𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝟎
Fortunately, no one seemed to take issue with my unilateral resolution of the incident.
It was an urgent situation, and I had the official exorcist license I had recently acquired.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡.」
Choosing to take the test early had definitely been a good choice.
After resolving the incident, we returned to the academy after a brief investigation and testimony.
In the process, I noticed a significant change in Laura.
【Laura de los Lucia】
▶Level 39
▶Ability Scores
【Stamina: B-】
【spiritual power : B-】
【Spellcraft: B】
【Mental Strength: B-】
▶Traits (5/10)
【■■(-)】
【Way of the King (S)】
【Commander (A+)】
【Endurance (B-)】
【Concentration Enhancement (C+)】
Because she had been continuously stimulated and had faced it head-on in such an urgent situation, Laura had acquired a completely open, unidentified trait.
「𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩.」
It was during this incident that it reached 100 percent.
In any case, it was great news for me.
“Then I will return to my quarters. Everyone has worked hard.”
As in Spain, Laura cannot live in a dormitory because, as a princess, she is prone to being involved in various conflicts.
In the end, after parting ways with her, Shin So-ra and I were the only ones left.
“. . . Um, it doesn’t feel real. It feels like I just had a dream.”
Shin So-ra tilted her head and uttered a doubtful murmur.
Then, with a resigned expression, she turned her gaze to me.
“But you, what happened? You’ve gotten so strong in the past few months?”
Shin So-ra looked genuinely surprised. Of course, from her point of view, my growth must have felt like a complete reversal.
A classmate who had been unremarkable suddenly rose to Class A and was now able to defeat Sophia, who had been the best in her grade, and even face off against high-level yokai.
She seemed somewhat shocked by my growth.
“I heard you defeated Sophia. I wonder how that happened.”
“. . . . . . .”
“I’m not even your opponent anymore. You weren’t like this before the vacation. . . . . . .”
Indeed, I had grown so much since before and after the vacation that I could be considered a completely different person.
Considering that I had been involved in so many incidents, it was only natural.
Shin So-ra stared at me with a complicated expression for a long time, then spoke to me as if she had made up her mind.
“This won’t do. I’ll train today. I’m leaving now.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you next week.”
There is a saying that if you put a few low-ranking students in a school where all the students study, their level will naturally rise.
In short, my presence was already acting as a kind of stimulant to the students of Class A.
Shin So-ra was not the only one who was affected.
「𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙃𝙖𝙣-𝙨𝙤𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚.」
They must have been influenced by me to some extent as well.
And that would ultimately push the current Class A members to grow even more than in the original.
I hadn’t considered this, but it could be seen as a very positive development.
「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.」
If they can gain even more strength than in the original, it will definitely be of great help in the future.
With such satisfactory thoughts, I also walked along the promenade for a while and returned to the academy dormitory.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤.」
The time was April.
Now, it was time to move a little more quickly.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
「𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨?」
The duration of the inspection promised to Shin No-eul, the head of the Red Unit, and the time left until I face the S-rank yokai, Myudusa.
Of course, it wasn’t a short time, but that doesn’t mean there was enough time.
After facing Hoyaukamui, I had that thought even more.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮. . . . . ., 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝘼-𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠.」
It wasn’t the lowest level, but it was a bit lacking to be considered mid-level.
And with that level of opponent, I had a pretty hard fight.
Other exorcists, including Shin So-ra, said that I contributed a lot, but that wasn’t true.
「𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚.」
If it hadn’t been for their help, I wouldn’t have had time to activate the advanced exorcism that would be the key to victory against such a fast and agile opponent.
Assuming I didn’t have the strength to support me or companions to use in battle, I am much weaker than I thought.
「. . . . . . .」
Let alone facing Myudusa, who is on a much higher level? To be honest, it would be suicide.
There is a reason why the Red Unit, a skilled combat unit, was annihilated.
「𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨.」
Of course, not all S-ranks are the same.
Even within the same rank, there is a world of difference between the lowest-ranked and the highest-ranked individuals.
If I exaggerate a bit, wouldn’t it be decided with just a few gestures?
From that perspective, it wasn’t a good idea to just help the Red Unit and fight him.
「𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚?」
Honestly, if I call upon Cheong So-ha or Cheong Gi-beom, the elders of the Cheong family, it will be a fight worth watching against such a Myudusa.
However, there was no point in resolving the situation that way.
I wanted to keep the Red Unit intact while putting them in my debt.
Even if the elders of the Cheong family play an active role, it will be their achievement, not mine.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙙 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩.」
Although it is part of the Exorcism Headquarters, the Red Unit is a fairly independent group.
And I needed them.
A force that can help me without hesitation, regardless of anyone’s feelings.
The Red Unit was perfect for that.
「𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. . . . . . .」
There will come a time when I will be completely at odds with both the Exorcism Headquarters and the Cheong family.
If I have a force to support me then, it will definitely be a great strength.
「. . . . . . .」
To do that, I had no choice but to raise my specs so that I could somehow face Myudusa in the remaining two months.
That’s why I decided to tackle a task that I had been putting off for a while.
「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙨.」
Moreover, I have to fill all four of the remaining slots with ones that can snipe him.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Myudusa was not an individual who was directly hostile to the player, but I had a surprising amount of information about him in my head.
The origin was based on the story of an actual yokai, and the Red Unit’s annihilation was vividly relayed in the game.
In other words, if I put my mind to it, I could fill all nine trait slots, excluding Shadow Assimilation, with ones for sniping him.
Through the method of erasing traits that I mentioned earlier.
「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘.」
It takes a lot of effort to erase traits, and all of my current traits, except for one or two, consist of really great effects.
I can’t burn down the whole house just to catch Myudusa, can I?
That’s why I will use the remaining four trait slots as efficiently as possible to increase my ability to respond to him.
The first one was the Emergency Evasion (B-) trait.
「𝙈𝙮𝙪𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨.」
If I were to get hit by such attacks, my current defense ability would not be able to withstand them at all.
That’s why I needed to supplement that part with traits.
「𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩.」
It’s not just me, anyone would think so.
Against an S-rank high-level yokai, how much help could a B-rank trait be?
However, ironically, that helps.
「𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚.」
Most players probably think that the highest grade, S-rank traits, will have the greatest impact on gameplay.
However, the reality is surprisingly different.
Not only in the exorcism series, but also in other games, this was common.
「𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙎-𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙩.」
On the other hand, there are some that are surprisingly efficient, even among the lower ranks.
The so-called scam traits.
The B-rank Emergency Evasion also belonged to that category.
「𝙊𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 1 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚.」
The effect alone may seem mediocre. However, when this great increase in evasion ability is used in actual combat, it has a truly amazing effect.
Attacks that would have been unavoidable under normal circumstances can be dodged without a scratch, and this applies not only to visible attacks but also to curses and status effects.
It was an ability that could not exist in reality, involving a system-allowed loophole.
「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚.」
For example, if a wide-range attack is launched against the user, or if the user is in a situation where they cannot avoid the attack at all.
There are a few situations where the Emergency Evasion trait is completely useless.
However, if the opponent is a yokai like Myudusa, who uses powerful attacks on a single target, there is no trait that can be as effective as this one.
Combined with my original skill, Myudusa probably won’t be able to touch a single finger of mine for the 1 minute that the trait is activated.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚.」
Since the acquisition method was not too difficult for a trait of that rank, I immediately went into intensive training to acquire the Emergency Evasion trait for a while.
I had Jung Han-sol and Cheong Juhwa attack me and dodged them repeatedly, and sometimes I did ridiculous training like blindfolding myself and dodging flying balls like in novels and movies.
It didn’t matter if the training actually helped me.
As long as the conditions were met systematically, that was all that mattered.
After going through all that trouble, I was finally able to get the reward I was aiming for.
【Emergency Evasion (B-)】
▶Once a day, greatly increases the user’s evasion ability for 1 minute.
「. . . 𝙄 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙.」
I had already confirmed that it was possible to acquire traits through the knowledge I had learned from Yoo Ha-on, but since there were not many such cases yet, I was a bit worried.
However, if I confirmed it this far, it was certain.
Perhaps I will be able to acquire the other traits by meeting the existing conditions as well.
I checked my information with a satisfied expression and fell into thought again.
I kept thinking about the number of cases where I could fill the remaining three trait slots to maximize my efficiency against Myudusa.
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