The dark alley of the black market.
A man draped in a robe strides quickly through the narrow space.
When urban planning is poorly executed, the old town can be so complex that first-time visitors can easily get lost.
But this red-haired young man moved swiftly, as if he had already determined where he needed to go, glancing down from the sky.
What he was searching for was the black market where the cat beastmen were.
“Come on, King…”
“It’s a deal.”
The beastman lazily greeted him, and the man responded shortly.
With his robe tightly drawn, only his red hair and part of his jaw could be seen.
There was no need to elaborate; just judging by his jawline, one could expect that he must have good looks.
“Mermaid’s Scream. All of it.”
“Hmm… don’t have any…”
“Double the price.”
“Really don’t have it…”
“Triple it. If you bounce me one more time, you won’t be able to do business in this area for life.”
“Out of stock! Someone bought it…”
At those words, the man revealed his face by pulling off the robe.
A chilling blue tattoo was inscribed under his eyes.
His hair looked as if it had swallowed the sun.
It was Caeran Hiss, the top student of Claris Academy.
“No lies, right?”
“Um, yeah…”
He roughly grabbed the beastman’s wrist.
“Last time you almost got caught for switching out the goods.”
“I swear, I swear!!”
Unexpected.
Given the beastman’s reaction, it seemed like there were no lies.
Caeran’s plan faced a hitch.
He needed Mermaid’s Scream for an upcoming magic power sensitivity test for underwater breathing.
Who the hell could it be? Someone other than himself had gathered information about the test in advance.
*
In the hallway leading to the [Dungeon Exploration Practice] classroom,
I ran into Melissa, who had her pink hair neatly tied back.
“Re… Lev Denec!”
“?”
“You, really…”
In an instant, Melissa, who met my gaze, faltered and averted her eyes.
“Do you have something to say?”
When I asked first, she lowered her tone and asked,
“W-what did you and Ria do the other day?”
“We went out, why?”
“W-what did you do?”
“Just had a meal.”
“Y-You had a meal with Ria…! I was so surprised when you said you’d follow her to the dorm….”
Melissa began lamenting as if she was about to cry.
I heard that after their tea party, she had reserved fine dining for dinner.
Of course, it was a promise that Aria was unaware of.
‘Oh, come on.’
Anyway, Melissa’s interest in Aria seems to have reached its limit.
Since the magic sensitivity class and falling for Caeran at Demon Lake,
Aria had been neglected continuously…
By the way, the princess is still a princess.
It’s none other than how much she was pampered, really top-tier tantrum thrower.
“Anyway, don’t try to lure innocent Ria anymore…! This is a warning, mind you….”
–Gulp!
When I took a step closer, Melissa curled up even more than before.
“Sir S-rank, class is about to start. Please return.”
“…I’m not a sir, you know?”
“Yes, yes. Princess.”
“W-what a hassle it is to look like a parasitic boyfriend…”
In South Korea, where looks are everything, they would say that’s a compliment.
I wanted to say that, but the folks around here wouldn’t get it.
“Y-you, I’ll be watching. So prepare for this test.”
Melissa warned like a broken robot and stiffly walked past me.
Why is she acting like this today…?
Anyway, after the duel, evaluations of me seem to be divided.
-“That guy, must be using a crossbow; his rapid-fire was impressive.”
-“Yeah, he wanted to be a magician, right?”
-“But it wasn’t very powerful; Geelon was just careless.”
-“But wasn’t that pretty similar to wind archery?”
-“The colors were completely different, though.”
-“What hurts the most is that I lost 1000 gems over that…”
-“Ha! That Geelon guy. I was going to take him down first, but he beat me to it!”
That’s the general gist of the reactions.
Well, although demons came at me with critical hits, when it comes to humans, there’s no way to do anything effective.
And maybe it’s fortunate,
there was no reaction like, ‘A human is using the privilege of wind archery?’
After all, I hadn’t used anything iconic enough to be called wind archery,
and my attack power wasn’t sufficient either;
plus, unlike the usual light green wind archery, mine was blue.
Looking back on memories, I don’t think I ever saw blue wind archery in games before.
‘But now, no one should mess with me anymore.’
The gazes of those who used to avoid me had become much milder.
On the contrary, Geelon’s reputation seemed to have diminished quite a bit.
The fact that he lost to a nobody like me stirred up quite a ripple,
and with his sordid womanizing and ugly past revealed to some extent,
it shaped a public opinion that he got what he deserved due to this duel.
-“Thanks. That Geelon senpai kept bugging me too.”
-“He called me during free periods. He was strict… people talked a lot behind his back.”
-“For a freshman, quite brave…”
-“I didn’t know on the first day, but you’re actually pretty good…”
This sort of group came up to me to flatter me.
The temporary class C students had witnessed Lev Denec’s third-rate antics in real-time,
but the others had only heard rumors,
so it seems that having knocked down a senpai who annoys younger students allowed me to gain some positive opinions.
Lastly, the reward for the duel was also certain.
3000 gems as victory pay, and one treaty that could be imposed on the loser.
-“Until graduation from the academy, Selena is prohibited from coming within a 2-meter radius.”
