The Second Night at the Academy
I snuck into the academy banquet hall at midnight.
“Phew.”
It’s only the second day, and why is it this exhausting?
Andre seemed to have already decided which classes he wanted to attend, but Sunny did not.
She said she would follow me to the classes I was scheduled to attend, so we attended together.
But I never thought the gazes directed at me would be this intense.
In “Deus Ex Machina”, Dia drew attention for defeating Cronia’s golem, but this was something else.
Oh, now that I think about it, Dia barely won, and I melted the golem…
Thinking about it that way, I can understand the frenzied interest.
Anyway, just by walking past, all the academy students were captivated.
Most of them just looked at me, but some came over to talk.
First, some strange upperclassmen who called themselves Cronia’s fan club came over to babble about something. They didn’t try to pick a fight, perhaps out of fear. But wait, was there a Cronia fan club? It never mentioned that in “Deus Ex Machina.” That’s a bit shocking.
What was it again? They asked me to apologize to Cronia. I just ignored them, thinking it was nonsense. They didn’t follow me. Perhaps rumors spread that I overwhelmed Cronia. I like that part.
Then, I was approached by the magic club as well. They asked if I wanted to come in and explore the truth of magic together.
It was a somewhat tempting offer. The president of that club is someone I like. But I had to decline. I don’t even know how to use fire magic.
Well, for those who didn’t know about spirits, Ignis’s flame would just seem like magic to them.
Anyway, a non-proper wizard like me couldn’t accept that offer. I already had another club in mind to join anyway.
Ah, the student council also came to find me.
They asked if I wanted to join.
I never expected a first-year, especially one who just enrolled, to receive a student council recruitment offer.
The student council is a place reserved for only the elite who have shown the most outstanding achievements at the academy.
Thus, only the highest-ranked students among the second years and above receive recruitment offers.
Very few exceptional first-year students may receive such offers, but even then, it’s usually toward the end of the first year after proving their skills in various academy events and exams.
In “Deus Ex Machina”, Dia had to do all sorts of ridiculous contests just to get a student council recruitment offer in the second semester…
But it felt good.
It was like the struggles of ten years in this talentless body were finally being rewarded.
Joining the student council is difficult, but it grants powerful privileges and authority. Moreover, it’s one of the highest honors a student at the academy can have. There are also so many characters I like in the student council, which makes it appealing.
However, I had already decided which club I would join, and if I joined the student council, I would have to act as a member, which would reduce the time I could freely utilize.
Since I couldn’t modify my plans any further, I had to decline with a tear in my eye.
If only there was a save point like in a game where I could return to this moment!
I somewhat expected the magic club’s invitation. I didn’t anticipate the Cronia fan club, but I thought there might be some troublemakers.
Still, I didn’t think the student council would extend an invitation.
It seems that overwhelming Cronia’s golem was a shock to the other students. Of course, I only defeated one of her ordinary golems and didn’t win against her true golem, but since the principal intervened, it felt like I completely defeated Cronia.
I intended to reveal my strength, but it wasn’t supposed to be at this level. I was just aiming to take on the position of a somewhat talented student, and now I’ve become a complete monster.
Not to mention, the fact that I’m Seiren’s younger brother has spread, leading to stories that I might become that strong in the future.
Seiren… really not much help.
Anyway, leaving all those various incidents behind, late at night, I was hiding in the banquet hall, which was dark and devoid of anyone’s presence.
The academy prioritizes students’ safety, so there is a curfew.
Therefore, we have to be inside the dormitory building by a certain time, but right now, I was in the banquet hall, having missed that time.
The same banquet hall where the entrance ceremony took place yesterday.
This banquet hall had a special item hidden within it, the hidden piece “Avatar.”
“Deus Ex Machina” is set in the academy, so most events take place there. However, this makes it hard to portray stories outside the academy.
Thus, the developers introduced this hidden piece called “Avatar.”
It’s an artifact embedded with summoning magic, allowing players to explore the academy while attending classes.
It has quite a backstory.
About 200 years ago, there was a genius wizard in the academy’s history known as Ivan Perisic.
He had an exceptionally brilliant mind and impressive magical skills, leaving behind tremendous achievements.
