Chapter 51

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Episode 11 - Mysterious Murder [3]

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In the end, Julián became the leader of the group.

Charlotte gave up and simply handed the position over to Julián.

After that, we left, and everyone went their separate ways.

Director Bernice said that we could go to the underground facilities after classes every day.

So I returned to the classroom.

I had missed one class after the break period.

In any case, Director Bernice said we would not lose points, so it did not matter.

As I entered the classroom, I went straight to my seat. Rinna was already there, and when she saw me, she greeted me.

"Adel, why did Director Bernice call you along with the others?"

I sat beside her and summarized the entire conversation in just a few words.

"We formed a group to search for clues about the murderer. Our search area will be the underground and the Labyrinth."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she asked:

"The underground? The Academy’s most mysterious place? And even the Labyrinth, where only third-year students are allowed to enter?"

I nodded without saying much more.

After a while, the theory professor, Gregory, entered the classroom.

He quickly wrote something on the board that took some of the cadets by surprise.

There were only two words written on the board.

"Memory Gate."

Some cadets who were unfamiliar with the term could not help but ask questions or whisper about what it was.

Professor Gregory smiled, clapped his hands, and calmly said:

"Is there anyone who knows what a Memory Gate is?"

Some nobles raised their hands and answered without hesitation:

"A Memory Gate is like entering another world. It is said that these Memory Gates were left behind by the Progenitors; in particular, most of them belong to the Primordial Magus."

Professor Gregory nodded and asked:

"Then, what is a Memory Gate used for?"

Another cadet answered that question.

"They are used to discover more about the Specialties and to inherit Traits and Unique Traits."

A Memory Gate was like a record where, upon completing it, you would receive some Trait, Unique Trait, or understanding related to your Specialty as a reward.

’It’s basically like a dungeon.’

Professor Gregory, smiling, explained in greater detail:

"And not only that. Memory Gates are known to be like the history of some hero or legendary figure. The Progenitors created these Memory Gates so that future generations could inherit or leave their traits within them."

Each Memory Gate contained the story and rise of some legendary or mythical hero.

These Memory Gates had existed since the beginning of all races in this world.

Basically, from before the eight Progenitors disappeared.

’And Part Three of Chapter One will take place inside a Memory Gate. Basically, I’ll be entering the story of some hero.’

The ability to obtain Unique Traits from legendary figures of the past, who had been the strongest in history, was exciting for all the cadets.

However, there was something they had to keep in mind.

"But Traits cannot be obtained so easily. Naturally, we are talking about the story of some legendary hero. Do you think it will be easy to complete a Memory Gate when even that hero faced great hardships?"

The stories within the Memory Gates were divided into Chapters.

A prologue, a few Chapters, and an epilogue.

Once the story was fully completed, you could inherit that hero’s Unique Trait.

However, if you could not complete it, then you would only receive some random Trait that the hero possessed.

At that moment, a cadet raised his hand.

"Professor Gregory, is it possible to inherit the heroes’ attributes?"

At this question, Professor Gregory shook his head.

"It is not possible. Although there are people with more than one attribute, they are so rare that they practically do not exist. But, as I said, the Memory Gates only grant Traits as rewards and, perhaps, if you convince the owner of the story, they might train you and pass down their swordsmanship, magic, summoning, or Spirit to you."

The cadets murmured among themselves, excited about entering a Memory Gate.

Seeing this, Professor Gregory said the words everyone had been waiting for.

"In two weeks, you will be able to enter and choose whichever Memory Gate you want."

The entire classroom erupted into cheers.

Some could already imagine themselves meeting a hero who had only ever been mentioned in legends or tales.

’There are a total of one hundred Memory Gates. Every Great Academy has at least a dozen.’

And Headmistress Bernice possessed the best Memory Gates.

At the same time, one cadet asked something interesting.

"Professor, if these Memory Gates record the stories of legendary heroes from the past, does that mean it’s possible to meet the Progenitors?"

At his question, the professor fell silent for a moment.

