Chapter 23: Corruption

"Everyone, step back!"

Professor Vista’s voice thundered across the plaza. Kael immediately turned. Several academy staff members approached the statue. One of them raised a hand. A faint golden light surrounded the corpse.

Kael’s eyes sharpened.

The magical energy spread across the body, enveloping it completely. The corpse trembled. Then it slowly began to rise. Kael recognized the spell immediately.

Psychic Ability.

It was a fairly common ability among instructors with the appropriate affinity. Moving an inanimate object wasn’t particularly difficult for someone who had trained the ability to an advanced level.

The body was carefully pulled free from the spear and lowered toward the ground. Students immediately tried to move closer.

"Everyone, stay back!" Professor Vista’s warning stopped them.

The academy staff began examining the body. Kael watched silently. His gamer brain was already running through possibilities.

’If this is really that exclusive quest...’

’Then something would happen soon.’

The original quest had a specific progression. The corpse would be discovered as fake. The real person would appear.

And then...

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

The reveal.

A professor examining the body suddenly froze. His expression changed. He exchanged a glance with Professor Vista.

"That’s strange."

"What is it?" Vista asked.

The professor frowned.

"The body has no soul imprint."

A murmur immediately spread through the crowd.

Kael’s heart skipped. His eyes widened.

’There it is. It’s still the same as the game.’

To explain, a normal corpse retained traces of its soul for some time after death. But a manufactured replica wouldn’t.

Kael stared at the body. The blood, wounds, uniform, everything had been designed to look real. But it wasn’t a real corpse. It was a replica. His suspicions had been correct.

So it really is the same method. Which meant... the reason is also the same... to create discord among the two factions.’

The professor raised his hand.

"Prepare a verification spell."

Another professor stepped forward.

Before they could activate it, however...

"Wait!"

Everyone turned.

A student looked at the corpse. He looked confused, then horrified. Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Only Kael’s expression remained calm. He already knew this would happen. The reason for everyone’s disbelief was because the student’s face was identical to the body lying on the ground.

When the corpse had been embedded in the statue, its face had been partially hidden. Now that it was lying on the ground, however, everyone could clearly see it.

Purple hair. The same facial features. The same academy uniform of the hero department. Even the same identification badge.

The student looked around in confusion. A body that looked exactly like him was lying motionless on the ground. All bloodied.

"Why am I lying there?"

Silence.

That was apparently everyone’s question at that moment.

Someone dropped a bag. It struck the stone pavement with a dull sound.

His expression turned pale.

"What..."

The plaza erupted.

"That’s him!"

"How is he alive?!"

"Then who’s the corpse?!"

"How can there be two of them?!"

"Everyone, back away!"

Students retreated in panic. Professors immediately formed barriers around the crowd.

Kael didn’t move. He simply stared at the student.

’Yep.’

His stomach sank.

’Quest progression confirmed.’

He had seen this exact sequence before. But there was one enormous difference. Back then, the duplicated person had been nothing more than pixels on a screen. Now the terrified student standing before him was real.

His fear was real. The confusion in his eyes was real. The students surrounding him weren’t characters in the game. They were real people.

In the game, this was merely a special event story that only occurred during a specific season. It was not supposed to have any impact on the main storyline. Moreover, it was a quest exclusive to players who chose the villain route. Kael couldn’t understand why an event that shouldn’t have happened in the original main story was occurring here.

However, there was one thing he noticed.

The event itself was still following the same storyline as it had in the game, with only a few minor inconsistencies.

That meant his knowledge of the game wasn’t totally useless. Still a reliable source of information. He simply couldn’t expect everything to happen in the exact order he remembered. He would have to adapt to the changes and learn to recognize the events even when they appeared out of sequence and not part of the main story. Because in real life, anything could happen.

The duplicated student suddenly staggered.

Kael’s expression changed.

’Wait.’

Something wasn’t right.

The student suddenly clutched his chest. Strange red and dark markings began spreading across his body.

"No..."

Kael’s eyes widened.

The student groaned.

"Guh!"

His body trembled violently.

