Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Joshua took out his dagger and called Tania closer.

He instructed her to ignite a flame.

He sterilized the blade by scorching it over the flame burning on her palm.

"I will tear the skin with the dagger and remove the embedded arrowhead. Otherwise, the wound will fester."

"......It will hurt, right?"

Even the usually calm Gavinu was utterly an infant at a time like this.

"It will hurt enough to make you faint."

"......Have you done this kind of thing before?"

"I have done it hundreds of times."

"That many?"

"Yes."

Gavinu looked at him with a suspicious gaze.

Joshua shrugged his shoulders.

I had done the task of pulling out arrows countless times through the interaction feature when playing the game, to the point of being sick of it.

Although it was far from having experienced it directly.

It would work out somehow with the help of [Cool] and [Clever].

"What kind of life have you lived, Sir Joshua? You are about the same age as us."

"It is a long story to explain. However, it is certain that it was a thrilling life. Being hit by an arrow was not even that of a dangerous situation."

"......What."

"You don't die easily from arrows. Various debuffs follow, but you can survive if you have enough tools."

Gavinu's complexion turned pale white.

The story Joshua told was so chilling that he even forgot the pain of the arrow.

"Bite on this."

Joshua handed Gavinu a handkerchief to use as a gag.

"It will be over quickly."

The boy nodded.

He inserted the blade into the wound and widened the gap so the arrow could be removed easily.

Blood and a suppressed scream flowed out.

I continued the procedure with an indifference that surprised even myself.

"Uuughhh!"

Talleon held Gavinu, who was trying to writhe in pain.

Joshua silently pulled out the arrow, digging through the flesh with the dagger.

"You did well. Drink the antidote."

The few minutes that felt like hell for Gavinu were over.

The boy shed tears.

He curled up his body without even uttering a word of thanks and drank the antidote.

He would suffer from high fever and chills for the next few days.

"Kghhh."

Joshua was lost in thought for a moment.

Then, as if he had made a decision, he reached out his hand.

[Heal], a new spell acquired from Triden.

[Cool] advised me to save it.

That there would be a moment when it could be used more effectively.

That I would be exposed to danger if the information leaked.

"The ability I am about to show you must not be told to anyone else."

Joshua rolled up his sleeve and placed his hand near Gavinu's shoulder.

He drew in mana and calculated the spell circle.

A warm, green light promoted the regeneration of the wound.

"......No way, a healing spell."

Tania was the first to realize the identity of the light.

She could not take her eyes off the spell she had only read about in books.

"When did you learn that?"

"It happened recently."

"When I asked you, you said you didn’t know how to do it."

"I did indeed."

Joshua took his hand away.

The gap that had been torn was healing, and a scab had formed.

It was a successful first attempt.

"Not bad."

"......Thank you, Sir Joshua."

"Yes, I am usually the type to let good things pass easily, but this time, be truly grateful."

"Ah, thank you so much."

Joshua placed his hand on his forehead.

The personality traits inside my head were raging wildly.

Especially [Clever] and [Cool].

"By the way, is there anything I can receive in return for showing you the healing spell?"

Gavinu hesitated for a moment and then pulled something out of his pocket and offered it.

It was a chocolate wrapped in foil.

"It is a ration I hid just in case. Is it not enough?"

His head was still throbbing.

"No, you just eat that later. I will take care of my head myself."

"Are there side effects to using the healing spell?"

"It is similar to that. A few ruffians live in my head, and they are forgetting their place and trying to climb the hierarchy."

When I spoke harshly to the personality traits, they became even more agitated.

I understand.

There were many moments when I could have used [Heal].

Gavinu was the first person I used it on after passing up countless opportunities.

There was no reward in return, and only the risk of information exposure had arisen.

This place is inside a game.

I thought I could be heartless to any extent in a game.

I was wrong.

I could not just stand by and watch the boy who trusted and relied on me writhe in pain.

"Do not make me regret this."

"I promise. I will not tell anyone, anywhere, about your ability."

The answer came from Gavinu, but all the students nodded their heads.

My head calmed down.

Now it was time to continue the search of the laboratory.

"......Um."

Tania spoke.

"What are you planning to do about that monster from before?"

Tania was worried.

The monster that appeared after defeating the bandits.

It was Professor Gordon, the owner of this laboratory.

A variant that had evolved beyond ordinary monsters.

A creature noticeably stronger than other variants.

"I don't intend to hunt him if I can help it, but I don't know if that will be possible. If we cannot avoid it, we will have to hunt him."

Joshua thought.

Nothing had gone as I wished since I fell into this place.

A series of hardships.

This game seems to be trying to kill me, as if it has murderous intent.

I want to avoid the thorny path, but I cannot.

So I will meet Gordon as well.

This damned world.

Naturally, I did not overlook that possibility.

I took out the glass bottle containing the snowflake crystal from my backpack.

"Don’t worry. We will survive this time too."

Now it was time to meet the survivor of the laboratory.

The suspicion Tania had a moment ago.

The reason why the laboratory's spell circle was still being maintained.

I needed to find the person who was injecting the mana.

* * *

The control room was located in the deepest part of the laboratory.

All the spell circles inscribed in the laboratory were managed through this place.

A woman was biting her nails there.

Her appearance was haggard, and her hair was dry and brittle.

Her lifeless eyes wandered, having nowhere to rest.

'Who is it? Who came?'

Someone had entered the laboratory.

Many people had tried to enter here, but they failed every time.

This time was different.

Someone had interpreted the spell circle in a short time of less than a minute.

