Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Shadow Cloak (6)
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Lily unwittingly covered her mouth with her hand at the unbelievable scene unfolding before her eyes.
It was as if time itself had frozen.
Dozens of stone statues were rigidly fixed in their dynamic poses, poised to attack Jeron.
Just moments ago, they had been charging with ferocious momentum...
Now, they merely resembled a peculiar art exhibit.
‘Th-this is…….’
What kind of magic could this possibly be?
Whether it was magic, black magic, or some unknown ability—it was on a level that defied categorization.
‘What realm has Jeron-senpai reached…… Hiek!’
Gazing toward Jeron in awe, she momentarily stopped breathing.
Jeron stood motionless, staring straight ahead.
An immense pressure emanated from him, unlike anything she had ever sensed before.
In the darkness, Jeron’s eyes gleamed fiercely.
His usually languid purple pupils now flickered coldly, like a snake eyeing its prey.
‘Whoa…… So this is what it feels like when Jeron-senpai is angry……’
She knew full well this was an illusory landscape.
She also knew that hostility wasn’t directed at her.
Yet it was a killing intent so overwhelming it made breathing difficult.
She had rewatched the footage of Jeron’s fight from the previous practical sparring session multiple times.
There, too, he had always displayed overwhelming prowess.
But he had always maintained a relaxed demeanor—never showing such a murderous aura.
So what exactly had enraged Jeron to this extent?
“Ha…….”
Right then.
Amid the silence, Jeron let out a sigh.
Then, in a chilling voice, he murmured,
“It was at such a fun part, but you ruined the flow.”
“…!”
Lily could only be stunned once more.
The reason behind this tremendous pressure and killing intent……
Was simply that his reading had been interrupted?
‘Hiiik, I-I would never do that……!’
She vowed to herself never to disturb Jeron-senpai’s rest again.
She swore it over and over.
***
[This is a very slothful action!]
[Sloth +200!]
[Level increased by 1!]
‘Hm.’
I gazed contentedly at the system window.
As expected, delivering slothful lines in dramatic situations racks up points like crazy.
The massive point gain was probably thanks to the spectator.
In the game, Lily was set to observe the trials, so it must be the same here.
That’s why for the first trial, I prepared a performance dodging light blasts while reading.
For the second, this staging.
Doing it repeatedly had honed my acting skills to the point of method acting.
‘That aside, this skill’s performance is killer.’
I dismissed the system window and happily surveyed the horde of frozen statues.
[Emperor’s Aura] lived up to its status as a legendary skill—a hidden one requiring arduous conditions to unlock—boasting utterly broken power.
It could suppress any number of enemies below a certain level, no matter how many.
‘And zero mana cost, to boot.’
Since it was a skill that purely emanated qi rather than magic, it didn’t consume any mana.
Though, come to think of it, it was intriguing.
In [Stella Academia], they counted as monsters, so the skill worked fine, but in reality, these were just stone……
Did aura work on mere rocks? Were souls possessing them or something?
‘Anyway, better slip through before the suppression wears off.’
[Emperor’s Aura] was purely a crowd control skill that immobilized foes—it had no direct lethality.
In time, the effect would fade, and they’d start moving again.
I leisurely strolled through the frozen statues like they were a park, heading to the door on the opposite side of the room.
The door rumbled open on its own without any mechanism.
Beyond lay a space far more vast than any before.
And there,
“Challenger, so you’ve arrived here.”
Stood a colossal statue, alone.
Its size dwarfed the one at the entrance.
Towering so high its head nearly brushed the ceiling.
‘……Insane.’
Compared to it, I felt like an ant before a human.
The sense of intimidation was leagues beyond what I’d felt in the game.
“Challenger. Prove yourself in the final trial.”
The statue intoned gravely.
Its calm voice reverberated through the entire chamber due to its sheer mass.
“To pass this trial—no, merely to survive—you must struggle with all your might.”
The moment the statue finished speaking.
A deafening roar erupted, as if the world were crumbling.
Kwaaaaaaang-!
Pillars of light erupted from the floor, while massive boulders plummeted from the ceiling.
Attacks of such enormous scale they nearly filled the vast space.
Each strike felt like a saintess’s ultimate technique.
‘Whoa, this is seriously no joke……’
It was a situation that perfectly matched the term “act of God.”
Yet despite it all, I remained perfectly still in place.
I even pulled a novel from my pocket and casually began reading, as if nothing were amiss.
An act that looked tantamount to suicide.
But as time passed…… not a single attack touched my body.
‘Third trial. The strategy here is to do absolutely nothing.’
Truth be told, this was arguably the easiest trial of all.
Panicking and moving here would lead straight to failure. The attacks wouldn’t kill you, but you’d be ejected for flunking the trial.
Standing perfectly still and doing nothing whatsoever was the one and only solution.
‘As expected, the pinnacle of sloth is doing absolutely nothing.’
Entertaining such thoughts, I leisurely finished my book.
Moments later, as all attacks ceased, the statue spoke in admiration.
“Splendid. Challenger…… You have passed every trial. I shall grant your reward.”
Hwaaaaa—
With the statue’s words, the ruined chamber began to transform.
This time, piles of treasures gleaming with blinding gold appeared before my eyes.
“Claim your ownership at once. All of this belongs to you.”
The statue spoke as if bestowing a gracious gift.
But I knew better.
This was the true final trial.
‘The real insidious last trap.’
And so, I let out a smirk.
“…Why do you not move? Treasures of gold and jewels await you. They will vanish if you do not claim them swiftly.”
The statue’s voice tempted me, but I paid it no heed.
I simply kept turning the pages.
How much time passed?
“…Truly impressive. Challenger, you have genuinely conquered every trial.”
In the end, the statue’s voice spoke lowly, as if resigned to all.
With those words, all the treasures before me faded away like a mirage.
The colossal statue crumbled into dust, and the true reward, stored in its core, slowly floated toward me.
“Uhuhuhu…….”
I smiled as I watched the approaching reward.
A mysterious black shadow in the form of a cloak.
‘Shadow Cloak.’
Finally in my hands.
But it wasn’t over yet.
One final step remained.
Namely, gaining the Shadow Cloak’s recognition as its master.
The Shadow Cloak wasn’t a mere magic item—it was an “ego artifact.”
An item with its own ego.
And this one had an exceedingly haughty and finicky personality, refusing to acknowledge most owners.
To earn its recognition, one had to demonstrate their highest “caliber” skill.
Its reaction varied by the skill’s grade.
It scorned common-grade skills, mocked rare-grade ones, showed mild interest in heroic-grade, and only grudgingly accepted legendary-grade skills.
Of course, for me—with a stockpile of legendary skills bought from the Sloth Shop—it was child’s play.
I just needed to show off any one of my many legendary skills.
I slowly caught the gently fluttering Shadow Cloak and draped it over myself.
‘Oh, feels nice?’
The sensation was like supremely soft, high-end silk.
At that instant.
[……Yawn. Who woke me up.]
An annoyed feminine voice echoed directly in my mind via telepathy.
Neat trick.
[……Hm? What’s this. A human? A human dares to claim me?]
Spouting its encounter line just like in the game.
‘Yeah.’
I nodded.
[Oh ho, bold one. In that case……]
The next line was something along the lines of “prove your worth,” I recalled.
I prepared to demonstrate a skill while awaiting it.
[Eh? This sensation…… W-wait a moment……]
Suddenly, the Shadow Cloak’s voice shifted.
[You……!? N-no, are you, could it be……?!]
In a highly flustered tone.
And instead of the line I expected, it uttered something I’d never heard before.
[……M-ma, master?!]
What.
Why’s it talking like that?