chapter_0218
by adminMesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
218
Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
218
I was already aware that
Professor Luca treats students like Gacha tickets.
But there’s something that
hasn’t been mentioned yet: how Professor Luca is perceived by the
players.
Surprisingly, players treat
Luca in a similar way to how he treats students.
Gacha.
From the moment you’re
involved with him, the risks skyrocket, but so do the returns.
If you want to go for
high-stakes gameplay, he’s someone you have to deal with at least
once.
If you see complaints on the
bulletin board, about a quarter of them are about him.
That’s the essence of who Luca
is.
Luca continuously presents
crises to the players.
He might throw you into a
dangerous dungeon, or cause a tragic accident, creating sudden
encounters.
In a game with limited time
for growth, more encounters mean higher growth limits, which is
something players would welcome.
The problem is when a crisis
that can’t be solved appears.
For example, that dungeon
where the Alchemist appeared*. (*Entrance exam dungeon)
I had memorised all the
information about that dungeon, but I couldn’t conquer it. At that
time, it wasn’t a dungeon I could conquer.
All I could do was find a way
to survive by hanging on as best as I could.
Even then, I almost died, and
only narrowly escaped with my life thanks to being leashed by Armadi.
From the moment you get
involved with Luca, players have to go through situations like this
repeatedly.
When you’ve just saved, but
then Luca throws an impossible challenge at you.
And your previous save?
It’s ages ago.
Do you know what that feels
like?
I do.
Because when I had the grand
goal of creating the highest-ranking characters for each job, I dealt
endlessly with Professor Luca.
I even posted a guide on
events you can encounter when meeting Professor Luca, I spent so much
time with that bastard.
I have his behavioural
patterns memorised perfectly.
That’s why I’m grateful Luca
is exactly like his in-game counterpart.
If Luca’s the same as he is in
the game, I can predict his actions.
After countless attempts, I
managed to control his actions even in a game with limited choices.
So, in reality, where I can pick any choice I want?
It was easy.
The blue light disappears, and
my surroundings become visible.
Trees, dried and stripped of
leaves.
Earth is so parched it’s
cracked.
The few scattered leaves on
the ground look like they’d turn to dust underfoot, and the air in
this death-filled forest is heavy and grim.
If Karl were here, he’d
definitely scream in terror.
Dead Forest.
Not a dungeon where a Petty
Evil God can interfere, but a field filled with various dangers.
He thought I had a Blessing
related to dungeons and chose a place where I couldn’t use it, but
I didn’t expect it to be here.
Lucky me.
“You’ve kept your
appointment well. I thought I’d have to wait longer.”
I turned my head at the voice
from behind, and there stood Professor Luca.
“Are you pretending to be
calm? Or did you anticipate this situation and remain calm?”
‘Should I act surprised for
you?’
“Why, you Pedophile Pervert.
Do you want to hear me scream? Puhaha. Then why don’t you just
confess? I’d have given you a scream full of my true feelings.”
Luca continued speaking,
pretending not to have heard my voice.
“I consider myself a
jeweller. Finding a shining gem and crafting it beautifully has been
my life’s purpose and aspiration. I have been doing this for so long
that I take great pride in the profession of gem crafting.”
A line I had heard somewhere
before.
It was a line I expected from
the moment he told me to accept his help.
Hearing that line, I couldn’t
help but smile, thinking things were falling into place.
Alright. Luca, you’re going to
say that a gem should obediently follow the jeweller’s touch now.
“A gem shouldn’t speak. It
must obediently follow the jeweller’s touch.”
Hahaha!
Yes, that’s more like it.
I’m someone who has inhabited
the decaying remnants of Soul Academy.
If I’ve planned something,
it’s only natural for it to fit together perfectly like this, right?
I wonder why things I didn’t intend always go wrong.
“A gem that adds its own
complaints is not needed by the jeweller. But, Lady Allen, the
radiance of the gem that you are is too bright to simply discard. So,
I’ve decided to test you. To see whether you have the ability to
craft yourself.”
Finishing his words, Luca
slowly took a step back.
“I promise you. If you show
results here, I will allow you to craft yourself.”
As he continued to step back,
his figure gradually became faint and then completely disappeared.
Thus, I was left alone in this
forest.
‘Yes.’
‘Similar, isn’t it?’
Usually, I would blame it on
Armadi without much thought, but not this time.
After all, the one who told
Professor Luca to test me was Armadi. I was merely following his
instructions diligently.
‘Not exactly…’
‘No. Not at all.’
I can state this with
certainty.
No matter what variables arise
from this situation, I won’t die.
How can I be so sure? You
wouldn’t carelessly throw away valuable equipment without any
preparation, would you?
