Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Blue Tiger's Lair
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Most fantasies are like this, but this world has spirit beasts too.
Unlike demonic beasts that crossed over from the demon realm, these are cases where native animals awakened and became special.
They barely get any screen time, so you rarely run into them, but the point of this midterm episode is Joo Ah-rin's awakening.
Thanks to her summoner talent advancing, Yoo So-young serves as the medium to bring out the Blue Tiger.
A blue-furred tiger that ruled Outer Vajra for generations.
But you can't just have a tiger pop up out of nowhere and go, "Here, have some talent."
So they slapped on a backstory.
The young Blue Tiger, who hadn't long inherited the kingly throne and hadn't reached adulthood yet, recklessly absorbed forbidden demonic power.
It bloated its belly and went completely insane.
If you want to get technical, it was similar to falling into qi deviation.
And that led to a real "Hey, dude" kind of situation.
The thing had been hunkered down in the forbidden zone for nearly five hundred years, cultivating its way.
How much had it held back all that time?
On top of that, a full moon night arrived, when demonic power grows especially thick.
Strange things.
The savage wildness and vicious thoughts the Blue Tiger had desperately suppressed coalesced into bizarre "ghost" forms, spreading across all of Outer Vajra.
And right now.
One fragment of that was approaching Joo Ah-rin, trying to latch on.
"Hup!"
"Mmph!"
But both of us held our breath in a hurry, and the things lost their target, milling about in confusion.
Among thought entities, this was the weakest kind, the one with two eyes attached. Gulgak. A loophole that worked.
"Mmph-mmph."
Joo Ah-rin, pinching her nose and mouth shut at the same time, mumbled something.
From the looks of it, she was asking, "How long do we have to do this?"
So I kindly explained.
"Mmph-mmph."
"Mmph?"
"Mmph-mmph."
If she didn't get it, oh well.
Ehehehehe—
No need to explain after all. The things circled the area a few more times, then left without lingering.
We both let out our breaths at almost the same moment.
"Hoo."
"Haa...."
Once her breathing settled, Joo Ah-rin asked,
"What the heck were those things?"
I pondered what to call them, but with no good substitute, I went with a familiar term.
"Ghosts."
"Ghosts? That's ridiculous...."
"Well, not entirely ridiculous. Technically, they're more like thought entities...."
If it were Cheon Seo-yoon, she'd have just gone, "Whoa, for real?" and that'd be it.
Joo Ah-rin was definitely the picky type.
I added some extra details.
The things have a habit of latching onto anything—demonic beasts or humans—and if it's a beast, they drive it mad, turning it into a monster way stronger than its original rank.
But the two-eyed ones are all bark. Stop breathing, and they think there's no life around.
Easy to shake off, I added.
"Anyway, good thing. Since they're not actual ghosts."
Joo Ah-rin let out a shallow sigh and nodded.
For some reason, she looked hugely relieved.
Was she scared of ghosts?
Anyway, while we were on the topic, I preempted the next explanation.
"You know this stuff 'cause I study hard usually. Don't think it's weird."
"What?"
"Figured you'd ask how I knew, so I'm telling you ahead of time."
Joo Ah-rin clamped her mouth shut, like she'd been about to do exactly that.
Such a consistent person.
"Mind if I take a break too?"
Without waiting for an answer, I headed to the dead campfire and got the flames going again.
The brighter the area, the better it blocks those things from approaching. From now on, best to sleep with a fire lit.
I tossed in some prepared thunder flares, and the campfire roared to life.
I plopped down in front of it.
I had to hash things out with Joo Ah-rin—thought about cracking a beer, but it'd make me look like a lunatic, so I kept it simple with tea.
Black tea, the kind she liked as a coffee substitute.
"You came prepared for everything, huh."
Joo Ah-rin stared at me like it was absurd.
"Sit down too. Have some with me."
"Why should I? You might be here gunning for points."
"You know I don't care about grades?"
"......"
"Fine, suit yourself. I'll drink alone...."
"Turning it down seems rude, so just one cup. Keep your distance, though...."
Joo Ah-rin sat a good ways off, her face slightly flushed.
I barely held back a smirk.
Just a few extra words in the process. No different from Leina or Cheon Seo-yoon.
She'd been worn out from the grueling schedule lately.
I handed over the black tea and went back to my spot.
"Thanks. I'll have it."
Joo Ah-rin murmured softly, then brought the tea to her lips.
She took a sip, flinched in surprise, and shrugged her shoulders.
"It's... drinkable."
She said that, but her face lit up with clear satisfaction.
Well, of course.
I'd picked the most expensive one after agonizing over it.
"If the professor knew, he'd come up with some countermeasure, right?"
Maybe because of it, Joo Ah-rin's voice softened as she asked.
Ugh—
I grimaced at the first bitter taste of the black tea, set it down far away, and answered.
"Sip—doubt it. He'd probably call this part of the test too."
"No way. What if something happens?"
"Won't. Everyone's grouping up in parties this time of year anyway. Subjugation Squad's here for emergencies. He might even offer extra points for taking out thought entities. They pushed through the territory war like that too."
"Hmm."
Joo Ah-rin didn't deny it outright, figuring it made sense.
Timing felt right, so I laid my cards on the table.
