Jericho staggered up, his legs trembling slightly. His hands, sore and scorched, clutched the hilt of his creation.
An iron blade, his first enchanted sword. A real, functioning weapon.
He turned it in his hand, letting the faint light shimmer across the steel.
In Alchemia Tale, crafting was one thing, stats, durability, base power. But enchanting?
Enchanting gave weapons identity.
You could turn a slow axe into a lightning-fast weapon, a weak blade into a precision tool. One enchant could make or break a weapon. And this iron blade had one: Glide Cut, a 15% chance to bypass defense entirely.
"Fifteen percent is low," Jericho muttered, patting the dust from his knees.
Then paused.
Wait.
Chance?
He glanced at his stat panel.
Luck: 6.
His grin slowly widened.
"If... If it's about chance... If I keep increasing my luck... I could make every percentage a guarantee hit, right?"
He didn't know how far that idea could go.
But he loved it.
A new message popped up.
[Crafting Skill Leveled Up: Lv. 3] [Enchanting Skill Leveled Up: Lv. 2] [+2 Stat Points Gained]
"Beautiful. I'm a genius."
He opened the stat screen and split the new points evenly:
+1 Luck+1 Intelligence
In the game, Intelligence had a direct effect on enchantment success and magical quality. Luck made things happen. Intelligence made them work better.
He was still admiring his sword when a twig snapped.
Jericho stiffened.
Footsteps.
Two figures stepped out of the trees. They wore black coats that caught the last bit of sunlight, and red armbands that stood out like warning signs.
His eyes widened.
"Wha... Oh no."
The Disciplinary Committee.
In Alchemia Tale, they were the polar opposite of the Student Council. Where the Council was about rules and elegance, the Committee was about judgment. Executioners in uniform. Feared, respected and ruthless.
Jericho backed up, almost tripping over his fire pit.
Leading the charge was a girl with tanned skin, pointy ears, stylish grey hair, and a death glare that could melt steel.
"Oi, pervert. Didn't think we'd find you, huh?"
Jericho mentally slapped a name tag on her.
Aiko Tanaka.
The tsundere tomboy with zero tolerance for creeps.
Behind her walked a girl with long brown hair and glasses, her expression calm and composed, but her eyes judgmental in a different way. Coldly polite.
"We're here to confirm your presence, Vaun Ashenwald," she said sweetly. "And advise you to pack your things and disappear quietly."
Marielle Lorne.
A gentle facade, but firm in her resolve. She didn't shout. She just made sure problems vanished.
Jericho chuckled dryly.
"Right. You two."
He remembered them well. In the game, they were side NPCs with key roles in the Academy arc. Legend had it they were born from a heated argument between two of the devs over who had the better waifu archetype.
One wanted a fiery tsundere enforcer, the other a quiet intellectual who'd gently ruin you. The result? Aiko and Marielle.
Their main purpose was to be the first to notice how impressive the main character was becoming, and their interest was often the first flag that you were doing something right.
But they weren't just there to maintain order. They were there to erase liabilities and he was liability #1.
Aiko crossed her arms.
"This whole place reeks of scheming. And fish. What the hell are you even doing out here?"
Jericho opened his mouth to answer.
But stopped when he felt it.
Pressure.
A presence so heavy it made the air dense. The birds stopped chirping. The wind held its breath.
A third figure stepped up.
Short, clad in the same black uniform, with a red armband wrapped tight around her left bicep.
Her hair was pure white, falling straight down her back, and her forehead was bare, polished like porcelain, perfect for a last kiss.
From beneath her bangs, two purple eyes glared forward, eyes with slit pupils.
The very image of cold authority.
And right above, two large horns curling slightly from her temple.
Jericho nearly dropped his sword.
Hilda Drakenveil, the Head of the Disciplinary Committee.
A name etched into the upper echelon of Alchemia Tale lore. One of the most powerful characters in the entire game.
A Route-Breaker.
That's what the fandom called her. The kind of character so absurdly strong and influential that, if she actually got involved in the plot, she could end the game by herself.
