"Are you really going to let him go just like that?"
Cassandra's adjutant, Kellix, asked in an urgent voice. Cassandra answered with a frown.
"Is he the type you can hold if you try to hold him?"
"He listens to you, Grand General."
"Listens, my foot. He just goes through the motions of listening."
Cassandra was one of only five Grand Generals in the entire Imperial Army. Even the Emperor himself couldn't treat Cassandra carelessly. But that man was different. He wasn't cowed in the slightest, even before Cassandra. He was a breed you couldn't easily put beneath you. Try to force him to bend, and he'd simply snap instead.
"He's a man who's been rolling through hell without a moment's rest. It's about time he took a vacation."
"A vacation would be fine, but he said discharge, didn't he? His disappearance alone will break the unit's morale."
"No. He hasn't been discharged."
There's a saying. That war is a brand seared into the soul.
He was a man plastered head to toe in brands. For a man like that, there's no such thing as discharge.
He'd simply—
"He's only changed battlefields."
Cassandra tapped the ash from her cigar.
***
Tutorial complete. You have achieved a remarkable feat!
A reward befitting the feat will be granted!
'It's finally over.'
I muttered, looking at the translucent window.
The tutorial had ended. Normally, when the tutorial finished, you could raise one stat grade of your choice by a single step. Pick aura at grade B, and it would rise to A — that sort of thing.
But right now I'd already maxed every stat to S. From S+ on was the realm of transcendence. To raise S to S+ would require a stat amount rivaling every point I'd invested so far. No matter that the tutorial had lasted twelve years, there was no way this trash game would hand that over so obligingly.
Warning! Growth has reached its limit! Stats cannot be granted!
Just as I'd expected, it seemed impossible.
'So what happens in a case like this?'
Just then, the translucent window changed.
Additional stats are now unlocked! Please choose your desired stat!
Additional stats? Just then, stats were listed beneath the quest window.
Strength / Agility / Intelligence / Stamina / Lifespan / Charm / Looks / Luck
They were stats common in other games, but rarely seen in this one.
'Because they only open up for the protagonist.'
The intuitive ones like Strength, Agility, and Intelligence looked appealing, but those had to be traps. I was already blocked by the transcendent wall of S+. Even if my physical abilities improved, it would have little effect. Charm and Looks went without saying. But Luck was different.
'I can raise Luck?'
Without even needing to think, I chose Luck.
The reason was simple.
'Because Luck is one of the few things that act on a Rift.'
A 'Rift' was a trap that appeared in the late game. It was the reason an already difficult game turned even more bullshit the further you went.
What made Rifts so vicious was that which Rift would appear was completely random. An ancient knightly order wielding aura, a black mage who'd incarnated a demon, an army of mages, the appearance of forgotten priests — there were Rifts of all different natures, and you couldn't detect a Rift's nature from the outside.
There were only two things that acted on a Rift. One of them was Luck.
The other was...... among the cast, there was a fellow who was nothing but lucky. He was a gag character precisely because he was purely lucky, but his true worth showed itself in a Rift. When he entered a Rift, the Rift would be configured in a way favorable to him. Three times, no less.
It might sound like nothing, but it was anything but trivial.
'Luck acts on a Rift.'
Rifts appear in the late game, but they're an element bound to show up eventually. No — they could even appear sooner.
Because this was Hard Mode.
Still, surely it wouldn't drag a late-game element like a Rift forward, I thought — but there was no harm in being prepared.
You have selected Luck. A reward will be granted.
Ding — a cheerful sound rang out, but I didn't feel anything in particular. At the same time, the contents of the quest window changed.
Objective: Evangeline's graduation
Reward: Wish Voucher
On failure: Death
I focused on the objective.
'Evangeline's graduation.'
Evangeline was the protagonist of this game. Evangeline's graduation looked easy at a glance, but the reality was the exact opposite. That was because the academy suffered raids and acts of terror nearly every single day. Demons, the Republic, heretics, barbarians — that sort of scum hammered at the gates day in and day out.
The trouble was that the enemy wasn't only on the outside. Among the students were mixed-in malcontents, and the professors caused problems too. The academy's top brass — the headmaster, the vice-headmaster, the board chairman — were villain bosses.
Graduating the protagonist safely from an academy that was little better than a den of monsters was anything but easy.
"Victory to the Empire—!"
A boisterous salute shattered my thoughts.
When I lifted my head, the inside of the station came into view. As befit the military, the station held exactly what was needed and nothing more. Things like a mana-stone lamp glowing precariously and a clock that honestly told nothing but the time. That was all.
The officer receiving the soldiers' salute was a blond man. He was a handsome man who looked like a textbook elite. The kind of looks that suited a romfan.
'Captain Leon.'
Leon was an elite — born into a military family and gifted with a talent for swordsmanship. Lately he'd been making a name for himself on the front. But the Leon I remembered wasn't a soldier; he was a professor at the academy.
'One-armed Leon.'
Leon was one of the game's professors, though not a character of much weight. His only defining trait was being one-armed — that's how minor he was. I checked Leon's arms. Both were still attached and intact.
'Leon is appointed as a professor and, on the road to the academy, gets attacked and loses an arm.'
