The Academy’s Time Stop Player
Chapter 97

That afternoon, at 5 o'clock.

Hajoon was preparing to leave.

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Yes."

"I wish I could accompany you, but I have matters to attend to. Once I'm done, I'll head over there. I've informed the driver, so he'll take you to your destination."

At Anna's words, Hajoon nodded.

His current destination was the mansion of the once-extinct Ehrman family.

Given the circumstances, he couldn't ask Elaine, so he planned to investigate on his own.

"I'll see you later, then."

"Alright."

With that, Hajoon got into the car Anna had arranged and headed toward the mansion.

Looking out of the window, he fiddled with the artifact in his hand.

[Sealed Ethurgia]

Rank: ???

Traits: ???

Description: ???

Sealed Ethurgia. Given the context, it was almost certainly the family artifact Elaine had mentioned.

Hajoon pondered for a moment, toying with the artifact.

Would it be better to return this to her? At least, from her reaction, it seemed incredibly precious...

The car slowly came to a stop.

"We've arrived."

Snapped out of his thoughts by the driver's announcement, Hajoon acknowledged him and got out.

"I might take a while, so feel free to take a break elsewhere."

"Yes, sir. Please call me when you're ready to leave."

With a nod, Hajoon surveyed the surroundings.

As expected, the mansion, hidden amongst dense trees, was situated in a secluded area.

He looked up at the mansion, which was more spacious than he'd imagined.

Old, ivy-covered gates, a sprawling garden with a fountain in the middle—truly a garden fit for nobility. Yet, it bore the signs of time, neglected and worn. The fountain was dry, and overgrown grasses covered the pathways.

It might have been magnificent in the past, but now, to Hajoon, it seemed like a haunted mansion. Moreover, the "No Entry" sign on the gates only added to this impression.

"Hmm..."

He briefly inspected the gates and tried the handle, but, as expected, it was locked. Without any alternative, Hajoon looked around briefly before pulling out Maharazu from his pocket. There was no need for excessive force or to activate Time Stop (SSS).

He slid Maharazu between the gates and then expanded its size.

With a slight creak, an opening just large enough for a person appeared. Hajoon stepped through it, taking in the vastness of the garden.

"Wow, this place is something else."

Upon entering the mansion grounds, he found that the garden was more of a jungle than he had envisioned.

Well, after being abandoned for years, it was bound to be overgrown.

Hajoon walked through the garden and approached the mansion's entrance, reaching out to pull the door.

But as expected, was it? The mansion's front door was locked.

"What's this...?"

Without hesitation, Hajoon lifted his hammer and struck the door.

Bang!

As the door shattered and Hajoon took a step inside the mansion,

Ding-

"Huh?"

A familiar notification sound rang out, and a quest window popped up.

[Sub Quest]

Eligible Character: Kim Hajoon (Liber Laphilton Phil Ehrman)

Description: Uncover the secrets of the Ehrman family.

Reward: 5000 Experience Points

"...What secret?"

Two hours had passed since Hajoon entered the mansion.

During that time, Hajoon explored every corner of the mansion, but he couldn’t find any substantial information.

"It doesn’t seem like there’s much here..."

The mansion had two floors. After briefly scanning from the first floor to the second, nothing particularly noteworthy stood out to him.

Of course, that didn’t mean he found nothing at all.

In Hajoon's hand was a photograph.

It was a photo he found earlier in what appeared to be an office on the second floor. It depicted a cheerful family portrait: two people who seemed to be Liber's parents, young Liber and Elaine, a stern-looking man in a butler’s outfit, and a portly man with a cane.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Hajoon's gaze fixed on the portly man in the picture.

A familiar face.

It was definitely the man he had seen earlier at Elaine's house.

"Why is he here?"

For a moment, Hajoon looked puzzled, but he soon tucked the photo back into his pocket. Staring at it any longer wasn’t going to solve the mystery.

There was one more place he hadn’t checked yet.

'Only the basement left then?'

He recalled the central staircase he saw in the main hall earlier. The stairs seemed to lead downward, presumably to the basement.

Of course, descending those stairs meant facing a thick iron door.

Hajoon made his way down and stood in front of the iron door. In the center of the door was a button with a peculiar emblem on it. At a glance, it was clear that pressing the button would open the door.

Just as he was about to pull out Maharazu, Philaten, the curse within the hammer, spoke up.

-"Wait. Master, I sense magical energy beyond this. Do not recklessly-"

Crash!

"What was that?"

-...

The iron door, having taken a significant blow, groaned and tilted forward before falling to the ground with a loud thud.

With a puzzled expression, Hajoon turned his attention to Philaten, who now remained silent. After a brief moment, as if realizing something, Philaten muttered to herself.

-Well... No, there was probably never anything to worry about in the first place.

"...?"

Regardless, Hajoon, somewhat perplexed by Philaten’s words, proceeded inside. As soon as he entered, what he saw made his eyes light up.

Clearly, there was something in the basement.

Specifically, a massive golden safe, with a wave-like pattern engraved on it, caught his attention.

"What is this?"

Drawn by curiosity, Hajoon approached the massive safe. Almost immediately, a system window popped up with a ding.

