Chapter 294
Chapter 294
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 294
Chapter Title: S5. Evil Dragon Analysis Research Club
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Whir whir whir whir──
"Simulation paused. Stabilizing player consciousness. Entering refresh phase."
"Mm. No problems. Gordius's condition looks good too."
Hummm.
The magic circle's brilliant glow faded into a soft light. The mana hum that had been droning during operation turned faint, like a computer switching to sleep mode.
No anomalies in the data storage. Intelligence sharing running smoothly. And the research data... I could sort that later after some rest.
I declared quietly.
"Operation time: approximately 21 hours. I solemnly declare the successful conclusion of Chapter 1."
"Woooo!"
Clap clap. After a round of feeble, dry applause to celebrate our partial victory, flop. Yuna and I clasped hands and collapsed flat on the floor.
I'm gonna die.
"Uuuugh..."
Yuna whined like a sleepy baby sea otter, then crawled clumsily onto me. Aisha took one look and grumbled.
"...Why the drama? The tower master aside, you're an info lifeform—you can just extract fatigue. Do it."
"Extract? Delete? Living too conveniently might make you lose your humanity, you know."
"And rack up massive inefficiency. Can't you see all that unorganized data piling up? Get to work."
"Ah, shut it. Don't try to steal my excuse to cuddle and roll around with the tower master."
Yuna stretched out both arms to cover my ears. Her hands were so small. With my hearing blocked like this, I was invincible to Aisha's nagging. Aw, so cute.
Aisha tsked like it was an eyesore to behold, then started sorting the data.
Right—for all those sessions we'd run smoothly before, why was I wiped out this time? Simple. We'd taken on way more work.
First up: the fusion of science and magic.
To reiterate, I'm a high-performance calculator, not a high-performance scientist. I could pour modern scientific data into Gordius's head, but that alone... felt lacking.
If I made him build everything from zero base and he failed, the session's first step would collapse. I had to lay down the framework at least.
And to really sell Wo Chae-rin's genius scientist vibe in the story, we needed papers... or some other creative outputs.
So what to do? If I couldn't, make someone else.
Before pushing this session forward, I'd sent a terminal and a letter to Heart at the Northern Grand Duke's estate. That got a request to the grand alchemist living up north. And the ask?
I wanted to borrow a sliver of her brain while she slept.
Yeah—the mana-engine from Wo Chae-rin inside the session, her papers, the robot taking shape, most of the creative heavy lifting... all borrowed from the head of some alchemist guild master!
It was tech adapted from the succubus queen's dream-world. Beyond alchemists, I'd seeded sleep aids around the academy's overworked grad students (the kind that siphoned a bit of processing power mid-slumber).
Gathered those precious brains, wove them together in a dream into a cluster, and used it like my own personal think tank. Tuning multiple brains was tricky work. Exhausting, even.
But the payoff was brilliant.
"The mana engine actually spun up."
"This'll save us a bundle on mana stones for the session!"
We'd made it practical.
Sure, there was the minor drawback that its efficiency scaled with the mage's skill, but if this tech spread wide... the world might change. Arcanepunk, maybe.
At this rate, giant robots in reality weren't a pipe dream. Once Gordius emerged, I'd nudge him toward commercialization.
And so on.
Next: research and analysis on that thing, of course.
I'd only sculpted the physical mass of the 『Great Monster』—no special effects whatsoever. Then I projected that thing's traits onto it from the 『Demon Sword』.
Similar to the Cthulhu session, but different. The evil godling could meddle with the session system itself, but the Great Monster was fully contained as an 'in-story' entity.
We didn't know much about that thing. So we'd tucked it into the session for observation—double duty.
In short:
Any abilities the 『Great Monster』 showed inside the session were previously unknown to us—true powers of the original that thing.
Traits uncovered so far:
[Aiming Disruption (conceptual)], [Self-Repair], [Continental-Scale Brainwashing], [Dragon Scales], [Mutation], [Mana Detection], plus a bunch still hidden. The utility poured out like crazy.
And that was just from 1%. Plenty more where that came from.
Even if these were all its tricks, this bastard sat at the same level as a goddess beaming holy rays from the heavens. No way its hardware matched a mere 『Great Monster』—expect even more bullshit.
A goddess hurling dragon scales...? Don't even wanna picture it.
I clutched my head and wailed.
"...How the hell did past-me seal this fucker? Anyone wanna hop into my mental barrier and ask 『Promise』?"
"Better not to know. The answer's obvious."
"Yeah!"
Let's say—if this thing revived one day and rampaged across the world, how would we fight back?
"Crackle makes ranged combat tough!"
"Crackle... right, its sugar-coating upgrade neuters barrages. Gotta go melee. But then we pierce the dragon scales... that damage reduction was nasty."
"Dragon scales are straightforward magic—toughness scales with the user's class. Pulled from specially structured info, so revival version? Insanely durable. Massive data volume."
"Guess we'd have to melt it with Yuna's 『Subtract』..."
We'd have to counter its utilities too. The 『Great Monster』 flipped the world in no time after spawning—this thing could do the same.
"Can't give it time."
"Exactly. Let it build momentum... and even after slaying it, nothing left? World-spanning war by then."
Conclusion: speedrun-behead an insanely tough powerhouse before it ramps up.
Impossible.
No choice—prevent revival at all costs. While it's trapped in my head, chip away cleanest.
But if it revived and we had to fight...
Stockpile OP artifacts like dragon hearts.
Or better: assault from inside, not out.
