Chapter 48

EP.48 Brain Deity Suppression - Interlude

While Isaac and the Brain Deity were battling at the Karlis Hall,

"Is it a black monster!"

The Brain Deity suppression team heading towards Karlis Hall immediately recognized who was standing up against the Brain Deity and the servitors.

The existence that appeared whenever a demon emerged. If it was a powerful person capable of using such large-scale, potent ice magic, it could only be the 'black monster.'

Shielle narrowed her eyes. The man with the silver feet suddenly came to mind.

He clearly had a small amount of mana, yet he possessed a mana sensing ability that far surpassed even Shielle's.

Mana sensing ability is proportional to maximum mana capacity.

Shielle wondered how he, being so weak, could have such a mana sensing ability.

But one possibility that arose in her mind seemed to resolve this contradiction.

"Could it be…."

The black monster, could he be the same man with the silver feet who was groveling just a moment ago?

A terrifying battle was taking place at Karlis Hall.

Shielle, who had always considered herself talented and strong, felt that if she had been involved in that battle, she would have met a more futile end than a mayfly. Even a bug being stepped on by chance would have a more glorious fate.

Of course… it was just a suspicion. She might be wrongly labeling an innocent person as a powerful one.

‘That would be ridiculous.’

Shielle, who didn't want to run, was supporting the rear of the suppression team as they advanced up the hill.

Soon, her servitor, which she had secretly sent into the sky, flew back to her.

The lightning-attribute purple bat servitor, 'Zavet,' landed on her shoulder. The little guy was flapping his wings in shock.

[Shielle-sama, you were right! It was him! The guy who was with you earlier!]

Zavet had just come down in a hurry after confirming the situation just before Isaac and the Brain Deity clashed. Although he was caught in the fierce storm of the battle from a distance, fortunately, he wasn't injured.

Shielle looked at the agitated Zavet and then closed her eyes tightly. The moment her suspicion turned into certainty.

It is said that every year, exceptional students who exceed the standard strength enter the Merhen Academy. It seemed this year's first-year class was no different.

And the fact that this person was not Lucie Eltania, but a stronger being than even the powerful top student.

Shielle realized this only now.

After the situation was resolved. Above the old Merhen Academy.

[Bu─, Bu─.]

A spherical creature, like a balloon, was floating in the sky.

Its arms and legs were embedded in its swollen body, and its face, with features stuck together like glue, was grotesque enough to make anyone feel disgusted.

The stripes on its skin, like cracked dry fields, were thick and tough, and its skin was a yellowish-brown color.

From its mouth, only a dull 'Bu' sound continuously flowed out.

From the end-of-term evaluation to the Brain Deity suppression.

The powerless balloon demon had been observing everything through [Eagle Eye].

The eyelids slowly opened, and cold, blood-red eyes began to look down at the ground.

Heinkel the Devourer. Though currently powerless, he is one of the worst disasters and began quietly observing Isaac, who was admiring the [Tree of Radiance].

[Bu─, Bu─.]

Eventually, Heinkel the Devourer disappeared into the clouds.

* * *

The academy had to go to great lengths to handle the demon emergence and Brain Deity suppression incident. On-site investigations, uncovering the truth, assessing the victims, persuading investors who make up a significant portion of the academy's budget, analyzing the cause of the incident, and holding meetings to rebuild the defense system... The academy was mobilizing all available personnel.

This Brain Deity incident was on a massive scale. It could have easily resulted in numerous casualties.

Ultimately, the royal knights would come to the Merhen Academy when the summer break started, having heard about the incident. The matter would continue to escalate, and the academy would have a headache for a long time.

Lucie, as the owner of the Brain Deity-Gallia, attended the investigation committee. However, since it was clear that the demon had forcibly summoned the Brain Deity-Gallia from Lucie, there was no reason to punish her.

But the Brain Deity-Gallia was an 8-star demon. The academy couldn't just leave it alone, regardless of the reason. They needed to be certain that the servitor was safe.

The problem was that Lucie was currently in a mana-depleted state, unable to even summon her servitor, let alone use basic elemental magic.

No matter how much mana a person has, once they are in a depleted state, their mana recovery speed drops drastically. In fact, the expression 'drastically' doesn't even do it justice. It would take about a week for Lucie's body to return to normal.

In the end, the academy sought Lucie's understanding and decided to isolate her until she recovered.

They assigned a supervisor to Lucie.

"Is this the room of the troublesome junior who made me suffer~?"

The luxurious dormitory, Charles Hall, reserved for the top students of Merhen Academy.

Lucie, dressed in a comfortable dress, was sitting on the bed, covered in a blanket. The moment the woman with silver hair and a witch's hat entered the room, a thick, fog-like aura of killing intent began to emanate from her.

The supervisor, Dorothy Heartnova, seemed completely unaffected by Lucie's killing intent. As a result, the atmosphere in the room was clearly divided, like a space cut in half.

After all, Dorothy is known as a natural disaster. No law or rule can bind her. Lucie's killing intent was like an ant to Dorothy.

