Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Became the Greatest Genius in History
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"It's scary..."
"Are we really going to be okay? These huge noises have been coming from everywhere since earlier..."
"The professors will handle it. Don't worry too much—just wait here."
"But things felt off yesterday too. What if the barrier gets broken and demons flood into the academy?"
The students had gathered in the dormitory.
They all wore anxious expressions.
"Hey, cut the scary talk. You're making me nervous too."
"What if we think about an escape route right now?"
"Wherever you go, it'll be crawling with demons. You think we can just escape? Stop panicking and use that time to study like Etira. The Tristy soldiers and professors will take care of it."
The students' gazes turned to Etira.
She sat in the hall, diligently writing a paper on the Blaze Eater that Ester Tristy had improved.
"Etira won't even put down her pen in a crisis like this."
"That's how she gets full scholarships to attend school. You should take a page from her book."
"Lately, hasn't Etira been studying even harder? She was always diligent, but now it feels like she's putting in twice the effort."
She didn't waste even a single second.
Because she had a goal she absolutely had to achieve.
'I have to beat Ester.'
At some point, Etira's lifelong dream had become crushing Ester under her heel.
"If the top student in the whole school studies like that even now, should we join her?"
"Anyone bring their major textbooks?"
Thanks to Etira's calm focus on her studies amid the chaos, the agitated students began to settle down.
That was when it happened.
Boom— boom— tumultuous vibrations rang out.
One student, puzzled, glanced around, then pointed out the window with a startled expression and shouted.
"It's a giant!!"
As a massive demon appeared, the students rushed to the windows in an instant.
A colossal monster was marching toward the academy.
"It's my first time seeing one in person."
"Demons can really get that big..."
Its height rivaled a ten-story small tower.
Everyone gawked, entranced, at the massive demon more commonly seen on the front lines.
"They can take it down, right?"
Everyone looked uneasy.
And for good reason—the attacks prepared by the professors hadn't fazed the giant at all.
"It's not even exoskeletal, so how tough is that body...? A knight in full mithril plate armor would be softer than that thing."
"Non-devil demons lack intelligence but are born with physical advantages. Looks like it has both the massive size and an incredibly durable body."
A female student scolded the male students for their academic musings amid the tension.
"You think this is the time to be impressed!?"
If the giant smashed down with the enormous club in its right hand, no magic barrier—however sturdy and intricate—could withstand it.
With every step the giant took forward, the students' spines chilled.
It felt like death itself was approaching.
As everyone fretted over their fates...
Suddenly, a massive roar echoed.
KABOOM!!
It was the black flame that burned the hottest and darkest in this world.
The black flames struck the giant's face, vaporizing everything above its neck.
The giant's huge body crashed down with a thud.
"Hellfire."
One student muttered, startling the others.
"Hellfire!?"
Hellfire.
The flame with the world's most devastating destructive power had manifested.
The substance that Ester Tristy had elucidated, making it visible not just in hell but in the mortal realm.
A magic requiring calculations so complex it had been named a Millennium Problem—who on earth had unleashed Hellfire?
"Did the professors do it?"
"Doesn't look like it—they seem pretty shocked too."
"Then who..."
That was when it happened.
VROOOOM—
A roaring engine sound began to approach.
A mint-colored tank equipped with one main gun and two secondary guns was advancing.
It looked like an upgraded steam tank.
A weapon that Professor Aria had once shown the students via a recording orb in her Elemental Flames class.
Though its appearance was completely different, the students naturally associated it with the steam tank, given it was an iron chariot on tracks.
Whirr—
Clank—
Before their awe could fade, the main gun fired again.
Medium-sized demons with tough hides fell in the giant's wake.
"..."
Everyone was speechless.
Likely because the demons that even the professors' prepared spells and weapons couldn't fell had been obliterated in an instant.
Hiss—
Steam vented, and the hatch opened.
