It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 80

Chapter 80: The Slime Labyrinth Is Too Difficult? (1)

” Ugh! A sudden chill! “

Kyung-joon shuddered, his whole body trembling from an unknown chill.

He looked back, but thankfully, DPSPaladin wasn’t chasing him.

” Whew, that was close. I almost became friends with a pervert. “

Of course, it’s not good to be picky about friends.

But it’s even worse to have a pervert by your side.

Right now, he was a student!

A healthy mind and body, and the right knowledge, are fostered in a good environment.

Therefore, he decided to stay away from perverts.

<Then all that’s left is to return to the Study Villa.>

” Yeah, that’s right. “

He had collected plenty of slime cores, his original goal, and now all that was left was to go back and study.

His research goal was to create the best writing instrument for studying!

However.

” Actually, there’s one more thing I need to do. “

Kyung-joon’s footsteps weren’t headed out of the slimy forest.

Rather, he was heading deeper into the forest.

” Teemo, show me the map based on the dungeon exploration. “

<Understood. Hologram mapping ON.>

Woong!

A translucent 3D map appeared, showing the interior structure of the dungeon and its surroundings.

The red dots scattered across the map were a bit peculiar.

” These red dots are what I think they are, right? “

<Yes, they indicate the locations of the video memory stones discovered and destroyed within the dungeon.>

” Good. First, assuming the detection range of the video memory stone is 50m, mark a circle. Oh, it’s 3D, so make it a sphere. “

What Kyung-joon was doing now was simple.

He was trying to find the 『Hub』 based on the locations where the video memory stones were installed.

In other words, he was trying to find out where the dungeon master was hiding.

” Hmm, 50m is too small. Expand it to 200m. “

The method wasn’t that difficult either.

It was almost identical to the equation used by satellite GPS or telecommunication base stations to determine the location of mobile phone users.

” 200m has too much overlap. Then, try the midpoint between 50m and 200m, which is 125m. “

For example, imagine that both base station A and base station B received a signal simultaneously.

Then, the user’s location is confirmed to be 『within the overlapping area of the two base stations’ signal reception ranges.』

” It needs to be wider than 125m. Between 125m and 200m. “

<Increasing the reception range of the video memory stone to 162.5m.>

” Okay. “

Not just A and B, but also base station C, base station D, base station E…….

As the number of detection points increased, the overlapping area would gradually shrink.

And eventually…….

” Found it. “

Only one point remained.

At the back of the maze shown on the 3D map.

Slightly below that.

A green light, signifying the answer, was twinkling.

It must be right there.

The master of the dungeon, 『Limurimu’s Slime Labyrinth』, must be there.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Limurimu was pounding on the desk more violently than ever.

” Noooo! My, my……! My King Slime was defeated by mere salt! How is that possible?! Noooo!! “

It wasn’t that the King Slime had never been cleared before.

But it had never been cleared so easily.

It didn’t even take 5 minutes, no, 3 minutes.

The paladin bought them about a minute, and then the wizard started throwing salt bags.

After that, they melted them with Energy Bolt, and the King Slime just dried up and died.

” Huff, huff…… By mere…… By mere salt. That’s impossible. I’ve even made slimes with salt before. Then why……! “

It wasn’t that salt itself was the problem for slimes.

To be precise, it was the ‘concentration difference’ between the inside and outside of the slime that was the problem.

The higher the difference in ion concentration between the inside and outside, and the higher the temperature, the stronger the osmotic pressure.

That’s why the King Slime had all its bodily fluids sucked out in an instant and dried up.

Of course, there was no way Limurimu would know such scientific knowledge.

” Ah……! Don’t tell me it’s the same principle as when you sprinkle salt on a slug and it shrivels up and dies?! “

Still, Limurimu, who knew of a similar phenomenon, recalled a fact he had overlooked and uncovered the cause of the phenomenon!

Even though he didn’t know the exact principle, it was remarkable that he was able to think of it.

So.

He decided to applaud as a fellow researcher.

Clap clap clap.

The sound of applause, which should not have been possible, echoed through the underground laboratory where only Limurimu should have been.

” W, Who’s there?!”

‘I’m the only one who knows this place……! How on earth?!’

Limurimu’s heart sank as he turned around.

The dark entrance.

A single figure, full of color, emerged from it.

It was Kyung-joon.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

[You have discovered the hidden area 『Limurimu’s underground laboratory』 for the first time.]

[Fame increases by 10.]

[The demon 『Limurimu』 is extremely wary of you.]

“Grrr……!”

Limurimu pulled out a small rod from her waist and pointed it at Kyung-joon.

Although she’s terrible at combat magic except for alchemy magic related to slimes, she can still use Magic Missile.

It’s much better than just standing still……!

Seeing mana gathering at the end of Limurimu’s rod, Kyung-joon spoke.

“You’re Limurimu, right?”

“T, That’s right! I am the master of the Slime Labyrinth! Limurimu! If you don’t want to get hurt, you’d better tell me how you found this place!”

Like a cornered dog barking madly, Limurimu actually shouted back at him.

“Okay.”

“Huh, I knew you’d say that― What, what did you say?”

“Okay. I’ll tell you how I found it. It’s not really a secret.”

Unexpectedly, Kyung-joon readily nodded his head.

And added,

“But I recommend you put that staff down. The mana is too obvious.”

“Ha! The moment I release my mana, you’ll cast a spell! Do you think I’d give you that chance? Go ahead and try to cast a spell! While my Magic Missile knocks you unconscious, I’ll feed you to my slimes……?”

Suddenly feeling a chill, Limurimu glanced sideways.

A magic circle was visible in the air.

