Chapter 105

“Hmm…. Are you really going to give it your all?”

“Yeah, I want to have a serious fight with you. Until now, we’ve been comrades, but here, we’re rivals in good faith.”

Edward, ignited with fighting spirit.

Since he asked for it, I decide to take him seriously without holding back.

“Nothing else to say later, right?”

Saying that, I raise my hand high.

“Armor summon, Colossus! Type is firepower module!”

– Consuming MP to summon a monster equipped with a firepower module.

A large amount of mana drains from me, a feeling of fatigue settling in.

A sphere of mana materializes in the air, slowly transforming into a large human shape.

Clang, thud!

A six-meter tall black giant stands on the ground.

The thick gauntlets covering its entire body resemble medieval knight armor, but the equipped weapons have moved from cold steel to the age of fire and gunpowder.

A 95mm sniper cannon on its left shoulder and a 105mm grenade launcher on its right shoulder.

The Hydra rocket pod, stored inside the shield, clicks into place, and it pulls out two 30mm machine guns to aim straight ahead.

“…Huh?”

Edward raises his voice, seemingly perplexed.

However, his face quickly turns serious.

“No, Edu, even if you pull a fake like that, it won’t work! I already confirmed through Nisia that you can’t control that robot!!”

“Oh, I see.”

So that’s why he’s so confident.

“But Edward, this is autonomous control, you know?”

“…What did you say?”

“You saw it last time in the sealed city, didn’t you forget?”

“…?”

Hearing my words, Edward falls into thought.

He must have been severely carsick at that time, and given that chaotic situation, it seems he completely forgot.

After thinking for a while, Edward suddenly snaps his fingers.

“Ah!”

“Colossus, fire.”

Pshushushush—

The rocket pods fire simultaneously.

Boom, bang!

The grenade launcher and sniper cannon roar to life, while the 30mm machine guns pour fire like rain.

Kwaaaang!!

A huge explosion.

“Grah?!”

Edward, enveloped in a barrier, flies away, making a sound reminiscent of a villain extra.

As his body passes through a pillar of blue light rising from the ground and crashes into the dome wall, a beep echoes.

At the same time, a woman’s voice can be heard faintly from beyond the dome.

– Ah! Edward’s first strike sent him out of bounds! Too weak! Even though he shouted big, he’s too weak!!

“I can’t believe I made such a mistake… If only I hadn’t been carsick… Ugh.”

Edward falls over.

Even with the barrier protecting him, Edward looks surprisingly fine for someone who just took heavy fire.

He practically withstood the barrage of the armored weapon with a human body.

‘They said the safety device was amazing, and it really is.’

A friendly competition where students are in a real fight.

In turn, the arena is equipped with numerous safety measures, making it one of the safest places within Fangju for sure.

[Then the first match ends here! The winner is the little hero, Edu Nimbusday!]

The announcer’s voice resonates clearly within the dome.

The cheers of the crowd fill the arena and are heard faintly beyond the dome.

At the same time, a notification rings in my head.

– You have achieved 1 victory in the event “Friendly Competition.” As a reward, you receive 3000 experience points and a +20 bonus to all status that can be grown.

Wow! 3000 experience points and stats all at once!

Truly, an event from the Great Huang Academy is exceptional in terms of rewards.

As I am satisfied, a small electronic sound follows, and the announcer’s hologram appears before me.

[Edu, although it ended a bit quickly, you showcased fantastic skills. May I ask for a comment?]

The announcer holds out a microphone to me.

At the same time, a broadcasting drone approaches, and my face appears on the holographic screen floating across the arena.

My mind goes blank.

“Um, well… I-I’ll do my best!”

[…? Yes! A cute aspiration! That was Edu Nimbusday!]

Stammering my reply and shutting my mouth tight, the announcer smoothly carries the atmosphere forward.

[Now, we will start the next match soon!]

After shouting loudly, the announcer softly whispers towards me.

[Edu, you’ve done well. You can go back to the waiting room now.]

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

Bowing my head in greeting, I rush back to the waiting room.

“Oh, there it is. Bungbungi, over there.”

[Beeep. /(˶•▿•˶)]

Bungbungi moves in the direction I point.

Once Hands opens the door, Nisia greets me from inside the waiting room.

“Edu, you’re back?”

“Yeah, Nisia, you’re up next, right?”

“Yeah, then I’ll leave Seoli to you.”

Saying that, Nisia hands me Seoli.

“Ah?”

“Got it, take care.”

Receiving Seoli with Hands, I lean her against my body.

“Okay, Seoli, I’m going now.”

Nisia, fully prepared, leaves the room.

“Ma-ma? Mama!”

Seoli stretches her hands into the air as if trying to catch Nisia, but naturally, she can’t reach her.

“Uu, huiing….”

Seoli starts to whimper.

Knowing from past experience that if I don’t act quickly during such times, it could lead to disaster, I cup her cheeks with both hands before she bursts into tears.

“Ah?”

Seoli looks up at me, startled by the sudden warmth.

“Okay, okay~ Seoli, shall we play together?”

