The Transmigrator Doesn’t Dream of Being the Protagonist – Chapter 7

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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It felt like I was swallowing a piece of ice.

Tasteless, odorless, absolutely nothing.

No coldness, no heat.

It looked like a sugar cube, but there was nothing to it.

Crunch, crunch, gulp.

At least it was chewable.

Swallowing it whole would have probably ended with me choking to death.

Outwardly, there were no immediate effects.

I focused my mana, channeling it through my body.

Whoosh!

A large flame erupted from my palm.

The same familiar feeling, but the flame was larger, brighter, and more intense than before.

A grin spread across my face.

Ah, so this was the feeling of power.

I couldn’t help myself. A deep, maniacal laughter escaped my lips.

“Mwahahaha! Mwahahaha!”

I threw my head back, reveling in my newfound strength.

And then I made eye contact with one of the priests.

Damn it.

I quickly pulled my hood over my head and hurried away.

At that moment, the ground trembled beneath my feet.

Rumble…

I looked towards the mountains.

An avalanche.

Wow.

If I had consumed the Heart of Winter up there… I would be dead.

I watched in awe as the snow cascaded down the mountainside.

The novel had mentioned that the perennial snows of the Winter Mountains would melt, ushering in a new era of spring for the region.

The townspeople stared at the spectacle, their faces filled with wonder.

I was a mess, but I decided to wait until I got back to my dorm to clean up.

“Goodness, did you raid a dungeon or something?”

Lydia, the transfer stone operator, raised an eyebrow as I arrived back in Eastvan.

“Haha, you could say that,” I mumbled, embarrassed by my disheveled appearance.

I hurried back to my dorm and took a long, hot shower.

When I emerged, Arthur was sitting on his bed, his hand outstretched as if he were manipulating something in the air.

He’s messing with his status window, isn’t he?

What was the point of me acquiring all these power-ups?

The protagonist had a cheat code, and I was stuck playing the game the old-fashioned way.

Of course, I couldn’t actually see his status window.

It was a protagonist-exclusive feature, after all.

A mischievous idea popped into my head.

Maybe I should tease him a little.

I greeted Arthur and we exchanged some pleasantries. He introduced himself, his demeanor as kind and earnest as I had expected.

“What were you doing just now?” I asked casually.

“Huh?”

“You were waving your hand around in the air, weren’t you?”

“Oh, no! It was nothing.”

Arthur, a contender for the title of “Most Gullible Person in the World,” waved his hand dismissively.

“It wasn’t nothing. You were clearly manipulating something.”

“…Well…”

“You seem troubled. What’s on your mind?”

Arthur gave me a noncommittal smile.

To an outside observer, it would have seemed charming. But I knew better. There was something calculating behind that smile.

“We’re going to be roommates for the next semester. We should be able to share our worries, shouldn’t we?”

My words sounded a bit too much like a sleazy pick-up line.

But I didn’t care.

I was a kind and honest soul.

Arthur hesitated, his expression conflicted.

Should he reveal the truth about his status window and quest log?

“I was just… looking at my skills,” he finally said, choosing to hide his secret.

He had downplayed it, calling it a skill window.

I felt a twinge of betrayal.

Dude, I had spent over a year of my life reading about you, dedicating a portion of every single day to following your adventures. I had even reread the entire story several times.

Everyone had a skill window.

Sepia would have one, too.

I would get one soon enough.

After the entrance ceremony.

Of course, Arthur’s skill window was like a premium cup of coffee compared to the instant coffee version everyone else had.

His came with detailed skill descriptions and experience points.

“Are you sure you’re not… Never mind.”

Honestly, I was disappointed.

But I was also tired.

I could grill him later.

Still, I couldn’t resist offering a piece of advice.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” I said, hoping he would take his role as the protagonist seriously.

I trudged over to my bed and collapsed onto the mattress.

Nothing beat a warm, comfortable bed.

It was a dangerous world out there.

I drifted off to sleep.

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Everyone has a triangle in their heart.

Or so the story goes.

Every time you tell a lie, the triangle spins within your heart.

The spinning triangle pricks at your conscience, causing you to feel guilt and remorse.

Arthur sat on his bed, his gaze fixed on the empty air before him.

He felt the prick of the triangle.

To think that he, a kind and righteous soul, had resorted to lying.

And it wasn’t just a white lie. He had deliberately deceived his roommate.

Someone he would be spending the next three years with.

“Ugh, why did I do that?”

The appearance of the Hero Candidate’s Mark had brought with it strange occurrences.

Messages would appear in the air before him.

And when he had followed the instructions and uttered the word “Status Window,” a screen displaying his stats had appeared.

At first, he had been confused.

He had also received something called a “quest.”

Completing these quests awarded him points, which he could use to enhance his abilities.

He had wanted to confide in someone, to ask if they had experienced something similar.

To see if he was losing his mind.

He had searched the library, hoping to find some explanation in the countless tomes on history and magic.

But his search had yielded nothing.

“Ha…”

He was undoubtedly becoming stronger, his physical and magical abilities improving with each point he allocated.

It should have brought him joy, but all he felt was a sense of unease.

Arthur sat on the edge of his bed, contemplating his next move.

That’s when his roommate, Ethan, had walked in.

“What were you doing just now?”

Ethan’s tone suggested he knew exactly what Arthur had been up to.

“You seem troubled. What’s on your mind?”

Arthur had hesitated, tempted to confess everything.

