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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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[…I repeat. The use of magic on campus is permitted until the situation is resolved. All students, please return to the nearest professor’s building or dormitory immediately…]
“My, my, how quick of them.”
The announcement came just ten minutes after the incident began. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but I muttered it out of spite.
Each episode is assigned detailed sub-episodes.
These are, in a sense, the detailed objectives given at every moment, providing direction on what the player should do now.
Of course, the method varies for each player.
“They could have at least given me the stats for it.”
The player, the protagonist character, can freely use at least 3-star magic at this time. Since the setting is that they are at the top of their year, it’s even possible to reach 4-star through a special route.
On the other hand, the only magic I can use is a single 1-star spell.
“I’m the one in the most danger.”
Objectively speaking, that’s the case.
So what can I do? There is no protagonist.
In a body that cannot be the protagonist, I must accomplish what the protagonist is supposed to do.
To make the impossible possible—that’s something you can laugh off only when your life isn’t on the line.
“No, seriously, this hurts like hell.”
It’s not a joke. If I had nothing else to do, I wanted to sit down and cry my eyes out from the pain.
I managed to stop the bleeding like I’d seen somewhere, but I learned that the pain is a separate matter entirely.
A curse instinctively escaped my lips from the ache that felt like it was coming from the bone. When was the last time I was in pain? The time I cut my finger while peeling a melon I received as a gift was two years ago.
“「Will·Tro·Tas」”
Whoosh!
Still, as long as I can maintain my concentration, I can cast magic.
A bizarre mass of slime that was wriggling over there was split in half and died.
It’s a slime, but I should have designed it to be a little cuter. My stomach is churning.
“「Will·Tro·Tas」「Will·Tro·Tas」”
Wind magic has many advantages.
First, since its medium is air, it’s relatively free of restrictions.
Its range is also moderately long. I moved while killing monsters one by one from a distance.
The trade-off is that its area of effect is narrow and its killing power is average, but most of the monsters that appear in the Night Raid episode are low-level. Because it’s the first episode, after all.
Also, in the area that intersects with the ‘Central Avenue,’ the path that students frequent most, leading from the main gate to the towers, only low-level monsters appear.
That’s why I could confidently step outside. And once the announcement was made, it wasn’t that dangerous.
“All students, return to the tower!”
“Follow Professor Bertolt!”
“Is the headcount correct?”
As I came down along Central Avenue, I was able to meet other people. There was never a time when these extras, with whom I had never exchanged a single word, were so welcome.
“Hey, where are you coming from!”
“I’m on my way down from the tower.”
“What? That long way all by yourself?”
I came across Professor Bertolt, who was leading a group of students. He was horrified when he saw my arm.
“Your arm…”
“The Central Avenue leading to the tower is safe.”
“G-good work.”
“Has the first-aid squad arrived nearby?”
“They should be in the 1st Lecture Hall. There are injured students over there.”
I nodded and headed for the 1st Lecture Hall. Here, the injured arm was surprisingly helpful.
The professors wouldn’t have let a student move alone, but it gave me a justification to go find the first-aid squad without having to rely on Lockstryn’s charm.
“As expected of Lord Lockstryn!”
“It must be at least 300 meters from here to the tower!”
“They said his magic skills were terrible, but he was clearly not at a freshman level.”
“Who said that?”
Lockstryn’s stock is rising day by day, even among the upperclassmen.
Did I kill about ten of them? They’ll figure that out by the number of corpses on the way up, so there’s a chance my reputation might take a small hit.
What does it matter anyway?
“Bandages are over there!”
“Yes, thank you.”
The 1st Lecture Hall.
It was a place I often came to for classes, and a building I would frequent even more after the first-semester midterms.
The spacious central hall of the 1st Lecture Hall, which would have been littered with expensive flower pots and sculptures, was now filled with moaning students and staff lying on the floor, their numbers reaching nearly thirty.
When I asked if I could get a bandage, a man in a gown answered without even turning his head.
I happened to have some disinfectant next to me, so I poured it on the wound as well.
“Kugh…”
It stings terribly.
The medicine in this world is not refined. It’s just ground-up herbs, so there’s no consideration for the patient whatsoever.
The atmosphere around me was much more serious than that.
“Senior, I can’t… anymore.”
“Get a grip, you bastard! We can’t handle it if you drop out!”
“To the side! He’s spitting up blood!”
“「Lumen·Ruedel (Light·Restore)」!”
Healing magic is a light attribute magic, completely separate from the four majorly known attributes.
It is a magic that even the most outstanding mages cannot even imitate without a natural aptitude.
Naturally, there can only be a very small number of them, and the first-aid squad, being small in number and composed of students still in the process of learning, finds it difficult to cope with such situations.
Conversely, it means that it’s only because this is Somerbadge that they can respond this much.
‘Everyone’s busy.’
If possible, I had planned to receive healing magic here myself, but oh well.
It doesn’t hurt enough to kill me anymore. Just in case, I poured on enough of the leftover disinfectant to make it damp.
“Have you by any chance seen Professor Kanin?”
I asked the person who seemed the least busy. Now that my wound was taken care of, it was time to carry out the real mission.
“If you mean Mage Kanin, he said he was going to take care of the monsters alone… He said he was going around the outskirts, so he should be around the Agricultural Research Building by now.”
“Thank you.”
I have to find Kanin.
In the Night Raid episode, the protagonist was not in the tower to begin with. But I am not the protagonist, but Lockstryn.
While ensuring my own safety, I absolutely had to follow the protagonist’s main exploits.
‘Easy to say.’
It’s difficult.
Horribly difficult.
