Upon arriving at the meeting spot, Kail was startled to see Yuri and Arthur, tilting his head in confusion as he asked,
“Why are you two here?”
“We were invited.”
“Invited?”
“Yeah.”
Yuri said this while looking at Sera. Feeling the gaze of the two people staring at her, Sera scratched the back of her head with a chuckle.
The reason Sera lured Yuri was simple. Yuri’s father was a sorcerer of the Six-Star Order. As a master-level powerhouse, Yuri had the potential to become a grand duke-level sorceress thanks to her bloodline.
The method she used to lure her was even simpler: after reeling in Kail, she made an offer to Yuri, who naturally followed like thread through a needle.
As for recruiting Arthur, it was based on gamer intuition that he likely possessed some rare ability worth kidnapping for.
Assuming there was a reason behind gathering these individuals, Kail looked at Sera and asked,
“So? Why did you call us here?”
“Hehe, today we’re going to uncover the Academy’s secret.”
“Secret?”
“Yes, a secret.”
Had there been any secrets in the Academy?—Kail, who had blindly slaughtered monsters and focused solely on leveling up, had no idea what hidden elements existed or how to discover them.
A game where players could roam freely also meant that some elements would remain unknown to those unaware for their entire lives.
Sera burst into a mischievous laugh, wiggling her finger as she spoke.
“It’s right here.”
With that, she pointed to the building where they had gathered. The Academy’s Grand Library. A place said to seal all the books and magic tomes of the world.
* * *
“Access permission confirmed. Cadet Kim Sera.”
“Yep, thank you.”
The Academy Grand Library.
This place, rumored to seal countless books and magical tomes, was originally off-limits for regular cadets.
While the first floor was open for free access, the underground library, where forbidden books and magical tomes were sealed, was inaccessible even to professors without difficulty.
Sera, however, held an access permit to the underground library. Surprised by this fact, Yuri let out a small gasp and asked how she managed it.
“Where did you get the access pass?”
“From the principal.”
“…What exactly did you do?”
“That’s a secret.”
Shh—placing a finger to her lips, Sera smirked and began walking ahead confidently, as if she’d been here countless times before.
The group Sera had gathered watched her strangely, tilting their heads and whispering amongst themselves.
“…Something feels off.”
“Yeah, it’s weird… It’s like she’s been here many times…”
While Yuri and Arthur whispered among themselves, Sera, who had been boldly leading the way, stopped in front of a bookshelf.
Glancing back, she frowned slightly upon seeing her group chatting amongst themselves, leaving her out.
“What? What are you guys talking about without me?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, nothing at all.”
“…Feels like I’m being ostracized. Oh well, whatever.”
With that, Sera started tapping the bookshelf.
“Alright, you guys—what do you think is the most important thing for a sorcerer?”
“The stars.”
“How well one controls their magic power.”
“Creativity.”
Various opinions popped up, but Sera shook her head, signaling that the children were wrong. While everything they mentioned was important in magic, the most crucial thing was…
“Double actions in one turn.”
“Huh?”
“Casting two spells at once. That’s the most important thing—!”
Double Casting. No sorcerer had ever succeeded in achieving this feat. High-level sorcerers casting multiple lower-tier spells simultaneously wasn’t impossible.
However, that wasn’t true Double Casting. Simultaneously calculating two spells of the same level—this was the ultimate dream of every sorcerer, the true meaning of Double Casting.
Hearing this, Yuri couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.
“It’s impossible.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Double Casting… it doesn’t make sense theoretically.”
A 1-star sorcerer alters one law at a time. If a 1-star sorcerer wanted to cast two spells simultaneously, what would they need to do?
Alter two laws at once? Exactly. Just ascend to 2-star status. If a 1-star sorcerer could alter two laws at once, they’d simply be a 2-star sorcerer.
Moreover, this was only relevant at low levels; as one ascended, the required energy increased exponentially—making Double Casting theoretically impossible beyond the 3-star level.
But.
“I’m not talking about theory.”
“Then what?”
“Superpowers—Force, to be exact.”
“Force is an innate ability.”
Yuri pressed Sera, thinking she didn’t know such basic common sense. But Sera smacked the bookshelf she’d been leaning on and opened her mouth.
