Villain Takes Over The Academy

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[Translator - Peptobismal]

[Proofreader - Max]

Chapter 21

To be honest, the Polymorph spell isn't treated very specially in Military chronical.

Quite a few villains use the Polymorph spell, and it's not uncommon for Military from the Illusion or Transformation schools to use it either.

But the Blood Demon's Polymorph spell is a bit different.

It uses the target's essence as the basis for the spell.

'Because of that, sometimes the hidden power within the essence manifests if the conditions are met.'

The condition could be the Blood Demon leveling up, or it could be some special experience.

Over the past 137 restarts, I must have sucked the blood of at least a thousand essences, and some of them often manifested hidden powers in unexpected situations.

Just like in this situation.

[You have learned the spell "Breath of the Forest"! ]

I focused on the message that popped up before my eyes.

A new spell manifested through contact with the dying divine tree!

Judging from the name, I could roughly guess what kind of spell it was, but to be sure, I quickly checked the spell's description.

[Breath of the Forest: Your love for nature as one of the forest tribe is wondrous. Seeing the withering flowers and trees, you would want to help them even if it means sharing your life force. This spell is a miracle born from your earnest desire.]

The spell's description was as expected.

The effect of revitalizing plants.

But one thing bothered me.

'...I don't want to share my life force.'

I expected it to be an ability to revive dying plants, but I didn't know it would be at the expense of my own life.

"You scoundrel! You lied to me again!"

As my contemplation dragged on, the Imugi rebuked me with its snake eyes wide open.

"I thought it was strange that you smelled similar to Jeon Woo-chi! You were also plotting to steal my Yeouiju by deceiving me!"

The enraged Imugi opened its jaws wide, ready to swallow me whole.

I couldn't hesitate any longer.

[Casting the spell "Breath of the Forest".]

As I cast the spell and breathed with all my might towards the divine tree, a green aura began to envelop it.

[Your ENP increases to 65/180.]

[Your ENP increases to 80/180.]

[Your ENP increases to 95/180.]

[Your ENP increases to 125/180...]

As the messages appeared one after another, my head began to spin.

The feeling of all the energy in my body draining away as I exhaled!

I barely managed to hold onto my consciousness.

[Your ENP increases to 175/180.]

[Your ENP is close to its limit.]

[Forcibly stopping the spell to prevent danger.]

In the end, the spell was forcibly canceled, and my vision blurred. The light of the divine tree in my blurry vision...

......

...was still faint... showing no signs of revival.

'Even after all this, I couldn't restore it?'

I had poured out my life force until my ENP reached its limit, but it seemed it wasn't enough with just my current life force.

In this case, I had no choice but to look forward to the 139th try...

"Ohhh...! This is unbelievable!"

Just then, a dazzling light emerged from the Imugi's mouth, accompanied by a gasp. Something was rising from its belly, up through its throat.

'What's that...?'

What appeared from its mouth, illuminating the dark lakebed, was the Imugi's Yeouiju.

As the Yeouiju appeared, an amazing thing began to happen. The light of the divine tree started to grow stronger.

"The energy! The mountain's energy is reviving!"

The Imugi, overjoyed, writhed in a figure-eight motion, as if about to dance.

As it said, the light of the divine tree gradually intensified, and it was now fully revived in its complete form.

'What an incredible ability...! The tree spirit.'

I couldn't believe it, but it actually revived the dying divine tree...!

Ding!

[Your ENP has reached a critical level!]

[Due to the influence of the "Blood Demon" trait, you are starting to lose your mind!]

[Please restore your ENP quickly!]

But this was no time to rejoice.

The divine tree was revived, but the Yeouiju was absorbing all the energy, leaving none for me.

'Blood... I need blood. Now.'

But there was no way to get blood immediately at the bottom of this deep lake.

"Oh Yeouiju! Take all the energy of the divine tree! I will embrace you and open the path to the heavens!"

The Imugi's writhing intensified, and the water currents grew stronger. It was almost impossible for me to even maintain my balance.

'I'll be swept away at this rate!'

My mind was already hazy because my ENP was almost full...

