Ch.123123 – Joint Operation

<123 – Joint Operation>

Antidote Crisis.

Students who are reluctant to spend 1000 points for a complete antidote crawl into the forest searching for medicinal herbs when infected with contagious diseases, plagues, and various illnesses.

The problem is that the journey to find herbs is long, and the Academy’s educational schedule is merciless!

‘To get herbs without losing credits, I have to make expeditions during days without lectures or on weekends.’

Even that requires gathering information from classmates, seniors, instructors, and professors during regular breaks to locate the forest.

Those lacking preparation spend their precious weekend time collecting information, then arrive at the forest too late, return empty-handed after a brief search, or end up with stomachaches from eating wild fruits.

That’s when antidotes and herbs sell like hotcakes!

‘Antidotes sell for about 200 points each, and herbs for about 20 points each, and they fly off the shelves.’

Students with plenty of points might coolly pay 1000 points upfront for treatment, but how many can afford such luxury?

With floods and mosquito infestations, disease spreading is practically inevitable despite the Academy’s attempts at prevention.

Normally, I’d feel guilty profiting from others’ misfortune, but after the way everyone except my close friends changed their attitude toward me, my feelings are deeply hurt.

‘Hmph! It’s your fault for getting on my bad side!’

Since I’m already disliked, I don’t care if they call me a miser.

Despite working hard to maintain my reputation, I don’t need to keep trying with those who treat me poorly.

If relationships are to improve, they should be the ones to bend first, not me.

‘A player is not a pushover!’

The beginning of my plan to teach them a lesson.

That’s the Operation Fatten Mosquitoes.

For this operation, I need to spray the Dark Nutritional Supplement generously on the mosquitoes near the blood tree that the seniors haven’t cleaned yet, rendering them useless.

Of course, mosquitoes would prefer human blood over the Dark Nutritional Supplement.

So I need allies to beat them up so they don’t treat us as prey.

“You think I’d send you alone on such a dangerous mission?”

“Sigh. Even ignoring that serious guy, asking a gunner to catch mosquitoes—does this make sense?”

I only called Zigoku, but somehow Hestia tagged along after hearing about it.

“Who are these weaklings?”

Zigoku looked around at the trembling gentlemen huddled in a corner.

The three people shaking like lambs before a lion were students I had selected for this blood stone heist operation.

“W-who are you? I’m Rozini, an apprentice magician from the Red Magic Tower. If you harm me, the tower won’t let it slide.”

“Huh? Like I care. Your chest is as flat as a piece of gum.”

“Stop sexually harassing me…!”

Despite trying to respond sharply, Zigoku laughed “Gyahahat!” as if watching a small animal’s futile struggle.

She can’t ignore elemental attributes—while she’s always talking back to Professor Dryad Weird of the plant attribute, she can’t move an inch before Zigoku, the water attribute pirate hunter.

Rozini looks pitiful, trembling like a virgin before the golden sun.

“It’s too much to treat us like this after calling us for help.”

“O-Oknodie. What are you planning with this group? You didn’t gather us to set fire to the seniors’ warehouse, did you?”

Besides Rozini, whom I knew from class, the other two were fire attribute characters Rozini knew.

When I asked her to gather people who could handle fire, she brought a multi-class spearman who could shoot fire from his spear tip and an administrative department aspirant.

The timid person stuttering like Rozini was the magic spearman, and the person with the unpleasant face keeping his mouth shut was the administrative department aspirant.

“I understand bringing Magic Spearman Zealot, but why bring Echo from the administrative department?”

“He’s a sharp-tongued critic who makes people burn with anger. He’s a friend I made because our personalities match, but I didn’t know you needed actual fire.”

Hestia looked dumbfounded.

“I hate to say this when I came to help, but isn’t this a failed party?”

Going mosquito hunting with a ranged F-killer, a close-range fire starter, a bullet shooter, an axe wielder, a sharp-tongued critic who infuriates party members, and one cute, adorable child.

Even I thought it looked hopeless, but when I ran simulations in my head, there weren’t any major problems.

“It’s fine!”

“…I wonder if it really is.”

Ignoring Rozini’s complaints, I began explaining the operation.

* * *

If fieriness determined a flame sorcerer’s level, Oknodie would easily earn the title of War mage for her outrageous plan.

But the more you listened, the more you saw the possibility, making you wonder if you were becoming just as crazy.

“What do you think? Can you do it?”

“…Your operation is certainly fiery.”

Spray insect attractant over water treated with the Dark Nutritional Supplement to gather mosquitoes, then shoot fireballs to push them all underwater.

Those trying to escape sideways without entering the water or fleeing before growing large enough would be handled by Magic Spearman Zealot and sharp-tongued Echo.

