CHAPTER 53: LIBRARY OF ASTRAL-TALE [2]

"All of you must pair up according to the names I will be calling."

The challenge inside one of the book’s stories was not something a single student could handle alone.

So the institute had decided to pair students with the lowest physical strength together with those holding the highest, to balance fairness in the examination.

Of course, that didn’t mean the weaker one would get an easy pass by relying completely on their partner.

No.

The whole trial would be monitored thoroughly by the professors before the final evaluation.

And if they found out one of the two hadn’t contributed at all, that student would be given the lowest rank.

"Any doubts?"

The professor asked, glancing around at the faces.

One hand rose.

"Do we also get a chance to encounter the Calamities in one of the books?"

It was an interesting question, and it made Leon recall a certain event in the arc.

’I think it was after he got his hands on the Moonblade,’ Leon thought, glancing at Ethan.

The Moonblade was rooted with the Silvernight Goddess, and after Ethan acquired it, he caught a glimpse of her.

That was the first time a Calamity had ever appeared in the game.

’I wonder if I’ll get to see her too.’

If the timing was right, and if he completed the quest under certain conditions, then it would be possible.

To the student’s question, the professor answered without pause.

"That will depend on the book you choose."

The reply made several students uneasy.

What if they ended up picking the hardest book?

What if they really had to face the past of one of the Calamities?

"Now then, stand in pairs according to the names I call."

The professor said, lifting the register. Opening it, he read the names.

"Evan Vayl, and Maria Necter."

"Julius Trute, and Nicole Artister."

"Cyan Miller, and Rosy Bernet."

.

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"Ethan Graves, and Susan Sleath."

.

.

"Rinna Lunovar, and Mia Zen."

"And lastly..."

"Alice Nightson, and Leon Valentine. That’s all, meet up with your partner, you have fifteen minutes to pick up the book of your choice."

Never in his life had someone felt such a sudden fall of excitement in just a matter of seconds.

Leon, who had been thrilled a moment ago, was now standing still with a blank expression.

Out of all the students...

’Why does it have to be that psychotic bitch?!’

"Alright Leon," Ethan said, turning away, "I’ll be going now, good luck."

’Good luck my ass.’

"Sigh, good luck to you too."

Looking around, he saw the rest of his batch mates already with their pairs.

’Do I really have no other choice?’

Leon never thought Alice would end up as his partner.

He thought for sure he would be paired with someone lower leveled than her.

Leon didn’t hate her or anything, but he couldn’t stand her overall personality. Even when he was approving her character designs back on earth, he had almost changed his mind if only Alice wasn’t that popular on the online forum.

’Heh. I still remember little kids playing the game, picking up her vocabulary, and using it in school as normal greetings... it was funny.’

"Ten minutes!"

The invigilators reminded the students.

"Fuck."

Having no other choice, he started searching for Alice.

"Now, where is she...?"

As someone who disliked nobles despite being one herself, she was bound to be standing alone somewhere far away...

Thinking this, his eyes shifted to the corner of the library.

Alice, in her Eclipse uniform, stood with one leg braced against the wall, arms crossed, letting herself sink into the surroundings.

"Ah. Found her."

Maintaining a straight face, Leon walked toward her.

As he came closer, he noticed an unusual look on her face, something that felt distant.

’Focus.’ Leon reminded himself.

Pushing aside distractions, he took his first proper look at Alice.

Short black hair, purple shades at the ends of each strand, her red piercing eyes. She looked exceptional.

His eyes moved to her uniform.

It was the same Eclipse uniform as everyone else’s, yet the way she wore it made anyone think, "So cool."

Half-buttoned shirt from the top, skirt a bit shorter than usual, and her cropped hairstyle. All of it made her stand out.

Anyone who knew nothing about her would think she was not serious about Eclipse.

Leaving the thought aside, Leon glanced around.

From his subtle glances, he noticed that some boys from other classes were staring at her.

’Quite the popular one.’

Looks like she had her own fan following.

’Now that I think about it...’ Leon recalled something. ’Didn’t Eula have something similar?’

Leon sneered in his mind as a certain scene replayed.

He remembered how, in the near future, Eula’s NPC-fans would even build a dedicated church just to praise her.

As Leon stepped a bit too close, Alice’s piercing red eyes locked on him.

Standing face to face, he spoke directly.

"Good afternoon, Alice."

Leon started the conversation.

Alice narrowed her eyes and replied with the most irritating tone.

"What?"

’Maaan, I hate that face.’

Leon sighed, then continued.

"The instructor told us to choose the book we desire to enter."

"..."

She said nothing.

A vein popped on his forehead as he resisted the urge to snap.

"Do you want to choose, or should I do it myself?"

Stepping down her foot from the wall, she asked something completely off-topic.

"Tell me something. Was it you, whom my grandpa interviewed a few weeks ago?"

"Huh? Why do you want to know that? The topic—"

Cutting him mid-sentence, Alice pressed.

"For fuck’s sake, if you want my cooperation, then your ass better answer me."

’Ah... how very cocky.’ Leon shot her a glance. ’Very well, I’ll play along.’

Just like Leon, Alice was also a research scholar. Finding another her age as talented as herself made her curious.

When she first met Leon that day, she had discarded him as just another arrogant noble brat. But after overhearing his conversation with Professor Esther in class about Advanced Magic and spellcrafting, she was stunned to realize she didn’t understand a single thing they were discussing.

After replaying the conversation in her head for many days, she finally understood one thing. That time...

They were talking about three-line incantation.

The very concept of three-line incantation was not something that should have ever come up in an ordinary student’s mind.

Leon closed his eyes to hide the annoyance in them before replying.

"What if I don’t want to cooperate?"

"Hm?" Her eyes twitched. "What did you say?"

"I said exactly what you heard." He answered, mimicking Alice’s mocking tone. "Are your ears as rotten as your mouth, you damn psycho?"

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[A/N] : We won WPC 2025, thanks for the support! And For the 2 days gap, I was hospitalized, and had to undergo treatment, anyways, now that I am fine, I will be back on regular updates.