Episode 235. New Mission (4)
Beyond the lush green forest, an absurd energy began to spread.
The great evil that was so great that it was difficult to even approach made my legs tremble like aspen trees.
Clearly, when I looked out the window from a distance, I didn’t feel any energy.
However, as if I didn’t know what was inside until I opened the lid, I could only figure out what this forest was and what was lurking in front of the ruins after I approached it.
“If I were a normal person, I would have been mesmerized by this great evil and walked into it as if under a spell. And then….”
There was no other Venus flytrap that lured prey with the scent of flowers and then devoured them as they approached.
Fortunately, no villagers were caught in it, but it is said that several soldiers were affected.
“Do the residents know that such a monster exists?”
“I should have told you first. But it’s not unusual for a spirit to appear in this place called the Land of the Dead….”
It is said that there are often residents who try to approach the owner by asking how much he will pay.
It is said that there was a villager who secretly approached in order to take advantage of the large ore, but of course, he never returned.
But there were more than a few people who could not return from this land full of spirits.
So, it is said that there are many cases where they capture criminals and make them do work or call in mercenaries to act as guards.
If he went in on his own and lost his life, it is his fault.
Still, there were many residents who were curious about this road and wanted to set foot on it.
“The spirits here are on a different level from the average guys around here. It’s not something that can be solved by calling in mercenaries. In order to stop that, we’ve been selling off the power of the Biold family and blocking the way.”
Because of this, the residents increasingly feared the power of the Bayold family.
In addition, Harkel prohibited the hiring of excellent mercenaries to prevent the residents from making things easier by scheming.
Harkel also knew very well that if wages were reduced and the workload increased, the residents’ dissatisfaction would explode.
So when requesting a mission from Alighieri, he asked for a cadet who was lacking in presence.
If you are an unknown cadet with great skills, it would be easy to avoid the eyes of the Viold watchers.
“So you’re saying that you had no intention of stopping us from the beginning?”
I roughly understood their circumstances and furrowed my brows.
If the knights don’t interfere… all the long hair I let down last night would have been in vain.
“I did this for nothing!”
I immediately cut off her long brown hair and threw it on the floor.
I couldn’t help but go crazy. The affectionate gesture I had shown to the soldiers when I entered here a little while ago flashed through my mind.
“Grooooooooooooo!”
The food I had eaten this morning began to vomit out in an indescribable disgust.
I felt like my head was going to burst with guilt at having done something that should never be done in this world.
“Fuck….”
“Sorry.”
Ruska also knew that it was a stupid thing to do, so she patted me on the back and apologized.
But why on earth are these guys so obsessed with me dressed up as women? Could it be that they’ve discovered some kind of strange fetish?
If it’s that good, why don’t you try cosplaying as a man too?
“Huh? You were a guy?”
“Why? Are you dissatisfied?”
The knights who had been impressed by my long-haired appearance a little while ago were very surprised.
His face was so shocked that he lost his country, something he had liked so much.
[Erosion rate reduction: -600%]
[+60000 Credits]
The figures were proof that the erosion rate was decreasing.
“Then I get excited when I see a guy like you….”
The knights who realized the reality hit the floor hard and screamed.
He even cries that he can no longer marry a woman, but it seems that he has a strong misunderstanding that he likes ‘something else’ and not the opposite sex.
‘This is driving me crazy! Seriously.’
“Fortunately, you won’t have to live your whole life as a virgin.”
`Shut your mouth.`
『… .』
When Muto popped out again and started making noise, I threatened him while holding up Man-young’s raindrop.
But only then did the guy close his mouth and quietly disappear… .
Kaaaak!-
At that moment, the cry of a crow echoed through the air.
I wondered where it was coming from, and then suddenly Aisha appeared on her own and started crying.
“Why are you like that all of a sudden?”
Kaaaak!-
Aisha, instead of answering, continued to howl like an animal and stared off somewhere.
And Aisha began to fly in that direction, flapping her wings.
“Hey! Where are you going!”
It was an awkward situation. That direction was where the ruins were and where the unpleasant atmosphere was felt.
But I couldn’t just leave Aisha like that, so I had no choice but to follow her.
Fortunately, it wasn’t flying at a high speed, so I was able to catch up while running.
“Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?”
“What I’m saying is.”
Ruska, who was following me, asked me, but honestly, I don’t know exactly.
The hypothesis that the same spirits resonate and attract each other is likely, but unless something special happens, that doesn’t happen easily.
In fact, even though they are the same age, isn’t Muto also more docile than Aisha?
『(wink)』
But it’s disgusting when he winks with a bright face as if to say, “I did well, didn’t I?”
“Are you perhaps possessed by this strange energy?”
“We’re holding up just fine, so why would that guy bother us?”
“Then why…”
As we emerged from the thick trees, a wide open space and a large cliff came into view.
That cliff was the very ruins we had been looking at.
Fortunately, Aisha didn’t go far and stopped in the middle.
However, it seemed a bit premature to say that it was all fortunate.
“Aisha! What are you doing!”
『… .』
“Why aren’t you answering?”
When the owner spoke and there was no response, I had no choice but to let the raindrops fall on Man-young’s head.
There was a sizzling sound, like water being poured on charred iron.
The main force and the power repel each other, so it is like putting a red-hot iron on Aisha’s head.
But still, Aisha remained unresponsive.
“Why is he really doing this?”
