Chapter 29

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Episode 6 - The past [2]

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The only way to last thirty minutes is with the help of other cadets.

Usually, it would be Lumina, Charlotte, or Leon who help, and they are in the Golden Forest.

As for Lumina, there is a 5% chance that she will appear and help the player.

With Charlotte and Leon, the odds increase to 40%.

The problem is that they are very far away and would only arrive at the last moment.

In that case, Clementine is the most likely to appear.

However, the problem is that if she appears, she will die.

’But I don’t have any options.’

I don’t know why Clementine almost died a few minutes ago.

She was originally helping and working with the other cadets.

’Maybe because the Demonic Beast is deep underground and not on the surface, its behavior has changed.’

In any case, I need her help. Charlotte and Leon are farther away, so even if they saw the Demonic Beast, it would take them at least thirty minutes or more to get here.

It would take them at least thirty minutes or more.

’So I only have Clementine’s help.’

I looked at the ring; even with the ring, it would be difficult to guarantee that I would reach the Demonic Beast.

When the player uses the ring, the game shows the probability of reaching the Demonic Beast.

If he doesn’t reach it, the search for the ring would be pointless, and he would probably die.

’So, it all depends on my ability.’

Unless I’m a Warlock, I can’t guarantee success.

However, I’m in luck this time.

If I use my senses well, I can reach the Demonic Beast with the Curse and weaken it.

’Then I’ll just have to hold out for thirty minutes, and the game will be over.’

Along the way, I encountered several Demonic Beasts.

Most were Class 2 or 3, so they weren’t very difficult to kill.

Still, they were slowing me down more and more.

If a certain number of cadets died, the mission would be considered a failure.

Clank! Clank!

Black blood splattered everywhere; Clementine, whose body was covered in blood, clicked her tongue.

Honestly, I didn’t care that I was covered in the blood of the Demonic Beasts.

Anyway, she turned to me and said:

"What’s your plan?"

While we continued running, she asked:

"Weakening that Demon Beast."

"What? You’re not a support mage; you’re just a swordsman."

Shrugging, I simply said:

"Aren’t there items that do that?"

After I answered, Clementine shut her mouth and didn’t ask any more questions.

She’s definitely a bit of a nutcase most of the time.

But, in reality, it’s actually good for me.

If she asks about the item, I could tell her I found it in the cave, but wouldn’t that sound even more suspicious?

She might think the cave is the villains’ hideout and that I already knew about it but still didn’t report it to the Academy.

I snapped out of my thoughts, and it didn’t take us long to reach the place where the Demonic Beast was.

It was a demonic beast that didn’t appear in the game.

The original version of the game didn’t have tentacles.

’It looks like a chimera.’

Its body was covered in tentacles, and it had eyes everywhere, even on the tentacles.

And it had a dozen mouths that opened, spewing a strange liquid of indeterminate color.

I tried to guess what kind of wild beast it was before, but there is no lake in the Golden Forest.

’Where did this thing come from?’

If the villains brought it, that would be impossible; even if they did, knowing them, it was unlikely.

’Don’t tell me they used parts from other Demonic Beasts and fed them to make this thing evolve.’

That was the most likely scenario; in any case, judging by its size, it was becoming increasingly difficult. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’How are we supposed to fight that thing?’

Clementine asked, but I didn’t know how to answer her question.

’No, the important thing now is to weaken it.’

My current plan had three phases.

First, weaken it with the Curse of the Ring.

Second, neutralize the tentacles.

And finally, cut them all off so it loses its sight.

That is the current plan; the most important problem is the first phase.

’Okay, let’s try it.’

As if it were some kind of switch, the Demonic Beast moved its tentacles.

It grabbed the surrounding trees and hurled them at me.

Clementine ran around the Demonic Beast.

"I’m going to try to confuse it."

I nodded at her words, then, seeing the trees coming toward me,

I gripped the hilt of Inverted Heaven and swung it in a straight line.

The trees coming toward me split in half, but I didn’t stop.

I continued swinging the sword, and the trees transformed into small cubes.

Seeing this, the Demonic Beast did not attack again.

Instead, he moved his enormous tentacles from all directions.

’Now I will put it to the test.’

Upon reaching Expert Mastery of the first form of Inverted Heaven.

This means that you learn the movements, something like a movement skill.

Each Mastery has a small ability, and the reason I wanted to advance to Expert level was this.

But, naturally, using this movement skill requires the use of Inverted Mana.

That means using the Inverted Heaven Sword Art.