She had dragon blood. Literal, inherited draconic power. Her combat stats were higher than any other student, even Shin at the end of the game. Her route was almost impossible to unlock.
To romance her, you had to forgot flirting with anyone else, complete multiple invisible flags, ace your duels, stay clean with no infractions, and still hit every event deadline.
Only then, you would be involved in enough situations with her to become acquaintances. And even then your choice of dialogues mattered.
Jericho stared at her, heart frozen.
She stepped forward.
"Jericho Vaun Ashenwald," she said, voice like steel. "You have two minutes to explain why you are still breathing within Celestia jurisdiction."
Jericho stood still, his back straight, his palms slightly sweating behind his back as the three enforcers of judgment walked toward him like executioners out of a dream... Or a nightmare.
Hilda Drakenveil.
His favorite character. Right here, in the flesh. With her cold stare, flawless uniform, and voice sharp enough to cut glass.
Jericho's brain screamed with a hundred thoughts, but his face stayed calm.
"So," Aiko said first, planting her feet and crossing her arms. "Gotta say, you've got guts staying here like nothing happened."
Marielle adjusted her glasses, eyes scanning the camp.
"More like a lack of shame. This place reeks of desperation."
Jericho kept his tone measured, quiet.
"I'm not doing anything wrong. I was suspended, not expelled. I have the right to stay within the Academy's outer boundaries."
Hilda didn't say anything at first. She simply walked closer, eyes locked onto his. Jericho could swear the temperature dropped.
"Your presence has been contested by several staff and students," she said. "We came to verify that you were not engaging in prohibited activities."
Aiko scoffed.
"Yeah, like stalking."
"Or building a backwater goblin lair," Marielle added politely.
Jericho spread his arms slightly.
"To be fair, right now, I am the one being stalked. As you can see, I'm just trying to survive. I fish. I build. I eat. That's all. I don't even go near the Academy."
Inside, he was losing it.
Holy shit, she's here! She's really here! Hilda Drakenveil... My biggest challenge. My route that never unlocked. The queen of cold-blooded side quests...
But he kept the face straight. The wise, slightly broken loner look.
"I don't plan to cause trouble. Honestly, I couldn't if I tried."
Hilda looked at him a long moment. Her purple eyes blinked slowly.
"That... is obvious."
Aiko stepped forward.
"So you're just gonna let him stay? He could be scheming something!"
Hilda raised one hand. Aiko stopped mid-step.
"We will inspect his camp first."
Jericho stood aside, waving a hand toward the assembled disaster of tarps, firepits, and fish-drying racks.
Marielle sniffed at his food storage hole.
Aiko poked the rope traps and muttered something about amateur hour.
Then Hilda stepped into his little hut, and the buff from the shelter hit her.
It was faint, but there. A weak boost to stamina recovery, a tiny drop of mood restoration, a small comforts from a place meant to barely pass as shelter.
Hilda stopped. Her brow twitched.
"...This house is pathetic," she said after a moment, her tone flat.
Jericho flinched, then bristled. Something in him couldn't take that.
"It's mine," he said. "And it might be the best in the whole forest... It is, literally."
Hilda turned, giving him a measured look.
"So it seems," she said slowly. "You've put effort into a structure barely suitable for livestock."
Jericho folded his arms, then raised his chin a little.
"It might be pathetic now, but again, it's mine. And it's just the beginning. I'll improve. One day, this won't be a shack."
Aiko blinked, surprised by the sudden fire in his voice, Marielle raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly.
But Hilda just watched him silently. She gave a single slow blink then turned away.
"You're not planning anything... for now. I can see that. But I will be watching."
She stepped out of the hut.
"Aiko. Marielle. We're done here."
As they turned to leave, Aiko slowed.
Her eyes flicked to the side.
"...Wait. What's that?"
She stepped toward the rock where the iron blade rested in the sun.
Her hand hovered near the hilt, but before she could touch it, Jericho stepped forward and held up a hand.
"Careful. That's not a toy."
Aiko frowned.
"I noticed. Relax. I just want to see it. What is that? It looks... different than the ones I saw in the academy."