I ruffled Yuna's hair as I asked.
"...Alright, one day rest, then Chapter 2. Anyone spot something I missed?"
"Um, the 『Great Monster』... doesn't it have another phase? Hidden trait and all. No need to prep for that...?"
Oh, that.
As if I'd skimp on the happy ending.
"It's fine. That's what the wristwatch tattoo's for."
No matter what, the story ends with smiles all around.
Said we'd rest a day, but truth—no time. Had to prep the session.
Time flowed differently inside and out of sim. Roughly 1:10.
Meaning players burned through content 10x faster—and GMs had to prep 10x as much.
Gordius spent over 30 days in-session, but that wasn't pure 1:10—I'd fudged it like with Irid. Skipped sleep, chats with extras, rote study wholesale, just slotted in the memories.
Tasks before tomorrow's start... let's see.
World changes in 10 years, mech evolutions, mana engine advances/regresses, Gordius's role at the center.
Whip that together, roughly.
I sat at the desk, scribbling with a mana pen. Floated multiple magic circles, tweaking them in parallel while modeling and researching.
Piling fatigue? Per Aisha, convert to data and extract. Perks of a superhuman body.
Lost in the grind, night deepened before I knew it.
A wave of感慨 hit me. Worlds away from flipping grimy textbooks in that slum shack—now I had more than I deserved.
Two lovers sharing my heart already, plus a childhood friend tagging along because she likes me. Debating whether to accept hers? Pure luxury.
Mid-formula, knock knock. Someone rapped the lab door.
"Who?"
"Your love, Yuri Lancaster. If you're up to something you wouldn't want others seeing... I'll give you 10 seconds to tidy up."
"Come in. Perfectly wholesome research here."
"Pity. Was gonna barge in 5 seconds early."
Then why ask?
Creak. Door swung open. Moments later, a soft, heavy warmth pressed against my back. Yuri's arms draped over my neck. Back hug.
"What're you up to? Fuu."
Her whisper so close sent shivers racing.
"...Don't blow in my ear. Session prep, not swamped. Need help?"
"Yes. Something tough solo."
"What?"
"Clink."
Sometime between, Yuri held a small glass. Pink liquid sloshed inside, reeking of potent alcohol. Booze.
"Care for one?"
"......"
I said yes.
Tray bore a bottle, two glasses, one bowl dried squid.
We sat cross-legged on the floor, sharing glasses. Booze was... ancient history. After Yuna chugged fruit wine and remodeled a tower wall in a drunken rant, non-alcoholic became tower canon.
Last time? Sipping with the hairy prof dudes at a faculty mixer.
Hit different.
Snacks optional? Just gazing at Yuri satisfied. Visuals did the trick.
She caught my stare, eyes narrowing.
"Should've stripped?"
"Nah."
"You look regretful."
"I said no."
I slid my glass forward. Yuri loosened her tie, clinked. Splash—cherry blossom scent bloomed everywhere.
So why drop by, booze in tow?
"Anything hit you from this session?"
"......"
I dodged her gaze, sipped. She smiled faintly—like she'd nailed it. Adjusted glasses, voiced her deduction.
"Even a simple punch carries personal thoughts. How you grip, swing—scrutinize, and you learn the person."
"True. Old cliché: martial arts hold intent."
"Sessions too. Your all-in hobby. So—your thoughts bleed in. My conclusion."
"...And?"
My glass emptied; she lifted the bottle. I reached—she snagged my wrist with her left. No escape.
"A bit faster... right? What the story kept stressing."
"...Yeah."
"Hold off til head-monster gone. Knew that, respected it. We've lasted long... but beyond pranks? Never. Not with Yuna either, I figure."
"Yeah..."
Resolved to honest desires, dropped the lust-suppress spell—but no real progress. Kept distance.
'Never once' exists; 'only once' doesn't—like crossing that line sparks nightly frenzy. Worried.
Above all, terrifying.
Say I knock someone up. Extraction fails, I shatter—what tragedy unfolds? Scary to imagine.
That nagging corner of my mind kept the distance hazy—subconscious or not.
"Even worst case rolling in, last moment... no regrets? 'Should've done it sooner.' Thoughts?"
"......"
"Doppelganger—you said: effort to enjoy even sad times. Effort lacking?"
Yuri Lancaster's merciless fact-barrage bowed my head like ripe rice. Maybe.
"Mima."
"Yes."
"Here to lend courage. Lovers before... friends. Before love given/received, purely want you happy."
You saved me, after all.
She topped my glass, advised.
"Happiness lies beyond fear. Act bolder."
"...Think so? Okay? But if you hate it."
"Bathes with Yuna but tongue-tied. Shy at clumsy? Practice on... friends fine."
Not seduction. That's what seduced.
Like she'd really join if worried. Flat expression, asking as friend.
That... weird consideration stirred messy feelings. Love and friendship tangled. Lovable, reliable.
Hands over face, I mumbled.
"...Then. Kisses... daily, casual okay? Between us."
"Mima. You're acting like a puberty-struck boy."
The booze. Probably.
After, easy chatter. New costumes trending at academy? Aisha dress-up fun—why exclude me? Stuff like that.
We polished off the bottle, chatting till deep dawn before bed.
And the next day.
"Between us, I'd like to pass a bill allowing casual kisses as natural affection... Mmph──?!"
"Y-Yuri?!"
The second I finished, Yuri Lancaster pounced—and I endured 10 minutes of breathless, ferocious kissing.