Absorbed Bappe

"Fuck, what's wrong with this thing?"

Something was off. This was definitely Bappe. I had just used Inquiry to confirm it beyond any doubt.

"Why is it absorbing into my body instead of transforming into a weapon?"

Bappe was supposed to shift into the weapon form best suited to the user's aptitude and abilities. I had been looking forward to seeing what kind of weapon it would become for Schluss, yet it had suddenly merged with my body. Maybe it was a gauntlet that wrapped around my hand, or perhaps some kind of suit-type armament? I checked again and again, but there was no trace of Bappe anywhere. It had been completely absorbed into me. Or maybe it had simply vanished.

"Huh. What the hell is going on?"

What on earth had happened? Had the setting for Bappe changed in the meantime? No, that couldn't be right. This world only ever tossed me ridiculous situations and quests, but it at least implemented everything perfectly without contradicting my original novel. There was no way it would suddenly alter Bappe's setting—that it had remained untouched by human hands for hundreds of years—without any regard for probability.

Which meant Bappe was functioning as intended...

"Is it strengthening my fists or something?"

Was the weapon most suited to Schluss his own bare body? Was that the idea? So Bappe hadn't taken a separate weapon form and had instead fused with Schluss's fists to reinforce them? It was my own theory, but it sounded fairly plausible. Might as well test it.

Thud!

"Argh!"

The moment my fist sank into the cave wall, an embarrassingly pathetic scream rang out. If Trie had heard it, she would have exploded with laughter and teased me mercilessly. Still, the wall showed no marks at all. Not even a speck of stone had chipped away.

Damn it... If anything, the fatigue had weakened me. There was no sign of reinforcement whatsoever.

"Shit. I need to figure out what the hell is happening."

In the end, the only thing I had learned was the fact that I knew nothing. Since I had absorbed Bappe, it seemed I had indeed become its user... but I still had no idea how this counted as a weapon or how to extract it again. I couldn't afford to stay cooped up in this cave trying to solve the mystery. The monsters would be here soon.

I bit down on the glowing artifact once more and hurried out of the cave.

"Ugh... ugh..."

Climbing back up the wall was twice as exhausting as descending. I hadn't even covered much distance before my arms and legs began trembling violently and ragged breaths tore from my throat. If I had known this would happen, I would have exercised more and built up my strength. Going down, I had feared death from a single slip. Now I simply felt like I was going to die.

I desperately wanted to use Selection and Concentration, but I couldn't waste it here. All I could do was endure through pure grit and willpower.

"Grrrrr...!"

Finally, I crawled out of the fissure and rolled my heavy body onto the ground. My arms and legs refused to obey, as if they were broken, while my chest heaved up and down without pause. I lay there for a long time, simply catching my breath. Until I noticed that something around me was very, very wrong.

"Grrrrr..."

"Oh. Fuck."

I turned my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head and found myself staring at a drooling mad dog. The beast lunged at me with clear intent to rip the skin from my face—

"Grr!"

"Hup!"

"Yelp...!"

I rolled aside at the last moment. The creature tumbled straight into the fissure and fell. Whew. That had nearly gone very badly.

Nearly...

"Grrrr... grr..."

"Grrrrrr..."

"Haha. I'm completely screwed."

Black shapes surrounded me on all sides. Black Dogs. Low-grade monsters with minimal intelligence. One or two would have been manageable with my bare hands. But this many? Impossible. Even with a sword, I doubt I could have done anything. The damn things were swarming the entire rocky mountain as if they meant to bury it completely.

This was unworkable. Even using my abilities, I wouldn't last. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There was only one option left.

"Screw this!"

I spun around and broke into a dead sprint. The slope behind me was steep, which meant the encirclement was thinner there. I slipped past three or four of them as they charged with eyes rolled back in fury and quickly reached the cliff's edge.

There was no time to hesitate. Without slowing down, I leaped straight off the cliff.

Just before I could plummet dozens of meters and smash into the ground, I pushed my body to its absolute limit.

Boom!

"Ugh!"

I landed like a superhero from a Hollywood film, letting out a small groan. Dirt sprayed outward, forming a crater, yet my joints remained intact and my bones unbroken. My body's toughness now rivaled Black Steel, after all.

The problem was that the full impact had transferred through me as raw vibration. The ringing tremor paralyzed my entire body, leaving me unable to stand for some time.

"Yelp!"

"Whine! Whimper!"

"Yelp!"

Black shapes rained down behind me. The mad dogs slammed headfirst into the ground, scattering brains and blood. A few unlucky ones with sprained legs crawled toward me, jaws gaping wide. It was a mercy that I had jumped far enough to avoid being splattered.

Before the ones that had descended from the middle of the mountain could catch up, I sprinted toward the Wist Forest. The concentration of mana energy had clearly thickened. My whole body felt heavy, my eyes kept trying to close, and drowsiness washed over me. If I shut my eyes here, I would truly die.

