After receiving a weapon from Sangyeom, I returned to this continent.
While training, Gapwoo was sent back to the Space of Despair along with the book on the ‘real’ armor pressure he found in Jongsa’s spoils.
After that, I returned to Elbrite, finished up various tasks, and announced a brief break, what you might call a calm broadcast.
Ertarn, Growth’s Altar, and then Teshiniria.
There were some breaks in between, but they weren’t long, and it was basically as if I hadn’t rested at all since the Kraken subjugation, continuously clearing three hidden regions one after the other.
In the past, such actions would be normal, but I was in a state of return.
There wasn’t really a need to obsessively train and solve problems to an unhealthy degree.
“Editors are about to die too.”
There’s already a mountain of editing to do, and more and more editing tasks keep pouring in every single day.
With the existing editors overwhelmed, I’ve even started outsourcing recently, but it seems that’s not enough either.
While some were angry at the announcement of a calm broadcast, the majority of viewers were those urging me to take a break after working so hard.
I spent my time without any major incidents, casually engaging in ranked battles, just chatting, or conducting academy classes.
Time flowed and flowed, and before I knew it, it had almost been five months since the new year.
■
“Oops.”
[LOL]
[Lily?]
[Level]
[Big Lily]
[Huh?]
[Leo said that’s 2000 points…]
[Why are you making it yourself? LOL]
[Can’t beat my 1800 points. LOL]
“Ah, wait a second, I’m really going to clear it this time.”
In the Mana Training Facility of the Eli Academy in the Duchy of Elbrite.
This facility, decorated in bright white gloss and blue mana, is equipped with various devices I created for mana training.
Standing in front of the ‘huge box’, I inserted a restart coin and glared at the camera.
This huge box can hold special fruits made of mana; when the same fruits meet, they transform into higher-grade fruits.
The higher-grade fruits are larger than the lower ones, and the training takes the form of a game where you try to make the highest-grade fruits before the box fills up, earning points.
It’s a game inspired by the ‘melon game’ that became popular before Deoen mentioned it, which was absorbed by the precursor to Nutri Company.
Originally an educational game designed for academy students to easily grasp the flow of mana, I was playing it while restricting all my powers and sensations to a ‘0’ state.
In simpler terms, it was like pressing the monitor in front of a computer with an ordinary human body.
I managed to somehow create one of the highest-grade fruits, but creating two is almost impossibly difficult.
“I think I can do it…”
Ting~!
“Ah!”
A fruit bounced out of the box.
A message made of my mana hovers in the air.
-1789 points (Overall Rank 6th)
[LOL]
[Yeah, 1700 points~]
[Lily is so cute]
[Do two melons look easy? LOL]
[You’ll never make it]
[LOL]
[Lily who can’t game is refreshing]
[Info) 1st to 3rd place cleared using mana, so technically 4th.]
[Lil4 is a solid pick LOL]
[Even 4th is impressive LOL]
[Boy – Lil – Lee]
“…I’m taking 1st place today.”
I put the coin back in.
Originally, these coins should be purchased with Academy points, but since I’m the master, it’s not a problem.
This time for sure…!
-1797 points (Overall Rank 5th)
……
[LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL]
[1 step up!]
[Phew]
[Breaking news) Lily actually promoted to 3rd place LOL]
[Is it really that hard?]
[But with that score, you’re doing well LOL]
[For real LOL]
[3D makes it tough]
[Why is this even worth 300,000?]
[LOL]
[Lily’s Melon Destruction Battle > Teshiniria攻略 broadcast]
“Phew…”
Let’s focus.
Ding~
The restart coin I made with blue light was sucked into the device, emptying the box.
Thud thud thud!
The ‘Fruit Aura Disk’ next to me spins, and an apple pops out from the cylinder in the center.
‘Apple, strawberry, strawberry, melon, plum, strawberry, plum…’
If I follow this order, I can start filling in from the end. There’s a chance of plenty of gaps, but considering the unforeseen accidents when dropping fruit and during combinations, it’s a risk I have to take. Since it’s made of mana, I can’t predict any variables unless I control it…
[Lily is so serious]
[Looks more cautious than a monthly report raid LOL]
[Boy Lily]
Thud!
The first fruit goes down, and I start sending the fruits down while they gradually combine.
As the fruits in the box stack higher, the tension escalates, and both I and the onlookers focus solely on the box.
How long has it been?
‘Just before two melons!’
One melon and two pineapples are in the box!
When the two pineapples meet, one melon is made, so it’s practically the same as having two melons complete.
Now, I just need to bring these two together.
[Oh oh]
[Is it really happening?]
