Chapter 32

After Leon’s group left.

Iri plopped down in her seat with a grumble.

With her arms crossed, she kept tapping her own forearm with a finger. Her body language made it clear just how furious she was, the anger shooting straight up to the tips of her hair.

“……Seriously, they’re nothing but trash.”

Saying she wanted to quit the Academy herself?

Wasn’t that basically saying they’d make her feel like quitting? What a ridiculous threat. Did they think she’d be scared by that?

To exaggerate a bit, she almost felt like she’d gladly pay to see just how fancy their harassment could get.

But compared to what she’d gone through in the Fallen Sector, it would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

‘You picked the wrong person to mess with.’

She let out a hearty sneer inwardly.

Unfortunately, the food she’d gone through the trouble of getting had gone a little cold. As if venting her frustration, Iri began shoveling the food into her mouth without restraint.

Then—

She noticed something odd about Miyu.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Um… well…”

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Even the mechanical tail attached to her rear hung limp, drooping lifelessly.

“Honestly…”

Iri let out a sigh.

She might not have Aaron’s ability to see right through people, but reading what was on Miyu’s mind wasn’t all that difficult.

“Don’t pay attention to guys like that. Just eat your breakfast. They can’t do anything to us anyway.”

“B-but…”

“I said ignore them, didn’t I? Think about it. If they were that great, would they have needed to come mobbing in like that?”

She had never seen a skilled person who needed to run around in a pack. If they had real confidence in their abilities, they wouldn’t rely on numbers.

“Besides, you’ve got the choice here. What if you just joined another group? They wouldn’t be able to treat you carelessly then.”

“Mm…”

Iri spoke with certainty.

Only then did Miyu’s face relax a little, as if she felt somewhat reassured, but there still seemed to be something weighing on her mind. She spoke again, worry in her tone.

“B-but even if I’m fine, Iri, you…”

“Me? I don’t care. Let them try whatever they want. Like I’d just sit still for it.”

She would show them exactly how nasty the temper of a Fallen Sector native they so despised could be.

“Got it? So stop worrying so much and just act like usual. When the person who picked us comes back, they’ll be crawling at our feet, pretending none of this ever happened.”

At that moment—

A system message popped up in Iri’s vision. She thought maybe she’d received a mail, but it wasn’t that.

[System Error]

[Oh? You sure sound confident.]

[Looks like you still haven’t learned your lesson.]

[Let me give you just a little taste.]

“…What?”

The sudden situation—

Before she could even figure out what was happening, an overwhelming flood of warning messages filled Iri’s vision.

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

……

……

……

—–

At the same time—

“Uwaaaah!”

Bzzzzt!

Sparks burst from the back of Iri’s neck.

It was the spot where her brother’s keepsake, the Combat Module, was plugged in. Acrid smoke rose from the socket, and Iri, unable to bear the pain, collapsed back into her seat.

“I-Iri!”

Murmurs spread.

The sudden commotion threw the dormitory cafeteria into a stir. Even in her dazed state, Iri frantically scanned the surroundings, trying to find the culprit.

‘It… it has to be those bastards…!’

This was definitely a hack.

That study group must have had a skilled ‘Techno-Wizard’ among them.

‘I… I need to find that wizard, fast…!’

She had to locate the culprit and subdue them quickly.

But her vision was completely obscured by an overwhelming flood of system warning messages. She couldn’t even make out what was in front of her.

And then—

“Kyaaaaaaaaah!”

This time, her whole body grew hot.

It felt like her blood was boiling.

Her breathing became increasingly labored, and her consciousness grew hazy. Her vision was still blocked by the wall of system warnings.

At that moment—

One message appeared at the very top.

—–

[System Warning: Security Vulnerability!!]

[You’re the one who picked the wrong opponent.]

[You should have done better from the start.]

[Looks like your Academy life is about to get a lot more fun.]

—–

“Da… damn… bas… tards…!”

“Iri! Iri!”

Miyu’s desperate cries sounded so far away. And then, Iri’s consciousness sank deep into darkness.

* * *

“Guess it’s about time I head back.”

Three days after entering the hunting ground.

I decided it was time to leave.

Originally, I’d planned to drag out my time here a bit longer, but it didn’t seem like there was anything more worth gaining.

‘The types of [Arcane] that show up here, the rewards… from the start, this hunting ground just wasn’t suited to my specs.’

Since I couldn’t use my knowledge of the original work here, I had been overly tense, but once I actually entered, it turned out to be so dull I thought I’d die of boredom.

And for good reason.

The difficulty was far too low.

“Kieeeek! Kieeeek!”

“Shut up.”

Slash.

With a flick of my finger, the head of the Forest Goblin screeching beside me flew off. Maybe it had been trying to convey something, but since we couldn’t communicate, it was nothing but noise to me.

The rest of the goblins, seeing that, fell flat to the ground in terror.

Here in the Violet Hunting Ground, the ruling force was a band of Forest Goblins.

When I first encountered them, I had gone all out in caution—only to kill about 80% of their group in an instant.

Later, I realized that among the corpses were a Goblin Lord? Champion? I wasn’t quite sure, but some of them had clearly been of higher rank.

Once I’d taken out their leader, the rest began to obey me. With the intelligence of a small child, they were perfect for running errands.

Ah, and my murderous urge had subsided as well.

I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because I had slaughtered so many goblins on the first day?

But if just killing monsters could quell that urge, then why, in the original story, had Aaron hunted only humans?

For now, I had no answer.

Anyway—

‘That’s why I got bored so fast…’

Left to themselves, the goblins brought me food and hunted down any other [Arcane] they spotted nearby.

