“Ugh…”
『Stress has increased by 15!』
I was so dumbfounded by the situation unfolding before my eyes that I instinctively grabbed my horns with both hands.
What the heck is this? Why is the ‘Black Mudman’ suddenly inside the treehouse like some poorly designed difficulty spike?
Isn’t this monster way too out of place, like someone cranked up the difficulty to double out of nowhere?
“Ugh…! Murmur!! Isn’t this a bit too dangerous for us?”
“Let me think for a moment.”
The ‘Black Mudman,’ a monster with a size about ten times that of Murmur, is quite a strong foe. In the original story, you’d only encounter this guy in the middle school chapters, so seeing him pop up now is making my head spin.
The only saving grace is that while it resists physical attacks, it takes full damage from magic.
“Ah! Seriously! This isn’t a monster we can handle, right? I heard it was supposed to be easy…! This is anything but easy!!”
The fireball Esme threw at the Black Mudman didn’t even scratch it.
Let’s calm down and think this through.
We have some time before Citrine barges in. Even if she does, I know where the treasure chest is, so it’s actually better if our team grows!
“Phew…”
In Legend of Academy, there’s no enemy you can’t defeat. No matter how invincible they seem at first glance, there’s always a hidden gimmick—like losing their resistance or immunity, getting debuffed, or even winning through dialogue instead of combat.
The Black Mudman isn’t that tough when you think about it. I was just caught off guard by its sudden appearance.
“Esme! There’s something Murmur can’t do alone! Help me out!”
“Of course I’ll help! You didn’t even need to ask!”
“Esme, you’re good with elemental magic, right? Can you freeze the Black Mudman?”
Esme’s eyes sparkled.
“Of course! Do you think I can’t handle something like that? Hehehe! Leave it to me, Murmur!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Esme waved her fingers and created a magic circle. She aimed it at the Black Mudman, and a chilling cold burst forth, enough to give anyone goosebumps.
“Whoa… ooooh…!”
Yes, it’s working! Just as I remembered, the Black Mudman’s body is starting to freeze!
“Ugh! T-this guy! He’s slower than I thought…!”
Well, duh, Esme! Your elemental magic is only level 1! A Black Mudman ten times our size isn’t going to freeze instantly, is it?
Anyway, it’s fine. As long as it’s starting to freeze, we just need to buy some time.
“Mu, Murmur! What should I do… Eek!”
“Torlin, you’re going to ride the spirit with Murmur!”
Well, it’s not exactly riding, but close enough!
I grabbed Torlin’s wrist and hopped onto the fusion spirit of water and wind, Siphrinde, who had carried us to the treehouse.
“Siphrinde!! Run! Keep running until Murmur tells you to stop!”
─ Thud!
As soon as I finished speaking, the Black Mudman’s sticky, heavy mud punch slammed down where we had just been.
But there’s no need to be scared. The Black Mudman’s attacks are slow. In the game, it only attacks once every two turns, right?
Esme is turning this slow, turtle-like monster into a giant snowman with her ice magic. There’s no way we can’t dodge its attacks!
“W-whoa… so fast! So fast!”
“Torlin! Can you hold onto Murmur with your right hand?”
“Yes! I’ll make sure Murmur doesn’t fall!”
This is why having a strong dwarf around is great.
It would take Esme forever to freeze the Black Mudman alone. But dodging attacks is Siphrinde’s job!
“Jack Frost…!!”
With my now-free hands, I summoned an ice spirit. It was just the head of a snowman with a blue scarf, black button eyes, and a carrot nose, but it was enough for now.
“Take this!”
I lifted the spirit, which was about the size of my head, and hurled it at the Black Mudman.
─ Splat!
The snowman head stuck cutely to the Black Mudman’s massive body. But this wasn’t just for decoration. The area where Jack Frost stuck quickly froze over, covering the Black Mudman in white frost.
“Jack Frost…! One more! One more! One more!”
It was a brute-force method, using up magic like crazy, but this was the only way to nullify the Black Mudman’s ‘physical resistance’—by freezing it solid.
When playing the game, I’d just spam high-level magic to avoid this hassle, but I can’t afford that luxury now!
“Nooo… ooooh!”
The Black Mudman’s movements were now so slow that it couldn’t even attack us properly.
“What’s… what’s going on?”
“Eek! Why is that monster here?”
“Wait, is that what it’s supposed to look like? It’s covered in snowman heads!”
Why are they here? How did they even get to this treehouse?
Aside from Citrine’s party, no one was supposed to make it here in under 9 minutes and 30 seconds, right?
…No way, right? They didn’t follow me here because they were curious about Siphrinde, did they?
We’re in the middle of an exam! A mission! You can’t just follow me because it looks cool, guys!
“Murmur! It’s almost completely frozen!”
“Keep freezing it! Esme! Don’t let your guard down…”
─ Whoosh!
Seriously! The moment I spoke, the Black Mudman’s massive head swelled up like a balloon.
Ah, that pattern! I know it well! It’s the attack meant to mess with long-range mage players, right? It spews mud to obscure your vision!
And it’s aiming that attack at the kids huddled by the door, not us!
“Siphrinde!”
I squeezed the soft water bubble with my thighs. Thankfully, Siphrinde understood and launched us at incredible speed toward the spot where the kids were gathered.
“Murmur?”
“W-whoa! That’s so cute!”
“W-what’s going on? Why are you here? Go away!”
“You guys! It’s dangerous!”
I immediately cast ‘Wind Shield’ with my left hand. But that alone wouldn’t be enough to block all of the Black Mudman’s attacks. With my right hand, I used ‘Aero’ to forcefully push the shield toward the Black Mudman’s head.
“Nice one, Murmur! I’ll freeze it now!”
