Uncivilized Demonkin
"Who are those groups on the map? Are they low-ranking squires like you lot, or academy heroes?"
"Y-you crazy bastard! What the hell are you saying?! Somebody help!"
"You've got translation buzzes in your ears. I know you understand every word."
"Is anyone there?! Please save me!!!"
"……Haa."
"World Tree, grant me a miracle……! Huh? W-wait, glurgh—"
The center of the building was a place where screams would be swallowed up. There, the creators were working hard to run an impromptu water park. Of course, "impromptu" didn't mean anything extreme. If anything, it felt more like a crude but oddly familiar and cozy water park scene. Stuffing people whole into giant floating water droplets. Pulling them out just as they were about to suffocate, then politely asking about their parents. Repeating the process endlessly until the customer was satisfied. It was a sight anyone who'd ever played a water balloon arcade game might vaguely recall.
Moreover, the water droplets in the scene were a kind of water park tool Shannon had created with magic.
'As expected, whether in the game or here, the highest tiers of the water school of magic are on a completely different scale.'
The ones enjoying the soaking show were the guests the examinees had brought in through street casting. Though calling it simple street casting might be a slight distortion of cause and effect.
"Caught another one!"
"Kaaagh! Kraaagh!!!"
"Everyone, restrain this guy!"
There had been a bit of a scuffle, but since both sides had mutually satisfying conditions, the casted early adopters were here. That was the more accurate description.
"Glurgh…… Khek! Kehek! L-life……."
However, due to the nature of early adopters, a slight collapse in their sense of humanity was inevitable. Not many people would willingly step into a revolutionary water park created by high school students, so it was unavoidable. Even if it felt uncomfortable and bitter, they had to accept it. To see tomorrow, any act had to be justified in their hearts.
Still, it wasn't all bad. One side got the pleasure Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch had pursued, while the other obtained information. It was the ultimate win-win.
Just looking at the reactions of so many people, the praise for the water park's creators never stopped.
"Aah, do you not know? This is called waterboarding—"
"Somebody save me!!! These bastards are all insane!!! World Tree, please save me!!!"
. . .
"Ghek…… The World Tree…… is just a tree……."
"What the hell is this guy saying?"
. . .
"Do uncivilized demonkin not even know what human rights are?!"
"Yeah, since we're treated as non-persons, I wouldn't know."
World Tree fanatics who were practically expendable, low-ranking squires who were basically the main force, and the occasional mid- or high-ranking squire. All sorts of people passed through the water park and disappeared. It seemed perfect, but it wasn't quite. Not everyone obediently followed the examinees' orders.
"Fucking Slaves!"
"Get Your Ass Back Here!"
"Fuck You!!!"
Some early adopters who couldn't control their sudden emotional shifts caused a ruckus. It was truly unfortunate that a few people ended up with minor injuries like broken bones or spilled organs. Still, it wasn't a problem serious enough to shut down operations. It was only a minor issue, after all.
Just as things were running normally again, critical information began to be collected from some of the early adopters. Roughly the overall situation, and the locations where the World Tree's "Grand Pleasant Ideological Harmony Event" was concentrated started to be pinpointed. Pinpointing the location also meant revealing its vulnerabilities. They could escape from here. If they planned the route well, it was entirely possible.
The twenty examinees used their collective intelligence to once again dump everything onto Kang Sian. They handed over all decision-making, speaking, and commanding authority to him. It was a remarkably wise move, especially in this situation.
However, what Kang Sian had shown so far was different.
"Well, you know more than us ignorant folks, after all."
"Honestly, compared to you, the rest of us are…… pretty average……."
"Honestly, when you saved me from that sack, and even now, there's no one who fights as well as you, Sian. Hehe……."
They felt like he knew at least a little more than they did. He even handled religions, trees, and the faithful well. Seeing that, how could they not trust him? If trusting him backfired, they could just call it bad luck. As a result, to them, Kang Sian was like a reinforcement of promises and trust.
Naturally, the person in question showed increasing discomfort at the growing burden.
"No, I can't really think of anything……."
"Even if it's just a rough idea, we'd appreciate it if you could decide."
Persistent, weren't they? Asking till the very end. Kang Sian held back the urge to argue why they kept asking him and made a decision.
"……Then let's grab our gear, head slightly west from here, and break through the first gap we see."
"Yes!"
"Got it~"
"Understood!"
Incidentally, the reason the group had grown from around ten to twenty was simple. Every time Kang Sian did street casting, he picked up wild survivors. People who had been hiding and crawled out, or those who were rescued after nearly suffering something bad. Some joined for the same reason as the people who had been in the building.
