208 – End of an Era
“Both of these top two teams had incredibly, highly irregular performances,” said the headmaster. “In fact, both teams’ performances would have been more in line with the rest of the groups, if not for one single day where they earned more points on that day alone than some teams did in the entire competition.”
If anyone on Elise’s team had any doubts that they were among the top two teams, that statement wiped them away. Their final day had been truly special. Once Elise stopped holding back, they blew through monsters so quickly that they would have been surprised if they didn’t set the single day kill record. And the headmaster confirmed as much in his following statements.
“One of these teams set the record for the most monster kills in a single day, and the previous record is not even close. They also set the record for the most monster kills, though only by a couple. The other team set the record for highest level monster slain. A Tier 8, level 6 monster would have posed a serious threat to even the most powerful teams in the official Dungeon Competition, but this team took it down anyway, and without receiving any serious injuries, no less.”
Elise glanced over at Attalaya’s team, and while the giantess was stoic as usual, Elise could have sworn she saw a hint of a proud smile on her face.
“The second place team scored 16,540 points, and the first place team scored 17,130. While those numbers may not seem that close, I would like to once again impress upon everyone present how astounding both those scores are. I would not be surprised if neither of those scores are ever surpassed, even centuries from now.
“So, without further ado, I am extremely proud to announce that the team that placed second in the Rookie Dungeon Competition, and set the record for most monsters slain in a single day is…” He paused, letting silence fill the room. “The Fighting with Nature club, mentored by our very own Professor Horuma Sucri!”
The entire auditorium erupted into applause as Elise and the rest of their team slowly got to their feet and made their way to the stage. Elise—and the others as well, she assumed—were filled with a mixture of joy, disappointment and regret. If she had not awakened her {Rune of Fate} at that moment, or if Helene had not been present, or if she had decided to stop holding back from the very beginning…
But it was too late to change the past. All things considered, this was probably for the best. Even if Elise was going to be leaving after this semester, the others would still face the consequences of her actions. If not for the {Rune of Fate} and Helene, Elise would likely not have chosen to go all out at the end in the first place. And if she had for some reason done it from the beginning, their score would have been so high as to be suspicious, inviting unwanted scrutiny. Even if she was going to disappear at the end of the semester, the others wouldn’t be free of the consequences. The way it had turned out was probably for the best.
They all took turns shaking hands with the headmaster, and Elise let his words wash over. He congratulated them profusely, then went on to explain their rewards. The rewards didn’t really matter to her. There was a small cash prize, but compared to all the gold that Oberon had refused to take back from her, it was just a drop in the bucket. There were career opportunities, mostly from the groups that sponsored the competition, but with her abandoning this identity immediately afterward, those didn’t matter either.
Hannah, at least, seemed very excited about this. She couldn’t stop beaming, especially when the headmaster announced that the sponsors were willing to increase the second place rewards in light of their performance. Frank didn’t seem displeased by this either. The two of them were the only ones who actually had much to gain from this. Technically Sophie did too, but with her status as Irylax’s protege, she probably could have gotten any career opportunities she wanted if she chose to reveal that.
Still, it felt at least a little good to hear the applause and get some recognition, and after thinking about it, Elise wasn’t at all disappointed by the results. She had largely accomplished her goals, and while there were some major hiccups, it had worked out in the end.
They soon left the stage, and the auditorium once again fell silent.
“I would spend more time talking to build suspense, but I believe that just about every student here already knows who won,” said the headmaster. “So, please give a round of applause to the Martial Arts Club, mentored by–!”
The unlucky mentor’s name was entirely lost in the ensuing cacophony. The members of the Martial Arts club leapt to their feet hollering and hugging each other. Attalaya did not join in with the rowdier activities, but she did let herself smile a bit as the others jostled her, giving her congratulatory shoves and dragging her toward the stage.
Elise smiled and applauded politely as they received the headmaster’s praise and accepted their rewards, and when Attalaya made eye contact, she nodded in acknowledgement. She had definitely lost their wager. It hadn’t been entirely fair, since Elise was crippled half the competition, but if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have gone all out at the end, so the point was moot. Plus, if she had gone all out, she would have had an extremely unfair advantage. Attalaya would absolutely win in a one on one fight, but when the competition was slaughtering large amounts of unintelligent monsters, even Attalaya couldn’t overcome Elise’s ability to kill them en masse with a thought.
