The emotional moments inside the hangar-like building didn't last long. Emerra, who had been crying her eyes out until recently, had started to look at me again in an indifferent manner. There was tension on Iris's face, and from her body language, it was clear she was panicking about something and trying to hide it. Something about her must have changed, but I didn't ask what was going on, thinking she would tell me.
I felt a bit of déjà vu. Just like I did with Zui back then, I revealed my stats. Iris's reaction was neutral but Emerra's gaze on my stats was like that of looking at a bug.
"How are you still alive despite that lousy endurance stat?"
"Well... I thought her magic power was low but it seems I was mistaken."
"Actually, consider yourself lucky. Rona is the weakest among us in terms of raw strength. If you hadn't realized she was a cultist, you wouldn't even have understood what kind of situation you were in. She... even if she doesn't look like it, she's addicted to some things and she and Lina used to comfort each other quite often."
While Emerra was saying these things, she was somewhat reserved. Of course, the reason for this was that directly saying some things would be embarrassing. Hearing that Rona was "addicted" to this made me swallow hard. For some reason, I felt that there was something terrible about it.
Anyway... Now it's your turn to show your stats."
Emerra nodded in approval and opened a three-dimensional screen from her own wallistics. I could see everything about her, including her magic path.
Name: Emerra Quintah
Race: Nalia
Class: ???
Age: 17
Strength: F+
Agility: F
Intelligence: F+
Endurance: E-
Charisma: E
Magic: E
Abilities:
- Quintah Lineage
- Object Control
- Sliding
- Same Item, Same Mind
Magic Path:
- Seems to specialize in telekinesis magic and has some development in mind-reading magic.
- Not much potential in magic.
- You have an affinity for artifical magics.
Of course, the princess was much stronger than me. I didn't know how many years she had been in the cult but it was clear she was trying to strengthen herself in order to survive there. People with royal blood are quite interesting. Since there aren't many who can compete with them, they tend not to develop themselves. Of course, those like her don't have the luxury of relaxation because their kingdoms have fallen recently but they can't be said to be superior to everyone else in raw power. It wouldn't have been possible for Emerra to use her mind-reading spell— which seemed almost like a trick— directly in a battle. Otherwise, we were technically all living the same thing, wearing the same equipment, the Academy uniforms. Without the dagger, she wouldn't have been able to read my mind.
In short, the power of kings and queens is more political and administrative. Since no one except their closest confidants has seen King III. Leon, also known as Ucretnight's king, there were debates about whether he truly exists. Some rumors suggested that he didn't leave his room because he was afraid of people, or that King III Leon was actually just a child.
Finally, it was Iris's turn, and I saw her stats through her three-dimensional screen.
Name: Iris Flye
Race: Human
Class: ???
Age: 16
Strength: F-
Agility: F-
Intelligence: F
Endurance: F
Charisma: F
Magic: E-
Abilities:
- Merciful
- Healing Touch
- Mystic POV
If I am currently considered medicore, Iris would fall into the "weak" category. Honestly, I had started to wonder if she would be a burden in a potential battle. Emerra had her hand on her forehead. It was clear that neither of us could handle other cultists on our own.
But among Iris's abilities, there was something interesting.
Although I didn't know the structure of the wallistics before us, we had been told that class abilities, physical abilities and magic abilities were categorized separately. Now, these have been given new names and turned into a guide for development. That's why all our skills appeared in the abilities section. The name of the bottom ability was very strange.
"What is this Mystic POV, Iris?"
Iris looked overwhelmed and didn't know what to answer. Not because she didn't want to share it with us but because she was too nervous to know what to say.
"I... I don't know exactly either. I can show you the ability description."
And she did as she said.
What we read surprised both me and Princess Quintah very much.
Mystic POV: You have a mysterious perspective. The identity of the person with this perspective is unknown but like them, you can see spirits. You can see things others cannot, witness corruption and observe people's magic power and control. Using this inhuman vision can have some potential dangers.
