<416 - Why Are You Here?>
“Even if you ask why I came alone, I went in alone, so coming out alone is only natural, right?”
The professor’s response was so shocked that his eyes seemed ready to pop out, and it made no sense to me.
“You little brat, do you even know how many people went in there to save you?!”
“Eh?”
“There are guys in there who can’t get out, and I’ll straight-up deduct points from you for that!”
“That’s unfair! The Kraken was causing a ruckus and flew all the way to the Student Dormitory Zone!”
“It’s amazing how you can casually slip into an area that only opens when I tear the barrier with my power, you little rascal!”
Tsk.
It’s frustrating that my prepared excuse didn’t work. Professor El Draco turned out to be a far easier opponent than in the game.
“The search party without Oknodie is going to have a tough time in there. Deputy!”
“You called?”
“Take the stupid instructors and go in with this reckless kid. Bring back the ones who went searching. Make sure they stay on the right path and don’t stray. Got it?”
“Understood.”
The deputy of the great pirate El Draco. A competent person who could easily command his own ship looked at Oknodie with a face full of irritation.
“What kind of trick did you pull to ditch all those search parties and come back alone? The Mana Disaster zone must be swarming with search parties.”
“Who knows?”
“I was stupid for asking a first-year.”
The deputy headed toward the Safe Zone and placed a request for the students stuck at the entrance.
“Who’s there? If you want to come into our Safe Zone, you better show some sincerity.”
“I’m the deputy of Professor El Draco. I’ll give you a thousand points for every newcomer I salvage, provided they come back without a scratch.”
“Huh? The professor’s deputy? A thousand points per person? Who do you think you’re fooling?”
As one greedy student started rambling, the deputy placed his hand on the barrier’s surface in the Safe Zone.
[Reconstruction]
[Spell Modification]
[Forced Reconstruction]
As the existence of mana became widely known, the pirate fleets changed drastically from the old days. The emergence of protective barriers against cannon fire and the development of spells to neutralize them came about.
As the great pirate’s deputy and captain of the ship, interfering with the cowardly Safe Zone seemed like nothing to him compared to what he could accomplish.
[Yellow Zone Remaining Time]
[7 hours]
[5 hours]
[3 hours]
With the time rapidly ticking away, a senior student shouted in a panic.
“What, what are you doing?! We’ve worked so hard to enter the Safe Zone!”
“If you get lazy after filling your belly, I’ll just have to make you hungry again.”
[The duration of the Yellow Zone has expired.]
[The Yellow Zone is disappearing.]
Suddenly, the students who were thrown out of the dormitory grumbled like prickly porcupines directing their anger toward the owner who woke them from their winter sleep.
The deputy scratched his head with a look of annoyance before reaching out.
[Theft]
In an instant, the deputy’s hand dragged in the students’ weapons!
Realizing too late that they were up against a big shot, the students trembled and prostrated themselves.
“I remember the thousand points per person! We’ll make sure to bring back the freshmen!”
“Then, immediately send a thousand points to my Magic Watch right now.”
“Eh?”
“Bring back just two of them, and you’ll earn those thousand points back. Bring back just one, and you’ll break even. Or do you plan to make me use my strength without showing any sincerity and not bringing anyone back at all?”
“Definitely not!!”
The students shivered pitifully as they transferred the points.
“Wow, you can earn points this way!”
“If you have strength, you can do anything. You don’t seem like the type who wouldn’t know that.”
Securing workers to go out and do the groundwork, the deputy ordered two useless instructors to lead and maintain contact with them.
“The nearby ones will manage to recover by themselves. You’re coming with me to fetch the idiots who wandered too far.”
“Yes.”
“Before we go, I must ask… how did you really pull that off? I’d like you to show me how you managed to dodge the search teams.”
“Just with my mouth?”
“3000 points should do.”
“Make it 10,000 points if you want to see my technique!”
“3000 is an advance. I’ll send the rest if it’s worth it.”
Hehe. Quick cash in hand!
“I guess there’s no helping it. If you really want to see, I’ll show you. But you need to keep up, okay?”
“How fast can a first-year be anyway?”
The deputy’s condescending gaze changed to confusion the moment he was lifted into the air by the [Push] trap, breezing over two disasters in quick succession.
“From here, if you use Flight Magic, your speed will decrease, so create a wing-like mana zone for lift and glide to the next jumping point!”
“Next? You mean we have to keep this up?”
WHOOSH!
Being launched and gliding, then getting blasted by [Water Cannon], and soaring again, then dodging lightning bolts while riding [Cumulus Clouds] with resistance and self-acceleration, and finally jumping from [Bouncy Mushrooms] after dousing them in lightning to remove the poison to reach the exit of the continuous disaster zone!
“This is how you do it. Easy, right?”
Ta-da! I landed outside the disaster zone with my arms wide open, but nobody was there.
“…”
“…”
“Ah, there you are.”
The deputy only arrived after 10 minutes, barreling down the path with a loud BANG BANG CRASH.
“Be honest now. You’re not a first-year, are you?”
“Of course, I am!”
“What kind of first-year manipulates the disasters in the disaster zone without even touching the ground? It’s not possible to link jumping zones without prior information!”
“Veteran Players can totally pull it off!”
“Tch. So the Foundation knows everything, huh? Must be nice to have such a solid backing.”
As the deputy scanned the area beyond the disaster zone, he noticed traces of battle and gestured.
“Follow me. Seems like your classmates have managed to break through the continuous disaster zone.”
“This is easy—a three-minute job for anyone to pass!”