First Form: Twenty Four Steps of Space.

Just as the tentacles were mere centimeters away from me.

I took a step forward when the mana in my legs receded.

Then, as if I had been teleported, I appeared one meter away from where I had been standing.

But I didn’t stop there; naturally, I have twenty four steps to jump through space.

In short, it would be like short-range teleportation, barely a meter per step.

But it was enough to dodge the attacks of the Demonic Beast.

I moved around the tentacles, putting a foot on them and, the next second, appearing near the main body.

The main body was enormous as I approached.

White lines formed an endless number of eyes that instantly locked onto me.

’Shit...’

A large red dot appeared in my field of vision.

Without wasting any time, I stepped back, moving a meter away.

Where it had been before, a long, thin spine appeared.

It was twisted, with countless teeth attached to its body, and the tip was sharp enough.

’Shit, that was close.’

I cursed inwardly as I moved away from the Demonic Beast’s main body.

’Getting close will only lead to my death.’

I wanted to get close enough to ensure the Curse was cast, but it seems impossible.

I fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the tentacles began to move.

I used Inverted Mana on my legs and, once again, I moved.

’In that case, I only need to be close enough to cast the curse.’

Only then will I have the confidence to use the ring.

"Hey, you bastard, come here. I’m stronger than that blind guy. Come after me."

"..."

’At least you’re being helpful.’

I said this when I saw Clementine attract the Demonic Beast’s attention.

I quickly moved again.

Since she was a Class 6, I couldn’t even think about hurting her.

’But that doesn’t mean I can’t hurt its eyes.’

Clementine knew this, so she mainly attacked the eyes of the Demonic Beast.

The demonic beast moved its tentacles angrily towards Clementine.

I took advantage of this and used the Twenty Four Steps of Space to get close to the main body.

"Now."

When I reached the right spot, I raised my hand and took out a small stone from my inventory.

This stone was a concentrated form of Power of Chaos in the shape of a stone, about the size of a fingernail.

I’m not a villain, so obviously I can’t use items made by villains that require Power of Chaos.

That’s why I made sure to find this stone in the cave.

When I brought the stone close to the ring, it shrank instantly and soon disappeared.

Then, I opened my palm and, as if casting a spell, I murmured:

"Weakening Curse."

A fine aura shot out of my hand toward the Demonic Beast’s main body.

When he saw the aurora, the curse, flowing toward the demonic beast.

The demonic beast noticed this and quickly planted its tentacles on the ground and lifted its body.

However, at a distance of only six meters, it couldn’t dodge the Curse.

’Good, I did it.’

I couldn’t help but feel happy at the success of the first phase of my plan.

The curse instantly covered the demonic beast’s body.

At first glance, there didn’t seem to be any change, but the next second.

Its body shrank to half its original size.

Instantly, the Demonic Beast let out a blood curdling scream that made my ears ring.

"Ha, if you’re trying to hurt me, that won’t work on me..."

But there was someone to whom it did affect.

And the Demonic Beast knew it too.

"Oh, shit..."

Without wasting any time, I moved toward Clementine, who was lying on the ground with her hands covering her ears.

She clenched her teeth and writhed in pain.

As soon as I saw the tentacles, I used the Twenty Four Steps of Space once more and, in just a few strides, reached Clementine.

I picked her up in a princess carry, then quickly moved my legs to get away from the tentacles.

The Demon Beast’s tentacles fell to the ground, destroying everything around them.

’That was really dangerous.’

I lowered my head and asked,

"Are you okay?"

Clementine didn’t say anything. Sighing, I set her down on the ground. Then I took out a potion and gave it to her.

’I only have four potions left.’

"For now, the demonic beast hasn’t hurt me, but it’s still better to keep at least two potions.

"I-I’m fine now... so the plan worked."

I nodded and pointed to where the demonic beast was going wild.

"As you can see, it’s even gotten smaller."

Clementine nodded. I told her what we had to do next.

"Now, neutralize at least most of the tentacles."

"But how will we do that? It’s impossible to hurt her..."

As if she had realized this, she closed her mouth.

It was natural, since the Demonic Beast had weakened and now had Class 5 strength.

It was possible to hurt her now, albeit with some difficulty.

"If you’ve made up your mind, then let’s go."

Clementine nodded, got up from the ground, and started running.

I followed her a little while later.

’If we keep going like this, we can last longer.’

My plan had gone off without a hitch.

However, at the time I hadn’t realized that fate was playing a trick on me.

Some eyes had been watching me with a smile from the very beginning.