Chapter 69: Isn’t Travel in Academy Stories Always Like This? (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Isn’t Travel in Academy Stories Always Like This? (6)
Sinister.
To call him merely that would be an understatement; the man exuded an aura that was utterly alien.
His gender was impossible to discern because of the mask, but judging by his height and the tuxedo he wore, he was likely a man.
The situation was riddled with incomprehensible details.
I thought we had taken the shortest route, yet he had arrived before us. Furthermore, his words suggested he already knew our identities.
“I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. We are A-rank Heroes registered with the Association.”
Kalia feigned ignorance first.
With their goal potentially right in front of them, she didn’t want to waste time on a fight.
“In the process of finding an exit during this sudden crisis, we moved faster than anyone—”
However.
[Kalia. Boss of the Villain Alliance, Arcadia. You have three identities for undercover work. Seo Ha-neul, an A-rank Hero belonging to the state Association; Yu Ha-ri, an S-rank Hunter belonging to a Hunter Guild; and one more identity as a non-awakened civilian. I won’t reveal that one, as it’s a matter of privacy. You’re quite the striking beauty, so I assume that’s why you hide your face during operations?]
The expression vanished from her face.
She was shaken.
“…Who are you?”
[Me?]
The man in the Ghost Mask rose from his seat.
[I am the one who has come to test you. Prove that you are worthy.]
His presence was no joke.
* * *
What makes a charming villain?
I believe it’s determined by three elements.
It’s best to have all of them, but even possessing just one makes a character a worthy candidate.
An unwavering conviction, the self-awareness that they are a villain, and finally, style.
These were the necessary components to become a charming character that people fall for despite knowing they are evil.
In that sense, the members of the Villain Alliance Arcadia weren’t half bad.
They possessed unwavering goals and convictions, and they were fully aware that they were villains.
Above all, for them, killing was merely a means to an end. The fact that not a single one of them was a thrill-killer was a factor I quite liked.
Since they hadn’t caused any major incidents yet, the people they had killed were mostly rival villains anyway.
That was why I intended to test them—to see if I could make use of them.
“You. A scrawny brat like you acting tough? You want to die? You’re trying to look like something special, but I can see right through you.”
…I actually bulked up my physique for this, though?
[Ho? And how do I look to your eyes?]
“You have no talent for martial arts. I can’t feel even a glimpse of strength from you. So what if you have a sinister aura? No matter how great a weapon a weakling wields, it’s just pearls before swine.”
Oh, that was a fairly accurate assessment.
The giant of a man approached, radiating a fierce momentum.
I knew him.
In the original work, he was a man who defeated countless powerful foes and chose the path of a villain over a hero simply because he enjoyed the act of dueling itself.
Seo Tae-ho.
He was also a genius born with powerful talent, but he chose not to rely on it.
How far can one go with just a human body?
Can human will and effort truly not overcome innate talent?
Harboring such questions, he was a man who eventually obtained a Trait through training that was just as formidable as any natural talent.
“If you’re going to bluff, you’ve barked up the wrong tree. I don’t know how you got here before us, but move.”
Well, that’s because you guys took the fastest conventional route, while I used a hole that exists in the settings.
[Not bad. Good loyalty. Though you moved before the order was given due to a lack of patience, I’ll give you a passing grade for now.]
I looked at him, making sure not to let my internal thoughts show on the outside.
[But you are arrogant.]
He was strong.
“Heh, this brat.”
Having tempered his body to its absolute limit, mana had permeated his very muscles. In terms of physical combat, he was a powerhouse with few equals.
“Hey, Leader Seo Tae-ho hasn’t said anything yet…!”
The small woman tried to stop him, but he had already shot forward like an arrow.
— Don’t worry. His momentum is great, but there is no killing intent.
I gripped the Ruyi as tightly as possible to steady my trembling body.
It was the same story as before.
Simple physical force couldn’t even leave a scratch on the tuxedo I was wearing.
