108 — The Invisible Curse

1

Kael sat quietly, reflecting on the events of last night.

Alano and Nia had shown up unexpectedly.

Since they were all staying in the same dormitory building, it wasn’t difficult for them to visit at night.

Moreover, Aden, who acted like their dormitory supervisor, was their sponsor—moving around at night was incredibly easy.

[What kind of president do you want to be?]

Faced with this question from the two student council presidents, Kael found herself at a loss for words.

What kind of president did she want to be?

When Kael hesitated to answer, they rephrased the question.

[Then, is there someone you want to be like? Perhaps your parents, for instance?]

That question, Kael could answer confidently.

There was always the man she admired and looked up to.

The most passionate and fiercely dedicated magician she knew.

A man who was always there, watching over her and providing his support like a father.

‘Senior.’

[Well, if you want to be like Manus, it wouldn’t hurt to start resembling him a little.]

[Right now, you’re too passive. You look like you’re lost in your own thoughts all the time.]

The words were blunt, but they weren’t wrong.

So Kael thought about it all night.

About what she would need to do to start resembling Manus.

How to interact with people and how to see the world.

For Anais, a powerful display of force was the task at hand, but for Kael, it was about finding the motivation to wield such force and the direction she wanted her life to take.

When she had fallen asleep briefly and woke up, Kael had realized she couldn’t keep going on like this.

The morning felt the same as always; her mood was the same as always.

[I’m here to get my hair cut.]

Even in the game, ‘hairstyle’ was a crucial part of character customization.

If it were Manus, he would have ruthlessly cut away anything that was bothersome.

He was the kind of person who discarded anything that blocked his path.

Right now, what was blocking Kael’s path was her long hair and the dreary feeling hanging over her.

She always had this look of passivity.

So she went ahead and made a change.

She cut her hair into a bob, styled it neatly, and applied makeup.

‘Senior Manus is always tidy and well-groomed.’

Alano and Manus had a common trait: they never showed a disheveled appearance.

Then Kael would also need to abandon this passive image, starting today.

To one day surpass the two of them.

To avoid being criticized by her peers.

They say arguing with friends is normal.

However, to her, arguing with a friend was…

“Kael, please come in.”

“Yes.”

Kael stood up, ready to speak her mind as she confidently walked forward.

The version of herself that lived life by going with the flow no longer existed.

This student council election would be the beginning of her own decisive journey.

2

‘I wonder if those two are doing well.’

Manus, having finished his morning classes, was leisurely gazing out the window.

The student council election.

Then the end-of-month assessment.

In May, there would even be midterms.

Despite the unrelenting schedule, Manus felt a sense of floating amidst it all.

Events revolved around the protagonist and their group.

Being a second-year student, Manus was only slightly involved in their story.

‘Should I be finding my own story… I’m busy with training for now, though.’

He had become quite proficient in martial arts.

Whether it was due to Caesar’s talent or Buckley’s, he couldn’t tell.

He speculated that ‘all forms of magic’ might include body-based magic.

Anyway, what should he focus on during the student council election period?

Accumulating mana with mana stones had reached its limits at this stage.

Just like in the game, when you reach a certain level, you need to find a higher-level hunting ground. The efficiency of absorbing mana stones had drastically decreased for Manus.

‘Perhaps I should inquire about family matters.’

His immediate area of concern was the movements of the Dire Order.

Given their tenacity, they were likely expanding their influence secretly somewhere on the continent.

Even if the Caesar Duchy was considered a zone of absolute inviolability, it wouldn’t be the same elsewhere.

Manus began to walk.

He had a few hours until his afternoon classes.

Enough time for a leisurely meal, a visit to the library to read a book, and even a short workout.

“Hoit—! Hoiit—!”

“…”

What’s that?

A first-year student, judging by the badge, was hopping around in front of passersby.

What was surprising, however, was that none of those people seemed to notice him.

It was a strange sight.

“You can’t see me?! Am I invisible?!”

The boy’s efforts to speak went unnoticed.

“Shall we head to the café today?”

“Sounds good. Let’s go read some books there.”

The passersby walked on, ignoring him completely.

Intrigued by the peculiar scene, Manus quietly observed the boy.

A small build.

Two swords strapped to his back.

Short swords, to be specific, with an eagle emblem on his cloak.

‘What is… Why are they ignoring him?’

The boy, who had been hopping around, soon plopped down on the ground with a sigh.

A youthful face wearing a world-weary expression.

Manus watched him with an intrigued look.

Was there such a character in the original story?

Rummaging through his sharpened mind for memories, he couldn’t recall seeing a boy like that.

Manus decided not to bother with someone who wasn’t important and resumed his walk.

