〈 Chapter 1150 〉 1150. The Academy’s Savior
“We’ve arrived!”
Makina, seated at the boat’s helm, cheerfully shouted. The boat came to a stop. Beside it, the massive tail of a 20-meter great white shark slapped the water with a *splash*. That’s right—Makina was remotely controlling the shark.
I glanced around.
Endless ocean.
All I could see were gentle waves lapping against the sea.
‘Is this the right spot? …Well, it must be. Makina may act like this, but she is a mechanical spirit after all.’
Her personality might be off-the-charts insane, and she’s obsessed with food, but her computational abilities rival that of a supercomputer. No, if she really focuses and uses her full power, she surpasses even that.
I moved toward the boat railing and prepared for diving.
“I’m coming too!”
Makina quickly disappeared into the shark’s head. A steel cover closed over the shark’s head.
“Please don’t get in the way.”
*Plop!*
Jumping into the sea, I began descending. A colossal shark swam ahead of me, diving deeper.
[I’m faster than you!]
‘She’s lost it again.’
Makina had no sense of seriousness whatsoever. She was probably treating this like some kind of game.
We descended further.
At some point, the light disappeared entirely. Pitch black. Though I couldn’t see anything, I could feel the coldness of the water and the sensation of floating. It felt like I was in the middle of outer space.
‘Spirit Eye, Celestial Vision.’
I pierced through the darkness. Around me swarmed countless fish, circling me clockwise as though guarding something.
‘Just like last time during the first loop. I’m in the right place.’
I continued descending.
[Ahhh, no! My Jaws! Help me, Sung Yoojin!!]
Makina’s thoughts disrupted my concentration. I stopped my descent and absentmindedly stared at a nearby fish. Due to the depth, it looked rather grotesque.
[NoOOOooooo!!!]
As Makina’s cries echoed again, I resumed my descent.
A pit appeared before me. From the pitch-black hole, blood and chunks of flesh spewed out. A shark eyeball, larger than my head, floated past me.
Makina suddenly burst out from the pit, awkwardly swimming over upon noticing me.
“Yoojin! Jaws is dead…! Avenge him!”
I nodded, grabbing Makina by the neck.
[Gack?! Wh-what are you doing?!]
“You asked for revenge. You’re the one who killed the shark.”
[N-No! The one who killed Jaws is THAT guy! Let go of me!]
Makina bit down on my hand with surprising strength, forcing me to release her. Sighing, I turned my gaze back toward the pit.
Out came a King Crab. It was enormous—big enough to rip apart a 20-meter monster shark with ease. This monstrous crab, armed with sharp carapace plates, blew foam from its mouth as it glared at me and Makina.
[EEK!]
Makina hid behind me.
I summoned Stormbreaker, transforming it into a giant harpoon.
“Makina.”
I sent her my intent.
[Ahh, got it. Like this?]
Makina’s power flowed into the harpoon, altering its shape into a harpoon cannon. I charged it with lightning, using the electricity as fuel. Pulling the trigger, I fired the harpoon cannon. The harpoon shot forward like a torpedo.
The harpoon embedded itself perfectly into the crab’s right eye, triggering an explosion. Electric currents surged outward, illuminating the dark…
The ocean floor was illuminated with blinding light.
[Did it just die?!]
The telepathic message from Makina, her chin resting on my left shoulder, came through loud and clear. She’s the type who’s always glued to the internet, and there’s no way she didn’t know what her joke meant—it was clearly intentional.
‘Should I just bury this thing at the bottom of the sea this time?’
Of course, to do that, I’d first have to deal with the massive crab right in front of me.
The one-eyed crab crawled out of the pit in a rage, its size comparable to a skyscraper.
[Watch out for those pincers! Joes got caught by them!]
The colossal crab approached me. With every step of its massive legs, dust flew into the water, and the currents were disturbed.
The crab extended its pincers toward me. Surprisingly, they moved incredibly slowly.
[Dodge!!]
‘Shut up. Your thoughts are too loud. Are you trying to troll me on purpose?’
[No, I’m serious! That’s really dangerous! The crab’s ability…!]
‘I know.’
The ocean current caused by the crab’s movements began to stabilize, forming a prison-like barrier around me. It was hard to move with the intense currents swirling around.
[I got caught by that too! This is cheating!]
The tightening currents restricted my body. The massive pincer slowly moved closer, aiming to slice through my waist.
“Heavenly Mind.”
[Activating Heavenly Mind. Effect will last for 1 minute.]
The currents failed to bind me. I moved closer to the giant crab. Stormbreaker was dismissed and then re-summoned into my hand.
‘Makina, possession mode.’
[Okay!]
Makina possessed Stormbreaker, transforming it into a drill. The drill fused with my right hand and spun using my mana as fuel.
The drill pierced through the creature’s abdomen.
[Bust it wide open!!]
The crab thrashed around. The currents tried to grab me, but thanks to Heavenly Mind, they couldn’t.
‘Twenty seconds left?’
I entered the hole made by the drill. Gross, but necessary. The drill detached from my hand.
‘Stormbreaker分裂.’
The inherent ability of Stormbreaker activated, splitting the drill into six parts.
‘Can you control these, Makina?’
[Feels like having six bodies! But even if I had 100, I could handle them all!]
‘Do I need to explain what to do?’
[Nope! I’ve got enough sense for that! Alright, let’s go! Revenge for Joes!!]
The six drills tore through the crab’s insides. The moving crab stopped abruptly. As I stood still, the sound of drills echoed in my head.
