“Ugh…”
The nausea pouring out of my mouth flows down with the water, creating a sense of emptiness in my insides.
Kawurru.
As I flush the toilet, my lunches disappear refreshingly.
Right after I met Yoon Si-woo earlier, my mind froze.
Anyone could see this was a situation that could only be perceived as me hitting a powerless old man.
Moreover, if that person is Yoon Si-woo, the situation becomes even more complicated.
I had previously organized my thoughts about it, but there remains the possibility that Yoon Si-woo has connections with Doomsayers.
Therefore, considering the optimal possibilities I could judge, I threw the old man to Yoon Si-woo.
If the two were colleagues or acquaintances, the Doomsayers would sort it out themselves.
Conversely, if they didn’t know each other at all, that wouldn’t matter either.
The victims from the Academy would basically undergo identification.
During the identity verification, it would surely reveal something unusual about that leader.
Thinking more positively, I might be able to entirely shift the responsibility onto Yoon Si-woo.
Moreover, I even obtained a good item.
[False Horn Mask of the Doomsayers]
[Grade: Hero]
[Information: You have already experienced beyond understanding.]
[Ability: Permanently grants a small amount of stats once a week, but decreases a large amount of mental power each time used. Additionally, if mental power is below a certain level while wearing the mask, there is a high possibility of being brainwashed.]
The foreboding mask of the leader that was struck off my face.
Even though my mental power is a mess, it never drops below a certain level, making it a potential stat copier for someone like me who takes bones and gives flesh.
It’s one grade higher than the common mask I obtained before, and both the information and the risk of the ability have increased.
In fact, I can say that I was lucky to get this.
The types of stats I can obtain total to six.
Among them, the probability of getting a stat related to mental power was one in six.
Furthermore, it’s quite possible that the old man’s mask, although visually different from what I received, is considered the same entity.
There’s truly no way to explain it other than sheer luck.
However, the real problem has not yet been resolved.
A few goals that I had set from the beginning when I came to the Academy.
One of them is to dissolve the alcohol toxicity built up in my body.
The reason I must solve that is now manifesting itself in the state of my body.
“…Ugh.”
Once again, vomit spews into the toilet.
The recoil from my moving body doesn’t cease.
It’s a first for me, and just because my mental power has increased doesn’t mean my body can endure it that much.
Moreover, I also knew from the recent inspection conducted by the Academy that my body is slowly dying.
“I have to find a way…”
Not just the alcohol toxicity.
Every time I use Drunken Fist and various techniques, this fragile body is dying.
The increase in stats from drunkenness only occurs when the drunkenness reaches a specific value.
According to that thought, the shocking skills and Power Release that I used earlier do not activate at all, even when I clench my fist.
Should I say my body has forgotten how to use them?
“My insides…”
I held back the feeling of something churning again and forcefully stuffed the medicine I received from the Academy hospital into my mouth.
Although the alcohol toxicity itself was ineffective, the medicine was said to calm my stomach and stabilize the drunkenness.
About 30 minutes after taking the medicine, my insides finally feel at ease, and I could lean against the wall, close my eyes, and take a rest.
‘What happened to Noah?’
I hurriedly escaped that place and couldn’t check on the safety of Noah, the guards, and other students who were left in the archive.
Of course, knowing that wouldn’t change anything.
[Emergency Disaster Message Disbanded]
[As of this time, 92 gates that occurred in Central District A have been confirmed to have vanished.]
[The grades of the gates that occurred are 5 A-ranks, 47 B-ranks, and 40 C-ranks.]
[There is a possibility that the ground has become unstable, so citizens are advised to take care for their safety and return home.]
At that moment, a text message arrived announcing the confirmation of the gate disappearance.
A total of 92 gates.
The occurrence of this many gates simultaneously in an area that isn’t even 10 square kilometers long must be regarded as someone’s intentional act.
The Academy must also know that this isn’t a normal situation.
Moreover, if it’s that principal, they would know even more.
Still.
“Thank goodness.”
I thought it was a relief that no one died.
Experiencing the death of someone you know is truly… not a pleasant sight.
It really was a tough day.
Though the sun in the sky still shone orange, a downpour of exhaustion fell upon my tired body.
“I should… sleep on it for a bit.”
For the first time in this world, it was truly a tough day where I could fall asleep without drinking.
***
A conference room where numerous professors from the Academy gathered.
Even excluding those currently on business trips or still in recovery operations, over 50 were present.
However, none of them dared to speak up or initiate discussions.