Even one-armed, Leon ranked in the middle of the pack among the professors. A Leon with both arms intact would surely be of help later on.
Of course, my purpose in seeking out Leon was something else. I planned to take a post in the security corps, but I had no intention of confining myself to security work. I needed a means of getting close to the students.
'Save Leon, and recruit him.'
That was why I'd set out so early.
Just then, a train rolled into the station with a thunderous noise. Soon the train slowly halted, and a soldier got off to inspect tickets. I checked my dress uniform. Second Lieutenant James — a name and rank easily and quickly forgotten.
"Victory to the Empire—!"
"Carry on."
Leon boarded the officers' car first. I headed for the officers' car a little later.
Leon sat at the center of the officers' car, seated ramrod straight, reading a book. To my eyes he looked like a greenhorn putting on airs for no reason.
'Well, he's at that age.'
I sat in a corner away from Leon.
Objective: Evangeline's graduation
Reward: Wish Voucher
On failure: Death
As I reviewed my plans while looking at the quest window, someone sat down across from me. It was Leon.
"Ahem."
Leon cleared his throat, eyeing my rank insignia. He was hinting that I should salute. Since my cover identity was a Second Lieutenant, I went ahead and saluted.
"Victory to the Empire."
"Victory to the Empire. Second Lieutenant James?"
"Yes."
"Your unit?"
"I belong to the 4th Corps."
At the mention of the 4th Corps, Leon visibly flinched. It was because of Cassandra's notoriety. I let out a small sigh.
"I-I see. I'm with the 3rd Corps. Headed for the capital, it seems."
"Yes."
"On what business?"
"I have a friend there."
"......I see. I'm bound for Elysium Academy."
Leon tilted his chin up slightly. He was plainly angling for me to ask more. Honestly, this is why greenhorns—
"Why are you headed to Elysium, sir?"
"Ha, I've been recommended as a professor. Can't be helped. War is the stage of a long history, after all. Cultivating future generations matters as much as the front lines."
Leon said it briskly, as if he'd been waiting for the question. There was a thrilled look on his face.
Elysium Academy was the foremost academy on the continent. Becoming a professor at Elysium Academy at his age was something well worth boasting about.
"That's impressive."
"Impressive, nothing. It's only natural. Unlike the fellows lounging in the peaceful capital, we roll around on the front lines ourselves."
Leon looked at me with earnest eyes as he spoke. A textbook greenhorn who'd puffed up his shoulders just from dipping a toe in the front.
Bwoooo. The train began to move with a thunderous noise, but sadly Leon showed no sign whatsoever of moving.
"I intend to teach them the dangers of war at the academy. I'll convey the real state of the front that everyone turns away from, and raise their awareness."
Leon prattled on importantly. I just nodded vaguely, but Leon's mouth wouldn't stop.
"Have you heard? That this year's incoming students will be quite the spectacular bunch. The Crown Prince, and the heir of the Mage Tower Guild, too—. Hah. It's all because of that oracle handed down last year — that an incoming student this year will become a hero who saves the continent."
The oracle that a hero who would save the continent would emerge from this year's incoming students was a major setting in Yeonjol. It was the reason there were so many prodigies among the freshmen the protagonist belonged to.
The problem was that, precisely because the oracle was so clear-cut, it was also easy to break. If a hero would emerge from this year's incoming students, then killing all the incoming students meant the hero who saved the continent wouldn't emerge either. That was the reason those with guilty consciences threw themselves at attacking Elysium Academy.
Leon prattled on without resting his mouth. It was enough to make my ears sting.
'When the hell are they coming?'
I was getting to the point of being angry at the bastards who were supposed to attack.
Just then, blood rushed backward through me and my head spun—
'They're finally here.'
I rose from my seat, shaking out my hands.
"What is it?"
Leon looked up at me dumbly. Instead of answering, I quietly checked the enemy.
'Black magic.'
Soon a black fog blanketed the train. A thick stench laced with the smell of sulfur stung my nose. Sticky curses clung to my skin like tens of thousands of insects.
"It's a black mage! Report it to command—"
Leon shot to his feet belatedly and shouted. Aura, raised from his sword, enveloped Leon. His reaction was fairly quick.
But the matchup was bad. Just as iron armor can't ward off fire, aura can't ward off curses. It was an affinity thing. Leon staggered and dropped to one knee.
No matter that a black mage is a knight's natural predator — to think a man about to become a professor couldn't fend off a single black-magic curse.
"Hopeless."
I openly clicked my tongue at Leon. At that, Leon's gaze turned to me. His eyes went wide at the sight of me.
"......How?"
"You just wrap your whole body in aura."
"What kind of barbaric—. Hurry and report to command! Tell them a black mage has attacked! Call for support—"
Leon bit down hard on his lip and shouted.
"That won't do, I'm afraid."
"W-what do you mean, it won't do?"
"I don't share my table."
"......What?"
Just then, the curses swarmed in like wolves catching the scent of blood. The density was thick enough to pack the train full.
'Not bad.'
But that was all it amounted to.
"O God."
I sketched a rough sign of the cross. Pure white light bloomed up my hand.
A fire that burns away the impure.
Divine power.