I Realized It Was An Academy Game After 10 Years – Chapter 25

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Johann, it’s amazing. Even though I saw you make it with my own eyes, I still can’t believe it…”

“We need this much to catch that thing.”

Karina’s jaw dropped as she looked at the traps I had set up on the open ground.

How cute. Although her expression looked slightly stupid, with her beauty, it only appeared cute.

Her appearance was not cute at all, though. I forcibly turned my gaze away from Karina and gave a final check to the traps I had made.

A giant trap was necessary to capture the hydra, which boasted a huge body. Sharp stakes were thoroughly driven into the ground, made by cutting down all the nearby trees, and sharp hooks made of bear bones were individually embedded in between. Even a scratch would likely result in a fatal injury. In addition, there were log traps hung between large trees, just in case.

If the traps worked properly, catching the hydra would be easy.

Once we caught the hydra, we would bid farewell to those damn snakes forever. Anyway, most of the snakes would have been wiped out by the acidic poison, so once the hydra was dead, there would be no more threatening enemies on this island except for the dungeon.

“…I wonder when Renny will arrive.”

I looked in the direction where Renny was supposed to come running from in a hurry. The wide-open path was quiet.

When would she appear?

I raised my gaze upward. The weather was sunny. The peaceful sunshine that made it hard to believe that today was the decisive battle pierced my eyes. Normally, I would have found a place to stretch out and yawn in a good mood, or work in the shade, but now it was time to quietly wait for the hydra’s attack.

There was enough leeway to rest for a short while.

I decided to enjoy a very brief respite, leaning against a tree while sitting down. I had no intention of closing my eyes, and… I also knew I couldn’t let my guard down too much. At the same time, however, I couldn’t be too tense either.

“Merciful Kalon…”

At the clear voice coming from beside me, my head naturally turned to the side.

Of course, it was Karina.

In the first place, the only ones who could speak in this forest were Karina, me, and Renny, who should be bringing the hydra by now. It was a sight I often saw even on normal days, but today it had a different flavor. She was praying while wearing armor that warriors would wear, not the priest robe she had carefully mended stitch by stitch.

Seeing her pray with only the helmet removed like that, she looked like a holy knight often seen in games. Strictly speaking, Renny was closer to a holy knight, but honestly, it didn’t seem like Renny would have faith. Whether it was Kalon or whatever, Renny was a Karina fanatic.

Even if Kalon himself descended and declared Karina’s excommunication, Renny would take Karina’s side.

Literally a loyal dog, one could say.

But a mad dog to enemies.

“I should loosen up a bit.”

It seemed better to lightly stretch my body before the final battle with the hydra. If I rested halfway and entered the battle with a not-fully-relaxed body, I wouldn’t be able to fight properly. I got up from my spot and started doing light stretches.

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“It’s terrifying.”

The air trembled.

Although it wasn’t actually the case, it felt that way. Seeing the eight snake heads that started to appear in the distance, I readjusted my grip on the shovel. The fight would begin soon. I looked at Karina, who had stood up from her spot, firmly grasping both hands.

My hands were shaking.

Through her wavering pink hair, I could see her face stained with fear. No matter how much of a saint she was, her essence was still a girl who had never been in such a situation, so it was only natural.

I approached her, patted her shoulder, and said,

“Don’t be afraid. It will end smoothly.”

It was an operation starting on a thoroughly planned board. If there were no significant variables, it was an opportunity to neatly conclude the 10-year-long battle.

“…This is my first time, so I’m very anxious.”

The pink-haired saint, who said that, looked up at me. Our eyes met. Heterochromia. The eyes that should have been pink contained a golden hue. Was she gathering sacred power?

“Don’t think of it as difficult. It will end easily if you just fulfill your role.”

“What if something goes wrong?”

“We die.”

Yes. We die.

I had no intention of dying, but the result of a failed operation would be fatal.

In the worst case, we could really die.

So I planned to give my all in this fight.

“You’re calm, Johann…”

“I’ve been through this countless times.”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

A lot.

A fucking lot.

Considering all the hardships I had endured until now, this operation could be seen as overflowing with hope in comparison. At least this time, there were three of us. Even if someone made a mistake or an unexpected variable arose, there would be someone to provide cover. When I lived alone, if something like this happened, it would immediately start a gamble with my life at stake.

Die or live.

The days of dancing on a chopping board with our lives as the stakes. I was always the winner, but I never won without injury.

The rough traces etched all over my body were proof of how dangerous this hellish island was.

