Episode 52. Want to get hit with a rice ball?
At the entrance to Purgatory Mountain, there is a huge tourist attraction. The place I visited with Jenny last time has lost its original appearance.
Even then, there were signs of decay, but it wasn’t to the point where there was nothing to see. Now, there was nothing left.
The once lush hills had lost their color and become a wasteland, and the flower fields and forests filled with trees had all been uprooted as if hit by a typhoon.
The tragedy that seemed like it could have occurred even if a large-scale war between humans had broken out was the work of a single living creature.
A fox with nine tails that can change the terrain with just one swing. A nine-tailed fox.
Standing before that monster is like facing a natural disaster, but it is currently in an incomplete form that has not awakened.
Professor Radian and his assistant had been working on something here a while ago. It was probably a design to transfer volcanic energy to the Gumiho.
The final battle of this chapter is to defeat her before she fully awakens.
The main characters retreated once in the first match due to being pushed back, but after establishing a strategy, they fought the second match.
Although the expedition members have changed compared to the main story, there are no problems with the strategy.
Rather, as long as I have a sharp strategy, there will be no failure.
“Little kid. Do you know who I am?”
As a boy approached her, the gumiho became wary of him.
Of course I knew who he was. He wasn’t as handsome as his sisters, but he was the boy who always gave me food.
He was carrying a fishing rod in his hand and a large bag on his shoulder. I don’t know what his intentions are, but if you bother me, there will be no old friendship or anything.
“Do you recognize me?”
The nine-tailed fox brought its face closer, its red eyes flashing.
I could feel the perspective of the main characters in monster movies, as they faced the face of a monster with its teeth bared and growling.
It boasted a level of creepiness equivalent to facing a giant meteorite crashing down from above.
But I couldn’t be discouraged by something like that.
“You said your name was Angela? It’s not too late. Just turn back to your normal self.”
“Hehehehe… Unfortunately, this is my original form. I can’t become human. And I can’t even tolerate coexistence.”
“….”
“And it’s not too late even now? That’s what I have to say. Get out of this town quickly. This is your last chance.”
Giving her one last chance… It was quite unusual for her to be sober. This is proof that I, too, have a similar fate to Jenny and Mary.
“I knew it would turn out like that.”
The moment I spoke, the ground shook. The sudden earthquake almost caused the gumiho to fall over, not knowing what to do.
The reason I am standing still in the midst of this upheaval is not simply because I predicted it in advance. The vibrations occurred solely at the center of the nine-tailed fox.
Something rose from where she was standing. It was an iron arm that protruded from the ground like a mole.
Soon, another identical arm appeared. A huge structure made of iron emerged from the ground.
Its appearance was so obvious that it could only be called a robot. It was enough to create a sense of dissonance due to its worldview. A boy wearing horn-rimmed glasses was riding on top of its head.
Bayman Dreadnought, a first-year student in class 1-A of the Alchemy Department. He is the successor to the alchemy family that created the ‘Iron Golem Technique’ and can freely manipulate the metals around him.
Although it is part of alchemy, it is possible to create various weapons by combining it with the family’s golem technique. As you can see, they are full of things reminiscent of science fiction.
‘This was also the starting point that made me wonder if it was fantasy or cyberpunk.’
The steel giant punched the defenseless gumiho in the face.
Although he showed off his strength by fighting the nine-tailed fox, Bayman looked dissatisfied.
The golem was made by hurriedly stealing low-grade metals from the village workshop. No matter how many people were unconscious, stealing was still stealing. Bayman, with a guilty conscience, ended up stealing low-grade metals instead of refined ones.
Perhaps because the power was not satisfactory, the nine-tailed fox’s tail grabbed the golem’s hand like a rope.
Even after being hit repeatedly by those heavy fists, the gumiho didn’t have a single bruise. With a mocking expression on her face, she tried to beat up the golem, saying, “Is this all you can do?”
