“Whoa-.”
I’m tired of coding all night. Cigarette smoke flying over the railing of the rooftop felt like a solution to a problem that could not be caught.
“Inventory bug, really going crazy.”
People rarely have opportunities to look at their backs. But I guess, at that time, there must have been an expression on my back.
The back of an indie developer who had to face the bugs popping out of nowhere. After tinkering with all sorts of code all night and failing to fix it, it’s exhausting.
And she wasn’t the kind of woman who would leave me alone.
“You can’t turn around.”
I look at the woman who came up to the rooftop with a beer can. On days when she stayed up all night working with me, her hair would also be messy.
“Which miri do you need?”
“… I have a certain miri.”
“A meticulous girlfriend. caring wife. A trustworthy comrade. smart fellow… Or a dear friend.”
Maybe I should gather all the words she spat out. If my relationship with her could be explained.
The period I spent with Miri was that long. Loyalty, emotions, and practical interests were mixed together, and she and I were perhaps stronger than a relationship built with affection.
Of the options presented by her, I chose the one I liked the most.
“As a dear friend.”
“Mmm.”
She nodded sternly and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Don’t worry too much, John.”
“yes.”
“everything will be alright.”
I smiled. Seeing the corners of my mouth rise, she put on a happy expression, like a person who had achieved her goal. I can’t say it’s hard with that kind of face.
“okay. gotta try… Whether it be porridge or rice.”
“okay… I have too. cheer up.”
realizing it all over again There are more wonderful women in the world than a pretty girlfriend or a neat wife.
And Miri was such a woman.
She said, looking at the pile of cigarette butts I had been rubbing.
“By the way, it seems to smoke. Injure yourself.”
“Shut down.”
“tasty?”
“It’s just blood, what.”
“What flavor is it?”
I directly informed
Her lips smelled of savory beer, and mine smelled like mint capsules. I took her cold hand and entered the rooftop room. Drunk with a can of beer, she fell asleep shortly after, and I suddenly thought of her as I looked at her lying on my back.
sometime later
Whatever the end of this development.
I’m going to miss things related to this woman.
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Not a hot night with her
The sound of her breathing like this.
With my name she calls,
A new morning that will finally begin… .
***
“Hey, John Jeong. Hey, get up… .”
“… … .”
“… yo. this.”
The eyes opened softly.
With the voice of a woman calling my name.
And that coziness was a mirage. The woman with black hair in front of her was not Miri.
“Whoa… .”
Wash your face dry. To forget the painful dream.
Arien asked me with an awkward expression.
“Did I do it right?”
I got up without a word.
I decided to be content with a brief hallucination. You have to acknowledge the changed world and start your day.
I bit Arien, who didn’t know why, and walked to the window.
The academy’s dormitory has a distinctive feature that distinguishes it from other buildings. The point is that the window opens in a direction unrelated to the sun. Each building has a different location, but they all face one thing.
Frantimo’s clock tower.
This is one of the many magics experienced at the academy.
That watch does not depend on clockwork. In the clock model drawn on the top of the clock tower, there is no clock hand that should have been stuck in the center from the beginning.
It’s not even a building.
It just appears in the shape of a tower, and each image that people think of when they associate the word ‘clock tower’.
It is literally magic.
It is an artifact left behind by the archmage Ong.
It tells the time to everyone who watches it.
“7:45… .”
Enough time to wash up and get ready to go out. After washing my body, I went down to the basement and finished my meal alone. Then he came back and gave Arien the food he had secretly brought. Please repeat what you said yesterday.
Arien gave a big nod.
“yes. Do not worry. I will never get caught.”
“okay.”
I put Mulcan’s sword under the bed mat. After leaving the door, I locked the door with the key and changed the nameplate on the door from ‘Present’ to ‘Absence’.
Listen to the door before leaving. Fortunately, I didn’t feel any presence, and I left the dormitory with a little peace of mind.
***
The academy’s active clothes are black robes. Evangeles’ red hair stood out more in contrast to the color of his robe.
“Didn’t the officer on duty say anything yesterday?”
“yes. I broke a couple of joints.”
He glanced at my knee and spoke again.
“Today, when I went to the room, it seemed that he had left first.”
I was slightly heartbroken.
