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.

It was the 'guideline message' that only appeared when the Persona Gate was perfectly analyzed.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the 'Dancing Chess Room'.]

[Thanks to this stage, we gained a lot of hints. We were able to learn about Lady Aeron’s dance preferences.]

[We don't have much time left until the Masquerade. Please head to the next stage soon! It seems like you'll be able to join your teammates there.]

[If all the teammates have successfully overcome the obstacles, the source of the magical barrier blocking the Masquerade will be severed, and you can proceed to the 'Dancing Clock Tower'!]

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

"Edna, did you really interpret this place?"

"That's impossible... I haven't even learned the complicated formula yet, how..."

Well, she had been preparing in advance, anticipating today's situation. As someone who had been reincarnated into a fantasy world, she couldn’t claim to know the future, so Edna changed the topic.

"Now you understand, right? You can do it. Absolutely."

Eisel probably succeeded in interpreting it by now.

Despite not preparing like she did, she would awaken the formulas with her genius brain and change her perspective to interpret them.

And Hong Bi-Yeon... she probably hadn’t interpreted it yet.

It was not because her abilities were inferior to Eisel’s. She probably thought it was impossible from the beginning and didn't even attempt it. It was her congenital flaw.

"Alright, let's move."

At Edna’s words, the three students nodded with determined expressions.

Regardless of the circumstances, the fact that she succeeded in analyzing this place increased the probability of clearing it.

Creak!

A massive iron door opened, and the magical barrier broke, revealing a large hall.

According to Edna’s knowledge, there was nothing in this stage. It was a space where challengers could rest and a place to join other challengers.

"Oh?! Edna! You're here too!"

Coincidentally, Eisel’s team was coming from the opposite side, as the door opened towards them.

As expected, they swiftly completed the strategy with Eisel leading the way.

However, there were already three boys and girls waiting here. It was Jecky’s team, who had set off first.

"... They're much faster than I thought."

Edna quickly approached them.

"Is everyone safe? Where is Jecky?"

"Well, Jecky suddenly disappeared."

"What? Jecky?"

"Yeah. We were able to come this far thanks to Jecky, but she suddenly vanished after passing through the last door. We searched for a while, but she wasn't there, so we just came in..."

They searched for a while.

That means they progressed through the strategy much faster than Edna and Eisel.

‘... Does that make sense?’

Still, Edna had been preparing for this Persona Gate for a considerable amount of time. It was undoubtedly a tremendous speed, even though interpretation was difficult and finding the strategy was challenging.

Even faster than Eisel, who knew the future and possessed exceptional interpretive abilities within the world, but that wasn't the end of it.

"But we're not the first ones here either."

"What?"

"Look over there."

At the words of a fellow student, Edna turned her gaze towards a corner and couldn't help but widen her eyes.

Baek Yu-Seol and Hong Bi-Yeon were there, even faster than Jecky. They had arrived here long before.

"... Wait, when did you guys come?"

"Just a while ago."

"You're really ridiculously fast..."

Edna’s words were met with unanimous agreement from the other students.

Well, it was understandable for Baek Yu-Seol to be like this. He possessed knowledge that was incomparable to other ordinary students.

"By any chance, have you seen Jecky?"

Fifteen out of the sixteen students had gathered, but one person had mysteriously disappeared.

Baek Yu-Seol sighed and shook his head. "I haven't seen her."

In fact, one reason Baek Yu-Seol hurriedly came here was to find out Jecky’s whereabouts.

In the original game, there was always a development where if Jecky transformed into the Dark Magic form, she would succeed in the strategy even faster than Eisel, Edna, and the player, but then she would disappear somewhere.

But what if they could join forces with Jecky midway and reveal her true identity in advance? Perhaps the heroines could clear the episodes easily without facing any danger.

With such a mindset, he hastily attempted, but it was ultimately futile.

Jecky’s team, which arrived late, was already gone.

‘There's nothing we can do.’

