The Academy’s Guide to Useless Students – Chapter 28

28.

“Mankey, do we really not have to go in?”

“That’s right. It’s Lady Rebecca’s task.”

Cletta and I chose not to enter the dungeon entrance with its ‘story.’ Once we stepped in, we’d be lost in the maze created by the specter, so we decided to hold back.

I could easily break through the space with my sword, but without taking the proper route, I wouldn’t be able to obtain the items I sought.

“Let’s trust Lady Rebecca and wait.”

In other words, it meant she had to take care of things.

So we decided to wait quietly.

We just needed to keep an eye out for the right signal.

“How about some snacks?”

“Oh, you have some?”

“I recently found a new favorite snack.”

“Wow! Where did you get this?”

I pulled out cookies I had eaten in Count Kyle Clington’s office. The sweet yet slightly bitter cocoa scent had made them a recent favorite snack of mine.

With a clink, I took out my thermos and poured out the Earl Grey inside.

“Glug glug glug.”

“Mankey, unexpectedly refined tastes, huh? Om nom nom. This is soooo good~”

“Slurp—The tea is wonderful too.”

I savored my tea time while offering my condolences to Anastasia, who was likely rolling around in delight.

At the same time.

Anastasia was pushing her limits of courage.

“KYAAAAAH!”

Suddenly faced with a ‘specter’ right in front of her, she nearly lost her breath. Yet, for some reason, she didn’t faint. Normally, she would’ve been out cold by now, right?

Out of the blue, she remembered the drink Yuto had given her during their march.

“Lady Rebecca, are you thirsty? Drink this. It’s a special energy drink I made.”

Could it be that it was a mixed stimulant?

It tasted fine, but…

No, that wasn’t important right now. She had other priorities.

“Is it over? Is it over? Is it over?”

Not done yet…

She tightly closed her eyes and pretended she couldn’t see anything.

She acted as if she couldn’t hear a thing.

Yet, she felt it lingering around, not disappearing at all.

‘Please, just go! Crazy lady!’

Should she use her skill again?

If that would just provoke the beast…

“Hehehe.”

Anastasia crouched down. Even with her ears plugged and eyes squeezed shut, the ‘spirit’s’ presence didn’t fade and continued to spread strange laughter.

There was no choice but to hasten the conquest. She had to quickly find the boss specter of this dungeon and confess her sins.

“Ah…”

“Ah?”

“Anastasia, we’re outta here!”

She dashed like a beast.

The path led to one direction.

If she went straight, surely something strong would be waiting inside, right?

Adadadada!

Bang—

Her running came to an abrupt end as her forehead slammed into a huge wall.

“Oww, that really hurt…”

Holding onto her fading consciousness, she looked around.

An empty clearing.

The path she had come from had vanished.

Anastasia was facing a wall.

Could it be someone’s tombstone?

But it wasn’t of ordinary size.

It was exceptionally tall and large.

That massive tombstone had the complete features of a grave.

“Clearly, it’s a huge size.”

With such an unusual scale, it was only natural to assume it was connected to a ‘boss.’

“Alright, I found it… Now how do I make it appear?”

If she kicked it, would it respond?

Or maybe pray?

Neither option seemed appealing.

Anastasia pulled out the holy water bottle she carried.

“It might bless it, but…”

But Yuto had said she needed to go through ‘confession’ first.

“Hey, ghost, come out!”

There was no response.

Knock knock.

Unconsciously, she tapped on the tombstone.

They said stimulants would cloud your mind. Anastasia shook her head at her current state.

“If it hadn’t been for those drugs, what would’ve happened?”

Then, was this also due to that drug?

Just a moment ago, she was in the clearing.

Now, she stood in an unknown plaza, flames raging around her.

Yet, it wasn’t hot when she touched the flames.

As if it were a projected illusion, touching it had no effect at all.

That’s when she realized.

‘Wait… I know this place…?’

It seemed unrecognizable at first.

This was her hometown, where she had lived 11 years ago. A memory she had been turning her back on.

“Ugh, why this memory of all things?”

The flames spread across the plaza, a prelude to an execution.

It was the guillotine set to purge the nun hung upon the cross in the center of the fountain. The nun was barely clinging to life.

She was holding onto her weak and insignificant life by a thread.

