Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Full Buff
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I thought I'd collapse into bed the moment I got back to the dorm, but surprisingly, my mind was clearer than expected.
During that time, I packed up my things.
Even after learning Aren was a girl, I had no intention of pushing boundaries by insisting on sharing the room.
The problem was that this wasn't my decision—it was entirely the academy's arrangement.
‘Guess I'll have to impose on Alicia again.’
Just then, Aren returned, looking utterly exhausted.
She glanced at me packing and the bags piled in the corner of the room.
“How'd it go with Cecilia?”
Aren rolled her eyes playfully and flashed a bashful smile.
“Oh, that... Hold on. Let me shower first, then I'll tell you.”
Without waiting for my response, she headed straight to the bathroom.
Come to think of it, I'd never seen her shower in this room.
I always returned late at night, and she was always done by then.
Back then, I wondered why she was so strict about it.
‘I'd be embarrassed too if I were her.’
Sitting quietly on the sofa and waiting, I could hear Aren humming from the bathroom.
How much time passed?
Aren emerged from the shower, drying her wet hair.
She wore nothing but a loose shirt.
Had she unwound her bandages?
Her body's contours were far more defined than before—impossible not to notice.
‘...Isn't it a bit big?’
At least Mine's size. Maybe more.
Where had she been hiding that?
Aren plopped down in front of me with a bright smile.
“I apologized to Cecilia.”
“...Yeah?”
“Yeah. And... we decided to be friends.”
Friends.
The weight of that single word hit me fully.
“That's great.”
“She also promised to keep my secret. It's all thanks to you. Really, thank you, Halibal.”
“I didn't do anything. You went and faced her yourself, and she forgave you.”
“No. If it weren't for you, I probably would've...”
Aren trailed off and looked at my bags again.
The brightness in her expression darkened once more.
“...You're really leaving?”
“Yeah. I have to.”
“But...”
“Staying together like this won't work. It'll just make things uncomfortable for both of us.”
Aren hung her head, fiddling only with her damp hair strands, unable to say more.
“After talking with Cecilia, I went to see the princess.”
“You've decided?”
“No. Somehow... I still can't abandon being the Child of Prophecy just yet.”
Changing a lifetime's way of living overnight wouldn't be easy.
If anything, it was a relief.
After all, as long as she was Aren Bright, I didn't want to see her give up so easily over something like this.
“So?”
“For now, I won't accept support just because I'm the Child of Prophecy anymore.”
“What about the ones you've already taken?”
“It might sound like an excuse, but... I haven't received that much? Just dorm fees and tuition? I'll return what I have through the princess, and the rest...”
Aren let out a sigh.
“...I'll pay it back with a part-time job over break.”
‘Hmm. That's inefficient.’
I swallowed the words rising in my throat.
“Removing the Child of Prophecy label from me doesn't mean I'll have nothing left.”
She was already fiddling with the Sun Shine I'd given her.
“I still want to defeat the Evil God. I want to become a strong swordmaster, unbeatable by anyone. I want to try using what you gave me too. This is my will as Aren Bright, not the Child of Prophecy.”
Aren jumped to her feet and looked at me.
“So I told her. I want to join the Undead Dungeon raid team.”
“...That's.”
“Of course, I don't plan to go in with you guys. I hear the Undead Dungeon gets pretty complex even up to the mid-boss room. You might struggle, so I'll provide support.”
“And take down the boss while you're at it?”
For the first time, she gave a mischievous smile at my question.
“If the chance comes, sure.”
I couldn't help but chuckle.
With the burden of the Child of Prophecy lifted, she finally looked like a girl her age.
I turned my gaze back to my bags.
There wasn't as much as I'd thought.
I'd come to this room with next to nothing, after all.
“And lastly, how I move forward from here... I'll decide after visiting my parents over break.”
As I started toward my bags, Aren grabbed the hem of my shirt.
“Um... remember what I said last time? In Baran... about watching the sea together.”
“I remember.”
“So, if it's okay... could you come to Baran with me over break, like we talked about?”
Baran.
The place where Aren's awakening event happens in the original story.
The original Aren, hitting a wall, returns to Baran at the call of her master, Master Jin.
There, confronting her past, she undertakes a hidden quest that surpasses the limits of the Extreme Divine Sword.
The final reward is Savior's first awakening.
This event, unleashing the true power within the sword, was essential to face the rapidly strengthening enemies starting from year two.
Unlike the original Aren, who gritted her teeth and avoided Baran, the Aren before me had chosen it herself.
Perhaps it meant her mind and body were that weary, or that she had nowhere to lean on.
For me, it was a relief—I didn't need to hint at it anymore.
But whether the current Aren could achieve the same awakening there was uncertain.
To confirm that, I had to go to Baran.
“Alright. If we make it to break safely, definitely.”
“R-Really?”
Of course, there were other reasons to visit Baran.
By setting, Baran was an imperial frontier.
Off its coast lay a hidden dungeon, 'Wreckage,' undiscovered by the empire or the church, opening only under specific conditions.
