Chapter 172

Chapter 172

‘This is almost… like the curse spell of those black mages.’

Pluvang, fitting for an excellent professor, harbored such suspicion at once,

but he could not bring himself to utter those words aloud.

To speak of a curse spell regarding a holy spell that drenched the area with holy energy as if a god had descended felt like blasphemy itself.

“Indeed, you are quite impressive, but did you look down on gathering!”

However, Pluvang did not retract his arm.

Pluvang attacked toward Roan even while feeling pain and deceleration.

‘No, why go this far in the very first class…’

Roan felt extremely dumbfounded.

Could it be that the Dark family had gathered Professor Pluvang’s belongings?

Or did they break his house once?

…Of course, Roan, as an experienced God and Devil player, had anticipated Professor Pluvang’s reaction to some extent.

“Bel! Judgment of Despair!”

[The Strike of Deeper Darkness?]

“…Yes.”

Bel, who had been waiting in the air beforehand, unleashed the Strike of Deeper Darkness.

Kaboom——!

—It’s Yongyong’s cheat skill!

—Even Professor Pluvang can’t handle that!

Of course, although it was a fierce attack, to the professor, that level was not even on par with a Lego brick under the sole of his foot.

Bang—

Pluvang easily blocked the blow by deploying a defensive holy spell on one arm.

Fortunately, though it lost its power and stopped as a result,

one arm still remained.

Roan’s eyes gleamed.

‘Skeleton Soldier’s Club! Underhanded Duelist’s Secret Art!’

Slide—

A white-glowing club materialized in Roan’s hand.

Whoosh—

Pluvang’s single remaining arm flew toward Roan.

Roan calmly waited for it to completely enter his domain, and then,

‘I didn’t expect to use Gulba’s offensive technique right here!’

swung his club directly toward the pulse where the holy power was most intensely gathered, which he felt in the arm.

Whack—!

“!!!!”

Pluvang opened his eyes wide.

Something like the Shepherd’s Club was completely useless against Pluvang’s elastic arm, as expected of a snail beastman.

However, the holy power of the arm hit by the club immediately lost control and began to run wild.

‘What is this now? Calming it down is easy. But…’

To do so, he had to retract the attack.

Pluvang felt extremely dumbfounded and contracted his arm once again.

In other words, the threats attacking Roan had all vanished.

‘It’s over.’

Pluck—

Roan plucked the Pigeon Flower, watching all of Pluvang’s arms return.

With this, he succeeded in gathering all five items.

—…That’s the last one, right?

—Yeah…

—What on earth did we just witness?

The students were dumbfounded, watching Roan leisurely cross the clearing as if nothing had happened.

Although traces of Roan and Pluvang’s fight still remained in abundance in the forest, he was calm, as if he had lost memory of it.

“Did you gather all of them?”

For now, the same went for Pluvang.

Pluvang asked Roan without showing a shred of emotion.

Just as gathering was natural, blocking gathering was also natural.

Whatever trick Roan had used, Pluvang was not a narrow-minded person who would hold a grudge over it.

“Yes.”

However, when Roan nodded so calmly, Pluvang finally lost his patience.

No matter that Pluvang had only moved his arms without exerting much strength, a student had still won a confrontation against a professor for now.

He had thought he would show at least some excitement or sense of achievement accordingly,

but at this rate, instead of a freshman, didn’t he seem like a veteran gatherer who had rolled around in the mountains for a hundred years?

…Of course, the time Roan had spent gathering in God and Devil would easily reach that much.

Pluvang, unable to endure it, asked in a dumbfounded voice,

“Dark, I’m not the type to ask this sort of thing… but what on earth are you?”

“Yes?”

Roan tilted his head instead, as if he didn’t know what Pluvang was talking about.

It was the first time in a very long time that Pluvang felt intensely frustrated.

“What do you mean, ‘Yes’! What kind of freshman in the world thinks of throwing punishment holy spells and Sacrificial Holy Spells at a professor… and beating him with a club!”

Even enrolled students who had built a decent rapport with the professor wouldn’t act that way.

‘I didn’t beat him, though… He complains too much.’

Meanwhile, Roan was having such thoughts as he looked at Pluvang, who spoke that way just because Roan hit his arm once with a club.

Even though he had summoned the club only because he couldn’t swing a sword at the professor.

…Putting aside whether it was okay to swing anything at a professor.

Hadn’t Pluvang also swung his arm, which was no different from a weapon, at Roan?

At any rate, he already knew the words that would work on Pluvang in this situation.

“I sincerely engaged in a duel against nature with all my strength. Was it not your teaching, Professor, to spare no means or methods in the process?”

“…That is true, but.”

Roan stared straight up at Pluvang.

His attitude asked if more words were necessary.

Pluvang sighed and said,

“Fine, I suppose there is no need to check separately. Will you head down?”

“I will wait for my friends a bit longer.”

“Do as you wish.”

Pluvang nodded indifferently, and Roan sat down, taking a spot next to him.

Pluvang felt dumbfounded once again at that relaxed appearance, but soon called Dorin.

“Dorin.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“I lost a lot of time to Dark, so you must help out too.”

“…Um, that is.”

“What is it?”

“Actually, when you and Dark were gathering, most of the other students were watching that, so I think it doesn’t really matter.”

“…”

Pluvang looked around.

Sure enough, only after making eye contact with Pluvang did most of the students snap out of it and begin to move.

“…Still, nature will be exceptionally harsh today.”

He meant to just shut up and plunder… no, gather the students’ belongings.

“Yes.”

Dorin obediently began to move.

