<175 - Total Deployment>
Suddenly, the comrades and Professor Sadako appeared in the nightmare.
I feared it might be a gimmick where the rewards would be reduced, but then again, the curse was based on my own body.
There was no worry about someone helping and cutting my rewards to N parts.
“What a relief.”
It was much more comfortable than struggling alone to take each step, relying on special gloves.
Ice Palace.
The only means to block Rosgini’s flames when she goes berserk at the red magic tower.
While transporting the cruel chunk of chilling air, which could freeze the owner too, Son Ohchun and Isabel supported my weary arms from the sides.
Even though it was the same harsh cold that tortures my hands, just having them nearby made it bearable.
Silently walking beside me, I had comrades.
I had never expected to feel this secure just from that.
They felt like a warm bowl of soup.
Most importantly, my heart felt incredibly at ease.
“Professor Sadako has been the one quirking out of the Academy, but she doesn’t have a gimmick for going berserk herself.”
But while Professor Sadako was like that, Isabel and Son Ohchun felt even more reassuring.
“These two are extras. Students whose faces I won’t even see in other scenarios. There’s no concrete bad-ending gimmick related to going berserk or destruction!”
Confidently relying on them without the worry of becoming the sudden enemies in a double boss gimmick.
“[You have cleared your 53rd death <Rosgini’s Fiery Hell>.]
“[You have cleared your 54th death <Underground Prison That Must Not Be Opened>.]
“[You have cleared your 55th death <Grave of the Knight>.]
Fast progress.
The strategy was picking up speed.
Since I was not alone, we could acquire strategy items faster, and the timing to use them was advanced.
“What kind of crazy people are there in this Academy?”
“Aren’t you curious? Will we be able to run wild like this when we become third years? I’m so envious!”
“Ah! If you want, you can do it now. Do you want me to help you?”
It’s not all that hard.
First, pouring in the Dark Mana makes going berserk simple.
If we circulate the energy in the set order, we can maintain the state of berserk until we lose all our mana.
Moreover, this is the dream world.
While permanent enhancement items aren’t realized,
temporary enhancing items are partially realized.
If we temporarily increase the mana, it means we can extend our berserk time!
Of course, it’s a byproduct of the nightmare.
When we wake up, we’ll suffer mental penalties based on the number and grades of the items we consumed.
But still, wouldn’t it be a great deal to do boss battles here in the first semester of the first year when we can’t do it in real life?
“Alright. Put it away.”
“What if we lose our sanity, how will I get you out?”
“Hehe.”
“Don’t smile. What did you do well?”
“I swear, I’ll smack you.”
Hmph.
What did I do wrong!
*
We were almost there.
Feeling that sense of relief, Professor Sadako suddenly gestured to Isabel.
“Come here and help me lift this…”
“Ugh, it’s heavy. What is this item for?”
“…Right here.”
As Professor Sadako placed her hand on Isabel’s head, whom she couldn’t move because she was using both hands to lift an item, the Black Mist was released from her hands, and Isabel’s body turned to smoke and soared into the sky.
[Heart Dive Reversal]
[Forced Return]
Professor Sadako pulled Isabel back.
Startled, Son Ohchun protested, “Professor, what are you doing all of a sudden? Just when things were almost overwhelming!”
“You have to return too.”
“Why all of a sudden?!”
“The intensity of the curse has changed.”
“…More than before? How severe is it?”
“To the point where I can’t protect you anymore.”
The answer came not from Sadako in front but from the shadow that surged from behind.
“!!”
I was caught off guard.
There was no time to turn my body, and Son Ohchun’s body also turned to smoke and soared into the sky, disappearing.
He might have protested about why we sent the friends back.
Despite such worries, Oknodie nodded his head with a look that said he had done well.
“Thank you, Professor!”
“Aren’t you resentful? You sent your friends away.”
“From here on, the triggers of mana berserk or mana disaster go way beyond that to a world-ending level!”
“It’d be way too harsh for newcomers. Hehe.”
The words uttered with a smiling face were truly absurd.
The state of natural mana filled with palpable ferocity.
The murderous density of shadow dimension energy.
I wondered if it would feel like this when the witch’s banquet of “Walpurghis Night” mentioned only in words or the unavoidable curse of death, “Memento Mori Day,” became a reality.
They say only the masters can unleash an ‘Area’ as a field boss on one field, or as a world boss across one world.
