<379 - Hector's Order 2>
The merchant is a treasure goblin from the human realm.
He loads up on valuable items but would drop dead with just a light tap to his combat power.
There were far too many men in this land who couldn’t sleep at night, thinking of the treasures they had let slip away if they didn’t resort to banditry for such tasty prey.
“So this is the solution I’ve come up with after pulling out all the stops for funding.”
“An artifact? We could just hire mercenaries, why go for something so expensive?”
“Remember, Yui. When the situation turns dire, mercenaries can abandon their employer and run, and in the end, the only one who can protect yourself is you.”
Betrayal of subordinates.
Betrayal of business partners.
Betrayal of the mercenary group assigned to escort.
Having grown up watching her father struggle with countless betrayals, Yui craved power more than any merchant in the world.
That’s why she possessed many artifacts.
Boots that never tire in marching.
The eagle’s mark that sees far and wide.
The ogre gauntlets that grant overwhelming strength.
She hadn’t had the chance to use them during the entrance exam.
In the fierce competition just before entering, there were stronger opponents everywhere, looters eager to kill her for her artifacts.
It was the same during the first semester; she couldn’t use her artifacts either.
Even carrying an artifact required a permit that cost points, and using one also needed points.
At a time when she needed funding for her business, she couldn’t afford to waste points like that.
But now that it was the second semester, having infiltrated the organization called Hector’s Order, she had the opportunity to exert her influence.
Yui had long obtained the ‘possess permit’ and ‘use permit’ for the massive number of artifacts she owned.
A permit that allowed her to possess artifacts in case of emergencies.
A use permit to use artifacts for studies related to tests or assignments.
Having secured both of these, Yui had regained powerful strength that propelled her forward to lead a trading company among the three great forests.
“This must be the power of treasure!”
“Where on earth did all that treasure come from?”
“They say treasures choose their handlers, and yet you meet all those picky conditions and can wield them!”
Treasure refers to items enhanced to +5 or higher.
Due to the Empire’s taboos, many people didn’t know about this fact but were aware of the side effects created by enhancements.
The immense mana consumption required by high-tier items.
To offset this, each item often comes with restrictions, either reducing or eliminating mana consumption instead of adding more constraints.
Restrictions like being unable to remove the item once equipped.
Or having to sacrifice a life to put down a weapon upon drawing it.
Restrictions that appear loathsome to the opposite gender.
The more precious the item, the greater the mana consumption it requires to eliminate, thus leading to severe restrictions.
That’s why an artifact collector, if they wanted to use a specific artifact, would carefully filter and select only those artifacts with the same or manageable restrictions.
There are even people who specialize in tracking down the owners and locations of artifacts with particular restrictions to present them to customers!
Not everyone is born with immense mana like Titosso, making anyone wielding a large number of artifacts something incredible.
It means they either trained hard enough to overcome all those restrictions or have the wealth to procure artifacts well-chosen to circumvent penalties.
Yui belonged to the latter group.
Equipped with all her hidden artifacts, she stepped forth, her immense roots being unable to crush her as they were pushed aside.
Rumblerrr!
“Uh-oh! It’s coming! The ground is shifting next to us!”
“I’ll hold one side!”
The furious pet tree pushed soil back with another root.
Hector enhanced his sword strike with magic to extend its range and increase its power, causing the earth to not surpass the strike but rather rush back like waves crashing against a barrier.
“We’ll hold this side!”
Deipobos and a few remaining students still able to move placed their hands on the mana barrier to stop the encroaching soil from the back.
“Everyone, don’t move!”
Three rings on Yui’s hand glowed simultaneously.
[Ring of Mana Enhancement]
[Ring of Phase Shift]
[Ring of Output Boost]
Restoring depleted mana, altering the flow of encroaching soil, and boosting output to increase effectiveness.
A dazzling light erupted from the transitions between spaces, and the sand and rocks soaring through the air collided like bullets and cannonballs.
[Bracelet of Projectile Speed Correction]
[Gloves of Auto-Aim]
[Twenty-Five Mana Spear Orbs]
A handful of orbs pulled from her pocket became mana spears, striking back against the pet tree’s follow-up attack of vine stabbing equally.
The enraged Poppy raised even the deepest roots laid on the forest floor, beginning to reveal the hidden giant beneath.