The Wreckage was a brutal underwater dungeon of extreme difficulty.
But the item 'Siren's Song,' which could enhance normal Abyss Cores, was obtainable only there.
My core 'Rene' was standard issue.
Unlike special Abyss Cores that consumed unique materials, it required Siren's Song to strengthen.
I'd planned to visit over break anyway, so with her setting the stage, no reason to refuse.
Relief bloomed on Aren's face at my answer.
“...Thank you.”
With those words, she released my shirt hem.
In her hand now was the Sun Shine instead.
Staring down at it for a while, Aren clutched it like a precious treasure.
‘Worth the hard work getting it.’
“Use it well. It suits you better.”
“Yeah.”
“I'm heading out. See you in class.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and left the room.
Dawn was breaking.
⁎⁎⁎
After classes, Centipede Dungeon.
“That's pretty intense for training.”
“What of it? Compared to the Evil God's Abyss, this is child's play. And...”
Alicia nodded toward Mine.
“...Conquering this place holds meaning for her too, doesn't it?”
Mine's legs were still trembling.
But her eyes were different from before.
Her legs might shake, but her grip on the mace was steady.
Beside her stood her expressionless summon, Rozia.
I'd assumed training meant syncing up in the training grounds, but Alicia chose an actual dungeon.
‘Training without treating it like real combat is pointless, right?’
Agreed.
In that sense, the chosen spot was the Centipede Dungeon where Mine had passed out after saving Pasha and Mar.
Conquering this definitively would mark her complete farewell to the lying Mine, or so Alicia judged.
“Ready?”
“Yes...!”
“Good! Then let's kick off the glorious return of Perfect Alicia!”
With Alicia's declaration, we entered the dungeon.
Rustle.
An unsettling sound came from within.
I sensed presences.
Three enemies.
“Two regular centipedes and one elite.”
“Plan?”
“While I prepare my attack, buff me, senior. Mine, lead with Holy Enchant and Rozia.”
“R-Rozia!”
“Ku-hut. Simple and clear. Finish?”
“Leave it to me.”
“Confidence means results, I see.”
I nodded, and Alicia fell back behind me.
As Mine whispered ‘Please,’ Rozia naturally positioned herself in front of us.
Acting as a tank.
‘Not bad.’
Rozia's AI was poor in the original, but with Mine controlling it directly like now, it changed everything.
Even usable as a tank.
Unintentionally, we'd formed a stable comp: DPS - tank - healer - buffer (support).
- Kieeeek!
The three centipedes spotted us and charged along the walls in an instant.
No instant kills with an elite mixed in.
Gems appeared above everyone's heads simultaneously.
My turn.
‘Doom - Reverse’ was the most devastating of my arts, but it had one fatal flaw.
It consumed a turn as a charge technique.
Worse, gathering energy left me defenseless, sealing even Just Guard.
No choice but to take hits and endure.
Not that I'd ever lived without getting hit.
Then a thought struck me.
‘If used right, couldn't it skip turns?’
Mine and Alicia's combo was excellent, but syncing party speed was tricky.
My fluidity was high; theirs wasn't quite there.
Ditching buffs for Black Shard stacking felt wasteful with their heal and buff power.
So far, I'd acted first, getting buffs next turn—inefficient.
But with Doom - Reverse?
Forcing a turn skip let me delay mine.
Meaning full buffs, then unleash my strongest move next turn.
I stepped my left foot back, drawing energy to the sword at my waist.
The blade in its sheath growled like a beast, gray aura swirling around me.
“H-Halibal?”
Mine looked puzzled at my sudden move.
The DPS charging at battle start? Natural reaction.
But Alicia smirked, grasping my intent immediately.
Alicia's turn.
“Ku-hut. Good. I'll set the stage.”
She unfurled her fan, red petals enveloping me.
Fleeting Bloom.
My senses sharpened, boiling battle spirit filling my body.
Mine's turn.
“H-Holy Enchant!”
Catching on late to Alicia's intent, Mine hurriedly prayed.
In response, pure white light wrapped my sword.
- Kieeeek!
At that moment, the three centipedes lunged at Rozia.
Crunch! Clang!
Rozia swung her mace without flinching, blocking all attacks.
And my turn returned.
“Doom. Reverse.”
The power condensed to its limit over one turn—
Screeeeeam—!!
Became a gray line slicing through space.
Slash!
The sword beam grazed past Rozia by a hair, carving death lines across the three centipedes' torsos.
Boom!
It flew deep into the cave, shattering rock in an explosion before vanishing.
The faint presences inside cut off instantly.
The monsters' hulks split in two, crumbling to dust.
“As expected of my chosen sword.”
“T-That... just now... all of them...”
Then.
Rumble...!
Dirt and pebbles rained from the cave ceiling like a storm.
‘Damn strong.’
That single strike had affected the dungeon structure itself.
“Overdid it, junior.”
“Sorry.”
As vibrations stopped, I regripped my sword and said,
“Let's go. Entrance seems cleared.”
Alicia said one hour for training.
Today, conquering the Centipede Dungeon took less than that.