"Wait! Something’s wrong with him!" One of the students shouted, pointing at the duplicated student. Of course, everyone also noticed it.

The duplicated student bent backward as the strange markings spread across his skin. The entire plaza fell silent. Then he suddenly lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot.

Kael’s instincts screamed.

"Corruption."

The duplicated student’s hand moved toward the sword hanging from his waist. Dark red energy burst out from his body. The limiter bracelet on his wrist exploded.

Kael’s pupils contracted.

Seeing the corrupted student lunged forward toward the nearest student, everyone froze in terror. It was their first time seeing someone getting corrupted in person and terrified all of them most of them.

Just before the corrupted student could swing its sword at the student, who turned out to be Mira, a figure suddenly appeared between them.

Kael didn’t hesitate and used his sword technique he’d been practicing. The Returning Tide Sword struck the corrupted student’s weapon with a sharp metallic clang.

Students were allowed to carry real swords, but they were not allowed to unsheathe them unless necessary.

The force of the impact knocked the weapon from its trajectory and sent the corrupted student staggering several steps backward. For a brief moment, the entire plaza went silent.

They looked at Kael in complete disbelief. In their minds, they were asking how did the student with the lowest combat talent and Rank F Hero Core able to do that?

Oblivious to their thoughts, Kael tightened his grip around the sword. He had done it. Not perfectly, but it worked. The technique he had been practicing for days had finally produced the result he wanted. Rather than meeting the attack with brute force, he had redirected the momentum and returned it to the opponent.

’Okay. That actually worked.’

His hands trembled a little. It was his first time confronting a real opponent. On top of that, it was against a corrupted one.

Thankfully, he succeeded to redirect its attack.

Kael barely had time to feel relieved. The corrupted student suddenly steadied himself. His head snapped upward. The unnatural glow in his eyes intensified.

Then he lunged again.

"He’s attacking again!"

Several students screamed and hurried backward. Kael’s expression hardened.

’Seriously? You don’t even need a cooldown?’

The corrupted student raised his weapon and charged toward the nearest group of students. But before Kael could move, another figure flashed past him.

Her silver hair swept behind her as she stepped directly into the corrupted student’s path.

Clang!

Her sword collided with his. The impact sent not only sparks but also dark and light energy scattering across the stone pavement.

The corrupted student attempted to force her backward, but Seraphina’s stance barely shifted. Her expression remained calm.

With a swift movement, she twisted her wrist and redirected his weapon. The corrupted student’s grip loosened.

Seraphina immediately followed with another precise strike. The weapon flew from his hand. It clattered across the ground several meters away.

The corrupted student stumbled backward, momentarily defenseless.

"Now!" Professor Vista’s voice thundered across the plaza. "Restrain him!"

The academy staff members moved immediately. Several instructors raised their hands simultaneously, their mana surging through the air.

"Binding Magic!"

Bands of glowing energy erupted from the ground. They wrapped around the corrupted student’s arms and legs before tightening around his torso. The student struggled violently, however, the bindings held on, showing no sign of getting broken.

Another layer of magical restraints formed around him, completely immobilizing his body.

"Don’t get close!" One of the instructors shouted.

The corrupted student’s movements gradually weakened as the binding magic suppressed his strength. After a few seconds, finally, he was safely restrained.

A collective breath seemed to escape the surrounding students. Kael lowered his sword. Only then did he realize how tense his shoulders had become.

He slowly exhaled.

’Okay. Crisis avoided.’

He glanced at Seraphina. She was already sheathing her sword as though disarming a corrupted student in front of half the academy was simply another item on her schedule.

’As expected of the heroine.’

Kael almost sighed.

Meanwhile, he nearly gave himself a heart attack. Training is one thing. Real battle is another.

Professor Vista stepped forward.

"Everyone, remain calm."

His voice immediately silenced the remaining whispers.

"The situation has been contained. The academy staff will investigate what happened here. Until further notice, all students are to return to their assigned classes."

Some students hesitated. They clearly wanted answers.

Professor Vista continued.

"We do not yet know what caused this student’s condition, nor do we know who is responsible. Speculation will only make matters worse."

