Chapter 47
Chapter 47
Translator: Penny
Episode 47: Azathoth, Resurrection [End]
Episode 47: Azathoth, Resurrected [END]
"Kuaaaah! Comrade! Why are you attacking me, your ally?!"
Boom!
Azathoth's neck shattered and fell off with shocking ease.
What? It was this easy?
Suddenly, I remembered reading a post about Azathoth before I possessed him.
Academy Swordmaster Gallery
"Why Won't Azathoth Just Die?" (8888 Views)
Seriously, he was such a pushover in Story Mode, but when I switched to Hard Mode to grind for money, what used to take 3 minutes now takes 25! 🤬
His instant-kill attacks were easy to dodge in Story Mode, but in Hard Mode, they're raining down every 5 seconds! 🤬🤬🤬
And those rocks that block your abilities? They're packed in so densely now. It's like the devs made him a total joke in Story Mode to make it easy, then flipped a switch to turn him into a meat grinder in Hard Mode.
Comments (99+)
Why are you going to a money-making dungeon? You should be capturing Yun Se-a! The reward for that is huge!
(Author) The Yun Se-a Incident is really hard to clear even in story mode...
True. Avoiding her three-hit instant-kill combo is a nightmare.
Even the ASOMA pro YouTubers can't beat Hard Azathoth in under six minutes, no matter how fast they go. - Kim Ssoppung
After reading this, I tried to clear Hard Azathoth in 10 minutes and got wrecked.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You got wrecked? Even newbies can clear Azathoth eventually, though it takes time.
No, I got greedy during the damage phase and tried to squeeze in more hits. A fragment fell, I couldn't use Flash Step, and I got hit by a meteor and died.
엌ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The pattern was simple enough, but the constant rockfalls and absurdly high HP made earning gold a real pain.
Regardless, Azathoth, whose nickname "Thousand Armors" seemed utterly meaningless, suddenly appeared and was instantly killed...
"Comrade! We're allies! There's no need to attack!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Crack!
"Kuaaaah! Damn it, comrade! What's with this attack?! It's not even... making me feel hot at all!!"
Huh?
It didn't break.
I definitely struck with the same force as before.
Whoosh!
"Chairman! The enemy's attacks are too strong!"
"We've run out of arrows!"
Oh, right.
We were in the middle of the group project exam.
Time to test out my newly acquired Crystal Ability.
"Alright, Crystal... make it...?"
The crystal shards that had fallen despite my efforts now remained perfectly still, not a single piece dropping.
Ah, what now?
"Gwahahaha! As my power, of course you can't use it now that I've left your comrade's body! (Crack!)... Kaaah!"
"Is he seriously insane?"
Leaving Azathoth unconscious with stars circling his head, I swiftly drew my staff—not a gun—and rapidly charged it with mana.
I wasn't wearing the choker, and the bracelet's mana limit was set to 40%. That meant... I could currently use 60% of my full power.
It was time to test the new magic I had learned.
"White Force!"
KWA-AA-AA-ANG!
A purple energy wave erupted from the gun barrel, sweeping across the entire testing ground.
The psychokinetic wave accurately distinguished between allies and enemies. Allies received minor status ailment recovery and slight stat boosts, while enemies suffered temporary weakness generation and, if already afflicted with status ailments, tripled damage.
The Grey Wyvern's left wing was still smoldering from Park Sujin's fire arrow.
When my White Force struck it directly, a massive inferno engulfed the creature. The wyvern shrieked as it plummeted to the ground, dying instantly without Striker needing to finish it off.
Watching the Grey Wyvern vanish into a swarm of light, I felt immense satisfaction at having successfully cast a high-level spell like Eve's.
So this is what's possible when your Mana reaches S Rank.
The mechanism itself—amplifying status ailments to inflict triple damage—was particularly fascinating.
Among my skills with status ailments... most are illusion-based. If I had skills that inflicted bleeding or similar conditions, would they drain massive amounts of blood?
That might be a bit too cruel.
- Wow... that magic is incredible.
- Chairman, haven't you gotten even stronger...?
- The barrier... Thank God I won't have to write an incident report.
The class was stunned by the spell's overwhelming power, while our homeroom teacher, who had been seriously considering writing an incident report after seeing the slightly damaged barrier, breathed a sigh of relief.
"......"
And then there was Hong Biyeon, staring at me with a strange look after witnessing my magic.
Before anyone could react, the testing device began blaring an alarm.