The magic circle of Energy Bolt.

Thud.

Limurimu, her hand losing strength, dropped the rod.

She couldn’t help it.

The entire space behind her, 180 degrees, was filled with Energy Bolt magic circles.

“H, How did you……. “

She didn’t feel a thing.

She didn’t see a thing.

But how in the world……

“Since an hour ago.”

Thud. Thud.

Kyung-joon walked forward, bent down, and picked up the rod.

A huge opening.

But Limurimu couldn’t even muster the will to attack.

Kyung-joon, picking up the rod, placed it neatly on the desk.

“I’ve been secretly channeling mana little by little from the entrance for the past hour. So the air around here is completely half air and half mana. Didn’t you notice?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Limurimu feel it.

The dense mana in the air.

“Well, it’s understandable that you wouldn’t notice after being angry enough to flip your desk for over an hour.”

He spread the mana very gradually so that it wouldn’t be easily noticed.

Limurimu, whose mind was not in the right state due to anger, was completely oblivious, like a frog in boiling water.

But what surprised Limurimu was not the fact that she didn’t notice, but that Kyung-joon had been manipulating mana for an hour to achieve this.

‘Maintaining control of mana for an hour? And spreading it throughout the air like this? Impossible!’

Ordinary wizards have a hard time handling the mana within their own bodies.

And the farther away from the body, the more difficult it becomes to manipulate mana exponentially.

But to handle it so delicately for an hour that she didn’t even notice…….

‘……That can’t be possible! At least not for a level 200 wizard!’

However.

No matter how much she denied it in her mind, she couldn’t undo what had already happened.

Dozens of Energy Bolt magic circles already surrounded her.

The blue energy bullets in them looked as if they would fire immediately with the slightest touch.

But they didn’t fire.

They remained fixed in the air, their activation continuously delayed.

The mysterious wizard who was currently casually looking around her laboratory was controlling them in real time.

“Oh? This liquid, it’s hydrochloric acid, right?”

Clink.

Kyung-joon asked Limurimu, swirling the liquid in the flask.

She wasn’t obligated to answer, but feeling like she would die if she didn’t, Limurimu immediately opened her mouth.

But…….

” ……Hydrochloric acid?”

Limurimu didn’t know the term hydrochloric acid.

Because it’s a scientific term.

“Yes. It’s definitely hydrochloric acid. I’ve already done a rough analysis of its components, but…… Here, look.”

Kyung-joon took out a bottle filled with white powder from his inventory.

[Sodium Hydroxide Powder]

▶White powder. When dissolved in water, it becomes a deadly poison that melts living beings.

▶Uh, well…… To put it simply, it’s just refined ash? Like lye. -Kyung-joon-

▶Item Grade: Unique

Pop~! He opened the lid and poured it into the flask.

Chiiiiik~!

The hydrochloric acid in the flask bubbled violently with white smoke.

Limurimu flinched at Kyung-joon’s sudden action.

Then, opening her eyes slightly to check the situation, Limurimu heard Kyung-joon’s suggestion.

“Here, have a sip.”

“D, Drink it?! What are you……!”

“Hey, it’s not dangerous, just one sip.”

Kyung-joon approached her with a bright smile, holding out the flask.

Limurimu backed away little by little until she was cornered against the wall.

Confirming that there was nowhere else to run, she stammered with a terrified expression.

“N, Not dangerous my foot! That’s a liquid made by refining the mucus of a Hardrock Frog! The moment you put it in your mouth, before you can even swallow, it’ll melt a hole in your jaw― Mmph?!”

Without a word, Kyung-joon forced the liquid into Limurimu’s mouth!

As he removed the empty flask from her mouth, Limurimu clutched her throat and screamed.

“Cough! Cough! Gaaaaah! My, my mouth! My mouth is melting! Uwaaaagh!”

She continued like that, then suddenly felt something intense on her tongue!

She immediately spat out the liquid in her mouth.

“Ugh, ptooey! Salty! It’s so salty! It’s like salt water! ……Huh? Salt water……?”

Only then did Limurimu realize something was strange.

“Come to think of it, my tongue and mouth are all fine……. “

As Limurimu stood there bewildered, Kyung-joon approached her.

Limurimu looked up at Kyung-joon…….

“That powder…… Is it because you sprinkled all that white powder? What in the world is that powder……?”

She asked the most crucial question.

“Want to know?”

Kyung-joon grinned.

That was the question he wanted to hear the most.

The chapter of the conversation he desired had finally begun.

Kyung-joon stopped right in front of Limurimu.

Looking down at her, he opened his mouth.

“How I neutralized your Acid Slime.”

Snap.

He snapped his fingers, erasing all the Energy Bolts around them.

At the same time, he absorbed all the mana scattered in the air back into his body.

“Why the King Slime turned into mush from just a little bit of salt.”

Finally, bending his knees slightly…….

“And how I knew about and found this underground laboratory, don’t you want to know everything?”

He reached out his hand.

It was as if he was offering a hand to help a fallen opponent get up.

Limurimu looked back and forth between Kyung-joon’s hand and face.

Each time, pointy, cute ears peeked out from her white bobbed hair.

Confirming this, Kyung-joon’s lips curled up slightly.

Limurimu gulped.

And then.

“Heave-ho.”

In the end, Kyung-joon pulled Limurimu up with all his might as she grabbed his hand.

At the same time, with a bright smile, he said these words…….

“Let’s make a contract, Demon Limurimu.”

Kyung-joon intended to make a 『demonic contract』 with her.

TL: Change gender (Limurimu) to ‘she’. There’s no really specific indicator of Limurimu’s gender until now.

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