Chapter 80

───────────

Episode 18 - Gate of Memory [1]

─────────────────────────────────

Time passed quickly, and the days went by normally.

Every day brought different classes; their difficulty increased and became more rigorous.

During the weekend, I went with Rinna to the orphanage where Astrid was staying.

After a few more days, the Mission Window finally appeared.

——————————

■| Chapter No. 1, Part Three: Fallen Maiden.

Category: Main Story.

Difficulty: ★★★★★

Description: It is the last week of February, and the cadets of Holy Academy experience the story of their fairy tale heroes for the first time. However, the villains somehow enter the Fallen Maiden’s Memory Gate. Be careful; if the Gate is destroyed, bad things could happen.

∆ Time Limit: None

∆ Reward: Coordinates of the "Armor of the End."

∆ Failure: Destruction of the Memory Gate.

∆ Status: In Progress.

—————————

’Armor of the End...’

After reading the reward for completing the Main Mission, I did not know what to say about it.

I knew nothing about that reward, and I certainly did not know what kind of armor it was.

In any case, something else I noticed was the increase in difficulty.

It had gone up by one star.

When you play with other characters, the difficulty of this Main Mission is normally the same as the other Main Missions.

Therefore, the increase in difficulty was unexpected, even if only slightly.

’The difficulty of the first part of Chapter two is also 5 stars.’

What I did not know was what had caused the difficulty to rise to 5 stars in this final part.

In any case, I simply shrugged.

I cannot change the difficulty, and I certainly do not care that much either.

’Maybe it’s because I plan to complete the Memory Gate and kill the villains at the same time.’

Once inside a Memory Gate, no one knows what happens in there, and no one can interfere.

Unless, of course, you are one of the Progenitors.

Anyway, Professor Ashly guided us to the Academy’s underground area.

The place we were heading to was the "Astral Library of Memories," where the search group and I had only seen the door before.

Not long afterward, we arrived at the location. Standing in front of the door was Director Bernice with her arms crossed.

Beside her stood a man, probably her assistant.

Director Bernice looked at all the cadets with a warm smile before saying,

"Today, you will have your first experience inside the story of a hero. You may choose any Gate you want."

The cadets’ eyes shone with excitement.

"Then I shall open the door to the Astral Library of Memories."

Director Bernice turned around and placed her hand on the door.

Within seconds, a faint clicking sound—one that only I could hear—came from the door.

The next moment, the door let out a soft creak and slowly began to open.

Director Bernice then turned back toward us with a smile on her face.

"Inside, I’ll explain a few rules, so go in and take a look, first-year cadets."

The director stepped aside to let the cadets enter. Guided in orderly rows by Professor Ashly, they soon began looking around.

Although I could not see the place, I still knew what it looked like from the game.

The interior was filled with enormous circular bookshelves. Even when looking up, it was impossible to see where any of them ended.

Books floated everywhere, along with candles drifting through the air and providing light.

The floor was made of dark wood. There were no tables or seats, nor any typical librarian or staff members present.

The place was empty, aside from the floating books and the towering shelves that were so tall no one understood why, considering the place was not far from the surface.

A bright, radiant white light made it impossible to see the ceiling and, naturally, the end of the bookshelves as well.

There were books that looked normal at first glance, but others were nothing like ordinary books.

Some were made of scales, bones, flesh, skin, leather, wood, metal, or glass.

They were books made from such strange materials that it was difficult to even understand what they were made of.

Even so, the sight had been impressive when seen through a PC screen in the game.

’My God, I really want to see this, but I’m blind.’

Everything I described was simply a memory of how that place looked.

In any case, the decoration was fairly simple: a few vases with flowers and aromatic plants, along with some cushions on the floor for sitting and small tables with empty cups.

At that moment, as I came back from my thoughts, Professor Ashly clapped her hands and said:

"Cadets, listen to the director’s explanation."

The cadets quickly tensed up and returned to their lines.

Director Bernice and her assistant stood at the front.

"All first-year students are present here, correct?"

The cadets nodded. All three first-year classes were present at that moment.

B-1, B-2, and B-3.

