How much time had passed?
Long enough that my senses had grown hazy.
Following the guidance of Rosuka's secret tome, I had shattered my existing Circles and built up an entirely different kind of 'star.'
Thump….
The moment that final pulse settled into place, a faint tremor rippled through my entire body.
I held my breath and carefully turned my gaze inward.
[Ink Star (Muksong) — 0th Star]
An ink-dark star scattered its brilliant light.
I clenched my fist.
I did it!
[Your Circle shatters, and all Mana is lost.]
[You have acquired a Hidden Skill. Mana +5.]
[Strength +2.]
[Stamina +2.]
[Agility +2.]
[Mana +10.]
I read through each line floating before my eyes one by one, then let out a long, slow breath.
Every stat had risen evenly.
《Matyos Binna Moretti》
◆
Age · Gender: 16 — Male
Height · Weight: 159.4 cm — 46.1 kg
◆ Traits
[Ink Star — 0th Star] [Moretti Collateral Line] [Exceptional Marksmanship]
◆ Stats
Strength [7](+2) Agility [9](+2) Stamina [6](+2) Mana [15](+15)
I stared blankly at the Status Window for a moment — then my gaze snagged on the height entry.
'I got taller too?'
I jumped to my feet and paced around the room. I leaned against the wall for no particular reason, rose onto my toes, then lowered myself back down.
One centimeter. Barely perceptible.
But it was definitely there.
I grew!
'160 is right around the corner…!'
All those years of being treated like a baby by my sister.
People who haven't lived it don't understand.
The quiet sorrow of the vertically challenged.
'That's right, that's right — from here on out, it's a growth spurt.'
Seventeen. Prime growing age.
"Heh heh…."
I'd gotten a Hidden Skill, and I'd gotten taller.
The corners of my mouth lifted on their own.
The biggest hurdle was behind me. I could afford to breathe a little now —
The moment I thought that, something unpleasant grazed the back of my mind.
'…Hm?'
I looked more carefully at the skill.
[Ink Star — 0th Star]
'0th Star?'
Not the 1st Star — the 0th?
What kind of half-baked rank is this.
I turned my gaze inward again.
The ink-dark star floated there.
No… could I even call that a star?
Up close, it was embarrassingly small to be called one.
It trembled faintly — a tiny, quivering flutter, blinking like something breathing. Like a newborn.
Flinch!
Our eyes met.
Perhaps sensing me watching, the baby star startled violently and began scrambling to flee. Not that there was anywhere to flee to.
I watched it for a moment in blank silence, then pressed my fingers to my forehead.
'…This wasn't in the script.'
In the game, reaching the 1st Star had been effortless.
But what was this?
The 0th Star.
The 0th Star!
I immediately drew my mana together.
Tremble…!
The fleeing baby star shuddered and released a puff of mana.
A pathetically tiny wisp of it gathered in my palm.
'Oh, for the love of — is this really how it's supposed to work?'
Quality over quantity was one thing, but this was too much.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I picked up Rosuka's Epic again. There might be something written in it for exactly this kind of situation.
—[The Ink Star does not belong to the ordinary Circle system. Nor is it the Mana Core used by knights. It runs about wildly, like a small child. Tend to it as you would your own child. Honestly, it's rather adorable. That is precisely why I never raised children.]
'What on earth are you on about, O Great Hero.'
This was not the hero I had imagined.
I read on regardless.
—[You likely think I am speaking nonsense. But this is of the utmost importance. If you raise that child well, it will become your most trustworthy and powerful ally. If you do not, it will become a feeble delinquent.]
So in short —
'Raise it properly on your own. That's what you're saying.'
It was a level of detail that had never appeared in the game.
The advice to raise the Ink Star like an infant was dubious, to say the least — but if the technique's very creator said so, what choice did I have? I'd have to do it.
—[The Mana held within the Ink Star is formidable. If your body is weak, using that Mana will place a tremendous burden upon you. If your flesh is not stronger than steel, place limits on your Mana usage.]
—[Seven-tenths. Use no more than seven-tenths of your total Mana. Do not exceed that limit under any circumstances. Should you surpass it, your skin will melt first, then your muscles and bones, and finally your organs and heart will dissolve away.]
A terrifying restriction.
Use more than 70% of your Mana and your body melts. In other words — you die.
'But the payoff is worth it.'
The reason the Ink Star was considered the top-tier mana cultivation method wasn't complicated.
Its utility and offensive power were overwhelmingly superior.
Of all the builds, 'Ink Star' had the highest ceiling.
The downside was a smaller mana pool, but compared to the advantages, it was a minor inconvenience.
