The man was planning to team up with Don Nemuoja, the leader of the Dark Golden Clan and a crime lord powerful enough to attract the attention of the Golden Colossus, to escape from the encirclement of Professor Weird.
However, after hearing about Professor Weird’s strength being greater than the Golden Colossus, Don Nemuoja had a different idea.
“Using that Professor Weird’s power to defeat the Golden Colossus and escape is the right answer.”
“…Did you not listen to me properly? The weird professor is coming here. We need to escape before that happens.”
“That’s impossible. The Golden Colossus has already enveloped the entire city with its Golden Domain. Unless we defeat it, we cannot leave the city without paying a hefty price for the loss of a vast treasure.”
If the survivors here were to pay such a great price, it would completely nullify the meaning of holding out in the Magical Territory of Avalon, Zone 2, until now.
To borrow the player’s knowledge from Oknodie, it was a situation similar to [Retreating during Battle: You will lose 50% of the loot you’ve acquired so far. Do you still wish to retreat?]!
“Oh, I see. You wanted to try something about that Queen-class giant golem that’s trying to use me, didn’t you?”
“…Even if you figured it out, you’re also in a position where you’re surrounded by an enemy worse than [Professor Weird]. It’d be wise for us to cooperate here, don’t you think?”
“That could be one way to go.”
“Seems like you don’t appreciate the way of the good adults.”
“Didn’t you think of this too? When bad adults like us hit an impasse in negotiations, we resort to any means necessary.”
The Academy Graduate’s figure started to blur and left an afterimage as they stepped back.
As the platform where he stood collapsed a moment late, the Vice Leader could not hide his disappointment.
“Looks like the presence of the Golden Gloves was detected in the infiltration. This is the result of relying on the artifact’s power without graduating.”
“Save the bragging for later, let’s deal with that first, shall we, leader?! This is going to get doubly annoying!”
“What do you think this conversation was for? Naturally, it was to make it utterly useless, no matter where we run.”
Even just by looking at his gaze, the Gift Academy Graduate seemed unwilling to comply with his intentions, and the purpose of the conversation was to utilize the treasure absorbed by the Armor of Devour.
[Armor of Devour – Opening Storage Slots]
[Slot 3]
[Effect: Forced Summon. Summon the target you were conversing with in front of you. The maximum summon distance increases in proportion to the time spent conversing.]
“Observer. If you’re as knowledgeable as you are, noticing Guakjo the Evil Sage and obtaining information on the Great Villain Velocasio, then you should know. What is Weird Professor’s major, and what skills would a student of hers have learned?”
“…Professor Weird is a Dryad, a spirit of nature. A pioneer of nature magic and a true archmage who surpasses the Multicolor Magic Tower that has reached the realm of the mysteries of magic.”
“Nature magic? Isn’t that just the domain of those forest beggars who, at best, sow seeds to grow vines or grow trees to suck sap while riding on them?”
Today, the status of nature magic was as submerged in the mire as Don Nemuoja’s perception of it.
The Multicolor Magic Tower had firmly established its roots in the Empire and had suppressed the growth of trivial elemental magic by declaring every other type of magic as a fringe and not sharing magical agents and materials with anyone outside the Multicolor Magic Tower.
Even finding someone to teach or practice nature magic had become difficult, as the ancestral world tree of the elves, believed to be the origin of nature magic, had burned and crumbled.
Now, the position of nature magic was at rock bottom.
Don Nemuoja found it laughable that someone became a professor at the academy by becoming the world’s number one in such sorcery.
‘Could it be that this is all just bragging?’
It didn’t take long for him to forcibly come to the truth.
“Cough cough.”
“Observer. Did you just… cough?”
“I think I caught a cold. Living in the outside world for so long, it’s not surprising.”
“No, it’s strange. One of the effects of the equipment you acquired is [Weather Adaptation], and it includes immunity from chronic illness caused by temperature fluctuations, doesn’t it?”
“…!”
The Observer felt chills for two reasons: the cruel meticulousness of Don Nemuoja, who wasn’t satisfied even after absorbing so much treasure and was even aware of the detailed effects of his own treasure.
And the undeniable anomaly of him coughing, even though he should be unable to catch a cold.
‘What’s happening to my body right now?’
Infiltration.
He infused mana into his two eyes, not through the skill that academy students had learned through rigorous training, but through a technique handed down through generations in the ranger brigade that allowed him to chant incantations.
Veins quickly bulged around his eyes as mana formed a barrier over them.
The rangers had to find ways to introspect their inner selves even at the expense of their vision, in order to survive the myriad toxins and spores emitted by the plants and animals saturated with nature’s mana in the Middle Realm.
The mechanism of action of the optic nerve distorted the internal mana flow of the body by capturing the designated target.
The Observer quickly realized the source of his ‘cough’.
“It’s a Compressed Seed! If the air isn’t purified, the one who spread the seeds will trigger [Release Compression] the moment—”
The Observer’s urgent report couldn’t end there. The plant stem filling his lungs immediately began to grow inside him, piercing through his body.
Ignoring even the mana’s protection, the seed that fed on the mana could not be stopped by any of the treasures held by the Observer.
Crack!
Snap!
The plant stem that erupted from the Observer’s back enveloped him as if squeezing him, and his body twisted unnaturally towards his joints, his limbs flipping backward as he lay on the ground.
Like a beast poised to leap to ambush its prey.
Thud!
“That was excellent advice. And… truly terrifying, that professor. Professor Weird. I never imagined she could be dangerous enough to spread compressed seeds capable of killing every living being in the city.”
