1-Second Invincible Player in the Game

135. Magic Stone (2)

Dorothian lay in bed, her displeased gaze fixed on the ceiling.

She felt unwell.

— I refuse.

When she reached out her hand, he rejected her outright.

In their conversations, she had never felt any sense of control.

Above all, what troubled her most was…

— I have faced dozens, hundreds of failures, yet I always rise to challenge again.

It was a boastful declaration, dripping with arrogance, that he had spat out after finding the magic stone.

“…You dare, without knowing my heart.”

In this world, there are things that can be achieved through effort, but there are also things that remain unattainable, no matter how hard one tries.

Hearing those words, she wanted to teach him a lesson about reality.

When he headed toward the true hiding place of the magic stone, she felt the temptation to secretly move it away.

But such a petty act would only leave her feeling defeated, so she refrained.

Dorothian bit down on her lower lip, a sense of discomfort washing over her as if she were the one being manipulated.

“Just for finding that one thing, he acts so high and mighty…”

She began to feel irritated by him.

Later, she wanted to see his twisted expression when he realized he was wrong.

How delightful it would be to respond with, “See? What did I tell you?” and laugh at him.

With this burgeoning desire, Dorothian rose from her place, her fierce gaze directed out the window at the Shulafe tower.

‘Should I just squeeze out the words I want to hear with sheer force?’

She quickly shook her head.

To truly convince herself that she had broken his worldview, the means could not be mere submission through overwhelming power.

Only when he, engulfed in despair and helplessness, sincerely admitted his defeat would it hold any real significance.

“Phew…”

In the end, it was a frustrating state of being unable to act or react.

Dorothian let out a deep sigh and flopped back onto the bed, seeking sleep once more.

It was a night that would not come easily.

* * *

Due to the late discovery of the magic stone, she could only arrive at the dormitory when night had fallen.

As she stepped into the lobby, the Shulafe Ministry of Magic folks who had arrived before her swarmed around.

The others asked with worried faces.

“Hussel, you were paired with Dorothian, right? Was it alright?”

“Surely that woman didn’t bare her teeth and kill you?”

“You fool, Dorothian went back to her dormitory.”

I realized they were misunderstanding the situation.

Then it would be right to clarify.

I shrugged my shoulders and spoke in a calm voice.

“What do you think of Dorothian? She actually has a good character. All those rumors you’ve heard are just lies spun by those who envy her. So, I wanted to pass this on to you.”

Rix opened his eyes wide in surprise and asked.

“Pass on what…?”

“To be friends. She said she wants to share meals and have light sparring, to enjoy academy life together. It seems she likes you all. So, cast aside your prejudices and approach her. Then, you can laugh and play together joyfully.”

The others began to murmur.

Demons who would sacrifice me and leisurely search for marbles among themselves.

I fervently prayed in my heart that these fools would walk willingly into the tiger’s mouth and be torn apart, but their leader, Rix, was not an easy opponent.

“That’s because it’s Hussel. Dorothian must have sensed he’s strong just by looking at him. That’s why she wouldn’t dare treat him carelessly, right?”

Tch, slipping away like that.

“But, Hussel. Did you see the training grounds?”

Klave asked, and I tilted my head.

The training grounds I had seen on the way were desolate.

Perhaps it was because I arrived late at night, the timing just didn’t match.

“Why the training grounds?”

“Well, it’s just… Leana. She’s still running around the training grounds alone.”

“Really? Well, she must be training hard.”

Leana is a woman who trains more than anyone else.

Her stamina is exceptional.

If she doesn’t train to her satisfaction, she tosses and turns in her sleep.

It was a trivial matter, but Klave’s next statement caught my attention.

“One person was supervising the entire training session alone.”

“Bernald from the eighth session?”

“No, it’s someone who just returned from practical magic training, I think they said it was the fourth session?”

From the 7th round, the 1st round is the golden children.

I cannot quite recall their names, but the 4th round was likely a woman.

“Did she really say that?”

When I asked, Klave responded with a heavy expression, worry etched across his face.

“Yeah. The atmosphere was off. It felt… deadly.”

“Is that so?”

This was certainly strange.

In terms of timing, the intersection between the golden children and the main players came much later.

They were the ones who would be ruthlessly crushed and cast aside by the main players at graduation.

“And your sister. Eruzel, right? They were using her as a chair.”

“Eruzel?”

“Yeah. I’ve heard they’ve been dragging her around a lot lately…”

The mention of Eruzel began to stir something within me.

I was the one who had recently clashed with those brutes.

The only reason Eruzel was being tormented was that she was my sister.

“Thanks for letting me know, Klave.”

As for Leana, I didn’t know what circumstances surrounded her, but that was something I could uncover from now on.

