Chapter 6: The Chaotic Entrance Ceremony (3)

The reason I caused such a commotion was because this park was a crossroads for the schools frequently mentioned in the story.
It was a place that anyone from any school would have to pass through at least once if they came outside.
It was clear that at least one or two people would show up.

And I hit the jackpot.
Kasuga Suisei.
The vice president of Edelweiss Academy’s high school division, and the most reliable 4-star ice-element dealer available in the early game.
The strongest character from the early stages of the story had appeared.
It might have seemed like a reckless method that relied on luck, but I was confident.
In the prologue of LeoA, besides the chairman Plato who was officially declared dead, there were no other casualties.
This was thanks to Plato placing a certain degree of safety measures on the Irregulars.
Even if no one had come to help, it probably would have ended with me just passing out.

I made up the elementary school story on the spot, considering Suisei’s personality.
If someone other than Suisei had come, I would have thought of a story suited for them.
I already have most of the characters’ likes and dislikes memorized.
While gaining 100% trust is impossible, it’s not that difficult to act likable.
In Baek Soso’s case, since she’s the type who’s weak to aggressive advances, I probably would have said something cheesy like, ‘I came to protect you.’

Anyway, this is incredible.
The park has completely turned into an ice kingdom.
A chill seeped through my thin uniform, and goosebumps rose on my arms.

“It’s cold.”
“I’m sorry. It seems there was an error in how I used my ability.”
“No, don’t worry about it. You saved my life, after all.”

‘It’s my fault anyway.’

So that I could easily deal with them even if a low-attack-power character showed up, I had already scattered the Colorless Element among the Irregulars throughout the park.
The Colorless Element is Lee Sihyuk’s basic attack skill, but it also has the effect of ‘amplifying’ an ally’s ability.
The reason it froze over like this was likely the result of the Colorless Elements resonating with Suisei’s flash attack.
But I didn’t expect it to be this much.
I had imagined the center of the park at most.
But Suisei’s attack, contrary to my expectations, froze the entire park.

What I used this time was the method for using Lee Si-hyuk in the early days of LeoA.
You attack the enemy with the Colorless Element to build stacks, then detonate them with a dealer’s ultimate skill.

This combat method was also the reason why Lee Si-hyuk became an unpopular character in the early days of LeoA.
In normal battles, the mobs were cleared out before the Colorless Element stacks could even build up, and the game would quickly move on to the next battle before Lee Sihyuk’s turn even came.
Even in boss battles, it was much faster to just form a team with other characters to deal damage rather than building up Colorless Element stacks.

However, combat in this world isn’t turn-based.
Even with a method used before Lee Sihyuk was considered a top-tier character, the effect was this significant.
If I use a proper method that links to his ultimate… what on earth would happen?
I might have to completely revise my evaluation of Lee Sihyuk.

As we were leaving the park that had turned into a sheet of ice, Suisei stopped me for a moment.

“Um, well… uh…?”
“It’s Lee Sihyuk.”
“Mr. Sihyuk. I am Kasuga Suisei, the student vice president of Edelweiss Academy’s high school division.”

Suisei slightly lifted the hem of her skirt on both sides and bowed her head.
It was an elegant greeting, befitting her ‘young lady’ attribute.
My gaze was involuntarily drawn to her assertively swaying chest.
‘Hold back. Now is the time for self-control.’
‘Self-control.’
‘Composure.’
‘Peace of mind.’

“You said there’s a place we need to go. Please explain in detail.”
“Got it. But we don’t have time. Can we talk after we get on the tram?”
“The tram?”
“We’re heading to the central district first.”

Suisei seemed to contemplate for a moment, but soon nodded her head.

We dealt with all the Irregulars we encountered and found the nearest tram.

Academy City is largely divided into five districts: East, West, South, North, and Central.
Although there are facilities like a military district and an experimental district on the outskirts, the stage for the events in the story is mostly those five districts.
And serving as the transportation of Academy City, moving between these five districts, was this streetcar, the tram.

Only after boarding the tram were the two of us finally able to catch our breath.
Suisei, sitting across from me, stared at me with eyes demanding an explanation.

“Alright, as for what’s going on.”

‘Although I made a decent first impression on her, her trust in me isn’t very high yet.’
‘I need to explain it in a way that’s convincing without arousing suspicion.’
‘It’s still impossible for me to fight alone, so I want to maintain a good relationship with Suisei at least until this entrance ceremony commotion is over.’
‘Even though the Colorless Element had a more incredible effect than I thought, it’s still not an ability I can use on its own.’
‘It would be best if we became close enough to stay in touch long-term, like with Baek Soso.’

“The military support isn’t coming, isn’t that strange?”
“That is certainly true.”
“There’s probably something wrong with Idea. That’s my guess, anyway.”

Idea.
It’s a massive tower that contains the artificial intelligence core controlling Academy City and various other important facilities.
That Idea is currently paralyzed by Irregulars.
It wasn’t my guess, but a clear fact depicted in the game.

“Are you saying the Irregulars have taken over Idea!”

I nodded my head.

“I see. If communications were cut off by the Irregulars, then the current abnormal situation certainly makes sense.”
“It’s slightly different. Rather than communications being cut off, it’s more likely that false communications are being transmitted.”

