[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 56
"Why is the Heavenly Fallen Emperor so interested in the disappearance cases?"
"I have no idea. Since the other day, he's been tracking down people connected to the case and questioning them. Even now, look over there."
Lowering his voice, Okamoto discreetly pointed to a student deep in conversation with Yang Hak-je.
"The guy he's talking to right now is a friend of a student who disappeared yesterday. Apparently, all the missing students received the same strange email before vanishing."
"An email?"
"Yeah. Some cheap tabloid-style message… It talked about a divine beast with miraculous powers hiding somewhere in Sector M."
Sector M.
No military chronicle player would be unfamiliar with that name. Masterclass Academy is so massive that it's divided into several sectors, and among them, Sector M is the most isolated and off-limits.
'The developers outright named it "M" for "Mystery." It’s a deliberately designed area, perfect for spawning quests…'
A long time ago, an incident forced the academy to shut down Sector M, and just as the lore suggests, bizarre events constantly happen there.
Okamoto explained that this particular incident started with the mysterious email.
"The email said that if you perform a certain ritual, the divine beast hidden in Sector M will grant you a miraculous blessing—one that boosts your exam scores. Some students, tempted by the rumor, must have gone to Sector M to try it out…"
"And then… they disappeared."
Okamoto nodded. I took a moment to process everything he had just said.
Sector M.
A divine beast that grants miracles.
Exam scores…
'This has to be the "Sacrifices of the Abandoned School" quest.'
The keywords echoed all too familiarly in my mind.
If I'm right, those missing students are already dead—or if they aren't yet, they soon will be.
They'll become the sacrifices offered to the divine beast lurking within the abandoned school.
'So this incident is connected to Yang Hak-je’s personal quest.'
Yang Hak-je is the type of character who wants to prove to the world that he has the makings of an emperor.
His personal quests always stem from that ambition.
He’s probably trying to solve this disappearance case as a way to showcase his power.
'That means… I can use this.'
I recalled one of the Yang Hak-je-related quests from my previous cycle.
The infamous "Earn the Heavenly Fallen Emperor’s Respect" quest.
I never completed it—I died before I could.
But I did learn one crucial thing:
To raise Yang Hak-je’s favorability, you first need to earn his respect.
'If I solve the disappearance case first, he might actually acknowledge me.'
A plan quickly started forming in my head.
Luckily, I already know the general outline of this quest.
It’s not an impossibly difficult mission either—I should be able to handle it with my current abilities.
The only issue is…
'I need someone useful to assist me.'
With my current Blood Demon level, soloing this quest is too risky.
I need at least one capable lackey to use as a helper.
'Sword Saint would be perfect, but…'
Seo Su-kyung’s level dropped recently, leaving him physically weak—not exactly reliable backup.
Arche is gone, and Seo Su-kyung is out of commission.
'That means the only available candidate is…'
I turned my gaze toward the person standing right in front of me.
Sensing something ominous, Okamoto stiffened and stammered, "W-Why are you looking at me like that…?"
* * *
A night weighed down by thick, overcast clouds.
After stepping off the tram, I walked toward the dimly lit streets, where the lights grew fainter with every step. Since Sector M was a restricted area, the tram didn’t pass through it—walking from the nearest stop was the only option.
"It’d be faster if I could at least use a bike..."
The distance wasn’t exactly short. Riding something would’ve saved a lot of time, but I had no such luxury.
I shot a dissatisfied glance behind me.
Okamoto was trudging along, completely drained of energy.
"...I didn’t think you were so hopeless that you couldn’t even ride a bike. Are you sure you’re really a student here?"
I already knew he was basically devoid of athletic ability.
He was the only student accepted into the military academy based purely on exam scores, which made him infamous among players.
Here’s what players generally thought about Okamoto Daichi:
-The worst companion character—useless for anything except sharing test answers during exams.
-Occasionally enchants equipment if you befriend him—but his personality is so annoying, no one wants to.
-Clearly a character designed by the developers to push anti-Japanese sentiment.
Unlike other companion characters, his cost-performance ratio was notoriously awful, so I’d never had a reason to deal with him before.
But I never imagined it’d be this bad.
"Maybe you should consider a different field. If you ever set foot on a battlefield, the villains would practically fight over who gets to kill you first."
"...Sorry for being such a disgrace to the military academy. A guy who can’t even ride a bike has no business being here, huh?"
Okamoto muttered sarcastically, clearly annoyed.
His expression made it obvious—he had no idea why he was even involved in this in the first place.
"You could’ve just brought someone else instead of dragging me along. I already have way too much on my plate—seriously, can’t I just go back? What help could I possibly be? I’ve never even set foot here before! I guarantee I’ll be completely useless."
Once he started complaining, he went all in. His whining showed no signs of stopping.
At that point, I pulled out a document and held it up.
A fax from Clementine—sent all the way from Germany.
-It's been a while, Professor D! You want to personally mentor one of my students? I was actually worried because I'm away on a business trip and can't oversee them myself—so this is perfect! I’ll temporarily transfer Okamoto Daichi’s supervision rights to you. Please teach him well!