I kept my mind sharp and never stopped moving. Gradually my body began to feel lighter. A sign that the forest was ending. Sure enough, the tall trees soon grew sparse, and the lodge appeared in the distance. It seemed the Black Dogs were no longer pursuing me.

Whew. I had nearly died trying to claim a single fortuitous encounter.

"Don't be too angry, Hurtlocker."

Now that I thought about it, Hurtlocker probably still had no idea something called Bappe even existed. I had felt a twinge of guilt, but that had vanished. Come to think of it, I had saved Selection and Concentration in case I ran into monsters, yet I had only used a single second. If I had known, I would have spent two seconds both descending and ascending the fissure. Well, I hadn't known things would turn out this way.

Still, let's look on the bright side. There was still time left on Selection and Concentration. Even if an unexpected attack came tonight, I would be able to handle it. I returned to the lodge with this mental victory, acting as if nothing had happened.

Since I had locked my room door on the way out, a decent excuse should prevent anyone from realizing I had visited the Wist Forest. As long as Trie didn't proudly boast about getting trapped in the minefield and being rescued by me, that is.

"Schluss. Where have you been?"

I was trying to sneak back to my room when I ran straight into Ainz. He was still sitting in the exact same chair he had occupied when I left. He couldn't possibly have stayed there for hours, could he?

"I went for a walk."

"Trie said she went for a walk earlier and came back some time ago..."

"......"

Ainz stared at me with open suspicion. Damn. So he really had been sitting here the entire time. Why wouldn't this guy just go inside his room?

"Still, your timing is perfect. They're having a barbecue in the backyard right now."

"I see."

Right. Tonight was supposed to be barbecue. I headed to the backyard with Ainz, who looked unusually haggard today. The students were already gathered in a circle. An enormous piece of meat straight out of a cartoon was skewered on a spit, turning slowly over the fire. Seeing it in person, it looked genuinely mouthwatering.

"Over here! Professor Schluss! I saved you a seat!"

"I told you not to call me professor..."

Trie spotted me and waved enthusiastically. I approached the fire with a wry smile, only to notice Ainz giving me another strange look. What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Only then did I realize every student's gaze was locked on me. What was going on? Why were they all staring?

"Sch-Schluss! Your nose!"

"Ah."

Only after Trie's urgent cry did I notice the warm blood running down my philtrum. The moment I registered it, my head began to spin.

"Cough!"

"Schluss!"

Something surged up from inside me. I bent over, and blood poured from my mouth. Damn it... The mana energy erosion was far stronger than I had anticipated. It felt as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if my internal organs had been shredded and were now spilling out.

My legs shook, but I hadn't reached the point of collapse or unconsciousness. I was barely clinging to consciousness.

"Guh..."

"Mr. Schluss! Are you all right!"

As I continued vomiting thick blood, Sergei suddenly appeared at my side. This was bad. The moment Sergei touched me, he would realize it was mana energy erosion.

I instantly boosted my mana adaptation stat and converted every last trace of mana energy left in my body into pure mana. Right afterward, Sergei placed his hand on my shoulder. There would be no residual mana energy for him to sense now.

"Are you okay? Tell me everything you ate today!"

"It's not poison."

"Then what is it?"

"I have a chronic condition. I'll be fine after some rest."

"Drink a recovery potion first. Quickly."

I had never seen Sergei look so flustered. Still, wasting one of these precious potions... Damn it. There would likely be many casualties tomorrow or the day after. I hoped my incident wouldn't cause the potions to run short.

"I'll carry him to his room!"

"Yes, Trie. Please do."

"Give me your arm, Professor Schluss."

"I told you not to call me pro—"

"Ugh. Is now really the time?"

After that, supported by Trie, my memories became hazy. I know I walked, but the gaps in my recollection suggested the experience was similar to being drunk.

Ah. I had wanted to try that cartoonishly large meat.

"A chronic illness... I see."

Sergei stared at his hand with a dazed expression. The information he had just read was difficult to believe. Schluss's body was in ruins. Every blood vessel had begun to melt, and all his internal organs were severely damaged.

It was exactly like... Yes. Precisely like the body of someone exposed to a high concentration of mana energy.

Only exposure to mana energy could cause this level of destruction. Yet not a single trace of mana energy could be detected within Schluss. He had definitely called it a chronic illness. There was one condition that came to mind. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't know its name, but it was a terrifying disease in which the body's immune system occasionally malfunctioned and attacked itself. I had heard that during flare-ups, patients suffered internal damage and vomited blood just as Schluss had.

And unfortunately, no cure for that disease had ever been discovered.

"An incurable disease..."

Sergei murmured quietly as he watched Schluss being helped inside by Trie. One student with sharp ears overheard him—

She was the red-haired girl tasked with gathering information on Schluss at Erika's request. Erika had particularly emphasized learning about his health. So that was why. The girl resolved to send this information to Erika immediately via express letter.

"Hahaha. Shall we continue our enjoyable barbecue party?"

Sergei turned around and clapped his hands. But the atmosphere, once dampened, refused to recover.