Glascan Subjugation (7)
"Thank you."
Gazing up amidst the damp air of dawn.
It's hardly the time for an after-action review. Still, if there's something to say…
Thanks to the efforts of the first-year aces, we narrowly avoided the worst-case scenario. It seems Taely's Sword Saint Ritual manifested just in time. With the ritual in effect, we're unlikely to hit a roadblock in the scenario for a while, so there's some relief.
The half-destroyed Nail Hall and Gluckt Tower.
Broken street trees, benches and fences piled up to serve as barricades, and the marble floor of the Student Square shattered into pieces by Tarkan's rampage. Other parts of the faculty buildings must be in no better shape.
There's no point in calculating the damage cost. It can't be precisely determined anyway.
There were serious injuries and the number of minor injuries is countless. The only saving grace is that there were no fatalities.
"To be honest, I harbor resentment towards you."
Taely, head bowed, was covered in wounds. He rallied the subjugation team throughout the faculty buildings, and it was he who fought with a sword in every battle, and he who defeated Velosfer and Glascan.
It's an honorable achievement, deserving of praise, but Taely's lips did not curve into a smile.
"And you know very well the reason why."
Hostility still lingered in Taely's eyes.
I look around.
Members of the exhausted subjugation team gathered. Standing in front of the Student Council building, they've finished their duties. It's time for a glorious return.
If they return to the central outpost in the Student Square, students there would greet them with applause and cheers, bringing closure to this long night.
It was a challenging night, but somehow it ended. With such soliloquies, Act 1 wraps up. We're moving straight to an Episode of Act 2 that deals with the tension between Elte Commercial Company and the faculty.
"But a debt is a debt."
Despite the unabated hostility, Taely voiced it clearly.
"At least a word of thanks is due. No matter how resentful I am, if you hadn't stopped Tarkan, the subjugation wouldn't have been possible at all."
Even with clenched teeth due to animosity, Taely made sure to show proper appreciation. That's the kind of person Taely McLore is.
"Taely, you are so stubbornly honorable. Aha, just express it if you dislike it. Why differentiate between gratitude and disdain, why not simplify such feelings?"
Elvira laughed despite her battered state, finding joy in something.
"Yeah! Taely! There's no need to be polite to such a person! He just helped because his own life was also in danger, and he'd stab you in the back if interests didn't align, wouldn't he?! Even when capturing Tarkan, he treated my life like a fly's… Just this guy…!"
"Clevius, be quiet."
"You talk too much, Clevius."
"Keep it down, Clevius."
When Phoenia, Lortelle, and Zix spoke out of sync to silence Clevius, he shrunk in his shoulders and went silent.
"Taely is right, Ed. We cannot trust you blindly, but you have accomplished much. That must be duly acknowledged. I'll make a recommendation to the student committee; surely you will receive something."
"No need to go that far. Princess."
I simply stated the objective facts.
"Anyway, the main credit for defeating Tarkan goes to Lucy, and Velosfer and Glascan were slain by Taely, so there is no need to overrate my actions. Please, focus on them."
"Oh my, deflecting the credit. Everyone knows Lucy and Taely played key roles. We're talking about the other contributions. Or what? Are you embarrassed?"
"You're a year above me. Speak respectfully, Elvira."
Zix nonchalantly flicked Elvira's head. Leaving a laughing Elvira behind, Zix turned to me.
"Anyway, let's talk details once we get to the base, senior Ed. This isn't something to conclude in the street."
"…
"
I stood silently on the spot.
Slowly, the members of the subjugation team moved away towards the Student Square. Suddenly realizing that I was standing and sending them off, one by one they turn back to look at me.
In the light of the dawning sky, the figures returning victorious looked battered.
Taely, Aila, Phoenia, Zix, Lortelle, Clevius, Elvira.
The procession of main characters who will carry the scenario forward leaves me with a sense of reassurance, a groundless confidence that they will overcome whatever challenges lie ahead.
I have watched over them countless times and seen a myriad of unexpected events and anomalies.
While this Glascan Subjugation teetered on the brink of collapsing the very premises of the story due to an absurd anomaly, as long as there's no such level of interference, they would manage most situations.
Looking at these characters together affirms this belief.
I've always kept a distance from the main characters so as not to affect the flow of the scenario. But now, watching over them elicits a warm feeling in me. I have watched them in this world taking on their roles and solving their own problems time and again.
Taely, who grows stronger with each ordeal, Aila, who strengthens for Taely's sake, Phoenia, who embraces her destiny as a monarch and matures, Zix, who finds his own way amidst civilization, Lortelle, who questions his life that was mired in wealth, Clevius, who gains confidence in himself, and Elvira, who realizes that fun and excitement aren't everything in life.
