Chapter 6 – Before the Storm

Kara was still standing beside me, fiddling with her fingers. She seemed to feel guilty for ruining the “surprise” Professor Seraphine had prepared for me.

“Um, Professor. I admit, this is quite a surprise,” I said. At least I didn’t want the atmosphere in the room to remain gloomy.

Did her mood really change this easily? No, no. Besides, was that what a teacher should be like?

Oh my, is this how everyone on this research team is?

I paused for a moment. Honestly, I hadn't thought about being recruited by the research team. In the game, players are free to choose which class to focus on. There's witch, warrior, bard, healer, and so on. I myself chose warrior at the time, as it was arguably the most versatile class. But now, I was being invited to become an alchemist. That never crossed my mind.

But I was still curious about one thing.

“Hmm, wait, Professor. I have a question,” I said.

“Sure, what do you want to ask?”

I adjusted my seat. “Why me, Professor?”

“Uh.” Professor Seraphine looked confused by the sudden question. “Why you? Hmm, how should I explain it?”

I glanced at Kara. “If you’re having trouble explaining it, maybe I can ask something else. Why is Kara participating in your research?”

“Hey, why did you bring up my name?” Kara was surprised by my mention. But I didn’t mean to involve her. I needed an explanation for why I was recruited by the Alchemy team.

“Oh, that’s easy. Kara asked for it herself,” Professor Seraphine replied quickly.

“Uh.”

“Yes, really. If you don’t believe me, just ask Kara.”

I turned to Kara, hoping for an explanation.

Instead, she was just scratching her cheek. "Well, how should I explain it? You know that dwarves aren't very good at magic. That's why I was looking for another class. I didn't like being a warrior, so I decided to take alchemy," Kara explained.

Oh, so that's it. If that's the case, then my recruitment makes sense. I also have problems with mana and magic.

"Besides, who wants to lose in the Sparring next week?" Kara added.

"What? Sparring?" I asked, surprised. My tone of voice raised slightly without realizing it.

Kara was a little surprised. “Yes, a sparring match. Ah, you don't know because you rarely attend class. Earlier, Professor Cedric, the Battle Strategy teacher, explained it.”

Damn. I forgot about that event. Come to think of it, it was supposed to be sometime in the next few weeks.

I was wary of the sparring match because my magic skills were still minimal. In my condition, I could become a walking punching bag for the other students.

Besides, there was something else I was worried about. The sparring match was an event where players would face Sheela. During the sparring match, Sheela, who was in the middle of a duel, suddenly went berserk and destroyed the Training Hall. There, players, along with Van as their first party member, would have to stop Sheela.

If I still had my main character abilities, stopping Sheela wouldn't be a big deal. The problem was, I had no magic skills now. Forget about stopping Sheela, I couldn't even defend myself when Sheela went berserk.

I had to prepare myself.

“Prof, can I join the Alchemy research?” I asked. There was no other way. For people without magical abilities like Kara and me, alchemy is a great class for surviving in this academy.

Professor Seraphine's smile grew as she heard my request.

oOo

“You were invited to join the Alchemy research?” Van said, surprised.

We both sat down on our beds. I told Van about what happened this morning.

“Well, that’s it.”

“Thank goodness. I thought you were going to be lectured again. Hehehe.”

“Oh, let’s not talk about that,” I said fearfully. “Besides, where have you been all day? I wanted to tell you about this, but you just disappeared.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you wanted to tell me,” Van said. “If I did, you probably wouldn’t believe me.”

I looked at him suspiciously. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s nothing unusual.” Van adjusted his sitting position, his tail wagging behind him. “You know there’s a sparring match next week, right?”

I nodded. I’d heard about it from Kara. Why was Van bringing it up now?

“Well, Alya asked me to help her with her training,” Van said.

I frowned. “What? Alya asked you for help?”

“Yes, Alya asked me to accompany her to practice.”

What did I just hear? Why was Alya asking Van for help? Wasn’t Alya always approached by Sheela?

“I was confused at first too. I asked why she wasn’t with Sheela. Alya said Sheela was avoiding her,” Van explained as if reading my mind.

“Hmm, this is strange.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it? Why is Alya asking me for help? Are they having problems?”

“Well, as far as I can see, their relationship should be fine. Unless they’re fighting behind their backs,” I explained.

“But, can Alya get angry? As for Sheela, I’m sure she gets angry easily, but that’s with other people. There’s no way she could be angry with Alya.”

Van was right. Oh my, this was really complicated. I couldn’t keep an eye on Sheela. Hopefully, Sheela would go berserk on the day of the sparring match, not when I wasn’t ready.

“Hey, but you know, Nolan. Despite her appearance, Alya still can’t use magic,” Van said.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s like she’s never used magic before. She can’t cast spells, can’t gather mana, basically the very basics of magic.”

“What are you saying? Alya can’t use magic?” I asked, confused.

Van shook his head. "It's not that she can't. She has mana, but for some reason, she can't use magic yet."

I wiped my face. This wasn't all good news, or bad news. Could this game give me a break?

"So, Alya asked you for help learning basic magic?" I asked, making sure.

Van nodded. "That's surprising, isn't it."

No, no. That was more than surprising. This could be a disaster.

I took a deep breath. If all of Van's explanations were to be taken to heart, Sheela could have become the boss earlier. On the other hand, Van and I weren't ready to fight her yet. On the other hand, Alya, whom I'd hoped would overcome the game's storyline, couldn't use her magic.

Wait, why can't Alya use magic? Isn't she the main character? She should be able to use magic. Unlike me.

Wait, maybe she's the same as me.

I shuddered as I considered the possibility.

"Hey Van, can you help Alya?" I asked.