"Inhuman? What does that mean?"
"We need to see Iris's magic path to understand this."
So, we saw Iris's magic path and it made us all break out in cold sweats.
Magic Path:
- Shows signs of specialization in healing magic.
- You have an affinity for healing and nature.
- Act against your nature to unlock your potential.
- Your potential could reach divine.
I mentioned earlier that only a few people in history have ever reached level S in any field. Their immense strength was no coincidence.
According to a common belief, the person who granted these individuals the opportunity they needed was none other than F. F watched all of us and had also seen Iris comfort Emerra. The belief was this way and I couldn't help but agree. Iris was currently too weak even to be considered medicore but...
If she could unlock her potential, she could become one of the strongest people you could ever see.
"Just as the demons say. Magic and F must care about you a lot."
The praise from Princess Quintah seemed to have made Iris happy. At this point, it was my turn to wrap things up. I told them that the act of showing our power was over and turned to Emerra.
"I am asking to be sure. Are all of you from Quintah? Rona told me that you came from Tunlua."
"We all came to the Academy through Quintah. Rona probably told you her country of origin. Among us, I am the only one born in the world in Quintah."
"Do you know the purpose of why we came here?"
"No. We were only told to train at the Academy and follow the orders that come from there."
The assumption that someone was helping them was correct. I wanted to learn more from the information source in front of me.
"Can you tell me who the person helping you is?"
Emerra looked away at this point and I saw her clenching her fists.
"Unfortunately, they don't give us orders face to face."
I had to expect this. Due to Emerra's paranoia it was clear that the cult, at least those who call Fall, were excessively controlling. It wasn't surprising that the person managing these nalia wouldn't reveal themselves because of this lack of trust.
"Don't worry. My plan has been the same from the start. That is, to find a helping hand that could save the kingdom. Your killing Rona has brought me the opportunity I've been waiting for for years."
"Well... But we've never seen the king in our lives."
"You're right but I won't get such a chance again. Though it might not seem like it, there is some tension among us."
"What do you mean?"
"We suspect there is a traitor among us. I am the one who suggested this idea to them but even I am not safe."
The information Emerra provided was important. Based on this, we needed to develop a counter-strategy and some ideas already came to my mind.
"So, when will the next order reach you?"
"If it's not urgent, no order will come before three weeks. Until then, it's wise to consider my risk of being uncovered. I don't want to stay here any longer."
"Hmm…"
I had many things I wanted to do but I didn't believe I had the strength to do them.
"Then we have to prepare until we receive new orders or until a fight breaks out among you. I guess you want to meet with the king as soon as possible but we need to be patient about this."
Emerra didn't seem to have any objection to my words. At that moment, I turned to Iris.
"This includes you too, Iris. If the cultists discover you, everything will be worse for you."
I felt the need to tell her this explicitly. If they find out about Iris's potential in magic, they would want to kill her. It's very important for these cultists because they think that people with divine potential are fools trying to seize F's place. That's why, if someone's potential is divine while they are weak, they don't even bother to try to recruit that person; they simply kill them.
Maybe it looks like we're forcing her to become stronger but there will always be moments when we can't be by Iris's side. During those times, I want her to be able to survive.
"Then, is your decision final, humans? Since I am the one who pushed you to this, I want to give you the chance to continue your lives as if none of this ever happened."
"I'm sorry traitor princess but I have to refuse your offer. After seeing what those cultists are really like, I can't just sit and wait."
"I... I also refuse. They think they have made F happy but I believe he is secretly upset. I think that their behavior is our fault and... our duty is to defeat them. Moreover, I don't want to let them harm more people."
Both of us made our decisions. We went over our plans and each of us went our own way.
The next day, I endured Borrow's training, which was like torture, with weight on me. The following day, even though nothing significant happened, I never allowed my attention to be divided. One eye was always on the cultists and you didn't need to be a lie detector to see the tension on them.
Finally, the weekend arrived, and I prepared to return home, even if only for a short time, to spend time with my family.