10

in vain (2)

The red pattern exudes a mysterious feeling that is quite different from the magic circle made of magic.

Clark thought that it was possible, but he had no choice but to swallow his saliva.

A treasure heard abundantly by rumors among adventurers that those who find it can obtain superpowers beyond common sense. mystery pattern.

'Is it really a mystery as...?'

Clark cautiously approached the pattern. And he stretched out his hand as if possessed.

In an instant, a pattern that radiated bright light climbed up his arm and absorbed into his body.

The pattern disappeared without a trace, and Clark blinked and looked down at his hand.

It was when I was enchanted by a strange sensation that I had never felt before in my life.

Kugu Palace.

"·········································································?!"

I woke up to the sudden roar and turned my head.

Emanating a blue eye light, the stone statues with their arms raised came into view.

Aww!

Clark groaned and threw himself to the side. A huge stone spear flew at his place and crashed into the floor.

He evaded the attack and surprised himself. A body that moves much faster and more agile than usual.

The mysterious ability he absorbed was none other than the ability to increase the speed of the body.

The knowledge that had flowed into my head from the moment I absorbed the mystery made it possible to immediately and naturally use the power of acceleration.

"Ahhhhh...!"

Clark, who raised his speed to the maximum, screamed and avoided the attack of the rushing statues. It was an evasion close to instinct.

However, it was impossible to adapt to the sudden amplified physical ability in an instant.

Before long, he stumbled and rolled on the floor.

The stone statue attacked Clark's leg as he was about to get up in a hurry. Just by rubbing it, my thighs were torn in tatters.

"Ok!"

It was Clark who once again rolled the floor unsightly.

I couldn't control myself from the dizzying pain in my legs.

It was a moment when I closed my eyes tightly at the approaching stone statues that surrounded me.

It's cracked!

The stone statues suddenly fell all at once.

Clark let out a shaky breath and slowly opened his eyes.

The stone statues that had been torn down on the floor did not even move as if their movements had completely stopped.

Then I saw a doll walking in jointly with the sound of footsteps.

I wondered if it was the members, but it was a strange young man.

"············".

What did you just do?

Did that person defeat the Guardians?

Clark, unable to comprehend the situation, trembled involuntarily at the gaze of the man who was approaching him.

A man who looked around for a moment staggered towards the center of the cavity and stopped right next to him.

"What are you?"

Clark paused to answer the man's question.

"Mo, I'm an adventurer. Who are you...."

"There must have been a certain pattern here."

"············".

"Have you not seen it?"

The man looked down at him with cold eyes and asked.

Clark's accident stopped for a moment.

He felt a chill creeping up his spine and swallowed his saliva, frozen like a frog in front of a snake.

Because he was just asking about the mystery he had just absorbed.

I didn't know who this man was or where he suddenly appeared, but I knew at least one thing for sure. that it's fucked right

"Mom, I didn't see it."

***

'········It's late.'

I clicked my tongue as I looked at the man sitting down in fear.

This space is definitely the place where I discovered the mystery of acceleration.

However, there were two cases because the pattern was nowhere to be seen.

Either the mystery has not yet been created, or the man in front of me has absorbed it first.

Looking at the reaction, it was not difficult to know that it was the latter.

It seems that the mystery of acceleration here has already returned to this man.

"Really, ah, I didn't see anything. It really is."

The man repeated only those words and looked at me with earnest eyes as if he wanted to believe him.

He seemed to think that I would even kill him if he found out that he had absorbed the mystery.

It's a bit annoying, but there's no way to get back what you've already absorbed, so it's okay.

It wasn't a mystery that would be of much use anyway, but this time, I can only assume that it was a bit unlucky.

'However, there were several traces of entry.'

I wanted to know where the other people were and to be alone like this, but it wasn't important, so I turned my attention off.

And when I was about to turn away from the stiff man.

coo coo.

There was a sudden vibration, and the central floor of the cavity slowly opened.