And unless Elise was reading too much into the other woman’s muted facial expressions, she thought Attalaya might have understood that as well. Attalaya may have won the competition, but the fact that Elise’s team had set the record for kills in a single day proved that they could have done better. And from the look on the giantess’ face when they made eye contact, Elise thought she detected traces of both disappointment and understanding.
What followed after the headmaster gave his closing speech was utter chaos. The teams had not been put at tables for no reason. It quickly became apparent that these tables would see serious use as the audience rushed into the main floor to mingle with the contestants. First came the family and friends, rushing to the teams to congratulate or comfort their members based on their performances. Next came the recruiters, seeking out the top performing teams to give out job offers and try to sell them on upcoming opportunities to further prove their ability.
Unfortunately, this chaos made it utterly impossible for Elise to continue keeping track of her surroundings. If the crowd and noise wasn’t enough, the fact that half the recruiters seemed to somehow know that she was the team leader and wanted to take up all of her conscious attention was the nail in the coffin. She couldn’t easily blow them off, and she couldn’t split her mind to do two things. The safer option would have been to just excuse herself from the party so she could keep her awareness, but with so many people around, there was no easy way for her to leave, so she would have had to make a big deal out of it, and decided that she would just trust that Ostra wouldn’t launch an attack on her in such a crowded place.
And thankfully, her gamble paid off. While it was annoying, and draining, and tedious, the awards ceremony passed by quickly and without incident. Elise had to turn down literally dozens of offers, and some people just couldn’t take no for an answer, trying to feel her out and find her price point, but that was the worst of it. Nothing else really happened, and after an hour or so of annoyance, Elise shared a glance with Sophie, and the two decided it was time to leave.
It took another half an hour for them to extricate themselves from the throng of people. They were stopped every couple steps by strangers congratulating them, or recruiters who hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with them yet. These recruiters were not useless to Sophie, but they were also not all that useful, since if Sophie expressed interest later, she could just approach them and say “I was on the Fighting with Nature Rookie Dungeon Competition team” and get similar treatment. She had accepted a few business cards from the more prestigious groups, but at this point, it was all just annoyance.
Outside the venue, it was late in the evening, and contrary to the interior, it was pleasantly quiet. For most of the campus, the semester was over. Many students had gone home for the break, and the rest had no reason to be here other than pleasure walks. There were still a few here and there, and the occasional professor entering or exiting one of the many magical research labs, but for the most part, Elise and Sophie were alone as they walked.
The first part of their journey passed in silence. Even as chatty as Sophie was, they both needed a few minutes to recharge after the chaos of the party. Plus, despite everything that had happened in the past few days, this was likely one of, if not the last time they would see each other. Elise had never been good with words in times like these either, and Sophie didn’t seem particularly eager to start the conversation either.
Eventually, though, the tension got too much to bear, and Elise opened her mouth to speak. And as if sensing Elise’s intention, Sophie suddenly decided she wanted to speak first.
“Do you really have to go?” she asked.
“I– yes. You heard what Iris said, right?”
“Yeah… But she’s not here anymore. She can’t stop you from sticking around.”
“We both know it’s too dangerous.”
“But we’re strong,” Sophie countered. “Maybe we’re not the strongest, but I bet we could level up really fast if we wanted to. Maybe we can stay in Everspring again, at least until we level up some more. I bet that once we hit 8th Tier, there won’t be anything that can beat us. Except maybe another dragon. But then we just have to not annoy any dragons.”
Elise was silent. She had intentionally kept Sophie in the dark about a lot of the more existential threats surrounding them, and she had no intention of sharing those things now. Sophie was certainly powerful for her age, and she might even have been mature enough to handle the truth, but it was still far too dangerous.
“What if I’ve already annoyed a dragon?” Elise asked.
“What? You have?”
“Just kidding. But still, the answer is no. It’s… It’s complicated.”
“It’s related to Samantha isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Ever since you and Jessie went away with her, you guys have been acting weird. Is Samantha the other dragon? Did you guys make her angry?”
