Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

The Secret Room (2)

The Secret Room (2)

The day I’d promised Isolde we’d go to the secret room.

Since I had signed up for cleaning duty, I had to stay at the library for the rest of the day after class.

Swish, swish.

I turn the pages with my fingers. My gaze is fixed on the sentences, refusing to budge.

I sit straight at the table, quietly reading.

‘Surprisingly useful. This.’

Even though it’s cleaning duty, I can’t just start cleaning.

If I clean while there are users, it just gets messy again, and I also get complaints for being noisy.

So, until closing time, I can also focus on reading. Thanks to that, I can study my notes, which is a win.

Well, it’s not like I’m totally slacking off either.

—*Sip.* This is difficult.

—If you cast a spell once, more mana is consumed on subsequent casts. This is the cooldown, and…

—Damn it. Who already borrowed it?

Noises from all corners of the library.

Tiny mutterings, whispered conversations, even the rustling of clothes.

I hear every single thing.

My hearing is extremely heightened.

‘I have to stop anyone causing trouble in the library.’

Maintaining silence is the duty of a library committee member. As it’s volunteer work, I have to do it diligently.

That’s why I’m making my sight and hearing work separately.

It’s training too, in a way.

‘It’s never a bad idea to sharpen all my senses.’

The body is an asset and a weapon.

My senses are my bread and butter, so the more I hone them, the better.

I’m gaining a lot from this time, in many ways.

—Oppa. Are you really gonna do it here?

—Don’t worry. This attic is soundproof. No one will know.

─Yeah, but… Aah.

Of course, there are times like this when I get interrupted.

“Tch.”

*Thump*. I close the book gently.

I almost slammed it shut in frustration, but I held back. I’m on the library committee, I gotta set an example.

Those b*stards should learn a thing or two, I tell you.

Olympia’s library has these attic rooms.

They’re designed so sound can’t pass through, so you can really focus on studying.

It’s so hard to detect anyone’s presence, you could even fall asleep in one and no one would know.

There are even those who exploit that fact, using them as impromptu bedrooms.

Anyway, the problem is that there are these twerps who sneak in here to make out instead of studying like they’re supposed to.

*Thud, thud*. I stop in front of the attic where I heard the conversation.

I’m making my footsteps obvious, but that rustling of clothes doesn’t stop.

Fine then, I have no choice but to intervene.

*Shhhrk!*

“Wha, what the…!”

“Kyaaak!”

The two, who were in the middle of unbuttoning each other and revealing skin, freeze.

They stare at me with panicked expressions, so I say a few words.

“This is a library. Please maintain silence.”

“Wha, what…”

They must have felt my disapproving gaze.

A male student who looks like a fourth year bursts out in anger.

“Who do you think you are? Talking to a senior like that….”

“Senior or no, don’t be engaging in lewd acts here. Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves in front of the younger students?”

“Th, th-that’s…”

His face turns red as he tries to retort.

“….”

But when I just stare him down without saying anything, he looks away.

The sad habit of a magician.

‘Nerds are always weak against this sort of thing.’

If a strong guy tries to intimidate them, those pencil-pushing types are bound to get scared.

Having started working out recently, Herak’s physique was on a whole other level compared to the other magic students.

In the end, the fourth-year senior grabbed his lover’s hand and bolted.

“Damn it. Just you wait.”

“Oppa, let’s go together!”

‘Tsk tsk.’

That guy, even his exit is pathetic.

I let out a sigh and head into the attic.

I was going to clean later, but this place looks kinda urgent.

“Huh?”

Right as I was about to clean the attic,

Someone spoke to me.

“Herak. What are you doing here?”

“Hm?”

I stop wiping and turn my head.

There, with wide eyes, was Penel, and.

“……”

Slightly peeking out from her side was Berry.

“It was noisy a little while ago, so I came to check… are you cleaning?”

“I’m a library committee member, you see. It’s my turn to clean today.”

