Chapter 2

“Are you really going to let him leave like this?”

Kelix, Cassandra’s aide, asked in an urgent voice.

Cassandra narrowed her eye.

“Do you think he’s the type who can be stopped?”

“But he listens to you, Grand General.”

“Listens?”

“He only pretends to.”

There were only five Grand Generals in the entire Imperial Army.

Even the Emperor couldn’t treat Cassandra lightly.

But that bastard was different.

He never looked intimidated, even standing in front of Cassandra.

He wasn’t someone who could be kept beneath another person.

If someone tried to force him to bow…

He would simply break instead.

“He’s spent his whole life crawling through hell without rest.”

“It’s about time he took a vacation.”

“A vacation would be one thing, but he said he was retiring. His disappearance alone will crush the unit’s morale.”

“No.”

“He hasn’t retired.”

There was an old saying.

War leaves a brand upon the soul.

That man was covered in those brands from head to toe.

A person like that…

Could never truly retire.

He had merely…

“Changed battlefields.”

Cassandra flicked the ash from her cigar.

* * *

Tutorial Complete.

You have achieved an extraordinary accomplishment!

A reward worthy of your achievement has been granted!

“Finally…”

I muttered while looking at the translucent window.

The tutorial was over.

Normally, completing the tutorial allowed you to raise one stat by a single rank.

For example, if your Aura was Rank B, you could upgrade it to Rank A.

But…

All of my stats were already at Rank S.

Beyond S lay the realm of transcendence.

To raise a stat from S to S+ required almost as many stat points as everything I’d invested up until now.

Even if the tutorial had lasted twelve years…

There was no way this trash game would hand out that many points so generously.

Warning!

Growth limit reached! Unable to grant stat points!

Just as I expected.

“So what happens now?”

At that moment, the translucent window changed.

Additional stats have been unlocked!

Please choose one.

Additional stats?

A new list appeared beneath the quest window.

• Strength
• Agility
• Intelligence
• Vitality
• Lifespan
• Charm
• Appearance
• Luck

These were common stats in most RPGs.

But they were almost never seen in this game.

“Because they’re only unlocked for the protagonist.”

Strength, Agility, and Intelligence looked tempting.

But they were probably traps.

I’d already reached the transcendent wall of Rank S.

Improving my physical abilities a little wouldn’t make much difference.

Charm and Appearance were even more useless.

Luck, however…

Was different.

“I can actually increase Luck?”

I chose Luck without a second thought.

The reason was simple.

“Luck is one of the few things that affects Rifts.”

Rifts were one of the late-game mechanics.

They were also the reason this already impossible game became even more absurd near the end.

The troublesome part about Rifts was that their contents were completely random.

You might encounter:

• an ancient order of Aura-wielding knights,
• a dark mage who had summoned a demon,
• an army of mages,
• forgotten priests,

or countless other variations.

From outside…

There was no way to determine what type of Rift it was.

Only two factors influenced a Rift.

Luck was one of them.

The other…

There was a character in the game whose only redeeming quality was outrageous luck.

He existed almost entirely as comic relief.

But once Rifts appeared…

His true value became obvious.

Whenever he entered a Rift, it would rearrange itself in his favor.

Three times in a row.

That might not sound impressive.

But it wasn’t a trivial ability.

“Luck influences Rifts.”

Rifts only appeared in the late game.

But sooner or later…

They were inevitable.

Or perhaps…

They might appear even earlier.

This was Hard Mode, after all.

Even so, I doubted the game would move late-game content this far forward.

Still…

There was no harm in preparing.

You have selected Luck.

Reward granted.

A cheerful chime rang out.

But I didn’t feel anything different.

At the same time, the quest window changed.

Objective: Graduate Evangeline

Reward: Wish Ticket

Failure: Death

My eyes focused on the objective.

“Graduate Evangeline.”

Evangeline was the heroine of the game.

At first glance, helping her graduate sounded easy.

In reality…

It was the exact opposite.

The academy suffered attacks and terrorist incidents almost every single day.

Demons.

The Republic.

Heretics.

Barbarians.

Someone was always pounding on the academy gates.

And the enemies weren’t only outside.

There were hostile students hidden among the student body.

Professors caused problems as well.

Even the academy’s leadership—the Headmaster, Vice Headmaster, and Chairman—

were all villain bosses.

Helping the heroine safely graduate from an academy that was practically a monster’s den…

Was anything but easy.

“Victory to the Empire!”

The loud salute snapped me out of my thoughts.

Looking up, I took in the station.

Like everything under military control, it contained only the essentials.

Magic crystal lamps that flickered precariously.

A plain clock that did nothing except tell the time.

That was all.

The officer receiving the soldiers’ salute was a blond man.

He was a handsome fellow with the refined appearance of a textbook elite.

Exactly the sort of face you’d expect in a romance fantasy.

“Captain Leon.”

Leon was born into a military family and possessed exceptional talent with the sword.

He had recently begun making a name for himself on the front lines.

But the Leon I remembered…

Wasn’t a soldier.

He was an academy professor.

“One-Armed Leon.”

Leon was one of the professors in the game.

He wasn’t particularly important.

His only memorable characteristic was that he had one arm.

I looked at him.

Both of his arms were still perfectly intact.

