A brief silence.

Soon, Charon abruptly stood up and opened a portal, fiddling with the bookshelf, leading the way to the research lab.

"Follow me."

As I followed him inside, he furrowed his brow, seemingly lost in thought.

I prepared to summon Nickel, just in case of any potential attack from Charon, while consciously noting the sword at my waist.

Among the artifacts existing in the present world, it was a highly contested item.

Suddenly, a desire arose in me, thinking that he could attack me.

Though it was unlikely for the calculating Charon to do so, I couldn't be completely at ease, considering the possibility.

As I observed Charon's reaction, I noticed his breathing and muscle movements gradually relaxing, which eased my mind.

"How do you know about Codex Apocalypse?"

"I heard about it from that sorcerer. He said what he possessed was 'Sloth'..."

"Where is the object now?"

"I stored it in a pocket dimension along with the skeleton I obtained during the battle that day."

"You managed to hide its true nature without being exposed. Not like you."

I felt slightly embarrassed, but I nodded as if it didn't matter.

Charon, seeming lost in thought again, paced around the research lab before sighing.

"Describe its appearance."

"It was a cube with six sides. It was black and could be turned like a Rubik's Cube."

"Well, I guess I can't ask you to bring it out."

I couldn't tell if it was his murmuring or something he said to me, but Charon propped his arm, leaned on the research table, and continued to sigh.

"It's a pity. But you must be full to bursting."

He seems to have the same worries as me.

Yeah, how can you, a professor, have such a monstrosity? Just give up cleanly.

"Will you report this at the congregation?"

I finally asked the question I had been waiting for.

I had thrown the bait to Charon for this very reason.

If I couldn't make use of it, selling it at a reasonable price at the meeting would be a hundred times more profitable.

The problem was that I had no means of contacting the congregation, but that was where Charon came in.

I had always been used by him, but now I'm finally making use of you.

Charon, having heard my words, sighed without giving a clear answer, as if the conflict was not over, but eventually nodded.

"Fine. That seems to be the best option. Instead, I will take everything I can get from the congregation."

Looking at the self-assured tone, he spoke as if he had found Codex Apocalypse himself.

"I will arrange for contact with the congregation. Keep your schedule open so that you can attend the meeting at any time, just in case."

"Understood."

In the end, it went as I had expected.

While it may be different for other sorcerers, my prediction that Charon, always rational and logical, would become obsessed with Codex had turned out to be correct.

"Now, leave and give it some thought."

"Yes."

"But, Adrius."

"Yes?"

"What is that black thing?"

Charon looked at the sword hanging from my waist and asked.

I awkwardly scratched my head and replied, "Since I almost died this time, I got it as a self-defense weapon."

"You're still up to your foolish antics. Now, leave."

Both Dianne and Charon, why are they mocking me?

Wait, even that noble sorcerer from our neighborhood, GandalX, used both a sword and a staff?

I definitely saw it with my own eyes!

Nevertheless, it was fortunate that it still left an impression of me being foolish, just like before.

.

.

.

.

The contact came much sooner than I expected.

The next day, Charon's summons came, and we immediately prepared to attend the congregation.

Since it was an important item, the meeting was called in a hurry.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, Professor."

He said it wouldn't take long.

I just nodded in response to his statement that I would be able to return within the weekend.

'Well...'

If it gets delayed, there's nothing I can do.

Although it may be more important than attending lectures to have something related to Codex at stake.

Come to think of it, if the page of Sloth goes to the congregation, wouldn't the crisis come even faster?

I didn't know much about the current state of the congregation, but it wasn't that long ago, so I could roughly guess how many Codex pages they had collected.

They probably had the core of Codex Apocalypse and maybe one or two more pages.

Even if one more page is added, the world won't be destroyed immediately.

Whether turning the page of Sloth is the right thing to do is a different matter. For now, I have to survive.

Any events that will occur later are for future me to handle.

'Maybe I don't even need to handle them.'

This isn't a game.

As such, the playable characters who actively move will undoubtedly become significantly stronger than in the game.

One issue is their direction, but I'll have to adjust it well later to prevent the world from being destroyed.

Carrying Charon's baggage and some of my own in the carrier, I followed behind Charon.