The director continued:

"Good, then I’ll explain the rules. The first and most important one: do not even think about tearing out any pages from the Memory Gates, understood?"

The cadets nodded with serious expressions.

"Second, do not attempt to take any Memory Gate with you. My assistant will inspect everyone once we leave this place."

Once again, the cadets nodded. Then Director Bernice continued:

"There are only two rules, but even if there are only two, you must be aware of the consequences of failing to follow them."

The cadets nodded.

"And now I will explain a few things. Every Memory Gate has a Danger Rating; it is divided into 5 Stars. One Star represents an easy difficulty, while a five-Star difficulty would be the most difficult."

"Each difficulty tells the story of heroes from different eras. A 5-Star difficulty would be the story, for example, of the Original Sage, a 10-Star mage who fought and protected the entire continent alone when the portal to the World of Abyss first appeared. You understand what I mean, right?"

The cadets nodded calmly, aware of the meaning behind her words.

"The higher the difficulty, the greater the chances of failure, since those stories show the moments when these heroes were close to death, which makes them harder to complete."

"And lastly, when you enter a Memory Gate, do not be surprised by the holographic screen that will appear before you. It will show you the progress of the prologue, Chapters, and epilogue. In addition, for those Memory Gates that have already been completed, you may choose which Chapter of the story to enter or even go directly to the end. That is all."

After her explanation, Director Bernice moved her hand in a gesture that meant we could move.

The cadets quickly looked around before finally beginning to move, approaching each bookshelf or observing the floating books.

At that moment, Director Bernice’s assistant said,

"You don’t necessarily have to search for the books. Just think of the hero’s name, and the book will come to you."

At those words, the cadets paused for a second before nodding.

Shortly afterward, some cadets began to murmur while others simply remained silent.

Then, suddenly, a dozen books flew into their hands.

Some looked at the books with great excitement, while others showed clear satisfaction.

Meanwhile, beside Rinna, Veronica, and Diana, I thought of a single phrase.

’Fallen Maiden.’

Within a few seconds, a book came flying down from the top of one of the shelves.

Its cover was smooth and made of obsidian or some similar material.

Five Stars were engraved on the cover; it was, of course, a maximum-difficulty Memory Gate.

’I don’t know how the villains entered this Memory Gate, but they’re most likely already inside.’

They did not enter through consciousness; their physical bodies literally entered the story.

Although, if you enter through consciousness and die inside the story, you do not die out here.

Dying, however, means falling into a coma for who knows how long.

And if you enter with your physical body, then you obviously die for real.

’When you enter through consciousness, your body naturally remains outside, so this was the only option the villains had to get inside.’

Anyway, with the book in my hands, I briefly turned toward the group beside me and said,

"So in the end, none of you are coming with me."

The three girls already had their books in their hands.

Diana and Rinna were going to enter with me at first, but later they decided not to.

I didn’t ask why, so I simply shrugged.

"Well, older brother told me not to interfere, so I’m fulfilling my role."

Focusing on Veronica and listening to her words, I nodded.

That was the warning I gave her back then: do not interfere in the Main Missions.

I don’t know what Veronica would do, so it’s better to enter alone than go with her.

’Anyway, I was planning to enter alone from the start, so nothing changes.’

Shaking my head, I looked for one of the cushions on the floor and sat down there, holding the book in my hands.

And just as I was settling onto the cushion, I suddenly heard footsteps and raised my head.

Charlotte was standing in front of me with her arms crossed.

’You’ve got to be kidding me, right?’

I drew a faint smile as I asked,

"Do you need something?"

Charlotte stared at me for a few seconds before speaking.

"I’ll go with you."

That was all she said. Then she sat down beside me, crossed her legs, and then crossed her arms. She wasn’t looking at me, but at the book.

"Fallen Maiden... are you really going to enter that story?"

"Yes. Why do you ask? If you don’t want to, then just leave."

She let out a faint sigh and shook her head.

"No, I’ll go with you. It’s my decision."

"And may I know why?"

"I know that you know the reason, so don’t ask."

I briefly shrugged after hearing Charlotte’s answer. Then I smiled without saying anything and focused once again on the book in my hands.