chapter_0028

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
28

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
28

Agra is the main evil deity
within the world of Soul Academy.

It’s because of him that
dungeons exist in Soul Academy, that monsters appear, and basically,
whenever something bad happens, it’s always blamed on him, like how
everything bad is blamed on England*. (*Referring to the British
Empire.)

Then, what is Agra’s Curse?

In a word, it’s jealousy.

Jealousy towards those loved
by Armadi, whom Agra hates and resents.

Agra’s Curse befalls those
favoured by Armadi. It slowly eats away at the grace bestowed by
Armadi, and the moment that grace is completely gone, it takes the
person’s life.

If this child is indeed
afflicted by Agra’s Curse, it cannot be exorcised by ordinary means.

The curse of an evil deity is
not something easily lifted.

If my proficiency with
[Armadi’s Mercy] were fully maxed out, I could potentially lift the
curse of an evil deity, but that is a very distant goal.

This child certainly cannot
endure until then.

Right now, I do have a way to
help this child.

I possess a potion containing
the miracle of healing.

This potion was given to me by
Grandpa after he crushed me with the Minotaur. Even after escaping
from the trial, it remained in my possession.

The effect of this potion is
to cure all status ailments and instantly restore 50% of health.

Included in “all status
ailments” is Agra’s Curse.

In the actual game, this
potion was one of the ways to lift Agra’s Curse, so it should
undoubtedly be able to help this child.

Despite knowing this, the
reason I hesitate is not because I’m stingy with the potion.

Sure, the potion has many
potential uses.

But if you ask me what is more
valuable between a mere consumable and a human life, of course, the
human life is more important.

So why do I hesitate?

It’s because activating
Agra’s Curse will initiate a Hidden Quest.

The Hidden Quest “Agra’s
Curse” automatically starts when a user first lifts Agra’s
Curse.

The quest itself isn’t too
complicated.

It simply requires you to heal
those suffering from Agra’s Curse in various regions.

The issue lies elsewhere.

The moment you receive this
Hidden Quest, Agra starts watching you.

As fitting for an evil deity,
the petty Agra doesn’t overlook humans who lift his curse.

Every time you enter a dungeon
under his influence, he adds various hazards to make your life
difficult.

There’s a reason why
experienced players advise not to lift Agra’s Curse in the early
stages of Soul Academy.

In the mid-to-late stages,
when you’re well-prepared, you can handle dungeons despite the
risks, but it’s different in the early stages.

If you receive Agra’s Curse
early on, when you’re less prepared, the game’s difficulty
skyrockets.

When I was playing the game, I
didn’t care whether I got Agra’s Curse or not.

I was confident I could clear
the game regardless of any threats.

But this is different.

This is reality, and if I die
here, there’s no coming back.

Can I realistically handle
Agra’s Curse under these circumstances?

Me, who struggled to survive
against just one Minotaur?

I sighed as I looked at the
child’s face, now peacefully breathing thanks to the mercy he
received.

But can I really just let this
child die? Alright. Let’s think positively.

At least I’ll gain some
reputation.

Lifting Agra’s Curse means
reducing the influence of an evil deity in the world.

This is something the Church
of Armadi is already striving to achieve.

If I report to the church that
I lifted Agra’s Curse, my relationship with them will improve
dramatically.

The Church of Armadi! They are
the most influential religious institution on the continent!

Improving relations with them
will naturally enhance my reputation across the continent!

By the time I lift four of
Agra’s Curses, I’ll be regarded as a hero no matter where I go!

Though Lucy’s infamy can’t be
completely erased by lifting just one curse, it could at least help
to some extent.

At the very least, it’s less
likely I’ll become a public enemy when I join the Academy.

Yes. Even if the dungeons
become harder, they’re just dungeons.

Fourteen thousand hours of
playtime should be enough for me to handle them.

If I can exchange dungeon
difficulty for a better reputation, it’s a good deal.

Resolving myself, I took a
potion bottle out of my pocket and handed it to the woman.

“My Lady, what is this?”

‘Well…’

“Sloppy commoner, make
this kid drink it.”

“Such a precious-looking
potion?”

‘Yes…’

“Yes. Even though it’s a
valuable item, I’ll make an exception and use it on you. Be
grateful.”

“…Thank you so much! My
lady!”

The woman carefully took the
potion from me and gave it to the boy.

Maybe it was because his
condition had slightly improved from earlier mercy.

The boy drank the potion
without any trouble as the woman gave it to him. As soon as he
finished drinking all of it.

“…Mom?”

The boy opened his eyes.

Agra’s Curse had been lifted.

“Chili!”

The child looked perplexed as
the woman hugged him tightly, crying tears of joy. He glanced back at
us.

However, neither I nor Karl or
the maid explained the situation to him.

We just smiled.

While the boy was asking the
woman what was going on, I checked the message window that appeared
in front of me.

[You have lifted Agra’s Curse
for the first time.]

[Quest unlocked]

[‘Agra’s Curse’]

[The evil god Agra, in order
to harm those loved by Armadi…]

[Heal those affected by Agra’s
Curse across the land.]

