WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 18: I Hope It Comes Soon
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‘Even Instant Kill works on Richard.’
Richard Dane had been somewhere between an extra and a supporting character in the original game.
He was a typical noble who looked down on commoners, a third-rate villain who would eventually end up helping the protagonist.
Even so, he had a larger role than the original Halibal and was fairly capable in a fight.
But even Instant Kill worked on Richard? That meant it would work on everyone except for a few playable characters.
‘I’ll just have to watch out for Cecilia and Ran.’
After confirming Richard had vanished, I walked over to the bonfire and squatted in front of it.
My armor pinched my butt in a strange way, but it couldn’t be helped if I wanted to keep up the concept.
That was the fate of a boss.
‘What the hell is Adeline? Was the development team insane?’
What was the worst kind of boss in an action RPG?
A strong boss? A fast boss?
The answer was a boss you couldn’t defeat.
As long as players could kill it, no matter how strong or fast it was, it was nothing more than a tasty meal that stirred up their desire for a challenge.
Players were the kind of people who wouldn’t be satisfied until they had taken a boss’s head with a basic weapon after hundreds, or even thousands, of attempts.
In that sense, Adeline from <Academy of the End> had been one of the worst bosses.
Why? Because the system had set it so Adeline couldn’t be defeated. Then why the hell did it even have a health bar?
It wasn’t difficult. It was impossible. It wasn’t like some Genichiro fight where you won, only for a cutscene to force a defeat. It was simply impossible.
So Adeline was technically a boss, but not really a boss.
You went in, got stabbed to death, and the cutscene began. What kind of boss was that? Whether you stood still or fought desperately, the result was the same.
I couldn’t describe how deflated I had felt when I entered the deepest part of the Shadow Dungeon and saw Adeline standing right in the middle of the temple.
It even glowed.
Anyway, after deciding to accept this offer, I made a request of Viktor.
“Please prepare a set of old, rusty armor. If possible, I’d also like a voice-altering spell.”
“Hmm... I don’t mind, but what are you planning to do with it?”
Since I was taking on Adeline’s role anyway, I decided to become the kind of tasty boss that would awaken challengers’ fighting spirit.
I had about three ideas.
The first was to wear a blue mascot suit and mask that resembled Varhatan.
The problem was that my reflection, swinging a sword while dressed in that mascot suit, looked far too grotesque.
It was bad enough that I felt I’d be better off going out with purple skin and nothing but underwear on.
Rejected.
The second was based on a demon hunter from another game.
I would attach demon horns and wings to my mask, then challenge them to a fight while shouting, “You aren’t prepared!”
The look wasn’t bad, but it could cause problems later when demon dungeons appeared.
Rejected.
In the end, I chose the final option: a traditional Soulslike humanoid boss that swung its sword without asking questions.
The armored knight, Valhilar.
Even after I deliberately moved slowly and gave him chances to attack, Richard had stood there blankly and gotten cut down. That convinced me my debut had been a success.
Smiling beneath my helmet, I looked down at the iron sword in my hand.
‘I’m glad this new sword feels so natural in my hand.’
My standard-issue sword had broken, and I needed a new weapon. Viktor had brought me this iron sword along with the rusty armor.
The sword looked rusted, but its durability and sharpness hadn’t been damaged at all.
About half the reason Instant Kill had activated against Richard was probably thanks to this sword.
“Show me Group 1, Party 2.”
I wasn’t sitting in front of the bonfire just for the concept, either.
Whoooom.
As soon as I spoke, an image rose above the bonfire like heat haze, showing Party 2 somewhere inside the dungeon.
Right. This bonfire even had CCTV functionality.
I already knew Viktor was capable, but seeing him handle even details like this made me understand why no one had seen through his true intentions.
Who would suspect betrayal from someone who worked this well?
“Aaargh!”
“Laphal!”
“Aaah!”
On the screen, Party 2 was being cut down one by one by Shukarit.
[Group 1 Laphal Sezlec eliminated]
[Group 1 Penia Agrais eliminated]
A smile naturally formed as I watched Teacher Shu diligently educate the newbies.
Yes. Struggle more, newbies.
“Ah, you need to parry the mace attack.”
Not that I could do it either.
“Aaaagh!”
That’s not how you do it.
[Group 1 Worcester Kaln eliminated]
As I kept alternating between watching newbies and using Instant Kill, Group 1’s test eventually came to an end.
“...Do you understand?”
“W-What the hell are we supposed to understand?!”
Flash!
“...The Blade of Ruidel, Valhilar.”
“The Blade of Ruidel, Valhilar? I’ve never heard of a name like...!!”
Flash!
Three parties from Group 1 reached the boss room.
That was quite a lot.
Of course, I cleanly dealt with all of them using Instant Kill and waited for Group 2.
Yet not a single party from Group 2 reached the boss room.
“If we can’t go, neither can you!”
“What are you trying to accomplish by fighting each other?!”
“Why are these bastards fighting among themselves?”
The parties had started fighting right before the boss room.
The result was mutual destruction. The last remaining examinee, apparently left alone, gave up on clearing the dungeon right there.
If they had come in order, I would have sent them off one by one.
In the end, I had no choice but to stay seated on the floor until Group 2 was over.
Groups 3 and 4 weren’t much different.
They either reached the boss room and got cut down by me, or fought among themselves and got eliminated on their own.
Just as I was beginning to lose interest, a familiar name appeared over the bonfire.
[Group 5 Eugene Reygal]
Creak.
The door opened, and a classic young nobleman with blond hair and blue eyes entered. Without even looking around, he stared straight at me.
“Are you the boss?”
“......”
A playable character, Eugene Reygal.
