The dormitory room was silent.
Outside the window, the night wind brushed softly against the academy walls. Inside, four young knight trainees slept soundly after a long day of training.
Only Con was awake.
He sat cross-legged on his bed with a small hand mirror held carefully in both hands.
His face leaned forward.
Half inside the mirror.
Half outside.
It was still a strange feeling.
His body remained in darkness, blind as always.
But his face—inside the mirror—could see perfectly.
The system floated in front of him.
Soft glowing letters suspended in the silver space.
[Host Detected]
[Partial Mirror Access Active]
Con smiled slightly.
"Good."
He adjusted his posture so the mirror stayed steady.
If he tilted too much, his face slipped out and the connection broke.
He had already learned that the hard way earlier.
"Alright, System," he whispered quietly.
"Let's start simple."
The letters flickered gently.
Con asked the first question that had been bothering him for days.
"What exactly is the Mirror Realm?"
For a moment the letters paused.
Then new text appeared.
[Mirror Realm: Dimensional Reflection Space]
[Function: Network linking all reflective surfaces]
[Access Condition: Host Authority]
Con frowned thoughtfully.
"…a network?"
He glanced around the endless floating mirrors.
Every one of them connected somewhere in the world.
So technically—
He could travel anywhere.
Cities.
Palaces.
Noble homes.
Secret rooms.
Anywhere that had a mirror.
Con whistled quietly.
"That's… ridiculously useful."
His mind already imagined dozens of possibilities.
Then he continued.
"Next question."
His voice grew more serious.
"What was I before?"
The letters flickered again.
[Previous Form: Divine Mirror]
[Function: Reflection, Absorption, Skill Preservation]
Con leaned back slightly.
"…so I really was a mirror."
He scratched his cheek.
"That's still weird."
But something about the answer didn't surprise him as much as it should have.
After all—
He already had hundreds of skills stored inside him.
And the system itself clearly recognized him as its host.
So being a magical artifact before becoming human was… oddly believable.
Con continued.
"How did I become human?"
The system responded immediately.
[Condition Achieved: Human Form Unlock]
[Trigger: Emotional Collapse Event]
Con blinked.
"…emotional collapse?"
That sounded unpleasant.
His fingers tapped lightly against the mirror frame.
"And my memories?"
The words appeared slowly this time.
[Memory Lock: Self-Requested]
Con froze.
"…I requested it?"
The letters flickered again.
[Confirmation: Yes]
Con sat silently for several seconds.
That answer bothered him more than anything else.
Because it meant something important.
His past self had erased his memories on purpose.
Not by accident.
Not because of the system.
He had chosen it himself.
"…why?"
Con asked quietly.
But this time—
The system did not answer.
Instead, new text appeared.
[Information Restricted]
Con sighed.
"Of course it is."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Well… at least I know one thing."
If his past self erased those memories deliberately—
There had to be a reason.
And until he understood that reason—
Maybe it was better not to force the past open.
Con leaned back slightly.
"Alright, next question."
"What are these skills exactly?"
The system flickered again.
[Skills: Reflections of Abilities Observed]
[Function: Copy and Preserve]
Con's eyebrows rose.
"…copy?"
The letters continued.
[Original Mirror Function: Reflect abilities used before Host]
[Result: Permanent Skill Storage]
Con slowly understood.
Whenever someone used a skill in front of the Divine Mirror—
It recorded it.
Copied it.
Stored it.
And now—
Those skills lived inside him.
That explained everything.
Why he could cook like a professional chef.
Why he could carve wood.
Why he could hunt, fish, build shelters, and cast magic.
They were all things the mirror had once reflected.
Con leaned back with a quiet laugh.
"So basically…"
"I'm a walking library of other people's abilities."
The system flickered faintly.
That seemed to be accurate.
Con smiled.
"…that's actually amazing."
But then something else came to mind.
One last question.
Something he had been wondering about since the festival.
"The girl."
His voice became softer.
"The one I chased that night."
"Why did my heart react like that?"
The system remained silent for a moment.
Then—
One final message appeared.
[Emotional Residue Detected]
Con blinked.
"…residue?"
[Previous Emotional Imprint: Strong]
Con frowned.
"That doesn't explain much."
But the system didn't elaborate.
The glowing letters slowly faded again.
[Connection Stable]
[Further Questions Available]
Con sighed softly.
"Well… at least I learned something tonight."
He carefully pulled his face back out of the mirror.
His vision vanished again.
Darkness returned.
But this time—
His mind was clearer.
He now knew three important things.
First—
The Mirror Realm connected every mirror in the world.
Second—
His skills were reflections of abilities the mirror had once witnessed.
And third—
His past self had erased his memories intentionally.
Con laid back on his bed slowly.
The small mirror rested beside him.
His fingers brushed its surface.
"…guess I'll keep asking questions."