Chapter 770: Long Time No Decay

The Clock Rabbit Grand General—no, Gyu Eater—was top-class even among A-ranks.

Its close-combat ability alone was comparable to a Blood Cult elder’s, and it could use all the things that had given us such a hard time: [Time Freeze], [Time Drift], and [Time Plunder].

Though they’re degraded versions.

If the original Grand General’s [Time Freeze] lasted ten seconds, Gyu Eater’s freeze lasted about two or three.

Not only that, but its range was narrow, and its cooldown was far longer.

Naturally, that also limited how often [Drift] could be used.

Still incredible, though.

It stopped time and attacked the opponent unilaterally, after all.

In a battle where victory and defeat could be decided in an instant, two or three seconds was by no means short.

And [Time Plunder] is almost the same as the original.

Stealing a random one to ten seconds per attack had become one to nine seconds.

Stealing one minute on hit had been reduced to fifty seconds.

Considering that Gyu-shadow skills and traits generally fell to half the original’s performance or even lower, this was barely a reduction at all.

Its versatility is actually higher too.

In the rabbit Grand General’s case, the stolen time had been used to reduce [Freeze]’s cooldown.

But Gyu Eater could instead reduce its master Dang Gyu-ri’s cooldowns.

That would be better in most situations.

The most important part is that it makes people angry when they get hit by it.

Since I would not be doing it myself, it would be comparatively less enjoyable, but either way, the point was that it induced rage.

Put together, it’s as good as obtaining an A+-rank skill and trait.

And since that even included unique skills and traits, it was another moment that made me feel just how broken the Gyu-shadow sovereign was.

So Dang Gyu-ri was happy because they got a spec upgrade, I was happy because I got a rage-inducing trait, Seo Ye-in was happy because she got to take Earth Eater away, and while everyone was feeling good—

RUMBLE……

Something vaguely like an explosion sounded from far away.

Apparently, humans and rabbits were still beating the crap out of each other.

The escape portal had not opened yet either.

That was because the main objective was not defeating the Grand General, but winning the war.

Seo Cheongyong seemed to have picked up on that too, because he asked me,

“How much longer do you think until the clear?”

“Almost done, I’d say.”

“What will you do? Wait, or continue?”

“If the teachers are fine with it, I’d like to continue.”

The tide had long since turned in the humans’ favor.

Even if we just stood around wasting time, the portal would open on its own after a while.

Still, there’s no reason not to speed up the clear.

Dark ublek was still lurking somewhere in the dungeon.

It might have eaten something by now, or it might not have.

What was certain was that the faster the clear happened, the fewer opportunities it would have.

And while we’re at it, just one more Random Box.

I had no idea when I would get to enter another A-rank dungeon, so while the teachers were helping, I needed to satisfy as much of my selfish desire as possible.

Even putting aside my pitch-black motives, Lee Sudok and Seo Cheongyong seemed to agree with me regarding the ublek.

“Then let us move immediately.”

After that, we fought several more battles, beat down rabbit robots, and destroyed secret bases.

While we were at it, we also collected and synthesized Random Boxes.

In the end, combining what Dang Gyu-ri, Seo Ye-in, and I received, we had:

[Rabbit Watchmaker’s Random Box(A+)]*4

[Rabbit War Random Box(A)]*1

There should be more than enough for a clock upgrade.

And we could expect some minor rewards from the other boxes too.

RUMBLE……

Soon after, with the familiar sound of collapse, the portal leading outside opened its mouth.

Dungeon clear.

At last, the humans had won the war.

Then again, the rabbits probably no longer had any strength left to fight.

They had already been pushed back as far as they could go, and then contact with their Grand General had cut off too.

But the ublek never showed up in the end.

Had the damage it took when it encountered Lee Sudok and Seo Cheongyong been that severe?

It was apparently so busy recovering that it had not even tried to eat anything.

If it doesn’t come out now, it’ll get blown away with the dungeon.

Thinking it might still come to the exit at the last moment, we waited for a short while, but the ublek still did not show even the tip of its nose.