They simply waited for the woman with black hair at the front to open her mouth.
‘She’s mad.’
‘Really mad.’
Her face was smiling, but the twisted corners of her mouth strongly expressed that she was quite annoyed.
“Begin the report.”
Upon the principal’s permission, data regarding the dead and injured were displayed in front of everyone.
“First, there are 11 injured students and 3 guards, and 1 deceased.”
“…One?”
The principal’s words contained several meanings, but if I were to interpret them, they would be like this.
‘Even so, I thought at least 10 would emerge; just one?’
‘But why only one?’
“Yes, in fact, it was impossible for there to be no victims given how suddenly the gates opened across the entire area… however, it has been confirmed that the number of victims has significantly decreased due to that.”
At the end of the explainers gaze was a huge holy barrier spread out outside the sky.
“Who was the one who created that? Is it a professor from the Magic Department?”
“No, actually, we don’t know either. The barrier was reported to have expanded within 15 minutes after the incident occurred… you know what I mean?”
The Academy covers an area of nearly 8 square kilometers.
To expand such a vast protective barrier, especially one intended to exclude only those who emerged from the gates, in just 15 minutes?
It was something any professor from the Magic Department could not easily accomplish.
“So we thought it was the principal doing it.”
If it were the principal herself, it could have been done, but she was too absorbed in other matters at that time to notice.
It was an excuse, but judging the importance of what she was doing compared to the current incident, it was at least more important than terrorism.
However, it was a fact that the damage caused had dramatically decreased.
“Then, who did it? Could it be the student who is the heir to that Mage Tower…?”
“No student has admitted it yet. I asked Helisia, and she replied that she did not do it.”
“Is there no way to trace the magical power?”
“Well… it seems to have been recorded type so the magical power doesn’t remain.”
“Recorded type?”
That was certainly something that she had long known to be inefficient and had already been abolished from the Academy’s curriculum.
To draw a large-scale magic circle in a recorded type requires an enormous amount of time and effort.
Conversely, it would mean that someone had been preparing for this in advance long before the current terror occurred.
‘Who on earth?’
That’s why it was all the more incomprehensible.
Recording type and calculation type magic.
If one had to choose between the two types of magicians, everyone would pick a calculation type magician.
That one could respond quickly to situations and was stronger.
However, from the perspective of magical difficulty, a recording type magician has far more academic value than a magician of the same grade.
“Ugh… for now, let’s put the magician talk aside and return to the damage part.”
“Ah, yes, most of the victims seem to be on the outskirts, as they were injured while fighting off monsters.”
“What about the deceased?”
“A student died from an A-grade gate that occurred in the outer archive, and a guard who was protecting that area was injured.”
“If it’s an outer archive guard…”
“Yes, it’s that person.”
“…I didn’t expect this. Are the injuries serious?”
“Both arms were severed, but they managed to apply quick pressure so there wasn’t excessive bleeding.”
The principal held her aching head and tried to recall why such a situation had occurred.
“Is it a wound that can be healed?”
“The left one was cut relatively cleanly, so it’s possible, but the right one…”
“A prosthetic arm, then.”
“That’s correct.”
“Ugh… alright, first, let’s recover the collapsed facilities… yeah. Please ensure that the injured students are stabilized as much as possible.”
This was an implication to work a bit more. Essentially, it was a suggestion for overtime, but no one had any complaints about it.
It wasn’t just simple hero psychology; everyone here had received significant favors from her, so they couldn’t dare refuse.
Clunk!
At that moment, someone opened the door and entered.
“…”
Raising her eyes, the principal’s gaze fell upon a student.
“Yoon Si-woo?”
Currently the most notable student at the Academy, yet he seemed not too concerned about it.
Nevertheless, he was recognized as likely to soar higher than anyone else in the future, and here he was.
Moreover, in his right hand, he was dragging a small old man who had been restrained.
“…Who is that person hanging there… no, wait a second.”
Kugugugugu.
At that moment, an immense pressure began to weigh down inside the conference room.
“Hahaha… did the dogs of that thing really do such a thing?”
“Ch-Principal… please calm down!!”
“The principal is really angry.”
“Damn, I shouldn’t have come to work today.”
The pupils in her eyes sparkled brightly as she smiled widely.
“Yoon Si-woo, please tell me. Where did you catch that?”
Not a person, but that.
Even so, no one could lay a claim against it.
And in the tense atmosphere, Yoon Si-woo’s mouth began to speak.