As expected! Esme might seem ordinary, but she’s got a good grasp of elemental magic!
The mud the Black Mudman spewed was reflected back by my magic, now enhanced with Esme’s chill, and froze solid on contact.
At this point, there’s no way it can use long-range attacks anymore.
“Huh… what’s… Murmur just…”
“Did she save us? Right?”
“W-we were in danger, weren’t we?”
I drew a line with my foot between the bewildered kids and myself.
“Don’t come closer! It’s dangerous!”
Even if you don’t barge in, this isn’t like the game where you can clearly tell who’s being targeted.
“Torlin! Can you climb onto this Jack Frost?”
“Y-yes, I can!”
“Then let’s finish this! The Black Mudman is now a giant snowman!”
Esme had frozen its massive body solid, and I had thrown over five Jack Frosts at it. At this point, it looked more like a stacked ice cream cone than a snowman.
“…Oh, I see! I just need to smash the Black Mudman, right?”
“Yep! Torlin, you’re strong, right?”
Even if she’s a kid, a dwarf is still a dwarf. And she’s even holding a hammer, so of course she’ll do great!
“Jack Frost…!”
I grabbed the bouncing snowman head with both hands. Torlin quickly climbed on top of it, and I used ‘Aero’ to launch it straight at the Black Mudman’s head.
“Kyaaah…!”
“I can’t… use any more magic… huff…”
As Esme lowered her hand, sweating profusely, Torlin landed perfectly on the Black Mudman’s massive head. What followed was a bit predictable. Just as I expected, Torlin raised her hammer high and brought it down with all her might.
“Take this…!”
─ Boom!
The giant ice cream cone exploded, sending a beautiful shower of snowflakes into the air.
“Whoa… so pretty.”
“So that’s how you defeat that monster.”
“Murmur’s amazing… or is Esme the amazing one?”
“I would’ve run away! I would’ve run away, I swear!”
Torlin, now floating in the air, was quickly caught by Siphrinde’s soft water bubble and brought back to the ground. Esme, drenched in sweat, clung to my back, rubbing her face against me, but she’ll be fine.
“Ugh… that was so exhausting. Why are you still so energetic, Murmur?”
“Because Murmur’s from the Demon Race.”
“Ugh, that’s not fair! This is the first time I’ve ever been jealous of someone being a demon!”
While Esme pouted adorably, Torlin’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she jumped toward the spot where the Black Mudman had been guarding.
Could it be her dwarf instincts? Torlin started digging into the ground with her hands and soon pulled out a glowing golden chest.
…Wait, she dug that up bare-handed?
“Murmur! Look at this! Esme! Look, look!”
“Huh…? Wow, there really was a treasure chest here, just like Murmur said?!”
“I told you it was here.”
“How could I have believed that!”
Esme laughed brightly and ran over to Torlin.
The sight of the two of them lifting the shiny treasure chest together was quite adorable.
Hmm, this is why some people love stories about fifth graders…
“Huh…!?”
“Murmur, come here too! Let’s lift it together! It’s a treasure chest! A treasure chest!!”
“Murmur doesn’t need to lift it…”
“Murmur, come on!”
Hey, wait! Listen to me! There’s no need for all three of us to lift it together, right?!
Torlin and Esme half-ignored me and forced my hand onto the treasure chest.
I’m shorter than both of you, so I can’t even lift it properly, you know?!
* * *
“Whoa… there really are four treasure chests here?”
“One golden chest guarded by the Black Mudman… and three chests with the Cosmos Academy emblem that Murmur found.”
The three chests required precise use of detection magic to find, but for me, who knew their locations, it was as easy as pulling out hidden candy.
“Wow… Murmur’s really amazing.”
“I didn’t even think there’d be chests here.”
“With the spirit earlier… she’s kinda cute!”
“Huh…? Aren’t her horns too big?”
And then there’s them.
It’s almost awkward to call them ‘them,’ but all the students who joined the cooperative mission had somehow gathered in the treehouse.
“Esme!! You were amazing earlier!”
“Yeah! How did you think of freezing the Black Mudman?”
“You’re awesome! Awesome!”
“To, Torlin! I’m sorry for calling you stupid last time!”
“But… are dwarves always that strong?”
“I had no idea you could smash things like that with a hammer!”
The kids, now gathered, started chattering noisily, thinking the cooperative mission was over.
Well, it’s over for me too, so I guess it doesn’t matter?
“It wasn’t my idea. It was Murmur’s.”
“I… I wouldn’t have been able to swing the hammer without Murmur’s help.”
While Esme and Torlin were bombarded with questions from the kids, no one approached me.
Some kids glanced at me from a distance, but none came closer. But I don’t feel sad or upset. In fact, it’s kind of nice not being bothered.
“Phew…”
Anyway, even though Nicasia suddenly disappeared, we managed to complete the cooperative mission properly.
We’re definitely first place, right? We got to the treehouse faster than Citrine and found three high-grade chests, after all.
Plus, though it wasn’t my intention, all the kids who were supposed to be working hard on the mission ended up gathering here.
“… … Huh?”
But, what’s this?
Why isn’t Citrine here? Everyone, even random extras, gathered here because they were curious about me riding Siphrinde, right?
So why isn’t Citrine here? I thought she’d be the one to barge in.
“Ugh!”
In the middle of this short thought, my horns suddenly felt hot.
“Ugh…!”
“Huh? Murmur? What’s wrong? Are your horns hot again?”
Esme quickly came over and started rubbing my horns.
『A new event has been confirmed!』
“Huh…? Ugh?”
《Rescue Citrine》
《Time remaining: 49 minutes 13 seconds》
What’s this? This can’t be right.
The event to rescue Citrine in the cooperative mission only happens in the Demon King route, right?