“How many do you think could pass through with the ridiculous tricks you used? It’s not a three-minute job—might take three days, you talent!”
And yet, the deputy managed to break through in 10 minutes. Why’s he the one nagging me?
“Over there.”
At a place where deafening explosions continued to ring out, familiar faces were bickering with one senior student.
“Haha. You really don’t appreciate your comrades or respect your seniors if you’re not even willing to hand over the artifact!”
The opposing senior was one of the Unsanctioned Individuals, the murderer Urgas, who was trying to forge a path to treasures by collecting lost items.
Every time Urgas’ lost items emitted light, various elemental bullets from Jigoku blocked the air, causing Son Ohchun, Sing, and the Mob, who were trying to charge in, to be pushed back helplessly.
Such is the power of Urgas, the infamous killer of students and players alike.
“Wow, he’s already pulling that out.”
But powerful characters aren’t exclusively on that side.
Normally, you’d need to trigger the special favorability event with Jigoku to swap out for the [Machine Gun] instead of the revolver, yet he’s probably had it from the start, allowing him to whip it out immediately.
Unlike the single shots of the revolver, the machine gun sprayed fire with overwhelming efficiency, making quick work of the senior’s lost items.
‘Not all artifacts are created equal. Jigoku’s machine gun is on another level.’
It’s no surprise that having Jigoku as long-range support in the Warrior Party became the standard among veteran players.
With high comradery, it’s easy to raise Jigoku’s favorability, making it simple to trigger events too.
So, I initially intended to unlock everything before becoming a second-year but considering Jigoku can use the machine gun without having to unlock it, leaving the event alone was perfectly fine!
“Are you just gonna watch?”
“Hmm~ Well, everyone is kind of impressive. It feels like they’ve really grown compared to their first semester.”
“You sound like a professor yourself, saying something annoying… How can you be a first-year?”
The senior was murmuring and seemed aware of the situation, and since they already achieved their objective, wasting time in the Student Dormitory Zone felt like a waste.
Thinking it was a good time to catch a glimpse, I pulled out a lost item I picked up on the way.
“Yah!”
“What’s that? A box?”
“It’s a Holy Grenade Box that regenerates one sacred grenade every month!”
“Are you insane? That’s the one those Production Department guys have been damn desperate to find because they say it’s an artifact belonging to the grand senior!”
“I just picked it up on the way!”
CHATTER CHATTER The senior kept pestering me with questions, so I pulled out a grenade and removed the pin.
“If I were you, I’d cover my ears and drop to the ground right now!”
The deputy senior quickly cast magic to protect themselves, just in time as the Holy Grenade flew toward Urgas, who was relaxing amid a hundred recovered items.
WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR!
The hail of elemental bullets couldn’t break through the thick defenses of [Comprehensive Barrier], while Urgas still stood there dismissively as if a grenade was nothing.
Meanwhile, Son Ohchun, Jigoku, and the Mob, realizing I was the one who threw it, stopped their attack and dove behind cover immediately.
[Comprehensive Barrier]
As if daring us to stop him, Urgas stood arrogantly, not moving an inch.
[Interference]
[Spell Cancellation]
“What!?”
The deputy, who was staring with his head up while lying down, was shocked.
“A hole in the Comprehensive Barrier! Such nonsense done by a mere first-year? To use interference, you must understand the mechanics of the opposing defensive spell completely!”
Such a fuss from the deputy. He can disrupt the ship’s bombing defense magic and the dormitory’s barrier, but what’s the big deal about breaking the ridiculous character’s Comprehensive Barrier?
“You little punk, how did you…!”
As Urgas babbled in disbelief, the grenade emitted a bright white light and exploded with a BOOM!
[Stitching]
[Spell Restoration]
As soon as I tossed the grenade, I repaired the hole, and the grenade’s explosion crashed against the barrier, repeatedly colliding within.
Urged by the continuous explosions inside the barrier, Urgas staggered and collapsed in tatters.
The barrier finally couldn’t hold and burst, sending shockwaves across the vicinity as the ground quaked in chaos.
“Damn… Did the relatives report the specs of the lost items and request revenge? Sending an assassin disguised as a first-year, how cowardly…”
Indeed, according to Urgas, there are side quests that involve investigating the specs of lost items through the acquaintances of those who never returned.
Each run might alter the types or specs of the lost items, but as long as many artifacts are invoked simultaneously, the methods can be narrowed down in no time.
Thanks to Jigoku firing the machine gun and triggering a mass activation of lost items, I had all three patterns figured out, meaning the strategy was practically complete!
‘Thanks to Jigoku, I’m coasting along!’
However, the grenade tactic is usually frowned upon in paths focusing on loot, as most of the hundred lost items become junk in one shot.
‘It’s a bummer, but it couldn’t be helped. I’ve already grown enough without it.’
To prevent the accidental demise of any playable characters or crucial NPCs, such sacrifices are necessary.
“What are you all doing here on the weekend? A fragile being like a first-year would have a hard time if they stumble into an Unsanctioned Individual in the Student Dormitory Zone!”
“A first-year is fragile…?”
“They’d suffer at the hands of an unsanctioned individual…?”
Jigoku and Son Ohchun looked at the collapsed Urgas, releasing steam from their nostrils.
“Of course, I’m excluded. I’m a powerful veteran and not fragile!”
“…Before anything else, explain. Oknodie, why are you popping up where we just came through?”
Hand stretched out, Son Ohchun and Jigoku, along with the mess of second-years scattered about, glared at him with clear signs of grievance.
