Chapter 29
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Episode 6 - The past [2]
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The only way to survive for thirty minutes was with the help of other cadets.
Normally, that would mean receiving help from Lumina or from Charlotte and Leon, who were in the Golden Forest.
As for Lumina, there was a 5% chance that she would appear and help the player.
Meanwhile, with Charlotte and Leon, the chances increased to 40%.
The problem was that the two of them were too far away; they would only arrive at the very last moment.
In that case, Clementine's appearance was the most guaranteed outcome.
However, the problem was that if she appeared, it would mean her death.
'But I have no other choice.'
I don't know why Clementine almost died a few minutes ago.
Since originally, she was helping and teaming up with other cadets.
'Maybe because the Demonic Beast is in the depths instead of on the surface, her actions changed.'
Anyway, I need her help; Charlotte and Leon are even farther away, so even if they saw the Demonic Beast,
it would still take them at least thirty minutes or more to arrive.
'So Clementine's help is my only option.'
Then I looked at the ring; even with the ring, it would be difficult to guarantee that I could reach the Demonic Beast.
When the player uses the ring, the game displays the probability of reaching the Demonic Beast.
If it fails to reach the target, searching for the ring would be pointless, and the player would most likely die.
'So everything depends on my skill.'
Unless I were a Warlock, I couldn't guarantee success.
However, I'm lucky this time.
If I use my senses properly, I can reach the Demonic Beast with the Curse and weaken it.
'Then I just have to survive for thirty minutes, and game over.'
Along the way, I ran into several Demonic Beasts.
Most of them were Class 2 or 3, so they were not very difficult to kill.
Even so, this kept delaying me more and more.
And if a certain number of cadets died, the mission would be considered a failure.
Clank! Clank!
Black blood splattered everywhere as Clementine, whose body was covered in blood, clicked her tongue.
Personally, I honestly didn't care about being covered in Demonic Beast blood.
Anyway, she turned toward me and said:
"So what exactly is your plan supposed to be?"
As we continued running, she asked:
"Weaken that Demonic Beast."
"What? You're not a support mage, you're just a swordsman."
Shrugging, I simply said:
"Aren't there items that can do that?"
At my response, Clementine shut her mouth and stopped asking questions.
She really is an airhead most of the time.
But honestly, for me, that's actually a good thing.
If she asked about the item, I could say that I obtained it in the cave, but wouldn't that sound even more suspicious?
She might think that cave was the villains' hideout and that I already knew about it and still didn't report it to the Academy.
Pulling myself out of my thoughts, it didn't take us long to arrive where the Demonic Beast was.
It was a Demonic Beast that never appeared in the game.
The one that originally appeared in the game wasn't this tentacled creature.
'It looks like a chimera.'
Its body was covered in tentacles; it had eyes everywhere, including on the tentacles.
And a dozen mouths that constantly opened, releasing a strange liquid whose color I couldn't identify.
I tried to guess what kind of wild beast it used to be, but there are no lakes in the Golden Forest.
'Where did this thing come from?'
If the villains brought it here, that would be impossible; even if they had, knowing them, it was unlikely.
'Don't tell me they used parts from other Demonic Beasts and fed them to this thing so it could evolve.'
That was the most likely explanation; anyway, seeing its size made this increasingly difficult.
"How are we supposed to fight something like that?"
Clementine asked, but even I didn't know how to answer her question.
'No, the important thing right now is weakening it.'
For my current plan, there were three phases.
First, weaken it using the ring's Curse.
Second, neutralize the tentacles.
And lastly, take away its vision by attacking all of its eyes.
That was the current plan; the most important problem was the first step.
'Alright, let's try it.'
As if it were some kind of switch, the Demonic Beast moved its tentacles.
It grabbed the surrounding trees and hurled them in my direction.
Clementine ran around the Demonic Beast's area.
"I'll try to confuse it."
I nodded at her words, then looked at the trees flying toward me.
I tightened my grip on Inverted Heaven's hilt and swung it in a straight line.
The trees rushing toward me were split in half, but I didn't stop.
I kept moving the sword, and the trees were reduced to tiny cubes.
Seeing this, the Demonic Beast stopped throwing anything else.
Instead, it moved its enormous tentacles from every direction.
'Now I'll test it.'
Upon reaching Expert Mastery in the first form of Inverted Heaven,
it means you learn the movements, something akin to a movement skill.
Every Mastery comes with some minor ability, and the reason I wanted to raise the Mastery to Expert was because of this.
But naturally, using this movement skill requires the use of Inverted Mana.
That means using the Inverted Heaven Sword Art.
First Form: Twenty-Four Steps of Space.