“Why don’t you come up to the 12th floor?”
“Why? We were going to eat together. Are you going alone without affection? When I woke up, I stopped by my brother’s room and didn’t go.”
I scrutinized Evangeles’ expression. Fortunately, he didn’t put on the look of ‘I know what you’ve hidden in your room.’
“Dee seems to have left early, what did you do?”
“ah. I want to take a tour of the school.”
“from morning? What do you want to see?”
I shrugged.
Evangeles put on a pouty expression, but he couldn’t help it.
I had to check the whereabouts of yesterday’s work.
And that part remains a mystery now.
The academy corporal is dead. It also looks like it was stabbed by anyone. Murder, no matter what the dead person was.
However, the start of the day is too calm for such things.
“Evangeles. By any chance, someone didn’t come to investigate in the morning?”
“Eh? what research? Did you do the blood plate method?”
There was no investigation.
Did someone even clean up the body?
It’s nonsense. It didn’t rain all night, and even if the bodies were removed, bloodstains left on the floor of the podium.
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No, even if this was removed, the damaged image of Mulcan remains.
When I didn’t say anything, Johann Esperz’s old friend opened his eyes and said,
“You, yesterday and today were a bit strange?”
“… oh Because of the hangover.”
“You’re kidding. Do I see you for a day or two? What’s up? Confide this to your brother.”
“Break is over. The next person jumps out!”
It was the swordsman’s voice.
Even though he had already dealt with more than 50 people, his voice showed no signs of getting tired. As a student picked up a wooden sword and stood on the sandy beach, the teacher’s wooden sword came out.
“Head, waist, stomach!”
“Keuuk-!”
The child’s body was mercilessly thrown off by the swordsman’s attack. Growing up in an aristocratic family, you’ve never been hit like this.
The eyes of the children poured onto me and the student who was rolling around.
“Ugh… .”
The student who had been lying on his back groaned in pain and returned to his seat.
About 100 students surrounded the sandy beach.
Anyone can find a few things in common with the students surrounding this swordsmanship teacher.
That they are around the age of 18.
He was wearing a black robe provided by the academy for sportswear.
And that he was making an expression of hostility towards this swordsmanship teacher.
Johann Esperz’s special ability [The Smell of Death] does not activate against this type of ‘hatred’.
[The Smell of Death] is activated when a person’s murderous intent is put into action.
In the first place, none of the children could think that they could ‘kill’ that swordsmanship teacher. The swordsmanship teacher seemed to enjoy that fact.
“I told you. Fools like you can’t stop me even if I tell them.”
“… Chit.”
“And there is a fact that your mother and father kept a secret… .”
He turned his wooden sword around and looked down at the children.
“There’s a reason you guys are idiots.”
“… … .”
“I look like your parents.”
“… Mr. Wah, let’s listen, let’s listen, so it’s crossing the line.”
Evangeles is a kid who loves his family. Sitting still, he picked up a wooden sword and suddenly ran out.
“At least it’s a pad lip!”
Sand spurted up with every step he took in his wild rush.
Like running from behind.
But the swordsmanship teacher quickly turned around like a person with eyes on the back of his head.
“chest!”
The swordsman and Evangeles’ wooden sword collided. Then, Evangeles’ wooden sword shattered with a crackling sound.
“Shoulder, wrist!”
“Ouch-! Ahh-!”
Evangeles, who was then beaten on the shoulder and wrist, sat down with a terrifying scream. Shattered pieces of wood were scattered across the sandy beach.
The students were on the verge of numbness.
“It breaks?!”
Evangeles must have felt the same way. Even if you look at it like that, he is a guy who has been taking knight lessons for a long time.
Suppressed gossip ensued between the children.
“Sir, isn’t the sword different?”
“No way. That teacher, I chose last.”
“Why are only ours broken?”
Of course, it’s not the difference between swords.
I calmly picked up the base of the wooden sword that bounced in front of me.
The academy’s swordsmanship teacher’s specialty.
[Weapon breaking]
It sounds simple, but it is a highly versatile technology. True to its name, that swordsman ignores the strength of the opponent’s weapon. And the category he considers ‘weapon’ includes monster horns, claws, and even dragon teeth.
