Proofreader: Future Me

Fen Castelle was a tragic character. Especially with his past haunting him at every turn, having been revealed as soon as the last day of his introductory week.

It’s what I was currently afraid of; having to deal with his past along with the other protagonist’s encounters. Although, I doubt Serina will encounter anything.

And it wouldn’t end with just this…

I only had information from the first week regarding all the protagonists besides Serina’s. I knew the general plotlines of the other good endings, but that was it.

“Hah, where’s Julia when you need her?” I missed her cute remarks and high noble act.

I at least came up with a somewhat feasible plan…

To leave it all alone!

That’s right, I’ll only intervene if something goes out of whack. From what I’ve seen, they’re just as capable as the in-game variants of themselves. Minus the rose-filled adolescence potentially ruining their lives.

Ah, that’s right… such a thing was my initial goal.

‘Destroying the Romance,’ would step up again during the following weeks. I inadvertently crushed most of the events in the first week, however the increase of characters would push me over the edge trying to observe everything.

It’s like I needed more eyes…

More eyes?

Eyes- hmmm…

Outer Eyes, it was plural.

Maybe I could somehow increase my eyes?

[Outer Eyes (Z) (5% Proficiency)]

* Can see the truths of the world.

* Can view information on targeted items without an appraisal stone.

* To view information on yourself and others, an appraisal stone is required.

* One appraisal stone is to be provided to the owner of this skill, once per day.

* These appraisal stones will grow in quality as the owner of this skill improves.

It didn’t mention my ability to memorise and create mental images of creatures or movements. Possibly, I could recreate such an idea. It felt like a stretch, but I could at least give it a go.

I attempted to move mana in my body, not according to magic formulae or arithmetic, but to how I felt.

Activate my Outer Eyes skill… then manifest through mana.

In my hands, a spherical shape began to form, but it eventually faltered joining the forces of nature.

Bump.

“Are you awake?” Another student hit my shoulder, “You’re standing in the middle of the hallway. The assembly’s in the gym, hurry up.”

His curly brown hair made me want to rip it out. I was so close to raising my fist in retaliation.

I almost realised something essential, but now I’ve lost it.

Wait… brown curly hair, slouched shoulders, a nerd, and annoying? It was him! Percy was supposed to be in the Golden Nest.

“Did you hear me?” His voice reverberated in my ear.

“Yeah I did, so shut the fu-“ I covered my mouth.

Whoops, I lost my temper for a moment.

He clicked his tongue. “You’re a student of The Heroes Garden, act like it.”

Wow, just wow. Even I could fold him right now, weak as I am. Averaging five in every stat but mana was crazy. But if there was a stat for academic intelligence, his would probably soar past the thousands.

“Sure, buddy,” I shrugged.

Unfortunately, the knowledge of how to reach the assembly hall was still lost to me. I followed his steps, reaching the central piece of the academy. The Assembly Hall.

It was different from the place we had gathered from the exam, as its looks were infinitely more luxurious. The place was graced with decorations of orichalcum chandeliers, sol-mana-charged lighting, and paintings of past heroic figures.

More of a museum than a gathering hub in my opinion.

“Here we are, and go to your class,” Percy continued to offer politeness. “The Golden Nest’s students are about to present.”

He opened the doors, showing me the result of a weekday at Shibuya crossing. It was filled…

“Wait- we had to present something?” I realised, looking at the countless heads.

“Haha. What a joke,” He laughed looking down at me. “You- in the class of the elites chosen by Abel?”

…

One day. Just wait… one day I’ll get you. Being mocked by anyone else was one thing, but Percy? I would not let that slide.

“Yeah, I’m quite the funny one aren’t I?” I held in my resentment.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Indeed, rather than a potential hero, you’d be fit for a jester at the empire’s court,” He snickered without caring to hide it.

Yup, it’s decided. There was no way I’d let him off the hook after that.

“Sure, sure…” I nodded with veins popping out of my forehead.

He walked off with a smirk on his face, seemingly satisfied with ‘schooling’ a delinquent. I could hear his whispers from here.

“Forget it,” I turned my head towards the stage.

Students lined up into rows, presumably by class. Professors littered the ends of the student files, which I had to sneak past by. According to the nerd, they should be behind stage right about now.

Magical lights floated atop the ceiling, flashing on as curtains were opened.

What was this? A theatre play?

“Today, as you all know, is the day of the traditional Dungeon Expedition!” Abel was front and centre, exclaiming into a microphone. “As a tradition held every year, it is now your turn.”

Yeah, it was made out of sound amplification spells, or something like that.

“So, I introduce your representatives! The Golden Nest, as well as some of my favourites,” He beckoned towards the side of himself.

A small crowd of students walked into view, my classmates… and even Julia-

Tsk.

Percy was there along with Alicia Einsberg. Two students who were originally within the Golden Nest. Both are equally annoying, although in different ways.

“Now, I present to you the head representative!”

Charles stepped forward as expected. It was the same at the game at least.

