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Chapter 181

“The Temple has created an environment in which the sword cannot exert its power, and the sword is currently being researched thoroughly by multiple mages,” he said.

The Temple was being extremely cautious to ensure the curse from the sword could not affect anything else.

“To put it simply, the sword still currently belongs to you, but there is a high likelihood that it might not remain so,” Mr. Effenhauser said.

The Temple was essentially appraising my item on my behalf. The reason why they might not acknowledge my ownership of it any longer was if the item was so dangerous that no individual would be allowed to possess it.

I understood the reasoning behind this, since the sword had decimated an entire village and had raised the dead in a large area around it as zombies.

Still, this item had not appeared in the original story. If we had not resolved the incident of the cursed sword, someone else would have eventually taken care of it. Although the cursed sword was dangerous, we had managed to handle it ourselves. If someone more skilled than us had been brought in, they would have found a way to resolve the situation somehow.

Of course, there were many complex layers to the situation, but I did not feel that it was a situation that no one else but us could have resolved.

It felt like we had just resolved an issue that would have been taken care of eventually.

“At this point, we are considering disposing of the sword. I felt you both should know,” Mr. Effenhauser said.

Disposing...

They were thinking of disposing of it because it was too dangerous. That meant the cursed sword would disappear from the story.

“Have they determined what exactly this sword is?” Ellen asked.

Mr. Effenhauser ran a hand through his hair and then clasped his hands together.

“No, they haven’t. Aside from the fact that it contains a very dangerous curse, nothing else has been discovered,” he replied.

Eleris also had said that it was difficult to discover much about such items because the origins of curses and their effects varied greatly. It seemed that the Temple had arrived at the same conclusion.

Both Eleris’s brief study of the artifact and the Temple’s in-depth analysis led to the same conclusion.

“You might think that the Temple’s capabilities are insufficient, but I assure you that is not the case. You may not be aware of this, but even the Temple has a limited curriculum on dark magic. That means we have dark mages adept in dark magic working as instructors,” Mr. Effenhauser continued.

I knew about that as well. Dark magic, despite being regarded as an evil form of magic, was ultimately one of the most powerful branches of magic. Thus, although it was highly restricted, there were still lectures on dark magic.

Therefore, people qualified to teach dark magic, including dark mages, were employed as instructors. These were dark mages with impeccable records and no history of causing societal scandals.

For instance, there was a student named Anna de Gerna in Class B who had a talent for dark magic and was learning dark magic at the Temple.

Of course, even if dark magic specialists had clean records, there was a stigma against them in the magic community and because of that discrimination, many dark mages wound up underground. The Temple was not ignorant of dark magic, and they had more knowledge about curses than Eleris did. Even so, they still couldn’t identify what the cursed sword was.

“The mages said that the power within the sword is so ancient that it can’t be accurately identified. To put it simply, it contains a curse based on an ancient magic that has fallen out of use in the current era. This makes it extremely difficult to analyze, and they can’t predict what kind of power the curse might exert. Therefore, the current consensus is to study it briefly and then dispose of it as quickly as possible,” said Mr. Effenhauser.

Essentially, they had determined that the cursed sword was too suspicious and dangerous for me to keep and use.

“Of course, since this involves taking away your property, at our last faculty meeting, we have decided to compensate you with an item of considerable value, even if it might not be exactly equivalent. I can promise you equipment of at least A-rank,” he continued.

The Temple seemed to be trying to appease me by offering something else of significant value, but I felt disappointed.

Though I was unaffected by the sword’s curse and could technically use it, I couldn’t be certain that nothing dangerous would happen just because it was in my possession. The cursed sword turned out to have a much deeper history than I initially thought.

In the end, since the Temple authorities had been unable to ascertain its true nature, they decided to dispose of it after further research.

An ancient artifact even dark mages couldn’t decipher. A real-world application of magic...

“Mr. Effenhauser,” I said.

“Do you have something you wish to say?” he responded.

I wasn’t overly greedy when it came to the cursed sword. Top-tier Enchanted equipment was already classified as B-rank, and A-rank equipment would essentially be akin to a treasure. There was no reason to refuse such an offer.

However, it felt like such a waste. I felt certain that this was an item that was too valuable to let slip away. Even if it was to be discarded, I wanted to know what it was before throwing it away.

Ancient magic. An old curse. Applied techniques.

“If it’s ancient magic...” I murmured as one last possibility came to mind, “Could it be something like sorcery?”

Sorcery... A power so ancient that no one within the Temple could recognize it, much less teach it.