…Phew, let’s not think about it.

I need to focus on the battle now.

I came to my senses and looked at Karina again. Karina also seemed to have lost her tension through the conversation with me, and the trembling of her body had ceased.

“…It’s coming soon.”

“Yes. You’re right. Johann. I just need to use the purification magic as soon as it gets caught in the trap, right?”

“…That’s right. You can use it right away when it gets caught.”

That alone would achieve the first plan.

If it ended here, it would end too easily to the point of being anticlimactic, but if that hydra was still alive after that, we would have to move on to the next plan. I alternated between tightening and loosening my grip on the shovel.

The ground shook.

And I could see Renny and the hydra running towards us.

It was about time for the operation to begin.

“Step back. You might fall over.”

At my words, Karina nodded and took a few steps back, clasping her hands tightly and placing them on her chest. I turned my eyes away from that sight and looked ahead again.

The distance was getting closer.

I raised my hand. It was a signal I had agreed upon with Renny in advance. Seeing my signal, Renny jumped over the trap in a single leap with a tremendous force. The incredible power to jump over a 20-meter-diameter trap in one go. I admired her strength and activated the gift for the hydra that was reaching its heads toward Renny.

The ground shook.

It was the signal that the giant 20-meter-diameter trap had been triggered.

The hydra’s heads, which I had to look up at to the point of straining my neck, rapidly got closer. It seemed the trap had worked properly. I immediately shouted,

“Now!”

“Almighty Kalon, please purify the wicked evil with the power of light.”

As soon as Karina’s words ended, I covered my eyes from the flashing light. The light was more brilliant than I had expected, and I squinted my eyes as I looked at the writhing hydra.

Smoke was rising from the hydra’s body. Flesh was falling off its body. The zombified body was being forcibly purified by the sacred magic. It was twisting its entire body as if trying to escape, but my trap was not so lenient that it could easily run away.

The numerous stakes and bone hooks embedded in the trap would hold onto the hydra’s body and not let go. Some would break, but I never thought they could endure indefinitely anyway. It only needed to last until Karina’s purification magic ended.

Wow, as expected of a saint, the effect is incredible.

“!@*()$(&)!*)$!(*!”

“Ah, my ears… It’s really tough.”

Renny grumbled, holding her ears as if they hurt from the hydra’s monstrous scream. I also wanted to cover my ears, but I couldn’t. If the hydra wasn’t completely dead, it would counterattack, so I had to be prepared for that.

But what I was worried about didn’t happen. The eight heads that had been thrashing like crazy fell to the ground, causing an earthquake. We staggered but didn’t let our guard down.

We didn’t think that hydra bastard would really go down.

To gain certainty, we needed to make sure it was dead.

After glancing to the side to check on Karina, who had collapsed, I turned my gaze back to the hydra, which had stopped moving. It was an anticlimactic end compared to how much it had tormented me for 10 years. I never thought I would be able to win so easily.

I approached the fallen hydra. Of course, I was holding the shovel.

Standing on top of the hydra’s head, I swung the shovel down with all my might at the spot where its brain would be. The skin was scratched. I didn’t stop digging until the skin was torn, the skull was exposed, the skull was shattered, and the brain was crushed. By the time I had torn apart the brain matter, sweat was pouring down like rain.
It’s damn tough.

“What are you doing?”

“I have to crush all the heads.”

“Ah, right.”

Renny also joined me in the head-crushing task. With two people working together, the task became quite manageable.
Unlike me, Renny simply stabbed her sword, stirred the brain by moving it around, and repeated the process of pulling it out. Her strength was enviable. It wasn’t something that could be finished so easily.

One, two, three, four… After crushing the seventh head, I moved towards the last head. As I got closer, my past of being tormented by this bastard came to mind one by one.

With each recollection of that long history of bloodshed, the murderous intent buried within me gradually surfaced.

Those fucking days.

This damn snake bastard.

In the end, I’m the one who won, you fucking bastard.

I could see the end.

The end of the long, ill-fated relationship.

I raised the shovel covered in brain matter. Those closed eyes would never open again.

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, the world turned upside down.

“Fucking shi…”

“Johann!”

“…Sir Johann!”

My whole body ached as if it would be torn apart. That was the first thought that came to mind as I felt a terrible sensation of floating.

The hydra’s last head, which was getting farther away, was sticking out its tongue at me in a disgusting manner.

Eyes glistening with deceit.

Wounds gradually recovering.

The hydra had been resurrected.

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