'It's also the build I've put the most hours into.'
I knew several growth routes built around the Ink Star. It was the build I was most confident in.
'I just didn't expect the 0th Star.'
A variable — but a problem I could solve step by step.
'I'll need to go to the Thorn Forest.'
Rosuka had a close friend.
The one who had helped him leave this book behind was that very 'friend.'
And the Thorn Forest was where that friend resided.
If it was Rosuka's friend, they would help me grow.
'The Thorn Forest is accessible through a class anyway… and tomorrow is the first lecture.'
I had sworn not to get involved in the story. I had been absolutely certain of that.
To leave the original's flow untouched and live as nothing more than a background figure.
But reality always laughs at plans.
Life doesn't follow a script from the start, and it's rare for an initial plan to hold perfectly to the very end.
When circumstances change, people have to change with them.
I slowly steadied my breathing and sat on the edge of the bed.
I stared at the floor for no reason, then rubbed my forehead with the back of my hand.
'Can't be helped.'
Since I'd already set foot in the academy, there was no point enduring it with a scowl.
I decided to force a change in perspective. Positive. At least on the surface.
'Do my best from where I stand.'
Nothing grand about it.
Just four years. I only had to get through that time safely. Graduate without incident, without drawing attention — and that would be the end of it.
'After graduation….'
The moment my thoughts reached that point, my mind went blank.
I had never pictured the future. I'd been too busy scrambling to keep up with each day as it came.
If I tried to imagine it —
'I'll just laze around, eat well, and live an ordinary life.'
The family line would pass to my sister, and I'd enjoy a leisurely noble's life on whatever assets remained.
A life with no responsibilities whatsoever.
'Either way, Sister will manage perfectly fine without me…'
It was precisely at that thought that something struck hard inside my head.
A memory I had been deliberately pushing away surfaced without warning.
More precisely — a fact I had been trying not to remember.
In the original story, my sister had committed terrible deeds.
Terrible, terrible deeds.
She had trampled countless people for her own gain, and those crimes were eventually laid bare before the world.
She stood trial. She was sentenced to the guillotine.
Her neck was placed on the block.
A great blade fell.
And then.
"….."
Matyos's body went rigid.
It played out vividly before his eyes. The scene of Ofilienne's head being severed.
She was a villain beyond any doubt, and her end was death.
Her crimes were clearly deserving of it.
His breath caught hard.
It felt as though someone had seized his throat and was squeezing.
Why am I like this.
Why do I feel this way.
His chest felt tight. Even when he breathed in, the air didn't seem to reach him properly.
'She's a villainess. She deserves to die.'
That was right. That was how it should be.
His head was telling him exactly that.
Matyos gripped his sleeve tightly. Hard enough that the tendons stood out across the back of his hand.
And yet.
'…She hasn't committed any crimes yet.'
Not yet.
Not a single crime yet.
The Ofilienne of right now had not yet reached that point.
'…Ugh, I don't know.'
Once that thought surfaced, he couldn't follow it any further.
Matyos muttered something like resignation and threw himself onto the bed.
The blanket thudded dully beneath him.
He didn't want to think about that kind of future right now.
His mind was overheating. Too many thoughts.
'The first lecture tomorrow is swordsmanship, isn't it….'
That'll be exhausting.
I'll sleep soundly and recover my stamina….
Ding!
Still lying face-down, a sudden vibration buzzed at his wrist.
It was the state-of-the-art watch issued at the academy's entrance ceremony. The thing they claimed was the pinnacle of magitech engineering.
'Who's sending a message at this hour of the night….'
Muttering curses at whoever had no sense of decency, he activated the watch.
Tiana (Sis): Today's the first swordsmanship lecture~ So excited! Are you up yet? (6:20)
It was Tiana.
They had exchanged contact information during Vice-Chancellor Rudolf's tedious entrance speech.
But why at this late hour?
And what did 'are you up yet' mean?
It was the middle of the night.
…The middle of the night?
'…Huh?'
6:20?
Something was off about the time.
He shot upright.
Tiana (Sis): We're heading over first (7:31)
Tiana (Sis): Mati, where are you? Are you awake? (8:00)
Tiana (Sis): We're in the lecture hall, hurry up! (8:30)
Tiana (Sis): Mati! Did you not wake up!?
Tiana (Sis): Mati? Mati!!
After that, an avalanche of messages from Tiana had piled up. She was practically wailing through the watch.
I pulled back the curtain.
Tweet, tweet!
Warm sunlight and the sweet song of sparrows drifted in pleasantly.
I checked the time.
10:34.
An entire day had passed right through me.
"Oh."
I'd been late to the very first lecture.