The man sitting right next to him was startled and stepped back.

What was buried in the pit that suddenly appeared was sparkling gold and silver treasures.

Come to think of it, did this relic also have such a reward?

It was a time when I was about to turn off my attention and go outside again because I had no reason to bring any goods.

"···········?"

Another presence was felt at the common entrance, and soon several men and women appeared.

"······leader!"

Hearing the man shouting, I was immediately able to grasp the situation.

That they were the owners of the traces that entered the dungeon. Are you an adventurer?

I wondered if the reason why only one person was separated here was because of a trap. Because it was common.

They also looked surprised when they found the man.

"Clark, are you alive?"

"I barely survived! Didn't you see?! Heyrn used me as bait and tried to spit it out on his own! He helped me at the best!"

The woman holding the bow flinched and shouted.

"Wow, don't be ridiculous! Why are you blaming me for falling down on your own terms!"

"You're a fucking bastard! Are you still a bastard?!"

A bitter conversation ensued, full of abusive language.

I don't know what it is, but I heard a bit about it, and it seems that he fell into a trap and was stabbed in the back by a woman with a bow over there.

The man groaned and stared at the woman to die.

"But how did everyone get here? I fell into a trap..."

"We don't even know. The road we passed was blocked, so we kept going forward and got here. But..."

A man called the director looked at me with puzzled eyes, found a gold and silver treasure on one side, and opened his eyes wide. So were the others.

"············".

The eyes of the adventurers with greed were fixed on the gold and silver treasures.

For a moment, silence fell in the cavity.

While I had a feeling that the situation was going to get annoying somehow, the manager, the man, exchanged glances with a few people and opened his mouth again.

"But who is that man, Clark?"

"Yeah? Well, that's good for me too."

The man looked me in the eye and answered.

As I opened my mouth, a woman with a bow intervened.

"Everyone, can you see it? Everything piled up in the pit is gold and silver treasure! We're rich now! Huh?! Dan········."

Whoops!

At that moment, the blade pierced the woman's chest and protruded.

Her eyes, which had been shouting with joy, were torn and wide open.

"Knock...."

It was the man who stabbed the sword.

The other members who were standing nearby turned around in amazement.

"Now what...?!"

At that moment, some members followed up and attacked the rest.

A member with a spear stabbed the member next to him in the neck, and the woman wearing a robe threw a fireball at the two members who were a little further away.

One person who diddge the attack tried to back away, but even that was decapitated by the other member who had taken the escape route.

Those who received such a surprise attack died in an instant without even having time to respond.

There are a total of 4 people left, including the man who is the leader.

They, who had killed all of their comrades without blinking an eye, looked at this side, wiping off the blood on their weapons.

"Uh, uh...?"

The man stared at the scene in awe, and I had no choice but to frown.

what kind of bullshit is this?

***

"······What is this now."

Clark doubted his own eyes.

The corpses of the members were scattered on the floor.

The leader, Regnil, Thomas, Anne, and Barok, the four men attacked and killed the rest of the members.

'why?'

It was confusing in my head, but I soon figured it out.

Because the four of them were the oldest members of the adventure group.

And the treasures of the dungeon unfolding before your eyes.

They had killed all the rest of their companions to claim the treasure among themselves. without a single hesitation.

"Mi, you crazy bastards. Did you plan on doing this in the first place?"

At the man's murmuring, the wizard, Barok, raised the corners of his lips one by one.

"Anyway, are you quick to notice? Of course, we talked about it before we even entered the dungeon. If there is any real treasure, let's gulp together."

Clark looked at Regnil in disbelief.

The reason I decided to join this adventure team in the first place was because I liked his personality as the leader, and he must have been hiding this nature. In an instant, I was betrayed by my faith.

Regnil stretched out his sword without even looking at Clark like that.

His blade was pointed at an unidentified man.

"Are you an adventurer too? When did you enter the dungeon?"

"············".

