While quietly reading a book inside the running train, I was suddenly interrupted by Ha-ja, who leaned forward from the front seat.
His eyes gave an impression of hiding something.
"Are you studying?"
"Well, um..."
"Of course, you're putting in effort, and that's why Her Highness Closhe takes an interest in you."
I didn't know what he was thinking, but his sudden flattery seemed awkwardly forced.
If he knew that the book I was reading was the most basic of basics, he wouldn't say such things.
"Did I disturb you?"
"No, not at all."
"To be honest, I've never worked with a magician before, so I tried to be friendly with Adrius, haha. You understand, right?"
"I feel the same way. I hope we can get through this without any problems."
Of course, I understand your intentions, you crazy zealot.
Despite my inner thoughts, I smiled and nodded at him.
Unfortunately, being paired with Silen Claire, who showed an interest in me, made things even worse.
The Jepar sect is a group of zealots with a significant presence even in the main quest.
Of course, Jepar is real, so it's not a cult.
The problem is that Jepar is not a god but a demon.
"And quite a malevolent demon at that."
Contrary to the image of a demon, Jepar had the appearance of a relatively normal human, but his abilities were the issue.
Anyone who faced Jepar would forget their sense of shame and become lascivious. It seemed that even the sect members were not in their right minds.
Their ultimate goal was to bring Jepar to the mortal realm and create a harem kingdom.
In a way, it was a childish and amusing story, but the fact that it was actually possible took away the humor.
"What do you think of this mission, fellow student?"
"I think we'll have a better idea once we arrive and see it for ourselves."
The destination of the train we were on was a small village within the Bororic Viscounty located in the southern region.
Even in the game, it wasn't a significant location, just the destination of this mission.
The randomly assigned mission we received before departure contained a riddle-like description.
"There are rumors spreading that the lord of the Su-rim Village, belonging to the Bororic Viscounty, has been murdered. Lord Bororic dispatched investigators for the investigation, but there has been no news for over two weeks. As a precaution against possible accidents and for objective evaluation, the guild has assigned one assistant per group. The assistants will also provide evaluations. That's all for the details. Any questions?"
Although I thought it would be a mission to complete the request, it quickly turned into a political game.
It seemed that we just had to showcase ourselves as best as possible to each other.
And to prevent any unpleasant incidents, an assistant was assigned to each group for accident prevention and objective evaluation.
"Assistant assignments will now be announced. Please get along well with your colleagues during the next few days."
As Professor Vigo, in charge of the Knightly Department, finished speaking, the assistants who had been waiting behind him were assigned to each group.
When I saw the assistant assigned to our group, I felt as if fate had played a role.
It was unfortunate that we ended up in the same group as those two. Is there no way to change the group?
Honestly, Vivian, who was quiet, was acceptable, but the fact that Hajal was pretending to be normal there made me more anxious.
"A-IB Clere, assigned to Group 9."
A woman with long, blond, sun-kissed hair approached while chewing gum.
Her revealing clothing accentuated her well-toned physique.
Everyone in the group looked at her with apprehensive expressions, given her thug-like appearance and demeanor.
"Hey, aren't you going to greet me when someone talks to you?"
Tch.
She forcefully spat out the gum, giving me a headache. I introduced myself first, trying to ignore her.
"I'm Adrias Cromwell, a third-year student from the School of Magic."
"Hmm~"
She made a noise as if she found it interesting. My heart raced.
A-IB Clere. She wasn't a playable character, but she could be described as a character who concealed her power.
Despite her appearance and behavior, she diligently hid herself and was exclusive towards others.
Although we had worked together a few times, our relationship was limited to that. Despite my efforts to increase her favorability, it never worked.
"Don't you find the conversation with the Anongong impressive?"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Creating a performance-enhancing potion at such a young age must mean you lack confidence. It seems you need help from others."
"..."
Why did I fall into this "seduction" so easily?
There was no need to respond.
"Hmm, I wonder if I'm not that different after all from the others you've faced."
"Oh, really?"
Adrias, stop it!
This isn't me! Adrias has taken over my body!
