Ch.85Magical VR

“Speaking of which, have you finished preparing for the banquet? It’s about ten days away now, so it’s probably time to start thinking about it.”

“…Ten days?”

“The banquet celebrating the restoration of the islands. It says it’s in ten days—haven’t you received your invitation yet? Or perhaps you haven’t seen it while reading your other letters?”

Frider van Faelrun shrugged.

A commemorative banquet in ten days? Has the restoration work progressed enough to hold such an event already? I thought it would take at least another month…

“I don’t want to go… Do I really have to attend?”

“Well, I suppose you must? All the nobles in the islands would have been invited. And you’re the main figure in this whole affair.”

Right. Let’s go.

I can just refuse dance requests and stand in a corner.

Fortunately, as a knight, it seemed acceptable to attend in uniform rather than a dress.

As if to say, treat me as a knight, not a lady. Though it seems I’ll be regarded as peculiar either way.

When I returned to check, the invitation was indeed there.

It was quite naturally buried among other letters.

No wonder I hadn’t noticed it.

Who can I blame? I was the one who had piled all the received letters in a corner.

—-

Four days later.

I attended a lecture after a long absence.

I wouldn’t have bothered coming, but I was very curious about what the “Virtual Monster Combat Training” listed on today’s syllabus would entail.

Honestly, how could I resist a VR lecture?

The number of students had decreased considerably. Perhaps around sixty or seventy remained.

Even excluding the priest candidates working at shelters, many seats were empty.

Did they quit? Well, that’s understandable.

The reality of combat they faced was quite different from their expectations.

It wouldn’t be strange if some couldn’t handle the PTSD.

Rather, those who remained must have exceptionally strong willpower.

Though they still stirred a bit when they saw me.

“Those guys are still glancing at me. Aren’t they scared? I’ve almost fully recovered my strength now.”

“Well, they’re probably used to your face by now. It’s different from when they were too scared to even look at you properly.”

Demian explained the reason.

Before, they couldn’t even see my face properly because of my aura and gaze, so they just felt fear…

But now they already know what I look like.

So even if my aura or gaze becomes strong again, they’ll first see my appearance that remains in their memory, so they won’t particularly feel fear.

“Besides, Haschal, your atmosphere has changed a bit since then.”

Millia added.

Unlike my previous murderous appearance, my overall atmosphere seems to have softened lately.

I understood what she meant.

The aura of murder Karma that used to leak uncontrollably has subsided.

Since becoming aware of Karma, I’ve been able to naturally contain that power.

In other words, I’ll always be followed by such gazes in the academy now…

At least as long as I don’t deliberately show killing intent.

Still, it’s better than when I appeared completely weak.

Unlike then, these gazes were closer to admiration or awe rather than lust.

Right. I should get used to it.

Think positively. Admiration is better than lust or disgust, isn’t it?

—-

Shortly after, Professor Carlain Fernandez entered and began the lecture.

“Today’s lecture, as previously announced, is experiential training to prepare for combat against monsters. With the academy’s policy changes, you officers also need to become more familiar with monster subjugation earlier.”

That’s true.

First-years are still untrained forces, so it would be risky to deploy them immediately.

Even if they’re just assisting second-years… you never know what might happen in unpredictable combat situations.

“However, given the current circumstances, it’s difficult to implement practical training right away. Therefore, after discussion, the academy has decided to introduce a new teaching method. That is virtual experience training. It’s training that uses illusion-type mental magic to experience combat similar to actual situations. The magic department has put in a lot of effort.”

Professor Carlain held up a magical device that resembled a helmet.

“MT-V. The formal name is Manipulate Tantibus-Visor. The effect of this magical device is… to forcibly put the wearer into a sleep state and make them dream a predetermined nightmare. Additionally, with dream-viewing magic, we plan to observe and evaluate your responses. I’ve been told the pain sensation has been reduced just in case, so fight without fear.”

The professor pointed to a large white cloth hanging behind him.

It was a cloth with an empty center and various magical formulas densely written in each corner.

“I argued that training for combat against werebeasts was more necessary than monsters… but unfortunately, this was rejected.”

What’s unfortunate about that?

Trying to make students who are still experiencing werewolf PTSD fight against werebeasts already?

Are you aiming for all academy students to resign?

