<360 - Professor's Hospitality>
The Lower Class Students, freed from the ghost, eagerly expressed their gratitude.
“Thank you so much. If it weren’t for Oknodie, we’d still be suffering at the hands of that ghost!”
“What did you experience there?”
“It forced us to relive the most horrifying moments of our lives. It was truly shocking!”
“That wretched ghost, having its limbs cut off was too kind. It should have been minced into bits instead.”
“Plus, the Skull Instructor trying to lure us with the idea that we could escape safely after becoming a skeleton made it twice as terrifying!”
“…The, Instructor just wanted to help in their own way.”
Jaku turned away from the Skull Instructor, choosing to be indignant. Just imagining the hell of rummaging through military food on the battlefield during his childhood made him shiver; how could they repeat such a dreadful past?
Thinking about his close friend Mob experiencing it too made him feel even worse.
“Everyone’s so strong-willed. Even after going through something so horrible, their expressions haven’t shattered.”
Even if they’re in a Lower Class, they must be competent enough to pass the world’s best educational institution, right? They looked a bit pale, but overall, their vitality was still intact and they were communicating reasonably well, both physically and mentally.
“Intact, you say? Do you have any idea how uneasy we are!”
“My stomach is still churning.”
“How could you understand my feelings of experiencing the horrific sight of rice dipped in sweet and sour pork sauce?”
…These guys, was that the most dreadful thing they’d ever encountered in their lives?
‘They must have led an enviably easy life.’
It wasn’t something to say to just-released hostages, so Jaku redirected the conversation to Mob.
“Mob, did you experience rice with sweet and sour pork sauce too?”
“No. I watched Oknodie throw away what was wasted on a clumsy simpleton like you.”
“That sounds like a nightmare fitting for you…”
“Then the Director appeared and made Oknodie into a Demon King that massacres humans like bugs, and I had to powerless watch it happen. Grr… If only I had more strength, Oknodie wouldn’t have become such a cruel child. They could have walked a better path…”
What, did this guy come back from a failed hero’s dream?
In contrast to the absurdity of the two, the Skull Instructor stood up just fine and approached Oknodie.
“So what’s the plan regarding this ghost?”
“Of course, we have to take them along! That was my intent from the start.”
“Hoho. So, you’re an astute student that Professor Sadako has her eye on. Able to recognize a ghost with high value in necromancy.”
Can one even consider capturing it for duplication as having necromantic value? Oknodie briefly pondered but soon stopped worrying. After all, they’d capture it, so what’s the issue?
Sneak sneak.
Roll roll.
While others were distracted by the hostage and Oknodie was busy chattering, the Hooked Ghost slipped through a crack in the open space.
This human is terrifying.
It’s the first time I’ve encountered an object imbued with such serious curses that I couldn’t replicate.
I must be killed.
I have to escape now.
Oknodie’s small foot stomped down hard upon the Hooked Ghost’s desperate back.
“Cough!”
Held down by the immense power that was anything but childlike, the Hooked Ghost halted its movements.
“Didn’t you say you’d lift the curse and let anyone escape? How many replicable items are there? You’re never getting out!”
Keek-iying.
The ghost let out an adorably plaintive sound as if it were an animal in a disadvantageous position, pleading for mercy. Having nearly died from the single replication attempt, continuing to copy such a thing would surely be life-threatening!
“Pfft. A true veteran wouldn’t bother creating a separate strategy guide, right? The truly important information is retained in the body, you know? This is a trap meant for curses!”
Fortunately, Oknodie didn’t intend to inflict such harsh torture.
“First, please replicate Mob’s armor! You have plenty made already, right?”
Mob’s armor had some value. With the item’s worth climbing alongside its cursed status, it was valuable enough for even a ghost to covet.
Thunk.
Upon seeing the cursed armor that emerged from the other side of dimension, Mob instinctively felt a surge of dread.
“O-Oknodie, what do you want to replicate the armor for?”
“Of course, if there are two of the same armor, it must be enhanced!”
“Just as I was getting used to things!?”
“That’s even better. When you’re used to the weight, increasing the intensity makes the strain more satisfying, right? Once you start mastering the Mana Flow Technique, you’ll endure it even better.”
“Then I’ll never be able to endure unless I’m constantly using the Mana Flow Technique!?”
