Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Preparation (2)
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After finishing preparations to save Lucy, I returned to the dorm.
Lilliana's probably doing fine, right? She's not starving or anything, is she? I was a little worried.
Ding-a-ling-
There wasn't a sound from inside while I tapped my smartwatch on the door to enter.
"Is she asleep?"
She wouldn't have run off after what happened outside...
"Ah~ fuck. Why isn't this jungle asshole coming? The enemy jungler and top laner keep ganking top non-stop!"
A cute voice spewing curses from inside the room dispelled my worries.
I peeked through the gap in the open door.
Lilliana was streaming a game broadcast.
She was so focused she hadn't noticed me at all.
"Ah, they got me. You fucking bastards, quit the game, you milk-sucking shits!"
"..."
"Ah, Ace from the Mana Research Club. 10,000 won donation~. Thanks."
"My reactions suck? If you don't like it, fuck off, you prick."
Lilliana was streaming in succubus cosplay, complete with a tail swishing back and forth.
I realized succubi were masters of adaptation.
Now I was curious about her stream.
I logged into Everyday to check if it had been posted there.
The top post caught my eye right away.
📰 Breaking News Isn't this definitely our dorm no matter how you look at it? The post had a screenshot from Lilliana's stream, explaining with various reasons why the room layout matched Victoria Academy's dorms exactly.
The stream name was listed in the post, so I searched for it and tuned in.
The stream was titled 'Sexy Succubus'.
She didn't even look like one, but there she was calling herself Sexy Succubus.
— Anonymous Sis, curse more. — Anonymous I'm a current Victoria Academy student, and this is 100% the dorm. Legendary. — Anonymous Whoa, a Victoria Academy cadet doing cam shows. — Anonymous From how much donation do you call out names and curse? "Hmm... she's definitely lost her mind."
The world was full of people who'd lost theirs.
Still, seeing her diligently working from day one made me feel good.
She was even creating the perfect misunderstanding I'd hoped for. Nice, nice.
By the time I got back from the training hall, her stream would be over, so I'd talk to her then.
I changed into my cadet uniform and headed to the training hall.
The public training room had a decent crowd since it was Monday.
Unlike private rooms, the public ones were for training in groups of two or three.
In simple terms, it was the popular kids' space.
I ignored the stares and went to a corner with a hologram monitor.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Victoria Academy Class Management System. How may I assist you?] "Show me the materials from today's first-year A-Class lecture by Professor Im Sol, and all the barrier data."
Shwaaak-
The AI pulled up the handouts Professor Im Sol had distributed in class today on the hologram monitor.
It also listed every barrier magic circle Victoria Academy had made public for cadets up to now.
"Ugh, that's too much. Advanced ones only."
Eight magic circles appeared before my eyes.
Five used double helices to counter enemy attacks.
Three were lightweight versions for emergencies.
The ones I wanted were obviously the former.
"Exclude the lightweight ones."
Slide.
Now it was time to analyze them.
First off, the common point among these magic circles was using double helices to bind mana and increase durability.
Other differences were just which magic types they countered best, or whether they were better against physical or magical attacks.
In short, the big picture was the same.
But there were subtle differences in the details.
'Oh, arranging mana to radiate from the center makes it more effective against fire magic.'
'This one's finishing stroke is lacking. A bit more mana allocation at the end would've improved efficiency.'
I analyzed the barriers and found points for improvement.
For a mere cadet to spot flaws in barrier magic circles was absurd, but Mana Sensitivity made it possible.
"Ho-yeon, what are you doing?"
Ah shit, you scared me.
Lumi had snuck up beside me before I knew it.
"Hey, you gotta say something when you approach. What if I freak out?"
"Hehe... sorry."
If it were before, she'd have squeaked "S-sorry!" and bolted. She'd grown a lot.
But is it okay for her to talk to me? Lucy might chew her out if she saw.
"Isn't it risky hanging here? Lucy might get mad if she sees."
"It's fine. Once Lucy's asleep, she wouldn't notice if someone kidnapped her. She said she was tired and went to bed first. B-but... were you practicing barriers by any chance?"
"Yeah, the lecture was pretty interesting, so I was practicing alone."
"Then! Would you train with me?!"
Lumi's eyes sparkled.
📜 NEW QUEST 📜 [Train in the Popular Kids' Space!]
📍 Location: Public Training Room
⏰ Time Limit: None
🎁 Reward: Magic Power +1
Lumi yearns for training with friends!
Try some fun barrier training with Lumi!
A quest after so long. No reason to refuse.
"Sure, I'd love to, but you won't gain much training with me."
"That's not true. Pointing out each other's weak spots... that's what f-friends do!"
Pfft. Hesitating on "friends" while glancing at me was pretty cute.
"Right, that's what friends are for."
"Y-yes! Yeah!"
So cute. Why's she so thrilled just hearing "friends"?
Lumi was a character talented in defensive magic. Training with me for my sake made me feel guilty.
"You were practicing barrier magic, right? Let me show you a demo."
"Sounds good."
I still vividly remembered her magic from the last lecture, but no need to refuse.
Lumi glanced at me as if to say "watch closely," then slowly formed a barrier.