“Dark, do you want to gather more if you are bored?”

Pluvang also proposed to Roan next to him.

‘It would be fun, though.’

Roan was momentarily tempted but soon shook his head.

“I am a bit tired because I gathered so diligently.”

“What nonsense… Fine.”

To Pluvang, who had watched Roan leisurely casting all sorts of holy spells earlier, it was an utterly absurd statement, but

making a student who had just dueled the professor do something else seemed too unconscionable, even for him.

Thus, Pluvang and Dorin began gathering the students’ belongings once again.

—Argh! The teaching assistant is coming too this time!

—We can’t just be taken like this either!

—Then what do we do?

—Let’s use holy spells!

However, the attitude of the students who had been helplessly gathered earlier was also slightly different now.

Was it because they had seen Roan defending himself while wildly using holy spells?

—Hup-hup!

—Pilgrim’s Flame!

Attempts to block Pluvang and Dorin through simple holy spells followed here and there.

Of course, not just anyone could do it.

Splat— splat—

—Gasp! Fire doesn’t work!

—He’s unfazed even when hit with a club?

—How did Dark do it earlier?!

In the first place, they rarely hit him with holy spells, but even if they did, Pluvang’s arms leisurely gathered the students’ backpacks as if there had been no interference.

Students who occasionally got caught in the crosshairs ended up covered in snail slime.

—Teaching Assistant Dorin! Save me!

Some students even ran to Dorin, who had an amiable impression, but

Swish— swish—

—?????

—I was gathered!

Dorin was also, after all, Pluvang’s teaching assistant.

He gathered everything from the surrounding students’ bags in the blink of an eye and disappeared leisurely into the next area.

As a result, the students even had the one or two items they had managed to gather while Roan bought time stolen!

—Why can’t we be like Dark…

—O God Hiloa! Why did You bring me into the world, and then bring Dark as well!

—Hey, that’s not it, no matter how frustrated you are.

—Ah, right.

The students felt a deep despair that had come too early in their lives and grieved.

On the other hand, Roan’s friends were in a much better situation.

‘Since I told them to pay no attention to me, Pluvang, or Dorin in the first place.’

Of course, when Roan and Pluvang were fighting intensely, they had no choice but to get distracted, but they could still make up for the gap of starting later than the other students.

And the advantage they possessed was not just that.

“Ssaengssaengi, this too!”

Neigh—

First of all, Rafia was fully utilizing the advantage of Ssaengssaengi, who could store items in dreams.

Honestly, Rafia wouldn’t have had any problem even if she gathered alone.

Items inside a Dream-eating Thousand-Li Horse could not be taken out by others unless the horse was killed.

“Tsk, a Dream-eating Thousand-Li Horse. Why does a first-year have such a spirit beast?”

“I also find that strange.”

Roan agreed with Pluvang’s complaint.

To obtain the Dream-eating Thousand-Li Horse, Roan had roamed the Great Wasteland of the western Empire for months.

Yet someone got it so easily in a first-year class!

“Pallangi! Spread bewilderment powder around!”

Sion utilized Pallangi to prevent anyone from even approaching her surroundings.

At that level, it would affect the owner Sion slightly, but since the agile Noeuli guided her, there was no major problem in gathering.

“Sunrise Nesting Butterfly and Sunset Shadow?”

“Those fellows are also great spirit beasts.”

Riel was out of the question.

“Kiki.”

Kiki— Kiki—!

Kiki, the Tree-emperor Monkey who naturally ran around the wild jungle, roamed the back mountain of Akerandir as if it was the palm of his hand.

Moreover, since he stuffed everything he found tightly inside his mouth, it couldn’t be easily stolen.

Kikikit— kikikikiki——!

“Ah, got it! I’ll go!”

Even when Dorin tried to approach stealthily, it was not easy to evade the senses of Kiki, who had received a massive search stat buff thanks to the environment.

When Kiki made vines grow around Dorin’s legs and threw hard fruits he created, Dorin had no choice but to retreat.

After all, it was embarrassing to get serious against a young spirit beast.

“…Is that fellow perhaps a Tree-emperor Monkey?”

“As expected of Professor Pluvang. For true gatherers, it is only natural to distinguish between a Fruit-tending Orangutan and a Tree-emperor Monkey.”

Next, Demona.

“Is this Candy Grape?”

Fitting for Demona, she was tilting her head while holding something completely incorrect, but

Thump— thump—

“A-At least speak if it’s wrong, why are you hitting me, Sparky and Black Knight!”

‘How can a spirit beast speak.’

Thump— thump-thump-thump-thump—!!

“Ah, don’t hit me~ I can just find something else!”

Every time, Sparky and the Black Knight were educating Demona with all their might.

Thanks to that, although slightly slow, she was able to steadily collect the items.

Of course, the Black Knight and Sparky also possessed the qualities of excellent spirit beasts, stepping forward to block whenever Pluvang’s arms or Dorin approached.

“How did a fellow like that obtain a Diamond Beetle and a Fanatic Rabbit King?”

“Agreed.”

“…Tell her to raise her spirit beasts well.”

“Yes.”

Finally, Hektor.

Hektor felt his confidence rise as he saw his friends fighting well by utilizing their spirit beasts.

“Eongeongi, Silsil! You must guard me well while I gather!”

Is my divine beast forbidden only in the Holy War, or is it forbidden in classes too!

Since Roan had not dismissed Eongeongi and Silsil’s capabilities until now, he expected them to perform decent defense in their own way…

Splat—

“???”

However, contrary to Hektor’s expectations, Eongeongi and Silsil only stared blankly as Pluvang gathered.