I Became The Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Tutorial – The Pure Love Black Knight Who Must Go to the Academy.

‘Grand Route.’

A new system added in <Black Heart>, the second game.

A special method of carrying over data from the previous game and using it to progress the story in the sequel.

There were many events and choices that couldn’t be seen normally.

For example, in the sequel, if you, like me, maxed out your affinity and followed the Saint’s route in the previous game, you would meet her right at the start.

[Hello. Mr. Lost Puppy?]

Normally, you would have to go to the monastery where the Saint resided and use various methods to gain her trust.

[Um, have we met before? You look familiar…]

[You were the one who donated to the orphanage! I knew it…!]

[Are you free this evening? I was thinking of buying a cute doll… What? I’m not buying it for myself! Absolutely not!]

Here, there was no need for that.

The Nameless Saint was a standoffish character to begin with.

She only treated those she acknowledged kindly.

[The Hero and the Mage getting married, time flies.  Anything come to mind?]

This, seeing consecutive happy endings in the sequel, was the ‘Grand Route’.

I still remembered the advertisement that promised a new ending.

But there was a problem.

First, no matter how strong your character was in the previous game, you had to start from scratch.

The only thing carried over was the ‘relationship’ you had with the characters in the previous game.

Moreover, if you made even one mistake, your save file would be erased.

The developer of <Black Heart> was the worst of the worst.

And the worst part of all was that I was trapped inside the game.

“I’m never playing <Black Heart> again. <Knight Heart>… You were right… Come back…”

I hung my head. Why did I forget that it was made by the infamous developer of the sequel?

I should have sent the email straight to the trash. Or reported them for fraud.

When I woke up this morning, a transparent status window was floating in front of me.

[Ta-da! The time has finally come for you to go to the academy, Lee Suhyun!]

“What is this?”

I rubbed my eyes.  I wasn’t seeing things.

I was momentarily pleased by the developer’s familiar tone.  I hoped they would guide me step-by-step, like a tutorial fairy.

I forgot that if they were that kind of person, they wouldn’t have trapped me in a beta test game.

[There’s a new system in <Grand Hearts Academia>!]

What now? Besides succession, is it possession now?

[It’s the heart-thumping… thump-thumping…！ ‘Romance Meter’ system!]

[What kind of event occurs when a character’s love reaches 100%?  How about it? Isn’t it exciting?]

“So that’s what they meant by romance fantasy academy…”

[Yes! Defeating the Demon King and getting a normal happy ending is too overused~ People will complain if we do it a third time…]

Not affinity, trust, or fame,

but a Romance Meter?

[I know you hate spoilers…！ So, that’s all the explanation you get!]

Dumbfounded, I stared blankly as a large window popped up in front of me.

Giant letters spelling “Grand Route.”  And below it, several smaller sentences.

[Objective: Achieve Grand Route 0/1]

[Now you can start building love lines! Please proceed with the romance story at the academy!]

[Just protect all the couples from the previous games! Fighting!]

[Reward: Return to the real world, the Nameless Saint’s ‘Grand Route’ ending.]

[On Failure: ???]

“…”

I stared at it for a long time.

The unnatural colors proved it was a game.

Fuck. Why is it pink? And why is it decorated with hearts? Developer of <Black Heart>, you made this yourself, didn’t you?  Why is failure ???

Of course, my save file would be erased.

“This is what you meant by beta tester?! You crazy bastard!!!”

I yelled. My vision was narrow.

It was because of the item I received as a special reward, which was blocking my view.  And I can’t take it off. I have to wear it even when I eat.

“If you’re going to send me to the academy to raise the Romance Meter, just send me directly! I didn’t know and I was working hard thinking I had to defeat another Demon King!”

Since they hadn’t said anything, I thought I had to prevent an attack at the academy.

The love lines in parts 1 and 2 mostly involved such crises.  I thought I could achieve the Grand Route by seeing the happy ending after that.

But it wasn’t? That’s why I was cursing since morning.

“At least let me take off this helmet!!”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

“Status window!! Status open..!! Nothing works!”

For about ten minutes, I spouted various cliché lines, but all failed.

Only silence answered my empty cries.  In the end, it was up to the developer, so I had no choice but to silently accept the situation.

“…Ha, if it weren’t for our Saint, I wouldn’t have fallen for this.”

I sighed deeply. It had already been five years since I entered this game.  I almost died when I first fell into that unfamiliar forest.

Fortunately, a kind old couple took me in.  I’m grateful that I became younger, but…

“Black Knight Licht.”

I was possessed by the same character I used in the previous games.  I’m the one being succeeded now.

“At least let me use magic like Licht, or is it impossible because it’s a prequel?”

I looked in the mirror. The figure of a warrior wearing a black helm. It was awkward without the armor, but it was enough to be called a Black Knight.

“Surprisingly, it’s quite comfortable.”

It can’t be helped.  Since it’s come to this, I’ll show them.  Do they think I don’t know romance stories? I memorized even the shortest passages in the setting materials.

“…This time, I’m really going to see the ending. You bastards.”

Why did the Saint have to die in part 2 anyway?

I hated it so much that I figured out all the attack patterns, squeezed in every bit of damage I could, and raided for 16 hours straight.

I barely beat it after twisting and turning, only to find out the ending wasn’t implemented.

Come to think of it, I saw a ‘strange ceiling’ while on an IV drip. I didn’t know I’d be possessed like this, was it foreshadowing?

“You picked the wrong opponent.”

