studiobondurri Chapter 62
Chapter 62
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 62
Shin A-sol, Yang Se-ah, and I continued exploring the abandoned school in silence.
As we passed through the blood-stained main entrance, we found ourselves once again in the hallway with the iron door—the same place where I had first met Shin A-sol.
“The door is still open. Looks like we won’t need another spell to unlock it.”
Relieved that she wouldn’t have to waste energy unnecessarily, Shin A-sol stepped forward through the iron door. Just like before, the corridor beyond was pristine and full of life, as if untouched by the decay surrounding it.
“This must be another illusion spell, right?”
I turned to Yang Se-ah, who was walking beside me with hesitant steps. She glanced around at the hallway and classrooms before answering.
“Y-yes... That’s right. You mentioned that this place pulls people into an illusion world, didn’t you? It looks like they’ve used a technique that naturally leads from one illusion into a larger one.”
“Can you locate the switch?”
“That... I’m not sure. But if it’s an illusion of this level, I might be able to break it...”
Her voice trailed off, uncertain, as she pulled a talisman from her pocket.
It was inscribed with the Supreme Ultimate and Eight Trigrams, written with finely ground spirit ink infused with mystical formulas.
Holding the talisman between her hands in a triangular shape, she began chanting.
“Mahā-prajñā pāramitā hum...”
As she recited the spell, a light emerged from the center of her forehead, and the talisman in her hands burst into flames.
Then, an astonishing sight unfolded before us.
“The school... it’s collapsing!”
Like an earthquake had struck, the classrooms and hallways trembled violently, cracks splintering through them like shattered glass. Moments later, the illusion world crumbled, revealing the true, decrepit ruins of the abandoned school.
“Incredible...! To dispel such an intricate illusion so completely!”
Shin A-sol couldn’t hide her amazement.
I, however, shot her a cold look, as if to snap her back to reality. Watching that spell just now had only strengthened my suspicions.
‘As I thought... she’s the one. The one who cast the illusion over this school.’
The talisman Yang Se-ah used...
The Supreme Ultimate and Eight Trigrams talisman were the same kinds I had seen two days ago—when someone had broken into my office and planted a hidden camera.
There was no way another student at this academy would be using the exact same kind of talisman for illusion spells.
‘Which means the one who left that talisman in my office... was Yang Se-ah.’
If she had been helping Nam Kang-ik with something like that, then her timid demeanor was nothing but an act.
It wasn’t relevant yet, but in the future, Yang Se-ah would become a master of forbidden arts—capable of resurrecting the long-lost Blood Ritual.
She was the most likely suspect behind summoning the Mak, a being that drained the life force of students.
‘Her sudden rise in ranking... It wasn’t due to hard work. She must have sacrificed students to the Mak in exchange for the answers to her exams.’
Even her decision to tag along on this quest had likely been calculated. On the surface, she acted as if she was helping us, but in reality, she was probably scheming to offer us as sacrifices to the Divine Beast.
“...Do you think the students who were taken by the Divine Beast are still alive?” Yang Se-ah suddenly asked, perhaps to fill the awkward silence between us as we walked side by side.
I smirked and replied, “That’s unexpected. I didn’t think you would be worried about something like that.”
“Huh? What do you mean...?”
“The missing students—all of them were trying to cheat their way to higher scores. Are you really concerned about them? Don’t you think they got what they deserved?”
“T-that’s...”
Yang Se-ah hesitated, unable to answer.
Her expression betrayed her—she knew I had seen through her.
“I once met someone from the Yang family... Well, saying ‘once’ isn’t exactly right, considering the circumstances. Anyway, that woman was obsessed with the Yang Doctrine. She was willing to stake her life on supporting it.”
I spoke while recalling my memories from a previous cycle.
The 105th cycle—the first time I had encountered Nightmare Creator Yang Se-ah.
After she had asked me to reveal the location of the Ghost Army, I had grown curious about what had made her so devoted to the Yang Doctrine.
And after some investigation, I had discovered the grim truth about the Yang family.
“It was quite a tragic story, really. Every child born into the Yang family has their potential measured at birth, don’t they? The one with the highest potential becomes the Heavenly Emperor.”
The unique and twisted tradition of the Yang family.
Those who were not chosen as the Heavenly Emperor were forced to dedicate their entire lives to serving the one who was. It was a tradition passed down for over a thousand years—one that shackled countless members of the family in unbreakable chains of fate.
“I even heard that families who give birth to high-potential children are rewarded with wealth and loyal retainers... all for the sake of the future Heavenly Emperor.”
In response, massive, burning meteors emerged from beneath the darkened clouds.
"But figuring it out doesn’t mean you can escape. Not unless you find the switch... or your mastery of illusions surpasses mine."
BOOM-!
At her command, the countless meteors began crashing down to the ground.
Fortunately, thanks to my increased affinity with illusions, I was finally able to move again. Without wasting a second, I dodged the falling debris.
‘I know this isn’t real... but that doesn’t mean I have to just stand here and take it.’
Even if it's just an illusion spell, taking damage in a high-level constructed reality like this inevitably leads to accumulated mental strain. That must be her goal—breaking my mind piece by piece.
‘Too bad for her, that won’t happen.’
There was one mistake in what Yang Se-ah said earlier. Even if I don’t know the switch’s location, even if my Illusionist Affinity isn’t high enough, there is still a way to escape from this illusion.
To be precise, a method has just now become available.
[Casting Do Jin-hak’s Spell: "Perception of Reality."]
[ENP increased to 130/180.]
[Your brain has begun perceiving the world in multiple dimensions.]
The moment I cast the spell, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the item.
Yang Se-ah’s talisman—the one I found in her office.
Talisman spells aren’t just generic items sold in stores. High-level talisman users craft their own, embedding their unique spell formulas and mechanisms into them.
Now that I knew this talisman belonged to Yang Se-ah, all I had to do was decipher it...
Ding-!
[Using "Perception of Reality" to analyze the spell structure of the talisman.]
[Skill "Speed Reading 1" activated.]
[Rapidly comprehending the spell formulas within Yang Se-ah’s talisman.]
[Significant increase in Illusionist Affinity.]
“It’s useless! No one escapes from here! No one...!”
BOOM-!
At her command, the meteors rained down even harder, slamming into the ground with deafening explosions. Buildings crumbled, and flames surged high into the sky.
The space for me to move was rapidly shrinking...
But despite the chaos, deciphering her talisman had paid off.
I had now fully grasped Yang Se-ah’s spell structure.
And my Illusionist Affinity had increased.
With these two advantages, I had everything I needed to strike back—
In a way that miserable girl would never see coming.
[Casting Spell: "Formula Deconstruction."]
[ENP increased to 150/180.]
[Attempting to deconstruct the spell "World of Dreams"...]
I immediately cast a Rank-2 Deconstructionist Department spell.
My current Deconstructionist Affinity was still lower than Yang Se-ah’s Illusionist Affinity.
‘Trying to break the spell head-on won’t work, obviously...’
Fortunately, this godforsaken game’s system doesn’t encourage fair play.
If your stats are lacking, it urges you to spend money.
If you’re broke, it forces you to squeeze every last drop of strategy out of your brain.
Which means, in tactical warfare, there are always ways to make up for deficiencies.
Ding-!
[You possess Illusionist Affinity.]
[Bonus success rate applied.]
[You have analyzed the opponent’s spell structure.]
[Bonus success rate applied.]
[Successfully deconstructed the spell "World of Dreams"!]
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]