I Killed an Academy Player - Chapter 73
[ Nazrea, City of the Dead (4) ]
On the second day, the three defeated the Abyss Shrieker Wight King.
Although Corin and Arisha are not at student level, each one of them is a first-class undead boss.
It was entirely thanks to Erin Danua that I was able to hunt with ease in a city where so many undead lurked.
Her guidance was skillful and her strategy was perfect, as if she had hunted hundreds or thousands of times.
Rather, he even gave up the ending as if to fill the experience of the two people.
“Now only the immortal king remains.”
The evening of the third day. The three were able to stand in front of Gerolg, the immortal king.
“We have finally arrived in front of Gerolg. We must stop him from awakening into the immortal king.”
“Ugh… you look really scary?”
The immortal king Gerolg.
He is a warlock who caused the Nazrea Immortal Legion incident 300 years ago and a monster who wanted to become the king of the undead.
However, contrary to its grandiose purpose and name, these undead feel neither dignity nor intimidation.
What you see is nothing more than a shabby, bloated, drowned body.
The flesh here and there swells like a malignant tumor, and in some places the bones are bare and bare.
It’s bloated but scrawny. It was such an ambiguous existence that this contradictory evaluation fit perfectly.
“Has it become less rich?”
“That may be true. The soul has not been extracted, as is typical of a lich, and there is no wise sense typical of a wizard.”
“It’s half a penny, not even a lychee.”
Corin steps forward. Erin and Alisha were surprised by his sudden behavior.
“What are you thinking?”
“Stay back. I’ll handle this myself.”
“Mr. Corrin! Even though it looks like that, it’s at least premium!”
It’s just like Alicia said. However, even a lich is an undead king born out of great consciousness.
The size of his power is already greater than that of Marie Dunareff. It would be okay to call it a special express.
“Well, let’s go see something.”
In the middle of the city center. I head towards Gerolg, the immortal king who is procrastinating alone.
Complex city area. The Immortal King was staring at an unknown place outside his workshop.
“Hello Gerolg.”
-Whisk!
The guy’s head jerked at the sound of Corrin’s voice! It bends over. The next moment……
[Doom Bolt]
The magic of maximum power poured out automatically.
-Kwaang!
Would it be like this if you made a harpoon for whale hunting 20 times bigger? The Doom Bolt penetrates the spot where Corin was and splits the city in half.
“Hwiyu~”
That scene of overwhelming destruction. Corinne whistles calmly and admires it.
“Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…!”
Upon confirming that the enemy was alive, the Immortal King concentrated a vast amount of magical power that was dizzying just by looking at it.
[Curse of Time] [Wind of Death] [Apocalypse].
The magic of maximum power follows. Each one is top-level magic. Just how powerful an archmage is the Immortal King, who can use magic like this without any delay.
-Quaang!
-Kwagwagwang!
An overwhelming performance that changes even the terrain. The successive magic bombardments destroy Corrin with just a passing glance.
“???”
However, it was the Immortal King who was distorted with curiosity. This is because the red-light magic he was always using was still signaling the enemy’s health.
“The firepower is great, though.”
And at some point, the spearman came right in front of the Immortal King.
“If you use big techniques too much, your vision will be blocked.”
A leopard running on the ground. The Immortal King notices and fires his Doom Bolt. A magic arrow with overwhelming penetrating power that split the city in half.
[Nachalmagi (拿扎魔技).]
The silver spear lightly struck the side of the Doom Bolt. The orbit changes by just that amount, 1cm. However, this alone makes the Doom Bolt’s line of fire point towards the sky, not the city.
“This kind of conversation power is convenient against armies or groups of monsters, but it’s just needlessly cumbersome against individuals. It’s better to use dozens of intermediate magic.”
“Gaaaaaa…!”
A swollen, fat finger points towards the spearman. Doom Bolt activated by pointing your finger. But what happens to that accuracy if that finger is cut off by a spinning spear blade?
“Something like an archmage without a guard or intelligence.”
The window rotates.
Dozens of times every 3 seconds. A wizard, not even a knight. Even though he has lost his wit, there is no way Richie can read the change with his flashy tone.
The endless retreat that follows. The flesh of the immortal king breaks into pieces every time it rotates.
“Guh——?!”
The Immortal King’s question could not even come out of his vocal cords. This is because the accelerated spear cut the vocal cords and snout ten times in 0.5 seconds.