I am well aware of the trials ahead of them and their future triumphs.
They are all protagonists with their respective roles, and though their paths may be rough, the shining red carpet will eventually welcome them at the end.
At the end awaits a trophy named success. Everyone will applaud their splendid, heroic lives.
"I left something back at Nail Hall. You guys go ahead."
Knowing that, I turned away.
Now that the situation has settled, it's time to piece together the missing puzzle pieces.
The location is the Nail Hall's combat training ground. Walking along the shattered corridor of Nail Hall, upon opening the large wooden door… the sight of the training ground is indescribable.
Seats are scattered from Zix's wind magic, the floor is cracked in places, curtains burned to ashes, and holes gape in the walls.
The ceiling, blown away by Glascan's right arm, offers a clear view of the sky, now revealing the dawn as the darkness retreats.
The marks of the final battle against Velosfer.
The stage after the story has ended.
A space like the backside of a stage, inaccessible during the progression of 'Sylvania's Failed Swordsman' scenario.
I walked across the debris-strewn seats toward the podium at the front. Below it, there is a spare podium. The very spot where Lucy used to nap during joint combat training.
-Thud,
As I opened the wooden door beneath it, there sat Yenika, encircling her knees, "Ehehe…"
she laughed, evidently embarrassed to have been found hiding.
*
"It's surprisingly cozy. I think I understand why Lucy used to nap here."
In the ruined combat training room's podium.
I sat next to Yenika, looking up at the sky. The barrier encasing the faculty buildings showed small cracks.
"However, I didn't expect to be discovered so easily. I wanted to stay hidden a little longer."
"It wouldn't have lasted; once the faculty break the barrier, you'd be found immediately."
"I wanted some solitude before that. Didn't want to be seen by anyone."
"Why?"
At my question, the girl smiled wryly and said,
"Um… I was planning to sob quite unsightly."
As if it's not such a strange thing to reveal,
"It'd be too embarrassing to cry in front of someone."
With that, I finally felt a piece of a long-held puzzle clicking into place.
Why was Yenika Faelover assigned the role of Act 1 boss?
Unlike other bosses, her motivation was passively irrefutable. She didn't possess grand ideals, a fate to fulfill, nor the pure malice of a villain beyond empathy.
Among all the dazzling bosses, Yenika Faelover's position as the Act 1 boss seemed out of context.
Even after considerable research, with no clear answer, I had settled on the intrinsic conclusion, "It's impactful, so it must be for that reason," without giving further thought to the darkness within Yenika's heart.
Yenika is always bright, sincere, and beloved by all. Her being possessed by a dark spirit and blocking the player's path is shocking and revolutionary enough on its own. How much could a message be hidden when that level of impact suffices?
But in reality, it's not such a difficult narrative. I hadn't grasped it simply because it's too easy and common.
-'I happened to glimpse into Senior Yenika's room'
The room of Yenika that Lortelle peered into, housing that particular scene. It was then I felt the course of memory converging into one stream.
On the last day of vacation, when capturing the mid-boss of Act 2, 'head maid Ellis of Ophelius Hall,' it's possible to enter Ophelius Hall from Taely's perspective.
While dodging the enemy in Ophelius Hall, you can enter the rooms of various characters, including Yenika's room.
A fleeting view amidst pressing circumstances, but Yenika's room is undeniably peculiar.
In her spacious room, many paintings and writings were plastered all around. Focusing on Yenika's desk, there are portraits of family members, letters of encouragement, messages of support from loving friends, certificates of praise and expectation from the faculty, and picturesque postcards sent from home densely adorning the wall.
What about the desk's array? From cute accessories given by friends, to pots of lilies and roses gifted by the academy, impeccably cared for in fears of wilting.
Trophies from academy competitions shone on one side, and along one wall, there were four oak staves, gifts from seniors celebrating her contract with Tarkan.
A charming cosmos-shaped wooden sculpture from her family also rested in one corner.
The bouquet created with the combined efforts of the club friends was well cared for, and the element spirit-shaped ornament gifted by the Professor of Elementology was neatly lined up. The first magical tool I used when casting spells had been sent by my family, beautifully wrapped. It was quite large so I had placed it under the desk at the corner.
Opening the drawer, piles upon piles of letters filled with respect and love for Yenika lay bunched together. Each one contained heartfelt words from family, friends from my hometown, alumni, and faculty members. I hadn't thrown away a single one.