Dorothy, with her hand shading her eyes, wandered around Lucie's room like an adventurer exploring a new adventure site.

Lucie was extremely annoyed by this, but

being in a mana-depleted state, she had no power to resist Dorothy and could only seethe with murderous intent.

"Nyahaha! Your room is just like you! What's with the interior, there's not a single cute corner!"

"..."

"How can there not be a single teddy bear! Are you poor? Maybe I can lend you one?"

"..."

"Kyaa, what's this? A cursed doll used in black magic! Our junior, you have such a dark hobby~. Ah, can I put some of your hair in it and test it when I'm bored? Is that okay?"

"Leave if you're here to pick a fight."

Unable to bear it any longer, Lucie finally spoke. It was the first word she had said in the ten minutes since Dorothy arrived. She spoke without any regard for the fact that Dorothy was a senior and one of the strongest in the academy.

However, Dorothy, as if she had expected this, narrowed her eyes into half-moons and approached Lucie with a sinister smile.

"Junior, you also noticed something strange, didn't you?"

"..."

"That electric chicken, you don't have to suppress it anymore, right?"

Lucie frowned. Only then did she meet Dorothy's gaze.

Dorothy's eyes, as usual, shone with a universe of stars. Her star-shaped pupils were still the same. Indeed, her eyes were unrealistic.

She had mentioned that she had made a contract with the fairy of stars, Stella, which had changed her eyes. This was something she had told Isaac.

At that time, Lucie didn't care about such details and had just listened quietly, enjoying the conversation with Isaac.

It was clear that this annoying senior was indeed a powerful person.

Lucie thought it wasn't strange that Dorothy had figured out that she was using half of her total mana, specifically lightning mana, to constantly suppress the Brain Deity.

The only part that Lucie reacted to was the fact that 'she no longer needed to suppress the Brain Deity.'

Lucie, the owner of the Brain Deity-Gallia, clearly felt that it had been freed from all the cursed chains and had returned to being a well-behaved servitor. What her body would be like once her mana returned was still unknown to her.

One thing was certain.

Lucie would now be able to use her full power.

This would further enhance her already overwhelming strength among the first-year students of the Magic Department.

"…Gallia is now safe."

"I know, the electric chicken is a good one, isn't it?"

"Stop calling him an electric chicken. It makes Gallia seem insignificant."

Lucie remained cold.

Still, Dorothy was probably the only one who had spoken this much with Lucie, aside from Isaac. Lucie tended to ignore people, after all.

Perhaps it was because they had seen each other frequently.

"Nihihi."

Dorothy smiled innocently, got off the bed, and headed towards the door.

"That's it, the surveillance is over."

"Already…? The academy said to watch me for four days…."

"Annoying!"

Dorothy's short and concise answer convinced Lucie instantly.

"So, you troublesome one, you have to stay here and behave, right?"

Dorothy gave Lucie a gentle smile, opened the door, and walked out into the corridor.

As Dorothy disappeared, a silence began to fill the room. It was a dramatic change in atmosphere.

Finally, the annoying presence was gone. Lucie let out a deep sigh of relief.

Plof.

Lucie lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Now alone, many thoughts began to swirl in her mind again.

Gryung had come to save her again. As expected, he was the man in the magic disguise suit, and his disguise had been undone when his clothes were damaged during the battle.

Although her vision was too blurry to see his face clearly,

Lucie could recall the size of Gryung's hands and the outline of his shoulders, which allowed her to think of one man.

"Isaac…."

She wanted to hold Isaac's hand right away and compare the sensation and size of Gryung's hands from her memory.

Logically, it was clear that the two couldn't be the same person.

If Gryung was as strong as Isaac, how could one explain Isaac's mana capacity, his magic skills, and his daily diligent training?

'But…'

Ice attribute. Hand size. Shoulder outline.

Lucie, who could remember everything, didn't usually rely on intuition. But now, her intuition was screaming.

Gryung's identity is Isaac. Believe me.

Perhaps she had felt this way since the class assignment evaluation. The intuition she had ignored kept shouting, and maybe Isaac had been trying to convince her all along that he was Gryung.

That might be why she felt a sense of familiarity with Isaac… who knows.

"..."

Only now, listening to the voice of her intuition, did Lucie quickly get out of bed and head towards the door.

She had been saved by the mysterious man twice. It was inevitable that she felt drawn to him.

Every time she thought of him, her heartbeat echoed loudly, piercing the silence. Even for Lucie, who had always kept her distance from human relationships, it wasn't hard to recognize the nature of this new emotion.

Her heart was stirring. She felt like she was going crazy. She needed to find out who Gryung was to calm the turmoil in her heart.

Quickly, quickly, she needed to confirm if Isaac was Gryung. To resolve the conflict between reason and intuition and calm the stirring in her heart.

Just as she was about to grab the doorknob,

Zzzz─!

"Ouch!"

Her hand stung, and she quickly pulled back. A cluster of stars briefly appeared on the doorknob before fading away.

