Chapter 57

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Episode 12 - Find the murderer [3]

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All the classes had ended; once again, we had gathered in the room assigned to our group in the main building.

Once inside, everyone was reviewing the investigation regarding the surveillance of the suspicious targets.

The conclusion was that there was nothing unusual.

We could give ourselves a few more days of observation, but...

Time is against us; no one knows when the killer will escape from the Academy.

Director Bernice assured us that no one had left the Academy yet.

It was highly likely that the killer was still somewhere inside.

In any case, I was not paying much attention to the meeting.

My thoughts were elsewhere.

’Phew, if it were not for Rinna, I would not know how to escape from that situation.’

Remembering Professor Lunia, I could not help but break into a cold sweat.

She was, how should I put it... very persistent and... she genuinely wanted to kidnap me.

’I should skip alchemy classes.’

But, remembering that I have talent for alchemy, missing those classes would be a huge loss.

In any case, if there was something I had already come to expect, it was an intense gaze fixed on me.

I slightly turned my head, used my senses, and could feel a faint killing intent.

Charlotte stared at me with a smile and, out of nowhere, raised her thumb.

"..."

’She’s an idiot.’

Who the hell makes hand gestures to a blind person?

Sighing, fortunately, I was not just any blind person.

"Then let’s end things here. Now, my friends, let us continue exploring the underground."

At Julián’s words, everyone ignored him except for Charlotte, and we left the room.

Finally, after some time, we reunited with the guide, Celestia, and descended into the underground area.

Upon arriving at the Eastern Hall, I quickly extended my senses, and information about the entire place flooded my mind.

An intense mental exhaustion struck me hard.

’Ugh, no matter how sharp my senses are, my brain simply won’t let me use them to their fullest.’

Anyway, I clicked my tongue; just like in the Northern and Southern Halls, there were no villains.

It was completely clean.

I frowned as I felt this was becoming harder and harder to understand.

’What the hell is going on? Unless it’s because of that trait, we’re talking about my senses.’

There should be nothing capable of interfering with my sensory abilities.

At a certain point, I could obtain information in an almost omniscient manner, and the range extended as far as my mind could withstand the amount of information.

If not for that limitation, I could easily extend my senses across the entire world.

’Alright, I need to calm down. Even if the murderer escapes, the Main Mission will not fail instantly.’

For some reason, there was a time limit, so it did not matter if the murderer escaped.

However, if the murderer escaped, finding them again would become even more complicated.

Then, I focused my thoughts on the players’ "strategies."

Because the murderer was always random, the culprit could be a woman, a man, or literally any other race.

Thinking about it carefully, aside from "that" Unique Trait capable of avoiding the gaze of a 10-Star Divine Eye...

There was also Lumina’s trait, Absolute Concealment, so perhaps, and only perhaps, there existed another trait as well.

’It’s only a theory, but... I still will not be able to know for sure, so...’

I looked at the guide, Celestia; she was smiling while explaining every part of the Eastern Hall.

"..."

And then, suddenly, it appeared.

〖Adel had a slight suspicion about the guide named Celestia〗

〖Perhaps she was the one who killed Professor Harris, but who would have thought she was hiding a great secret?〗

〖After all, how could an ordinary human possess so much information about the underground?〗

〖Shouldn’t the guide be an awakened one? Adel’s thoughts began to drift〗

"..."

Wait, isn’t the author basically telling me that Celestia is literally suspect number one?

’But why is the writer giving me a clue like this? No, wait, is this even a clue? They’re practically giving me the answer.’

In theory, the fable affects my destiny; as long as nothing interferes with my destiny, then the fable’s passive effect will not activate.

Does that mean Celestia has something to do with my destiny?

Or is she actually the killer?

’I should attack her and see whether she defends herself.’

But if I do that and she turns out to be innocent, they might label me as a villain.

’One wrong move could be dangerous because of my destiny, but since she’s an ordinary human, the punishment wouldn’t be severe...’

After a series of thoughts, I reached a conclusion.

’I’ll infiltrate the main building later.’

Celestia always stays in the underground after finishing the tour, so to speak, of the entire underground.

What does that mean?

That she lives down here.

’And I’ve never seen her on the surface. That’s the strangest part.’

With that thought in mind, time passed, and we eventually finished exploring the entire underground area.

***

Ironically, all of my suspicions were directed straight toward Celestia.

No matter how much I thought about it, she was the most suspicious candidate.

I was certain that the murderer was disguising themselves as an ordinary human.

And who was the person who knew the underground so well?

And who was the person who never left the underground?

Naturally, the guide named Celestia.

