Slime and Growth Showdown (3)

Seriously, there was something I always wanted to say to that guy named Nalan.

‘What are you?’

Death in a previous life was not a good deed for a reason, but was just a hypocrisy and nonsense.

The reason I prevented the heroines from experiencing hardships in this life was because of the foolish things I did just to satisfy myself.

Reaching out to Harve and his fiancée was just an act of intoxication from the magical powers he had acquired in this world.

It is a story that can be proven as a fact by ‘me’, who knows humanity better than anyone else.

And now, in a world where it is known that even if you melt to slime, it is not death, the act of reaching out like a retard is clearly not a noble will like self-sacrifice, but a hypocritical act that exploded out of frustration at seeing a guy who was trolling.

“I made it.”

Not a sigh, but annoyance.

It is not a sound of giving up, but a sound of contempt for the country that has grown tired of humans.

Because I don’t have time to cast [Black Tower], the only way to block the slime’s attacks, and I can’t get eliminated here.

If I get attacked by a slime here, I don’t even need to look at the G-Tube thumbnail to see what will happen to the princess, Nora, and Harb who are left here.

‘I can’t even use [the credit card]…’

[Participate in the Imperial Ranking Match and achieve 1st place. (0/1) <[Payment] cannot be used while this quest is in progress.>]

The reason I’ve been holding on and holding on until now and playing hide and seek was because in the past, if I got caught, it would be a big deal, but now I’m in real helpless loner mode and I really shouldn’t be doing this.

In the end, I’m in a situation where I have no means of stopping the slime’s attacks, so what should I do?

‘Is there a way to avoid it?’

I think it’s an incredibly quick judgment of the situation, but I fully understand that it’s not because I’m a great person, but rather the effect of self-hypnosis.

In the next second, the slime liquid will reach me and I will melt from the head down.

Of course, since it’s a fantasy world, you won’t really die, but you’ll definitely be eliminated. However, if you do that, the other three people will all be eliminated as well.

And, thinking about this, I am reminded again of the fact that Harb is someone who absolutely cannot be eliminated.

He’s a rival character who has to fight Raul.

“[Lv. 3] [Black…]

That was the extent of the idea.

I decide to draw magical power from my body with both hands and use the magic that has the strongest instantaneous power among the magic I currently possess.

With this, I’ll be covered in slime liquid and fall down to the black tower where Harb is, and if Harb cuts off all of my body except my head, I’ll be able to avoid instant death.

I continued to cast the spell, hoping it would not hit my head…

“Kuaaa!!”

-Kwaaah!!

Just before it does, the acidic liquid of the slime that was about to touch my body is torn apart by the red wind and oxidizes itself.

What the heck, this attack…

“Hyungnim! Hurry up!!”

“Ah…? Harb?!”

When I turned my head while reflexively running at the scream-like cry that came to me, who had completely given up on the possibility of surviving with all my limbs intact, I saw Harb, who had swung his sword without even taking a fall from the position I had thrown him in and had fallen headfirst, falling with a crunching sound in a body gag-like position with his sword wrapped in a ‘red’ aura.

‘Hey hey hey! Red aura?!’

“Khaaap!!”

-Kwaaa!!

-Khuu …

[Level: 45]

[Name: Harb Hoppen.]

[Role: The second son of the count’s family. Fiance. Imperial Royal Academy student.]

[Status: Aspiration. Gratitude. Effort. Reward. Ranking. Desire. Despair. Self-loathing.]

[Attributes: (Swordsmanship Lv. 4) (Oʔʗler?ɿ Lv. 3#ʘ!ʇ) (Bodybuilding Lv. 3) (Enemy Magic Lv. 1)]

Harb’s aura, which not only saved me but also started to ‘hit’ the slime, was emitting the same sword energy as when he had previously received payment from me.

Moreover, the status window displays his aura as broken in a language I have never seen before.

No, what the heck is that…?

-Khuuu!!

-Kuguguung…!!

“Look at me, not at my brother, you little brat… !!”

-Qwaa!!

-Khuuu?!!

As I ran away in a panic, Harb’s brown eyes were filled with anger and he was swinging his sword, or rather his ‘Auror’, roughly.

And in that attack, the sight of the slime actually crying out in pain is beyond desolate, it’s bizarre.

“Gasp! Gasp! No, Harb?”

“Khaaap!!”

