Ch.417417 – Violent Thoughts

<417 – Violent Thoughts>

“I was asked by the professor to search for and rescue the Oknodie search and rescue team!”

“You went all the way to the barrier and back without encountering anyone…? What have we been doing all this time……”

While a drained Morb was speaking weakly, I poked the sprawled-out Sing with a stick.

Why was Sing the only one standing there blankly when everyone else was running away, getting caught in the explosion opposite Urgas, spewing white steam with a hissing sound, and retiring?

“Sing. Are you alive?”

“…Barely.”

“Why didn’t you dodge? It was obviously dangerous. It’s common sense that even if an explosion occurs inside a comprehensive field, the explosion will spread nearby if the field breaks.”

“I knew that.”

Sing’s eyes showed no regret for his foolishness.

“Because I knew, I couldn’t dodge.”

Hmm. Is that so?

That male-specific stubbornness—not as strong as taking a direct hit, but feeling unsatisfied unless you endure this level of explosion.

I really like Sing.

There’s no one else with this kind of spirit.

No matter how hard I push him, even when I squeeze out his mana and ki until he begs for mercy, he follows through to the end without a single complaint.

There’s no man as precious as an NPC who shows steady returns and growth by patiently investing time for revenge.

“Hehe. This is why I like Sing!”

“…!”

Behind me, Morb was huffing with a resentful face.

Well, Morb tried hard too in his own way.

But I guess… there’s a difference between upper and lower classes.

I can’t be satisfied with Morb’s small stamina.

I prefer a bold partner who can handle more hardcore training courses!

“Come on, everyone, let’s hurry back. We still have more people to save. Do you know where Zhang or Irene went?”

“Before answering that question, there’s something else that needs to be said.”

“Zigoku?”

“This lecture. Did you plan this from the beginning?”

“Huh?”

“Using the baby kraken to call its mother, infiltrating the sabbatical student zone while everyone was in chaos. Did you not think at all about how many people might get hurt or worry about you?”

Sing isn’t easy-going either, but Zigoku really cares about the strangest things.

“Zigoku. Let me tell you something good!”

“…Speak.”

“The Zigoku Pirate Crew has always been a den of small fry. If the test had proceeded to the end, you would have been beaten to a pulp as soon as the melee began.”

“…So?”

“If it’s going to be a mess anyway, isn’t it better for the test to be forcibly stopped before the melee begins, and for everyone to receive high scores across the board thanks to an accident caused by the professors’ and instructors’ negligence?”

It’s a simple calculation.

They’re so pathetic that it would be a mess anyway.

Since it’s going to be a mess, might as well trigger an event that benefits everyone.

I benefit as a veteran player, the pathetic pirate crew members benefit, and the professor loses out but it’s cheap so everyone benefits anyway!

“Even if you were worried, I managed just fine on my own. A weak person worrying about a strong one is as useless as fans worrying about celebrities, you know?”

So I did nothing wrong!

While I was answering proudly, Zigoku’s hand reached out.

What is he trying to do?

My face, which had been staring blankly, suddenly jerked.

A hot impact delivered belatedly.

I was slapped.

When I realized this fact and stared blankly at Zigoku, I finally noticed the passion burning in his eyes.

“Those guys never neglected preparing for the weekend test even while being swamped with weekday assignments. They all wanted to show off. In front of the diligent little one who comes to lectures even on weekends, more than their captain.”

“Eh…?”

“You just belittled their efforts and passion by saying ‘it would be a mess anyway.'”

“I didn’t mean to…”

“If someone dismissed your past with such a casual remark, only those who have given up on their own lives would accept it. Not them. Not my crew members. There isn’t a single person under me who has given up on life without passion!”

I feel a burning sensation stronger than the sting on my cheek coming from somewhere.

Why should I be slapped?

I did something good thinking of everyone.

Am I wrong?

But, but……

“That’s enough. We received help from Oknodie.”

Only when Son Ocheon placed his hand on my shoulder did I notice I was trembling.

In this world that has become reality—a game world happier and more joyful than Earth—being rejected by a game character I cherished is no different from being rejected by reality itself.

“Siiiing. I hate Zigoku!”

“What are you being loud about when you did nothing right?”

Flick.

“Oww!”

“Zigoku was being nice because he has a good personality, but even I would have been hurt by that just now. You damn little mouse.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong! I created an event that would benefit everyone as much as possible…”

“That’s just what you decided on your own.”

The serious face of Son Ocheon, whom I had always considered a light-hearted, easygoing monkey, conveyed a different kind of spirit.

I shouldn’t argue back.

With that inexplicable thought, I closed my mouth, and Son Ocheon earnestly advised me.

“Results, achievements, those things are important. But people can’t live by results alone. Is there any sense of accomplishment in results without process? Does respect and admiration follow a life that seeks only fruits without effort?”

