### Chapter 511 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (13)
—
“Son! Don’t you think it’s time to eat?”
“The food is on the plate! I’ll leave it by the door.”
“Please come out of your room.”
—
Sometimes, I have dreams.
Dreams about my oldest, most ancient memories.
According to the Virgin, it’s probably a dream about my parents.
It means that I once had ordinary parents who cared for and loved me—a precious memory.
—
…
Slowly, those happy memories scatter like dust.
Like a flower deeply rooted in my heart that is gradually wilting…
At some point, I could no longer remember my mother’s face.
At another moment, my father’s voice slipped away from my mind.
—
…
The beautiful memories are filled with nightmarish horrors of a bizarre world.
A hellish realm teeming with monsters that mimic humans.
According to the Virgin, this world was originally inhabited by humans.
Until the monsters from beyond the void came and took over all human spaces.
—
“P-Please, save me!”
“AAAAGH! Please, please—”
“This, this monster! This is just a university! A university!”
—
It’s disgusting.
Everything is repulsive, but the most repulsive is their attitude.
They believed themselves to be human even until their dying moments.
Just think about it.
While living peacefully with family, monsters from beyond the void slaughtered all humanity and put on their skins.
Then, to ease their conscience, they started believing, “I’m human.”
—
Disgust, hatred, anger, malice—every negative emotion I can muster boils within me.
That’s why I don’t pity them.
“Wake up.”
?
“Wake up, Champion.”
I see…
I had been lost in thought, but suddenly realize the current situation.
I’ve died.
I’m in a rebirth phase after dying once.
It seems like I was caught off guard by a surprise attack from a high-level wizard while fighting to reclaim a stolen world.
Ordinary magic can’t harm me, but the power used with the ‘mirror’? Well, that’s something I can’t dodge at least once.
But it’s not a big deal.
I have infinite chances.
—
…
My vision gradually brightens.
Because my eyes are regenerating.
Before me stands a quivering old monster.
I can hear an excited voice.
Because my ears are regenerating.
The old monster’s curse echoes in my ears.
“Who do you think you are, coming into my domain? No matter how strong you are, Miskatonic University is my territory! Here, no opponent stands against me—”
— Sluurp!
If there’s one lesson life has taught me, it’s that conversations are unnecessary for most problems.
If we must converse, a steel conversation will suffice.
I am Fortuna.
*
— Kim Ahri
—
— Creak! Bang!
What’s that noise? A surprise attack?
While reading Yumi’s fragment memories, I made myself defenseless, leaving Mooksung and Sophia to guard the surroundings!
“Phew…”
Just as I was about to settle into a battle stance amidst the tension—
— Bang!
“Ahri, are you awake?”
“Mooksung? Where have you been? I thought you’d be right beside me.”
“Grr…! Just get out! The state outside is not good!”
How urgent it must be for Mooksung to say just that and rush outside.
As soon as I was about to leave, I took a quick glance behind me.
“Yumi.”
The precious information brought by Yumi—or her fragment—looks vaguely dazed as if she’s done her part…
“Yumi, you did well. Really.”
“…”
“When we get outside, I’ll treat you as a true ally.”
There was nothing more to add.
*
According to Sophia, Yumi’s hibernation nest was originally on the old continent.
During the process of moving the base to the new continent, the hibernation nest was relocated to the forest near Miskatonic University, so it must have been a challenging process considering the size of the nest.
—
Stepping out into the forest, I understood Mooksung’s earlier comment.
“What’s that aurora…?”
A pale light, a blend of green and blue, fills the entire sky!
Just as surprise sets in, Mooksung shouts in a panicked voice.
“Looks like Lucas caused an accident! Sophia is already on her way.”
“An accident?”
“Apparently, he used some forbidden magic—”
Forbidden magic.
It seemed like something similar to summoning Yaldabaoth before reversing time.
In the past, it would have bemused me that Lucas, a disciple, could use such immense magic when even Yumi couldn’t.
—
Now, I suspect what the source of that magic could be.
Yumi must have obtained some part of the mirror found underground in ancient Iberia, and those ridiculous magical powers resulted from studying that mirror fragment.
“… Lucas wouldn’t go berserk for no reason. He’s quite attached to the university, after all.”
Mooksung reached a similar conclusion and nodded.
“Fate is clearly wreaking havoc on the university. Ahri, you go ahead first! I’ll follow right after!”
“Got it.”
I used the power of the Wing Boots to lift myself up.
—
On my way flying towards Miskatonic University, I spotted Sophia, who was moving slower than I was.
“Sophia!”
“Ahri, you’re awake!”
I quickly asked.
“As you might have guessed, Fortuna has appeared at the university.”
“T-That’s precognition, isn’t it? Seeing the future—”
“… Yeah.”
A lot of explanation felt tiresome, so I’ll humor it as a prophecy.
“Talk while moving. Fortuna’s abilities, in as much detail as possible!”
“Oh, right! Fortuna is, as his name suggests, a being that controls luck, but during battles, it’s oddly—”
“Luck?”
“Huh?”
“… More details, please.”
Luck? Is it just me, or is Seungyub popping into my mind at that moment?
“It’s strangely good luck for himself. Plus, he adds ridiculous bad luck for his enemies—”
— Caw!
In the middle of our conversation, a flock of crows suddenly swooped down on Sophia and me.
