"Well… that was embarrassing."
I was now lying on a medical bed in the infirmary, receiving a blood transfusion while trying to recover from the disaster I had just caused.
I had completely underestimated the cost of altering the book.
In the original story, spending mana to modify a Book of Truth rarely led to serious consequences. At worst, it caused a dramatic fainting spell and a few worried lines from some random classmate. In my case, however, I discovered the truth the hard way. The price wasn't mana.
It was vital energy.
And apparently, the book charged a steep fee.
The change I made must have been one of the most expensive possible, something equivalent to completely draining someone's mana core. It was a dangerous mistake, but at least I learned that not every alteration would push me to the brink of death… I think.
Luckily, Kevin was nearby. He found me collapsed in the hallway, carried me here, and then went back to class as if nothing had happened. Still, I knew that wasn't just a coincidence.
I saw it. Just for a moment, in his hand. A book with an emerald-green cover and familiar golden letters.
"The Lazy Swordsman."
A Book of Truth… about me.
The idea that someone else possessed a living record of everything I did, and could even alter my future, was terrifying at the very least. Fortunately, I knew its limitations. The book censored intimate thoughts and critical revelations, as if protecting the target's consciousness. Even so, the feeling was deeply unsettling.
With that, I could now confirm it. There were three active Books of Truth.
"The Luminescent Swordsman," in Ren's possession.
"The Lazy Swordsman," held by Kevin.
And "The Chained Swordsman," mine.
The curious part was that only I knew this. To Ren and Kevin, each of them was the sole holder. For now, that gave me a significant advantage.
Still… why the hell was my book called The Lazy Swordsman? Is this some kind of joke? I'm not that lazy.
I reflected on that for a few moments before sinking back into the soft bed. In the end, having a legitimate excuse to skip classes and sleep without guilt didn't seem like such a terrible punishment.
———
After leaving the infirmary, I calmly headed back to the dormitory to change clothes. The next class was Tactical Cooperation, a course that used virtual reality technology to train teamwork among students. To be honest, I was curious. Virtual reality at that level had been a distant dream in my previous world.
I took off the sky-blue first-year uniform and put on the dark-blue suit reserved for practical classes.
Lock's uniforms were color-coded by year. Sky blue for first-years, dark green for second-years, and blood red for third-years. A simple way to distinguish students, especially useful when guilds came to observe potential recruits. Those in red, just one step away from graduation, were always the main targets.
As I adjusted the suit, I noticed yet another small advantage of my ridiculously short height.
Ren had described this outfit as a walking torture device, something that squeezed every muscle and made you move like a malfunctioning robot. But on me… it fit perfectly.
The fabric molded to my body as if it had been tailor-made. Possibly the first piece of clothing I'd worn in this world that actually matched my size.
Until now, everything I wore, from uniforms to casual clothes, had been too big. Sleeves drooped, fabric hung loose, and I always looked like a child wearing their father's suit. In a way, it had its charm. It resembled traditional Japanese clothing like haori and kimono. On the other hand, it made me look even more childish.
Now, however, staring at my reflection, I saw something different. Beneath the fitted fabric, my body wasn't as fragile as I'd imagined. There were subtle but well-defined muscles, hidden until now by excess cloth.
I sighed and adjusted the necklace around my neck.
"Alright… time for class."
The Lock campus was absurdly massive. Five square kilometers, divided into eight sections labeled from A to H. A true institutional labyrinth.
Section A housed the classrooms. Three oval-shaped buildings, one for each year.
Section B was the professors' area. Offices, meeting rooms, and that massive glass pyramid where important and utterly useless decisions were made.
Section C contained the laboratories and research facilities, isolated from the rest of the campus for safety reasons. Or, in simpler terms, because they had already exploded more than once.
My destination was Section D, the underground Virtual Reality sector. That was where the training capsules were located, each student diving into tactical simulations created by the academy itself.
Section E was the dormitory zone. Five buildings stacked by status and comfort.
