Avoiding Death in an Otome Game

The following month brought several changes to the academy, with the most noticeable change taking place within the student council itself.

After the incident, Ralf’s popularity had already surpassed every other candidate who had been competing for the position of student council president, and once Elena and I openly supported him, there was very little room left for anyone else to catch up.

There was also the matter of Prince Lucian.

Ralf had indirectly saved his life during the attack by using his spatial abilities to evacuate people and respond to the situation faster than most students could even understand what was happening, and although Ralf himself had never tried to turn that into some grand achievement, the fact remained that everyone knew about it.

Considering all of that, it was hardly surprising when Ralf won the student council election by a considerable margin.

Jasmine, the previous president, had already been preparing for her graduation examinations, and since the third year students would soon be leaving the academy, the transition of authority happened smoothly rather than becoming some prolonged ceremony.

Ralf officially became the new student council president.

The remaining positions were filled shortly afterward by candidates chosen by him, and one particular appointment caught my attention.

Just like in Ralf’s route in the game, he selected Jin Curzon as the general secretary.

That surprised me more than it probably should have.

In the original storyline, Ralf and Jin had developed a close relationship because of several events involving Hina, but none of those events had happened in this timeline.

Hina had deliberately avoided the routes that originally connected her with several of the male characters, and as a result, the circumstances surrounding Ralf and Jin should have been completely different.

*They must have made some prior agreement.*

That was the only explanation I could think of.

Perhaps Ralf had recognized Jin’s abilities during the election, or perhaps Jin had approached him beforehand and offered his support in exchange for the position.

Either way, I did not spend much time thinking about it. There were more important things occupying my mind.

Ralf had also offered me a position within the student council, but I declined.

It was not because I disliked the idea of getting some authority, nor did I have any particular objection to the student council itself.

I simply did not have enough free time.

Between classes, training, practicing Memory Backtrack, dealing with my contracted Spirit Hawk, and occasionally investigating things connected to evil magic users, adding regular student council responsibilities to that list seemed like a particularly efficient way of making sure I stopped sleeping altogether.

Ralf accepted my refusal without complaint.

After that, the academy gradually returned to its normal rhythm, as the classes and training continued.

Students continued arguing over rankings, competing against each other, and worrying about examinations.

Then, eventually, our annual tests arrived.

The written portion was not particularly troublesome.

I finished it without needing to spend much time thinking about most of the questions, although a few of the advanced magic theory sections required enough concentration that I could not simply rush through them.

Still, written examinations had never been the part that concerned me.

The real deal is the practical examination that would take place inside a dungeon.

The Dungeon of Anastomosis.

*It is finally about time.*

Currently we are heading to the location of the test, the Dungeon of Anastomosis. We are currently in a carriage, and by carriage I don’t mean regular personal carriage but a big double decker bus size carriage which can easily accommodate 40-50 students.

The academy is using such carriages to take the first year students to the dungeon, and to ensure the safety of the students, this time principal Alfred is accompanying the students, he will also be supervising the test.

Sitting inside the carriage and I looked out through the window, watching the landscape pass by while quietly organizing my thoughts.

There was something waiting inside that dungeon. And that is the most important loot in the game.

The reason I had never tried to obtain it before was simple.

It was not there yet.

The dungeon did not contain the item until the exact point in the storyline when it was supposed to appear, and that point happened to coincide with the first-year practical examination.

That was why I had not been in any particular hurry.

Even if I knew the dungeon’s layout, knowing where an item would eventually appear did not mean I could simply enter months earlier and take it.

And now the day when it would appear had finally arrived.

I also had another advantage that I had not possessed before.

Memory Backtrack.

The spell had been considerably more difficult to master than I initially expected, but after weeks of practice, I had finally begun seeing results.

The memories of the game that had gradually become faint and blurry over the years were becoming clearer again.

At first, the changes had been subtle.

A location I had forgotten would suddenly return to my mind with its surroundings. A conversation I had only vaguely remembered would regain its exact sequence.

A dungeon corridor that had once been little more than a vague image in my head would suddenly become something I could visualize almost as if I were standing there.

The more I practiced, the more information returned.

I had deliberately focused my efforts on the dungeon. And especially on the places where the game had forced the player to solve certain mechanisms.