Fortunately, Sophia immediately waved her hands to scatter them.
“This is the embodiment of bad luck! Stay alert; we’ll encounter weirder things as we go!”
“… Keep explaining.”
“Also, he’s a type of knight.”
“A knight? You mean, the one in armor swinging around a sword?”
“Yeah, that kind of knight. The difference is he can run 100 meters in 3 seconds and split buildings with a single swing.”
That’s almost comparable to Cha Jinchul’s physical prowess.
“Also, he can jump off the sky and do all sorts of weird stuff. But the most crucial power? Immortality!”
Immortality.
During Yumi’s shattering into hundreds of fragments, the ‘Vessel of Souls’ provided no protection whatsoever.
The two disciples who tried to restore Yumi had never even seen the ‘Vessel of Souls’.
If the one using it now is Seungyub, it’s understandable.
Luck, martial prowess, and now immortality!
Hearing all this, my doubts shifted into certainty.
Unless there’s a specific variable, could three factors overlap and not be the same being?
“Park Seungyub…”
“Huh?”
Why is Seungyub on the opposing side?
Is it connected to the memories of Yumi I just checked?
He was exposed to the mirror’s power while trying to protect Yumi, resulting in a distortion?
A variety of questions sprang up at once, but the most fundamental question rose above all.
“How?”
“Ahri, did you figure something out?”
“How is he using blessings?”
“What?”
I couldn’t comprehend it.
Regardless of his distortion, the real Seungyub in Yumi’s memories couldn’t use blessings!
The allies from the first trial had their blessings sealed, and only bloodlines could be used.
The very existence of Yumi proves that.
Thus, it’s not strange that he can use the Vessel of Souls.
But a blessing?
This is unfathomable.
“Almost there!”
I guess I should ask Sophia one last question.
“Sophia, do you know what the ‘Tomb of Immortality’ is?”
Her eyes widen in surprise.
“H-How do you know that—”
“As long as I know, it’s fine. We’ll talk details later.”
Right now, it’s time to fight, not to get lost in thoughts.
—
Upon arriving at the university’s sky, a truly tremendous battle was raging down below.
A grotesque monster reminiscent of a devil from hell was letting out a horrendous roar.
Against the monster stood a jet-black knight clad in full armor, currently swinging a blazing red sword, cleaving off the demon’s horns.
From this scene alone, it looked like a righteous knight slaying a devil summoned by a fallen mage.
One might think that the Vatican might actually view it that way?
“Lucas!”
In a moment that felt like 20 years had passed, the aged dean only tilted his head slightly to check on Sophia.
In that interval, I gauged the maximum effective range of the irregular polyhedron, closing in on Fortuna.
Sigh—!
Taking a deep breath as I reached out, I soon felt a heavy weight resting on my palm.
My legacy, the irregular polyhedron, radiates a crimson aura.
Seungyub, I’m sorry, but I’m going to stab you once.
Just then, in a split second, my instinct sensed something exceeding human perception.
Instantaneously, an invisible wall formed from the essence of my spirit.
In an instant, a spear that no shield could withstand pierced the air.
At the very moment I aimed to slice Fortuna in two—
— Whoosh!
Suddenly, a gust of sand swirled, obscuring my vision and hindering my aim.
“…”
Rather than my body splitting, Fortuna’s malicious gaze was fixed on me, the heavy armor from his right shoulder had fallen off.
I was frighteningly out of luck.
“Ah, so this is what ‘bad luck’ feels like.”
— Crack!
Feeling threatened, Fortuna dashed towards me like lightning.
My first thought was this was not a fight to take on on the ground.
He had me outclassed in speed and strength!
As I floated higher, just like Sophia warned me, Fortuna also ‘walked’ on the air pursuing me.
“Void Step!”
Isn’t that a legendary level even for top players of Room 205?
Once again, I unleashed a blow that I named “Spatial Slash” towards Fortuna.
My blade is merely a severance of space, physical substance doesn’t exist here.
I thought it was a perfect assassination technique, completely undetectable!
Whoa!
Fortuna, floating in mid-air like a koi climbing a waterfall, twisted his body in the most bizarre manner and evaded the spatial slash.
Was it just luck?
Or do the top players have some ridiculous capability to perceive spatial distortions?
“Ugh!”
What’s important isn’t how he did it, the fact is he dodged it!
I quickly retreated, but Fortuna’s pursuit was relentless, not even shaken off by the Wing Boots.
I hurriedly stretched out my hands and created a horizontal wall right before Fortuna reached me.
“AH! Seungyub, this distance between us is a bit—”
My words didn’t seem to register as the dark knight suddenly reached out.
What? Is he really going to break through my spatial barrier with a punch?
No way, even a martial arts master can’t just smash through—
As that slow hand approached to strike the divided space—
— Boom!
Like the sound of a bell ringing, a tremendous shockwave slammed into me.
“…!”
It felt like my insides twisted, and I was left tasting iron in my mouth.
This is, let’s say…
Some kind of ‘cross-mountain hitting a cow’? The ‘hundred-steps of the divine fist’?
“Ahri!”
The not-so-late arrival—but in terms of time, a mere 10 seconds felt like an eternity—Sophia seized me.
Looks like I still have a chance left.
…
I definitely cannot win against Fortuna by fighting like this.
What should I do?
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