Van looked at me, confused. "Well, that's obvious. I don't want to see my friend get beaten up in the sparring match. But why are you asking me that?"

"It's nothing. I don't want to see Alya lose in the sparring match either," I lied. I actually didn't want to see Alya lose against Sheela later.

Van's mischievous smile spread. "Wow, looks like someone's worried..."

Plop. I threw a pillow right at Van's face.

oOo

The following days, the students in class were busy with their own preparations.

Kara and I went back and forth to the Alchemy lab, preparing equipment and potions for the practice matches. Van and Alya practiced in the field near the academy. I could tell because they were practicing near the Alchemy lab, so I sometimes peeked at their practice.

"Van's right," I said softly as I watched Alya practice.

Alya was thrown back several times because she couldn't focus her mana. She herself used a staff as a medium for her magic. According to Van's explanation, staffs are usually used by beginner mages. They're easier to use than wands. I don't know the details, but this is one of the things the game doesn't explain.

"Can you stand?" Van asked, extending his hand. He helped Alya back to her feet.

Alya nodded slowly. He took her hand.

"Just focus your mana on the staff. Feel the mana gathering. When you feel enough, start chanting," Van explained.

Alya nodded again. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and got into a stance.

"Just relax. I'll be watching you." Van smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

Alya smiled back. She was still exhausted from being knocked over so many times.

Alya began to concentrate. She gathered mana in her staff.

"Well, that's enough. Start chanting," Van said.

Alya followed Van's instructions. She chanted the spell. However, just as the magic began to take shape...

"Watch out," Van shouted.

Boom. The mana that in Alya's staff exploded. Alya was thrown. Again. Luckily, Van quickly caught her and stopped her from being thrown any further.

That must have hurt.

This was already Alya's third day of training with Van. She'd been knocked down that many times. As far as I could see, Alya hadn't shown much progress. But, this was from the perspective of someone who doesn't know magic. I don't know what Van, who at least understands the concepts of mana and magic, would think.

Seeing Alya's slow progress made me think about the main characters in this game. As far as I could remember, both Nolan and Alya could only master basic magic at the beginning of the game. Before entering the academy, they had a foster father who helped them train in magic. This foster father, along with the academy's founder, became a member of the hero party that defeated the Demon King.

Wait a minute. If Nolan and Alya had foster fathers, would we be siblings in this world? In the game, only Nolan or Alya had foster fathers. If we both appeared in this world, does that make us siblings?

However, Alya doesn't know Nolan's face in this world. So she probably doesn't know about this adoptive father, either. Or this sibling thing. So, who exactly is Alya? A native of this world? Or perhaps someone like me, who ended up in an isekai.

While thinking about that, I looked at Alya, who was now gathering mana in her staff again.

"If that's the case, why does Alya have all those powers? Why do all four elemental attributes belong to Alya?" I was starting to get frustrated with my own thoughts. "Could it be that the reason I can't use magic is because Alya took it all from me?"

I clenched my fists.

If that's true, why?

Why does someone who doesn't know the storyline of this world have those powers? Why does someone who even has trouble using magic have them?

I punched the wall hard.

"Hey, Nolan! What's wrong with you?"

Kara's shout interrupted my thoughts. I turned to Kara, who was now standing there, staring at me in confusion. Her hands, which had been busy fiddling with the lab equipment, had stopped.

I felt awkward. Why did I get carried away by my emotions?

"Ah, sorry. I was just venting my frustration."

Kara probed suspiciously. "If you're so upset, why don't you just help me? You said you wanted to make a tool so you could win the upcoming sparring match."

Ugh, for some reason, Kara's words pierced my heart.

"Come here, hurry. I'll help you when mine's finished," Kara continued.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, dragging my feet toward Kara.

oOo

In a room, unbeknownst to me, Sheela sat alone on the bed.

She was opening letters from her family. Sheela was the princess of the Elven kingdom. Her father, the king of the Elves, had sent Sheela to showcase the Elves' power to the other races.

"Don't embarrass the Elves." That was her father's message before Sheela entered the academy.

"Of course, Father. I will prove that Elves are the strongest race in magic," Sheela said confidently.

At least, that's what she had always believed. Before entering the academy.

However, when she arrived at the academy and saw Alya, who possessed four elemental attributes, doubts began to grow within her. "Even among the Elves, it's rare to find someone with three elemental attributes," Sheela said, half-amazed.

Alya piqued her curiosity. Luckily, they shared a room. Even better, Alya was a sociable person. She was friendly to everyone. Without Sheela realizing it, her curiosity had changed. She wanted Alya by her side at all times.

That's when Van and I appeared. Someone who didn't even possess magical abilities wanted to approach Alya. "Who is this insolent person who wants to approach Alya? He's not even Alya's equal," Sheela thought.

So, when Van proposed a duel, Sheela accepted without hesitation. "I'll prove to you that you're not worthy of his side."

Unfortunately, her plan failed. Van managed to block all of her attacks. And I, someone even Sheela considered a failure, ended up stopping her ice magic, her strongest technique.

Meanwhile, Alya wanted to befriend them. Sheela caught Alya handing out her lunch and notes to us.

Sheela wanted to stop them, but she couldn't. She wondered who she was in Alya's eyes? Why did she want to stop Alya?

She had always believed that strong people only wanted to befriend strong people. However, Alya, a genius in her year, wanted to befriend lowly people like the students in her class.

Sheela read the letter sent to her. It arrived after her duel with Van spread throughout the academy.

I heard you're causing trouble at the academy. You'd better be careful with your behavior. You remember why you came to the academy, right?

"Of course, Father. I know what I have to do," Sheela replied, putting the letter back.

I'll show you who's the strongest here. I will show you who is worthy to be beside Alya.