Ian jerked his head up, his exhaustion instantly vanishing.
‘It’s here! It’s finally here! The first act of the plot is finally about to begin!’
Sherivelle and Otillia stopped their whispering and turned simultaneously to look at the approaching Amivy.
“Highness Arthur, what did you say? Practical training?”
Otillia was the first to speak.
Beside her, Sherivelle also displayed a look of focused interest.
Amivy walked up to the three of them, a smug curve tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“No, it’s not a school-wide event. I made a special request to… His Majesty for ‘Practical Combat Training’ to begin early.”
“And His Majesty agreed. After all, conventional academy training and arena duels no longer hold much meaning for our improvement.”
It was true.
At this stage, most graduates of the Imperial Royal Magic Academy were out on their final “graduation internships.”
There were very few students left in the entire Imperial Royal Magic Academy who could actually stand against Amivy or Ian in a fight.
Even the instructors had their own duties to attend to.
Thus, sending them out into the field was the best decision.
However, Amivy was lying about one thing: she hadn’t actually been the one to take the initiative to ask William Reinhardt for early training.
It was William Reinhardt who had proactively suggested it.
Ian’s heart hammered against his ribs as he listened to the news.
‘Yes! That’s it!’
It hadn’t been easy.
After all this hard work, this damned first act of the story was finally starting.
Ian felt a surge of wild joy, as if he could already see the System rewards waving at him.
As long as he could guide the protagonist group through this segment of the plot, he would receive the correction reward for Sherivelle and officially unlock that cursed third Correction Mission.
Even though he might have to die a few more times, a hero couldn’t flee just as the battle began.
Besides, once he started the third Correction Mission, he should be able to break free from this wretched plot, right?
‘They can’t possibly keep chasing me all the way to the 100th floor of a Dungeon, can they?’
He struggled to suppress the urge to let his mouth curl into a wide grin and looked at Amivy.
“Highness, practical combat training is indeed the best way to improve strength and forge team synergy. I wonder if His Majesty or the Academy have provided any instructions regarding the location or format of this training?”
Amivy shook her head.
“His Majesty only said we should choose a suitable ‘combat environment’ ourselves. The Academy will also provide some optional mission commissions as a reference. I want to hear everyone’s opinion. After all, this is our team’s first official outing.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Sherivelle and Otillia spoke almost at the same time, pausing briefly because they had synced up.
Otillia made a “go ahead” gesture, and Sherivelle continued softly, “I believe that since it is practical training, it’s best to choose a place with a certain level of challenge, a complex and ever-changing environment, and one where we can fully practice coordinating different magical affinities.”
She tilted her head slightly, her silver hair sliding over her shoulder.
“A Dungeon, for instance, would be quite good.”
Otillia immediately added her support.
Listening to the suggestions of the two girls, Ian felt a great sense of relief!
‘Nice! That’s the way!’
The protagonist group taking the initiative to head to an abnormal Dungeon and accepting an investigation commission perfectly matched the beginning of the original plot!
As expected of the Female Leads! It hadn’t been in vain for him to work so hard to “correct” them.
“Based on universal rationality, I agree,” Ian immediately voiced his approval, steering the conversation further.
“A Dungeon can satisfy the needs of practical training while also allowing us to contribute to the Academy and the Empire — killing two birds with one stone. Moreover, as our team’s first official mission, it will serve as an excellent test of our training results from this period.”
Seeing that all three of them were inclined toward choosing a Dungeon and had sound reasons for doing so, Amivy nodded.
“Very well, a Dungeon it is! I’ll go see if there are any corresponding Academy commissions we can take.”
If everything went as expected, Amivy would inevitably accept the investigation commission for the anomalies in the Abyss Corridor.
Then, the adventure would begin, she would obtain the Holy Sword, and the plot would be fulfilled.
With things progressing so smoothly, Ian was blooming with joy internally.
Now that the plot had started, he, the “Special Instructor,” should be able to retire with honor, shouldn’t he?
He was currently calculating how to “disappear” quietly and start the third Correction Mission after receiving his second System reward.
However, Amivy’s next words were like a bolt from the blue, shattering all his beautiful fantasies.
“By the way, Excellency Chaoslanna…”
Amivy looked at Ian, who was currently dreaming of a bright future, and spoke in a natural tone.
“For this practical training, you will also need to accompany our team the entire time.”
‘What?!’
“Highness, what did you say? I need to… go as well?”
“Of course.” Amivy nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“You are the Special Instructor personally appointed by His Majesty. Naturally, you need to be on-site to observe, record, and provide guidance and suggestions when necessary.”
Ian: “…”
‘Son of a… Again?!’
‘She’s forcing me to work overtime again.’
‘The plot has already started, so why am I still involved? This isn’t right!’
Seeing Ian’s stiff, statue-like silhouette, Amivy felt a bit confused.
“Kevin? What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Sherivelle and Otillia also looked over “concernedly.”
‘A problem? Your father gave the order; how could I have a problem?’
“It’s nothing. I’m just having a bout of homesickness.”
“That’s good, then…”
Though Amivy couldn’t see Ian’s expression through the mask, she got the feeling that this masked man currently looked like he had lost all will to live.
“In that case, let’s each go prepare and set out in three days. How does that sound?”
Amivy didn’t think much of it.
In any case, that man had already given the order, so it wasn’t as if Ian had a choice.
“I have no objections, Crown Prince.”
“I… I… have no objections either.”
Ian muttered, “As long as you’re happy…”
“Great, then everyone go back and prepare. I’ll notify you all once I’ve selected a commission.”
With that, Amivy was the first to leave the training grounds, heading toward the Academy’s commission building.
Otillia and Sherivelle also bid their farewells and left together to prepare their “various magical tools.”
Only Ian remained, standing alone on the gradually emptying training grounds.
He looked at the setting sun on the horizon, which seemed to be mocking him, and let out a deep sigh.
‘Since things have come to this, I might as well go eat.’
—
In the Tower of Stars, inside Ian’s room.
The night was already deep outside the window, but the table was covered in various parchment scrolls — almost all of them containing information about the Abyss Corridor.
[There are still unexplored areas on the forty-fifth floor.]
[Spatial tremors have been occurring frequently after the fortieth floor.
Various unidentified Dragon-blood Monsters were discovered on the fiftieth floor.]
[A seventieth-floor Boss Monster appeared unexpectedly on the sixty-second floor. Magic is prohibited after the seventieth floor…]
“As I thought, even that old woman’s book collection doesn’t have a single bit of information regarding the ninety-ninth floor of the Abyss Corridor.”
Ian helplessly put away all the scrolls.
“I’ll just have to look for records regarding the ‘Holy Sword’ or the ‘Evil Dragon’ tomorrow.”
After stowing the scrolls, Ian opened the letter from Amivy that had been delivered earlier.
As expected, the Dungeon Amivy had chosen was indeed the Abyss Corridor from the plot.
Casually burning the letter, Ian stared at the moon outside the window, remaining silent for a long time.