Lynn sat alone at the desk, letting out a weary yawn.
To be honest, he had always hated studying by candlelight.
Now, he hated it even more.
He had spent the entire night studying intensely, pulling a total all-nighter.
At the moment, he could only confirm that the curse on his body indeed originated from the Abyssal Cult.
Furthermore, this type of curse would see its influence on him decrease as his own strength increased.
As for more detailed information…
That was not something his low-level clearance card could access.
He had also tried asking Duke Klein.
The only answer he received was a mysterious smile and a sentence: “Keep up the good work, kid.”
Then, the man had left without a single backward glance.
Talk about clocking out exactly on time.
Lynn felt certain the man knew something.
But clearly, before Lynn officially became a member of the Nightfall Fool, the Duke wouldn’t tell him anything more.
Perhaps even after joining, he wouldn’t reveal the truth so easily.
Lynn sincerely felt that “riddlers” should disappear from this world along with the Abyssal Cult.
Sigh.
Lynn put down the book, rested his face against the open pages, and slowly closed his eyes.
Looking at the current situation, no matter what, he had to make increasing his strength his first priority.
If Lynn remembered correctly, the panel that only he could see featured a function called “Remembrance Trial.”
As a veteran of a second playthrough, Lynn naturally knew that the Remembrance Trial was a tool used in the game for players to repeatedly grind for experience and increase their rank.
By continuously defeating powerful enemies they had already encountered, they could obtain the experience necessary to advance their rank.
However, before Lynn synthesized the purple Epic-grade relic “Legacy,” this function was quite useless.
After all, increasing one’s rank served only two purposes.
First, it expanded one’s mana pool.
Second, it improved mana affinity to allow for the learning of higher-tier magic.
But Lynn was different from traditional mages; he didn’t need to spend vast amounts of time to learn magic.
Thus, only expanding his mana pool was of any real use.
Considering that the consumption of “Dragon’s Heart” was simply too high, the benefits Lynn could gain from increasing his rank were actually quite limited until he reached the level of a Rank 5 Magus.
However, now that he had “Legacy,” the reduction in consumption meant the benefits of ranking up were no longer so small.
‘I must hurry and increase my strength,’ Lynn thought secretly.
After all, according to the original timeline, it wouldn’t be long before the Abyssal Cult stretched its claws into St. Claire Magic Academy.
Moreover, in the original game plot, Sophie would pay a massive price to overcome that crisis.
Even Livia would be used as a blood sacrifice to activate a high-tier magic circle, being sacrificed alive and becoming a lifelong regret for Sophie.
That was also the turning point in the original story where Sophie began to gradually become cold and distant.
At the thought of Sophie’s silly, airheaded appearance being forced to shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the world, Lynn couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of sorrow.
Forcing the responsibility of salvation onto an innocent, carefree young girl was simply absurd.
Thinking about this made Lynn feel quite angry.
He was counting on Sophie to become his strongest supporter once she fully matured in the later stages.
Before that, his “ultimate protector” couldn’t be allowed to have any mishaps!
If the insurance company went bankrupt halfway through the investment, Lynn would truly be left without tears.
And then there was Livia.
After spending time together, Livia had gradually become like a precious younger sister in Lynn’s heart.
How could he possibly allow his sister to be harmed?
Therefore, since he, Lynn, was here, he would naturally not sit by and watch the tragedy unfold.
Of course, the main reason was still that Lynn didn’t trust Sophie’s current strength.
Even if, by some miracle, Sophie could get herself through the crisis…
She might not be able to ensure Lynn’s safety.
As for the Nightfall Fool…
If he could explain why he possessed foresight, they might indeed be a huge help.
Thinking of this, Lynn sighed somewhat helplessly.
‘In the early stages of the plot, it’s better to rely on yourself than others.’
Considering that some parts of the plot had already changed in this playthrough, the direction of this event might also change under the influence of the butterfly effect.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
With that thought, Lynn lazily lifted his head slightly.
He had intended to check the time, but before he could see it, a khaki coat floating in the air was the first thing to enter his vision.
“…….?”
A coat… flying in mid-air?
Lynn rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
When he opened them again, he found the coat sitting perfectly normal on the table.
Thump… thump…
Livia stood by the corner of the table, one hand covering her private areas and the other covering her small mouth, not daring to take even a single loud breath.
‘Wh-Wh-Wh-Mister Lynn woke up so suddenly!’
Livia felt as if steam was constantly rising from the top of her head.
From the moment Lynn left the house, she had been secretly following him.
Even when Lynn opened the underground passage leading here, she had specifically used her Authority to freeze time, entering the archives a step ahead of him.
Then, finding a hidden corner, she had taken off her clothes and used her invisibility spell once more.
Livia’s motivation was actually very simple.
She was just afraid that something might happen to Mister Lynn while he was out late at night.
Alright, perhaps there was also a tiny bit of selfishness involved.
She wanted to stay by Lynn’s side constantly.
Whenever she was near him, Livia could always feel an unprecedented sense of peace.
This was something Livia hadn’t felt in a very, very long time.
She still remembered that from the moment her Witch’s Blood awakened and she displayed the Authority of the Time Witch, her parents had looked at her like she was a ghost.
They abandoned their usual gentleness and locked her alone in a cold room.
From that day on, Livia had gradually begun to endure the malice of the world.
In all this time, only Mister Lynn didn’t despise her for being a Witch.
That was what Livia was thinking.
However, if she were discovered by Mister Lynn in this state…
‘It’s better to hurry and put on my clothes while he hasn’t noticed me.’
Thinking this, Livia lifted her tender little foot and reached forward.
But before she could even take a step, it felt as if she had been tripped by something that suddenly appeared.
Caught off guard, Livia fell hard toward where Lynn was sitting.
“Wah!”
Livia squeezed her eyes shut, but after a moment, she didn’t feel the expected pain.
Instead, a familiar firmness and warmth came from beneath her.
Livia slowly opened her eyes and realized she had fallen onto Mister Lynn.
She blinked in a daze, and in that moment of distraction, her internal mana wavered, causing the invisibility spell to suddenly fail.
Livia’s delicate body gradually manifested in the air.
“Ahem… put your clothes on first. Don’t catch a cold.”
Lynn coughed lightly and, like a true gentleman, draped the coat over Livia before slowly standing up.
“I… I, I, I…”
Livia’s mind went completely blank, and she couldn’t organize a coherent sentence for a long time.
“Livia, you brat, what were you trying to do to Lynn?”
Felica slowly stepped out from behind a hidden bookshelf.
She stood with her arms crossed, her eyes filled with smugness as she looked at Livia.
Clearly, Livia’s “clumsy trip” was her doing.
Trying to use invisibility to peep at Lynn?
She would never allow it!
Even if someone was going to peep, that position belonged solely to her, Felica!
What kind of girl was Livia?
She wasn’t worthy!
“Felica, you bastard… you’re really sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Livia wrapped the coat tightly around her body, her voice carrying an undisguised murderous intent.
The coat was far too large for her; a single wrong move might reveal everything beneath it through the gaps.
Thus, Livia could only offer verbal threats and didn’t dare to make any large movements.
A sense of shame gradually washed over Livia’s heart.
Seeing the two of them at each other’s throats, Lynn felt a headache coming on.
However, he did notice a strange phenomenon.
While he was touching Livia just now, Lynn hadn’t felt that expected “breath of death.”