episode_0042

Ether is the ‘force for existence.’

Almighty energy coming down from the sky.

The force that binds us to exist in this world.

It naturally exists anytime, anywhere, and is present in everything.

Living and non-living, living and dead.

Ether must exist in anything.

Ether is one of the energies that forms the basis of everything since the world was born from the primordial flame.

In terms of yin and yang, it has the energy of yang. So ether is basically red. Because it is an energy that contains the polar yang, only women who can accommodate the polar yang energy develop high etheric aptitude.

‘Among them, the place where girls with higher ether aptitude than others gather is … That was the setting.’

There are also individual differences in whether or not one can handle it well, but at the very least, only girls with aptitude for ether can withstand the high ether atmospheric concentration of .

“… ”

To be honest, it can be said that it is a game setting created to justify the use of swords and magic by pretty girls. But because it has become a reality here, the ether has become a natural law and truth.

‘Ether is the flow of fate, life force, energy, object of faith, and omnipotent energy… Isn’t this a very convenient setting? You can make anything and just add the word ‘ether’ to it.’

I smiled bitterly as I remembered Academy City’s blind attitude toward accepting ether.

Perhaps because I lived in a world where the omnipotent substance called ether did not exist in my past life, I did not feel that my life would be in danger even if it did not exist right away. However, for them, ether is the truth that connects life, and even fate and existence.

That’s why my juniors held me and cried for a long time as the ether turned out to be empty. It was like the eyes of baby birds looking at their sick mother bird.

“Senior… ?”

“Senior… ”

“Senior comrade… ”

I felt gloomy when I saw it. It was more about the sorrowful voices of my juniors than about the ether depletion situation, for which all measures had already been taken.

‘ah… Why do we have a machine that measures in proportions… This looks like a tear-jerking show again… ‘You scolded me.’

After all, the machine Maya brought was a machine that measures the depletion rate. To put it bluntly, that machine treats the 1% of electricity remaining in an industrial power plant and the 1% of electricity remaining in a portable battery the same way.

‘I’ll bring a machine that measures in absolute values… The kids are going to cry again… ‘

I’ve already seen it countless times over the past week.

There was no way my ominous predictions were wrong.

Albit seemed to be in disbelief, moving his brown eyes non-stop and breaking into a cold sweat. Moisture was already flowing from those eyes.

“Senior… More than a corpse… That’s not good… ?”

“Ahaha―☆ It’s too much♪”

“Well, that can’t be possible… ”

Then Lotta raised the fur on the cat’s ears and shouted. She also had tears in her eyes.

“Albit!! Don’t say anything sinister!! There’s no way your senior could die!!”

“Mi… sorry. I was short-thinking… ”

“Hey, guys over there? Don’t fight―☆”

Without any time for me to intervene, Kara lifted me into a princess hug. I felt like Kara would get hurt if I shook her off like this, so I had no choice but to resist by timidly tapping my arm.

Knock, knock―☆

“Hey―♪ Kara~ What should I do if my senior suddenly gives me a princess hug―☆ No matter how much of a princess I am… ”

“I have to quickly go to my room and lie down!! Don’t worry, I’ll take you there-!!”

“That… My physical condition is getting better-☆ Now, it would be difficult to treat it like I’m about to die♪”

“Yap.”

Maya held the ether depletion rate meter to my face once again. And then the damn machine let out five loud beeps.

Beep beep beep beep

“Ahh?! No!!”

“Senior!! You can’t be sick!!”

“I have to move to my room quickly!!”

“Ward… We need a ward, dammit!! That’s right in this damn school!! My senior is so sick, and there is no ward to lie down in!!”

“I won’t die☆ I won’t die―☆”

I tried to calm my juniors in a chaotic situation, but I was ignored.

The juniors seemed to have heard the warning sound of the ether depletion meter as if it were the footsteps of a reaper, so they hurriedly tried to pick me up and move me to the dormitory. Before we knew it, Maya had become a cold meal. The juniors had already completely forgotten her existence.

I desperately tried to bring the juniors’ attention back to Maya.

“Guys~☆ First, let’s listen to Maya! Aren’t you curious what happened? Oh my! Should I tell you a surprising fact?☆ Maya has actually been with me since first grade… ”

“Senior, I understand, so please lie down!!”

“You don’t have to say any more!!”

“… ”

However, Maya seemed to be rather intrigued by the hysterical reaction, as she silently followed me to the dormitory and pressed the machine to my head. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her act like this with others.

