Chapter 65

[Let’s fight together here! / Don’t get in the way, just stay aside!]

I didn’t want to say such harsh words to Adella.

[‘Starry Kirbi’ donated 3,000 won!]

– Every time a choice is made, Adella loses 10% of her health!

Since it was a choice, there was no way around it.

[▶Don’t get in the way, just stay aside!]

Now was the time to focus on clearing the challenge.

We had spent too much time in the Material Warehouse.

I couldn’t even spare a glance at the stream of donations pouring in silently as I countered the relentless guards.

We continued our desperate battle in the Admission Management Office, the last remaining location.

It was also a place that held the deepest significance for Adella.

However, she always became a hindrance.

[Now, we have to work together! / Didn’t you hear me? I told you to stay far away!]

[▶Didn’t you hear me? I told you to stay far away!]

The Admission Management Office was not a system with a single mid-boss; it was an event where multiple elite NPCs had to be defeated.

They seemed to be instructors involved in selecting new students at the Academy.

It would be rude to think of them as being on the professor level with such skills, though.

[No more! This is my limit! Help me, Adella! / Useless black cat until the end!]

“…”

Delaying my choice until the end led the system to naturally select the second option.

[Operation time exceeded.]

[▶Useless black cat until the end!]

… It was all for Adella.

It was a miracle that I had managed to keep Adella alive up to this point.

I couldn’t count how many times we had narrowly escaped death at the Observatory, the Material Warehouse, and here.

You owe a debt of gratitude to the Gestalt Chief.

The guards began to flail about.

This proved that the diversion operation on the eastern front was being executed successfully.

“We should slip into the northern forest and then re-enter when things settle down.”

The escape was not easy.

We hadn’t even entered the main Academy headquarters yet, allowing us to exit through the numerous alleyways of the castle without encountering the enemy.

Adella was breathing heavily as she hurried after me.

At the very least, shouldn’t a cat be nimble?

“Let’s wait here.”

I sat down to rest on a suitable set of stairs to conserve stamina.

Adella walked over, plopped down next to me.

“Do you think Alphalion and Sisiella will be able to find the laurel?”

“Thirty people went through the Dongmun alone. If they know the exact location, they’ll take care of it.”

“Right. They’re all stronger than I am.”

How long would we have to wait?

There was no indication in the quest window.

“Forest Guardian, you really fight well, don’t you? At the Observatory, in the Material Warehouse, and now in the Admission Management Office…”

Adella’s voice trailed off.

She seemed unusually downcast. Perhaps the moonlit night had stirred her emotions.

“In comparison, I… I wasn’t helpful at all. If that’s the case, No Name could have gone alone.”

“If you hadn’t embedded yourself in the ceiling at the Material Warehouse, you might not have defeated the Warehouse Keeper.”

“No, you would have definitely won alone.”

Adella’s ears drooped. Her once-twitching tail now lacked its usual energy.

“The people you fought in the Admission Management Office were the instructors who oversaw my entrance exam two years ago. They were all incredibly strong.”

“They were strong, alright.”

“Maybe I’m not the right kind of talent for the Academy. Just someone who steals from smelly alleys… In the end, we’d all return to our places, as this is my lot.”

[‘e평q평rq평e’ donated 10,000 won!]

– Exactly, I should have just caused some trouble.

“My abilities were never up to par from the beginning.”

Adella threw a dagger into the air.

She tried to fit it into the handle of another spinning dagger, but her skill unfortunately ended in failure as it missed the blade.

“Hehe, I can’t even do this… How pathetic…”

[Move to the Academy North Gate and join ‘Abyss’.]

“Let’s go, Adella.”

“…”

She still lost her voice after the quest began.

She shook herself off and rose to follow me as if nothing had happened.

* * *

There exists something called ‘inevitability’ in this world.

An incident that will happen regardless of what measures are taken.

Events with such clear causal relationships that it’s strange if they don’t happen.

For example, ice left at room temperature will naturally melt over time.

Or, a country that engages in excessive wars of invasion and tax exploitation will inevitably collapse from within.

This theory applies not only to localized phenomena but also to macro-level conditions.

In other words, for a group that has reached the point where the chief foresees and hints at betrayal, it is almost inevitable that traitors will emerge.

“Sisiella! Why are you alone? Where’s Alphalion?”

Adella rushed out to help the severely injured Sisiella.

“C-Could it be… the old man’s words were all true? Sadly only half of it came true…”

As Sisiella pulled a crossbow bolt from her thigh, blood gushed out.

“Now I understand why you two were sent on such a dangerous mission.”

“What do you mean—?”

“Our mercenaries have all betrayed us. Everyone from Abyss District 15 has sided with the Academy!”

When they attempted to steal the laurel and suddenly turned against us, the witnesses testified that they attacked Alphalion and Sisiella without hesitation.

What had gone wrong?

I was convinced something had gone massively awry during their infiltration, but my comrades remained silent.

However, exceptional individuals are exceptional.

“The laurel is here. I must go to help Alphalion again. Forest Guardian, please don’t abandon Adella. Please.”

“Sisiella!”

“Quick! Take this and flee! Hurry!”

“I can’t…!”

“Forest Guardian, what are you doing? Get her out of here!”

Suddenly, the world was painted black and white.

The bear humanoid, urging me to flee with Adella, and the stubbornly resisting Adella, all froze in place.

Not just them; the fluttering leaves, the ash, and the sparks were all suspended in mid-air.

