I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 25

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Fucking hell.”

I couldn’t help but curse from the start.

Because of the absurd size of that crude spell.

It was as if they had scribbled a Nazca line in the sky and collapsed.

Thanks to that, it took a while just to grasp the form of the spell.

But the studying I had done by borrowing books from the library for two days wasn’t in vain, as I was able to quickly identify the type of spell.

‘Flame-type. Segmented.’

It was a form that divided a typical explosion spell into the explosion part and the detonation part.

That was a small relief.

Because if I disabled just one of the two, the spell would become inoperable.

‘No, what the hell……?’

I poured all of my stat 18, which was equivalent to five times that of an ordinary person’s, into dismantling the detonation spell.

Despite that, my attempts were thwarted just before reaching the security vulnerability.

It was because of the encryption.

This spell was a hideous thing that changed the key code every 10 seconds.

That meant I had to complete the entire reverse calculation process to touch the security vulnerability and obtain the key code within 10 seconds. Before the key code changed again.

‘Argh!’

It was really close. Just a tiny bit off.

I failed to dismantle the spell by just a few seconds because I was short on time.

It was less complex than Alexia’s barrier, but this damn encryption kept making me fail by a hair’s breadth.

There was no other way now that it had come to this.

I wanted to save my abilities as much as possible, but I had no choice but to use them here.

‘Selection and Concentration. Use 1 second on calculation ability.’

As soon as I used the ability, I felt my mind split into thousands of streams.

At the same time, geometrical patterns shining in various colors appeared in my head.

Now there were 3 seconds left until the key code was reset.

The faintly glowing point among the patterns.

As I found and touched that point……

The control of the detonation spell was transferred to me.

“Phew……”

I felt the tension release as I opened my eyes.

My sight and hearing, which had been temporarily blocked, returned.

“Next, we have the 3rd Army Corps Commander of the Imperial Army, Major General Roman von Byrne, who will give a speech.”

“Phew. That was close……”

The Intelligence Agency guys must be panicking by now.

They need to detonate the spell right away, but the key code isn’t working.

Have they realized it by now?

That the detonation spell has completely left their hands.

Now it was time to drive the nail in the coffin.

I looked up at the sky and accessed the core of the spell.

However, it wasn’t activation.

It was the dismantling of the core.

With a single gesture, the core of the spell crumbled and soon the entire spell shattered into pieces.

“Done.”

It’s over now.

They would have poured all their mana into deploying, concealing, and encrypting the spell, so they wouldn’t have the strength to deploy it again.

Even if they did deploy it again, I would stop it once more.

They would probably hurriedly withdraw, thinking they had been intercepted by the Imperial Police by now.

“Wait a moment.”

Really?

Were the Kingdom’s Intelligence Agency the type to back down so easily?

According to the setting, the success or failure of Roman’s assassination was directly linked to the survival of the Kingdom, and the Intelligence Agency firmly believed that.

Then would they give up just because one spell was dismantled?

The other agents might, but not Hertlocker.

He would definitely come to kill Roman.

Since the spell failed, this time he would do it personally.

And the one who had to stop that was……

“Fuck.”

Me again, of course.

I sighed and opened the store.

A battle was about to unfold. And with the protagonist, Hertlocker, at that.

So I had to spend all the store coins I had been saving.

Even then, I might barely survive against him.

[Purchased 1 Forbidden Elixir.]

[Purchased 1 Forbidden Elixir.]

[Purchased 1 Forbidden Elixir.]

I bought 3 Forbidden Elixirs without hesitation.

The price increased by 1 each time I bought it, as I expected, and by the time I bought the last elixir, it had become a whopping 5 coins.

I had 1 coin left.

I uncapped the elixir and poured it down my throat in gulps.

“Ughhh……”

It really tasted terrible no matter how many times I drank it.

It was like drinking harmless sewage, so to speak.

Anyway, I endured the urge to vomit and dumped all 3 bottles into my stomach. Without spilling a single drop.

I immediately called up the stat window to check the effect.

[Displaying Stats.]

[Vitality: 16]

[Strength: 12]

[Agility: 5]

[Stamina: 5]

[Mana: 1]

[Mana Attunement: 1]

[Mana Sensitivity: 75]

[Calculation Ability: 48]

“No way, crazy!”

I couldn’t help but curse as soon as I saw it.

All the stats that would be helpful in combat remained the same.

But only the calculation ability had increased by another 30.

I had drunk 4 bottles so far, and they all went into calculation ability?

Is this really random? Isn’t this probability rigged?

“Damn it……”

Realizing there was no time to complain, I suppressed my anger and came down from the roof.

Even now, Hertlocker would be going to kill Roman.

I had no choice but to arrive first and stop him as much as possible.