RUMBLE……

And then the sound of collapse came again.

If we kept staying here, there was a risk we would be caught in it too.

So we walked toward the portal one after another, and my vision went black for an instant before opening wide.

KWAAAAANG!

BOBOBOBOOM!

What unfolded before my eyes right after that was the deep layers turned into a battlefield.

Faculty members were fighting desperate battles all over the place.

Against enemies made of pitch-black filth.

Ublek.

Their numbers were great enough to nearly fill Floor A, and their appearances varied wildly.

GLOOP, GLUGLUG!

Some had barely changed from their original form, some were shaped like monsters, and some were shaped like humans.

CLANK-CLANK-CLANK-CLANK!

Among them, I remembered seeing countless pitch-black armored knights last year as well.

They were probably the ones from the <Transference Labyrinth>.

By this point, I had a rough idea of what was happening.

The first time Seo Ye-in saw something was during the entrance ceremony.

That meant the Witch of Decay had been given more than two whole months from then until now.

During that time, she must have been steadily growing her army.

By deploying ublek into every deep-layer dungeon, taking them over one by one, and feeding on the monsters inside.

Then her tail got caught this time.

Expedition groups had been deployed to the dungeons the Wall of Wisdom had pointed out.

During the raids, they must have encountered ublek, just like Lee Sudok and Seo Cheongyong had.

The Witch of Decay seemed to have realized that fact as well when her undead were attacked or annihilated.

Since she got found out, she decided to bring them all out at once.

Every last ublek army she had hidden in the various dungeons.

That was why this mess had erupted in the deep layers.

As I had guessed, I spotted a woman in a black robe on one side of the battlefield.

I had already met her once, and we had even sat across from each other for tea, so there was no way I would fail to recognize her.

The Witch of Decay.

She floated around the deep layers, commanding the ublek and pouring all kinds of dark magic onto the faculty.

Then, as if she sensed something strange, she turned her head this way, so I slowly waved and greeted her.

“Long time no see! Has it been about a year?”

“You bastard……!”

The Witch of Decay’s face twisted all at once.

When we first met, she had at least maintained a gentle attitude on the surface, but now she was calling me “you bastard” right away.

A lot must have happened while I had not seen her.

Maybe another Witch or the Corpse Dragon had chewed her out.

Since I could understand that perfectly well, I lifted my staff and answered.

“That’s right, it’s me! Dragonslayer Academy’s man in charge of surprises!”

“……!”

At the word “surprises,” the Witch’s expression warped even further.

She must have remembered the painful memory from the subjugation battle.

She had worked so hard to pull tricks in the <Transference Labyrinth> and scatter the faculty and seniors all over the place.

Then one shot of my [CAW—!] had made them gather.

On top of that, because of the second surprise, she had been defeated without dealing any meaningful damage.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I should use it.

I waved my staff and cast the “second surprise.”

[Using ‘Octopus Arms.’]

[Using ‘Grant.’]

[Granting ‘★All-Poison Immunity★’ to the target.]

[Granting ‘★All-Poison Immunity★’ to the target…….]

[Granting to the target…….]

……

Sounds of faculty members gasping in shock rang out from all over.

“What in the world—”

“……★All-Poison Immunity★!”

“Could it be, from back then?”

I could have scattered [Retrocovery] and aimed for a wide-area healing effect, but we were in the middle of battle right now.

Dragging the flow of battle to our side was the better judgment.

Dark ublek varied in form, but fundamentally, they used poison as their main weapon.

If that did not work, naturally, their danger would plummet.

Sure enough, the atmosphere of the battlefield changed abruptly, and the faculty members, their courage overflowing, began pushing the ublek back.

The Witch of Decay seemed to realize that fact too, because she glared at me with eyes that looked ready to kill.

“Just a little more……! If I’d only had a little more time! Because of you!”

“Then you should’ve done a better job. You got caught because you went around making it obvious.”

Lately, the electric hedgehog’s senses had been that sharp, yet she had gone around making splash-splash sounds.

