chapter_0123

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
123

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
123

There had never been a failure
in using the purification strategy with the Saint in the game Soul
Academy.

The Saint, as a character, was
incredibly overpowered in these scenarios.

Veterans would often avoid
using the Saint in their party because it made the game too easy.

Knowing how much purification
can be achieved even with the initial Saint, it’s shocking to see
Phoebe fail at this moment.

Phoebe isn’t someone who would
trip up at this point.

So, this is an anomaly.

An anomaly that doesn’t exist
in the game.

An anomaly that has endlessly
tormented me until now.

But, maybe because the things
that have troubled me so far have been so outrageous?

This level of anomaly almost
seems cute.

Right?

It’s just that I won’t be able
to freeload this time.

We’re not in imminent danger
of death.

We’re not at risk of failing
the quest and facing serious consequences.

Our reputation isn’t at risk
of being ruined due to distorted relationships with other NPCs.

Plus, this is an anomaly I can
fully manage right now.

There’s no reason to panic.

Blocking the incoming magic
projectiles with my shield, I engraved the image of the spell-casting
dragon in my mind and asked Grandpa.

‘Grandpa! What do you think
went wrong?’

The first thing to check is
whether it’s impossible to freeload.

If it’s simply Phoebe making
a mistake, then we just need to hold out until she finishes her
prayer again.

‘What?’

The most important thing when
dealing with divine magic is faith.

The belief that a miracle will
occur by reciting one’s prayer.

This is also why handling
divine magic was easy for me.

It’s because I came from
outside this world.

Knowing that using divine
magic would definitely yield results, I never doubted it.

‘Are you saying Phoebe
doubted the miracle?’

Phoebe doubted the miracle.
She doubted Armadi.

She believed she couldn’t
purify the dragon’s spirit.

The impact of these words was
not light.

Grandpa had mentioned this
last time.

That Phoebe might be wavering.

When I heard that, I thought
Phoebe would naturally overcome it.

Because that’s how it was in
the game.

She was someone who never
broke down no matter what crisis she faced, always ending with a
smile.

But that was my foolish
illusion.

Phoebe was wavering.

She doubted herself.

She lost the ability to
believe in miracles.

How could such a thing happen
to the Saint?

What on earth occurred in her
heart?

Ha. Something that never
happened in the game is happening now, and my mind is drawing a
blank.

Let’s think.

Destroying that lizard flying
in the sky isn’t that difficult.

If freeloading doesn’t work,
we just stick to the basics.

The various tools I bought
through Alsatine last time to hunt that lizard are still sitting in
my inventory.

If I throw them at every
opportunity and deliver a few critical hits when it falls, we should
be able to catch it, right?

But it doesn’t feel right.
Phoebe doesn’t believe in herself right now.

In this situation, if we hunt
that lizard without her, she’d just think she’s a burden who gets
rewards without doing anything.

The Phoebe I know isn’t
someone whose self-esteem would hit rock bottom, but the Phoebe I
know wouldn’t have failed in the first place?!

So, I need to rethink things.

The Phoebe here isn’t the
NPC Phoebe I know.

This is the real Phoebe.

I don’t know what she’s
thinking.

The best way is to make her
overcome it herself.

To help Phoebe believe in
miracles again, I need to lift her up.

If Phoebe’s self-esteem
starts to collapse now, who knows what might happen later!

It’s troubling to think that
the real trial hasn’t even begun yet!

I don’t know if it will
work, and the path might be harder and more challenging than the
standard approach, but it has to be done.

Well. So what? For a veteran
like me, this is nothing.

The situation is better than
when I got smashed to pieces by Nacrad, so there’s no reason to
give up.

Let’s just think of it as
new content.

Wow, reality online updates
fast for sure.

But, dear admin.

I have a suggestion.

Could you update things a bit
more user-friendly?

I’m afraid all the users
might burst and die at this rate!

Now then.

How should I go about this?

The end of my pondering came
quickly.

My method is a simple one.

The Mesugaki way.

“Cowardly Saint!♡”

I’m not very good at
comforting people.

Nor am I good at instilling
confidence.

I also don’t really know how
to boost someone’s morale.

But there is one thing I am
good at.

Making people angry.

“Did you fail?!♡ Hah♡ As
expected of the Sloppy Saint of Armadi!♡ Armadi or Saint, you’re
both the same!♡ The teachings of the sloppy Armadi must be to cause
trouble!♡”

“No, they’re not!”

Phoebe shouted back at me,
provoked.

Phoebe’s face turned bright
red as she raised her voice, a sight rarely seen.

Maybe she can endure insults
towards herself, but she can’t tolerate any taunts against Armadi.

“Not true?♡ It sure looks
that way to me!♡ Sloppy♡ Coward♡ A useless burden♡”

“Correct yourself! Even if
not for me, Armadi is never lacking in any way!”

As I avoided and blocked the
dragon’s attacks to buy time, the dragon closed its mouth and
extended its wings again.

A brief moment of respite,
after which the patterns will continue.

Let’s conclude this while the
dragon is calm.