I was starting to lose my mind.

"Aah...! How long have I waited for this day...! For this day to finally come...!"

The Yeouiju, having absorbed the remaining energy from the divine tree, now began to emit a golden light. Along with it, the Imugi's body also began to change.

Long antlers, like a deer's, sprouted from its forehead.

Its long body cracked and peeled off like a husk...

It was like watching the largest snake in the world shedding its skin.

"Wait! I will grant you a great reward! Your contribution is immense!"

The Imugi, now a white dragon with its head halfway out of its shed skin, shouted.

'A reward, what kind of reward?'

A reward given by a dragon would surely be incredible.

Perhaps a special artifact never seen before.

Or a rare ability that everyone would envy.

'...I don't know.'

But I couldn't think of anything.

There was only one thought in my mind.

'...I want to eat.'

That hot blood, flowing with tremendous life force, from the newly transformed dragon...!

I couldn't think of anything but that tempting life force flowing through its body.

'Perhaps a snake is most vulnerable when it sheds its skin...'

Was it said that a snake attacked during molting would surely die?

Vaguely, such information flashed through my mind. It was clear that I had completely lost my mind because my ENP was overflowing. Otherwise, there was no way I would do such a thing in my right mind.

"W-what are you doing?! You bastard! Stop! Don't you dare...!"

The Imugi's shouting voice faintly echoed in my ears.

But I don't understand what it's saying.

From the moment I sank my fangs into its neck, I just mindlessly sucked its blood.

[Casting the spell "Blood Drain".]

[Your ENP decreases to 160/180.]

[Your ENP decreases to 100/180.]

[Your ENP decreases to 40/180...]

The effect of the blood of the Imugi, in the midst of its transformation into a dragon, was tremendous. Every drop of blood I took drastically decreased my ENP.

As my ENP decreased, I gradually regained my senses.

'...What am I doing?'n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The moment I came to my senses, I met eyes with the Imugi.

"Kuh... You bastard, you bastard dares to...!"

The Imugi, completely helpless and caught in the Blood Drain spell while shedding its skin, was enraged, its eyes rolling back as if about to lose its mind.

But it was too late to turn back...

I didn't stop the Blood Drain spell. Now, I had no choice but to absorb all of this powerful energy.

Ding!

[You feel life overflowing from your body.]

[The essence of the Mystic Dragon flows into your body.]

[A new option, "Mystic Dragon", has been added to the Polymorph spell!]

[The "Blood Demon" trait has leveled up to Lv. 3!]

[All your held essences have been strengthened!]

The essence of the Mystic Dragon and Blood Demon level 3!

'My Blood Demon level has increased again so soon after the last level up!'

As expected, the life force of the two-thousand-year-old Imugi was incredible. If I hadn't targeted it during its molting, I would never have been able to obtain the blood of such a divine beast in my current state.

"I-I am frustrated... After waiting two thousand years, finally, finally the heavens were within reach..."

The Imugi, having all its life force absorbed, hardened like a stone and sank to the bottom of the lake.

The Imugi's Yeouiju no longer emitted its brilliant light...

It meant that the Imugi's life force was completely exhausted.

......

I looked down at Imugi's lifeless body for a while. Everything happened so quickly, leading to a completely unexpected result.

"...Consider the reward received."

There was nothing else to say.

I glared at the dead Imugi for a moment, then rose to the surface of the water.

***

"Ah! Professor Do jin-hak!"

On the way down from the mountain,

Professor Clementine came running with a group of people.

"The fog suddenly disappeared! How did you do it?"

"That's..."

I was about to explain, but then I changed my mind.

If it became known that I killed the Imugi, it might come back to bite me later.

A simple answer might be better than a detailed explanation.

"I eliminated the source of the fog."

"The source? What was it?"

The curious Clementine, her eyes sparkling, wanted to hear the whole story, but I kept changing the subject.

"We should go to the top of the mountain quickly. The students are still collapsed there."

"My students? Are my students really there?"

As I nodded, Clementine's large eyes welled up with tears.

"Waaaaah! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Ding!

[You have completed the sub quest "Clementine's Request".]

