As soon as we entered the rift, the first thing I did was stop Alkiné, who was about to bolt out immediately.
“Let’s split up. I’ll go left, and you…”
“Wait a minute, President. We should stick together.”
Man, she’s so impatient. What am I supposed to do if she goes off alone like that?
“We need to clear this quickly, so isn’t it better to split up?”
“Normally, that would be the case. But not now.”
“Why not?”
“It’s hard to explain, just trust me for now.”
After saying that, I casually glanced around.
The inside of some massive cave. Light seeped in through cracks in the ceiling, so it wasn’t too dark. And… the path ahead split into two.
Ah, so that’s why she wanted to split up. If there are two paths, it makes sense to divide and conquer.
But there’s no need for that.
Didn’t I mention it before? This game has speedrunning.
Even distorted rifts can be cleared quickly if you figure out the rules, so imagine what a normal rift would be like. Sure, the maps are randomized based on the rift’s location, but… if you memorize them all, it’s no problem.
“Just trust me and follow.”
I came along to contribute, but what’s the point if I just get carried? Don’t underestimate the pride of an experienced player who needs to hear “Wow, you’re amazing” from a newbie.
This is the moment when the result of my relentless memorization of the Student Council rift maps shines.
…Actually, I was planning to keep the map memorization a secret and subtly boost my contribution, but this is an emergency.
I started running at full speed, even using dash cancels. Alkiné, who was keeping up with my pace, looked puzzled, but I had no way to explain, so I just stayed silent.
This map is one of the easiest among the ones I’ve memorized. It’s a maze-like rift with continuous forks, but like any maze, if you memorize the path, you can clear it faster than anyone else. Plus, the core’s location is fixed here, so I could move with even more confidence.
Starting from the entrance: left, right, right, left, right, left.
After that, if you hit a huge gate and the guardian is a Minotaur-type, it’s right, left, right, right, left, left, right, left, right, left. If it’s a Golem-type, it’s right, right, left, left, right, left, right, right, left, right.
This is the shortest route to the rift’s core.
You could take a different path, but as long as you avoid dead ends, you’ll eventually reach the core, though it’ll take a lot longer.
Honestly, the chance of finding the core by luck is practically zero.
…If I hadn’t memorized this, I’d be doomed to go berserk. The map selection is seriously brutal.
As we moved forward, monsters started appearing, but Alkiné took them out instantly as they approached, so we never had to stop.
With just a few swings of her mana sword, the monsters blocking our path were swept away like fallen leaves.
“It’s been a while since I’ve moved forward this smoothly.”
Alkiné looked incredibly refreshed as she said that.
Well, of course. She’s…
Even though he could solo the Rift, he’s only using his power to support the Student Council for their experience.
It’s probably been a while since he’s been this directly involved in the攻略.
Now that I think about it, it’s kind of unbalanced for him to do it alone.
The entire Student Council couldn’t even take on Alkiné alone. That’s honestly terrifying.
While thinking that, I kept running and suddenly arrived at a place with a huge gate.
And what appeared was… a Minotaur.
I didn’t even need to check what kind of creature it was.
“Grooargh.”
Alkiné sliced it up before it could even finish its roar.
Its massive body, easily over 5 meters tall, was cleanly split in half and sprawled on the ground.
…She’s ridiculously strong. At this point, isn’t she just cheating?
While I was marveling, Alkiné pointed at the huge gate and asked,
“What do we do about that?”
“Since we took out the gatekeeper, it should open soon.”
As soon as I said that, the closed gate began to open.
When the inside, which looked like a temple interior, was revealed, Alkiné frowned slightly and asked,
“Is it still far?”
“We’ve got a ways to go.”
“Hmm, really? For something like this, it seems pretty relaxed.”
Actually, it’s not relaxed—it’s more like resigned.
The Rift showed signs of going berserk, but there’s no telling how long it’ll take before it actually does.
It could happen right now, or it might stay like this for days.
If we’re really unlucky, it might explode right before we finish the攻略.
Knowing that, I’m focusing on what I can do now rather than being rushed by time… but there’s no way Alkiné would understand that.
“Let’s just hurry. That’s not what’s important right now, is it?”
I decided to just let it slide with that.
After moving forward for a while longer, we finally reached the last fork in the road.
If we go left here, we’ll arrive at the core.
But…
“Krrrruk! Krruk!”
A monster was blocking the path in that direction.
Its size suggested it wasn’t your average monster.
“Rudion, that’s…”
“Yeah, it’s a Giant Wyvern.”
If a regular wyvern is about the size of a car, this one was as big as a three-story building.
Because of that, the path was completely blocked.
“Want to try slicing it first?”
So I suggested that, but… it wasn’t a great choice.
*Ssshhhk-!*
Unlike the monsters we’ve faced so far, this one was incredibly tough.
Not that Alkiné’s attack was blocked, but… at least it wasn’t instantly killed like the others.
And even worse…
“It’s regenerating.”
“Seriously, it’s got everything.”
