Chapter 60

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Episode 12 - Find the murderer [6]

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It was already a new day, and after several hours of classes,

they finally ended, and night arrived.

The group formed by Julián, Charlotte, Lumina, Verónica, and I returned to the main building. I still haven’t revealed that Celestia is the person we were looking for.

’I told Professor Ashly to inform the director about the evidence I already have.’

So I planned to take Celestia to the room where we hold meetings and then wait for the right moment for the director to appear.

Finally, I would present the evidence and complete the Main Mission.

After some time, we entered the meeting room.

Everyone took their seats, and I finally said,

"I have something important to do. It’s a surprise for everyone, so please wait a moment, alright."

Without waiting for responses, I left the room and headed straight to where Celestia was.

I had used my senses, so I knew she was near the entrance that leads down to the West Hall, our next exploration objective.

But that was no longer necessary.

I finally arrived at the place and noticed Celestia. As I approached, I raised my hand in greeting.

"You’re the guide, right?"

She turned toward me with a smile.

"Yes, that’s me. How did you figure it out?"

"I use my Traits, so being blind doesn’t make things too difficult for me."

She nodded with a smile.

"That’s great. At least you’re an awakened."

I remained silent at her last words and didn’t say anything for a few seconds.

Then, after a moment, I finally spoke.

"Can you come with me? It will only be for a few minutes. There’s something you need to know about where we’re holding the meetings, so..."

I waited a few seconds, and she finally nodded.

"Alright. We’re going down to the West Hall later anyway, right?"

I nodded calmly. Who would have thought I was speaking with a villain in plain sight of everyone?

But the most intriguing thing was the completely different personality Celestia had shown in the Labyrinth.

So then, I led her to the room, and as we entered.

Everyone turned to look at me with clear confusion—well, except for Lumina and Verónica.

"The guide, what is she doing here?"

Julián asked.

In response to his question, I replied with a smile.

"Oh, don’t worry, we have something to tell the guide." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Once again, Charlotte and Julián looked confused.

Charlotte, however, frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but...

"Ah, that’s right, we have something important to tell the guide, don’t we?"

Verónica said in a cheerful voice. Then Lumina simply nodded.

I briefly turned to look at both of them and then nodded. Then I turned back and said to Celestia.

"Could you place this in the center of the table?"

I handed her the recording orb. She nodded, as if understanding that it would be difficult for me to do it.

Then, without hesitation, Celestia placed the recording orb in the center of the table and stepped back slightly.

"Verónica, could you channel your mana into the recording orb?"

She nodded slightly, then extended her hand toward the orb and let her mana flow into it.

Then, suddenly, a screen appeared, similar to the disc Celestia had used in her conversation with the other party.

And soon, a voice echoed throughout the room.

They were the first words Celestia had spoken when I started recording.

She appeared on the screen. The recording angle was from below, as if it had been captured from the ground.

Only her face was visible as she spoke to herself.

Julián and Charlotte’s expressions changed rapidly.

Then, soon, the conversation between Celestia and the other villain arrived through the magical device she had used.

Celestia’s expression shifted in many ways, and her emotions were in complete chaos.

A smile formed on my face.

And shortly after, the recording ended.

A sepulchral silence filled the entire room.

"..."

No one said anything, but everyone stared intently at Celestia.

She was sweating profusely, drops of sweat falling down her cheeks until they reached the floor.

Then, in an instant, the Power of Chaos surged within her.

She clenched her teeth as she finally looked at everyone present.

"You... how is it that...?"

But before saying anything else.

Her body suddenly froze, and the world around us changed instantly.

Mana moved like hungry snakes around Celestia and, shortly after.

A voice appeared out of nowhere.

"Me, a lizard? That’s... amusing. I haven’t been called that since... five hundred years ago, perhaps."

Director Bernice appeared in front of Celestia with a terrifying smile.

’Well, here we go, her terrifying personality.’

Director Bernice placed her hand on Celestia’s shoulder.

Celestia’s entire body had become completely frozen, and when Director Bernice placed her hand on Celestia’s shoulder.

Emotions of terror, fear, despair, and agony surged with overwhelming intensity.

"How about we talk in private."

