Chapter 148
The Akashic Records was a collection of knowledge that had all of the records of the world. A portion of humanity believed that the Akashic Records weren't real, but others believed in their existence.
That was because of a book found in the Tower that was often called the 'Tower's Records'.
Skills, traits, monsters, artifacts, and even theory that was hard for Hunters with a Ph.D. degree were all written about in that book and became the foundation of clearing dungeons.
People asked:
Who wrote this book?
Who had this information that nobody else had?
One of the explanations people came up with was the Tower’s Records were just a small section of the Akashic Records.
It wasn't a baseless guess.
There were many references to a source of unknown knowledge from a certain dungeon to a certain wall in the Tower.
It was information everyone greatly coveted, but no one was able to reach them. Most hunters had forgotten about the existence of the Akashic Records, but the British Library hadn't given up.
The one that craved that 'knowledge' more than anyone else was the Clock Tower's first headmaster, Grephon.
[We're going to make the Akashic Records.]
[It doesn't matter how many years it takes us.]
[Even if it's a goal we cannot reach, we will try.]
Grephon quickly moved, gathering books, information, and knowledge.
In order for it to be something that could be the foundation of the world, he'd gathered all of the knowledge in existence.
Project number 0.
codeN0.Information.Record.
Noah's Ark.
[In the end, England succeeded.]
[But that's why this project was a failure.]
[It's a contradictory story…]
[This project was successful, but it’s a failure because of that.]
It recreated an image barrier through a devil’s mana stone, and through the strength of an artifact, England managed to convert the letters and put them inside the barrier.
But they were too greedy.
Just like Icarus, whose wings were burned while trying to fly toward the Sun, Noah's Ark gave desperation to everyone craving knowledge.
[Grephon… Another challenger has failed.]
[Is it impossible to clear the Trial?]
Many people have tried to do it, from elites to hunters, but they’d given up.
The number of challengers was close to 500.
Project Number 0.
Noah's Ark was an abandoned project; Grephon created the Academy and sealed it inside the Clock Tower.
It was an unlucky project. People thought it was possible just in theory, but after a long time, a new challenger appeared.
—Aris.
She was the person who would be known as Witch and write a new history in the Tower.
Creak-
Aris opened the rusty wooden door and entered the subspace. Although no one knew what happened inside the barrier, most challengers could only last for a minute.
Aris floated inside an infinite time and ended up succeeding.
She'd managed to make all of the knowledge that was inside the barrier hers.
'I admired Aris… She's cool and lonely. She’s a person who has her own world. A person who can embrace everyone because she knows how painful it is to be completely alone.'
Only she could understand the loneliness that Aris felt. Besides Aris, Lorelei was the only one who'd managed to clear the Trial.
'What I experienced in the Trial, and endless loneliness… Aris is incredible. She withstood that pain as if it were nothing.'
Lorelei opened her eyes.
[Role - Villain]
[Mission 1 - Activate the prepared Golem and cause a ruckus among the hunter team.]
[Mission 2 - Move to the magic circle that was installed and make sure students can't get out. Protect the barrier.]
She quickly read through the hologram to make the desire of the person she admired reality.
'The barrier is on the terrace… Based on the area, I should be able to reach it in 11 minutes, but if there's a fight, it’ll take longer. On the other hand, I don't know how long it will take me to activate the magic circle, but at least I can avoid fighting.'
Lorelei's calculations were fast.
Her judgment was always based on the knowledge she had.
'You need a lot of mana to operate the magic circle. It’s how French hunter equipment is always used…'
Activating a golem's magic circle would take more than 30 minutes for a normal student, but the Golem was worth it.
'The defensive line…'
No teachers were left in the academy for balance reasons, but there was still a defensive line—a barricade made with conventional weapons and school equipment.
The golem was a device prepared to destroy that defensive line.
'Gathering students to defend the lines would be faster than using the golem, but teaching them how to fight will probably take some time.'
Lorelei was using her knowledge at an incredible speed.
Her calculations were too fast.
She had organized all her thoughts regarding the match in just 10 seconds and was thinking on the details.
'If I take my time to activate the magic circle, a stronger golem might appear, but the opponent will have more time to teach the students. The most important role is the student council president… Considering the importance, someone needs to be aware of who has the role of student council president.'
Not even Lorelei knew who'd gotten the role of student council president.
It was unknown territory, but she could guess where the student council president was.
'They would be in a narrow entrance. A place from where they'd be able to secure an escape route and where a lot of people can be… I'm sure they're in the 2nd floor's auditorium.'
Lorelei correctly guessed the answer without moving a single finger.
The only thing left was to give her orders.
[Märchen: Move to the generator and the 2nd floor of the Clock Tower.]
[C.M.Sebastian★: Lorelei, I'll go to the generator.]
[Alexander.B: Sebastian, are you really closer to
the generator? =o=?]
[C.M.Sebastian★: Sure.]
