A building located in the Department of Magic.
Professor of Potion Making, Kyle Schutzman, calmly tidied his belongings.
His cold and composed demeanor would freeze those who knew him, making it awkward. Although his identity hadn't been revealed yet, he had to hurry upon hearing the news of the involvement of Prince Grace from the Mayern Kingdom in the incident and his subsequent death.
'Guardian Pell. I never expected that guy, who was in charge of my potions, to stab me in the back. By now, he must have already escaped.'
Knock, knock!
"Pr-Professor, we're here."
The disciples who rushed over upon hearing about the incident arrived.
As he was about to unlock the locking spell in response to the voices coming from beyond the door, Kyle hesitated.
He thought the trembling tone of his disciples was due to the recent event at the academy, but something felt off.
Before opening the door, Kyle called out the disciple's name to confirm.
"Alexander."
"Yes, Professor?"
"Did someone come with you?"
"..."
There was a brief moment of silence, and Kyle sensed something was amiss.
He quickly grabbed his belongings, activated a disposable portal magic circle, and disappeared.
After a while, no sound was heard, and the door shuddered before being shattered by a black sword energy.
"I missed him."
The one who entered the room was Adrias Cromwell.
Behind him were Kyler's trembling disciples.
"I-I don't know anything. I have no idea where the professor went or even that there was an emergency escape route!"
One of the disciples, Alexander Tiben, kneeled and cried out.
Beside him was a second-year student who looked terrified.
Ignoring their reactions, Adrias searched the room thoroughly.
'There must be some hidden lab or device, probably like with Charon.'
In the center of the room, there was a barely visible residual mana left by the emergency portal.
However, since Adrias knew where Kyle had escaped to, it didn't matter.
Now, it was time to eliminate any clues.
As Adrias continued searching the room, he eventually gestured to Alexander.
"Me? Uh, me?"
"There must be some device or place Kyle has hidden. Where is it?"
"H-How could I possibly..."
Kyle's disciples were surprised to learn that Adrias knew about the location they had hidden. Adrias urged them, whether they were surprised or not, to speak up.
"Hurry up and tell me."
"Yes, yes."
Alexander, realizing that they had become ducks caught in a rice paddy ever since Kyle abandoned them, cooperated with Adrias as much as possible. They had no choice but to be cautious since Adrias had proven his remarkable ability to gather information and find them in an instant.
"Uh, Adrias, sir. If we tell you this, will you really let us go?"
The hidden device was on Kyle's desk.
As Alexander disclosed its location, he looked at Adrias with an anxious gaze.
Without answering, Adrias read the magic circle embedded in the device and forcefully opened it using his ability to see mana.
"Uh, Adrias, sir?"
"Yes. Now, go."
As long as Kyle's disciples remained ignorant of his true identity, Adrias didn't care about them.
His only concern was erasing any evidence that could reveal his true self.
First, he had to eliminate any clues here and then pursue the fleeing Kyle.
'In the academy, he's the only one besides Charon who knows my true identity. I must deal with him, just in case it becomes a problem.'
As he activated the hidden device, the floor under the desk opened, revealing a staircase.
Adrias quickly went down to check, but it seemed that all the important items had already been taken, leaving traces scattered everywhere.
Since he had to chase after Kyle, Adrias stopped searching one by one and set the laboratory on fire. The magical flames would not easily be extinguished due to the mix of mana, so he left without worry.
Once outside, Kyle's disciples had already disappeared.
'Just in case... here too.'
Adrias calmly lit a fire in the office and leisurely left the scene.
.
.
.
.
Hoo... hoo...
An owl's hoot broke the silence of the quiet forest.
I am now outside, not in the academy.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the academy, I slipped out.
'All the playables have been saved, so I can breathe a sigh of relief.'
It was said that there were also other consumers of the potion that I had not discovered, and due to my efforts to stop them, there were sacrifices of one professor and three assistant professors. It was a regrettable loss, but I couldn't be everywhere and know everything.
