Chapter 7: The Tutorial That Changes Fate (2)
In this world, there existed a special power called Vision.
Nations and families.
Schools and guilds or individuals.
Their insights were layered upon martial techniques like swordsmanship, magic, or spearmanship, transforming and evolving over countless years into a unique and precious value or such a power.
Simply put, it was just a skill.
A thousand years had passed since the Frey Empire was established on this land.
And during that long time, countless nations, families, schools, and races had vanished into the back alleys of history due to invasions, wars of conquest, and large and small battles for mutual gain.
If you included individuals, their number would truly be as vast and varied as the stars embedded in the night sky.
Within the royal palace, there was a secretive place where their traces were collected.
The Star Coffin.
The tomb of the stars or the place where stars slept.
Among them, the Vision Star Coffin was a treasure trove and the empire’s most critical stronghold, where all sorts of Secret Tomes, both existing and extinct, were gathered in one place.
Naturally, it boasted ironclad security, and even royal royalty could not enter the Star Coffin recklessly.
The countless Secret Tomes that slept within the Vision Star Coffin.
The empire did not merely store them to rot; it used copies of their original sources to support soldier training camps or knight schools, thereby strengthening the empire’s foundation.
Naturally, the copies sent to Frey Academy were more numerous and even more special.
The place where these Secret Tomes, received from the royal palace, were stored.
That was exactly the Vault I was heading to now.
Outside, as expected, it was even more chaotic than the plaza.
Orcs were destroying everything in sight—facilities, people, anything in front of them.
Citizens were fleeing in panic to escape those orcs.
The roars of the orcs and the screams of the people echoed throughout the grounds.
Academy guards, clad in orange armor, hurriedly formed ranks to confront the orcs, but it was a feeble response.
Orcs.
These Grade 4 beasts, with their steel-like stamina, monstrous strength, and robust reproductive capacity, accounted for the largest proportion of beast populations.
On top of that, they possessed a degree of intelligence, which was why the Beltus Cult used orcs the most for experiments, terrorism, or menial tasks among beasts.
But these were not ordinary orcs; they were a special variant called swamp orcs.
They were less intelligent than regular orcs but had the advantage of larger builds and greater strength.
That was why they were the beasts most commonly used in the terrorist weapon known as the Beast Pouch.
Their combat prowess was comparable to a battle-hardened veteran soldier.
Ordinary soldiers could never handle them, and even new cadets would find them overwhelming in one-on-one combat.
The academy guards were individually skilled soldiers, but they were insufficient to defeat a swamp orc alone.
So, they worked in pairs to push back the swamp orcs, but the critical issue was numbers.
There were simply too many swamp orcs.
Moreover, the academy guards had to protect the citizens as well, which prevented them from fully unleashing their abilities.
“Damn it! There are too many!”
“Fall back for now! Prioritize protecting the citizens over killing the beasts!”
This situation would only be resolved once the knights from the Central Knight Headquarters arrived.
In truth, that was the important part.
The state of the surroundings, what kind of beasts the swamp orcs were, how much danger the citizens were in… those things weren’t particularly important to me.
To put it coldly.
The core of this operation was the time until the knights arrived.
Right now, the aftermath of the Beast Pouch and the swamp orcs had created a chaotic situation.
But once the knight order arrived, this chaos would be quelled as if it had never existed, subdued by their overwhelming force.
And the time remaining until that happened was roughly 15 minutes.
Those 15 minutes were the working time I had been given.
Within that time, I had to select the Secret Tomes I wanted, escape the Vault, and get out.
“Phew…”
How long had I been running?
Beyond the crossing, I saw a widely encircled chain-link fence and the main gate.
Beyond that, dense trees and a white roof jutting upward.
The Vault.
“Stop them! Don’t let them get inside the Vault at all costs!”
A sound came from nearby, and I quickly crouched, hiding myself under the bushes.
Not far away, a squad of swamp orcs and eight guards were engaged in combat.
At a glance, I could tell these were the guards protecting the Vault.
The battle was evenly matched.
There were only eight of them, but since their goal was to stall rather than annihilate, the balance of power was somehow holding steady.
That meant there were no obstacles to my infiltration.
I hurriedly quickened my pace.
Instead of entering through the main gate while staying low in the bushes, I circled widely along the fence to the back.
At some point, a green tarp suddenly blocked my path.
A tarp the same color as the bushes.
When I moved it aside, a leather bag emerged from within.
I immediately unzipped it.
Inside the bag were various pieces of equipment.
A dagger sheath and a wire shooter.
A special belt to hold such throwing weapons, a lockpick kit, and a stark white skull mask.
On top of that, the black leather suit I was wearing under my shirt.
All of these were the tools of a thief, necessary for the job.
Also known as Thief Gadgets.
I quickly changed.
I took out the belt from the bag first, fastened it, and equipped the throwing weapons one by one.
Then I put on a vest and tightly secured the straps to keep it in place, preventing the equipment from shaking and hindering my movements.
Finally, I put on the skull mask, which looked eerie just to see.
