63. Catherine – Hmm, so the bonus event is the Seven Mysteries
The day after Randy and the others formed their hypothesis, while Corey and Annabelle were busy gathering materials…
"So, since we're already here, I thought it'd be fun to solve the Seven Mysteries!"
Catherine was leisurely enjoying tea on the academy terrace with her usual group—except for Chris.
The topic of conversation was the Seven Mysteries circulated in the academy, and Catherine had proposed that the student council should take the lead in solving them.
Of course, her true motive was to harass Elizabeth.
That day, Catherine had been observing Randy and the others from the rooftop and discovered that they had gone to the old school building to investigate the Seven Mysteries.
Her source of information was Annabelle, who was also a member of the same church as Catherine.
Using her position to approach Annabelle, Catherine feigned concern for her safety—it was just an act—to extract information.
Annabelle, thinking Catherine's intentions were genuine, revealed that they were conducting an investigation into the Seven Mysteries.
Although the real objective of Randy and his group had been to capture a wraith, the investigation had shifted focus to the Seven Mysteries, which was the only part Catherine had focused onto.
As a result, Catherine believed that Elizabeth and her group were engaging in some kind of bonus event: solving the Seven Mysteries of the academy.
The fact that the Seven Mysteries had merely been flavor text in the original game only fueled Catherine's delusion that an entirely new event had been created.
"The Seven Mysteries of the academy, huh…"
Crown Prince Edgar, who was also the student council president, crossed his arms and pondered.
As president, he had heard such rumors before but had dismissed them as mere gossip. However, upon hearing from Catherine that Annabelle had ventured into the dangerous old school building, he became concerned.
A female student, and one who hadn't even received tactical training, entering the old school building at night… Such recklessness could potentially endanger other students.
In reality, Annabelle had been accompanied by top-class bodyguards, making the whole journey safer than a casual picnic.
However, no one, aside from Annabelle herself, was aware of this fact.
Ignorant of the real situation, Edgar's sense of justice flared up.
"Indeed, leaving such ominous rumors unchecked would be a disgrace to my duty as both a royalty and as student council president."
With Edgar nodding in agreement as student council president, it was decided: Catherine and her group would also begin working to solve the Seven Mysteries.
"But I don't know all of the Seven Mysteries," said Arthur, the knight commander's son, with a furrowed brow.
His words spoken the thoughts of both Edgar and Dario, who didn't know all the details either.
"That's not a problem," Catherine responded cheerfully. "I've already consulted an expert."
She then took out two notebooks containing information she had extracted from Annabelle earlier that morning.
One notebook detailed the Seven Mysteries, while the other contained the truths behind them. Annabelle had been delighted to share what she knew, happy that someone else had taken an interest in the mysteries.
"I gathered information about the Seven Mysteries from a member of the Occult Research Club," Catherine explained as she opened the notebooks.
The contents included not only the three mysteries Randy had already solved but also noted that the fourth and fifth mysteries—The Mirror Room and The Infinity Twilight Corridor—had been solved as well.
"Oh, I've heard of The Mirror Room," Arthur said with a grin, his eyes lighting up as he scanned the column.
4. The Mirror Room and the Doppelganger
It is said that if you use The Mirror Room in the training facility at midnight, another version of yourself will emerge from the mirror and challenge you to a duel.
If you lose, your real self will be trapped inside the mirror, and the reflection will take your place in the real world.
In fact, the mirror supposedly serves as an entrance to another world, and the inhabitants of that world are always seeking a chance to invade this one.
"This one was apparently based on a prank from over ten years ago," Catherine said with a sigh.
"A prank?" Arthur tilted his head in confusion.
"Yes. One of a pair of twins made up the story to play a trick on the other and even carried out the prank." Catherine touched her cheek with her finger and added with a smile, "Isn't that adorable?" She also noted that to make the prank more convincing, they had given the target a bit of alcohol beforehand.
"Alcohol…?"
"Oh…"
Arthur and Dario exchanged awkward smiles, finding the story oddly relevant.
Sneaking into the school at night and drinking? If caught, the perpetrators would likely face suspension—just like certain student.
"And by the way," Catherine added nonchalantly, "those two twins? They're now the current practical skills instructors."
"What?!" the three of them exclaimed in unison.
Despite their shock, they recalled that the instructors for swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat were indeed muscular twins.
(So those troublemakers became teachers… it's common occurrence though.)
That was Catherine's private thought.
She found the Seven Mysteries rather underwhelming, but having grown up in modern world, she knew that such mysteries were often just exaggerated rumors with added spice.
"Honestly, is there even a point in solving this?" Arthur asked with a wry smile.
Edgar and Dario responded with similar wry smiles, clearly sharing the same sentiment.
"But, it seems like the fifth one actually involved something supernatural," Catherine said, proceeding to explain the mystery Randy and his group had recently solved.
The story had been rewritten, leaving out mentions of Voidwalker and alternate dimensions.
Instead, it described something far less dangerous: a specter using illusion magic appearing in the school building bathed in twilight.
Though there was still some danger, it was nothing compared to the original threat, reduced to something almost harmless.
This revision served as a countermeasure, assuming the theory was correct.
Revealing the true nature of the Seven Mysteries would only lead to more rumors, fear, and chaos surrounding the site.