Because I’d beheaded them all in our first encounter, they seemed to think I enjoyed eating animal heads.

When I told them to bring me food, they brought back animal heads—so I killed them as an example. After that, they started bringing proper food.

Of course, some resisted.

One tried to stab my heart with a spear while I was sleeping. But I already had [Tungsten Skin], and their weapons couldn’t pierce my subdermal armor.

I killed the ones who disturbed my rest and threw in a few more for good measure. After that, no one dared to run around wielding weapons.

‘So then they changed tactics.’

On the second day, some of them brought me poisonous plants they could eat but humans couldn’t, as if it were food.

On a hunch, I had them taste it first—they ate it just fine. Feeling reassured, I tried it myself, only for a system message to pop up warning “Poison.”

Thankfully, the filter from [Poison Immunity] kept me safe, though my tongue went numb. I made another example of them with a fresh round of killing, and less than a tenth of the group was left.

‘This was never the place for me.’

With only low-rank [Arcane] here, there was nothing worth farming, and the modules the goblins looted from other [Arcane] were all junk.

‘If the quality’s this low, no wonder there’s not even any distortion phenomenon.’

The “mana” released by [Arcane] has the power to drive humans mad and warp reality.

Because mana affects the body at the cellular level, an ordinary human without nanomachines, if directly exposed, will have their entire body grotesquely transformed.

That’s why Adaptees are essential when dealing with monsters—but the concentration here was so thin it didn’t affect me in the slightest.

Even with civilian-grade nanomachines, you’d probably walk away just fine.

More than anything, the worst part was the food and sleeping arrangements. For me—someone who had gone through winter field training in the army—they were tolerable, but for the refined body of Aaron Stingray, it probably felt like dying would be better.

Regardless, even if I had come here just to lay low and drag things out, I had no desire to continue living like this.

‘At least I won’t be returning empty-handed…’

I had gained two things here.

One was a module, and the other was a special device.

First, I took out the module to check it.

It was something I’d obtained this morning, when the goblins had tried to feed me to a monster called a “Mimic” in their cave.

After wiping out both the Mimic and the goblins, the Mimic had spat out a module.

【Arcane】

[Lv.2 Mimic]

Changes appearance.

‘If I have this, I won’t need to hole up in a hunting ground anymore.’

With the ability to change my appearance, I could freely roam the city while hiding the fact that I was Aaron Stingray.

Of course, I’d still have to be careful not to expose my Civilian ID, but at least I wouldn’t have to live this kind of wild life.

‘And then there’s this thing…’

I hadn’t expected to find it here.

A metallic device sat in my palm, shaped like a disk with insect legs attached.

On the first day, after killing goblins left and right, one of them had dropped it.

Thanks to its distinctive design, I recognized immediately what it was for—even though it was my first time seeing the real thing.

‘Didn’t expect to find a Liberator here.’

The Liberator.

Also known as “the Emancipator.”

It’s the key item that triggers the “Rebellion of the Academy Androids” episode in Act 3 of Part 1.

‘This isn’t supposed to be here…’

Normally, this should be in the possession of the anti-technology cultists from the sect known as Ashita-kyo, not in my hands.

‘Why were goblins holding something that could completely overturn the scenario order?’

Was it because this dungeon was designed for players to prepare for the main scenario? If not…

‘Let’s not overthink it. I’ll find out once I leave.’

For now, I should focus on Act 1, the matter of Iri and the Titans.

‘Let’s head back.’

As soon as I decided that—

I summoned the Violet Groundskeeper.

A robot like something out of a children’s cartoon was projected in front of me.

The goblins, startled by the sight, made a racket—so I killed them. I let the ones who ran away go.

[Greetings. How may I assist you?]

“I want to go back.”

[Please state your coordinates.]

“Trinity Academy. Somewhere deserted.”

[You will be transported to a random coordinate in a deserted area inside the Academy. Is that acceptable?]

“Yes.”

[Ending the hunt. Thank you for your efforts.]

With the groundskeeper’s farewell—

My vision shifted.

When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted by a dark corridor. Judging by the markings on the wall, I seemed to be near the general dormitory wing.

‘Perfect timing.’

It had only been three days since I’d returned, yet the Academy’s closed-in interior felt oddly nostalgic.

But I didn’t have time to get sentimental.

‘This isn’t the time for that.’

If someone who’d been reported missing outside suddenly appeared here, it would cause quite a commotion.

‘It’s not time for me to show up yet.’

Carefully scanning my surroundings, I equipped the newly obtained [Mimic] module.

Replacement Rate: 57%

Overload Rate: 69% (Caution)

‘Looks like I can’t use this often.’

Changing my entire appearance had sharply raised the replacement rate, and the overload rate was no joke either.

Still, here in the Academy, there was little risk of being ambushed, so I wasn’t too worried.

“Module Online, [Mimic].”

When I activated the [Mimic] module and pictured the image in my head, skin rapidly formed over me from the area around my heart. My height shrank slightly, and my facial bone structure changed.

I moved to a nearby bathroom and looked into the mirror. Standing there was a handsome man who bore a strong resemblance to Aaron Stingray. Even my clothes had changed—no longer my usual pitch-black suit, but something with a touch more style.

The jet-black hair and gold-inlaid eyes reflected in the mirror made it clear the two of us were brothers.

‘Not bad.’

The change in physique made me feel a bit awkward at first. I moved my limbs around to get used to the body, and finally tried my voice.

“Ah, ah.”

The voice had changed too.

At first it cracked a little, but soon a deep, resonant tone came out. Wearing the most villainous smile I could muster, I murmured—

“My name is Benedict Stingray.”

The second son of the Stingray Family.

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