I Killed the Player of the Academy-Chapter 249 ༺ The Three Wells (2)༻

→ The Three Wells (2)←

Like I said before, there were three wells under the World Tree.

They were Urdarbrunnr, Hvergelmr, and Mimisbrunnr.

“This looks fabulous.”

The one in front of us was glowing in radiant gold.

Mimisbrunnr.

This was the easiest of the three routes, and was considered an easy mode even in the game.

“What should we do, dongsaeng?”

“The standard move would be to destroy the well.”

The three wells were the main source of energy that allowed the World Tree to grow. With these removed, it would be possible to stop the expansion of the World Tree.

“How do we remove this? Do we just bombard it with magic?”

“We could do that, but funnily enough, there’s another way to approach it.”

“What is it?”

“We can drink it.”

“Huh?”

“Drinking this makes you smarter.”

“…Really?”

I was serious.

Each of the wells provided energy to the World Tree, and in other words, that meant this entire pond of water was an elixir of some sort.

Although I don’t recall its effect being anything unfathomably overpowered, it did increase your mana and other stats by a little.

This was also a place where the player party could drink these elixirs to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle.

I haven’t actually drank this myself though, so I was just speaking from my experience in the game.

“Normally, it would be impossible to dry up the well by drinking but… how many of us did we have here again?”

“Probably about 10,000.”

“Drinking about a liter each would probably empty this up.”

“Ahah~”

I placed torches around the well, and stood before the soldiers setting up their tents.

“Everyone, attention!”

Although it was still dark with little light to go around, the golden light from the well acted like a spotlight and gathered their eyes.

“According to our investigation, we have discovered that this water is ‘drinkable’. This water will replace the planned supplies of water.”

“Is it really okay to drink?” asked one of the soldiers after raising his hand.

His voice represented the doubts of many others.

“Uhh… It’s not that I am doubting your words, Sir Korin, but… we have no idea what lies inside a pond in the middle of a place like this…”

It was a fair question.

Light had suddenly vanished from the world. All sorts of monsters were creeping up from nowhere, and we were advancing beneath a massive tree that could reach the universe.

Obviously, it was fair to doubt whether a pond of golden water under that tree would be drinkable or not.

“I understand your concerns. Let me lead an example by drinking it firsthand.”

“Sir, there is no need for you to…”

To let them leave aside their worries, I asked for a cup and scooped up until it was full to the brim. The ambient golden water splashed around while giving off light by itself. Honestly, any normal person from Earth would wonder whether this was radioactive or not but…

– Gulp gulp!

I immediately poured the water down my throat. The well of Mimisbrunnr was surprisingly…

‘What the heck. Why is this so delicious?’

It tasted like sweet honey. Even though I had tasted all sorts of delicacies in this world, this was the best drink I had come across by far.

Besides, I was still a sub-player, and the results were reflected tangibly through a message.

[You have consumed the Water of Mimisbrunnr.]

– Your Aura and Mana Regeneration has increased by 250%

It seemed that it didn’t increase your wisdom like what the legends told, but I could still feel my head turning clearer, and it felt like I could process my thoughts much faster.

Well, it might just be a placebo effect, but there was no doubt that drinking it served no harm.

‘With this regeneration… I might be able to sustain the Sun for a while.’

As expected of moments before the final battle, even a buff from the well was extraordinary.

“S, Sir Korin? How do you feel?”

The soldiers asked after carefully taking a step closer. They seemed very curious about the effects of the water.

“Ehem… This is very delicious.”

“Sorry? Delicious?”

“Yes. Absolutely delicious. It feels like my mind is getting clearer and aiya~. Maybe it’s just as the mages said!”

“What did the mages say?”

I spread rumors, which were mainly true, to the soldiers that were becoming increasingly more curious about the water.

“Apparently this is really good for your body. Especially for men.”

“For men?”

The soldiers immediately understood what I meant by that.

– Gulp!

– As long as I drink that…

After that, it was quite straight-forward.

– Ohh! This tastes incredible!

– Is this honey? How can water taste like this?

– I can feel my mind turning clearer!

– This really must be good for your body then!

If this really was the Well of Wisdom like the original legends, this entire group of 10,000 people might become masters and doctors in the future.

After filling my bottle with the golden water, I was returning to the encampment when I came across a familiar face.

“Are you not going to drink it, Hua?”

“I’m not interested.”

Even Alicia was in the middle of drinking it, after murmuring to herself how this would improve her grades, but Hua didn’t seem to have any interest in it.

This was good for the body and delicious though, so I wanted her to give it a try.

“I’ll give you some, so try it. It tastes great.”

“…Maybe just a little.”

I poured the water from my bottle into a small cup, and Hua received it from me with her tiny hands. She started drinking with a skeptical look on her face, but her face flushed up while drinking it.

“It’s tasty.”

“Right?”

It appeared that she hadn’t been expecting some golden water to taste this good.

“Wait…”

Her eyes started being tainted in blue. She was changing to Ran.

