Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Counterattack (3)

The decisive reason the Evil Gods targeted Florian Academy.

It was to unseal the dungeon buried beneath the Academy.

A dungeon that made every dungeon seen until now look like a joke.

An insane difficulty that should never appear this early.

SSS-rank dungeon—the Demon King's Castle.

With SS-rank dungeons like the Pacific Dungeon, monsters typically began emerging from inside about two weeks after the Gate appeared.

In contrast, monsters from SSS-rank dungeons didn't start emerging until at least half a year had passed.

The harder the dungeon, the longer it took for the Gate to go berserk.

In the case of the Demon King's Castle, it took especially long even among SSS-rank dungeons—the Gate's rampage didn't begin until at least a year had passed.

SSS-rank dungeons didn't properly appear until the game's late stages.

In other words, without late-game specs, clearing an SSS-rank dungeon was impossible.

The Demon King's Castle was especially notorious even among SSS-rank dungeons.

It varied depending on the character and circumstances, but the only dungeons definitively considered harder than the Demon King's Castle were the one housing the game's final boss and the one housing the hidden boss.

For reference, both were rated EX-rank.

As such, in user rankings, the Demon King's Castle was voted the highest difficulty among all SSS-rank dungeons.

In the game, if you failed the Academy Collapse Event and a year passed for the Demon King's Castle to open, the world typically ended within three days.

In the game, Kultung opened red Gates to buy time on the surface, then sent its subordinates to the Academy's underground.

Those underlings were all so pathetic that even low-level players could easily defeat them.

But in the timeline I'd altered, there was no telling what changes had occurred.

So I'd gathered the strongest possible forces and come down as a welcoming party.

And there, waiting for us, were SH's remnants.

"What kind of nerve does a weakling professor have to come stand in our way?"

Amy and Rick.

They were classified as named villains of some renown in the game.

Their skill level was around S-rank Hero.

That bastard Kultung—he'd summoned utterly monstrous reinforcements.

This alone exceeded my expectations.

"Young Cha, step back. I may be a powerless old woman, but I have the wherewithal to hold out until Seongung or Master Lie arrives."

"No."

But my current strength also exceeded their expectations.

I was confident.

Confident I could fight and win.

That was why I'd provoked them.

"S-rank has its tiers. Dealing with the likes of you is nothing special."

At my waist, Jeivult began to hum and tremble.

【Ohhh yeah~ That's what I love about the new master—fiery as hell! It's been ages since I've had some fun! There's nothing better than two powerhouses going at it, blood and sweat flying everywhere!】

Normally it was an annoying sword, but with a real crisis at hand, it was reassuring to have at my side.

A Magic Sword in hand, stats surpassing an A-rank Hero, an All-Master who'd trained in every class. And on top of that, Ryu Jeonga as my support.

There was no reason to fear them.

"Young Cha, does it look like we can win?"

"Yes. We win, guaranteed."

"Ha... very well. Coming from none other than you, I shall believe it."

My body glowed green.

As Ryu Jeonga's mana enveloped me, my physical capabilities skyrocketed.

Ryu Jeonga was a Hero with a special talent for support as well.

With her focused care on my current self, I could momentarily produce power rivaling S-rank.

"Jeivult, change to staff."

On top of that, layering my own buffs made me feel a strength I could hardly believe belonged to my own body.

"Good. Back to sword."

WHOOSH—!

The finale was the golden Aura that wreathed the blade.

The resplendently shining golden Aura was beautiful enough to captivate anyone who saw it.

"I'll take one of them, so please handle the other."

"Pick whichever suits you, Professor Cha."

"Then I'll take the muscle-bound one."

When I pointed at Rick, Ryu Jeonga nodded.

Purple smoke began seeping from beneath Ryu Jeonga's feet, snaking toward Amy.

Before long, the purple smoke split us in two.

Ryu Jeonga and Amy, me and Rick—each pair was bound together, divided by the smoke.

Rick glared at me with murderous intent.

