If you think about it, isn’t that right?
Even though they’re called octopus legs, octopuses use them like their own hands.
So, the situation where octopus legs keep coming towards me can pretty much be seen as countless handshake requests.
“Ah, thank you. Thank you.”
“Rudion? Are you okay?”
After doing a little fan meeting skit, Seria started looking at me with worried eyes.
Yeah, I know. It’s crazy.
But it had to be this creepy. It felt like I had to escape reality by doing something like this.
Doesn’t Seria think anything of this?
“Huh? I just see a weird energy blob…”
Turns out, the creepy stuff was only visible to my eyes.
Wait, so it wasn’t originally like this? Was it some kind of visual effect?
It was a moment of realizing that gaming eyes can sometimes be harmful.
But isn’t it usually the opposite? Shouldn’t I be seeing creepy things as cute and all that?
Well… it’s easier to deal with since I can see it clearly, so it’s not bad…
That’s why Seria didn’t understand the handshake event and looked at me weirdly.
…Or maybe she saw it but still didn’t get the handshake thing.
Anyway, as I kept fending off the approaching octopus… I started hearing some strange noises around me.
“Grrrr-”
“Keeek! Keek!”
“Ooooh, oooh.”
When I turned my head slightly at the sound, all sorts of monsters detected by Grain’s ability were coming towards us.
Normally, they don’t come looking just because they’re detected… but the detection was so intense it felt like my whole body was being scanned, so they must’ve turned hostile without realizing it.
‘Having too strong a detection ability is a problem too.’
I didn’t even attack, just located them, and they’re charging at us like this.
Grain is defenseless, and I’m busy fighting the octopus monster, but I wasn’t worried at all.
There’s still one high-level personnel with free hands.
“Seria! You can use magic now! Take care of those things!”
“Okay! Leave it to me!”
After that, it took less than 3 seconds for the monsters approaching this place to vanish.
Kwaaaang-
The fist-sized fireball Seria shot created a huge crater where the monsters were.
…Didn’t she even set up a magic circle? That was surprisingly fast.
If she had set it up beforehand, it wouldn’t have been over in seconds.
“…What did I just see?”
If Grain, who had been quietly keeping his mouth shut, said that much, it must’ve been really impressive.
Even with the help of his ability, it was still…
It means a level so high that it’s impossible to grasp.
Once the surroundings were safe again, I drew attention away and focused back on the octopus tap dance.
Splat, splat.
The octopus legs burst and turned into black mist, returning to the hole.
The parts where the legs burst squirmed and created new legs.
From Seria’s perspective, it was just a process of energy scattering and then gathering again. It kept repeating.
Burst, burst. If it even touched Grain for a moment, it could be a real disaster, so I moved with maximum focus.
After a while, whether she released her trait or not, the octopus monster was sucked into a hole in the air and then it closed.
Grain cautiously opened his eyes and took a small deep breath.
“Phew, haa. This is the first time I’ve used my ability so freely. It feels really refreshing.”
“Just in case, don’t do this when I’m not around. It could really cause a big problem.”
Again, it’s a parrying gimmick. Nothing else works.
In this world, only I can use parrying, so if she tried to use this method with others, I can’t even imagine what kind of disaster would happen…
“I know. I thought about learning how to do it for a moment, but after watching for a while, I couldn’t figure it out, so I gave up.”
Grain seemed to roughly understand and said that with a bit of regret.
…Wait. ‘After watching for a while, I couldn’t figure it out’?
“…Senior? About my request…”
“That? I figured it out in a few seconds.”
So, you were just watching me dance with the octopus on the shell the whole time?
No wonder it took so long. I thought it was because the rift was wide, but that wasn’t it.
I didn’t really have anything to say. It wasn’t that hard, and the situation wasn’t that dangerous.
She probably knew that too, so she wanted to observe my tricks a bit more.
“But since you didn’t figure anything out… I just made you suffer for nothing.”
The result didn’t seem very successful.
But it seemed like she successfully figured out what I asked for.
She picked up a branch nearby and started drawing the positions she figured out on the ground.
Swish, swish.
The drawing was being completed at a fast pace.
Even though I crammed it into my head with my trait, memorizing the positions of a hundred randomly placed structures is no ordinary feat… She must be exceptionally smart.
From the drawing, it seemed like she figured out six objects in total.
They weren’t exactly the same… Probably grouped by similar types.
It seemed dark.
