Chapter 41 – 09. Being in a Swamp (2)
Arbadelin’s special purpose room is quite subdivided according to its purpose.
From a space for one-on-one combat training to a space for practicing mana release, to a place where you can fight artificial monsters made close to real monsters, it is a facility for training awakened people.
Among them, the ‘simulated battle space’ we are heading to is mainly used for practice to deal with monsters as we can directly experience the fantasy produced in the desired form.
Originally, Awakeners who dealt with fantasy magic during the Great Disaster devised a mock battle for the purpose of training other Awoken, but now it is a small setting that the database can be implemented as an illusion by using artifacts and modern technology produced by Awakeners. It also exists.
“Everyone knows about Nightcrawler…?”
Minjun Song, the blue-haired wizard who was walking ahead along the corridor, turned his head and asked us a question.
“Maybe I fell asleep during the last lecture and didn’t hear it, even thinking about it, I couldn’t remember it.”
“Nightcrawler is literally a beast that crawls at night.”
Jeong Ye-won, who was walking silently with his hands in his pockets, answered his question in a low voice.
It’s her word
Nightcrawler’s nickname is ‘Night Worm’.
This monster with a grotesque appearance that seems to have only two slender legs attached to a small head, usually just moves both legs restlessly without any purpose.
“Nightcrawler maintains a white body unless it is observed with the eyes of a creature, and immediately melts into darkness the moment it encounters a human.”
However, if you face another creature and ‘stealth’, the story is different.
The ridiculous steps gradually change to those of a predator, and the white appearance completely transforms into a deep black as if it melts into the darkness, tirelessly pursuing its prey.
“It doesn’t normally walk that fast, but when stealthed, it’s said to be able to speed up to that of an average Awoken person.”
“Then, in order to lure the Nightcrawler…”
“So, Chris, I think we need your help.”
It seems that Jeong Ye-won is quite ambitious in leading the practice process.
Maybe the reason why he was dumbfounded by my question was because he didn’t want his initiative taken away, although he had a ulterior motive to hide his abilities.
He is the type of person who does not engage in conversations unless it is absolutely necessary, but if there is an opportunity to enhance his presence, he actively engages in it.
I think about her personality, which was not dealt with in detail in the original work because it was quite small.
“We’ve arrived. Let’s prepare to activate the device.”
A small marble was placed in the middle of a room the size of a standard classroom.
The setting of the illusion to appear was explained by the professor earlier, so we were able to fully discuss the strategy before activating the orb.
“First of all, the setting is that we encountered two large nightcrawlers in a narrow alley. Even if there was only one more body-type ability to stand in front of us, we could fight at the same time, but now there are only two of us, so Chris-san will wait until we defeat one. Please continue to lure the other one.”
“Isn’t there a possibility that Chris could become dangerous in one mistake? Even if she is a person with physical abilities, she would be helpless in front of the kicks of a large nightcrawler.”
“It doesn’t matter because I’ll be assisting Mr. Chris. And, I know the essential rules too.”
Chris wondered if she was carrying too much of a burden on her own, so she raised a slight objection, but as if she had expected it all, she answered my questions without hesitation.
Survive rather than win.
There is absolutely no guarantee that the elite, aiming for victory, won’t utilize Chris as her chess piece.
But she has no choice but to believe in her abilities.
It is because he has already been officially recognized as an Awakener who has risen to the podium as the representative of the freshmen, beating out the outstanding competitors.
“If you have nothing more to say, let’s begin. Everyone to their respective positions.”
Chris, who should be the bait, was at the front, Kim Seong-dae, who would withstand Nightcrawler’s attack, me and Song Min-joon, who were in charge of ranged attacks, at the back, and Jeong Ye-won at the end.
When she released her magical energy and activated her orb, her white orb gradually heated up to an orange light, emitting a blindingly dazzling light.
“Oh… That’s amazing.”
When the light faded, the landscape revealed was not the dull gray tiles of the special purpose room, but the corner of a dark and dirty alleyway.
Even the wind brushing my cheeks felt chilly, to the point that I forgot for a moment that it was fantasy magic.
The combat practice so far has been using specially designed robots, so at that time when everyone was admiring the fantasy magic experienced for the first time, Jeong Ye-won called our attention with a calm voice.
“…I’m coming. Mr. Chris, get ready first and move the rest as I say.”
As soon as her voice ended, a large figure appeared from inside the corner of the alleyway.
The Witchbeast that you come face-to-face with for the first time after coming to this world.
As the Nightcrawler’s grotesquely twisted white legs writhed eerily, I instinctively knew why it was called an earthworm.
“Sword, Holy Grail, and sword. Since you’ve applied the buff, Mr. Chris runs to the other side of the road and starts luring it, and Mr. Min-jun, please attack from close range so that one can’t catch up.”
As he draws three cards from his deck and places them in a row above Chris’s head, the air around him begins to whirl rapidly.
“If I had this ability, I should have told you earlier!”
Chris runs at an invisible speed between the Nightcrawlers, which rapidly change color as if black ink was dropped into clear water.
When the two Nightcrawlers, who had completed their transformation belatedly, started moving their withered legs to chase after him, Song Min-jun, who had been waiting in advance, struck as hard as if he was going to break the head of one.
“Keep it up!”
The black earthworm let out a strange cry and turned away from Chris to stare at us.
From now on, the role of Song Min-jun and me is important.