The swordsman said, turning the wooden sword around.
“There’s no honor for you anyway, so you can attack like this.”
This sound of popping is mixed with the sighs of the students. When no one came out, the swordsman’s provocation continued.
“Only those who are mistaken for honor should say their names and attack. I’m not going to have to memorize your idiots’ names anyway.”
A hot boy stood up.
“This is the Holyoma of Capus. I must accept your apology for what you just said.”
This swordsmanship class was, after all, a declaration ceremony.
Time to destroy the arrogance of young boys who grew up in aristocratic families.
“The idiot of Capus. come.”
During class time at the academy, nobility ranks are ignored. In this place, even if the emperor’s son has come, he must be polite to his teacher.
And explaining such things in words was not the style of this swordsmanship teacher.
Etiquette is meant to be felt, not explained.
By stuffing it into your body.
“shoulder. thigh. chest!”
“Keep it off!”
The swordsmanship teacher proved the superiority and inferiority with his skills. Every time the sword master’s sword touched their bodies, the students groaned violently.
The swordsmanship teacher who made the eldest son of the Kapus family fall apart spoke plaintively.
“Who’s the next nerd? Come out with a wish.”
“I do. Jackal of the Frodo family. If I win, I will call you an idiot from now on.”
“OK. Until then, you’re a Frodogan jerk. come.”
He was a good-looking boy who was hard to believe for his peers.
He attacked the swordsmanship teacher as if he were about to eat it.
Of course, there were no surprises. Even though Frodoga’s jackal was rolling on the floor, the 3 go didn’t go over.
“Next nerd. Come out with a wish.”
“Hanako’s Mubar Trigger. If I win, eat like a dog without utensils.”
“Ah, it must be the eating habits of your Hanako family. Back, ankle, head!”
The next school is also the 3rd.
After 30 minutes, there was only one student left who could stand properly on the playground.
“Is there one left? Whoever you are, you must be an idiot and a coward.”
It was me.
And I wasn’t thrilled with the provocation of the character I created. Because there was something else that bothered me from before.
It was strange.
The event name [Bastia’s Initiation Ceremony].
Like the main event at the beginning of the scenario, there is no event related to ‘death’ here. The planning intention of this event is to show two people.
Swordsmanship teacher Bastia.
And Sword Demon Sabaki.
These two characters repeat growth and competition with the main character, and are the ones who become the key to major events.
By the way… .
one is not visible
In the original work, Sabaki, the only student who can withstand Bastia’s sword attack.
It’s not that I can’t find him. He didn’t appear until my turn, the last one.
… why?
As I entered the sandy beach, the eyes of the students poured into me. But there were no high expectations. It must be because there was a precedent for about 100 people who collapsed earlier.
“hey. If you’re not coming in, shall I go?”
I suddenly came to my senses at Bastia’s words.
It seemed that my hesitation was long.
“I am John of the Espertz family.”
“I already forgot your name. It will be proven soon. That all the guys brought to the academy are idiots.”
Bastia flicked her finger at me, signaling me to come in.
“May I ask you a question first?”
“Questions? sun.”
“I know this is the last class. Is it true?”
“It is true. After all, there is no one who can see Ssaksu.”
Sabaki’s presence is already evident. Originally, a character who should have become the ‘one who can see the sprout’ as the swordsmanship teacher said.
So, this class is the character that makes the strongest swordsman who was about to leave the academy stay again.
I muttered a little.
“driving me crazy.”
If Bastia disappears, the scenario after the middle will be a mess. I don’t know why, but now that Sabaki is gone, I have to fill that role.
“Did you ask all the questions? If you don’t want to come, I will go. Back, head, belly!”
The swordsmanship teacher approached me.
Looking at it from the front, it was a very realistic moment.
‘Johan Esperts” initial swordsmanship stats are not very high. So, originally, in [Bastia’s Shining Ceremony], he was scattered like other children.
You don’t even have to check.
You can’t block it with swordsmanship.
However… .
I put my wooden sword forward and closed my eyes for a moment.
To rely on memory, not eyes.
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Now, I have one characteristic that ‘Johan Esperts’ does not have. It was a difference that I could have because I am also ‘Jung Yo-han’.
I know this swordsman’s attack pattern.