Chapter 79
Attack power.
The stat I lack the most out of all my stats.
‘Well... technically, I’m lacking pretty evenly in everything except speed.’
Still, if I had to pick just one, it would be attack power.
It wasn’t as though I had a wide variety of means of attack or some straightforward ultimate move, either.
The bugs I’d dealt with so far and the skills I’d acquired were mostly unrelated to attacking.
‘Parrying and the like... Most of them are more like invincibility or movement skills.’
Purgatory, Floor 70.
There had been a bug that had cut its master in half, but it only worked within the special space known as Purgatory.
A bug that only applied to a limited setting and limited targets.
‘I can’t use it normally.’
It was a shame.
If it worked outside as well, I could deal with every boss monster I encountered with a simple click.
‘Am I basically a one-trick vampire counter right now?’
Even that was thanks to the Stake Fragment.
A weapon with unparalleled specs for hunting vampires.
I could approach using a movement skill, then casually slash them with the stake and massacre them.
However, since the stake itself was a weapon made exclusively for vampires, it didn’t work well against other races.
‘My attack power is lacking.’
In reality, even someone at the level of the academy faculty was beyond what I could recklessly challenge.
There was no chance I could win against someone of that caliber in a one-on-one fight.
That was why I had brought Jaber in during the mole investigation.
Since I couldn’t take Professor Glinbert on by myself, I had placed a suitable ally behind me.
‘What’s the point of doing nothing but running away with movement skills? In the end, I have to knock my opponent down to win.’
The absence of an ultimate move.
I was thinking that it was a little disappointing to remain like this.
‘There is one that fits perfectly.’
As it happened, I had one useful card in hand.
It was a card I had been saving for later, but it seemed time to bring it out.
My minor stats had also improved, so now seemed like a reasonable time to try it.
‘Besides... this opponent isn’t going to be easy.’
Rin Glacia.
A genius who already rivaled most of Grandia’s faculty.
If I had to estimate my odds of winning against her, perhaps ten percent.
My circumstances were different from when I fought Caitlyn.
In Caitlyn’s case, I could use Imagination Parry to land an extreme hard counter.
But Rin was a fully maxed-out hexagon character with no discernible weakness.
‘She was so overpowered that, until the middle of the original story, the game was locked so Rin couldn’t be set as a party member.’
Such a broken character.
Of course, I had no intention of losing.
I merely thought I needed to prepare.
“Ahem.”
“Student Victor.”
Jaber stood some distance ahead of me.
Dressed in a neat uniform, she stared this way with her characteristically emotionless gaze.
“So... why did you suddenly ask me to accompany you to the training grounds?”
We stood at one edge of the training grounds.
More precisely, we were facing each other from opposite ends as though we were sparring partners.
Perhaps it was her vivid red hair, or the frigid beauty it conveyed, but it drew everyone’s attention.
Students nearby were whispering as they watched us.
-Huh... Isn’t that the Chief Investigator over there?
-It really is. That’s Professor Jaber.
-Who is she talking to? What’s with that weird mask he’s wearing?
-Wait, isn’t that him? The top student from Class E! The one who supposedly confessed to the investigator in public...!
The voices reached my ears.
Did they not realize I could hear them?
-What? Could that be the student who’s supposedly dating Professor Jaber...?
-He’s famous. He’s the hottest topic at the academy these days.
-They say he confessed in front of the entire classroom!
-And apparently the investigator accepted his confession without a moment’s hesitation...
Hmm.
A considerable amount of embarrassing karma was still floating around.
The rumor that Jaber and I were dating, which had spread throughout the academy last time.
Rumors about it were still circulating among the students.
‘I think I cleared that up...’
That’s how controversies worked. The people who actually heard the explanation were always few and far between.
Thus, many students still believed that Jaber and I were genuinely dating.
I scratched my head awkwardly for a moment.
-Fuck... That lucky bastard.
-Why would the Chief Investigator go for someone like him...?
