Demon (2)
Demon (2)
After class ended, Song Rahui called me in. It wasn't just me; Im Na-yeon, Han Jong-woo, Eun Sua, Yoon Chae-rin, and Yoon Seung-ha were called in as well.
"Why did you call us? I haven't caused any trouble lately."
"What about that punk you caught and scared yesterday? He pissed his pants and was foaming at the mouth."
"No, that doesn't count as me causing trouble. I prevented him from causing trouble, so wouldn't that mean I didn't cause any? I actually think I contributed to the school's peace."
Yoon Chae-rin puffed out her chest confidently and said something weird. It was technically words, but it was full of bullshit. What kind of logic is that?
"Use nicer language. And try thinking a little."
"Who are you to lecture me, you little brother?"
Yoon Chae-rin and Yoon Seung-ha bickered. Beside them, Kang Hannam was sweating bullets watching the scene. Come to think of it, Kang Hannam had once made a pass at Yoon Chae-rin at the beginning of the semester and had an incredible experience.
'It's not every day you get sent flying into the sky by a single punch.'
The memory of Professor Kang Han-ja looking dazed before catching Kang Hannam right before he hit the ground was still vivid. And so was the shocking declaration Yoon Chae-rin made afterward.
-I don't listen to anyone weaker than me.
Of course, Kang Hannam, who had passed out, didn't hear it.
But why is he here, anyway?
"But why is Hannam following us?"
It wasn't just me who was curious, as Im Na-yeon asked. Eun Sua and Han Jong-woo also looked at Kang Hannam. Yoon Chae-rin and Yoon Seung-ha looked uninterested.
"I'm just going the same way..."
Kang Hannam trailed off. At his words, Im Na-yeon seemed to remember something and spoke up.
"Come to think of it, it is the same way to 'that clubroom'."
"That clubroom?"
"It's a gathering for men."
Kang Hannam said it as if he were proud. It was famous for being a clubroom that women hated, but was popular among men. It was the clubroom for the [Strong Man]. A place where all sorts of gym rats gathered, smelling of sweat 24/7, 365 days a year. Even though there were magical items to ventilate the smell, it was famous for having a weird odor whenever you got near it.
After chatting casually like that, we arrived in no time.
Looking straight ahead, I saw a nameplate that read: Department of Magic - Song Rahui.
I knocked on the door and opened it. In front of us were Song Rahui and three teaching assistants following her.
"You're here?"
Song Rahui welcomed us with a smile. The white legs visible through her robe caught my eye.
I snuck a glance at the papers placed next to Song Rahui. I could see the text, but the content couldn't be read. It was because of special magical treatment. All documents in the faculty office received this treatment. This was because even trivial information could have a significant impact on academic grades.
"Ah, it's nothing else, I called you here because I have a favor to ask."
Song Rahui said with a slightly troubled expression.
"You all know, right? About the strange rumor circulating in the school right now?"
"The [Hypnosis] app?"
Yoon Chae-rin said indifferently. For a moment, Im Na-yeon's shoulders flinched.
"Hmph, who would actually believe such a lame thing? To begin with, is there anyone weak enough in this school to fall for something like that?"
Han Jong-woo said that while looking at me. I felt ridiculous. There were several routes in the game, and in most of them, it was Han Jong-woo who was deceived by that [Hypnosis] app and attacked Yoon Seung-ha more fervently than anyone else.
It requires various costs, but it's not the kind of thing students can easily resist. Great Evil. It was made by those called the [Seven Deadly Sins]. In terms of other games, it's an item created by monsters on the level of the Four Heavenly Kings who were determined to make it. There's no way a mere student could resist it.
"Hey, Han Jong-woo, you!"
"What are you saying, weakling?"
As Im Na-yeon was about to snap at Han Jong-woo, Yoon Chae-rin mocked him.
Han Jong-woo glared at Yoon Chae-rin. Yoon Chae-rin, who never backed down from a fight, glared back at Han Jong-woo. About 10 seconds passed as they had a staring contest. Both were slowly starting to flare up their aura. The atmosphere between them turned hostile.
"Stop."
A cold voice cut in. Purple eyes were burning. I glanced around and saw that the teaching assistants' mood was also bad. It was only natural. A mere student was trying to fight openly in front of a professor. Even if they said we looked down on them, there would be nothing to say.
"Do you find me funny?"
Song Rahui radiated a sharp, terrifying aura. Han Jong-woo and Yoon Chae-rin quietly lowered their heads. However, she wouldn't let it slide just like that. Although she was called the Purple Witch, her nickname in the [Ivory Tower] was the Mad Witch.
