My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 120

Right as Regina realized the absurdity of both the president managing to climb to the top of the human tower and Jonas Schmidt’s feat of supporting four people at once, something else struck her,

‘That’s near the rift!’

The president, who’d been waving to the crowd, hesitated as she noticed the rift. She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then, pointing at it curiously, stretched out a hand.

Her fingertips briefly touched the rift, and she jerked back in shock, staring at her hand in bewilderment before eyeing the rift with suspicion.

Regina, worried she’d touch the rift again, decided to stay until the Muscle Club finished their performance. Fortunately, she kept her hands to herself until she climbed down. However, she couldn’t let her guard down just yet.

After dinner, when all the well-behaved students had gone back to their dorms for bed, Regina quietly slipped back to the spot where she’d seen the rift earlier.

“It should be around here…”

“Hey, I’m getting tired… Are you sure there’s something here, President?”

“Quit whining! If you can’t handle this weight, you don’t belong in ‘Muscle Morning.’”

In the dim light, Regina could see the muscle-heads forming another human tower and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“What are you guys doing, Seniors?”

“Oh, it’s you, junior! Earlier, I saw something strange around here.”

The president replied with a bright smile, her white teeth gleaming in the dark. Apparently, having a great set of teeth was a Muscle Morning Club requirement.

“Whatever it is, why not wait until daylight to investigate? It’s too dark to see anything properly.”

“No can do. People might think we look silly.”

Regina, who had planned to convince them to leave and then alert the Crown Prince about the rift tomorrow, was speechless.

‘So she’s aware that what they’re doing doesn’t exactly look sane?’

She’d assumed she didn’t care about what others thought. But as she pondered how to persuade her to call it a night, the president suddenly spoke up.

“So, why are you here so late, junior?”

A brilliant idea flashed through her mind.

“Oh! Right! I happened to see your club’s amazing muscle performance earlier and was really impressed…”

“Are you interested in joining our club?”

The president’s eyes lit up like a predator spotting prey. Feigning interest, she nodded with an awkward smile.

“Yes, so, would you mind coming down and telling me more about the club?”

“Gladly!”

With a triumphant response, the president prepared to stand at the top of the tower.

‘Is she planning to jump down?’

Panicking, she raised her arms to stop her.

“Se, Senior, you can just take your time and climb down safely…”

“How could I keep my lovely junior waiting? Here I come!”

The president pushed off with force, leaping into the air. Regina’s eyes followed his trajectory, widening as she realized she was heading right toward…

“Wa…!”

But before she could get the word out, a sharp cracking sound echoed, like ice shattering. The members stacking the human tower looked up in alarm, gasping in shock.

Splintered cracks appeared in midair, opening into a strange void that glowed with shades of purple and red. And the president disappeared right into it.

“President!”

“Margarita!”

A sharp voice cut through their panic.

“Stay where you are! Don’t move!”

The command, delivered with such authority, held them frozen in place, until quick footsteps, like flashes of light, skipped over their shoulders. Looking up, they caught a glimpse of golden hair fluttering in the dark.

The first to come to his senses, Jonas Schmidt shouted.

“We have to tell the professor! Right now!”

* * *

Inside the rift, Regina quickly located Margarita sprawled on the ground.

“Senior? Senior Margarita?”

“Uh….”

Fortunately, Margarita regained consciousness almost immediately.

“What happened? Could it be that all my muscle training has made me strong enough to shatter the very air now?”

“Save the nonsense, try standing up. Let’s check if you’re hurt.”

At her urging, Margarita got to her feet, moving without issue and showing no signs of imbalance. There wasn’t a moment to lose, so Regina quickly explained the situation.

“Senior Margarita, this is the inside of a rift. You know about the ‘Gate’ from the Middle Realm-Demon Realm War, right? This is the stage just before it becomes one.”

“Huh? Oh, right. The dimensional link that the devilkins used to invade the middle realm….”

“The line you saw earlier today? That was a rift. When you jumped, you hit the weakened area, causing it to shatter. That created an opening, and you fell into it. Following me so far?”

Margarita nodded, still a bit dazed.

“We have to find the ‘master of the rift’ and destroy the demon stone as soon as possible. The longer we’re here, the harder it will get for you to manage.”

“Hey, junior? I know how to use mana, you know.”

“What? I thought you weren’t interested in weaponry.”

“I’m not into weapons, but I am interested in mana.”

Margarita scratched her cheek, looking a bit embarrassed. The more she explained, the more bewildered Regina became. Mana’s destructive force is typically channeled through a weapon because the human body isn’t suitable for direct use of that power.

In other words, without a weapon, there’s generally no point in becoming a mana user. It usually takes a significant amount of time to master, so if she’s not planning to wield a weapon, why bother?

“I trained it for musculpt.”

“Musculpt?”

Seeing her confusion, Margarita answered solemnly.

“Muscle sculpting.”