──! ──! ──! ─────!!!!
A relentless barrage of spears. It’s truly an endless stream. It’s literally Nanchang. A body that is being torn apart in real time cannot even make a hand gesture to fire magic.
– Cheolpudeok!
The body of the immortal king slips and falls. Among the bodies cut into hundreds of pieces, the ‘soul heart’ that had not yet been separated was shaking.
soul heart.
Lich’s core and greatest weakness. Originally, this soul heart should have been removed and hidden, but the fact that even that was not done proved how much of a half-penny this immortal king was.
-Kwasik!
As the silver spear struck and crushed the heart of the soul, a strange scream-like sound echoed everywhere.
Overwhelmed.
The immortal king Gerolg perished without even being able to resist.
* * * *
Nazrea Strategy Quest
In this infinite field called Undead City, this quest is essentially a ‘repeat’ quest.
Nazrea’s three major bosses.
Hunt down first-class bosses such as the Wight King, Abyss Shrieker, Revenant Titan, etc. to weaken the power of the Immortal King and defeat the special undead King Gerolg.
Although it is a grandiose quest, as it is a repeatable quest, the difficulty level is medium to high, and you must clear it several times to accumulate the ‘Favor of the Death God’ and obtain the ‘Treasure of the Underworld’.
In other words, as a skilled player, I have caught Gerolg hundreds or thousands of times. You can tell what kind of magic will come even with your eyes closed.
“…….”
“What’s wrong?”
Alisha is staring at me with strange eyes.
“It seems like Corinne is getting further and further away.”
“Well, I bet you wouldn’t have changed much.”
You don’t even have to pound it continuously like I did. If it were Arisha… she would have torn the Immortal King apart with a single blow the moment she approached.
“That bastard is a piece of shit. Other undead bosses are much more annoying.”
“is that so?”
Like the Immortal King, Nana Alicia is the best case of someone who is extremely focused on strength.
Rather, it would be difficult to deal with a power type like Marie. Marie will somehow win thanks to Deokgu’s presence.
However, if you can overpower him with technology, the Immortal King becomes a poor boss who can be toyed with.
He’s a lich who can’t even use the skillful magic typical of an archmage. The magic used is both destructive top-level magic and anti-magic.
Rather, that’s why he can’t beat me or Alisha.
‘And the same goes for Erin Danua.’
“I’m going to Erin. You can stop any undead that are approaching.”
“Oh yes! Um… Erin?”
Alisha tilted her head at my title, but soon went to guard the surrounding area.
………
……
…
Even after defeating the Immortal King, the culprit of the Nazrea incident 300 years ago, the cityscape does not change.
This is because the Immortal King has the power to command the undead, and it is not a matter of expediency that all the undead will automatically disappear by defeating the Immortal King.
The city is still overflowing with the dead and cursing the living.
So, a question arises here.
Why couldn’t the undead of Nazrea go outside the city 300 years ago?
“I don’t think it’s a nice sight to see.”
The rooftop of a building overlooking a collapsed city. Erin was staring blankly at the horizon.
“There’s nothing special to see.”
Stand next to her. As I stand side by side with her, ‘Erin Danua’ naturally speaks to me.
“It was a greater achievement than I expected. I met my student well.”
“I am a bastard.”
“Hehehe.”
Chin raised triumphantly. I am inside the sparkling eyes.
“Isn’t this the first time the immortal king Gerolg was born?”
“Did you notice?”
How many times is it? There is no need to predict. Just calculate it.
“300 years, 3 months, 27 days. 109,617 days. Repeat three days, 36,539 times.”
“…….”
She didn’t say anything to my calculation. Just listen. Because nothing changes.
“300 years, 3 months and 27 days ago. The warlock Gerolg used a lunar eclipse to turn the entire city into undead.”
At that time, the number of undead unleashed at once, including the city’s population and cemeteries, was roughly 1.2 million.
It is 1.2 million. 1.2 million undead suddenly appeared.
In essence, undead are unclean beings that create stronger higher-level undead as they gather together.
The proof is that from the first day of the three days, people like the Wight King, Abyss Shrieker, and Revenant Titans began to appear in droves.
“Three days is the time it took you to defeat Gerolg, right?”
“Yes. I understand that, but Gerolg’s lich conversion is not yet complete. It was easier than the other guys?”
