NOVEL NEXT Chapter 577
<577 – Delicious Linked Quest (1)>
Seeing Senior Felix, who was also a Third Year last year, still on campus honestly surprised me.
In Gift Academy, the promotion points increase tenfold with each grade, making it really hard to graduate unless you collect a ton of points with excellent grades during the semester.
“Senior, you’re a Fourth Year now?”
“I’m on a leave of absence as a Third Year.”
But this was even more surprising.
“How can a leave of absence student be in the active student area? Did you get a job as an instructor?”
“No. I’m pretending to be an instructor.”
“Wow. How do you do that?”
“The Dark Cult is an organization that stays in the shadows, wandering in the darkness. We have all sorts of techniques to conceal our identities and ensure secrecy.”
Honestly, the fact that such a blatantly suspicious senior is on campus shows just how formidable the Dark Cult is.
Standing 190cm tall, he was as massive as Son Ohchun.
A dark robe covering his suspicious form.
An intense blackness emanating from a spell of recognition disorder wrapped around his face.
Through the wide robe, the only exposed area was the back of his hand, cracked like a drought-stricken field.
While I could pierce through the darkness with my mana, it was evident this time that he also sported a curse tattooed like ink after encountering it last year, hinting at his experience.
[You have successfully resisted the curse with curse resistance.]
With a cold, pale complexion like a serpent and a face with emotionless, chilling eyes, he narrowed them in surprise as he saw me resist the curse.
“If it’s you, Senior, you could just be an instructor!”
“That’s true.”
Not denying his confidence.
But this senior clearly had a considerable skill set.
He showed some shoddy behavior by managing the Red Fanged Mushroom farm, but that was inherently a pretty strange thing.
Through various events this year, my mana has grown tremendously, allowing me to glimpse deeper into the mana of my opponents.
Despite the increase, I still couldn’t gauge the bottom of the mana this senior possessed.
“So why are you a leave of absence student with such skills? You could easily move up to Fourth Year!”
“Because of Nepher-tem.”
“I heard she’s your childhood friend!”
“He was a pretty foolish fellow from the hometown. He babbled easily, easily trusted people, got kidnapped every three days, and monthly human sacrifices were a routine.”
“Looks like you have some Tito-like qualities, Senior! It must have been tough!”
“I’ve gone through a lot to protect that guy. This back of my hand is a result of that sacrifice.”
His childhood friend is an executive of the Dark Cult and a hidden powerhouse.
Suddenly, I felt quite envious of Senior Nepher-tem.
For a moment, I debated whether to check out the new event when Sing, who had been in growth mode, was pushed down the focus list.
The only male student I was nurturing seemed like a distant journey, much like Mob or the Dobi from the Church of the End who had a taste for it.
Both of these two are doing their best, but nurturing them is more of a cute newbie approach; it would take years before they become like Senior Felix.
“Are you interested in the Dark Cult?”
“Not really!”
“Well, given your status as the Fourth Princess of the Empire, it must be tough to step into the shadows of the Empire.”
“Not really that, I have my own organization!”
“Is it the Wahyhiemhai Foundation?”
“It’s the Organization that Plays with Oknodie!”
“Even the Dark Cult disguises apprentice members to expand their numbers in secret, aside from five formal members maintaining the club.”
Seeing that Senior seemed to find some common ground, he nodded, showing slight goodwill.
“If it’s Nepher-tem, she probably went to the Student Council. She consulted me to dig up information about a person called Jigoku among your acquaintances.”
“The Student Council? That’s quite a bold decision!”
“Instead of awkwardly playing the senior role and hovering around the Second Years, I figured it’s better to make a flashy move that would land me in jail rather than risk touching a professor.”
“But you can bail out, right?”
“Not wanting to waste points to level up to Fourth Year, I’d rather eat black bread. There’s no way I could pay bail.”
He immediately unfolded a piece of parchment and infused it with magic.
“This is the last place where the tracking spell etched on Nepher-tem’s garment was maintained. You’re heading towards a risky facility of the Student Council, but are you still set on going?”
“Of course! It’s not like that place is more dangerous than the Imperial Palace or the Taboo Preservation.”
“Letting your guard down is not good. You should be cautious. There are rumors that this year’s Student Council, under the leadership of the historic strongest Velvet Belle, has massively increased the number of new faces.”
“Thanks for the advice!”
The event notification window also refreshed.
━━━
[Sudden Event [Where Has the Missing Security Instructor Gone?]]
It’s reported that Professor Robert Elahim’s security instructor has disappeared.
The name of the missing daft instructor is Nepher-tem.
