Chapter 603

After obtaining a weapon from Sangyeom, I returned to the main continent.

Gongwoo, who had been training, was sent back to the Space of Despair along with the rare book on the ‘true’ iron armor technique found among Jongsa’s spoils.

Afterward, I returned to Elbrite, finished several tasks, and then announced a period of rest, commonly referred to as a chill broadcast.

From Ertarn and the Altar of Growth to Teshiniria.

Though there were breaks in between, they weren’t long, and effectively, it was the same as clearing three hidden areas continuously without rest following the Kraken’s extermination.

In the past, such actions would have been expected, but I had returned, so there was no need to pathologically obsess over training and problem-solving.

‘The editors are already on the verge of collapse.’

With an already towering pile of edits, new material keeps pouring in almost daily.

We’ve even resorted to outsourcing lately, but still, it seems like it’s not enough.

While some viewers were upset at my announcement of a chill broadcast, the majority praised me for taking a break after working so hard.

Without major incidents, I spent time on appropriate rank battles, just chatting, teaching classes at the Academy, and the like.

Time flowed on like this, and before I knew it, we were nearing five months since the new year.

—

“Ack.”

[Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha]

[Lily?]

[Skill level]

[Big Lily]

[Huh]

[Leo got 2000 points with that…]

[Yet you made it yourself and haha]

[Can’t beat the mythical 1800 points haha ha ha ha ha ha]

“Wait, this time, I’ll truly break it.”

In the Elbrite Principality, at the Mana Training Facility of Eli Academy.

This facility, decorated with a glossy white and blue mana, is equipped with various mana training devices that I created.

Standing in front of a ‘giant box,’ I inserted a restart coin while glaring at the camera.

In this large box, you can place special fruits made of mana. When the same fruits meet, they transform into a higher-grade fruit.

The objective is a game-style training where you aim to create the highest-grade fruit before the box is full. The higher-grade fruits are larger than the lower ones.

This game was inspired by the ‘Melon Game,’ which had become popular before Deoen and was later absorbed by Nutri Company as part of Deoen’s precursor.

Initially designed as an educational game to help academy students easily grasp the flow of mana, I was attempting it with all my abilities and senses restricted to a ‘0’ state—essentially, trying it as a normal human would when playing on a computer.

I managed to create one melon, but creating a second melon proves to be almost impossible.

‘I think it can be done…’

Ting~!

“Ah!”

A fruit bounced out of the box.

A message made of my mana appeared in the air.

-1789 points (Overall ranking 6th).

[Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha]

[Yep, 1700 points~]

[Lily, you’re hilariously bad]

[Two melons seem easy, huh?]

[There’s no way to surpass this]

[Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha]

[Lily who can’t play games is refreshingly funny]

[Fun Fact: Positions 1 to 3 used mana to solve it, so technically 4th place.]

[Lil4exactly ha ha ha ha ha ha]

[4th place is still good job ha ha ha]

[Big – Lily]

“…Today, I’ll take 1st place.”

I grabbed another coin.

Originally, these should be purchased with academy points, but I’m the owner, so no problem.

This time for sure…!

-1797 points (Overall ranking 5th).

…

[Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha]

[1 step up!]

[Whoa]

[Breaking news: Lily’s real standing upgraded to 3rd position haha]

[Is this thing really that hard?]

[But still, that’s pretty good haha]

[Really ha ha]

[3D is probably harder]

[Why are 300,000 watching this?]

[Ha ha ha ha ha]

[Lily’s Melon Ruin > Teshiniria Conquest Broadcast]

“Phew…”

Let’s focus.

Jingle~

The blue restart coin I created was sucked inside the device, and the box was emptied.

Tuuddrllrk!

The ‘fruit standby disc’ near me rotated, and an apple popped out of the central cylindrical object.

‘Apple, strawberry, strawberry, cantaloupe, plum, strawberry, plum…’

Given this sequence, let’s fill from the back while considering some inevitable gaps. There’s always the risk of accidents when the fruits fall and merge. These mana fruits are unpredictable unless controlled…

[Lily is so serious!]

[She’s approaching this more meticulously than a monthly raid haha]

[Big Lily]

Tuung!

The first fruit dropped, and I carefully continued adding fruits and merging them.

As the fruits piled up in the box, the tension increased for both me and the spectators who were all focusing on the box.

After what felt like ages…

‘Just before two melons!’

Inside the box is one melon and two pineapples!

Since two pineapples combine to form a melon, it’s essentially the same as creating two melons already.

Now, I just have to make them meet.

[Whoa]

[Can it really be done?]

