Chapter 74

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Episode 16 - Fragment from Gate of Memory [1]

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All the cadets appeared on an open-air platform.

Beneath my feet was a massive Teleportation Matrix. The surroundings were filled with ordinary trees, different kinds of enormous plants, and so on.

There was nothing particularly strange or interesting.

Around us, there was only vegetation, surrounded by a few tall trees casting shadows over the platform.

The cadets looked around.

They were fairly ordinary plains.

Except for the countless kinds of plants and flowers that actually were not ordinary at all, every form of vegetation contained an enormous amount of mana.

There were different small animals; some resembled baby dragons, others looked like reptiles, and there were also butterflies that released a frosty mana aura, among other things.

Then, a few meters away from the platform, someone shouted:

"We’re in the sky, guys, look at this. We’re literally on a floating island."

Some cadets approached the edge, and when they looked down, they could see lands, forests, and small mountains far away below.

We were higher than the clouds.

’Incredible, my True Sight allows me to see everything in detail even from this height.’

I could focus and unfocus my vision.

Every time I "looked" closer, the white lines in my vision became more detailed.

’This vision reminds me of the extreme detail in a manga called Vagabond.’

Anyway, I came back to my senses, then turned around and returned to the platform.

"Very well, cadets, the rules are simple: do not attack any living being in this place, and do not ruin or destroy anything. If you do, you will lose five hundred points and be suspended for the entire semester."

Professor Lunia warned them sternly; her voice was genuinely serious and cold.

At her words, the cadets swallowed unconsciously.

"Then you may move. You only have three hours. If you fail to find the materials and ingredients for the potion, you will lose fifty points."

The cadets quickly rushed forward. Naturally, I moved slowly but smoothly, blending in among the other cadets.

Probably no one should have noticed me.

’Now I just need to get my bearings and head straight to that cave.’

But the cave containing the hidden piece and the Fragment is located at the edge of the island.

That means jumping off the cliff and, hopefully, landing on the rock where the cave is.

’Well, it shouldn’t be that difficult in real life, right?’

***

A pair of eyes watched Adel’s back. At that moment, Charlotte frowned and started moving her legs.

Soon, she began following him while keeping a considerable distance between them.

In any case, there were many cadets heading in the same direction, so Adel should not notice her.

’That guy must be looking for something.’

In the novel, Charlotte remembered that there was nothing interesting on this island.

The Alchemy Field was enormous and vast, but according to the novel, the protagonist, Julian, had blown up the island in the future and found nothing interesting there.

Of course, there could still be some unique plant, such as the <Nine Branch Leaves>, a special plant whose leaves increase mana and temper the body.

One of the most valuable ingredients for advancing to 5 Stars.

Charlotte clenched her fists and felt mana flowing through her body.

’I’ve already reached 4 Stars, but at this rate, reaching 5 Stars will take me the entire year.’

Probably not until the second semester.

And as for 6 Stars, it could take her until the middle of the second year.

Even so, Charlotte continued following Adel from a distance.

’I don’t know what he’s looking for, but his movements right now are strange.’

At first, she thought he was going to search for the potion ingredients, but then she realized he was going alone.

There were some ingredients that could only be identified by seeing them directly, not through Mana Sense or any other Trait.

That only made it even stranger.

’Fine, whatever he’s looking for, let’s leave it for now and see what it is.’

With that thought, Charlotte used mana to conceal her presence.

Meanwhile, a considerable distance away from Charlotte, Lumina silently watched Charlotte pursue Adel.

A frown instantly appeared on her face.

’How strange, why is Charlotte chasing after Adel?’

If her memory served her correctly, Lumina was certain that Adel and Charlotte should have been close at this point.

Like comrades or best friends, so to speak.

In her previous regression, those two had suddenly grown close, and there were even times when they worked together to solve major problems.

’But now it’s different. They’re not even close to being friends, and they don’t even talk to each other. I don’t know exactly what has changed, but... the current Adel is a little different.’

Of course, he was still the same when it came to his personality and his friendship with Rinna and Diana.

But his friendship with Charlotte no longer existed.

’Could it be because of that woman?’

Her gaze shifted toward Veronica.