“…….”

The Witch of Decay trembled with rage.

However, perhaps deciding that everything had already gone wrong, she chose to flee for now.

PAAAT!

She pulled a magic scroll from her inventory and tore it straight down, and as an enormous energy was released, space began to ripple violently.

It was obviously teleportation magic.

I shook my head.

“Spellcasters really do all think the same way. They sneakily go pew! Pew-pew! And when things go wrong, they run with teleportation.”

They needed some fighting spirit.

Ignoring Seo Ye-in, who was staring at {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} me from beside me, I decided to instill the fighting spirit the Witch lacked.

I extended the [Crow Tree] and spoke the activation word.

“CAW?”

“No.”

The teleportation portal that had been about to open closed right back up.

The Witch went blank, as if her brain had frozen after seeing that.

The next moment, she seemed to realize something, and her eyes opened so wide they looked ready to tear.

“Don’t tell me Sister Starvation too!”

“I instilled fighting spirit in her as well.”

She retired after an honorable battle.

And soon, the Witch of Decay would do the same.

Lee Sudok, Seo Cheongyong, and Dang Gyu-ri were closing the distance with every passing moment.

SLAAASH!

KWAAAAANG!

“Kyaaaa—aaak!”

The Witch screamed loudly enough to shake the deep layers.

The damage seemed significant, and tar-black liquid poured from the deep slash.

As if that were not enough, Lee Sudok, Seo Cheongyong, and Dang Gyu-ri stuck close to follow up, and the Witch gathered pitch-black energy and struck at them.

BOOOOM!

And the moment she created distance, the three closed in again.

It was an utterly unfavorable fight.

To make matters worse, the deep layers suddenly grew bright, as if the number of lights had doubled.

The cause was the countless golden swords summoned in the air.

At that, the faculty members looked up and brightened.

“Principal!”

“I apologize for being late.”

PAPAPAPAPAT!

Immediately after, the swords poured down like rain and began piercing the ublek bodies.

Most of them had been raised in A-rank dungeons, so they seemed to hold out fairly well, but as golden swords kept stabbing into them, they spread apart one by one and vanished.

The Witch of Decay was half on the verge of madness as she watched.

“Damn it……! Damn it……!”

If she fought, she would lose two hundred percent, and escaping was impossible.

Then, all of a sudden, her gaze turned downward, and she hurriedly flew that way.

Floor S.

As if he realized what she was thinking, the principal flew after her and shouted,

“We must stop her!”

“Protect me—!!”

GLUGLUGLUGLUG!!

At Decay’s cry, the forms of every ublek in the area collapsed, turning into liquid and gathering in one place like a wave.

The amount was tremendous, as if a dam had burst.

Even the faculty members, and even the principal, could not easily force their way through it.

I can’t just sit here and watch.

[Using ‘Octopus Arms.’]

[Using ‘Amplification.’]

[Carving ‘Concussion Mark(B→S)’ onto the target.]

“……!”

The Witch of Decay clutched her head and staggered.

Because she had been flying at considerable speed, the concussion effect activated immediately.

But even while wobbling like a fly hit with insecticide, she kept flying.

As expected, the mark alone isn’t enough.

I had no choice now.

I would have to take out my trump card too.

It was a waste, but it was better than regretting it later.

Soon, a notification message appeared in one corner of my vision.

[Using ‘Manifestation(C→A).’]

[Manifestation(C→A)]

▷Manifests one target from the inner world.

▷Charge: 1.23

▷Duration: 5 seconds→10 seconds

▷Cooldown: 100 days

▷Cannot resummon the same target.

[Consuming 1 charge.]

Immediately afterward, every hero in my inner world flashed through my mind.

As if telling me to choose one of them.

Of course, I had decided who I would call long ago.

PAAAT!

The next moment, something like a Fast-Luckless hologram was projected beside me, and a man appeared.

He was dressed in stylish leather armor, armed with a longbow as tall as he was, and looked extremely ill-tempered.

An S+-rank archer.

Cha Jongmyeong.