If that happened, it could accelerate the emergence of another powerful entity, possibly on a much faster rate than before.
Even without a soul as the core to fuel its evolution, if enough scary imaginations were accumulated, it could result in the growth of a formidable being.
A Revenant or a Spectral Wraith alone would be too powerful for ordinary students to handle, no matter how many gathered to confront it.
If such a creature were to kill a student, the resulting rumors would spread and intensify, providing stronger fuel for another Voidwalker to form.
Of course, Voidwalkers aren't something that can be created so easily.
Simply having a rumor and a core soul isn't enough.
However, the moment people begin to focus their imaginations on the idea of a Voidwalker, the process could accelerate.
If a source of energy, like a soul, were to be added… there would be no guarantee that a second Voidwalker wouldn't emerge.
Thus, after some deliberation, they decided to officially label the entity as a specter.
Unlike a wraith, a specter could use illusion magic, aligning with the story of the Twilight Corridor. By labeling it a specter, they aimed to stop further imaginative speculation.
Unaware of the deeper reason behind the decision, Catherine and her group…
"A specter, huh… Not a problem for us," Arthur remarked casually.
"Still, it's too dangerous to leave it alone," Edgar agreed.
They were acknowledging the danger of the Seven Mysteries.
While a specter might sound simple, it was considered a C-rank magical beast—dangerous enough that students were forbidden from engaging it without proper supervision.
The only reason they could claim it wasn't a problem was due to their own skill.
Compared to Randy, Luke, and Harrison—who were exceptional to the point of being abnormal—they were still quite capable, just by more normal standards.
(Even with Luke around, that redhead seems to be fairly competent too… Well, we'd have no problem with a specter either.)
She kept that thought to herself. After all, if she mentioned it, Arthur might take an interest and try to approach Luke and his group.
For now, her priority was to secretly sabotage Elizabeth's event.
"So, have you understood the danger of the Seven Mysteries?" Catherine asked with a sweet but pointed smile.
Catherine smiled as Edgar gave a firm nod in response.
Driven by a strange sense of justice, they quickly turned their attention to the next mystery.
The Sixth Mystery: The Phantom Classroom
One night, a student who had gotten lost in the school stumbled upon an old, worn-out door at the end of a hallway where there had never been one before.
Beyond the door lay a classroom that seemed to have been in use long ago, with neatly arranged desks and chairs and a faint outline of decades-old lessons still visible on the blackboard.
Curious, the student sat down on one of the chairs, and in that moment, illusions of other desks and students appeared around him, along with an apparation of a teacher at the front.
The student attended the strange lesson for a while, but when a sudden bell rang, he snapped back to reality, felt a surge of fear, and fled from the room.
When he emerged, he was met by people who had been searching for him.
According to them, an entire week had passed since the student had entered the classroom. When he looked back, the door was gone, and all he saw was the end of the hallway. He never managed to find that classroom again.
It's said that if the student had stayed and continued attending the lesson, he might have been absorbed by the phantom classroom, becoming one of the ghost students himself.
"Someone made it back, and the details are quite specific. Why is it still treated as just a rumor?" Arthur asked, puzzled.
"That's part of the mystery, isn't it?" Catherine replied with a soft smile.
"It's a creepy rumor, but it's not impossible that some students might try to imitate it after hearing about it," Edgar mused.
His concern was valid; as members of the student council, they were responsible for ensuring a safe learning environment.
"Judging by the nature of the phenomenon, it doesn't seem like ghosts but more like elementals," Dario suggested as he finished his tea.
"I think so too," Catherine agreed.
While the phantom classroom didn't cause direct harm, falling prey to its illusions could lead to someone losing their physical body and being trapped as a wandering soul forever.
Elementals were known for such mischievous tricks.
"It's a shame that Chris isn't here, but if it's only an elemental, the four of us should be enough," Edgar said confidently, putting down his cup. Arthur grinned and clapped a fist into his palm.
"Cathy, do you know how to find this phantom classroom?" Edgar asked with a dazzling smile, causing Catherine's face to turn slightly red.
She quickly flipped through her notebook and began explaining the details.
The phantom classroom was said to appear most often during late-night hours when a thick mist enveloped the school. The most promising lead was that it could be summoned by setting a broken clock to 4:44 AM.
"The broken clock… isn't that the one in front of the principal's office? The one that always stops no matter how many times they repair it? And it's right at the end of the corridor," Dario pointed out.
Everyone nodded in agreement, "That's it."
"Once we get permission from the instructors and our families, let's explore the school at night," Edgar proposed with an unusual excitement.
His enthusiasm was understandable—this would be his first time sneaking into the school at night.
For someone like Edgar, who had lived a rigid, structured life as both a crown prince and student council president, this was a thrilling, novel experience.
And to top it off, he would be accompanied by a girl he was interested in. Even for someone as composed as Edgar, it was impossible not to feel excited.
"Then, let's get permission as soon as possible… and if all goes well, we can go tomorrow night," Catherine suggested.
Everyone agreed, and they left for the day, walking home with spring in their steps.
After much persistence, they eventually managed to obtain permission, albeit with guards accompanying them.
(Just wait, Elizabeth. I'll crush the event ahead of you.)
The Sixth Mystery might have seemed trivial to them, but little did they know that their investigation of the Seven Mysteries would soon lead to a disaster far beyond their imagination.
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