POV: Uoyama Kengo
Indoor battles were a nightmare for mages. As such, I decided to contribute by fighting outside of the school building, but…
“Woah…”
I would argue the voice I unintentionally let out was entirely reasonable.
“Get out of the way! I’m an upperclassman, move out of the way!”
“Stop, don’t push! Hey, hold it!”
“Oi, whoever’s shaking the damn ladder, quit it!!”
“Get off it already! Stop being unfair!”
Seeing the teachers and students forming a crowd in the school grounds—more specifically, the part in front of the school gate—my fake glasses fell out of place and I had to readjust it.
If pressed for a comment, I would say ‘of course, they’d be like that’. The schoolyard was vast, but with the whole school being surrounded by walls, people rushing toward the gates was an expected outcome. The walls could be scaled through the use of stepladders so they weren’t too tall, but there were just too many people. Again, people crowding together was just inevitable. This was better, I supposed, than people pushing each other and falling like human dominoes.
Almost like none of it was my business, I thought of such things while staring at the gate some distance away. But well, it truly wasn’t any of my business.
“H-hey, you!!”
“Yes?”
Somebody suddenly called out to me. Based on the color of their necktie, I assumed they were a second year student. Moreover, they didn’t seem to be anybody I knew…
Then, the male student in question grabbed my robe and furiously shook my body. My glasses slipped down again.
“M-my girlfriend’s still inside! Go save her; you’re an Awakened One, aren’t you!?”
Ahh, so that’s what this is about.
Perhaps drawn in by his voice, the teachers and the other students nearby turned to look our way.
What a pain.
“I can’t do that.”
“Wha!?”
I started by grabbing the male student’s hands and tearing it away from me.
As an Awakened One, my Physical Strength was relatively low. Maybe even in the bottom tier. That being said, I was still as strong or maybe stronger than an Olympic athlete. A truly ordinary high school boy’s strength was nothing to me.
“I’m here to safeguard everyone trying to escape through the school gate. I cannot abandon everyone here just so I can rescue someone elsewhere!”
I deliberately raised my voice and informed him so. I was already getting attention because of him, so I might as well deal with it this way. In fact, the number of looks directed my way didn’t seem to change much.
“S-stop screwing around, you coward! Just go and save her!”
“…you go and save her!”
“Huh!?”
It was another student who admonished the one hounding me.
“I-if that guy goes elsewhere, we’ll be in danger, you know!? Besides, she’s your girlfriend, you go do something!”
“Y-yeah! Don’t impose your problems on other people!”
“Go, we don’t need you here, you insensitive bastard!”
Good, now they have a different target.
The people soon began arguing among themselves, unprompted. I ignored them and kept moving.
I mean, why would I go to a nightmare of a battlefield for someone I didn’t know and one that didn’t even have tentacles!? How does that make any sense to him?
“There! [Glacial Wind Wall]!”
Apparently, Aihara’s Yuki-Onna was doing battle on the other side of that mass of people. It likely wouldn’t be long before monsters showed up on my side too. After all, not only were there so many people here, those same people were also being so loud. If anything, it would be stranger if no monster came this way.
Actually, it was plenty strange already that there were no monsters here yet…but then again, Kyotaro and the rest must have been making quite the scene inside the school building. I was quite baffled on the lengths they would go to for the sake of other people, to be honest. That was because, other than Kyotaro and the others, I was rather indifferent toward the people here. The crowd could all get eaten and I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
…yes, I am aware my perspective has changed ever since I Awakened.
The world I saw through the lens of my fake glasses, there was always something that felt off to me about that.
It was perhaps due to my sixth sense. Before the world Returned to the Age of Myths, such phrases like sixth sense would only really be found in dubious sites, but strangely, it was the most fitting in my case. By sixth sense though, I meant the sense that let one perceive magic power.
Mage-type Awakened Ones like me had especially sharp sixth senses. Ours could tell us more about the surroundings than even our eyesight. And among the five senses for humans, vision was said to be the most dependable. So, what would happen if a new sense that bested even my eyesight awakened within me? It was enough to change my perspective, among many other things.