As Vivian and I engaged in a confrontation of harassment, the group members who watched us shook their heads.
The group consisted of a devout follower of Jepar, an academy's young lady, an extra knight, a power-hiding thug as an assistant, and finally, me, a necromancer.
It was a mixture of unknown characters creating a chaotic group.
Please note that this translation may not capture the full nuance of the original Korean text.
"If you leave now, you'll probably arrive around sunset. But it might be better to stay and leave tomorrow..."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine."
"It's dangerous at night. Please stay for the night."
"We don't have much time, so we'll pass."
Upon hearing that, the butler glared at us with a displeased expression.
His expression seemed to convey both anger at not getting his way and frustration that things weren't going as he wanted.
Thinking it was strange, I brushed off the butler's advice and walked outside after defeating his persistent persuasion.
"It's a little chilly, isn't it?"
"What part feels that way?"
Ha-yi asked me as I opened my mouth first.
"He seemed like he was lying, or hiding something."
"Oh? Did it seem that way?"
Ha-yi, as well as the others, looked at me strangely.
With the way they were breathing and their habitual behaviors, I realized that even if I explained, I would be treated even more strangely.
So I just shook my head.
"No, it's nothing. I just felt that way for some reason."
"Well, it's true that the butler's expression and attitude were strange when we left. You could definitely feel that."
With those words, we managed to secure a carriage heading towards Su-rim Village.
However, Christopher had a slightly reluctant expression.
"Isn't this a bit hasty?"
"We don't have anything else to find out. Besides, do you think there's anything we can't handle with our abilities?"
Christopher surprisingly showed a cautious side, but Ha-yi reassured him with a pat on his shoulder.
But I had a slight doubt, so I asked Vivian for her opinion.
"Vivian, what do you think?"
"...I don't know."
Ha-yi chuckled at her answer and then asked me about my decision.
"What about you, Master?"
"I think it's better to go to the village as originally planned."
In the end, we decided to visit Su-rim Village according to mine and Ha-yi's opinion.
Honestly, with the information we had so far, there was a sense of unease, but I trusted Ivy.
"I'm traveling with the youngest-ever Auror Master. What could possibly go wrong?"
With Ivy as my insurance, at least my life was guaranteed.
And in my game play memories, there was not a single episode related to Lord Borrik.
Of course, since it was still the past before the game started, I didn't know what had happened. But if something big had occurred, I would have known, just like the terrorist attack at the Academy.
So, without any worries, we boarded the carriage and set off for Su-rim Village.
"It's farther than I expected. We should probably find an inn as soon as we arrive."
"Wouldn't it have been better to stay in Borrik and come here in the morning?"
"We don't have much time. We should investigate the surroundings while we're here."
As time passed, it gradually grew darker.
As I looked at the forest path where the dusk settled and the ground spiders nestled, I felt an unfamiliar excitement as we approached the village.
"What is this?"
Anxiety?
No, it was something related to my heart...
Right, mana.
Mana showed signs of fluctuating slightly.
Before I could figure out what was happening, the carriage suddenly began to buck wildly.
Thump! Thump!
"Sir, there's no rush. Please slow down!"
Even though Ha-yi pounded the carriage wall and shouted, the carriage's wild movements didn't stop.
Feeling confused, Christopher opened the small window that allowed him to converse with the coachman, and the coachman continued to whip the horses in a strange manner.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Christopher shouted, but the coachman continued his strange behavior without any response.
When everyone noticed that something was wrong, we adopted a defensive posture.
"Why is he acting like that?"
"They might end up overturning the carriage."
Christopher immediately opened the carriage door and threw himself into the coachman's seat.
When we looked at the coachman, we noticed that his expression had changed strangely.
"Why is he like that? What's wrong?"
"He's laughing?"
When he suddenly made a strange remark, everyone looked at him in surprise.
Then, Christopher turned the coachman's body around to show us his face.
The coachman wore a grotesque expression as he smiled and convulsed his body as if dancing.
"Hey! What's wrong? Snap out of it!"
"He's not in his right mind. He was fine just a moment ago..."