A thunderous boom echoed as the area shook, but this time, it didn’t hurt as much as I expected.
— I deflected the impact.
‘If you could do that, why didn’t you do it last time…?’
— I did it then, too. I just made a few mistakes because it had been a while.
No wonder it didn’t hurt as much as I’d braced for. There was a reason.
As expected of a Quasi-Myth grade. The performance is solid.
[So, is this all? Even if it doesn’t hurt, being hit without resisting feels unpleasant. This was my own display of goodwill; I hope you liked it.]
Usually, most small-fry would be trembling in despair at the fact that their attacks weren’t working, but the man before me was different.
A barrage. As the continuous strikes rained down, my body was gradually pushed back, unable to withstand the force despite the tuxedo being made as heavy and stable as possible.
Thanks to Sun Wukong deflecting the impact amidst the storm of blows, I was able to answer comfortably.
[…Impressive. Is your fist alright?]
“No, it feels like I’m hitting a Great Mountain.”
The expression with which he looked at me had changed slightly.
“I don’t know if it’s an Artifact, special weaponry, or if you’re a powerhouse whose level I simply can’t read.”
[Hmm?]
“Still… this is better than I thought.”
“Leader! Hurry up and stop him! You said we didn’t come here to fight!”
“…Wait. There’s something I need to check. Hold on.”
“…What!?”
Actually, I thought she would have stopped him by now, but it seemed she wanted to confirm something through me.
Well then, I’ll have to give her a reason to want to stop him.
“You’re lucky.”
Oh, that’s a line protagonists who’ve stumbled upon a Fortuitous Encounter often say in novels.
[And why is that?]
“How often does one get the chance to punch a Great Mountain in human form…! You…! I thank you for giving me the chance to break a mountain!”
Mana gathered in his fist, condensing into a single point.
Even at a glance, it was an extraordinary blow.
[No.]
I felt like I’d be in big trouble if I took that hit.
[I have shown enough courtesy.]
As I reached out, the Black Shadow, which had swallowed the power of Reinforcement, temporarily revealed its true form, devouring all light.
It was a paradoxical expression, but the brilliant darkness that consumed every existing ray of light created a distinct shape.
The Black Shadow’s awakening skill, and its original form before being downgraded into an Artifact.
The Dragon’s Shadow.
Because of the Dragon’s Shadow greedily devouring the surrounding mana, panic appeared for the first time on the face of the man who had been preparing his desperate strike.
[Are you flustered? Tell me, how does it feel to lose your mana, even if only temporarily?]
In front of the shadow of a Dragon—the most blessed creature in the world—humans are not permitted to command mana.
In this novel, the beings most intimate with mana are neither demons nor humans.
It is the Dragons.
After a moment of panic, he looked truly delighted and tried to charge at me with his infinitely weakened body, but the intervention I had been waiting for finally came.
“That’s enough.”
Kalia.
The sky-blue-haired woman with a model’s physique, the Alchemist of Omnipotence, stepped in.
“Boss.”
“The matchup is too poor. Physical attacks don’t seem to work at all, and any attempt to resist with mediocre mana will just be stripped away by that shadow. I don’t want to lose a capable subordinate just yet, you know?”
“Ugh…”
Ultimately, heeding her words, he took a step back.
“Since you didn’t counterattack, can I assume you’re still well-disposed toward us?”
No, it’s just that it’s obvious my attacks wouldn’t even leave a scratch on you guys.
[Of course. I am still well-disposed toward you. As is that Great Being.]
“Fine. I have no desire to engage in a life-or-death struggle with you either. What is it you want?”
[I’d like to tell you to come under our wing, but you’d refuse that. So, are you interested in collaborating with us?]
“…Collaborating?”
[Yes, collaborating.]
“You’re proposing a collaboration without even telling us who you are or what kind of organization you belong to? Why don’t you start by revealing your identity?”
[You will naturally find out who we are soon enough. For He will appear shortly. There isn’t much time left.]