“Rather than explaining with words, experiencing it directly would be faster. We will conduct training in student number order and carry out evaluation and analysis. And… Aishan-Gioro Princess is exempted.”

What?

Why am I the only one exempted? I wanted to try it too.

“May I ask the reason for the exemption?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Mental attack magic won’t work on someone with mana resistance.”

Ah, that’s right…

Since it’s essentially magic that incapacitates and inflicts nightmarish pain… it would be blocked.

I had to accept it.

“We didn’t even prepare enemy models for master-level warriors. The enemy models prepared today are trolls, ogres, and small monster species, so it would be meaningless training for the princess.”

“…I understand.”

I felt a bit disappointed.

I was quite looking forward to it. An isekai-style VR experience.

…Well, I guess I’ll just watch Demian and Millia’s battles.

—-

The training that began was quite a bizarre sight to watch from a distance.

A student wearing a glowing helmet lay on a mat placed in front of the hall, groaning and twitching.

Other students were quietly focusing on the screen behind.

The dream content was vividly projected onto the huge cloth positioned at the back.

It felt like watching a movie or game footage.

In a dark cave, a person who looked exactly like the lying student was fighting monsters.

The pattern was that whenever an enemy was defeated, a new one would appear from the other side of the cave.

First a troll, then an ogre. I guess monsters come after that… but no student had gotten that far yet.

Most were folded in half while fighting trolls, and the rest were torn apart by ogres.

“Aaaaargh!”

A student whose neck was ripped off by an ogre suddenly sat up. The magical device that stopped working blinked.

“Huff… huff…!”

The student who removed the helmet was breathing heavily while touching his neck.

As if not yet recovered from the fear of a near-death experience.

…Is this okay? I heard they reduced the pain, but the psychological shock seems quite significant.

“Good work. Return to your seat.”

“Yes…”

The student who slowly got up returned to his seat.

He was staggering a bit, but his heartbeat and breathing were gradually stabilizing.

Hmm… that seems fine. I guess students who couldn’t handle this would have quit already.

“Your handling of the troll was excellent. However, just because ogres don’t have regenerative abilities doesn’t mean their vitality is weak, so don’t let your guard down.”

Professor Carlain gave a brief evaluation. An accurate critique.

In the case of trolls, he fought cautiously, wary of their regenerative abilities, but against the ogre, he let his guard down after inflicting a fatal wound and was caught.

“Next is Demian. Come forward.”

“Yes!”

It’s finally Demian’s turn. Now we’ll see something worth watching.

Demian, wearing the helmet, lay down on the mat.

—-

– Crack!

Rock fragments flew up.

The wall scraped by the greatsword crumbled, sending fierce sparks flying.

The troll’s roar echoed throughout the cave, but it was neither a battle cry nor an angry howl.

Rather, it was closer to a scream driven by fear, like animals barking fiercely when they sense a threat.

Having lost its weapon at the first attack, and then one leg the next moment.

“Graaaaargh!”

The troll’s right arm swung with a shout, cutting through empty air.

The thick gray forearm brushed past Demian’s eyes.

Demian, who avoided the attack by rotating half a turn, swung down his greatsword as naturally as flowing water.

A fountain of blood spurted as the troll’s wrist fell to the floor.

The greatsword that was about to embed itself in the ground traced another arc, led by Demian’s rotation.

Continuously, without interruption. Just as Frider had advised.

Like chopping vegetables with a well-sharpened knife, the troll’s arm was cut into pieces.

Screams mixed with the rising blood vortex.

Still, the painful time wouldn’t have been long.

The next moment, its neck flew off.

“Excellent.”

The students nodded at Professor Carlain’s muttered comment.

Taking down a troll with just four attacks, and completely one-sided at that.

Not a bad achievement.

“Grooooowl……”

The ogre didn’t last long either.

Being physically superior to the troll, there was some back-and-forth.

But it was meaningless.

The ogre, having lost its limbs, sank with a death cry.

Demian swung his greatsword to shake off the blood clinging to the blade.

The only injury he sustained was from being deflected while trying to block an attack with the flat of his blade and colliding with the wall.

So now, finally, the monster?

Since they said it’s a small species, it probably won’t be much.

Eventually, the background of the dream completely changed.