“Leon loses an arm while traveling to the academy after accepting a professorship.”

Even with only one arm, Leon ranked around the middle among the academy professors.

If he kept both arms…

He would surely become an even greater asset later.

Of course…

That wasn’t my only reason for approaching him.

I planned to work as a campus guard.

But I had no intention of limiting myself to security work alone.

I needed a way to approach the students.

“Save Leon.”

“Then recruit him.”

That was why I’d come so early.

Just then, the train thundered into the station.

It slowly came to a stop, and a soldier stepped off to inspect tickets.

I checked my uniform.

Second Lieutenant James.

A name and rank forgettable enough for undercover work.

“Victory to the Empire!”

“Carry on.”

Leon boarded the officers’ carriage first.

I entered shortly afterward.

He sat proudly in the center of the compartment, maintaining perfect posture while reading a book.

To me…

He looked like a kid trying too hard to seem important.

“Well…”

“He’s at that age.”

I chose a seat in the corner, away from him.

Objective: Graduate Evangeline

Reward: Wish Ticket

Failure: Death

As I reviewed my plans while staring at the quest window…

Someone sat down across from me.

Leon.

“Ahem.”

He glanced at my lieutenant’s insignia and deliberately cleared his throat.

It was an obvious hint for me to salute.

Since I was disguised as a second lieutenant, I did so.

“Victory to the Empire.”

“Victory to the Empire.”

“Second Lieutenant James?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Which unit?”

“The Fourth Corps.”

The moment he heard “Fourth Corps,” Leon visibly flinched.

Cassandra’s reputation preceded her.

I quietly sighed.

“I… see.”

“I’m with the Third Corps.”

“Heading to the capital?”

“Yes.”

“For what purpose?”

“I have a friend there.”

“…I see.”

“I’m heading to Elysium Academy.”

Leon subtly lifted his chin.

It was painfully obvious he wanted me to ask more.

Kids…

Honestly.

“And why are you going to Elysium?”

“Haha.”

“I’ve been recommended for a professorship.”

“It can’t be helped.”

“Wars are part of history.”

“Training the next generation is just as important as fighting on the front lines.”

He answered immediately, unable to hide the excitement on his face.

Elysium Academy was the greatest academy on the continent.

Becoming one of its professors at his age…

Was certainly something worth bragging about.

“That’s impressive.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“It was only natural.”

“Unlike those people hiding safely in the capital, we actually fight on the front lines.”

Leon looked at me seriously.

He was the stereotypical rookie—

someone who’d barely set foot on the battlefield and was already puffing out his chest.

The train gave a long whistle and began moving.

Unfortunately…

Leon showed no sign of ending the conversation.

“At the academy, I’ll teach everyone how terrible war truly is.”

“I’ll tell them what really happens on the front lines so they’ll understand the danger.”

He continued speaking with exaggerated gravity.

I simply nodded occasionally.

That didn’t stop him.

“Did you hear?”

“This year’s incoming class is extraordinary.”

“They say the Crown Prince is enrolling.”

“And the heir to the Mage Tower Alliance too.”

“Whew.”

“It’s all because of that prophecy.”

“The one saying that among this year’s freshmen…”

“…a hero destined to save the continent will appear.”

That prophecy was one of the game’s central plot points.

It explained why the protagonist’s class was overflowing with geniuses.

The problem…

Was that a clear prophecy was also easy to exploit.

If the continent’s future hero would come from this year’s freshmen…

Then killing every freshman would prevent that hero from ever existing.

That was exactly why everyone with something to hide relentlessly attacked Elysium Academy.

Leon continued talking without taking a breath.

My ears were starting to hurt.

“Where are they?”

I was beginning to get annoyed at how late the attackers were.

Then…

The blood in my body suddenly seemed to reverse direction.

My head spun.

“Finally.”

I brushed off my hands and stood up.

“What?”

Leon stared at me in confusion.

Instead of answering…

I quietly sensed the enemy.

“Dark magic.”

A thick black mist engulfed the train.

A foul stench of sulfur filled the air.

Sticky curses clung to my skin like tens of thousands of crawling insects.

“A dark mage!”

“Report this to headquarters immediately—!”

Leon jumped to his feet.

Aura erupted from his sword and enveloped his body.

His reaction was impressively quick.

Unfortunately…

He had the worst possible opponent.

Just as steel armor couldn’t stop fire…

Aura couldn’t block curses.

That was simply how the elemental matchups worked.

Leon staggered before dropping to one knee.

A dark mage might naturally counter knights…

But someone about to become a professor couldn’t even withstand a single dark curse?

“What a mess.”

I clicked my tongue openly while looking at him.

Leon’s eyes widened as he stared back.

“…How?”

“Cover your whole body with Aura.”

“What kind of idiotic advice is that?”

“Hurry and report this!”

“A dark mage is attacking!”

“We need reinforcements—!”

Leon shouted through gritted teeth.

“That won’t work.”

“W-What do you mean, it won’t?”

“I don’t share.”

“…What?”

At that instant…

The curses surged toward us like wolves smelling fresh blood.

The density was so overwhelming that they completely filled the train.

“Not bad.”

But…

Only that much.

“May the gods watch over us.”

I casually traced the sign of the cross.

Pure white light bloomed from my hand.

A flame that burned away corruption.

Divine Power.