At that moment, one side of the golem’s hand fell off. It would be more appropriate to say that it separated on its own rather than being severed by external intervention.
A blue light flashed inside the severed arm. It gave off a soft and cold aura and dashed forward, drawing a blue trajectory.
[Chain Silver – Frozen Flower]
The unexpected sword strike cut the gumiho’s jaw. If it had ended with a wound, it would have quickly regenerated, but the jaw began to freeze around the wound.
The startled gumiho tried to scratch the area off like a mosquito bite. But this time, lightning shot out from the golem’s mouth.
There is no such function in the golem. Just as Jenny was hiding inside her wrist, Mary hidden inside her was casting lightning magic.
At this moment, Mary, who had burst out of her mouth, used wind magic to use the air as a stepping stone. Behind her, various magic circles and the shapes of wild beasts appeared.
Dozens of intermediate elemental magic spells that had been unleashed by raising her magical power to the limit, and the spirits she had contracted with rushed towards the nine-tailed fox all at once.
Elemental magic combined with the power of spirits is different from what is normally used.
You can lead the battle by simply putting the manifested spirit in front. However, since it was judged to be insufficient for dealing with the nine-tailed fox, the spirit itself was used as a projectile of elemental magic.
Kwakwakwang!-
A sound like something out of a war movie resonates. The sight of a hail of bullets striking the nine-tailed fox and causing an explosion is like no other stealth bomber.
Even if the gumiho had a supernatural body, this would be painful enough to feel like being punched all over the body.
The nine-tailed fox, unable to bear it any longer, ended up pulling her hand away from her chin.
The only wound caused by Jenny’s best skill. The golem used his remaining arm to lay the nine-tailed fox down so that she could not cover that area.
Now was the only time to inject her with the divine power to return her to human form.
“Holy Light, cleanse the evil magic.”
This time, the golem’s abdomen opened like a door, and a bald young man leapt out. He charged towards the gaping wound, holding a glowing dagger.
It seemed as if that sacred energy was the only way to bring back the nine-tailed fox. It was the chanting inside the golem that was thoroughly prepared.
“No way!”
The nine-tailed fox, as expected, did not stay still. Since the golem only had one arm, it was unable to grab hold of the nine-tailed fox’s two hands.
A giant hand, still unbound, raises its claws. A creepy shadow falls over the head of the escaping Replane.
It was a moment when those horrifying scenes flashed through my mind, whether I was torn by fingernails or crushed by heavy arms.
-Fishing Line Control Lv6
At the nick of time, I swung Leviathan. With a ‘kkirik’ sound, the fishing line shot out, wrapped around the nine-tailed fox’s arm, and pulled it forward. Then, it staggered and fell, narrowly missing the head of the replane.
If this were the main story, Crona’s Sunred would have popped out and blocked that arm with his flame wings, but I’m the stand-in and taking on that role.
As expected, he was a boss of a chapter, and his strength was incredible. Even though I was weak, I felt like I was having a tug-of-war with the champion.
Moreover, even though the guy’s arms were blocked, his tail still remained. It stretched and rose elastically, trying to pierce the reflane like an arrow.
[Blood Wind]
A red trajectory flew in faster than an arrow and flicked the tail. The black-haired girl wielding the double-edged sword blocked the nine tails that rushed in one after another, drawing bloody lines.
Thanks to her skilled counterattack, Refrain was able to reach the chin with ease.
Even if you can treat the wound, the gumiho will recover in a second. So, you were aiming for the jaw, which was frozen and unable to regenerate.
Even though he had already reached it, he was worried about whether he would succeed or not. So nervous, Refrain poured his divine power into the wound that had opened between the ice and the fur.
With the cry of “Please bless….”
“Gyaaaahh …
The moment of success, the scream of a beast rang out. The reason why the nine-tailed fox had grown so large was because of evil magic injected from somewhere. This could be confirmed by the eyes of the priest, Refrain.
It may be possible to neutralize it with the corresponding holy power, but if the level of magic is different, it is impossible to do it with just one hit.
