I Became the Academy’s Time-Stopping Villain – Chapter 39

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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Around 10:00 AM, we got off the bus and arrived at the request location.

“The mountain… isn’t very high.”

“Going deep into the mountains would be overkill.”

Minerva surveyed the surroundings, assessing the terrain. I pulled out the request forms and reviewed the plan.

“…”

“…Juno, are you carsick?”

“Huh? Oh, no! I’m perfectly fine!”

Juno looked like she was one wrong move away from triggering an NTR event. If I were a typical NTR villain, I’d have dragged her into the bushes, forced a kiss, and then declared, “You’re already abandoned anyway!” before initiating the mating press.

Thinking about it now, the protagonist should be thanking me. I’d already defused so many NTR flags.

‘First, the requests.’

I could deal with her stress and mental fatigue later with buffs. I could even pull an all-nighter to care for her. I might be a little worse for wear, but it was a small price to pay for preventing NTR.

Right now, I needed to focus on passing the midterms.

“Let’s start with [Herb Gathering].”

The request form had descriptions and instructions on how to gather the herbs. We could gather them on our way to the slime cave.

“Judging by its appearance, it’s a ‘Venus Flytrap.’ Burning it repels insects.”

“So we’re looking for something that looks like this?”

Minerva nodded knowingly, while Juno forced herself to look enthusiastic, trying to distract herself. At least it was better than being depressed.

I pulled out the [Slime Extermination] request and handed it to Minerva.

“You lead the way. I’ll follow.”

“Hmm? But you’re the party leader—ah, it’s because of the backpack. I understand.”

Exactly. A large backpack would only obstruct the view of those behind me. Plus, I was more of a rearguard, so it was better for Minerva, the vanguard, to lead.

“Then I’ll lead the way. Let me know if you’re struggling.”

Minerva started walking towards the slime cave, consulting the request form.

“Hmm… Here’s one. And another.”

She didn’t forget about the herb gathering request. As expected of someone who led the group during survival training.

“Hey, Chrono.”

“Yeah?”

Juno, on the other hand…

“Is this a Venus Flytrap?”

“Yes. It’s poisonous. Its hairs can cause itching if you touch them.”

“Eek!”

I hadn’t expected much from her. She was more of a ranged attacker and healer.

“Sorry… I’ll just throw this away.”

“Don’t apologize. How can you be familiar with everything on your first try? Just do your best.”

“But Minerva and Chrono are good from the start.”

“That’s because we’re weird. Don’t worry about it.”

“…We’re not weird.”

“Yes, you are.”

How could a new cadet, who wasn’t even studying alchemy or blacksmithing, know the names of all these plants?

‘Even I’m relying on [Status].’

Juno, who had to learn everything from scratch, would naturally make a lot of mistakes. But I couldn’t get frustrated with her.

“Try again. I’m sure you’ll find it this time.”

“But what if I pick another weird one—”

“—Then Minerva and I will be there. That’s what parties are for.”

“…Okay! I’ll try again!”

I had to encourage her. Even if she only managed to gather one or two herbs, it was better than zero. Something was better than nothing.

“Chrono, look at this!”

“Oh, you got a good one this time.”

“Really? Yay!”

Like this, little by little, she’d eventually be able to gather 10, 20, even more herbs. Later, she could take on herb gathering requests every time she went into a dungeon. It could be a lucrative side hustle.

“Chrono! This one! And this one, too!”

“Hmm, those are all weeds. At least you didn’t pick any poisonous ones!”

“Eek…”

Of course, it would take time for her to get used to it…

After about two hours of climbing, Minerva skillfully led us to the slime cave.

“This is it, I think.”

“Looks like it.”

I saw a slime wobbling and bouncing near the entrance, absorbing the surrounding plants. A textbook slime.

“We just need to kill 10 of them.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Huh? But the request form says 10—”

“—We’re going after the King Slime.”

“…”

Minerva froze.

I smiled and pulled out another request form.

“Coincidentally, it’s in the same location.”

“Of course it’s in the same location! No, wait, ugh…!”

Minerva stumbled, clutching her head. Meanwhile, Juno chimed in.

She really was kind, albeit a bit jealous and prone to infidelity events and NTR drifts.