“What if there’s a way to obtain Force?”
“No way—there can’t be such a thing!”
“Common sense exists to be broken.”
With that, Sera took three steps inward from the bookshelf and eyed the seventh drawer’s book from where she stood.
Grunting as she stretched her hand out, realizing it wouldn’t reach, she glanced at Kail. Letting out a sigh, Kail went behind her and pulled out the dusty book. As the book opened, light erupted, swallowing the group whole.
Emerging from the event horizon-like tomb of light, the group realized the surroundings had changed instantly, their eyes widening in shock.
“This is…”
“This is the place where the sorcerer researching Double Casting hid it!”
She threw her arms wide and shouted.
“It’s the Great Magic Dungeon!”
The children stared blankly at Sera before deciding they needed clarification.
“…How exactly did you know about this place?”
“T-The principal told me.”
“Riiight?”
It was a lie. Yuri immediately knew it.
But before questioning its truthfulness, there was something to confirm.
Whether this place truly held the secret to Double Casting.
* * *
The Great Magic Dungeon was, as its name suggested, a dungeon left behind by a sorcerer who studied magic. Inside roamed spirits of kidnapped test subjects and the lingering soul of a sorcerer who died before completing his magic.
These ghosts were annoying creatures that couldn’t be physically interacted with yet attacked unilaterally. However, Kail was present—a master of Aura capable of slicing through even spiritual beings.
“Kyaaah!”
“Nice! Keep it up!”
Sera cheered as she watched the ghosts effortlessly sliced apart by the Aura Blade. In the game, these damned ghosts were incredibly frustrating.
Physical attacks didn’t work, magic attacks were dodged, and entering with an all-mage party summoned skeletons to attack.
It was a hopeless dungeon full of troublemakers, but with an Aura Master like Kail, all those problems vanished like dust.
‘Truly overpowered…’
Kail remained tight-lipped about how he became an Aura Master, merely saying, “I worked hard,” offering no real explanation.
Yuri wanted to dig through logs to uncover Kail’s mysterious past, but this world wasn’t a game—it was reality based on one.
Watching Kail slice through ghosts with his Aura Blade, Yuri cautiously spoke up.
“Kail.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“You hid this from me but showed it to her right away.”
“…She already knew.”
“Really?”
Yuri shot a sharp look at Sera, who quickly nodded in affirmation.
Discovering secrets about herself that others now knew didn’t sit well with Yuri, but at the same time, she felt a twisted joy knowing more people recognized how great her fiancé was.
Conflicted by an indescribable emotion, the group finally reached the deepest part of the Great Magic Dungeon.
Creeeak—the door opened, and as usual, a ghost popped out.
“Welcome, seeker of tru—”
Swish!
“Huh?”
A radiant blue Aura Blade slashed through the ghost of the Great Sorcerer.
Sera turned to Kail with a look of disbelief. Kail, feeling her gaze, tilted his head instead.
“What?”
“N-No, what are you doing…?”
“Was I not supposed to kill it?”
Having reflexively killed every ghost he encountered, Kail instinctively cut down the Great Sorcerer’s spirit and now questioned Sera with a puzzled look.
Sera silently nodded.
‘We’re screwed.’
Originally, the Great Sorcerer’s spirit would have tested whether they were worthy humans for his magic and granted them the ability known as Force, enabling Double Casting.
Of course, attacking the Great Sorcerer wasn’t an option in the game, and Sera had no idea what happened if you killed him.
“Ahh, ahh…”
They were doomed.
Realizing this, Sera trembled and collapsed, while Kail scratched his head and scanned the area for anything the Great Sorcerer might have left behind.
And then—the Aura Master’s sharp senses detected a flow of air within the room.
“What’s here?”
“Huh? That can’t be…”
Ignoring Sera’s hollow cries, Kail approached the wall and swung his sword. The Aura Blade mercilessly shattered the blocked wall.
Cutting through the obstructed wall, it crumbled as if waiting for this moment.
Beyond the collapsed wall lay a small room filled with countless books, papers, and magical circles.
“—Huh?”
It was the late sorcerer’s private study.
