Chapter 41

“Welcome, Young Master!”

Keirin shouted brightly with a cheerful smile.

This place had a wide lobby at the center, with hallways extending on both sides.

In the middle, a central staircase led up to the second floor.

On the left side, a spiral staircase could be seen leading to a balcony lounge on the upper floor.

Embedded in the floor was a silver sword, and atop its hilt rested an hourglass.

The sand inside the hourglass glowed in a myriad of colors.

‘So it’s about to begin.’

Seeing how little sand was left inside the vessel, the given time was nearly up.

Of course, not only I but everyone present here must have realized the same thing.

“Given the time, isn’t that burly guy coming? He’d definitely be useful in battle.”

Short-haired Torono asked with a yawn.

He must be referring to Kunking, one of the Top 3.

By the original storyline, his violent personality prevented him from clearing the second trial.

Elyned replied in a cold tone.

“It doesn’t matter. He’d ignore the strategy anyway, so he’s considered outside our forces.”

“Ah, I thought so. With just two of the Top 3 here, it should be enough. Then again, Villed coming instead would’ve been bett—no, never mind. Definitely not.”

Torono glanced at me briefly before shaking his head.

Nixie’s group exchanged eye contact with us in greeting.

Not only Ren and the Princess, but all the major figures were gathered here.

‘What a glamorous gathering, indeed.’

They were all top-tier not only in combat ability but also in grades.

The protagonist, the Princess, the two top freshmen, the Princess’s three secret bodyguards, and story protagonists like Nixie and Elyned.

‘…And that one is here too.’

I caught sight of the silver-haired girl, ‘Sia’, sitting quietly, but I averted my eyes before they could meet hers.

Every single one of them was someone I’d rather not get involved with.

Keeping quiet was the best course of action.

Without responding, I simply leaned back against a chair.

Karin and Lapin followed and sat down beside me.

“……Now that there are more participants, will the strategy change? Even at this stage?”

One of the Princess’s secret bodyguards, Verdi, asked while polishing his mirror shield.

The mirror reflected his red hair.

Elyned shook her head.

“No. We’ll stick to the plan.”

“Exactly! Those people wouldn’t be of any help anyway.”

Torono rubbed his hands together flatteringly.

Suddenly, Keirin burst out.

“Hey, aren’t you underestimating the Young Master too much? He’s surprisingly versatile, you know!”

“Eek!”

Perhaps recalling the harsh beating he suffered in their sparring, Torono flinched at Keirin’s outcry.

But then he put on his arrogant expression again and retorted.

“Then tell me, chatterbox Keirin, just what that guy can actually do!”

At Torono’s words, Keirin blinked.

“Uh… well…”

He couldn’t answer right away.

After a long pause, folding his arms and thinking deeply, he finally spoke.

“He listens to me well… makes good equipment… ah, no. He’s really good at livestock work!”

“Bwahahahaha!”

Torono burst into laughter all by himself.

“What’s so funny! I wasn’t trying to make a joke!”

“…Keirin, enough idle chatter.”

The Princess responded as she rose from her seat.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Everyone else here did the same.

In each of their hands, weapons were raised.

“…Get ready.”

Just as the last grain of sand fell inside the hourglass.

Kuuuuuuuuung!

The same vibration from the first day of the school trip shook the ground, the one that came just before the surroundings shifted into an unknown space.

An ominous sound reverberated throughout the entire mansion.

“……”

“……”

Everyone held their breath.

Their eyes darted in all directions, but no change appeared yet.

The first to speak was Keirin, who had been staring blankly.

“Nothing’s happening though?”

“Quiet.”

The Princess answered, and then a faint sound could be heard.

– Krrr… kekeke…

The laughter grew clearer with time.

And then, it fully revealed itself in the air.

– Kekekekeke!

The boss of Rekorox Mansion.

The ghost girl, Lucy, let out her eerie laughter.

“As expected, a small form has appeared. Move as planned!”

At Elyned’s shout, everyone quickly moved into their designated positions as promised.

They all took stances, ready to attack Lucy.

Bang!

A loud slam echoed from the distance as doors burst open.

Judging from the footsteps, it wasn’t just one or two.

Dozens… no, hundreds.

“…What’s coming?”

The answer came soon enough.

– Kyaaaaaaak!

From both sides of the hallways, ghouls clad in soldier’s armor surged forth in a flood.

“We’ll change plans. Take care of those first!”

Elyned calmly redirected the target from Lucy to the ghouls.

Boom!