“No, Samantha isn’t a dragon, and we didn’t make her angry… But it is somewhat related to her.”
“What is it then?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“...Did Iris ever tell you why you weren’t allowed to speak about aether in public?”
“No.”
“If you do, the System will put a bounty on your head, and anyone who kills you will get a lot of rewards.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And the reason that you might be in danger is somewhat similar.”
“You were telling people about aether?!”
“No, it’s similar. Like, the danger level. And don’t ask me any more.” Sophie tried to ask anyway, but Elise shut her down before she could get a word out. “I’m serious. I’ve probably already said too much. It’s… I’ll explain as soon as I can, but I can’t do it now. Besides, you saw what happened down there. If there was one assassin, there’ll probably be more. I don’t want to put you guys in any more danger.”
“But–”
“No,” said Elise firmly. “I’m leaving. It’s not safe for me to stay. I promised Irylax I would go. I’m going to go.”
To Elise’s surprise, Sophie did not push back any further. She just sighed, looking down at the ground and kicking a stray rock as they walked.
“Alright,” she said.
“I’ll try to stay in contact,” said Elise. “If nothing else, I can dreamwalk to you.”
“Oh yeah,” said Sophie, brightening up. “Iris was teaching me how to do that too! Maybe I can visit you sometimes too.”
“Yeah, maybe,” said Elise with a smile.
“So, where are you gonna go?” asked Sophie.
“Well, my original plan was gonna be to wander around, but if I’ve got assassins after me, I’ll probably need to deal with that first.”
“Okay, but what about after that?”
“I dunno. And if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Sophie whined.
“Because if you knew where I was, then you–” Elise poked Sophie in the side. “–would be in danger.”
“That’s not fair,” Sophie pouted.
“Maybe if you figure out dreamwalking, you’ll be able to spy on me and see where I am that way.”
“Oh, good idea! I’ll master it this week, then.”
“Good luck with that.”
“You don’t think I can do it?”
“I never said that.”
“You implied it.”
“No I didn’t.”
“You figured it out in one night.”
“I figured out how to connect to one person. One person who happened to be only a few feet away, and with whom I was having an active conversation. A person who I already had a strong bond with, as well as months of practice with sensing aether. You haven’t even unlocked {Aether Sense} yet, have you?”
“W– well, I can see it.” Sophie turned to Elise, her eyes glowing yellow to prove her point. “Who needs the stupid sensing Skill anyway?”
“You do, if you want to figure out dreamwalking.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“No, that’s objectively how it works.”
“We’ll see.”
“Okay, now you’re just being stubborn on purpose.”
“Nuh uh.”
The conversation lightened up from there, turning to banter, and before they knew it, they turned the corner onto the street where their house was, and about halfway down the street, Elise realized that something was wrong. There was no one else present. Usually, she could feel the aether signatures of the neighbors as she passed by, but this time, there was nothing.
No, not nothing. There were a few here and there, but none in the house. Only on the roofs and crouching in alleyways. Shortly after she noticed this, she heard a familiar voice in her head.
“Eleanor, I’m afraid that you’re under arrest,” said Emmett.
Elise slowed to a stop, much to Sophie’s confusion.
“I’ve arranged things so that you can have a clean break from the Grays. Just play along, and you’ll ensure that they won’t be affected by this. But don’t take this to mean that I am on your side. If you cooperate, you will not be harmed. I am here to keep things from getting out of hand, and I would much prefer to have a conversation with you, rather than resorting to spell-flinging. But if you choose to resist, then we will have no choice. Please make the wise decision.”
“E– Eleanor?” asked Sophie, glancing around, nervously.
Elise ignored her as she mentally went through her options. She had teleportation scrolls. She could try to summon and tear one to escape, but she had no confidence she could do it quickly enough. There were too many people around. She could also try to use {Don’t Look At Me, Peasants!} to simply disappear, but if Emmett was around, that wouldn’t be an option. If he couldn’t see through such Skills, she would eat her shoes.
She really didn’t want to be captured, but as she thought about it, it wasn’t that bad either. Emmett’s presence kept her from running, but it also guaranteed her some semblance of safety. She didn’t fully trust his words, but if he wanted her dead or incapacitated, he would have just done it himself. She trusted at the very least that he just wanted to talk, and if nothing else, she could just wait until he left, and then simply walk out of wherever they confined her.