This was an extreme case, but some mages…they couldn’t differentiate monkeys and non-Awakened Ones anymore. This was because they sensed the volume and flow of another person’s magic power before they could even process the information given by their vision. Of course, the volume and flow of magic power of an ordinary human and of a monkey were different and distinguishable, but…the gap there was smaller than the gap between an Awakened One and non-Awakened One. In other words, the point they were truly making was that ‘Non-Awakened Ones weren’t the same kind of human as Awakened Ones’.
That line of thinking didn’t apply to all mages, of course. They were very much in the minority. Probably less than 10% of mages, I would say. It has, after all, been only 2 years since the Return of the Age of Myths. Compared to the values people had accumulated over their life thus far, the last 2 years were all but a short and shallow period of their lives.
In fact, there were mages like Aihara who saw non-Awakened Ones of the opposite sex to be potential romantic interests. There were also those who lived with non-Awakened spouses too. I would even see such people be featured in online stuff and on TV, so I was sure such people exist.
However, that was the case for now. What about in 10 years? In 20 years and beyond? I obviously couldn’t say anything for certain, but it was conceivable that things would turn for the worse later on.
If I wasn’t mistaken, the Society of the Sage was fanning the flames online by saying stuff like ‘unless you’re an Awakened One, you’re not human’. Personally, I, as a mage, could somewhat empathize with that. Not that I would say it out loud, mind.
I was never one to take great interest in anything beside tentacles, but even I didn’t think I was this detached from society. Truth be told, I couldn’t look at my parents the same way as before anymore.
…the only thing keeping me attached to society was probably my friends. If they didn’t Awaken, I had no clue what would have happened to me. Would I think of the world as a planet of apes and think of non-Awakened Ones as nothing more than lab animals? Or maybe I would detest that thought and punish myself, maybe even take my own life?
As I pointlessly pondered that scenario, I sensed magic power that belonged to many sources. Soon enough, I heard screams here and there. I found it loud and annoying, but I got readied regardless.
“Aina, Tsuare”
Two Sea Monks materialized before me. They were the same ones that I formed a contract with through Kyotaro’s aid. They were my cherished pets and also members of my harem.
Ahhhhh, their tentacles looks so sexy today as well…is it just me or is the noise around me getting louder? Ahh, whatever. Let me just have the other members of my harem materialize themselves.
“Dora, Fiana, Fullen, Zes, Xena, Atla, Noin, Enci”
One after the other, I called out the 8 Ropers I formed a contract with through Kumai’s help. Each of them had a trunk about 2 meters long that looked like a cross between a kind of tree and an anthill. And from that trunk, multiple tentacles extended out. In the tentacle world, they were a standard presence. Which practically guaranteed their allure.
Ahhh…even in this situation, I just want to play with them! But no, I can’t! I must resist this temptation! I have to meet my friends’ expectation for now.
Kumai wanted to catch up to Kyotaro, so he had been training to polish his techniques. If I wanted to do the same, how would I do so? Strangely enough, refining my ‘techniques’ was also my answer. That said, I was taking it in a different direction.
“T-they’re here! They’re here!”
“Oi, four eyes! Hurry and fight them!”
“G-get out of the way! We have to run! Run!”
“Don’t push, hey! The front’s packed…!”
So. What kind of beings were monsters, really?
To describe them in very rough terms, they were merely lumps of magic power. Even when a monster had a physical form, its real essence was something invisible and intangible. The form it took, its body of magic power, was nothing more than a shell.
But if that was so…then could they be ‘altered’ or even ‘blended with’?
“Alright, my dearest wives. Please enter the chamber”
I said so and spread my arm wide. I imagined my body as the gate leading to my inner world and pulled my wives within. In an instant, the Sea Monks and the Ropers all moved precisely as I willed them to move. Moreover, tentacles flooded out through the gaps in my robe.
Ahh, how ecstatic…! Keep going, enter my mind! Not through any holes but directly, as spirits! Come!