As she swung her staff toward the left hallway, an explosion swept through the area.

– Keeek!

– Kaaaak!

In one blast, the ghouls were wiped out.

There were an absurd number of them, but they were weaker than they looked.

On the right hallway, a golden light flared, and all the ghouls dissolved on the spot.

“…It’s not over yet.”

Elyned quietly murmured.

The sound of ghouls swarming from afar was still ongoing.

“Let’s form a single formation first. Everyone, gather up.”

At Elyned’s words, we gathered and built a defensive line.

Karin looked flustered.

She no longer had any totems left.

And the attribute magic she could use was rather weak.

Lapin appeared carefree, but her strength was about the same as Karin’s.

‘If I use all my costs, the downtime is too long.’

Because of cost limitations, continuous attacks were difficult.

As Elyned said, our team was considered outside combat strength.

“You all, move to the back of the formation.”

Her face showed not even the slightest expectation.

She had excluded us from her combat plans.

It was the same as telling us to just watch.

Krrrrrumble!

Now it wasn’t just ghouls.

On the central staircase, a wraith-like entity appeared, shaped like a dark cloud.

The cloud obscured the chandelier’s light, dimming the surroundings.

“I’ll take care of it.”

When Heidel, who had been silent, spoke, Elyned shook her head.

“If you leave the formation alone, it’ll be dangerous.”

Without even arguing, Heidel stepped forward.

Elyned blocked his path.

“Don’t act recklessly. Follow the commander’s orders, Heidel!”

Heidel and Elyned’s eyes met.

Elyned spoke with an even firmer voice.

“Are you planning to scorn me again?”

“……”

Closing his eyes, Heidel stayed silent for a while, then returned to formation.

Elyned’s strategy was this.

Rather than dispersing power, she wanted to form a formation and concentrate firepower at once.

By using the overwhelming strength of twelve people, she would crush all the enemies rushing in.

That must have been Elyned’s plan.

But things never went as planned.

– Sob… sob…

From the spiral staircase on the left, a man came down weeping sorrowfully.

Wearing a feathered brimmed hat and lowering his head, his face was hidden.

In his hand, he held a sword brimming with pitch-black aura.

The atmosphere and pressure were unlike anything we had seen before—an overwhelming level.

“T-that doesn’t look like a ghoul… shouldn’t we do something about it?”

Torono asked as he glanced nervously at the weeping man.

Not only Torono, but everyone here instinctively realized it.

If that thing reached the first floor, it would be dangerous.

Elyned seemed to make her judgment and urgently shouted.

“Nixie’s team! Go stop it at the spiral staircase!”

“But if we leave, our formation will be weakened…”

“It doesn’t matter! We’ll handle things here, now go quickly!”

Nixie’s team immediately moved toward the spiral staircase.

The higher they climbed the staircase, the heavier the tension grew.

By the time they stood before the weeping man, it had reached its peak.

“……”

Nixie felt a strange sensation.

Was this what it felt like to be prey standing before a hunter?

Even so, retreat wasn’t an option. They had to block him somehow.

As she swung her sword at the man—

Paaang!

“Ugh!”

It took only a single clash of blades.

The moment their swords collided, sparks flew and she was sent tumbling down the staircase.

“Nixie!”

From a few steps below, Arowell and Curio caught the falling Nixie.

With Arowell’s healing ability, a bruise would surely be nothing.

But while her body healed, her heart was not so easily mended.

Nixie was shaken, unable to move for a while.

Even from a single clash, she could tell.

‘This man’s strength can’t be described with words like strong.’

A realm far beyond.

He was undoubtedly a first-rate swordsman, leagues above someone like Nixie.

“…I’ll do it.”

If this overwhelming power descended to the first floor, it would be catastrophic.

Someone had to stop him. With that resolve, Curio swung her sword.

Taaang! Kkang!

Pang!

With every swing of the man’s blade, sparks scattered.

Forget attacking—just blocking his sword was all she could manage.

The fact she didn’t get blown away with every clash was already fortunate.

Not only was his swordsmanship precise, his strength was immense. Each time their blades met, her hands ached.

At this rate, she would lose her grip on her sword. She couldn’t hold out any longer.

Curio stepped back a few paces.

“Even Curio can’t withstand him…?”

Arowell was greatly shaken. Curio had handled the previous trials superbly.

Her abilities far surpassed the level of a first-year student, so Arowell believed she could be relied upon.

But this time, she couldn’t muster her strength.

Curio’s mind was in turmoil.

