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Chapter 27: This Wasn't Intentional

A dull ringing echoed in my head.

Strength slowly returned to my fingertips.

Suddenly, something surged up from my stomach, and I spat it out in one heave.

“Gah!”

Black smoke escaped my mouth as my eyes flicked open.

Unfamiliar faces came into view.

Isabel, Ban, and her team.

“Senior!”

I heard Aisha’s voice calling out to me.

Exhaling the last of the smoke, I frowned.

What’s with their expressions?

Everyone looked like they’d just seen a corpse.

‘More importantly…’

Had I fainted?

My gaze shifted to my body.

At the same time, I noticed Sirmiel, who had just lowered his hands.

I quickly racked my brain for details.

I clearly remembered activating the magical inscription on the forest guardian and throwing myself into the fray.

But after the explosion of the magic inscription, I blacked out for a moment.

The problem was the power of that explosive magic inscription.

‘It was much stronger than I expected.’

The magical inscription engraved on my steel skin had been crafted with Sharin’s assistance.

I had anticipated significant power, but this was beyond expectations.

‘…Could it be that a specific condition caused a synergy between the magical inscription and my steel skin?’

The steel skin contained mystical energy.

Using it in combination with the magical inscription might have caused this unexpected result.

‘I never thought the explosion would be so overwhelming that I’d pass out.’

This wasn’t my intention.

I ended up worrying everyone unnecessarily.

“Thank you, Saint.”

“I just did what needed to be done.”

Sirmiel smiled warmly.

As expected of a saint.

“Do you need support?”

As Aisha approached, I waved her off.

“I’m fine. Fully recovered now.”

The saint’s healing had worked wonders.

In fact, my body felt even better than before I’d fainted.

‘Looks like the forest guardian has been dealt with.’

The students’ return shouldn’t pose any issues.

What puzzled me, however, was Isabel’s group.

“Isabel.”

When I called her, she flinched and looked over at me.

Her reaction was strange.

“You seem to have come up much faster than expected.”

Isabel remained silent, staring at me.

Her gaze wavered uneasily.

Under normal circumstances, she would’ve grumbled about something.

But today, her reaction was different.

“It’s because I was cursed. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault.”

At that moment, a student specializing in divine studies stepped forward.

The man with impressively short-cropped hair was Gaison Jerusky.

‘That’s a solid party composition.’

It looked stable.

With that setup, they should have no problem exploring the lower floors.

“Is that so? In that case, fair enough.”

If the healer had been cursed, retreating was the correct decision.

I didn’t press further and stood up.

“Team Hanon, let’s head back.”

We had used up considerable energy dealing with the forest guardian.

Having achieved our Act 3, Chapter 3 objectives, retreating was the right call.

As it turned out, our team returned with Isabel’s group.

Isabel followed us silently, her lips tightly sealed.

I wasn’t sure what had caused her sudden change in demeanor.

I just hoped it wasn’t anything bad.

Upon our safe return, I reported the situation to Professor Vega, who had been waiting.

Her expression hardened before she told us to rest and hurried off to speak with another professor.

They would likely issue additional warnings to future students entering the Dungeon.

‘The Dungeon’s transformations weren’t a well-known topic yet.’

The Dungeon appeared four times a year, once per season.

Each time, its environment shifted.

Identifying the Dungeon’s transformative patterns was difficult even with over a hundred documented appearances.

This was a privilege unique to the player’s perspective.

The reason I hadn’t disclosed this knowledge earlier was simple.

With the protagonist Lucas absent, I wanted to guide the story as closely to the original as possible.

The Dungeon’s transformations only became a focus after Act 3, Chapter 3.

So, I allowed things to proceed as they would in the original storyline.

‘This way, things have mostly followed canon.’

The only difference was a few swapped characters.

“Hanon, you…”

Suddenly, Isabel spoke to me.

When I turned to face her, she was quietly looking at me.

Her demeanor was more subdued than usual.

“If the Apostle hadn’t appeared in the Gray Forest, what were you planning to do?”

She already seemed to know the answer, yet she asked for confirmation.

The forest guardian’s appearance was a fixed event.

But that was knowledge only a player would have; the others wouldn’t know.

“I would’ve waited. Or stayed on standby until the students returned.”

I offered a plausible explanation, and Isabel simply replied, “I see,” before walking away.

Today, it was harder than ever to read her thoughts.

What’s going on with her?

But due to the rapport I’d built with Isabel, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

In the end, I let her leave with her group without questioning her.

In the distance, I saw professors chatting amongst themselves.

My teammates, clearly exhausted, were slumping to the ground.

Act 3, Chapter 3.

The Dungeon’s transformation and the forest guardian event.

We had safely navigated through it.

At the same time, the stage was set for Act 3’s final boss:

The Dragon of Calamity, Nikita Cynthia.

Her descent into darkness would begin with the assassination of her brother, Nia Cynthia.

* * *

The first quarter Dungeon event concluded safely thereafter.

All students returned.

Though some were injured, there were no fatalities.

The students each proudly shared their achievements.

However, among the accomplishments, some stood out more than others.

Chief among them was Isabel’s group.

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The Apostle they encountered on the third floor was a named one, having survived for a considerable time.

