SRS 123

“Do you have nothing better to do?”

The headmaster’s position didn’t seem that idle, so Yohan thought he was wasting time in a rather colorful variety of ways. Clicking his tongue, Yohan examined other books. However, perhaps because the edges were glittering, his eyes frequently drifted back to the book written by the headmaster.

“Hmm….”

It was still a book written by a god. According to the temple’s logic, it was a book close to being a scripture. The glowing edges were quite suspicious, and he felt it was worth checking at least once. Yohan slithered back toward the golden book and eventually pulled out the headmaster’s book again, which had a blank spine.

As he opened the first page, he saw a list of praises disguised as an introduction of the author. Yohan flipped through the pages quickly.

The book started immediately without a table of contents, and the introduction explained how perfect a being the headmaster was. Yohan flipped the pages quickly again.

He spent a good while flipping through pages that long-windedly detailed the headmaster’s life, how he happened to make potions, and his motivation for deciding to release this book. Finally, Yohan found a paragraph that caught his eye.

[In other words, a potion made by a perfect being is a potion that 100% satisfies the requirements desired during its creation. If you happened to find this book, you must have wanted to make a perfect potion that satisfies certain conditions. Luck is with the one who found this book! Think about what kind of potion you want to make and offer three bows toward the book. The recipe for the potion you wish to create will appear below.]

The text written on the unusually blank page triggered doubt and belief at the same time. Yohan closed his eyes while stroking the book. Since the divine power felt from the book was great, it didn’t seem like total nonsense.

“What is it, Yohan? Did you find something?”

When Yohan stood still in one spot for a while, Suhyeok, who was busily moving between various bookshelves, stopped and walked over to the shelf where Yohan stood. Sticking his head out right next to him, he checked the book in Yohan’s hand together and looked confused.

“What? Why are you looking at a page where nothing’s written?”

“Huh?”

Nothing was written?

Startled, Yohan looked at the book again. However, the sentences in the book were still clear in Yohan’s eyes.

“…But I can see it.”

“Really? Then maybe it only appears if you touch the book.”

Suhyeok said and grabbed the book, but nothing changed. Yohan looked for Mikael.

“Did you call?”

As soon as his name was mentioned, Mikael appeared like a ghost and examined the book after hearing Yohan’s request.

“Hmm. I can see it. It seems it’s based on whether you possess divine power or not.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Eh? Mikael’s a mage, though.”

“…….”

Oops.

Yohan, who was wearing a bright expression after realizing the logic, turned serious again. The two students with light hair color shut their mouths and fell silent at the same time. Suhyeok tilted his head. To prevent the silence from lasting too long, Yohan quickly opened his mouth.

“That’s true, but I heard that being a mage doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have inherent divine power. Besides, Mikael’s a being that griffins like. It’s possible he has some.”

“Aha.”

“Since Mikael says he can see it, I don’t think this book is a fake. Since it won’t be visible to you and Kylus, I’ll read the sentences in the book to you.”

Yohan sweated profusely as he changed the subject before Suhyeok could have other doubts.

They called Kylus over and huddled together in a corner of the library. As Yohan explained the book’s contents, they wore worried expressions. However, they didn’t hesitate for long.

“Ugh…. Bowing to the headmaster feels quite unpleasant, but it’s not like he’s telling us to use some weird spell, he’s just asking for a bow, so isn’t it doable? Anyway, it’s a win if we get something out of it.”

“…I agree. But I won’t participate in the bowing.”

“What do you mean, Kylus?”

“A great knight doesn’t kneel… mmph.”

His mouth was quickly covered by Suhyeok. Yohan turned to Mikael.

“My thoughts are similar to Suhyeok’s, but what do you think, Mikael?”

“…I think it’s worth a try. However, I’m worried that the divine power dwelling in the book seems too great.”

“As I thought, right?”

It was a point Yohan was also concerned about. While the divine power felt from the book guaranteed that its contents weren’t a lie, its density was so high that it made him worry if he should follow the book’s contents blindly. As Yohan stood at a crossroads and sighed, Suhyeok let go of Kylus and stepped back.

“Whatever it is, I’ll follow your judgment. You’re the expert on divine power. Your decision will be more correct than our judgment.”

The final decision-making power was handed to Yohan.

After careful consideration, Yohan opened the book and placed it on the windowsill.