[Insane LOL]
[This is risky!]
[The box is about to burst]
“Haah…”
The problem is that the box is nearly full.
When fruits combine, they inevitably bounce a little, so if I’m not careful, just placing one fruit could end the game.
‘Honestly, if I could just make two melons and have them bounce out, that would be fine. Making two means it’ll definitely overflow…’
Currently, my cumulative score is 1795 points.
I’ve designed it to view the score in the most compact way, and even without making two melons, I have a score comparable to other rankers.
All rankers above rank 7 have made two melons.
Making two melons ends the game, so just making two with my current state would let me shoot up to first place.
‘The score for two melons is 300 points. The current first place, Leo, has 2011 points, so it’s certain.’
“I’m going.”
I picked up the last fruit.
Even though all abilities were blocked, it’s perfect based on the simulations I’ve run hundreds, thousands of times.
‘It will work!’
It can’t be more perfect than this.
Thud.
The fruit fell.
Wham! First, an apple merged with another apple, and the impact caused a small vibration in the box.
Then, a moment of empty space appeared as two pineapples met—
“Professor!!!”
Boom!
With the crashing sound of someone entering, the Mana Training Facility shook.
Naturally, as the training facility shook, the box also shook…
Thud!
“Ah.”
The fruit bounced away.
-1798 points (Overall Ranking: 5th)
“Urgent matter—”
“Why did you come?”
“Uh… Huh? An urgent matter. Ah.”
“Why. Did you come?”
[LOL]
[You seem pretty pissed]
[Bounce, Gunner, or you’re dead]
[Look at that life in their eyes]
[Interrupting this, huh]
[LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL]
[Breaking News) Magic Engineering Destruction LOL]
[Isn’t the ending just around the corner? LOL]
The Gunner, a professional ranker who uses guns in the medieval world of Deoen and belongs to the Guild of Magic Engineering, was sweating profusely as she gripped a letter in her hand.
Although ranker students didn’t often come to the Academy, the Gunner consistently used the facilities and received classes from various professors.
She opened her mouth, swallowing hard at the sharp killing intent that spread within the facility.
“Um, um, I’m sorry…”
“Just get to the point.”
“Um… A summoning order has been issued…”
“A summoning order?”
Thud.
As I released the restrictions, the letter in the Gunner’s hand flew into my hand.
A white shield and a sword made of yellow feathers. And several weapons surrounding it.
It bears the seal of the ‘Challenger Alliance.’
Inside the letter, there were various flowery words written in it.
When you strip away all the unnecessary bits, the letter’s message is simple.
“We must stop the foretold end. So, I summon the alliance.”
“…I see. It’s about time, isn’t it?”
“Well, we were the first to receive it because we were preparing the floating ship… I figured I should let you know. I’m sure the alliance will summon you separately.”
“Of course.”
The three disasters that appeared with the change of the year all had immense strength, and currently, ‘two’ have already been dealt with.
The sea disaster, the Kraken, was taken down by me and the alliance.
The golden disaster, Scorpio, was dealt with by the Pharaoh.
Both have been handled, and while the users didn’t gain much from Scorpio, the Pharaoh secured some rewards when he tossed Scorpio’s ‘shell’ into the desert three weeks ago.
Now, only one remains.
[Devil?]
[The Empire still hasn’t taken it down?]
[Looks like the devil hasn’t been caught]
[Let’s go capture the devil~]
“The disaster of Gongam. The devil the Empire was supposed to handle hasn’t been dealt with yet.”
And if that devil is not caught within 150 days, it will separate the world into darkness.
What was once merely a “crack in space” that connected various dimensions could potentially sever the world entirely.
So it had to be dealt with quickly, but for five months, this guy’s Empire has been MIA.
The gunner clenched his magic engineering rifle tight with a tense expression.
“There are only about 20 days left. People are seriously suggesting that the alliance should invade the Empire.”
“Um… Yeah, it definitely is a problem.”
I had already been thinking about invading the Empire soon.
It’s better to handle this securely rather than rush it and clear it in a panic.
There’s really no room to relax when it comes to the ‘demon race.’
“I was only thinking of achieving rank one first.”
“……”
“Someone made us fail, you know.”
“…I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. Even though I spent three days researching routes and running simulations thousands of times, and took three hours to act cautiously, failure is still an option. Don’t worry about it.”
“……”
[LOL]
[TT_TT]
[Lily lily…]
[Totally understandable, lol]
Whoosh!
I drew the Kraken’s Spear.
The gunner flinched and stepped back at the sight of the spear, but I just tilted my head and smiled.
“Let’s go. Time to catch the demon race.”
“…Yes.”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