"That's why I'm saying. How about we team up?"
"Me. With you?"
"Yeah. I'm heading to meet the owner of these thought entities. Could use you along."
I started spilling why she needed to come with me.
* * *
At the same time, the border between Zone A and Zone E.
"This is a real sleeping bag!"
Cheon Seo-yoon, buried in the gifted(?) sleeping bag, rolled around on the ground with a blissful expression.
The supplied one wasn't bad, but a priest's was on another level.
The soft texture and cozy wraparound hug beat the dorm bed. No more fearing the great outdoors.
"Heehee."
Cheon Seo-yoon giggled once more, gazed at the night sky, then suddenly pictured her generous benefactor's face.
"Why's he being so nice lately?"
It was great and all, but still a mystery.
If anything, she'd thought their bond was more bad blood than good.
She admitted she'd picked fights and made trouble for all sorts of reasons.
Was it the Roberto incident that started it?
Once the grudge in her heart eased, along came excessive kindness.
The armament, something she sorta got but still couldn't fully parse the inscription combo. Plus the sleeping bag and leftover meat.
Too much to chalk up to the necklace.
She'd just said it was precious—didn't know it tied to her dad.
"Is he actually a good guy?"
Cheon Seo-yoon reached that absurd conclusion by her own logic, then shook her head vigorously.
He was prickly enough to rival Joo Ah-rin.
She tossed and turned a few more times, deciding not to jump to conclusions.
No point racking her brain for answers that wouldn't come. Better to sleep.
True to her word, Cheon Seo-yoon drifted off quick.
Dreaming of grilled pork belly for breakfast tomorrow, snoozing away—
But her senses flared not long after.
Heehee—
Ehehehe—
Some nutjob mimicking a ghost? A deflating sound tickled her ears.
"Hup!"
Still buried in the sleeping bag, Cheon Seo-yoon used her waist's recoil to spring up fast.
Like a maggot on two legs, but her movements were nimble.
She hopped back to create distance, sizing up the enemy.
Truly bizarre appearance.
Pitch black all over, form hazy white. If anything, like a little monkey with a snake face.
Two flickering red eyes gleamed with eerie malice.
"What are you punks."
Cheon Seo-yoon shed the sleeping bag like a snake and swung her sword like lightning.
A massive blade aura shot out, swallowing them whole.
A sincere strike—they vanished like smoke.
Ehehehe—
Ehehehe—
But like pouring water into a bottomless jar?
She dumped more mana, slashing all around a few times. Only temporary.
The things chased her like leeches smelling blood.
Spawning and regenerating at once? Their numbers kept growing.
"You crazy bastards."
No sense of cutting anything, and more noise would just advertise her position. Cheon Seo-yoon opted to retreat.
Head to Zone A as planned, find Baek Sa-young.
Hup.
Decision made, a surge of strong demonic waves hit around her.
Cheon Seo-yoon wildly swung Moonblade's longsword, now over 4 meters long.
Pivoting on her right foot, she spun and slashed every direction.
Four blade auras slammed into their ranks.
Kwajijijik—
A gap opened.
Cheon Seo-yoon snatched the sleeping bag without missing a beat.
Worried it'd tear, she rolled it tight and hugged it close, bolting for the weakest encirclement.
Kuuung kuung,
The ground trembled faintly right then.
Sensing boiling demonic energy unlike before, Cheon Seo-yoon screeched to a halt and whipped around.
There, an 8th-grade demonic beast, the Maung, was roaring.
True to its "maung," bear-like, but huge. She'd figured low combat power despite size, cocky for no reason.
Grrrr
But something was off.
Bigger than yesterday's, muscles bulging, eyes wild with unfamiliar madness.
And on its chest, one of those freaks clung, red eyes flashing.
"What the hell is this."
Eyeing its chest, Cheon Seo-yoon raised her sword again.
Whiiiing.
Soon after, a swarm of drones began circling her.
* * *
Teaming up with Joo Ah-rin went smoothly.
The thought entities' owner being a spirit beast piqued her summoner curiosity right off.
Plus the emergency message that arrived overnight.
[Notice regarding sudden bizarre lifeforms. First...]
Hit the rescue button, Subjugation Squad deploys. Catch a ghost thing, extra points.
That broadcast made convincing her even easier.
Cheon Seo-yoon deserved credit there.
Her commotion yesterday let Professor Yi Taek-jin spot them quick, countermeasures a beat ahead.
Anyway, time flew after that.
Day 4, 5, 6.
Cheon Seo-yoon met Baek Sa-young, fending off endless thought entities and point-hungry students.
Seol Yun-gi, unlike solo in the original, picked up Kang Cheol-min.
Other students split into three groups, grinding for points.
Any thought entity with four-plus eyes? So Yi-hyeon's Subjugation Squad deployed instantly for intercepts.
Joo Ah-rin and I hunted along the way, slowly advancing to the Blue Tiger's lair.
Slept separately, of course. Meals together.
Dragged it out on purpose, waiting for the Blue Tiger to weaken.
Finally, midterm's last day, Day 7 dawned. We reached the lair's entrance, bordering the forbidden zone next to Zone B.
"Whoa, finally found it. Looks like this is the place."
I wiped fake sweat and opened my mouth casually.
A valley shrouded in thick fog.