When the mosquitoes drink the water and become too fat to fly, I’ll climb the blood tree where the giant mosquitoes store their blood while they’re distracted.

Once I get the blood stone?

Mission accomplished!

“Don’t be too scared. I can block anything coming from below.”

Hestia swung her two-handed axe with one hand, creating such an ominous sound that even an adult teddy bear would lose its head if caught in the trajectory.

“So when do I start shooting?”

“Cover me with suppressive fire if mosquitoes appear while I’m climbing the tree!”

“You’ve got guts. You’ll get hit if I miss.”

“Come on. Zigoku’s bullets never miss.”

“Gyahahat! I like your spirit. Alright, let’s get started.”

The operation proceeded swiftly.

Rozini and Hestia punctured a drum filled with an ominous black liquid and poured it into the fountain that had become a shallow lake.

As the fountain turned as black as if performing a demon summoning ritual, Oknodie pressed the insect attractant spray and sprayed it all over the water.

“Everyone duck down and hide. Be careful not to show any skin outside the bushes.”

Thanks to the veteran mercenary Hestia’s skilled advice, even Zealot, whose spear-holding arm had been sticking out of the bushes, successfully concealed himself.

“Damn, what’s with this air…”

“Shh.”

Bees collect honey and return to their hive.

They store honey neatly in their storage for the queen bee and larvae to eat deliciously!

Giant mosquitoes were no different.

They choose a tree as storage, make it into a blood tree, and store blood stones inside the hollowed-out interior.

The process is similar, but the latter is more disgusting.

Dududududu.

It sounded like a helicopter, but it was the wing-flapping of giant mosquitoes.

With multiple mosquitoes simultaneously flapping their wings strongly enough to create air pressure differences, the bushes swayed chaotically.

“Flash, Flame Flash!”

Apprentice magician Rozini cast a spell combining flame with light attributes, based on the phenomenon of flammable substances momentarily igniting and flashing.

Thanks to the magic focused more on scaring mosquitoes than causing actual damage, the giant mosquitoes were startled and plunged into the fountain water.

Bang! Bang! Baang!

Flashy lights and sounds but no substance, like amusement park fireworks!

The giant mosquitoes were thoroughly intimidated by the Flame Flash spell, which would become the precious livelihood of mediocre magicians who end their careers as apprentices.

“Whoa, they’re really growing!”

“Don’t just stand there admiring, Zealot. One’s getting away!”

As Rozini’s magic began losing its potency, mosquitoes started poking their heads out.

Trying to fly up with wing flaps but wobbling due to their increased bulk, they were driven back by Zealot’s flame spear and Hestia’s two-handed axe.

“Ahhh! Please don’t fly toward me!”

“Zealot. If you stick your butt out like that when thrusting your spear because you’re scared, you’ll miss attacks you shouldn’t.”

“But it’s so gross!”

The flame spear owner Zealot, whom we had high hopes for, failed to catch even one mosquito and just jumped around in frustration, while Hestia, whom no one expected much from, chopped mosquito heads and wings with her axe, doing double duty.

<Climbing>

<Boldness>

<Infiltration>

Oknodie climbed the blood stone tree fearlessly amid the chaos.

Zigoku, who had been watching, mentally whistled, impressed by her courage.

Rustle.

Crackle.

The blood tree had many unusually dry branches and bark, perhaps drained of sap by mosquitoes.

The noise during the climb made the mosquitoes submerged in the fountain raise their heads in unison.

Flap flap flap

Aaaaah

Kyaaaah

The giant pig-mosquitoes flapped their wings desperately but couldn’t rise into the air due to their increased bulk from the Dark Nutritional Supplement, only splashing in the water!

The terrified screams of Zealot and Rozini could be heard, but Zigoku only made a disgusted face without screaming.

She occasionally saw such mosquitoes at sea.

“Yawn.”

Zigoku was yawning, thinking there would be no need to shoot, when she noticed a small dot in the sky gradually getting closer.

At first, she thought it might be a late mosquito arriving for the feast, but instead of mosquitoes, students on broomsticks approached.

What’s that?

While staring blankly, Oknodie, who spotted them from the tree, shouted:

“Gasp! Everyone be careful. I think third-year students are coming to steal the blood stone!”

Everyone who had been somehow managing against the mosquitoes turned pale.

“Ahhh! Third-years!!”

“What should we do?! Should we run?!”

Even Hestia was fidgeting anxiously, while only Zigoku excitedly called toward the tree:

“Third-years are dangerous species, so can I shoot them?”

“If they fly this way!”

Finally, a target has appeared.

Only Zigoku, who had been bored waiting for her turn, was excited.