I Will Be the Only One Who Heals at the Prison Academy

453 – Nike

453 – Nike

Nike’s days became happy one day.

Animal friends like Kkongkkung and Elizabeth that you can meet in the club room.

Because every day was fun as the nymphs went about their daily lives.

I also ate well.

I can now freely choose and eat foods I have never tried before, such as pasta, pizza, chicken, shaved ice, slush, etc., Every day.

It was truly a day of full stomach and full happiness.

In the past, I could have become lazy like a careless person because I am enjoying luck that I could not even dream of.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Nike has rivals and friends whom he wants to overcome.

Those friends were so great that they were more than enough to become Nike’s ‘goals’.

So, without a moment to just be happy about Nike’s recent happiness, I had to do my best to improve myself every day.

Fulfilling each and every day.

Days of constantly studying procedural tricks.

Even Nike, who lived such a life, would sometimes close his eyes and darkness would fill his mind.

A wind like 3 o’clock in the morning on a cold winter’s day surrounds Nike’s body

It was a kind of fear.

Fear.

Nike sometimes felt fear amidst happiness.

Ironically, the reason Nike felt fear was because her recent life she had been so happy.

Because it was my first time living a happy and fulfilling life like I did recently.

Nike didn’t know how to maintain this happiness and he didn’t know how to react.

Because Nike was not good at living happily and prosperously, he felt like ‘someone’ would take this happiness and good fortune.

Otherwise, just as it is natural that the cold winter will eventually come after spring, summer, and fall, there was an ‘obsession’ that winter might come again in Nike’s life

When that winter comes, Nike will have to spend yet another cold, shivering day alone behind the dark stage, unable to be with everyone.

The cold winter that tormented Nike every time she imagined such things had the face of a mean man. The enemy of his parents whom Nike clearly saw hiding in his bed when he was very young.

Count de Winter.

No matter how great a person he had become or how happy his days were, he could not rest assured that Count de Winter was still alive and breathing somewhere on this earth.

Just as that man trampled and crushed Nike’s very happy childhood

It felt like he would suddenly appear and destroy my happy days.

And.

Nike’s instinctive fear was correct to some extent.

━Grrrr!!! Wow, Wild Rose—!?

In front of Nike stood a procrastinating monster.

A human face and limbs were hanging grotesquely from tentacles that looked like a mixture of an octopus and a squid.

The human body shape is strange, like a child’s blocks assembled without reading the instructions.

The only thing that appears normal is the “Stone mask” Attached to the monster’s body.

It was a very ominous mask.

And Nike was able to see at a glance that the person behind the mask was Count de Winter, the winter he was so afraid.

“My parents’ enemies… ! And—”

‘─Winter of my life!’

Nike was so happy that he thought the cold winter had come to visit him again. Just as he expected, the winter monster appeared to take away the peace and happiness of these days.

Sssss-.

A cool, rather cold wind passed over Nike’s neck and spine.

━Wildrose Ugh… You cowardly Duke… , Without leaving anything behind… Oh, step on it… ? Lord, I would have had to kill him… !

It was a wind that smelled of misfortune.

It was a wind that smelled of winter.

Barrrr-.

Nike’s body began to tremble with cold, fear, and excitement.

“Hey, Luke! Hasn’t it suddenly gotten extremely cold? The floor around you is freezing!”

“That monster seems to be radiating chills!?”

It seems that men also felt the cold.

Jejeojeok, Jejeojeok-.

Kuuung-.

Before I knew it, a wall made of ice had risen high around me, blocking my view.

Luke shouted as he looked at the situation.

“We may be isolated!” It would be impossible to receive support from others like this! It doesn’t look like an ordinary ice wall at first glance! “It might not go away until we defeat that monster!”

Hilde, who came to her senses from her fear of an unknown creature at Luke’s shout, made a quick decision as she saw the skin growing on the sleeves that were rolled up to her forearms.

“Skadi! Use your fortification skills!”

“I think so too! But my 《Blessing of Glory》 is limited to four of us, including myself. Is that okay!?”

Skadi was looking at Nike, who was shaking from a little distance away.

Even if you use a skill to block the cold, it has no effect on the intruder, pink-haired Nike.

But there was no way.

“Walls of Jericho, protect the believers, “Wall of Glory”!”

Skadi used the consecration skill.

* * *

Skadi’s consecration skill was activated.

The effect was a technique that applied wide-area ‘protection’ to party members for about 3 turns.

Protection was a simple effect that reduced damage by more than half with a powerful buff.

The problem is that Skadi’s skills are not given to Nike.

The 5th character Nike entered out of nowhere.

In this game, which originally required parties of four, the fifth intruder, Nike, was worried and embarrassed in many ways, but was a trustworthy figure.

Helper… Can we consider them the same?

Special event?

No.

It is not the time to worry about such things.

What I have to do hasn’t changed.

As the game master said, “Continue the battle,” My top priority right now is to continue the battle and kill that terrible monster.

『Lv.? Remnants of a twisted winter

HP : ?

? ? ?』

Everything is unknown except that the ‘chill’ debuff is given to party members.

