“For some reason… my chest feels tight. Is it because I’m nervous that my friend is giving a speech…?”
“I-I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Suddenly, Vigdis and Liolikin exchanged those words with nauseated expressions.
The reason Vigdis gave was merely a misunderstanding; it wasn’t actually because she felt nervous about Hailga’s upcoming speech.
As proof, murmurs of discomfort broke out simultaneously from various places.
‘They said it feels like motion sickness, or like being pulled straight out of the water after drowning… It’s exactly as described in the Original Work!’
According to the settings of the Original Work…
Right before Magicalization occurs, the Aether concentration in the atmosphere in that area is said to spike momentarily before immediately settling back down.
In short, the sensation of nausea that everyone, including myself, felt just now was due to the precursor phenomenon of Magicalization.
‘And next…’
A translucent window displaying one’s own stats will appear before their eyes.
This time, not for everyone, but only for the very few who have awakened.
A window appeared before my eyes as well, announcing the fact that I had awakened.
Since I knew this was proof of awakening, I described it as ‘announcing,’ but…
‘To those without information, it will probably seem like nothing more than a strange phantom suddenly appearing before their eyes!’
Awakening doesn’t mean a kind explanation pops up.
Looking at how Reysir Daudabina said he discovered his Inventory ability by chance in chapter 84, one can see how unfriendly the awakening system of this world is.
‘Furthermore, since the world itself is a fantasy setting where an energy called Aether exists, it’s not like some superpower suddenly manifested out of nowhere, so there’s no immediate physical sensation.’
For the record, even though I’ve narrated these explanations and monologues, it doesn’t mean I was lost in thought while reflecting on these details in real-time.
It’s more accurate to say I added them later.
In reality, the status window has only just appeared before my eyes.
I didn’t read the contents written on it.
I brushed it away before the letters could even register.
Just because I look at my quantified stats right now doesn’t mean the numbers displayed there will change, does it?
Reading the status window now would be nothing but a waste of time.
“Ugh…! S-Something strange suddenly appeared in front of me…!”
“I-I see it too. My name and… some other things are written here…”
The two who had just become awakened seemed to instinctively flail their arms toward the status window or try to examine the text written on it.
However, they soon shifted their attention to their surroundings—or rather, they had no choice but to.
Because—.
“Aaaah!! It-It’s an earthquake!”
“Wha-What, plants are suddenly…?!”
“Kyaak! Mom, Dad, Professor!!”
“Ev-Everyone, calm down!! For now…, please calm down!!”
—The ground shook, and cracks formed in the floor, ceiling, and walls.
It was because tree vines and grass began to grow wildly through those gaps.
The plants that appeared suddenly rapidly damaged the building as they widened the cracks.
Ironically, they served to support the building so that it wouldn’t completely collapse despite the shaking from the earthquake.
Thanks to that, no situation occurred where students were crushed to death by falling debris from the ceiling.
“K-Kar. What is all this…?!”
It’s likely not because Vigdis thought I would know something that she asked this question.
She was probably just so confused that she spoke to me, who was closest to her, as the words came to her.
“I don’t know either.”
“Ah, I-I suppose so.”
“For now, take care of Reysir.”
“What…? What do you mean by that…. Ah, what’s wrong with Reysir?!”
As seen in the main story, the Boss Monster doesn’t jump out the moment Magicalization begins.
So, if Reysir had kept his wits about him in the Original Work and rushed to protect his childhood friend as soon as the Magicalization started, he could have saved her.
The reason he couldn’t was that he failed to maintain his sanity.
A panic attack caused by trauma.
If I were to summarize Reysir’s current state in one sentence, that would be it.
Right now, his mind is likely wandering through the hellish past where everyone died and he lost everything.
Just as it happened in the Original Work.
‘Considering the Boss Monster’s spawn location…. This must also be a device prepared by the Original Author to ensure Hailga’s death.’
The moment I saw Reysir gasping for breath with a terror-stricken face—a side of him he had never shown before—anxiety surged within me involuntarily.
Even though I knew beforehand that he would fall into a panic.
Even though I was aware that I couldn’t expect his help.
For some reason, it felt like something that couldn’t possibly happen.
Was it because Reysir had shown such overwhelming skill and a relaxed demeanor while being active in the tournament?
Or was it because, just an hour or two ago, he had shown an ordinary side of himself, laughing and chatting about a novel he liked?
Such questions flashed through my mind for a moment.
But I don’t have the luxury to explore them right now.
Neither in terms of time nor state of mind.
“Liolikin, you at least keep your head straight. You’re the only one I can trust right now.”
“Ye-Yes? Yeees!!”
I half-listened to Liolikin’s unreliable answer, took my eyes off Reysir, and looked up at the podium.
There stood Hailga alone in the center, looking lost and not knowing what to do.
In fact, the other people were also just stomping their feet, unable to do anything.
The auditorium entrance had long been blocked by mysterious plants, and since no one knew what the situation was like outside, it wasn’t a good idea to hastily attempt an escape.
Because of that, the professors could do no more than repeat the words “Calm down” like parrots without any basis.
Naturally, the confusion did not subside.
Sobs were mixed intermittently within the chaotic commotion, and the word ‘terror’ was mentioned by several people.
