How To Survive Clichés

Chapter 15

I stared into the void.

This was because the status window had popped up continuously.

[‘The Misfit Wants to Live (D)’ trait activated!]
[Isn’t he a misfit?]
– Change the perception of 10 key characters around you. (2/10)
– Yuri Elloa, the Second Princess
– Cedric Draco
– You have earned 1 QP.

But why is Cedric Draco popping up here? It would make sense if he were defending his territory, but he wouldn’t have come all the way here. At this time, he would be busy defending the barrier.

“……?”

I quickly looked around, but the princess and I were on the rooftop.

Could it be that someone from Aethis was planted here as a watcher?

‘Who could it be?’

It’s nice that one has been eliminated, but the problem is that I have no clue. Furthermore, having reports go back to the family in this way isn’t a good sign. It shows concern about Damian.

‘Hmm.’

One thing is certain:
The more I deviate from the original story and intervene, the more Quest Points I seem to earn.
It was a fact I didn’t know because the original Yoo Suho rarely acted independently. Moreover, various quests would often appear to tempt him even without any action on his part.

So, the pattern for earning points seems to be:
1. Proceed with quests to break clichés.
2. Act differently from the original Damian.
3. Ultimately, the story changes and points are earned.

Someone might say this:
Since my stats are currently quite low, wouldn’t it be good to quickly earn points to raise them?
However, it wasn’t always a good thing since the story could take unexpected turns if not handled carefully.

And now that I had returned to the classroom, I was experiencing the effects of the changed story.
“Let’s do our best!”
“Everyone, please take care!”
“Okay, nice to meet you―”

The classroom was filled with noisy voices.
The team members for the herbology class had been decided.

I scrutinized each of the team members’ faces.
Two students from the Tower of the Red Judgment.
One student from the Tower of the Black Abyss.
And Tio, who was smiling widely and greeting everyone, and Ian, who looked pleased.

“…Nice to meet you.”

Ah, and lastly, Yuri Elloa, the Second Princess, was half-turned and greeting as well.

It seemed that only I, along with the students from the Red Judgment Tower and the Black Abyss Tower, noticed that the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
What was going on?

The situation was as follows:

* * *

“Students who have brought materials, please move to the designated spots for your materials!”

Whoosh―

When I returned to the classroom, various materials were floating in the air. The students who had brought herbs moved to the spots where their materials were located.

And the place I moved to was:
– Muko, River Containing the Cosmos, Black Dragon Feather, White Iris Bud.

This was the area where ingredients for the Nullification Potion were gathered.

‘Nullification Potion.’
It was a powerful mental recovery potion that had the effect of nullifying dark mental magic.

The reason I chose this potion was:
‘To identify students possessed by demons.’

After the demon invasion incident, students possessed by demons had attacked others during practical training sessions, taking advantage of Ian’s transformation into a ‘Corrupted Spirit Mage’ and causing more casualties.

These possessed students would hide among the others and only reveal themselves during these practical training sessions.

I already knew some basic information about them.
However, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of entities outside the story that weren’t mentioned in the novel.

‘Just like Riword.’

There was also a place where the herbs I asked Riword to bring before the class would be used.

‘I hope he brought them properly.’

As I looked at Riword, our eyes met. He flinched and handed over the herbs.

‘That’s a relief.’

At that moment, other students began to arrive.

“Oh! Here it is.”

“It’s the Nullification Potion ingredients.”

Other students quickly arrived as well. However, upon seeing me, they greeted awkwardly. Despite their words, their discomfort was evident in their actions.

“Oh, hello.”

“W-we’re in the same group! Nice to meet you.”

Just as the awkward atmosphere was about to settle in, someone approached cheerfully.

“Oh, Damian!”

It was Tio.
He came up to me, holding the Black Dragon Feather, and stood beside me with a friendly demeanor.

“We’re in the same team!”

It was the first time he seemed genuinely pleased. Thanks to his cheerful presence, the atmosphere relaxed significantly compared to before.

Since I didn’t want to ruin the mood further, I greeted him appropriately.

“Yeah.”

This reaction elicited:

“But this potion doesn’t really seem like your style.”

“…Why?”

“You don’t seem like someone who would be affected by mental magic at all.”

Tio chuckled as he spoke.

While I was glaring at him, I noticed Ian approaching nervously from a distance. She was holding a White Iris Bud.

Perhaps because she had already taken the class once, she appeared somewhat bright and at ease.

Ian approached, nodding her head repeatedly.

“Ah, hello……”

“Senior, feel free to speak casually!”

Tio greeted her with a sly smile.

It was surprising how sociable he was, something I had already noticed from the first day of transfer.

“The time limit has ended! We’ll start the class right after a one-minute wait!”

Tio said as he looked at the group members.

“So, is this everyone in our team?”

“I suppose so?”

“Oh, wait. Someone else is coming this way?”