-I heard that aside from the professor, his relationships with women are complicated in all sorts of ways.
-There’s also that girl named Alice in his class, and he’s supposedly close with the top student from Class B and the second-place student from Class A...
There were plenty of things I wanted to clear up, but I decided to hold my tongue for now.
It didn’t seem like anyone would listen anyway.
I decided to focus only on what I had come here to do.
[There isn’t a single thing wrong with what those children are saying.]
[Victor has too many women. That is the problem.]
[He claims he will swear loyalty to this princess, yet he could hardly be a more disloyal retainer.]
Meanwhile.
Her Highness was fidgeting in the front pocket of my uniform.
Tap, tap. A silver bat kept thumping against my chest, but I ignored her.
After tidying herself up, she looked toward Jaber standing across from us.
“It’s simple. As I mentioned earlier, there’s something I’d like you to help me with.”
“Hmm.”
Was she saying she would hear me out, at least?
The red-haired woman listened silently.
“You know that I received a declaration of war from Lady Glacia.”
“Yes. I’ve heard the news from several places.”
“This is preparation for that match.”
“Do you intend to accept the match?”
Jaber asked as though she found it unexpected.
Apparently, she had assumed I would obviously refuse.
That was understandable. Rin’s ability was just below Professor Glinbert’s level.
During the mole investigation, I had brought Jaber in because I wasn’t confident I could defeat him.
“I don’t see much benefit for you. There’s also the announcement that will be made soon—the news that Student Victor is being assigned as my direct assistant. At a time like this, taking on a match that could give people grounds to criticize you will only damage your image.”
“‘Give people grounds to criticize me’... Does that mean you’re predicting my defeat, Professor?”
“Objectively speaking, yes.”
“Certainly. Anyone would probably think the same.”
I gave a slight nod.
The corners of the mask’s mouth curved into a meaningful smile.
“Of course, I have no intention of losing.”
“It seems you’ve already made some kind of plan.”
“That’s right.”
“And it seems you need my help with that plan.”
“Exactly. I only need you to grant me one small favor.”
I got straight to the point.
“Activate. Shield.”
Shraaak-.
Something writhed at my fingertips.
The Wriggler, which had been a glove, soon transformed into the shape of a pitch-black shield.
“Would you hit me once? With all your strength.”
“...Pardon?”
Jaber’s expression filled with question marks at the sudden request.
Beyond those emotionless green eyes, I held out the shield as though making a request.
“You want me to... attack you?”
“That’s right. With all your strength.”
“I don’t understand the purpose of this request at all.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just hit me without holding back.”
It was a brazen demand.
Jaber silently furrowed her brow.
“But you could get hurt. If I strike you with all my strength...”
“Don’t worry. I’m making this request after taking even that into consideration.”
“Hmm.”
Perhaps it was the reluctance that came from swinging her fist at a student.
Jaber hesitated to clench her fist for quite some time.
I stood there quietly, waiting for her.
Only after several minutes did the woman nod.
“If it’s Student Victor, then I’m sure you have something in mind.”
Clench-.
Her hand tightened.
A snow-white radiance swirled around Jaber.
Beginning at her fingertips, the halo of light soon spread across her entire arm.
“Will one blow suffice?”
“Yes. Please give it your all.”
“If you’re injured, I’ll send you straight to the infirmary.”
“Haha, I’m simply delighted that you’re so concerned.”
Fwoooosh-!
Her red hair whipped violently in the air.
Amid the storm of light, her green eyes flashed with terrifying ferocity.
‘Now.’
I lightly rubbed the hand I had placed behind the shield.
Rhythm was important.
I had to rub it in a set rhythm and direction.
Twice to the left, five times to the right, then three knocks on the back of my hand.
When I repeated the process quickly, a faint haze soon began to rise.
‘There it is.’
A bug had occurred.
A blue screen appeared before my eyes.
Ding-!
[A new bug has been discovered.]
-Bug Name : Self-Double Counting
-Description : Damage that should originally be received is applied as stacked damage. The damage of every attack directed at the system user is delivered at a minimum of twice and a maximum of four times its original amount.