“Get out of here!”
At that moment, Ruska grabbed my waist and kicked the ground.
Suddenly, as I was being dragged away by Ruska, I could see a giant tentacle rising from where I was standing.
Push-shu-shu!-
A massive number of tentacles rise higher than the trees.
We could feel the ominous aura we had felt earlier from the tentacles more intensely.
“Then could that be…!”
Ruska frowned as she looked at the tentacles extending ominously.
And although the knights arrived late, they too had very serious expressions on their faces as soon as they saw the tentacles.
“That’s him! That’s the guy we were talking about!”
Then they came out and tried to grab Ruska and run away, telling us to run away quickly.
But as if mocking their response, my body did not move of its own accord.
Small tentacles were already sprouting from the ground, grabbing our legs. It was too late to run away.
Kwaaaaang!-
A huge crashing sound rang out, and something huge burst out of the ground.
Numerous tentacles were connected to it and also shared a black, dull color.
It looked like a mollusc based on its elongated body and ability to stretch flexibly, but it had a strong horn on its head.
A gigantic reptilian upper body, wings sprouting from its back, and purple eyes with vertical pupils.
The sight was clearly that of a dragon.
But it was a being that was a mixture of everything, with a huge number of tentacles sprouting from its waist and tail.
『A dragon-shaped spirit… This is my first time seeing one.』
“Can you beat that?”
“What the hell. The saying ‘throwing an egg against a rock’ is exactly what comes out in situations like this.”
I already knew it myself, and Ruska knew it just by smelling the guy.
The speed at which the tentacles rose just now was also incredible.
If Ruska hadn’t seen the future and saved me, I would have died.
There was no such thing as a desperate situation, but it wasn’t like there was no way to win.
[Remaining credits: 999999] (Cannot be increased any further.)
[Stat Points: 400] (Cannot be increased any further.)
I now have over 900,000 credits in my hands.
It was usually used as cash, but it can also be used to acquire abilities or skills.
The reason so many people gathered was because of the political activities they did while transformed into NBL during the festival.
It was because they lied to the people of the empire at that time that it piled up like a mountain.
However, due to the system, it cannot exceed 900,000. The same goes for stat points.
`If you use this to increase all your abilities and skills, it might be worth a try…`
So I gave it a try.
But I had to think back on the experiences I had while playing Devil’s Ark.
It’s good to raise your game character’s skills, but if you raise them too much, there are many cases where the character can’t keep up with the power and takes damage.
Even though I had excessively increased detection, recovery, and non-combat auxiliary skills, the damage was still the same.
`Jenny’s Silver Age is the same.`
In fact, Jenny’s Silver Age skill level is over 100 from the start.
It is a direct reflection of the power of not being able to control it in the game.
So, if you exert force beyond your capabilities, the character will take great damage and self-destruct.
So what about stats other than skills?
This is also the same.
There was a time when a veteran used cheat keys to raise all stats to 99 and played the game.
So did you clear it easily? No, it says you couldn’t progress in the game.
Every time the character attacks, his HP keeps decreasing… He says he got a game over after killing just one weak monster, let alone Chapter 1.
Increasing your stats and skills to the limit like this is suicidal.
I could learn the lesson of not being greedy for excessive power… but in the current situation, I had no choice but to use it.
Kwakwang!-
Giant tentacles flew like ballistas and struck the ground, splitting the forest floor with a loud noise.
I was barely able to avoid the tentacles with my ‘Maan’, and I was also able to avoid the small tentacles that flew at me like arrows with my incredible kinetic vision.
Ruska didn’t stay still either. She charged at Ju-ryeong, deflecting the flying tentacles with her double-edged sword.
The knights opened their mouths at our actions, which seemed to read their movements and act accordingly.
Then, countless tentacles flew in one after another, but Ruska and I dodged or blocked them all.
Finally, the two of us reached the guy’s eyes.
I quickly summoned Leviathan and tried to poke the guy’s right eye, and Ruska tried to poke the guy’s left eye…
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, as if I was under a trance, I found myself falling asleep on my own.
Ruska immediately fell to the floor with dark circles appearing under her eyes, and was caught by small tentacles, binding her like a rope.
I too was caught in the same way and couldn’t find the strength to free myself even though I wanted to.
Even Ruska, who had boasted of her great strength, had her shoulders completely slumped, and the tips of the small tentacles brushed her face.
“Ugh!”
And then, in both of our eyes, the guy’s huge mouth appeared.
The knights tried to save us by using slashes and magic, but they could not even inflict a single wound on the spirit.
Then they too were caught by the tentacles.
A situation where the worst-case scenario that could ever be imagined has occurred.
It was a moment when I was about to despair because there was no way out.
“It’s okay now.”
A girl’s voice was heard. At the same time, the mouth of the spirit that had been like a dark tunnel closed.
And the tentacles that had been rushing like a storm also stopped.
“I’m here.”
The girl’s voice was that of Aisha, transformed into an elf girl.
I could tell that this was what it looked like when it was alive and human.
The moment I saw that sight, another piece of information about this area came to mind.
This was Aisha’s hometown.
Although it had become a land of spirits after being burned down, those spirits were clearly the elves who had died with Aisha.
Then it was easy to deduce the identity of that spirit.
“You can stop now.”
As if memories from her past life had come flooding back, Aisha was touching Ju-ryeong’s face and soothing it.
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