As soon as I entered the corridor through the window, I immediately turned the corner.

At that moment, I felt like I was suffocating.

I had run into Hertlocker who was running from the end of the corridor.

“……”

“……”

Both Hertlocker and I stopped in place.

And we stared at each other in silence for a moment.

The one who broke that deadly silence was-

“Well. We meet again like this.”

It was Hertlocker’s friendly greeting.

This was right. We were strangers who had only encountered each other once at the cafe, not even knowing each other’s names.

“Indeed. Somehow, I had a feeling we would meet.”

“Are you enjoying the event?”

“Of course. It’s very enjoyable. How about you?”

“Haha. Things aren’t going well for me. I don’t even have the mind to enjoy it.”

Of course. The operation that the Intelligence Agency had poured their heart and soul into had ended in failure.

An awkward silence settled between us again.

The only sound was Roman’s speech coming through the window.

“Where are you headed now? The viewing area is in this direction.”

“Ah. I have something to discuss with the organizers.”

“Is that so? Then I hope things go well for you.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

We gave each other awkward smiles and moved our feet again.

Towards each other, quietly.

As we naturally moved our feet, we gradually got closer.

Should I aim for his back after passing him?

The moment I was pondering that, we crossed paths.

And at that moment, a sense of discomfort slowly crept up.

Now was the time.

‘Selection and Concentration. Use 3 seconds on mana attunement.’

Immediately, I operated my internal circuit and converted all the generated mana energy into mana.

This should be enough to fight for a good 5 minutes.

Feeling strength overflowing in my body, I-

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

Hastily twisting my body, I kicked at Hertlocker’s head.

Hertlocker’s arm swiftly reacted and blocked the kick, and he flew back, rolling once.

A dagger was held in Hertlocker’s hand as he slid back.

Fuck, how did he bring that in……

“It was you. The one who dismantled the spell.”

“Maybe. What are you talking about?”

“Judging by how quiet the security is, you don’t seem to be on the Imperial Police’s side. Are you trying to stop me alone?”

“……”

Hertlocker slightly lifted the curtain and glanced outside, then chuckled.

This is ridiculous, you crazy bastard.

If I wanted to, I could immediately tip off the Imperial Police and have them surround the event venue and catch this Hertlocker bastard.

The reason I didn’t do that was because he was one of the characters necessary for the ending, so I was trying to spare his life.

Not knowing his parent’s heart. This son of a bitch.

“Break through. If you can, that is.”

“I will.”

Hertlocker held the dagger in his right hand and took a stance to charge.

I had only one goal.

To make Hertlocker give up on assassinating Roman and run away.

Roman must not be assassinated, and Hertlocker must not be arrested by drawing the attention of the Imperial Police.

It seemed like an impossible task no matter how you looked at it, but there was no other way.

I had to do what I could.

Swish!

Hertlocker’s figure shot towards me.

The blade thrust out like lightning, but I dodged it by lowering my head-

“This damn-”

Immediately, his shin came flying and I took a direct hit to the face, flying backwards.

Feeling my body falling as it shattered the window, I desperately grabbed onto something.

“You little……”

What I grabbed was the hem of Hertlocker’s pants, it seemed.

We nicely clung to each other and fell freely out the window……

“Ugh!”

“Ack!”

We hit the ground and rolled a couple of times.

I think one of my ribs was broken. No, two……

The small consolation was that this was outside the plaza.

Since we were thrown out of the building, Hertlocker would also give up on the assassination and try to run away.

The Imperial Police would probably arrive in about 3 minutes, no, 2 minutes after noticing the commotion.

That should be enough time for Hertlocker to escape.

“What are you doing……”

But contrary to my expectations, Hertlocker gripped the dagger and took a combat stance again.

No, you crazy bastard, run away.

Why are you trying to fight?

“The police will be surrounding us soon. Aren’t you going to run?”

“I have enough time to slit your throat and run away.”

“This damn-”

Hertlocker charged at me like a bullet again.

It was a speed that was difficult for my eyes to keep up with.

The moment I barely stepped out of the trajectory of the sword, flashes of light sparkled from all directions.

He’s trying to use magic while engaging in close combat!

“What?!”

But my calculation ability was faster than those flashes of light shooting towards me like lightning, disabling the spells.

With a calculation ability five times that of an ordinary person, I could disable such petty spells in an instant. No matter how many there were.

Hertlocker’s expression became quite amusing when all his magic was suddenly blocked.

I thought he might be a bit scared and run away now, but-

“You have a lot of tricks up your sleeve!”

“No, just go already……”

Our protagonist couldn’t be discouraged by something like this……

This time, Hertlocker charged without using any magic at all, relying solely on his body.