I picked up the notebook from the bookshelf.  I wrote down all the information as soon as I came here, in case I forgot. It was my most powerful weapon in this situation.

I dusted off the cover.

“The Cursed Spring Dragon and the Drunkard Dennis. I can’t touch them yet anyway.”

<Knight Heart>, the protagonists of the first game.  A blossoming love under the magnolia tree.

To save these people, I had to defeat the Demon King.  On hold for now.

“The [Ability to Turn Lights On and Off Without Touching Them]… I don’t need to worry about that.”

A man who became the headmaster of the academy for his loved one. I already knew about him, so there was no need to worry.

“The Grand Sword Master and the Sage of the Magic Tower.”

Are these two at the academy?  One was a swordsmanship instructor, the person I had been learning from until a few days ago, and the other lived holed up in the library, so…

‘A healthy mind in a healthy body!!’

Just looking at my handwriting, I could almost hear his booming voice.

I’m sorry, Master Drake… your disciple still can’t use Aura.  I guess some things just don’t work no matter how hard you try.

I turned the page.

“The Northern Grand Duchess was an Easter egg character.”

Unlike some people, I haven’t read many romance novels. I should have read more online.  I wonder how far game knowledge will get me.

My gaze stopped at one point with a heavy heart.

“…The Hero of Light and the Mage of the Blazing Flame.”

<Black Heart>, the protagonists of the second game. The oblivious yellow dog next door and the shy red cat.

They were a good match.

These incompetent bastards were actually pretty decent in the original, except for running away in the sequel.

Since it’s still the past, I can change it.

The heroes who were the core of the fighting force, and the fools most likely to fail in love.

“I’ll start with these childhood friends.”

Enduring a relationship that develops from friendship to lovers… at least their love story is really sweet.

“It seems like it’s going to be pretty tough.”

A sigh escaped me as I organized my thoughts, and my hand stopped turning the page.

“…”

I put my hand on my forehead.  Unlike the notes I made about other characters, the space where her name should have been written was left blank.

I almost forgot.

“Who should I pair the Nameless Saint with?”

The first healer to appear in <Knight Heart>.

An NPC like a blank, white sheet of paper.

[It’s a pleasure to meet you.]

With flowing white hair and wolf ears twitching beneath her nun’s habit, she was a character that seemed to be an homage to a Japanese shrine maiden.

Honestly, I started the game because of her.

Now, all the characters had become precious to me, but

the reason I became attached was clear.  I liked how the coldest NPC gradually opened her heart.

…And she was beautiful, too.

[Good morning. Are you feeling alright?]

A rare, sudden event.

It was probably when I defeated the Demon King for the first time and my character was near death.

[They say knights in fairy tales always protect only princesses. But I prefer heroes who protect everyone.]

[…Thank you for your hard work today, ‘Black Knight’.]

Her first smile.

The way the sunlight shone behind her, reflecting off her hair, was beautiful.  Whether by coincidence or fate, this was the special dialogue that appeared based on your class.

Honestly, I just chose it because it looked cool.

From then on, until <Black Heart>, she was a big reason why I played as the Black Knight.

[If that’s the case… Ah, how about trying to speak formally?  I’m sure there are others who wouldn’t be afraid of you like me.]

She once told me that if I spoke formally instead of informally,

people wouldn’t be scared of my scars and would approach me, and that she could heal them if I was concerned.

It was just character customization,

but it felt like a living person was showing concern, with such rich emotions.

This is why I loved the original.

[I like sweets too, can I have one?  Sir Knight.]

[It seems like your divine power is a little low…]

When I was using candy as a buff item, she would sometimes ask me to share, and if I didn’t, she would sulk all day.

She would sulk in a cute way.

[Sir Knight. I can’t heal if I don’t eat sweets!]

It became a habit to buy extra candy whenever I visited the shop.

Now that I think about it, wasn’t she a gold digger?

[Hee hee, thank you.  May God’s blessings be with you, Sir Knight.]

It was one of the few moments when her icy expression softened, so it was worth it.

[If you can’t trust anyone, I’ll be the first person to believe in you.]

She encouraged me when I was betrayed on the way to the Demon King’s castle,

[Do you know the meaning of a blue rose? They say it was impossible at first.  If you don’t give up, an opportunity will come someday.]

When the number of tries exceeded a certain amount, her wolf ears and tail would droop differently than usual.

[…I want to wear a wedding dress, even just once.  It’s wishful thinking, isn’t it?]

‘That’s why I tried so hard.’

At the end of <Knight Heart>, all that was shown was the Saint sleep-talking and imagining herself as a bride in white.

She was a supporting character.

There was no happy ending where she officially got married; the closest you could get was the ‘Saint Route’.

A slang term coined by the users.

Such a lighthearted term.

“I was the guy who only saw that… I miss it now that I think about it.”

I closed my eyes. I was only relying on the ending in the ‘Grand Route’. That was why I was playing <Black Heart>.

Wouldn’t it work this time? Honestly, I didn’t think the person who went as far as possessing me would lie.

“Right, let’s go see the Hero and the Mage first.”

Two days until the academy entrance ceremony.

Even if I didn’t know anything else, I had to connect the childhood friend couple.

“All I want is for our Saint to be happy.”

The two who were the most helpful in the sequel’s strategy.

They would be the key.

The beginning of a happy ending, connecting the past to the future.

I closed the book.

The preparations were complete.  Now I had to write a new story.

Her happy ‘Grand Route’.

—–CROW—–