"Only he is allowed to see the truth."
The meaning of the message was clear.
But what truth?
Even I didn’t know anything about the Space-Time Labyrinth.
It was true that I had heard this before in the game as well, but the story never led to that place... at least not up to the point I reached before I died.
I looked at Eliot sitting beside me.
"Perhaps he is the one meant by those words."
Maybe, in a future far beyond the future I know, he would go there.
"Since that day, we learned why those who entered the labyrinth never returned... because they wander between time and space itself. Every moment that passes outside equals decades inside the labyrinth, and once you enter, you will never find the exit again," the professor continued.
"What was the card the explorer brought back with him?" Eliot asked. The professor replied,
"No one knows. All that was discovered is its name..."
The professor adjusted his glasses as he continued,
"It was classified as a seventh-rank artifact due to the essence it contains, and it is now considered the private property of this empire."
The professor raised his wrist and glanced at his watch.
"It seems today’s lecture has come to an end... you may leave now if you wish."
I was about to stand up and leave, since there was a break before the next class, but the professor’s voice stopped me.
"Wait a moment..."
He smiled apologetically.
"I almost forgot... I was asked to inform you that your first mission will begin in fifteen days. It will be exclusive to this class, not the rest of the first-year students. It seems the administration has high expectations of you, as this mission was originally meant for second-year students."
He clapped his hands.
"You will be briefed when the time comes... you may go now."
...
I walked through the campus, heading toward my room.
After the geography class, there was another lecture, but my thoughts were elsewhere... on the mission.
To clarify, Axis was not an ordinary academy where you simply study and train for three years within its walls... no.
Missions are assigned to students of all years, with difficulty adjusted accordingly.
Sometimes they are solo missions, sometimes in groups, or even entire classes.
Students bear full responsibility for death or injury during missions. For this reason, anyone who graduates from Axis is immediately considered elite.
And of course, where there are missions, there are rewards.
That was the part I loved... especially the upcoming mission.
I knew what it was, what we had to do, and what the reward would be.
In short, the mission would be a cleansing operation against criminals in one of the cities rife with crime.
As for the reward, it was essence stones... yes, essence stones in exchange for eliminating a few criminals.
The amount you receive depends on your performance during the mission.
This was my chance to get a boost and reach an advanced rank before the real chaos began.
While I was lost in thought, I found myself standing in front of my room without realizing it.
I pulled my card from my pocket and passed it over the door lock. It opened, and I stepped inside before it closed behind me.
But at that moment, I froze in place.
In front of the glass overlooking the academy grounds stood a woman.
The moment I entered, she turned her face toward me.
Her snow-white hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall of silk.
Crimson eyes shone with a purity resembling the glow of a silent dawn.
It wasn’t just her flawless pale skin or her slender figure that drew the eye,
but a presence that surpassed description itself...
Even the word beautiful felt far too inadequate for her.
I stood there, stunned for a few moments... but quickly regained my focus.
I bowed slightly to the woman before me.
"Welcome, Madam Vice Director, to my residence."
"And even though you entered on your own without an invitation."
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.
The Vice Director nodded, her calm expression betraying no emotion.
"I asked you to come to my office. Since you didn’t show up, I came myself."
Damn it... now I remembered. That’s why I felt like I had forgotten something.
"I’m sorry. I was busy, so I forgot."
She nodded simply, then walked over to one of the sofas and sat down as if she were in her own home...
As for me, I couldn’t complain even when the privacy of my room was violated.
She gestured toward the sofa opposite her.
"Sit there. There’s something I want to ask you."
My body tensed slightly, but I quickly composed myself and walked over to the sofa across from her.
I maintained a calm expression on the outside, but inside, chaos was raging.
My mind worked rapidly, trying to recall any information I knew about her.
Her name was alicia astra nova, and she was twenty-five years old.
She didn’t appear or contribute much to the game’s story, so all I knew was that she was a high-ranking noble.
And there was one description of her mentioned in the game:
"In this world, there are the talented, who astonish the world with their growth...
Then there are miracles, who exceed expectations and achieve what seems impossible...
But Alicia was neither of those...
She stood above them...
Above them all."
And now, that woman was sitting in front of me, and I had no idea what she wanted.
Countless possibilities surfaced in my mind as I sat across from her.
Had she discovered that my identity was recently created?
Or was it my name?
The moment I sat down, her crimson eyes swept over me, and for the first time in this life, I felt nervous under someone’s gaze.
I smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"Would you like some tea?"
"No need," she replied, her beautiful voice carrying a note of indifference.
The more I looked at her, the more beautiful she seemed,
while she stared back with a calm expression that revealed none of the thoughts in her mind.
I couldn’t endure it any longer and asked,
"May I know what you want from me?"
She nodded, then her beautiful lips moved to utter a few words...
Just a single sentence...
One that made me feel nauseous.
My thoughts stopped.
My head went cold.
I felt my heart sink, my breathing halt.
"What is your relationship with the Void System?"