Chapter 150

Fortunately, no one particularly took issue with the fact that I had resolved the incident on my own initiative.

It was an extremely urgent situation to begin with, and it was also thanks to the official Exorcist qualification I had obtained previously.

‘I’ll probably have more and more opportunities to use it from now on.’

It seems that taking the exam early was definitely a good choice in many ways.

After resolving the incident, we completed a brief investigation and gave our statements before returning to the Academy.

During that process, I could notice a significant change that had occurred in Laura.

【Laura de los Lucia】

▶Level 39

▶Stats

【Stamina : B-】

【Spiritual Power : B-】

【Art Formula : B】

【Mental Strength : B-】

▶Traits (5/10)

【■■(-)】

【Path of the Sovereign(S)】

【Commander(A+)】

【Endurance(B-)】

【Enhanced Concentration(C+)】

Perhaps because she was constantly stimulated and confronted it head-on amidst such a pressing situation, an Unidentified Trait that had now fully opened up had taken root in Laura.

‘She probably already had experience close to the threshold.’

This incident pushed it to one hundred percent.

Anyway, for me, it was no different from great news.

“Well then, I’ll be heading back to my residence now. Everyone really worked hard.”

Just like in Spain, due to her position as a princess, Laura is prone to getting entangled in various conflicts, making dormitory life impossible.

In the end, after parting ways with her, only Shin Sora and I remained.

“…Hmm, it still doesn’t feel real. It’s like I just dreamed it all last night.”

Shin Sora kept tilting her head and let out a doubtful hum.

Then, with a resigned expression, she turned her gaze to me.

“But you, how did you get so strong in just a few months?”

Shin Sora looked genuinely surprised. Well, from her perspective, my improvement in skill must have felt like a complete transformation.

A classmate she never paid attention to suddenly rose to A-Rank, and now could even hold her own against high-level Specters after defeating Sophia, who was previously the top of the grade.

She seemed somewhat shocked by my growth.

“Now that I hear you beat Sophia, I think I can understand how that result came about.”

“……”

“I probably wouldn’t even be a match for you now. It definitely wasn’t like this just before vacation…”

Well, the difference between me before and after vacation was so significant you could almost consider me a different person.

Given the sheer number of incidents I was involved in, in a way, it was only natural.

After staring at me for a long while with a complicated expression, Shin Sora seemed to have made a decision and spoke to me.

“This won’t do. I’m going for training today. I’ll be off now?”

“Yeah. See you next week.”

There’s a saying.

If you put a few lower-ranking students in a school where all the students only study, their level naturally rises as well.

In short, my current existence has already become a kind of stimulant for my fellow A-Rank students.

Shin Sora wasn’t the only one affected by this influence.

‘Jeong Hansol and Gilford probably didn’t participate in the qualification exam in the original worldline either.’

They were probably also influenced by me to some extent.

And ultimately, that would clearly give a push for the current A-Rank members to grow beyond their original counterparts.

I hadn’t considered this point, but it could be seen as a fairly positive trend.

‘It’s not just talk; the current members truly are a golden generation.’

If they build up more strength than their original counterparts, it will surely be a great help for future events.

Holding such satisfying thoughts, I also took a short walk along the path before returning to the Academy dormitory.

‘There’s a lot to do.’

Before I knew it, it was April.

Now, it was time to move a little more busily.

‘Roughly about two months?’

The remaining time until the field observation period promised with Shin Noeul, the Unit Leader of the Jeokhwadan, and the time until I face the S-Rank Specter, the Cat-Head Serpent.

Of course, it wasn’t a short time, but that didn’t mean I could consider myself at ease.

Ever since facing Hoyaukamui, I’ve been feeling that even more.

‘The Kamui I caught this time was probably… around the lower tier of A-Rank.’

It wasn’t the absolute lowest tier, but it was a bit lacking to be considered mid-tier.

And against a creature of that level, I had quite a tough fight.

While other Exorcists, including Shin Sora, said my contribution was significant, that wasn’t actually the case.

‘I definitely couldn’t have caught it alone.’

If I hadn’t had their help immediately, I wouldn’t have even had the time to activate the high-level Cursed Technique that would become the key to victory against such a fast and agile creature.

Assuming there were no skilled supporters or comrades to utilize in battle, my current self is more powerless than one might think.

‘……’

Moreover, facing the much higher-tier Cat-Head Serpent in this state? Frankly, it would be suicidal.

There’s a reason why the Jeokhwadan, a seasoned combat unit, was brought to the brink of annihilation.

‘To be honest, I don’t even know exactly what level that thing is yet.’

Naturally, not all S-Ranks are the same S-Rank.

Even within the same rank, there exists a world of difference between the lowest-tier and highest-tier entities.

To exaggerate a bit, wouldn’t the outcome be decided with just one or two gestures?

From that perspective, blindly helping the Jeokhwadan fight that thing wasn’t a very good method.

‘Should I bring out my own trump card too?’

