Chapter 493: Winter Opening Ceremony Interlude

“…Where the heck did the protagonist go?”

[Act 4 – Chapter 1: Winter Golems]

I half-expected the first Chapter of Act 4 to still be moving along as planned.

Evelyn hadn’t given me any sort of update on Lucas’s progress yet, so naturally, I assumed he’d be here—cleaning up the mess with all the enthusiasm of your typical main character entrance.

You know, dramatic flash, some half-baked speech about unity and bravery, maybe a sword swing or two.

But no.

He wasn’t here. Not even a glimpse of him.

Wasn’t he supposed to be one of the senior speakers welcoming the freshmen back?

That was what happened in the original script.

Right now, he should’ve been on stage, full smile, shaking hands and telling kids to “believe in themselves.”

So, where the hell did, he go?

Did the principal change something behind the scenes?

Or maybe Evelyn’s meddling finally hit a turning point?

Even Janica wasn’t here—and if both of them were missing, that pretty much confirmed something major shifted in the main event flow.

Seriously, where the hell did the main characters go for this part?

Sigh…

Not that it really matters anymore.

Let’s be real—my knowledge of this world’s “future” has already gone out the window.

I’ve meddled far more than I should have. Expecting things to play out by the book now is just wishful thinking.

If anything, it’s kind of stupid to still expect consistency from a plot I already broke six ways to hell.

That said…

Looking around the battlefield—cracked, steaming, still faintly glowing from residual mana—I let out a small breath.

At the very least, the key characters for this event were still in place.

Stacia, Reina, Flamme and Vanessa who were around a while ago and even Emilia… the boards still intact.

“Big bro! You’re here!?”

Reina’s voice cut through my thoughts like a splash of water.

I looked up to see her rushing over, her blue eyes wide and glittering with relief.

“Yeah…”

I stepped forward slowly, my coat trailing lightly against the wind, and without thinking much of it, reached out and cupped her cheeks with both hands.

Then pinched them.

Hard.

“E-eh?! Wha—?!”

“You did good,” I muttered, casually stretching her cheeks to the sides as if kneading dough.

Honestly, I was watching for a while before I stepped in.

She really did improve a lot.

Her strikes were clean, movement sharp, and her mana control was tighter than before.

It felt surprisingly good how proud I felt, so it was only natural to give her a brotherly reward.

“S-shtop th-ashh! What are you—doing?!”

“Just relieving some built-up annoyance.”

“Huh?! Thash—dishent even make sense—!!”

I kept stretching her cheeks a second longer before letting go.

She puffed them out like a squirrel and looked like she wanted to argue, but her flushed face told me she appreciated it anyway.

Considering the sudden shock of the situation, this should’ve helped ease her nerves by now.

Reina, I mean.

Pinching her cheeks was half a joke, but it did its job.

A simple, familiar gesture to ground someone after chaos.

Not that she was in any real danger, but still… a part of me felt the need to act.

In hindsight, maybe I was just being overly sentimental.

The situation wasn’t that dire.

The professors would’ve stepped in if things got worse, and most of the first-years held their ground better than expected.

Still…

What a waste.

This entire Chapter—originally—was supposed to be a golden setup for Lucas.

One of the few early arcs where the protagonist was meant to bond with the first-year heroines in a life-threatening but controlled event.

Monster invasion. Shared danger. Trust. The usual formula. Perfect conditions for natural growth and relationship flags.

Not to mention the EXP.

These ice golems were A-rank. Farmable and safe enough to throw at students thanks to their predictable movements and long wind-up time for ranged attacks.

A near-perfect scenario for leveling, if done correctly.

It was also the ideal chance for me to observe the growth of certain characters and measure how far they’d come from the baseline I remembered.

Data points. Trait alignment. Stat potential. All of that.

But now? The arc had been hijacked.

Again.

Sigh…

Well, it’s not like I was surprised.

With Evelyn running her own side of things—and considering she’s technically just a copy of me with an even more optimized mindset—there was probably a reason behind this change.

I trust her judgment.

But I’d still like an explanation. Soon.

“…Hero.”

A quiet voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I turned slightly and saw Stacia beside me, her red-lined blue eyes staring at me in something between awe and confusion.

A soft blush had spread across her cheeks.

She blinked once, then cleared her throat, composing herself almost instantly.

“Senior Riley,” she said more clearly this time, her tone a bit steadier, “It seems… you’ve gotten a lot stronger than I remember.”

I looked at her for a moment.

She wasn’t wrong.

But she wasn’t the only one.

“You as well, Junior Stacia,” I replied. “Golden crimson flames. Did you always have an affinity for both light and flame magic?”

She looked mildly surprised, then shook her head.

“No… It’s something I only discovered a few months ago during my personal training. I’ve been refining it in secret.”

“I see…”

Of course, I already knew that.

Her awakening to the dual affinity of light and flame wasn’t just a rare elemental trait—it was the key turning point in Stacia’s growth.

In terms of pure elemental balance and tactical versatility, that combination pushed her far above the average knight-type builds.

She was already considered talented by the academy’s standards, but with this, she was now firmly entering the realm of top-tier units—those that would’ve been considered S-rank even in the later stages of the game.

A reliable blade. A promising leader.

She was shaping up just like she should.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Among the other first-year heroines—setting Reina aside for now—Uriel was performing exactly as I expected.

Her divine energy had become more stable compared to last semester.