Double-helix mana intertwined, overlapping into a solid shield.
'Wow, she's really good.'
It was at the pinnacle a cadet could reach—no exaggeration.
Especially the defensive attribute infused in the mana. It carried Lumi's warm resolve.
"Did I do well because you were watching, Ho-yeon? Want to give it a try?"
"Got it. Kinda nervous though. Heh."
"It's okay. No one's good from the start. I'll point out your weak spots."
After her perfect demo, I felt the pressure.
The magic circles I'd seen replayed in my mind like a panorama.
I etched in the mana attributes from Lumi's barrier.
My talent gathered the strengths of those circles and incorporated Lumi's mana attributes.
Crackle-
Mana twisted into a double helix, intersecting.
Stronger. Stronger.
Not enough.
Hoo. I took a breath and started over.
'Clairvoyance'
ZZing-
I observed the gaps in my barrier.
Tighter. To fill even the tiniest gaps, the mana form needed to be denser. Double helix couldn't do it.
Flash. An idea struck.
'If double helix is the issue, just make it denser.'
A third stroke was added to the rotating double helix.
The triple-helix mana eliminated tiny gaps, intersecting beautifully.
I infused Lumi's mana attributes.
The resolve to defend against everything imbued the magic circle.
It wasn't as strong as Lumi's resolve, but Mana Sensitivity compensated.
Finally, a wall formed before me.
A barrier utterly different from Lumi's or Im Sol's.
But both Lumi and I could feel it.
It transcended beauty into art—a masterpiece too exquisite for mere barrier use.
If Professor Im Sol were here, she'd scream, rip off my pants, and demand we research it together.
Before my eyes was a barrier of unparalleled beauty, elegance, and perfection.
"...."
"...."
Lumi, who'd demoed first, looked stunned at its shameful splendor.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ ───――「 Cotton Guard 」───―― ▶ Unique Skill ▶ A spell containing complete understanding of barriers and unwavering resolve.
Can be lightened for use per the user's will.
Cotton Guard.
It even registered as a unique skill.
Lumi's face flushed as she gazed at its beautiful form.
"A-ah... Y-yes... Amazing. C-could you... teach me too...?"
"Uh, y-yeah. Of course. Friends point out each other's weak spots, right?"
"......Y-yeah. Right."
She seemed embarrassed about offering to correct my flaws.
No need to be that shy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I finished training with Lumi and returned to the dorm.
We agreed to train together regularly from now on.
It started as me getting help, but getting closer to a heroine was always welcome.
Even without that, studies somewhere must show training efficiency rises with a pretty girl around.
As I entered the dorm, Lilliana was there, picking at chicken on the table—her stream apparently over.
"Hey, you done?"
"Huh? Oh, Contractor. If you mean the stream, yeah. Made good money today, so I got chicken. Cool, right?"
"That's fine... but do you not know my name or something?"
Come to think of it, I knew hers, but I'd never told her mine.
If she'd seen a system window like me, she wouldn't call me Contractor.
"Huh!? W-well, you never told me, so no?"
Putting it on me?
"Hey, you should've asked first. I thought you knew."
"Ah, whatever. Why's a guy being so petty? So, what's your name?"
"Call me Lee Ho-yeon."
"What a lame-ass name. Why brag about it?"
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing~ Anyway, curious how much I made today?"
Damn. One day, and she's this slippery. I missed yesterday's Lilliana, whimpering after thugs beat her.
"So, how much?"
"Ta-da~ 800,000 won."
"What?"
"Deaf? 800,000 won. That's a lot, right? One chicken's 15,000 won."
I heard clearly but asked again—still 800,000 won.
This wasn't "a lot"—it was fucking insane.
Fuck! If they'd possessed me as a girl, I'd cam too and print money.
Stupid gods!
"Anyway, there's a serious issue."
Then Lilliana dropped her playful expression and whispered to me.
"An issue? What?"
I had so many guilty secrets it was a problem.
She hadn't gotten caught by others, had she?
I'd drilled her to set deliveries to "leave outside"!
"I'm bored."
"What?"
"Bored!"
"Where do you get off being bored? You gotta stream and make money!"
This bitch refusing labor?!
"Can't stream during academy classes anyway! Gotta be a cadet by day, perverted succubus cosplayer by night, like you said!"
...She's smarter than she looks?
"Then watch other streams to get ideas, or practice games?"
"I'm good at games already, don't wanna. Other streams show my name in chat, so I can't chat. Streams without chat ain't worth watching!"
This little shit. Just watch quietly—why so demanding?
She seemed to want something, but I hated the whiny way she said it.
"So what do you wanna do? Spit it out."
"I wanna go with you."
Huh? Did I hear wrong?
"I wanna wander around and see the world."
"How? Got a way?"
Lilliana was obviously a succubus—heart-tipped tail and all.
Dress properly and hide the horns, and she passed for human-ish, but some passing priest might sense hellish vibes and smash her head with a cross.
Kidding.
I couldn't let her wander alone—what if something happened? Responsibility's on me.
No way I'd let her out of my sight.
"Yeah, I have a way."
Poof!
With a playful pop, smoke billowed around Lilliana.