“Fine. Assuming you’re not a delusional patient, you’re saying there’s an entity you follow, and since our goals likely overlap, we should work together?”
Shit, I almost panicked.
I mean, I’m not delusional. I really am going to go pick them up soon.
[You’re quick to understand.]
“Ha, do you even know what our goal is? No, perhaps someone like you might. Then you must also know that I won’t back down easily on this?”
[There is nothing you desire behind this door. There are treasures a man spent his entire life creating, but they aren’t what you truly seek.]
“…Are you perhaps, really…”
[I’ll expect an answer the next time we meet. Whether you will join us… or oppose us.]
As I approached the reward room, the plants tried to close in, but the vegetation, drained of mana by the shadow, soon withered.
…The way they made those ‘hyururu’ sounds was actually kind of cute.
* * *
“…Are we just going to let him go?”
“Then what? Should we fight again?”
She dropped her usual formal speech and spoke to the man who looked dissatisfied, as if he hadn’t had enough.
“If we go again, I can win.”
“No, I don’t think we need to fight. Regardless of what he’s thinking or which side of him is real, we’re going to meet again anyway.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
No one else would have seen it, but she, who possessed the same thing, saw something within him that mirrored herself.
An immature, unawakened Fragment of Omnipotence.
And that fragment was in a form that perfectly matched the one held by the boy she had seen during the day.
“I don’t know which one is his true form, but things are about to get interesting.”
“Exactly. You really need to listen to the Boss. If he had been serious, you’d be dead.”
“Ah, I’m telling you I could’ve won! If the Boss hadn’t stopped me, my fist would’ve crushed that guy’s face!”
“Suuuure you would’ve~”
“…This guy…?”
“Everyone, stop. No, I mean it, stop. We’re leaving as soon as the dungeon is cleared.”
“Ah, Boss! What if that guy was lying and what you’re looking for is actually in there!”
“What else? We’ll just take it back then.”
“Aha.”
“…You’re really an idiot, aren’t you?”
“Or we could just leave it with him for a bit as a token of our alliance.”
She said this while looking toward the boss room where he had disappeared.
* * *
“Well, I’m screwed.”
I managed to bluff my way through in front of our prospective business partners, but I had used Reinforcement far too recklessly.
I had reinforced the Ruyi to its limit to withstand Seo Tae-ho’s punches, and I had used Reinforcement again to awaken the Black Shadow to preempt his finishing move.
In particular, the pseudo-awakening of the Black Shadow seemed to consume more Innate True Qi than I expected. The amount of Innate True Qi left in my body was now slightly less than a single full charge, which was definitely not enough to clear the boss room on my own.
“…Should I wait for the kids?”
— I really can’t tell if you’re reckless or just bold every time I see you.
The usual pathetic-sounding voice drifted from the Ruyi.
“I know. Even I think I was a bit complacent this time.”
— Why don’t you just ask me for help? Why do you always try to do everything yourself when you don’t even have the skill for it?
“…Huh? Help me? What do you mean by that?”
— You passed the trial legitimately, so I can help you if I want to. This isn’t a cursed weapon; why do you think a residual thought is attached to it? It’s there to help the owner.
…That’s possible?
There was no such thing in the original work.
I don’t recall anything like that in the settings, either.
The only suspicious part was the bit where the original owner of the Ruyi forced it to activate.
“But why haven’t you said anything until now…?”
— Because you never asked.
“Then why are you telling me now?”
— Because watching you just get hit all the time is frustrating?
“…How much can you do for me?”
— Hmm, that depends on how much you can endure.
In the original work, the Ruyi was a powerful enough Artifact even without such things.
But perhaps I had been slightly underestimating the rank of ‘Quasi-Myth.’
— In your current state, you can’t do anything too grand. Nothing overly difficult.
The Ruyi shifted its form and pointed toward the boss room ahead.
— But I can make it so you can take down whatever monster is behind that door all by yourself.
Sun Wukong’s voice as she spoke was full of mischief.