Chapter 29: Suah Han, Breaking Her Limits

—Crackle….

The [Ether Shield] Suah had cast was being eroded by the lightning.

“Sis, get out of the way!”

“But—”

—Thud!

“Got you!”

Juju scooped up Ruah and held her. Most of the students had already escaped through the exit. Only Ruah, Juju, Himari, and Suah remained in the gymnasium.

“Aren’t the other teachers coming?”

“Even if they’re coming from the main building, it’ll take time to get to the gym…!”

Juju’s face paled at Himari’s words.

‘There’s no other choice.’

“Juju, put me down!”

“Huh? But!”

“I’m going to fight! Help me!”

Seeing Ruah’s determined gaze, Juju put Ruah down and put on her gauntlets. Himari quickly placed her hand on the hilt of her katana.

“S-Sis, why aren’t you running…!”

Their priority was to get Suah, who looked like she couldn’t hold on much longer, to safety.

“Juju, switch with Suah!”

Juju punched the tentacle attacking Suah with her gauntlet.

—Squish!

The tentacle retreated. However, as expected of a slime resistant to physical attacks, there was no visible damage.

“Suah, this way…!”

Ruah, panting, pulled Suah, who had dropped to one knee, behind her. A mage’s place was in the rear.

Juju at the front, Himari behind her, and Ruah and Suah in the back. The formation was complete.

—Slap!

“Ugh!”

A tentacle attacked Juju’s guard.

——————————

<[Diagnosis (Lv.2)] activated.>

<Target’s current status: Enraged, Electrically charged (4 charges remaining)>

—————————–

‘It used four charges.’

Suah’s defense had been stronger than she thought.

—Something felt off.

‘Suah shouldn’t be strong enough to block a B-rank monster’s focused attacks.’

In the game, Suah was only used in the early stages. It was impossible for her to face a B-rank monster alone, even for a short time.

How did she do it just now?

—Slap!

“Ouch! Teacher! What do we do now!”

Ruah pushed aside her doubts and gave instructions.

“H-Himari! Share tanking with Juju! Physical attacks don’t work anyway, so focus on defense!”

“Understood…!”

Himari drew her katana and deflected the incoming tentacles. Now that the stored electricity was depleted, the slime’s attacks had reverted to normal physical attacks.

—Squirm, squirm.

The slime, having escaped from the cage, was slowly approaching. As the distance closed, the number and intensity of the tentacles attacking Juju and Himari increased.

“Suah, how did you do it earlier?”

“Huh? Do what?”

Ruah grabbed Suah and shook her. She was desperate.

“Blocking the attack! Can you normally do that?!”

Suah shook her head with a bewildered expression.

“N-No, I just did it without thinking….”

“Can you do it again?”

Suah’s expression became serious, and she nodded.

“I’ll try.”

Suah pointed her staff forward. Among the various forms of staves, Suah’s resembled a conductor’s baton.

“[Ether Shield]!”

A translucent shield appeared in the air, between Juju and the tentacle.

—Crash!

“Ugh!”

However, its strength was different from before. Unlike earlier, when it had withstood four lightning-charged attacks, this time it shattered after a single physical attack.

“Wh-Why? It was stronger before…!”

Suah was flustered. But Ruah’s sharp eyes had calmly analyzed the situation.

‘This is Suah’s true ability.’

Then how could she explain what had happened earlier?

Did Suah have a hidden ability that even Ruah, who had played the game extensively, didn’t know about?

If so, what conditions had to be met for Suah to activate a skill that exceeded her limits?

Despite the urgent situation, Ruah’s gamer curiosity surfaced.

‘I’ll figure it out.’

If Suah could consistently use the power she had shown earlier, the mage position in the party would be hers.

“Suah, keep using [Ether Shield] until it works!”

“Wh-What?”

“Until it has the same power as before! Change the timing and position!”

It was a forceful command. But Suah bit her lip and nodded. Ruah was her older sister, and also the healer and leader of this temporary party.

“[Ether Shield]!”

—Clang!

The shield shattered again in one hit.

“H-How long are we going to keep defending?”

“Teacher… please give us attack orders!”

“No, Juju and Himari, focus on defense.”

Ruah said calmly. Himari’s swordsmanship could probably cut the slime’s core, but Ruah wanted to confirm Suah’s ability first.

—Squirm.

“Again, the large tentacle on the right!”

“E-[Ether Shield]!”

—Crash!

They tried several times, but failed each time. Ruah reviewed the situation with sharp eyes.

‘Time? Location? Or mental state?’

“S-Sis!”

A tentacle passed over Juju and Himari’s heads and flew towards Ruah. Ruah quickly jumped back, but her weak physical abilities made the attempt at evasion futile.

“[Ether Shield]!”

—Crash!

