Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Translator: Penny
Episode 46: Azathoth, Resurrection!
Episode 46: Azathoth, Resurrection [1]
"Then, I'll be going now, Sister."
"Take care, Miss Eun-ha."
With a light wave, Yu Eun-ha entered the classroom with a bright smile. Seo Jian, Ecclesia, and Sakura, who were inside, rushed over to her, asking about her condition.
- Eun-ha! I heard you were badly hurt. Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine. My sister protected me, so I didn't suffer any serious injuries.
- Sister? Do you mean the Chairman?
- Yes, she's as precious to me as you all are.
She seems to have recovered.
- By the way, can you believe the Chairman single-handedly blocked that massive Gate? She's truly amazing!
- I know, right? Now I understand why she's called the strongest Student Council President in history.
- I really hope we get to compete against her in the Student Council President Election!
You're being a bit overwhelming, you know.
I glanced around the classroom. Seong Arin was asleep, face down on her desk, while Na Yubin... was just muttering to herself as usual.
Still haven't gotten close to those two, huh?
Well, Seong Arin would gradually become more involved as the story progressed. As for Na Yubin... she's like a ticking time bomb. Seo Jian will figure her out eventually.
Yu Eun-ha still seemed a bit fragile, so I was glad I'd used a simple Suggestion to stabilize her mental state. Fortunately, she seemed to be fitting in well with the class atmosphere.
Alright then... should I head upstairs too?
Baek Sia wasn't in Class D, so I assumed she was in the workshop and went straight to the second-year classrooms.
Slide...
"Long time no see, everyone..."
I had just come up to the second-year classroom after dropping off something in the first-year classroom.
Wham!
"Miss Se-a, I missed you so much!"
Lee Seo-yun immediately rushed over and hugged me tightly.
So this is what Lee Seo-yun's sword pouch smells like.
Standing at an impressive height of nearly 180 centimeters, Lee Seo-yun's ample sword pouch pressed against my face like a truck, releasing a refreshing pine scent.
"Hey, what are you doing to the patient?"
"Ugh, can you let go of me... loser Miss Ayul?"
"Seriously? Let's settle this after lunch." (Recent Record: 42 matches, 40 wins, 2 losses) Recent Record: 2 consecutive losses
"No way, Miss Ayul's swordsmanship is terrible~" (Recent Record: 42 matches, 2 wins, 40 losses) Recent Record: 2 consecutive wins
Judging by how easily Kang A-yul and I fell into our usual banter, it seemed the second-year students had managed fine in my absence.
Well, most of the major events tend to happen to the first-year students anyway, since they're the Protagonist's group.
After patting Lee Seo-yun's back, where she was nestled against me, I turned to look at Kang A-yul.
"You look like you've been doing well. Was the hospital food any good?"
"No, we mostly ate tteokbokki and chicken... it wasn't really hospital food."
"You weren't hospitalized?"
"I was at the Chairwoman's safe house, not a hospital. Sometimes delivery drivers would get electrocuted by the Barrier around the safe house and collapse... it was quite entertaining."
"........?"
Seeing Kang A-yul's puzzled expression, I decided to change the subject and ask how the two of them had been getting along.
"By the way, you didn't fight while I was gone, did you?"
"......Umm..."
......?
As soon as I returned to the Academy, an ominous feeling washed over me.
Surely they didn't start throwing punches the moment I left... Did they at least have an argument?
Lee Seo-yun usually throws the first punches, and Kang A-yul, after enduring for a while, finally snaps and throws a counterpunch. That's how their conversations usually go.
Looking around, the reactions didn't seem particularly positive.
"What happened?"
"Well... there's a reason for..."
"Miss Ayul suddenly stabbed me in the chest during the Monster Mock Battle! I don't know if she was still bitter about her '2. Consecutive. Losses.' Now I'm too scared to duel with her anymore."
"Hey! How can you just skip the context and start talking like that?!"
Wow.
Kang A-yul's got some fire in her.