“Ohoho. To think someone would volunteer to clean. How surprising.”

Putting her finger to her lips as she smiles is remarkably elegant.

Indeed, a duke’s daughter. Penel talking so much like an older sister must be because of that.

It’s a curious thing to think about.

‘I remember Berry not being a noble.’

They’re friends, but their status is like heaven and earth.

How did a commoner like Berry become friends with Penel?

In ＜The Song of Sword and Magic＞, Berry was an extra character, so I couldn’t know.

“But what’s the deal? Coming all the way to the library.”

“Ah, that? Uhm─.”

Penel trails off.

She’s making an awkward face, like she’s reluctant to answer.

Berry, who was beside her, chimed in.

“She was studying magic. To prepare for the inter-grade exchange.”

“Aish, Berry. Why would you say that?”

“Penel, get a grip. You need to raise your skills as soon as possible, you gotta grab at any lifeline you can.”

*Scuff, scuff.*

Berry comes into the attic.

She sits down next to me, who was mopping, and whispers in a serious tone.

“You, can you help Penel?”

“Huh?”

“Can you teach her some magic?”

…Is getting taught by a substitute teacher the trend these days?

She didn’t read my expression, just spilled her heart out.

“This year’s inter-grade exchange, Penel has to win. No, even if she can’t win, she has to show a good performance.”

“Berry. If you talk about it like that…”

“You know, Herac, how Penel’s treated in the Magic Department. The usual garbage about Apollo being the winner anyway.”

The evaluation score of the inter-grade exchange depends on how good the performance was.

Even if they don’t actually win, if they put up a good fight against an opponent with better skills, they can still get a good score.

So, if you reversed the ‘previous match record’, there was also a possibility of winning.

Simply put.

In the duel between the top students of the Knight Department and the Magic Department, Apollo is overwhelmingly in the lead.

The meaning was that they wanted to overcome that this time.

“…Penel needs help to reverse the assessment that she can’t beat Apollo. Not just by improving her skills, but with something special.”

“Well, I get what you mean… but why are you looking for that from me?”

“You completed the [Introduction to Elementology] assignment, right? I don’t know how you did it, but you must’ve had some secret weapon… can’t you tell us a little bit?”

So that was it.

‘Geez.’

I understood why Berry, who usually nagged me constantly, was making such a request.

She must have been deeply impressed by the rock-breaking I’d shown in [Introduction to Elemental Studies].

‘I wasn’t really thinking about it.’

It wasn’t like I had intentionally used some grand technique.

If anything, I might acquire a similar skill in this Hidden Piece, but at least back then, it was purely my physical prowess.

Definitely not magic.

“…….”

“Um… Herak? You don’t have to take it to heart too much. Berry’s just desperate. Berry, you shouldn’t be so sudden either…”

Berry and I exchange a silent glance.

Penell is trying to ease the stiff atmosphere with some words.

I considered what to answer, but in the end, this seemed like the safest option.

“I can’t teach magic.”

“……Why?”

“Because it’s impossible.”

“……!”

Berry’s eyes are blazing.

She must have taken it as an insult to Penell. She’s about to say something, her lips twitching —

“But don’t worry. I can make sure Apollo doesn’t win.”

“What? How?”

“I’m going to win.”

“……?”

Berry’s head tilts.

Penell behind her was the same.

Both women looked like they’d heard something completely out of left field.

“……You’re joking, right?”

“If it sounds like a lie, just watch.”

I move my hand again.

As I’m spraying water and wiping with a rag, Berry speaks haltingly.

“What… what are you going to do to guarantee that? How can you promise?”

“My life.”

“……!”

“I’m betting my life on winning. So stop worrying and get some sleep.”

It wasn’t a statement meant to have any hidden meaning.

If we don’t win the inter-grade exchange, I’m expelled, and if I’m expelled, I’m out of the academy, and if I’m out of the academy, then I die.