But he had ended up lying.

Ethan, with a weary sigh, had retreated to his own bed.

And then, before drifting off to sleep, he had said:

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

“With great power comes great responsibility…”

How could he have forgotten those words?

His status window…

It was a gift from the Goddess.

And now he understood its purpose.

He would use this power to help others, to protect the innocent.

His roommate, Ethan, had given him valuable advice.

He had initially judged Ethan based on his appearance, finding him somewhat intimidating. But perhaps, beneath that gruff exterior, Ethan possessed a strong sense of duty and a deep understanding of a hero’s responsibilities.

The realization made Arthur chuckle.

To think he had misjudged Ethan so completely.

“I still have much to learn about being a true hero.”

Arthur reflected on his actions, vowing to do better.

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I woke with a start.

I felt completely refreshed.

It was 4:00 AM.

How was this even possible?

I had spent almost four days climbing and descending a mountain.

And yet I was wide awake at the crack of dawn?

This body was definitely not human.

I had a feeling that, as I grew stronger, I would need even less sleep.

“…That’s a bit terrifying.”

My communication crystal beeped, alerting me to the alarm I had set.

Communication crystals.

They served as mobile phones in this world, seamlessly blending into the medieval and Renaissance setting.

You could send messages, make calls, even video chat.

And, as I had just discovered, they also had alarm functions.

Of course, there was one more important function.

Heroines smitten with Arthur would often gaze longingly at their crystals, agonizing over whether or not to ask him out on a date.

Daydreaming and blushing.

The communication crystal was truly a testament to the author’s blatant disregard for logic.

But what could you do?

You couldn’t exactly have smartphones in a world that was a bizarre amalgamation of medieval, Renaissance, and early modern elements.

With a sigh, I changed into my training clothes and headed outside.

It was time to acquire the Linchester swordsmanship quest.

My encounter with Sylvia was supposed to be a random event.

I began my morning run, enjoying the cool air as I circled the training grounds.

If only I had a status window like Arthur’s.

I could just grind quests and level up my stats.

But I didn’t. So I had to train the old-fashioned way.

Twenty laps a day should suffice, right?

I decided to trust in my newfound physical strength and endurance.

Several days passed.

Twenty laps every morning, followed by hours of sword practice in the training hall.

If only I could become a master swordsman just by hitting a training dummy.

“Huff… Huff…”

Why had I chosen twenty laps?

It was true that my stamina had improved.

But I had forgotten that the academy was a prestigious institution, its facilities top-notch.

The training grounds were larger than a World Cup stadium.

At least twice the size, from what I could tell.

And I was on my last lap.

“Excuse me, student.”

A woman with short brown hair called out to me. I slowed to a stop, my breath ragged.

“Yes?”

“You’re one of the new Hero Candidates, correct?” she asked.

Could this be it?

“Yes, that’s right. And you are?”

“Lady Sylvia wishes to speak with you.”

Sylvia!

I wanted to punch the air in victory.

If this woman was talking about Sylvia, then I knew exactly who she was.

Dania, Sylvia’s attendant.

My second power-up was finally within reach!

“Professor Sylvia wants to see me?” I asked, trying to sound surprised.

“Yep, she’s been watching you for the past few days.”

My gaze shifted to the observation platform, where a lone figure stood, observing the training grounds.

Silver hair, styled in a braid.

Piercing blue eyes that radiated intelligence and intensity.

Sylvia.

She was looking down at me, a flicker of amusement in her gaze.

Sylvia von Linchester.

Her beauty was legendary, captivating everyone who laid eyes upon her. She had received countless invitations and marriage proposals from smitten nobles, all of which she had politely declined.

But her beauty was just one aspect of her allure.

She was also a gifted swordswoman.

At the age of seventeen, she had won the Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament, and she had never once failed to top her class in swordsmanship at the Hero Academy.

To say she was both beautiful and talented was an understatement.

The Ice Queen, Sylvia von Linchester, in the flesh!

It felt like pulling a five-star character from a gacha game after countless failed attempts.

Time to put on my best performance.

“Professor Sylvia? Why would she want to see me?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“Dunno.” Dania shrugged.

I followed her towards the platform.

Even Sylvia’s posture, arms crossed, exuded an air of authority and confidence.

I felt a surge of nervousness as I stood before her.

“You train diligently, young man,” she said, her voice calm yet authoritative.

Ordinary academy students wouldn’t even dream of having a private audience with Sylvia.

She only taught one or two classes per semester.

And those classes were reserved for top-ranked students.

Even those students found it difficult to approach her.

They were intimidated by her cold aura and her impeccable demeanor.

First-year students typically had no interaction with her.

Typically.

“What is your name, young man?”

“Ethan, ma’am,” I replied.

“Ethan… A fine name,” she said, a hint of a smile gracing her lips.

Even that slight curve of her lips would have been enough to send shivers down the spines of countless nobles.

The novel hadn’t exaggerated. She was truly stunning.

“I’ve been observing you for the past few days. Don’t be alarmed, it was purely coincidental.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ethan, you seem to devote your mornings to physical training and your afternoons to sword practice.”

It was true.

I had to maintain this routine if I wanted to trigger the encounter with Sylvia.

“Do you have a reason for wanting to become stronger?” she asked, her eyes searching mine.

Ugh.

How should I answer that?

“To acquire power-ups,” I thought.

Obviously, I couldn’t say that out loud.

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