From what I gathered, after I left, Kang A-yul's mock battle partner had been officially changed from Ryu Shin-woo to Lee Seo-yun. In that short time, they'd reportedly dueled over forty times.
Until yesterday, Kang A-yul had won every match by the narrowest of margins. But this morning... during the two mock battles before school, Kang A-yul suffered consecutive defeats against Lee Seo-yun. When Lee Seo-yun tried to leave, Kang A-yul threw her sword, intending to challenge her to one more round, but the blade nearly pierced Lee Seo-yun's heart.
"So, the sword she threw, meant as a challenge for one more round, nearly struck Miss Seo-yun's heart?"
"Yes, I never imagined Miss Ayul could be so cruel... especially when the Barrier was already weakening..."
"Hey! That's not true!"
Well, perhaps it was my presence that prevented their argument from escalating. I was relieved.
"By the way, you managed to return just in time for the Student Council President Election?"
"Exactly. Everyone's calling this year's freshmen the 'Golden Generation' or whatever... I need to show them that's not the case."
"True. And with Grandfather coming this time... we should tell him he doesn't need to do special training during summer vacation."
When I asked Lee Seo-yun, she confirmed that Lee Cheon-ma would be visiting as well.
"It's all thanks to Miss Se-a. Master's looking so much better now."
According to the original story, Lee Cheon-ma should have succumbed to corruption while desperately searching for a way to awaken Lee Seo-yun. But this time, as a steadfast S-Rank Hero, he would rewrite the narrative for the better.
"Remember, in Practical Combat, they won't go easy on you just because you're injured," I warned.
"Of course," Lee Seo-yun replied.
With that, Kang A-yul and Lee Seo-yun headed down to the next class: the Monster Mock Battle.
Left alone, I watched the Cadets gradually begin to move out, analyzing the variables of this episode from behind.
Exactly 300 students had applied for the Student Council President Election. This number had cooled off significantly after my declaration of candidacy; originally, projections had suggested over 500 applicants.
They had even culled the 2nd and 3rd year students with poor grades to reduce the number of participants to 256. If there had been 300, considering the various loser's brackets and byes...
Ugh, just imagining it makes me dizzy.
Among the main characters, the confirmed participants were, of course, the protagonist Seo Jian and her group: Seo Jian, Ecclesia, Seong Arin, Na Yubin, Yu Eun-ha, Baek Sia, and Hanae Sakura—all of them.
In the 2nd year, many cadets had reportedly signed up, with me leading the charge.
I heard that all the 2nd year cadets ranked from 1st to 50th place had applied, including me, Kang A-yul, and Lee Seo-yun. The Troublemaker, who was planning to cause chaos in the upcoming Student Council President Election, had also submitted an application, just like in the original story.
What was her name again...? Hong something, I think.
She was a cadet who had trained alongside Seong Arin in the past. Blinded by jealousy of Seong Arin's extraordinary talent, she had failed to appreciate what she already possessed. In a desperate attempt to seize what belonged to Arin, she ended up losing everything.
Her specialty was Flame Magic, the fire-based counterpart to Seong Arin's Water Magic.
I remember her hair being white, with the ends dyed a faint pink...
Ah, there she is...
"Move."
The command wasn't directed at me, but at the white-haired girl standing ahead.
Thud!
"Ugh...!"
The girl fell with a comical thud.
It was obvious she had been pushed deliberately, yet the white-haired girl struggled to her feet without a word of protest.
"Ugh, what bad luck."
"Just leave her. Isn't she Seong Arin or something? The loser who's never beaten the second-place freshman? How can she keep getting crushed by a freshman? If I were her, I'd have quit being a Hero long ago."
"............"
The white-haired girl glared at the two who had shoved her, her eyes burning with resentment at their relentless insults.
But the delinquents' reaction to her glare was...
"Look at her glare! She looks like she's about to hit someone!"
"Go ahead and try. As the bottom of Class A, there's not much you can do... Pfft!"
Just as expected.
"Hong Biyeon... What a lovely name."