“Should I explain in more detail?”
“No, it’s just fine as it is.”
Looking at what was drawn, I started to rack my brain for the first time in a while.
I looked at it all at once, and then piece by piece.
I scrutinized it, wondering if there might be overlapping patterns from other maps.
Calculating six things at once was obviously difficult, but doesn’t practice make perfect?
When you’re strategizing, you naturally develop a knack for such calculations.
“What are you trying to figure out by looking at this?”
“…”
“It seems like there’s some kind of pattern… but is it even useful?”
“Mr. Grain, Rudion seems too focused to hear. Let’s be quiet and wait.”
“…Alright.”
Whatever was being said beside me, I couldn’t really hear it.
With my not-so-great brain, I had to focus entirely on one thing to get it right.
After considering various possibilities, the most likely one now is…
“1, 3, 2, 6, 3, 3, 4, 3, 1, 5, 2, 4….”
“Wow… he’s started muttering something creepy. Is that supposed to be cool?”
“Ehehe.”
“What kind of ‘ehehe’ is that? You’re really head over heels, aren’t you?”
…After getting this far, I can use Grain’s chance one more time.
Alright, let’s give it a try.
“Let’s head out right away.”
“Huh, huh? We’re going just like that?”
Grain seemed a bit flustered, perhaps thinking it was too hasty.
But undeterred, I pressed on.
Overthinking only delays the strategy!
The Student Council’s exploration was slow.
After a considerable amount of time, we finally reached a position where we could continue our exploration.
We got quite lost, and with frequent battles along the way, it took much longer than expected.
If Grain had been here, we would have arrived much faster. Thinking like that must be because I’ve gotten used to the convenience.
Anyway, that’s why it seems we’ll have to camp here tonight.
Fatigue accumulation is poison in a never-ending strategy. So, we must focus on managing our condition.
Night doesn’t fall in the Rift, so it’s still bright, making the term ‘camping’ seem out of place. But since it’s almost night outside the Rift, it’s not entirely wrong.
“Let’s unpack and take a short rest. Cain, I know you’re tired, but please check if the surroundings are safe.”
“Yes! I’ll be back!”
After instructing the fastest and stealthiest member of the Student Council to secure the area, I distributed food from the backpack.
After finishing the meal and resting, we set up the tent.
We set up a temporary shelter in a jiffy.
And then… it finally hit me that we had to do “that.”
“Since Grain isn’t here, I’ll take the night watch.”
Yeah, the night watch.
Night watch. It’s been a while since I last heard that word.
When Grain was around, we could handle any potential threats beforehand, so we didn’t need to do it. But now, it’s different.
Not taking the night watch when she’s gone is like bragging, “We’re idiots who do nothing while exposed to danger.”
Anyway, to take the night watch, we had to decide the order.
“Can we just draw lots?”
I asked, but no one was going to oppose the Student Council President’s words. So, the night watch order was decided by drawing lots.
Normally, I would’ve asked if anyone had a different opinion, but I didn’t even notice that I had taken the lead in suggesting the lottery.
Maybe I just didn’t feel the need to ask.
As always.
Everything went smoothly with the Student Council President at the center.
A while later. The time when the first night watch member was deployed.
A figure appeared behind the temporary shelter made of tents.
It was the Student Council President, Alkiné.
“…Sigh. I’m tired.”
She let out a small sigh and sat on a rock there.
For once, her eyelids felt heavy.
Normally, she could have lasted much longer.
For her, this level of exploration was practically a walk in the park.
After all, for someone about to reach a higher realm, not sleeping for a few days wasn’t a problem.
But maybe it was because she was bothered by the incident where she had hurt Grain due to her own mistake. She had expended quite a bit of mental energy in all the battles on the way here.
The obsessive stress of having to protect everyone ignored even her realm and gave her fatigue, creating her current state of exhaustion.
In fact, this was also why she had assigned the night watch duty to others, even though she could have done it herself.
To relieve even a little bit of her fatigue.
Still, she probably thought she could endure a bit more. She forced her eyes open, rubbing them occasionally, but eventually, she dozed off without realizing it.
And… when she woke up, realizing her consciousness had slipped away, something had already gone terribly wrong.
“…Where is this?”
An unknown space with iron bars shaped like a birdcage.
By the time she opened her eyes, she was already trapped inside.
“You’ve finally woken up, President.”
“…Vice President?”
In front of her was the missing Student Vice President… Diggerus.