The simplest one, Golden Rat, was basically a student shelter with walls and hope.
Above it was Horned Sheep, where I lived. Slightly better, but far from luxurious.
Then came Manticore and Hydra, luxury residences for high-performing students, complete with butlers, personalized meals, and private training facilities.
At the very top of the food chain stood Leviathan. Inaccessible to anyone not deemed a "unique talent." Not even money could buy a spot there. It was home to humanity's future legends, offering everything imaginable. Pools, chefs, laboratories, VR rooms, butlers, and probably a garden that served tea infused with refined mana.
Section G was the Public Training Center. Enormous, always crowded, and usable only by reservation.
Finally, Section H housed the library and the mysterious Cube. A forbidden area that stored secret manuals, divine herbs, and legendary techniques comparable to the [Keiki Style].
Yeah…
This place was diabolically huge. And sometimes, I genuinely considered skipping a class just to avoid crossing the entire campus.
———
When I entered the VR room, the first thing that caught my attention was the strange way everyone moved.
Most students walked almost like robots. Stiff steps, arms pressed close to their bodies, as if simply breathing inside that tight suit was a test of endurance.
Of course, not everyone looked uncomfortable. Some moved naturally within the skin-tight outfit, radiating confidence born of experience. They had probably done this before.
Because of the snug uniform, boys and girls were separated into different changing rooms, which drew frustrated sighs from a good portion of the class.
I'll admit, I was also curious about how Melissa would look in that suit. But the thought was quickly smothered by the image of how she'd react if she found out. Death seemed far too steep a price for simple curiosity.
"Though… now that I think about it, maybe it'd be worth the risk…"
As I weighed the relative value of life versus a beautiful sight, a deep voice echoed through the hall, snapping me out of my thoughts.
— Alright, everyone, please look this way.
The man speaking stepped forward, wearing the same tight suit, and immediately drew everyone's attention. Tall, with neatly styled black hair, a calm expression, and a polite smile that bordered on artificial, he was the professor in charge of the class.
Holding a tablet, he began calling names in a gentle, friendly tone. To anyone else, he looked like the textbook definition of a kind instructor.
But that was just a mask.
I know who you really are…
His name was Alfonse Thibaut. To everyone else, he was merely a Virtual Reality instructor. In the original story, however, he was the first Djinn ever introduced.
A human who had made a contract with a demon in exchange for power. A traitor to humanity, cursed by his own ambition.
In Thibaut's case, his pact was with a demon from the Shadow Tribe, a sub-branch of the Greed Clan, one of the seven great demonic clans.
Each clan embodied one of the seven deadly sins. Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth.
They were led by Demon Dukes, beings as powerful as, if not stronger than, the greatest SS-class human heroes.
Above them all, at the absolute pinnacle, stood the Demon King. A single strike from him would be enough to erase humanity. Or it would have been, had he not been bound by ancient restrictions that prevented him from crossing into the human domain.
At least until the Third Calamity, when the true war would begin.
Thinking about that made me sigh.
Deep down, I was grateful for being the lowest-ranked student in the class. It made me practically invisible. Aside from the occasional bullying, my life was peaceful. Very different from Kevin's, who was constantly surrounded by envious sycophants and disguised enemies, all waiting for a chance to bring him down.
— Since everyone is present, I'll begin activating the capsules. Enter when I give the signal.
The professor typed something into the panel, and the monitor in front of him flashed blue. He began calling names one by one.
— Kazehara Yuto, please proceed to capsule forty-five.
I sighed, adjusted the uncomfortable suit, and walked toward my assigned capsule. The interior was cramped, but comfortable enough. I put on the helmet, taking a deep breath as the ambient noise faded away.
— Student Kazehara, everything alright? Thibaut asked through the voice line.
— Yes.
— Excellent. Initiating simulation in three… two… one…
Tak.
The sharp sound of a key being pressed echoed. And then, everything went dark.