Chapter 57: Mandragora
I woke up and opened my eyes to see a classroom and around me were the four groups that had just fought me.
I could also see Yuri’s face, so the mock battle must have ended completely.
“Zetto… That last one…”
Yuri, who was standing next to me, approached me and said in a somewhat worried voice. She was referring to Chapter 2, the one that slashed her teammates.
[You didn’t cut her even though you could have… You were planning on coming in second like this from the beginning.]
After Yuri, Sierra’s voice echoed in my head, her eyes narrowed.
When I faced Group 4, unlike the previous group, they were closer and not scattered, so I needed less time to finish them. Of course, I could have cut them all but I didn’t.
Since I was aiming for second place I purposely timed myself out to be eliminated because of side effects.
In the end, it played out the way I wanted it to and my sword came to a stop at Yuri’s throat, then I spewed blood.
Yuri’s face went rigid, she must have been confused and worried, because after the attack, I went down bleeding alone. Besides, I had spewed more blood than I expected.
“Considering it’s an illusion spell, I was overdoing it, so don’t worry too much.”
I smiled at Yuri and said as if it was no big deal.
“…”
“Congratulations, you took first place.”
“Uh-huh…”
Yuri’s response to my heartfelt congratulations was a shaky one.
I had to make the process as natural and beneficial as possible and thanks to the mock battle I was able to practice Chapter 2…I was also able to find out what happens when I push myself harder and don’t recover properly.
“The speed was pretty amazing. I thought you were going to use the techniques you showed in the previous duel, but…”
Orphele, who was standing next to Yuri, spoke to me. She had the skills to react to that speed, so she must have seen it.
She had a spell that made several shields of water and ice orbit around her body, a good defense that automatically blocked attacks without the caster’s will.
I hadn’t used Orphele as a companion much, so I couldn’t remember the name of the spell. Of course, I had Dispel, so who knows if it would work on me.
I’d seen weaknesses in Orphele’s and Yuri’s magic during our fight earlier.
“…I’m sure everyone is waiting for me, so I’d better get back to my group.”
I said to the stunned Yuri and Orphele and returned to my group.
“Over here, Zetto!”
Crank, who was carrying some kind of bread, called after me.
Amon, Crank, and Lucia were eating bread as a group.
I followed Crank’s call and sat down.
As soon as I sat down, Crank offered me something wrapped in a paper bag. I took it and opened my mouth.
“What is this? It smells delicious.”
“Bread, aren’t you hungry?”
“Oh, thank you, I’ll eat it.”
When did he buy bread again?
It was hard to resist the pressure of Crank holding out the bread and smiling sweetly.
Judging by the way Amon was eating the bread, he hadn’t been able to overcome Crank either.
“Mr. Zetto… I’m sorry… If only it wasn’t for me…”
Lucia took a bite of bread and cried.
“It’s okay. We all tried.”
I said and patted her on the back.
I was grateful to Lucia since she made my second place finish so much more natural, but I don’t want to be in the same group with her again.
‘Even if I leave her alone, she’s going to make a big impact at least once…’
As I ponder Lucia’s future, Amon speaks to me.
“You led Lucia to second place. I didn’t do anything good either, so I have nothing to say. I only feel sorry for you, Zetto.”
“No, I should have done a better job as a leader.”
I replied to Amon in a calm voice.
‘The play seems to have gone well.’
Amon’s demeanor was oddly conceding, and as I reflected on the situation…
…Amon, he had zero kills.
Except for Crank, who died before the battle Lucia had 1 friendly kill…She accidentally killed a member of Group 4 right before she died, for a total of 2 kills.
Amon was killed when he blindly charged at Orphele. As a result, the only thing Amon had done in the mock battle was to make a ‘bungee’ so I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
I made small talk with my group and casually scanned the other cadets’ faces.
Yuri was still shaking from earlier.
I should have bled a little less…now I felt like I had worried her unnecessarily.
Aizel, who was with the third group, hadn’t moved, her head bowed deeply.
Edward opened his mouth, drawing the attention of the cadets who had been chatting with their group.
“Well, that concludes the small-scale mock battle. The battle wasn’t as easy as you thought it would be, was it? The leader of Group 4, who took first place, will be given the opportunity to choose a weapon from the armory as scheduled! That concludes today’s lesson… The leaders of the unfortunate second-place finishers please come this way to claim your reward, while Group 4 will remain in the classroom for a moment.”