This world erosion could also be considered the world-scale area unleashed by a world boss.
It’s a different level.
It’s a different dimension.
It’s terrifying to even imagine what’s coming.
They saved the students from such a disaster.
I have no regrets about that.
Just fear.
What exactly does this child know?
What was the foundation thinking allowing such knowledge?
“Professor, could you help just a bit more?”
“…To the extent possible.”
The desperate battle against the nightmare of Professor Sadako and Oknodie was about to begin in earnest.
*
*
Isabel and Son Ohchun bounced back into reality.
They couldn’t contain their frustration.
They were kicked out due to lacking strength.
It’s natural to feel ashamed.
It felt like just yesterday they had navigated through the entrance exam together as comrades.
Even if they were considered the top students, they thought of themselves as just another pair of first years.
But that wasn’t the case.
They knew Oknodie was strong.
It was just that the gap was beyond their imagination.
“So you’ve returned. How’s the state?”
“We’re into the second half of the curse.”
“Instead, the difficulty has become ridiculous. Is a high-level curse really this harsh?”
“From there, I’ll explain it to you.”
“You’re… strong. Are you a Professor?”
A man with long, messy hair in a cloak and pauldrons, who could easily be mistaken for a mercenary.
Those with a keen eye could spot the thieves from the items strapped on his waist and thighs, as well as the hand guards designed for ease of spellcasting on his fingers.
Yet how muscular he was beneath his clothing raised doubts about whether he was truly a warrior.
And he was also a professor at the Academy.
The former hero, Professor Destroyer, answered Son Ohchun’s question.
“Indeed. I couldn’t bear to watch a student who was allowed to have a teacher-student bond die in vain.”
“I apologize. Please spare our dear mouse!”
“You don’t need to bow down like that; I plan to help. This kid’s curse is a high-level curse of experiencing death. But according to the other students who heard Professor Sadako’s opinion, the curse synergy was bad.”
“What do you mean by bad synergy?”
“Actually, I previously imposed a “Nightmare of Struggle” to better evaluate Oknodie’s abilities. That too is quite a respectable high-level curse.”
“To put such a dangerous curse on a first-year…!”
“Because they are first-years, it’s a low-level. Since they’re in the upper class, it was upgraded to intermediate. Being the top student, it was upgraded to advanced. It’s a logical judgment.”
Really? The confident statement from Professor Destroyer was convincing precisely because of its nonchalance!
“Please explain how the bad synergy between the Nightmare of Struggle and this high-level nightmare relates.”
Gizel spoke soothingly to prevent Son Ohchun from charging at him.
“It’s simple. Oknodie’s experience has already surpassed the high-level classes outside the Academy. He has been raised under the best teachers provided by the foundation.”
In most cases, superior education guarantees superior growth.
However, sometimes excellent teaching can become detrimental.
“That added reality to Oknodie’s ‘imagination.’ The current curse of that child is structured around complete coherence based on the highest tier of teachers and education.”
“So, does that mean the curse has been strengthened?”
“Yes. An exceedingly high-level curse has likely been triggered now. In the nightmare reconstructed based on the maximum reality she understands.”
He couldn’t even tell the students, but inwardly he felt that things had worsened one step further.
The Dark Mana possession revealed during the lower-level Mana Evaluation Test.
Combining that would suggest that Oknodie, possessing an overwhelming amount of Dark Mana, would have her psyche deteriorate daily.
“It wasn’t a coincidence that she borrowed the form of her mentor to slaughter monsters in the Nightmare of Struggle. That child learned how to fight against nightmares to survive.”
A method suggested by the foundation to save her from the pain of Dark Mana every time she sleeps, or perhaps simply what she found to survive on her own.
Having suffered from nightmares to the extent that she needed to learn techniques to fight them in her daily life, it was only natural that the escalation level of her nightmares would increase given her recent curses.
“But this is it.”
As Professor Destroyer whistled, another professor appeared as if waiting for the signal.
“The students’ fatigue is growing. Could you substitute for the laws?”
“Of course. I will do my very best.”
Even Myung So, who had been observing Oknodie’s behavior.
With him retaining his position, Destroyer could proceed without hesitation behind Professor Sadako into the Heart Dive.
Thus, the operation to rescue Oknodie involving three professors from the Academy approached its climax.