-Kwaaa!!

-⎯⎯⎯⎯?!

The slime that started screaming in pain as soon as I ran down the black tower.

And Harb, convinced that his attack was working through that groan, raised his sword once more.

“Die! Mons… Chin?!”

-Chaenggrang.

“No, this isn’t normal. What on earth did you do?”

It seemed like he wanted to make a finishing attack, but his attack, which was obviously not normal, did not continue.

Rather, he sweated like rain from his entire body as if he had just run a marathon, and he dropped his sword defenselessly and fell forward. I immediately caught his body and moved to a slightly safer position.

“Keuheok, huh, huh. Tongue, bro. Bro… “

“Okay. It looks like you’re having trouble breathing, but don’t answer. No matter how I look at it, your current condition is not normal. Anyway, thanks to you, I’m alive. Get some rest.”

“Huh, huh… Nod… “

He seemed to have awakened to something, and instead of looking at me with angry eyes, he looked at me with a relieved gaze this time and nodded his head with difficulty. I moved him to the bottom of the black tower to ensure his safety.

‘But, what the hell is that? That thing just now… No matter how I look at it, it was his max-level aura that he showed me when I paid the bill…’

[Level: 45]

[Name: Harb Hoppen.]

[Role: The second son of the count’s family. Fiance. Imperial Royal Academy student.]

[Status: Aspiration. Gratitude. Effort. Reward. Ranking. Desire. Despair. Self-loathing. Relief.]

[Attributes: (Swordsmanship Lv. 4) (Aura Lv. 3) (Physical Arts Lv. 3) (Enemy Magic Lv. 1)]

I checked his status window again, but the letters were back as normal, as if nothing had happened.

It had already been a month since he had reached Aura Level 3, but even so, it didn’t make sense for him to suddenly go beyond Level 4 and awaken to Level 5 here.

Even if you say that a supporting actor is a leading role, there is a limit to how much you can do.

“Tongue, bro. Sorry… “

“Don’t apologize. Thanks to you, I gained some time and magic power. And… “

-Thud thud thud!!

-Kkuuuu…

The red aura Harb emitted truly left an indelible scar on him.

The body of that giant slime collapses, and the liquid falls anywhere, not because it’s attacking but because it can’t really hold on.

And it’s really a huge achievement to have reduced that messy bulk of a bastard to the size of a slightly larger group.

It’s as if Harb, who swung his sword four times at the level of a sword expert… no, master, really did his job.

“If this is it, you only need to put 2 more.”

And thanks to that, the burden that was really placed on me was halved.

The slime was much bigger and stronger than I expected.

The offensive of the guy who had been able to melt even the strongest defensive magic, the black magic that I had expected, had really weakened, and thanks to his smaller size, the ‘preparation work’ could be completed much more simply than expected.

“[Lv. 4] [Black Tower]”

-Kwaaang!!

-⎯⎯⎯⎯?!

Until just now, it reminded me of something from the Advance period, but now it has shrunk to the point where it reminds me of a slightly larger ogre, and I place a black tower on its snout to block it from even groaning.

And as if he was bewildered by my attack, he tried to melt my black tower with his flowing body, but with his body already weakened by Harb, it would be impossible for him to melt the black tower in an instant.

“One more.”

I carry the fallen Harb in the princess’ arms and run while looking for a spot to plant the last black tower.

Since I’ve already put it in most of the bodies, the finishing touch is⎯

“Young man, shall I break through the barrier?[Lv…]!!”

-Kwaaang!!

-⎯⎯⎯!!!

The moment the last black tower rose over that part of the bastard’s body, the slime let out a howl of rage and pain that filled the dark mountain.

*

-Tatatatata!!

“Haaak, haaak… ! No, la… !!”

Rudis, who returned safely despite several dangerous moments, dropped the man she was holding onto to the floor as she called out my name, and collapsed herself as well.

“Commoner?!”

“I don’t have much horsepower, so I’m trying too hard…!”

Rudis’ magical power is just a little more than that of an average person.

However, there is one aspect in which he is several times better than others… no, one could even call it genius. That is magical power control.

He used the Black Tower magic, known as the strongest defensive black magic, which is known to drain magic power after 3 uses and kill after 5 uses, on the slime’s body 9 times and he passed out.

Truly, he is a man whose talents are endless.

“Can you…?”

