Advent of the Three Calamities

"Hmm."

Pinching my brows, I suppressed the pain that invaded every inch of my head. It wasn't so

Much about that I couldn't handle the pain, but it was more like it felt uncomfortable. It made it hard for me to think properly.

"....This is annoying."

Blankly staring at the ceiling, I knew that I was in the medical ward of the Academy.

Fortunately, there were no wires attached to my body.

That...

...Just the thought gave me PTSD.

'Yeah, good thing that the medical facilities here are much more advanced than the ones on Earth.'

Not only did I not have to constantly smell the smell of alcohol, but I also didn't have to listen to the annoying 'beep' that would continuously sound during my stay.

It was so bad that the sound continued to linger in my mind even when I dropped everything and left the hospital.

"Haaa."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Clenching and unclenching my fists, I pressed my lips tightly.

'Let's give it a try.'

Scanning the room to ensure no one was around, I blinked once. Instantly, a thin black film spread from beneath me, stretching into every corner of the space.

The room was neither big nor small.

It was about half the size of my room in the dorms.

In a matter of a few seconds, the film stretched throughout the entire room, covering every inch of it.

Besides the bed that I was resting on, everything faded from sight.

What remained was a pitch-black darkness that faded when six orbs appeared.

Throb!

They throbbed at the sight of me, and as I weakly raised my hand, I mimicked what I had previously done inside the ring.

Splash-!

Grass emerged from beneath me.

A large sun hovered in the sky. Flowers bloomed. A river flowed.

In a matter of seconds, my entire worldview changed. What used to be a medical ward now changed into a stunning scenery that would captivate anyone who laid their sight on it. "... ..."

While the scenery was indeed beautiful, it also took a better part of my mana.

I could feel it drain from my body rapidly.

By the time I managed to fully complete it, the entire world shook and trembled. The pain inside my head intensified to a point beyond discomfort and I had no choice but to cut off my connection with the domain.

Crash!

Everything shattered at once, breaking into multiple fragments that scattered throughout. "Haa... Haa... Haa..."

Sweat poured down from the side of my face while my chest rose and fell repeatedly.

"Hmm... Haa... That... It's still quite early."

Taking deep breaths, my face squeezed.

My mana capacity was still too low for me to fully utilize a domain. While I could use it for a few seconds, that was essentially useless.

Utilizing the 'Concept' would be a lot more efficient.

"I... guess I'll have to wait until I reach the fifth tier."

Only then would I be able to utilize the Domain without any problems. Still, this wasn't bad

News.

'Reaching the fifth tier shouldn't be a problem. I should be able to do so any moment now. So long as Leon completes his stuff.'

Then, once I received the rewards from the quest, I'd be able to jump onto the next stage.

My entire body tingled with excitement at the thought of reaching the next stage. I had been waiting for quite a while and couldn't wait.

The moment when I was fully capable of utilizing my domain would be the moment when my strength would reach a whole new level.

"Yeah... It should be-"

I paused all of a sudden. Turning my head to look toward my right where a small drawer was, my face twitched.

"When did..?"

I was stumped at first, but soon I found myself laughing as I covered my face and eyes with the palm of my hand.

"....Seriously?"

I didn't take a good look so I wasn't sure about how many there were, but there were at least over a dozen opened chocolate bars. In each one, I could see a single block of chocolate.

...A single block of chocolate.

"How does this...?"

At this rate, couldn't she just have given me one whole bar? What even was the point of giving me one for each bar?

To Tok-

A knock suddenly shook me out of my thoughts. Lifting my head to look in the direction of the door, I was just about to open my mouth to speak when the door opened on its own.

Clank!

My mood immediately plummeted as several figures I didn't know appeared.

'What's going on?'

Their presence alone felt suffocating, and before I could even get my words out, a man dressed entirely in white entered the room.

"...!"

I felt my entire breath leave my body at the sight of him.

'Why is here?'

Didn't Leon...?

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

The steady, yet powerful beat of my own heart drummed loudly within my mind as I shifted

Around the bed, helping myself up.

'Ah, did he fail? How is it possible? Why is this guy here? No, why did he appear now? Didn't he appear

Later? Why? What's...!?'

"Ah, looks like you're awake."

His voice sounded different from what I remembered.

Nonetheless, his presence and pressure felt extremely suffocating. That part didn't change at

All.

Especially his white clothes.

They were the exact same as they were in the vision.

"...Hm?"

The man in white suddenly posed, his head tilting.

"Do you recognize me? Your face seems a little pale."

My mouth grew dry, sealing my lips together.

I tried to open my mouth, but as if glued together, my lips refused to budge.

"...That's because he just woke up."

A cold voice followed shortly after.

When I turned my head, Delilah appeared, her expression different from how I was used to

Seeing her.

She felt foreign to me at this moment.