They said she became calmer after taking on the title of professor, but it was famous that once she lost her temper, no one except the [Fairy Queen] could stop her.
"We're sorry."
"Sorry my ass, I asked if you find me funny. Fighting in front of a professor, what a mess. If there were no professors here, would you have fought like you were going to kill each other?"
After that, Han Jong-woo and Yoon Chae-rin were scolded for 10 minutes. The only reason it was just 10 minutes was thanks to the teaching assistant. They whispered something into the ear of Song Rahui, who was berating Han Jong-woo and Yoon Chae-rin, and after Song Rahui closed her eyes for a moment, she spoke.
"......Anyway, if you bring evidence related to the [Hypnosis] app, I will give you merit points. Not only merit points, but if it's resolved well, the principal might give you a separate reward."
Song Rahui said calmly. Everyone nodded enthusiastically and focused on her words.
"Do you have any questions?"
"If the [Hypnosis] app is real, there must already be students who have fallen victim to it, and there's a risk that even upperclassmen could be targeted, so to what extent is violence permitted?"
Yoon Seung-ha answered Song Rahui's question. Song Rahui rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache and said.
"I would like to say, 'You must not swing your fists at students.' But the situation has grown quite large. The number of missing students has already exceeded seven. Victims have appeared not only in the first year but also in the second year. That is why I am reaching out to you all."
Song Rahui sighed softly.
"However, since we are the ones asking for a favor, it would be an unreasonable demand to tell you not to use force. If the opponent is confirmed to be the culprit, force will be permitted to some extent, but you must not use violence against them out of personal feelings. Do you understand, student Han Jong-woo, student Yoon Chae-rin?"
""Yes! We will keep that in mind!""
Han Jong-woo and Yoon Chae-rin answered loudly. Yoon Seung-ha smiled bitterly.
"Students have their own way of communicating, right? I would like you to utilize that. Since we are professors, there are things we might miss."
"Yes!"
"Are there any more questions?"
We glanced at each other. It didn't seem like there were any. When I nodded, Song Rahui nodded with a satisfied smile.
Immediately after being asked by Song Rahui, we headed to a nearby cafe. Perhaps not wanting to talk near Song Rahui, Yoon Chae-rin suggested it, and Han Jong-woo nodded vigorously.
"Well, it's awkward to just talk here, so should we order something and then talk?"
Everyone agreed to my question.
"I want a brown sugar bubble tea with tapioca pearls, 100% sugar level, large size."
"I want milk tea with jewelry pearls, 70% sugar level, moderate ice."
"......."
Yoon Seung-ha and Yoon Chae-rin said. I glanced at Eun Sua and Im Na-yeon, and they ordered normally.
"I'll have an iced tea. Make it cold."
"Then I'll have an iced Americano."
"Then I'll have an Americano too."
The others looked at me.
"Then I'll go order."
"Ah, we need to pay, right? I'll go with you!"
Im Na-yeon slipped to my side. Han Jong-woo hesitated in the middle of sitting down and cleared his throat.
"I'll go."
"Did you memorize the menu?"
When Yoon Chae-rin said that from the side, Han Jong-woo hesitated. I told the group I'd be right back, then went to the counter. I ordered the menu and headed to the table.
"So, shall we form teams?"
"Is there a need to form teams?"
Han Jong-woo said, showing discomfort at my words. If it were a normal school, that would be acceptable. But this is the [Hero Academy]. Although it's an academy, it's an absurd artificial island three times the size of Yeouido. Not just the school, but related facilities, dungeons, facilities for academy staff, and so on...
To search all of that, one team is nowhere near enough. At this rate, we shouldn't be moving in teams, but individually to search.
"How big is the [Hero Academy], and you want to move as one team?"
"......."
Han Jong-woo shut his mouth at my words. I looked around. Everyone seemed to have no complaints.
I formed teams that could survive even if they ran into the enemy at this point.
"Yoon Seung-ha and Han Jong-woo. Im Na-yeon and Eun Sua. And me and Yoon Chae-rin. Let's go like this."
"Why am I not in a team with Im Na-yeon?"
Naturally, Han Jong-woo expressed his dissatisfaction.
However, from my perspective, it was obvious. If we assume Han Jong-woo and Im Na-yeon formed a team and faced the enemy, Han Jong-woo and Im Na-yeon wouldn't be able to hold out. That's why Yoon Seung-ha, Yoon Chae-rin, and Eun Sua were obviously essential team members.
