Chapter 44 — Strong Willpower Comes from Physical Strength
1
Manus carefully examined the detailed description of the skill with the running timer.
It was definitely the boss that appeared on the 35th floor.
The second newbie killer, and a boss that showed just how annoying and frustrating status effects could be.
One of that boss’s skills was to inflict a random status effect on a random party member with 100% probability.
This skill, more vicious than most black magic, was known to cause what players called “shotgunning”.
‘This… it might be good to keep as a joker card.’
There’s a common mistake that beginners often make.
Attack power.
They tend to favor skills that only have strong attack power.
While that is a decisive factor for victory, it’s clearly a preconception.
[Cloud of Oblivion: 120 days]
[In oblivion, you will be unable to distinguish anything.]
[Inflicts a random status effect on a random enemy]
[Demons inhabiting below the 100th floor / Life forms below level 60 cannot block this skill under any circumstances (However, it can be dispelled)]
A skill name written in pure Korean.
Perhaps because it wasn’t a skill directly used by players.
The effect Manus focused on was the very last line.
‘Just the fact that it can’t be blocked at all made it such an annoying boss.’
Soon, he would face them.
Those ignorant of status effects.
In this world, there was no concept of retrying.
So, he would have to protect them himself from beside them.
Warmth began to mix into the dry wind.
The weather was gradually getting hotter.
‘It’s only April, yet this wind…’
Mythos Academy, located inland, was in an area where cold winds blew.
At least in summer, the huge river to the south added moisture to the wind.
When this moisture turns into humidity, a great calamity will arrive.
The first Demonium was a tutorial.
From the second Demonium onwards, they truly take on the character of a “boss”.
Powerful party wipes.
Various status effects.
Continuously summoned minions.
‘At the very least, they should be able to handle 3rd-Class freely.’
It wasn’t just about himself.
All main damage dealers should be able to handle 3rd-Class without difficulty.
He shouldn’t be the only one getting stronger.
It was time to study theory diligently and practice repeatedly in certain sections of the Tower.
The time had come for what was known as the First Death Zone.
Manus smiled slightly, lost in thoughts of the past.
“Still, I like that every day here isn’t boring.”
The sensation of flipping through screens and text was vastly different from directly experiencing 24 hours.
Instead of days cut off abruptly, he could do many things in his spare time.
He had overcome one big hurdle.
A moment of peace had arrived.
How this time is spent will determine the story going forward.
He moved his steps, moving again to indulge in knowledge.
‘Skills, sub-quests, family stories. Guillermo, was it?’
Thinking of the tasks ahead, he once again devoted himself to his studies for the day.
2
“Haaah-.”
He caught his breath, panting heavily and dripping with sweat.
The ends of his short blonde hair clumped with sweat, adding to his wild appearance.
The hand gripping the massive shield trembled.
Nevertheless, his tightly clenched fist never let go of the shield.
After the confrontation with Manus, he had thought about many things.
How to overcome the weaknesses of guardians.
How to deal with stronger magicians.
‘— I wonder if the letter arrived safely.’
How his sister would react when reading the letter, and so on.
Even on the night when the undead rampaged, he couldn’t focus due to these thoughts floating in his mind.
He just mindlessly held up his shield, blocking the occasional projectiles.
“Guillermo. Are you going to clean up today too?”
“Yeah, I will.”
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Take it easy today, okay? You know the survival evaluation is coming up soon, right?”
Guillermo nodded.
A project where knights, guardians, and magicians form teams to survive for a week.
It was closely related to grades and was also a place where various incidents occurred.
Second year.
It was the time to be officially recognized as a member of Mythos Academy.
Rumor has it that Manus is already taking third-year classes.
Whether that rumor was true or not, there was enough reason to work harder.
“Guillermo.”
“…What are you doing here?”
It wasn’t a voice he particularly wanted to hear.
The humiliation from that day was still burning in Guillermo’s heart.
This place where Guillermo was, was the training ground.
It was mainly used by aspiring guardians and warriors.
Magicians would probably be crowded in the library or places where they could practice magic at this time.
This place, littered with various pieces of metal, was far removed from magicians.
“I came to train.”
“-What?”
What was this about now?
When he should be studying magic even more, he suddenly wants to lift iron.
He was still a friend full of incomprehensible actions.
Watching Manus lightly stretching, Guillermo clicked his tongue softly.
Physical training isn’t something you can just do recklessly.
Rushing in mindlessly could even be harmful.
‘It’s not my business anyway.’
Guillermo stood up.
Now that he was here, there was no reason to train here.
It was a face he didn’t want to encounter.
“Clean up when you’re done.”
Manus silently nodded and focused on stretching.
Tsk-.
Feeling unnecessarily disturbed, Guillermo clicked his tongue and walked out.
He’ll probably quit after a day or two.
Guillermo also had a lot to do for his family and to maintain his grades.
