The pace of progress for Team Baek Yu-Seol was quite rapid. They had never encountered any significant obstacles thus far, and most of the riddles were quickly solved.

Despite encountering Gates that seemed impossible to interpret, their breakthrough speed was remarkably fast.

But the question remained, would other teams fare the same?

With a determined expression, Hong Bi-Yeon trailed after Baek Yu-Seol.

"That way. You can lean against that statue. This stage seems to detect weight. The statue's dance is a waltz performed by two people. Since you're alone, the weight won't match."

"Ah! I'll do that!" Upon Baek Yu-Seol’s suggestion, other students followed suit and approached the statue, taking their positions.

When Baek Yu-Seol spoke, everyone agreed.

Hong Bi-Yeon herself was no exception.

Even now, wasn’t she resonating with his words without needing to think twice? There was no fault in his words, and she found herself in harmony with them before even pondering over them.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't understand this aspect. It wasn't in her nature to seek attention so conspicuously.

If she had wanted to stand out, she could have done so anytime in ordinary circumstances, and if she had wanted to receive good grades, she could have always scored a perfect score.

Yet, Baek Yu-Seol consistently maintained grades just above failing in most subjects. He didn't bother answering exams properly, never submitted assignments on time, and had a messy attitude in class.

But, anyone who had come face to face with him could quickly realize it.

The knowledge in his mind was not at the level of a first-year student.

The moment he opened his mouth, specialized terminology poured out, and he effortlessly solved problems that even prestigious Stella students couldn't comprehend, and devising strategies that others couldn't even conceive.

How was that possible?

Even in Stella, where geniuses gathered, how could someone possess such exceptional experience and knowledge?

... It wasn't in her character to ponder alone.

"Hey, do you know your place? I'll go that way."

As Baek Yu-Seol tried to head towards his place, she quickly grabbed hold of him.

"Wait, Commoner."

"Yeah?"

"There's something I'm curious about."

Hong Bi-Yeon’s red eyes settled calmly like a lake.

"You, where did that knowledge and experience come from?"

Upon hearing that, Baek Yu-Seol visibly flinched, and his expression wavered.

‘Oh damn, did I rush too much?’

He thought it would catch her attention, but he didn't expect to hear it so directly. He averted his gaze and spoke.

"Well, it's just... I've had these kinds of experiences... for a long time."

It wasn't a lie.

He was actually acting based on his experiences.

"I see."

Hong Bi-Yeon took it in a slightly different way.

His appearance made him look younger than the average 17-year-old student, but from his actions, speech, and knowledge, he didn't behave like a typical 17-year-old boy.

However, hiding his age and enrolling in Stella was impossible. Transformation magic, except for special species, could never be used to change one's appearance.

Although there was a legend of "time regression", it was quickly dismissed as an absurd and fantastical imagination.

In other words, he was indeed seventeen like everyone else... but due to certain circumstances, he had accumulated more experiences than his age would suggest.

Yeah.

Come to think of it, didn't Baek Yu-Seol mention that his hometown collapsed under the control of the Dark Mages just before he enrolled in the academy?

A remote village she had never heard of. It was always the frontline of the ongoing battle against the Dark Mages.

‘So, that's how it is…’

She finally understood why Baek Yu-Seol lacked basic knowledge compared to others. However, he excelled in strategy and combat more than anyone else.

Now it made sense.

Without even having the opportunity for basic education, he had always fought against the Dark Mages, constantly risking his life on the battlefield.

But...

Although he was like that, he had never done anything conspicuous, maintaining the lowest grades until now.

‘Why is he suddenly working so hard?’

There must be a reason. Whenever he acted decisively, there was always a reason behind it.

Lost in deep thought, she suddenly recalled the argument between Edna and Jecky.

The discussion about whether this Persona Gate training could be the "real" one.

‘Could it be... if that statement was true?’

If that were the case, all the doubts she had so far would be resolved.

To directly conquer the Persona Gate that was deemed dangerous, he gave up behaving quietly as usual and openly revealed his strategies.

This deduction sufficiently supported the previous hypothesis.