Just as the tentacles were mere inches away from me,
I took a step as the mana in my legs reversed backward.
Then, as if I had teleported, I appeared a meter away from where I had been before.
But I didn't stop there; naturally, I had twenty-four steps to leap through Space.
In simple terms, it was like short-range teleportation, barely one meter per step.
But it was enough to dodge the Demonic Beast's attacks.
I moved around the tentacles, stepping on them and, in the next instant, appearing near the main body.
The main body was enormous once I got close.
The white lines formed countless eyes that instantly locked onto me.
'Shit…'
A large red dot appeared in my vision.
Without wasting time, I moved one foot back, shifting a meter away.
What appeared where I had been standing was a long, thin spine.
It was twisted, with countless teeth attached along its body, and its tip was razor-thin.
'Shit, that was close.'
I cursed inwardly as I distanced myself from the Demonic Beast's main body.
'Getting closer will only get me killed.'
I wanted to get close enough to guarantee the Curse would land, but that seemed impossible.
I landed on the ground; meanwhile, the tentacles began moving again.
I used Inverted Mana in my legs and shifted once more.
'In that case, I only need to get just close enough to cast the curse.'
Only then would I have the confidence to use the ring.
"Hey, bastard, over here. I'm stronger than that blind guy, so chase me instead."
"..."
'At least she's being helpful.'
Seeing Clementine draw the Demonic Beast's attention,
I quickly moved again.
Since it was a Class 6, I couldn't even think about hurting it.
'But that doesn't mean I can't hurt its eyes.'
Clementine knew this, so she mainly targeted the Demonic Beast's eyes.
The Demonic Beast swung its tentacles toward Clementine in great fury.
Taking advantage of this, I used the Twenty-Four Steps of Space and got close enough to the main body.
'Now.'
Once I reached the right spot, I raised my hand, then pulled out a small stone from my Inventory.
This stone was a concentration of condensed Power of Chaos shaped like a fingernail-sized rock.
I'm not a villain, so obviously I can't use items made by villains that require the Power of Chaos.
That's why I made sure to find this stone inside the cave.
When I brought the stone close to the ring, it instantly shrank and soon disappeared.
Next, I opened the palm of my hand and, as if casting magic, muttered,
"Weakening Curse."
A thin aurora shot out from my hand toward the Demonic Beast's main body.
The moment the Demonic Beast saw the aurora, the Curse, flowing toward it,
the Demonic Beast noticed it, quickly planted its tentacles on the ground, and lifted its body.
However, because the distance between us was barely six meters, it couldn't dodge the Curse.
'Good, I did it.'
I couldn't help but feel relieved when I saw the first phase of my plan succeed.
The Curse instantly covered the Demonic Beast's body.
At first glance, there didn't seem to be any change, but in the very next second,
its body shrank to at least half of its original size.
Instantly, the Demonic Beast screamed, and an unnatural screech made my ears bleed.
"Ha, if you think pain like this can affect me, that won't work…"
But there was someone else it did affect.
And the Demonic Beast knew that as well.
"Oh, shit…"
Without wasting any time, I moved toward Clementine, who was lying on the ground with her hands pressed against her ears.
She gritted her teeth tightly as she writhed in pain.
The moment I saw the tentacles, I used the Twenty-Four Steps of Space once again, and within only a few steps, I arrived in front of Clementine.
I carried her in a princess carry, then quickly moved my legs, putting distance between us and the tentacles.
The Demonic Beast's tentacles slammed into the ground, destroying everything around them.
'That was seriously dangerous.'
I lowered my head and asked,
"Are you okay now?"
Clementine didn't say anything. With a sigh, I set her down on the ground, then took out a potion and handed it to her.
'I only have four potions left.'
For now, the Demonic Beast hasn't injured me, but even so, it's better to save at least two potions.
"I-I'm fine now… so the plan worked."
I nodded and pointed toward the Demonic Beast as it went berserk.
"As you can see, even its size was reduced."
Clementine nodded, and then I told her what we had to do next.
"Now we need to neutralize at least most of the tentacles."
"But how are we supposed to do that? It's impossible to hurt it…"
As if realizing something, she closed her mouth.
That reaction was only natural, since the Demonic Beast had weakened and now possessed only Class 5 strength.
Hurting it was possible now, though it would still be somewhat difficult.
"If you understand now, then let's go."
Clementine nodded, got up from the ground, and started running.
I followed shortly after.
'Good, if we keep this up, we'll be able to hold out longer.'
My plan had gone smoothly so far.
However, back then I hadn't realized that fate was playing a cruel trick on me.
A pair of eyes had been watching me with a smile from the very beginning.