From next week, there’s a week-long survival test.
Manus wasn’t the only one who was busy.
“Haaah-.”
Meanwhile, Manus slowly moved his body while looking at exercise equipment not much different from modern times.
He needed to build his body and increase his stamina.
This was essential for someone like him who often moved alone.
And living with this face, shouldn’t he try to sculpt his body at least once?
With the power of mana, he could probably handle not just 3:500 but even up to 1 ton.
Fortunately, he had watched quite a few YouTube videos about exercise in his room.
‘I never thought I’d be using that here-.’
He had promised himself that he would definitely exercise when he got some free time at work.
Exercise my foot, every day was filled with overtime work, early morning commutes, and just awful days.
Now the situation has changed.
“Huff-.”
Rough breathing echoed.
Manus’s body was quite, no, very sturdy.
Of course, even so, it was only at the level of a regular person who exercised a bit.
And so, the day passed in an instant.
3
“We will now begin the briefing for the survival evaluation taking place next week.”
The next day.
Mythos Academy did not rest.
Evaluation, evaluation, evaluation.
Deliberately dividing students into classes and encouraging competition between them.
This was the educational philosophy of Mythos Academy.
Those scattered across the continent would meet again as enemies or allies.
As they aimed for this to be a microcosm of that reality, their education was always harsh.
“The survival evaluation will take place on an artificial island. It’s a survival test where all second-year students will survive on their own.”
The important points of the survival evaluation were as follows:
- Prohibition of murder and criminal acts (expulsion if caught)
- From the second day, trials must be solved.
- Special missions are assigned to each individual, which must be completed.
- All actions are recorded by magic.
“That covers the important information. As this is a school tradition, I think many students already know about it, but the trials change every time.”
The professors threw trials at them in ingenious ways.
The future that only Manus knew.
He listened to the explanation while slowly recalling the game content.
The trials were diverse.
It was written in detail in the text as Alano began to form a proper relationship with the protagonist.
However, the problem was that since the player didn’t directly experience the trials, even Manus himself was experiencing this survival evaluation for the first time.
‘I’m excited but…’
— also a bit anxious.
The week-long story that had occurred in text.
Alano had clearly said:
[Although some unfortunate things happened, everyone was safe.]
[Are you worried? That’s kind of you.]
[I never want to do the survival evaluation again.]
An illustration of her shaking her head.
He only knew it was a schedule so grueling that even Tower climbing was paused.
He was quite curious about what would actually happen.
“You cannot bring any items into the survival evaluation. You must survive solely on your own abilities.”
“We won’t starve to death, right?”
A student raised their hand and asked.
The professor nodded.
Surely, they wouldn’t let students starve to death.
“We will provide you with flare guns. If you use them, an emergency team will head to your location. Also, there’s a magic circle installed across the entire artificial island that will forcibly transport you to the rescue ship outside if you suffer a fatal injury.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Mythos Academy will provide you with a harsh environment. But we won’t kill you, so don’t worry.”
The professor’s lips curled up meaningfully.
The smile of Professor Cox Chandler, in charge of summoning magic.
It was a smile that even the protagonist had seen quite often after becoming a second-year.
Every time, big and small incidents would occur, giving Professor Cox a notorious reputation among users.
But due to his excellent abilities, he was fairly good at handling the aftermath.
“There will be no ability evaluation this week. However, your actions during the Night of the Undead will be reflected in the evaluation.”
“What-?!”
“We, we weren’t told about this!”
Professor Chandler looked at the student who made that comment while organizing his materials.
His gaze was chilling, as if he might devour someone.
His tone became somewhat sharp.
“Do I need to report every little thing to you?”
“N-No-“
“If you haven’t realized this even as a second-year student, it might not be bad to leave the academy and live under your family’s protection.”
Professor Chandler’s words were a blow that struck bone and stripped flesh.
A sharp rebuke for those who thought the academy was just a peaceful place.
“This is a battlefield. It’s a place where you learn how to compete and rise to the top. Of course, there’s much else to learn too, like networking, connections, and so on…”
His eyes flashed fiercely.
“Remember this. None of your actions are meaningless.”
“Y-Yes, I understand.”
In the end, the Class A second-year student was deflated, unable to save face.
Perhaps they were sensitive about grades.
They might have felt relieved about being in Class A.
Manus also reminded himself once again.
That this place, Mythos Academy, directly reflected the political situation of the continent.
The peaceful, romantic Mythos Academy that all users dreamed of didn’t exist.
‘So that’s how it was.’
A place where thousands gather, stepping on each other to rise.
A place where one must constantly compete to receive the spotlight shining from above.
That was the academy.
Manus smiled.
Because in this endless competition, he no longer had to struggle helplessly.
There was no need to chase non-existent talent and fall into self-loathing alone.
— Indeed, Manus liked this place.
If only he could prevent its destruction.
–TL Notes–
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