It was around three in the morning. Dawn had not arrived yet, and the entire Academy was being watched by guards.

’Phew, alright, it’s time to use the abilities of a Dark attribute user.’

Each attribute can be used in different and unique ways.

Naturally, these are the abilities of an attribute.

There is no fixed number of abilities that can be obtained through training attributes.

However, if we talk about some truly useful abilities of the Dark attribute, they are the following.

Shadow Step, Concealment, Shadow Movement, Darkness Coating, etc.

And the abilities I would use to infiltrate were Shadow Step, Shadow Movement, and Darkness Coating.

’Fortunately, I have my teacher. Otherwise, it would take me days to figure out how to use these abilities.’

Of course, very little time has passed since I started testing some abilities of the Dark attribute.

Anyway, as I circulated my Dark mana, it covered my entire body.

A thin dark layer covered my whole body. At first glance, no one should be able to recognize me unless they possessed a Master-level Mana Sense.

And honestly, only Director Bernice could do that.

But it doesn’t matter.

’In any case, even though Director Bernice is watching over the entire Academy, I have permission to freely enter the main building.’

And the reason for infiltrating was to prevent Celestia from discovering that I am investigating on my own.

Finally, once my body was covered by a thin layer of darkness, I used Shadow Step, and my entire body sank into the darkness.

Instantly, I disappeared from the world and entered a place called the <Dark Plane>, something similar to a kind of dimension.

By using my senses, I was able to receive information from the outside world.

I may be in another plane, but shadows and darkness exist everywhere.

And that means I can "see" the outside as if I were there.

The problem is that Shadow Step only works to escape into the Dark Plane during life-or-death situations.

And Shadow Movement is used to move within the Dark Plane.

Next, I channeled Dark mana into my legs, then took the first step, and instantly felt the darkness around me shift.

A dark abyss stretched before me. I kept moving forward and then stopped.

The outside appeared in my mind; the information arrived instantly as I used my senses.

’That was fast, I’m already inside the main building.’

Next, I moved toward the stairs leading down to the basement.

They were guarded by two 6-Star guards.

However, Dark Coating prevented them from detecting my presence.

Even if I am in the Dark Plane, they could still notice something strange within the shadows.

So, without much difficulty, I emerged back into the outside world, and then my feet touched the stairs.

Without hesitating, I started going down and did not take long to reach the underground area.

’Next, I need to go where Celestia is.’

At that moment, I extended my senses throughout the Eastern Hall.

***

Director Bernice observed the entire Academy from the sky.

Her eyes turned an intense golden color, and a strange golden mark glowed faintly on her forehead.

’The Divine Eyes truly cannot find anything out of the ordinary.’

Before her, the world was completely different.

She could see things that no one else would ever notice with normal eyes.

However, there was one thing that could be seen everywhere.

Colorless mana floated through the air like rivers, circulating calmly.

Bernice, however, focused her vision on the faint and subtle traces of dark red.

The Power of Chaos was scattered in small groups throughout the Academy’s hallways.

Some were inside rooms, classrooms, and buildings that no cadet was allowed to enter, among other places.

’They deliberately spread the Power of Chaos throughout the entire Academy.’

Her expression twisted in disgust. That repulsive power from an evil world was spread all across her Academy.

She was angry at herself for allowing those villains to infiltrate.

But she had to admit those people were brave.

No one in their right mind would infiltrate an Academy like the Holy Academy.

Only a crazy psychopath would do it, or someone who simply feels no fear.

’But they are neither of those.’

They were intelligent enough to do their job and even hide from her.

They were still in the process of understanding those unique traits of the Church of Black Dawn.

She had already captured some villains with strange traits, but the investigation had not produced many results.

With a sigh, Bernice was about to leave when...

"..."

Her vision shifted so quickly that, in the next second, she was staring at a young man standing in the middle of the campus while using mana.

Normally, using mana inside the Academy was forbidden, but at that moment it was allowed because of the guards.

’That’s Adel.’

The number one first-year ranker, the cadet considered the strongest.

As Bernice watched him, his body was suddenly covered in darkness.

’I’ve learned Darkness Coating.’

Next, his body sank into the darkness beneath his feet and soon disappeared.

Bernice’s vision changed, and the world before her turned dark. In that darkness, there was only one person.

Bernice soon saw Adel move and walk toward the main building.

’Shadow Step and Shadow Movement. Even though they are basic skills, until now no first-year student has managed to use the abilities of their attribute.’

Bernice sighed and then looked away. She instantly realized what Adel was trying to do.

’So, he suspects someone.’

Soon, she disappeared as if she had never been there.