Chapter 12: First Class (2)
I took a look at the horrors that happened to Aizel and Yuri.
‘I hope he compensated them well.’
Even if it was an illusion, it was unpleasant. It would be terribly unfair to feel this way without gaining anything in return.
Illusion Magic.
No matter who your opponent was if they had no resistance to illusion magic it was a powerful spell but had a major drawback.
It forces the opponent into an unknown world of illusion, but the caster cannot completely close the door.
In other words, the entrance was both an entrance and an exit. The exit was commonly referred to as the “release condition” to escape the illusion.
The victim of an illusion could get a hint of the “release condition” from the caster’s illusion.
In fact, illusions themselves aren’t all that deceptive.
It’s useless against a mentally superior opponent, and even with moderate skill, it’s often ineffective against an academy cadet, let alone a passing commoner.
It’s also damn hard to learn.
Illusionary magic is complex, requiring great powers of observation, quick math, and even creativity. As such, illusionary magic is not well-regarded even among wizards.
“Ugh…”
The cadet who was stabbed in the lungs from behind by Edward collapses without a scream.
“Cadet Zetto, what are you doing with the enemy you’re supposed to be defeating in front of you, are you…? Are you scared?”
Edward shakes off the blood from his dagger once more.
At this point, the “fake” cadets are still dying as the “fake” Edward, created as an illusion by the “real” Edward, attacks them.
So far, the fake Edward hasn’t attacked me. The scary thing about illusory magic is that it’s just like this when I encountered an illusionist of Edward’s level.
On a continent-wide scale, it wasn’t a situation that could be faced easily. The only person with a higher level of illusion magic than Edward was his father, Juliut.
Edward’s talent surpassed Juliut, so it was a 50/50 shot in favor of Juliut’ experience.
‘By now… my real body would be standing still under the spell of the illusion.’
I was in a state of complete non-resistance where I could easily be stabbed by a knife. It was also the reason why Edward, who fought in the war, was able to rise to the rank of captain of an assassination squad at an early age.
With Edward’s ridiculous theatrics behind me, I began to observe my surroundings.
From the fake Edward demeanor, I had a vague idea of the dispelling condition, but there was no point in wasting energy on such a thing.
Illusion magic is still magic, after all. I had already experienced Dispel, so it was a matter of finding the weaknesses in the magic and breaking them.
Illusionary magic is complex. Unlike the “chain” that Edward had flung at me in the test supervisor’s office, it would have been difficult to weave.
Juliut illusions for the placement test were so complete that the magic circle was actually drawn on the floor. I think that’s why I didn’t see any weaknesses in Juliut illusion at the time.
‘The place was too big.’
But this is a different case.
The difference between premeditated and spontaneous magic is in the details.
Whether cadets were dying right next to me or not, I didn’t look away, but studied the terrain elements around me. Every single element that made up this place had to be magical.
In the end, it didn’t take me long to find the weak spot.
The location of the weakness was where Edward first appeared. A red circle was clearly visible on the ground where he was standing.
[Poof!]
I stabbed the sword I was holding into the ground where the weakness was. Even though it was clearly dirt, the sword easily dug into the ground and then slowly, my vision shifted.
My body was back where it had been when I met Edward. I look around and see the cadets, who have yet to come out of their illusion, frozen in place, their eyes fluttering.
“Oh. The second is cadet Zetto?”
Edward, having spotted me, says in a cheerful voice.
“Second?”
Next to him was a luxurious table and chairs that had been set up for who knows how long.
There were three chairs in total and one was already occupied by Aizel, who had a cup in her hand.
“Cadet Aizel is up first, followed by Cadet Zetto. So far, so expected.”
“The top three will enjoy the luxurious tea party I prepared myself. Come here cadet Zetto.”
I followed Edward’s lead and took a seat in a chair with the number two scrawled across it.
Aizel squinted at me wryly.
“By the way, cadet Zetto, I hope you didn’t use Dispel again this time, because if you did, this instructor will be very disappointed.”
“I used Dispel.”
“…How much fun would it have been if cadet Zetto had taken the quiz I had so carefully prepared for him?”
Edward, who was standing by the table, chuckled at me.
He was so chatty.
I remember having a hard time skipping conversations when I was playing the game.
“This is a carefully prepared quiz…”
I could see the fear in the eyes of the cadets in my vision but this was just a fun quiz for him.
“I already know the conditions of release.”
Edward’s eyes narrow even more at my answer.
“You knew the answer, and you still pulled that stunt… Cadet Zetto, you’re cockier than you look, so let’s see if you’ve got this one right.”
“…Fighting back. To constantly stand up and fight back, even in the face of extreme fear….That was the condition for release, wasn’t it?”
Edward claps his hands, indicating his somewhat exaggerated admiration for my answer.
“Yay. Exactly. That may be the first time I’ve ever felt proud of myself as an instructor.”
Edward, who had been an instructor for less than an hour, was shouting unintelligible words.
At this point, it was quite remarkable that Aizel was able to sit next to him and not pay him any attention. She was simply sipping her tea, cup in hand, enjoying the ‘tea party’ that Edward had organized.
Edward waved his hand and called for someone.
“Third place already? This way, this way.”
The third place finisher appeared.
Maybe it’s because she’d seen a bloodshed just a few minutes earlier she plops down in the chair next to me, her hair looking unusually red.