Each letter was a touching and grateful trace of sincerity. However, picturing Yenika sitting there with closed eyes, the scene feels strangely eerie.
Despite the spacious desk, there was barely enough room to spread out even a couple of books.
The words stuck to the wall were weighing on her shoulders like boulders.
The solution was glaringly simple. Something everyone already knew.
Take down the words from the wall, clear away the gifts cluttering the desk and into some corner of the room, and discard the letters that were too old and no longer necessary.
There's no need to take every ounce of sincerity and respect directed at me seriously. If it becomes too burdensome, knowing how to shake it off is important.
But for Yenika, that was the beginning of all her misfortune—impossible to perform. It was the exact part that Velosfer had tainted in her, the darkness within Yenika, clear without further inspection.
Yenika Faelover was trapped in the compulsive belief that she had to return every bit of kindness and sincerity with equal, heartfelt effort. Quite like the protagonist of a fairy tale.
There was no need to explain how reckless that was.
"Hmmm…"
Considering this, it is perfectly plausible that Yenika's actions occurred a whole month earlier than in the original timeline.
The pressure on Yenika's shoulders had ballooned much quicker than in the original course of events.
If you think about the reason… it all goes back to the joint combat practice.
The person who should have been the center of attention during the joint combat practice wasn't Yenika but Taely.
Taely, who had impressively managed a win against Lucy, heightened their fame as the two most notable students along with Yenika while demonstrating a second-year's pride.
But with Lucy dispatching Taely with one blow, all the spotlight shifted to Yenika.
The second-year students, once disheartened by even a first-year, now had expectations for Yenika that surpassed the adoration of an idol, almost reaching the reverence of a deity.
Following the trail from cause to effect, one may find a surprising conclusion.
The attention on Yenika was because Lucy eliminated Taely in a single hit.
Lucy was able to do so because of a contract with Merilda.
The possibility to contract with Merilda came from frequenting the northern forest unlike before.
The reason for visiting the northern forest was an excellent spot found there to take naps.
And that excellent napping spot could exist because… a certain character, who should have exited the stage as the act began, resided there.
A butterfly's flaps seem terribly mild, but they lead to a hurricane.
It would be too much to lament over the overwhelming results.
The puzzling piece is that it didn't fit into our expected narrative.
At this point, it became clear why Yenika was appointed the first act's boss—a message embedded within 'Sylvania's Failed Swordsman'. It was never too complex.
Yenika Faelover stands as the counterpoint to the protagonist, Taely McLore.
As Taely faces trials and becomes stronger, the array of sufferings, agonies, and cold pains will overwhelm him, but he will eventually conquer all challenges and seize victory—a life of a protagonist.
On the other hand, Yenika led a life completely opposite to Taely's.
She was born with great talent, coated in the love of family, always smiling in the warmth of everyone's expectations and sincerity. However, this is the outcome she faced.
There might be those who overcome trials and seize dramatic success, living the life of a dramatic protagonist.
But there are also those, despite receiving all the expectations, support, and love, who must accept the result of failure in a supporting role. We call them extras.
Yenika's emergence as the first act's boss was to tell the darker side of stories overshadowed by such protagonists like Taely. Ultimately, she was Taely's antithesis.
Having invested so much, it's not strange that she would take on the role of the first act's boss. But hiding messages this intricately is a headache for the player. How bizarrely esoteric are these hidden factors.
"Oh…"
I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at the sight before my eyes.
Elementals don't understand the concept of death. Even if you chop off their heads, they just revert to an incorporeal state upon the 'Manifestation' dissolving. However, their strength is significantly diminished, and it takes a tremendous amount of time to recover.
Until now, elementals weren't visible to my eyes. But after sufficient training in elemental sensibility, looking over the combat training ground, I could see the forms of elementals rising faintly from the remnants of the buildings. Combined with the emerging sunlight, it was quite a beautiful sight.
The elementals, freed from the reckless enchantment, seemed to gather around Yenika as if to console her.
"What's going to happen to me now?"
"You'll be referred to the disciplinary committee, I guess."
"Will I be expelled?"
"Hard to say."
As far as I know, it doesn't go as far as expulsion. Yenika appears briefly in the ending credits.
But beyond this, her path is completely unknown.
After stepping off the stage, Yenika becomes a character entirely separate from the main storyline, no longer impacting the story, becoming a bygone villain.
Perhaps the familiarity I feel with that position is because it's not someone else's story.
"At least you're a victim dominated by Velosfer, so there might be some leniency," I said.
"Do you really think so?"