* * *

The next morning, Belman sat in the classroom, staring at the empty seat where Leana should have been.

Sila, sitting beside him, kept glancing anxiously at the door, her face etched with concern.

Just then, Eruzel, seated in front, grumbled.

“Ugh, my legs hurt. It’s all because of those 10th round idiots…”

Eruzel had been dragged around by them for days, enduring their torment.

The pretext was poor attitude, but there had been friction between them and Hursel recently.

It was painfully obvious that they were harassing her solely because she was Hursel’s sister.

And Leana…

“Here she is, Mircel. You’re not late for class today.”

“Thanks.”

Belman let out a deep sigh as he watched Leana enter with Mircel.

If they were tormenting Eruzel just for being Hursel’s sister, there was no way they would leave Mircel alone.

Yesterday, the Ten of Swords had ensnared the student council, handing a false class schedule to Mircel’s maid, causing Mircel to arrive late.

They had even mobilized the second and third years, creating a menacing atmosphere and instructing the first years to ostracize him.

Leana, unable to stand idly by, had disregarded the warnings of her seniors and was caught openly tending to Mircel.

Belman thought their methods were utterly childish.

“Lacking the guts to act openly, resorting to such petty tactics…”

Yet, in the realm of noble politics, such juvenile incidents were surprisingly common, occurring time and again.

There were more adults pretending to be mature than one might expect.

“Eruzel, does Hursel know about this?”

When Belman asked, Eruzel shook his head.

“I have my own dignity, you know. It feels a bit much to mention every little thing, doesn’t it? And Mircel, with his pride, would find it hard to speak up.”

“Are you planning to handle it among yourselves…? Do you have any ideas?”

“I’ve been thinking about it. But isn’t this something the dorm representative, Berndal, should be managing? He’s part of the Ten, after all.”

Belman let out a bitter sigh.

“He has no power. It’s better not to expect anything.”

The Ten operated on a majority rule.

Whenever a rule was to be established, it was proposed through a vote and then presented to the student council.

The initiatives led by the First, Kerdel, seemed to have some tight-knit collusion, as the student council would readily accept them.

The way those around them crawled and tiptoed was precisely due to this foundation of power.

“The top seven are united, but the only allies in the first year are Berndal and Emeric. The remaining one shows no interest in the Ten and merely occupies a seat.”

Ultimately, unless they could seize a majority, it was all meaningless.

With grim news, Eruzel asked, his face contorted in disbelief.

“Then, does that mean we have no choice but to seek help from the eldest brother?”

Belman adjusted his glasses, revealing an even colder reality.

“Even if Hursel were to take the First’s position, it would be the same. Kerdel would immediately take over the Second’s seat and wield power. Emeric would likely be pushed out. The one who ceded the position to Kerdel would challenge him.”

“Wouldn’t that be resolved if Emeric refused the challenge?”

“No, the Ten is a position earned through challenge. The moment he refuses, it’s deemed a forfeit, and he would automatically lose it.”

In the end, even if they were ousted, they would likely restore the 7 to 3 ratio.

“There’s only one way to resolve this. At least five of us must take root in the Ten’s positions.”

Eruzel’s face turned pale at Belman’s words.

“That’s… realistically impossible. Riamon can’t even best Berndal yet…”

Riamon, who had been sleeping beside Erucel, lifted his head.

“Hmm? Did you mention me?”

“No, well… I was discussing the things I’ve been going through lately with Belman, and your name just happened to come up.”

At Erucel’s words, Riamon let out a small laugh.

“Honestly, you’re not really struggling that much, are you? You haven’t even been doing any special training lately. Isn’t it actually easier for you now?”

Belman nodded silently. Erucel, seemingly displeased, shot a sharp remark at Riamon.

“Still, it bothers me. I have my pride and dignity, you know. Being a human chair, of all things.”

“…Did you ever have any of that? Ah, whatever. Just wait until graduation. If you’re really that upset, you could always pass it down to the new underclassmen like they do.”

Riamon turned back down, seemingly ready to sleep again. From the sound of his soft snoring, it seemed he had already drifted off.

Belman surveyed the first-year students waiting in the classroom, lost in deep thought.

“If I leave things as they are, their mischief will only escalate.”

What was happening now was merely an appetizer before the main course.

Most of those present were likely feeling relieved, watching a few chosen victims suffer.

But as time passed, even the other first-years would begin to align with the atmosphere of the group, and the bullying would only intensify.

That was the nature of crowd psychology.

“Taking away their place is practically impossible. Then…”

Before the professor arrived, Belman stood up and walked toward the podium.

“We must unite before any of them start to get tainted.”

The sooner, the better.

As he ascended the podium, all eyes turned toward him.

Belman scanned the crowd, then fixed his gaze on Mircel.

