I admit it. It was a really smart plan.
I'm the direct descendant of an earl. The security around me is almost impeccable. Poisoning someone like me is anything but easy.
In fact, this is the first time I have experienced poisoning in my life.
They must have investigated me carefully, so they knew about my tendency to help the small animals I meet on the way. Thus, they found a dog and put the poison on it, and when I came into contact with it, the poison entered my body.
Nor, perhaps there was more than a dog, but that was the only one we found.
Once more, I checked my body with mana, but this time, I knew what I was searching for.
Soon, I found something.
Several very thin strands of hair were stuck in my digestive and respiratory tracts. They must have entered my body when I was breathing.
After examining them, I found that they were coated by a strange substance.
The poison.
'Wait, something is wrong.'
Why did I fail to notice the poison?
My control over my body is exceptional. I would have noticed as soon as the poison started to take effect.
But I failed to notice anything. When I realized that something was wrong, I was already dying.
I examined the strands of hair again while furrowing my brows. Almost immediately, I noticed something.
'It's not poisonous.'
The substance is completely inert. It has not spread through my body nor caused any damage.
It doesn't add up.
'Unless–'
"It's a magical poison."
"Brother? Did you say something?"
"Nothing. Just talking to myself."
Lina looked at me strangely, but I ignored her and continued my line of thinking.
This poison should be activated by a certain magic. Once it receives a certain magic fluctuation, it activates immediately, killing the victim in almost an instant.
In other words, the killer did not want just to kill me.
He wanted to kill me at that precise instant.
But why?
I immersed myself in my thoughts, but I failed to find a reason.
'It seems I must investigate this further.'
For now, I should focus on the immediate danger.
Half an hour has already passed since I saw my death, so I have around forty minutes.
That should be enough.
First, I wrapped the strands of hair in mana and slowly pulled them out.
It was not easy. I had to be extremely careful to prevent them from activating accidentally. It took me almost another half an hour to get them to my throat.
When they reached my throat, I coughed softly, spitting them out.
I then kept the poisonous hair in my pocket.
They will be useful later.
By this point, it was almost my turn.
Nothing significant changed. The performance of the students was similar to their performance in my vision, so my turn arrived just a few minutes later than before.
When my turn came, I walked toward the principal calmly.
Just like in my vision, he used telepathy to communicate with me.
[Are you going to show something interesting?]
Old man, don't jinx me again.
The last time you said these words, I ended up showing you my death.
I rolled my eyes exasperated.
[Just start the illusion.]
The old man looked at me strangely, as though wondering if I ate something wrong today, before proceeding to activate the illusion.
When I appeared in the grassland, I took a deep breath.
The moment of the truth has come.
I'm almost certain that I got rid of the reason for my death, but I could not help but feel nervous.
After all, if I die again, I may die for real.
I have never died again after seeing a death precognition, so I don't know if it can activate twice.
I don't want to test it, though.
After choosing a sword again, I waited for the countdown to start.
[The test starts in three, two, one.]
Once more, a bull materialized in front of me.
Just like before, it charged toward me as soon as it saw me, and just like before, I cast three spells.
"Darkness." Our sigh was taken away.
"Confusion." Our sense of direction was inverted.
"Mana rebound." Our mana rampaged violently.
Under the effects of the three spells, the bull fell to the ground helplessly.
Next, I approached it with an indifferent look and stabbed my sword on its neck, just like I did during the vision.
Now, the moment of the truth has arrived.
Closing my eyes, I sharpened my senses to the extreme, trying to find something amiss.
I could feel the illusory breeze stroking my hair, the warm sunlight against my skin, and the slowly fading breathing of the bull.
And amid that, there was a slight and almost unnoticeable mana fluctuation.
"Found you," I whispered.
The mana fluctuation struck my body. It was so subtle that I would have failed to notice it if I had not searched for it specifically.
Then, nothing happened.
No pain, no blood, no heart exploding.
I curled my lips up slightly.
It looks like I triumphed over death again.