“Ugh.”

“What the heck?! The girl wants to do it too!! What are you talking about?!”

And he said that it was ‘me’, not him, who was the main.

A certain magic that came to mind from the moment he erected the black tower.

He was asking me to do magic that was historically taboo, even among black magicians.

“Me, I’m level 3… !!”

“If you use it with the magic book I gave you…! Huh…!”

With a catalyst, a black magician can use magic at a level far beyond his original level.

However, this is not a high level story, but rather one where you can use more skilled magic at your own level.

But Rudis, the black magician who couldn’t possibly not know that, is talking to me.

“I don’t know about other people, but oh my. If it’s you, Nora, the magical monster I know, then it’s possible… !”

Ask me to jump through stat levels.

I’ve laid out the groundwork for you, so take care of what’s left.

This is something that a normal magician would dismiss as crazy and ignore. And as a normal magician, I began to doubt his words again.

‘I am…’

-Ah! What the hell!! What the hell did you do again?! Why are you hitting kids with magic?! Are you crazy?!

-It’s noisy~ Did I hit you? What, do you know those guys?

-You idiot! Because of you, the name of the Black Tower is on the news with a bad connotation again…!!

All the time, I was suspicious of him.

I forgot the man I knew, doubted his character, knew his past actions, and rejected him because I saw, heard, and believed him only in the Academy.

-Hey, is it really okay if I tell the teacher everything? Even if you get excommunicated because of this…

-Okay, do whatever you want. But, I haven’t told you yet?

-…Fuck. Please come to your senses!! Because of you, all the kids who entered the Black Magic Research Club this semester ran away…!!

-Isn’t that because you didn’t fulfill your role as a manager? That’s why I told you not to neglect your magical power control training…

-You fucking retard!! You beat up all the kids who wanted to join and made them drop out, so what do you want me to do…!!

If he hadn’t neglected the magical power control training he had been asked to do, he might have been able to identify the low-level demons hiding in the academy.

I blamed only his actions, which were protecting me and quietly protecting ‘us’ from behind, without listening to his words.

And I eventually took the lead and even assisted in getting him expelled.

“No, la…!!”

-Clang!!

“[Black Magic] [L…]!!”

-Phase jig!!!

“Ugh…?!”

His voice, like that, calls out that crippled bitch’s name with confidence.

You’re testing me again, asking if I won’t believe you.

“[Lv. ㅇ]… !!”

-Crackle!!

“Aaah…!!”

The precepts and laws of this world set by God.

A level of special ability given to humans by God.

It is a ‘blessing and a curse’ that blossoms through effort, talent, or chance and moves on to the next stage.

I’ve decided to betray him, this time, for the sake of him who believes in me.

At level 3 black magic, you are forced to cast level 5 magic.

The black magic that I converted to use tells you that it is impossible for you, that you must not do it, and leaves my body, and the magic that cannot escape eats away at my magic circuits.

But this time, I really don’t want to betray him.

“[Lv. 5]… !!!”

-Parararararak!!

-Pizza sizzle!!

“⎯⎯!!”

As if responding to my magic, the magic book that Rudis had made for me began to flutter wildly, spewing out a harsh darkness, and a black lightning bolt that I had never seen before in my life tried to burn me, as if to punish me for breaking the rules.

But⎯

“This is…!! A fantasy world! Jump over it!! Even if I die, I’ll jump over it…!!”

“⎯Ahhh!! [Oh my…! Phew?!”

His voice pushing my back is now right next to me.

Because I don’t want to regret it again.

I’ve felt that kind of pain enough in the past half year.

So, I can endure the pain of my magical circuits being torn apart, my body burning, and vomiting blood.

-Tch!

“[Black Night Castle! Shadow…!!]

He thinks as he casts a spell that doesn’t match his level, and looks at the great darkness that is created on the foundation he has built.

The painful night filled with regrets that I couldn’t see ahead or behind, I had already chewed over to the point of death in the past.

Compared to the pain I felt from not trusting him, the pain I feel now is incomparable.

After he burned his own arm and magical circuits to stop the academy terror attack to save us, and was rejected by ‘us’, his pain must have been more than this.

-… Still, does this serve as a small apology?

I wanted to ask that out loud, but I couldn’t do anything because of the blood pouring out and my face turning red, and eventually I sank into the terrifying darkness once again.