"What's your reason for picking me?"

Rick and Amy were named villains, so I had a rough memory of their patterns.

But this wasn't a game—in reality, they could show any number of variations on those patterns.

Between the two, Rick was simpler.

So against him, there'd be more room to rely on game knowledge.

Not that I had any reason to tell him that outright.

"Isn't it obvious? You're the weaker one."

"How dare you! The nerve, acting cocky in front of an S-rank Awakened!"

An agitated Rick charged at me.

Simple as his personality was, even a light provocation made him lose his composure.

But his momentum was anything but simple.

With his solid, muscular frame and fist-sized knuckles, his charge was like a dump truck barreling forward.

Rick swung his fist.

CRASH—!

"Gkh......!"

Just blocking a single punch sent me skidding back ten meters.

It was an exchange that put me at a clear disadvantage, but a grin crept onto my face.

The mere fact that I could withstand an S-rank Awakened's attack was a satisfying result.

"Let's see you block this too!"

Rick leaped high into the air.

Then he tilted his body at an angle and dropped diagonally, fist extended.

I blocked this attack with my sword as well.

CRASH—!

"Whew......"

This attack was more manageable than the last.

Was I getting used to his attacks with each exchange?

I quickly realized that thought was a mistake.

I hadn't blocked well.

Rick had hit softer.

CLAMP—!

Rick grabbed Jeivult tight and smirked.

At point-blank range where I couldn't even swing my sword, being grabbed by a close-combat fighter meant only a one-sided beating awaited.

CLANG—!

"Urk!"

Rick drove his knee up into my stomach.

Pain crashed through me as if every organ in my abdomen was about to come up through my throat.

"Clang? A shield?"

Thank god.

Thank god this simple bastard followed his game pattern exactly.

In the game too, Rick liked to use this kind of feint against swordsmen before delivering a knee kick.

If I hadn't anticipated the pattern and pre-cast a Shield spell, my stomach would've burst and I'd have died on the spot.

WHOOSH—!

"......!"

Jeivult's blade shrank and transformed into a dagger.

The smaller dagger slipped easily out of Rick's grip.

【LET'S GOOO!】

I drove it straight at Rick's throat—a killing blow.

The sound of slicing flesh.

SHICK—!

The cut was shallow.

Rick twisted his head at the last instant, dodging Jeivult.

Then he leaped backward to create distance.

As expected of an S-rank Awakened. He dodged that?

It was reaction speed that quite literally transcended human limits.

"Monster bastard, as expected."

"You little bastard... how dare... I'll kill you!"

Rick spat curses, his pride wounded from being caught off guard.

Rick charged again.

He must have been channeling his full strength—the ground shook with a THUD at every step.

"HRAAAAAH!"

Judging from the exchange just now, stopping him with swordsmanship alone wouldn't be easy.

In that case, I'd use a different approach.

"Gravity!"

KROOOOM—!

A crushing force deployed from above, pressing down around Rick.

As the gravity spell took hold, Rick's speed decreased.

"Grgh......"

Rick fought against the gravity and kept pushing forward.

Pinning his feet down this much was plenty.

"Blank."

After pulling back to a safe distance, I transformed Jeivult into a bow.

Then I fired arrows of Aura.

SWOOSH—!

Rick swung his arm wildly, and the arrows snapped apart in midair.

His toughness exceeded my expectations, so I let out an appreciative whistle.

"Whew~."

This was just the beginning.

I cloaked myself with an assassin's stealth and fired a crossbow.

I pulled far back, watched Rick through an archer's keen sight, and dropped Thunderbolts on him.

I set traps here and there, then smashed him with a mace.

I tormented Rick using skills from various classes, one after another.

"You coward! How can you call yourself a warrior?!"

"Sorry, but I'm not a warrior."

"What?"

A close-combat fighter was the strongest class at point-blank range, but if they couldn't close the distance, they were helpless.

There was no reason for me—someone who could use every class's skills—to stand toe-to-toe with a close-combat fighter wielding a sword.