[Safe of Etherdon]

Rank: Legendary

Trait: {Indestructible Golden Iron}

Description: A safe that cannot be broken.

"Huh?"

Taken aback by the sudden window, Hajoon looked puzzled.

'This safe... Was it an artifact?'

But, it was indeed a peculiar one.

Having only one ability but possessing an artifact of Legendary rank...

At that moment, Hajoon noticed something on the vault door.

"There's a slot?"

There was a small slot, seemingly for inserting something.

Hajoon briefly observed the slot before rummaging through his pocket and took out the family artifact, Sealed Ethurgia. He compared the size of its edge to the slot.

At a glance, they seemed to fit perfectly.

Without hesitation, Hajoon inserted the Sealed Ethurgia into the slot.

And then...

"..."

To his surprise, nothing happened.

With a puzzled expression, Hajoon scratched his head and wondered aloud, "Is this not it?"

-It seems so.

Philaten, detecting something, spoke up.

-There's a complex spell inscribed on this vault.

"What do you mean?"

-I suspect you need to infuse magic into this key-like artifact and then insert it into the slot for the vault to open. Moreover, there's probably a specific type of magic required.

"Hmm... But how do you know so much about this?"

-...

Philaten remained silent in response to Hajoon's question.

Hajoon glanced at his hammer, Maharazu, for a moment, then turned his attention back to the vault.

"So you're saying I can't open it right now?"

-That's correct.

Accepting this, Hajoon decided to head back to the hotel.

Staying here any longer didn’t seem like it would resolve anything.

As he turned to ascend the stairs, Philaten suddenly interjected.

-Wait.

"...Why?"

-Someone is coming from above.

"Did Anna come?"

-No, Master. The quality of the magic is different.

Puzzled by Philaten’s statement, Hajoon continued up the stairs and soon arrived back in the spacious hall.

As Philaten had indicated, five unidentified men in black suits stood blocking the main entrance. At the center of the group, a bald man took out a photo from his pocket, comparing it with Hajoon’s face. Recognizing him, the man's eyes widened.

The man exclaimed, "Damn! It's him! I didn't expect him to reveal himself after all these years..."

"What should we do?"

"What do you think? Break his limbs and capture him! Catch him before he escapes!"

"Yes, sir!"

As the intimidating group began to approach Hajoon with threatening steps, a sudden turn of events occurred.

Bang! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The bald man, who seemed to be their leader, was abruptly slammed to the ground. Following that, massive thudding sounds echoed, shaking the floor beneath.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The impact caused fragments of rock to scatter and dust to rise. Then, without warning, the body of the bald intruder, which had been pinned to the floor, was propelled into the air and slammed into the ceiling. Unable to defy gravity any longer, he plummeted back to the ground with a thud.

"..."

The remaining intruders, having witnessed the entire scene, stood in stunned silence, their faces a mask of shock.

On their faces, the expressions of the four who seemed to be his subordinates were filled with shock and fear.

What just happened?

As they stared blankly, trying to make sense of the unfolding events,

"Who said they'd break my bones?"

"........."

"........."

Suddenly, a young man in front of them spoke.

The boy holding the golden hammer.

The moment they saw the hammer, their pupils began to tremble intensely.

But their surprise was only for a moment.

Thud!! Bang!! Crash!!

Painful blows hit them all over, sending them flying in all directions, smashing into the walls.

“Ugh!”

After swiftly dealing with the sudden onslaught of attackers, Hajoon woke the one who looked like their leader with a jolt. Sitting atop the man's back, he began his interrogation.

“Who are you people?”

“Ugh!”

“Could you be from the Villain Alliance?”

Hearing those words, the man was taken aback.

'Why... Why is he here?'

The man recognized the golden hammer the young boy held. An infamous hero known to the public as 'Irregular'. There was no mistaking it.

This made the situation even more baffling. Why was he in England instead of Korea?

Regardless, it was clear there had been some misunderstanding.

The man said, “I-I apologize. I believe there’s been a mistake.”

“What kind of mistake?”

“I, I never intended to confront the Irregular. I think we mistook you for someone else...”

After the fall of Barus, the most notorious villain organization in the U.S., an unspoken rule emerged among villain organizations worldwide, even without official agreement.

'Never confront the hero with the golden hammer.'

Because that day would surely mark the annihilation of their organization.

Listening to the man's excuses, Hajoon, with a calm expression, gripped his hammer and questioned further.

“So, who were you looking for?”

“Well, about that…”

The man, with trembling hands, reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. A silver-haired young boy with red eyes bore an emotionless expression. Except for the hair and eye color, the face was identical to Hajoon's.

Seeing the photo, Hajoon chuckled.

Looking at the photo and smirking, Hajoon redirected his gaze to the man and remarked, “This is me, right?”

“Y-Yes?”

“It seems we have a lot to discuss.”

With that, Hajoon grabbed the man’s leg and dragged him to a small room on the right.

“W-Wait! Noooo!”

As he was dragged away, terror was evident in the man's desperate cries.

Meanwhile,

“Eek!!”

The eerie shriek echoing from within the mansion startled Anna.