In this still world, I was the only one able to move freely.

Before me, two choices floated before me.

[Good luck. Make sure to survive and meet again. / I can’t abandon my comrades.]

Up until now, all the choices I’d faced had not paused time within the game.

If I delayed answering, the NPCs would pressure me and create a sense of urgency.

However, this question seemed to pause the playtime, inviting me to ponder my answer.

Instinctively, I felt that this was the most significant turning point in the game.

After a brief moment of contemplation, I manipulated the interface in the air.

[▶Chat Window – ON]

It wasn’t a matter of pride.

Relatively, the information was lacking on my end.

In the end, I chose to ask for the viewers’ help.

“Please let me know. It’s okay to spoil it.”

A hasty choice without information could lead to certain death.

Moreover, I had no idea how the creator had interfered with the direction of the story.

It was possible that, like in a dating sim, accepting a confession from a junior might cause a truck to come crashing from behind.

Letters made of Hangul and Arabic numbers surged like waves.

-11111111111

-Invincibility 111111111111

– Option 2 leads to a bad ending 1 1 1 1 1

– Choosing option 2 guarantees your death as well

– If you go to help, all Academy students will rush out lol

– It’s definitely Wearsoft! They hid a devastation drift within a healing story!

– They haven’t shaken off the habits from Darkness Souls yet

– Fact) The same person is the actual story writer

– When I played on normal difficulty, it was pure healing…

– What are you talking about? I’m a clumsy gamer, normal was exceptionally hard for me

– That’s kind of…

– It’s a somewhat philosophical development. Choosing a nightmare mode where I don’t care about the story and just want to clear it as fast as possible may imply I should endure sacrifices.

– That’s some nonsense philosophy.

– Did the reviewers check the nightmare story when they assessed the game? lol

– It’s not like I input the dialogue like in a computer game; background and character personality are scripted…

– This game seems utterly hopeless.

– Should I spoil this? Or not?

– The server manager gave the go-ahead.

– Whatever you choose, Alphalion and Sisiella will die here. Good luck.

– Kyaaa!!!

A predetermined gimmick that couldn’t be avoided.

I asked again for a clearer assessment.

“Is it impossible to save Alphalion when we arrive?”

– Yes, it’s certain.

– By now, an arrow has pierced his heart, and he’s probably already a corpse.

– Sisiella, too, is likely not going to survive long, given it’s a poisoned arrow.

– Are you serious?

– Is this really a game…?

– I should probably raise the rating to 19 instead of 15.

– How did it avoid getting an adult rating in Korea?

[▶Good luck. Make sure to survive and meet again.]

“I wish you luck. Make sure to survive and meet again.”

I felt uneasy.

It was extremely uncomfortable to send a comrade into the jaws of death.

If this was Wearsoft’s strategy to genuinely upset a player, then they had succeeded spectacularly.

The story mode of the Laurel was not suited for me.

When the next broadcast comes, I vowed to thoroughly view all speedrun strategies and clear it in the shortest time possible.

I forcibly grabbed Adella’s arm and pulled her away from Sisiella.

Having made a choice, we now had a time attack on us as well.

“Adella, we might not have been close in Abyss, but… make sure you survive. When you return, I’ll let you party up with whoever you want.”

“No! No Name, let me go! How can you send me away like this in this state?!”

“We have to go. The enemies are coming back!”

“Sniff… hic…!”

I broke through the enemy lines, dragging along a dazed Adella.

My chain flail, which could hardly be called a weapon, was dulling fast.

Ten would fall, and then twenty would rush in, killing another twenty would bring thirty charging after us.

– Damn it, this really is a nightmare. I can’t even breathe.

– No way, the nightmare isn’t even this bad; it feels like the number of enemies has increased tenfold, not just the difficulty.

– My mana has long run out; is there a way to buy it?

– Isn’t there a scroll left? Now that I think about it, the server manager never used one.

– Even if I took a hit once, I’d probably die instantly. Just watching makes me anxious.

– It feels like the stamina management and physical demands have gone mad.

A fight of one against many is not a fight.

Since the majority always win, it’s more fitting to call this a hunt than a battle.

The prey only had one thought in mind.

To escape with all speed.

Just a bit further, and we’d reach the Academy’s North Gate.

I quickly checked to ensure I hadn’t left behind the laurel as we fled.

[Laurel of Life]

[Synchronization is impossible during combat.]

Did each laurel have a name?

I confirmed the one given to me by Remy.

[Laurel of Reincarnation]

Reincarnation?

Is the reason I return to the start of the game upon death linked to the Laurel of Reincarnation?

The attention to detail from this game developer was impressive in such aspects.

Once we cleared the Academy’s walls, it would be difficult for them to find us in the complexities of the castle.

“…!”

A huge ice thorn came crashing down towards us from the sky with ferocious force.

We couldn’t attempt to melt it. The specific heat of water is quite high, and our current fire spells wouldn’t even scratch it.

[Advanced Spell: Turbulence]

Manipulating the flow of air, I barely managed to divert its path. In that sense, ‘turbulence’ was the most extensive spell I could cast with minimal mana.

“You can’t even manage to catch these little mice properly. I see your guard level isn’t very high.”

A well-dressed middle-aged man descended from the sky, looking impeccably neat without a single hair out of place.

The glimmering monocle and the clicking pocket watch under the moonlight were quite impressive.

“Father…?”

Upon hearing Adella’s exclamation, I couldn’t help but doubt my own ears.