When everyone was bewildered, the unrestrained carriage started to run wild.
Not only the coachman, but the horses also seemed to have gone mad, running in an abnormal manner.
In the end, Christopher took control of the carriage himself.
"The horses are also not in their right minds! Something is definitely wrong!"
When Christopher said that, everyone inside the carriage looked at me.
It seemed that as the only mage, they were looking to me for a solution, even though I didn't have any sharp senses.
"For now, try to slow down the speed as much as possible."
That was all we could say to Christopher.
Although we didn't know his skill in handling carriages, fortunately, the speed began to decrease.
Thanks to that, we managed to avoid the danger of the carriage overturning.
The coachman, despite Christopher taking over the seat, continued to convulse and writhe, whipping the horses incessantly.
Then, he suddenly stood up, bloodied and injured, and began to dance in a bizarre manner before jumping off the carriage.
"He's gone crazy!"
As we exclaimed in shock and jumped off the carriage, the coachman, with a face covered in wounds, smiled grotesquely and continued to dance as if enjoying himself.
It felt more like watching a horror movie come to life rather than witnessing a joyful celebration in the darkened village.
Without a single torch lit, it felt as if a macabre festival was taking place in the dark village.
I couldn't discern the cause of this phenomenon, as I hadn't encountered anything like it in the game, not even in my gaming knowledge.
But in cases like this, there were usually three possibilities: mana anomaly, magic, or black magic.
'What on earth is happening? Is it a curse? Hey, San-nim! What are they doing? As a mage, shouldn't you know?'
As we reached the entrance of the village, Christopher forcefully brought the carriage to a stop.
Despite the arrival of the carriage, the villagers paid no attention and continued their eerie dance with faces stretched wide, seemingly on the verge of tearing.
A feeling of dread emanated from them, in sync with the darkening sky.
"What is going on with them?"
"Is it a curse? Hey! San-nim! What are they doing? As a mage, shouldn't you know?"
The carriage stopped, but the villagers kept dancing, their laughter echoing through the silent night.
Unable to bear the strange sight, Ha-yi asked again.
"Hey, what are they doing? What's wrong with those people?"
"I don't know... It's beyond my knowledge."
Amidst our confusion, we witnessed the carriage horses and the coachman suddenly regain their senses.
They abruptly stopped their frenzied movements and returned to a calm state.
"They're back to normal?"
As we watched the horses and coachman revert to their usual state, Christopher's voice trembled with uncertainty.
"Why? What's happening?"
"Why are they laughing?"
When he suddenly blurted out those words, we all turned our heads to look outside.
There, we saw the villagers, who had become vaguely visible, all gathering outside and performing their grotesque dance with twisted faces.
Their appearance, combined with the darkened sky, created an atmosphere of terror.
"What on earth is happening?"
"Is it a curse? What are they doing? As a mage, shouldn't you know?"
With Ha-yi's repeated questions, I felt a sense of frustration and helplessness.
I couldn't explain this phenomenon based on my gaming knowledge alone.
Nevertheless, the villagers' actions were deeply unsettling, and it seemed like something was wrong with the village itself.
Fortunately, the increasingly intense fluctuations in my mana provided a strange but positive effect, filling me with a sense of excitement rather than pain.
'Why is this happening?'
Even with my gaming knowledge, I couldn't determine the cause of this phenomenon.
At that moment, Christopher's trembling voice reached our ears.
"What are they doing right now?"
His words made us look outside the window.
There, we witnessed the villagers performing their eerie dance in unison, while their laughter echoed through the air.
"It's like a curse. What are they doing? Hey, San-nim! As a mage, shouldn't you know?"
I couldn't find an answer to their questions. The villagers' behavior was beyond comprehension.
When we finally arrived at Su-rim Village, Christopher's voice rang out.
"Look, what are they doing?"
We looked out the window and saw a small village in the distance.
And at the same time, the fluctuations of mana within my heart intensified.
As we approached the village, the phenomenon became more pronounced, leading me to believe that the cause might be related to the village itself.
Luckily, the fluctuations were more invigorating than painful, giving me a sense of anticipation.
'What is happening?