The way she held herself on the battlefield, the sharp efficiency of her spearwork—it was textbook progression for her arc.

Calm. Focused. Deadly. If she continued like this, she’d be more than ready for the upcoming Trials.

Then there was Vanessa and Flamme.

From what I saw earlier during the battle, both of them had complete mastery over their elemental specialties—Flamme’s spirit synergy was still absurdly strong, and Vanessa’s wind magic had noticeably refined its shaping precision.

But more importantly—

Vanessa had access to World Tree Magic now.

That alone set her apart from the rest.

’Quality wise that is…’

Her storyline had always been special. In the original game, her arc eventually linked to the World Tree, which acted as one of the most critical components of the late-game lore.

A gateway, a bridge, a seal.

Call it what you want—but it was one of the only natural “channels” in the world that allowed a higher-dimensional being like Erebil to temporarily descend without causing a catastrophic backlash from the world’s providence system.

And Erebil…

Technically, she was an ally of mine.

Maybe even a friend?

Or… an acquaintance at best.

A problematic one.

She was still a final boss. Worse than Liyana in a lot of ways.

More unpredictable. More… insidious.

Unlike the others, Erebil didn’t move based on mortal logic.

Her motives were unclear even in the original story, and now that I’ve altered the timeline this much, there’s no telling what variables might shift her into an active role again.

So yeah—I needed to keep a closer eye on Vanessa.

Out of all the heroines tied to deeper mechanics, she was the most volatile.

If the World Tree reacts early or gets tampered with too soon, it could open an early path for Erebil’s will to interfere with the mortal plane.

And the last thing I need right now is a bored evil goddess poking holes in reality just because her “favorite mortal” didn’t give her attention.

This world already has enough chaos.

Let’s not add divine madness into the mix.

BOOOM!!

BOOOM!!

BOOOOOOMMM!!!

Just when the tension had started to settle, more Ice Golems dropped from the sky like massive glacial meteors, their roars cracking through the freezing air as another few dozen slammed into the ground.

Reina, still catching her breath from the last wave, stepped back in shock.

“…It’s not over yet?”

She gritted her teeth and raised her sword again, exhausted but unwilling to drop her stance.

“Don’t worry—” I replied quietly.

RUMBLE!

The clouds pulsed as something thundered above.

BZZZZT!!

CRACK!!

BOOOOOOM!!!

This time, lightning didn’t descend as a straight bolt.

It tore open the sky like a jagged wound.

A purplish light drenched the entire field as thunder rolled across the academy, and with it, shadows flew down—dozens of dark birds, crows glowing faintly with a mix of violet and black mana, swirling in perfect formation.

From above, a single figure floated down amidst the storm.

She was unmistakable.

The Principal.

Cloaked in mana and mystery, her presence alone seemed to cast a pressure that quieted the golems.

The entire field darkened, and the birds let out a synchronized CAWWWW as they circled her arrival.

Following her descent were dozens of mages, professors, and staff—the full academic defense force.

Heads of departments.

Combat deans.

Tactical instructors.

Security units.

Mage professors, once unseen in the earlier stages, now stepped in with wands already crackling with mid-to-high grade spells.

Some bore exhausted looks, clearly having rushed from a defensive perimeter, while others wore casual relief like, “Finally, we can clean something up.”

The Knight Department deans, wearing heavier cloaks and practical armor beneath, seemed more visibly irritated.

“Seriously how did this happen?!” one muttered. “What kind of opening ceremony needs two waves of A-ranks?!”

“I told the headmaster we needed more golem wards after the last break, but not like this” another knight professor grunted, casually swinging a massive sword and cleaving an approaching golem in half as if he were swatting a fly.

A-rank monsters should be around Raijin’s level of strength but ice golems really were designed as glass cannons despite their sizes huh….

“—still,” one added more solemnly, “I’m glad the students held the line this well.”

A breath of relief collectively swept through the students as the adults took over, magical barriers and powerful strikes lighting up the field. Explosions and suppression spells followed like clockwork.

Then—

“Riley.”

Her voice called me softly from behind.

I turned, and there she was.

Seo.

Lightning danced quietly across her body—subtle, refined, not wild like a beginner’s flare.

Her black blade vibrated faintly, hungry for combat, while her red eyes focused calmly on me.

Even with her usual cold aura, I could tell—she was itching to move.

“…Should I go now?”

I paused for a second.

“…Yes. Sorry for asking you to handle this.”

Her gaze didn’t waver.

“It’s fine, we can just redo our date again… like you promised.”

Despite her voice being quiet—apathetic, even—I could feel the tension behind it. A mix of excitement… and disappointment.

She was trying not to show it, but I knew.

She’d been looking forward to today.

And now it had been stolen by my paranoia.

Honestly, the situation probably would’ve resolved itself even if I hadn’t interfered.

The story might’ve taken a different path, sure—but maybe that would’ve been fine too.

“…There should be two people already inside the dungeon. You can ignore them—just finish it quickly.”

“…Okay…”

Seo gave a short nod.

And then—

BZZZZZT!!!

In an instant, she vanished.

A streak of electricity shot through the field like a bolt cutting through winter clouds—leaving only silence and the faint scent of ozone behind.

I should invite her to some ramen later before the day ends.

looking at my two juniors I lightly chuckled.

“You guys have quite a memorable opening ceremony I guess….”

For better or worse the first Chapter of Act 4 ended more eventfully-uneventful than the original.

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