Chapter 573: Continental Festival 2
Time slipped by, and before I realized it, a month had passed.
I leaned back in my chair, letting out a small breath.
Seo quietly let go of my hand and settled into the seat beside me, her presence calm as always.
Even though only a month had gone by, it felt like ages since I’d last sat in a classroom like this, surrounded by familiar faces.
There was something about the break, the scattered schedules, the new reforms—it all stretched time in strange ways.
"Yo, bud. Long time no see."
I turned at the familiar booming voice. Kagami had just arrived, flashing me his usual easy grin as he strode over.
"Kagami. Good morning," I greeted back.
He pulled out the chair to my side and sat down with the weight of a boulder, but still somehow relaxed.
"Didn’t see you around much this past month," I said. "Did you also participate in the dungeon exams? Acting as a guardian for the juniors?"
He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Babysitting five at once wasn’t exactly easy, but it turned out to be a good experience. And hey, they were pretty cute juniors, so it wasn’t all bad. The dungeon itself wasn’t that tough either—we just had to clear two B-rank dungeons before the evaluators called it enough."
"A B-rank, huh?" I tapped a finger on the desk, thinking it through. "Then you must’ve finished the whole hunt in, what, one to four days at most? Don’t tell me you used the rest of the time as a vacation."
Kagami’s grin widened. "Haha, is it that obvious? I mean, come on, chances to get out of the academy are rare enough even during official breaks. I wasn’t about to waste it."
"I see..."
That explained a lot. No wonder I hadn’t seen him anywhere on campus these past couple of weeks.
Well, most students who finished their dungeon hunt early ended up using the extra free time as a technical vacation.
Even I wasn’t an exception to that. A little break away from the constant grind didn’t hurt.
"Oh yeah, bud..." Kagami leaned closer with a grin that already spelled trouble. "I just learned a new technique from my father while I was back in my homeland. Care to train with me later?"
That caught me off guard. Normally, I was the one dragging him out to train—or more accurately, to exercise, since Kagami had a bad habit of slacking when left alone.
For him to be the one asking this time... yeah, he was definitely confident about something.
Still, that suited me perfectly. I’d been meaning to monitor his progress this past month anyway. This was as good a chance as any.
"Alright," I said.
His grin widened into something sharper. "Trust me—even you’ll be surprised."
Confident words.
Too confident. Did he perhaps learn the upgraded version of his [S-Rank Skill: Comet’s Tail]?
If that were the case, then he was progressing far faster than I expected.
I leaned back, letting my gaze wander across the classroom.
Even without focusing too hard, I could sense it—the subtle growth in each of my classmates.
Their lingering essences felt sharper, denser. Everyone was naturally progressing, their power hardening like steel tempered over fire.
Seo, especially.
Her growth wasn’t something flashy.
She wasn’t the type to suddenly leap forward in strength like Kagami.
No—hers was quiet, refined.
Seo was already a sword genius, after all, physically gifted to the point of being called unnatural.
She had mastered the [Hidden Blade Technique] back when she was still a child.
For her, growth now wasn’t about pushing her limits, but about polishing them—refining what she already held to perfection.
I found myself smiling without realizing it. Proud.
Seo could be a little slow when it came to other things—oblivious in ways that sometimes made me sigh—but that fact about her, this brilliance in the sword, would never change.
Since we had trained together from time to time over the past couple of weeks, I could tell Seo hadn’t been slacking around either. She wasn’t the type to coast on talent alone.
No, even if her progress seemed slow compared to others, the way she refined herself was steady, deliberate.
With her kind of genius, sooner or later she’d reach a point where breakthroughs came to her almost by accident.
A swing of her sword, a step too precise, and she’d end up slicing straight through space—or cutting down fate itself—without even realizing it.
That was the kind of terrifying potential Seo carried.
Ah... speaking of geniuses.
My other lovers: Snow and Rose.
Both of them were progressing faster than usual. Rose, in particular, was on the verge of something monumental.
She stood just a step away from complete enlightenment in the Celestial Arts.