I’m going to die if I fail anyway, so I just said I was betting my life on winning.

…But neither Berry nor Penell can easily speak.

It carried that much weight.

‘Life.’

The weight of the price a man put on winning.

…Or maybe, a price placed for a woman who said they had to win.

“Herac, that’s…”

*Flushed*—

Both of Penell’s cheeks turned bright red.

Such a resolution in this situation. There was no way it wouldn’t sound significant.

Berry pinched the bridge of her nose, all of a sudden.

“…If you say it like that, right here, there’s nothing we can say.”

“I didn’t say it expecting anything.”

“That’s more of the problem… Aish, look at Penell. She’s totally smitten.”

Berry, who looked disapprovingly at the friend behind her,

ended up putting up a price herself.

“Fine. Then I’ll promise you this, if you win. I won’t stop you from being friends with Penell.”

“What are you talking about, out of the blue?”

“Hmph. Don’t be so quick to decline. I’m overlooking it, depending on how you do.”

…No, I wasn’t really hoping for a reward, so why is she getting ahead of herself?

Even as I stared at Berry with a dumbfounded look, she just glared at me with a frustrated face.

…What is with her, really?

*

It was night.

The closing time had passed, and all the users were gone.

I was left alone, absorbed in cleaning, and as I was finishing, I heard movement outside the door.

*Click.*

I opened the door, and a woman standing on the other side entered.

“…Nice to meet you, Senior.”

“Yeah.”

Her silver hair shone brightly in the dim twilight.

Isolet smiled softly at me.

“You really did volunteer work. I’m surprised.”

“You’re the one who suggested it.”

“Of course, but honestly, I didn’t think you’d do it so readily…”

I step past Isolet, moving forward.

My destination is the deepest part of the library.

The bookshelves filled with books mostly for storage, rarely touched by the students.

“Do you already know where the entrance to the secret room is?”

“I looked a bit before you came. Then I saw it.”

“You’re amazing. As expected of you, Senior.”

…It’s awkward when you praise me like that. I’m just following the way it was in the original work.

Thump, thump. Finally, I reached my destination.

The huge bookshelf that reached the ceiling was filled with countless books, making it seem impossible to push it aside blindly.

“Hmm…I heard we have to move the bookshelf, but it doesn’t look easy.”

“There’s a trick to it.”

I reached out and grabbed the fourth shelf from the bottom.

Feeling around, I found a round mana stone.

“This is it.”

*Press*—

The moment I pressed it, there was a reaction.

*Rumble…* With a heavy sound, the previously seamless bookshelves parted.

It’s really amazing, even as I watch it. There wasn’t even a pinhole, yet a space is being created.

Is this magic?

“I knew I could trust you, Senior.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

What the hell does Isolet think of me, anyway.

Does she trust me more than her senior in the Knight Department or something?

…Ku-gugung.

Finally, the bookcase was fully opened.

The cliff of books that had filled my vision disappeared, and all that was in front of me was an endless darkness.

I couldn’t see an inch ahead, and I didn’t even have a clue which way to go.

“How should we enter?”

“Just go in and stand for a moment.”

The entry method for the secret room.

Go into that darkness and stand on the floor.

Then, the floor will softly sink and begin to descend.

It’s easier to think of it as an elevator without walls.

“Amazing. Did you hear about that from rumors as well?”

“Um… let’s just say that’s it.”

I vaguely brushed it off and took a step inside.

A vast darkness where even my senses became hazy.

Perhaps because she was slightly nervous, I took Isolet’s hand as she slowly walked toward me.

“Here.”

“…Thank you.”

Her faintly smiling face was like a painting.

She is the main character after all. She is pretty, that’s for sure.

“Just stand here.”

How many minutes had we stood on the floor with Isolet?

Finally, with the sound of a mana stone activating, *jee-ing*—

The elevator carrying Isolet and me began to descend.

Time to obtain the Hidden Piece.