Volume 3 Chapter 30 Catherine - Aha. The Additional Event Is The Seven Wonders.
The day after Randy and the others came up with their theory, Cory and Annabelle were busy gathering materials.
"So, since we have the chance, I really want to figure out the Seven Wonders."
Catherine was enjoying her usual tea on the school terrace with her friends──except for Chris. They were talking about the Seven Wonders of the school and how they wanted to solve them as the student council.
But her real goal was to annoy Elizabeth.
Catherine had seen Randy and the others from the rooftop that day and knew they were exploring the old school building for the Seven Wonders. Her source of information was Annabelle, who was in the same church group.
Using her position, Catherine pretended to be worried about Annabelle and found out that they were investigating the Seven Wonders.
Originally, they were supposed to capture a ghost, but somehow the focus shifted to the Seven Wonders, and now that's what Catherine believed was happening.
As a result, in Catherine's mind, Elizabeth and the others were working on this extra content about the Seven Wonders.
Since the Seven Wonders were just background details in the game, Catherine was imagining events that didn't even exist...
"The Seven Wonders of the school, huh..."
Crown Prince Edgar crossed his arms, looking deep in thought. As the student council president, he had heard rumors like this before. He had ignored them until Catherine told him that Annabelle had gone into the dangerous old school building.
It was concerning that a female student, especially one who hadn't taken combat training, would rush into the old school at dusk... This was a matter of student safety.
In reality, she was safer with a top-notch bodyguard than going on a picnic, but no one except Annabelle knew that. Because of this, Edgar's sense of justice kicked in.
"If we ignore these unsettling rumors, it would be shameful for a royal family member and student council president."
With Edgar agreeing as the student council president, it was decided that Catherine and the others would work to solve the Seven Wonders.
"But, I don't know all of them, you know?"
As Knight Captain Arthur pointed out, neither Edgar nor Dario knew all the Seven Wonders.
"Don't worry! I've already asked an expert!"
Catherine pulled out 2 notebooks filled with information about the Seven Wonders that she got from Annabelle earlier that morning. One notebook had the details of the Seven Wonders, and the other had the truth behind them.
Annabelle was happy to share that someone was interested in the Seven Wonders.
"I got the info from a girl in the 'Occult Research Club'."
The notebooks Catherine opened had the information she got from Annabelle. Of course, besides the 3 Wonders that Randy had already solved, it also mentioned the 4th [Mirror Room] and the fifth [Twilight Corridor] as solved.
"Oh, I've heard of the [Mirror Room]."
Arthur said excitedly as he looked at that section.
4. Another version of yourself appears in the Mirror Room
If you use the Mirror Room in the training facility at midnight, another version of yourself will appear from the mirror and challenge you to a duel.
If you lose to that version, you'll be trapped in the mirror, and the one who came out will live as the real you.
Actually, the mirror is a gateway to another world, and the residents of that world are always trying to invade this one. If you suddenly notice someone around you has switched their dominant hand or has a mole in a different spot... they might have lost a duel in the Mirror Room.
"This actually started from a prank over ten years ago."
Catherine sighed, and Arthur tilted his head, asking, "A prank?"
"Yeah. One of the twins made up that story to prank the other one, and it seems they actually went through with it."
Catherine put her finger on her cheek and tilted her head, saying, "Isn't that cheeky?" She even added that they might have made the other twin a little tipsy to increase the chances of the prank working.
"Tipsy..."
"Yeah..."
Arthur and Dario exchanged awkward smiles about a topic that felt a bit too real. Sneaking into school at night and drinking. If they got caught, they'd probably get suspended like someone else they knew... As they thought about this, something even more shocking hit them.
"By the way, those 2 are our current practical instructors."
"Huh?"
The 3 of them responded in surprise, but they remembered that the instructors for sword fighting and martial arts were indeed muscular twins.
(It's funny that the ones who were messing around are now teachers... classic.)
That was Catherine's thought. She found it a bit lame, but since she knew modern Japan, she figured that the so-called "7 Wonders" were just exaggerated rumors.
"Is it really necessary to solve this?"
Arthur smiled wryly, and Edgar and Dario shared the same kind of smile.
"But the fifth one was really a strange thing, you know?"
Catherine explained about the fifth mystery that Randy and the others had solved recently.
Void Walker.
Another dimension.
But there was no talk about that at all. Instead, it was simply about a specter using illusion magic appearing in a school building painted by the sunset, which sounded completely harmless. Well, it was dangerous, but compared to the original danger, it seemed like a cute little thing that made people chuckle.
This showed the counter to the discussion they had the other day, assuming it was true.
If they spread the real information about the 7 Wonders, it would only lead to more confusion, rumors, and fear directed at that place. If the hypothesis was correct, a powerful being could be born again, and even faster than before.
