NOVEL NEXT Chapter 119
A languid afternoon.
Claris Academy, imbued with freshness from yesterday’s continuous rain.
And in the lounge that offers a view of this scenery, an uncomfortable silence settles.
Much like the slightly chilly weather outside, the violet-haired lady, radiating an air of nobility, coldly opened her mouth.
“First-year student S, Caeran Hiss. Please tell me what you were trying to do just now.”
“…Not much.”
Caeran smiled and got up from his seat.
Violet didn’t seem pleased with that either.
He answered with nonchalance, as if it didn’t matter.
“Oh right, you were the committee member from de Crescent. It’s my first time meeting you like this.”
“No need for greetings. You do know that forcing a party onto others is a violation of the rules, right?”
“I think you might be misunderstanding… I didn’t really force anything…”
“You did…”
“?”
Lily interrupted Caeran with a pout.
“Even when I said I didn’t want to. You kept pushing.”
“…”
“I’m busy now. I came out specially, yet all this does is make me angry.”
Violet’s eyes narrowed further at Lily’s blunt words.
Caeran nodded as if it was silly and then admitted.
“Alright. Let’s say it was forcing. I won’t say anymore. Is that good?”
“Fine. Then I’ll report this to your committee chair, Yellody Latashia, before I handle it.”
“…Hah.”
“There has been a lot of talk lately about selecting a student from the knight department as a candidate for the magic department, so a small disturbance like this could have quite an impact…”
“…!”
“You understand that well, right?”
In an instant, Caeran recalled Sara’s words.
According to Rezilus, the instruction was to stay calm until confirmed as a candidate by the magic department.
Of course, this incident couldn’t be considered major, but it was enough to annoy Caeran, who was already dealing with difficulties.
‘Damn it…’
Moreover, the opponent was not an ordinary student.
A committee chair, and the only daughter of the de Crescent family.
Different from the cheap senior girls he could easily seduce.
‘For now, it would be best to take a step back…’
Caeran reflected on the days of the vacation.
Synchronizing his body with the Demon Circuit had only led to pain.
He had endured while Edwin thrived at the academy and while Melissa and Aveline’s interest surged.
–Creak…
He had persevered for great achievements, so there was no need to waste energy on such pointless provocations.
After all, both of them were foolish compared to his abilities.
Caeran placed his hand on his chest and steadied himself.
“I apologize for my rudeness. And Lily Forget, I was reckless.”
With those few words of apology, he calmly threw a smile at Violet.
‘That snobbish look will be taken care of… slowly.’
And internally, he sharpened his resolve for the next move.
“Then, excuse me.”
.
.
.
Caeran immediately left the lounge and called for Sara.
“What happened?”
Though he didn’t want to, there was no choice but to bring Melissa and Aveline along.
*
The semester has started, and it’s the second weekend.
[Critical Hit Achieved!]
[Aggro: +5]
[Aggro: 35]
-Urgh!
I took Edwin to scour all the hidden dungeons or named beast spawns closest to Claris.
No matter how much of a reincarnator I am, it’s impossible to remember all the geographical details from fanfics, so farming felt almost like a half-hearted effort…
-Unnamed Mercenary! Found it!
-It’s on the opposite side this time! We don’t have time!
Because of the connection formed after taking down the Pleasure Lord, the adventurer’s guild’s guide.
Benia was the first to pass information to me, making this process smoother.
Usually, when a dungeon is discovered, it’s typical for either bidding or preemptive claims among guild members to share the rewards.
However, in the case of scattered low-value creatures or mini-dungeons situated far away, it often doesn’t make sense financially.
After all, experience-based growth was more important to me, so I needed quantity over quality, and perhaps because I had done a lot of miscellaneous work in the past…
Today’s money dungeon was at a suitable difficulty to greatly grow Edwin.
[Dungeon Clear!]
[You can now acquire a new reward!]
As a short pop-up appeared,
The boss of this area, the Two-Headed Ogre [One Eye], [Cross-eyed], fell beneath our feet.
Before gathering the loot, I took a moment to catch my breath. Edwin quietly approached me.
“Lev, wait a moment, before we leave…”
“Sure.”
“I’ll be right… back.”
Given my words, Edwin’s ‘just a moment’ meant he needed to take a bathroom break.
As Edwin vanished, only I and a small bonfire remained in this damp dungeon.
–Ding.
—————————————————
Status
[Strength]: 5.55 (up!)
[Health]: 5.8 (up!)
[Dexterity]: 5.8 (7.54) (up!)
[Magic Power]: 5.0(5.5) (up!)
[Mana]: 5.75 (up!)
[Mentality]: 5.1 (up!)
[Resonance]: 4.45 (up!)
[Luck]: 5.0 (Max)
[Specialization]
Circle Magic (5)
Crossbow – Proficiency (8)
Dagger – Proficiency (5)
Curse Resistance (8)
Fire Resistance (5)
Physical Resistance (8)
—————————————————
[Available SP: 1750]
—————————————————
“Hmm…”
Today, my final stats looked like this.
Thanks to lucky traits, I was far exceeding the average for a first-year S-rank character by the standards of Chapter 4.
While I wasn’t yet at a level to carry the team alone, a character’s strength isn’t measured solely by stats.
I possessed some over-the-top skills and additional equipment.
So, instead of increasing my health or dexterity or strength with the accumulated SP, I focused on investing in curse resistance and physical resistance first.
“I spent a lot, but…”
The inflection point for the [Reincarnated Hero] always comes at level 8.
Once this number is reached, most curses can be ignored, and I can also disregard certain demonic threats and effects aimed to intimidate or suppress.
In other words, in gaming terms, it would be like hitting a raid’s lowest cut-off.
‘From now on, avoiding direct confrontation will be hard.’
The more options I have, the better.