It was a vile creature that climbed up to wait for skilled students descending the levels, timing its ambush.

Fortunately, Ban sensed its presence and engaged in battle, ultimately defeating the named Apostle without any casualties.

Thanks to this, Isabel's party's reputation soared.

“That was a hidden event, and they handled it well.”

If Isabel hadn’t dealt with it, I had planned to take care of it myself next quarter.

The Apostle Isabel’s party defeated was one that caused increasing problems the longer it lived.

So, I had intended to handle it later, but Isabel’s party did a good job.

‘They’re doing well even without the protagonist.’

As expected, they’re a former protagonist party for a reason.

“Huh? Synergy between Mystery and Magic Inscription?”

At that moment, a voice came from beside me—a girl with eyes like a galaxy.

It was Sharin Sazaris, the top of the Academy in magical studies.

I asked Sharin about the connection between magic inscriptions and Mystery.

She showed genuine interest, something rare from her.

“No one has ever had both Mystery and Magic Inscriptions, so I didn’t know either.”

She spoke in a drawn-out voice, her eyes sparkling.

Although Sharin always seemed indifferent to everything, magic was an exception.

“If this kind of explosion happens again, it’ll be troublesome. Could I ask you to look into it?”

“Sure, I’m curious about it too.”

Thankfully, there were no strings attached this time.

I was grateful for Sharin’s generosity.

Setting aside research on Mystery and Magic Inscription with Sharin,

the season was already shifting toward summer.

The heat began to rise steadily from the ground.

In no time, cicadas would be chirping in full force.

As a result, the students’ attire became lighter.

Even Sharin in front of me was dressed in a sleeveless shirt and shorts.

The exposure was excessive.

“Sharin, isn’t your outfit a bit too casual, even for the dorm?”

This was the dormitory’s common room.

Although there was some freedom in attire, Sharin’s was too loose.

Sharin smirked lazily.

“What? Worried about becoming a hormonal teenager?”

Her teasing was evident on her face, a confidence born of ease.

Among her peers, no one could do much about Sharin, the top student in magical studies.

Still...

“One day, you’ll regret this confidence.”

Challenging such overconfidence is a man’s dream.

But Sharin waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry. I only dress like this in front of you, Hannon.”

I swallowed nervously.

“…Then why are you dressed like this in front of me?”

Sharin laughed lazily.

“Who knows?”

What a sly fox.

“By the way, Sharin, how’s Isabel doing recently?”

Before she could tease me further, I changed the subject.

Sharin sprawled across the table.

“Same as usual. Training has gotten a bit more intense, though.”

She said this, pressing her cheek to the table and glancing up at me.

“Did something happen between you and Isabel?”

“Not really.”

Recently, whenever I encountered Isabel, she would glance at me and then walk off without a word.

She didn’t even give me a chance to provoke her anymore.

“Oh, by the way, there’s a rumor about Isabel.”

“What rumor?”

“She’s been hanging out with Ban a lot lately. People are saying there might be something between them.”

With Ban?

Isabel had been avoiding me so much lately that I hadn’t noticed.

“Apparently, Isabel is training with Ban.”

It’s not a bad decision.

Ban is undeniably a genius when it comes to swordsmanship.

He would undoubtedly be a great help to Isabel, who also wields a sword.

“People just can’t resist pairing others together. They were like this during the Lucas days too.”

She trailed off, falling silent.

It was clear she was thinking about Lucas’s death.

‘I guess I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Sharin lately.’

I realized Sharin’s attitude toward me had become much more relaxed recently.

That must be why Lucas’s name slipped out.

“I never thought there was anything between Isabel and Lucas, though.”

I tilted my head.

“Weren’t Isabel and Lucas fond of each other?”

“They were more like siblings. Isabel used to complain to Lucas a lot.”

Come to think of it, Isabel only starts to fall for Lucas in Act 4.

Until then, the story emphasizes their friendship.

Isabel falling for Lucas is one of the most iconic scenes.

Not because Lucas looked cool,

but because Lucas, having been broken by numerous tragedies, cried out in anger at the world.

Isabel embraced him to console him and, in doing so, truly fell in love.

‘I’ll never get to see that moment.’

Lucas is no longer in this world.

The iconic scenes I remember are now meaningless.

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Hannon, don’t you have anything like that?”

“Like what?”

“Someone you like, or someone you’re paired with.”

Ridiculous.

“I’ve only been at the Academy for less than six months.”

How could I have someone I like in such a short time?

“Oh, but there is someone who catches my eye.”

“Sorry, Hannon, but I don’t want to date you.”

“Who said it was you?”

I got rejected before I even confessed.

“Obviously, it’s Senior Nikita.”

“Hannon, you really admire Senior Nikita.”

Sharin already knew how much I admired Nikita.

It wasn’t romantic interest but pure admiration for Nikita as a person.

Which is why the impending disaster involving the Dragoness weighed heavily on my mind.

“Oh, speaking of Senior Nikita’s brother...”

I quickly turned my head.

Could it be? Was some event unfolding?

“He’s coming to Zerion Academy as a visiting associate professor in Magic Arts.”

What?

Why?

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