episode_0080

Chapter 80 – Turning Point

Crash! Bang bang bang!

Close-quarters combat class. As always, Alisa unleashed ferocious punches on me.

But what was different from usual was that her fists were so fast, and flew in such bizarre trajectories, that my defense struggled to keep up.

It was clearly different from before the break.

‘I thought so, and I was right.’

From the first time I saw her, I felt something was off about her momentum, and it turned out she had achieved enlightenment.

Of course, breaking through level 150 doesn’t necessarily grant a rise in stat efficiency or new unique skills, so there wouldn’t be much physical change. However, the development of her techniques alone significantly increased her combat power.

This is likely even more so because Alisa doesn’t rely on her physical body to begin with.

As I failed to keep up with her attacks and merely stubbornly maintained my guard, Alisa twisted one side of her mouth and smiled.

“Looks like you don’t have any leeway, huh? Why don’t you put in a little more effort? Before the break, you had that bored look in your eyes, didn’t you? Hm?”

The force striking my guard grew even stronger.

It seems she didn’t like that I was growing and trying to stand on the same level as her.

She deliberately didn’t finish, instead ‘massaging’ my entire body evenly. Just as I started to get annoyed, she changed her trajectory midway and slammed her fist into my chin.

Thwack!

My body tilted backward.

Perhaps my brain was rattled, as the whole world seemed to churn upside down before fading to black.

‘Damn it.’

*

What I saw when I regained consciousness wasn’t large breasts, but small, red lips.

“Huh?”

As I let out a small sound of bewilderment, the warmth pressing on my forehead moved away, and the lips distanced themselves.

Thus revealed was the Saintess, Iris.

She placed both hands firmly on her hips, frowned, and exclaimed.

“Did you eat something strange?”

“Huh?”

“Your body is in such a strange state! It feels like I’m examining a divine beast, not a person.”

“Ah…”

I wondered what was happening, but it seemed she had been examining me, having noticed the change in my body while treating me.

‘I thought she was kissing me again.’

If the Saintess had wanted it, I wouldn’t have actively responded out of conscience, but I would have gladly accepted.

As I clicked my tongue in regret, I suddenly remembered a question.

“But Saintess-nim. Didn’t you treat me last time? Didn’t you know back then?”

“Ah, during the attack? I didn’t treat you then.”

“Really?”

“Yes. When I arrived, the treatment was already finished. I only nursed you!”

Her attitude, implying I should have known that, made me feel unfairly treated.

“No, you said it as if you did it, didn’t you? When my older sister thanked you for treating me, you said it was nothing, and now you’re saying something else?”

“Ah! D-Did I do that? I don’t remember…”

“Is saying ‘I don’t know’ good enough? Then can I also touch Saintess-nim’s chest and say I don’t remember?”

“No, you can’t!”

“See? You’re only lenient with yourself.”

People are lenient with themselves and strict with others. This is an unavoidable instinct. But overtly showing it is morally wrong.

The Saintess couldn’t offer any rebuttal to my point and merely mumbled.

I offered a considerate joke.

“By the way, I didn’t know Saintess-nim also examined divine beasts.”

“Huh? Examine divine beasts?”

“I mean, didn’t you say my body condition was similar to a divine beast’s? Surely that’s not a lie too?”

As I glared, as if genuinely disappointed if it were a lie, the Saintess, still seated, jumped up and shook her head vigorously.

“Oh, no, it’s not! I spoke based on what’s written in ancient texts! And this is only possible because it’s me! You wouldn’t know unless you’re as skilled at handling divine power as I am!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

Since she said she only nursed me last time, I’d been worried if the priest who treated me then might have noticed my body’s condition, but it seems I can rest easy.

I decided to change the subject around this point.

“More importantly, Saintess-nim. I have a question.”

“Yes? What is it?”

The Saintess’s eyes sparkled, as if this was an opportunity to escape an unfavorable topic.

Pretending not to notice, I brought up my business.

“You said there were Possessors at the opening ceremony. Is there a way to root them out?”