Behind her was Atlas, his calm demeanor contrasting sharply with the heavy tension in the

Air, making me acutely aware of the storm brewing just beneath the surface.

"Maybe you're right."

The man in white nodded.

Then, shifting his attention towards me once more, he carefully approached me.

"How are your injuries? Are you feeling better?"

"...A little."

I carefully said, managing to pull my lips apart.

"My head hurts a little, and..."

Looking around the room, pointing at all the people present with my eyes, I didn't hide my

Discomfort.

"...the fact that there are so many people here isn't making things easier for me."

"Ah, you're right."

The man in white looked back and dismissed everyone. Of course, Delilah and Atlas remained.

Soon, the room turned quiet.

...But strangely enough, the silence felt even more discomforting.

"There's no need to be so tense. I'm only here to ask you a few questions. We're trying to get

To the bottom of the situation."

"Yes."

"That's great."

The man in white appeared pleased.

Without waiting for me to say anything else, he continued.

"Let's start off easy. How much of the incident do you remember? Can you describe to me

What happened? I want to hear your side of the story."

"I understand."

Swallowing, I opened my mouth and recounted everything that happened. I didn't miss a

Single detail and explained the entire situation. From how I had been ambushed to how I had

Managed to defeat him using my Emotive Magic.

"Oh? So that's how you managed to reduce him to that state?"

"....Yes."

"That's quite the powerful Emotive Magic that you have. To be able to do that to someone...

It's impressive."

He turned to look at Delilah and Atlas.

"You guys have quite the impressive cadet at your disposal. I did see it in the Summit, but

Seeing it firsthand truly gives me a grasp of how talented he is."

"Thank you."

I thanked the man in white, but despite my gratitude, my heart sank further with each word he

Uttered. His seemingly kind exterior only intensified the suffocating feeling creeping over

Me.

The only reason why I was able to remain calm was because Delilah and Atlas were present. With the two presents, I wasn't worried the man in white would try anything.

"The Inverted Sky."

"Pardon...?"

My body nearly flinched at his unexpected words. I fought to maintain my composure,

Meeting the gaze of the man in white, whose tone starkly contrasted the tense atmosphere

That lingered around.

He tilted his head, his tone growing lighter.

"I said, Inverted Sky. Have you heard of them before?"

11

In that fleeting moment, I almost glanced at Atlas, but I managed to rein myself in.

Instead, I fixed my gaze on the man in white, nodding my head in acknowledgment.

"Yes, I have."

"Oh? So you have?"

The man in white appeared intrigued.

"Yes."

Swallowing, I continued,

"...I've encountered them before. In fact, I have been attacked by them on a few occasions."

"Attacked?"

"Yes."

"...."

The man in white suddenly grew silent.

Drumming his fingers on his thigh, he turned his head to glance at Atlas and Delilah. The

Tension in the room crackled as he gauged their reactions, searching for anything from their

Expressions.

Unfortunately for him, their expressions never changed.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"Yes,"

Atlas answered.

"...He isn't lying."

"Mhh."

Though I couldn't see it, it felt as if the man in white narrowed his eyes. Things were perhaps

Not going the way that he had expected to.

Still, I didn't relax for a second.

If anything, I only grew more tense.

'I'm sure he isn't here just to ask me questions about the Inverted Sky. He must know something which

Is why he's questioning me. No, perhaps it's something else...'

My mind went on overdrive as I started to think about all the possible reasons for his visit.

Eventually, however, an idea occurred to me.

'Since he's brought up the Inverted Sky, that must mean that he realized that they're the ones behind

The situation. If that's the case, he might know of a way to check if someone is from the Inverted Sky or

Not, and since the Priest came from a different Empire...'

Ah.

It all suddenly made sense to me.

Drawing in a cold breath, my muscles suddenly tensed, a wave of unease washing over me.

'What do I do? How do I get out of this....?'

I didn't even bother looking at Delialh or Atlas.

I understood that I wasn't in any danger right now. Since both of them already had an idea of

My ties with the Inverted Sky, I didn't think they'd let him check like that.

If anything, they were probably here to delay things.

'Yeah, they'll delay but what then...?'

Would I be forced to go on a run?

Recalling the vision, I swallowed dryly.

'Shit.'

Things were slowly starting to turn for the worse.

In spite of everything that I had done, the events were following that of the vision.

'No, but how does this make sense? What happened to Leon? Shouldn't he...?' "Well, if they aren't lying and you were indeed attacked by members of the Inverted Sky, it

Should be unlikely for you to be a member of their organization. That's good news!" Suddenly sounding cheerful, the man in white looked directly at me.

I felt my skin crawl at the sight of his gaze as he reached out his hand towards me.

"Now then..."

He mumbled, his hand moving toward my right hand.

"Shall we check?"