He sighed and, in a monotone voice, said:

"We only have records confirming that yes, it is indeed possible to meet the Progenitors, but..."

The atmosphere shifted slightly.

"Those Memory Gates have disappeared, and some were directly shattered by the Five Lords of the Abyss."

When he said those words, his voice sounded clearly sorrowful.

Everyone nowadays knew about the creators of the Specialties.

Naturally, inheriting something from them would turn you into the ruler of a Specialty or, at the very least, one of the strongest.

The Progenitors not only created the Specialties, but were also known as true Gods who gave rise to everything that is known.

’I wonder if I’ll be able to gather the fragments of one of those Memory Gates.’

He knew the locations of many fragments of the Memory Gates connected to the history of one of the eight Progenitors.

The problem was knowing which fragment belonged to which Gate; otherwise, he would never be able to reconstruct the Memory Gate.

’But it’s worth it.’

Some cadets were disappointed and, at the same time, furious.

Then, one of them spoke.

"Then what about the story of the Five Swords, the Three Sages, the Three Kings, and the Two Monarchs?"

The Five Swords were those who reached 11 Stars in the Swordsman Specialty.

The Three Sages were the six 11-Star Mages.

The Three Kings were the three 11-Star humans of the Summoning Specialty, and the Two Monarchs were the contractors of two of the Spirit Kings, also 11-Stars.

All of them are known as those who fought against the Abyss.

They might not have been as impressive as the creators of the Specialties.

But those people managed to reach 11 Stars.

’Most of them ventured into the Abyss World, but never returned.’

In the end, the only ones who remained and killed the Five Lords of the Abyss were the Five Swords.

Professor Gregory gave a slight nod.

"More or less. Not all of them are recorded within the Memory Gates because, back then, most of the Memory Gates were confiscated and protected by the supreme leaders of each Continent." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

This time, the atmosphere improved a little.

Then, Professor Gregory continued with a long lecture about the Memory Gates.

The cadets asked several questions, and eventually, the class ended.

Before leaving, Professor Gregory said:

"Next week, we’ll talk about the Power of Chaos and the Five Lords of the Abyss."

Since it was a theoretical class, many questions were asked in search of possible answers.

In particular, the theory regarding the outcome of the Power of Chaos would be the most important topic in the next class.

Professor Gregory soon left the classroom while we waited for Professor Franklin.

Some cadets talked about the next class as well as this one.

Rinna, who had not said anything, turned toward me and asked:

"If you could enter any of those Memory Gates, which one would you enter, Adel?"

In Part Three of Chapter One, we entered a Memory Gate.

You could go either in a group or alone.

But regardless of which Memory Gate you chose, entering in a group was mandatory.

’And there is one where the villains infiltrate in order to destroy that Memory Gate.’

It told the story of a very famous heroine, the first person to reach 11 Stars.

"I would choose the story of the Fallen Maiden."

Rinna’s eyes widened in surprise.

"What? The story of that mythical heroine? The first to reach 11 Stars and change the world as we know it today?"

I nodded.

"Yes, that one. Aren’t you curious to know how humanity’s first great change began and also..."

I paused.

"To inherit one of her Traits, one capable of nullifying the Power of Chaos for a brief period of time."

Yes, the Fallen Maiden possessed a Unique Trait capable of destroying the Power of Chaos for a certain period of time.

By using that Trait, no matter how strong the villain was, we could have an enormous chance of killing them.

Of course, using the Trait was extremely difficult, and until now, no one has managed to complete the story of the Fallen Maiden.

’My objective is to obtain that Unique Trait and stop the destruction of the Memory Gate where her story was recorded.’

The Main Mission only stated that we had to stop the destruction of the Memory Gate, not complete its story.

’But I will complete it.’

***

After classes.

The Search Group was composed as follows:

The leader, Julian; the vice leader, Charlotte.

And the members: Lumina, Veronica, and me.

We gathered inside the Academy’s main building.

A guide was waiting for us inside.

We were going to enter the Academy’s underground facilities and carry out our first search for the killer.