Chapter 52: How to Overcome Confusion and Fear

1

The terror of that day still haunted Kael.

Anais chasing her with bloodshot eyes.

Pearson sitting on the ground, sobbing loudly.

Herself, unable to properly cast magic, failing to demonstrate her genius.

The consequences of acting recklessly were severe, and though she tried not to show it, she couldn’t help it.

“Huu-“

She lets out a small breath.

Not a smooth exhalation, but a shaky sigh.

Today, three days after that incident.

While Manus and Alano were overcoming disasters on the artificial island, they had climbed to the 35th floor.

With Kael there and their forces at full strength, they confidently unleashed magic in front of the Guardian.

The boss, armored with solid durability, withstood their magic and cast a single spell.

‘Can I stand up again?’

Intense experiences don’t easily leave one’s mind.

This is human nature — we are unconsciously drawn to or avoid such things.

Memories formed in a negative direction can leave deep trauma.

The experience of being unable to save her companions with her own hands had coiled tightly in the depths of her heart.

Magic was an area she was quite confident in.

She had been told she was talented since childhood.

But-.

“Kael-. Are you in there? You’re not sleeping, right?”

She heard the voice of her companion, Anais, calling out to her casually.

Kael raised her sprawled body and opened the door.

She had finished preparing long ago.

It was just that a faint fear was dominating her entire body.

She raised her eyes to meet Anais’ gaze, slightly above her own.

Though she didn’t show it outwardly, Kael’s eyes, having grown quite close to her, could see.

That she too harbored a slight uneasiness.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay. Melanie already went down.”

Melanie had gone down first, saying she would meet up with Pearson.

The two slowly made their way out of the dormitory.

Usually they would have been chattering away, but today was different.

The red-haired woman spoke abruptly:

“…Do you think we can do well?”

“Manus is coming with us, so-“

“What if he abandons us and leaves?”

Anais expressed her anxiety directly.

Manus.

Alano.

She had felt a lot during their month of living together recently.

Of course, the Flois family was also a prominent family, mentioned without fail wherever they went.

But though the Flois were praised as the family that controls the sun, those two were on a different level.

Harrison, and Caeser.

No matter how hard she tried, their talent seemed unreachable.

Her anxiety and impatience kept growing.

It had only been a month, but a young girl’s emotions were that sensitive.

“That won’t happen.”

“I…”

-am anxious.

Anais swallowed the rest of her words, not wanting to worry her friend.

She felt there was no need to transmit her anxiety to her other companions.

Kael stared intently into Anais’ eyes.

“Anais.”

“Yes?”

“Manus… is doing a lot for us.”

“Y-yeah, that’s true.”

Kael spoke firmly and clearly.

With a sharp gaze like the usual Anais:

“So don’t doubt him.”

“…”

Anais couldn’t respond.

Right, she knew.

Doubt? If anything, shouldn’t she be prostrating herself before him in gratitude?

“…I’m not doubting him.”

She slowly reconsidered her feelings and expressed them honestly.

As midnight approached, Anais and Kael faced each other.

One with unwavering faith, the other-

“I’m just anxious. I’m worried that Manus and Alano might be… no, that they might be disappointed in me.”

“They’re not that kind of people.”

“I know, I do know that. But… do you remember that day?”

The Night of the Dead.

Anais, who had been investigating that incident, slowly opened her mouth.

“Actually, no one saw where Manus was or what he was doing. So I was anxious. I wondered if he might be testing us-“

Watching them from somewhere, constantly evaluating them and gauging their future value.

That’s why she had suggested challenging the 35th floor.

The desire to be acknowledged, the two seniors who seemed to have drifted far away and could leave at any time.

For Anais, who had always been loved, such an unstable relationship was unfamiliar.

There’s a common misconception among children of noble families.

That the world revolves around them.

“It’s not like that.”

“Sigh… I don’t know why I’m like this either.”

“…Should we ask him?”

Kael had spoken without much thought, but for Anais it wasn’t so simple.

The inferiority complex she had unknowingly harbored had built up layer by layer, festering.

Her misunderstandings deepened due to her decision not to act until she grasped the definite circumstances.

Kael let out a small sigh as she watched Anais wavering wildly.

She felt somewhat resentful towards Manus.

If only he had revealed himself a little more-

“Let’s ask. Why he did that.”

“Is, is that okay?”

“Yes.”

If it’s Senior, he will surely answer.

Kael firmly believed this.

He was a comrade and friend they would be spending a lot of time with going forward.

If this was a relationship that would break here, it would have been better not to have met in the first place.

Kael had no intention of letting go of this connection.

She had learned that it was also a friend’s role to correct those going down the wrong path.

2

“…They’re a bit late.”

“Sh-should I go look for them?”

Melanie cautiously asked in response to Manus’ grumbling.

Manus shook his head.

Mumble mumble-.

He also glanced at Pearson, who was suddenly showing intense academic enthusiasm.

The emotions he had been trying to ignore were surfacing one by one.

It must be because they were mentally cornered as memories from that day, which their instincts had rejected, came flooding back.