“And in third place is none other than Cadet Yuri of the famous House of Clementine! Now, let’s see how the other 13 cadets rank.”
Edward announces excitedly, like he’s hosting a circus show.
‘Three of us?’
Aizel, Yuri, and me.
“…”
“…”
“…”
There was no conversation between the three of us, except for the occasional sip of tea from Aizel at the table.
I try to ease the tension, but I can’t bring myself to speak to them, looking at their impassive faces.
It was Edward, standing next to me, who broke the silence.
“…I was wondering… who was the first person to die in the illusion?”
The girls looked up at him, but didn’t answer.
‘Should I?’
The silence was uncomfortable, even for me, physically sandwiched between them.
“…Cadet Yuri next to me.”
“Hmm?”
My words made Edward question.
“And the second one?”
Edward asks, turning to me again.
“The second was Cadet Aizel.”
“…”
Edward pauses at my answer, but then the corners of his mouth turn up.
“Hmm? This… This might be unexpectedly fun.”
Edward’s suspicious tone drew the attention of all three at the table.
“…Is there any particular significance to the order?”
“Cadet Zetto…are you sure it’s okay for me to tell this now?”
“…No, I’m not curious all of a sudden.”
I politely declined.
Edward’s insidious smile made me feel crazy because he wanted to say something different from what it really meant.
This was bait.
I didn’t bite.
I could not bite.
But another fish suddenly appears and bites the bait.
“Why? I was just starting to wonder.”
That fish was Yuri.
Yuri was looking at Aizel or at Edward… Her gaze remains somewhat ambiguous as she continues.
“Uh, Instructor Edward, I was wondering if you could tell me if… Does the ‘order’ in which the characters die in the vision mean something?”
“Hmmm… this is awkward, but Cadet Zetto says he’s not curious…”
“What about you, Zetto, are you still not curious?”
Naturally, Yuri, who is speaking casually, looks at me. She was clearly smiling brightly, but this was a clear threat.
I could feel her murderous intent.
‘I didn’t say anything. Is it the effect of what happened with Aizel yesterday…?
Let’s pretend first.
I was afraid that the words, which Edward would blurt out nonchalantly if given permission, would open a Pandora’s box that shouldn’t be opened.
“Ahaha… is that so?”
“I’m so curious… Are you going to say, ‘friends?’”
The glass suddenly comes close to me.
Should I just ask and be done with it?
Maybe it’s not as bad as I thought, it could all be a prank by Edward.
…My head felt dizzy but just then I heard a voice behind me.
“I’m not exactly curious either.”
Aizel said, setting her cup down with a grimace.
“Just as Zetto.”
Yuri’s one eyebrow goes up at Aizel words that follow.
Beside us, Edward watched all of this as if it were exciting. He was ready to pop some popcorn any minute.
“Ha… just tell me, Instructor Edwards, what is the meaning of that sequence?”
I wondered if I was worrying too much.
Most of all, I didn’t like how much he was enjoying the situation.
“Oh, well, I’ll take Cadet Zetto’s word for it, then. It’s no big deal, it’s just a device I set up when I created the illusion. You’ve all seen the cadets die, and I thought it would be no fun if they just died…”
Edward gently unraveled the mystery of his illusion magic.
“I made them die in the order they felt closest to each other, so it would be easier for them to panic, and I want you to know that it was just to test the waters, nothing selfish on my part.”
Yuri smiles at me after Edward’s condescending explanation.
Aizel is sipping her tea again, her expression unchanged, as if she’s really not interested.
“Intimacy… I suppose that explains it.
If the order was intimacy, it made sense that Yuri would die first, not Aizel.
Aizel was so different from the Aizel I had met in the game… Frankly, it was strange. I still don’t feel the same intimacy with her as I do with Yuri.
Both characters have been a tremendous source of enjoyment for me, and they’re not the only ones. Except that Aizel was dead for good.
“It really wasn’t a ‘big deal’ for being late to listen, was it, Instructor Edwards?”
Yuri narrowed his eyes at Edward, his face innocent.
“It was all for the amusement of you cadets, you know, watching Cadet Aizel and Cadet Zetto fidget, it was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Not really.”
“Hahaha, well, if I was the only one who found it funny, I guess I failed. I’ll think of something more clever next time.”
Edward smirks and the conversation ended.
Out of habit, I check my status, and I have a question.
“…Mr. Edwards. Should we assume that the class is over?”
“Yes, for the three of you, class is over.”
The reason I was asking this puzzling question was because my level increased. The class had been treated as over and I had earned experience.
‘Four levels in one class?’
The eye patch helped, but even with that, it was still a lot of experience.
‘How many small quests did I do just a few days ago to get to level 5…Is it because I had a good attitude in class?’
Sometimes the game would give you extra experience for impressing your instructor and right now, I was in second place out of 16.
“If you’re tired, you can go back now, but I’ll bet my name that it’ll be hard to see such a sight anywhere.”
Edward’s tastes, however, were quite unique, watching the cadets tremble in terror, unable to move.
He should be thankful there was no school board in this world.
‘At least for today…’
He was a very good instructor for me.
‘That’s enough for me to go get the ‘ingredients’ tonight.’
I took a sip of the tea on the table and began to formulate a plan in my head for what I wanted to accomplish tonight.