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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“…That thing…”
Could he really defeat it? He stared at the troll. Could he kill it? He knew if he used time stop and shot it, he could easily kill it. With some buffs, of course. He could just shoot the bullets into its eyes. He doubted it had trained its eyeballs.
‘But the problem is…’
“…?”
Across from him, Merck was crawling along the wall, when she made eye contact, she was startled. ‘She is still conscious’
If everyone was unconscious, things would have been easier. In the end, he only had one option.
“…I have no choice.”
He slowly walked toward the troll.
Guh…?
“Haa…”
The troll saw him. At the same moment, a mission window appeared.
“…My lord,”
I know it sounds weird, but you did say you’d overlook minor mistakes. Right? And I have maxed out my affection several times over! He took a deep breath and looked at the troll.
“Haa—”
“—Run awaaaaaaay!!!”
A troll, a common fantasy monster that also appears in many games. They have immense strength and vitality, which makes them capable of enslaving the Orcs. In NTR Academy, facing a troll was recommended for the second half of the second year, or for the beginning of the third year. And that was if you had gone to class and watched several NTR scenes. A hidden boss, that was recommended for the second playthrough. You’d need a second playthrough to defeat it. But he had to kill this monster now?
Again, Chronos was sending a message. ‘This is impossible!’ He ran away.
*Grahhhhh!*
“Hee! Heee! Heeeee!”
He barely dodged the troll’s club, accelerating his body as he rolled and tumbled to escape. ‘I’ll die if I’m hit!’ He remembered that event boss monsters were at least recommended for second playthroughs. If he got even a graze, it would be the equivalent of a one-way ticket to the afterlife. ‘…At least it’s slow!’
Several memories surfaced. The troll was slow. Although it was still too fast for his current abilities, it was still possible to dodge. He just needed to buy time.
“Shit, shit, shit…!”
He felt the ground shaking behind him. He needed to save them. If it had been just one or two, he could have stopped time and dragged them away. But it was five! And four of them were broken. It was frustrating, but he decided to change his mindset. Complaining wouldn’t change a thing. ‘I need to do something.’
“Huff!”
He steeled himself and shouted at the girls.
“Get up! And run! If you stall for time, your teacher will come to save you!”
The heroines, spurred by his words, struggled to their feet. They’d been broken, but that was only because they had given up. If they had a chance to escape, their survival instincts would kick in. The Troll also seemed to notice something. He turned around when—
*Bang!*
“Haa…”
I pulled the aggro. The bullet ripped through his skin, but it wasn’t enough to stop him. ‘I did put on a passive that helped with power.’
*GRAAAAAAAAAH!!!*
“Hiii!”
The troll roared and lunged at him. He barely dodged its club, but its wind pressure grazed his cheek. ‘Around 0.3 seconds.’
He perceived the attack and had to move quickly, but it still felt like his reactions were too slow. That was 0.3 seconds that was used trying to respond.
The troll roared and swung its club, crushing the ground with its weight. He moved to the side.
*Sigh*
He looked at the ground and it was destroyed and was like a spiderweb. ‘Is that what it means to be shattered?’. If that hit him directly, he would be dead. Even if he somehow survived it, it would be a fatal blow.
‘I need to hold out…’
He had to wait until his teacher came. Just as he recalled this thought, a new mission window appeared.
“…Hmph.”
A simple objective. At least Chronos understood his intentions. It was better to survive for 5 minutes than defeat it.
‘If I can hold on for five minutes…’
I could live. We could all live. He stared at the troll, hoping.
…Guh?
“Haaa…”
The Troll gripped his club tightly. He took a step closer to me and swung the club at me. ‘Behind!’
*BOOOM!*
“Sigh…”
He narrowly dodged it. The force of the attack brushed against his face. ‘I used around 0.3 seconds’. He felt that small time gap when trying to dodge. It was the exact amount he needed. But it was only 0.3 seconds.
Guh… RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
“Tsk!”
The troll roared and started a relentless barrage of attacks. *Thud! Thump!* Punching, kicking, slamming, and pushing him. A single lapse in concentration would mean death.
‘If this continues…!’
Five minutes would be impossible. Even three minutes were impossible. He had to do something.
“A skill—ugh…!”
GRAWWR!!!