[Crazy ha ha ha ha!]

[Seems risky?]

[It might explode!]

“Phew…”

The problem is the box is almost full.

When fruits merge, they inevitably bounce a little, so if I don’t do this right, the game could end the moment I place the last fruit.

‘Even if two melons bounce out when created, that’s okay. As long as I make them, I’ll definitely surpass the record…’

My current accumulated score is 1795 points.

Since the scoring system is designed to prioritize high scores through compression, even without having created two melons, my score rivals other top rankers.

All rankers above 7th place have already created two melons.

The moment I create the two melons, I’ll jump straight to 1st place.

‘Two melon score is 300 points. Current 1st place, Leo, has 2011 points, so it’s a done deal.’

“Let’s go.”

I grabbed the last fruit.

Even with all my abilities restricted, after hundreds, maybe even thousands of simulations, this is perfect.

‘It can’t get better than this!’

Tuuuung.

The fruit fell.

Ching! First, two apples merged. Then a small quake happened inside the box.

Finally, there was a brief void, and the two pineapples met…

“Professor!!”

Boooom!

A crash accompanied someone entering, shaking the entire Mana Training Facility.

Naturally, the box swayed with the facility…

Tuung!

“Ah.”

The fruit bounced out.

-1798 points (Overall ranking 5th).

“An urgent issue—”

“Why did you come?”

“Uh… Yes? An urgent issue. Ah.”

“Why. Did you come?”

[Ha ha ha ha]

[She’s really pissed]

[Take it, Geono! You’re dead!]

[Her murderous intent is off the charts]

[How dare you ruin this]

[Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha]

[Breaking news: Magic Engineering ruined]

[It’s so close to the ending and you ruined it ha ha ha ha ha]

Guild member Geono, a pro ranker using guns uniquely in Deoen’s medieval setting, clutched a letter in his sweaty hand in terror.

Most ranker students rarely visited the academy, but Geono regularly used its facilities and took lessons from various professors.

Amidst the sharp killing intent spreading in the facility, she swallowed hard and spoke.

“That, that… I’m sorry…”

“Just tell me the main issue.”

“That… A mobilization order was issued…”

“Mobilization order?”

Tuuuung.

I released my constraints and extended my hand, causing the letter in Geono’s hand to fly into mine.

The white shield with a yellow feathered sword, along with several encircling weapons, signified the emblem of the ‘Challenger Alliance’.

Inside the letter were elaborate phrases, but the content was straightforward when the unnecessary portions were removed.

‘We must prevent the foretold apocalypse. As such, the alliance is summoning everyone’

“…I see. Time has come.”

“We… as we are preparing the floating ship, we received it first… I thought I had to deliver this. The Alliance will probably summon you too.”

“That’s right.”

Since the new year, three calamities have each possessed immense power. Two have been defeated.

The Kraken, the calamity of the sea, fell to me and the Alliance.

The Scorpion, the calamity of the golden sand, fell to Pharaoh.

Though users didn’t get much from Scorpion, Pharaoh threw its ‘remains’ into the desert three weeks ago, securing some reward.

Now, only one remains.

[Devil?]

[The Empire hasn’t eradicated it yet?]

[Didn’t they catch the devil?]

[Let’s go kill the devil~]

“The Disaster of Gongam. The devil the Empire was supposed to deal with isn’t finished yet.”

If this devil isn’t caught within 150 days, it will separate the world, covering it in darkness.

In essence, a ‘crack in space’ that was previously connecting various dimensions arbitrarily might now completely sever the world.

Due to this, it needs to be captured quickly, yet there were no updates from the Empire despite nearly five months having passed.

Geono tightly gripped the magic engineering rifle slung over his shoulder, his face tense.

“There’s only about 20 days left. In the Alliance, there’s talk about invading the Empire itself.”

“Hmm… Definitely an issue.”

I was planning to invade the Empire soon anyway.

It’s better to handle it safely than clear it hastily under pressure.

No reason to hold back since it’s a ‘demon race’.

“I was planning to get this 1st rank before I left.”

“…”

“Thanks to someone, I failed.”

“…I apologize.”

“It’s fine. Although, I spent three days studying the route, ran thousands of mental simulations, and carefully planned this for three hours, failure can always happen. Don’t worry about it.”

“…”

[Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha]

[T_T]

[Lily…]

[It’s understandable to be angry haha]

Ding!

I wielded the Kraken’s Spear.

Startled by the sight of the spear, Geono took a step back, but I merely tilted my head in thought and smiled faintly.

“Let’s go capture the demons.”

“…Yes.”

—

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