“I plan to wake up early tomorrow and bring Mircel to the classroom with Leana. Well, I suppose I’ll be more of a guide, being from the Ministry of Magic.”

Whispers began to ripple through the crowd.

What he had just said implied a defiance against the warnings of the upperclassmen.

Seeing the sour expressions on their faces, Belman laid his thoughts bare.

“I don’t want to play along with their childish games. In fact, I know you all feel similarly. You wouldn’t want to be dragged down to their level, and you must be wondering if it’s really necessary to go this far.”

The method Belman chose was to designate the first to seventh years as a common enemy.

There was no more effective way to strengthen internal bonds than that.

“Of course, I’m not forcing anyone. Those who don’t want to can step aside. But I know there will be more who agree with me.”

Just then, Silah raised her hand high.

“I will go too.”

This time, Erusell raised his hand high.

“I agree. I’ll wait in front of Mircel’s dorm in the morning.”

Mircel squinted, his eyes half-open, glaring at Erusell.

“What’s with that guy? Why is he suddenly trying to act like an older brother?”

“This, this guy is just saying that. He’s trying to play the older brother role for once. So just shut up and go along with it.”

“Ugh, I feel like I’m going to be sick…”

There was a brief commotion as Mircel gagged, but with a few others starting to nod in agreement, more hands began to rise.

“…If you all do that, I’ll end up getting dragged into it too. If we’re doing this, I might as well rebel a little.”

“Damn it, if I back out now, I’ll be the only bad one, right?”

Eventually, everyone except the sleeping Riamon shared the same sentiment.

Mircel, who had been silently observing, tilted his head in confusion.

‘But do these people really need to go that far? We could just smash those idiots into a state of utter incapacity…’

That was indeed Mircel’s plan.

Yet the atmosphere felt… different somehow.

It had become awkward to act alone.

He couldn’t quite grasp how things had shifted to this point.

‘…Academy life is more complicated and difficult than I thought.’

Just then, the sound of angry footsteps echoed through the hall.

It was a professor. He shouted loudly enough to make the classroom tremble with his furious face.

“Hey! What are you all chattering about before class!!”

Belman, who had been standing at the podium, hurriedly dashed back to his seat.

* * *

I learned the rough situation through Atra, who had keen ears for news.

Atra, with a remorseful expression, offered an apology.

“…I feel like this mess got bigger because of us. Should I tell them now?”

“Tell them what?”

“That we caught the Bloodstained Viper. They’d freak out if they heard that.”

I had already known that Atra and Emeric’s crew were conspiring to cover that fact up and drag us into a gamble with the idiots.

But even without their interference, this would have happened anyway.

Meeting that guy at the fountain was just the beginning, and even without their interference, friction had already begun to stir.

Given their nature, it was clear they would resort to petty tactics if brute force wouldn’t suffice.

A group composed solely of the academy’s elite, there was no way the likes of them would let a student they deemed stronger than themselves go unchallenged.

In truth, if one were to consider it from various angles, their trollish antics presented a rather fortuitous opportunity for me.

These privileged ones were obsessed with appearances, flaunting their superiority before those they deemed weak, which made them ripe for a surprise attack.

If all went well, I could even settle matters with Kerdel of the First Division on my own terms.

Having calculated my next move, I turned to Atra with a casual air.

“That’s enough. Let’s keep this under wraps.”

“Really?”

“Come on, if I told you now, you’d just make a fuss about it, wouldn’t you? They’re just that dim-witted.”

“Hmm, I can kind of imagine that? Anyway, I’m sorry. It’s unfortunate that our actions have caused trouble for your siblings.”

If one were to trace the roots of this incident, it was those fools who were to blame.

It wasn’t Atra’s fault, so I reassured her once more.

“Do you think a mere apology will suffice? My siblings are suffering because of your seniors. How do you plan to make amends for this?”

As I ignited the ‘embers of noble blood’ and created a warm atmosphere, Atra’s face turned pale, and she bolted away in fright.

“T-That’s something to discuss later.”

But what to do now?

The war with the elite had escalated faster than I anticipated.

Even if I managed to take down Kerdel, I was still short by five.

Ah, right.

Earlier, I had mentioned that those from the elite wouldn’t let a student they considered stronger go unchallenged.

This was thanks to a certain individual who had served as an example.

Dorothian El Grice.

Her name carried immense weight.

And now, with three cursed artifacts surrounding her, she was at her weakest, a rare opportunity indeed.

Naturally, to the privileged, she would appear as a prime target, and they would move to devour her reputation.

In the end, they would be the ones to get burned and lose their standing.

“Well then, I just need to find four more.”

I sat back in my chair, lost in thought.

What is needed now is a talent capable of overcoming the golden children.

It seems it will take quite some time to select such a person.