[Alexander.B: Then I'll go to the 2nd floor.]
Sebastian was going to go to the generator, and Angela would go to the 2nd floor of the Clock Tower.
Lorelei tried to think of the opponent's strategy, but it was hard to read the opponent's thoughts.
The only thing she could do was wait.
'If I must defeat you… I'd rather do it personally.'
While making a serious expression, Lorelei tapped on the floor.
FWOOSH!!
A golden light rose from the ground.
Swoosh-!
It wasn't that fast, but the golden light moved Lorelei as if it were an escalator.
BOOM-!
The golden light rose into the air while breaking the walls. It was a scene that seemed to have come from a fairy tale. Lorelei looked around while making a blank expression at the Academy.
'I'll check how worthy you are…'
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[Shin YuSung: EunAh, take as many students as possible and move to the defensive line.]
Ting!
EunAh checked YuSung's message.
He was asking her to take the students to the defensive line and defeat the opponents. After the siege was over, they would be able to hide the students in a nearby shelter.
But that was only if they could move to the defensive line.
It was hard to control the students amid the confusion at the villains’ attack.
"This isn't it…"
"Let's spread out. Maybe the closets will be safer. There's a chance we won't be found…"
"Agh. My leg hurts a lot… It seems like it's a severe wound."
A male student was trembling in the corner, and a female student was crying while holding her knees. Maybe it was because their intelligence was set to low, but she couldn't help but wonder if the students would be of any help.
"Haa…" EunAh grabbed her forehead at the lame attitudes of the students. The 'virtual students' created for the test didn't know the importance of time.
'If it were YuSung, he'd probably make them follow very quickly…'
EunAh wasn't YuSung.
Although she'd always been the class representative, she had never shown leadership or charisma.
She was strong and was the heir of the Shinsung Group; that's why she was given the class representative position.
"Shut up and focus on me!" Kim EunAh shouted.
As the students looked at her, EunAh gave an order as the student council president.
"Everyone, stand up. We're going to the shelter."
"President, what are you talking about? We need to go through the monsters. Haven't you seen them?"
As one of the students countered her, EunAh frowned and let out electricity.
"So will you stay here and wait to be killed by a villain?" she warned.
It didn't work for the students who had already given up on hope.
"It's better to die by the hands of a villain than be devoured by a monster…"
"I… I also don't want to get devoured by monsters…"
EunAh finally understood why the 2nd round of the International Competition was called a 'Comprehensive Evaluation'.
It wasn’t just testing your strength as a hunter.
'What… do you want me to do?'
The match was asking Kim EunAh how she was going to resolve the situation. She had never convinced someone with words alone, so it was hard for her.
"You…"
EunAh was about to say something when she closed her mouth. Convincing someone required you to understand other people. If you couldn't understand the other person's thoughts and empathize with them, you wouldn't be able to convince them.
'They're afraid of the thought of having to face a villain…'
Although the villains were, in reality, Lorelei and the English party members, for the virtual characters, it was reality.
'Fear…'
Everyone gathered there was a student like Kim EunAh; their skills and minds weren't that developed yet.
Kim EunAh felt that she could understand their fear.
[This might be cruel for students to look at, so why don't you close your eyes?]
It was a nightmare-inducing memory for EunAh.
To extort more money from Kim EunAh, The Rebellion's Cheat had said that she would kill Kim JunHyuk.
She'd lifted her head, prepared to step on his head and make it explode.
Cheat's electronically altered laugh had been EunAh's trauma for a while.
She'd dreamt of Cheat stepping on Kim JunHyuk's head more than once.
[I'm sorry. I don't negotiate with the hostage. Why do you think I'm a villain~?]
She’d had not a single bit of remorse.
No, the villain was trying to kill someone as if she found that situation entertaining. If it weren't for YuSung, both she and Kim JunHyuk would've probably died. That thought made EunAh tremble.
"I…"
While holding her voice, EunAh looked forward. She didn't have natural charisma or leadership like YuSung, she couldn't empathize with others like Sumire, and she also wasn't as good at speaking with others like Amy, but Kim EunAh had real-life experience.
"I'm also afraid, but…" EunAh's eyes became clear. The auditorium went silent.
"But still… I won't stay here and tremble in fear."
If it were her previous self, she might have given up just like those students.
That's why she couldn't blame them, but the past EunAh didn't have a goal—she hadn’t wanted to become stronger or achieve anything.
She’d gone to the Academy just because she had talent and for fun. Or maybe it had been because she was forced.
Things were different.
There were things she wanted to protect, she had the goal of trying to make YuSung win, and she also wanted to become stronger.
Besides being class A's representative or the Shinsung Group's heir, she wanted to stay as YuSung's party member.
"Even if I'm alone, I'll go… Even if I'm devoured by a monster, I won't give up before starting."
If she couldn't convince them, that would be better. The moment EunAh was walking toward the exit…
The winds of change blew.
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