━It’s cold, it’s cold… Mother… Ugh, it’s cold… Oh, please let me in… Oh my, I was wrong!!!

Every time the monster-turned-count attacked, the party members’ stamina was being drastically reduced even though they were receiving the ‘protection’ buff.

It was a desperate moment in many ways.

『It’s a complete pain in the ass! Is there one or two hero characters who were frustrated and ruined after suffering the chaos of people who don’t even know what they are?』

『Look at that horrible sight… ! It’s not even beautiful… !』

The God of Blacksmiths and the Goddess of Beauty severely criticized the God of Chaos.

However, the God of Chaos moved his faltering body and laughed in multiple voices.

『But it’s fun, right? Children who have been raised and nurtured with great care fall in vain from an unknown enemy at a moment of desperation. I think it’s royal storytelling in its own way.』

Procrastination-.

Soon a strange tentacle headed towards me.

『And look. The eighth player has not given up yet. Your eyes are alive. It’s a face that even shows anticipation.』

『That’s crazy! The only ones who find enjoyment in such unreasonable hardships are you and game masters who are crazy about playing like you!』

The blacksmith god lost his temper.

I took advantage of that opportunity to touch the corners of my mouth.

Actually, it was a bit stinging.

It wasn’t a lie to say that I was feeling excited.

It was indeed a divine insight.

The current situation where you use your friends as game pieces.

Unknown enemy.

Even at the moment when everything could have fallen into a quagmire, I was feeling a little bit of anticipation and something that could be called joy.

All gamers.

A situation that not all players would have hoped for.

When I thought about what I was going through, it was natural for my heart to tremble with tension and anticipation.

Of course, this may have seemed like a game, but it was a cold ‘reality’.

I know better than anyone else that the game characters shown on the monitor-like screen are living, breathing, crying, laughing, human beings.

So what is the best choice at this moment?

I quickly looked at my friends.

After encountering a newly appeared monster, there was one more space below the friends excluding HP, AP, and MP.

It’s something I’ve never seen before.

“What is this purple gauge?”

I asked.

I didn’t know if I would answer honestly if I asked, but there was no rule saying ‘don’t ask questions’. Soon the goddess of order and rules spoke.

『It is ‘mental power.’ Every time we experience something that we cannot handle as humans, that shame is diminished. Everyone’s mental strength has been reduced by about 20 because we just encountered and fought a chaos monster.』

Is this because my mental strength is 80/100?

So what I’m curious about is this.

“What happens when this number drops?”

『Below 70, negative quirks will be added to each character. Things like 《Doubtful Demon》, 《Nervous Breakdown》, and 《Blind Fanaticism》.』

These are eccentricities I’ve never heard of.

However, since the God of Order himself said it was a ‘negative quirk’, the effect would be terrible.

In other words, do we need to manage not only HP but also mental strength?

The level of difficulty is very high.

“What if this mental strength value becomes 0?”

『It varies depending on the characteristics and tendencies of the characters, but the general rule is that they are not human. It might turn into that disgusting monster you see over there.』

It was indeed a familiar story to me.

The reason why I, Viktor, had to become a procrastinating monster as the mid-boss of the episode probably had a lot to do with this level of mental strength.

『Rather than that, weren’t any of the party’s attacks from earlier useless?』

『None of these attacks work, and my HP keeps depleting! What should I do? If we continue like this, everything will fall!』

“No! I’m starting to like that two-edged brat!』

The outfield gods were noisy.

This may be because the battle lasted several times, but the damage I inflicted converged to 0.

It was literally.

The monster’s tentacle attack was steadily eating away at the HP and mental strength of my party members, but my attack only did 0 damage.

“Is it completely resistant to physical attacks?”

『That’s correct. Although not completely.』

The god of chaos shook his head and made of tentacles.

『Monsters created through stone masks are resistant to physical attacks.』

It was an awkward situation.

Luke, Diarmid, Hilde, and Skadi were mostly physical attack characters.

The only person who can use magic is Luke.

Can Luke’s firepower alone defeat that monster?

What I have to look forward to is, of course, Nike’s performance.

Nike.

I called in my heart Nike, who had been with me until now.

My partner.

My companion in suffering.

* * *

Nike, who was shivering from the cold, suddenly came to her senses.

It felt like a nostalgic voice was floating in my ears.

“Chu, it’s cold… !”

The area around Nike was suddenly frozen with ice.

I looked around and saw my friends fighting a monster.

“Damn it! Luke! No matter how much you cut, the tentacles just regenerate! “Our attack is useless!”

“I know! First of all, I am somehow able to protect myself thanks to Skadi’s ‘protection’, but—! At least my fireball is the only one that has any effect!?”

It looked like he was struggling very hard.

It’s probably because it’s a monster that doesn’t get cut when cut, and only regenerates when hit.

‘What would Victor have done? Imagine what Victor would have thought. Maybe… You probably figured out your resistance to physical attacks… ! They must have discovered that physical attacks are useless!’

A magical attack is needed.

Diarmid, Skadi, and Hilde are all very capable friends, but their attacks are limited to physical things like swords and fists.

