NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
Bzzzt Time suddenly stopped, then started moving again.
What the heck is going on?
I pointed at myself with my finger, just to double-check.
Aria gave a slight nod instead of answering and handed me the application form.
“Um… well…”
As I blinked in confusion,
“Have you already found it?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then let’s do it together.”
“…… ”
Aria doesn’t force things on others for no reason.
But why is she trying to form a party with Lev Denec, a third-rate villain?
There’s no way she’d be entangled with the main characters already.
It’s not like the plot has changed, and I didn’t even get a feedback window popping up.
So it means there’s some cause in the actions I took, after all.
Let’s hear her reason first.
“What’s the reason?”
“…I’m curious about you, or rather, about the Marksman…”
Her expression was still stoic, but that’s a lie.
She’s not good at lying, so this interest feels off in some way.
I quickly activated the magical analytics.
—————————————————
[Aria Bluebell]
[Average Status]
: 2.0
[Specialization]
Healing Magic (2)
Holy (2)
[Unique Trait]
Healing (Lv.2) (Details unavailable)
Surveillance (Lv.1) (Active) (Details unavailable)
—————————————————
‘Surveillance on a unique trait… is active.’
Aria has a past of losing her family to demons.
And back then, she could only hide in horror while receiving the ability of a watcher through a dual trait.
The problem is that in the original work, it was supposed to be dormant at level 0 and then bloom later.
Starting off at level 1 must be due to the author’s power inflation.
Since it’s active, I’m probably the target?
‘Why me?’
Because I’m a villain?
Or maybe Aria Bluebell has had a crush on Lev Denec and has been worried about him all this time…
There’s no way they’d have such a ridiculous backstory.
According to the settings, the only thing she likes is taking walks.
And she dislikes people who don’t keep promises…
Nothing seems to add up.
Well, unless she sensed my demon transformation while casually walking at night, which is absurd…
Huh?
No way?
In the novel, Aria’s walks were a rare event with an incredibly low probability.
So could it be that the day she decided to take a walk was the same day I transformed?
‘No, no.’
This isn’t something to calculate in terms of probability.
This is reality, not a game.
Anything could happen.
While I was deep in thought, a familiar voice shattered the silence.
“W-what? Ria, what’s wrong?!”
Melissa started shaking Aria by her shoulders.
“Ria, are you hurt? Did he find some weakness?”
Well, that’s understandable; suddenly forming a party with a confession attacker seems sketchy…
Melissa’s face flushed, and she began to stutter.
“W-well, if not that, then… could it be some immoral… relationship…?”
“Not what you’re thinking at all.”
Aria sighed lightly and clarified the situation.
“If you don’t like it, I can go alone…”
“Oh, no! I want to join too! Who knows what kind of things that guy might do?”
I quietly interjected.
“I haven’t even accepted yet.”
“What…?”
Melissa looked shocked, as if she couldn’t believe it, while Aria seemed to accept this too and asked me.
“Are you rejecting it?”
“No, but I have one condition.”
“A condition…?”
I pointed with my hand, but
Ah, I can’t remember her face exactly.
“If you bring Hazel along, I’ll join.”
“Hazel…?”
If it’s a request from Aria, Hazel wouldn’t refuse to join the party.
Of course, it wouldn’t matter if I declined Aria’s invitation, but
This is definitely a chance to get involved with the main characters.
Plus, if Aria’s surveillance magic remains active, it would restrict future gameplay.
I need to prove that I’m not some shadowy figure.
“Okay.”
“Ria! Are you really listening to him?!”
Despite Melissa’s protests, Aria briefly agreed and
Calmly headed to invite Hazel to the party.
.
.
.
And shortly after, all the instructors gathered in the meeting area, announcing the commencement of the test.
“Now, we will begin the main examination.”
To summarize Instructor Sylvester’s explanation of the test,
First, the test revolves around parties of five.
Two parties will enter a unique barrier,
And hunt near-real demon creatures summoned by the professors.
They will give certificates as loot, and the party that collects the most within the time limit will receive bonus points.
“But if we compete on quantity like this, some parties might try to gather quickly by splitting up, right?”
“So, we have placed a ‘tagger’ in the forest. This will restrict your individual actions.”