“A way?”

“Yes. You said you know the future, but that alone isn’t enough to figure it out. If we also knew the future, we’d investigate and root out who intervened, but we don’t.”

In truth, it would be possible using Deborah’s precognitive eyes, but that secret is currently only known to Roxana and the Possessors, so the Church wouldn’t even think of utilizing her.

The Saintess nodded in understanding at the question and responded.

“That’s certainly true. Since the Witch of Starlight passed away 20 years ago, no owner of precognitive eyes has appeared.”

“Witch of Starlight?”

“Yes! You don’t know? She was a famous prophetess. Her accuracy rate was a whopping 90 percent. At one point, it was fashionable among noble families to predict the future of newborn children. Didn’t Ruan do it?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know.”

The original owner of this body was an extra, so such detailed settings weren’t provided.

I shrugged and asked another question.

“But Saintess-nim. Is there a reason you’ve revealed this about the Possessors now?”

“Hmm… The truth is, I’ve been searching since the first semester, but I haven’t been able to root out a single one. Plus, the Dark Church has slowly started to make their moves. If we can’t find them, I might as well prevent them from moving recklessly at all. Most importantly!”

“Most importantly?”

The Saintess, pausing once, extended her index finger and pointed it at me, exclaiming forcefully.

“If this happens, the future will change! Meaning it will be difficult for the Possessors to utilize information!”

Indeed, revealing such shocking information would have a huge impact on the story.

The altered movements of the Dark Church were already a major variable, but this would be the catalyst for the entire academy to change.

‘So that was it.’

I understood and gently folded the Saintess’s finger. Everything else was fine, but I wished she’d refrain from pointing.

“I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

“Oh? That’s a relief. But you’re surprisingly interested in the Possessors?”

“Huh?”

“Surely…”

The Saintess’s words trailed off as she narrowed her eyes. The suspicion in her gaze created tension. Finally, she spouted nonsense.

“You plan to blackmail them if you find a Possessor!”

“…Blackmail?”

“Yes! You’ll tell them to expose their chests if they don’t want to be found out! You pervert!”

The tension that had filled my entire body escaped with a whoosh like air leaking from a balloon.

‘I was an idiot for getting tense.’

How dare she startle me like that? If I had my way, I’d crush those alluring large breasts without mercy.

I shook my head with an exasperated expression.

“Aren’t you the pervert, Saintess-nim?”

“W-What did you say? I’m a pervert?”

“Yes. Looking at how you only think about such things every day, it seems true, doesn’t it? Aren’t you too absorbed in that in your attempt to stop me? Go easy. Your bones will rot.”

As I scanned her entire body with an ‘I get it’ look, the Saintess’s face flushed crimson.

It was a concoction of shame and anger.

“Oh, no, I’m not! I don’t know anything about that!”

“Yes. Of course. Well then, I’ll be going.”

“I told you I’m not! Stop right there! It’s not true! I’m not a pervert!”

I lightly ignored the Saintess, who was asserting her innocence, and left the recovery room.

‘Thanks to that, I got a lot of information.’

For now, it seems the Church doesn’t have a clear way to catch the Possessors, so I can rest a little easier.

Then it’s time to think about other problems.

‘I should follow him this weekend.’

My roommate, Kenneth.

I need to follow him, if only to observe what kind of person he is.

It seems I’ll have to borrow the tracking magical tool from Deborah again.

*

“Kihahaha! Die! Die!”

Along with the mad shouts, the screams and sounds of slaughter from the monsters were transmitted through the magical tool.

Two hours into tailing Kenneth.

In just that short amount of time, I figured out what kind of person Kenneth was.

“He’s a lunatic.”

He was perfectly normal when he left the academy to visit Grant’s inn, the man who raised him. But the moment he entered the dungeon and faced monsters, his personality did a 180-degree turn.

The more blood stained his sword and body, the wilder he became, until now he couldn’t control his own madness.

I need to be wary.

‘It’s a relief he’s weak.’