“In that case, why not request Dettomorian in Class B to analyze it? He might be able to figure out what that cursed sword actually is,” I suggested.

I had a strong hunch that Dettomorian, with his talent in sorcery, might just be able to uncover the true nature of the cursed sword.

Otherwise, nothing would come of it.

Mr. Effenhauser had a lukewarm response to my suggestion to use sorcery to identify the artifact’s nature. He likely understood the unpredictability of using an unknown power to discern the nature of an unknown artifact. Nonetheless, he said he would discuss it with Ms. Mustang and Dettomorian before dismissing us.

As we walked down the hallway and back to the classroom, Ellen asked, “Do you really need that sword?”

It was clear that she was still uneasy about my desire to keep the sword, and understandably so, since it was a cursed and ominous item.

“It’s a waste to dispose of it without knowing what it is,” I replied.

“...”

Additionally, I could wield the sword, so throwing it away seemed wrong to me. While Ellen appeared disgruntled, she did not persist in trying to change my mind.

***

The first class of the new semester was replaced with a physical scan to measure our physical data. Essentially, it was a health check-up to see how much our physical abilities had improved. Upon entering the measurement room, we would undergo some tests using the physical scanner. The results for each student’s physical abilities would then be posted on the bulletin board.

Since this was conducted monthly, the data had been continuously updated throughout the semester.

A-11 Rheinhart:

[Strength: 8.3 (C-)]

[Agility: 8.5 (C-)]

[Dexterity: 9.6 (C-)]

[Mana: 12.8 (C+)]

[Stamina: 13 (C+)]

Talents:

[Self-Deception]

[Mana Attunement]

There was a slight increase in my stats after returning from the Dark Land. I was reaching the stage where my growth would usually slow down, but the Hero’s Lineage trait I inherited from Ellen would help me overcome that plateau.

Overall, my growth was well-balanced. Given my stats from the beginning of the semester, I could serve as an exemplary case of how one could improve their physical abilities. With Self-Deception, I could boost my physical strength to around B-minus rank. The rank of my Self-Deception skill itself had also improved significantly, which enhanced this effect.

Reflecting on the time when my physical abilities had been rated a smattering of Fs and Ds brought a sense of nostalgia. Soon, I would be engraving my third talent, which, barring any significant surprises, would be related to magic.

“Erhi! You’ve improved a lot, man!” Connor Lint exclaimed, patting Erhi’s shoulder roughly after seeing the updated physical data chart.

“Well... have I? There’s still a long way to go.”

Erhi had mentioned that he had done some training over the break.

I decided to check his progress.

A-9 Erhi de Raffaeli:

[Strength: 10.2 (C)]

[Agility: 6.4 (D)]

[Dexterity: 5.4 (D-)]

[Mana: 4.1 (F+)]

[Stamina: 8 (C-)]

[Divine Power -]

Talents:

[Divine Power]

[Swordsmanship]

[Martial Arts]

‘So the only thing he did was weight training, huh?’

I hadn’t cared enough to remember his previous physical data, but it was evident that his strength had skyrocketed. However, his agility and dexterity, along with his stamina, were lagging significantly. He needed a more balanced growth.

Still, Erhi’s strength was ranked higher than mine. Why a guy who had so much potential but had never put in any effort before had suddenly decided to train was beyond me. More importantly, despite his talent for divine power, he hadn’t used it even once, making it impossible to evaluate at all.

“Wow, at this rate, you might reach A-rank soon!” Connor Lint exclaimed.

“No way, that’s not possible,” Erhi replied, though his chest puffed up with pride at the compliment.

I wondered what Connor Lint’s stats looked like.

He was bound to be a lost cause.

A-8 Connor Lint

[Strength 3.1 (F)]

[Agility 7 (D+)]

[Dexterity 5.1 (D-)]

[Magic 1.4 (F-)]

[Stamina 4 (F+)]

Talents

[Teleportation]

‘Wow.’

Even calling him a lost cause seemed too generous.

Did he even gain anything from all the physical training we did during our common classes?

Here was someone relying solely on a weak supernatural power, barely suited for the Royal Class. It wasn’t Erhi, but Lint, who was the true misfit.

Connor Lint’s physical abilities were even worse than mine had been at the start of the year. Not that I was particularly interested in this kind of trash data anyway.

