Eek!
Andre opened the door and scanned the corridor inside.
“Oh, thank goodness. It seems like nobody’s patrolling.”
As soon as he opened the door, Andre was about to step inside.
“Wait. Stop.”
I grabbed the back of the overly eager guy by the neck.
“Ugh. What’s wrong, Luke?”
“Look carefully over there.”
I pointed to the grandfather clock hanging on the wall opposite the door.
“That? You mean that clock? What’s wrong with it?”
“Just watch closely.”
A few seconds passed, and the huge eyes on the clock flickered to life.
“…That’s insane. What the heck is that?”
“It’s some kind of security device for intruders. The door we just opened wasn’t even locked. Isn’t that way too careless? We got in here so easily without doing anything. It’s probably designed to catch people like us.”
To be precise, it’s a special mechanism of the Mage Academy that only works at night due to the curfew.
Since all areas of the academy are locked down during that time, it’s tough to maintain security with a limited number of faculty members.
Although there are security personnel besides the faculty, they can’t cover everything.
Therefore, certain areas have magical devices like this to handle security.
It’s a setup designed for infiltration gameplay in Deus Ex Machina, however.
The Mage Academy had more magical devices set up than other places, and that grandfather clock was part of it. It visually detects intruders like a motion sensor.
This device is meant to catch students entering the academy through this side door tucked away in a corner. It has a pretty malicious setup. You don’t get caught the moment you open the door, but as soon as you take a step inside, BOOM! It’s a genius arrangement.
Simply opening this door results in a minor penalty for violating curfew, but stepping through it means getting slapped with a stronger penalty for breaking into the academy at a forbidden time.
Really, what a malicious setup.
It’s also a nasty gimmick that all new players in Deus Ex Machina get caught by at least once.
Other than this door, it’s challenging to break in anywhere else, so most people choose this route.
“Luckily, it seems we didn’t get caught this time. But it might have been dangerous if you had gone further in.”
“…I see. Sorry. I’ve never seen a device like that before, so I didn’t even think about it.”
Andre scratched his head, but it’s hard to blame him. I got caught the first time I played Deus Ex Machina as well. How was anyone supposed to know this from the get-go?
“You idiot, Andre.”
“You didn’t know either! This is a testament to your keen insight, Luke! By the way, how did you figure it out?”
“…I’ve just seen a lot of stuff like that before. And this shabby security device on the side door seemed suspicious.”
I have seen a lot… even if it’s just in games.
“Luke. Amazing.”
“Nah, it’s not that amazing.”
I guess I feel happier hearing praise for a character I love.
No matter how many people shower me with compliments, it feels entirely different compared to what extras say.
“By the way, what do we do now? It looks like the other doors are either locked or guarded, making it hard to get in if we stick to this way.”
“Leave that to me.”
“Do you have a method, Luke?”
I pulled out a helmet from subspace and put it on.
Then.
“Hey? Luke just vanished!”
My body became transparent.
“I can feel Luke in front of me… but I can’t see him. This is amazing.”
The ‘Abyss King’s Lid’ artifact I used with Simon and Iako to sneak into Capernaum.
An ancient artifact that temporarily renders the wearer and a designated target invisible.
“I made my body temporarily invisible. I’ll make you invisible too.”
“My body… disappears. Amazing.”
“Wow. What kind of magic is this? It even makes my body invisible!”
“This is just simple invisibility magic. So, it can’t hide your presence at all. It doesn’t work on people above a certain level… but it’s enough to get past vision-based security devices. Those invisible targets can’t be detected.”
It’s an artifact popular for nullifying such security devices in Deus Ex Machina.
Just equipping this item in a quick slot made it easy to ignore those device gimmicks even without the invisibility skill.
“Luke… incredible.”
“Oh wow! Luke! You’re really my savior!”
Andre rushed toward me to hug.
I pressed his head down with one hand.
“A guy shouldn’t hug another guy, Andre.”
“…Sorry. I just got carried away by how good I felt. I won’t do it again.”
If it were a girl, it wouldn’t be a problem, but where do you think you’re going with a guy?
“So, where do we go in the Mage Academy now?”
“Ah. Where was it again… wait a second… Ah! The Astronomy Storage!”
The Astronomy Storage? You mean that room next to the Astronomy classroom for astronomy lessons?