He had been alone, and now he was leading a group of over twenty. What kind of situation was this, and what exactly was he doing? More was better than one, but was this really right? He had no choice but to believe it was.
Kang Sian gave the examinees orders to clean up and wrap things up. Thus, the water park came to a short but intense end. The early adopters who had enjoyed it more than enough were sent off to heaven. Most of them, and there was no need to explain how popular the event had been.
"Everyone, move out! Pack up quickly!"
They passed through rooms filled with people whose faces were swollen from being in the water too long. They gathered the weapons left in the corners and led the way out the back door. A desolate landscape of collapsed concrete and trees. Dozens of people walked quietly through a place that didn't feel like an academy. They walked between buildings, through the insides of destroyed buildings, hid in alleys, and occasionally fought along the way. They moved while trying to stay as hidden as possible, and at the same time, they were looking to scavenge something from inside the buildings.
"Everyone, gather supplies as you see fit, but if there's anything left over or unnecessary, ask others before throwing it away."
"Does anyone need more mana potions? Or recovery potions?"
"Necromancers! Anyone who uses chaos school magic?! I've got a set of guard skeletons here!"
. . .
"Please yield armor to those who mainly do close combat. On the other hand, yield magic tools to those who use magic."
"Maybe because it's a low-end model, but the armor doesn't fit…… Ah, want to trade this for that over there?"
"But is it really okay to loot personal property like this?"
They had to arm themselves as much as possible before heading to the battlefield. Only then could they break through the presumed encirclement and cross the World Gate. They couldn't go around wearing nothing but rags with their barriers depleted. That would only lead to a flood of casualties. If that happened, the blame might come back to him. It meant saving a group only to get cursed at.
'Damn it, this is way too insufficient…….'
The problem was that the chances of getting cursed at were extremely high if things stayed like this. Supplies were far too scarce. Most buildings had already been thoroughly looted, and the ones that hadn't didn't have much worth taking.
'Even for an academy, this level of supply shortage doesn't make sense…….'
On top of that, more survivors kept attaching themselves as they moved, so demand only kept rising endlessly. At this rate, they would have to break through the encirclement without any qualitative improvement. They needed a way to break this cycle.
While sipping a mana potion and pondering this, Shannon asked from beside him, her eyes sparkling.
"Hey, Sian. What are you thinking about?"
After a brief hesitation about whether to say it, Kang Sian answered honestly as they walked.
"Ah, our equipment is too lacking."
"Equipment? I thought this much would be enough against low-ranking squires."
"That's true. But the problem is that what we're up against isn't just low-ranking squires."
Mid- and high-ranking squires. Experts. Maybe even hero parties.
"Ah…… Right……."
"If we try to break through the encirclement like this, at least half of us will die. We can't let that happen. We need to secure a large amount of spare barrier batteries at the very least."
The real issue was where to get them…… Shannon sighed and lowered her tail, apparently unable to think of anything either. Soon, as if some anxiety had crept in, her expression grew gloomy.
"Maybe we should turn aside and check other buildings……."
Swish—
"Wait, shh."
There was a strange presence. Kang Sian raised his hand to stop everyone. He quietly put a finger to his lips and signaled to the others that something was there. He carefully approached the potion shop on the side where the presence had been felt. It might be poking a hornet's nest for no reason, but ignoring it would be a problem in its own way. If he didn't check that dark building, he might get stabbed in the back later.
After ordering some to hide appropriately, he stuck to the wall beside the potion shop's door along with those who had barriers. The damp, rough texture of the stone wall pressed against his back. Looking to the side, Shannon and the other examinees gestured. They confirmed the presence was here.
Though they hadn't received professional training and couldn't pull off a proper ambush…… A sloppy surprise attack followed by using their numerical advantage to start a fight was still feasible.
Kang Sian gestured to Shannon to prepare her water droplet magic to trap the enemy. She smiled at him and nodded. Good. This was doable. Now, accelerate time and then quickly kick the door in—
"Huu……."
But behind the wall Kang Sian was pressed against, he heard breathing. It felt like someone had taken a deep inhale. Something was wrong. He thought quickly. Why would they inhale like that? What did it mean? The thought didn't last long. Deep breaths tended to have one pattern.
Right. A deep inhale was usually.
'Wait, don't tell me?!'
Followed by a powerful exhale.
"Hah!"
A bandaged hand burst through the stone wall. Then, the murderer's hand, brimming with overwhelming strength, grabbed his shoulder.
"N-no!!"
Shannon tried to grab him in a hurry, but she was a beat too late. With a crunch, the stone wall crumbled, and Kang Sian was dragged inside.