〈 Chapter 1149 〉 1149. The Academy’s Savior
After emerging from the dungeon, I discovered Ryu Hana lying collapsed. Her clothes were torn in places, and blood streamed down from slashes.
“Ryu Hana…!”
Startled, I hastily summoned a potion and treated her.
Ryu Hana looked at my face before contorting hers, as if struggling to suppress boiling emotions.
“…I lost. …I completely lost.”
Upon hearing Ryu Hana’s words, I doubted my ears.
‘Ryu Hana lost?’
In the original story, Ryu Hana’s opponent is herself — an enemy with identical stats to hers. Players can easily take them down by focusing on control alone, and within the game’s setting, Ryu Hana grows during battle and defeats her foe.
‘Since it wasn’t an important side quest, I thought everything would be fine… Shit. Laplace. That bastard must have interfered.’
The dungeon had been corrupted due to Laplace. He undoubtedly tampered with Ryu Hana’s opponent too.
‘Just infusing demonic power into Ryu Hana’s rival would’ve been enough. Thankfully, Ryu Hana didn’t die… but…’
Ryu Hana suffered a mental shock from losing to herself. She lay there blankly gazing up at the night sky, her eyes devoid of focus.
It wasn’t surprising. Ryu Hana especially struggled mentally when defeated in one-on-one duels or fights. If she’d initially realized her opponent was stronger, it might have been different. But Ryu Hana lost to herself.
While pretending to apply more potions, I subtly slipped off her top. Her white bra was dyed red with blood. Surprisingly large, rounded breasts caught my gaze for a moment before I shifted my attention to her right shoulder.
There was a red tattoo of a bird spreading its wings.
『Name: Ryu Hana
Strength: C- Stamina: D+ Agility: C+ Durability: E+ Mana: B-
Trait: Sword Maiden (SS)
Skills: Divine Sword Union (A), Song of the Sword (A), Phantom Blade (C).
Affection Level: 24
Mark of the Vermilion Bird (S) has been imprinted. In 30 days, the flames of the Vermilion Bird will engulf her entire body.』
The Vermilion Bird Sword branded losers with this mark, akin to a curse. If left untreated, Ryu Hana would die in 30 days. And she surely knew that fact.
‘The problem is that you need at least several decades to retake the trial of the Vermilion Bird Sword.’
At least twenty years are required for the sword’s power to accumulate and create a dungeon.
‘The mark disappears upon passing the trial. However, you must enter the dungeon to undergo it…’
There was a way.
I spoke to Ryu Hana, who still lay there dazed.
“Ryu Hana, do you understand the situation? You’ll die like this.”
“…You know too, huh.”
“The Vermilion Bird Sword was a gift from me, so I have some basic information.”
“…How? Isn’t this the first time you’ve seen the Vermilion Bird Sword?”
“I’ve encountered similar things. You don’t want to die, right?”
“I don’t want to die. But… the method….”
“A method exists. Considering your current predicament partially stems from me… I’ll help you. Come on, get up. How long do you plan to stay lying there?”
I extended my hand. Ryu Hana slowly grabbed it and stood up. I took off my coat and gave it to her.
Then I asked Ryu Hana what happened inside the dungeon.
“…I went to see my mom and dad. I was curious about how they looked in their youth.”
“Mm, makes sense. I met my mom too. How were they?”
“My dad was clumsy… and my mom was beautiful.”
Ryu Hana continued calmly.
She said she challenged her young father to a duel, but someone who looked exactly like her appeared. That was Ryu Hana’s enemy.
The enemy attacked her out of nowhere, and Ryu Hana responded calmly.
The battle went on for a long time because every aspect of the enemy—physical abilities, skills, everything—was equal to hers.
As the prolonged battle wore her down, the enemy took advantage of a moment of Ryu Hana’s distraction and fled. Ryu Hana rested and recovered her strength.
When the enemy reappeared and attacked again, communication was impossible.
“That happened four times. But starting with the fifth time, things got weird. The techniques were the same as mine, but stronger and faster.”
“…And then you lost.”
“I lost. If a monster hadn’t suddenly jumped in… I would’ve died there.”
A monster randomly interfered in the battle. Was that really a coincidence?
‘Coincidence? Please. It was probably Laplace’s scheme.’
I don’t know Laplace’s exact purpose. But I have an idea why he didn’t kill Ryu Hana.
‘That guy must’ve known about the Vermilion Bird’s mark… He wants Ryu Hana to endure more trials. He’s using her as bait to draw me in.’
Being led around like this pisses me off. I could just abandon Ryu Hana and not worry about it… But I have no intention of giving her up.
While I was lost in thought, Ryu Hana was staring blankly at the floor, still shaken by the defeat.
“Ryu Hana.”
I called her name firmly.
“…?”
She looked up.
“Starting today… no, starting tomorrow, let’s train together every day. If you want to pass the Vermilion Bird’s trial, you need to get stronger.”
At the word “training,” the life returned to Ryu Hana’s dead eyes.
Ah, now that I think about it, I haven’t been training with her much recently.
‘At least her mental state isn’t completely shattered. That’s lucky.’
•••
Sunday.
