Chapter 97
‘There’s nothing here, huh.’
How many weeks had passed since the incident?
As expected, there were no significant traces left at the site where the incident occurred.
The O’Neill Kingdom had cleaned up so thoroughly that it was impossible to find any evidence of the numerous knights who had lost their lives here.
Professor Amilion, like me, wandered around inspecting the area, seemingly searching for something, but there was nothing to show for her efforts.
‘I should check further inside.’
While Elizar was busy explaining various things to the students, I headed toward the forest visible ahead.
At the edge of the wide clearing lay an expansive forest that suddenly loomed with towering trees.
From a distance, it seemed barren, but instinctively, I moved toward it.
I had no concrete reason, just a feeling that I might discover something there.
Before I realized it, I had wandered so far that the rest of the group was out of sight, and the forest that had seemed distant now appeared close.
I had thought the trees were large from afar, but up close, they were even more enormous.
“Wow, they’re huge.”
I muttered to myself as I took a step into the forest.
At that moment, a strange sensation enveloped me.
‘This feeling…’
It wasn’t unfamiliar.
I had experienced it relatively recently.
I tried to recall where I had felt this before, and it hit me.
It was the same peculiar sensation I had felt when I passed through the barrier set up by Randgar at the academy.
A sticky, eerie sensation, as if breaking through an invisible boundary.
Crunch—
The sound of a branch breaking underfoot echoed loudly.
The atmosphere between the forest and the clearing was like crossing a boundary line—it was completely different.
I had only taken one step from the clearing into the forest.
Standing still, I heightened my senses.
I was nearly 100% certain.
I had just passed through some kind of barrier, and it had drastically changed the surrounding atmosphere.
This meant either an enemy was nearby or I had entered enemy territory.
Buzz—
Not letting my guard down, I first gripped my sword.
With a familiar sound, space opened up, and I grasped the Black Shadow Blade.
Shing—
Drawing the sword from the spatial rift, I began to move cautiously.
Whoosh—
“Huh?”
Something moved within my heightened vigilance, and I saw it clearly.
Something familiar darted deftly between the trees deeper inside.
Assuming it was an enemy, I prepared to charge but stopped abruptly.
‘Did I see that wrong?’
Whoosh—
“Wait.”
It wasn’t a mistake.
What I had just seen leaping between the trees was someone I knew.
Not just an acquaintance—someone I had a closer relationship with.
“…Addy?”
The person leaping across the trees with her short brown hair swaying and dressed in a suit was Addy.
It was unmistakable.
There was no way I could confuse or mistake Addy’s appearance.
“What is this?”
As I called her name, Addy froze on the branch and looked at me.
Now that she had stopped, I was even more certain.
It really was Addy.
‘What’s going on?’
I calmly tried to think it through.
Addy stood nonchalantly on the thick branch, looking down at me.
‘It’s impossible for the real Addy to be here.’
Even though she looked identical to Addy, it didn’t make sense for her to be here right now.
Addy couldn’t use Spatial Movement like I could, and I had seen her in the office just last night.
Therefore, the one standing there was not the real Addy but likely an imposter mimicking her appearance.
‘But how?’
Whoosh—
The person disguised as Addy glanced at me before leaping deeper into the forest.
“It won’t be easy to escape from me.”
Buzz—
I used Spatial Movement to teleport to the branch where she had just been standing.
As I suddenly appeared nearby, the Addy imposter, who had jumped to another tree, visibly flinched in surprise.
“I’ll catch you and get some answers.”
Whoosh—
The imposter began moving faster as if they had heard my words.
I had to capture this figure to figure out who they were and how they were imitating Addy.
Buzz—
The creature, disguised as Addy, continued running while I calculated its trajectory.
I leaped through space, intercepting its path, ready to land a strike.
< A new Main Quest has begun. >
“Huh.”
Whoosh—
Distracted for a moment by the sudden system message, my attention wavered.
The Addy imposter narrowly avoided my punch.
Boom—
At the same time, a loud explosion erupted, and the creature vanished.
It left behind no trace, as if it had never existed in the first place.
‘What on earth…’
I turned my gaze toward the system message that had interrupted me.
Of all times, it had to appear now.
< Main Quest (4): ‘Make a Name for Yourself.’ >
[[Objective: Rescue Elaine Sinclair and thwart the Nameless Organization’s plans.
Details: Save the kidnapped Elaine and uncover the Nameless Organization behind the incident.
