Just like the rumors said, the problems in the Command department were really difficult.
Are they using situations that arise in dungeons as examples to test the students’ judgment?
However, the difficulty lay in the fact that the situations presented in the questions were far from ordinary.
Shane seemed to understand why the department had allowed access to the library.
Clearly, none of the students could produce a proper answer immediately to such questions.
That’s why they had allowed access to the library and given a whole week’s time.
Especially the last question, which required explaining how to clear a dungeon from start to finish. It meant that any improper use of time could likely result in not solving all the problems.
What should I do…?
These problems posed no real difficulty for Shane.
He could recall all the characteristics and methods for clearing the dungeons presented in the five questions.
The only issue was.
The discrepancy between the knowledge in Shane’s mind and the dungeon knowledge currently known to humanity.
He needed to conduct a comparison and verification to determine this.
If he carelessly wrote down knowledge not yet understood by humanity, he could become entangled in troublesome affairs.
That was not the outcome Shane desired.
All Shane immediately wanted was enough fame to stand beside Klein without lacking anything.
He was not particularly fond of any attention beyond that.
It can’t be helped.
Shane was the first to rise from his seat and head towards the library.
After all, it would take a considerable amount of time to research the questions.
Of course, he didn’t plan to do a mere adequate job. He aimed to spark some debate without leading to any troublesome situations.
He had to maintain that balance.
Additionally, there was someone he needed to meet at the library.
As he moved to the library, he saw that several students from the Command department had already arrived.
Upon his arrival, they sent sharp glances his way.
From the perspective of those who were used to being hailed as elites in their original departments, it was suspicious how Shane could clear the dungeon at a speed they couldn’t even fathom.
Shane didn’t care about their stares and sat down at a desk and opened a record book.
It was a pure white page with nothing written on it.
Shane wrote down keywords related to the book he was searching for on the blank page.
Suddenly, the names of relevant books began to appear on what had been a blank page and Shane checked one of them.
Turning to the next page, he saw the opening lines of the book he had checked.
Most of the books registered in the academy could be found using this convenient system in the record book.
Shane quietly focused on what he had to do.
How much time had he spent reading like that?
By the late hours of dawn, most of the students had already left and only a few remained in the library.
Feeling that he had done enough for the day, Shane closed the record book and stood up then quietly spoke.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“…Y-You knew.”
Seated in the row behind Shane, Osten stuttered as he too closed his record book and got to his feet.
“You keep sending glances my way at regular intervals; did you think I wouldn’t notice? What’s going on?”
“Ca-Can we, maybe, talk for a moment?”
This was the second reason Shane had come to the library.
He waited for Osten to approach and then nodded his head.
“Let’s move to a different spot.”
***
After being corrupted in his previous life, Shane met Osten only once.
That single encounter was likely more valuable to them than meeting hundreds of times.
At that time, the war between the organization and humans was at its peak.
Or rather, it seemed as though the organization was one-sidedly massacring the humans.
It was around the time the princess had escaped from a city surrounded by the organization due to Klein’s influence, thus sparking a new unity among humanity.
The humans reached out to Shane, the commander of the organization’s First Legion.
The message was a proposal for a meeting.
Shane had never accepted such a proposal before, but this was the first time he agreed and went to the human camp alone.
The reason was that since the recent rescue of the princess by the humans, the organization’s advance had started to face disruptions.
In fact, these difficulties had been emerging even before that.
Despite the organization’s efforts to identify and address the issues, no solutions had been found.
That was why he had accepted the proposal.
He was curious why the humans, who could merely squirm underfoot at the point of death, were now beginning to affect the organization’s advance.
When Shane arrived at the meeting place, the first person he saw was Osten.
Behind Osten stood the princess and Klein.
It was a wise arrangement.
With the presence of Klein, who was more impactful than tens of thousands of troops, Shane couldn’t act recklessly.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Osten.”
“I am Nameless.”
Nameless.
At that time, it was not Shane’s name but the name of the organization.
A name that meant having no name.
It was ironic, but nobody seemed to care about that.
The meeting did not involve declarations of peace or surrender.
It was merely a struggle to understand each other’s positions.
When the hour-long meeting which could be considered both short and long concluded.
Shane had fully assessed Osten.
Conversations between people.
The history embedded in a name.
The path he had walked.
The darkness within Shane reacted sensitively to human emotions and his empathic abilities were overwhelmingly superior among all the commanders.
So at least after his return, Shane could assert with certainty.
He alone in this world knew the most about the stutterer before him.
Even more so than Osten himself.
***
“Are you curious how I thought of a way to clear the dungeon?”
In response to Shane’s question, Osten nodded his head with a bewildered look on his face.
“Y-Yes. If it’s not too rude, I-I would like to hear it.”
To which Shane responded without any need to conceal.
“I learned it from someone.”
“Yo-You learned, you say?”
“I learned from someone who is more brilliant at thinking than anyone else.”
“So-Someone more brilliant than anyone… Ma-May I ask who that is?”
Shane shook his head at that question.
Osten’s brain, as in his previous life, would surely become the sharpest sword to pierce the organization, but not yet.
And while Osten’s senses were sharper than anyone else’s, his caution was equally high.
However.
Unlike in his previous life where he couldn’t control the power of corruption, though Shane couldn’t fully understand Osten’s emotions, he could discern them to some degree.
A certain level of caution and an unbearable curiosity.
For some reason, he was still hiding himself behind the fool’s guise.
Sharing information too suddenly would only bring confusion to him.
Instead, he should slowly,
But surely ensure he did not become overly cautious.
Shane offered the most suitable response.
“I don’t think we know each other well enough to exchange such things.”