It was a speed that I couldn’t react to at all, even though I had also strengthened my body by operating the internal circuit.

‘I’m fucked……!’

The tip of the blade was aimed at my eyes.

His knee was aimed at my solar plexus.

When I came to my senses, I was surrounded on all sides.

There was no way to avoid it.

No matter how I tried to dodge, I would inevitably suffer a fatal injury.

So I had to struggle desperately.

Using the last 1 second of ‘Selection and Concentration’.

‘Selection and Concentration. Use all on agility!’

Then the blade tip, which had been optimal to read through afterimages, began to be visible.

The moment I stepped out of the trajectories of the blade tip and shin, I raised my ankle, aiming for Hertlocker’s neck.

It all happened in less than 1 second.

Bam!

“Ugh?!”

But my ankle was only blocked by Hertlocker’s arm.

Crazy, he blocked this……?

Still, his left arm seemed to be broken, and Hertlocker hid his dangling left arm behind his back and slightly retreated.

He seemed to be quite wary now that I had suddenly become faster.

Now I understood.

The reason why Hertlocker was so persistently trying to kill me.

He recognized me as a target that needed to be eliminated even more than Roman.

Someone who single-handedly dismantled the spell that the Intelligence Agency had poured their heart and soul into, and could even match the strongest force in the Kingdom’s army.

If such a person existed, wouldn’t they naturally try to kill him by any means necessary?

However, he was greatly mistaken.

The only reason I was able to fight evenly was because I had utilized all the cheat-like abilities I had, and now that I had used up all of ‘Selection and Concentration’, I had no way to fight back anymore.

I could also feel the mana I had accumulated by decomposing mana energy running out.

Now I had to make a decision.

Otherwise, I would really die.

“Run away. This is your last warning.”

“Who are you to tell me to run away!”

He charged again.

He must be determined to create a mutual destruction by any means necessary.

That’s why the trajectory of the flying blade tip was so obvious.

But just because it was obvious didn’t mean I could avoid it.

Stab!

“Ugh!”

The blade tip pierced a little below my solar plexus.

An unbearable pain rushed in, and a groan involuntarily escaped my lips.

Hertlocker also seemed surprised, as if it was unexpected for me to allow a hit after skillfully dodging until now.

“Huh?”

And that surprised face soon turned pale.

Hertlocker’s right arm, trying to pull out the blade, was gripped by both of my hands.

His left arm was already broken. Then what would happen if he lost his right arm too?

Crack!

“Aaaaargh!”

I lightly twisted and broke the bone, and a shrill scream erupted.

Now both his arms were sealed. The distance was too close for him to use his legs too.

I immediately covered Hertlocker’s face with my hand and grabbed it.

If I applied force like this, I could crush his face.

Then he would at least die or become half-crippled.

As if sensing his fate, a glimmer of fear flickered in his eyes visible between my fingers.

“Uhhh……”

But I decided to let him go.

I pushed him away and threw him off.

Hertlocker stood up with his arms dangling-

“Surround them! An intruder has infiltrated here!”

“Block the back gate! Hurry!”

As shouts were heard from all directions, he quickly left the scene.

Yeah, you bastard. Run away. Far away.

“Ugh…… Uhhh…… Fuck……”

As the tension suddenly loosened, the pain I had momentarily forgotten rushed back in.

From the hole in my abdomen where the blade had been pulled out, blood was gushing out like a fountain.

Fuck. This seems to be the same spot where Ms. Mary was stabbed.

Then I’ll die within 1 minute too.

‘Store……!’

I need a recovery potion.

Remembering that I still had 1 store coin left, I opened the store window.

A low-grade recovery potion should be purchasable with 1 coin.

People would give me strange looks if a potion suddenly appeared out of thin air, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Because I was about to die.

[Low-grade Recovery Potion]

[Price: 2 Store Coins]

“This damn-”

But a problem arose.

It required 2 coins.

Wait a moment, what about the quest?

The reward for stopping the terror quest was 10 coins, right?

When do I get that?

[Quest: Ensure no one at the event venue dies.]

[Difficulty: ★★★★★]

[Reward: 10 Store Coins]

As if to resolve my question, the quest window popped up.

The quest completion condition was that no one at the event venue would die.

“Haah……”

That included me too.

If I died, the quest would fail.

This is driving me crazy.

“Ah…… Uhhh……”

A chill began to spread throughout my body.

Just a moment ago, I thought I was going to die from the heat.

Now, my whole body was trembling and my skin had turned pale.

I saved Roman.

I saved thousands of lives.

I even saved Hertlocker and sent him off.

But in the end, I’m the one dying like this.

It was the moment when my consciousness was slowly fading away.

“…… I knew this would happen.”

That’s when I felt a warm sensation on my fingertips.

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