Chapter 28: The Threat of Encroaching Tentacles

“Ugh….”

Hidden under her desk in the nurse’s office, Ruah buried her face in her knees and groaned.

It was because of her drunken antics at the mall the other day.

‘I was out of my mind.’

Touching Himari, Juju, and Suah all over, even engaging in what could be considered inappropriate physical contact.

She wished she could forget it, but the memory of her embarrassing behavior was vivid. As a result, even after several days, the shame hadn’t subsided. Ruah had been deliberately avoiding the three of them.

‘How can I face them after doing that….’

It was best to hide until they forgot everything.

Fortunately, she had stocked up on enough food and entertainment to last the day under her desk: Scotch candy, convenience store sandwiches, her phone, and a pillow. Perfect.

“Oh well, such is my life….”

Ruah muttered, lying down on the pillow, but—

—Clatter!

“Teacher!”

Just 30 seconds after she decided to avoid them, Juju entered the nurse’s office.

“Huh? She’s not here?”

“Gasp…!”

Ruah covered her mouth with both hands and pretended not to be there. Juju’s footsteps slowly approached.

“Hmm… I thought she’d be here… she didn’t come for morning training either….”

—Thump, thump.

‘She’s not here, she’s not here…!’

“Hmm.”

Juju stopped right in front of the desk.

“So, she’s really not here….”

Just when Ruah thought Juju had given up—

—Thump!

“?!”

Suddenly, the support beneath her vanished.

Juju had lifted the entire desk.

“Eek!”

“Hehe, I knew you were there. Come on out, teacher.”

The strength of a tank who fought monsters wasn’t to be underestimated. Ruah hadn’t expected Juju to find her this way.

“H-How did you know….”

“Suah told me before I came. She said you were probably here.”

Her behavior patterns had been completely read. Ruah’s defeat.

“Ugh….”

Ruah crawled out from under the desk like a caterpillar. Juju put down the desk and brushed the dust off Ruah’s white gown.

“Why were you hiding, teacher?”

“W-Well….”

“Because of what happened that day?”

Juju smiled knowingly, her eyes narrowed. Ruah blushed again.

“It’s okay! You were super cute!”

Juju gently touched Ruah’s cheek. She seemed to enjoy the soft texture, continuing to caress it for quite a while.

“Th-That’s why I was hiding….”

“Hehe.”

Juju suddenly placed her hands on Ruah’s back and behind her knees and lifted her. The so-called princess carry. As their faces drew closer, Ruah instinctively averted her gaze, embarrassed.

“Eek!”

“Come on, let’s go. They said the class can’t start without you, so I have to bring you quickly.”

“Am I a safety officer again?”

“Yes.”

“I want to walk!”

“No! They said to hurry!”

In the end, Ruah was carried out of the nurse’s office in Juju’s arms.

‘She seems… bolder than before….’

The class Ruah was needed for was a monster research class held in the gymnasium for the advanced and special classes of the first and second years.

Today, they were supposed to observe a monster captured from an Overflowed Gate up close. It was quite dangerous, but the students were excited.

Ruah’s role was to wear a ‘Safety Officer’ armband and observe the class in case of an emergency.

“…So, that’s enough theory for today. Let’s move on to the part you’ve all been waiting for.”

The monster research teacher was a former researcher, a civilian who had only done research, not a former Hunter, so he looked frail.

As he approached the rattling cage covered with a white cloth, a tense atmosphere filled the air among the students gathered around.

“This is a C-rank monster, the ‘Tentacle Slime’.”

—Whoosh!

The cloth was removed, revealing the monster inside the cage. A large green slime, big enough to swallow a person or two, with grotesque tentacles growing out of it. It was shaking the cage violently, as if it felt confined.

‘Ah, I’ve seen this a lot in certain… fan works….’

Seeing the slime brought back memories.

This class appeared as an illustration on a loading screen. An illustration depicting the students, the slime in the cage, and the teacher explaining.

Because of its appearance, the slime, despite only appearing in one official illustration, frequently showed up in adult fan works.

Fascinated by seeing it in real life, Ruah stood still and observed the slime.

“Teacher.”

Himari approached Ruah, who was standing among the students. As weapons were permitted in case of an emergency, she had a katana at her waist.

“Oh, yes….”

“It’s alright.”

“Huh?”

Himari suddenly took Ruah’s hand and held it tightly. Her warmth flowed into Ruah’s hand.

“I’m here, so you don’t have to be scared.”

“Th-Thank you.”

Himari seemed to think Ruah was standing still because she was scared.

‘Her hand is warm.’

Not wanting to reject Himari’s concern, Ruah didn’t explain and let her hold her hand.

“The Tentacle Slime’s behavior pattern is….”