*
Mage Academy
Astronomy Storage
Eek!
After confirming that Andre and Sunny had both entered the room, I deactivated the invisibility.
“Phew! We’re in!”
“So, Andre. What’s this mystery the seniors asked us to find?”
Is it that mystery from the Astronomy Storage?
“The seniors said there would be a jar or something waiting for us.”
A jar?
A jar at the Astronomy Storage?
That was supposed to be the mystery I was meant to obtain, and it’s something I had never heard of before. What is this?
“Over there. The jar.”
When I looked in the direction Sunny was pointing, I saw a gigantic jar with two handles. It looked like it was three times the height of an adult male.
“Is that it?”
“Um… I think so? The seniors mentioned it was so huge that it would be hard to move.”
What the heck is that?
I’ve never seen anything like that before!
Wait, how is such a large jar even in this room? Isn’t it bigger than the door?
I had never even seen a jar like that in Deus Ex Machina.
What the…?
Did I not know? No way, that can’t be it.
Then, did it spawn because of the future I changed?
I think that’s entirely possible, but in the long, long history of the academy, ten years isn’t a great influence.
So, I thought such relics wouldn’t be affected…
Does this mean I have to consider that other hidden pieces may have changed?
Surely ‘Avatar’ had also changed.
Does that mean I need to revise the entire plan? That’s too tricky.
“But. Now. What do we do?”
“Huh? Ah! Wait a minute. The senior gave me a note to follow.”
Andre rummaged through his pocket and pulled out something.
A crumpled note.
“Um… Raise your hand in front of the jar at midnight and pour magical power into it. Magical power?”
Is it a device or artifact that works by infusing magical power at a specific time?
It’s a common type, but that also means it often contains dangerous contents.
“Hmm… It’s almost midnight, huh? Should I infuse my magical power first?”
“Yeah. The seniors left it up to you too. If it goes wrong, I’ll pick up your bones.”
“…Huh? Is this… dangerous?”
“Eh, no. I’m just kidding. How could it be dangerous?”
It might well be.
Most hidden pieces are designed with some risk involved.
One reason the locals don’t actively excavate ancient artifacts.
I know all the gimmicks from Deus Ex Machina, but I have no clue about this one.
Still, it’s probably better if Andre does it since it could be risky for me.
If something goes wrong, I can revive him with an elixir, as long as he doesn’t die.
Gulp!
“I… will do it?”
Andre, swallowing hard, placed his hand on the jar and began to infuse it with magical power.
And then… the jar started to glow gradually.
Is it activating?
Well, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Because, as far as I know, Andre is just following the method his club senior shared.
Then that senior knows how to operate it… he must have used this before.
So, there shouldn’t be any problems…
“AAAAH!”
Suddenly, Andre screamed in pain.
He tore his hair out as he withdrew his hand from the jar.
“Andre!”
“Andre! What’s wrong, Andre! What’s happening?!”
“My head… it feels like it’s going to split… AAAAAH!!”
With a scream like a death rattle, he suddenly dropped his head.
“…Andre?”
Andre slowly raised his head.
And with an unexpectedly sultry smile, he opened his mouth.
“Andre? Ha. I am Achilles. Achilles Gomez.”
…Huh?
Wait a minute.
Did Andre just… get possessed?
Achilles?
“Hm? You. I can feel your divine power. No, not divine power… divine?”
Something looking out from Andre’s body mumbled, staring at me.
“Servant of the gods? No, a god borrowing a mortal’s body? To think I would encounter a vulnerable god right before my eyes. How fortunate.”
It wore a chilling smile as it looked at me.
“Everything is for Lady Lilith.”
Then it raised its hand and gathered power.
I could feel an incredible concentration of energy.
This guy… don’t tell me he’s a minion of ‘Chaos,’ the Three Evil Gods, one of Lilith’s servants?!
“Die, nameless god.”
It extended its hand forward and spoke.
Is he gathering that much power so quickly?
I have to stop it… no, I can’t stop that; in that case, I need to avoid it… is it too late?
Oh no!
Boom!
A moment later, a sword pierced through Andre’s abdomen.
“What the hell… why… my strength….”
Thud.
Andre collapsed.
Standing behind him was a female student with sky-blue hair.
…Meiru?!
“Hey, trash. What the hell happened here?”
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