I’ve cleared the game numerous times and attempted this event countless times.

But this was the first time I saw that statue close its eyes and the gate open.

“Whoa, ha-ha! How about this! Behold the incredible power of my Mystic Eye!”

The one who opened the firmly closed door strutted around arrogantly, lifting her chin and shrugging her shoulders confidently.

Everyone watching applauded and each said something in response.

“Wow, Alicia, that’s amazing! I never dreamed you’d use such a sneaky trick!”

“You’re truly the queen of loopholes.”

“I thought you’d give the answer, but using hypnosis? There’s no bigger cheat than that.”

“Muhuhuh~”

Whether the comments were compliments or criticisms, Alicia seemed pleased and blew out a breath with a satisfied smile.

Even though their words might have sounded as they did, everyone seemed genuinely impressed.

I was definitely surprised as well. I never imagined the door could be opened like that.

At least now it’s clear.

‘Any method can work as long as it clears the stage.’

In previous games, if it was impossible to clear a stage due to programming, players couldn’t do anything and had to comply.

But now that it’s reality.

Any method, with a shift in thinking, can turn what was impossible in the game into a possibility.

“Alright! Shall we move to the next stage?”

Feeling upbeat, Alicia exclaimed, and we passed through the open gate into the next room.

“…What is this?”

The place we entered after opening the door was another room.

However, unlike the rooms before, there was no exit moving forward.

What lay ahead was a room blocked off by plain walls, and at its centre, there were three chests.

‘Clear reward!’

I never imagined they would prepare something like this for an event that was initially impossible to clear.

Could it be an Easter Egg?

Well, it is a perverse game company that likes to create hidden settings not described even in the game's explanations.

They might have made a clear reward for an event that’s impossible to clear.

“Wow! Is this a treasure chest? Quite a nice touch for a haunted mansion, I must say.”

“But there are only three of them.”

Elise, who had been running towards the treasure chests with a bright smile, halted at Mary’s words.

That’s right, there were only three rewards.

With eight of us here, not everyone could receive a reward.

“Hmm, what should we do?”

“It seems we'll have to decide who will get the chests…”

As Siegfried murmured while staring at the chests, everyone simultaneously looked at me.

“…Me? Really?”

Caught off guard by the sudden attention, I pointed at myself in surprise.

Then Adrian smiled and answered.

“After all, you’re the one who brought everyone here. If not for you calling us, we wouldn’t be able to get these rewards in the first place.”

Mary nodded in agreement with his words.

“I’m okay with Ken deciding the method.”

No one else objected either. Everyone just quietly waited for my answer.

What they were asking was for me to decide on a fair way to distribute the three chests.

Dividing the rewards, huh...

This is quite a burden.

It feels as if I've become the leader of a group project.

There are three chests.

The first thought that comes to mind is to give each chest to those who contributed the most to the event.

Alicia, who played a significant role at the end, of course deserves one, but it’s also true that others worked hard to find the keys.

Dividing the rewards based on who performed best might leave someone feeling slighted.

At times like this, the best way is...

"Aha! I won! Yippee!"

"Wow! I didn't think I'd win!"

Alicia and Emily, who won several rounds of rock-paper-scissors, burst into joyful smiles.

Each of them is delighted while holding up the paper and cloth that brought them victory.

"So, I guess there's only one left?"

Now there are six of us remaining.

We don’t know what's inside the chest, but the simple challenge of winning to get a prize has everyone looking quite serious.

After everyone took a moment to decide their moves,

"I-I won!"

Raising my fist, which I had extended, I shouted out in joy.

“Ugh~! I was going to throw a rock too!”

"Hehe, congrats, Ken."

Elise, shaking her hand in disappointment as she had played scissors, and Raphne, congratulating me as if she'd won herself.

Well... I wasn’t really aiming for a reward, but is it okay for me to take it like this?

...

"Well, so what! You should've played rock-paper-scissors better!"

The three winners stood in front of their desired chests.

"Huh? There's something written on the chest."

"Mine too. ...Chest of Desire?"

Following Alicia and Emily's remarks, I checked the lid of my chest and found the same phrase.

...No way, it couldn’t be a mimic or something like that, right?