He was attacked before he could use a skill. He could barely catch his breath. The surroundings became hazy, and the remaining time decreased rapidly. ‘If this goes on…’ He would die. He might actually die.
Guhh, Geeeeeeeeeeek!!!
“Ah…!”
He felt a sudden fear, which froze his body. The troll’s fist was about to crush his stomach when, barely managing to process the danger, he stopped time and dodged it.
Guhk? Guuuuk…?
“…Shit.”
About a second had been used. Only a second, but one second could be very long.
‘If I am to stop spacing out, I’ll get killed.’
He checked the time.
[Limit Time: 32.1s/1m]
[Remaining Time: 3m 21s]
“…Damn!”
He had spent almost half of the time, and half of it was still left. If he continued like this, it would all be meaningless. He would just be waiting to die.
‘What can I do?’
He remembered something, and his shoulder twitched. His foot moved slightly.
A sudden memory of the attacks, of when the attack would hit. He had to avoid it.
*Thump!*
The Troll’s fist hit a spot next to him. He could not have been closer.
Guh… *GRAAAAAAAAAH!*
“…Wow.”
He moved one step to the side. The club had grazed his nose. The troll looked more furious than ever. He could feel his fear, but he could also taste the feeling of hope.
‘I did it…?’
He had dodged it. Faster than before. He had used 0.2 seconds. If he could do that again he could dodge faster.
Guhk! Guhk! GEEEEEEEEEEK!
*Thud! Thud! Crack! Snap! BOOM!* The barrage continued. Endless strikes, one after the other, a never ending onslaught.
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
—He dodged.
He could dodge.
Although it was costing him some time, his reaction time was better. No, it wasn’t his reaction time… he just saw it clearly.
‘Motion, Attack patterns!’
Unique poses, tiny but clear movements. If he could catch them, he could avoid them. He could survive.
“Haaa…”
Until his teacher arrived. He had approximately three minutes left.
GEEEEEEEEEEEK!
“Aaaaaah!”
Dodge, dodge, and dodge again. He wasn’t going to fight, he was just biding his time. Three minutes became two. Two minutes became one. And one minute became 50 seconds, 40, 30.
“Just a little bit more…”
20 seconds. He didn’t have much time. He had to rely on his own body.
“*Cough*!? Ugh…! Huff…!”
15 seconds. He reacted a bit too slow. The club grazed his shoulder. Flesh tore, but he didn’t have time to feel the pain.
“Haa, haaa! Haa!”
10 seconds. Was it from the blood? His mind became clearer. He had gotten the patterns down, and he even felt some room to breathe.
“Kuh… huff…!”
5 seconds. The troll suddenly stomped on the ground. A sudden wave of pressure immobilized him. It was an AoE stun. A critical situation.
GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
“…Tsk.”
3 seconds. The club was about to crush him. He dodged, narrowly avoiding his body, but he was too slow! A large fist pounded through the air when—
Bang!
“[Counter]”
—He deflected it with his dagger. [Counter], a skill he had learned through his interactions with Instructor Ebi. He spent 70 TP to become invincible and give the opponent a debuff with a stun.
Gu… Guu… ?
“Now, it’s my turn.”
He had one second left. He raised his hand for the final blow.
“ASEI!”
He poured all of his youth into his fist and smashed it into the troll’s face.
*Crack! Crash!*
“Kieeeek!!!!”
He felt a satisfying punch. He had broken his nose, he was sure of it. The troll stumbled back.
Kieek… Guiiiiek…
“What now.”
He was bleeding from his nose, grimacing in pain. But the mission was over. The teacher would come, and they could return. He caught his breath and checked the mission screen.
[0m 01s]
…
[0m 01s]
…
[0m 01s]
…
[0m 01s]
“…Huh? …Huh?”
The time wasn’t decreasing. It was stuck at one second. As if something had stopped it. As his body froze in shock, he was suddenly hit by something.
*Crack! Thud!*
His body was sent flying. He rolled and rolled, before finally crashing into a wall. He finally understood.
[0m 01s]
“…Ha!”
Chronos had abandoned him. He felt his scythe slip from his grasp.
“…Shit…!”
Injustice. Unreasonableness. A never-ending stream of disgust and loathing. Anyone would despair in this situation.
“…Yeah, well…”
But luckily, unfortunately, ironically, this was a very familiar feeling.
“Injustice is familiar.”
He picked up his dagger and stood.