“Sister Mazarin…”

The priestess who had embraced the abandoned orphans. The woman who had taken her in. She was purged by the ‘witch hunt.’

The Inquisition Officer interrogating the demon worshippers only resided in large cities like the empire.

In non-imperial areas, witch hunts were typically executed in such a manner.

It goes without saying that the calamity of a trial carried out by citizens with no discernment skills was an utter disaster.

“Seriously digging up rotten memories like this.”

Anastasia turned away from Mazarin. She didn’t want to see it. When Mazarin became the target of the witch hunt, she had done nothing.

All she could do was watch.

Rather than be angry at her own powerlessness, she often fell prey to self-loathing.

She truly didn’t understand the reason for her existence.

What was the point of a life that couldn’t even help a single person?

What kind of expression did Mister Mazarin wear at her end?

She suddenly felt curious and raised her head.

Miraculously, Mazarin was looking at her too.

‘Mazarin…’

Her lower body began to melt away.

Skin and bones crumbled like wax figures. Even in the midst of this, Mazarin meticulously closed and opened her mouth.

Anastasia slowly repeated Mazarin’s words.

“It’s… it’s a… useless… girl.”

A chill swept through her lungs.

The swelling of her heart made breathing difficult.

‘Why now.’

Wasn’t that what she always thought?

For her own worth, she had engaged in dirty deeds.

She knew very well.

Droplets of sweat continued to fall from her eyes.

Salty and bitter liquids flowed from her nose.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Was this all just a dream?

Someone’s hand covered her ears.

The sweet yet bitter smell of cocoa.

It was the aroma of the cookies she used to eat often.

Why is this happening?

Her mind snapped to focus.

The past was the past.

Wasn’t her current value continually rising? Even if it was in the underworld.

And there was someone else.

“Truly, it’s you, Anastasia.”

Yuto.

He, too, was a person who proved her worth. For some reason, she was pouring sweat. Her nose was running endlessly.

She clutched Yuto’s clothing and buried her face in his chest.

“Uuuh! My Lord! Where have you been! That girl… uuuhh.”

“Yes, yes. Go take a break over there. I’ll handle the rest.”

Anastasia couldn’t lift her buried face. She couldn’t let him see her mess of tears.

Perhaps it was a fortunate turn of events.

If she had seen Yuto’s expression…

She would undoubtedly have been lost in questions.

Yuto was unable to hold back his laughter at the profits that exceeded his plans.

I, of all people, nearly made an absurd mistake. This place is the real deal with no separate save zone. Time doesn’t stop, and everything has an expiration date.

For example, quests follow this rule too.

Dungeons scattered across the continent and hidden pieces lying in wait would disappear or alter when the time passes. Just like that, the ‘specter’ lurking in front of her also had an expiration date.

It meant the boss of this dungeon, ‘PTSD’, was approaching its compensation period.

It grew stronger on the grudge it fed. I never considered it as important due to the implications of power inflation.

An enemy that grows stronger the more grudges it consumes?

I could simply take care of it early.

However, that was an absolute no-go from my perspective.

‘PTSD’ has the characteristic of preserving the target’s memories and emotions when it feeds on grudges.

That meant it was referring to the very souls themselves.

Look at that large, sturdy tombstone.

It was a well-ripened fruit.

How many souls was it preserving?

I stopped leaking information from the start.

[…Obsession continues.]
[…Obsession continues…]
[…Obsession continues…]
[…Obsession continues…]
[…Obsession continues…]
[…Obsession continues…]
[…Obsession continues…]

My experience point target was no exception, even for the specters. As soon as I realized that, I tossed my tea time aside and dashed over. The obsession preserved by the boss was intensifying. Just looking at the notification screen made it feel as if I had hit the jackpot.

[Your stats have reached the ‘limit’.]

Huh?

━━━━
◈Unique

-Physical Ability [Lv.50]

-Three Calamities Sword Technique [Lv.50]

-Mana Manipulation [Lv.50]

◈Traits

– Hell of No Intervals

━━━━

After reaching 50, it wouldn’t rise anymore.

[Beknownst Stage 2 of Obsession is required.]

While my strength was over the top relative to the developments…

What do I need?

Stage 2 of Obsession…

What the hell is that, you weeb?