No, this event's main characteristic is that it doesn't cause harm. There’s no way they’d put a monster like that in the final reward.

"Alright! I'll go ahead and open mine first!"

Alicia, unable to contain her excitement any longer, declared and placed her hands on the chest.

creak, creeeeak.

The lid opened slowly, as if trying to heighten the anticipation.

And when the lid was fully opened, the contents revealed...

"Whoa! Seniors! This is amazing! It's glittering with gold!!"

"Wow! How much must all that be worth?"

Inside Alicia's chest were gold coins, filling it to the brim.

Even at a glance, there was enough to easily buy a mansion.

“I-I’ll go next!”

Emily, who had been watching, hurriedly opened her chest as well.

“A... book?”

Inside Emily's chest was a thick book.

“Can I take a look?”

Standing there holding the mysterious book blankly, Emily handed it to me.

“…This is…”

Taking the book from Emily, I examined its cover.

It was a large, luxurious leather-bound book adorned with intricate patterns, and embedded with a magic stone like a lock.

The book was pure white.

I remembered seeing this design in the game.

“…It’s a skill book.”

“A skill book?”

“If you channel magic into the book, you can learn the skill it contains. ...This colour indicates it's a healing magic type.”

“Wow! Really? So, I can learn healing magic right away?”

Initially unfazed by the term ‘skill book,’ Emily’s eyes lit up with joy like a child receiving a gift when she heard it was for healing magic.

Getting the book back, Emily hugged it tightly and smiled brightly.

“Did you want to learn healing magic?”

Though the Academy teaches basic magic, healing magic is something typically learned by the temple’s devotees.

Only those associated with the temple are taught such magic at the Academy.

So, Emily had been unable to learn that type of magic until now.

Of course, there are cases where someone like Emily would obtain a skill book and support their comrades from the back with healing magic.

Still, I didn't expect her to be this happy.

“Lately, there have been cases where someone ends up in dangerous situations. I wanted to learn this.”

Emily responded playfully to my question.

‘...I see, it's the Chest of Desire.’

Alicia got gold coins, and Emily received a skill book.

Alicia seems to like money enough to use hypnosis for her romantic endeavours.

Similarly, Emily got a skill book for the magic she wanted to learn.

This means this chest gives the person who opens it what they need?

I nervously placed my hand on the lid of the chest before me.

Everyone else's attention was focused on what might come out of the chest as well.

What I desire.

I thought for a moment, but nothing immediately came to mind.

With an anxious heart, completely unaware of what might come out, I opened the chest.

Creeeak...

“…A potion?”

It was a murmur from Raphne who was watching next to me.

I picked up the small bottle that lay alone in the chest.

Then, a status window appeared in front of me.

[System: You have obtained a rare item.

Item Name: Dragon's Essence.]

‘Dragon's Essence?’

As if to answer my question, the status window moved from the acquisition message to the item description.

[Dragon's Essence: The essence extracted from the heart, the crystallization of a dragon's magic.

Dramatically increases the magic power of the one who consumes it.]

An item that increases magical power.

Such items are quite common in games.

But I've never seen something like this extracted from the heart of a dragon.

‘Even after defeating a dragon, you don't get something like this.’

And the person that immediately comes to mind when I think of a dragon.

I looked at Siegfried who was standing next to me.

This is an item that enhances the user’s magical power.

But considering its origin from a dragon, it might also increase one's magical talent.

What comes to mind is the hidden lore secretively created by the game developers.

‘…Maybe this item was created for Siegfried.’

If he drinks this, he could surely gain not just swordsmanship skills, but magical talent as well.

He could then acquire the abilities he’s always desired.

With that thought, I resolved to offer it to him.

“Stop, Ken.”

“…Yes, yes?”

“I won’t accept that. It’s something you obtained.”

He immediately guessed my intentions and interrupted.

“But, Senior, if you drink this, you can surely gain the abilities you’ve always wanted.”

Siegfried then gave me a gentle smile.

“Thank you, but that’s alright. …You already gave me the answer some time ago.

I plan to work towards that goal. I won't rely on such a potion."

He declined it.