“Hello everyone, I am Charles von Garett. It is an honour to be chosen for this position. And while I am a prince, in this place I am no better than the rest of you,” He paused riling the audience. “We are heroes in the making, and I hope to be a comrade worthy for the rest of us.”

His words resonated with the cheers of the students. Somehow, with just three sentences he charmed the entire cohort. The girls especially…

Man, I forgot how handsome these guys were supposed to be.

Young love isn’t it just amazing? Wait- no I’m supposed to stop that. Not only are the protagonists at stake but the main cast too. That’s why I have been trying to interact with the others as much as possible while watching the protagonists at play. Or I tried to at the minimum…

“In my opinion, however, I believe there to be a student more deserving of this honour.” The speech had moved in a twisted direction. “They currently are not up on stage, so they must have been busy. Thus I must ask, Luke of the Golden Nest to take my wholehearted feelings of gratitude.”

Gratitude? We talked once. Wouldn’t your knight be better, or did he learn about what happened yesterday?

Wait, Fen told me something about a ‘present…’

He turned his head over to me, singling me out of the entire crowd.

“Please, come up and give your greetings,” He smiled enticing the crowd. However, to me, it was a devil’s invitation.

My lips twitched watching all my classmates turn towards me.

“Luke? Is he someone powerful?”

“That’s what the prince says.”

“Isn’t he quite average?”

“He doesn’t seem too strong either.”

Murmurs began to fill up the hero’s hall, along with a passage for me to the stage. It was like a certain religious event where an ocean was split in half.

“Alright then, if that’s what you want I’ll do it.” I hyped myself up, inching closer and closer to Charles.

He kept up his usual smirk, “Indeed, it is nice to see you up and healthy once again.”

He turned toward the students, “There was a terrorist attack yesterday, which this person had single-handedly prevented. Unfortunately, I am unable to make any further comments, but I wish you all to give him thanks for his hidden actions.”

A magical microphone found itself in my hands, as I received glares from both Percy and Luna.

Charles leaned into my ear, “Let’s see if your might is the same as your bite.”

The real demons were these guys, not the Demon King or his daughter, but the ringleaders of nobles.

Whew…

It has been a while since I stood in front of this many people. Not since I was student council president of my high school.

I began with a bow, “My name is Luke, and as you can tell I’m not the most charming person and neither am I the strongest. And per the prince’s words, I did dabble a bit in an incident unbeknownst to everyone here.

Despite that, I ask you all to treat me the same as of all you. No respect, no anything. As Charles said, I am no better than all of you.”

People began to listen in, with the previous conversations now ending.

“Today, as the Greatest Hero Abel has told us all, is the day of the Dungeon Expedition. This is why I must ask all of you to not engage in any spontaneous acts. Death is right around the corner in places like that, pestering, and joking, will kill us.”

The faces of the students hardened, while some looked at me in laughter.

“Romance in particular must not take place in such a battlefield.”

At that line, everyone burst into laughter.

“Romance?”

“What!? All this build-up for that!?”

“Bahahaha!”

“As if we’d try something like that!”

They all laughed, spitting in my face at the point of interpersonal relationships.

They still hadn’t realised the reality of this world.

“Ahem. Everyone, thank you for listening,” I coughed slightly. “I will now hand over the microphone to our headmaster.”

I stepped back into the entourage of my classmates, surrounded by smiles trying not to laugh. Although, there was a missing person, Serina.

Fen slapped my back, “You had me for a moment there, thought I was about to hear some sort of vital information.”

Even Mark commented, “Romance? You jest, as if I could care.”

I was forced to read your journals and even treaded your route once to receive a permanent buff across runs. You all became the equivalent of tier-three subs on that one streaming platform the moment you get a taste of love.

“I must admit, I didn’t know you had a talent as a stand-up comedian,” Erin patted my shoulder, with an unhinged smile.

Julia agreed, “Commoner, she’s right! Even I laughed!”

Uriel had a shy smile on her face, while Rodney was blatantly laughing with his eyes.

“Excuse me,” I felt a presence approaching me from behind.

Meeting their eyes I was met with an even more elegant appearance than the princess Luna. Such a gaze held an insight that most this age would not be able to have. Her sky-blue hair resonated with her pristine cyan eyes. Despite being much smaller than me, her aura of professionalism wasn’t affected.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before- unlike a certain someone,” She approached me leaving a backhanded comment toward Percy. “I am Alicia Einsberg from the North Republic.”

I almost doubted their existence since I arrived as they weren’t in the Golden Nest.

Still, meeting her now, put a dent in my plans.

“Thank you, students, please get into your assigned groups and find yourselves to the nearest teleporters.”

“Ah, it seems we’re out of time,” She smiled deviously, “Let us continue to talk at a later date.”

“I’m surprised she approached you like that,” Fen commented. “She’s known for selecting her ‘targets’ based on achievements.”

Yup, I now owned triple the worry I had from before.

“Wasn’t that the Alicia!?” Julia hopped around me, fangirling over the republican representative.

Yeah, thanks for the obvious.