“It’s going to send a shockwave to the head, so use the drain at the right timing.”
“Yeah… Wait a minute… Okay, you can start!”
Regardless of the strengthening of hypnosis, my wave ability grows little by little as I try, but I can still say that I have deepened my ability by doing my best.
After the excessive use of abilities in Dalian last time, I continued to think about how to use the waves as efficiently as possible while reducing the burden on the body.
In the end, as a student of science and engineering, I was able to find a new attack method using constructive interference of waves using scientific knowledge.
“Get fired!”
At the fingertips, the waves of the atmosphere that began to sway gradually overlap and grow to an uncontrollable scale.
When it reached the point where it couldn’t be controlled, the wave that was only sent in one direction formed like a spear of energy and hit the monster’s head nonstop.
“Drain quickly when you’re out of your mind!”
“Okay! When I’m done, Yewon-ssi, please prepare it right away!”
Song Min-jun stretched out both arms at the Nightcrawler, who was slowly approaching this way while still staggering from the shock that hit his head.
Even if it is a monster whose magical power is the driving force of life, as long as it has a form, moisture will also exist.
Song Min-joon’s drain sucks all the moisture from his opponent’s body and makes them look like mummies.
Although the size of the drop of water in front of him was quite small, as if it didn’t match well with Nightcrawler, the monster’s movement was noticeably slower.
Now all you have to do is finish.
Jeong Ye-won stepped forward in place of me, Song Min-jun, and Kim Seong-dae, who couldn’t penetrate Nightcrawler’s skin and cause direct injury.
“Sword, sword, and sword.”
The three cards seemed to crumple in the air, and then a sharp silver sword appeared beside her head.
“Sword, sword, and sword.”
Another one.
“Swords, swords, and… Swords.”
Until the last one.
Three blades whirl above her head, and at her beckon, they charge at the nearly knocked-out Nightcrawler.
Poo-wook.
The skin was quite thick, but the blade easily penetrated the monster’s skin, like cutting through the tofu.
Nightcrawler died on the spot.
“The next one is about to begin. Chris is coming this way.”
She wondered if she could even figure out the location of the target she buffed, before Chris appeared on the other side.
“In the same way, starting with vocal cords, we will go the same way as before. You are still a lively opponent, so you can’t relax.”
“Yes, I’m going at the right timing!”
We were able to catch the other Nightcrawler Chris was manning in almost the same pattern.
This one seems to be a bit strong, even after me and Song Min-jun’s attack, the elite won stopped moving after stabbing dozens of times, but it was quite encouraging that she was able to defeat both safely without any damage.
After defeating all the monsters, the vision flashed again, and we returned to the space covered with gray tiles before we knew it.
With this level of achievement, survival, cooperation, and elimination all seem to be at the top, so everyone leaves the room quite lightly.
To be honest, I started to covet Jeong Ye-won very much.
Her knowledge of her monsters, including her Night Crawler, her sense of reading the war situation, and her commanding ability made it regrettable that she was a sub-heroine in her original work.
For now, Seo Joo-ha and Shiana’s case is the priority, so we can’t start attacking recklessly, and we decided to hypnotize a few things in moderation.
It will deeply imprint my existence so that I cannot simply regard myself as a past memory.
“Hey, Jeong Ye-won.”
She walks in front of me at my call and turns her head to look at me.
“I have something to say. Could you send the rest to class first?”
“…All right.”
She nodded her head, though with a puzzled look on her face, then she said something to the three of them and walked back to where I was standing.
“What’s the matter? I have to go check my score, so please tell me quickly. If it’s a confession or something like that, I don’t want to go out with you, so please be aware of it.”
“What’s the matter… Something like this.”
Back.
The eyes that were staring at me slowly faded.
No matter how strong the ability is, the fragile mind of a first year cannot resist my hypnosis.
“How many times do you masturbate a day?”
“No. 1… There are days when I don’t do it at all…”
If it’s her number 1, her libido seems to be a bit lacking, but she doesn’t care much anyway as the purpose of her hypnosis is to make her softer.
“[The body heats up when magic is used, and you feel a slight pleasure.]”
“[Every time she masturbates, the memories of her fighting with Lee Ji-hoo keep popping up in my head.]”
This allusion was inspired by Cyana’s Curse.
When an elite member uses her magic power, her body gradually becomes sensitive, and in order to cool her overheated body, she naturally masturbates.
And every time she masturbates, she has to forcefully recall her memories of battle with me.
The correlation between the pleasure from her masturbation and the existence of ‘Easy Who’ is gradually embedded in her head, and eventually her belly will thump when she sees me like Pavlov’s dog.
Then you just have to pick and eat the ripe fruit of hypnosis.
I think I can define how to eat Yewon as easily as a cake.
Of course, there are still many heroines left to capture, so I don’t know when I’ll get my hands on her.
Pressing her button woke her from her trance, and her elite circle, which hadn’t been good since before she was hypnotized, hardened her eyes.
“I was going to say something, but I forgot. I’ll tell you next time I remember.”
“…Wait.”
Leaving Jeong Ye-won, who was trying to say something, I returned to the lecture room.
Perhaps by now she is re-examining herself, making sure that I haven’t done anything strange.
But no matter how hard you check, you won’t find it.
My hypnosis will penetrate deep into the unconscious and erode the mind.
So her doubts can never lead to certainty.