“Ah, I, I’m sorry…”
“That’s fine. Instead, how about I propose a game?”
“A-A game, you say?”
“Yes. Let’s see who scores higher on the next written test. It’s simple and childish, but it’s a simple method.”
“Is there a re-reward for the winner?”
“I told you, it’s just a game, not a bet.”
Osten thought about Shane’s words for a moment, but then his eyes lit up and he nodded his head.
“I-I like that.”
***
Back in his room, the usually vacant look on Osten’s face was gone and it was replaced by a cold sneer.
“A game, huh…”
Clayton R. Shane.
After the last practical test, Osten had gathered information about him.
Most of the information was merely what Osten had already known.
It included facts like him being envious of his younger sibling and taking many irrational actions because of it.
Or his usual arrogant nature which made him treat those around him coldly.
However, among that information, there was a relatively recent piece about a dungeon wave near a village on the outskirts; that was it.
It was about the knights, mainly under Klein, who had subdued the dungeon wave and saved the village.
Though most of the talk was about Klein’s valor spreading once again through the academy, Osten found Shane’s role in the event even more astonishing.
It involved the appearance of a rotten wood spirit and Shane single-handedly defeating a Twin Headed Ogre that had been taken over by the dark spirit.
Most of the students dismissed it as mere rumors, but to Osten, it was not something to be taken lightly as just rumors.
Today’s society is a meritocracy.
A Twin Headed Ogre was a monster that even skilled knights prepared to confront, and veteran mercenaries hunted at the risk of bleeding.
To defeat such a creature, already inhabited by a dark spirit, in a single attack?
The Coalition Academy was filled with many talents, and no doubt, there were others who could achieve similar feats.
Indeed, about a dozen students came to Osten’s mind right away.
However, it was clear that up until last year, Shane’s abilities weren’t even enough to handle a goblin tribe alone, let alone a Twin Headed Ogre.
Can a person really change overnight like this?
And that wasn’t all.
Shane who had never been seen exchanging a word with his younger brother Klein during their time at the academy,
Recently, for some reason, he had often been seen with Klein and, although rare, it was said that he sometimes smiled at him.
This was no mere change of heart; it was something beyond just someone changing.
Osten who possessed keen insight felt it too.
Clearly, there was something more to him.
But this was merely a matter of curiosity and Osten was not someone who acted on curiosity alone.
He also maintained a strong sense of caution.
However, a conversation with Shane was interesting enough to crack even the wall of caution.
“A game?”
Shane’s unexpected proposal.
Osten immediately understood why Shane had made such a suggestion.
Shane had recognized the caution Osten harbored.
So he proposed they get to know each other slowly.
He casually brought up the idea of seeing who could score higher on the upcoming written test as a way to learn about each other.
At first glance, it might seem odd.
Aren’t friends supposed to simply exchange a few words and get to know each other?
Weren’t there people in the academy who quickly made friends and formed factions in the classroom?
Was there really a need to go through such cumbersome processes to learn about each other?
But for Osten, it was necessary.
With his exceptional intelligence, becoming friends thoughtlessly like others was not an option.
As a scion of a noble family, he had met a vast array of people and Osten’s keen intellect allowed him to grasp the character of each one of them.
A person who trembles over every single penny.
A person who feels superior because of the money they possess.
A person who flatters others just to be beside someone like that.
A person who aims to rule over others with the smallest amount of power.
A person who, despite possessing great power, still craves more.
Through Osten’s eyes, the world of humans seemed to revolve solely around one thing called “greed”.
Greed soon leads to jealousy, and jealousy fosters growth.
However, these emotions are all inherently dangerous and one could easily lose their humanity because of them.
Of course, there are always plenty of people who live well without any semblance of humanity.
But in Osten’s view, a minimum level of humanity was absolutely necessary.
Without humanity, a person becomes incapable of controlling themselves.
What remains then is nothing but ruin.
Since he lacked any magical powers, Osten did not want to be around such people.
At least anyone who wanted to use him needed to have the credentials to do so.
That was the reason behind his act of playing the fool.
The choice to play the fool rather than just acting ordinary was also to make observing others easier.
By nature, humans tend to break down their emotional walls and show their true selves to those they perceive as inferior.
Naturally, playing the part of someone ordinary led to being overlooked and annoyed by others, but conversely, Osten found it easy to understand such people.
That was until just a few days ago.
Until he met Shane who seemed utterly devoid of emotion.
Over the course of five years at the academy, Osten had seen Shane numerous times and thought he had fully understood him.
However, when the academy’s break ended and a new semester began, Shane returned as someone Osten couldn’t understand at all.
Osten had encountered difficult people before but he had never seen someone change so dramatically.
Sitting at his desk, Osten looked down at the test questions.
“This kind of game is always welcome.”
He picked up his pen and began to solve the test problems.
Meanwhile, Shane who was also seated at his desk was deep in thought.
“This is difficult.”
At first, he had planned to solve the problems to a level that roughly matched the current human standard.
That was why he had gone to the library.
But after meeting Osten and suggesting this game, his thoughts changed.
He never planned to make such an offer originally.
Now he needed to understand Osten.
However, Osten of this era still retained a naive sense of caution.
A naive caution.
If he was clearly wary, a deal might have been possible, but the Osten of the present was far from the Osten of the future.
That’s why Shane suggested a game involving their test scores.
Upon hearing this, Osten showed interest.
Surely, with Osten’s interest piqued, things would not end merely with a simple exchange of test scores.
Needless curiosity could be annoying and sometimes even dangerous.
But considering the potential of the Osten of the future, these annoyances and dangers were not much.
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