It was a skill that made her skin crawl.

She guessed it was not a student, but a mage.

Either a professor or a skilled person belonging to an academic society.

She felt him slowly approaching this way.

'He is deliberately releasing mana and approaching.'

The intruding human was letting me know his location.

Is it a trap?

Or is it to put me at ease?

'He is close now.'

The need to read mana was gone now.

The sound of approaching footsteps was clearly audible.

It was not just one person.

At least three people or more.

Fire Attribute magic was required to open the closed door of the control room.

But having come this far, that would not be a major obstacle for them.

A surge of strong mana flared up once.

Soon after, the locked door was swung open.

"Ah, a survivor!"

The one who spoke upon entering was a red-haired girl.

She was wearing the academy uniform.

And she looked young.

The other boys next to her were of a similar age.

Only one person.

One boy who looked more mature than the three.

He was wearing a cold-heartedness like it was armor.

Without any sign of surprise, he scanned the surroundings and opened his mouth.

"Luizella."

"You, how?"

Since being confined to the laboratory.

It was her name that she thought she would never hear again.

The feeling was both unfamiliar and welcome.

"That is not important. What is important is what you can do for us."

The boy closed the door, walked past her, and headed for the end of the wall.

Then he began to grope the wall, searching for something.

Luizella swallowed dryly.

"You, what are you doing?"

"Professor Gordon's safe should be here. I am checking for it."

"Wait a minute, how do you know that!"

She was astonished.

He, who was not a student belonging to the laboratory, knew the location of the professor's safe.

"Please calm down. We will explain."

The red-haired girl caressed her back.

She seemed accustomed to this kind of situation, maintaining a calm expression.

Luizella turned away from the searching boy and met the girl's gaze.

"So you came all the way here from the Tower?"

"That is right."

"What about the others? Surely there must be people who came with you."

"The four of us are all there are."

Luizella was speechless.

She did not feel like she was lying.

Only four students came all the way here, far from the Tower, and entered the laboratory.

And they said no one had died.

It was unbelievable.

Because the situation outside was obvious.

"There is no key huh."

The student named Joshua looked around the room and returned to her.

"Who has it?"

Having discovered the safe, he was actively looking for the key.

Unfortunately, the key was not here.

"If the safe is your goal, you should give up. You cannot open that."

"......I have an idea of what you are talking about."

Joshua frowned.

He seemed to already know the situation.

His distorted gaze shot towards the door they had entered through.

"The professor has it, right?"

She was now at a point where she wondered what the boy did not know.

"Yes. So give up. I don't know how you got here, but if you fight him, all of you will die."

"Ha, seriously."

Even the cold-hearted boy seemed afraid of fighting the professor.

He sighed deeply enough to make the floor sink.

"To think it is proceeding with the route I hate the most again."

He ran his hand over his face and directed his gaze into the air.

"If we had arrived just one week earlier, we could have finished this without getting hurt."

"......What are you talking about?"

"The variant regains strength as time passes, so if we had met him earlier, we could have met him in a weaker state."

Luizella's eyes widened.

According to the boy's words, it sounded as if they could have killed the professor a week ago.

It was absurd.

She agreed that the student in front of her had exceptional qualities, but he was still a student.

"We might get a little hurt."

Joshua's eyes showed determination.

"You, you are not thinking of fighting, are you?"

"I have to. Otherwise, there is no point in coming all the way here."

"If you don't want to die, stop!"

He ignored her warning and walked towards the door.

He gathered his comrades.

"We are taking down the boss of this place."

"You mean the monster that was burning when we fought the bandits a moment ago, right?"

"Yes."

They naturally began to strategize.

The three students showed infinite trust in Joshua.

"Prevent others from approaching my vicinity. That is your role this time."

All the students nodded.

They immediately began to check their weapons.

"Would you like to have this?"

Joshua approached Luizella and handed her a biscuit that was in his bag.

Luizella could not refuse.

The rations remaining in the control room had run out a few days ago.

Forgetting all dignity, she ravenously ate the biscuit.

Even the crumbs falling from her mouth were precious.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Huh?"

"After defeating the professor and opening the safe, we will leave this place. If you want to return to the Tower with us, you need to earn your keep."

"......What if I end up dying a pointless death with you?"

"The choice is yours, but I will only make the offer once."

Luizella broke out in a cold sweat.

Was she to rely on this one chance for escape?

"What do I have to do?"

Joshua dropped a large sack.

"Since you are injured, I will give you special treatment. Fill that bag with useful items. You know the inside of the laboratory like the back of your hand, right?"

"......That much I could do."

"It will take about 5 minutes. If you cannot even fill half the sack, you’ll be disqualified."

Luizella frowned.

She thought the boy was being arrogant.

Defeating the professor alone was close to a miracle.

But he even put a time limit on it.

And a ridiculously short time of 5 minutes at that.

"Are you trying to tease me?"

"I am serious."

"Let me, an adult, give you one piece of advice. Complacency is not good. Why don't you reconsider your strategy from the beginning?"

The boy smiled faintly and headed for the door.

She felt a surge of anger.

She did not mean it in a bad way.

It was advice given out of genuine concern.

"Excuse me...... Miss Luizella."

Tania approached her.

"You can call me big sis for convenience."

"Ah, then I will call you big sis."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Senior just said 5 minutes. You might want to keep that in mind."

Luizella tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"When Senior states a time, that task is completed within that time, no matter what."

"Wait, do you also believe that 5 minutes is enough?"

"I believe it. So I hope big sis believes it too. Otherwise...... you might regret it later."