—Alfred Clementine
Okamoto read through Clementine’s letter and signature, then shut his eyes tightly, as if refusing to believe reality.
But this was reality.
Connections hold more power than you think in this world.
"As the letter states, I have full authority over you right now. That means I can dock your score—or reward you, depending on your performance."
"......"
"If you really want to turn back, I won’t stop you. But I have no idea how that’ll play out for you later..."
"...Sector M is this way, right? We’re almost there."
The moment penalties were mentioned, Okamoto snapped out of it and took the lead, walking ahead.
'At least this one's easy to handle.'
If only Seo Su-kyung and Shin A-sol were this simple to deal with...
But the more useful someone is, the harder they are to control. That’s just how the world works.
* * *
"We should be almost there. This is the entrance to Sector M."
After walking along the deserted path for a while, Okamoto pointed at a yellow warning sign.
WARNING! This area is RESTRICTED. Do not enter!
The academy holds NO responsibility for any incidents that occur here.
—Vice Principal Oh Ji-sung
The bold, heavy lettering practically screamed liability avoidance.
Okamoto scanned the sign, then shook his head in disbelief.
"Seriously, how stingy can they get? What are they even saving all that money for? They should at least use it to renovate this area."
"There’s no reason to. The developers specifically designed this place for quests."
"...Wait, what? Developers? Quests?"
"Forget it. It has nothing to do with you."
There was no need for the NPCs of this world to understand the behind-the-scenes details of the developers. That was for me to know—and me alone.
"So, what exactly were the missing students doing here?"
I glanced around the desolate Sector M as I asked. With barely any streetlights, the path was eerily dark. Okamoto pulled out his phone and read from an email.
"Uh… let’s see… It says: On a moonlit night, perform the Ritual Dance in Sector M and recite the special chant. Then, the Divine Beast will reveal the path..."
"A special chant, huh?"
"Ahem... It says the chant goes: Yalli yalli yallasyeong, yallari yalla..."
"...That’s quite the incantation."
"You don’t recognize it? It’s from Cheongsan Byeolgok! A classic exam passage—practically a guaranteed question on the college entrance test!"
"Do I look like someone who took your college entrance exam before becoming a professor?"
Okamoto fell silent, briefly lost in thought, before realizing that exams weren’t exclusive to Korea. He shook his head.
"Anyway, so all we have to do is chant while dancing?"
"Then let's get started."
I turned to Okamoto, waiting for him to begin the ritual.
The problem was—he was staring right back at me.
Waiting.
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As if expecting me to be the one to dance.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Wait… you don’t seriously expect me to do it, do you? Me? Dancing while chanting?"
"Who else, then? Are you saying I should do it instead?"
"I—I’m not good at dancing, though..."
"I’ve never danced a day in my life. No one here is expecting you to bust out an idol-tier performance, so just get on with it."
"But still… why do I have to do it alone…?"
Okamoto mumbled complaints, but the moment I reached for Clementine’s letter, he shut his mouth.
And just like that—with a thoroughly miserable expression, Okamoto started dancing.
Power truly is a wonderful thing.
"Y—Yalli yalli yallasyeong… yallari yalla…"
His weak, barely audible voice, combined with his bizarre flailing (which was more like convulsing than actual dancing), made for an utterly pathetic sight.
Even Sector M itself refused to react.
"Your voice is too soft. Try projecting it more. Do you even know how to use diaphragmatic breathing?"
"Ugh… Professor, can’t we just drop this? I swear this is some kind of scam email. Think about it—raising test scores by summoning a Divine Beast? If something like that actually existed, who would even bother studying—"
"Are you sure you want to quit? If you complete this task successfully, I was planning to award you a hefty amount of points using the authority Professor Alfred granted me."
"YA—YALLI YALLI YALLASYEONG! YALLARI YALLA! YALLI YALLI YALLA...!"
The moment I mentioned points, Okamoto went all out—dancing with everything he had.
There was no denying it: points were absolute power in this academy.
Even with his face burning bright red from embarrassment, he shouted the incantation at full volume.
Perhaps it was his sheer dedication that made the difference—
Because at last, Sector M responded.
"Professor, l-look! Over there! The light!"
A pillar of light suddenly descended from the sky.
It stretched deep into Sector M, leading toward the 11 o’clock direction.
If my guess was correct, that light was pointing us toward an abandoned school—the place where the Divine Beast lay hidden.
"Good work. This was your accomplishment."
"So… uh… about those points… how many do I get?"
"We’ll discuss that later. Our job isn’t done yet. Oh, and one more thing."
Just as I was about to follow the light, I paused and turned back to Okamoto.
There was one thing I needed to make absolutely clear.
"I wasn’t going to mention this, but… for your own sake, never dance in public again."
"...Excuse me?"
"It was painful to watch."
"......"
With that, I turned and continued toward the light.
Behind me, I could hear Okamoto grumbling something in Japanese, but this time, I chose to ignore it.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]