A-2 Ellen:

[Strength: 18.5 (B+)]

[Agility: 20.3 (A-)]

[Dexterity: 23.1 (A)]

[Mana: 27.2 (A+)]

[Stamina: 20.5 (A-)]

Talents

[Weapon Mastery]

[Mana Control]

At the beginning of the first semester, Ellen’s physical abilities had mostly been in the B-rank range, but now nearly all of her physical data had reached the A-rank. Because she was approaching the limits of human capability, her growth rate was slower compared to someone like me.

The closer one got to the extreme, the slower the growth naturally became. Hero’s Lineage wasn’t a trait that allowed one to push beyond human limits.

Even during the first semester, none of her peers could match up to her, and now she had become even stronger. With Mana Reinforcement, her physical abilities would increase explosively.

I couldn’t be certain, but it was my speculation that she might even reach S-Rank. Thinking about that made her seem truly like a monstrous entity.

Those looking at Ellen’s physical data couldn’t help but be wide-eyed with amazement. She had been exceptional before, but now she was even more of a monster.

However, Ellen Artorius herself showed no interest in such things. She simply sat at her desk with her chin resting on her hand, staring absentmindedly at the blackboard.

***

Even though it was the second semester, the content of our common education classes remained similar. Since it was still summer, our physical education classes had been replaced with swimming lessons.

At the beginning of the first semester, I would often be left completely exhausted after these classes, but now I could go through the physical education schedule without much trouble, which filled me with a sense of accomplishment.

That day, several students stayed behind in the classroom after classes had ended.

—Hey, let’s take this class together.

—Yeah, let’s do it. It sounds fun.

Adelia and Harriet were planning to sign up for the same lectures, as were Ellen and I. Even the Three Idiots were discussing which classes they could take together despite their different majors.

Ellen fiddled with her course registration form for a while before abruptly leaving the classroom.

‘What the...?’

I quickly got up and called out to Ellen, who was heading towards the faculty office.

“Hey, hey!”

She paused. “What?” she replied, tilting her head as if she didn’t understand what the problem was.

‘This honestly... It feels a bit sad!’

“Hey, shouldn’t you at least ask if we want to take any classes together?” I said, feeling slightly annoyed.

We had grown quite close, and I had forgotten how emotionally detached she could be. Come to think of it, even though we had already gotten pretty close in the first semester, she would still walk past me in the hallway without even making eye contact.

“... Why should we take classes together?” she asked.

It seemed she couldn’t grasp why being friends would mean taking classes together.

‘Ah, right. She has serious issues with social interactions.’

It had been a while since I’d been reminded of that, but her progress in this area was exceptionally slow.

‘Sure, there’s no real reason we have to take classes together, strictly speaking. Yeah. That’s true, you’re totally right.’

“It wouldn’t hurt to take some overlapping classes, you know!” I protested.

‘Okay fine, you’re not taking any supernatural power classes since you don’t have supernatural powers, but you could at least take Swordsmanship with me!’

“... Do you want to see my course list?” Ellen asked.

Since I was making a fuss, she showed me her course registration form.

She didn’t understand why I was upset but seemed willing to accommodate me. Seeing her nonchalantly offer her course list made me feel somewhat conflicted.

‘Why do I feel so attached to her? Is this... some kind of... obsession? But wouldn’t it be nice to have someone you’re close to in the same class, though? Isn’t that normal? Am I the weird one here?’

This situation made me feel like I was clinging to someone who didn’t even care about me.

Even while these thoughts came up internally, I ended up filling in the same Swordsmanship and Demonic Ecology classes as Ellen into my own schedule. Ellen’s timetable included several individual tutorials related to Mana Reinforcement rather than Mana Attunement training, classes I couldn’t join even if I wanted to.

“By the way,” she said, watching me fill out my course list in the hallway.

“... Yeah?”

Ellen looked at me intently. “Do you really want to be with me that much?”

“... What?” I was taken aback.

It didn’t seem like she was teasing me; she genuinely seemed curious.

“We’re always together anyway. We practice together all the time too.”

‘Why do you want to be with me so much that you even want to take the same classes? What’s the reason for it?’ she seemed to be thinking.

She wasn’t mocking me or anything; she was genuinely curious. It was as if she couldn’t understand human emotions at all.

‘What about all the things you’ve said to me until now?!’

I could feel cold sweat running down my back, stemming from a sense of humiliation I couldn’t quite articulate.

“Forget it, just go away!”

“...?”

While Ellen had occasionally gotten upset at me before, this was the first time that I was the one sulking.

A sudden feeling of immense shame and embarrassment washed over me as I realized I was sulking at a teenage kid.