“Yap.”

“Maya, what are you doing―☆”

“It may have been measured incorrectly.”

Beep beep beep beep

“Stop it really―☆ That’s right~♡”

“Yap.”

“Ahaha―♡ I think Maya is T―☆”

Beep beep beep beep

“Hmm, let’s try one more time.”

“Yes―☆ I have decided♡ Maya, you will be scolded♡ later―☆”

“Yap.”

Beep beep beep beep

As the warning sound continues to sound, the cries of the juniors also become stronger.

“Senior!!!”

“Senior!!!”

“Senior comrade—!!”

A sorrowful call.

But really, I’m fine.

No matter how much I say, they won’t believe me.

I’ll be amazed.

It was as if Yuk-sun was constantly suspected of having the will to rebel against Sun-gwon. Was this the frustration of not being believed no matter how much you said no?

‘No… It’s not okay to bring the concerns of our cute juniors to Son Jeri… ‘

Eventually, I gave up resisting and was locked up in my room, wrapped tightly in a blanket. Nearby, juniors brought chairs and were keeping a close watch.

“Ahaha… This is what happens in the end―☆”

“Now, you must never move until your body is completely healed, senior.”

“I’ll just bring the rice… No, I’ll just feed it to you. If you say ah, you can eat it, right? I’ll let you touch your ears too, so you have to be quiet?”

Lotta’s kind consideration.

Just listening to it made me feel like crying.

But Kara was looking at it with suspicious eyes.

“… Aren’t you both just doing what you want to do?”

“What are you talking about!!”

“Comrade Lotta is something… Pretending to be considerate, but secretly projecting one’s maternal desires… It’s so blatant… ”

“Shaaagh――!!”

“Okay, so don’t fight―☆”

It was only after I lay down that the atmosphere finally calmed down.

Maya, who was watching it, said it was an interesting research result and offered to deliver the items directly from to the dormitory.

Kara was once a student at , so she asked if she would help Maya, but was refused. Maya was extremely self-paced and didn’t care about such things.

Tooung-

A large equipment case placed in the hallway of the dormitory building.

“… ”

I had a question as I watched Maya walking back and forth carrying her luggage alone.

‘But as the head of the facility engineering department, it’s a busy time, so why did you come here yourself?’

Including the time when I collapsed, more than three weeks have already passed since the new student welcome party at . Now that it is past mid-April, large schools are busy preparing for students’ midterm exams and events.

‘Even if does not have the rigid atmosphere it used to have, school events will still be run thoroughly… ‘

But I couldn’t ask Maya because she was busy bringing the metal equipment case into my room and unfolding it.

Slam!

A metal case large enough for me to crouch down opened. There was equipment there made with ether conductive ore that I farmed during my first year.

‘In terms of games, it’s a top tier product… It would be okay to not change weapons for a while. I skipped the intermediate farming process, but I’m glad I have an excuse.’

At the beginning of the semester, it was difficult to explain how the ore was obtained, and there was no place to entrust the production to, so I expected to hand over the products until a long time later. However, thanks to the turbulent events of the past, we were able to make it happen quickly.

An equipment unboxing event that unexpectedly took place in my room.

The first thing I took out was…

Arbit’s straight sword was probably the most difficult to make.

Albit spoke this time in a voice trembling with excitement.

“Three… On top. this… Isn’t this a weapon made from extremely pure ore?”

“Yes―♪ I asked Maya to make me the ether conductor ore I got when I was a freshman―☆”

“I didn’t make it, but I paid some money to ask the students in the materials engineering department to do it. If you are grateful to me, I will accept it.”

“Yes? ah… yes. Thank you, Maya… ”

“Uh, yes.”

nod

So I calmly received thanks from Arbit.

Maya holds a flask containing an energy drink in her mouth.

There’s definitely nothing strange… It was a strangely upsetting sight.

“… ”

I opened my mouth because I was dumbfounded by the situation.

“Maya you… ☆”

“Why? That’s right.”

“… ”

“They even delivered it like this.”

“Ugh♪”

Maya was like this.

‘Well, I wish this troublesome kid would deliver it all the way here… It’s amazing. How on earth did I become friends with this guy? I don’t know either.’

Albit could not pay any attention to Maya and was staring blankly while holding a luxurious long sword with a dark red glow.

It was a very sturdy sword. A specially processed ether conductor for use in ether applications. It was of a completely different quality from the practice weapons of that Albit had used so far.

