Chapter 88 — The Joy of Farming and Grinding

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The demons swarmed in.

This wasn’t a game with a limited number of encounters.

Reality.

A reality without limits or restrictions.

Demons packed densely, filling the entire floor of the labyrinth.

A quantity that made observers feel the pressure of sheer numbers.

Well, they had been gathering demons for over a decade.

“Just small fry.”

Kwa-rrrr-rung-!

A lightly cast lightning spell danced between the enemies, incinerating the demons.

Mana crystals rained down.

Manus smiled with satisfaction.

With each breath, his mana surged.

The endlessly rising mana allowed him to use 2nd-Class and lower magic almost infinitely.

Moreover, the passives stacked on top were enough to pierce through the enemies’ defenses and deliver death.

[Tutamen]

Guillermo became a massive curtain, firmly blocking the front.

As he blocked the enemies full of real killing intent, he understood Manus’s words.

Why they had become so strong.

The reason why the 1st-year Class A students didn’t cower even in front of ferocious monsters.

Why Manus and Alano could confidently face the 3rd-year students.

It’s only natural, having faced monsters gleaming with killing intent in such hellish scenes.

‘They’ve been fighting in places like this.’

The hollow ringing of the shield gave a sense of pressure, not knowing when it might cave in.

A chill ran down his spine and cold sweat formed as metal grazed past his armor.

Real combat that determined life and death.

The thrill and excitement that could never be experienced in the Academy.

Guillermo found himself smiling before he knew it.

Yes, this is it.

This real combat, playing tug-of-war with death!

‘This place will complete me.’

He liked how his body moved frantically.

Yes, now he understood why Manus had mentioned child’s play.

[Ignis]

Kwa-rrrr-rrrr-rrrr-!

A snake made of fire circled around, burning the demons.

The overwhelming destructive power created a momentary empty space, incinerating the demons that kept swarming in without leaving any behind.

Whew-.

Nia, who exhaled deeply, immediately downed a mana potion.

It was worth bringing plenty in preparation for times like this.

“There’s no end to them, really.”

“It seems they’ve gathered them all from other floors-.”

“Is everyone’s mana okay?”

Nia asked worriedly.

She didn’t look it, but she was more of a worrier than expected.

Manus nodded lightly, and Guillermo silently raised his shield.

She shook her head.

There were rumors of many geniuses, but to think they’d be such monsters.

It was reassuring to have them.

What if the 1st-year juniors and Alano came up too?

“Still no word from the kids?”

“Soon-.”

-Sen… iors…!

“Come a bit closer. We’re on the 67th floor.”

-Understood… We’ll be… there soon!

“Looks like they’re coming now. We just need to hold out a bit longer.”

“Alright-.”

Magic flew.

The shield blocked enemy attacks, and they steadily crushed the enemies.

Watching all this, Mia bit her lip, gritting her teeth.

Yes, she knew they were outstanding students.

But the fact that they could hold out to this extent was strange in itself.

She had unleashed a quantity that should have knocked out ordinary magicians by now.

‘That guy, that guy is the problem.’

Caesar Manus.

The youngster who had always been at the center of attention since entering the Academy.

A tyrant who cast magic expressionlessly while sweeping away demons.

She still had plenty of troops in reserve.

She should raise the difficulty a bit more and torment them.

Her laughing appearance, giggling, was no different from a distorted mask.

They say the masks worn by demons represent their hearts.

What kind of arcana would her mask have?

“Run wild! My slaves!”

Splash-!

Red reagent was sprayed.

A special reagent that increased ferocity settled on the demons.

[Grrrr-!]

The masks turned red.

The true start of phase 2.

They should start to struggle soon.

Manus spoke to Guillermo.

“We need to fight near the entrance. Fall back.”

“-Understood.”

The demons, with their abilities greatly increased, advanced without hesitation, even tearing at each other.

Masked monsters moving only to annihilate the enemy.

Suppressing their gradually shortening breath, the three took up a defensive position with their backs to the door.

Gaps formed, and attacks slipping through to the inside gradually increased.

Surprisingly, it was small cotton balls that filled those gaps.

A warm light wrapped around the tattered armor.

[Hoing-!]

“Tch, maybe I should have summoned a familiar too-.”

“It’s too much for your current mana.”

“Tsk-.”

Beads of sweat began to form on Manus’s forehead as well.

There was no end to the demons swarming in stubbornly.

Kill three, and five would fill the space; kill five, and ten would take their place.

How long had they been fighting like this?

In a situation where everyone’s mana was running low, only Manus remained standing on both feet.

The other two were recovering mana behind Manus.

“Only you left? After acting so high and mighty— How pitiful. Hehehehe-.”

“Whew-.”

There was a limit to recovery even with [High Restio].

There were still many demons left.

Roughly fifty.

Manus raised his mana while catching his breath as much as possible.

‘It’s almost time.’

The grinding was over.

He rolled his eyes to look at the mana crystals and artifacts scattered on the floor.