However, as a graduate student and professor, he spent a long time here, making all his achievements confined to this academy.
Because of this, he also became eccentric, hiding various legacies he created throughout the academy for his successors.
That’s the setup.
Thanks to that, there are numerous legacies created by Ivan Perisic sleeping within this academy, and whenever the “Deus Ex Machina” developers wanted to introduce a hidden piece with a special gimmick, this became the device.
From the developers’ perspective, it was indeed a “Deus Ex Machina”-like existence, so the users called it various names like Toivan Ttorisic and Ao Perisic.
Well, for me, now I could casually grab such hidden pieces, so I was quite grateful.
And today, the legacy of Ivan Perisic that I was going to obtain was “Avatar.”
But the problem is…
Where is it?
I remember it was hidden in the banquet hall.
It was so long ago that my memory is a bit hazy.
I took out the notebook where I had written down what I remembered after merging into this world.
The note had details written about “Avatar”…
– Burn the center of the floor with fire.
Ah, I remember now.
If I scorch the center of the banquet hall’s floor with fire, a hidden magic will activate, and the hidden piece will pop out.
Um… originally, I had planned to borrow the power of Salamander, I mean, Ignis.
But Ignis has now become a high-level spirit who has gained divinity.
It wouldn’t break the magic itself, would it?
…But Ignis told me to get this, so it should be fine?
“Summon Ignis.”
The moment I did, my mana drained from my body like a tide.
Whoosh.
Ignis flooded the dark banquet hall with light as bright as day.
It’s such an incredible brightness, befitting her elevated status… but this isn’t the time to be amazed!
Someone might come here because of this light. I need to swiftly enter the hidden piece space!
“Ignis! Burn the floor here!”
-Understood, Luke!
Whoosh.
And before my eyes, a towering pillar of flame erupted.
…Huh?
The intense heat burned a massive hole in the floor.
S-She erased it! What do I do about the floor?
At that moment, mana wrapped around me, and some kind of magic circle activated.
Huh? Did it work?
Pop.
In the next moment, I found myself standing in a dark room.
Teleportation.
This was Ivan Perisic’s magic hidden in his legacies.
Solving his riddles would activate the teleportation magic, bringing one to this room as a reward.
Of course, I knew the answer, so I simply skipped the riddles and came here.
So “Avatar” is here?
Zing.
Suddenly, a holographic face of a middle-aged man appeared in the air.
Ao Perisic. Whenever I obtained a reward, I would always see this stored video. Well, if I were him, I would probably brag about something I meticulously created too.
-Welcome, great one. This place is…
Huh? Something feels off. Formal language? This isn’t how he usually speaks. And “great one?” Was the stored video for obtaining “Avatar” supposed to be like this? I don’t think so.
-This place is prepared as per your great orders. It is the storage place for the magic “Avatar.”
Magic? “Avatar” should be an artifact.
-I am the culmination of the summoning magic I have studied. The ultimate magic at its peak. If you consume the pill placed in front of you, you will gain that power.
Pill? What in the world is happening…?
-Oh, savior! Please protect our… our world.
The hologram finished its last words and vanished.
I never thought such a confusing thing would happen today.
Not an artifact, but a pill?
Wait, but Ivan Perisic lived 200 years ago, so why is this different from the game “Deus Ex Machina”?
What on earth…?
-Just take that pill, Luke.
Ah! You scared me! It’s Ignis. Oh right, I still hadn’t sent her back. You were out using divinity again, huh?
-Yep!
I’m sorry, Ignis. Please return now.
I sent her back.
I want to ask her about this, but… I probably won’t get a proper answer.
So if I eat this pill, I’ll understand?
My entire body began to be enveloped in mana again.
It was probably the teleportation magic to return.
Pill.
Let’s just go back and check it out.
*
Academy Banquet Hall Entrance.
“The banquet hall suddenly brightened, so I came to check…”
A small girl was standing there with her arms crossed.
“Was it the Holy Spirit? At this hour in the banquet hall… There must be a reason for it. Let’s not disturb and just head back. Oh, and I should make sure other faculty members can’t come here.”
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