“That stuff is useless if you’re just a weakling.”

“Of course that’s true. But it’s the role of society, parents, and teachers to teach the weight of harsh reality. It’s not something for a peer who stands shoulder to shoulder with you, a colleague who attends the same lectures, or an admirable little one whom everyone finds precious to do.”

…This is difficult.

When I was just a strength-focused one-hit character in the Marines, I never had to worry about these things.

No one ever said such things to me.

What’s different?

Did I really do something so wrong?

“Hmph. Fine.”

My cheeks puffed up with air.

To be honest, I’m a little upset.

“If you’re all so great, I won’t save you from unfair events anymore!”

“Hey, little mouse!”

“Don’t follow me. Oknodie needs time right now. Anyway, I’ll end up back at the barrier entrance while rescuing other people.”

I ignored Morb’s voice reaching my ears.

* * *

“That’s what happened. Isn’t it too much?”

“…You’re consulting about this after encountering an 8-level disaster?”

“Zhang is the one who came here!”

Dorothy chuckled beside Irene, who was looking at me with disbelief.

“Really. I was completely drained. I thought I was going to die if we went any further, and then you suddenly appear for a consultation. You’re way too self-centered.”

“Ugh. If you’re not going to listen, don’t make fun of me either!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

While Dorothy quickly apologized, Zhang sat on a rock after stabbing a dagger into the core of a rock that had opened its mouth wide, stopping its movement.

Unlike the neat and tidy Zhang who usually likes cleanliness, he didn’t even brush off the dirt or stone dust, showing a detached indifference.

“Oknodie did nothing wrong.”

“Right?”

“Of course. Being weak is a sin. The ones who are wrong are those who are weak yet impose their own emotions. Rules are made by the strong, not the weak.”

I knew Zhang would understand.

My best friend, my true friend is definitely Zhang!

“Haah… I’m tired.”

“Zhang?”

“Let me rest a bit.”

With those words, Zhang collapsed.

Trusting our high affinity, I slightly lifted his mask to see his face contorted in pain with his eyes closed.

“Move aside.”

Irene rushed over and placed her cold hand on his forehead, casting a fever-reducing spell.

“He has an incredibly high fever. He must be injured.”

Quickly extending her mana to scan his entire body, Irene pulled open Zhang’s coat on both sides.

As she unbuttoned his blood-soaked shirt, an inner lining wrapped tightly underneath was revealed, with a metal fragment deeply embedded in his abdomen.

“How foolish. With a body like this, he must have been in considerable pain with every movement.”

Irene seemed quite surprised that she hadn’t noticed, despite having been right beside him the whole time.

It seems Zhang didn’t show any signs at all, enough to deceive even the eyes of the Northern Grand Duchess who had seen countless wounded on many battlefields.

“This is a fragment from the ship! When I opened my eyes, it looked exactly like the fragments scattered along the shore.”

Dorothy identified the cause of Zhang’s injury.

She said it was an injury that occurred when the ship was destroyed by the kraken’s tentacles and fragments covered the shore.

“Did Zhang get hurt because of me…?”

“How is that Oknodie’s fault? It’s the monster’s fault for suddenly appearing and rampaging!”

No. I summoned it.

The puzzle pieces fit together in my blank mind.

The assassin’s technique, Numbing.

Using that, he could have endured the pain and continued on without showing any signs.

Dorothy explained that what Zhang had been so desperately trying to do was follow me after I entered the sabbatical student zone.

She said he was already far ahead before they could even enter.

For some reason, when we met at the safe zone, Zhang made up an excuse that he had stopped because monsters roaming the lava zone couldn’t be deceived by stealth, but I knew right away.

That was a lie.

Zhang’s advanced stealth technique can deceive even a golem’s mana detection and heat detection.

He must have been recovering from his severe injury.

“Infection is occurring at the wound site. We need to hurry back to the infirmary.”

Yes, it’s because of me.

I made Zhang get hurt and push himself too hard.

It’s Zhang’s fault for being weak, but…

Even if my mouth twisted, I couldn’t say it was Zhang’s fault after seeing him like this.

“I’m sorry, Zhang. Because of me…”

I took out my secret potion from my backpack.

After removing the fragment, I poured half of the potion Papa had given me for emergencies onto Zhang’s stomach and let the other half flow into his mouth.

In just 3 seconds, the injury healed, and Zhang, who had been groaning in pain, suddenly opened his eyes.

“What did you do?”

“I used an elixir!”

“The one that can revive even dead people if administered within 3 minutes?”

“Yep! Aren’t I nice?”

The now healthy Zhang jumped up and hit my head with his fist.

“Ouch!”

And not just once, but several times.

“Idiot. Idiot. Super idiot.”

“Ow, it hurts, it really hurts!”

Hmph. I get scolded and hit even when I do something nice.

The supporting NPCs in this playthrough are all too violent!