The seeds tried to grow within the Vice Leader and Leader’s bodies as well, but the Leader crushed them with overwhelming mana.
The Vice Leader, by a hair’s breadth, borrowed the power of the Golden Gloves to reverse the locations of the seeds in his lungs and the mana he had sprinkled outside.
Gulp… Even breathing is a struggle. Maintaining the ability to expand and defend within the [Barrier] is my limit. Are you going to send me off too?”
“Vice Leader. How could I not know of your loyalty and hard work? Do not worry. There will be a time for you to share the glory of becoming one with me, but now is not that moment.”
Don Nemuoja, shouldering the Vice Leader who was barely able to move, launched into the [Permanent Domain Expansion], dodging the innumerable seeds growing chaotically in the air.
Unlike Professor Weird’s minions who smoothly expanded their abilities, he didn’t know the calculation formula for the wave value of the Golden Domain.
With no way to counteract it, his methods were also crude, and Don Nemuoja’s reckless means announced to everyone that he had expanded his domain.
[Glorious Gaze]
[Golden Hand]
As dazzling light filled the world with a golden hue and paralyzed vision, several nearby buildings twisted and stretched out to grab Don Nemuoja.
[Armor of Devour – Opening Storage Slots]
[Slot 31 – Sanctuary of Light]
[Effect: In a place where light descends, you are protected from external attacks in proportion to the intensity of the light.]
[Slot 17 – Boots of Sin]
[Effect: Those who do not feel upright in their steps will find their footsteps heavy, while those who are proud of themselves will walk as lightly as a feather.]
The original owners of these treasures did not realize the true method of utilizing their abilities.
‘Shine the lamp to block the Golden Guardian’s attacks and lose all the gold coins while clinging to the obsession of deeds, only to become an item in the end. Those foolish adventurers.’
He was different.
Light was the very emission of energy.
If instead of using his own power, he could derive energy from the opponent’s powerful attacks to act as the driving force, he could gain unilateral superiority.
He could block the enemy’s attack with the enemy’s energy.
Effectively, without any consumption on his part, he could lay out a one-sided counterattack.
The Boots of Sin were even better.
If he were to commit evil deeds and feel guilty about it, how could his steps become heavy?
The world is survival of the fittest.
If there were sins, they would lie with the weak.
Through a mindset that was endlessly arrogant but, therefore, more dignified, he leaped high to avoid the colossal golden hand.
[Pull!]
[Accelerate!]
[Reinforce!]
[Endure!]
[Strength!]
[Body Enhancement!]
[Mana Boost!]
The moment he pulled with his hands as he soared high into the sky, the flow of mana unfolding within the domain wrapped around his hand in the form of threads.
Hieeek! It’s Weird School’s magic! Emergency! Emergency! Run! Hurry up, stupid Rosinante!
What is that guy doing just floating in midair?
High energy detected in the observation point.
Not the target.
Where is the Thesis Thief?
Water knows the answer. Let’s soak it.
No way? The earth knows better!
Don’t fight, do both. Soak the earth and pour water.
Don’t forget, if we catch it before the professor arrives, we get a
The intruder is escaping from a location that poses a danger of destroying the city. Initiating high-intensity attacks. For my master, my lord Avalon!
It wasn’t just any ordinary thread; it was the mana-constructed thread that formed the [Mind Link] spell, enabling eavesdropping on conversations.
‘Professor Weird… It’s surprising, but did she not use her power? And her underlings doing this much damage?’
Though it was shocking, it was somewhat reassuring too.
If she’s that incredible, then she can certainly play the role of a shield.
[Forced Summon]
The instant the thread of mana, holding onto the Academy Graduate being drawn into the air, entered the target range, his body was summoned into the air where the destruction beam of the Golden Colossus shot out.
“Now, if you don’t block it, you die. If you do block it, you’ll die badly while helping me escape. Choose your desired death, oh Academy Graduate. This is the price for putting one of my precious subordinates into a death trap.”
Even facing a strong enemy, Don Nemuoja revealed his wickedness to exploit the opponent.
Grinding his teeth, the Graduate resorted to a trump card.
[Thesis Original Deployment]
“?!”
“!!”
The ‘Thesis Original’ deployed against the beam of destruction sensed the move from the ‘Weird School’, precisely, the slaves whose lives had been mortgaged in the Weird Research Lab poured their all into blocking the gap between the thesis and the destructive beam.
Using the enemy’s power to stop the enemy’s power.
The Graduate’s improvised maneuver, surpassing the technique of Don Nemuoja, ensured the safety of both of them.
“You bastard, you’re wasting power…!”
“If I were a fool who only made others look good, do you think I could graduate from the Gift Academy? Wake up from that dream. You die alongside me!”
The Graduate, with hatred blazing in his eyes, glared at the Leader.
However, they were not the only ones using the enemy’s power to stop the enemy.
“Hurry, play faster!”
“Question. Did the Dark Princess do something wrong to Professor Weird?”
Cruel’s innocent question was met with a face full of grievance from Oknodie.
“I had plenty of plans to commit, but I haven’t acted on many yet! Besides, even if the professor hasn’t done anything wrong, it wouldn’t be unusual for her to exterminate any life she encounters to avoid leaving witnesses!”
“…Doesn’t she teach a course called [About the Forest and Nature]? Isn’t it her responsibility to teach about peace and respect to do such things?”
“The nature of Professor Weird is that of ‘natural disaster’!”
“…!”