[Quest Completion Grade: A Rank.]

[Do jin-hak's reputation increases by - 25.]

[Clementine's attraction towards you greatly increases as a reward.]

[Your relationship with Clementine changes from "Acquaintance" to "Friendly".]

[Due to the deepened relationship, the other party feels a special bond with you.]

[You have learned the trait "Genius 1" through relationship development with Clementine!]

My eyes widened as I read the message.

'Genius. To think I'd get it here.'

Genius was one of the most useful traits in Military Chronicle. It allowed you to discover secrets that others couldn't and grasp the hidden intentions and information of others.

'That's why it was an essential trait that I always acquired in previous playthroughs.'

I was worried about how to obtain it in the professor disguise route, which wasn't the villain route... but it unexpectedly fell into my hands.

Come to think of it, there were few characters as fitting for the Genius trait as Clementine.

It was a setting in Military Chronicle that the effects of all traits amplified as their level increased.

'Clementine probably has Genius level 6 or 7.'

Even in this school teeming with geniuses, only a handful of characters had that level of Genius. With her level of Genius, new ideas would probably be constantly springing up.

"Um... Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that...?"

Was I staring too much?

Clementine touched her face awkwardly.

I pretended not to know anything.

"No, it's nothing. We should hurry. The students are alive, but we don't know when their condition might worsen."

"Ah! That's right! Then I'll go to the children quickly. Thank you again!"

Clementine hurriedly said goodbye and ran up the mountain with the others.

After confirming they were heading up the mountain, I turned back down towards the foot of the mountain.

***

My steps going down the mountain were much lighter than when I had climbed it.

"Things are going more smoothly than I expected."

I was quite worried about this enemy base infiltration route, as it was my first attempt, but fortunately, it was going well so far. There were unexpected obstacles, but with the experience of 137 restarts, I could manage them.

"With this, the vice-principal will probably keep her mouth shut for a while."

I found the phantom thief and drove him out.

I raised the status of the Emission School, and

I even rescued the missing students.

It was a significant achievement for someone who had been at the school for less than a week. If things continued like this, my plan to embed myself in Master Class like a long-term egg and block the 7 Heroes Project from the source might not be impossible.

Again, if things continued like this...

"...The problem is that it's unlikely."

I learned a lot through 137 restarts, but if I had to pick the biggest lesson, it would be this:

Balance adjustment.

In this damned world, there exists a phenomenon befitting its nature.

If the story seems to be unfolding too favorably for the villains, it forcibly adjusts the balance, giving the Military a tremendous advantage.

A benefactor thought to be dead suddenly appears.

Or you regain a forgotten memory and obtain a rare item.

Or you acquire an ancient spell lost long ago...

Such unbelievable miracles only happen to the Military.

The villains have no choice but to die at the hands of the Military, who are aided by the whole world, and the biggest victim of this is undoubtedly me.

"No matter how much they struggle, in the end, the Military is destined to win."

I hate this world, which forces me into situations where I will inevitably die no matter what I do.

After suffering such unfair experiences over a hundred times, I've developed a sense for it.

A sense of when the balance adjustment will occur.

"So far, it's been going too smoothly..."

In my experience, balance adjustment happens at times like this. Just when you think everything is going well...

Whoosh!

Perhaps it's a premonition of an ominous future?

Suddenly, the trees rustle in the wind, and an eerie chill seeps through the bushes.

A sudden chill.

It was a rare occurrence. It's not often that a Blood Demon, a cold-blooded creature, feels cold.

"...No way, it can't be."

Although rare, it's not something I haven't experienced in past playthroughs. There are a few cases where a Blood Demon feels cold.

And the worst of them is...

Ding!

[You have sensed an ominous aura enveloping your soul.]

[The ominous aura clings tenaciously to your soul and curses you.]

[Your Will stat is not high enough to resist the curse.]

[Your Intelligence stat is high enough to identify the nature of the curse.]

[Nature of the Curse: The Imugi's Han.]

[The curse of the Imugi with Han clings to you!]

...When you're cursed.

[Translator - Peptobismal]

[Proofreader - Max]