Just by looking at it, it seemed like I was his assistant. 'If it continues like this, I might become his assistant after graduation.'

Unfortunately, Adrius' longest survival period was the 5th year of the Academy.

Most of the time, he died before that, and only during the first playthrough did he die just before graduation.

Back then, I didn't even know that Adrius was the villain, so I kept him alive for quite a while.

"Adrius."

"Yes, Professor."

"After we return from the congregation, let's check your magic."

"What?"

Surprised by my question, Karone made a pitiful expression and spoke again.

"How long will you be satisfied with having only one summoning spell? Anyway, just know that."

Although he was speaking in a roundabout way because we were outside the research lab, it ultimately meant that he would teach me a new dark magic spell.

It was a relief since during the previous battle, I had struggled to distinguish whether I was a sorcerer or a warrior.

'Anyway, I probably won't be able to use it recklessly.'

Lately, I had been studying magic diligently, so I was always welcoming the opportunity to learn new magic.

Even though, in terms of the game, I was gradually becoming a supporting character, it didn't matter.

Survival was the priority.

'If I can just cut ties with Charon, at least the minimum survival will be guaranteed. But now, in order to learn dark magic, I need this guy...'.

I sighed at the reality of following Charon like a puppy, but what could I do? If I didn't want to die, I had to follow him.

.

.

.

.

We traveled for quite a long time on the train.

It took over 10 hours, and Charon's claim that we would return within the weekend turned out to be half false.

'That bastard.'

But I couldn't say anything about it.

I had already suspected it from the beginning.

Even after getting off the train, I pondered the hole in my attendance rate for a while, but soon erased it from my mind.

It wasn't important right now.

Charon bought a carriage and horses in the city where we disembarked and gestured for me to come.

"Get in."

"Um... yes."

He's going all out with this.

The problem was that I had never driven a carriage before.

"Professor, um..."

"What?"

"The truth is, I've never driven a carriage before."

"...Useless."

Then why did you buy a carriage so confidently?

Do you have overflowing money or something?

However, contrary to my expectations that he would sell it later, he personally climbed onto the driver's seat.

"Sit next to me."

I did as he said and sat next to the driver's seat, but I had a feeling that there was another reason for him to buy the carriage.

"Professor, is there a specific reason you bought the carriage?"

"Quiet. From here on, we'll go without talking unless necessary."

Now that I think about it, Charon seemed particularly sensitive.

At the same time, I came up with a hypothesis.

'Could there be a possibility of an attack?'

Seeing him being so tense, there didn't seem to be any other reason.

He seemed strangely energetic just from attending the congregation.

Although I didn't have definite information on who or why, I could still speculate.

'There might be people targeting Codex.'

No matter how secretly they contacted and organized the congregation, there were bound to be defectors within the congregation itself.

Moreover, even if the sorcerers were united, how united could they really be when it came to money?

In the end, they would all try to secure their own interests.

There could be mercenaries hired by the sorcerers within the congregation, or even the sorcerers themselves could directly attempt to seize it.

'But why did he buy a carriage...'

That point still puzzled me, but I decided to let it go, assuming there was some meaning behind it.

So, starting from the city, we continued heading east.

It was already a city near the eastern end, and as we went further east, I could think of one place.

"The Clinging Forest, Witch Morsha."

It was a forbidden forest.

It was a place where all sorts of bizarre phenomena occurred due to mana anomalies. For example, if you walked on two feet, the plants in the surroundings would coil around your legs, so you had to move by horse or some form of transportation.

'So, he bought the carriage for this.'

There was one more anomaly.

Inside the forest, every time you spoke, mana would be drained, and if your mana was depleted, it would trigger mental manipulation that only occurred within the forest.

It wasn't to the extent that you couldn't speak anymore, but at my current level, speaking for about an hour would probably deplete my mana.

It was a ridiculous anomaly.

The reason for going to such a place was probably because Morsha, one of the Elders in the Black Magic PCongregation, was staying there.

The congregation always randomly selects the location and timing, and it seemed that Morsha's lair was chosen this time.

Just as I was about to think about Morsha, a person suddenly sprang out from the bushes and blocked the path of the carriage.