A boy with a periscope poked his upper body out to survey the battlefield.
Everyone knew the boy's name.
“Ester Tristy!?”
At the familiar name, Etira immediately set down her pen and squeezed through the crowd to the window.
"W-What, where, where!? Where's Ester Tristy!?"
"..."
The students exchanged glances at Etira's unusual reaction.
They all had that 'What's gotten into her?' look.
"What the heck is that weird steam tank... And what is Ester doing out there?"
"We don't know either..."
Etira blinked.
Why was a boy who hadn't even undergone his coming-of-age ceremony piloting a weapon on the battlefield?
Demons were still swarming from all directions.
What did he plan to do against so many?
Ester ducked back into the tank.
As the hatch closed.
Clank—
The secondary guns beside the main gun began to move.
Rat-tat-tat—!
Small demons were swept away in droves.
The secondary guns were coaxial machine guns that generated small mana shells and fired them at rapid speed.
"How is it that powerful!?"
"That Hellfire from earlier must come from the huge cannon in the center."
Unlike steam tanks, which required manually crafting and loading mana shells, this was fundamentally different.
"A new weapon from the Crimson Tower...?"
As everyone marveled at the overwhelming power of the new weapon, Etira alone was certain.
The developer of that bizarre mint-colored tank was none other than Ester Tristy.
The tide of battle, once unfavorable, flipped in an instant.
With Ester's arrival, the demons began retreating en masse.
The professors approached the mint tank to try speaking with Ester, but he seemed too busy forging ahead, ignoring them and roaring forward— VROOOM—.
Etira blinked.
Like a prophet realizing some event was imminent, she sprang into frantic action.
"Hold this for me!!"
She thrust her diligently written paper and pen into the hands of Langlang, who stood nearby.
"Miss...?"
"Gotta use the bathroom. Be right back!"
Etira didn't answer and zipped away.
***
"Whoa, this is so damn satisfying!"
If tank battle games from his past life had felt this exhilarating, they'd have been insanely popular.
It felt like playing a hyper-real hack-and-slash game.
The Hell Tank didn't require reloading like steam tanks or modern tanks.
Every time he clicked the buttons, shells were generated and fired simultaneously.
The Hell Tank's ammo count was essentially its mana reserves.
Using mithril's property of absorbing and storing mana, the alloy's stored mana served as both fuel and ammunition.
Here was a tank that needed no reloading.
The downside? Mana depleted rapidly. Just pushing back the demons once had consumed over 30% of its reserves.
Yes. The Hell Tank was a quick shot.
To overcome that, he needed to meet Haniel—there was no time to waste.
Nob AI handled everything anyway, but he wanted to breathe the crisp outside air and visually confirm safety once more, so he opened the hatch and scanned the surroundings with the periscope while advancing.
That was when the problem arose.
Clunk! The Hell Tank came to an abrupt stop.
The center of gravity shifted forward, nearly toppling it.
『There's an issue with the right-side caterpillar track. I'll halt movement for now.』
Yes, suddenly?
『It must have been damaged during the teleportation earlier. Immediate repairs are needed.』
I scanned the surroundings through the periscope.
My current location was the road from the mansion to the academy.
No demons swarming like before, but dust clouds were visible in the distance.
The vibrations were growing steadily—something ominous was approaching.
Could he somehow limp it to a safer spot for repairs?
『If an anomaly occurs mid-repair and mana runs critically low, we might enter emergency mode without a way to respond. Nob AI does not recommend it.』
Compared to ordinary people, my mana reserves were pathetically low.
Though Erps had been treating me steadily, I still couldn't reach even half the average.
It was a seriously tricky situation.
As I pondered countermeasures, a familiar voice called out from somewhere.
"E-Ester Tristy!"
It was Etira.
She had appeared before me at some point, arms crossed, and spoke up.
"I-I mean, if you asked for help, I could help you...?"
Etira mumbled timidly to me, despite her bold posture.