s appearance, who was taking a step back.