"Tell me. Is the Persona Gate we are currently facing really the 'real' one?"

Baek Yu-Seol’s expression stiffened for a moment at her words, then he smirked.

"You've become sharp, Hong Bi-Yeon."

If she were still the original Hong Bi-Yeon Adolveit, she wouldn't have realized it until the very last moment.

But, during that process, how much did she interfere with Eisel’s actions, greatly increasing the difficulty of the conquest?

Yet, she noticed it before even reaching the boss room.

The future had changed significantly, but he didn't feel too bad about it.

Hong Bi-Yeon was distancing herself further from the path of "villainess." And that was why Baek Yu-Seol could simply smile.

"That's right. This place is the real deal. You can get injured, you can die, and if you fail to clear it, the 'Inner World or Underworld Synchronization Phenomenon' will occur outside."

"Is that so..."

"From the beginning, the goal of the first-year training session is 'how to interpret and conquer the Persona Gate.' There's no way they would create a gate that can't be interpreted and expect you to deal with it. Maybe if you were in the second year, it might be possible."

Jecky’s argument was nothing more than nonsense that completely disregarded the academy curriculum. That was what Baek Yu-Seol was saying.

"Yeah... That's how it was. That's why I've been hiding, but now I've started to move properly to resolve this situation."

Baek Yu-Seol had a secret. There was something he wanted to hide even to the extent of erasing his own past completely.

That was why he concealed his intelligence and hid his presence by achieving the worst grades.

But this time, the situation was different.

‘A real crisis.’

For students with limited experience, this place was excessively difficult to conquer. Even Hong Bi-Yeon found it challenging to interpret.

Perhaps if they had proceeded normally... quite a few students would have been injured or killed.

Among those casualties, Hong Bi-Yeon herself might have been included.

That was why it was like that.

Whenever Baek Yu-Seol moved properly, he always had a reason.

"Well then, let's hurry."

“There are things we need to confirm, so let's go quickly.”

On the other hand, the other three teams weren't in a favorable situation.

Edna roughly untangled her black frilled dress that was in disarray. The top part above her knees was slightly torn, but there was nothing she could do.

"Phew, this dress is getting in the way of the fight."

"... I'm sorry."

One girl who was sitting in a corner apologized, lowering her head in a crouched position.

Edna weakly smiled and shook her head.

"It's okay. It got resolved, didn't it?"

During the strategy, something went wrong.

Edna had some knowledge of the strategy for this gate and was well aware that the keyword was 'dance,' so she continued giving orders.

Figuring out the strategy itself wasn't particularly difficult.

However, one of the team members, who had to achieve their own score, disregarded Edna’s strategy, causing a hitch.

When the strategy failed, the knight statues suddenly started moving without any reason. At first, the students didn't think much of it, but the moment they were struck by the sharp blades of those statues, chaos ensued.

Real pain.

Real wounds.

"What... What is this..."

Even after the battle was over, one male student sniffled and stammered through tears.

They thought it was just training.

They even thought this complicated situation was the professor's intention.

This Persona Gate was supposed to be fake.

"But why... Why does it hurt so much, damn it..."

Edna couldn't hide her own mixed emotions while treating the students' wounds.

In the end, she knew it would come to this. How much effort she had put into making them aware of the truth, that it was supposed to be 'real.'

All of that effort was rendered futile because of a single girl named Jecky.

Jecky’s words, which had sounded like the truth, turned out to be lies, and Edna’s words, which were thought to be nonsensical assumptions, were true.

Only after experiencing it firsthand did the students realize.

‘... Let's consider it fortunate that they know now, even at this moment.’

‘From now on, I have to be careful. The difficulty level is higher than the average student's, but as long as Eisel is present, we can clear it without any problems.’

"Come on, calm down. Isn't this way easier than you thought? I've been working on the strategy and did some interpretation. I roughly estimated the solution."

“… What? Really?"

"Yes, I've been fooling you all this time. Hurry up and get up. We need to move on to the next stage."

Edna stood the students up and waved her staff in the air. As she did, modifiers that penetrated the essence of the Persona Gate appeared one after another, forming a message in the air.