The [Human-Monster Unification Ritual]
Even when a mage Awakened One knew of this method, they were likely to treat is a sort of taboo. Abroad, many people even used this method on non-Awakened Ones, which unsurprisingly got them arrested for it. Myself, I had used this only twice before.
As for why it was viewed as a taboo, that was simply because of the abuse it did to one’s mind. The mind connected the flesh and the soul. This method had familiars entering even that domain. This was vastly different from simply storing them there. This had me fusing with them.
Blending together, fusing together, that was what I was feeling at the moment. My sense of self was quickly eroding, and I even hallucinated that I and the monsters that had entered my mind had become one and the same.
In other words…it was an incredibly erotic experience
<<AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!>>
Apparently, even a single familiar invading one’s mind was regarded as a significant risk. From what I could tell though, maybe those that said so must have been incompatible with their partners.
I mean, this just feels so, so good!! Kyotaro seems so pleased with sex, the unification of flesh, but I seriously can’t understand how he can be content with that! This unification of the soul, of the mind trumps any pleasure in the world, I say!!
With me at the core, I and my wives began to transform into a single life form. Thick tentacles became our skeletons and the thin ones became our muscles.
The whole process took about 10 seconds. In that time, several Draugr had reached our spot. Even as I looked down on the enemies, the rush of pleasure continued.
“M-monster…!!”
“YaAAaaa…!?”
“No, no, no!!! How can something like that be here!”
Is it just me or did the screaming actually get louder? Are the Draugrs that scary? Really? Oh well. Maybe if I didn’t Awaken myself, I’d be scared too. Maybe I’d had pissed my pants too. But in this timeline though, I can’s see these things as nothing more than small fries…
<<Okay, enjoy yourselves, my wives. Move this body of ours as you wished…!>>
While I whispered so with my mouth that became so large, my now-larger body began to wriggle.
* * *
POV: Okawa Kyotaro
“…ah!”
I swung my sword downward, scraped the ceiling along the way, and cut the Draugr in front of me and the spear it held in halves. Another Draugr, this one holding an axe, tried to rush me but it was intercepted by a spear of flames. The monster writhed as it burned, but when it slowed down, I chopped its head off.
“Are you alright!?”
“Hii, hiiii…!”
“haaa…haa….”
On the other side of the Draugrs I just disposed of were students stopped in their escape by the said monsters. There were 2 female students and both were crouching in fear. On one hand, they seemed to be unharmed, but on the other, they seemed to be breathing irregularly. My guess as to why was either they breathed in too much of the air contaminated by the Draugrs or this was the impact of the risen concentration of magic power in the air. Either way though, the two of them needed to escape this place.
“Layla”
“Yes!”
While I watched her open the window and ready her wand, I carried the students on my shoulders.
“What are you…”
“Please be careful not to bite your tongue. When you get to the ground, grab your friend and run until the edge of the school grounds.”
“Huh? Wait, wait, no, seriously, just wait!!”
I briskly approached the window and dropped the girls one by one.
“Nooooooo!?”
“A, aaaa….”
“[Air Cushion], [Aqua Balloon]”
The students’ falling speed greatly and suddenly decreased. A giant sphere of water then formed below and caught them. As they fell, the sphere gently changed shape like some kind of deflating balloon.
After confirming that they had began moving down below—far below—I stepped back from the window.
“…so there really are more floors now, huh.”
“Indeed. Likely the effect of the building transforming into being part of a dungeon.”
Although I didn’t know exactly how long it had been, I could still say it had been quite some time since the dungeon began overflowing. And yet, the evacuation of the school building still wasn’t over.
One reason for that was the expansion of the building itself. The building should have had nothing more 3 floors, yet here I was in the 5th floor. I had no idea when it changed. I could hear screams and sounds of destruction, even from above. So, whether I wanted to or not, I would have noticed the anomaly happening eventually.
Given the situation, there was no telling to what would happen to people who used the stairs to evacuate. Which was why I opted to throw people out the windows instead.
“Mhm…?”
I started running again with my blade on my shoulder, but right before I turned a corner, I noticed something peculiar.
