𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕𝟒

𝚊𝐰𝕖𝘣s𝐭𝔬𝚛𝕚𝘦𝐬.𝕔𝐨𝔪

“Nice to meet you. I am Liam, the vice president of the Royal Academy. First, follow the guide to check your accommodation.”

Right after arriving, there was nothing special. Since the event would officially start in two days, we put our luggage in the nearby hotel prepared for us and took a break.

The hotel was supposed to be a twin room, and my roommate was none other than Jung Han-sol.

Jung Han-sol, who was looking out the window, exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, it’s definitely a considerable size. The academy grounds themselves seem to be bigger than ours.”

“There are a few places in Korea that are known as prestigious schools, but the Royal Academy is in a league of its own here.”

“Do you want to look around the neighborhood?”

It’s not a bad idea to get a feel for the surrounding terrain in preparation for upcoming events. I nodded without much hesitation.

“Han Kang-yoon and Jung Han-sol. Okay, got it. Be sure to return before 10 PM.”

The activities were free, but when going outside, at least two people had to move together and leave a report.

Even though they were academy students who could protect themselves, accidents could always happen.

With that, I left the report and left the hotel with Jung Han-sol.

“Did you bring your access card?”

“Yup.”

“I heard that the training facility was specially opened. I’m curious about that.”

The first place we headed to was none other than the Royal Academy of Spain.

Normally, it would be impossible to enter, but during the event, a specially issued access card can be used to verify your identity.

Jung Han-sol, who entered without any problems, whistled softly and exclaimed in admiration.

“Is it because of the different atmosphere? It feels refreshing for some reason.”

“ . . . . . .”

I was also curious, so I started to check the information by looking at the passing students one by one.

「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」

【Ian Pope】

▶Level: 34

【Ángel Fernando】

▶Level: 32

【Alicia Bennett】

▶Level: 35

The students’ skill levels were generally excellent. Of course, they were lacking when compared to Jung Han-sol right next to me, but Jung Han-sol is also a top student at Cheonghwa Academy.

If these were the levels of the people I randomly saw, then it was definitely a prestigious school to be proud of.

“I’m going to the training ground like I said. What are you going to do?”

“Go ahead. I’ll just take a walk around. Let’s meet at the main gate in two hours.”

“Okay. Don’t cause any trouble by hitting on someone for no reason?”

“Not really interested.”

“Tsk. No fun.”

Jung Han-sol grinned and checked the guidebook to head to the training ground.

I also started to look around the entire site to check the surrounding geography.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙬, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚.」

Unfortunately, for me, who has already played all the sequels in the series, these are not very new sights.

There was also a reason why I didn’t follow Jung Han-sol.

There’s nothing new to see now anyway.

「𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜.」

Based on what I’ve seen so far, the atmosphere among the students wasn’t bad either. Not only was there no animosity towards Cheonghwa Academy, but as Adrian said, they seemed to be interested instead.

There were even students who would sparkle their eyes and ask me questions, so it was pointless to suspect any further.

「𝙎𝙤, 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨?」

In fact, this was what I thought was most likely, so it could be said to be quite an unexpected result.

If an incident were to occur, it would be highly likely that it would come from the outside. I thought it would be okay to think that way.

「. . .𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」

After perfectly inputting the surrounding terrain into my head, I repeatedly simulated appropriate places in preparation for a battle that might occur during the event.

While doing so, I discovered a small path that branched off from the promenade and was about to check it out when I came across a mysterious girl.

“ . . . . . .”

The girl was kneeling on the ground, oblivious to my arrival, staring at a corner of the ground. There was a slightly wilted sprout near it.

「𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨. . . . . .」

For some reason, it looked familiar, so I used the emotion ability towards the pile of dirt the girl was looking at.

Tring!

【Golden Leaf Herb】

▶A plant with a strong life force. When properly processed, it becomes an ingredient for high-level elixirs.

━It is currently in a weakened state.

As expected, it’s an ingredient that I’ve often seen in the game. I was concerned, so I used the Interpretation spell and went next to the girl and spoke to her.

“Do you want it to bloom?”

“Huh? This is, um, hey. Who are you. . . . . . ?”

“Golden Leaf Herbs are very delicate plants. It’s better to plant them deeper and in a place with more sunlight.”

The girl, who was momentarily flustered, shook her platinum blonde hair and asked me.

“Do. . . . . . Do you know a lot about plants?”

“As much as anyone else. Would it be alright if I took a look at its condition?”

“Yes! P-Please do.”

Golden Leaf Herbs require a lot of energy to grow, so they don’t mix well with other plants.

Knowing that, it was left out of the flower bed, but since there were several large trees in the vicinity, the situation was the same in the end.

It was a common mistake that beginners often made.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢.」

Upon checking, it seemed that it was indeed growing slowly due to a lack of nutrients. So I used the Mental Spellbook to find a suitable spell that I often used in the game and cast it.

Whoooosh.

“If you supply it with spiritual power like this, it will probably grow much more easily than before.”

“ . . .You’re skilled. Thank you. That was helpful.”

“No problem. Then, I’ll be going.”

“Oh. . . . . .”

Leaving only those words behind, I left the spot without any lingering attachment and continued what I was doing.

It seemed like the girl wanted to say something, but there wasn’t much time to spare if I wanted to return on time.

「𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙃𝙖𝙣-𝙨𝙤𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

Like that, the day passed without much change.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

𝘢𝚠𝕖𝔟𝐬𝘵𝙤𝙧𝚒𝐞𝚜.ċ̇𝙤ᴍ