Chapter 164 : Vacation (3)
Chapter 164: Vacation (3)
The first semester ended, and countless cadets left Bayern to return to their hometowns.
Yuria was no exception, also preparing to leave.
She packed busily, checking multiple times to ensure nothing was missing, then draped the coat that had been hanging on her chair over her shoulders.
However, unlike others, she wasn’t returning to her hometown, the Gray Magic Tower.
“This should be enough.”
She tapped the pouch on her waist.
Inside, it was filled with mana potions and various emergency supplies.
Thanks to space expansion and weight reduction magic, she could barely feel the weight.
After leaving the room, Yuria knocked on the door of the room opposite hers and asked,
“Laysis, are you ready?”
—Yes, just a moment.
With the reply, the door opened.
Dressed not in Bayern’s usual black uniform but in casual clothes suitable for movement, Laysis stepped outside.
Having thoroughly checked the fastening of the sword sheath on her belt, she nodded and looked at Yuria.
“It’s about time to go, right?”
“Yeah, we have a reservation for the Teleport Gate. With how crowded it gets, even being a minute late will push us off the list.”
The capital’s Teleport Gate was notoriously crowded.
Since Bayern’s semester had ended, the influx of cadets and staff had made it temporarily oversaturated.
Scalpers even roamed around, selling their spots for a higher price.
“My heart’s racing. It’s been a while since we went on a raid, just the two of us, hasn’t it?”
“It has. We used to do it often last year, but after entering the university division, it’s mostly been in groups.”
“That’s because you didn’t have any friends during high school.”
“……”
Caught off guard by the sudden jab, Yuria fell silent.
After being caught sneaking back with Carl from the end-of-semester party, things had felt… off.
‘She’s gotten a bit more prickly.’
While Laysis’s attitude toward her hadn’t visibly changed, she didn’t hesitate to stab when she saw an opening.
Just like now.
“……I’m telling you, really, nothing happened. Are you still holding onto that?”
“Yes, I know. You’ve said that many times already. So of course nothing happened.”
Laysis smiled faintly.
Even if it was during the peak of the end-of-semester party and they had disappeared together for nearly three hours.
Even if, for reasons unknown, her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she returned walking hand in hand with him, all lovey-dovey, only to bump into Laysis in the garden.
“Of course nothing happened.”
“……”
Yuria gave a bitter smile at Laysis’s sarcastic remark.
‘She really holds a grudge.’
Yuria grumbled inwardly.
It was true that the situation could have easily been misunderstood.
She did feel a bit sorry, knowing how Laysis felt about Carl, but she had also formed a new bond with Carl—one that couldn’t be explained to others.
‘He’s the only player in this world besides me.’
To return to their original world, they had to work together.
“Come on, let’s go. We’ll be late.”
“Yes, Miss ‘nothing happened’ Yuria.”
“How long are you going to keep that up?”
Frowning, Yuria strode off.
As she walked, she recalled the conversation she had with Carl during the end-of-semester party.
‘The mood wasn’t bad.’
In the worst case, Carl might have become hostile toward her, but it hadn’t come to that.
Rather, she had learned about Carl’s situation and was able to adjust her plans accordingly.
‘Who would’ve thought he lost his memory.’
Even so, the fact that he had achieved such strength was astonishing.
Of course, they hadn’t shared everything with each other.
Just as she kept secrets, Carl must have had things he hadn’t revealed either.
……And by chance, Yuria had realized one of the things Carl was hiding.
‘That citrus scent.’
When she had cried in Carl’s arms, she caught a faint whiff of his body scent.
She’d had physical contact with him before and assumed it was his cologne, but the scent also stirred a vague memory—she’d smelled it somewhere else.
What could it be?
After pondering it for several days, she reached a conclusion.
‘It was that man back then.’
During the terrorist attack at the entrance exam, she had once been poisoned by a monster and was in critical danger.
Right before losing consciousness as the poison spread through her body, someone had rescued her and moved her to safety.
‘The cadets who found me later said I was lying alone in a monster-free area.’
She had taken precautions, but if not for that rescue, she might have ended up like the other cadets—cold corpses.
Or worse, she might not have even left a corpse behind.
Though she had been slipping into unconsciousness, she clearly remembered the faint citrus scent from the person who carried her.
‘It might have been a coincidence.’
It could have simply been a similar cologne.
But there were too many suspicious factors to chalk it up to coincidence.
NOX.
That was the organization the man who saved her belonged to.
Due to the Emperor’s order, the terrorist incident during the entrance exam was thoroughly investigated, and they had uncovered some information.
The affiliated organization had been wiped out by knights themselves, but NOX had vanished without a trace since then.
She found the connection from the Leipzig side.
A shadowy power base that grew in Leipzig and expanded into the capital—the mastermind behind it…
‘Could only be Carl.’
Of course, it might have been a wild guess.
But even the name stank of suspicion.
After all, NOX started its activity right after Carl was possessed by the player.
She hadn’t had enough time to investigate properly, but Yuria considered it a plausible hypothesis.
‘I was hoping he might tell me himself.’