‘…Rekorox family’s swordsmanship.’

The Rekorox swordsmanship taught as compulsory training in the Astrid Imperial Army.

‘This man is executing that swordsmanship at a level beyond perfection.’

If.

Just if, by any chance…

“This man, could it be…”

Curio couldn’t finish her words.

If this man was truly a legendary figure of Rekorox, then it was beyond her power to deal with him.

No matter how much she swung her sword, she couldn’t halt the man’s steps.

If he reached the lobby, that would be the end of the raid.

Meanwhile, in the lobby…

“We can’t handle this! Fall back!”

Among the hundreds of ghouls, there were a few out-of-standard ones mixed in.

Some were incredibly fast, others absurdly tough.

They could be taken down, but the waste of firepower was severe.

And now, another out-of-standard existence had joined in.

– My dear child.

– You are a blessed one.

A wraith resembling a plain noble lady, though its face could not be seen.

When that spirit clasped its hands together in prayer, sword strikes like a storm flew out.

Perhaps it was a special monster, like the dark-cloud wraith.

It was taking position at range and attacking.

With ghouls swarming in, there was no chance to rush forward and eliminate the noble lady wraith.

In the end, retreat after retreat left them pushed to the very edge of the lobby.

– Kekekekeke!

Bang! Paaang!

On top of that, the small form was using poltergeist powers to fling objects everywhere.

Everything was spiraling into the worst possible state.

This was truly what one called a total crisis.

“Damn it…!”

Torono let out a voice filled with despair.

Forget conquering the raid—merely holding their ground was all they could do.

If their stamina faltered or a single mistake was made, the formation would collapse instantly.

The raid on Rekorox Mansion was on the verge of failure.

And to make matters worse…

– Sob, sob, sob…

The Weeping Man had finally descended to the first floor and was approaching the formation with slow steps.

“Be careful!”

Curio’s sharp voice rang out.

Beside the Weeping Man, Curio and Nixie swung their swords desperately, but it wasn’t enough to stop him.

“W-what, is that thing coming toward me?”

He was moving in Torono’s direction.

Realizing this, Torono shouted with a face drained of all color.

“W-wait! Elyned! With my skills, I can’t block that thing!”

“Endure it somehow!”

“What? Just how the hell am I supposed to endure that?!”

Torono shouted and turned toward Heidel and Keirin.

“Help me out! You’re way stronger than me!”

“I want to help too. But… it’s not working.”

“What the hell do you mean by that!”

As Keirin tilted his head, Torono cried out in panic.

“There’s a restriction on mana.”

It was Heidel who answered in Keirin’s place.

According to the game’s setting, in spaces created by ghosts, most mana currents were suppressed.

It was a balancing mechanism to compensate for the overpowering presence of Heidel and Keirin.

Because of this, they couldn’t unleash their true strength and could only use weakened lower-level skills.

“Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!”

As Torono wailed—

Kaaang!

The Weeping Man swung his sword at him, sparks flying.

Though he barely managed to block it, the sound was like steel shattering.

“Eeek…!”

With a single strike, Torono’s sword was snapped in half.

He stared back and forth between the ruined weapon and the man.

“……”

Torono, pale as a sheet, lost all will to fight.

“What the hell am I supposed to doooo?!”

Cornered, Torono fled from his assigned position in the formation.

“Torono!”

Elyned shouted, but it was too late.

From the far right, where Torono had been stationed, the formation began to collapse.

With a gap opened, it was only a matter of time before the monsters surrounded them.

The situation grew ever more desperate.

“Don’t come closer…!”

– Sob, sob, sob…

Still pursuing Torono, the Weeping Man advanced.

In terror, Torono hurled his broken weapon as he backed away, but it was useless.

The man easily deflected it with a casual swing of his blade.

“Damn bastard, I said don’t come closer!”

Grasping at straws, Torono laid his hand on the silver sword embedded in the lobby floor.

“Just get the hell away from meeeeee!”

He wrenched the sword free and swung it wildly.

At that moment, the blade emitted a radiant light.

Fwaaaash!

The brilliance spread in a circular wave throughout the mansion.

Like a barrier, it pushed back the ghouls, the Weeping Man, the noble lady spirit, the dark-cloud wraith, and even the small form.

“…Huh?”

The silver sword quickly dulled again and slipped from Torono’s hand.

When it clattered back into the floor, sand began to fall inside the hourglass on its hilt.

It was exactly like when they had first arrived here.

“…A reset?”

A second chance at the raid had been given.

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