"Well, it doesn't really matter. I don't know where he came out of nowhere, but he was unlucky."

At Regnil's words, the man stood silently for a moment, then muttered while smirking.

"········There is no income, but all the troublesome things are twisted, really."

The man glanced at the treasure piled up in the pit next to him and said calmly.

"What are you looking at? Are you not trying to kill everything and take over the treasure?"

Regnil's eyes twitched.

"porridge······."

It was before the words were even spoken.

The figure of a man who disappeared as if turned off suddenly appeared in the middle of Regnil and the members.

"·····································································!

It was before the four of you could even react with astonished faces.

In the next moment, they all collapsed.

Even if it wasn't, Clark, who was in chaos as the situation was going, looked at the scene with complete enchantment.

As if they had dealt with the Guardians before, they had killed them in the blink of an eye.

The only thing Clark could see, at least faintly, for a moment was that something blood-red from the man was shot.

"Ah······."

Watching the scene, Clark let out a shaky moan without realizing it.

It was a mixed feeling of confusion and betrayal, the emptiness that the adventure team with whom we had been together for a long time was annihilated, and the fear of men.

The man looked over here. And he took a step closer and came closer.

I wanted to run away right away, but it was difficult to get up in the yard where my legs were torn.

Thinking that it was his turn now, Clark had an intuition to die.

But soon after seeing the thing the man had taken out of his arms, he had no choice but to widen his eyes.

A small glass bottle with a reddish liquid glistening inside. It was the potion.

"It's a mystery you've acquired, so use it well."

The man who had put the potion down on the nearby floor turned around, leaving only those words.

And I walked to the exit without even paying attention to the unowned treasure left behind.

Clark looked at it until the back figure disappeared completely, then stumbled in half-exhausted and slumped over.

"What is it?"

in vain (3)

After exiting the dungeon, I looked up at the gloomy sky.

Ashel and Thiyong, who were standing around, noticed me coming and approached me.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

He misses the mystery and gets involved only in the most troublesome things.

This time, I was really just doing it in vain.

I climbed on top of Tiyong with Ashel, thinking about my next destination.

Rapids, the largest metropolis in eastern St.

Located in that city, 'Elphon Academy', a historic talent training institute in Seintea.

The next mystery to be discovered was hidden in the public library of the Elphon Academy.

Like the places I've been looking for, most of the mysteries are in the sparse nature, but there are very few exceptions.

In a sense, it could be said that it was the most obscure place among the mysteries that had been visited so far.

***

Shoo!

I went down to the forest below, looking at the huge city that was starting to appear in the distance.

Thiyong was planning to leave the forest near the city and enter Lapad City.

I had to quietly get the mystery and get out, but I couldn't bring the Wyvern to the city and attract attention from all directions.

"I'll be here soon, so wait here. Avoid people's eyes as much as possible, and if you run into them, don't attack them."

purr.

The boy flapped his wings like a whimper and nodded his head.

In the middle of a forest like this, you'd hardly ever run into anyone anyway, so nothing would happen.

Leaving the bandage behind, Ashel and I, who left the forest, rode the highway and headed for the city.

'Well.'

We went through the gates without any problems and entered the city.

I walked down the street slowly looking around.

As it is the largest city in eastern Sainteia, the streets were repaired and crowded with many passersby.

Among them, there were some that stood out in particular, and they were wearing similar uniforms from somewhere.

"Hey, Assistant Professor Hermill. Have you been out for a while? Did you even take a vacation?"

"What about vacation... Professor Teiji has started a new experiment again. He's on his way to the store to get the necessary materials, huh."

A man talking with a woman he met while passing by with tired eyes.

I passed by and listened to their conversation, looking over the buildings in the distance and looking at the gigantic half-visible building in the middle of the city.

A building that is different from a castle or palace at first glance, and looks like a school.

'Elphon Academy.'

That was the Academy of Saintea, located right here in the city.