Once she broke through and unlocked her eighth mana circle, she’d officially step into the realm of Archmages.
When people eventually discovered that fact, her name would resound across the continent.
And combined with her mastery of celestial techniques, her ascension wasn’t just likely—it was inevitable.
Soon, she’d stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me and Alice, at least in terms of raw quality.
Snow’s path was a little different.
Her combat ability hadn’t grown as dramatically—she had too many responsibilities pulling her attention in a hundred directions.
After all, as the student council president of this enormous academy, her hands were always full with technical work, logistics, and endless management duties.
But even so, I never let her fall behind. From time to time, I made sure we explored a dungeon together, sharpening her magic little by little.
Her pace was slower, but steady.
And perhaps soon... I should guide her down the Frosted Path.
In just two more weeks, the Spirit of the Frost Monarch at the Northern Plateau would awaken from her long slumber.
She was searching for an heir—someone worthy to inherit her icy dominion, someone who could bear the weight of her crown and her power.
That "someone" was Snow.
I trusted her capabilities, I really did.
Snow was brilliant, disciplined, and sharper than most gave her credit for. But still... trials were trials for a reason.
They were never gentle, never fair.
They existed to break you, to grind you until only the worthy remained.
And because of that, I couldn’t shake the unease twisting in my chest.
Perhaps I should ask Lavine to shadow her in secret. Just in case something truly went wrong.
I doubted Snow would fail, but doubt itself was enough of a reason to prepare.
If she succeeded—no, when she succeeded—the Frost Monarch’s essence would become hers.
Her path of ascension would finally be set in stone, cold an unshakable as the ice she would command.
My gaze then drifted, landing on Lucas for a moment.
He, too, was nearing the brink of ascension.
The last time I’d seen him fight, he had already brushed against that threshold, even wielded ascended might for a fleeting instant.
Not through training alone, but through the blessing of the goddess herself—his fate marked by divinity, his very existence beloved by the world.
Now, all he needed was realization.
To recall that overwhelming strength he once tasted, to seize it consciously rather than accidentally. With the holy sword guiding him, Lucas’s growth was practically inevitable.
Every step he took would carry him closer to becoming something far beyond human.
I leaned back, a wry smile tugging at my lips.
Just thinking about it... between Snow, Rose, Seo, Lucas, and even myself, the academy would soon have six ascended students before we’d even walked across the graduation stage.
No wonder they were calling us the Golden Generation.
Our eyes met for the briefest moment. I turned away almost instantly, but not before catching the sight of his ridiculous expression—Lucas, waving at me like some overexcited puppy, the kind whose ears you could practically see flopping in delight.
Seriously... why does he always act like a happy dog every time he sees me?
I sighed, shaking my head. Well, it wasn’t like I could complain too much.
His progress was my progress, after all. The stronger he became, the smoother everything else would flow.
Creaaak.
The door to the lecture hall swung open.
A hush fell across the classroom as Professor Amelia stepped inside, her arms trembling slightly under the weight of several thick, rune-etched tomes.
She carried them to the front desk and laid them down with careful precision, as though even a misstep might shatter something fragile.
Her eyes lifted—met mine—and immediately darted away, her entire expression stiffening with unease.
...Right. I suppose she’s still traumatized from that day.
I couldn’t exactly blame her. The "other me" had been... more than a little brutal with the professors during the incident. Harsh enough that even now, her body still remembered the fear.
So, Principal Leilah decided to shuffle the deck again, changing the curriculum standards.
Whether it was for our benefit, the academy’s pride, or simply to tighten control over students like us didn’t matter.
Progress was progress, though this wasn’t something that had ever existed in the game’s original flow.
That classroom buzzed in confusion—everyone had been expecting Professor Yuki.
After a slightly shaky introduction, she steadied herself and began explaining.
Her words were calm, formal, but underneath it all I could hear the tension in her voice.
The details, however, were exactly what I anticipated.
A restructuring of classes.
A sharper training regimen.
A system designed to push us past our current limits.
The course of the timeline may have bent, but in this case, fate itself seemed determined to steer us back on track.
