I Became a Mythical-Tier Tamer Due To A System Error Chapter 88
Last semester, when Professor Belzrover turned himself in, the Dark Attribute and Professor seat became vacant.
And the one who succeeded that position was none other than……
“…….”
A black-haired woman stood before my eyes.
“What did you just say to me?”
When I shrugged my shoulders, Hilda gave a faint smile and replied.
“No! Don’t mind it. It was just me talking to myself.”
“…….”
I quietly gazed at Hilda for a moment.
“Then, excuse me.”
I was the first to take a step away.
The woman who had just spoken to me looked familiar.
It was the first time meeting her in person, but I remembered seeing her inside the game.
‘The professor who covered one eye,’
Hilda Annebrier.
She was an important figure in the second semester’s main episode.
Since I must not interfere with the main storyline, it would be better not to get further involved.
‘But why did Hilda say that to me?’
Was it really just her talking to herself, as she claimed?
If it wasn’t, then……
‘……No. It wasn’t anything that important, so I shouldn’t pay it any mind.’
I quickly went to the water dispenser, quenched my thirst, and returned to the auditorium in the main building.
‘……It’s really packed.’
The main auditorium of Yggdrasil’s main building.
A place where roughly 2,500 people had gathered.
The professors were seated on the chairs above the stage, waiting for the opening ceremony to begin.
Most of the students were already seated.
However……
“There aren’t any seats left.”
“If I’d known this, I would have come a few minutes earlier.”
Because all the seats were filled, some students were unable to sit down.
In the end, they had no choice but to stand near the entrance and watch.
‘That actually works out better.’
I crossed my arms quietly and leaned against the wall.
From here, I could overlook the entirety of the auditorium.
‘Arowell and Lapin are over on the left.’
Each seating area was divided by year.
The left side was for first-years.
The center was for second-years.
The right side was for third-years.
I turned my gaze toward the left.
After searching for a while, I spotted Arowell in her nun’s habit and……
‘……What the.’
Lapin was waving at me.
‘She could sense my gaze even from this far away? The instincts of animals really are scary.’
Lapin suddenly stood up, looking like she was about to come toward me.
But! Arowell quickly grabbed her hand.
Arowell said something to Lapin.
She was probably telling her not to leave her seat since the ceremony was about to begin.
Lapin hesitated for a moment, then eventually nodded, sitting back down while glancing back at me.
‘Hey. Stop looking this way and face forward.’
I pointed with sharp eyes, telling her to look ahead.
Lapin seemed to understand my intention and nodded, turning to face the front.
Only then did I let out a sigh and leisurely observed the surroundings.
As I did, my eyes caught a brown-haired male student, and next to him, a blonde female student.
‘The protagonist and the Princess are here too.’
Not only that, but I also spotted the backs of the protagonist’s allies and even the future episode’s villains one by one.
‘……This episode won’t be easy either.’
Not that it had ever been easy before.
Life never goes according to plan.
Even though I knew the future of this world, it always strayed from my expectations.
And I always had to work hard to fix the aftermath.
‘Right, just because I know the future doesn’t mean I know every profound and subtle detail of this world.’
Like Shurk’s past, or Lapin’s smile.
The ‘Hidden Pieces’ that couldn’t be represented with game polygons were things I only learned by experiencing this world firsthand.
‘Knowing the future doesn’t make me all-powerful.’
I was not the god of this world. I could not know everything.
I had to prepare for any unexpected situation that might happen in the future.
That was why I needed to grow stronger.
It wasn’t for the sake of a world on the brink of destruction, nor for the protagonist who was trying to protect this world, or any such grand reason.
It was solely for ‘myself.’
So that I could live a more comfortable life.
‘That’s why I need to do well this semester too.’
Thinking of the hardships awaiting me in the second semester episode, I steeled my resolve.
‘……But why does it suddenly feel so quiet around me?’