Yes, this amount would be enough to avoid grinding for mana crystals for a while.

A magic circle bloomed at his fingertips.

“You fool.”

An irrepressible sneer flowed from his twisted lips.

The act was over now.

He had stalled for as long as needed.

Seeing his mockery, Mia’s face twisted hideously, as if unable to control her emotions.

[Progidium]

A powerful status effect magic unleashed on those with no immunity.

Though less potent than [Cloud of Oblivion], it was enough for these small fry.

The magic that was like a cheat key against mobs struck the demons.

The scene distorted as if covered in drug powder.

The masked demons began to show abnormal symptoms.

Some killed each other, while others went berserk.

Demons getting trampled to death in corners, running around frantically, or recklessly unleashing skills in a frenzy.

“Th-This…”

“What, did you enjoy us playing along?”

“This can’t be, this can’t beeeee-!”

A voice filled with madness echoed through the space.

Was it anguish, or indignation?

Her bloodshot eyes proved that her emotions had been driven to the extreme.

“More, come more-!”

She frantically sprayed blue reagent.

Demons lured by the scent filled the empty space again.

However, they only worsened the situation by getting entangled with the demons who had already lost their minds.

Manus sighed and looked back.

The two people catching their breath with haggard looks after drinking potions.

“If there was a method like this, you should have done it earlier-.”

“To deceive the enemy, it couldn’t be helped.”

Nia felt resentful, but she didn’t blame Manus.

Thanks to him, she had gained a very good experience.

When else would she have pushed herself to the extreme like this?

Even geniuses clearly have limits.

For those not yet mature, they need to be made acutely aware of their limits at least once.

The combat power assessment was over.

Now, it was time to counterattack.

-Senior! We’ve arrived!

“Come in.”

The timing was perfect.

The wind blew.

A huge door opened, and new figures appeared.

Those who entered confidently were still fresh, and their bodies were properly warmed up from climbing up to this point.

Emerson was the guide itself.

No wonder the mini-map opened up after she joined.

“Senior, are you okay?”

“Is everyone uninjured?”

Six people.

It was a support force of a completely different scale than before.

Even Manus felt reassured.

On the other hand, Mia’s mouth gaped open as she saw these sudden intruders.

No, were there so many people who could enter the Tower?

Was Lupera, was she herself not special?

Why are there so many?

“They’re all nobles, nothing but nobles!”

She decided to make a decision.

If things continued like this, all the research data she had gathered would be lost.

She sprayed white reagent on herself and went down to the second floor.

[Grumble-]

As if smelling the scent of battle, the huge body writhed violently.

Yet, it faithfully waited for her command, like a well-trained combat dog.

She stroked the mask once and said softly.

“Go and kill them all.”

[Grrrr-!]

The massive silhouette moved.

Ku-woong-!

A rumble so loud it shook the entire space was heard.

The giant demon leaped with agility that belied its size.

Kwa-aaaaang-!

With its merciless entrance, all the demons below were crushed and spewed out mana crystals.

The appearance of a demon that could be called the real boss battle.

It was the appearance of [Demon: Type Chimera].

“What… is that?”

“The mask…”

“Ugh, disgusting.”

The students each voiced their impressions.

Manus tried casting a status effect spell as a test.

[Grrrr-?!]

The Chimera flinched momentarily.

But seeing it shake its head and regain its senses soon after, it had to be considered immune to status effects.

This is also why [Cloud of Oblivion] becomes useless as you go higher up.

With demons and demonium that dispel effects in 0.n seconds appearing in droves, it was actually impossible to subdue opponents with status effects.

“As expected, it doesn’t work. Emerson.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll leave the command to you. I’ll return to the front line shortly.”

“What?!”

Manus reached out to scrape up the scattered mana crystals.

Mana crystals piled up in front of him.

Some of them went towards Guillermo and Nia.

It was time to get the spoils after grinding and farming.

He slumped down in a corner.

Then he said to Nia and Guillermo.

“Absorb the mana crystals before joining the battle.”

“We’ll hold out until then, don’t worry. We’re Class A friends after all!”

Pearson gave a thumbs up and showed a reassuring smile.

Seeing him not lose his smile even in this moment, he was definitely a valuable person for the party.

Manus chuckled and closed his eyes.

He had explained the method of absorbing mana crystals beforehand.

Manus, Guillermo, and Nia sat side by side and began absorption.

It was a very dangerous thing.

If they were to be attacked by mistake, they would suffer great damage.

“I’ll definitely protect you.”

Kael stepped forward and said.

They must have pushed themselves to capture Professor Mia.

Until they arrived, they had reduced the number of enemies while becoming battered.

Having reduced the burden like this, they couldn’t show weakness here.

They should be able to handle the giant demon sufficiently.

There were plenty of reliable comrades here now.

“Melanie. Be careful. You need to fight focusing on evasion.”

“-Got it.”

[Grrrrrrrrrrrr-!]

With the Chimera’s scream, the battle began.

It was time to incinerate the large garbage.

–TL Notes–
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