“I guess so. But even though we defeated the Immortal King, the undead in the city still remained.”
“You know very well.”
“Then who created these three days of repetition? Shall I say more?”
“……no.”
Erin sighed heavily with a lonely expression. He gave me a questioning look, wondering if I really needed to say it.
“I made it that way.”
-I stuffed this city.
Erin confessed her sins and sacrificed herself to save the world.
“If 1.2 million undead went outside the city, it was only a matter of time before the continent collapsed. That’s why I used ‘Primeval’ to intervene in Gerolg’s magic circle.”
Primitive 『n』.
Paradise continues.
The eight letter elements that promise the permanence of paradise. He used it to give a new sense of grandeur to the entire city.
The first night the ceremony began. And until the third night of defeating the immortal king Gerolg.
They created a city of the dead that repeats three days forever.
“But the ‘present me’ exists out there, right? Don’t worry, ‘she’ and ‘me’ are different beings separated by 300 years ago. Because you know that, you also never called me ‘master’ until the end, right? ”
Yes I knew. The person she is now is a little different from the teacher who taught me.
“How long do you plan to hide it?”
“…What does that mean?”
He answered calmly, but his eyes widened for a moment and he wrapped his arms around his body. It was one of Erin’s… Master’s habits.
When you get caught doing something you don’t want to get caught.
“You probably didn’t lie. But you also didn’t tell the whole story.”
“What… do you want to say?”
“Master doesn’t even know you exist. All he knows is that this city has been repeating itself since the incident 300 years ago.”
Why does she, who divided 300 years into quarters but created three days that repeat themselves, not know this obvious thing?
Why has this city of Erin continued to defeat the Immortal King for 300 years?
How was such expedient self-sacrifice possible?
────
That was the moment when I had that question. Something appeared lingering in the darkness.
“You have good insight.”
Rather than a voice coming from a vocal organ, the voice seems to be forcefully injected into the space itself.
“…….”
It was a skeleton wearing a dark blue robe with the appearance of a typical Western Shinigami.
It has a unique huge scythe and is invisible to my eyes, but it is a ‘soul harvester’ that surrounds the souls harvested in previous rounds as well as in the game.
Grim Reaper. It is a literal god of death.
“Was it a Shinigami after all?”
In the game, they appear only as NPCs who give quests. This role did not change in the previous episode.
《You bold deceiver. What is in front of you is death.》
The grim reaper approaches me without any warning. This guy is holding a scythe that can cut through my body in an instant.
The moment my soul is ‘harvested’, I will surely die. The Shinigami is that kind of being. Because it is not about the presence or absence of strength, but conceptual death.
But Erin didn’t even try to save me. They just get agitated and look down.
“Don’t be bluff. You’re not a death-harvesting dick sentencer.”
The Shinigami shook his head and denied what I said.
《No, no. You are different. Corin Locke. The one who deceived death.》
…Do you know? That I am a regressor?
They said that what happened on the first day was because the Shinigami took interest in me. That’s why the undead bosses chased me.
In other words, this city, this city of death, is ruled by the Reaper.
“Why don’t you harvest my soul?”
《Because it is ambiguous. The death you deceived is from the future. “ It’s not the present.”
“Okay, so you’re thinking about it. You’ll change your mind soon.”
《Hoo.》
The Shinigami twitches his chin as if interested. The guy’s blue eyes shine magically.
“Erin. You made a ‘contract with the Reaper’, right?”
“…….”
“Repeat three days in the city. It’s a great feat if you just listen to it. But this is an act of ‘deceiving’ the deaths of 1.2 million people at the same time.”
Why did the Shinigami come to this land in the first place?
What is the concept of the Shinigami supposed to do?
Everything is related to Erin’s ‘repetition of three days’.
“…Yes. I was the one who repeated it for three days. Because of that, the Shinigami visited this land.”
Reapers hate undead. This is because they are the very beings that deceive death.
The soul that needs to be harvested is tied to the body of the dead and cannot be harvested. This alone is unpleasant, but somehow it’s okay.
Even if they are immortal undead, they will be killed by someone someday. Whether it’s a soldier, a knight, or a wizard.
In any case, the soul circulates. If you wait about 100 or 200 years, most souls will return.
The problem is that Erin repeated the three days.
To prevent the world from being destroyed by 1.2 million undead, three days were repeated throughout Nazrea.