Frankly, if I summoned Cheong Soha or Cheong Kibeom, Elders of the Cheong Family, it would be a fight worth having even against that Cat-Head Serpent.

However, resolving the situation like that would be meaningless.

I wanted to preserve the Jeokhwadan while simultaneously putting them deeply in my debt.

Even if the Elders of the Cheong Family were to run rampant, that would be their merit, not mine.

‘The more I think about it, the more I need the Jeokhwadan.’

Although they belong to the Exorcism Headquarters, the Jeokhwadan is a fairly independent group.

And coincidentally, I needed people like that.

A force that could help me wholeheartedly without worrying about anyone’s scrutiny when needed.

The Jeokhwadan was a perfect fit for that.

‘In the not-too-distant future…’

A moment will come when I stand in complete opposition to both the Exorcism Headquarters and the Cheong Family.

If there is a force to support my back then, it will surely be a great strength.

‘……’

To do that, first, I have no choice but to raise my specs enough to roughly handle the Cat-Head Serpent during the remaining two months.

Therefore, I decided to tackle a task I had been putting off.

‘I need to fill the remaining Traits.’

And at that, fill all four remaining slots with ones that can snipe that creature.

Although the Cat-Head Serpent wasn’t an entity that directly became the player’s enemy, surprisingly, a fair amount of information about it was stored in my head.

Its origin was also based on the story of an actual existing Specter, and the process of the Jeokhwadan’s annihilation was vividly relayed within the game.

In other words, if I so desired, I could fill all nine Trait slots, excluding the Phantom Body, with ones specifically for sniping that creature.

Through the method of erasing Traits I mentioned before.

‘But that’s realistically unreasonable.’

Erasing Traits itself requires considerable effort, and except for one or two, all my current Traits are composed of high-quality effects.

You can’t burn down your own thatched hut just to catch a Cat-Head Serpent, right?

Therefore, I will use the remaining four Trait slots as efficiently as possible to increase my countermeasures against that creature.

The first of these was the Emergency Evasion(B-) Trait.

‘The Cat-Head Serpent has many powerful single strikes.’

If I were to get hit by such attacks, my current defensive capabilities simply couldn’t withstand them.

Therefore, I had to supplement that part with a Trait.

‘Frankly, it might seem like a slightly strange decision on the surface.’

Not that I’m strange, but anyone would think so.

After all, how much help could a B-Rank Trait be against a high-tier S-Rank Specter?

But, amusingly, it actually does help.

‘The games released around this time were all like that.’

Most players probably think that in playing the game, naturally, the highest grade, S-Rank Traits, would exert the greatest influence.

However, surprisingly, reality is not like that.

Not only in the Exorcism Academy Series, but such cases were common in other games as well.

‘Even the highest S-Rank, many are treated as duds that are hard to use in actual combat.’

Conversely, among lower ranks, there are those that exhibit strangely monstrous efficiency.

The so-called broken Traits.

The B-Rank Emergency Evasion also belonged to that category.

‘Once a day, maximizes the owner’s evasion ability for 1 minute.’

Just looking at the effect, it might seem so-so. However, this maximization of evasion ability, when used in actual combat, demonstrates a truly terrifying efficacy.

It allows you to evade attacks that you definitely couldn’t have avoided normally without a single scratch, and this applies not only to visible attacks but also to Curses, status ailments, and other effects.

It was truly an ability involving systemic allowances that couldn’t exist in reality.

‘Of course, it’s not invincibility.’

In situations like wide-area attacks targeting the user, or situations where evasion is fundamentally impossible, etc.

In several such situations, the Emergency Evasion Trait is also completely powerless.

However, against a Specter like the Cat-Head Serpent that delivers powerful attacks to a single target, nothing could outperform this Trait.

Combined with my original skills, the Cat-Head Serpent probably wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on me for the one minute the Trait is active.

‘For the first one, there’s really nothing else.’

Since its grade isn’t that high, the method to obtain it was also of a challenging but manageable difficulty, so I immediately plunged into intensive training to obtain the Emergency Evasion Trait for a while.

I called Jeong Hansol or Cheong Joohwa to have them attack me while I kept dodging, and sometimes repeated absurd training like dodging balls thrown at me with my eyes closed, just like in novels or movies.

It didn’t matter at all whether the training actually helped me.

As long as the conditions were met systematically, that was enough.

After going through all sorts of hardships, I was finally able to obtain the reward I was aiming for.

【Emergency Evasion(B-)】

▶Once a day, greatly increases the owner’s evasion ability for 1 minute.

‘…Success.’

Although I had confirmed through Yoo Haon that acquiring Traits with the knowledge I possessed was possible, I was somewhat worried since there weren’t many examples yet.

But having confirmed it this far, it was certain.

I can probably acquire other Traits as well by fulfilling their existing conditions.

With a satisfied expression, I checked my information and sank into thought once more.

Continuously considering the possibilities of what to fill the remaining three Trait slots with to exhibit optimal efficiency against the Cat-Head Serpent.