A small note that had been barely stuck to the bottom of the doorknob due to the recent shock fell to the floor. Picking it up, a short sentence and a character face with a witch's hat came into view.

[Stay in! Rest well! I'll bring you food!]

A shadow fell over Lucie's eyes. She clenched her fist and crumpled the note mercilessly.

She tried to escape through the window as well, but it was no different. Lucie's killing intent grew even stronger.

* * *

[Status]

Name: Isaac

Lv: 60

Gender: Male

Grade: 1

Title: First-year who has adapted to academy life

Mana Capacity: 1800 / 1800

- Mana Recovery Speed (C)

- Stamina (B-)

- Strength (B-)

- Intelligence (C+)

- Willpower (A-)

Potential <<Details>>

[Combat Abilities]

Elemental Series 1: Ice

- Elemental Damage (B-)

- Elemental Efficiency (B-)

- Elemental Synergy (B-)

Elemental Series 2 (Locked)

[Skills]

Active

- (★1) Ice Creation (B-) / (★5) Black Ice (B-)

- (★2) Ice Barrier (B-)

- (★1) Cold Emission (B+)

- (★1) Basic Protection Magic (D+)

- (★4) Frost Flame (C+)

- (★4) Ice Wall (C+)

- (★5) Ice Burst (C-)

- (★2) Snowfall (C)

Passive

- (★7) Mind Reading

- (★5) Demon Detection

- (★9) Ice Lord

Skill Tree <<Details>>

[Unique Traits]

- Demon Slayer

[Potential]

Owned Stats: 0

◆ Growth Speed

- Physical Training Efficiency (B+): 56/100

- Magic Training Efficiency (A): 71/100

- Learning Efficiency (B+): 51/100

◆ Elemental Resistance

- Fire Elemental Resistance (D-): 10/100

- Water Elemental Resistance (D+): 16/100

- Ice Elemental Resistance (C+): 34/100

- Lightning Elemental Resistance (B-): 39/100

- Earth Elemental Resistance (D): 12/100

- Wind Elemental Resistance (C-): 23/100

- Neutral Magic Resistance (D+): 18/100

◆ Combat Power Against Races

- Combat Power Against Humans (E): 4/100

- Combat Power Against Other Races (E): 1/100

- Combat Power Against Celestials (E): 0/100

- Combat Power Against Demons (S): 100/100 [MAX]

[Servitor]

Eiden (Lv: 50)

Rank: ★3

Race: Demon

Attribute: Earth

Intimacy: 65

Fusion Power: 20

Mana Consumption for Summoning: 40

- Owned Skills <<Details>>

It had been four days since the Brain Deity suppression ended and Lucie was isolated.

During this time, the academy gathered the students and explained in detail what had happened during the first-year Magic Department's end-of-term evaluation, announcing a retest. However, students who had already passed the evaluation or possessed a Pel Card before the incident would receive bonus points.

Naturally, those who had passed the evaluation protested, but the majority of the students agreed that it was a highly dangerous incident, and they fell silent. It was the power of the majority.

A retest was also held in <Merhen's Magic Knight>. I had expected this.

After all, the first-semester grade is determined by a combination of test scores and performance evaluations. Under this system, entering the retest with bonus points was a significant advantage.

I, of course, had the highest bonus points. However, my performance in the sparring evaluation was a critical flaw, so I couldn't expect a good first-semester grade.

And I felt intuitively that the ice buff [Black Ice], which contained dark mana, didn't blend well with [Ice Lord].

Especially when using high-level 7-star and above magic, it was difficult to apply [Black Ice] to ice magic. It felt inefficient, like forcing incompatible circuits to work together.

In other words, from high-level magic onwards, it didn't seem cost-effective to enhance power.

Moreover, the mana consumption was nearly three times higher. So, [Black Ice] should be used cautiously unless the battle was expected to be short.

The 21 new stats I gained were invested as follows: 5 in [Physical Training Efficiency] and 16 in [Learning Efficiency].

Elemental resistance increased by 10 points for each attribute due to the achievements during the Brain Deity suppression. The minimum requirement to find Hilde's Frost Scepter, which was 60 or higher in [Ice Elemental Resistance], could now be met with the elemental bracelet.

The premature appearance of the illusionary Rifa, which was supposed to appear in the second semester, was a significant factor. I had planned to obtain it before the end of the first year, but now the conditions were met even before the second semester began.

So, during this summer break, I plan to find Hilde's Frost Scepter, the ultimate ice weapon. Just holding it would enhance the power of ice magic.

"Lucie Eltania, are you ready?"

In broad daylight, at the beach.

The scenery is so beautiful that it could be called a closed tourist spot of Merhen Academy. The fine white sand reflects the sunlight, and the emerald sea surges brilliantly.

A single female student stood by the water's edge, her rose-gold hair fluttering in the sea breeze. It was Lucie Eltania.

Lucie nodded to Professor Fernando's question, under the watchful eyes of the academy personnel.

The academy had brought high-level mages and Dorothy Heartnova, the strongest