The teachers began organizing the students and directing them away from the plaza. Before leaving, Professor Vista approached Kael and Seraphina.

"Both of you."

Kael straightened slightly.

"Thank you for stepping forward."

Professor Vista’s gaze moved between them.

"You protected your fellow students when you could have simply retreated. That courage prevented this situation from becoming far worse."

Kael scratched the back of his neck.

"It was nothing."

Professor Vista gave him a faint nod. Then his eyes lingered on Kael for a moment longer. There was something difficult to read in his expression.

Was it curiosity? Suspicion? Kael couldn’t tell.

Before he could think too much about it, Professor Vista turned and followed the other instructors.

Kael and Seraphina watched him leave.

’Why does that feel like the kind of look a teacher gives when they’ve already added your name to a suspicious-student list?’

He quietly shook his head.

’Whatever. I’ll worry about that later.’

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Kael."

He turned.

Mira stood nearby. Her expression was still pale from what had happened. She approached him slowly.

"Thank you for saving me."

Her voice trembled slightly.

Kael looked at her for a moment before giving her a small smile.

"I’m just glad nothing bad happened to you."

He was genuinely glad.

Mira’s eyes became slightly teary. Then her cheeks turned faintly red.

"Yes."

She wiped the corner of her eye and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you again, Kael."

Kael nodded.

"No problem."

Before the atmosphere could become any more awkward, another voice came from beside him.

"By the way, Kael."

He turned.

Seraphina was standing there. Her expression was calm, but there was a noticeable curiosity in her eyes.

"Yes?"

"What was it? The technique you used earlier."

"Oh, the sword technique?"

She nodded.

"You redirected his attack instead of blocking it directly. Your movements were simple, but the timing was precise."

Kael’s eyebrows rose slightly.

’Of course she noticed.’

Seraphina had always been ridiculously observant in the game.

"It’s nothing special," Kael said.

"Nothing special?"

"It’s a low-tier sword technique I’ve been practicing recently."

Seraphina studied him.

"Low-tier?"

"Yeah." Kael gave an awkward shrug. "It’s called the Returning Tide Sword."

Seraphina’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh, it’s the Returning Tide Sword. I see."

She nodded.

Kael could practically feel her storing that information somewhere in her mind.

The students eventually began leaving the plaza. The bloody body was removed. The corrupted student was taken away under heavy restraint. The immediate danger was over. But the incident itself was far from resolved.

The academy confirmed that the corpse was not genuine. It had also confirmed that the duplicated student had somehow become corrupted.

Yet no one knew who had orchestrated either incident. Everyone was instructed to be extra careful.

After Seraphina and Mira left, Kael also followed the other students toward the academy building, his expression thoughtful. To everyone else, the events of the morning were simply a frightening incident. To Kael, however, something felt deeply wrong.

He slowed his steps.

’This isn’t how it happened.’

His expression became serious. He remembered the game. The fake corpse incident. The corrupted student incident. They were supposedly two completely different events. They happened at different points in the story. They had different causes. And most importantly, they were never connected.

Yet here they were. Both had appeared at the same time. In the same place. As part of one incident.

Kael’s fingers unconsciously tightened around his sword.

’So what does that mean?’

His mind began piecing together everything he knew. A strange feeling settled in his chest.

’What if there isn’t a fixed storyline anymore?’

He swallowed. Then gave a quiet, helpless sigh.

"Great."

The word escaped his mouth before he could stop it. A nearby student glanced at him strangely. Kael immediately straightened.

"Nothing."

The student quickly looked away.

Kael continued walking.

Inside his head, however, his thoughts remained heavy.

’These two incidents were separate events, but they’re connected now.’

His gaze hardened.

’Which means...’

He looked toward the academy ahead of him.

’Anything could happen in this world.’

"..."

This also meant the danger level just grew higher.

’At my current level, I’m not safe. But...’

There were still lots of valuable items hidden somewhere in this world. He knew their exact whereabouts and how to obtain them.

’I needed to acquire all of them.’

Kael stopped and thought.

’Wait. Wasn’t today the day the main protagonist was supposed to show up?’