Chapter 97

EP.97 Joint Practical Evaluation (6)

Fourth gate passed.

I fastened Janya's staff to my back. Everyone had already dismissed their familiars.

We walked towards the arched door, passing by the unconscious Professor Philip.

"Sure enough, it went as Sir Isaac thought! Is this what you call a difference in skill?"

"It was just good luck."

It's been a while since I've seen Kaya's eyes sparkle and make a fuss like this.

I responded with a cliché line. After all, we had only defeated Professor Philip, who was handicapped.

If we had to fight him at full strength, most of my strategies would have been for nothing.

Still.

'Yess~.'

We passed, that's all that matters~.

Besides, we probably won't have to fight Professor Philip again.

"Modesty! It's so cool, Sir Isaac!"

"Is it?"

While the endless admiration is a bit overwhelming, Kaya is so cute that the corners of my mouth twitched. I pretended to scratch my cheek to hide it.

"Surprisingly boring. I wish I could fight someone like Professor Philip or Aria or Headmaster Elena."

Risetta muttered about something unnecessary.

Even if Professor Philip is worth a fight, Aria, the master of Hegel's Tower, and Elena, the headmaster of Merhen Academy, are absolutely unbeatable for us. We'd be taken down before we could even land a hit.

Still, I didn't want to shatter Risetta's innocence, so I let it slide.

After passing the fourth gate, a deep and dark cave continued. The sparse luminescent lamps scattered weak light, creating a creepy atmosphere.

At a certain point, scratches on the wall where a luminescent lamp was installed caught my eye.

Here.

I stopped and subtly extended my arm to halt Kaya.

"Risetta, you can go now."

From now on, we have to deal with the frog demon.

Risetta had only agreed to help us up to the fourth gate, so it was time to send her off.

"I was going to leave anyway. Take care."

Risetta said this and gradually moved away. So cool.

[Risetta Lionheart]

Psychology: [Wants not to be a hindrance to you.]

Unlike her delicate psychology, I'm fine with it.

I tapped the ground with my foot. This should do it.

I extended my right arm downward and released rock mana. A pale blue magic circle appeared above my head.

"I'm going underground. Get ready to land."

"Yes, Sir Isaac."

"And from now on, ignore whatever you see."

"…What?"

As mentioned earlier, the frog demon isn't much, but the process of capturing it is bizarre.

After all, <Merhen's Magic Knight> is a game with a cruel fairy tale concept, as evident from the UI and cutscenes. The enemies were all bizarre.

Even when capturing a minor demon to prevent an extra bad ending, the bizarre scenes were a passive element.

I had warned Kaya multiple times. But she had pleaded to come with me, wanting to join my journey.

'A picture is worth a thousand words.'

「Rock Collapse (Rock Attribute, ★4)」

Kwaang───!

A thick rock pillar made of mana extended from the ceiling and shattered the ground.

Crash, the ground collapsed.

I felt a floating sensation with Kaya.

「Wind Generation (Wind Attribute, ★1)」

Whoosh──!

A dense, pale green wind enveloped our bodies. It was the wind Kaya had created.

Like riding an invisible elevator, we slowly sank underground.

"Wha…?"

An endless, vast underground space, fittingly described as desolate.

A bleak landscape that was hard to believe was a cave, as if we had entered another world.

Swish─.

The ground beneath our feet made a squelching sound. Of course, it was made of countless frog demon heads.

Pools of purple blood filled the gaps between the heads.

Grotesque, but I, a seasoned player, felt nothing. I knew this place from <Merhen's Magic Knight>.

…Still, it's a bit creepy.

"Are you…okay…?"

Just as I was about to reassure Kaya, I stopped.

As she slowly lowered her hand from her mouth, I saw a sticky, transparent liquid flowing from the corners of her mouth.

It was saliva.

She looked like someone who had discovered delicious food after suffering from extreme hunger. Enchanted, she silently watched the monsters being decapitated.

A chill ran down my spine.

'Why is she like this?'

Why is she suddenly acting like this?

"Kaya?"

"Ah, yes, Sir Isaac. Suck."

She seemed to snap out of it and wiped the saliva from her mouth with her sleeve.

"I apologize for my indecent behavior. Suddenly, my saliva…."

This isn't a normal reaction.

Could her current behavior be related to the evil food hidden deep in her heart?

"…Let's go."

First, we need to capture the frog demon. I'll think about Kaya later.

"Yes, yes…!"

We started moving together. With each step, the ground made a squelching sound, composed of frog demon heads.

The sound of necks being severed and the single cries of the frog-like creatures echoed continuously in my ears.

Ignoring it, we moved forward.

This is the frog demon's unique magic. The frog demons that appear in different places every day have set up their territory here today, enjoying the execution of their minions during the joint practical evaluation.

It's similar to the space creation magic used by Phantom Rifa and Envy Maloch, which can't be detected by mana, but the amount of mana in this area is very small.

It's a hassle to deal with these minor demons to prevent an extra bad ending. The floating islands, demonic pillars, and abyssal beasts we'll face later don't have such tricks.

Anyway, the moment the frog demon, 'Wish of Mileo,' sensed our intrusion.

In this vast field of heads, the minions that were being decapitated non-stop regained their freedom. They were all extremely weak. It's a numbers game.

By the way, the minions are fake life forms created by mana, so they don't give experience points. I just need to capture the frog demon, 'Wish of Mileo.'

"Sir Isaac, is that…him?"

"Yeah."

During our walk, a well-dressed amphibian caught my eye, strolling between the guillotines.

Height: 2m. His frog-like head was stretched out on both sides. His hands and feet were identical to a frog's, yet he walked on two legs like a human.

His skin color was a deep green, almost black. He wore a small crown on his head and a red cloak.

His attire didn't match the vast plain of blood and heads.

He stopped and stared at me with his round, lidless eyes.

[Wish of Mileo]

Lv: 100

Race: Demon

Attribute: Darkness, Water

Danger Level: High

Psychology: [Wants to cut off your neck.]

'Sure enough, found you quickly.'

The frog demon, Wish of Mileo.

[Gururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururururur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