I Killed the Academy Player

Why do flamingos stand on one leg? They’d fall over if they lifted both.

King of Iron Mountain (3)

Why do flamingos stand on one leg? They’d fall over if they lifted both.

King of Iron Mountain.

hero slayer.

Mazu of the Dingle Peninsula.

This wild boar, which is probably one of the most famous special monsters, appeared in the polar region of the northern continent, the Dingle Peninsula, 88 years ago.

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A mountain range boasting vast mines, called Iron Mountain, in this frozen land where numerous natural resources were reclaimed from the harsh cold land.

Miners pioneering the polar regions in search of iron, gold and silver witnessed an unbelievable sight.

– Knock! Knock!

A huge wild boar that greedily ate iron ore.

The king of the Iron Mountain who literally devours everything. It was the first sighting.

* * * *

“What do you think is the difference between a special level demon and a lower level monster, Marie student?”

“…is it strong?”

At Professor Dana’s question, Marie tilted her head, but was lost in thought.

‘Express’. This is because this rank, which is ranked only by very few beings, is not free from itself.

“Strength is like a normal passive of a special class. One of the most powerful traits they have is the power of ‘domination’.”

“The power of dominion?”

“It is said that special-class demons exude a different energy from ordinary demons. In theory, it is called ‘alpha trait’.”

“Alpha trait?

“Even among the 2nd and 1st class monsters, there are often alpha individuals of the group, right? An individual who is stronger than ordinary people and can give orders.”

It was as it was said. Among monsters that form groups of their own kind, a group leader, represented by an alpha individual, often appears.

These individuals are stronger than their brethren of the same rank, and sometimes even break through the rank walls judged by their brethren.

“Still, even these alpha entities can’t give orders to themselves and other demons. They don’t have control over them. But…”

“······The express can give orders to all low-ranking demons.”

“That’s right. Do you have experience?”

When Marie fled to the hunting ground, she dominated the monsters in the forest.

It was the same when I fed Pangboer. Because the Pangboers did not dare to break their word.

“Eh? But Professor. I… If you think about it, I think it’s a bit far from being dominated.”

Marie remembered the days of the Hunting Grounds. It’s true that he couldn’t resist the monsters in the forest and made them pay blood, but that wasn’t a conscious order he gave.

It’s just that the monsters caught in fear couldn’t resist their actions.

It’s the same with Pangboeo. Marie gives instructions to make food easier, but it’s a bit different from whether that’s ruling. The Pangboers are just afraid of being overwhelmed by Marie.

“That’s right. But that’s largely due to the race of the Marie students.”

“A tribe?”

“The demons are divided into three categories, right? Monsters, demons, and demons. These three categories are simple, but the alpha characteristics have different effects. For example?”

Professor Dana naturally encouraged Marie to guess the answer. Marie, who was quick-witted, gave an answer right away.

“Does the dominance of the alpha trait change depending on the race?”

“That’s it.”

In other words, it is difficult for a special rank monster to give orders to a lower rank demon, and a special rank demon to give an order to a lower rank monster. The reason for this difference seems to be due to the ‘linguistic system’ of each species.

“Umm… Then, will I be able to easily give orders to other demons?”

“There is a need for research in that area, but in general they say no.”

“is not it?”

“Yes, aren’t demons usually awakened as demons by people who used to be human? It’s because their intellect is basically higher than that of humans, so it seems that the power of demons and ghosts doesn’t work.”

“······I see.”

In short, it seems that even if he meets another demon, he is not allowed to give orders.

‘Are you worth it? Mine are strong, so you should be good at farming…!!’

“A student of Marie?”

“Ah, don’t you think about Amu?!”

“Who, who said what?”

What was it?

Marie recalled the terrifying thought she had in mind and vomited. I am not a child with such violent thoughts!

“Gyo, Professor!”

“Why?”

“I-I’m experimenting with making elixirs in the lab these days!”

“Yes, I’m listening. I heard that the Faculty of Magic students lined up to buy Marie’s elixir?”

“Uh… I’m a bit… ok.”

“Why? It’s worth calling for the high-ranking vampire’s elixir, right?”