As often seen in fantasy, an academy was an institution that educated students like a real school.

If there is a difference, is it simply that the subjects taught are different, such as swordsmanship or magic? Because this is a fantasy world.

In Lassa's setting, the Academy is the only institution that exists only in Saintea, and in fact, it has no significant role in the main story of the game.

Except for the minor sub-quests, the episodes related to Elphon Academy didn't have much volume.

Anyway, my purpose was to find the mystery hidden in the public library located within the academy.

'I'll take a look first.'

First of all, we decided to find a suitable inn and wait until sunset.

As the sun went down, I recollected and recalled information about the academy's approximate internal structure.

As time passed, the complete darkness subsided.

I went out on the street alone and walked to the immediate vicinity of the academy, avoiding my eyes.

The place I moved to now was the west wall of the academy.

The public library was located on the western outskirts of the academy.

There are several libraries inside the academy, but among them, the public library was an open library that anyone related to the academy could use freely without any special conditions.

Security was not that thorough, so it was a good thing for me, who had to sneak inside from now on.

If the mystery had been hidden in the depths of the academy, I would have just given up without even thinking about getting it in the first place.

It would be difficult to infiltrate into the depths rather than the outskirts, and things could be complicated if they were caught by mistake.

'It's worth trying once without taking too much risk.'

The academy was surrounded by high walls on all sides, and the interior landscape and structure were barely visible from the outside.

I was staring at the wall as high as a fortress wall, then raised my supersensibility to the maximum.

Inside the academy, I could feel some signs walking around the wall in the direction I was currently located.

He must have been a guard, considering that the magical power he felt was weak.

After confirming their positions, they performed a series of space leaps into the air just above them.

It was a dark night, so unless I had some bad luck, my appearance would not be revealed.

Soaring high in the sky, I looked around the inside of the academy beyond the wall, fixing myself with a floating curtain.

The site is as vast as dozens of soccer fields combined, and numerous buildings are spread out around the huge main building in the center.

It wasn't long before I was able to find the public library building to the west without difficulty.

Because it was night, there were hardly any people walking around inside the academy. There was no one around the destination public library.

'··········.'

If you don't like it, I was just going to take a look today... Isn't this a good time?

When I came down to the road, I looked inside again and teleported to the wall. I lowered my posture and looked down.

There seemed to be no difficulty in accessing the public library.

In the first place, the site was very large, and I could see everything around me with a super sense, and there was also a space leap.

After boldly entering the academy, I moved between the buildings, avoiding as much as possible from the intruders.

It's a sneak peek at the academy, so there's nothing new about it now, but I really wanted to try everything out of the ordinary.

So I safely moved to the immediate vicinity of the public library and looked at the library while hiding in the building.

The public library is a two-story building, with windows only on the first floor.

'Are you a librarian?'

Through the closed windows, a man was seen sitting near the entrance to the library. Apparently, he was a librarian.

Other than that, I didn't feel any other signs in the library.

So... then what should I do?

From now on, all you have to do is secretly enter the library, find the mystery, and come out.

At the same time, even the librarian was nodding and sleeping, so he didn't even know he opened the front door and entered.

However, it was better to be careful if possible, so I decided to enter through the window.

Space leap cannot be unfolded if there is an obstacle in the middle, so it cannot teleport beyond a closed window.

After examining my surroundings once more, I approached the library window closer. It was a window that did not reach the view of the librarian from the angle.

When I gently pulled the window, it didn't seem like it was locked.

I opened the window slowly without making a sound and immediately teleported inside.

'done.'

We entered the library safely.

After checking that the librarian was still dozing and dozing, he closed the window and headed to the second floor without hesitation, passing the bookshelves.

The place where the mystery was hidden was the bookshelf on the 2nd floor, among them, the bookshelf where ancient books related to history were gathered.

The second floor was much narrower than the first floor, and I was able to find it quickly because I remembered the location embedded in the corner.

