Chapter 139

Chapter 139

Sellen saw me and tilted her head to the side.

I thought she’d be more surprised.

With her usual expressionless face, Sellen calmly said, “You got here... faster than I expected.”

I might be overthinking it, but I felt like there was more to those words.

It sounded like she was trying to say, You managed to get here before me. It also sounded like she’d anticipated that I would make it to the third floor.

I wasn’t sure, so I just asked her outright: “What are you trying to say?”

“Not much. I assumed you’d pass the first floor, but I thought you might get stuck on the second.”

“...”

Her words poked at my guilty conscience. If not for the Martial God, I would probably still be wandering the second floor, looking for answers.

Feeling awkward, I quickly changed the subject. “Are you planning to take on the trials on this floor?”

“Yeah.”

“How far do you plan to climb?”

“Well...” Sellen thought for a moment, then coolly responded, “At least the fourth floor, I expect.”

Great. Our goals were aligned, at least for now.

“To get up to the fourth floor, you need to obtain at least 150 points total from the three rooms behind me. You can score a maximum score of 100 for each room.”

“I see.” Sellen nodded and studied the three rooms. After a short while, she made up her mind and headed toward the Room of Agility.

Is her thinking the same as mine?

Though I’d never been able to tell what she was thinking, I thought it was likely.

I wordlessly followed after her. When she noticed, she stopped walking and turned to face me.

She asked, “Why are you following me?”

“I want to watch. Can I not?”

“...Suit yourself.’’

A wide grin stretched across my face. I hadn’t really needed her permission, of course—I would’ve done as I wanted regardless.

I followed Sellen into the Room of Agility.

I knew what would be thrown and from where, so I moved just out of range and made myself comfortable.

Come to think of it...

She hadn’t asked me about the trials even though having advance knowledge was quite helpful.

Was she that confident in her abilities?

Or... did she already know what the tests were?

My thoughts now were similar to those on the first floor. For now, I decided to just observe Sellen.

[Beginning Stage 1.]

Thwip thwip thwip!

Sellen dodged the flying balls with ease, and she passed stage two with flying colors as well.

Finally, what I’d been waiting for: stage three. This was when the real challenge began.

Clack!

Bladed disks flew out from the holes in a terrifying manner, and I watched Sellen’s eye glint with something unknown.

Is she trying to figure out how to respond?

But she didn’t have time to waste thinking it through.

Within moments, Sellen took a deep breath.

“Heup.”

PUAAAHHHHHH!

Sellen’s long hair whipped around her as a frigid wave of chilling air radiated outward from her. The air crackled with energy and the room shimmered from the scattered fragments of white ice.

Crack, crack...!

The flying discs froze mid-air the instant the icy wave touched them.

Ah.

It wasn’t a blessing.

She had released the extreme-yin true ki stored within her body, expelling it out through her skin like the Sapphire Snake’s breath attack in the Gem Mountains.

She gave her mana an attribute.

I was slightly surprised. The technique Sellen had used was more than just wrapping mana around her body or weapon.

Not only had she infused her ki with an inherent attribute, but she had also released the mana through her skin instead of her hands.

Seeing her like this, I couldn’t quite gauge how strong Sellen had become. She seemed much stronger than the Sellen I knew... as in, the Sellen from before my regression.

Maybe the forgotten god’s altar she’d discovered in the forest had inspired her.

I can’t believe that worked, though.

Wasn’t that technically an act of defense?

If she passed simply because the projectiles hadn’t touched her, then... as a martial artist who fought barehanded, I found that a bit unfair.

With that technique, stage four shouldn’t pose much of a challenge for her, but I was looking forward to her reaction regardless.

Kwagagagak!

As expected, Sellen froze at the sight of weapons raining down from above.

[Congratulations! You have passed all the trials prepared in the Room of Agility!]

[...Calculating your score...]

[Please wait a moment.]

...

...

[Score calculation is complete.]

[NEW!] [1st place: Sellen Goodspring - 97 Points.]

“...”

We had a new record.

She had surpassed the Lord of Blood and Iron and myself—but more importantly, she’d dropped my ranking to third place.

Sellen let out a deep, cold breath. “Haahh...”

She glanced at the ranking board and paused for a second.

“...”

Whose name had made her freeze up?

I tried to guess by looking at her eyes to see where she was looking, but Sellen just turned and walked past me, heading to the next room.

Of course, I followed right behind her.

[Room of Speed]

The way points were given here was simple. The participant just had to sprint down a long, straight path.

It was about 50 meters, which was relatively short...

The first stage was just running.

The second stage added obstacles.

The third stage added a strong wind blowing from somewhere.

And finally, in the long-awaited fourth stage...

Rumble...!

“...”

—I don’t want to be treated like a crazy bitch.

And what had happened after that?

Priest Juan had revealed his true form, Evan had become the vice-cult leader, and eventually a demon lord had been summoned. As a result, more than half of the participating heroes had died.

Now, I understood Sellen’s position. If she had told me the truth back then, how would I have reacted? Being told that a high priest had infiltrated House Bednicker and that a Demon Lord would be summoned—I wouldn’t have believed her.