Even though it was clearly an item crafted for him, he chose to hone his skills on his own strength rather than taking an easy route.

As expected, he is an impressive person.

Since Siegfried refused, I opened the potion without hesitation.

"Are you going to drink it right now? Isn't it suspicious?"

"It's okay. I know what this is."

I explained to the startled Elise and then immediately drank the potion.

[System: You have used the Dragon's Essence. The effect of the Dragon's Essence will be imparted to the user.]

I could distinctly feel the liquid flow through my body, and soon, a massive energy spread within me.

[System: Your mana has significantly increased.

Due to the effect of the Dragon's Essence, dragon-type monsters will have strong hostility towards you.

Due to the effect of the Dragon's Essence, you will have strong resistance against dragon-type monsters.]

As the spreading energy was absorbed, several status windows appeared before my eyes simultaneously.

'Resistance to dragons... and hostility?'

Among the messages, there were a few that seemed like drawbacks, but the advantages far outweighed them.

And among them.

[System: You have gained a skill for surpassing the standard mana limit.

Acquired skill: Mana Conversion.]

[Mana Conversion: If you lack the necessary materials for item creation, you can substitute those materials with mana.

The amount of mana consumed varies depending on the quality of the material.]

With the significant increase in mana, I acquired an additional skill for my Innate Skill, Item Creation.

It was a skill that substituted materials.

‘…If my guess is right, this is.’

There had been many times when the lack of materials made item creation difficult.

Of course, even with the increased mana, substituting high-grade items like Aspetra’s crystal ball might still be impossible.

But now, in urgent situations, I can use mana to create materials.

“How, how are you, Ken? Are you alright?”

I gave a bright smile to the worried Raphne beside me.

“Yes! I’m perfectly fine!”

More than fine, I had obtained an unexpectedly tremendous gain.

“Thank you, really thank you. Thank you so much for resolving this troublesome matter! Here, this is the deed to the mansion as promised!”

After receiving the reward, as we stepped out of the mansion, the eerie aura that had been surrounding it disappeared.

When we opened the door and went back inside, it looked like a normal mansion.

And as promised, we received the mansion’s deed.

“Ugh, I don’t need such a creepy mansion...

How about you, Sieg?”

“I don’t particularly want a mansion like that either.”

“Wahaha! We got enough gold coins that I don’t need such an old mansion, so I’m fine too!”

“I don't have any desire for the mansion either.”

It was expected that Alicia and Adrian, who either became wealthy or were already rich, would refuse the ownership.

Naturally, Elise and Siegfried, who had a scary experience in the mansion, also declined.

Then, the four waved goodbye and left, leaving me and the three women behind.

“Um, about the ownership of this mansion...”

Since we achieved it together, it had to be disposed of or taken by someone.

So, I asked the remaining three for their opinions.

“…I’m fine without such an unsettling mansion too.”

“I-I don't mind if Ken takes it.”

“For now, why don’t you hold onto it, Ken? We might need it later.”

In the end, the troublesome ownership of the mansion fell to me.

I hope there won't be any taxes involved.

But I should properly repay the others who helped later.

With this unexpected gain, we returned to the Academy.

It was a mansion we challenged simply for a test.

I never imagined we’d have such a big harvest.

After sending off Emily and Mary at the crossroads of the dormitory, I returned to the tower with Raphne.

Just in time, I had also acquired a new skill.

I couldn’t wait to use the skill once.

By the time we arrived at the tower and climbed the familiar stairs to enter the room, it was already night.

“Thanks, Raphne. You were a great help today in many ways.”

“……”

“Oh, are you hungry? Should we have dinner first?”

"I'm going to make something for a moment..."

“...”

"Raphne?"

On our way to the tower, we had a normal conversation.

I entered the room, excited, and as I put on my work apron, I spoke to Raphne, but there was no response.

She just stood at the door, showing me her back.

And then,

Click.

"...Raphne?"

I heard the sound of something locking, and she turned her head.

"Stay here tonight, Ken."

Ah, come to think of it, she did say to be prepared when we returned to the tower, didn't she?

Raphne looked at me with familiar eyes and smiled.

Please support the series on NovelUpdates

Read Here for premium chapters