If you gather information by interrogating other security instructors about who she is and who she was close to, tracking her may become easier!
Please hurry and bring that daft and audacious instructor back to the professor!
━━━
The security instructors relayed information that Instructor Nepher-tem had a childhood friend.
She had an admirable human relationship!
But we must hurry before the bonds of a childhood friend are compromised!
━━━
Childhood friend Senior Felix provided information that Nepher-tem was likely in the Student Council building.
Let’s rescue the poor senior who’s been embroiled in misfortune since childhood from the malevolent Student Council, which could possibly thaw the Arctic and desertify the Antarctic!
━━━
It seems this year’s Student Council is a bit different.
They seriously warn about the risk of natural disasters that could be caused by the Demon King’s Four Kings.
To check out the upgraded Student Council, I boldly rolled in headfirst.
━━━
[Visitor spell not verified.]
[Illegal spell detected…]
[Illegal spell not detected.]
[Visitor spell verified.]
[Intruder detection spell will be deactivated.]
[Intruder assassination spell will be deactivated.]
[Welcome to the Student Council building.]
[If you wish to inquire about facility guidance, please ask Jessica wandering the street.]
In the brief time I repeated five dizzying rolls at the entrance, I successfully infiltrated by reverse engineering the spell and leaving an entry record under another student’s identity.
But the crowd that was once bustling around was nowhere to be found, and the Student Council street felt empty.
What on earth happened here?
The Student Council must have physically filled the area with Jessica’s and others to monitor movements due to the various criminals in the vicinity, and if that wasn’t enough, they relied on illusion magic to create an even greater crowd.
Yet, it was as if the internal regulations had changed, as only suspiciously robed individuals were visible in the street.
“The Student Council has set a new trap!”
It was obvious upon a glance.
Veteran players, who have long honed their skills in tricking newbies, spreading fake information, and fishing them in, had become cunning.
In the past, I created a sturdy and enormous [All-round Infinite Tanking Good Marine] that could survive all the absurdities, and naturally, I grew adept at evading such tricks.
The event exploration character [All-round Infinite Tanking Good Marine]… I don’t miss it at all, so please never show up again!
Anyway, robes are a symbol of crime.
It’s not just exclusive to the Dark Cult.
The magical darkness covering a person’s face, veiling it from view, is the hallmark of the Dark Cult, just like how a cute girl’s skirt should never be lifted.
[Spy Eye]
[Inquisitive Eye]
Using advanced techniques to conceal magical reactions and unfurling my vision, I found that the robe had a shallow understanding of the Dark Cult.
Like a tattered Tito assignment report, the flimsy darkness could be easily pierced compared to Senior Felix.
How dare the Students’ Council, who found themselves too shy to register and visit formally, try to trap shy loners—how outrageous!
In a huff, I cast telekinesis on a nearby sign.
Thud.
“Ouch! Help! The sign fell on its own! Ouch!”
While I used a mana barrier to prevent getting crushed under the falling sign, the weight was too much for me to handle, and I failed to stop myself from tumbling—it wasn’t the performance of an upperclassman.
At best, they looked like Second Years, and even the instructors level up to Third Year.
This year, they said a young talent was heavily utilized, so perhaps the Student Council has indeed changed, much like Senior Felix said.
“I should slip past while people come to save that guy!”
By skillfully using magic insight, I could track the specific footsteps and where they wandered.
I rolled over the rooftops, following those footsteps and came across the Execution Headquarters window.
The footsteps that entered through the window were found again at the backdoor, leading to a building I had never seen before.
━━━
Student Council Environmental Cleaning Department
━━━
Was there such a subordinate organization within the Student Council?
I don’t remember everything, but it didn’t ring a bell.
In moments like this, you need to use your head!
Knock, knock.
“Delivery here!”
-…You’ve come to the wrong place.
As I knocked, there were actually three people bound by the mana disruption.
One was behind the door, and two were upstairs.
“Really? Aren’t you the one who ordered the Fourth Year promotion exam answers? Huh, this is the right place.”
-…Thinking about it now, I did order it. I’ll open the door right away.
Just as I sensed someone approaching the door, I placed my mana-charged hand on the door.
Zzzzt!
“Aaahhh!”
Slamming the door open, the shocked person collapsed to the ground.
Recalling the dark magic, I stepped into the Environmental Cleaning Department, revealing a wondrous and surprising sight of earth magic traps spread throughout the entire first floor.
It was clear what I stumbled upon.
“This is a training ground to raise evasion abilities!”
To apologize for interrupting their training, I placed a candy on the fallen person’s belly and closed the door.
Of course, from the inside.
How could I just walk past such a fun training ground?