For a moment, even Yui, who was in an equal duel, darkened in expression.
“This could develop into a heavyweight sling match…?”
The tree, once at a medium-sized monster level, showed signs of becoming even larger, leaving the uncertain third-year seniors with no choice but to bleed for her.
Tetraphos was grinning ear to ear.
After coincidentally encountering bloodstones and making enormous progress in mastering the gruesome blood crafting science within the academy, he had leveled up his skills even more during vacation, and now began to crave the blood of other students!
The student council’s persistent intervention began as they avoided his rampage, but a group of first-years appeared right where they took a deep breath.
In his eyes, they were like a buffet ready to be feasted upon.
Of course, upperclassmen couldn’t touch first-years first.
There were limits even if they did.
However, if the first-years expressed a desire for help, indirectly offering blood as a legitimate price, they could extract it without the student council being present.
“Go ahead and rampage, tree. I will become the most enriched being in this forest. Your nutrients shall become my blood bank!”
If it hadn’t been for Yui’s unexpected efforts, he might have gained blood even before becoming a mummy, but now it would only suffice to make her dizzy from the blood loss.
Yet, that was enough.
If they pushed the first-years to their limits, there would be plenty of chances to draw out the blood.
The upcoming second match.
In a moment filled with the thrill of ravaging the strong.
“What!?”
The pet tree Poppy froze as it looked elsewhere, suddenly ceasing all movements.
As if an unmanageable predator had appeared.
Tetraphos quickly realized what that intense stare meant.
‘That place is, like this shortcut, the gate to trials linked to the dimensional gate…?’
The difference was that it was far away from the pet tree Poppy, and paying enough attention would allow safe passage out of the forest.
However, the number of prey over there was undoubtedly superior.
There’d be no reason to take that long path that consumes so much time with a small group.
Yet, the tree monster remained on guard.
It was a sign that an immense power lurked over there.
At minimum, the intensity should match that of a third-year student council officer.
The unwavering number one who commands the Western Noble Union.
Someone possessing strength and beauty, much like a noble jewel, was Vivian.
“Tsk. How lucky.”
Instead of enjoying the moment, Tetraphos urged the oblivious first-years.
“The monster’s attention has turned elsewhere. Think we can pass by safely?”
Hector’s Order finally felt relief as they escaped the gate.
They halted their march for a moment’s rest.
Tetraphos felt rushed.
He didn’t know when Vivian’s high-heeled shoes would echo in his ears.
No matter how quickly he fled or how cleverly he hid, the sound of those shoes chasing after him never faded, making a person anxious.
Especially if they had something to hide.
“Though I’ve been lucky, to think we’d make it through the third gate without a hitch. You all must have trained hard?”
“Does this look safe to you in your eyes, senior…?”
No first-year remained unscathed, just as Yui pointed out.
Even Hector was dripping sweat, with long hair clinging to his cheeks.
“This is it. If the next gate is stronger than this, then someone could genuinely die. Honestly, we nearly faced that fate now.”
At least with Yui’s capabilities, she couldn’t guide the way without sacrifices.
Even breaking through one of the three great forests was due to the efforts of much more powerful forces attached to the guild, and she had no confidence in passing through a sharply increasing difficulty gate with weaker teammates.
Nevertheless, Tetraphos didn’t let the juniors off that easily.
“Returning now? Ha ha, juniors. Have you forgotten where the path we just passed was?”
Yui scoffed at the mention of the third gate, pointing toward the path guarded by the instructor that everyone had consciously ignored.
“Just ask the instructor to escort us back to the dorm.”
“Hmm. That’s true. There was that option.”
Tetraphos nodded and swiftly reached out, collapsing the ceiling of the narrow side path.
“Not anymore.”
“…”
“Now, let’s hurry. Don’t worry too much; I’ll make sure to give you the quickest shortcut to the fourth gate. Hahaha!”
Yui and Hector glared half-heartedly at Tetraphos but had no choice but to follow him.
In stark contrast to the cheerful picnic with the organization that plays with Oknodie, the atmosphere was gloomy as Yui scratched out a note with her fingernails and slipped it into her pocket.
The note passed through the hands of a few retainers before reaching Hector.
━━━
I want to take this senior to the Oknodie organization.
Nod if you agree.
━━━
Using the enemy’s power to defeat the enemy.
Hector nodded enthusiastically.