“Hello, oppa,” she greeted.

“Hey. What did Hua say?”

“She said it was delicious and wanted me to try as well.”

“How nice.”

“I know, right?”

Even though Hua was quiet and reserved, she occasionally showed her cute and affectionate side.

“Oppa. I can’t see you properly. Can you come a bit closer?”

“Sure.”

I walked closer and sat next to Ran. When we were so close that we could feel each other’s temperature, Ran rested her head on my shoulder.

“This darkness is making it really uncomfortable,” she complained.

“Yeah. I didn’t know he could pull off something like this.”

Until now, I only had a superficial understanding of gods.

Whether it be a god or a Danann, I simply thought of them as slightly mysterious and powerful existences. Somewhere around… a slightly more powerful superhuman, who was strong but not impossible to defeat.

However, seeing the extraordinary feat of making light disappear from the world, I was rather appalled by it.

I realized that the gods of this world were capable of doing some crazy things, although they weren’t omnipotent by any means.

“But there’s probably not that many gods who can do something like this. I heard Master tell me once in the past, that there were gods above gods called ‘God Kings’.”

The power of a god came from their natural concept and the faith of their followers.

In other words, the more people there were praising that concept, the powerful the god would become.

“That must be what light is. It’s essential for everyone, and is therefore naturally praised by the people.”

“Light… That’s true, but oppa. If that’s really the case…”

Sun.

That was the divinity I was carrying. Although I had no plans of becoming a god, there was also a concept within me that was praised and revered by every creation under the Sun.

“Valtazar… Do I really have to become a god to defeat him?”

It was a weird turn of events.

There was not even a single mention of anything like this in the game, and even in the last iteration, the concept of gods had never been so apparent.

What was so different about now and the last iteration?

“Whatever it is, that doesn’t change anything.”

I had to defeat Tates Valtazar, the Light of this generation. It was simple.

“Oppa, where are you going?” Seeing me stand up, Ran asked.

“If I follow the root up again… and go down by another root, I should be able to arrive at another well.”

“We can come with you.”

“No.”

I sat her back down, because I was the best suited for this task.

“Save your energy. It won’t take long.”

****

– Kuaaahk!

– Help!

– Stop it! Stop them!

Screams and shrieks were echoing the battlefield, and it infected the rest of the army with uneasiness and fear.

This was a scene taken straight out of hell.

The great evils of a mythology were intertwined with the shrieks of humans.

“Y, Your Highness! Another group has appeared behind us! Undeads!”

Hearing the urgent news conveyed by a knight captain, Miruam looked around with a frown.

“Send the troops with magic resistance armors to the rear. What happened to the supporting bombardments from the mages?”

“They ceased around 5 minutes ago… We believe they have run out of mana.”

There was no more support coming from the distant mages. Miruam was clearer than anyone else on what that entailed.

The expedition army was packed with mages.

Not only was there the rearguard that had been separated due to the roots of the World Tree, but there were also several mages in every battalion at the very least.

The fact that there wasn’t any more support despite the ample supply of mages, revealed just how much mana they had used, and that in turn reflected the horrendous number of undeads in this area.

■▬▬■■▬▬■▬!!!

■■▬▬■■▬■▬!!!

■▬■■▬■■■▬▬!!!

Even from the center of the battalion where she was, Miruam could see the horde of undeads filling the sight as far as the eye could see.

The enemy was neither an army, nor a group of living creatures that feared death. Each and every one of those undeads were pouncing forward at the living regardless of their individual fate.

Just how many undeads were here? No-one could be sure because they couldn’t possibly count all of them.

The ‘dragon’ that Korin Lork had talked about hadn’t even appeared, and yet things were already looking hopeless.

“Fuu… I wasn’t expecting it to be to this degree.”

Miruam had been thinking that she had a rough grasp on how strong Tates Valtazar was, but this far exceeded anything she had imagined.

He not only stole light from the entire world, but was also having a place full of undeads as his base.

This didn’t feel like anything a human could possibly contend against. Miruam felt like a helpless human who had been tossed into the middle of a mythology.

– Kuaahk!

– M, make the golems come up! Stop them!

– Damn it! My weapon’s not working! We don’t even have mana or aura! What are we supposed to do!?

“At this rate…”

This battalion was going to be wiped.

Despite the number of soldiers in their army… it didn’t matter. Numbers had no meaning in this pandemonium.

The only ones that were relevant were the select few knights and mages who could make use of aura and mana, and the few troops that had magic resistance armors.

‘If so…’

She did have a last resort.

However, that would result in a sacrifice too big.

At the very least, Korin Lork would never accept such a turn of events.

‘I’m not Korin Lork,’ she told herself.

She was neither as powerful nor as kind as Korin Lork. The Princess Miruam, who used to make irrational and proactive movements, and was constantly urged by vengeance was no more.

What was left was a royal princess who only went by logic and rationality.

“Your Highness. If you make the decision… we can start any time.”