“W-who could it be?”

All the team members turned their heads in unison.
…It was none other than Yuri Elloa, the Second Princess.

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

“P-Princess?”

“Hey, have any of you ever spoken with the Princess?”

“No. That can’t be.”

I looked at the Princess with a puzzled expression.

‘Why is she coming this way?’

I quickly looked at her hand, which held Muko.

When I looked at the Princess holding the Muko, she avoided my gaze as if to say, “Why are you bringing that?”

Indeed, the Princess should have brought Evening Primrose instead of Muko. The scenario required her to create a Strengthening Potion for me to become part of Yoo Suho’s team, as it was an idea and recipe uniquely hers.

I sighed.

“Alright, then we’ll spend the remaining time on a lesson about the properties of the materials. From the next class onward, you’ll have time to discuss which potion to make with your team members!”

Something seemed to be seriously off here.

* * *

Tap, tap—

After the class ended, I walked slowly.

‘I’m exhausted.’

If there had been another class involving mana, I might not even have been able to walk like this.

Before long, I came upon a grass field surrounded by an opaque magical barrier.

‘Open training ground.’

Located in the center of the dormitories in all four directions—north, south, east, and west—it was a place available for everyone without status restrictions. Unlike the indoor training rooms lined with magical equipment, this open field had no spatial constraints, making it popular for students who wanted to practice comfortably and freely.

The primary users at this time were the first-year students, experiencing the significantly increased ratio of practical training compared to the theory-based classes of the previous semester. I had already felt the pressure from today’s class with Professor Morax.

‘Still, it’s not too crowded.’

I surveyed the large grass field.

‘There it is.’

A single tree standing on the outskirts. It was the place where Yoo Suho first appeared in this dimension and where he sought refuge whenever he faced difficulties.

‘He must have come here today for the team recruitment quest.’

[Become my ally.]
– Recruit an ally.

This was it.
And it was also a place suitable for the reckless Damian.

When Damian, feeling the pressure from the students at Aethis, got drunk and provoked other students, Yoo Suho, unable to tolerate his actions, had intervened and taught him a lesson.

I swallowed.
‘This is more nerve-wracking than I expected.’

Even though I hadn’t faced him yet, a chill ran down my spine.

As I slowly approached the tree, I noticed a dark figure sitting behind it.

The emblem of the White Guardian’s Tower on his robe became increasingly clear as I got closer.

‘He is here after all.’

I sat down by the tree and acted as if I had no idea someone was there.

“…It’s tough.”

Yoo Suho remained motionless.
That was a relief.

From now on, I had to be cautious. I needed to choose words that would motivate Yoo Suho to start the ally recruitment quest. While the quests so far had been about ordinary school life, the appearance of this quest signaled the beginning of the destruction scenario.

However, Yoo Suho would eventually decide not to pursue the quest after much deliberation.

‘He believes that the more he steps forward, the more he will be destroyed.’

Whether it was people or dimensions, he thought that if he failed, it should be alone, as he no longer wanted to experience losing someone.

This mindset was understandable considering his past experiences. But if he failed, I might also cease to exist. So, even though I wasn’t sure if this approach would work, I had to try.

‘I’ll rephrase his thoughts and words in Damian’s style and context.’

I recalled the novel. I had to use Yoo Suho’s situations and apply them to Damian’s context, employing associative thinking.

‘Hmm.’

This is it.

‘No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t change it.’

‘No matter what effort I made or which choice I took, I couldn’t prevent the destruction of the dimensions.’

“There’s no way to fix the mana deficiency, no matter how much I search.”

‘I can’t even count how many people have died because of me.’

“It’s painful. Is there even a way? I’ve pushed away those who tried to help me so far.”

‘I regret it. If the destruction is inevitable, everyone shouldn’t have to suffer and sacrifice.’

“I regret it. If I’m going to die anyway, I wish I had left them with better memories.”

At this point, I felt Yoo Suho focusing on my words. But there was still no significant reaction.

“……”

I continued in a bitter tone.

There’s no way to prevent the destruction. Even if I join forces with allies, it’s not possible. I can’t do it alone. Then maybe it’s better to give up this time as well.

“…There’s no way to prevent death. In the end, I can’t do anything alone. Maybe I should just give up now.”

“……”

Again, there was no notable reaction.

‘I was kind of restating the fact that you alone can’t prevent the destruction,’ but since it was tailored to Damian’s situation, I wondered if my intentions were clear.

‘I even tried to make my voice tremble deliberately.’
Didn’t it work?

Ah, indeed, I’m not good at acting.

I got up from my seat and walked to the other side, ruefully considering how to persuade him.

At that moment.

“Over here.”

I frowned momentarily. Although it was a new voice, I could guess whose it was.

Swallowing, I turned around to see a man with black hair standing there.

He might be the only person in this world with black hair and black eyes.