If communications hadn’t been getting through at all, the military, on emergency footing, would have been dispatched long ago.
However, if the communications are being distorted by someone, making it seem like a normal day despite the emergency, the military won’t grasp the situation.

“But Mr. Sihyuk, the Irregulars we’ve encountered so far wouldn’t be capable of such a high-level task.”
“That’s why we’re going to check now. To see what happened, and who the culprit is.”

After that, Suisei was silent.
‘She must be constantly mulling over this incident in her head.’
Since she had at least lent a hand when we encountered Irregulars, I didn’t disturb her deductions and just kept walking.
Every time the streetcar rattled, Suisei’s chest swayed up and down.

‘Well, anyway.’
The culprit who manipulated the communication with the military is, once again, Plato.
It’s only natural, as anyone less than the chairman at the pinnacle of Academy City wouldn’t even be able to obtain access rights to the ideology.
‘It’s still within Plato’s range of expectations.’
‘Including the various factions that are currently infiltrating Academia, taking advantage of this brief void.’

However, there is one being whose infiltration he did not predict.
And that is—

“Mr. Sihyuk.”

My thoughts didn’t last long.

“We’ve arrived.”

In the very heart of Academy City’s central district, the giant tower that protects the center of Academia, Idea.
We had finally arrived at the foot of Academia’s heart, which stretched endlessly toward the sky.

Suisei approached the entrance of Idea with cautious steps.
Entry to the central tower is strictly controlled, and unauthorized outsiders are mercilessly subdued.
Normally, dozens of defensive drones would have appeared to ask for an ID.
But now, nothing was happening.

Only then did Suisei turn her head with a relieved look and speak to me.

“Seeing as the security is disarmed, it seems certain that something is wrong.”
“Shall we go in?”
“We must. We need to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”

The two of us entered Idea’s entrance, remaining wary of our surroundings.

“…A smell.”

The charred corpses of Irregulars were scattered everywhere.

“Did someone pass through here first?”
“Probably. Saved us some trouble.”
“Mr. Sihyuk, be careful. They might not be an ally.”

‘No, they are an ally.’
The charred corpses of Irregulars proved my thoughts.
It was evidence that ‘Makina,’ the game’s mascot and the 4-star free character who helps the Teacher from the tutorial throughout the story, was inside this tower.

Heedless of Suisei’s worries, I walked on with steady steps.
‘The elevator won’t work until the ‘Teacher’ has resolved all the incidents, so we’ll have to take the stairs.’

As I was thinking that,
I heard the sound of the elevator, which shouldn’t have been working, vibrating and moving.

The elevator, which started from the 80th floor, was descending at an incredible speed.
Its destination must be here, the 1st floor where the exit is.

“Mr. Sihyuk, get behind me.”

Suisei immediately stood in front of me, protecting me.

‘The person inside might be the culprit behind this whole incident.’
I could feel Suisei’s body tense up as if she was thinking that.
A fresh scent wafted from her shimmering black hair.
‘Shampoo. She must use a good one.’

“Be careful. We don’t know who’s in there.”

I said as much and also took a battle stance.

‘Honestly, I’m not nervous at all. I already know who’s going to come out of there.’
The protagonist is the ‘Teacher,’ who plays the role of the ‘player’ in Legends of Academia.
If he hadn’t resolved the whole situation, the elevator wouldn’t be working right now.
‘But I might be needlessly suspected later, so I should at least pretend to be on guard.’

And a moment later.
-Ding-
With a sound, the elevator doors opened.

“…Who are you.”
“That’s what we’d like to ask.”

Suisei, holding a black Japanese sword, and the woman who came out of the elevator holding a giant greatsword, Makina, faced off.

“Wait, calm down-”

‘-wn.’
The last word stuck in my throat.
It was because I made eye contact with the person standing behind Makina.

“Stop, Makina. She’s a student.”
“…Understood, Teacher.”

As Makina reluctantly lowered her greatsword, Suisei did the same, sheathing her Japanese sword in its scabbard and opening her mouth.

“Are you… the Teacher?”
“Yes. The matter with Idea has been resolved, so the military will be sending support soon, Ms. Kasuga Suisei and… you there, the male student. But why are you two here?”
“We acted on the judgment that there was a problem with Idea.”
“Oho. As expected of the daughter of the Kasuga family. You’re brilliant.”
“Thank you for the undeserved praise. But embarrassingly, I wasn’t the one who had that thought.”

It was the same slightly frivolous, yet strangely not unpleasant, way of speaking as the ‘Teacher’ in my memory.
But one, crucial part was different.

“Hm? Then it was the male student behind you? Well, look at that, we’ve got some unexpected talent here.”

Whistling cheerfully, the Teacher slowly approached me.
The pure white dress shirt and black suit pants suited her slender body well.
The same attire as the ‘Teacher’ in my memory.

But something was different from the Teacher I knew.

“What’s your name?”

Pink-tinged red hair stopped in front of me.
From her single braided lock of hair, a slightly rougher shampoo scent, different from Suisei’s, hit my nose.

“…My name is Lee Sihyuk.”

The Teacher of this world,
It seems, is a woman.