If he wasn’t a hindrance to the original story, it was better not to interfere.

‘The things I’ve been planning are coming together. Just a bit more effort—’

“Oh! This is the tyrant, huh? He’s so handsome! Wow… I wish people would notice me like that…”

Manus glanced over at the boy and continued walking.

The boy, seemingly tireless, kept examining Manus from every angle, chattering nonstop.

Manus, who had a low tolerance for noisy distractions, felt his expression gradually stiffen.

Whether he noticed or not, the boy continued speaking at a pace that rivaled Pearson’s.

Unlike Pearson, who only talked, this boy even lingered around him, making the situation more annoying.

“Wow, look at that smooth skin. I wish I had skin like that too. Maybe I should try…”

“Stop it.”

“—Huh?”

The boy, who had been about to touch Manus’s skin, flinched.

The chilling, fearsome gaze seemed to pierce his entire being.

And, until now, no one but his parents had ever noticed him.

But now, these deep blue eyes, vast as the sea, were staring directly at him.

Without realizing it, the boy took a step back.

Manus spoke in a low, growling tone.

“Not only do you linger around me, making judgments, but you also dare to reach out and touch me—”

“Oh, uh, I-I’m sorry!”

The boy took another step back.

Manus lived up to his reputation as a tyrant.

“Apologize and get lost.”

“Uh… I’m sorry! I didn’t know you could see me!”

The boy kept bowing his head, hurriedly apologizing.

Manus the Tyrant.

The tales of his ruthless demeanor were well-known.

So much so that even the new students were aware of it.

However…

“Everyone must be blind. To not be able to see a person properly.”

Manus’s words were based on common sense.

The boy saw it.

He saw that the eyes looking directly at him held genuine human emotion.

Was talking to someone always this thrilling?

The boy asked cautiously.

“Senior, could you help me?”

“Why should I?”

“Oh… never mind. I’m sorry for today.”

The boy bowed deeply, turned around, and hurried off.

Manus watched him walk away before turning his head.

As he was about to take a step, a thought occurred to him, and he looked back at the boy.

If no one could see him, how did he get into the school?

How had he been admitted, and where did he get his uniform?

His mind filled with questions.

‘Should I find out?’

With nothing else to do, wouldn’t this be an amusing diversion?

If, by any chance, that boy harbored ill intentions and went around causing harm to others…

Manus thought it might be wise to have some contingency plans and started walking.

There should be someone among the first-year assistants who managed the student records.

If it was just to have a look, it wouldn’t be an issue.

A name and class weren’t considered confidential information.

“Did he act like this in the original story? Or…”

He reminded himself that while the game provided a limited perspective, reality revealed things the game didn’t show.

What kind of existence did that boy lead in the original story?

He would have fought against severe loneliness, living in solitude.

If he couldn’t overcome that misery and loneliness, he would have quietly exited reality.

Rather than getting involved with strange individuals and disrupting his plans, it would be better to preemptively deal with it.

So that even if that boy became a variable, he could handle it calmly.

3

After class, Nia quietly observed someone.

Her junior, who was always moving around as if she had a plan.

An overwhelming talent in magic, the junior made it clear why she came from a great family—yet…

‘I find it a bit unpleasant.’

The world beyond, and the Tower.

When she found out about those, she had felt betrayed.

While some people lived ordinary lives and worked hard within them…

These others had not only entered a new world but were secretly gaining power there.

Someone mentioned that demons continuously descended from the Tower…

They said only the chosen could do this.

But Nia, who wasn’t one of the chosen, was adapting quite well to the world beyond.

‘Something’s suspicious. It all feels suspicious.’

What are they trying to achieve by raising students like this?

Could it be some special order from the Caesar family?

To lure people in and turn them into secret assets?

Or maybe plant spies across the families?

‘Thinking this way, it seems like a serious matter. No way, am I… one of them too?’

Though it might have been baseless paranoia, it strangely felt realistic.

After standing still for a while, Manus started moving again.

Nia also naturally followed, but a sudden wave of futility washed over her.

What was she even doing—?

Nia herself supposedly inherited the pure blood of dragons.

After one defeat, she was moving as if possessed.

Driven by a vague sense of injustice, trying to find flaws in others, to bring them down.

“…What am I even doing? I should just go and work on my assignments.”

The volume of assignments given to third-years was enormous.

There wasn’t much time to tail Manus.

Nia scratched her head once and shuffled toward the library.

But what was the assignment again?

She usually didn’t forget, but today her memory was unusually hazy.

She thought about stopping a passing peer to ask.

But on her way to the library, Nia didn’t run into a single classmate.

It wasn’t until a bit later that she realized how strange that was.

–TL Notes–
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