“First of all, since this selection match is a rematch, the preliminary round will be skipped, and we will proceed directly to the main tournament.”
“……”
“The main tournament will follow the traditional tournament format, and the group draw will begin after a short break.”
At least, the preliminary briefing for the promising candidates’ selection match was conducted without any further incidents.
“…They’re forfeiting now? Those three?”
“Honestly, I had half given up, but if those three forfeit, we might have a chance…”
“No, more importantly… I didn’t know they could even talk…”
However, the real problem was that the atmosphere, which should have been solemn, was chaotic from start to finish.
“Uh… then, let’s take a short break.”
“Robin, Charlie, Hayden, follow me for a moment.”
The faculty members, sensing the turbulence, even declared an unscheduled break in an effort to control the situation.
“Not one of them is following.”
“……”
“Seriously, these guys…”
But when the three responsible for the atmosphere stood silently in place despite the teacher’s words, even the murmuring students fell silent, holding their breath to observe the situation.
‘What the hell is going on all of a sudden?’
Amid this ominous atmosphere, I stood beside Meredia with an awkward smile, also holding my breath and observing while muttering inwardly.
‘Why, of all people, are those three forfeiting?’
Robin, who possesses overwhelming skill in swordsmanship, archery, and marksmanship.
Charlie, who has unmatched intelligence and magical talent.
And Hayden, an extremely well-balanced fighter capable of performing above average in any technique.
The three of them were essentially responsible for the self-balancing patch in Black Tail Fantasy 3, and the clear rate when selecting them was higher than that of all other characters combined.
If one of them became the hero, I could entrust the Saint to them without worry and focus on my own tasks.
‘Should I try to stop them?’
For the sake of my future convenience, I considered whether I should swallow my pride and cling to their legs to stop them.
“Excuse me, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to speak with Sir Whitney.”
“What?”
Even in front of the intimidating lead faculty member, Hayden, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke my name.
“I’d like to ask as well.”
“Me too.”
Then, the next moment, Robin and Charlie, standing beside him, also raised their hands in agreement.
‘Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?’
For a moment, I entertained such a ridiculous thought, but soon I noticed that all eyes were on me.
I awkwardly smiled and shrank back under the scrutiny.
I had lived my life avoiding people’s attention, so I had absolutely no tolerance for being the center of it.
“Why Sir Whitney, of all people?”
“……”
“…For god’s sake, why do you guys always stop mid-sentence?”
Still, I couldn’t just stand by and act like a social outcast in a situation like this.
“Please calm down, professor.”
“Ah, Sir Whitney.”
“I’ll speak with them.”
“Haha…”
Since this involved the fate of the world, I had to grit my teeth and endure the discomfort of being the center of attention.
“…Understood. Then, please come with me.”
“We’d like to speak with Sir Whitney alone.”
“Me too.”
“Me as well.”
Though I had resolved myself to face this, when all three students turned their gazes to me and spoke in unison, I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious.
“…Is this your plan?”
“How could it be?”
Meredia shot me a suspicious look, but I honestly had no idea why these students were doing this.
“Sir Whitney, I hope our students are not troubling you…”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll at least hear them out.”
“……Then, I leave it to you.”
Seeing the earnest expression of the overseeing teacher, I felt that, whatever this was about, I had to make an effort to convince them.
“All three of you, follow me.”
“Haha, I’ll take that as your agreement.”
Gesturing for the students to follow, I stepped outside the waiting room, and they quietly trailed behind me.
“I’m sure this is all part of the plan too…”
“If they keep treating Sir Whitney so coldly, they’ll regret it someday.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sigh… Cecil, there are things that only adults understand.”
“Excuse me? Adele and I are both first-year students.”
As I passed by Cecil and Adele, their conversation caught my attention, but I had no time to dwell on it.
“…Alright then.”
In any case, I finally stepped out of the chaotic atmosphere, intending to scold the three students who had just caused a stir.
“Shh.”
“Huh?”
Hayden, who was right behind me, suddenly pressed a finger to his lips with a pale expression.
His urgent demeanor made me instinctively fall silent.
‘Is he telling me to follow?’
As he gestured quietly and started walking with the other two, I hesitated for a moment before following them.
*****
How long had we walked?
“…This place?”
We had arrived at a storage room on the outer edge of the academy’s main building, not far from the waiting area.
“Are we supposed to go inside…?”
—…
“…Hmm.”
The three students stood in front of the room, staring at me.
I looked at them questioningly, and when they silently nodded, I hesitated but then stepped forward.
—Creak…
Grabbing the slightly rusted doorknob, I twisted it open without much thought.
‘…Huh?’
Suddenly, a chilling sensation ran down my spine, and an eerily familiar sense of discomfort enveloped me.
‘This… is black magic?’
The air inside the storage room reeked of the same black magic I had felt inside the dungeon during the midterms.
