Chapter 1149 – 1149. Savior Of The Academy
I found Ryu Hana collapsed outside the dungeon. Her clothes were torn in several places, and blood was streaming from her cuts.
“Ryu Hana…!”
Startled, I urgently summoned a potion and healed her.
Ryu Hana looked at my face and contorted her expression. It was as if she was desperately suppressing the emotions boiling inside her.
“…I lost. …I lost.”
I doubted my ears when I heard Ryu Hana’s words.
‘Ryu Hana lost?’
In the original story, Ryu Hana’s opponent was herself. An enemy with the same stats as Ryu Hana. Players could easily defeat it by focusing on control, and in the game’s settings, Ryu Hana would grow during the battle and defeat the enemy.
‘It wasn’t a major side quest, so I thought it would be okay… Damn it. Laplace. That bastard interfered.’
The dungeon had been corrupted because of Laplace. He must have meddled with Ryu Hana’s enemy as well.
‘It’s enough to inject the power of a demon into Ryu Hana’s enemy. Fortunately, Ryu Hana didn’t die, but….’
Ryu Hana was shocked by the fact that she had lost to herself. She was lying blankly, staring up at the night sky. Her eyes were unfocused.
It was not surprising. Ryu Hana’s mental state was particularly shaken when she lost in one-on-one duels or battles. Unless she had already acknowledged that her opponent was stronger than her. Ryu Hana had lost to herself.
I subtly took off her top under the guise of applying potion to Ryu Hana’s blankly lying body. Her white bra was stained red with blood. I glanced at her surprisingly large, perky breasts before shifting my gaze to her right shoulder.
There was a red tattoo on her shoulder. A tattoo of a vermilion bird spreading its wings.
『Name: Ryu Hana
Strength: C- Stamina: D+ Agility: C+ Durability: E+ Mana: B-
Trait: Sword Maiden (SS)
Skills: Divine Sword Unification (A), Sword Song (A), Spirit Sword (C).
Affection: 24
The Vermilion Bird’s Mark (S) has been engraved. The Vermilion Bird’s flames will engulf her entire body in 30 days.』
The Vermilion Bird Sword had branded the loser. It was an ability similar to a curse. If things continued like this, Ryu Hana would die in 30 days. And Ryu Hana would know that fact.
‘The problem is that it will take at least several decades to receive the Vermilion Bird Sword’s trial again.’
It would take 20 years for the Vermilion Bird Sword to accumulate power, and with that accumulated power, it could create a dungeon.
‘The Vermilion Bird’s Mark disappears when you pass the trial. But to receive the trial, you have to enter that dungeon….’
There was a way.
I spoke to Ryu Hana, who was still lying blankly.
“Ryu Hana, you know the situation, right? You’ll die if you stay like this.”
“…So you know too.”
“I’m the one who gifted the Vermilion Bird Sword. I have at least some information.”
“…How? Wasn’t it your first time seeing the Vermilion Bird Sword too?”
“I have a few similar items. You’re not planning to die like this, are you?”
“I don’t want to die. But… there’s no way….”
“There is a way. In a way, it’s my fault that you ended up like this… I’ll help you. Come on, get up. How long are you going to lie there?”
I reached out my hand to Ryu Hana. Ryu Hana slowly grabbed my hand and got up. I took off my outer garment and gave it to Ryu Hana.
Then I asked Ryu Hana what had happened inside the dungeon.
“…I went to see my mother and father. I was curious about their younger selves.”
“Well, I guess so. I met my mom too. How was it?”
“My father was clumsy… and my mother was beautiful.”
Ryu Hana continued calmly.
She was about to ask her younger father for a duel when someone who looked exactly like her appeared. It was Ryu Hana’s enemy.
The enemy attacked Ryu Hana without warning, and Ryu Hana calmly responded.
The battle continued for a long time. This was because the enemy’s physical abilities, skills, and everything else were equal to Ryu Hana’s.
She began to tire from the continuous battle. Taking advantage of a moment when Ryu Hana was careless, the enemy ran away. Ryu Hana rested and recovered her stamina.
The enemy reappeared and attacked again. Communication was impossible.
“I fought like that four times. But from the fifth time, it became strange. The techniques I used were the same, but the power was stronger, and the speed was faster.”
“…And you lost.”
“I lost. If a monster hadn’t suddenly popped out from the side… I would have died there.”
A monster suddenly popped out and interrupted the battle. Was that really a coincidence?
‘What coincidence? It must be Laplace’s scheme.’
I didn’t know Laplace’s exact purpose. But I thought I knew why he hadn’t killed Ryu Hana.
‘That guy would have known about the Vermilion Bird’s Mark…. He wants Ryu Hana to receive the trial again. He’s trying to lure me in using Ryu Hana as bait.’
Being dragged around was unpleasant. If I gave up on Ryu Hana, I wouldn’t have to care, but…. I had no intention of abandoning Ryu Hana.
While I was lost in thought, Ryu Hana lowered her head and stared blankly at the floor. The shock of defeat had not yet faded.
“Ryu Hana.”
I called her with strength in my voice.
“…?”
Ryu Hana raised her head.
“Starting today… no, starting tomorrow, let’s spar every day. You need to become stronger than you are now to pass the Vermilion Bird’s trial.”
Sparring.
At that word, Ryu Hana’s dead eyes sparkled and came alive.
Ah, now that I think about it, I remember that I haven’t been able to spar with Ryu Hana often lately.