I clasped my hands and opened them as I looked around the dusty books that had almost been neglected.

'I think this bookshelf fits...'

Search found, but there was one last remaining problem.

It was said that the place with the mysterious pattern was on the wall behind the bookcase.

In short, the mystery could be confirmed only by moving the bookshelf and dropping it off the wall. By the way······.

'·······How to eat this alone.'

It wasn't very big, but it wasn't too small either. It was much taller than my height, and the width was twice as wide as my arms outstretched.

I could do it by dragging it and dropping it a little off the wall, but when I did that, the noise was a problem.

In the end, you couldn't drag it to the floor, and you had no choice but to lift it up and move it.

I grabbed the bookshelf once and gave it strength to measure it, but it didn't move.

In that case, there was no other way.

Eventually, I carefully pulled out the books from the bookshelf and started stacking them one by one on the floor.

If it's an empty bookshelf, lifting it up a little will do something. you're doing a really good job

After a while, I pulled out all the books from the bookshelf.

And when I lifted the bookshelf again, it was only then that I succeeded in lifting it.

After carefully lifting one side of the bookshelf slightly off the wall, I peered into the gap inside.

With the expectation that there will be a mysterious pattern on this wall that I was looking for. But······.

"············".

There was nothing to see.

There is only a pile of dust.

He scoured the gap once more, but nothing had changed.

I frowned.

'······What?'

Why is this not there again?

I looked at the surrounding bookshelves once again, wondering if I had misunderstood the bookshelf, but it was definitely the correct location.

I crossed my arms and fell in thought.

I wondered if someone had discovered the mystery first this time, but... is that so?

If someone else discovered it first, it means that they moved the bookshelf like me and checked the back wall. Even if you don't know what kind of butterfly effect my actions will cause, who did this before me? in the library?

'·······Or the timing is not right.'

Maybe it was even before the mystery was created.

If the mysteries were created between now and the game play time in the future, it would have to be gone now.

Which one it is is unknown.

But whatever it was, what was certain was that this time too, it was a useless effort.

No matter how, all two of them are in vain one after another....

'It's not really bad luck.'

Did you even use up all your mysterious luck when you found it in Calderic?

All the mystery searches in Calderic were successful, but all failed in Saintea.

It felt a little disappointing, but it was unavoidable.

I sighed inwardly and looked into the gaps of the bookshelf once more, then turned around.

If I get a chance later, I'll just come back and check it out.

There was no reason to organize the removed books, so I left them as they are and headed down the stairs to the first floor.

Now that all the chores are over, I go out the window again and try to get out of the library...

"·····································································!

I quickly backed off the stairs and hid behind a nearby bookshelf.

The stairs leading down to the first floor were located right opposite the front door of the library, because the door suddenly opened and someone came in.

[Lv. 46]

'······student?'

The person who entered the library was a man dressed as an academy student.

A woman with blonde hair, golden eyes, and a strangely classical atmosphere.

The librarian, who had been dozing off, woke up suddenly, looked at her, checked the time, and opened his mouth cautiously.

"Now is the time to ban the entrance, but..."

The woman nodded her head and spoke politely.

"I would like to ask you for a moment today. I will leave the room before 10 o'clock."

"···················Well, I understand. This is a spare key, so please return it on time tomorrow."

And the librarian made sure that all the windows on the first floor were closed, and then went outside.

The woman left alone quickly approached a bookshelf and began to look through the books.

Hiding between the bookshelves on the second floor, I narrowed my brow as I looked at her preoccupied with reading.

'What else, really....'

I was standing on a bookshelf located near the stairs, so it became difficult to sneak down.

There was no need to take any risks, so I decided to just wait. It seems like they leave before 10 o'clock.

gracious. gracious.

In the quiet stillness, only the sound of turning the pages of a book resonated inside the library.

It was when the woman was quietly silenced, waiting for the woman to leave.

"There, you bastard on the second floor."

