episode_0016

“크윽, 개새끼가… Smug.”

A man standing in front of a mirror.

His face becomes severely distorted. So ugly that the original is unrecognizable.

It was Rigel who was cruelly defeated by Cain.

Was the opponent skilled?

That’s not entirely wrong.

Cain was clearly a great man who entered the academy at the top of his class.

However, all of that was now nothing more than a facade of the past.

Nowadays, no one expects Cain to have skills worthy of a senior position. No, in the first place, it was considered fortunate not to be last, let alone senior.

He even lost both legs.

In other fields, sparring was fatal when avoidance was impossible.

It is also true that Rigel looked down on him. But it was worth it.

He was not a cadet with mediocre skills, and he had top-level skills in his own right.

So everyone predicted Rigel’s victory. And that’s why the results were even more shocking.

–bang! ――What a disaster!

“Fuck!”

In the end, the mirror fulfilled its purpose.

This was because Rigel, unable to control his anger, punched with all his might.

――Drop ―Drop

Due to the broken glass, his right hand began to bleed.

But there was no pain felt in the hand.

Because the aftereffects of sparring were much more serious to him.

Cain aimed precisely at Rigel’s magic core.

Because I received such a strong shock, I still feel nauseous.

But what was even more painful than that was――

“Wow… Does this make sense? Losing to a guy with bad legs is a bit… ”

“Hehehe, it looks good. I’ve known that bastard since he was born.”

“Is this really the Academy’s shame?”

It was a huge scratch on his pride.

No, it wasn’t just a scratch; it was more damaged than the mirror in front of me, and was literally broken.

His defeat did not simply end in Dalian.

Who is Cain?

At the moment, isn’t he the one that is causing the most buzz in the Academy?

Rigel’s shame for defeating him may have spread beyond all the academy’s cadets to their families and acquaintances.

However, there was one thing even more fatal than that.

“… Claire.”

His life’s goal, Claire, was clearly watching his sparring.

Even if other people didn’t know, I had to shine in front of her at least.

And the sparring with Cain was a golden opportunity given by God.

He ruthlessly tramples on her evil relationship and ascends to her relationship… Anyone could see that it was a plan designed just for him.

But the plate broke into pieces.

“… … .”

Rigel clenched his teeth.

There was no longer any place to retreat.

In order to regain his fallen status, and for Claire’s sake, he had to trample on that idiot.

I’m thinking about ways to help him…

“This… You seem to be worried a lot.”

Suddenly something strange happened.

My own distorted face reflected in a broken mirror. It spoke to itself.

It was a voice that gave me goosebumps so much that my brain refused to recognize it.

“… Crazy!”

–bang!

Could it be that I am hallucinating?

Rigel hit the mirror with his fist again.

Even more broken mirrors.

But in the mirror world, he still existed.

His dark colored eyes were glaring at him. The corners of his mouth began to tear. So bizarre that it reaches your own ears.

“Mh, what are you doing!!!”

“There is no need to be that surprised. Just think of it as the ugly self in your heart.”

“What… ? What on earth is that… .”

“Don’t you want to beat him?”

I asked myself in the mirror.

Rigel could easily guess what he meant.

“That bastard… If I don’t let down my guard, I’ll just win.”

“And then, if you lose again.”

“No, that can’t be possible! That bastard is just an asshole!”

Are you defeated by Cain again?

It was an unimaginable result, and a future that should never have existed.

“There is a way. A very good way… ”

“… … .”

“This is a sure way to beat him.”

“Well, what is that?”

――Joowoouk!

As Rigel asked, he saw himself in the mirror extending his hand.

The hand soon reached the border between reality and the mirror… Soon I came back to reality.

“Crazy.”

stink.

It also had a very strong odor. It was so disgusting that I wanted to tear it to pieces right away.

It was so black and rotten that it could hardly be considered a hand.

It was disgustingly thin and was holding something.

Please take “.”

“That’s… .”

What the disgusting being handed to him was a dagger, a small sword no longer than a span.

“What… Are you telling me to stab that bastard in the neck with this? In that case, just blow it up with magic.”

“No way. There is no need for a great wizard to do such trivial things.”

“Then what… ”

“P… It’s blood.”

“What?”

“When necessary, you can feed it blood. Then there will definitely be good results.”

“What… ?”

“Then… I wish you good luck.”

Still with that creepy, bizarre smile, the being in the mirror disappeared.

“Wait… ”

Rigel wanted to say something to the being, but it was impossible.

――Jjajajajaeng!!!

The mirror in front of him turned black and immediately shattered.

The unknown being disappeared just like that.

However, it was by no means a simple nightmare.

“… … .”

The dagger that the being gave him still remained in Rigel’s hand.

**

What do you think is the most sinister being in the world?

Psychopath serial killer? Cursed witch?

If not that too… The one who spreads the plague that once swept the world?

Unfortunately, not everything.

The most sinister being in this world was none other than the devil.

In the past, those who wanted the overthrow of the world summoned the devil, and as a result, the world came to the brink of end.

After that, anything related to the summoning of demons became taboo. And everyone involved in it was either executed or had a bad ending.

Nevertheless, there were still those who sought the second coming of the devil.

And one girl was one of the victims they created.

The girl’s body was broken.

It was impossible to treat the magic core that was completely covered by demon energy. The girl might never wake up.

What was really unfortunate was that even that girl’s soul was captured by them.

The magic they used made that poor soul dwell in one being.

The soul forgot that it was originally a person. I don’t even know why I came into that existence.

She, or rather the spirit, was still observing a goal. And that’s for the people who made them that way.

**

Another week has passed since that sparring. Finally, the day of the practical exam dawned.

Fortunately, there was no change in the entity embedded in the magic core.

Although it was still rejected by magic and could not be investigated, it seemed to have fallen asleep again as before.

However, another change occurred.

The total amount of magical energy I can contain has increased.

‘At best, it has increased by about 20%.’

Has your magic core grown?

No, it wasn’t.

After breaking, the core stopped growing. The same goes for physical growth.

So, has the broken part recovered?

It wasn’t either.

The magic core really doesn’t get hurt in most cases. Instead, once injured, recovery was impossible.

Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why.

However, I can only guess that it has nothing to do with the existence in the core…

It was never certain.

Anyway, this kind of growth was the first time it had happened since I returned to my younger self, so I couldn’t help but cheer.

Thanks to that, I received a pathetic look from Cecil… Good things were good things.

“Okay then, let’s all get ready. Let’s go in order soon.”

And now I am here to take the practical exam.

The Tower of Dreams located on the edge of the Academy grounds. It was a structure that created a virtual dungeon through illusion magic.

“Let team 1 enter first!”

My turn was the last.

I couldn’t tell if it was because I was ranked last or if it was random.

The goal is to grab a decent amount and get out of the tower.

It is not recommended to do things like reach the top or kill monsters indiscriminately.

Of course, my partner’s goal is to be first… It was none of my business.

Although we were partners in name and identity, there were no words exchanged between me and Claire.

I have already shared everything I will ever want to say with her. There was absolutely nothing more disgusting about spending any more time on her.

Therefore, the two of us always maintained a distance.

“… … .”

I hate her. really.

And this would have been a proposition that would certainly hold true in the opposite case as well.

It definitely had to be that way… Even if something goes wrong, it is definitely wrong.

“At that time… How did you do it?”

A beautiful voice I haven’t heard in a long time.

And that voice, which could not have been colder when it abandoned me, flew towards me and no one else.

“… … .”

It was unbelievable.

Claire was talking to me.