In short, it meant getting hit painfully.
It meant that the damage from incoming attacks would be multiplied fourfold.
‘Perfect.’
It had no other functions whatsoever.
It was simply a bug whose entire effect was [getting hit by attacks four times as painfully].
Even in the original game, it had been infamous as an exceptionally malicious bug.
It was one of the few bugs disliked by users because it directly harmed them.
‘You might wonder what use there could be for such a piece of garbage...’
Believe me.
This would give me overwhelming explosive power.
I gripped the shield tightly and signaled to the woman beyond it.
“Come at me.”
“Yes, then...”
Squeeze-.
Following Jaber’s fist, light crumpled brilliantly.
Its afterimage shimmered across the entire training grounds.
The woman lightly kicked off the ground.
Thud-!
Before I could blink, her fist was right in front of my face.
The air rippled as though torn apart by the force compressed within it.
Jaber thrust out her arm without hesitation.
-Droit-style Martial Arts, Form Four-
‘Extinction’
The instant it exploded.
A radiance comparable to dawn burst forth.
At the same time, a shockwave loud enough to tear my ears apart rang out.
Kwaaang...!!!
A violent backdraft swept across the entire training grounds.
Several students watching from nearby were knocked down by the wind.
-Eek, eek...!
-What the hell just happened...?!
Noisy voices filled my ears.
The fist would have pierced the shield and come straight for me under normal circumstances.
However, the mask’s effect sensed it and brought the woman to a halt.
A status-window notification appeared before my eyes.
Ding-!
[The item ‘Evil God’s Mask’ has been activated.]
-Remaining activations : 2/3
-Time remaining until the activations recharge : 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
The light that had clouded my vision.
Only after it faded could I see Jaber’s expression.
She was staring at me with a distinctly surprised look in her eyes.
“...I didn’t expect you not to move an inch.”
Naturally.
The Evil God’s Mask had blocked it.
Still, I thought I should pretend to be hurt, so I put on a bit of an act.
“Haaah... It felt like my arm was being shattered.”
“Are you all right? Shall I take you to the infirmary?”
“No, it’s not that bad...”
It was fortunate that I was wearing a mask.
My current expression was not that of someone in pain at all.
‘It worked.’
Far from hurting, I was grinning from ear to ear.
I forced the laughter out of my voice, and Jaber asked a question.
“Is this enough? The thing Student Victor said he was preparing.”
“Yes... It should be enough somehow.”
It was more than enough.
A new message was shimmering before my eyes.
Ding-!
[The second skill of the exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ has been activated.]
Self-Double Counting.
There was no room for debate: this bug was garbage.
Taking four times the damage?
‘But.’
With a little combination involving the items in the game, that fourfold increase could be reborn with an entirely new meaning.
Evil God’s Mask.
Black Mist.
This was a bug meant to be used together with those two items.
I manipulated the status window and brought up the information screen for the Wriggler.
‘Exclusive skill.’
The Wriggler possessed two skills.
The first was Myriad Transformations.
It was a technique that transformed its body into all sorts of shapes.
As for the second, it was a skill I had never used before.
Ding-!
[The second skill of the exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ has been activated.]
[Skill Name : Predation]
-Stores the damage applied to the user exactly as it is.
-Damage cannot be stored consecutively.
-The damage that can be stored is limited to one single attack.
-Even if an attack is successfully defended against, the damage applied can still be stored.
-Stored damage can be released.
Jaber’s all-out strike.
Since it had also been affected by the bug, the damage had been multiplied fourfold.
Ding-!
[The damage has been stored in the exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’.]
[The stored damage can be released at any time.]
The Wriggler writhed with snow-white light.
A subtle hue began to spread across its black surface.
It meant the damage had been charged.
I hid the corners of my mouth, stretched into a wide grin, behind the mask.
‘Ah, sweet.’
Now.
The ultimate move was ready.