The time it took to do all this was a mere one minute.
It vaguely reminded me of scenes in movies where heroes hurriedly change into their suits.
But movies are just movies.
In reality, it’s neither cool nor glamorous—just rushed.
I hid the bag again and climbed over the fence, entering the restricted area.
“As expected. No alarm.”
Normally, the moment I set foot in the restricted area, a magical array would have activated, triggering an alarm.
But due to the Mana Freeze caused by the Beast Pouch’s aftermath, no alarm sounded.
Well, I couldn’t use magic either, but that was fine.
I hadn’t been idle for the past two months.
My physical abilities were more than enough.
With a light kick off the ground, the trees in front of me instantly turned into long streaks, flashing past my sides.
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of a building exuding a serene atmosphere.
The firmly closed door was made of light brown wood, appearing deceptively ordinary at first glance.
But the beautifully carved wood grain and the geometric magical patterns following its lines formed a top-tier sealing array that forbade entry to anyone except those bound by a blood oath.
Of course.
──Creak.
Not now.
I grabbed the doorknob and pushed lightly, and the door opened all too easily.
Because they had placed blind faith in the sealing array, the Vault hadn’t even bothered with minimal physical locks.
The smell of paper and oil wafted strongly from within.
The dim interior.
The moment I saw the bookshelves faintly visible inside, packed tightly with Secret Tomes, my heart pounded wildly.
Bang!
The door closed behind me and when the door opened again.
In my arms were five Secret Tomes.
* * *
I returned to where the bag was hidden and changed clothes first.
I took off the vest and belt, and unlike before, I also removed the leather suit entirely, stuffing everything into the bag.
Naturally, the five stolen Secret Tomes went in as well.
Then, as I removed the skull mask,
“Phew!”
The tension I’d been holding back released with a snap.
A tremendous sense of liberation filled the void, followed by an indescribable thrill that made my body tremble.
A surge of exhilaration filled my chest.
Proof that my experience points had increased.
Normally, I would have indulged in this joy to my heart’s content.
But not yet.
The job wasn’t over.
I changed back into my original uniform.
At the same time, I pulled out my pocket watch to check the time.
[10 : 42]
The time it took to infiltrate the Vault and get out was a mere seven minutes.
Having decided which Secret Tomes to take beforehand saved time, but I still couldn’t let my guard down.
A thief’s job isn’t done until safety is absolutely secured.
If that’s not the case, it’s not over even when it’s over.
I shouldn’t be here.
If I had to be somewhere, it should be at the Plaza of Valor or nearby.
Staying here and running into someone would make me a prime suspect.
I covered the leather bag with the tarp again and hid it well.
Then I cautiously poked my head out from the pile of bushes.
The sounds of battle not far away carried through the air to me.
It was the guards and swamp orcs I’d seen before infiltrating the Vault.
As expected, they were still fighting.
That was good news for me.
Taking advantage of the moment, I stood up and ran in the opposite direction.
When I judged I was far enough from the Vault, I changed direction and ran toward the Plaza of Valor.
Along the way, some swamp orcs spotted me and gave chase, but I slipped into a building, darted around, and easily shook them off.
Finally, I saw a building resembling a colosseum in the distance.
I was in the safe zone.
“Phew…”
I let out a breath as if the ground had caved in beneath me.
I wanted to shout with joy, but I couldn’t express it that way, so it came out as a heavy exhale.
The thought that I’d done it made my body and mind feel like they were soaring.
The more Visions one possessed, the stronger they were—that was an unchanging truth.
That’s because it allowed for diverse choices in combat, catching opponents off guard and enabling varied fighting styles.
But that only applied if one condition was met: possessing exceptional combat sense to utilize those Visions appropriately and an extraordinary talent to absorb Visions like a sponge.
Yes, talent.
Without it, learning Visions one couldn’t even handle was excessive greed—a poison.
Swordsmanship if swordsmanship, magic if magic.
The reason this continent was steeped in the rigid belief that one should choose a single martial technique suited to them and master only its Visions was exactly that.
But that didn’t apply to me.
Because I had the trait [Versatile].
Swordsmanship, spearmanship, martial arts, magic, summoning—unbound by weapons.
So, if I set my mind to it, I could utilize every Vision in this world.
Moreover, those experiences remained vividly in my mind.
With this, I could say I’d successfully laid all the groundwork to survive as a thief.
Everything was going according to plan.
So far, at least.
I hoped it would continue that way.
But…
Uh. I don’t know what to do about this.
The moment I stepped into the clearing, the situation unfolding before me was something neither in my plans nor my predictions.
Clang!
A battle was taking place.
That wasn’t strange.
Battles like this were already happening all over the academy.
The problem was the person fighting the swamp orc.
It was a face I knew.
Yuria.
In the rose corridor, where red flowers bloomed vibrantly, connecting the school building and the faculty, she was fighting a swamp orc alone.
No, looking closely, there was a young child crying on the grass behind her.
Next to the child, a woman who appeared to be the mother lay collapsed.
“Don’t cry. Your big sister will definitely save you.”