[Reward: ???]

As I suspected, it was Agra’s
Curse troubling the boy. Then a few more messages appeared.

[Agra has become aware of your
existence.]

Ah, damn it.

[Agra will be watching you,
having broken his curse.]

I expected this, but seeing
the message made me feel short of breath.

Sigh.
So this is how I enter hard mode.

Is this the fate of someone
who’s been hardened by the game?

If only I were a more ruthless
and mentally strong person.

Ding!

As I was blaming myself while
looking at the message window, another message popped up.

This time, it wasn’t related
to Agra.

[Armadi has taken an interest
in your achievements.]

…What? Who?

The only Armadi I know is that
divine being. Is it the same person?

[Armadi praises your deeds for
not fearing Agra.]

[A reward will be given.]

[Your proficiency with
[Armadi’s Mercy] has increased.]

[Some of the dormant abilities
in Ruel’s Mace have been unlocked.]

Dormant abilities in the Mace?

This message has never
appeared in the game before!

I mean, in the game, Armadi
never even made an appearance!

The online community of Soul
Academy often grumbled about why the divine being didn’t do
anything while the evil god was always causing trouble!

Are there features in this
game that I didn’t know about, even though there haven’t been any
updates for years?!

Impossible! There’s no way!

As a veteran of Soul Academy,
there’s no way there were elements I was unaware of!

This must have been added when
the game became reality!

It has to be!

While I was struggling with my
pride as a seasoned player and denying reality, a grave voice of an
old man resonated.

It wasn’t a voice heard
through my ears.

It felt like it was directly
penetrating my head and reaching my brain.

That was unmistakably the
voice of Grandpa that I heard during the trial.

Why?

Again.

Are elements I don’t know
about appearing?!

Who are you now?! Could it be
that this is what he meant by meeting him again?

Was Grandpa’s spirit inside
the Mace?!

Although there was a line in
the description of Ruel’s Mace that said, “It seems Ruel’s soul is
imbued in it,” I thought it was just part of the background story!

I felt dizzy.

With one unknown situation
after another arising, I couldn’t stay calm.

Damn it.

If they had a setup like this,
they should have released it as DLC!

Damn game developers!

‘So…’

“So, you’re saying your
soul was asleep inside this Mace?”

Having left the house with the
child and returned to my lodging, I spoke to Ruel’s Mace.

If one of the mansion’s
maids saw this, they would’ve shouted, “Miss has gone mad!”
But this time, it wasn’t the case. The Mace actually responded.

Even though I had completed
100% of Soul Academy’s achievements, found countless Easter eggs,
and even bought the lorebook, this was the first time I was hearing
this.

While the description
mentioned a soul, there was never any indication of a consciousness!

But if what Grandpa is saying
is true, then it makes sense why I hadn’t felt any increase in my
blunt weapon proficiency.

The additional function
attached to Ruel’s Mace must have been due to Grandpa’s guidance.

Despite his nasty personality,
pettiness, and old-fashioned ways, he was still a paladin and a hero.

It’s only natural that
getting advice from him would make me better with blunt weapons.

The reason I couldn’t feel
the effect of that ability until now was because Grandpa hadn’t been
active.

Hearing Grandpa speak so
shamelessly made my blood boil.

‘Grandpa, don’t you have
anything to say to me?’

“Hey, Grandpa! Don’t you
have something to say to me?”

‘The Trial of Guardians
summoning the Minotaur, that’s what!’

“You know, calling forth the
Minotaur in the Trial of Guardians. Don’t tell me you’re senile
and forgot?”

According to Grandpa, I didn’t
seem to struggle much against the Goblins in the Trial of Guardians.

He determined that the Goblins
weren’t sufficient to test my heart as a guardian, so he summoned
the Minotaur.

He wanted to provide a
challenge that seemed insurmountable to test me.

‘But the time limit…’

“Didn’t the Minotaur
disappear because of the time limit?”

Oh. Hmm. So, there was no time
limit in the Trial of Guardians?

Was that just a game mechanic
thing?

I can just chalk this up to
changes made when the situation became real.

But that means if I hadn’t
got his approval, I might have died to the Minotaur.

Ah. How should I take revenge
on this damn old man?

Did he notice something in my
eyes? Grandpa hurriedly continued speaking.

“Oh, is that so?”

Alright, Grandpa. I’ll
accept that excuse for now.

But Mesugaki Lucy seems to
have a different opinion, doesn’t she?

“Haha! As if I’d ever
forgive that pervy old man!♡

I want to see him begging,
crying, ‘I’m sorry~ I’m sorry~’!

“How should I punish you old
man?♡”

As I held the mace, which
embodied Grandpa, and hummed a tune, he quickly spoke up.

‘…Huh?’

“…Grandpa, say that
again.”

Seeing that I had stopped,
Grandpa, sensing a glimmer of hope, continued hurriedly.

Wait a minute. Grandpa, can
you hear my thoughts?

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