‘Actually, what we used was… It’s just a club made from melted conductor ore debris… ‘

A dark red blade.

Intricately crafted etheric circuitry.

Simple, yet functional and elegant.

Albit stared at the elegant shape of the long sword for a long time. Then, he quietly pulled up the ether and tested it.

Paaah!

As expected of a high-quality product, a dark red blade that connects to the ether in a very stable manner. Now that he has stably entered the second stage, [Vibration Ether], and has built up his proficiency, he resonates with the world in an instant. A threatening force was felt from the blade.

Albit looked at his sword while making an ecstatic voice.

“Wow, really… It’s really good… This is… really… and… It connects so quickly and smoothly… ?”

Muttering frantically.

Albit tries to explain how good a weapon this is.

It was nice to see the red cheeks and crooked eyes.

“Cluck… ♪”

I felt like I was seeing a gaming fanatic receiving the latest smartphone or graphics card as a gift. For a while, I only saw him burning with responsibility, but seeing Arbit excited like a child for the first time in a long time made me laugh.

‘It’s already been amazing how quickly you’ve gotten stronger these days, so I’m glad it was a good gift.’

And the equipment cases keep opening.

Lotta and Kara were each impressed by the items they received.

“This is a gift for you too―☆”

“This is… !”

“Senior comrade… !”

“It’s late now that it’s mid-April, but… Congratulations on being admitted to ―♪ This is a congratulatory gift from me☆ Hehe, it’s okay to shed tears of emotion while being hugged by this senior―☆”

I spoke in a somewhat exaggerated tone, draped over a blanket, and dozing off.

Since Lotta already had a wand distributed by the prestigious magic book , he received a specially made cape that could connect the magic book and equipment. And what Kara was holding in her hand was a glaive-shaped spear blade that could be inserted into the end of a flag.

Cape and spear blade.

Both items required fewer materials than the long sword Albit received.

‘If I had enough materials, I would have made some armor, but… I neglected farming when I was in first grade… ‘

I was worried that my juniors might feel relatively deprived, so I covered myself with a blanket and watched them.

sense…

“… ”

“… ”

“… ?”

For some reason, both Lothar and Kara had their heads down.

Oh my…

I hurriedly tried to make an excuse to the two people.

It was that moment.

Again…

Knock…

Lotta and Kara’s shoulders were trembling, and water droplets were falling one by one on the floor where their heads were lowered. And the irregular breathing sounds.

They were crying.

“Black… ”

“Ugh… ”

“Uh, uh-☆ What’s going on♪”

I rolled up the blanket like a caterpillar and crawled towards Lotta and Kara. Then the two began to wail as they hugged the large bug.

“Senior… !”

Albit, who saw this, also joined the bug catching team and began to shed tears.

“Huh? Oh wow-☆ What’s going on?! Maybe you don’t like it―☆”

A tear-filled show that started suddenly.

Three people crying as if the sky was about to leave.

It was my first time seeing my juniors cry so sadly.

I could only remain frozen with my eyes wide open.

“… We get along well.”

Maya chuckled as she looked at that.

＊

A tear-filled show that lasted for a long time.

When it calmed down, the juniors each said they would wash their faces and come back.

A room where only Maya and I were left.

“… ”

“… ”

Maya was quietly sipping an energy drink from a flask. She didn’t even ask anything about the [Faded Spiral] and just hung around like she was on vacation.

I took a quick look.

sense…

‘however… I think I made more ore than I originally gave you.’

Looking at the opened cases, in addition to the items received directly from the juniors, various miscellaneous practice weapons were additionally made.

‘Given Maya’s personality, I don’t think she would take on a task she wasn’t asked to do… ‘

I opened my mouth cautiously.

“Geun, but what are those things―☆”

“What.”

“That… I don’t think the ore I gave you was that much―☆”

“Ah… I made this roughly because I had leftover ether conductor ore.”

“Huh?”

“The demons and furists suddenly unlocked all the low-level ether conductor mines, so low-level products were left in stock. In addition, as soon as we made this, weapons production at was stopped, so all miscellaneous requests are being directed to .”

“Oh my… ☆”

“ Since the Materials Engineering Department couldn’t handle it, they even told the Facilities Engineering Department to produce weapons. So I made the excuse of delivery and ran away from Skadi. Please let me sleep for a few days.”

“Ara la la… ☆”

Something…

Something was happening.