Suah instinctively activated her skill. A translucent shield appeared between Ruah and the tentacle, and the two collided.

“……!”

The shield didn’t break.

‘Like before…!’

Ruah’s eyes widened.

Considering the commonalities between the first time and now, and the differences from the failed attempts—

‘The condition for Suah’s skill to become stronger is….’

Ruah chuckled.

“Me… huh.”

Both the first time and now, Suah’s [Ether Shield] had become stronger whenever Ruah was in danger. That was the only commonality she could think of.

“Huh… uh? I-It didn’t break…?”

Seeing Suah’s bewildered reaction, it seemed she hadn’t done it intentionally.

‘In that case.’

Suah became stronger when Ruah was in danger.

Now that she had a hypothesis, it was time to test it.

“Suah, prepare an attack skill!”

“O-Okay!”

Ruah threw off her cumbersome gown and suddenly charged straight at the slime.

“Teacher!”

“Teacher! It’s dangerous!”

“Sis!”

—Swish!

Tentacles rushed towards her. Ruah rolled on the floor to dodge one, but couldn’t avoid the tentacle thrusting at her from the front.

“Ugh!”

Ruah instinctively raised her arms in a defensive posture.

At that moment,

“[Lightning Bolt]!”

—Crackle!

A bolt of lightning shot out from Suah’s staff and struck the slime directly. But it would be absorbed like before—

“[Lightning Bolt]! [Lightning Bolt]! [Lightning Bolt]! Ugh!”

—Crackle!

—Crackle, crackle, crackle!

“Gasp….”

“Eek….”

Suah unleashed a barrage of skills with frightening momentum. The gymnasium was filled with flashes of lightning, and the heated air vibrated with thunder.

An attack with truly devastating power.

Juju, Himari, and Ruah could only cover their heads and huddle on the floor against the overwhelming force.

—Crackle!

“Huff, puff….”

After the final [Lightning Bolt] struck, Ruah lifted her head.

The slime was gone without a trace, leaving only a small puddle of goo.

The gym floor was badly scorched, and a tingling sensation lingered in the air.

“Sis, a-are you okay…?”

Suah stumbled towards her. Her face was pale from mana depletion, and smoke was coming from the tip of her staff.

“S-Suah, you….”

“—You’re okay.”

After confirming Ruah’s safety, Suah collapsed.

“Ah!”

Ruah caught Suah and gently laid her on the floor.

————————–

<[Diagnosis (Lv.2)] has leveled up to [Diagnosis (Lv.3)].>

<[Diagnosis (Lv.3)] activated.>

<Target’s current physical condition: Unconscious due to mana depletion>
<Target’s current mental state: Stable>

—————————

“I-Is she okay…?”

“Teacher, what was that just now….”

Juju and Himari approached. Ruah, instead of answering, held Suah’s head.

‘I made a mistake.’

To protect Ruah, Suah had unconsciously pushed past her limits.

It was natural that Ruah didn’t know, since Han Ruah, the school nurse, was never in danger in the game.

‘I didn’t know she wanted to protect me this much….’

Ruah lifted Suah’s head and placed it on her lap.

Her younger sister slept soundly on her lap until the teachers, having received the urgent call, rushed into the gymnasium.

“What in the world happened here?”

“…….”

“…….”

The teachers were speechless at the words of Pyo Young-han, the chairman of Felix Academy.

The teachers had gathered in the devastated gymnasium for a post-incident investigation.

“If it weren’t for student Han Suah, this could have been a disaster. Are you sure safety regulations were properly followed during the class?”

The vice-principal hesitantly replied to the chairman’s calm but pointed question,

“Well… we followed regulations and assigned a health teacher and a mage teacher as safety officers. However, it turned out the monster wasn’t the scheduled C-rank, but a B-rank.”

Pyo Young-han’s eyes sharpened.

“The safety officer attempted to subdue it, but she used a low-power skill, mistaking its rank. She received a critical hit from an unexpected attack….”

“Who is in charge of the monster research class?”

“Th-That would be me.”

The researcher-turned-teacher raised his hand and stepped forward.

“Didn’t you check before the class?”

Intimidated by the chairman’s sharp gaze, the teacher replied,

“Well… I conducted the class with the monster as it was delivered by the academy’s operations team….”

“You mean you didn’t even check what the operations team brought? A monster, no less?”

“I-I checked its appearance… but as you know, Chairman, it’s difficult to determine a slime’s rank by its appearance….”

“Prepare to attend a hearing.”

“…Yes.”

The teacher retreated with a gloomy expression.

Pyo Young-han examined the open cage. The flimsy lock could have been easily opened by a B-rank slime with high intelligence.

If it was a simple mistake, it could be resolved.

‘But, if this was a deliberate act of sabotage….’