If there were a difficulty adjustment button, it would surely be something like Super Extreme Nightmare. And since you die once and it’s over, it’s also hardcore.
“Ah, um…”
“Yes?”
“Your arm, you-you’re hurt…”
As I was leaving the dark lecture hall, someone spoke to me. The funny thing is, they spoke first but kept their heads bowed low.
Seeing the white gown, they seemed to be from the first-aid squad, which made me wonder what they were doing here, leaving their busy colleagues in the central hall.
Right, there was a kid like this too.
With only one trait, she’s not important enough to be called a major character, but she is the person the protagonist first encounters in the Night Raid episode.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter if this kid is here or not, but…
“Can you treat me?”
It doesn’t take long.
I held out my injured arm.
Miro shook her head violently and pointed to the central hall with her finger.
“S-sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
There was no need to force her.
Although healing magic is important, there are other students in the first-aid squad who can use it properly.
In the game, this kid doesn’t pull her weight until Episode 5, so I didn’t have high expectations.
“I’m, you see, not very good at it…”
“If you can’t do it, you can’t do it. That’s how magic is.”
“Yes…?”
Still, since we’ve met, I should at least say a word out of courtesy.
The protagonist always encourages Miro, telling her to do her best and that he’s cheering for her, but that’s something an outsider who doesn’t know the situation can say.
“They say magic creates miracles. It’s about making the impossible possible in the first place, so if someone gives you a hard time for not being able to do it, that’s what’s strange.”
“Yes, yes. Is, is that so…”
“If they don’t know, just tell them to shut up. It’s so hard.”
Damn right. How many nights did I stay up just to learn one 1-star wind magic spell?
It’s a level where I can’t even present myself as a mage anywhere.
So what?
I did as much as I could. I’m a no-good, but if I tried, I at least have the right not to be criticized.
That timid girl also tried hard every day. Unbeknownst to anyone.
In a way, we were in the same boat.
“Well then, fighting.”
It’s best to mind my own business in moderation.
I left the lecture hall and headed for the Agricultural Research Building.
Central Avenue is a long road running north to south, and the Agricultural Research Building is at the western edge, so monsters other than low-level ones will appear. From now on, I can’t let my guard down.
A path the protagonist would have easily broken through with his own strength, I had to find another way.
“You’re Senior Baeller, right?”
“You are…”
“I’m Lockstryn. I know this is rude, but we don’t have time for pleasantries.”
The 3rd-year representative, Baeller von Rongruet.
A long-haired boy with gorgeous blond hair, befitting his surname, tied back.
He doesn’t have a middle name because he’s not from the direct line, but anyway, all of the Rongreut bloodline are overflowing with talent for magic. In short, he was Ainim’s cousin.
There’s a small saying that he was actually enjoying popularity as the most handsome man in Somerbadge before Lockstryn’s admission… but that’s not something to worry about right now.
“Is it something urgent?”
“I’m looking for Professor Kanin.”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“I was told he would be near the Agricultural Research Building.”
“With your skills, you should be fine…”
Of course, the prevailing opinion on campus about Lockstryn’s skills would be ‘at least 3-star,’ but here too, the wound on my forearm played a big role.
Baeller frowned.
“You don’t look so good.”
“Yes. As you can see, I’m a bit injured. If it wouldn’t be too much of an imposition.”
“It must be important if you’re looking for Mage Kanin. Follow me.”
I quickly followed behind Baeller.
Around this time, Baeller was loitering around this area and encountered the protagonist for the first time.
Baeller, who reigned as the head of the noble faction, was the complete opposite of the protagonist, so they would have clashed, but Lockstryn is a high noble who wouldn’t flinch even before the imperial family.
Since there was no animosity from the beginning, getting help was simple.
As a result,
“That’s amazing.”
Whoooosh!
Lockstryn’s thin voice was barely audible, buried by the wind.
The student representative of Somerbadge, no less.
With skills befitting the reputation of the imperial family, Baeller swept away the monsters in sight and advanced without hesitation.
“Flattery. Your compliments don’t sound good at all, Aindarok.”
“Then I shall refrain.”
“You’re more brazen than you’re known to be.”
It was more sincere admiration than flattery.
How long can he maintain 4-star magic?
Dozens of wind blades, of which I could only use one, swept through the entire area in front of us like a storm.
Isn’t that a cheat?
The monsters, torn to shreds regardless of whether they were low or mid-level, couldn’t even get a single drop of blood on Baeller.
It was the martial prowess of the normal ‘main characters,’ a level that Lockstryn’s talent could not even dare to approach.
“And who are you?”
Even from a distance, the figure had an extraordinary presence. Kanin, who had spotted Baeller and me, walked over, leaning on his staff.
“Didn’t I say I’d take the outskirts, Baeller. And next to you… is that Lockstryn?”
Kanin’s expression brightened considerably.
One was Baeller von Lonngrodt, the 3rd-year student representative of Thaumaturgy, whose golden future no one would doubt, and the other was Lockstryn Aindarok, shrouded in mystery, whose potential no one could easily fathom.
“He was looking for you urgently, Professor. So I brought him.”
“Me?”
I nodded.
Kanin Artain, the Mage, is an Archmage of the Earth attribute.
His role was to go around the outskirts of the campus and firmly seal up the tunnels dug by the Underpass.
Until he received this news.
“What is it?”
Just before answering Kanin’s question, I glanced at the clock tower.
00:35.
Perfect timing.
From now on, this ridiculous black-haired clown, Lockstryn Aindarok.
Must become the protagonist.
“There are children trapped in the basement practice room.”
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Ah, prevent disaster with S rank cheats