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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“Kyaaa! Kyahhhh!”
A scream so loud it seemed magically amplified echoed through the hall, causing every head to turn.
Demeri and I paused our conversation and surveyed the scene.
“My, Jekkiel? What’s happening?”
“Let’s investigate. We’ve finished our discussion anyway.”
“Yes!”
The system had promised a week without crisis, yet here we were, facing another incident.
We headed towards the source of the commotion.
“Sob! Sob! Sob!”
In the lobby, a young mage crouched, hands clamped over her ears, sobbing uncontrollably.
Again, the sound was so piercing, it felt amplified, causing those around her to wince and cover their ears.
“What’s wrong?” someone asked, helping her up.
“Save me! Save me! Please!”
“You’re safe. Calm down. You’re causing a scene.”
But she only continued to plead for her life.
I wanted to ask what had happened, but I held back, not wanting to draw attention to myself amidst the crowd of mages.
Fortunately, others voiced my questions.
A white-bearded mage approached her.
“Tell us what happened. Slowly. It’s alright.”
The young mage swallowed hard, then stammered.
“G-ghost…”
“Ghost?”
“I saw a ghost… I’m sure it was… It was… so horrifying…”
No one believed her story about a ghost, but her terror was so palpable that the atmosphere grew serious.
And then—
“Hyaaah!”
Another scream erupted from a different location.
“Kyaaaaa!”
And another, from the opposite side.
As the screams multiplied, a sense of dread began to spread among the mages.
“What’s going on? It’s not like a demon appeared…”
Demeri muttered, arms crossed.
At the same time, a message appeared before my eyes:
[Main Scenario Branch Point]
There was no helpful explanation about who was dying or what was happening.
Just a terse notification.
A week without crisis…
‘Did that only apply to my life?’
If this was a main scenario branch point, it was undoubtedly connected to my survival.
How could the scenario be so devious?
I approached one of the screaming mages on the right.
“Did you also see a ghost?”
“G-ghost! It’s a ghost!”
Her desperate cries and frantic eyes left no room for doubt about the sincerity of her terror.
“This is… troublesome.”
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Despite the commotion, the gathering continued as if nothing had happened.
The incident was dismissed as ‘nothing.’
“Hmm, do you really think the Association’s explanation is accurate, Jekkiel?”
Demeri asked, nibbling on a muffin.
I, too, was deep in thought.
“What do you think, Demeri?”
“I think it makes sense, in a way. Like… given the current situation, that’s the only explanation they could come up with? That kind of feeling?”
“In other words, they’re forcing a narrative.”
“That’s true.”
The Professors’ Association’s official explanation was as follows:
-Considering the three victims are young and of common birth, it is likely they lacked the capacity to withstand the mana fluctuations within Luigh Kiran.
-All three mages have been safely escorted home, so there is no cause for concern.
Essentially, they claimed the mages, unable to cope with the potent mana of the high-ranking mages, experienced a ‘phenomenon.’
“I’m not satisfied with that answer.”
“Right? It’s definitely suspicious.”
I knew how meticulously the Association vetted invitations to Luigh Kiran.
The idea that invited mages couldn’t handle the environment was absurd.
We continued to eat our muffins, listening to the murmurs of other mages.
“All three were commoners… It seems no matter how much we try to be inclusive, the difference in mana lineage is undeniable.”
“Indeed. It can’t be helped.”
For the noble mages, this was a trivial matter they could easily dismiss.
It didn’t affect them, after all.
The more inferior the commoner mages appeared, the more superior they became.
Demeri mumbled through a mouthful of muffin.
“I wonder if they would have reacted the same way if this had happened to a noble mage.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Right? Humans are so amusing.”
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In the Professors’ Association’s office, Miant, a woman with striking lime-green hair, examined the condition of the three affected mages.
They had officially been sent home, but…
“The ghost… the ghost is so scary…”
“Please… save me…”
…she couldn’t simply ship them off like packages in their current state.
“This is so perplexing. Nothing like this has ever happened in any of the thousand gatherings…”
If something did happen, I should be the first to know. Miant placed her hand on one of the mage’s foreheads.
Telepathy.
Typically, telepathy was a simple spell used for basic communication by connecting mana circuits.
While effective, if taken to the extreme, it could be used to access fragmented memories by interfering with another’s mana circuits.
Miant was confident she could uncover the truth.
“Huu…”
Interfering with a mage’s mana circuit wasn’t difficult.
She began to probe the mage’s memories.
However…
“Hmm?”
The circuit abruptly cut off.
Mana overflowed chaotically.
Miant recoiled in shock.
“How… how is this possible…?”
The mana flowed back, assaulting her body.
Cold sweat trickled down her spine.
The mage who claimed to have seen a ghost was a trap, designed to lure Miant into using telepathy.
The mana, now reversed, was meant to kill her.
“I have to stop…”
But her hand wouldn’t release.
Her palm remained firmly connected to the mage’s forehead, the mana continuing to flow back.
The situation was dire.
“Damn it… at least I need to alert someone…”
She tried to suppress the backflow and access her communication device.
But she instinctively knew she didn’t have time.
Worst-case scenarios flashed through her mind.
Likely her life flashing before her eyes.
Unable to contain the reversed mana, it began to rampage through her body.
It was her own mana, making it impossible to defend against.
“This is insane… damn it.”
Kwaaaak—!
The commoner mage’s head and Miant’s right arm exploded simultaneously.
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[Translator Notes]
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