Director Bernice said. Then, she turned to us and added:

"Thank you for the help, first-year cadets. I owe each of you a favor."

Without warning, she disappeared, but I noticed that she had also looked at me at the instant she vanished.

"..."

Soon, all of us were sitting without saying a single word.

Seconds passed, and the atmosphere felt strange.

Then a minute went by, and unable to take it any longer, Julián said:

"Heh, well, I guess... mission accomplished, right?"

At the same time, a screen appeared in my mind.

’Time to claim my reward.’

***

After a long explanation of how I had discovered that Celestia was Professor Harris’s killer and how I had infiltrated, I finally returned to my dorm room.

Once back, I lay down on my comfortable bed.

Liora, who always slept above my head, lay down on my chest and fell asleep again.

’For a Light fairy, she sleeps too much.’

She literally spends almost the entire day asleep on my head.

Ironically, she only wakes up when I think too much.

’It’s as if she knows my emotional and mental state.’

Anyway, I focused my thoughts on the Mission Window.

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■| Chapter 1, Part 2: Mysterious Murder.

Category: Main Story.

Difficulty: ★★★★

Description: On the morning of February 3, in front of the Holy Academy’s main building, Professor Harris Miller’s head was impaled on a spear. He was a researcher investigating something extremely important; however, he was suddenly murdered, and the Directorcalled an emergency meeting.

∆ Time Limit: 12 days.

∆ Reward: The Trait: Growing flower.

∆ Failure: The player will lose one Star.

∆ Status: In progress.

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〖Reward claimed: Trait: Growing Flower〗

〖The Second Part of Chapter One has been completed. The Third Part will be revealed in two weeks〗

The system notifications appeared quickly, and I focused my attention on the newly acquired trait.

Then, a different screen replaced the previous one.

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Name: Growing Flower.

Category: Trait.

Description: Who says flowers cannot harm others? Everyone who has seen flowers with thorns has ended up hurt.

Passive effects.

[Passive]-[Blooming Flower Fields. Each flower can have different abnormal effects]

[Passive]-[The petals and stems of the flowers will be as sharp as the amount of Mana]

Active effects.

[Active]-[Flower Domain. Creates a field of Mana flowers; each flower is an amethyst flame]

[Active]-[Floral Soul. When using Dark mana, it can create Soul flowers]

Note: Amethyst flame is the only fire that destroys emotions, and Floral Soul melts the soul until death.

Extra note: Regardless of thoughts, you can change the effects of the flowers.

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As I read the details of the new trait, my expression shifted to slight surprise.

’A trait that attacks both the soul and emotions... this is among the rarest of all traits, and this one combines both types of attacks.’

It was the first time I had seen a trait with two of the strangest and almost nonexistent types of attacks in Holy Land.

Soul-based attacks are among the most painful, because no matter what one does, one will take damage.

Not physical, nor mental.

But damage directly to the soul itself, which means a death with no escape and no way to heal.

"Of course, regardless of how much mana they have, the soul attack will be less effective."

The next was the attack on emotions.

Even in the game, and with me as the developer, this was quite a strange power.

Attacking emotions could vary greatly; each outcome was different depending on the person.

So I couldn’t be sure what the effects of this would be.

"I’ll have to test it soon."

Well, I already have a potion that that Witch created to attack emotions.

I haven’t had the chance to use it yet, but I suppose I could sell it now.

Originally, I didn’t intend to do that, but with this new Trait, I changed my mind.

Anyway, after reading about the new trait, I thought:

"It’s a large-scale trait, which means that if I face an army, it will be of enormous help."

For a 4-Star difficulty, the trait wasn’t bad at all, but I never expected to obtain powers capable of attacking emotions and the soul.

"It will be useful for the Third Part."

There are two weeks left until the start of the final part of Chapter One.

"And the auction that begins Chapter Two is approaching."

With a sigh, I couldn’t help but think about what I’ll have to do for the Third Part.

’Complete a Memory Gate that has never been completed before.’

I already had in mind who I would enter the Memory Gate with.

But, of course, there were also variables, so my plans regarding the partner I would enter the Memory Gate with could change.

’Well, we’ll see.’

With that thought, I finally relaxed and soon fell asleep.