“What the heck is that…”
The thing looked like some kind of giant leech. It was 10-odd meters long and it was about as thick as a truck. Tentacles of various sizes linked up and formed the thing, and the part that looked like its mouth was eating something along with the ground.
What the heck. I’ve never heard of a monster like that. Is that a Nozuchi? Or maybe a Sandworm? But if it’s either of the two, why is it in a dungeon where a Draugr shows up? No, it doesn’t matter right now what it actually is, what matters is the spot it showed up in.
That spot was near the school gates. In addition to the students trying to escape, Uoyama-kun should also be over there. I have to help…
“…wait, tentacles?”
I was about to stomp the floor hard in attempt to accelerate, but upon that realization, I stopped running altogether. I gave that creature another look. It seemed like a single being, albeit one composed of intertwining tentacles…but thanks to my Magic Eye, I was able to tell the way that creature’s magic power flowed. It was a faint trace and I had to focus on my eyes to see the flow of magic power, but I was nonetheless able to perceive it. Enough to tell that the flow of magic power was familiar, anyway.
“Layla. You don’t suppose…”
“Yes, I think it’s Uoyama-sama.”
Layla answered so with a smile on her face. As for my own face, I could tell it has gone pale white under the helm.
Did he do that ritual, that Human-Monster Unification thing or whatever? Why the heck is he pushing himself that far? All for that nonsense about catching up to me and remaining friends?
“That idiot…!”
“Master. I suggest stopping at that.”
“Yeah, I know…!”
I couldn’t insult Kumai-kun and Uoyama-kun’s resolve any further than I had already.
Uoyama-kun should have been well aware how dangerous of a technique that was, yet he still chose to use it.
What I should do instead was to bring the situation under control as soon as possible.
“AaaaAAaaAA!!”
His shriek, probably out of pain, shook the glass window. I clenched my teeth and tore my gaze away from the giant leech-like creature.
Let’s change tacks. I can’t waver now…!
The silver lining in our situation was probably the fact that the dungeon’s magic power was concentrated mostly in this school building. The black dome’s expansion was going slower than I expected, but there should still be many Draugrs in the building.
And right when I thought that, I heard mushy footsteps again.
“Layla”
“Right!”
I readied my sword and dashed toward the source of the sound.
Meanwhile, 5 Draugrs busted open a classroom’s door and burst into the hallway. One of them charged at me, the axe in its hand held high.
It was so slow though. I accelerated further, shortened the distance between us, and swung my sword sideways without a care for the wall. The effects of the school building’s transformation into a dungeon was rather faint, so the building hasn’t grown much sturdier. So, even if I swung my sword like this, my swinging speed wasn’t greatly affected.
And so, I blew away the Draugr’s head, along with some portions of the wall. As for the rest of its body, I kicked it into a classroom. The next monster was about to rush me when Layla raised her wand.
“[Air Hammer]”
A hammer of wind smashed the monster’s head.
Meanwhile, I stepped forward and slashed another diagonally from its shoulder.
Two remained. The two of them swung at me at the same time, coming at me from both the left and the right. I intercepted the spear at its shaft using my gauntlet, while I stopped the sword with my zweihander’s guard. Metal clashed against metal and produced a loud clang.
In the next moment, I activated Magic Power Discharge and blasted away both of them. One of them knocked down a desks on its way to crash into the blackboard. The other hit the lockers and made serious noise.
Before the one that crashed into the blackboard stood back up, I pierced its skull with my sword. As I spun to face the other enemy, I kicked the nearby monster in the belly and extracted my sword.
But my caution proved to be unnecessary.
“[Flame Chain]”
Red-hot chains wrapped around the walking corpse. The more it struggled, the more of its body was burned off. In the end, it got torn into pieces that tumbled into the floor.
…ahh, crap, I looked at it.
Yes, I wasn’t able to tear my eyes fast enough. I ended up seeing the parts of the corpse that tumbled into places, along with all the splattered blood. It made me feel nauseous.