I gently shake her.

With a smile, I rub Seoli’s cheeks.

“Ma-ma, uah?”

Seoli, who was about to cry, starts to smile at my actions; for some reason, she liked being petted or held.

“That’s right, good girl?”

“Ah!”

I hug Seoli tightly and gently pat her back.

Even as she squirms in my arms, Seoli soon starts to nod off.

As she slightly leans against Bungbungi, the sound of her soft breathing can be heard.

A little, cute child who appears utterly harmless, curled up with her hands clasped in front of her face as she sleeps.

At that time, I reluctantly agreed to Freya’s proposal for unavoidable reasons and due to a gamer’s instinct, but I can’t deny that I’m aware of Seoli being an unidentified cryptid.

“Hmm.”

Cryptids.

Unidentified collective beings that the AOE main story or setting books fail to provide proper information about.

Furthermore, the lack of information seems to have a subtle but significant underlying intent.

First, the lack of story routes and events.

Unlike the Ustansha and Invaders with various routes and many event branches that allow for multiple recognitions, cryptids have only simple events.

In short—

‘They play a minor role.’

Of course, considering it’s set as monsters controlled by a collective consciousness, there’s an unavoidable aspect, but even taking that into account, their weight is small.

Additionally, there’s a chronic issue arising from the setting of collective-consciousness monsters.

‘Fights are boring.’

That’s because battles with cryptids always follow the same format everywhere and at any time.

It’s a war of attrition against overwhelming numbers.

Compared to the Invaders, who use a variety of weapons to change the dynamics of battle, or the Ustansha, who, with their unique tactics and responses, provide spectacle, battles against cryptids ultimately don’t escape a defense format.

And fighting many enemies means longer battles.

As a result, the perception of veterans regarding cryptids, despite their terrifying settings, is often that they are leveling-up shuttles at best or merely nuisances at worst.

Thus, unlike the other two factions that enjoy a certain degree of awareness or popularity, their appeal and interest have been notably low.

It was even said that the creators of cryptids were considered anties within AOE Net, receiving the nickname “Boring-tids.”

Well, there are still people who love such large-scale battles and enjoy fighting against cryptids, but….

‘Hmm? Now that I think about it—’

Recalling AOE Net, a memory from the past suddenly comes to mind.

Somewhat into the game, when veterans began to emerge and people were yearning for something new, discussions around cryptids were quite active.

At that time, posts from a floating IP claiming to be a game developer suddenly appeared on AOE Net.

Each post, beginning with something like “Did you all know?” contained a lot of information.

The content was quite scattered, as if he had a drink or two, but to sum it up simply, it was a shocking internal whistleblower stating that the cryptid content had been cut down.

Originally, there were supposed to be more routes and event branches involving the cryptids, but due to bugs and budget constraints, the content was reduced.

Moreover, among those posts, there was certainly content regarding the Queen.

– Those Queens originally had a script, but they got cut and became regular boss monsters. Routes and events were almost complete, but they were told to cut it if they couldn’t fix the bugs, so everything got cut.

It must have been such content.

However, without any evidence and with the author deleting all the posts the next day, it turned into an incident that was simply glossed over.

At that time, I thought it wasn’t a big deal and forgot about it, but the current situation strangely aligns with that memory.

Because the last post that person made was quite significant.

– Well, this could be better; if it had been implemented as originally planned, it would have been harder to clear the game.

A bold declaration directed at veterans who had been stagnant for too long.

At that time, I thought it was just unfounded confidence, but now, its meaning comes across differently.

“Coo….”

Just as my mind is becoming heavy, Seoli’s soft breathing tickles my ear.

Seoli, who is quietly sleeping in my arms, looks utterly harmless.

As I pat her back and observe her face, my heart begins to settle down.

‘Well, I can take my time to learn about this.’

Though it’s heading in an unexpected direction, worrying alone won’t yield answers, and nothing major has happened yet.

Moreover, unlike other cryptids, Seoli doesn’t act hostile towards people, right? If I take good care of her and stay together, there might be good outcomes.

Steadying my thoughts, I shift my gaze to the monitor glowing in one corner of the room.

– Clash!

Sharp blades clash.

And the opponent’s gear bounces away.

– [The match has ended! The winner is Nisia Den! She showed a splendid close combat performance!]

….

Inside the room set up within the arena.

Within the dimly lit space, a circular table is set, and several people are seated around it.

Dressed in various colors, not maintaining a unified look.

Even though a grand event is being celebrated, a heavy atmosphere flows among them.

“…I believe everyone heard about the important matter in last emergency meeting.”

Ryuje speaks, intertwining her fingers on the table.

In truth, she was also concerned about the friendly competition’s content, but there was a more important task at hand.

Now that everyone’s eyes are on the friendly competition, this is an opportune moment for a secret conversation.

Hearing that, the other leaders nod in agreement.

“Those political bastards have definitely crossed the line.”

Coldly shining red eyes shimmering in the dark.

“Then let’s decide from now on.”

Her voice carries a firm determination.

“A way to drive them out and protect our precious students.”