He was the eldest son of Count Reygal, leader of the noble faction, and the protagonist’s rival in the original game.
In the beginning, his grades and skills had clearly surpassed the protagonist’s, but after losing a sparring match against him, he fell into the role of second-best.
Among players, he was called a victim of the protagonist’s plot armor.
Anyway, Eugene was a proper noble who had been taught to practice noblesse oblige rather than look down on commoners.
There was even a later scenario where Count Reygal went out of control, and Eugene stood with the protagonist before cutting down his own father.
He always challenged the protagonist fairly, and he was one of the few nobles in the story with any common sense. Those things made Eugene a very popular character among players.
He did have one rather unremarkable flaw, but that wasn’t important right now.
“Let’s begin.”
What mattered was that Eugene was stronger than the protagonist at this point.
“Abyss Core, Aegis.”
And, as expected, he possessed a Special Core.
A massive golden dome spread out around Eugene.
Aegis was a defensive Abyss Core. Its Unique Ability had been born from his belief that, as a noble, he must protect others.
Within the barrier, it reduced damage from enemy attacks, and as it grew, it provided various buffs, including super armor.
The moment Eugene leveled his rapier at me, a blue gem floated above my head.
Eugene was the first opponent against whom Instant Kill hadn’t activated.
‘This will be fun.’
My turn.
I activated Chrono Dive.
Then I immediately closed the distance and drove in Carving Sword.
Clang! Crack!
A tremendous sound rang out as cracks spread across Aegis’s barrier.
“...You’re strong.”
But no weak point was carved into it.
Even with a 100% critical-hit rate, [Weak!] hadn’t appeared. That meant the barrier could negate weak-point damage as well.
‘Good. I can make use of this later.’
Eugene’s turn.
“The aura flowing from your entire body tells me you aren’t a monster.”
“...”
“But hiding your body beneath armor means you have no intention of revealing who you are.”
The tip of Eugene’s rapier contracted to a single point, gathering a jade-colored flash.
“Revealing that is also a noble’s duty. I will uncover your identity here.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the rapier shot forward like lightning.
Eugene’s basic Art.
“Noble Cross.”
A two-strike combo that slashed in the shape of a cross.
A chance to test Just Guard against a playable character had arrived at the perfect time.
‘One... then a pause, then two.’
[Just Guard!]
[Just Guard!]
“...!”
It worked.
Still, the impact felt a little lacking.
Noble Cross only had two strikes, so I could time my defenses. At my current level, though, there was no way I could handle an attack with around twenty consecutive strikes.
‘I still need more practice.’
Even though his attack had been blocked, Eugene didn’t look flustered at all.
“You blocked that?”
He pulled back his rapier, lowering its tip as he drew a semicircle.
Golden energy immediately began to surge beneath Eugene’s feet.
“Then I’ll show you the perfection of swordsmanship possessed by a noble.”
The stance for Eugene’s next Art, Royal Ceremony.
But why was he trying to move whenever he wanted during my turn?
My turn.
If one Carving Sword had cracked the barrier, then using Ashen Light to destroy it would be easy.
I tightened my grip on the sword, precisely targeted the cracked spot, and activated an Art.
Ashen Light.
Boom!
The golden dome shattered into pieces and disappeared.
“...!”
Eugene’s turn.
He immediately retreated and raised his rapier, but Royal Ceremony’s preparatory stance had already been interrupted.
More importantly, once his connection to the core was severed, he could no longer activate an Art.
“To make such a mistake...!”
I blocked his panicked swing with Just Guard and immediately stole his turn.
My turn.
Eugene’s body split in half under the following Carving Sword and Ashen Light combo.
As an illusion, he probably felt no pain, but Eugene didn’t even scream as he fell.
I calmly spoke to him.
“...Do you understand? The Blade of Ruidel, Valhilar.”
Just as I finished speaking and turned away, Eugene’s voice came from behind me.
“Ah... now I understand for certain.”
“......?”
“The Blade of Ruidel, Valhilar.”
When I turned my head slightly, he was glaring straight at me with a strange smile.
“No matter what... I will defeat you.”
No, defeat the protagonist, not me.
Eugene left behind those rather meaningful words before scattering away like an illusion.
Still, nothing would happen, right?
Probably.
[Group 5 Eugene Reygal eliminated]
I hadn’t been especially wary of Eugene from the start.
He was a defense-focused character.
No matter how strong he was, there was no way I would lose.
‘The real thing starts now.’
The screen in the bonfire showed Group 6 preparing.
At last, the party led by Aren Bright, the original protagonist whom I was meeting for the first time since falling into this world, entered the dungeon.
My heart started pounding as I saw a party full of familiar faces.
They said the groups had been chosen at random, yet the protagonist’s plot armor was exactly the same as in the original game, gathering only high-performance playable characters into one party.
In truth, this party was what I feared most in this test, not Cecilia.
Cecilia was absurdly strong on her own, but this party’s balance was perfect.
Ran, an early-game fist fighter who could shred enemies apart.
Elia, who alone could use firearms.
Mine, the best healer.
And standing at their center was the protagonist of <Academy of the End>. An ultra-masculine super alpha male and a walking heroine collector, Aren Bright...
...His face.
“......?”
Hmm.
But why did it look so round?
Had he always looked like that?
Maybe I had been in this world for so long that the original protagonist’s face had faded from my memory.
His hair color was similar, but why did he look a little shorter and smaller than in the illustrations?
Anyway, what I had to do hadn’t changed.
‘I wish you’d come soon.’
I sat down by the bonfire again, preparing to continue fulfilling a boss’s fate.
The floor was still hard.
Footnotes:
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