“What the…”
Startled, I tried to summon my white magic.
—Whoosh…
“Ah!”
But before I could react, someone suddenly shoved me from behind.
Caught off guard, I stumbled into the open doorway.
And then, a terrifying silence followed.
“…Hah.”
Scanning my surroundings in the eerie stillness, I suddenly froze.
I let out a dry chuckle at the unexpected sight before me.
“This… I didn’t see coming.”
Right there, inside the storage room, Robin, Charlie, and Hayden—the very three who had supposedly led me here—were tied to pillars, unconscious.
“…Then, who were the students who brought me here?”
As I stared at their miserable state, a chilling realization dawned on me.
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Ugh, mmph!”
Then, from beneath me, a muffled voice struggled for air.
“Mmmp!”
“……!”
Feeling a chill run down my spine, I lowered my gaze and instinctively took a step back when I saw a female teacher writhing on the floor with a gag in her mouth.
“Rebecca…?”
“Mmmpf….”
The woman I had once used as a pawn to uncover the black mages’ plans a few days ago was now looking up at me with terror-stricken eyes.
“Why are you here…?”
“Mmph! Mmmhh!”
Just as my mind was starting to go blank from the series of unexpected events, her pupils suddenly dilated.
— Ssssshhh…
In an instant, her eyes became bloodshot, and black smoke began to rise from her mouth.
“This is…”
It was eerily similar to the strange symptoms that had appeared in the black mage who had cursed my teacup on the day I regained my past life’s memories.
‘I need to get out of here.’
An intense feeling told me that I should not stay here any longer, so I turned to leave.
“…Hmm, I guess that won’t be possible.”
However, the three students—no, whatever was in their form—were already blocking the door, making it clear that leaving without a fight was impossible.
“Those children… I personally created them as doppelgängers.”
“…?”
“Not just them, but there are countless others like them scattered across the world.”
Suddenly, a voice filled with amusement came from behind me.
“This is our first time meeting face to face, isn’t it?”
Rebecca, now standing freely as if the ropes that had bound her had never existed, spoke as though she were a completely different person.
“…Wait a second.”
I was briefly stunned, but then I noticed something different about her.
“Your eyes… they’ve turned black.”
“Hmm?”
When black mages use black magic, their pupils occasionally turn black.
But in her case, even the whites of her eyes had turned pitch-black, resembling an inverse pupil.
Her originally red irises had lost their luster, becoming dull and lifeless, triggering a memory buried deep in my mind.
‘They look just like the final boss version of Meredia’s eyes.’
Both I and other players had simply considered it a mark of corruption.
But seeing something so similar in reality made it hard to believe it was just a coincidence.
“Who are you?”
“…I thought you already knew.”
Forcing myself to calm my racing heart, I asked the question.
“I am the Great Shadow.”
“…?”
“That should be enough of an explanation, shouldn’t it?”
Hearing those words, I almost groaned out loud.
‘The biggest MacGuffin of the story just suddenly appearing like this is totally unfair.’
I wanted to deny it, but doing so would be nothing more than escapism.
“You’re a white mage, so I don’t need to prove it to you.”
“…Haha.”
The black magic swirling in the storage room was on an entirely different level from any black mage or monster I had encountered before.
“I don’t know how you managed to deceive the black mages, but I was quite impressed that you even impersonated me.”
“……”
“But you should have known that my eyes and ears reach every black mage in the world.”
And from the sheer killing intent emanating from her, it was clear that she intended to eliminate me right here.
“Well then, enough small talk. Let’s get to the main point.”
As I swallowed dryly and bit my lip, she suddenly said something unexpected.
“Would you like to become my shadow warrior?”
“…What?”
At first, I thought she was just toying with her prey before finishing me off.
But that wasn’t it.
“Quite literally, I want you to be my double.”
“Uh…….”
“I can turn your lies into reality.”
She had closed the distance without me realizing it, taking my hand and lightly tapping my soul as if knocking on a door.
“…What do you think?”
In other words, she was asking me to form a pact, similar to the one Runiel had proposed.
“Uh, well….”
Of course, at this point, I thought my plans were completely ruined, and all I could do was ask the obvious question.
“Why me, of all people?”
Then, leaning in close, her face filled with dark energy, she gave a chilling smile and whispered in an eerie voice.
“…Because your looks are exactly my type.”
“Haha….”
If I survive this, I seriously need to consider getting plastic surgery.
*****
‘Good thing I interfered back then.’
While Whitney was sweating bullets and seriously contemplating his cursed appearance…
‘I almost missed out on such a rare gem…’
The so-called “Great Shadow,” who was staring at him, grinned wickedly, unable to hide her excitement as she continued to poke at Whitney’s soul.
‘I have to make him mine… somehow.’
More precisely, she wasn’t looking at him—she was staring at the strange gray energy clinging to his soul.
Cliche Novel 
… 😔
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