Instead of noisy chatter, I could hear soft whispers.
They were the voices of second-year seniors, wandering around because they, like me, couldn’t find a seat.
“Isn’t that the second son of the Dedenkman family? Wow, scary.”
“Look at his face. He really does look just like the rumors say.”
“I heard from a first-year that he got scolded badly by the Princess.”
“I heard he was punished with livestock shed management, yet he’s still not reflecting and even shows up late.”
Even though it was already the second semester, the bad rumors about me remained the same.
That was only natural.
I was known as a man of many sins, and I never denied it.
I didn’t even try to clear things up through conversation.
In the end, the criticism never stopped, and that criticism entered the ears of others.
The more rumors spread, the more all of them were taken as truth, regardless of whether they were real or not.
It was only natural that my reputation didn’t improve.
‘Doesn’t matter.’
No, it didn’t need to improve in the first place.
In the main story, there was never any description of Villed’s image being greatly rehabilitated.
“Look over there, it’s the Hawkeye seniors.”
Suddenly, I heard the voices of cadets sitting in the back rows of the first-year section.
“They’re so cool. They really give off that elite vibe.”
“I want to apply to one of the top three departments too! Even though I’ll definitely fail.”
I followed their gazes.
They were looking at the very front seats below the stage.
‘Even the chairs look really nice.’
The wooden frames looked like premium quality, and they were decorated with gold ornaments.
The few who sat in the very front rows received especially special treatment.
‘Well, they do deserve to be treated specially.’
The cadets seated in the very front were seniors from Yggdrasil’s so-called three elite departments.
Because these departments gathered only the elite of the elite, they became the object of envy and admiration for everyone.
From my position behind them, I couldn’t see their faces.
‘But I can at least recognize the symbols of each department.’
Cadets wearing black commander’s caps belonged to the Strategy and Tactics Department, ‘Hawkeye.’
Cadets with golden compass watches on their wrists belonged to the Dimensional Exploration Department, ‘Finders.’
Cadets wearing or carrying steampunk-style goggles belonged to the Magitech Department, ‘Alkymia.’
‘There are quite a few high-performance and named characters gathered here.’
Of course, not everyone was present.
‘Each elite department has ten cadets per year. There should be a total of sixty between the second and third years.’
But in reality, only about ten had shown up.
It didn’t even look like there were five per department.
‘So they get special treatment by not being forced to attend.’
Either way, it was just like the main story.
Even in the game, you couldn’t easily encounter the seniors in the early parts of the story.
……After some time had passed.
A neatly dressed man stepped onto the stage and brought the microphone to his lips.
“Cadets, we will now begin the opening ceremony.”
As the announcer spoke, the noisy atmosphere of the auditorium quieted down.
“The Chancellor will now enter. Cadets, please rise from your seats.”
Step, step.
As the cadets stood up, footsteps echoed in the auditorium.
“Greetings, bright cadets of Yggdrasil.”
A large man in a suit appeared.
His slicked-back hair and well-groomed beard left a striking impression on his white face.
‘That man…… Chancellor Tot.’
Tot Rahel Lloyd.
The fine wrinkles on his face showed his years of experience.
Yet his physique didn’t look weak in the slightest.
He was known as one of the greatest magicians of the Empire.
‘I heard he often leaves the school, but for big events or commemorations he always shows up.’
Thinking that, I let out a yawn.
“Now, Chancellor Tot will give his opening address……”
“There will be no address.”
Chancellor Tot cut off the announcer’s words and loosened his suit as he replied.
“I’m not joking. The 2,500 of you gathered here will immediately—”
What followed was something no chancellor should ever be saying.
“I will slaughter you all.”
His eyes and voice were filled with murderous intent.
There was no mana consumed in the air. It was just words.
And yet, as if he had used freezing magic, everyone froze on the spot.
“Now, if you think you can fight me and win, raise your hand.”
Chancellor Tot spoke, but no one raised their hand.