The insides of the crab were completely mashed. It no longer moved.
I emerged from inside. Coming out from the guts felt refreshing. Going outside the ocean would probably feel even better.
[How does the drill taste, huh?! You monster killer of Joes!!]
Ignoring Makina’s taunting over the dead crab, I headed into the pit.
The pit, the crab’s lair, was huge and disgusting. Bits of monsters’ bones and flesh were scattered everywhere. I looked around and moved toward a particular spot.
In the center of a massive sea serpent skeleton lay an elegant-looking blue spear. I grabbed it and pulled it out of the skull.
『Azure Dragon Spear
Rank: C
Raises water.
Sturdy.』
It was similar to the Vermilion Bird Sword. With the Azure Dragon Spear, I could re-enter the Trial Dungeon.
‘I can go in with Ryu Hana. The seal of Suzaku that she carries will make the appropriate trials appear before her.’
The issue was that either the Azure Dragon Spear had to recognize me, or I’d have to forcibly awaken it to open the dungeon.
‘Thinking about forcing the awakening… sigh. What a hassle.’
I sensed something gathering around me. Activating my Spirit Vision, I scanned the area. Bug-like creatures resembling helmet crabs gathered around me, likely scavengers feeding on the corpses littering this place.
‘Guess I look like an easy target. Though compared to the monstrous crab, these are pretty small.’
I infused mana into the Azure Dragon Spear and swung it around. A massive current erupted, crushing the bugs. The water quality worsened further due to their remains.
‘I want to get out of here quickly… Wait, what?’
An unexpected notification window popped up in front of me.
“Thou hast the qualification to challenge this trial. Shalt thou commence the Azure Dragon Trial?”
A notification window I hadn’t seen during my first run appeared. So, I forcibly awakened it and used it.
‘…This is showing up? What’s different between the first run and now?’
I furrowed my brows.
There were too many differences.
It couldn’t be due to traits. Spirit Eye only has a great influence on spirits. The Azure Dragon Spear has no relation to spirits whatsoever.
There weren’t any skills or traits related to the Azure Dragon Spear.
“Name: Sung Yoojin
Strength: B- Stamina: B Agility: B- Durability: C+ Mana: A
Traits: Spirit Eye (S) Demon Hunter (S)
Skills: Spirit Contract (A) Spirit Summoning (A) Barrier Manipulation (C+) Swordsmanship (B+)
Karma: Good (+26)”
‘…Karma. This must be it. During the first run, my Karma was Evil, so it didn’t react.’
After roughly convincing myself, I climbed out of the pit.
Makina, who had been venting her anger by punching holes into the giant crab corpse, released her possession and followed me.
[Did you come all this way just for that blue window? Ah! Is it a present for Auntie?!]
‘It’s not.’
[Isn’t it? Auntie will be disappointed. Do you even know when Auntie’s birthday is?]
‘…’
Makina chattered on endlessly.
…
Swish.
I drew my sword.
Ryu Hana stood across from me, staring at me with a chilly gaze.
It had been two weeks since Ryu Hana lost to herself in the dungeon. Until now, I’d practiced sparring with her over a hundred times, winning every single one due to superior physical abilities and experience.
And today was the day before the trial. I thought there was a chance I might lose this time.
‘…If I use special items or skills like Heavenly Heart, I could win, but… if we’re talking pure skill… I can’t easily beat her.’
Who would’ve thought Ryu Hana would grow this fast?
“…Let’s start.”
Ryu Hana muttered, gripping her sword with both hands as she charged at me. She wasn’t fast, but there was something subtle in her steps.
‘There’s no need to drag this out unnecessarily. Let’s finish quickly.’
Shadow Sky Style – Thunder Light.
The strike infused with lightning energy aimed for Ryu Hana’s arm. Without batting an eyelid, Ryu Hana crossed her dual swords and blocked the attack. Pushed back by the force, she retreated, her subtle footwork dispersing the power. During our spars, she had come to understand the flow of movement.
Shadow Sky Style – Green Stream.
I used the technique that had secured over thirty victories against Ryu Hana, deceiving her sense of distance with my footwork.
Ryu Hana’s counter was simple. She spun around like a top, extending her dual swords. I couldn’t get close.
Silently, I waited for the moment her spin stopped and lunged with my blade.
Shadow Sky Style – Thunder Serpent.
The blade curved like a snake, aiming for Ryu Hana’s neck. As if waiting for it, Ryu Hana reacted. She deflected my blade with her right sword and swung her left at my shoulder.
I narrowly avoided her strike using a flash-step. Undeterred, Ryu Hana continued her attacks.
Three blades converged in mid-air. While barely blocking her strikes, I awaited my chance.
The opportunity came. When she exhaled after tiring, her arms spread apart. The brief gap between her dual swords—the golden timing—I thrust my blade forward without hesitation. It pierced her chest. However, thanks to her barrier-enhanced uniform, the blade didn’t penetrate her body.
Ryu Hana sighed and lowered her sword.
“I lost again.”
“This time, I just got lucky.”
“…When will I be able to beat you?”
“Hmm… Maybe you’ll beat me soon.”
Thinking I was teasing her, Ryu Hana glared at me with distrustful eyes.
“Let’s call it a day here.”
“…Already? It’s not even ten yet.”
“I’m challenging the trial tomorrow, so I need to manage my condition.”
Ryu Hana’s expression hardened instantly.
I patted her shoulder.
“Don’t worry. You can win.”
“…”
Quietly, Ryu Hana nodded.