In this situation, all they could do was provide the maximum help possible to ensure the heroines could clear the stage safely, just as in the original storyline.

Now, only one boss stage remained, but the students decided to take a short break in the hall.

Baek Yu-Seol’s team had never engaged in a single battle, but the other teams had triggered traps or failed in their gimmick strategies, requiring them to fight.

"Princess, you're truly amazing. You arrived first."

"I never thought of you as a fellow first-year student."

Beside Hong Bi-Yeon, students who wanted to join her faction gathered and flattered her.

They were called "followers" and even if they didn't join her faction, they would follow behind Hong Bi-Yeon.

"What did I do that's so great?"

"Y-Yes?"

She rummaged through her pocket and took out a ginseng candy, and put it in her mouth.

She then gazed at the ceiling silently and said, "From the strategy to a stable guide, Baek Yu-Seol did everything alone. I haven't done anything."

"Ah, y-you're being humble."

"Right. Princess...?"

"Huh? I'm not being humble. I haven't actually done anything."

Upon hearing this, the followers trembled in contemplation.

"W-We're sorry! But we really feel that you're amazing, Princess..."

"Yeah, I am amazing, in fact."

".... Huh?"

After going back and forth, just a moment ago she was saying she wasn't amazing, and now she elegantly swept her hair behind her shoulder and confidently spoke, "Stop flattering me and tell me honestly. Among the first-year students, there are hardly any mages as amazing as me, no matter where you look, right?"

"Yeah, that's right! Compared to you, Princess, Mayuseong and Eisel have mediocre firepower."

"Exactly, exactly. You might be able to compete with 2nd and 3rd-year seniors."

"Yeah."

She clasped her hands, wearing fingerless gloves, and looked off into the distance while hugging her knees.

"... Among 'students,' it's an impressive level. So there's no need to compare yourself to ordinary students."

"That's right!"

"I see, Princess, were you comparing yourself to veteran magical warriors?"

"Even though veteran mages might seem impressive now, once you gain enough experience, you’ll catch up to them in no time!"

"I think so too."

That was why Hong Bi-Yeon could remain calm. Even when she saw a student who displayed talent far superior to her own at the age of just seventeen, she could remain unfazed.

Baek Yu-Seol was not an ordinary seventeen-year-old first-year student.

Hong Bi-Yeon was certain of that.

‘He definitely came to school with a purpose.’

A boy with a blank past that even the information network of the Adolveit Kingdom couldn't uncover.

Someone who walked the path of a knight without using magic; a truly unique mage in the world.

"You guys."

"Yes?"

"Tell me, Princess."

"How does Baek Yu-Seol seem to you?"

Upon her words, the follower girls sat at a distance and observed Baek Yu-Seol, who was conversing with Edna with a serious expression.

"I don't know... He seems a little difficult."

"Yeah, doesn't it feel like he's been through a lot?"

"Not that kind of thing."

"Oh, I see. You're talking about his abilities, right? He does seem truly impressive. Like when he hunted down the Necromancer and during the simulation battle with the giant demon the other day."

"He not only fights well but also uses his head incredibly well, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I think so too."

He used his head well.

Those were the right words.

During the Necromancer's ambush, he captured a high-ranking skeleton without killing it and then located the main body.

During the simulation battle with the giant demon, he effortlessly manipulated five Intermediate Demons to fight each other.

In that Persona Gate, he quickly found strategies with his extraordinary observation skills and unconventional thinking.

Most of his strategies were derived from "experience."

Experience.

While the nobles studied magical formulas and theories safely inside their secure mansions, he would have fought on the actual battlefield with only a single sword in hand.

That was why, despite receiving the lowest score at the entrance ceremony, he was able to rise rapidly with his exceptional intellect and unconventional ideas.

And... no one except her would have noticed his true worth.

"Well, that's how it is..."

"Why do you say that, Princess?"

"Nothing, really."

She shrugged off the topic and stood up. It was time to move on to the next stage.