Finally found you, Troublemaker.
"The test has concluded. Final survivors: 0. The Boss Monster's remaining health is... 67%. Score: 33 out of 100."
"Team C! Why did you charge into the enemy's territory when you were supposed to protect the mage?"
Furious at the abysmal score, the Professor glared at the four students of Team C.
"Well, we didn't think Hong Biyeon's Flame Magic could break through that wall!"
"Exactly! If you'd given us a Class B-level teammate like the other teams, you'd basically be asking three of us to take down the Red Drake!"
"Silence! What is this nonsense?!"
Team C, including Hong Biyeon, had utterly failed their assignment to gather data on the C-Rank Monster, the Red Drake.
The reasons for their failure could be narrowed down to three main factors:
First, Hong Biyeon simply wasn't suited for the Magician position.
Second, Team C members, aware of this, treated her as if she didn't exist and charged recklessly, only to be knocked out by a single tail swipe.
Finally, and decisively, Hong Biyeon's poorly executed Flame Magic fireball veered off course and struck an ally, resulting in a team kill that immediately ended the test.
"That girl doesn't seem cut out to be a Magician. She'd be better off as a Striker or Defender..."
"Exactly! Her magic was... a bit weak for a Magician, wasn't it?"
My teammates, seated beside me, chimed in, subtly mocking Hong Biyeon.
"It's our turn next. Let's focus on preparing. Trash-talking others always comes back to bite you eventually."
"Ah, yes... I'll prepare immediately!"
"Of course you will! You're the Chairman, after all!"
I'm so jealous of Kang A-yul and Lee Seo-yun.
Kang A-yul and Lee Seo-yun were assigned to the same team.
As if blessed by divine luck, Ryu Shin-woo was also placed on their team, effectively guaranteeing them first place. It was an absurdly overpowered team.
I should have been on that team... This lottery was rigged.
"Ah, Se-a. Even though you've returned from your injury, remember that the evaluation will be fair."
"Yes, of course."
With those words, I entered the augmented reality device. Instantly, a massive lizard lunged at me.
Based on the average stats of the examinees, a B-Rank Monster, the Grey Wyvern, has been summoned.
"What?! A B-Rank Monster?"
"If it's B-Rank... isn't that the highest tier?"
"Oh, oh, what do we do?"
"What do you mean? We have to catch it."
The Grey Wyvern, now perfectly materialized, roared and swooped down from the sky.
"Frontline, raise your shields and buy us some time... what was her name again?"
"Ah, it's Park Sujin! I'm good with poison arrows, and... um, my mobility is decent too, and... uh, uh, that's about it..."
"Alright, Sujin. Stay back and just fire regular arrows. You don't seem to have any skills, and poison arrows might hit our allies, so stick to regular ones."
"Yes, sir!"
Now everyone was moving into their assigned positions.
If I just use Void, I could take it down in a second...
Still, if I take it down alone, it'll become an individual assignment instead of a team project... We all need to get credit, right? If I act alone and take it down myself, we might even get points deducted.
This ability might be worth trying out.
I focused my mana into my arm, and the crystal shards cascaded down.
"This is the first time I've used this much."
Now, whether I use these to make a sword or a shield...
Fzzzt...!
?
Wait, the crystal shards aren't moving according to my will...
Crack, crack...!
The purple crystal shards aren't moving according to my will.
The shards began to merge, transforming into a familiar shape—one I knew all too well...
"Comrade! Are you in a tight spot? In times like these, you should call on me, Azathoth!"
"...Burgun?"
For some reason, Azathoth, whom I thought was dead, had reappeared, clad in knight's armor.
"Kuhahaha! It's been ages since I've tasted such refreshing air! My body feels lighter than ever... Was killing me back then to release my Constraints, comrade? I'm touched!"
Clang!
"Kuaaaaaah! Comrade! Why are you attacking me, your ally?!"
"Who the hell are you?"
Crack!
I'd smashed his head, but... what the hell is going on?
Seriously, what is this?