I guess I’m still not used to seeing humanoid corpses. Not that I want to be anyway.
I could tell my mental fortitude was being whittled away in a not so gentle way. If it wasn’t for the situation we were in right now, I probably would have spilled out whatever was in my guts. It was just that bad.
I did as usual and confirmed the transformation of the monsters into particles of magic power. At the end of it, I spotted a worn-out sword on the floor.
“Layla, you want to use this?”
“No, I don’t believe I need to. This time, I’ll focus on providing support.”
“Gotcha.”
As I wondered what I could probably use this Item Drop for, I stuffed it inside my Item Bag. But in the middle of it, I heard another human-sounding scream not too far from my position.
I judged that it was probably from 2 classrooms away. So, I used Magic Power Discharge on my feet and slammed myself against the blackboard. I broke through the wall and continued on, scattering desks and chairs until I slammed against another blackboard.
“Stay away! D-don’t come near meeeee!”
A middle-aged man in overalls was throwing the scattered pencil cases and bags at a Draugr, but of course, that had no effect. The monster’s blade was so, so close to cutting the man. Thankfully though, I managed to make the monster look my way. It was probably only reacting to the explosive sound of the wall I destroyed, but regardless, it was approaching me.
And before it could react further, I lopped the monster’s head off.
“Are you ok?”
“H-hyaa? W-what the heck just…”
I helped the dumbfounded man stand up and quickly assessed his condition. He had many grazes, but he didn’t seem to have any worrying wounds. His clothes were stained with blood, but I didn’t want to ask how. I didn’t even need to, given our situation.
I wondered who this person was when I noticed the name plate hanging from his neck. He seemed to be a school janitor.
“Are, are you an Awakened One?”
“…yeah, sure.”
This was an emergency, so I decided to stop pretending I wasn’t an Awakened One.
Doing so was better than seeing someone die in front of me, but…I was already getting depressed at the thought of what was to come. It could be nothing but trouble. And living as I did before, that was already, well…
“This, this all your fault!!”
Suddenly and angrily, the man began shouting, his spit flying all the way onto my helm.
“If you people fought better, this mess wouldn’t have happened in the first place!! Those who died, their blood is in your hands!!”
…the man was not thinking straight. In addition to sudden shouting, his eyes were bloodshot.
I had expected that there would be people who would sling such words, but actually hearing it sure hit home, hard.
“You murderer! Murderer!”
“…hey, listen, you should evacuate. It’s dangerous here.”
“Wah, why you! Carry me more carefully, you monster! Scratch that, have that girl carry me instead!”
It would seem that the concentration of the magic power in the air was strong enough for him to be able to see Layla. But that only added more reason for me to be the one to carry him.
Of course, the original reason was that she was the only one of the two us that could cushion his fall through magic.
“Why, you! If this gets me hurt, I’ll sue you! I’ll turn your life upside down!!”
“Yes, yes, whatever you say. Just be careful not to bite your tongue.”
“Huh? Oi! Wait! Wait, I say! Stop! I’m sorry, alright!? So, s-stop!”
“Hup”
“AAAAAAAA!?”
After I threw him through the window, wind and water made its way to him and softened his fall. He reached the ground safely. And after yelling something at me, he ran away at full speed.
…man, that was draining…
“Are you alright, Master?”
“Yeah, it’s no problem. I mean, with the situation right now, I understand the feeling of wanting to lash out at someone. It’s still plenty annoying though.”
I nodded in response to Layla who had nestled close to me, looking worried. I then grabbed a curtain and wiped my helmet. It wasn’t great manners, but again, the situation being what it was, this much I hoped could be overlooked.
But then, I heard a clattering noise.
I tried to assume a stance and ready my sword, but I then realized that the approaching footsteps sounded differently from a Draugr’s.
Were there Awakened Ones besides us moving around in this area?
If I wasn’t mistaken, there were about 500 students in our school. One or two more Awakened Ones would probably be within the margin of error, but…no matter how closely I listened, it sounded like there were at least 10 sets of footsteps approaching.
I raised my vigilance further, but Layla just casually walked toward the door.