"Well, you won't completely get rid of your sins… Since Professor McDowell, the headmaster, is student-friendly, and the faculty might be careful about hastily expelling a second-year top student."
Without Yenika, the second year would be hopeless. The second-year professors would all energetically try to prevent her expulsion.
Add to that Yenika's good conduct and reputation, her many accomplishments, the students would all write petitions in her favor… With some luck, it might end with detention or suspension at most. But it would take luck.
"Hey, Ed. Can I say something embarrassing?"
"What is it?"
"When the punitive squad crashed in, I had this fantasy."
I glimpsed the breaking barrier symbols in the dawn sky as the eastern sun began to seep through. The light reflecting off them was dazzling.
"I just wished someone would appear, solve all of this with overwhelming power heedlessly, grab my hand, and run away. To a point where I wouldn't have to worry about anything, and resolve everything, telling me it's okay with kindness."
"Would something like that happen?"
"Right. Yeah. That only happens in fairy tales."
Yenika chuckled with an 'Ehehe-' sound.
Then, with a definite smile, nodded with an 'Mhm.'
'One day, please save Yenika.'
The message of that wind wolf resurfaced only at that moment. An elemental whose love and care for Yenika were deeply moving.
It was strange to reconsider it; the fact that Yenika would be dominated by Velosfer and cause havoc in the faculty hall was only known to me through future knowledge.
Yet still, to be told to save Yenika and such. It almost sounded like the wind wolf knew of the future predicaments Yenika would face. Though naturally, that's impossible.
I was the one who knew everything about what would happen to Yenika. So talking about saving Yenika or the like would sound like asking to rescue her from this crisis.
The message from the wolf was not meant that way, but absolute information superiority sometimes becomes poison.
Perhaps the wind wolf had detected Yenika's distressed state sooner than anyone else.
But sincere encouragement, worry, and advice end up being poison to the girl.
The heavier the sincerity from the other side, the more heavily the girl takes it on herself.
What's needed is a word of encouragement that's infinitely light and yet isn't just cold… like that illusory lukewarm water.
However, such encouragement is more precious than gold for the girl. Everyone who saw the sweet girl had crashed against her with their whole heart in sincerity.
In the end, it was a boy who tried to keep an odd distance from the girl who might have been the most suitable. At least that's what the wind wolf seemed to have decided.
Someone like him, who didn't foist a burden of heavy sincerity on her, was probably what the wolf hoped she could lean on emotionally.
"Hey, Yenika."
With that reason, I called out to Yenika quietly.
"You've worked hard."
My casually thrown words seemed to have destabilized the emotional dam that Yenika, hugging her knees, had been maintaining.
Yenika quickly tucked away the forced smile and quietly buried her face in her knees.
In the end, Yenika Faelover had failed.
She tried to contract with a new high-level elemental but rushed the summoning, which resulted in being consumed by a dark elemental, leading her to demolish the faculty hall.
Though recovering from such a grand failure is difficult, the process was undoubtedly sincere.
She studied late every night, practiced her magical prowess, smiled in response to the cheering of friends, faculty, and her family, and in places unseen, drew on her strength excessively to meet the expectations. That journey, beautiful at every step, paradoxically made her failure just as beautiful – though how much comfort that offers, I can't say.
As if consoling the girl quivering silently, elementals crowded toward her. It seemed as if they were saying she had done enough effort.
On any other day, she would have embraced the elementals with a bright smile, but today, she just shivered without response.
Dawn was breaking. The stage had to move on to the next act.
In the student square, the returning punitive squad was met with cheers from the students.
The procession of proud heroes paraded on stage amid applause and praise.
In contrast, the backstage remained quiet and dark. The exit of the first act's villain was overshadowed by the protagonist's journey.
In the interstices of the elementals, I left the girl experiencing her first failure in life weeping quietly.
No need to comfort or encourage her with all sincerity. That was the right answer.
I've played through the first act countless times.
Now, at last, I felt like I'd properly witnessed its conclusion.
* [ Magical Abilities Detail ]
Grade: Ordinary magic student
Specialty: Elemental Magic
Common Magic: Fast Casting Lv 5, Mana Detection Lv 6
Fire Elemental Magic: Ignition Lv 12
Wind Elemental Magic: Wind Blade Lv 11
Elemental Magic: Elemental Sensitivity Lv 10, Elemental Understanding Lv 10
[ New Elemental Slot: Empty ]
[ New Elemental Slot: Empty ]
[ Lower Fire Elemental Olgos takes an interest in you. ]
[ Lower Wind Elemental Drius takes an interest in you. ]
[ High Wind Elemental Merilda shows intense interest in you. ]