"Hehehehe!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Charon urgently scolded the person. "You arrived just in time."

The man who blocked the carriage spoke.

And from the man's appearance, I could recall a certain individual.

'No way?'

Although the graphics were slightly different from the game, I recognized the distinctive features, and a thrill ran through my body.

"Can I get on?"

The man who smoothly spoke naturally had untrimmed facial hair, but his white hair was neatly combed back with pomade, making him a clean-looking middle-aged man.

There was a long object wrapped in a cloth on his back that looked like a staff, and I knew what was inside.

Charon swallowed his saliva and asked, "Are you... participating in the congregation?"

"Hmm, why? Am I not allowed?"

"No, it's not."

"Then, can I get on?"

Charon seemed taken aback by the unexpected person as well.

We didn't even bother to object as the person calmly boarded the carriage.

Well, we couldn't really do anything about it.

The person in front of us was none other than one of the strongest individual on the continent.

If it were a game, we would have encountered them in a late-stage battle or at some ruins. It's still hard to believe.

I couldn't believe it to the point that I had to confirm it two or three times.

"You bought such a cheap carriage."

The man who opened the window leading to the driver's seat, grumbled.

Then, he looked at me and happily waved his hand.

"Hello, kid. What's your name?"

"I'm Adrias Cromwell."

"Cromwell? Hoho."

What? Does he know our family?

"Hey, Charon."

"Yes, did you call?"

"Did you already mess with Cromwell?"

"..."

Wait a moment.

Wait, what are they talking about?

It felt like they were talking about a family that I didn't know. My head started spinning like a motor.

"Well, um, you see..."

"No, it's fine. You don't have to say it. It's obvious. Hey, Adrias Cromwell."

"Yes?"

"Work hard and struggle. Haha!"

The man, Salem Edidia, who rambled on with incomprehensible words, laughed heartily and then took out an eye mask from somewhere and fell asleep.

It was all so sudden and filled with unfamiliar information that it was hard to follow along.

I glanced at Karone, and he quietly said, "That's Salem Edidia. You probably know, so I won't give a detailed explanation."

"... ..."

It wasn't because I was curious that I looked at him.

I contemplated whether to ask Charon about the family, but in the end, I held back.

I had no clues or indications that he would reveal anything even if I asked.

But one thing was certain.

There seemed to be something unknown about the Cromwell family.

Lost in my own thoughts, Charon called my name.

"Adrias."

"Yes."

"Soon, we'll reach the forest. It's called the 'Ensnaring Forest.' You might have heard of it at least once."

"Yes, I know that speaking depletes mana, and we shouldn't walk on two feet."

"That's right. Knowing that is enough."

However, we encountered unwelcome guests even before reaching the forest.

It started with the horses.

Hee hee.

Suddenly, the horses began whimpering, and their speed gradually slowed down.

'They're still nobles, after all.'

"At least they're nobles."

My thoughts coincided with Charon's.

The attack that began more gently than expected was quite polite, and it seemed that Charon had the same impression.

The horses eventually came to a stop and collapsed on the ground.

Then, a sinister aura gathered around us, filling the air with damp humidity.

Only one dark mage possessed these characteristics.

'The Abyssal Dragon.'

A more formidable opponent than expected emerged.

Although their appearance was still concealed, the gentle method of attack and the dampness in the air suggested that it was likely the Abyssal Dragon.

If Charon was the mid-boss of the early chapters, the Abyssal Dragon was the mid-boss of the mid-late chapters.

Naturally, their strength was on a different level.

"Greetings, Charon Dephlen. It's been a while."

In no time, the figure emerging from the ground was indeed the Abyssal Dragon, as expected.

Wearing a fedora hat and a tuxedo, they had kind-looking smile behind round glasses.

Charon frowned.

"Abyssal Dragon. I didn't expect you to launch an attack."

"An attack? No, I've come to make a proposal."

Words sound nice, but it was clear that they had come to target the pages of Sloth.

That's when it happened.

"What's going on? Why did it stop?"

Startled, Karone and I turned around with tense expressions, looking at the source of the voice.

Salem Edidia, a demonic being shunned in both the light and in the dark, was stretching and getting up.