“Hey.”
“It’s alright, Master. They’re our allies.”
“…?”
She declared so with great confidence. Puzzled by that, I poked my head out at the corridor.
“Wah…”
Without meaning to, I let out a groan.
There in the corridor were 2 columns of orderly marching Orcs that each wore western-styled armor. The armor looked fine and even seemed like silver.
Are they…are they female Orcs?
Those at the front, end, and the column on the side of the classrooms wielded shields and spears. They surrounded and protected the ones wielding crossbows.
Orcs were only D rank monsters, but with their numbers and their equipment, they should be able to overcome a slight difference in individual power.
Still, I wanted to quip at the person who summoned these Orcs. Like, was it really alright for anyone to have a private army this well-equipped?
“Bugyaa”
“Ohh, uhh, thank you”
It was painfully obvious to me by now who summoned these Orcs, so I simply watched their approach, unwary against them. When they stopped before me, the one at the lead stepped forward and handed me some kind of paper. It seemed like torn-off page of a notebook.
<<Based on the flow of magic power, it’s looking like the Gate is on the rooftop. I’ll setup a barrier in that area. I’ll leave the culling of the monsters to you.>>
I was rather confused by Aihara-kun’s message.
“Err, did our school have a rooftop?”
“It does. However, since students aren’t allowed entry, it’s understandable that you don’t know about it.”
“Aaah, I see.”
The third floor only had classrooms for 3rd year students and I didn’t know any 3rd years. I also had no other reason to drop by that floor, so it wasn’t a surprise I didn’t know about the rooftop. Layla had memory of it though, so maybe it was mentioned during the opening ceremony or maybe a teacher warned us about it.
…wait. Sure, students are forbidden from entering the rooftop, but that shouldn’t necessarily mean a Gate can form and be even hidden so easily, right? It might be locked most of the time, but surely, adults would go check on it from time to time, right? There shouldn’t be much that could serve as a cover there either, so anyone looking to install a Magic Tool there should be found out before they were finished, right? Right?
Questions and vague answers swirled in my mind.
No, identifying the culprits can wait for later.
“Buhii”
“Err, oh, yeah, good luck to you all…?”
The Orc saluted and I clumsily thanked it. The group then resumed their march, each step as flowing as before. I saw them off, but when I saw their backs, I quickly noticed a heart mark drawn on their cloaks.
Please, please don’t try to pull any funny stuff at a time like this. Please. Well, I guess I can’t really criticize you, but still, please…
But anyway. Rather than finding out which idiots were behind this mess, I decided to focus on culling down the monsters. It was a thing that must be done, either way.
I wasn’t sure how, but there weren’t all that many monsters in the building. The enemies always moved in groups though, so that was annoying. But then again, that sped the process and it should only take a little bit more—
“…mhm?”
“Master?”
Wait, why haven’t we encountered more monsters? I think the number we have taken down by now is around 80. That’s awfully low for an overflowing dungeon. Like, maybe that number is fine if those were B rank monsters and this was a B rank dungeon, because then each monster would need more magic power in order for them to be made. But for a C rank dungeon whose only monsters so far were the C rank Draugrs? Actually, undead monsters shouldn’t have much in the way of thinking abilities, yet here they are, constantly moving in groups…this feels familiar to me. Something I’ve experienced before.
It was that monster I fought to familiarize myself with a humanoid enemy, to make myself ready to swing my sword without hesitation when the time called for it. It was a monster that controlled zombies, the undead.
“A Lich…but no way…!”
A cold sweat ran down my spine. With the way things were, that couldn’t be good. For if my guess was right, then time was against us. We didn’t have any of it to gather allies or even tell them about this.
“Layla, does the school have anything that’s underground?”
“If I recall correctly, the storage space for gym equipment can described to be underground.”
“We’re going there, now! Come!”
“Yes!”
I wrapped my arm around her waist and ran. I even used Magic Power Discharge to speed myself up, all while heading toward a wall with a window. Without slowing down to my regular running speed, I leapt into the air.
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