Using a mage's Blank, an archer's footwork, an assassin's stealth, and various other skills, I maintained distance and attacked from range.

Rick screamed in frustration.

"You fucking bastard! No matter how much time you stall, your stamina will run out first!"

"No. You're the one who'll run out first."

"What kind of bullsh— huh?"

Rick staggered, unable to finish his sentence.

His expression said he had no idea what had happened to his body.

Got him.

My gambit had landed perfectly.

"Wh-what? Why is my body......"

"It's a deadly poison that could drop even a Siberian mammoth in one shot. You're done."

"Don't tell me—when the dagger grazed me earlier......"

A deadly poison that only Alchemist-class individuals of S-rank or above could handle.

No matter how strong an S-rank Awakened was, the moment this coated dagger nicked their throat, it was over.

The fact that he was still standing at all was only possible thanks to his strong resistance to poison.

"You... fucking bastard......"

Rick tried to resist in his poisoned state, but it didn't last long before he collapsed.

For an S-rank Awakened, it was an anticlimactic end.

It wasn't glamorous, but so what.

Winning is what's truly impressive.

Right on cue, the purple smoke cleared.

Ryu Jeonga, looking exhausted, and Amy, collapsed and battered beyond recognition, came into view.

"Young Cha, this side is done as well."

"Thank you for the hard work."

Ryu Jeonga wasn't a combat-specialized Hero, but her baseline specs were so high that Amy alone was no match for her.

Only after fully restraining Rick and Amy could we finally relax.

"Nngh... it has been so long since I have used this body of mine, I am worn out."

Ryu Jeonga stretched her short arms out fully and yawned.

Then she looked at me with a meaningful expression.

"Young Cha, you were not having any foolish thoughts just now, were you?"

"...I don't know what you mean."

"I told you—hiding your true feelings before me is pointless."

Ryu Jeonga whacked me on the head with the staff in her hand.

It hurt far more than you'd expect from her tiny frame.

"That hurts."

"Tch, I hit you so it would hurt—would it make any sense if it did not? Now then, look at the Mana Stone in your pocket."

In my pocket?

What Ryu Jeonga was pointing at was the Communication Stone.

The Communication Stone was vibrating and emitting light.

It was a signal for an incoming call. The caller was Zhuge Soyon.

"Soyon? What is it?"

─Professor! We did it!

The excitement was palpable in her unusually elated voice.

There was no subject in her sentence, but it was easy to tell she meant the successful raid on Kultung.

Those kids—they did it.

I'd believed they would succeed, but hearing that they'd actually pulled it off made emotions well up inside me.

"Great work. Soyon, and all the other kids too—you're all my pride."

Once again, an achievement message for Kultung's destruction appeared before my eyes.

What a wonderful message.

Monsters, Evil Gods, SH.

Everything that had threatened the Academy was gone.

The Academy Collapse Event was completely over.

"Wonderful. Truly wonderful."

Ryu Jeonga was smiling softly.

The Chancellor, who loved the Academy more than anyone, was overjoyed.

"It is all thanks to Professor Cha. Without you, we could not have ended it like this."

"It's thanks to everyone's efforts."

"Did I not tell you not to hide your feelings before an old woman?"

"Fine. I'm honestly so amazing that I scare myself sometimes."

"Tch, insufferable."

We both laughed at the same time.

Normally, Ryu Jeonga's seasoned composure showed through even her youthful appearance, but right now she was smiling with the vibrant energy of a teenage girl.

"That said, I am worried about how to handle the rest of the semester. With so many injured and so many buildings damaged, I do not think we can hold lectures normally."

"It can't be helped. No one expected an attack like this."

Ryu Jeonga thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Finishing the remaining lectures is out of the question. As of today, the first semester is over."

It was a bold declaration, but a necessary decision at the same time.

No one would oppose Ryu Jeonga's call.

Looking back, so much had happened during the Academy's first semester.

As of today, it came to a close.