After all, I am immune to handcuffs.
No sooner had she come to a resolution did the stealthed operatives around make their move. Two dashed forward so quickly Elise barely even saw them, grabbing Sophie and pulling her out of the way, and the other six surrounded her, carrying various weapons.
“Wh– what?!” exclaimed Sophie, struggling against her captor’s arms.
“Eleanor Gray, you are under arrest!” said a burly man standing between Elise and Sophie.
He wore a mask, so Elise couldn’t see his face, but from his mana and aether, he was clearly quite powerful.
“For what?” asked Elise.
“For what,” scoffed the man. “You know what.”
“Wh– what are you doing?!” shouted Sophie. “She didn’t do anything!”
“Sophie, that’s not your sister,” said one of the people grabbing Sophie, a woman. “That is a dangerous monster. We’re trying to protect you. Please stop resisting.”
“No!” shouted Sophie.
Ah, I see, thought Elise.
So this was how Emmett set things up to protect the Grays. By making them a victim, they became free of blame for any of this. Elise would have preferred to just disappear quietly, but this wasn’t a bad option. It was probably better than what she had been planning, actually, as long as Emmett kept things quiet. And based on the fact that he had evacuated all potential witnesses, that seemed like exactly what he planned to do.
So, all she had to do was play along.
“Well, you got me,” she said with a sigh. “Sorry Sophie. It was fun, but you should really be less gullible.”
“Wh– what?” asked Sophie.
“Did you really think I was actually your sister?”
“Just play along,” she sent with {Whisper}.
“No!” shouted Sophie. “You can’t–!”
“Shhhh…” said the other woman. “Don’t let her rile you up. One, shut her up!”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Four” said the burly man, stepping forward.
“I don’t suppose you could change your mind and maybe let me go?” said Elise, empowering her words with {Suggest}.
It was not a serious attempt, but it made the man pause, at least for a moment before she saw his face twist into a sneer beneath his mask.
“Nice try, monster,” he said. “But if you try that again, things are going to get very violent very quickly.”
“Okay, okay,” said Elise, raising her hands in surrender. “It was worth a shot.”
“Hands behind your back,” he said, producing a pair of handcuffs.
Elise did as she was told, putting her hands behind her back. As soon as the handcuffs locked around her wrists, she felt her mana and aether suddenly cut off. It was almost panic-inducing, but she was able to keep herself calm. After all, she was still in her soul, and could see what had really happened. The handcuffs may have cut her connection to her aether and mana, but they worked through the System. They did not lock her down, but rather her System, and if she simply disconnected, they would cease to have any effect.
“Good,” said the man behind her. “You’re not stupid. You might actually get to live.”
“Oh, how generous of you,” said Elise.
“Shut up.”
Elise glanced over at Sophie, who was still struggling against the two masked people holding her back, but she was struggling much less than she had been originally. Elise wished she could send another message with {Whisper}, but instead, she would just have to hope that Emmett would explain things properly later. Or that she would be able to head back to the house to explain things herself. For now, this would have to do.
“Calm down,” said the woman holding Sophie. “Let’s go into your house. We’ve already got a few more people there, and we’ll explain everything.”
Sophie did not look happy, but after a few seconds, she relented, allowing herself to be guided away. She looked over her shoulder one last time at Elise, and it took all of Elise’s willpower not to give her a reassuring smile. She was supposed to be an evil changeling at the moment, apparently, and that wouldn’t fit her role at all.
Instead, she just watched Sophie leave for a few seconds before she heard the tear of paper behind her, and a second later, she was in a completely different room. It looked to her like an interrogation room, with just a table and two chairs, as well as a ring to hook chains on. The burly man behind her shoved her into one of the chairs, and forced her hands onto the table, where they were locked into the ring.
“Don’t try anything funny,” he said. “You won’t survive it.”
And with that, he left the room. A moment later, the door opened again, and this time, Emmett entered.
“You’re not the first former student I’ve had to interrogate,” he said, sitting down. “But I sincerely hope this goes better than the last time. I’d rather not dirty my hands any further.”