This is how Edward’s unusually long class ends and the cadets not involved in the reward begin to leave the room.
“…”
Among those leaving the classroom is Aizel who was supposed to go to the cafe with Yuri.
After all, she had just fought a battle against a mysterious enemy, so she must be tired.
Yuri will be going to the armory soon, so maybe she’s just going to get some rest.
Aizel’s expression was as impassive as ever, and I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking so I stopped staring at her as she walked out of the classroom and approached Edward.
He handed me the mandragora and said something along the lines of, “That seems like a pretty dangerous technique,” and warned me to be more careful with it.
There were four mandragoras wrapped in cloth, so one for each person.
I even felt that I leveled up, judging by the power in my body, so I immediately opened the status window to check.
I had gained one level and was now level 27, a number that made me smile so I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.
***
[ …While using Chapter 2, you asked me if you could incorporate physical enhancements….You could, but it would reduce your usage time but I don’t think it would be possible with your current skill level, though.]
Sierra smiled at my question as if it was a joke, but her answer was firm.
I returned to my dormitory immediately after class and found Sierra talking to me about Chapter 2 of the Reverse Heaven.
Anyway, Chapter 2 is a technique that increases one’s speed tenfold and I thought it would be more effective if I could strengthen my body with normal mana and make my body itself faster.
However, in order to use Reverse Heaven, I had to distort the flow of mana.
I asked this question because when I was using Chapter 2, I felt that it was impossible to strengthen my body without distorting the flow of mana.
However, since Sierra says that it is possible, I think it might be a matter of skill level. In other words, lack of skill.
The cadets were still in the early stages of their training, so they were still developing and couldn’t react properly to the technique, but the enemies I would face in the future were a different story.
Some of them were capable of reacting to the speed of Chapter 2.
It was likely that Sierra, the creator of Reverse Heaven, had also created this technique to keep up with Sword Saint speed.
She was especially concerned with the vicious footwork that characterizes Sword Saint technique.
While I never see Sword Saint fight in the game, I do see his apprentice Kaen using his sword techniques…so I had a vague idea of what he was like.
Well, Sword Saint is still a distant goal.
For now, my goal is to improve my body and be able to freely use not just Chapter 1, but Chapter 2 as well.
[But…can you really eat three…?]
Sierra looked at the three mandragoras on the desk and frowned.
I was able to get three mandragoras.
“As I told you, you can have mine.”
Amon gave me one.
‘I got it thanks to Mr. Zetto, so please take it…!’
Lucia gave me one too.
‘I don’t think I deserve one…‘
Even Crank tried to give me his mandragora, but I didn’t take it, instead I advised him to take it to the auction house outside the Academy on the weekend and sell it for a good amount of money.
Amon and Lucia were bombs, but for me, they were gift bombs.
“…Do they taste that bad?”
I asked, still holding my nose.
Actually…I could tell just by smelling them. Still, maybe it was just the smell.
Sierra furrowed her brow at my stupid question and opened her mouth.
[Ugh… I can’t even describe the taste, so don’t ask me, just try it yourself.]
Sierra hated even trying to remember the flavor of the mandragora.
I picked up the mandragora.
The grotesque creature didn’t taste as good as it looked.
Then the mandragora touched my tongue.
The mandragora tasted… not just bitter and astringent, but just as nasty as it smelled. Still, I chewed through it, thinking only of the time it would add to Chapter 2.
[You don’t have a normal stomach…! You didn’t even gag once…]
Sierra, who was rubbing her chin, looked at me with a serious face.
I held back the nausea. How could I spit this out?
At least the texture was normal, unlike the lycanthrope’s eyeballs. Or should I say, my tongue went numb and I couldn’t taste anything after the second mandragora.
By the time the third mandragora finally made it down my throat, my body was drained but I still felt no increase in health or mana.
“Did it even work…?”
The thought that had been swirling in my head came out of my mouth.
[Well, you’ll start to feel a little energized.]
Sierra ruffled her hair and replied in a lazy voice.
“And what happens when I get energized?”