‘…That’s a lot of problems, actually.’

As expected of the true heroine of NTR Academy. She acted innocent, but she was quite the handful.

Well, she was still a virgin, at least for now.

“Mr. Chrono, let’s give up on that request.”

“I’m not giving up.”

“Give up! We can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Ugh…!”

Minerva stomped her feet. Her reaction was normal. We were strong by student standards, but the King Slime was a different story.

‘It’s an erotic trap monster.’

Regular slimes were weak. But the King Slime, a fusion of many slimes, could be dangerous. And if we lost—cue the CG of us becoming slime breeding slaves.

Of course, that only happened after we graduated from the academy, during the ‘Ragnarok’ era. For now, we’d probably just get groped a bit before being rescued.

“Minerva, Chrono has a plan.”

“Juno… your excessive kindness is a problem. I trust Mr. Chrono, but when it comes to practical experience, I’m more knowledgeable than him.”

“Hmm… but…”

Juno glanced at me. Usually, I’d tell her not to trust me blindly, but right now, I was grateful for her faith.

“Let’s do this. We’ll try our best, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll retreat.”

“…If that’s the case, then fine.”

A compromise.

Minerva still shook her head, saying the King Slime was impossible. I understood her concern. Even putting aside the aftermath, physical attacks were ineffective against the King Slime.

“Shall we go in, then?”

We entered the cave. We had to kill at least 10 slimes anyway.

As soon as we encountered the slimes, we attacked…

Squish! Splat! Pop!

“…”

They were annihilated without much effort. Well, they were just slimes.

“I was a little nervous, but… they were nothing.”

“Don’t let your guard down, Juno. Complacency is a killer on the battlefield.”

“Eek… sorry…”

Juno apologized. Don’t let your guard down against slimes, huh? A bit of a tall order. Slimes were easy prey. Aim for the core, and they die. They weren’t fast, and their mildly acidic fluids couldn’t melt armor or weapons. Weaker than tutorial monsters.

However, the King Slime was different. Its massive body shielded its core from physical attacks, making them practically useless. You either needed overwhelming force or holy magic to kill it.

“This presence… It’s the boss.”

“I see it.”

“…If our attacks don’t work, we retreat immediately. Understood?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Leaving Minerva on high alert with her sword, I approached the King Slime.

…Wiggle?

“It’s huge…”

It was almost as big as me. Maybe even bigger.

…Wiggle, wiggle.

“H-How scary.”

I shivered, and ripples spread across its body. It moved its core away from me and prepared to attack.

It was probably going to attack as soon as I did.

“I have to kill it in one shot if I don’t want to get hit.”

I pulled out [Chronos’s Scythe] after a long time. The familiar grip felt comfortable, heavy, and slightly cool.

“Chrono, physical attacks don’t work on the King Slime.”

“I know.”

Bullets counted as physical attacks. If I just shot at it, I’d be attacked in return, unless I could one-shot it.

That’s why I needed skills.

I opened my skill window and allocated points. Thankfully, I’d leveled up from killing slimes, unlocking the skills I needed.

“Here goes.”

I aimed my gun. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had backup.

“[Holy Weapon]”

First, imbue the gun with holy power.

“[Double Excel]”

Stretch time, turning one second into two.

“[Double Step]”

Enhanced agility, close the distance—press the muzzle against the slime.

“[Point-Blank Shot]”

Plus,

“[Twin Boost]”

Double bullet speed, halve the time it takes to reach the target.

…
..
.

BANG!!!

“…Hah!”

A deafening explosion. A stinging pain in my right wrist.

I slowly turned to check the King Slime.

“Completely obliterated.”

The core was gone, and the remaining fluids were splattered across the cave walls. It looked like it had been hit by an anti-aircraft gun. This was the power of skills.

‘I combined so many…’

Magical damage, physical damage, and the synergy of multiple skills. It would have been strange if it hadn’t worked.

“How…?”

“He just went *swish, swish, swish* … and then *boom*?”

The King Slime being a non-aggressive monster made it easier, but…

“Hell yeah! I did it!”

…the biggest factor was the maxed-out skills.

This is why learning is important.

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