The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 314: Surplus Humans (1)

[Mission Complete] – Survivors: 69

※ Completion condition: Survive for 108 minutes during the assault of 108 Hellhounds

-Ding!

[Exited from Underground 2nd Floor, ‘Familiar Ground’]

[Entered Underground 3rd Floor, ‘Familiar Ground (2)’]

The notification tone remained dry as ever.

69 survivors from Underground 2nd floor descended to Underground 3rd floor.

“Where, where are we?”

“We’re in Venetior.”

“It’s outside the Academy!”

For a brief moment, the students seemed relieved, thinking they had ventured outside the tower.

But soon, they realized that the landscape of Venetior was similar to that of the Academy, and their expressions turned grim.

A cold and desolate wasteland. Venetior, once livelier than any city, now lay broken and deserted.

Broken windows and rusted doors, leaning roofs and collapsed pillars.

Though the sun was still shining, the air remained dry and bitterly cold.

Then.

“Hey, hey! What’s that?”

“Wow… It’s huge.”

“It looks gross.”

“I have a bad feeling about getting closer to it.”

Walking cautiously through the city, the students soon stumbled upon something peculiar.

The central clock tower symbolizing Venetior. Once destroyed by Miss Oroborous, the building had lost its original form.

Yet here it stood, tall and intact.

While damaged and adorned with gold here and there, it still boasted a grand scale.

But that wasn’t the most astonishing thing.

“What’s tangled around the clock tower?”

“It’s plant vines. Or, it could be roots.”

“What’s that on top of the tower? It’s massive.”

“…Looks like a flower?”

Plants entwined around the clock tower.

With curled leaves, roots, and vines stretching out, a gigantic flower bloomed atop the tower.

‘A withered flower.’

The students soon realized that this gigantic flower was completely dead atop the clock tower.

“Hey, this flower feels strangely warm.”

“It’s not cold when you’re beside it. We could spend the night here.”

“What’s this? Leaves? No, it seems like withered air sacs.”

“There’s some air-like substance inside, isn’t there? It’s soft, we could use it as a pillow.”

The students were divided into two groups. Some sought to explore the ruins in search of a safe place and those who decided to stay near the corpse of the flower to avoid the biting cold of the night.

Those who chose to stay near the flower began covering the withered roots and leaves, trying to unwind the exhaustion they had accumulated.

Meanwhile, those who ventured into the ruins found refuge among collapsed structures, sewers, basements, metal trash cans, rooftops, and other hiding spots. Most opted for the latter, still vividly remembering their evasion of the Hellhounds in the previous stage.

But for Vikir it was the former. The dried leaves covering him radiated warmth from the sun’s heat. When touched, they felt tough yet somewhat soft inside, as if containing a hint of air.

Vikir covered himself with them and half-laid down, intending to recover his strength.

As time passed and dusk approached, it became evident that Vikir’s decision was the right one.

“It’s… It’s too cold.”

“Why is it so freezing?”

“We don’t have anything to fend off the cold…”

“We might freeze to death like this.”

Cold concrete, glass, and metal offered no respite from the chill.

The students who had hidden throughout the ruins emerged trembling and gathered around the ‘withered flower’ at the central clock tower for warmth.

“Ah, I finally feel a bit alive.”

“It’s amazing. It’s warm only around this flower.”

“The energy of this flower when it was alive must have been incredibly vigorous.”

“To retain this much heat even after death, its vitality must have been truly robust.”

“But why would a creature like this die in a place like this?”

“I don’t know. This sucks—what are we supposed to do here?”

“That ugly fairy still not showing up? No missions either.”

With a bit of leisure, the students began to voice complaints about the current situation.

Then, the second crisis struck.

Gurgle…

The cold had somewhat subsided, but now hunger became the issue.

Once again, the students ventured out to scour the ruins, yet hardly anything edible was found.

Expired chocolate bars, bloated canned goods, the putrid smell of some meat.

A few wilted weeds were all they could find to eat, and even that was in minimal quantities.

Everyone was feeling disheartened by the food shortage.

…But amidst the despair, there was one individual who dedicated himself to cooking alone, away from the gaze of others.

That person was Vikir.

Bubble, bubble, bubble…

Vikir lit a fire under a container filled with leftover oil and placed a crumpled pot on top. Then, he boiled rainwater collected from the tent.

“You… Why are you boiling water?” Granola, who had been glancing over, asked quietly.

Vikir replied quietly, “I’m hungry”

“Really? You have food?” Granola asked, swallowing hard with anticipation.

Vikir simply nodded.

Eventually, Vikir extended his hand towards the stem of the withered flower.

And with Beelzebub,

Swoosh!

As he infused it with aura and pierced, the stem of the plant began to be gradually cut.

Dealing with this extremely tough plant stem wasn’t easy even with Vikir’s aura. Most likely, it would have been inconceivable for other students.

After a while, Vikir held two small fragments, barely the size of a fingernail, at his fingertips.

Granola raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to eat that? But isn’t that too little?”

However, Granola’s mouth fell open at what unfolded.

Splash!

When Vikir placed the plant stem fragment into the boiling water, an astonishing transformation occurred.

Bubble, bubble, bubble…

The tiny stem fragment swelled up incredibly in size, expanding to the thickness and length of an adult man’s forearm.

“It looks smaller due to dehydration. If you eat recklessly, it’ll expand tremendously in your stomach,” Vikir explained.

Listening to Vikir’s words, Granola swallowed hard. Even if they couldn’t manage to cut through the stem due to its hardness, if they succeeded, their stomach wouldn’t be able to handle the consequences of eating it recklessly.