And then her tone shifted. She clasped her hands before her and spoke words that silenced every murmur in the room:
"This whole curriculum isn’t just about change or refinement. It’s preparation... Preparation for the upcoming Continental Grand Festival."
The air itself seemed to tighten. Every student froze in their seats, eyes widening in shock.
The Continental Grand Festival... of course.
The very event that, in the game, defined the gap between the chosen and the ordinary.
The arc where every main heroine, every rival, and even Lucas himself would step into the spotlight, their growth laid bare before the world.
A grand tournament unlike any other—drawing prodigies from every nation, every academy, every style of combat and magic imaginable.
The true measuring stick of our generation.
And with it, the trigger for the beginning of [Act 4 – Chapter 3: The One Beyond].
The classroom buzzed again, but this time with a mixture of awe, dread, and anticipation.
I wonder if... that woman would get involved as per the original timeline?
....
Sitting atop the second-floor balcony seats of Panda Café, a young woman sat poised, her long hair tucked neatly behind her ear, a steaming cup of tea resting untouched at her side.
Across from her lounged a fine-looking gentleman dressed in eastern-style clothing—a flowing black kimono embroidered with streaks of violet lightning, like thunder frozen mid-dance.
From their vantage point, the bustling streets of the commercial district stretched out below, filled with streams of students and merchants. To the young woman, it was a scene of life and order.
To the man across from her, it was a scene begging for commentary.
"Haah! Look at this, Bom!" the man exclaimed suddenly, voice booming like a drum across the café. "All these youths, yet not one has truly brushed against the peak of their prime! At their age, they should already be shattering barriers, stepping beyond their so-called limits, gazing into the zones of their spirituality and aura!"
The heads of a few students below tilted upward in confusion at the thundering declaration.
Several customers in the café turned to look, startled.
The young woman—Bom—closed her eyes with a long, suffering sigh. She lifted her cup, took a quiet sip, and muttered without even glancing at him:
"Clan Head, could you please not shout? You’re embarrassing me."
"Huh?" Beon blinked at her, clueless, still half-smiling.
Before his voice could carry again, Bom’s presence seemed to flicker and vanish entirely, like a candle flame snuffed out without warning.
To the world’s eyes, she no longer existed. She had erased her existence with such casual ease it was frightening.
All the curious stares that had been aimed at their table now focused solely on Beon.
"Ugh..." Realizing too late, Beon coughed into his fist, straightening his posture.
Though he didn’t care much about how others viewed him, causing unnecessary inconvenience wasn’t something he could completely ignore.
Bom reappeared gracefully in her seat as though nothing had happened, setting her teacup back onto its saucer. She arched a brow at him.
"Care to mind your booming voice now?"
"Tch..." Beon clicked his tongue, visibly displeased, but gave a curt nod.
A moment of relative quiet passed between them before Bom spoke again, her tone more curious now than scolding.
"But anyway, Grandfather—I mean, Clan Head. Are you sure it was alright for us to come here a whole month earlier than scheduled?"
Beon’s lips curled into a chuckle. He leaned back in his chair, eyes glinting with mischief and pride.
"Of course. It’s important. I want to see the progress of my student with my own eyes. And besides—" his grin widened as he leaned forward, lowering his voice ever so slightly, "—I wanted to spend some time with my dear princess. Don’t you want to see your sister as well?"
Bom hesitated, gaze softening. "Well... I do want to see Seo. But there are protocols we’re supposed to follow. The principal of this academy won’t exactly be thrilled when she learns you were roaming around in secret."
"Haah! Leilah can huff and puff all she wants," Beon waved his hand dismissively, as though brushing away an insect. "I’ll do as I please."
Bom stared at him flatly, her expression the picture of exasperation.
To her, he was the very definition of a stubborn, thick-faced old man.
Beon narrowed his eyes, lips twitching. "You were thinking something rude about me just now, weren’t you?"
Bom met his gaze, deadpan. "Nope. Not at all."
She took another sip of tea, hiding the sarcastic smile tugging at her lips.