Even Sylvester’s remarks align with the contents of the novel.
“Alright.”
I stood up to ask Sylvester an additional question.
*
-What happened to that guy with the crossbow?
-It seems he’s in a party over there.
-Princess Melissa? What’s going on?
No party wants Lev Denec.
—————————————————
2-1 Group
Edwin, Frontline
Aria, Midline
Hazel, Midline
Melissa, Midline
Lev, Backline
—————————————————
But all of a sudden, being on a team with him made Melissa a bit grumpy.
“What the heck? Saying they’re aiming for magic while suddenly wanting to be a Marksman… pulling in Hazel too…”
Hazel and Lev had no connections whatsoever.
You could say it’s because Hazel has such a faint presence…
Anyway, she’s now at the instructor, trying to ask something.
Are you really not giving up?
I didn’t want to get tangled again, but I was forced into this team.
It won’t help our overall power, but since Aria proposed first.
At least it’s good that even if that guy drops out, Melissa has enough confidence in her magical skills to handle things.
But why did Edwin agree?
Thinking about it, Edwin also didn’t seem to mind adding Lev to the party.
What is going on with everyone??
Unfortunately, Melissa couldn’t grasp that the other three had something in common.
“Seriously…”
To her, they were just two naive and overly kind people.
It’s not something easily fixed, believing in others…
Growing up seeing so much facade in the city, she should really take the time to teach those two that the world isn’t easy.
-…
Lev Denec approached, as if he had heard the answers he wanted.
Is he not giving up…?
If not giving up, does that mean he is desperate enough to ask the instructor about something related to expulsion?
His face is still hard to read.
You should have just done well from the beginning!
*
After hearing the answer he wanted and returning to his seat,
Edwin introduced himself simply, saying he wasn’t really bothered by the day’s events.
“Please… take good care of me…”
Then Hazel just muttered a greeting with a low energy voice, and we awkwardly waited for our turn.
“Okay, Party 1, you may now enter the left barrier.”
Following Vice Instructor Bella’s instructions, both Party 1-1 and Party 1-2 began to disappear into the forest.
My opponent is…
The 2-2 party we’re matched against is
—————————————————
2-2 Group
Raymond, Frontline
Selena, Backline
Lily, Midline
Dailen, Frontline
Bryce, Midline
—————————————————
Selena and Lily are there.
Our side has one frontline…
Edwin may have awakened as the executor, but unlike the original, since I’m here, we’re down from two frontlines to one.
Stability might drop a bit, but we do have a full set of frontline, mid, and backlines.
“Next, 2-1 and 2-2 parties, please enter.”
So it was finally our turn.
.
.
.
Swish
The evening sun-lit forest greeted us with a swirling barrier entrance.
Avoiding expulsion and additionally making it through with Hazel… quite the headache of conditions.
Thud.
With Edwin leading the way, Melissa and Hazel stepped into the forest in turn.
“……”
Lastly, Aria paused at the entrance, glancing back at me.
“Why?”
…
Her gaze was low, somehow looking a little sad.
She briefly muttered.
“…Let’s go.”
No matter how you looked at it, those clear Cheong-geum-seong eyes…
You must want to figure out my identity with those eyes, don’t you?
*
Meanwhile, while watching the students enter, Instructor Sylvester received a hint from Vice Instructor Bella.
“Hey, about that kid with the crossbow…”
“Yeah?”
“He was saying something to you earlier; what was it about? Maybe he’s already thinking of giving up… or how to exit…”
“No, he asked me something interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Yeah. He wanted to know what happens if you catch the tagger… and if that counts for evaluation.”
“What?!”
Bella’s surprise had its reasons.
Why is he curious about that?
The tagger is a demon— a rag.
Even as an F-rank, the name “rag” belongs to a named demon creature and is likely to have additional enchantments that make it hard to catch.
That level will definitely be at least C-rank.
With the skill of the freshman top student, he can never defeat it.
No, it’s not even a monster meant to be caught, and there’s a reason it’s constructed with illusion magic instead of summoning.
If it were real, accidents would happen every year…
Bella quickly dismissed the horrid thought that crept into her mind.
He’s the guy claiming to become a Marksman.
Trying to understand a lunatic like that is nonsense in itself.