“Yeah, definitely. Eating too much would cause the stomach to burst and lead to death,” Granola said, glancing around cautiously, then picked up a piece of the stem from the water.

Vikir didn’t say anything more.

Granola appeared to have noticed this as well, so he began nibbling on the plant stem while observing Vikir.

“Um, but why are you being kind to me?” Granola asked suddenly.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you treating me well?”

Vikir had saved Granola’s life from the pack of Hellhounds in the previous stage. And now, here he was, even providing a meal.

Vikir looked at Granola silently, or rather, he was looking at the necklace hanging around Granola’s chest.

“…Well, we’re friends.”

Vikir casually responded and averted his gaze. The term ‘friend’ wasn’t something that could be used lightly, merely referring to being in the same class with someone of similar age. Vikir knew that, but he had just said it without much thought. However, inexplicably, Granola’s eyes became moist.

‘…Friend.’

Granola had never had a friend since enrolling at the Colosseo Academy. His classmates were all either following him around hoping to gain something or just scrutinizing if there was anything worthwhile to pick up. Seniors approached or were approached solely for networking purposes. Furthermore, he constantly received the treatment of a child due to being the youngest, and even his notable achievements didn’t bring anything new as they were merely following the footsteps of his older brothers, who had all passed through before. Days of loneliness and dryness repeated endlessly.

Even after enrolling in the Academy, nothing changed. But now… Granola was feeling a complex and subtle emotion he couldn’t quite understand.

‘Me… a friend… with this guy.’

He had felt it during the University League as well, but despite being younger, the guy in front of him somehow seemed like a dependable older brother. And when Vikir, said the word ‘friend’, it gave Granola a feeling of being acknowledged.

While Granola was on the verge of tears from the pride of being acknowledged, someone called out from behind.

“Hey, you’re Granola, right?”

When Granola turned his head, there were seniors from the third-year noble faction standing there.

“We thought you were dead from the Hellhounds earlier, but you’re alive. Glad to see that. Reviadon folks are indeed strong and reliable.”

“Come over here quickly. Ah, it’s good to see our youngest member again.”

“We’re sorry we couldn’t help you earlier. How about when we leave the tower, we’ll treat you to a drink? Haha-”

They gestured towards Granola as if what happened in the previous stage was nothing significant.

Granola hesitated. Weren’t they the group he had been friendly with before entering the tower?

‘What should I do?’

To group with Vikir or these seniors. Granola was conflicted about which way to go.

“Well… I…”

Just as Granola finished a brief moment of pondering and was about to open his mouth to make a decision…

[Hee hee hee hee?]

Suddenly, a strange laughter echoed in the air.

In that moment, all the students turned wide-eyed, their heads turning towards the source.

A bizarre mass of flesh was floating in the air.

It was the appearance of a fairy.

[69 People, huh?, everyone alright? Are you cuties warm and well?]

The fairy appeared, accompanied by the mission announcement.

[Mission] – Survive in the ruins for 1- 69 days!

※ Avoid ???

[Is the mission to be performed this time simple again? You just need to survive?]

Confusion spread among the students.

“Really? We just have to survive?”

“But what’s with the 1-69? Do we have to endure just one day? Or do we have to endure 69 days?”

“Yeah. The time frame is unclear.”

“Surviving 69 days in this cold and hungry place? But enduring just one day seems too easy…”

Just then, a student who seemed like a leader stood up abruptly. Known for sharp analysis and intellect during class, this model student once again pinpointed the inadequacies in the fairy’s explanation.

“Wait. There’s something unclear here. What’s the small writing under the mission?”

Indeed, all eyes turned in the direction his finger pointed.

※ Avoid ???

A puzzling message. What could it mean to avoid?

Just as the fading fairy seemed to have forgotten something, it hurriedly returned.

[Oh dear, I forgot to explain, didn’t I?]

Forgot? What did it forget?

The model student, disdainfully, let out a sigh as if to say ‘how pathetic’, then burped.

“If you’re going to bring all these people here and make them do this shit, do it right, you demon, do you have to be so sloppy?”

[I’m sorry? I almost made a big mistake?]

The fairy apologized to all the students, including the model student, with a somewhat flustered attitude.

Then…

…Drip!

Raising its finger and letting a drop of blood fall into the air.

“Huh?”

As all students wore puzzled expressions, the single drop of blood fell like tar, sticking as it landed on the ground, onto the dried roots of a plant. In an instant, it seeped in.

And immediately, a terrible change occurred.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Bizarre noises echoed throughout the entire clock tower building.

The ivy, which had just been withered moments ago, began to move slowly.

Simultaneously.

Thunk!

The model student who was snorting at the fairy was abruptly caught as a long, tough tendril of ivy, stretching along the clock tower’s wall, suddenly wrapped around his waist, snapping it.

“…Huh?”

He didn’t even have time to register the pain from his broken waist. He was overwhelmed by the sight atop the tower, where a gigantic flower was gaping open its mouth.

Inside the wide, smiling mouth, terrifying teeth filled every corner, top, bottom, left, and right.

*Squelch!*

In less than a second, a human was reduced to scraps of flesh within the flower’s mouth.

Blood trickled profusely from the gaping mouth.

Simultaneously, a change occurred in the mission window.

[Mission] – Survive in the ruins for 1-68 days!

※ Avoid the ‘Bloodsoaked Jade Flower’!

The fairy chuckled.

[Looks like you only have to endure up to 68 days now?]