The teacher’s explanation continued. Ruah yawned slightly and looked around. Juju, wearing her gauntlets, was also nearby.

“It targets the weakest person in the party. This is usually the healer, which is quite troublesome.”

“…….”

“As you can see, it’s not greatly affected by close-range, physical attacks, and is vulnerable to ranged attack skills from mages. Therefore, when clearing Gates in swamp biomes, mages are required to equip attack skills….”

Listening to the teacher, a thought suddenly occurred to Ruah.

‘Speaking of which, I need to choose a mage.’

It was the last vacant spot in Ruah’s party.

There were quite a few candidates, but it was difficult to choose one. She needed someone who could provide appropriate support depending on Juju and Himari’s fighting styles.

‘And someone who isn’t a jerk like Lee Hwi-seong.’

“Teacher! Look over there! The slime is using its tentacles to….”

Even after the party was formed, it wasn’t over. They needed to practice and train until they were in sync.

With the first semester midterms already over, a quarter of the time Ruah had been given had already passed.

“Something’s strange.”

“That’s the lock!”

Although she had decided to start training with Juju and Himari first, it would be best for the mage to join as soon as possible. It was much better to build synergy together than to have someone adapt to an already established dynamic.

“Oh! It’s open!”

“Teacher, are you sure this is okay?”

—Swish!

“Kyaa!”

A student’s scream brought Ruah back to reality.

“Huh?”

Ruah looked up to see one of the slime’s tentacles flying towards her.

A chill ran down her spine.

“Teacher!”

However, the tentacle never reached her. Himari pushed Ruah, and they both rolled on the floor.

—Crash!

The tentacle slammed into the gym floor and retreated.

‘Huh?’

Ruah’s heart sank.

‘This didn’t happen in the game.’

But that attack was just the beginning.

“It’s out!”

“I knew this was a bad idea!”

The slime, having unlocked the cage, was slowly oozing out.

“Everyone, back away!”

The teacher, flustered, retreated to the edge of the gymnasium.

At the same time, the other teacher wearing a ‘Safety Officer’ armband stepped forward. It was a female teacher, a mage.

“Now, now, this is what safety officers are for, so don’t panic.”

Taking out her staff, a symbol of mages, she confidently activated a skill.

“[Lightning Bolt].”

—Crackle!

Multiple bolts of lightning struck the slime directly. The students, seeing this, sighed in relief. It was nothing for a Felix Academy teacher to deal with a C-rank monster.

However, something strange happened.

Something that no one present, not even Ruah, could understand.

—Squish.

The slime, hit by [Lightning Bolt], didn’t disintegrate; it was completely fine.

Moreover, the slime had absorbed the crackling lightning into its squishy body.

“Huh?”

The safety officer stared wide-eyed, as if she couldn’t believe it.

That was her mistake.

—Swish!

One of the slime’s tentacles swung and struck the teacher, sending her flying into the gym wall. It was an attack imbued not only with physical force but also with the lightning it had absorbed.

“Kyaa!”

With the teacher they trusted defeated, the gymnasium descended into chaos.

The students rushed towards the exit, and the slime rampaged, swinging its tentacles.

Some students tried to fight back with attack skills, but the slime simply absorbed them.

“Teacher!”

Himari, like Juju had done earlier, picked up Ruah and ran towards the exit.

‘That’s not a C-rank slime.’

In Himari’s arms, Ruah stared at the slime. There were no low-rank monsters that could absorb and reuse attacks.

‘At least B-rank.’

It must have been a mistake, either by the teacher who brought the monster or the person who captured it. The slime had definitely been switched.

—Ding!

————————–

[Diagnosis (Lv.2)] activated.]

[Target’s current status: Extremely enraged, Electrically charged (8 charges remaining)]

—————————

8 charges remaining meant it could launch lightning-imbued attacks 8 more times. Ruah was about to tell them, but—

“Out of my way!”

“Ugh!”

A large second-year boy brushed past Himari as she ran towards the exit. The impact made Himari lose her grip on Ruah and fall hard.

“Ouch!”

Ruah tumbled to the floor.

“T-Teacher…!”

Himari tried to reach Ruah, but it was difficult to go against the crowd of students running for their lives. Juju was in the same situation.

—Swish!

The slime targeted the weak first.

One of its lightning-charged tentacles reached out, aiming directly at Ruah.

‘I’m going to die…!’

“Ugh!”

Ruah instinctively covered her head with her arms and curled up, bracing for the pain, but—

—It never came.

“……?”

Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the back of a girl, who had shielded her from the tentacle.

—Crackle….

“Ouch… that stings….”

The slime’s lightning passed through the girl’s barrier and reached her body, but she didn’t flinch.

She just glanced back at Ruah.

“Sis, are you okay?”

“Suah…!”