As a result, even if the undead die, they are resurrected without any problems after three days. The soul does not circulate.
Although he is a Shinigami who cannot interfere in this world, it is different when it comes to protecting the law of this cycle. He would have tried to use his power to separate the original from the magic circle that hung over the city.
“You asked the Shinigami for a contract. A contract needed to repeat these three days.”
“Haa……”
She sighed pensively and began a long story as if resigned.
“wait. That magic must not be separated.”
《Erin Danua. Do you know what you did?》
“You did it knowingly. If the undead in this city spread outside, many people will die.”
The necessary material is rationality to convince the Shinigami. Utilitarian perspective.
1.2 million undead. It’s such a strange force that I have no idea how to stop it. The undead even turn the lives they kill into undead like themselves.
Zombie Raise Dead Skeleton… Undead are dead people created from living things.
What if humanity is defeated by the undead army led by the Immortal King?
The worst case scenario is that the death of all mankind means that souls do not circulate. Erin Danua was trying to persuade about the possibility of that future. The possibility
that the circulation of 1.2 million people may be interrupted and
the world’s circulation may be interrupted.
But this alone was not enough.
《It’s shallow. You’re talking from a human perspective. It is unlikely that humans will be defeated. Even if tens of millions of people die and it takes hundreds or thousands of years, how will they survive? One day, everything will be purified.》
「………….」
《However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to watch as you say. Sooner or later, this magic will wear off.》
「What does that mean?」
An unexpected ambush. The immortal king Gerolg. It seems that the Shinigami was planning to show that level of consideration to someone who was a ‘long-time friend’.
《You are not the only subject of this magic. There is also a wizard who created this evil city. How long do you think he won’t notice the three days repeating themselves?》
“I was worried. If it had gone according to the original plan, I was planning to leave the city and leave the three days repeating itself.”
In fact, it happened like that. Because my teacher right now, Erin Danua, the chairman of the Merkava Academy, exists.
“Reaper. “Let’s make a contract with me.”
《…Why do you always want to walk the arduous path? Queen.》
She carried out the contract despite the envoy’s dissuasion.
1. The messenger tolerates the repetition of three days.
2. Whenever ‘Erin Danua’ defeats ‘Immortal King Gerolg’, Gerolg’s memories are reset to three days ago.
3. Separate ‘Erin Danua’ who will repeat the three days from ‘Erin Danua’ who will leave the city.
The above contract will continue until ‘Erin Danua’ is unable to kill Gerolg.
Three endless days repeated like that.
The third night after defeating the Revenant Titan Abyss Shrieker Wight King. Kill the immortal king Gerolg.
This infinite three-day play has been repeated for over 300 years.
“It was getting harder and harder. When I passed 20,000 times, Gerolg started to notice the repetition of three days.”
“…That’s how it happened.”
I guessed it, but was there a story behind it? Could it be that Gerolg was slowly noticing the repetition of the three days?
“You found out something you didn’t need to know.”
She sank down in her seat and buried her face in her bent knees. I wish I had passed by without knowing.
You might think that knowing the future of an endless battle where you have to kill the Immortal King tomorrow, four days later, or a week later is enough.
“How long are you planning on repeating this? How much more can you do? How long do you think your spirit can hold out and how long do you think you can kill Gerolg?”
The most important condition of this contract is to kill Gerolg and reset his memory to three days ago.
Even though Gerolg has the upper hand in terms of compatibility, as long as she is human, it is not surprising if she makes mistakes at any time. It is not surprising if you fail at any time.
“As long as possible.”
Her eyes were already fixed on something beyond me.
Three days of repetition in an invisible future. 300 years. It has been repeated for 300 years. It was time to give up a long time ago.
The only thing that sustains her is duty. It was the only material that could be repeated for three days as if working mechanically.
That damn self-sacrifice.
I know the sacrifices you always make. I experienced a future where I was willing to risk my life to protect my children.
You are that kind of person. I respect you for that. But I don’t understand it.
“Reaper.”
At the words I spoke, the Shinigami’s eyes turned towards me. This guy is a conceptual being who weighs scales and considers causality. If so, definitely respond to me.
“Now wait a minute…!”
Erin seemed to have realized my intention and ran towards me. But it was already too late.
“Make a contract with me.”
A contract with the Shinigami.
The only way to save Erin Danua, who is stuffed in this city.
And that’s what I had to do anyway.