Even if there wasn't a core soul to evolve, the more imagination piled up, the stronger the entity could grow. Even a single Revenant or Spectral Wraith would be something students couldn't handle, even in groups.
If a student were to get killed by it... the rumors would grow even bigger and faster, feeding on stronger imaginations, and a Void Walker could be born again.
Of course, a Void Walker doesn't just appear easily.
It's not enough to have rumors and a core soul... but if they strictly limited it to just "Void Walker," it would only speed up the imagination towards that.
If a soul were added as an energy source... no one could say for sure that a second Void Walker wouldn't be born.
So, they all decided to specify it as "Specter." Wraiths can't use illusions, but Specters can, making the story about the corridors fit better.
By specifying it, they could also stop the imagination at "there's a Specter." ...Also, there was a good chance people wouldn't believe it if they said "Void Walker" anyway...
Anyway, Catherine and the others didn't know any of this...
"A Specter, huh... it's not a problem for us."
"Yeah, it's definitely dangerous to leave it alone."
...They were realizing the danger of the 7 Wonders again. Just because it's a Specter doesn't mean it's nothing. Specters are said to be very close to a C rank in terms of beasts. For students, they are dangerous beings that should be avoided.
They had the strength to say "it's not a problem"... It's just that Randy and Luke are a bit odd, and those 2 and Harrison are just a bit crazy; the rest of them are actually quite normal and capable.
(Even with Luke around, that redhead seems pretty capable too... Well, we can handle a Specter just fine.)
Catherine kept that thought to herself. If she shared that information, Arthur might get interested and reach out to Luke and the others. Right now, she wanted to secretly put a stop to Elizabeth's event. That was her main focus.
"Do you understand the danger of the 7 Wonders now?"
Catherine smiled, and Edgar nodded, "Yeah." Driven by a strange sense of justice, they quickly moved on to the next mystery.
6. The Illusory Classroom
One student got lost in the school at night and found an old door that usually wasn't there at the end of the hallway. Behind that door was a classroom that seemed to have been used long ago.
Old desks and chairs were neatly arranged, and the blackboard had faint traces of lessons from decades ago.
When the curious student sat in a chair, illusions appeared around the desks, and a teacher's illusion appeared at the podium.
The student had been in class for a while, but suddenly the bell rang, and they snapped back to reality, feeling scared and quickly leaving the classroom.
When the student stepped out the door, they were met by people looking for them. They heard that it had been a week since the student entered the classroom. When the student looked back, they saw not a door but the end of the hallway, and they realized they could never get back there again.
If the student had kept attending class, they might have been trapped in that ghostly classroom and become one of those phantom students.
"There's someone who came back, and it's pretty specific, so why is it still just a rumor?"
Arthur tilted his head, and Catherine smiled, saying, "That's a mystery too."
"It's a creepy rumor, but you never know if some students might try to copy it."
Edgar's whisper was somewhat true. As members of the student council, they needed to get rid of anything that would stop students from studying.
"Thinking about the situation, it seems more like an element than a ghost."
Dario finished his tea, and Catherine nodded, saying, "I think so too."
While it doesn't directly harm anyone, if you get caught up in the trickery, you could lose your body and wander as a soul forever. Elements are known for playing those kinds of tricks.
"Chris not being here is a loss, but with the 4 of us, we can handle an element."
Edgar put down his cup, and Arthur punched his palm, saying, "Leave it to me."
"Cathy, do you know the way to the [illusory classroom]?"
Catherine blushed a little at Edgar's smile and started flipping through her notes to explain the details.
The [illusory classroom] often appears late at night when there's fog, and the strongest info says that if you set a broken clock to 4:44, it will show up.
"The broken clock... isn't that the one in front of the principal's office? No matter how many times it's fixed, the hands always stop. It's right at the end of the hallway."
Everyone nodded big time at Dario's words, saying, "That's it!"
"Then, as soon as we get permission from the teacher and our families, let's plan a late-night exploration."
Edgar looked happy, and it wasn't a mistake. As the Crown Prince and student council president, he had always lived a structured life, but now he was going to sneak into the school at night, as long as he got permission.
This was probably going to be a first for Edgar, especially with a girl he was interested in.
It's no surprise that anyone would feel excited, even if it wasn't Edgar.
"Okay, let's get to it. We'll get permission... and if we can, maybe tomorrow night──."
Everyone nodded at Catherine's suggestion, and that day they all went home feeling light on their feet.
They all worked hard to get permission with a guard, showing their determination.
(Just wait, Elizabeth. I'll take care of one of them first.)
The 6th mystery. It really is, as they say, not a big deal. But no one knows that solving the 7 Wonders will lead to a huge disaster later on.
*To summon a Void Walker, very special conditions are needed. Normally, a monster of that kind can't be born just from souls and imagination. It's not too complicated, but it would take a long time to explain... Just think of it as a special being that can't normally appear.*
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)