It had regeneration abilities, so it quickly returned to its original state.
Now we’ve just pissed it off for no reason.
“Krrrrruk!! Krruk!!!”
At this point, we have no choice but to fight it properly and take it down.
“President. You’re ready, right?”
“Of course. What should I do?”
But… Alkiné didn’t seem all that nervous for someone in this kind of situation.
In fact, her eyes were sparkling, and she looked quite happy.
Even if she tries to act refined, the blood of the North doesn’t just disappear.
But she’s handing over command to me so naturally… You’re the president, you know. This person.
Still, it’s better than having to attack while following Alkiné’s instructions.
“I’ll go and draw aggro. Focus on attacking its weak points. Oh, and since the space is narrow, you don’t need to target its wings.”
“Efficient.”
“We don’t have time to move inefficiently.”
The wyvern started charging, so we couldn’t continue the conversation.
Alkiné and I ran in opposite directions. I ran towards the wyvern, while she ran away.
The wyvern swung its sharp claws at me as I got closer, but I dodged it easily.
The next tail swipe was a parryable pattern, so I parried it.
*Clang!*
With the satisfying sound of a perfect parry, the wyvern’s body was slightly pushed back.
Its size kept it from falling over, but it created a brief opening.
Alkiné didn’t miss that opening.
*Crash!*
In an instant, she closed the distance and plunged her mana sword into the wyvern’s jaw, then started running along its body.
“Kieeeek!!!”
Even though it regenerated instantly with each slash, the wyvern let out a painful scream.
Even with its regeneration ability, it still feels pain, so the damage was steadily piling up.
Alkiné ignored its thrashing and kept running, slashing through its right flank and the center of its tail before finally stopping her attack and leaping back to create distance.
The giant wyvern’s weak points were its jaw, right flank, and the center of its tail… She attacked all three in one go as soon as she got the chance.
She’s really good at fighting. It’s the kind of movement you’d only see in cutscenes in-game, so it was even more impressive.
After repeating that about five times, the wyvern stopped moving.
“That ended more easily than I thought.”
Alkiné said that while looking at the dead wyvern, clicking her tongue in disappointment. How did she manage to hold back with how much she loves fighting?
There might be more monsters of a similar level around here… but we can’t afford to waste time on that right now.
Let’s save her battle cravings for later. Right now, dealing with the Rift comes first.
We need to hurry and destroy the core.
///
Walking through the forest behind the Student Council leads to the Rift’s origin point.
Even though the Rift looks like it could burst at any moment, it didn’t feel all that important right now.
The Rift or whatever, it felt like my insides were about to burst first.
“What the hell? What did that bastard do to make the president…”
Jang-i….”
From the very beginning, I didn’t like him.
She always asked for my opinion whenever she brought someone in, but this time, she brought him without a word, acting entirely on her own.
At the time, I didn’t want to go against her wishes, so I pretended it was nothing, but deep down, I was seething.
That’s why. That’s why I suggested letting him join the Rift mission.
To show that overconfident brat, who even beat Grain, a dose of reality, and to reduce the interest the Student Council President had in him.
I never dreamed she’d actually agree to it, though…
‘What a stupid move.’
I shouldn’t have made that suggestion.
No matter how much he struts around, he’s just a freshman who just entered the Academy.
To her, he’s probably not even worth the dirt under her fingernails. There’s no way she’d show him any special interest.
Even to me, who holds an important position in the Student Council, she doesn’t show much attention. There’s no way she’d care about some freshman.
That’s what I thought.
Until that guy was given the position of Secretary.
…What the hell? Why?
Honestly, thinking about it now, there’s no way she, who’s so kind, would allow someone to be put in danger.
I should’ve been suspicious the moment she agreed.
What did he do to make her show him such interest?
I don’t know. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out why she’s interested in him.
Why does that nobody get to steal her attention?
She’s mine. My Alkiné, who I’ve been with for three years at the Academy.
Our relationship isn’t something so shallow that some nobody could come between us.
That’s what I thought… so why is she choosing him over me?
Today’s no different. In this situation, she said the unthinkable—that she’d take him in, not me.
If it’s about strength, I’m stronger. If it’s about exploration, she could’ve taken Grain.
I couldn’t understand why she took him at all. Really, nothing made sense.
Where did it all go wrong?
Was it not stopping him from joining the Student Council?
Or was it pushing him to join the Rift mission to knock him down a peg?
I don’t know, and it’s eating me up inside.
But all I can do now is wait.
They’ve already gone into the Rift, and even if I jumped in now, there’s no way I could reach her.
All I can do is wait for it all to end, for her to return to me.
That’s what I’ve been holding onto. But what came back was nothing but betrayal.
“Whew, that was close. You okay, President?”
“…I’m watching, so put her down and talk.”
The Rift, which seemed like it would explode any second, vanished, and there she was, the one I’d been waiting for.
But… she was in his arms.
And it looked way too familiar.
The moment I saw that.
“…That damn bastard.”
Something in my head snapped.