An anomaly.

Just like Adel in his previous regression, although Adel had been the best thing that could have happened to Lumina.

But, on the other hand, Veronica did not seem to have done anything significant aside from becoming strangely close to Adel.

There was nothing else.

’Strange, very strange...’

Even so, Lumina did not go after Charlotte. She highly doubted that the current Charlotte would do anything against Adel.

And, in any case, Adel was stronger than Charlotte, unless he was ambushed, poisoned, or attacked by someone at the 6-Star level.

Finally, Lumina turned around and thought:

’I should collect Adel’s share as well.’

With that thought, her figure disappeared.

She had already been there countless times, so she went straight to where each ingredient was located.

***

At the same time.

Charlotte finally stopped. An hour had already passed since she started chasing Adel.

Although she was worried about not collecting the potion ingredients, perhaps it was luck, but along the way she managed to find half of the entire list of ingredients she needed.

So she lost nothing by following Adel.

’What is he doing standing there?’

Adel was standing at the edge of the island’s cliff.

His head turned from left to right, and from time to time, he moved a little farther away to do the same.

He seemed to be searching for something.

’It doesn’t seem like he has noticed my presence.’

Even so, Charlotte stayed quite far away from him, at least a hundred meters apart.

And to see more clearly, she used mana in her eyes to enhance her vision.

Even so, Adel continued doing the same thing, but then...

".....?"

Suddenly, he jumped off the cliff.

"What...?"

Charlotte ran, and within a few seconds, she closed the hundred-meter distance until she reached the spot where Adel had been standing moments before.

Quickly, she leaned over the cliff and looked down.

"..."

About ten meters below, Adel was standing on a flat-surfaced rock.

Then she turned around and walked toward the interior of the island, as if there were a cave there.

’Wait, wait... isn’t this way too suspicious? What should I do? Should I go down?’

If Adel went down that easily, then she could probably do it too.

But when she looked down, a strong wave of dizziness hit her head.

Her hands trembled as she stepped back.

’No way, I’m afraid of heights even in this life.’

In both her past life and this one, the fear of heights had always haunted her.

It was trauma caused by something that happened during high school in her past life.

And when she looked at the edge of the island, she could not help but press her lips into a thin line.

’No, I’m not going down there. I’ll just wait for Adel to come back and see what he brings from there.’

Apparently, from what she noticed, there was a cave.

Her thoughts gnawed at her, making her want to go down there and discover what was hidden inside. Right now, her curiosity as a reader toward a hidden place that did not exist in the novel was even stronger.

But because of her fear of heights, she decided to move far enough away instead.

"Ugh, damn trauma."

***

Clack! Clack!

The instant I touched the rock after jumping into the precipice, I spun around 360 degrees and focused my senses ahead.

In my vision, white lines were drawn, creating the shape of a fairly large hollow space.

"So this is the tomb of a forgotten Alchemist."

In the past, there was an Alchemist who created potions and elixirs with truly absurd effects.

One of the Alchemist’s elixirs was of Supreme Quality and increased mana by more than 50%.

If you drank the elixir in a special place filled with ambient mana, you could increase your mana by up to 65%.

Something fucking absurd for a mana-enhancing elixir.

Of course, we’re talking about the most talented Alchemist in history, someone who was somehow forgotten.

I don’t remember whether the person in charge of creating the hidden pieces in the game left any story about how the Alchemist was forgotten.

Still, a thought crossed my mind.

’I wonder if the Alchemist left behind the recipes from those alchemy experiments.’

Of course, right now I probably couldn’t even create an elixir. Potions, yes, because they’re easier, but elixirs are a completely different story.

After a few seconds, I walked toward the cave, though sweat dripped down my forehead because of one thing alone.

’Fuck, that feeling of fear really rose almost to its limit. I thought I wouldn’t land on the rock.’

As I wiped the sweat away, I finally entered the cave.

The smell of damp earth and mineral veins flooded my nose.

The ground crunched beneath my feet, and after only a few steps, my vision began tracing signs of human activity.

A small smile formed on my face.

’Good, now all that’s left is to find the hidden piece and the Fragment of the Gate of Memory.’

With that thought in mind, I began searching.