Jericho gave a small shrug.
"It's a simple weapon. Just something to help me hunt."
Aiko stared at the sword longer than anyone expected.
Marielle took a step closer, arms folded. Hilda remained behind, gaze cool and assessing.
"You really made this?" Aiko asked, squinting at the blade.
Jericho nodded.
"Yeah. Took a few days. Forged it in a stone pit with river ore and—"
"By yourself?" Marielle interrupted, raising a brow.
Jericho nodded again.
"Out here. Alone. No academy, no help, no materials?" she continued.
"Just me, the forest, and a family of fish in my stomach."
There was a pause. None of them said it out loud, but he could feel it.
They didn't believe him. Or more precisely, they couldn't believe he had done it.
Jericho used to be a blowhard, a loudmouth noble who tossed gold and ego at every problem. The kind of guy who mocked physical labor and thought a campfire was just for aesthetic.
Now he stood barefoot on mossy ground, covered in sweat, sunburned and scraped, with a working camp and a forged blade beside him.
Aiko bent lower to get a better look at the sword.
"Looks sturdy. But this feeling... Is there magic inside?"
Jericho scratched his chin, feigning modesty.
"Oh, nothing crazy. I just gave it an enchantment."
Hilda's eyes flicked toward him.
"Enchantment?"
"Yeah. It has a 15% chance to ignore defense."
The silence that followed was sharp.
Even Marielle blinked.
Aiko straightened so fast she nearly tripped. "...What?!"
Jericho tilted his head with feigned innocence. "What what?"
Marielle blinked rapidly, staring at the sword like it had just hissed at her.
"That can't be real," Marielle said sharply. "Enchanted weapons don't exist. It's not possible."
"Yeah," Aiko added, staring hard at the blade. "Weapons can't do that. No one's ever seen one that can. You're lying... Liar!"
Jericho blinked, suddenly understanding their shock.
Of course...
In Alchemia Tale, enchanted weapons were unique to Shin.
He remembered an old rumor from the forums, a hacker had dug into the game files and found that no other character, not even major NPCs, had gear with special effects.
Shin's weapons were hard-coded exceptions, everyone else used blank gear.
His sword... shouldn't even exist in their system.
And judging by their faces, it didn't.
'So that's why this blade is a big deal.'
Aiko reached for it again.
"Let me hold it."
Jericho stepped between her and the rock.
"No."
Aiko narrowed her eyes.
"Why not? I'm not gonna break it."
Jericho pointed a finger at her.
"Oh, yeah, like I'm stupid. First you barge into my camp, trample my emotional support fish traps, act like I'm planning the second fall of the kingdom, make me feel miserable and now you want to touch my sword?"
Aiko blinked, caught off guard.
"Don't be dramatic! I just want to see it."
"See it with your greedy hands? I saw that spark in your eye. That's the kind of look that ends with someone 'accidentally' walking off with my one masterpiece."
Marielle stifled a laugh. Aiko flushed.
"T-That's ridiculous! You don't even know how to use it. It's totally wasted on you!"
"Still mine," Jericho said with a smug little bow.
"You seriously think you can survive out here with that thing? You? You're just some idiot noble who got kicked out!"
Jericho grinned.
"And yet, here I stand. A fish-grilling, shack-building, trap-setting idiot noble... with an enchanted sword that you don't possess."
"Aiko clenched her fists. "Fine! What do you want then?! Name it! I don't care. I want that sword!"
Jericho blinked.
"I want a big ol' round of nope."
"What?!"
"No," he repeated, wagging a finger. "What do you even see in this sword anyway? It's not even..."
But then, he stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened slightly.
"...Wait. Did you just say anything?"
All three girls stiffened instantly.
Aiko took a cautious step back.
"Don't you dare suggest anything gross! I'll throw you so far your ancestors will feel it!"
Jericho raised both hands in defense.
"Hey, pause. Don't flatter yourself. I'm not that desperate. You weren't even an option."
Aiko looked personally offended.
"Excuse me?!"
Jericho smiled wide.
"If you really want it, then I accept. You can have the sword... for one gold coin."