As a result, the inside of the academy was in chaos and not properly controlled, allowing me to clean up Kyle's office and quietly slip outside.
'In a game scenario, I would be walking this path with other characters.'
I already knew Kyle's hiding place.
If the first encounter occurred inside the academy, then the second encounter would take place at his hideout after he fled.
The first encounter involved only basic elemental magic, but in the second encounter, Kyle revealed dark magic as well, making his patterns more varied and difficult to deal with. Honestly, it would be almost impossible to defeat him without the help of NPC allies.
'Skipping the first encounter is a good thing.'
In the second encounter, I always missed Kyle, but now that it was no longer a game but reality, I had no intention of letting him slip away.
Gradually, I approached Kyle's hideout.
I put on Bloody Dan's mask that I had prepared in advance and concealed my identity.
There was no need to hide, but it made me feel more at ease.
Kyle's hideout was a small cabin in the forest that looked like an abandoned dwelling.
Even inside this cabin, one had to pass through a magic circle to enter the actual hideout. Since I had experienced this several times in the game, it posed no problem.
I entered the decrepit cabin, pulled out Galakshur, and infused mana into the hidden spot where the magic circle was.
Whoosh!
The magic circle activated, revealing a hidden passage.
Immediately, I sensed a surge of mana and turned my head sideways.
Swish! Thud!
The magic passed by my mask and shattered the cabin wall.
"How did you find this place?"
A voice came from the passage, and Kyle, who had been hidden in the darkness, revealed himself.
Without saying a word in response to Kyle's question, I immediately darted out.
Whoa-ang!
Running inside the passage, I unleashed my sword winds, but Kyle manipulated his shadow to effortlessly block the sword winds. His shadow was like a living entity, moving three-dimensionally, and it was an incredibly formidable dark magic that I had dealt with in the game.
While he was blocking the sword winds, I quickly approached Kyle and pierced through his shadow.
"You really underestimate me."
However, the shadow I thought I had pierced, wrapped around me.
Apart from the Galakshur containing mana, my arms and upper body were tightly restrained by the shadow. Seeing me immobilized, Kyle approached me leisurely.
["Pure Original Sin senses the power of Charitable Greed."]
I was surprised by the sudden notification, but I didn't show it.
How did you find greed in an unexpected place? Do you have the rest of the gems?
"I'm curious how you managed to find your way here. Let's see your face."
Approaching me as if caught in a spider's web, Kyle reached out towards my mask.
And just as his hand was about to touch my mask...
Thunk!
Something white, made of bone, grabbed Kylr's shoulder.
"Huh?"
Kyle, with a bewildered voice, met Nickel's eyes revealed in the air.
Whoosh!
"Kyaah!"
Nickel mercilessly sliced through the opponent's shoulder and continued to charge towards Kyle relentlessly.
In the meantime, I used Fusion Magic to ignite Galakshur.
Fwoosh.
The black flames, made of Aura, engulfed the shadow surrounding me, simply consuming it.
Seizing the opportunity while the opponent was distracted, I struck with a deadly blow.
Honestly, I wanted to kill him right then and there, but unfortunately, the killing blow failed.
'It seems I need to deal with this a bit more.'
Since I couldn't kill him instantly, miracles like the one that just happened were no longer possible.
Now, it was time to compete with pure skills.
Still, the fortunate part was that Nickel's attack, though not fatal, was devastating.
Fasac!
With his right arm severed, Kyle's pale face struggled to stop the bleeding while trying to defend against Nickel's attack. Nickel was also unable to deliver a decisive blow, being hindered by the shadows, just chasing after Kyle.
"Earth Shield."
I conjured an Earth Shield to protect Kyle from further harm.
I blocked Kyle's escape route.
Suddenly, Nickel's sword flew towards Kyle, blocking his way.
Kwaddduk!
In a rushed manner, the shadows quickly swirled around, preventing Nickel's attack. Kyle, still with a pale expression, stepped back.
'Is it the second phase?'
That won't work.
I reluctantly had to use the summon I had saved for sudden situations like this.
