Ch.420420 – The Trap in Oknodie’s Private Room

<420 – The Trap in Oknodie’s Private Room>

The ultra-rare monster Mandragora, whose innate racial traits allow it to function by simply drinking water, drawing nutrients from the soil, and photosynthesizing sunlight.

Mandragoras are notorious for their <Death Scream>.

The scream unleashed by an adult Mandragora combines all sorts of sinister abilities like volume amplification, echo, soul engraving, and defense penetration, creating merciless synergistic effects.

“Haha. I did it. I kidnapped a newborn baby Mandragora that its parents had planted in a sunny spot!!”

The sinister nature of Mandragoras, which turn their surroundings into hell just by approaching, is notorious even among monsters.

Therefore, Mandragoras tend to monopolize dangerous locations with the finest soil and flowing spiritual veins, places where only forest lords would dare to stay.

If caught by an Elder Mandragora over 100 years old, an ecosystem forms where all monsters in the surrounding forest area fear and submit to the Mandragora’s <Voice Transmission>.

“It’s not Elder-class, but it’s the habitat of an adult Mandragora that yields sunny spots to raise its young and hunts other monsters. It was difficult, but I finally found it. Hehe.”

Orcatch was genuinely happy until he stored the baby Mandragora he had obtained after painstaking efforts and near-death experiences in the deepest part of the club greenhouse.

Just raising this one creature while controlling its growth rate would guarantee his senior year graduation project!

That happiness was stolen from him.

While he was still a junior but had become intoxicated with his own diligence in properly planning and designing for the future, his room was robbed during his absence.

The other members’ plants were fine, but precisely his Mandragora alone was stolen.

“Wasn’t it you guys? If not you, who else would kidnap a Mandragora?”

“Captain. Are we crazy enough to raise a plant that kills its owner if raised wrong?”

“Such a precious creature would be hard to find buyers for even if we wanted to sell it, so what would we do with a stolen one?”

At first he suspected the club members, but listening to their excuses, they all made sense.

There was no reason for plant club members who understood the danger of Mandragoras to go out of their way to steal it.

“It’s a first-year. A very small child at that.”

The senior they had hired at great expense walked around the club room once and identified the culprit.

It didn’t take long to realize that Oknodie was the perpetrator.

Professor Bronze, the world’s greatest thief, played dumb about his disciple’s crime, but Orcatch had already noticed that the master was trying to cover for his student’s wrongdoing.

“No, actually this worked out well. As long as she doesn’t sell it, she’ll help raise the dangerous creature for me.”

Orcatch quietly waited for the right moment.

The perfect opportunity to pluck just the fruit once the Mandragora had grown sufficiently.

He also created a chance to separate Oknodie.

Second and third years.

He even designed it so that many students who held grudges against Oknodie would hold her back.

At least 3 hours.

Oknodie couldn’t return to the dormitory.

Even in the first-year girls’ dormitory, the upper-class students living on the first floor had mostly left to settle things with that Dobby guy.

He had also obtained intelligence that the dorm supervisor, who had lost her pet rock Elizabeth, was drowning in despair and alcohol.

“Today’s the day. Today is execution day. I’m definitely getting my Mandragora back today!”

He coaxed and persuaded the club members to participate in the crime.

But a variable occurred.

“Is that really a Mandragora that’s grown for half a year? It’s grown crazy big, like it’s 9 years old!”

The Mandragora had grown so much that the water bottle seemed cramped.

Its roots were so strong that they deflected every vine that tried to extend.

He could understand being overpowered by strength, but why were its reflexes so good too?

[20. 19. 18]

An ominous countdown of unknown origin pierced his mind.

Despite the defensive magic he had diligently applied to his ears just in case, he was being blocked not by screams but by the baby Mandragora’s root swinging.

“Focus firepower!”

<Telekinesis>

<Binding Vines>

<Rapid Growth>

The magic cast by three members instantly lifted the Mandragora’s roots that had burst out of the bottle, wrapped them with vines, and began tightening by growing the wrapped vines.

<Rampage>

<Wild Beating>

“Kugh! The, the telekinesis was forcibly broken… ugh.”

“Eek!! The vines were broken by force!”

“Someone stop those roots. It fucking hurts!”

A Mandragora that didn’t scream enough to make their heavily defended ears feel neglected, instead physically beating up the intruders!

“Captain, you didn’t mention this. What kind of Mandragora has such strong physical power!”

“I don’t know, damn it. Drop the defense and increase firepower!!”

“What if it screams?”

“We’ll be beaten to death before that!!”

If they collapsed from a Mandragora’s scream, people would say it was understandable, but if they collapsed with their whole bodies bruised black and blue from Mandragora roots, people would say what kind of idiots they all were.

If they didn’t want to become a laughingstock club with rumors spreading throughout the school that their Mandragora retrieval failed and they got beaten by a first-year’s pet plant, they had to show something here.

<Mental Defense Release>

<Penetration Barrier Release>

<Sound Barrier Release>

<Vibration Absorption Field Release>

<Mental Awakening Engraving Release>

The defenses applied to their ears were released en masse, returning mana.