“…”

Miruam bit her lips as one of the commanders encouraged her to make the decision. He too, appeared to be thinking that there was no way out of this situation.

Sacrificing the few for the many – no matter how she thought about it, that was the correct decision to make and was the most reasonable and logical choice, but…

“…”

Miruam could sense the desires for survival from the eyes of the executive officers near her.

They too were only human. They were no hero, and were mere humans who could only come to the same decision whether they tried to think rationally or emotionally.

“Wait…”

However, that was why Miruam had to represent the other side. She knew that everything would immediately cross the line of no return the moment she agreed to their hope.

“Let’s wait a little bit more. It’s… too early to give up.”

Saying that, Miruam poured her mana into her staff, which increased in size until it became an enormous serpent.

Midgardsormr. She was able to control it to some extent by herself after hatching the Serpent of Apocalypse.

Of course, it was itching to devour its owner any time, so Miruam had to tread carefully.

“Go.”

The gigantic serpent charged forward. It should be able to suit its title as the Infinity Serpent that could devour anything, and last until her mana ran out.

– Kyaaaaah…!

However, it was obvious that her mana would run out first before the serpent could wipe out the endless horde of undeads.

She didn’t have Marie to supply her with mana either so… Miruam bit her lips thinking about the bleak future.

“Korin Lork, you stupid husband… Hurry up and help me.”

Perhaps her wish had made it through. Suddenly, blinding light started to expand all the way from the middle of the darkness.

‘Light? No, this is…’

Light had been extinguished by Valtazar, but the darkness that replaced it was being chased away by radiant sunlight.

“T, the Sun…”

“That could only be one person…!”

■▬▬■■▬▬■▬!!!

■■▬▬■■▬■▬!!!

■▬■■▬■■■▬▬!!!

The innumerable mobs of undeads shrieked and burned under the sun. The cleansing aspect of the Sun didn’t allow these wicked creatures to defile the lands any longer and scorched them down.

Numbers were meaningless.

A few moments ago, they had thought the same thing and their thoughts did not change.

But this time, it was to their favor.

– Clomp clomp!

One single man was slowly walking forward with the dazzling Sun chasing away the darkness from behind.

The living, who were moments away from being swept away by the flood of undeads, all turned to their savior who had come to their rescue.

How?

How could that man nonchalantly walk through the endless crowd of undeads?

“Apologies for being late.”

With the arrival of the Sun, the undeads had to retreat.

In the eyes of the soldiers, he was the God of Sun.

****

The Sun was above them.

They were so grateful for what they had taken for granted their whole life, and the soldiers couldn’t care less about their skin that was slowly being scorched from direct sunlight.

“It looks like there’s been a lot of casualties.”

“Are you okay? I heard the roots of the World Tree absorbed divine energy,” Miruam asked.

In response to her question, Korin shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“The soldiers will become uneasy if I canceled the Sun now. I need to force it up for the time being.”

The energy consumption of Sun Manifestation was coupled with the energy suction of the World Tree, but Korin still decided to keep the Sun up in the sky.

For the past three days, this army had to confront the endless waves of undeads without even having the time to rest properly.

These soldiers who had confronted their shrieks, screams and curses, deserved a good rest.

“Don’t push yourself too much.”

“Are you worried about me? I’m glad. Thank you, Your Highness Miruam.”

“‘Miru’.”

“Hmm?”

“‘Miru’.”

“Your Highness Miru?”

When Korin rephrased the way he referred to her, Miruam returned a smile that was devoid of any toxicity.

“So… did you come by yourself?”

“I’m the only one that could walk through those undeads, after all.”

“Thank you for coming, but frankly speaking, you alone won’t be able to save us from this. That Sun… you can’t keep that up indefinitely, right?”

Korin didn’t deny her conjecture. At best, he would only be able to keep it up for another four hours. That was the limit despite the buff he was receiving from the well water of Mimisbrunnr.

“We had a plan.” Miruam said.

“A plan?”

“Yes. This army is practically powerless at this point. Although we do still have knights and mages, the regular soldiers can’t participate in combat anymore.”

At this rate, they were all going to die. As such, Miruam and the executive officers saw the bleak future ahead of time and had come together for a plan.

“What was the plan?”

“…It’s simple. Grouping up the few mages we have left, we will carry out a ‘group teleportation’. The coordinates… will be set using Josephine Clara’s marker.”

Choosing to join another battalion because they won’t be able to break through alone was a reasonable choice, and a natural course to take if possible.

However, there was a flaw to the plan that was so obvious anyone could see let alone Korin Lork.

“…There’s no way that will be able to cover for everyone.”

“You’re right.”

Hearing her acknowledgement, Korin understood what the plan was, and couldn’t help but frown.

Miruam didn’t bother decorating the plan with flowery words. It was a realistic measure to address a real problem.

“There are 6,300 of us left. The number of people we can take with group teleportation is less than half of that.”

In other words, that meant the rest would be discarded.

And the ones being discarded would naturally be the weakest of the group.