"Kheheong!"
Evolved into a stronger form, Timur roared fiercely as it emerged.
[Revenant Berserker (Legendary)]
-Timur
-Undead
-Tier 6
-Mana: 2010
-Special Ability: Self/Absolute: Fist, Berserk
Unlike when Nickel evolved, Timur's form did not change, but its tier had increased by one level.
It felt like evolution could branch out depending on sins or past experiences, increasing the number of possible paths. Anyway, Timur had evolved into an impressive Tier 6 undead.
'Still, Nickel feels stronger.'
Tiers were similar to advancements in other games.
Tier 6 was like the sixth advancement.
However, despite being Tier 6, Timur was weaker than Nickel, who had undergone a hidden advancement.
As soon as Timur was summoned, it activated Berserk and rushed forward.
With physical abilities surpassing Nickel, Timur quickly reached Kyle, who was displaying suspicious behavior.
Kugung!
Puhbeng!
Kyle frantically used elemental magic to defend against Timur's charge, but with Berserk activated, Timur confidently absorbed the spells and swung its fist.
Pyeong!
The shadow wrapped around Timur's fist, absorbing the impact.
During that brief moment, I saw Kyle hastily drinking a potion.
'I couldn't stop him.'
It was all calculated from the start, but it's a bit disappointing.
Though Timur was hindered by the shadow, it managed to drive its fist forward.
Pyeong!
Kyle's shadows twisted Timur's arm like a twist tie.
Then, with a burst, Timur's arm rebounded like a spring.
As I witnessed this, my forehead furrowed.
"Heeugh. Now that I look closely, I know who you are."
It seems like the effects of the potion have caused Kyle's body to transform strangely. He looked at me with eyes that had turned black and smiled.
"Adrias, my student. Am I right?"
I didn't bother to answer.
I was focused on the new fusion magic I had been working on all along.
"Hehehe. I hit the nail on the head, huh? But you stand out too much. Wielding both a sword and magic, and even necromancy. If that's the case, why bother with the mask?"
As Nickel approached Kyle, he swung his sword. However, unlike before, Kyle's more powerful shadow magic easily blocked Nickel's attack.
"When did you start controlling such undead? It seems they are more superior to Charon's undead."
Before he could finish his words, I summoned Ludo at the same time.
"Growl!"
Kugugugung!
As the giant Ludo was summoned, the passage collapsed, creating chaos.
Seeing the massive undead creature, Kyle looked surprised and shielded himself from the falling debris.
"That undead, what is it? Is it a flesh golem?"
Before he could finish speaking, Ludo's greatsword swung down.
The overwhelming mass of the sword was coming down, and even though Kyle had consumed potions, he couldn't afford to be careless. He triggered his mana, using the shadows to defend against the strike.
With Nickel on one side, Timur who had rejoined the battle, and Ludo's greatsword coming down from above, I slowly completed the magic contained in my sword.
'It's my first time using it in a real battle...'
The unexpected outcome of the new fusion magic.
Shrrrrrrk.
Finally revealed, the magic was 'bones.'
This fusion magic was nothing other than a combination of necromancy and a sword.
Sharp bones sprouted from my sword like a whip.
Kwaddduk!
Feeling the danger, Kyle summoned shadows around him to protect himself.
As he did so, my bone whip, infused with Aura, couldn't penetrate the shadows.
"What is this? Aura? Magic?"
Without answering, I adjusted my sword.
Then, branches of bones sprouted like vines from the long whip-like bones.
The bone branches pierced through the shadows and reached Kyle.
However, due to the hardened state of his flesh from the potions, they couldn't pierce through.
"Hahaha! I thought you had something remarkable prepared, but is this all it can do?"
"Like I said earlier..."
My head felt overloaded.
At the same time, my nose started bleeding, but I didn't stop arranging the mana.
"Huh?"
Finally realizing something was amiss, Kyle tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
"You're too noisy."
Kwaang―!
Kwaguang―!
Double cast.
Bone Explosion.