I can’t continue arguing with
Phoebe indefinitely when the dragon’s aggression might shift any
moment.

“Then prove it♡ Prove that
you’re not a Sloppy Saint of the sloppy Armadi♡”

The word ‘prove’ made
Phoebe falter. Even while she was angry, the fact that her words
faltered meant she truly lacked confidence.

No wonder she failed at
praying.

“You can’t, right?♡ You
have no confidence, right?♡ Isn’t that so?♡ What can you do,
Cowardly Saint♡”

“I…”

“A Saint like you must mean
the god you serve is the same♡ An enormous coward who stays silent
out of fear of the Evil God, right?♡ Just a worthless piece of
trash♡”

“Shut up, Lucy Allen! I can
do it!”

Yeah. That’s it.

If she lacks confidence, just
provoke her until she gets it.

Oh. Maybe it’s more about
getting her angry than confident?

Whatever.

Aren’t they practically the
same?

As long as it gets the job
done.

Phoebe turned back towards the
dragon, which was opening its mouth rather than attacking us
directly.

“Hey there♡ Stone Snake
Head♡ No brains and no eyes, huh?♡ How could you not even manage
a single wound?♡ Truly pathetic♡ Utter trash♡ To think such a
thing is a boss, even the Academy professors must be out of their
minds♡”

‘Oh dear. There’s no way
that person is an Apostle of Armadi!

Someone who claims to be
chosen by the god wouldn’t dare insult their god!

I heard Lady Allen had
improved a lot, but that’s not true at all!

She hasn’t changed a bit
from when she caused chaos in the Church!

The nerve to call Armadi…
that!’

Phoebe bit her lip hard.

A moment ago, Phoebe had
failed to recite the purification prayer.

It wasn’t due to a lack of
divine energy or because the spirit’s malevolence was too strong.

The failure occurred because
Phoebe doubted that a miracle would happen, causing the prayer to
collapse halfway through.

Until now, Phoebe had never
once doubted that Armadi would perform a miracle.

It’s only natural for the god
to perform miracles.

And as the Saint chosen by the
god, it was her duty to succeed in invoking those miracles.

Perhaps that’s why she was
so weak against the doubt that surged within her heart.

Having never faced such doubt
before, she couldn’t prevent it from spreading.

After failing the prayer, her
heart was filled with dark emotions.

A sense of guilt toward her
party members who had brought her this far.

Disappointment in herself.

Doubts about whether she was
truly fit to bear the title of Saint. All those emotions clumped
together to form a murky darkness.

Just as Phoebe was collapsing
under the weight of self-reproach, Lucy called out to her.

And she provoked her.

By insulting the name of
Armadi.

Phoebe, who could endure
insults directed at herself but never insults toward her god, felt
fury like never before.

When she regained her senses,
she found herself in a position where she had to prove herself.

Yet, Phoebe did not find this
strange at all.

Her heart, now inflamed with a
fiery resolve, could only focus on the task ahead.

‘I must do it.

Absolutely.

I have to succeed in the
purification prayer and knock Lucy Allen down a peg!

I must make that haughty
woman, who has grown arrogant from receiving God’s favour,
acknowledge the greatness of Armadi!’

Phoebe, shouting this
inwardly, clasped her hands together.

But in that moment, a flicker
of doubt crossed her mind.

‘Can I really do this?

I failed just a moment ago.

Can I be sure it will be
different this time?’

The blackness began to eat
away at her heart stained with red.

Learned helplessness quickly
drags a person down into a pit.

As the strength in her clasped
hands began to wane…

“Useless Saint!♡ Not
done yet?♡ Slow and incompetent just like that sloppy Armadi!♡”

Phoebe’s heart once again
turned red with anger.

‘That’s right. This isn’t
about whether I can or can’t do it.

I have to do this to keep
Armadi’s name from being insulted!’

Phoebe tightened her fingers
again and prayed silently with her eyes closed.

She was perfect in her
recitation.

The purification prayer was
one she had repeated hundreds, if not thousands of times.

There was no way she could be
unfamiliar with a prayer she had memorised long ago.

“The reason the dead
remain on this earth is…”

Fueled by her determination to
bring Lucy down a notch, Phoebe kept praying, even as she saw what
was happening right in front of her.

A tiny girl was teasing the
dragon flying in the sky, laughing all the while.

“Where are you aiming?♡
Is there a ghost?♡ Eek!♡ So scary~♡”

‘How can she do that to a
giant dragon that could crush her with one hand?

Does fear even exist for her?’

Watching the scene, Phoebe
clenched her teeth.

‘She’s brave enough to face
a dragon like that, so if I fail again, we all know what she’ll say.

I can’t afford to fail.

Failure is not an option.

I will prove that Armadi can
perform miracles!’

As her hesitation in her heart
slowly disappeared, Phoebe’s prayer pace quickened.

By the time the dragon stopped
spewing flames, Phoebe had successfully completed her prayer.

‘Lady Allen!

Just watch.

This is the miracle of Armadi
that you dismissed!’

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