“…None? Not a single one?”
The Chancellor’s eyes widened.
After a long wait, someone finally raised their hand.
“Oh, good.”
The Chancellor fixed his gaze on me.
“Only you?”
His eyes met mine.
The one who had raised their hand was none other than…
Me.
The surroundings stirred.
‘…What is this?’
No matter how much strength I put in, the raised arm refused to come down.
Of course, it wasn’t my will that had lifted it.
Someone had forced it up with mana.
‘Who on earth…?’
The culprit was easy to find.
‘…Hilda.’
Professor Hilda, the woman with one eye covered, whom I had encountered earlier.
She was looking at me with a faint smile.
She had used her mana to raise my arm.
‘For what reason…?’
It wasn’t something problematic for the main story.
In the game, at this timing, a random character would raise their hand.
‘But the fact that Hilda forced someone’s hand up… wasn’t described in the game.’
Even if it was random, Villed—who was known as the weakest person in the academy—should never have been the one to raise his hand.
“Well, is that all?”
When the Chancellor asked again, a second person raised their hand.
It was none other than Heidel, the top-ranked freshman.
Flash!
Was it pride, wounded by Heidel being the first?
The moment Heidel raised his hand, Kunking also lifted his arm.
“Good, three. Yes, that’s better.”
Not to be outdone by the freshmen, students from the senior seats began raising their hands as well.
In total, about thirty cadets raised their hands.
“No more? Just this much?”
A minute passed, but nothing changed.
Chancellor Tot let out a short sigh, then raised his hand.
“Just this!”
Boom! With frustration, he slammed his fist onto the podium.
Crash! The podium shattered on the spot.
Fragments fell with a loud noise, leaving only a heavy silence behind.
“I’ll ask you. Why did no one raise their hand?”
Within that silence, Chancellor Tot spoke again.
“If all 2,500 of you here attacked me at once, there is a chance I could lose. And yet why? Why did 2,470 cadets choose to leave everything to 30 and plan only to run away?”
The cadets stayed silent.
“Because I am the continent’s greatest mage? Because it’s natural for mere students like you to lose? …That doesn’t matter!”
Chancellor Tot raised his voice even further.
“Even if you know the opponent is stronger. Even if you know you will be defeated. You must not run away. Especially you—you must know this.”
Chancellor Tot slowly looked around, meeting the eyes of each cadet as if one by one.
“…Please, have courage.”
With those words, he descended from the stage and left.
Once the Chancellor’s figure disappeared, the delayed moderator clapped.
“…Now, let’s give a round of applause to Chancellor Tot for his wonderful speech!”
Immediately, the surroundings filled with applause, and the cadets smiled and chatted.
“Was the Chancellor’s acting always this good?”
“This semester’s opening ceremony is definitely different.”
“He was just trying to teach us not to run away without fighting, right?”
No.
It wasn’t some performance.
Nor was it merely to give a lesson.
‘He’s afraid.’
Chancellor Tot had grown anxious.
He wanted to make sure.
The dreadful calamities awaiting the cadets were beginning to bare their fangs.
He wanted to see if they were prepared to face them.
After Chancellor Tot left the auditorium, the ceremony proceeded in the usual fashion.
And right on cue.
“…And now, we express our gratitude to Professor Belzrover for his guidance so far.”
The moderator gestured toward a certain professor seated in the auditorium.
That hand was pointing exactly at the one I had been watching from earlier.
“Taking over from Professor Belzrover, we welcome the new professor of the Dark Attribute, Hilda Annebrier.”
At the far-right seat on the grand auditorium stage.
A woman with long black hair covering one eye stood up, holding a microphone.
Her overall impression was one of gentleness.
“It is an honor to stand here in place of Professor Belzrover, cadets.”
With a bright smile, she bowed her head, and the cadets clapped.
Amid that thunderous applause.
My eyes met Hilda’s once more.