To be honest, even if I sold my blood, I wouldn’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life, Professor Dana joked.

“······I’m ashamed.”

“ah······.”

Dana realized that Marie was still a teenage girl. Certainly, feeding someone one’s own blood must be highly repulsive. I don’t know if it’s someone special.

“But why is that?”

“Actually… I want to make the elixir more palatable.”

Didn’t you just say there was a sense of rejection? But you make it delicious again? Professor Dana tilted her head in doubt.

“Why? If I just give you raw blood, he’ll come back with gold coins?”

“Actually, it’s like this, like that, like that—”

“Ho-oh-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, this is a new idea…whether the effect is different depending on the recipe, but this…”

“Is it possible?”

“Theoretically… it doesn’t seem like a problem. It’s a problem that requires materials and a high degree of experimentation. Clinical trials are also needed… Especially in the end, a technician-level talent…”

“Can I ask for your help?”

“Hmm… It’s a little hard to say this, but I’m also very expensive and busy. What if Marie, a little bit of your blood?”

“Can I share this?”

– Whisper whisper!

– Nod!

Professor Dana and sophomore Marie shook hands firmly as a symbol of the conclusion of the negotiations.

“Kuhmm…! Anyway, the story is leaked. The King of Iron Mountain’s experiment this time is to see how far the alpha characteristics of special monsters can be exerted.”

“So you bought a lot of monsters?”

“That’s right. If you can freely handle this alpha characteristic… In theory, humanity can ‘control’ the majority of monsters and demons.”

It was a bigger experiment than I thought. And as a magician, it was also really hard.

If it succeeds, humanity will be able to block the danger of the demons in advance.

“For this experiment, I’ve even retrieved the King Tyrant, a first-class monster, and sub-type dragons such as the Dragon. I’m planning to confidently submit my thesis to the Magic Tower Academic Journal next year!”

1st class monster. Quite a few first-class knights and wizards are stable, high-ranking monsters that can be caught as a party.

Semi-special monsters also existed, but since there is no group that can capture them alive, it is not something that can be obtained with an experimental budget.

‘Honestly, aren’t hundreds of Pangboa more expensive than those two?’

Of course, the purchase was cheap. It’s breeding season now, so it’s easy to catch them alive.

But the problem is the maintenance cost. A 1st-rank monster is a high-ranking monster that can replenish nutrients with magical energy in the air even without eating.

Pangboers, on the other hand, had to eat their own weight in food every day.

If the experiment continues for a few more days, the budget will quickly run out just for the cost of breeding and maintaining the Pangboeo.

While Marie is lightly calculating how long it will take for the budget to run out, a new helper has arrived in Professor Dana’s laboratory.

This is Permak Daman, a professor with 10 years of service, with afro hair and black sunglasses.

“Whatsup! Professor Dana, I’m here~”

“Oh, you’re right on time.”

“Would you have come sooner?”

“No, no, it was a very good timing. I’ve already finished organizing the runes to engrave on the ‘King of Iron Mountain’.”

“A rune?”

Marie tilted her head at Professor Dana’s words. I heard that you are researching alpha characteristics, but what is a rune?

“Ah, I haven’t explained this part yet. That the ‘King of Iron Mountain’ is now sealed.”

“I know that…”

“The seal was done with runes. 80 years ago, Viren-nim, who was the chairman of the Jeonjeon University, and Head Professor Josephine… and Tates Balthazar, who was praised as the strongest knight of the time, sealed it.”

“Is rune magic necessary to break the seal?”

“Yes, that also requires a very high level rune master.”

“That’s right. Professor Permak is… a very famous rune magician.”

It is a famous story that is also known in the magazine ‘Guardians’ published by the Guardian Association.

A stylish high-ranking knight who combines martial arts with rune magic. Before entering the academy, he is a hero who subdued the semi-special monster Basilisk with a party.

“But… isn’t it dangerous to break the seal? The opponent is a special class monster…”

“Haha, here in the laboratory, there is a seven-fold pressure formation that uses severe corps-level entrapment magic and gravity magic.

Professor Dana’s confident tone made Marie rather feel uneasy.

‘Yeah… In novels, there are always problems like this.’