Just in case, I learned dagger skills as a last resort for pattern-breaking and self-defense… and entrusted Hazel with the abundant crafting of crossbow bolts.
She, unlike the norm, has steadily built her performance without deviation, so I can expect good results.
‘Yup, I need to make the most out of this.’
–Ahem!
Before long, I heard Edwin’s presence coming from over there.
As I collected the loot, I asked him.
“Did you mark the area properly?”
“Area marking… not really…?”
Edwin blushed a bit, then plopped down beside me.
Talking with him always brings about a mix of pressure and the freshness of a shonen manga.
“Thanks.”
“What for now?”
“For bringing me here. Thanks to you, I could… well, I’ve lost my hometown now, but… at least I managed to help.”
“…Glad to hear that.”
“Yeah…”
Edwin hails from a rural background.
He must have wanted to help the people of his hometown that lost their place due to the demon kind.
Even though I was acting just to make him stronger and, in a sense, for my own sake…
He speaks with gratitude, like the protagonist of the righteous side.
“By the way, Lev, are you going to help me again in this selection test?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“In Hwangdo, I mentioned… that I was going to try for the hero candidate. You remembered and didn’t forget, right?”
“Did I…?”
Feigning ignorance, he thumped his chest like a gorilla.
“I’ve become quite strong now. Besides, the paladin and knight are clearly the vanguard, right? I think I can protect you, the rear guard…! Of course, you’re stronger than I thought… but still, I won’t lose to you!”
“Yeah…”
Watching Edwin’s fiery determination, I chuckled.
A moment of silence fell, and he then asked me in a lower tone.
“By the way, about Yeriel and Aria…”
“!”
The names Yeriel and Aria slipped from his mouth. I couldn’t help but be surprised.
Originally, he should be the one meant to connect with them, not me.
‘How do I untangle this…?’
Fortunately, it seemed Edwin was only struggling to find the right words.
“Thanks for helping the two of them every time.”
“?”
“If it weren’t for you, a lot of things could have gone wrong. I feel like I haven’t properly expressed my gratitude towards both of them… and you.”
His gaze dripped with disappointment and frustration.
He was reflecting on his own weakness, huh.
“It’s fine.”
I said that, and popped up a status window.
—————————————————
[Supporting Role Quest]
[Main Event ???]
[Mission Object: As a supporting role, you know the answer. Assist the healer ‘Aria Bluebell’ in her revenge.]
[Aria Bluebell’s Revenge: Defeat Andras with your own hands.]
[Reward: Awakening of Aria, ‘Game Over’ activation (when the Foundational Gamer trait reaches MAX level)]
[Time Remaining: 201 hours, 05 minutes, 05 seconds (the countdown starts upon quest popup)]
—————————————————
There wasn’t much time left.
I must clear this quest to receive the reward of the ever-elusive Game Over, which might pop up at any moment.
And the only way to satisfy the condition for defeating Andras, who doesn’t even exist in this world, is one.
‘I, who have inherited him, have to die in his place.’
It sounds ridiculous, but as a Gamer, I can make it happen.
In [Reincarnated Hero] CBT, there was coding in place that treated those with inherited abilities or skills as the same entity.
‘I’m not sure if this is for Aria…’
Already in a situation where a confession has been made…
I might soon need to sort out my relationship with her.
‘……Hah.’
When complicated thoughts hit me like a hammer, I decided to use mana on Edwin.
–Ding.
—————————————————
[Edwin Gwynn]
[Average Status]
: 4.8
[Specialization]
Sword Proficiency (7)
Holy Attribute (6)
[Unique Traits]
Grit (Lv.8)
Execution (Lv.6)
Acceleration (Lv.3)
Resilience (Lv.3)
[General Traits]
Blessing (Lv.4)
Veil (Lv.4)
—————————————————
‘Hmm.’
Not bad, but significantly lacking.
Edwin is the protagonist.
If I should happen to disappear, he should at least be capable enough to protect the fundamental heroines in my stead.
Something to make him stronger…
‘A catalyst seems necessary.’
As a true protagonist, the norm is to grow through trials.
I asked Edwin in reverse.
“What about Melissa and Aveline?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you still trust those two?”
“Ah, well… they helped me a lot when I first came to school and was struggling to adapt.”
Their intentions may not have been purely innocent.
It was probably half sympathy, half curiosity.
Now, there’s even less chance of that being the case.
Edwin stirred the bonfire and began to share as if unburdening himself.
“…It was surely out of desperation. My father used to say that when you’re in a hurry, even things that could happen won’t happen.”
“…”
“Fundamentally, I believe they aren’t bad people. Whether it’s Divine Valhalla or Eternal Flame… they probably felt pressure from the guild… and maybe they’re regretting and reflecting by now?”
“…”
“So I’ll wait too… If they come back after serving their punishment… then that time…”
While Edwin’s washing machine of thoughts spun out, I subtly considered Caeran’s movements.
-Lily. I was totally rejected while trying to party with Lev~.
Now that Caeran was rebuffed by Lily, he must be looking for any way to gather party members.
That would likely mean trying to approach capable Melissa and Aveline.
He’d probably be trying all sorts of things to reinstate the two, who’re currently under suspension…
Conversely, Melissa and Aveline might see Caeran as their last lifeline.
When someone offers a hand during difficult times, they might look quite appealing.
‘Predicting their movements is too easy…’
With the political landscape changed by my actions affecting both sides’ calculations…
Thus, I’ll use this to my advantage.
“Lev, don’t you think so?”
The spark of trust in Edwin’s eyes hasn’t faded.
I projected that into the bonfire and made my resolution.
“…Yeah. If it’s as you say, that would be nice.”
For everyone’s sake…
The era of clueless Edwin, the soft-hearted Edwin, is no more…