“Let’s bow. Like Suhyeok said, it’s a win if we can get something. However, everyone, don’t let your guard down. Our opponent is the headmaster’s book.”

“We should think of the potion as an effect that removes fear, right?”

“Let’s be more specific. A potion that removes the fear of dragons. If we erase other fears too, Lord Gerog’s personal safety might be at risk.”

“Yes.”

They finished their coordination and stood straight facing the windowsill. After meeting each other’s eyes, Yohan knelt first, and the others knelt one after another. Yohan placed both hands in front of his forehead and leaned his upper body to look at the floor. It was right after he offered one bow and stood up to repeat the same bow two more times.

Flash!

The opened book floated into the air, and dozens of pages turned on their own.

Flip-flip-flip.

The moment their bodies froze at the mindless amount of divine power bursting out with enough momentum to blow up the library building, the light flowing from the book swallowed Yohan’s group.

Gulp. The book fell to the floor. The surrounding area was as silent as if nothing had happened.

“Aaaah! We’re faaaaalliiiiing!”

“Be quiet, Suhyeok.”

“Aw, why? I wanted to try something like this at least once.”

The two falling students bickered with each other without fail. In other words, it meant they had enough situational leeway to bicker.

It was a sudden spatial movement, but Yohan, who was falling with his back toward the ground, also lacked a sense of crisis. Although the distance from the ground was quite significant, as if they had fallen from a very high place, it didn’t seem like they’d fall to their deaths. It was because he had something to rely on.

The next moment, Yohan’s source of trust moved.

“Ha…. I felt like it might turn out like this.”

Mikael, who muttered as if he had predicted this moment, didn’t panic and cast flight magic on everyone. Thanks to that, Yohan, who was able to find his balance in mid-air, looked around. An unfamiliar world unfolded before his eyes.

High mountains and lakes, an aurora hanging in the sky, and dazzling petals.

It was a beautiful and wondrous sight.

However, the problem was that they were too big.

The size of the flowers and grass visible in his sight was as high as trees. Yohan, who guessed this place wasn’t Fantasiademia due to the extraordinary sizes that made it feel like they had come to a giant’s garden, clicked his tongue. He only hoped they hadn’t been dragged to another dimension.

Checking everywhere with a curious look, Yohan gathered with the others in the air.

“First, I think we should find a way to get out of here.”

“I just took a look around, and I didn’t see anything like an exit.”

“Then it’s highly likely a condition-satisfaction type maze.”

“Hmm…. Let’s change our goal. Instead of finding a way to leave this place, I need to know why we came here.”

They briefly shared opinions and landed on the floor. To know exactly what kind of place this was, there was a limit to just seeing it from the air.

“Wow, it’s even more daunting when you see it from below. Look at this, Yohan. The flower’s stem is as hard as a brick.”

Standing under a pink flower, Suhyeok marveled as he tapped the flower’s stem with the back of his hand. Yohan also touched a blade of grass and agreed. It was so thick and hard that it seemed fine to use as a substitute for a weapon.

“I think we’ll be exhausted if we try to walk through this whole place at our pace.”

Since it was a wide garden even at a glance, the worried students looked back at Mikael.

“Mikael. Is there something like giantization magic?”

“…I guess so?”

“Then if you use that magic…!”

“Listen until the end. There might be, but I don’t know how to use it. It’s a magic I’ve never learned.”

“Ah.”

Did it mean there was magic even Mikael, who’s taking first-year classes for the fourth time, didn’t know how to use?

Yohan was surprised in a slightly different sense than his friends and sought a solution.

“But isn’t something strange?”

Unlike usual, Suhyeok lowered his voice a bit and started with a serious face.

“What is it?”

“There are forests and lakes here. I see things like apple trees too. If so, there should essentially be animals that live by eating them, but I don’t see any traces of animals anywhere in the forest.”

“Ah.”

The surroundings were indeed eerily quiet. Silence in an unfamiliar place isn’t very welcome. Once he perceived the strangeness, his spine felt chilly, and he found himself using divine power.

It was at the very next moment.

A roar that shook heaven and earth covered the world.

“Waaaaah!”

They were immediately startled and quickly ran behind Yohan. The latter instinctively shielded them, checked the place where the sound came from, and opened his eyes wide.

“…A dragon?”

A huge dragon of a size that couldn’t be ignored was flying in the sky quite far away.