‘It’s a relief that her mentality hasn’t completely broken down.’
•••
Sunday.
After leaving the academy, I sailed the East Sea on a boat. It wasn’t me who was steering the boat, but Machina. I didn’t know how to sail, so I left it to Machina. Machina stuck out her tongue and rotated the steering wheel with all her might. The boat changed direction and cut through the seawater.
“Hey, can’t you drive properly? The boat’s been shaking too much since a while ago.”
“I’m doing it properly. If you don’t know, be quiet!”
Machina, with her dark blue hair and white dress, looked like a fairy because she was only 60cm tall. However, unlike her fairy-like appearance, her personality was terrible. Even now, she was flipping me off.
I suppressed the urge to smack Machina on the head. If I did, she might flip the boat over. With Machina’s terrible personality, it was definitely possible.
“Are you really going the right way?”
“Sigh. I told you to be quiet if you don’t know?!”
“We’ve been going in circles since a while ago?”
“There was a great white shark down there, so I was watching it.”
“…Why is there a great white shark in the East Sea?”
“Sigh. Because it’s the sea, duh? Don’t you even know that?”
Machina looked at me as if I was pathetic. I wondered how long it would take for a mechanical spirit to become shark poop.
“How do you check what’s in the sea?”
“Because I sent a camera into the sea.”
Machina held up a smartphone that was as big as her face and showed it to me. A great white shark was swimming leisurely on the screen.
“You crazy… No wonder I felt like I was using a lot of mana since a while ago… You were doing this useless thing?!”
“It’s observing a shark. Why is that useless!”
“Then let me ask you. What do you gain from observing a shark?!”
“Dunno.”
“Aish.”
Whack!
I ended up smacking her on the head.
“Ow! Why did you hit me?!”
Machina jumped up from her seat. Her eyes were filled with tears as she glared at me as if she would kill me.
Seeing Machina acting up made me a little dumbfounded. I was Machina’s contractor. Moreover, I was a contractor in a position of absolute power, not a subordinate. Machina should know that, but she was still acting like this….
‘She must be relying on Sung Hari. Sung Hari has spoiled her too much.’
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand Sung Hari’s feelings. Machina’s appearance was very cute. Moreover, since I lived in the dormitory, there were only Sung Hari and Machina at home. They must be getting along like a mother and daughter. They would definitely be talking behind my back too.
“I can’t let this go. Let’s settle this today.”
“…Hic?! S-Sorry, was I a little too much? Calm down, Yujin!”
I grabbed Machina’s body with one hand as she tried to run away. Machina apologized to me. It was already too late. I grabbed Machina and walked towards the boat’s railing. Machina was terrified.
“N-No! Machines are weak to water! Let me go! Let me goooo!”
“I don’t feel even an ounce of remorse.”
“Eeeek! Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this?! I’m going to tell Auntie everything!”
“Go ahead.”
I grabbed Machina and jumped into the sea.
My ears went numb, and my body felt heavy. Machina, who was held in my hand, flailed her arms and legs. She wasn’t a spirit, so she had to feel the coldness of the sea.
I grabbed Machina and went down. [Blessing of Water] worked well even in the sea.
After a few tens of seconds, Machina, who had calmed down, looked at me with a sulky expression. Since she was a spirit and not a human, she didn’t need to breathe.
[Seawater. It tastes bad. It feels bad. I want to go up.]
Machina’s thoughts echoed in my head. Since she and I were connected by a contract, we could communicate even without words.
I ignored Machina’s thoughts and continued to go down.
And I witnessed a great white shark swimming leisurely nearby. There was a camera floating around the great white shark.
‘…That’s not a shark.’
[What are you talking about? Don’t you even know a shark? It’s obviously a shark. A great white shark!]
‘Crazy. Does a shark’s size reach 20m?’
That was 100% a monster. If I killed it, there would probably be a magic stone in its corpse.
[But why did you come here? To see a shark?]
‘I came to feed the shark. It’s bigger than I thought… but, well, it’ll be fine.’
The shark had just discovered me. The shark’s black eyes turned red. It wagged its tail and swam towards me. It was a swim that looked more elegant than a swan.
[I see…. Where’s the shark food? D-Don’t tell me I’m the shark food?!]
‘…….’
[A-Answer me! You bastard!!]
‘That’s why you should have listened to me.’
[S-Stop…!]
If I had intended to stop, I wouldn’t have jumped into the sea.
The shark, which had come closer, opened its mouth wide. I could see fish carcass debris between its sharp teeth.
‘A split second.’
I dodged to the side and threw Machina into the shark’s mouth.
[Aaaaaaaaaaaah!]
The shark’s mouth closed with Machina’s scream.
‘She’ll reflect a little now, right?’
Usually, spirits would turn into a spirit body when they received a fatal attack. A normal shark monster wouldn’t be able to harm Machina, who had turned into a spirit body.
The shark swam and chased after me to eat me. I dodged the shark while running away.
‘It’s about time she turned into a spirit body, right? Why isn’t anything happening?’
The shark suddenly stopped swimming and shook its body.
Kiiing.
A diagonal line appeared on the shark’s head. The shark’s head opened upwards like a lid. The shark’s brain, which was incredibly small compared to its size, floated up. Machina was in the area where the brain was. She was sitting on a chair, and there were several mechanical devices around her.
[This shark is mine now!]
Machina manipulated the shark and went up. I stared blankly and belatedly came to my senses.
‘…Damn it. What did I just see.’
