The Tale of Gerald Vader, the Heretic Knightโs Rampage Through Another World
โAlrightโฆ this is the look I’m going for.โ
He picks out the best-looking pieces from the stack of papers on his desk and holds them up to the light of his desk lamp.
The magic circle, drawn with special ink that reacts to magic, reflects the trace amounts of magic contained in the lamp’s light, emitting a faint green glow.
โHeh heh, ha haโฆ Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!!โ
The words, reminiscent of a villain’s line, slip out before he can stop himself.
Composed of geometric patterns arranged in a circular pattern and magical script, the magic circle is a work of art in its own right.
The spell formula for detecting miasma is relatively simple.
Itโs just a matter of rewriting the magic detection syntax from the beginner-level barrier magic spell, โMagic Protection,โ to detect miasma, and removing the syntax for generating a magic barrier.
After that, while taking care not to upset the balance of the spell, I added settings for the miasma detection threshold and post-detection processing.
When miasma leaking from a demon touches this magic circle, the spell turns a deep, pitch-black color.
The idea is that I can determine the amount of miasma and the time it took to react based on that color.
This is an application made possible precisely because I had studied the fundamentals of magic thoroughly from the start.
Since Twina has been studying magic so diligently, my own efforts to keep up with her have paid off.
I really need to thank her for that.
Also, of course, my ability to accurately grasp the structure of magic circles is thanks to Professor Liliaโs lessons.
It was precisely because of that that I came up with this idea, and I was able to recall almost everything I had forgotten.
โPhewโฆ Now itโs just a matter of how many of these I can mass-produce.โ
Illuminated by the desk lamp, a dozen or so magic circles appear.
Since I rushed through the work, there are plenty of failures, but Iโve managed to get the hang of it, so from now on I should be able to mass-produce magic circles consistently.
That saidโฆ I certainly canโt make enough to cover the entire academy grounds.
If I tried to do that, even thousands wouldnโt be enough.
โFirst off, Iโve got to test if this thing actually works.โ
I muttered to myself, glancing at the window in my room.
I stood up from my desk and looked out the window.
It was already late at night.
There was no sign of anyone in the alley below.
It wasnโt that there werenโt any knights patrolling the grounds, but at this hour, they shouldnโt be making rounds that frequently.
Well, even if I were spotted, I could come up with plenty of excuses. No problem.
โโฆAlright, letโs go.โ
I pulled a coat out of the closet and threw it on.
Then I returned to my desk, gathered up the magic circles Iโd just finished, and stuffed them into my bag.
I went to all that trouble to make these magic circles.
Itโs only natural that I canโt resist testing them out.
Besides, thereโs less than a month left until the training for the Dungeon of Destiny.
If Iโm going to take action, itโs never too early, no matter what I do.
ใโ
As I stepped out of the dormitory, the surroundings were enveloped in silence.
The only sound was the rustling of plants swaying in the night breeze.
The cobblestones of the pathway, illuminated by the cold light of the magic lamps, glistened silver.
Gazing at them, I felt a strange chill and pulled my coat collar tight around my neck with both hands.
Looking back, warm lights were still glowing in some of the dorm windows.
But with the curtains drawn, no one was likely paying any attention to my movements.
โโฆWell then.โ
I moved a short distance away from the dormitory, blending into the night, then looked around once more.
Where should I start?
Naturally, the number of magic circles is limited.
I canโt just scatter them all over the academy grounds.
Besides, I canโt set them up in places where someone might easily spot them.
โDamn it, if I knew who the culprit was, I wouldnโt have to go through all this troubleโฆโ
I muttered curses as I wandered through the chilly, late-night alleyway.
In the main story, perhaps because this โDungeon Demonization Terrorโ is an early-game event, the main characters arenโt the culprits.
The culprit is a background character. Naturally, they donโt even have a name.
Since itโs a somewhat important event, they do have a character sprite, but because theyโre a background character, they donโt have a face (itโs obviously a reused sprite).
That was the problem.
In other words, I couldnโt identify the culprit by their appearance.
Well, even the game developers probably never dreamed that someone would actually reincarnate into their own game, so I guess thereโs nothing to be done about that.
โHmmโฆ I guess Iโll start with the area around the dorms.โ
That said, thereโs no doubt the culprit is a student at the academy.
And while there are exceptions, almost all students at the Knight Academy live in the dorms.
In other words, if I set a trap around the dormitory, they should react.
Then, by gradually narrowing down the area where I set the traps, I should be able to pinpoint someone.
If I canโt, it means theyโre one of the exceptionsโa student who doesnโt live in the dormitoryโwhich would actually make identifying them easier.
Itโs a bit of a roundabout way of doing things, but if I were to mark them directly, it would be a real hassle if they happened to notice.
If they get scared and stop the demonization terror attacks, thatโs fine, but if they change their methods or get replaced by someone else, not only will we be back to square one, but dealing with them in the future will become much harder.
Thatโs why we need to proceed cautiously.
However, there was one more problem with identifying the culprit.
The fact that the culprit is a โgirl.โ
Being a girl means, naturally, she lives in the girlsโ dormitory.
If it were the boysโ dorm, sneaking in anywhere wouldnโt be a problem (well, itโs not entirely without risk, but it wouldnโt be a major issue), but even for someone like me, sneaking into the girlsโ dorm to set up a magic circle is a tough call.
No, technically, I think itโs possibleโI consider myself a monkey and am confident in my acrobaticsโbut the risk of getting caught is just too high.
Obviously, I wouldnโt be able to stay at the academy, and if Iโm unlucky, it could even affect Alissa and Twina.
Itโs certain that the Vader family would be looked down upon as a family that produced a s*x offender (strictly speaking, it would be trespassing or something like that), and in the worst case, the fallout could even reach Nora, whoโs from the same hometown.
Therefore, I canโt just carelessly sneak into the girlsโ dormitory.
Of course, I could explain the situation and ask Twina and Alissa for their help.
But first, I need to do what I can on my own.
If I were to ask for their help, Iโd have to explain various detailsโincluding the fact that I have memories of my past lifeโand even though this is a world of swords and magic, they probably wouldnโt believe me if I just spouted a bunch of outlandish stories.
At the very least, even if I want to secure their cooperation, I need to gather some evidence.
โWell, I guess Iโll start with the safe bet: the area around the dorms.โ
So, I decided to set them up around the boysโ and girlsโ dorms, as well as on the path that runs between them.
I slipped behind the bushes lining both sides of the path and dug shallow holes.
I rolled the magic circles into tubes, placed them in the holes, and lightly covered them with soil.
Itโs just like planting seeds or seedlings in a field.
I repeated this process for every magic circle I had on hand.
I set them up near the menโs dorm because I had some left over.
The rest was just a precaution.
โโฆAlright, I guess thatโs it.โ
After setting up the last one I had, I exhaled in the darkness.
This way, it shouldnโt be discovered so easily.
Besides, since the magic circles are single-layeredโinscribed only on the surface of the paper scrapsโthey wonโt short-circuit even when rolled up.
Iโll just have to remember the locations and draw a map later.
For now, Iโve done everything I can.
All thatโs left is to wait.
โ
And a few days later.
To cut to the chase, there was a reaction from the magic circles.
The plan worked.
However, there was one problem.
There was a reaction from both of the magic circles I had โplantedโ near the girlsโ and boysโ dorms.
That meant it could be a โbad kidโ sneaking back and forth between the girlsโ and boysโ dormsโwhich wouldnโt be a big dealโbut it also suggested the worst-case scenario: the possibility that there was a demon on the boysโ side that I wasnโt aware of.