Reward: 10 Stat Points, Title Acquisition (Hero of the Kingdom)
Penalty: End of Game and Reset, Elaine Sinclair’s death]]
…
“Oh…”
My face twisted into a grimace as I read the quest details.
***
‘Perfect timing.’
The First Elder of the Nameless Organization smiled silently with his eyes closed.
Although his eyes were shut, the First Elder was clearly observing something.
Through the eyes of a watcher he had deployed outside, the First Elder was watching the students.
And not the students of the O’Neill Kingdom, but those from the Crescent Empire Academy.
‘A catalyst has appeared.’
The “catalyst” the First Elder referred to was none other than an excuse to provoke the O’Neill Kingdom into mobilizing its forces against him.
The First Elder had deliberately leaked information about his hideout to the O’Neill Kingdom.
Initially, there had been no need for haste, but the complete failure on the Third Elder’s side had complicated matters.
With Randgar’s subordinates captured, the Crescent side was paralyzed, unable to act further.
Thus, the First Elder needed to act swiftly on his end.
Yet, despite knowing his location, the O’Neill Kingdom had not launched any attacks.
For the First Elder, this was an exasperating situation.
He intended for an assault on his hideout to kickstart his plans in the O’Neill Kingdom.
Through the watcher’s eyes, the First Elder meticulously examined each student.
He evaluated who would be the easiest to abduct.
His attention first landed on a black-haired male student confidently wandering about alone.
The student, rare for his dark hair, exuded an air of self-assurance.
He strolled boldly toward the Bewitched Forest, ignoring the guidance of his escorts.
‘This one will be easy.’
Abducting a solitary student separated from the group would be a simple task for the First Elder.
As he set his sights on the boy, another figure entered his view.
“Come on, wait for me!”
A girl with golden hair fluttering behind her hurried to catch up with the reckless boy.
‘That one.’
The First Elder scrutinized the girl chasing after the boy.
He recognized her immediately, without any doubt.
Elaine Sinclair, a daughter of the Sinclair Family, one of the Six Great Houses of Crescent.
‘To think such a prominent figure would be here.’
A grin spread across the First Elder’s face as he looked at Elaine.
The target was changed.
While any student would serve as a catalyst, abducting someone with influence in Crescent would create a far more significant impact.
Switching his focus from the reckless boy to Elaine, the First Elder moved without hesitation.
The location was ideal.
At the center of the clearing stood a knight of the O’Neill Kingdom alongside the Crescent escorts and students, with the black-haired boy confidently walking ahead.
Trailing a short distance behind him was Elaine Sinclair.
Boom—
The First Elder immediately teleported to the spot the watcher had been observing.
The moment he appeared behind Elaine, he acted.
Whoosh—
“Huh?”
Shing—
‘Impressive instincts.’
The First Elder noted Elaine’s quick reaction as she instinctively drew her sword the moment he teleported behind her.
However, despite her sharp instincts and swift draw, it was too late.
“What… what is this?”
Elaine froze awkwardly, unable to move.
The First Elder’s Binding Magic had taken hold.
And it wasn’t ordinary magic but dark magic.
It was twice as fast to cast as regular mana-based spells, and its power was incomparable.
Step. Step.
“Ugh… Urgh!”
While Elaine struggled to escape the binding spell with all her might, the First Elder leisurely moved to her side.
‘Impressive resistance.’
Typically, those caught in this binding spell couldn’t even make a sound, but Elaine managed to resist.
Her groans of effort to speak were a testament to her resilience.
The First Elder locked eyes with Elaine, though she likely couldn’t see his face.
“Urgh…”
Clang—
With a flick of his hand, Elaine’s sword dropped to the ground, clattering loudly.
The sound immediately drew the attention of the others in the clearing.
The first to react was a female knight clad in the O’Neill Kingdom’s armor.
Upon grasping the situation, she drew her sword and charged forward.
‘Everything is going according to plan.’
Following her was a professor from Crescent, likely in charge of the students.
Whoosh—
Dark mist began to spread from the First Elder’s hand.
As the mist enveloped the area, the charging knight slowed and stopped in her tracks.
Taking advantage of the pause, the First Elder touched Elaine’s shoulder and spoke to the approaching group.
“If you want this student back, come properly prepared.”
Boom—
Leaving only those words behind, the First Elder vanished from the spot with Elaine.
—
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