There’s still a long way to go.

‘We must overcome this.’

There are countless beings with even more severe patterns.

The 35th floor was just the opening skirmish — they couldn’t climb higher without acquiring basic competence.

Today, he would teach them how to stand atop confusion and fear.

‘There are many ways to dispel status effects, but-‘

Usually, one would use items or specialized skills.

After a companion who joins later starts to demonstrate their full power, status effects aren’t much of a concern anymore.

But this was reality.

Status effects here could leave deep trauma.

If handled poorly, they might have to carry post-traumatic stress for life.

As they were still young students, attacks that controlled the mind and emotions were bound to be fatal.

“The last gate?”

“Oh, there’s a gate on the 28th floor.”

“When the kids arrive, go there first.”

Melanie nodded.

It was fortunate that Melanie’s growth was faster than in the original work.

The spirits also seemed to be cooperating more quickly than expected, which was reassuring.

Manus headed to where Black and White were.

There was magic he needed to learn for the 35th floor.

As he opened the door and entered,

“Hah… if you use those cheating eyes today, you’re dead.”

“I can win plenty without using such things. At least against someone like you, White.”

The two still seemed to be getting along well.

Hearing the sound of footsteps and sensing a presence, the two beings turned their gaze to Manus.

White stood up, intentionally messing up the table.

“Oh-! It’s been a while!”

“…Sigh. It’s been a while.”

Black also sighed and greeted Manus, having been staring blankly at the table as if he had almost won.

Mana Crystal XL.

With this, he should be able to learn any magic he wanted, at least one spell for certain.

“I’ve come to learn magic.”

“What do you want to learn?”

“[Flamma].”

Surprise spread through White’s eyes.

The same for Black.

[Flamma] was no ordinary magic.

Magic created not by humans, but by dragons.

Though a low-level spell, it was ancient magic that humans no longer used.

White looked at Black.

“This… can he learn it?”

“With his capabilities, it should be sufficient.”

“Alright. It’s not difficult to teach. So what’s the payment?”

Manus took out a mana crystal from his pocket.

Their reaction to seeing the mana crystal was even greater than to hearing he wanted to learn Flamma.

“You’re giving us this? Are you an idiot?”

“It’s all I have on me at the moment. If you’d like, you can keep a tab.”

“Great. This should last us a few months.”

Black also nodded with surprised eyes.

This must be a mana crystal possessed by high-ranking demons-

He was curious how it was obtained, but Black chose to keep quiet.

This man possessed special powers.

Unlike themselves who were trapped here, the man could freely come and go from the tower.

For now, it was best to quietly accept it and focus on building up strength.

“I didn’t know there was anyone who still remembered Flamma. How did you know about it?”

“I am a Caeser.”

“Caeser… Ah, Caeser?”

White asked in surprise.

She had heard of Caeser before.

A family remembered by two beings who had lived countless years.

That’s how traditional and historic the Caeser family was.

White stared at him intently.

Now that she looked closely, he seemed even more handsome?

“As expected, the bloodline of geniuses is different. I remember now. Anyway, you want Flamma, right?”

Ancient magic.

As one of the hidden elements, it was magic that could only be learned by obtaining information through specific routes in the original game.

From the second playthrough, that restriction was lifted since players already knew the information beforehand.

Manus was taking advantage of that.

“Follow along carefully. Ancient magic is more difficult and complex than you might think.”

Woong-.

A bright light spread out.

A form of magic completely different from black magic or holy magic.

Manus’ eyes were filled with intricate geometric formulas intertwined.

‘How mysterious.’

The arrangement of mana, the flow of mana within.

It all looked new to him.

A different feeling from existing class magic.

The line segments drawn following the stars were shaping the form of the Arcana.

[Flamma]

It was the Emperor’s blessing, magic that removed all status effects.

A magic circle in the shape of a giant crown completed the blessing.

Manus slowly and precisely emitted mana.

“Ooh.”

The somewhat dark space brightened.

Manus concentrated and reproduced the formula more perfectly than anyone else.

Caeser.

The talent of that great bloodline fully understood the essence of ancient magic.

“So this is how it works.”

“Ancient magic is ‘non-elemental’ magic. You can’t target weaknesses, but it won’t be hindered by any magic either. It’ll be useful to learn for the long run.”

White was unusually talkative.

It only took about 5 minutes to learn the magic.

Since Flamma was 2nd class level magic, it wasn’t difficult once you understood the principles.

Manus nodded with satisfaction after testing out the magic.

Seeing this, White opened her mouth.

Smacking her lips as if regretful, she tried to teach one more spell.

“It feels wasteful to send you off after receiving this much. How about learning one more?”

“I don’t have time.”

“Aw come on, then drop by for a bit after you’re done with your business.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

These beings always kept their word once given.

That was the law of this world.

Manus smiled faintly and headed outside.

The lobby was empty.

They must have gone up ahead.

Preparations were complete.

Now it was time to teach his juniors how to overcome fear.

–TL Notes–
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