If only I could say, "If you don't like it, get stronger." I explained it as gently as possible. It wasn't so much that he was persuaded by my words, but Im Na-yeon's role was significant.
The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.
There was a genius comparable to Lee Ji-ah. Born into a prestigious magic family, there was a man who, before his brilliant talent could bloom, was brought down by those who envied it and threw himself into [The Cult] to take revenge on them.
Although his body became unable to use mana, his brain was sharp. Sharp enough to modify magic and create new magic. That was the [Black King]'s Revelation.
'The efficacy drops as much as it's modified, though.'
The performance did drop. However, the noisy precursors that accompanied its manifestation disappeared, and it gained the advantage of being able to be deployed covertly. The downside was that it was expensive. And the preparation period became a bit longer.
There is one interesting point here: it was Lee Ji-ah's father who ruined the body of the man who threw himself into [The Cult].
Come to think of it, that guy is really something. He couldn't recognize Lee Ji-ah's talent and cast her aside.
He turned a man who could have become a great mage and protected humanity into an enemy of humanity.
"Why did you come here?"
"Because this place is suspicious."
Yoon Chae-rin and I had arrived at the auditorium. There was no one in the auditorium. Naturally. The auditorium is only used to gather students when there is an event at the school. Since there are better training grounds for exercise, it was safe to say that practically no one uses this place in normal times.
I moved to the front of the third window in the auditorium.
A large, rectangular window. There was a flowerpot in front of it. I raised my fist, protected it with mana, and struck the flowerpot.
Crack.
As I struck, purple mana formed above the flowerpot, shattering the flowerpot along with the shield.
"What is that?"
Yoon Chae-rin's eyes turned fierce. I picked up a bead from the remains of the flowerpot. A black bead with a swirling purple pattern. Lucky. I found it at once. The location where this bead would appear was random, so I was prepared to search all day, but to think I found it at once. I'm lucky.
It looks ordinary, but given her trait related to magic, she would be able to tell at a glance what this bead is.
"It's a device to deploy a barrier called the '[Black King]'s Revelation'."
"[Black King]'s Revelation? That earlier..."
"Yeah. It's a barrier that appears in the class Professor Song Rahui taught. If this barrier is deployed, even most high-ranking heroes would die, right?"
"Why is that...? No, before that, the [Black King]'s Revelation is..."
Yoon Chae-rin shut her mouth. What is needed for the [Black King]'s Revelation is human sacrifice. Offering people as ritual sacrifices. A barrier built with his mana by offering them to the 'King' of the Demon World.
However, there is a reason why this technique has been abandoned. You have to offer ten thousand people as sacrifices. It is essential that the sacrifices are alive to be offered.
The [Association] and heroes, who are sensitive to such human sacrifices, are always watching society. Also, villains hate Demon-humans who perform human sacrifices. Because what they want is to pursue their desires outside the boundaries of the law, not the destruction of the world.
"That's right. It's offering people as sacrifices."
Yoon Chae-rin's complexion turned fierce. Black energy rippled around her.
Watching that scene, I recalled the purpose of the [Hypnosis] app.
The purpose of the [Hypnosis] app is simple. It's to use that simplified [Black King]'s Revelation. They are the sacrifices. If they are students of the [Hero Academy], their value as sacrifices is excellent. The value of a [Hero Academy] student is superior to dozens of ordinary sacrifices. After all, this place is overflowing with students.
"Are you going to crush them?"
"Of course. I know who the culprit is."
There is also a way to report it to the professors as is. Since there is solid evidence, they will investigate properly and try to catch the culprit somehow. However, that shouldn't happen. If that happens, the protagonists won't be able to acquire the skills.
Ash and Dust. The force they possess falls slightly short of the mid-rank, but their strengths lie in infiltration, schemes, traps, and so on. Their escape methods are also bizarre, and if you encounter them for the first time, it's a method you have no choice but to fall for. In that situation, the protagonists experience a crisis, defeat the enemy, and acquire the skills.
However, there is something I need to do before that.
Crunch.
I crushed the bead. The bead shattered, and pitch-black smoke rose from inside. It soon became a ring embedded with black crystal.
'Oh. It's the [Ring of the Black Viper].'
The [Black King]'s Revelation is ultimately a problem that is solved if the 'King' is satisfied. You cannot calculate human life with money, but if you want to calculate it, it can be replaced to some extent with an [Artifact] equivalent to that value. However, what the 'King' wants is ultimately life, so sacrifices are eventually needed.
Anyway, the important thing is.
That it's possible to farm with this bead.