What can I do though? As an experimental assistant, I have no choice but to believe and move on. Above all, there was something that Corinne hinted at.

“I have plans for everything.”

Hey. do you know that snakes are bald?

Now that he’s out of town, he doesn’t know how to carry out his plan, but Marie believes in the boy without question.

* * * *

A quiet day continues.

Early summer when the clear spring breeze blows and pleasant warmth gently falls on the ground.

Inside the hot fryer, the potato croquettes being pulled out of the boiling oil were straining through a strainer and draining the oil.

“Here, take it.”

Take a bite of a potato croquette purchased from a street vendor on the academy grounds.

The rich taste of the potatoes and oil spread in the mouth, but there is something missing.

‘I ate often with Corrine.’

After training in the fitness room, it is a place where you can eat snacks to replenish calories. Is it because there is no boy who always ate together?

As we train in the gym, eat snacks, and talk about each other’s skills, time passes quickly and we naturally end up eating together.

only one month For a month after ending her relationship with her sister, Corinne was becoming a huge presence in Arisha.

‘Should I go back and read a romance novel?’

It’s a new hobby that I recently discovered. While doing group assignments, I stopped by the library and found a romance novel corner that I discovered by chance, and this became another good pastime.

In particular, if you put someone into the male lead and read it, it’s quite…

– Tuk-tuk!

It was then. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Who… Who?!”

A red-hot werewolf… no, a blood dog in the form of a canine man was tapping my shoulder.

“More, Deokguni?”

– Nod.

One of Marie’s abilities as a vampire. ‘Blood Hands’. Born from her blood, he is a so-called child and an existence that can be called a retinue.

The name is very friendly, but Arisha can’t help but be scared when she knows that this gwonsu has monstrous powers.

– Knock-knock!

“Huh? Follow me? Is Marie-senpai calling me?”

– nod

I wanted to ask why, but Deokgu didn’t know how to speak human words, so Arisha decided to follow him in silence.

I was used to it because there were a few occasions when Deokgu would come to find Corinne and pick him up.

‘But how does Deok-gu find the place where Mr. Corin is like a ghost?’

Is it because it looks like a canine? For that reason, the appearance is more like something magical than a creature.

It is doubtful that there may be organism-like organs or olfactory organs inside.

-Kong!

“Ah, okay! I’ll follow you!”

Arisha hurriedly follows Deokgu as if to hurry. She was able to reach the lab building west of the academy in no time.

“What did you call me for?”

Arisha doesn’t have much contact with her second year senior, Marie.

As I hang out with Corinne, I end up saying hello to her as I often see her.

‘What’s your relationship with Corinne? They seemed very friendly.’

Arisha didn’t know what Corinne had done to save Marie.

Since I only knew the contents distorted by Chairman Eriu Cassar and Professor Josephine, I couldn’t help but know the point of contact between Marie and Corinne.

But what she can be sure of is that the relationship between Marie and Corinne is far from a normal senior-junior relationship.

Arisha feels a strange sense of distance from Marie in terms of Corinne’s human relationship, which she does not know.

She didn’t even know what that feeling was.

“Kong!”

The first basement floor of the laboratory building. It is the realm of magic faculty professors, which is not allowed to ordinary students, but Arisha, led by Deokgu, easily passed the checkpoint.

The security guard also feels that he is a free pass right away when he sees Deokgu.

Contrary to what I thought would be dull, the scenery of the basement of the experimental building was closer to another world.

“Wow…”

The basement is an expansive joint.

Wizards are conducting experiments in a solid space that seems to have been carved out of a rock wall centered on an open space from the 1st basement floor to the 3rd floor.

It seems that he is conducting research in various fields such as alchemy, mamulology, spiritual body experiments, magical creature cultivation, anatomy, and magic engineering.

There were several undergraduate students who seemed to have participated in field trips or as assistants.

Indeed, the reason why it is called one of the dream jobs of wizards was that the scale was staggering.

“Kong!”

“Ah, okay! Can you stop barking? It’s scary…”

Arisha arrived at one of the labs on the 1st basement floor and was puzzled by the foul smell.

“The smell of food? Ah~”

I heard that there are monsters that monsters can eat, so it’s up to wizards to research them.