After leaving the academy, I boarded a boat and sailed across the East Sea. I wasn’t the one steering; that was Makiina. Since I don’t know how to navigate, I left it to her. She bit her tongue and spun the wheel with all her might, cutting through the seawater.
“Hey, can you drive properly? This boat has been rocking way too much since we started.”
“I’m driving fine! Shut up if you don’t know anything!”
Makiina, with her dark blue hair and white dress, was only 60 cm tall, making her look like a fairy. However, unlike her fairy-like appearance, her personality was absolutely insane. Right now, she’s flipping me off.
I resisted the urge to punch her tiny head; otherwise, she might flip the boat over. Given her crazy nature, it’s definitely possible.
“Are we really going the right way?”
“For heaven’s sake, shut up if you don’t know!”
“But we’ve been going in circles since we started!”
“There’s a great white shark below, so I’ve been watching it.”
“…Why is there a great white shark in the East Sea?”
“For heaven’s sake, it’s the ocean, so sharks exist. Don’t you know anything?”
Makiina looked at me like I was hopeless. I wondered how long it would take for a mechanical spirit to turn into shark poop.
“How do you confirm something is in the sea?”
“I sent a camera underwater.”
Makiina held up a smartphone the size of her face and showed it to me. On the screen, a great white shark was swimming gracefully.
“What the hell. Now I get why my mana has been draining so much lately… You’ve been wasting it on nonsense?!”
“Observing sharks is important. Why is that nonsense?!”
“Alright, let me ask this: What benefit do you get from observing sharks?!”
“Mooloo?”
“Ana.”
BAM!
In the end, I landed a good one.
“GYAAH! Why did you hit me?!”
Makina shot up from her seat. Tears brimming in her eyes, she glared at me like she wanted to kill me.
Seeing Makina talk back like that made me feel a little unnerved. I was her contractor after all—no, not just any contractor, but the absolute top-tier contractor. Makina should know this, and yet here she is acting so freely…
‘She must be relying on Ha. Ha has been too soft on her.’
I can’t say I don’t understand how Ha feels. Makina does look incredibly cute on the outside. Besides, since I live in the dorms, it’s just Ha and Makina at home. They probably get along well like mother and daughter. No doubt they gossip about me behind my back too.
“This won’t do. Let’s settle this today.”
“…Wha?! I’m sorry, I went too far! Calm down, Eugene!”
I grabbed Makina by the arm as she tried to run away. She apologized, but it was already too late. Dragging her over to the boat railing, I positioned her near the edge. Makina panicked.
“No way! Machines hate water! Let go of me! Pleaseee!”
“You don’t seem to feel even a trace of remorse.”
“I-I’ll tell Auntie about this! She’ll hear everything!”
“Go ahead.”
With that, I jumped into the sea with Makina in tow.
My ears felt clogged, and my body grew heavy. Makina thrashed around in my grip, feeling the coldness of the ocean since she wasn’t a spirit.
I continued pulling her downward. Thanks to [Blessing of Water], my abilities worked perfectly fine underwater.
After a few dozen seconds, Makina appeared before me, her expression blank. Being a spirit, she didn’t need to breathe.
[Seawater. Tastes bad. Feeling upset. Want to go up.]
Her thoughts echoed in my mind. Through our contract, we could communicate without words.
Ignoring her complaints, I kept descending.
Then I spotted a Great White Shark nearby, leisurely swimming around. A camera floated beside it.
‘…That’s not a shark.’
[What are you talking about? Don’t you know what a shark looks like? That’s clearly a Great White!]
‘Where do you see a shark that’s 20 meters long?’
It was 100% a monster. If I killed it, there would likely be a spirit stone in its corpse.
[So why are we here? To watch the shark?]
‘To feed the shark. It’s bigger than I thought, but… it’ll do.’
The shark noticed me at that moment. Its black eyes turned red as it swam gracefully toward me, more elegant than a swan.
[I see… where’s the shark’s food? Su-su-rely, I’m not the food for the shark?!]
‘…’
[GIVE ME AN ANSWER! YOU SON OF A—!!]
‘You should’ve listened to me properly.’
[ST-STOP…!]
If I had any intention of stopping, I wouldn’t have jumped into the ocean.
As the shark approached, it opened its mouth wide. Bits of fish carcasses were lodged between its sharp teeth.
‘In the blink of an eye.’
I dodged to the side and tossed Makina into the shark’s mouth.
[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!]
Makina’s scream was cut off as the shark closed its jaws.
‘Will she repent now?’
A normal spirit would become ethereal after receiving a fatal blow. There’s no way this ordinary shark monster could harm Makina in her ethereal state.
The shark swam after me, trying to eat me. I evaded it while fleeing.
‘She should be ethereal by now… why hasn’t anything happened?’
Suddenly, the shark stopped swimming and began shaking its body.
Keeeeng.
A spotlight appeared on the shark’s head. Its head popped open like a lid, revealing a surprisingly small shark brain floating inside. Surrounding the brain was Makina, sitting on a chair amidst various mechanical devices.
[This shark is mine now!]
Makina piloted the shark upward. Still stunned, I snapped out of it belatedly.
‘…Shit. What the hell did I just witness?’