Test complete. Survivors: 4. Boss Monster's remaining HP: 0%. Final score: 300 points out of 100, including bonus points for the B-Rank Monster.
"Wow! Isn't that the highest score ever?!"
"If we keep this up, our grades will skyrocket! Chairman, you're the best!"
I barely registered my teammates' excited chatter.
"Kuhahaha! As expected of Comrade's magic! Truly remarkable!"
"Come with me for a moment."
"Sure!"
First, we need to deal with this boulder.
I've been using Perception Hindrance Magic to conceal this boulder's voice and massive size, but if someone... especially Yu Eun-ha... were to discover it...
Did you conspire with Azathoth? You psychopath murderer!
Ugh, I really don't want to get kidnapped again.
After briefly excusing myself to the Student Council Office to adjust my wand, I quickly fled there.
"Comrade, what do you mean? You're radiating that energy and yet you're not devoted to the Demon King?"
"That's right, you rock-headed fool."
"You deceived me! You coward!"
KWAOOOOM!
"Kuaaaah!@#%악!"
Using psychokinetic magic, I slammed Azathoth's head into the ground, instantly knocking him out. Fortunately, it seemed he hadn't fully regained his power.
"No, I told you from the start I wasn't on your side. You were just too stupid to realize I was never your comrade, just because I was radiating the Demon King's energy."
"I want to call you a coward... but it's true that even with all those constraints on me, you managed to immobilize me back then. I'll acknowledge that much."
"Oh, really? I thought you'd immediately fly into a rage and try to kill me."
"Well, the loser... has to obey the winner's commands. The Demon King and Lord Hector will surely acknowledge that. Besides, I survived as something akin to a comrade's summoned creature... How could I possibly attack my comrade?"
"Right. Keep in mind that you'll be my trump card when we take down Hector later."
"...?!"
"What, you expect me, a Magician, to duel that lunatic swordsman?"
"Th-that... makes sense."
The results of my interrogation with Azathoth could be summarized into three simple points:
First, Azathoth didn't lose his mind and attack me. It felt more like he had become a part of me, with me holding the initiative.
Secondly, summoning this guy means I can't use the Crystal Maker (S) I just obtained.
Lastly, it seems the reason I can skillfully wield the Demon King's power is thanks to Azathoth.
Well, at least he hasn't gone berserk yet... He verbally resists, but when I give him an order, he follows it like a tsundere. I guess that's a good thing.
Honestly, his current appearance is a vast improvement over the hideous form he had in the original story.
He now radiates an amethyst glow and looks like a cool, knightly figure.
"Ugh... To cross swords with someone who was once my comrade... This is a disgrace to a warrior..."
If only he'd shut his mouth, he'd be perfect.
Should I buy some duct tape and shut him up?
"By the way, when did you learn that magic?"
"During the break, Chairwoman Eve gave me a grimoire to read, and I learned it from there. Oh, and it's also available in the library, so there's no need to worry about any special privilege accusations."
"White Force... Right, I remember writing in a report that it's a fairly advanced psychokinetic magic."
After returning to the classroom, I chatted casually with Kang A-yul until dismissal. Lee Seo-yun, seemingly unwilling to ignore Ryu Shin-woo's duel request, was still at the training grounds.
Screech!
"The Student Council President Election brackets are out!"
"......!"
"......!!"
At the shout of a student bursting through the door, the entire class rushed out.
I wasn't worried, but there was one scenario I desperately wanted to avoid. I sprinted to check the brackets.
Pfft, as if some miraculous bracket would pair me with the Protagonist at the very end of the finals.
"Hey, move aside! Let me see!"
"Hey, stop pushing my head!"
Their hopes flew toward the bracket, each praying they wouldn't be matched against any tough opponents.
"Ah, damn it! I'm up against the top freshman!"
"Go teach that junior a lesson!"
"Hey, did you forget Ryu Shin-woo lost to that freshman?!"
"I'm fighting that legendary rookie, or whatever they call her."
"Baek Sia? Never heard of her. Free win, sweet!"
Unfortunately, the second-year students remained blissfully unaware of their impending doom.
Let's see... where's my name...?
And then, I finally found it.
Bracket
[Seong Arin] vs. [Hong Biyeon]
[Yun Se-a] vs. [Lee Seo-yun]
Ecclesia vs. Park Sujin
No Unhyeon vs. Yu Eun-ha
"Ah."
Wow, from the very start, I'm about to eliminate one of the candidates I was supporting for Student Council President with my own hands.
Who even made this bracket? Seriously.
...Come to think of it, I was the one who randomized it.