Ordinary people get poison when they eat it, but knights and wizards with resistance had a by-product that was rather a miracle drug.

“Hey… Marie-senpai?”

In the center of the laboratory, where something muddy was boiling inside the beaker and gave off a savory smell, Marie was staring at the beaker with serious eyes.

“Ummm… here——uu… If you add more? No, isn’t it too much? The main ingredient will be eaten.”

Arisha approached the aqua-haired girl who was absorbed in the experiment and cautiously spoke to her.

“Senior Marie?”

“Huh…!”

Marie makes a cute noise and jumps up. She calmed her startled heart when she saw Arisha approaching before she knew it.

“You’re Aden’s junior…! I was surprised!”

“I’m sorry… I thought you were busy with an experiment. Was it an important experiment?”

“Bye, it’s nothing special! It’s just that we’re going to have a good time together during a break!”

Arisha was relieved when Marie said it was nothing. I’ve often heard rumors that wizards terribly hate having their experiments disturbed.

“But why did you call me? Deokgu has been here for a long time.”

“Yeah, Corinne asked me to explain it around this time!”

“Are you Corinne?”

I heard that Corinne, who had been out for a grade re-measurement a few days ago, had something to say… Arisha listened.

“Right, would you like to eat this before then?”

Marie pointed at the liquid in the beaker. In a beaker filled with medicinal herbs, a cloudy liquid was bubbling.

“Uh… is it an elixir?”

“That’s wrong? If you think about it…”

“If it’s good for the body, that’s good for me.”

“I’m sure it’s good for the body! I only put in ingredients that are good for the body!”

“Wow~ It’s been a while since I ate something like this. When I was with my family, I ate it quite often, but after coming to the academy, I was so busy earning my living expenses that I didn’t even pay attention.”

“Yes? Ha, would you like to try it? It must be delicious, too?”

taste? Since when did you start taking elixirs because of their taste? For elixirs that are difficult to achieve overlapping effects once consumed, taste is not a consideration.

However, the savory smoke boiling from the elixir in the beaker emphasized that Marie’s words were not lies.

“T-T-It’s hot, so eat slowly. I need to make sure it’s safe…”

“Yes, what did you just say?”

“It’s nothing! It’s nice to have a strong junior!”

It was a little strange to say behind the scenes, but Arisha carefully started drinking the boiled elixir. Could I have given you something dangerous?

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“Eh?!”

“Why, why?”

“It’s delicious! Some kind of taste of hometown? I can even feel that!”

“Me, really?!”

Marie was delighted and started taking notes.

Taste, check.

Stability, check.

Toxicity, check.

Additional clinical trials are needed just in case.

* * * *

“There it is.”

Following the guidance of the association staff, we arrived at a large villa built in the mountains.

According to the contents of the mission, the owner of this villa became pessimistic about his life due to business failure and committed suicide along with his family.

If it were a modern Earth, it would have gotten word of mouth as a test of courage, but this is a fantasy world.

Demon spirits are born here due to the spirits of the dead. In other words, the tragic end of a family suicide means that the probability of generating demonic spirits is quite high.

“It’s probably just a simple Earthquake Spirit, but it’s a bit out of place. Since this place has been the base of monsters and the center of spirit veins for a long time, it seems to have absorbed a large amount of demonic energy.”

“Did you ever think of building a villa in a place like this?”

“Isn’t the business ruined because of that feeling?”

A so-called ‘haunted house’ where the level of danger has risen at once due to the mixture of tragedy and happening.

Although he cannot move because he has the attribute of the Earthly Spirit, he is a type that exerts great power on his home ground.

In other words, the demon that must be subdued this time is that ‘ghost house’ itself.

“How about it? Do you want to investigate again this time? By the way, that house won’t disappear just by setting it on fire.”

Old Man Harmon waited for an answer with expectation from me. It was as if he was asking what kind of elaborate strategy he would play with the demons this time.

Coincidentally, the act of investigating demons doesn’t mean much to me.

Among the three disciplines inscribed in me, I cannot recognize demon spirits due to the restraint [I do not recognize spirits]. therefore······.

“I’ll cut 30 seconds.”