Resting Student (Not)
Resting Student (Not)
[Basic Stat 'Stamina' has improved from E-grade to E+ grade.]
[Remaining Virtue Points: 0p]
I froze for quite a while, staring at that message.
Virtue Points? Forcing stats to improve?
This was something even I, an original work old-timer, had never heard of.
'An option... has Hell Road been broken?'
Additional options.
When the difficulty is set to [Impossible], various additional choice windows appear.
The play direction would change depending on which option you added.
Like following the route of a blind swordsman who loses their sight, or playing as one of the faculty members.
'Content for old-timers.'
They were all content boasting considerable difficulty.
Made with the brakes off, targeting old users.
However, among those options, there was one singled out as the highest difficulty...
[Additional Option: Hell Road]
- All spawned monsters maintain a frenzied state.
- The difficulty of appearing hostile forces increases by 300%.
- All of the player's Basic Stats are fixed at E-grade.
That was Hell Road.
It was a difficulty that made even veteran old-timers click their tongues.
[Title: WTF IS THIS DIFFICULTY MADE TO BE CLEARED???]
[Author: Ssalmokjoa]
Currently on my 5th try of Hell Road.
My mind is reeling from this absolutely fucking bullshit unreasonable difficulty.
Do this and die, do that and die, do nothing and still die, ah fuck.
Seriously this trash-ass game makes me wanna find the HQ and set it on fire for real.
Don't know about the rest but
All Basic Stats fixed at E-grade <- This is the truly nonsensical restriction.
Fuck how are you supposed to face Disasters with overall E-grade, how do you raid Purgatory?
I've already died four times just on Pitch-black Night, the easiest Disaster.
And looks like I'll die on this fifth try too lol.
Aren't there any bugs to forcibly raise stats?
If only the stat problem was solved, I feel like I could scrape by somehow if I really wrung my brain.
[Yeah, none.]
-> Didn't find any bugs that enhance stats.
-> Ssalmokjoa) Why the hell isn't there one?!
[You mean the STR-AGI-VIT stuff? No bugs for raising those.]
-> Ssalmokjoa) No, there's bullshit like Character Parrying, Status Effect Parrying, but why isn't there a simple 'raise stat' bug that just changes the stat letter?
-> lol these bastards are deceptively meticulous, huh?
-> There are so many bugs, but none serious enough to truly wreck the game.
-> That's why there aren't things like item duplication bugs either. If you try, only simple items like food get duplicated.
[Actually, it's right that such bugs don't exist.]
-> If everything gets wrecked by bugs, is that a game or an insect museum?
[If you're gonna whine like that, why not just not set Hell Road? Why stubbornly keep trying to play?]
-> Ssalmokjoa) There's an achievement you get for clearing this...
-> An achievement hunter? Even so, isn't this a bit too much?
-> Ssalmokjoa) But Bug-Finder cleared it like eating rice...?
-> Are you and Bug-Finder the same? lol
-> You bastard... Are you looking down on our Bug-Finder Boss right now?
-> I'll kill you, you damned bastard. I'll immediately spread all kinds of curses on the forum.
-> Ssalmokjoa) No, when did I—
Thus, there was no way to tamper with the stats fixed in Hell Road.
It wasn't like there was a bug to break through it either.
If there had been, I would have used it long ago.
However, I found the answer from a mysterious title.
'Saint... A saint.'
I read the title's explanation for a long time, and read it again.
'So, if I save another's life, I can get something called Virtue Points. And I can spend those Virtue Points to improve my Basic Stats...?'
I pondered deeply.
What I just gained from pulling one survivor out of an iron cage was 50 points.
And what was consumed to raise the Stamina stat by one grade was again 50 points.
[Basic Stats]
Stamina: E+
Strength: E
Agility: E
Mana Sensitivity: E
The increase was from E-grade to E+ grade.
Maybe because the stats are endlessly low, the grade rises easily?
Just by saving a single person, I broke through the previously sealed limit of Stamina.
'The exhaustion I felt until just now... seems to be strangely lessened...'
A method of gaining currency equivalent to saving another's life.
It truly was a setting fitting the concept of [Saint].
Who would have thought such a function was hidden?
After obtaining the title. The reason there were no gains for a while even though I wore the title around was probably because I hadn't saved any lives during that period.
'If the Status Window hadn't told me, I would have never known.'
Hell Road.
A restriction that can be overcome through the special ability of a title.
Then, the one thing I had to do from now on was clear.
"Start up. Saw."
Point farming.
"Start up. Scythe."
Chwak, chwaaaak-!
The roughly swung scythe cuts down the iron cages lined up in rows.
I broke open the isolation room doors one by one, rescuing people.
While reaching out my hand to the terrified people.
"Rest assured, everyone! We of Slayers have dealt with all The Evil God Worshippers! Now is the time to awaken from your nightmare and return to your warm homes!"
Words to reassure the people.
I pronounce them, mixing in lies of the same form as during the Human Farm.
Since the number of people was smaller than before, managing them wasn't difficult either.
The rescued survivors moved obediently, hugged each other, and burst into tears.
"M-my goodness... sob, are we really rescued?"
"Oh God. Thank you, thank you..."
"I thought we'd become monsters for sure, without any choice..."
"Ugh, hic... It's a miracle, a miracle..."
One by one, they expressed gratitude or prayed on the spot.
Some even grabbed my hand, sank down, and cried.
I stayed by their side so they could feel at ease.
I also showed them the corpses of the cultists sprawled on the floor, clearly showing them they were safe.
Ding-!
[Acquired 20 Virtue Points.]