[You’ll feel feverish…and you’ll want to use up what little energy you have left… but it’ll be less effective if you do it, so stay still.]
Before Sierra could finish, sweat began to break out on my forehead and a fever was rising in my body.
Since she told me to get some rest, I immediately laid down on the bed.
As much as I wanted to stay still, it wasn’t going to be easy because my body was starting to cramp up.
It was so hot that I ended up taking off my shirt but I couldn’t take off my pants because Sierra was still here.
Watching me, Sierra slowly walks over to me with a nonchalant expression and leans against my shoulder.
She lay down with me, just like she does whenever I lie down. Then she raised her index finger and ran it across my flesh.
“Master, it tickles…”
[I am merely examining the flesh of my pupil as a teacher…]
Sierra’s face turned slightly red for some reason as she said that but I was the one who ate the mandragora, not Sierra.
‘I wonder if I can sleep…’
Ever since I met Sierra, the nights seem to drag on forever.
***
I was able to absorb the mandragora completely.
In the game, eating it would simply increase my health and mana, so if Sierra hadn’t reminded me not to expend energy, I wouldn’t have gotten the full effect.
Physically, I didn’t see any noticeable changes, but for some reason I felt a little more toned.
I was pleased with the results.
Now my limit for Chapter 2 was a whopping 9 seconds. That’s enough for me to use it three times in three-second bursts.
Even though I fainted trying to figure out the limit, I was able to experience Sierra’s fluffy lap pillow again and as an added bonus, I had more mana, so I could spend more than one card.
I’m glad this was all over before the field trip.
This was enough to get me through the second boss, as well as the possible fight against Varsum.
Time passed and soon it was the day before the field trip.
I was waiting for someone in a deep alley off the beaten path.
[Seriously, why do we have to wait in a place like this…?]
Sierra grumbles, and just then, a woman enters the alley. Well, considering the relationship between her and me, I thought, this is a place she might like.
With each step she took, her pink, double-ended hair swayed with her. It was Kaen.
Finally, leaning against the opposite wall, Kaen spoke.
“What is it, again…? Do you need my body…?”
Kaen’s cheeks flushed as she continued.
She was asking if there was a case she needed to solve outside of the academy.
Although she didn’t have to force herself to say it like that, it seems she took it as some kind of code word.
“Haha, I don’t need your body, tomorrow is the field trip….Here.”
I held out the object to Kaen and she asked confusedly.
“Gloves…?”
“Compensation for what happened last time… I should say, to help you handle your sword. I don’t know if you’ll like the design, but as you can see, I don’t see anything wrong with it. The material is good.”
Kaen accepted the gloves, which were beautifully designed and dark in color.
‘Gloves of Darkness.’
An item that balances defense and offense and as an added bonus, it gives you a small boost to your attack at night.
Since it’s often night when I go outside the academy, it’s a bit more effective.
She’s a swordswoman like me, so it’s a bit of a shame that we overlap in terms of useful items, but what can I do?
It was better to reward her for her hard work.
“Hmm…”
Kaen immediately tried on the gloves and examined her hands. She was drooling for now, but she was clearly satisfied.
“If it’s a reward…I’ll take it, thank you.”
Looking at her gloves, Kaen stammered. Even though she said it so nonchalantly, it showed on her face.
Kaen couldn’t take her eyes off the gloves. She liked them anyway, as long as they looked nice.
“More than that…”
Kaen trailed off as she tried to finish the small talk.
I tilt my head, and she leans in and whispers in my ear.
“Have you received any information from your sources…about the enemy in the north, where we’re going on this field trip…?”
“Ah, information…I’ve been trying to find out about the north, but…I won’t know until we get on the airship.”
I rambled but she was completely immersed in the ‘setup’ I’d made up.
There was no such thing as an informant in the first place.
‘I’ll try it on this field trip.’
I liked it when Kaen was proactive and I’ll see if there was anything she might need before we boarded the airship.
“Well, you can call me anytime you need my body. Or I’ll come to you in the airship. …I’m well paid.”
With that, Kaen leaves the alleyway.
She was acting like a member of a secret organization operating in the shadows…. but as long as Kaen was unsuspecting, that was all that mattered.
‘Fort Polwyn.’
The location of the field trip, and where the second boss Lich lurks.
It looks like I’m going to be busy again.