“Well, looks like you’ll have to run it all the time!”
As Mob wore a face filled with despair as if he’d start digging tunnels, Jaku discreetly approached and whispered in his ear.
“Didn’t you say it yourself? If you don’t grow, what happens to Oknodie?”
“!”
“It’s up to you.”
Mob gritted his teeth and nodded.
“I’m ready. Please enhance it!”
Was it an unexpected show of determination? The child who had been terrifying the ghost now sparkled with excitement and reached out, grasping their hand tightly.
As his cheeks flushed, Oknodie vigorously shook their hand up and down, shouting, “Wonderful! To think a mere extra from the Lower Class, whether from the original or not, would show such enthusiasm. I’m honestly touched! Whether it’s with an instrument, sports, or training, the early stages are the hardest, yet you’ve followed through so earnestly; it truly makes teaching rewarding!”
“C-Close. You’re too close, Oknodie.”
In contrast to Mob, who felt overwhelmed by the proximity, Oknodie stepped closer, tugging at his collar.
Unsure and pushed by the force of the moment, Mob lowered his stance and Oknodie whispered into his ear, cupping their hands around it.
“Cursed items, when enhanced, can prevent the overlapping application of other cursed items. So, the Bikini Armor might automatically be released too!”
“…!!”
“Hehe. So keep working hard from now on. I might not be as good as Professor Ferguson from the Production Department, but I do know how to enhance, so the +1 enhancement is on the house!”
Mob felt relieved at the same time he realized a terrifying fact. If the Hooked Ghost replicated cursed items, wouldn’t it duplicate not only the armor but also the curse affecting the Bikini Armor that forced it to unequip?
Upon closer inspection, among the piled-up replicated items from the dimension, he spotted a few Bikini Armors buried.
‘So glad I wasn’t found out!’
The existence of the Bikini Armor, pressing against his skin beneath the armor, threw Mob into a desperate pang of a different nature. He was determined to train hard to build up a physique strong enough to endure even while wearing the high-weight cursed armor and trigger the automatic release of the Bikini Armor!
*
The event for Mob, Jaku, and the Lower Class Students wrapped up with the rescue, but my event is just about to get serious.
“I’d like to negotiate with Professor Sadako; could we go together, Instructor?”
“Hehehe. If you want to become a skeleton yourself as a side note, just say the word.”
No, there’s no such side note, Instructor.
“Is it about that ghost?”
“Yep. We need to save the duplicator for long-term use.”
“Professor Sadako is indeed an expert in this field.”
Could there be anything that the professor, who even nurtures cursed trees, doesn’t know about curses?
To prevent that cursed ghost from dying before learning how to release it, I needed the professor’s help right away.
Was the myth-level curse too strong?
Next time, I should probably lower the grade to a legendary-level curse instead.
“Here.”
The location the Skull Instructor led me to was a massive grave dug deep underground, far more secluded than the previous open ground, where sunlight didn’t reach. It was the Catacombs, a resting place housing the corpses of students, professors, and staff who had died in the Academy, as well as the diverse monsters and heroes whose bodies had been procured for practice.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
As the Skull Instructor infused their magical power into the wall’s torches, all the doors of the Catacombs opened simultaneously.
The sight of dozens of layers of doors opening at once, revealing graves where the bodies of those with lower access rights, all the way to the higher tiers, lie, was strikingly overwhelming.
Whoooooo.
Deep within those doors that even darkness feared to tread, a chilling wind swept forth, bringing with it the presence of the dead that any living being would instinctively avoid.
“Oh. Our professor seems to be in excellent condition. They’re permitting you to step into the 38th Gate of the Catacombs; consider yourself lucky.”
“What happens if the professor is in poor condition?”
“At the very least, I won’t be entering there.”
“…”
I’m a bit scared to go in there…
“Don’t fret so much. It’s just that instead of draining the spirits of the dead, it’ll only suck out the vitality of the living. Hehehe!”
“I’m alive! I’ve got plenty of vitality!”
As we exchanged such idiotic dialogue, the entrance door shook violently by itself.
“Is the professor urging me to hurry inside?”
“Well, something like that. If it were me, I’d take about 60 more seconds to stall.”
“Why?”
“Because another skeleton will be formed.”
Now, that’s even scarier! I dashed into the Catacombs before Professor Sadako got any angrier.