Using that surplus power, they scattered plant seeds freshly taken from their pockets as magic was deployed simultaneously.

<Rapid Growth – Parasitic Grass>

<Energy Absorption>

<Forced Weakness Curse>

<Rapid Growth – Thorn Grass>

<Burrowing>

<Thorn Explosion>

<Rapid Growth – Stomping Grass>

<Kicking>

<Wild Trampling>

Members who instantly recreated the techniques of wild, violent plant monsters that gentle pet plants raised in water bottles could never dream of, starting from seeds!

As upper-class students who had survived the harsh academy, their skill in handling plants was truly remarkable.

“Gisaesaeng.”

“Gashishishit.”

“Ttubeobeobuck.”

“Waaaaah!”

The baby Mandragora that had been rampaging as if no one could stop it couldn’t avoid struggling.

One root visibly withered.

The small roots bled sap from thorn wounds.

It couldn’t properly resist even when the large feet of the stomping grass trampled it while blocking kicks aimed at the water bottle with its body.

The baby Mandragora was helplessly suffering from the violent combined attack, almost pitifully.

“Why won’t this thing fall down?!”

“Its stamina is too strong!”

“Captain, what do we do about this?!”

It was meaningless if it was getting beaten enthusiastically but wouldn’t collapse.

[10. 9. 8]

The countdown was even racing toward its end!

Orcatch gritted his teeth and opened his pouch containing expensive rare materials.

“Everyone block your noses!”

<Paralysis Powder>

<Sleep Powder>

<Confusion Powder>

Orcatch scattered the powders he had grabbed by the handful and swiftly deployed combination magic.

<Seed Scattering>

<Target Designation: Powder Dispersal>

<Resistance Weakening Curse>

<Medicinal Enhancement>

<Forced Amplification>

A combination technique that increased the probability of the opponent being afflicted with status ailments and mercilessly amplified any status ailments once contracted!

The baby Mandragora’s roots, which had stood firm even against the 4-on-1 group violence, drooped powerlessly.

They did it.

Now they just had to grab the water bottle and all escape within 5 seconds.

It was the moment Orcatch was certain of victory.

[Kyaaaaaaaaaak!!!]

“Aaaaah!!! It’s the Death Scream!!!”

“We’re done for!!! The physical attacks were the Mandragora’s trick to make us release our defenses!!!”

“Euheng!!! I don’t want to die!!!”

Members crying and screaming with tears and snot flowing!

Orcatch, who had been just as mentally dizzy and horrified that this was really serious trouble like the members, noticed that something was different.

If it were a real Mandragora’s scream, they wouldn’t have the leisure to make such a fuss as if the world was ending.

They’d collapse with a squawk, foam at the mouth, and faint.

This wasn’t a Mandragora’s scream.

Didn’t the sound also strangely resemble a human girl’s scream?

“Get a grip! This is Oknodie’s trick. It’s not a Mandragora’s scream!”

“Huh? We didn’t get paralyzed even after hearing the scream?”

“Blood isn’t flowing from our ears either.”

“They said it was a scream that kills if you feel pity, so why are we alive? Gasp. Don’t tell me someone took my virginity while I was sleeping?!”

“Get your head straight, you crazy bastard!”

“Ah! I came to my senses. I came to, so stop hitting me!”

Orcatch smacked the back of the head of the guy who was talking nonsense from being too severely confused.

He didn’t know why, but if it wasn’t a real scream, he just had to kidnap the Mandragora as planned.

This time for sure, as Orcatch reached for the Mandragora, he felt a chill at the sound in his ear.

[Countdown zero. Activating lock mechanism. Activating barrier. Activating multiple defense systems. Activating voice message.]

The countdown had ended.

At the same time, the spells densely carved inside the dormitory began activating one by one.

[Hestia! Did you forget the security spell and enter the room again? You’re really careless. But since you’re an intruder, I won’t forgive you easily.]

[If you’re really Hestia, you should remember what the lunch menu was on May 15th when we ate together, right? I’ll forgive you if you give the correct answer.]

“No way, I can barely remember what I ate yesterday, how could I remember such an old cafeteria menu?!”

“Captain. What do we do about this?”

“It’s just a first-year’s trap anyway, so let’s just break through with force, Captain. Just like the scream was fake, the countdown and the spells appearing now are probably all fake too.”

“It’s not fake.”

“What?”

Orcatch’s hands trembled.

“When I was an ignorant second-year, I once tried to break into a professor’s research lab to steal experimental materials. The security spells I saw then were similar to this level.”

The sophistication of the spells had already surpassed third-year level.

This was fourth-year knowledge level.

“These are spells I can’t break with my skills.”

He couldn’t break the spells.

He didn’t know the answer.

There was only one possible outcome.

“Then what do we do?”

“What do you mean what do we do. We’re already trapped. We have to stay here until the room’s owner returns.”

“Gasp!”

“And that’s with a Mandragora that’s gotten really angry because of us…”

“Heooook!!!”

Tears welled up in the members’ eyes.