‘If only I could cast 《Blessing of the Baobab Tree》… You can imbue your weapon with the energy of nature! This means that ‘natural attributes’ can be instilled in everyone’s attacks through additional buff techniques… !’

Nike judged the situation quickly.

If you make a baobab tree bloom and cast a blessing on everyone, you can defeat such a monster.

‘But the ground is so frozen that it’s difficult to grow seeds… ‘ !’

Nike’s natural attribute spell was weak to the current ‘cold wave’ field.

Because that was the law of this world.

When winter comes, plants cannot sprout.

That was nature’s rule.

Nike was a druid.

She said It was a being that obeyed and preserved the laws of nature.

In spring, the snow melts, in summer, the sun heats up, and in autumn, the fallen leaves and winter snow are accepted as if for granted and follow the law of nature.

But now it felt like a chain that bound me.

Nike seemed to have something flashing in her mind.

“If it’s warm… ” , There is!”

Nike activates 《Wild Skin》.

Soon Nike opened his sharp fangs wide and bit down on his palm

Gurgling – blood gushing out.

With a palm full of it, I hold on tightly to the seed of life that is about to sprout.

“Blood is the source of life… ! May the blessings of the baobab tree be with you like the sunlight of a spring day… !”

A stem extends through Nike’s hand.

It eventually broke through the cold ice, took root on the ground, and grew into a fairly large tree.

“《Blessing of the World Tree》!”

The trees that grew in the world melted the ice and turned the nearby land into a ‘fresh green’ state.

Thanks to that, everyone who was shivering in the cold was able to warm up a little.

“Ugh, what is this! Vines grew on my sword! Tentacles and then vines!?”

Diarmid shouted.

It must have been strange that the vines were wrapped around her own sword.

The same thing happened with Luke’s sword, where vines grew.

As for Skadi and Hilde, the vines were wrapped around her hands like gloves.

“I don’t know what it is, but it looks like a sturdy glove!”

“I feel like I can kill anyone!”

* * *

《Blessing of the World Tree》.

The skill Nike cast based on her own vitality was a skill that added’natural attribute’damage to the target’s attack.

Considering that buffs that increase damage are generally regarded as advanced technologies, it could indeed be said to be an excellent technology.

Thanks to that, my party members’ attacks began to be eaten by the tentacle monster.

It means that there is a chance of victory.

However, the God of Chaos twitched his tentacles as if frowning.

“Nonsense. 《Blessing of the World Tree》. There’s no way a mere mortal could handle the world tree Yggdrasil, right? I think it’s a clear violation of the rules.』

In response to that question, the God of Order looked around at the book he was holding in one hand.

And then he said.

『Wildrose’s Nike. He was supposed to have died during the Wars of the Roses event 10 years ago. So it didn’t exist on the character sheet we had. It’s irregular.』

─Irregular.

Unintended bug.

Those words caused a great stir in the surrounding area.

Soon the god of adventure opened his bird’s beak and made a sound.

『A person who should have died is moving. I think the god of death may have committed injustice without our knowledge. This is a clear violation of the rules. I think we need to pass judgment on the Mavericks like we always do.』

Hwareuk-.

A fireball appeared in the hand of the bird beak god.

I don’t know what to do with that, but it was clear that the ‘judgment’ would not be kind to Nike. It must be stopped.

Clap, knock─.

I reflexively put my hand on the scabbard.

When I tried to pull it out, someone blocked my hand.

I raised my head at the pressure as heavy as a rock and saw the warrior god pressing the pommel of my sword hilt with his fingertips.

He spoke softly in a voice that only I could hear.

『To God, you pull out your sword without a single hesitation. He’s a really great guy. It’s different from Gilgamesh.』

“…”

『Arthur, if you pull it out, it won’t end. To begin with, we have bodies that cannot even be cut by humans. Because everything in the Pantheon, including the gods, is made up of ‘immortality’.』

“That’s something you have to see to know.”

I pull out my sword and cut it.

It was time to think about only that.

『I will skip the irregular matter. Let’s create a new character sheet. Adding one character to an episode is not a task for me.』

The game master said.

The Goddess of Order was greatly surprised by the story.

『Are you saying you will tolerate those who break the rules? This is an act of disrespect and insult to me, the God of order. Worse yet, you, the master of the game, break the rules. It’s my first time doing something like this, so I’m even embarrassed.』

『Keep talking. You have only been given the role of ‘order’. I am the master of this game. Anyway, I think it would be good to remind you of the reason. The same goes for all of you.』

The goddess of order closed her mouth.

The other gods also closed their mouths and looked sad.

Even though they were the same god, the gap between the game master and the others seemed to be very large.

『Then, I will skip the irregular matter. Let’s create a new character sheet. Wait.』

The game master said.

I couldn’t figure out why he overlooked Nike’s work.

Maybe it’s just because it seems fun.

But I felt like I had to say this.

“It is Nike.”

『…』

『… ?』

I felt everyone’s eyes were on me.

I spoke clearly again.

“It’s not irregular.”

It is not a game character added as DLC.

A person who is definitely not a bug, much less an NPC.

It was clearly a living person.