‘They probably think an Aether attribute user who manipulates plants has committed an act of terror!’
Unlike others, I didn’t have to face an unknown fear.
But even so, it was impossible to escape from tension, anxiety, and dread.
Feeling my heart pounding and my mind becoming hazy, I etched what I had to do into my brain.
‘First, I should set up the buffs!’
By now, most students had stood up from their seats in surprise.
However, the spacing of the folding chairs originally arranged wasn’t that wide.
So, just because the students stood up didn’t mean there was enough space to swing a Whip.
If I swung a Whip in a place like this, someone would inevitably be hit.
Since this was a situation I had fully taken into account, I didn’t panic and reached out toward Yor.
“Yor. Could you possibly make a loud sound…”
“Meow!”
“…using an object…”
Yor must have been in a huge hurry.
Before I could even finish the words we had agreed upon, a braided bracelet with a bead the size of a fingernail was fastened to my wrist.
It wasn’t that my baby Dragon moved its own paws to fasten it.
The Yeouiju transformed into a halo of light and wrapped around my wrist, taking that form.
I don’t know how such a thing is possible.
The Yeouiju was not only able to turn the bell sound ON/OFF but was also capable of adjusting its volume.
So, when I said I wanted to borrow the Yeouiju while we were having our strategy meeting, Yor showed me the trick of changing the Yeouiju into the form of a bracelet.
‘Just what kind of object is this Yeouiju…?’
Leaving that question behind.
Prior to using the [Goyang] skill, I used the [Encourage] skill on myself and Yor.
It goes without saying, but I have no intention of telling Yor to fight the Boss Monster.
Even so, the reason I bothered to give the baby Dragon a buff was…
Because during the strategy meeting, Yor was confident that he had a clever move to hold the Boss Monster’s movements for at least ten-odd seconds.
When I asked what that clever move was, he only meowed and didn’t write anything on the Whitenboard, so I don’t know what he plans to do.
But since the aggro might jump to Yor and put him in danger if something goes wrong.
I decided to plaster him with Keyword buffs so that he would be less hurt even if an emergency occurred.
‘Is Reysir’s condition still the same?’
Vigdis was holding onto the Original Protagonist and repeatedly talking to him, but her voice didn’t reach Reysir at all.
Reysir’s complexion remained pale, and his eyes were out of focus.
Far from being able to fight, it seemed impossible for him to even move of his own volition.
Would it even be meaningful to cast a buff on him?
Wouldn’t it just be a waste of Aether?
When that question arose in my mind.
“Myaat, Mya!!”
Yor pointed toward the podium and shouted urgently.
I quickly turned my head and looked in that direction.
For a moment, it felt like my eyes met Hailga’s as she stood there, but that wasn’t what was important now.
I saw the space right next to Hailga distorting.
According to the content of the Original Work, after the space distorts like that, a monster would pop out from that location within 5 seconds.
There is no more time to hesitate.
Reysir, who has completely lost his mind, and Hailga, who is standing alone on the podium.
And me, Yor, Liolikin, and Vigdis.
I made up my mind to use [Goyang] on these six.
-Ding-ling!
As I concentrated purple Aether into the Yeouiju and lightly shook my hand, a clear and vivid bell sound echoed throughout the entire space.
Ding-ling, ding-ling….
The sound hitting the walls bounced back, even leaving an afterglow.
As I explained in chapter 18, just because the sound gets louder doesn’t mean the stat increase rate of the buff grows infinitely.
Because there is a maximum limit set.
Therefore, if the only purpose was to use the buff, the sound didn’t need to be this loud.
Yet, the reason I set the volume this high was to draw everyone’s attention.
The ‘everyone’ mentioned here includes not only the surrounding students but also the Boss Monster that just appeared.
In the Original Work, the Boss Monster swung its giant fist and killed Hailga instantly as soon as it appeared, as she was the being right in front of its eyes.
Fearing that just making a loud noise might not be enough, I even pulled out the dagger I had hidden in my clothes, infused it with Aether, and threw it.
“Kruoo…?”
The Boss Monster deflected the dagger I threw just by lightly swinging its arm.
I had thrown it with all my might while under the effects of two buffs, [Encourage] and [Goyang].
I felt a sense of futility, but I decided to be satisfied since I succeeded in drawing the aggro for now.
“U-Uh… Lord Karbaldr…?”
As the giant monster, standing well over 3 meters tall with arms long enough to drag on the floor, looked this way, Liolikin called out to me in quite a panic.
As if to reproach me for why I did such a thing.
“Liolikin. You said playing together is fun and that you wanted to protect me, right? I’ll believe those words.”
“Ah, uh, th-that…”
The Boss Monster was not only larger than Liolikin but also far superior in its ability to assess the situation.
What this means is…
Liolikin was still dazed, but the Boss Monster had already finished its ‘Kruoooor!’ roar and was ready to pounce this way.
“Kyaoooong—!!!!!!”
My reliable baby Dragon glared at the Boss Monster and hissed.
Then, surprisingly, didn’t the monster come to a dead stop?
Earlier, instead of describing that the Boss Monster pounced, I used the expression ‘finished its preparation to pounce,’ and this was the reason.
It only took the posture to pounce, but it couldn’t actually pounce.