Kenneth didn’t seem to have achieved enlightenment yet, as he couldn’t use sword aura.

His physical abilities, apart from those enhanced by unique skills or various other methods, were exactly what a level 99 would exhibit.

“Anyway, its performance really is good.”

I fiddled with the tracking magical tool.

It was very small and light, making it easy to attach discreetly. Its wide range and good sound quality made both tracking and eavesdropping convenient.

To give away such a good item for free, Deborah must truly be an angel.

‘I still don’t know what she meant by what she said in the middle, though.’

“-If you’re grateful, be good to Master-nim. Got it?”

It’s unclear if it was a threat to be careful if I didn’t want to be caught, or advice for when we might meet later.

Well, I’ll find out when I meet Roxana someday.

“But meeting her as late as possible is the best option.”

At my current level, I’m bound to be swayed by Roxana’s will, no matter what she does.

Surely, she, who cherishes Deborah, wouldn’t harm her disciple’s friend, but one only knows for sure when the situation actually arises.

As for me, I just want to avoid even the slightest risk.

“Haaam… I’m getting bored.”

Still eavesdropping on the unending scene of madness and slaughter, I leaned back deeply in my chair and looked around.

I had set up near the dungeon to intervene immediately if needed, but this was the outskirts, so there wasn’t much to see.

If it were a downtown area, time would have flown by.

As I complained quietly, Kenneth’s battle with the monsters came to an end.

“-Good! Now, shall we check the rewards!”

Even if he was a lunatic obsessed with slaughter, Kenneth shouted in an excited voice, as if his anticipation for rewards was the same.

‘What was the reward here again?’

It was probably the Boots of Absorption.

They allowed one to freely absorb and release wind, which could be used to climb walls or leap in the air.

Although there was no direct increase in combat power, it was a high-tier item due to its excellent versatility.

“-Found it!”

The moment Kenneth cheered with the sound of a treasure chest opening.

“-Get out of the way!”

Whoosh!

Along with a familiar delicate voice, there was a slicing sound, as if something was being cut.

I shot up from my seat.

“Pernia?”

She had been quiet for a while, and then appeared in an unexpected place. Her voice overflowed with confidence, as if she had gained considerable spoils during the break.

Kenneth groaned softly, apparently injured, and displayed wariness as if growling.

“-What are you? Are you a Possessor too?”

“-You know well. I’ll take those boots.”

“-By whose will?”

“-By my will, of course. If you don’t want to die, get lost!”

Whoosh!

Along with her shout, there was the sound of something being powerfully shot.

A fierce power that went beyond merely cutting through the wind, as if it had become one with it. Just from that, I recognized what Pernia had newly acquired.

‘The Gale Blade!’

It was a dagger blessed by the King of Wind Spirits, located in Storm Canyon, hundreds of kilometers from here.

Its sharpness and power were a given, but it could also be summoned and unsummoned, and could summon wind spirits, making it versatile in many ways.

This current attack must have been the dagger thrown using a wind spirit.

“What should I do?”

I had recently heard from Abel that Pernia had also awakened sword aura. Effectively, Kenneth had no chance of winning.

The key was whether to let him die like this, or intervene.

In the former case, there was the disadvantage that Pernia would grow stronger and become a threat to me. In the latter, there was the risk that my existence would be revealed to Kenneth.

Of course, killing Kenneth would solve it, but what I’ve seen so far bothers me.

‘He’s not a completely unsalvageable piece of trash.’

He’s a lunatic who might do anything, but all he’s done so far is show filial piety to Grant, who raised him, and slice up monsters.

Of course, I don’t know what he was like on Earth, but that’s none of my business.

After contemplating, I soon made a decision.

‘I’ll save him.’

In any case, the power difference between Kenneth and me right now is despairingly clear.

Moreover, there’s no guarantee that killing him and gaining a unique skill would even help me, so solidifying the current situation isn’t bad.

Perhaps Kenneth might become a source of strength later?

“-Gah! Damn it!”

‘Hurry.’

Before Kenneth dies.