The nine-tailed fox’s eyes flashed. The steel golem, the refrain, the double-edged sword… they were all blown away with waves of magic.
“Tsk. Looks like just one time won’t do it.”
The refrain that had rolled on the floor stood up again as if it had already been expected. The other expedition members also regained their composure as if they could not give in to something like this.
Perhaps because she had been injected with holy spirit, the nine-tailed fox’s eyes were bloodshot. She had been hit multiple times without being able to do anything, and something like poison had penetrated her body, so the pain and anger must have been immense.
Finally, the black energy called Magi emanated from the nine-tailed fox. As it was released in the form of a gust of wind, the expedition team broke out in a cold sweat, sensing that this was just the beginning.
I was nervous too. That’s how the nine-tailed fox in that state was depicted in the game.
Phase 1 is now over. From now on, strange patterns await the expedition.
Not only has its attack power, defense power, and recovery speed increased compared to before, but it is also more difficult to deal with because it now uses magic.
If we just look at one of the magic patterns right now, there is an instant death skill that sucks out the soul.
The only thing that can counter that skill is Sunred’s life-creating regenerative flame. But right now, I’m the one participating in the battle instead of her.
“It’s over now….”
The moment I heard that statement… memories of playing the game flashed back to me.
This is the line that is uttered before using the pattern that sucks out the soul. As expected, the gumiho opened her mouth wide. The darkness that spread out at the end reminded me of a bottomless pit that you cannot escape from once you fall into it.
Suddenly, the wind blew in the opposite direction. The air current itself changed direction into the nine-tailed fox’s mouth, like a vacuum cleaner. However, what it was actually sucking in was the human soul.
To those who call this a do-or-die situation… I would laugh.
While everyone was panicking, I opened the bag on my shoulder. A stimulating and delicious smell wafted from inside.
If it stimulates appetite even when smelled by a person, how much would it stimulate appetite in an animal with a developed sense of smell?
“This, this is…!”
…the sucking stopped. The gumiho sniffed.
When sucking out a soul, it naturally includes the air, so the smell is mixed in as well. However, unless it is a smell that stimulates the gumiho, the pattern will not be broken.
But the nine-tailed fox’s sharp teeth made saliva flow out. It may seem like she was craving human flesh, but what she was craving wasn’t that strange.
“Will your nose be safe after smelling this?”
I took out the contents of my bag. The round thing wrapped in parchment smelled of savory fat and ham.
Of course, it was because the nine-tailed fox had a good sense of smell. She even came all the way to my dormitory to eat this. And she did it by using her sense of smell.
I smiled mischievously and hung it on the fishing line. I held it up high, emphasizing the way it hung on the rod.
“Kid. Do you know what this is?”
“That… that!!”
“You want to eat it, right?”
“Don’t make me laugh! Do you think I’ll fall for something like that? It’s all over. It’s the end!”
The nine-tailed fox opened its mouth again and sucked everything in. However, it ended up sucking in the smell as well, so the pattern was canceled again.
It was so stimulating that my mind was in a state of ecstasy, and it was something I had been craving to eat so much… .
“How is it? Doesn’t it make your mouth water?”
“Oh, oh… rice ball!!!”
The nine-tailed fox ran towards me with an excited expression. To be exact, it was a rice ball hanging from a fishing rod. Its appearance was monstrous in another sense.
As the enemy charged, the expedition members dispersed and fled. Jenny and Mary urged me to flee quickly, but I had no intention of doing so.
-Cursed Aura Lv1
The fishing rod was covered in a deep purple aura over its normal transparent color.
“If you like rice balls that much….”
Anything caught on a fishing line became a weapon.
I swung it like a sledgehammer, towards the nine-tailed fox who had lost her composure and become aggressive.
“I should try getting hit with a rice ball!!”
It hit him squarely in the face, sending ripples through his fur.
Today is the day to catch dogs, not fish.
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