The scene felt oddly similar to what I’d seen yesterday—surely not just my imagination.
Of course, the person she was trying to save now wasn’t a villain disguised as a victim but a genuine weakling in danger.
At the same time, I realized.
The moment she died was right now.
This was definitely an unexpected situation.
It was only natural to hesitate about what to do.
The simplest option was to let things unfold as they were meant to.
That way, the main story would proceed as I knew it, and no problems would arise for me.
But if I saved her, that would be quite a big problem.
In other words, the discrepancy caused by the weight of characters in the main story.
Yuria was practically the protagonist, part of the same Class of 890 as Ivan.
“Yuria’s survival” would inevitably have a significant impact, big or small, on her classmate Ivan, and it was impossible to predict what kind of butterfly effect that would cause in the main story moving forward.
I was already running toward “Gerard’s survival.”
I didn’t know what variables would unfold or what future I’d have to face and now, Yuria surviving, which wasn’t even in the plan?
I couldn’t help but be cautious.
While I was deliberating, the battle before me was growing increasingly intense.
“Haa!”
Clang──!
She, a freshly admitted cadet, was fighting a swamp orc on equal footing.
No, she was fearlessly overwhelming the swamp orc, which was twice her size.
It was astonishing and also strange.
The swamp orc roared and resisted, but it couldn’t reclaim the momentum it had lost.
Her sword was too fast, too flawless.
Sparks flew in all directions.
The swamp orc’s crude iron sword let out an unsteady cry, as if it would break any moment.
Damn.
It actually snapped in half.
Kuek?
The swamp orc tilted its head, looking at the iron sword with its head blown off.
That was its last moment.
Yuria’s longsword pierced the swamp orc’s side without hesitation.
From my vantage point, I could clearly see the tip of the sword protruding from the opposite shoulder, having pierced through the swamp orc’s torso.
Blood dripped in a patter.
I stood there, mouth agape.
“…What?”
Why was she winning?
No.
This made me look like an idiot for agonizing so seriously until now.
Wasn’t she supposed to die here?
The swamp orc’s head tilted back.
As Yuria withdrew her sword, the orc’s body immediately collapsed backward.
As if she’d never worn a ferocious expression, Yuria turned to the child with a radiant smile.
“Look at that. Your big sister won, right?”
“Sniff. So it’s dead?”
“Yup. It’s fine now. It won’t move anymore.”
It was true.
The situation really ended like that.
The girl I thought would die didn’t die and instead defeated the swamp orc with skill unbefitting a new cadet.
The corridor around us was quiet.
It didn’t seem like more swamp orcs would come rushing in.
So it was still strange.
If this was the case, when and where would she die?
I heightened my senses.
From far away, I heard the screams of orcs.
I didn’t need to see to picture the situation in my mind.
The knights.
The knights sent from the Central Knight Headquarters had finally arrived at the academy.
That meant this terrorist attack was now on the verge of dying down.
Like a flame facing a fierce storm.
The swamp orcs had only to be swept away before the irresistible force of the knight order.
Then the tutorial was over.
No more crises threatening her life would arise.
“…”
Was I mistaken?
Or had the future already changed?
If it had changed, what was the trigger?
Could it be because of what happened yesterday?
As questions piled upon questions, the child’s anxious voice pierced my ears.
“What if more of them come? What do we do then?”
“It’s okay. Your big sister goes to this academy. Even if a ton of them come, I’ll beat them all.”
“R-Really?”
“Yup. By the way, how’s your mom? Should I take a look?”
I stood up.
The soft conversation snapped my dazed mind awake, as if I’d been doused with ice water.
My brow furrowed instinctively.
Suddenly, I felt nauseated by myself.
Crazy.
Really crazy.
No matter how much my own life was my priority, and no matter how desperately I was struggling to survive.
To weigh a person’s life on a scale, calculating what would be more advantageous, and throwing a fit because the result was off.
Wasn’t that the kind of thing emotionless psychopaths did?
Had the pressure of my situation driven me momentarily insane?
I slapped my head hard and repeated to myself inwardly.
Even if the world and my body had changed, I mustn’t lose my core identity.
What mattered now was that those three people had survived safely.
Yes.
That should be enough.
What followed was envy.
How did she manage to avoid the death flag?
“Lucky her,” I muttered as I turned around.
That was when it happened.
The air around me froze, and a chill ran down my spine.
“W-What…?”
Ah.
I’d felt this sensation once before.
When I stole the Might of the Giant at the Magitech Research Institute.
The trait [Instinct], which foresaw ominous events, had warned me of a third party’s intrusion in this way.
So, my head whipped back as if I’d been slapped.
The first thing I saw was the boy trembling, staring behind Yuria and where the boy was looking.
There stood the swamp orc that had been collapsed moments ago.
Its eyes glowed blood-red.
It swung its broken iron sword.
The target of that sword was Yuria’s slender neck, as she checked on the child’s mother.
“It’s okay. Trust your big sister.”
Unaware of anything, she gave the child a bright smile to reassure him.