I would have treated her like a crazy bitch.

I let out a sigh and said, “Fine. I’ll help you.”

“Really?!” she said in a slightly uplifted tone.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so elated.

I, on the other hand, felt a bit uneasy.

...She didn’t even ask for help in the training camp.

But she was asking for my assistance now? It couldn’t just be because I was strong, which left only one option...

Soon, a disaster would befall the academy, one even worse than what would’ve happened in the training camp.

...Something demon lord-related is going to happen here too.

Damn it.

The Empire was in deep shit.

***

Alderson was staring intently at the screen.

The once-noisy atmosphere of the control room had gradually quieted down, creating a feeling like the calm before a storm. But that was only natural.

Starting on the fourth floor, challengers were rewarded with actual prizes, and those rewards were the precious collection that Headmaster Alderson had gathered with his blood, sweat, and youth.

Though he pretended to be relaxed as he held a teacup, his hand was trembling slightly.

...They don’t know about that, right?

The Treasure Vault was accessible from the fourth floor. Although it was called a treasure vault, hardly any heroes reached this floor, so for some time now it had been used more as a safe.

Every time a valuable item was acquired, it was thrown in there. All the items in the Treasure Vault were literal treasures that Alderson had carefully collected, but...

Of course, the treasures in there weren’t all of equal value.

Currently, there was a particularly valuable item in the vault. One that had been put in recently and hadn’t yet been removed.

No. No, no, no. There’s no way they’ll pick that one.

That was correct. There was no reason for them to pick it. It looked shabby and useless, so unless someone had lost their mind, there was no way they’d choose it.

But...

...

Alderson’s anxious gaze shifted back to the screen. The moment he saw the two heroes who had just entered the fourth floor, he swallowed hard to ease his dry throat.

Bednicker...

That last name raised goosebumps down his arm.

***

I had a lot of questions for Sellen.

Honestly, I’d felt that something was off ever since she decided to come to the academy... But that feeling was now a certainty.

What could possibly happen in Kartell Academy, one of the safest places in the Imperial City?

I was on the edge of my seat, I was so curious—but I decided to wait to ask for more details until we had finished climbing the tower.

[Welcome to the Floor of Duels!]

[※ Rule Number Four ※]

[A minimum of two people are required for the trial on this floor.]

[...Confirming...]

[Two participants confirmed.]

[Please choose your reward before the duel.]

I tilted my head in confusion. “Reward?”

[All challengers who reach the fourth floor are granted access to the ‘Treasure Vault.’]

[You may choose one reward before the duel begins.]

“Giving us rewards before we even fight... He’s more generous than I thought,” I muttered.

Sellen cynically responded, “Generous, my ass. He didn’t give us anything for the first three floors. I say he can't get any more stingy and cheap than this.”

“...You know, he’s probably listening to us.”

Sellen snorted, all but saying, Let him hear.

I kept my mouth shut. Honestly, I agreed that the headmaster was stingy.

Anyway, we stepped into the so-called Treasure Vault.

Flash!

“Wow...” My eyes widened at the dazzling scene.

It wasn’t exactly filled with piles of gold coins, jewels, or expensive ornaments as one would typically imagine of a treasure vault... But there were plenty of weapons and suits of armor on display that looked valuable at first glance.

Additionally, I could see old books, mystic elixirs, and magic items that looked like antiques.

“Wow, would you look at these... There’s so much fascinating stuff here. What’s this? It looks like a teapot.”

There was no real explanation. Were we supposed to just pick something on our own?

While I was browsing, Sellen gave the place a quick scan and then said, “I’ll take this.”

When I turned to look, I saw her holding a wooden box.

“What’s that?”

Instead of answering, Sellen opened the wooden box.

Click.

Inside was an icy orb that gave off a chilling aura. It was clearly an elixir from its appearance.

“It’s a ten-thousand-year crystal. I’ve never seen one this big before.”

Was it like my mystic bead but icy?

In the next moment, Sellen proved me correct by taking out the crystal and tossing it into her mouth. Then, as if it were candy, she rolled the crystal around in her mouth, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

“Is it good?”

“Col’.”

...Cold, she says.

She glared at me, clearly telling me to stop making her talk, at least for a while, so I turned my gaze away and continued to browse.

Weapons? Pass. Armor? No thanks. Accessories? Not really my thing.

Then should I just grab one of the pricey jewels? I wasn’t sure.

Having money was great and all, but it wasn’t like I was strapped for cash at the moment. Just in case anyone has forgotten, I was currently quite wealthy with a solid 5,000 gold to my name.

Man, this is an issue of its own.

Even with all these options laid out before me, it was hard to pick when there was nothing I truly needed.

...But that was okay. I had a trump card up my sleeve!

I took a deep breath and called out.

O dear Martial God...!

[...What is it?]

Despite my slightly over-the-top call, the Martial God responded in his usual calm voice. I smirked and asked, What is the most valuable item in this Treasure Vault?

When you don’t know what anything is, you might as well grab whatever is most expensive, right?