Even the seemingly insignificant details had received my attention because I knew that something I considered unimportant when I played the game years ago might become critical now.

I had spent countless hours forcing myself to reconstruct those memories and then preserve them using Memory Backtrack.

The result was better than I had expected.

I could remember the dungeon clearly.

Not perfectly, because human memory was never truly perfect, but clearly enough that I could distinguish between the important routes and the meaningless ones.

Now I have a fairly detailed plan.

The only uncertainty was whether someone else would reach the target before me.

*I hope Hina and that other person will not be able to reach the location until I take the item.*

That other person bothered me more than Hina.

I knew Hina’s movements reasonably well because she was still following the broad pattern of the original game, even though many events had already diverged.

But the person who had somehow obtained Treaticia was completely different.

I do not know who they are and I don’t know why they had taken it.

And I certainly do not know what else they might know about the game. That made them considerably more dangerous than an ordinary rival.

“Dude, what are you thinking about?” Ian’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I turned toward him “What?”

“You have been staring outside for a while.”

He leaned slightly toward me, looking at me with suspicion “You look like you are planning something.”

“I was just thinking about the test.”

Ian gave me a skeptical look “You are probably the last person who should be worried about a practical test. And you even brought a cheat with you.”

He glanced toward the luggage area.

Aeris was sitting peacefully inside her cage, apparently completely uninterested in our conversation.

I smiled “It is not a cheat. You are allowed to bring a tamed or contracted beast into the test.”

“That does not make it less of a cheat.”

I ignored his complain.

The academy’s rules were quite reasonable in that regard.

There were several students who specialized in taming magical beasts, and there were also summoners who relied on summoned creatures during combat.

Since the practical examination was supposed to evaluate a student’s ability to survive and operate in an actual dangerous environment rather than simply measure how well they could fight alone, the academy allowed students to bring tamed, summoned, or contracted creatures with them.

Naturally, there were restrictions.

A student could not simply bring a massive magical beast capable of destroying half the dungeon and call it an examination.

There were regulations regarding the size, rank, and nature of creatures permitted inside.

Transport was another problem.

Some students had brought smaller magical beasts that could travel with them relatively easily, while others had to use dedicated transport vehicles arranged by the academy.

A few had even brought their beasts along personally, walking beside them rather than transporting them inside a carriage.

Aeris was much easier to handle.

Spirit Hawks were relatively small, and the academy’s luggage transport could accommodate her cage without much trouble.

Lumi was another matter, although only because Elena had refused to let her stay among the luggage.

Elena was carrying Lumi’s cage on her seat because she was worried the little hawk would not be comfortable being transported with the other belongings.

I glanced toward Aeris.

*Sorry, Aeris, but you are not as small as Lumi.*

Aeris stared back at me.

I was not sure whether she understood my thoughts or simply happened to be looking in my direction.

The carriage continued moving for another several minutes before gradually slowing down.

The conversations around us became quieter as the students realized that we were approaching our destination.

Then the carriage stopped and the doors were opened.

One student after another stepped outside in an orderly manner.

There were several large carriages positioned nearby, carrying students, equipment, and magical beasts, while teachers were already moving around the area and organizing everyone into their respective groups.

I stepped down from the carriage with Ian following behind me.

The moment I looked around, I noticed that all the students are behaving quite obediently.

Normally, placing nearly hundred first-year students in one location would guarantee a considerable amount of noise, arguments, and general chaos.

Maybe because Principal Alfred is here. His presence alone seemed to have a strange effect on the students.

Even the students who normally liked showing off their abilities kept their behavior under control. Nobody wanted to be the person who caused trouble while the principal was supervising the examination.

I understood the feeling.

Principal Alfred is not simply the principal of the academy. He is a peak Grand Mage.

Even if he is not doing anything, knowing that someone of that level was nearby naturally made people more conscious of their behavior.

The teachers organized us into groups and began leading everyone toward the dungeon entrance.

As we approached the dungeon, the surrounding landscape gradually changed. The entrance had been built into a massive rocky formation, and the structure itself was far larger than I remembered from the game.

I had seen it the game before, but seeing it in reality was still different.

Several students slowed down as the view of the entrance left most of them amazed.