I was startled by the sudden sound of a woman's voice.

She closed the book slowly and looked up at the second floor.

"Now that you've been caught, come out. Are you an assassin who came to harm your real woman?"

Matthew Assassination (1)

I didn't know that I would be caught, so I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for a moment.

The figure of a woman looking up coldly through the cracks in the books caught my eye.

'·······But the real woman?'

Didn't you just clearly say that?

Isn't that a title used only when the royal family or the imperial family refer to themselves?

In the silence, I stared at the woman's face and then opened my eyes wide.

Because he seemed to know what her true identity was.

'The Seven Princesses Armia.'

The bloodline of Emperor Grandios, the 7th princess of the Seinthea imperial family.

It wasn't difficult to realize.

Because she was the only woman among the emperor's children who would be attending the academy at this point.

Also, she was a character who occupies a fairly large proportion among the emperor's children in the main story.

I couldn't help but think that it was a very clever coincidence.

'No, more than that....'

So what?

It seems that they misunderstood me as an assassin, but the situation has become quite difficult.

Do you have to jump to the front of the window with space leap and then escape right away? It's difficult to avoid the commotion no matter what.

"Didn't you say that you've already been caught? If you're going to keep hiding like that..."

When I stopped showing up, she raised her magic power.

Inevitably, it was the moment when I wanted to use the space leap toward the window on the first floor.

"···········?"

At that moment, I first felt another sign from the window.

Tickle!

I wanted something else, but the window suddenly opened and someone wearing a black robe came in.

The 7th Princess was also startled and turned her gaze to the new intruder.

[Lv. 53]

The figure in the robe, who immediately drew the sword, rushed towards the 7th Princess.

I looked at the scene with bewildered eyes.

'What else is he?'

Are you a real assassin this time?

The princess, who hastily raised her magical powers, performed her magic. Blue-colored magic bullets were fired at the assassin in clusters.

It's cracked!

Missing magic bullets broke the walls of the library with a roar.

The assassin, who lightly evaded the attack, approached the princess in an instant.

The princess spread the shield, but was shattered at once by the assassin's sword attack. Her body fell backwards in shock.

"Eww······!"

It was the moment when the assassin's sword was about to fall on the princess's neck.

After teleporting between the two, I opened a floating curtain to block the attack.

The eyes above the assassin's mask opened wide. With a look of surprise, he pulled back his sword and stepped back.

After I removed the veil, I straightened out a blood skill to spit out blood. He could not escape and died instantly.

"············".

He glanced at the assassin who had fallen on the floor, then turned his head to the back.

The princess sitting on the floor was looking up at me with a puzzled face.

After making eye contact with her for a moment, I turned my gaze away and walked towards the window. Because I could feel the presence of people gathering around the library.

"Wait a minute······."

I heard the princess's voice, but I ignored it and hurriedly ran outside.

***

The door to the library opened and people rushed in.

It was the guards and some staff who came to hear the commotion.

"What is this!"

When they found the 7th Princess Armia and the dead assassin sitting on the floor, they were startled and approached.

Armia looked at them like that and then shifted her gaze.

A mysterious person hiding on the second floor.

Naturally he thought he was an assassin, but he saved his life by preventing another assassin from suddenly appearing.

Then, as if it had just appeared suddenly, it suddenly evaporated and disappeared.

"········Can't understand English."

Who the hell was that?

She looked at the place where the man had disappeared with confused eyes.

There was only the moonlight coming in through the open windows.

***

I safely escaped the academy and returned to the inn.

'Everything really happens.'

It's not enough to meet the 7th Princess out of nowhere, and you'll even see the scene where she is being attacked. It had to be bizarre.

Saving her was more of a reflex action.

It was about to be killed by an assassin right before my eyes, and that's why I was just watching it.

And since the 7th Princess was a character close to an ally in the main story, she didn't do anything in vain.

Anyway, the chores were all over, so I immediately prepared to leave the city.