But Carl had never once mentioned NOX.
He probably didn’t fully trust her yet.
Which was fine, since she had her own share of secrets.
‘We’ll unravel it gradually as we talk more.’
……Though, it did leave her feeling a bit sorry for Laysis.
Because her closest friend and the person she admired were both people from another world now.
Still, it wasn’t something she could easily reveal.
It might shock her, and because it was a sensitive secret, it could stir unnecessary trouble.
“Why the silence? Miss Yuria, for whom nothing happened.”
“……”
Realizing she’d been lost in thought, Laysis poked her again.
With her being teased over the same thing repeatedly, Yuria couldn’t help but feel a bit mischievous herself.
She came to a halt on the spot.
Just as Laysis tilted her head in confusion, Yuria brushed her lips and hesitantly spoke.
“W-Well… something did happen…”
“……!!!”
Laysis leapt up in place.
She was so shocked that her hair practically shot up into the air.
Smirking at the better-than-expected reaction, Yuria strode forward and patted Laysis on the shoulder.
“Just kidding. Let’s go already.”
“……Y-You’re really kidding, right?”
Yuria didn’t respond.
She simply resumed walking energetically, just as before.
“Yuria!!”
Only Laysis’s urgent shout, trailing after her friend, lingered in the air.
A sword and a greatsword collided.
Shockwaves erupted in all directions, striking the ceiling and walls, shaking the surroundings.
If it had been an ordinary training hall, it wouldn’t have been strange for it to collapse dozens of times by now.
But the new headquarters facility, built with Seven’s advanced materials, maintained its form without issue.
Whoosh.
Having been flung back dozens, even hundreds of times, X wiped the blood from his mouth as he flipped in mid-air.
Exhaling lightly, he gripped his greatsword with both hands and flashed a fierce smile.
“Drinking the capital’s water must’ve done something. Your sword’s faster and heavier than before. I should’ve gone with you.”
“If you had, it would’ve been more fun. Maybe you could’ve even broken through that wall you longed to overcome.”
“……”
X kept his mouth tightly shut.
Sword Master—a realm craved by all who devoted their lives to the sword.
Even he could feel he still lacked much.
That’s why he had stepped down from his position as Knight Commander and traveled, challenging strong opponents to temper himself.
‘One day, definitely.’
He swore to surpass the wall and reach that realm.
Perhaps defeating the Master could allow him to grasp it.
“Let me show you a glimpse of the light you’ve so desperately yearned for.”
“……What?”
At X’s reaction, Carl grinned and lightly raised his sword.
As Primordial Unity Divine Art reached Three Stars, Carl had ascended to a realm comparable to a Sword Master.
The roots of his martial arts were different, but in essence, he was no different from one.
Fwoooosh—!
A powerful and ominous energy surged around Carl’s sword.
Facing him, X widened his eyes at the swirling light on the Heavenly Thunder Sword.
“That’s…!”
X, stunned, tried to voice his shock.
But before he could, Carl vanished from his sight, causing him to panic and raise his greatsword.
Heavenly Origin Sword Technique’s move—Heavenly Thunder (Cheonroe).
A flash of lightning sparked.
As Carl unleashed the fastest quick-draw sword of the Heavenly Origin Sword Technique, the distance between them collapsed in an instant.
X gave up on counterattacking.
This wasn’t an attack that could be deflected or parried.
So instead, he brought the broad blade forward to shield his body.
“……”
Even in that moment, his eyes tracked the tip of the sword as it came flying toward him.
It wasn’t often one had the chance to witness, up close, the realm one so fervently admired.
Fsssh—!
Carl twisted his wrist, redirecting the trajectory of his thrust that pierced the air.
The Heavenly Thunder Sword grazed past X’s right cheek, and the shockwave tore through the air, slamming into the wall far behind.
KWA-RANG!
Apparently unable to withstand that level of impact, part of the wall completely collapsed.
Carl sheathed his sword with an awkward expression as he watched the scene.
“Guess I’ll have to ask Seven to stock up on materials.”
“……”
X didn’t reply.
He simply stood in place, replaying the trajectory of the sword that had nearly struck him.
Carl stepped aside so as not to disturb him, a faint smile on his lips.
He saw his past self in him.
‘A stubborn man.’
It was a moment where he could’ve died if the sword had pierced his face.
And yet, to witness the realm he obsessed over, X had risked his life.
His thirst and passion for martial arts ranked among the most intense Carl had ever encountered.
“……Did he wet himself or what?”
From the doorway, Gallon appeared, pointing at X standing dazed in the center of the training hall.
Carl, having returned the Heavenly Thunder Sword to its sheath, shrugged.
“He’s probably swimming in the subconscious now. Even if he did, by the time he wakes up, it’ll have dried.”
“You really are cruel, Master. If X had heard that, his eyes would’ve rolled back and he’d have lunged at you.”
“He’d attack you, not me. Anyway, what about it?”
“I brought it, but…”
Frowning, Gallon pulled a small box from his coat.
“Master, are you really okay with using the Bloody Stone like this?”