[Acquired 20 Virtue Points.]
[Acquired 20 Virtue Points.]
[Acquired 20 Virtue Points.]
.
.
[Acquired 20 Virtue Points.]
[Acquired 20 Virtue Points.]
[Remaining Virtue Points: 400p]
It seemed Virtue was set at 20 points per life.
Maybe the earlier 50 was a gift for unlocking the ability.
The number of intact survivors locked in the isolation rooms was twenty.
After breaking open all the cages, Virtue had accumulated to 400 points.
"The Princess."
"Hmm, should I just throw them like last time?"
"Please."
Additionally, the ten people locked in the special isolation rooms.
Their bodies were contaminated with Demonic Energy and had undergone mutation.
Carmilla deployed her Blood Manipulation Art to form thick hands.
Then, grabbing the mutated individuals, she threw them in a straight line toward me.
"Hueup...!"
People surging like baseballs.
In my hand was the Absolute Balloon Sword.
Pik-.
Pik-.
Pik-.
The relentless Parrying Baseball.
Each time I swung the gleaming Balloon Sword, the mutated individuals regained their original forms.
"Hoo."
These were before they had fully become mutants.
A state where the mutation stage wasn't complete.
Then, there was room for intervention with Sang-Sang Parrying.
It wasn't that their racial value had changed, but they were merely suffering from the status effect of 'Contamination'.
"Daughter...? O-our daughter...!"
"Mom...? That's weird, I had a strange dream..."
"Ahh, how can this be... sob, thank you, thank you..."
Once again, the survivors became a sea of tears.
Some even bowed deeply toward me.
Particularly the parents who had almost lost their children.
"Please rest easy. We of Slayers have rescued you."
"Hic... sob, Saint-nim... Are you a Saint-nim?"
"It's a miracle. How can such a thing..."
"Oh God, oh God..."
It took quite some time to calm them down.
Amid the sniffling crowd, Carmilla slightly tilted her head.
"Vikto... No, Captain Garurik."
"Yes, we should head back soon."
"What do you plan to do with the survivors?"
"I've already contacted the Frontier Knight Order."
"The Frontier Knight Order... You mean the affiliation of those knights we met last time at the Human Farm?"
"Correct. Back then, Sir Kantas promised to help us anytime, so..."
"Surely they couldn't have been reached at this hour, so it seems you gave them a heads-up beforehand."
"You have to prepare these things in advance. I contacted them before capturing Professor Glinbert."
"Indeed... My retainer is truly meticulous."
"Huhu, it's better to be certain, isn't it."
About an hour later, military forces arrived near the temple.
A fluttering banner with a lion emblem embroidered in gold thread.
It symbolized the Frontier Knight Order.
Kantas, who had rushed ahead, saluted.
"Sir Garurik! Sir Maneur! It's an honor to meet you again!"
"Likewise. Sir Kantas. Please handle it as I relayed earlier."
"I swear upon all the honor of my knighthood! We will identify all survivors and ensure they return safely to their families!"
"That's reliable."
"For humanity!"
"Hmm, for humanity."
Still an overly respectful knight.
Perhaps because I gained his favor during the Human Farm incident, he seemed willing to grant almost any request.
'Well... it's good that he's useful in his own way.'
It's good to have someone to handle the aftermath.
Because it means I can entrust the remaining situation to them, like now.
After handing over the survivors like that, we left the temple and returned to the Academy.
"Ugh..."
My whole body felt sore.
A sensation of being weighed down by thick fatigue.
'How did so much happen in just a few days.'
In the training, I cleared the first Disaster,
Then dealt with the subsequent Alice's Nightmare,
Apprehended Professor Glinbert, who orchestrated the situation, on charges of collusion,
And finally, wrecked the branch of The Evil God Worshippers he was in contact with.
'And all this happened in just four days.'
Of course, I gained a lot in return as well.
The reward rush stemming from the training.
The cooperative relationship established with Alice.
The compensation promised by the Academy.
Javert's wish ticket.
White Knight's End.
And finally, figuring out the usefulness of the title [Saint].
'Even with rewards, getting this much would give me a stomachache...'
I'm full. So full.
Since I gained as much as I suffered, I don't regret it.
Of course, that doesn't mean the accumulated fatigue in my body has disappeared.
Thud-.
As soon as I arrived at the dormitory, I flopped onto the bed.
The soft blanket enveloped my weary body, leading my consciousness into a drowsy rest.
'Let's rest a bit...'
I've been running around too hectically for a while.
Since lectures are on hold due to the incident during training.
I planned to avoid troublesome entanglements for a while and quietly recuperate.
'I'm absolutely not leaving this bed.'
Making that resolution, I pulled the blanket over my head.
And then.
It turns out there's no such thing as 'absolutely' in life.
[Student Viktor.]
The auditorium with the entire student body gathered.
The gazes of the students standing in orderly rows were directed toward the podium.
Sitting in the Class E waiting area, I looked at the podium with a bewildered expression.
[Not only did he take first place in this training evaluation, but he also showed decisive cooperation in apprehending a colluder within the Academy.]
[I earnestly request that he come up to the podium.]
[Students, please welcome him with hearty applause.]
Immediately afterward, the gazes of the entire student body converged on me.
Kids chattering among themselves while clapping.
I had no choice but to awkwardly stand up.
'No way...'
A mere 27 hours after I vowed never to leave my bed.
I was dragged out without a chance to enjoy my rest.
And to receive an award in front of the entire student body, no less.
An internal scream, one I couldn't possibly voice aloud, echoed within.
'Fuck.'
Please, just let me rest.