It really bothered me that he kept approaching Selena and interrupting her training…
Since Melissa isn’t one to shy away from taking care of the main character author, I had to look out for her too.
‘But why didn’t she come?’
The [Dungeon Exploration Practice] class is combined, but there was no sign of her.
I hoped to treat her to a meal as a thank you for helping me with training.
Of course, she’d have refused flatly, being the type who hates personal promises.
‘Maybe she came to watch the duel…?’
Anyway, it seemed that things had settled down…
“Everyone, focus.”
Vice Instructor Bella, who was also my witness for the duel in the mandatory course [Dungeon Exploration Practice], appeared.
“I will announce the schedule for next week.”
“It’s Friday. We plan to conduct an actual purification mission to test your practical sense.”
Actual.
At the mention of that word, the students began to murmur in surprise.
Until now, the training had included at least some safety measures,
but now they would be facing demons who possess pure malice.
They must have made up their minds when entering the academy, but as freshmen, it would be both excitement and worry.
“The second-year upperclassmen will lead the teams as Elders. Selected by these Elders, each group will be formed with one S, A, B, or C-rank freshman.”
Fortunately, it was just as in the novel.
“The dungeon you’ll explore will vary by group, so announcements will be made later. Therefore, your first task will be to impress the upperclassmen, the Elders.”
In other words, it means to get on their good side.
“The Elders wear a blue ribbon on their left chest. Well, I heard they usually hang around the personal training room.”
At the mention of the training room, everyone became alarmed.
-So, we have to train again?
“That’s a personal choice. Furthermore, those who are not selected by the Elders will be penalized with 10 demerit points and will be randomly assigned to a group.”
-That’s too harsh!
It seems that when dealing with kids of this age, nothing is more convenient than demerit points.
“And, as for the additional announcement… um, is Lev Denec here?”
“Yes.”
When I answered briefly, Bella looked at me and said,
“Professor Diana has called for you. Please head to her office.”
Wait, Diana?
Diana Ashkar,
a professor at Claris Academy, one of the war heroes.
I knew she taught only A-rank students and higher,
and for her to call me?
Something smells sweet…?
*
Although Claris Academy is known for its merciless meritocracy,
students who follow the rules and excel in grades receive boundless privileges, making it their version of paradise.
Selena, who has never received a demerit point, submitted an excuse for her absence in advance to take advantage of the upcoming weekend.
Thus, she arrived at the Flotine Forest.
With its dense woods, streams, and endless waterfalls,
it was once the largest habitat where elves, who lived in harmony with nature, resided.
Regrettably, it has now become a place invaded by demons.
The elves, who had only dwelled in the forest and turned a blind eye to humanity, have joined the war,
because the vast haven, the Flotine Forest, had been soiled by the demon race.
The once vibrant forest was now dyed red,
the streams dried up, and even the waterfalls had lost their might.
Now classified as a Level 3 demon habitat under the empire’s jurisdiction,
ordinary people were prohibited from entering,
but as an elf, Selena occasionally came here to reminisce.
Because elves, who live far longer than humans, also carry memories of this place.
Why is it,
even though the wind spirits have all left this land,
there remains a small patch of greenery amidst the reddened paths?
It was the resting place of Selena’s biological father and mother.
Selena always found solace in this small spot whenever she visited.
–Rustle.
At that moment, a wolf stepped out from the bushes.
Elves usually had pet wolves, so it was left behind here.
–Eeeee…
Even at first glance, it looked in poor condition.
Despite having passed maturity, it was small.
Perhaps it was due to being enveloped in the foreign powers of the demons since it was a pup.
–Swoosh. Swoosh.
–Eeeee…
“…”
Selena silently stroked the wolf.
It likewise pushed into her embrace and began to breathe slowly.
–Piiiiii…
Humans tend to classify things that could harm them very thoroughly.
This one wolf, Selena could not take away with her.
It was against the rules of humans who could not carelessly bring anything out from a demon habitat.
Of course, they understood it logically, given the long ordeal they had suffered against demonic forces.
As she closed her eyes, the sound of the wind grew denser.
–…
Lev Denec.
Funny enough, it was thanks to the human that half-elf Selena mastered wind archery.
I don’t know why,
but truly, it is incomprehensible.
Wind archery is something one is born with.
What’s more astonishing is that he also used wind archery.
It was blue wind archery.
If pretty, very pretty…
Then once again, a strong wind blew.
And with it, memories of her mother surfaced within Selena.
-In a distant past, there was a half-elf like you.
-He too, wished for wind archery more than anything.
-One day, he was able to use wind archery.
-In the beginning, it was a beautiful blue color.
Everyone envied him, taken by the strength it exuded.
-But in the end, it turned red.
-By then, he had already become a dark elf…
-Selena, my lovely daughter. Don’t make hasty judgments like that.
It was a tale that belonged to a legend, of the dark elf that struck the final blow against the hero Krune.
Due to his betrayal, most of the Flotria Forest, except for this small spot where Selena is, fell into the grasp of the demons.
‘Blue wind archery…’
And…
‘Lev Denec…’
The subtle tremors of the wolf in Selena’s arms soon diminished.