The fact that Luca openly
revealed his intentions indicates just how much he desires to possess
me.
Whether I pass the test or
not, he wouldn’t let me die in such a shabby place.
Someday, he will prepare a
grand stage for strengthening and throw me into it.
Instead, if I fail this trial,
Luca will do something to my mind to manipulate me according to his
whims and to silence me.
That’s what happened in the
game.
Once he shows his true
intentions, he uses some spell to keep you quiet.
After using that, you can’t
refuse anything Luca says.
To counteract this, you need
mental skills or to seek out a well-versed NPC, and I have Fox by my
side.
Even if Luca tries something,
I can handle it.
‘Yes, a lot.’
Not only will I be able to
clear the quests given by the sloppy Armadi easily, but it will also
accelerate my growth.
A dungeon that’s difficult to
enter as a student. A region I shouldn’t be able to access at this
point. Combat experience gained through battles with the strong.
If I succeed in taking the
lead against Luca, I can pick and choose all of this to my liking.
Things I had to compromise on
after endless retries in the game, I can now choose freely.
Of course, Luca will interfere
and play dirty tricks along the way, but since it’s a quest given by
the sloppy Armadi, that’s something I’ll have to bear.
‘I know that, too.’
The answer to that is simple.
Survive.
Endure in this field until the
next morning.
This is what the in-game Luca
required of the user when he threw them in here, so it’s likely
similar this time.
‘Is that even a question?’
Things are already proceeding
according to my plan.
No interference from the petty
Evil God.
No adventurer variables, as
it’s a place people tend to avoid.
And the field is suited to my
strengths.
The main monsters appearing in
the Dead Forest are Evil Spirits.
Monsters possessed by Evil
Spirits. And the Undead.
Both are vulnerable to divine
energy.
And I am a Paladin and the
Apostle of the Armadi, who holds powerful divine energy.
‘I can do anything here.’
I’ve already confirmed my
current location.
If I want, I can escape from
here on my own and return to Soul Academy.
So what is there to worry
about?
Grandpa answered, letting out
a long sigh, and muttered that I should inform him beforehand when
planning such things.
‘Grandpa, you don’t even
have a heart.’
While I was chatting with
Grandpa, I felt an ominous presence approaching from afar.
Maybe because I spent the
entire vacation training with Grandpa on how to handle divine energy,
my body sharply sensed the deathly aura, which is opposite to divine
energy.
‘Yes.’
I took a deep breath and
spread divine energy from my heart throughout my body.
The basics of [Ruel’s Divine
Combat Arts] strengthening the body by circulating divine energy
through the blood.
While I’m not yet capable of
spreading divine energy to my fingertips like Grandpa and controlling
it with such precision, I can at least imitate him to a degree.
I felt vitality surging
through my body, now enhanced by divine energy.
Just like I’ve practised at
the Allen Family estate.
Seeing the ominous presence
recoiling as I exhaled divine energy, I smiled and prepared for
battle.
From my inventory, I took out
a shield and detached the mace, which I had shrunk and worn around my
neck, adjusting it to fit my hand.
Ideally, I would also put on
armour.
But it seems I don’t have the
luxury for that right now.
“Kieeeeek.”
Creatures desiring the life
force of the living revealed themselves.
These beings once frolicked
among the flowers in a beautiful forest. But as the forest became
filled with death, they transformed grotesquely just to survive.
Banshees.
I counted the gazes full of
foul greed with a smile.
Three of them. A good number
for a warm-up.
“Ew♡ They look
disgusting♡ They smell like corpses♡ Are these even fairies?♡
You might mistake the Fairy Queen for another banshee and exterminate
her too, huh?♡
Feeling power rising in my
body, one of the banshees charged at me.
These creatures were closer to
death than life. They were more like ghosts without a true physical
form.
Thus, they couldn’t be harmed
by conventional attacks, but that posed no problem for me.
A mace imbued with divine
energy does not let those who harbour death pass by unscathed.
Thunk!
With a satisfying sound, my
mace struck the banshee’s head, and its body disintegrated under the
impact.
This is a bit troublesome.
They’re just too weak. They
should at least serve as a proper warm-up.
Perhaps frightened by the
brutal destruction of their comrade, the banshees tried to retreat,
but I didn’t allow it.
“Where do you think
you’re going, old hags?♡ Running away because you’re embarrassed by
your wrinkled faces?♡ Puhaha♡ Sorry?♡ For being prettier than
you ugly monsters?♡”
They’re just experience points
to me! Where do you think you’re running off to!
Be my warm-up, then die
quietly!
Please support the series on
NovelUpdates
Read Here
for premium chapters
0 Comments