ALL NOVEL Chapter 939
<939 – Oknodie's Rolling (7)>
Alex, who had completely flipped the professors’ insides, trembled in fear of future troubles.
“This is it for my life. I’ll never set foot near the academy again. No, on the contrary, as soon as I step out of the academy, I’ll be hunted!”
“Come on, senior. If half the water is left, it’s not just half left, but look at it positively: there’s still half left!”
“Does that apply to my situation right now…?”
“Instead of saying you’ve turned your life into hard mode by turning nine professors into enemies, you should think that if you just run well, your experience points will shoot up nine times faster!”
“Great, I’ll finish my life nine times faster! What a crazy situation!”
Fueled by anger, Alex snapped at the Oknodie.
And earned the wrath of the Howling Mandragora.
“Waaahhh!”
How dare a newcomer show up at the dormitory without even bowing and shout like that!
How could someone be so outrageously rude!
The pouting Howling Mandragora, fueled by anger, started to whip Alex with its vine, smashing into walls.
Of course, it was still not enough damage to deal meaningful harm to a monster like Alex who genuinely wanted to challenge the strongest.
“Whew. Our Goo has doubled its attack speed!”
“Waaahhh!”
Feeling somewhat healed, Alex glanced around, curling up his body.
“Ouch, owie!”
“Waaahhh!”
The Howling Mandragora, pleased to show off the senior’s authority, boasted while draping its vine over its body, saying not to mess around anymore.
“Goo, but why are you alone today?”
“Waaahhh.”
“Right, you are a big grown-up!”
“Waaahhh.”
“Ah-ha. Did Senior Alice go out alone? Ever since I made her body, it feels like that’s been happening lately?”
“Waaahhh.”
“Got it. Having a dual household just won’t do! I’ll take care of the runaway Goo, Senior Alice!”
Alex couldn’t hide his confusion.
“What are you hearing over there…?”
“A baby’s words can only be understood by those with affection!”
“For crying out loud.”
Was this really something the Dark Princess, who had just pushed his life into a pit, would say?
Even though he was mad, on the other hand, it made him realize that his situation was not as dire as it seemed; it was normal enough around the Dark Princess to be somewhat concerned about parenting.
Of course, if Alex were to realize Oknodie’s true intention of not taking responsibility for him, he would go ballistic, but ignorance was bliss.
“Lin. Were you bored in the ring?”
A cute little girl ghost peeked out from behind the Oknodie’s leg, casting her gaze aimlessly.
There seemed to be a sharp gaze from somewhere, but Alex dismissed it as the professors’ grudges transcending space, resigned to the fact.
And thus, what remained was the cute Howling Mandragora and the little ghost girl depending on Oknodie.
Beings that could evoke long-forgotten peace in the heart of a man who had rotted away in a research dimension for ten years, aiming to become the strongest monster.
Alex’s ailing soul was soothed by their sweetness.
“Let’s go. I said I’d discipline the baby thief.”
“What’s with the sudden enthusiasm?”
“Wallowing in my fate to be shredded by professors won’t change anything. I might as well do something nice on my final journey since I’m destined to die anyway.”
When a person’s date with death approaches, they become a changed person.
[Lin, please don’t drool over that peculiar monster cell!]
If Oknodie had overheard the sympathy magic comforting Fake Lin from behind, Alex would have lived wickedly as usual instead of feeling cute.
Anyway, the superstar Alex, who had many troubles and much to say, set out with Oknodie to track down the runaway Goo, who abandoned these cute little ones.
Since Oknodie was the one who created Alice’s human body, he could easily trace her location with the tracking device implanted in Alice’s body.
“It was a good idea to implant it just in case, right?”
“She abandoned the grace of having her body made, so it’s only fair she is tracked down.”
“Senior Alice wasn’t always such a bad person. Until now, she’s taken good care of Goo for me without any complaints, even playing well with Lin at night!”
Because of Alice’s gentle demeanor, Oknodie felt even more worried.
What if she was wandering the campus in her new body and got caught by some unfamiliar professor?
Maybe a senior from some club mistook her for a new student and kidnapped her for a little initiation?
The place they arrived at after all this suspicion was the Homunculus Lecture Building.
The Gift Academy Kiddie Zone’s classroom.
“What on earth is going on?!”
“Who’s Alice?”
“That Homunculus over there with a multi-launch rocket on her left arm and a super armor generator on her body!”
“…Crazy. Why would a Homunculus have something like that?”
If I were in their shoes, I’d run away too.
Unbeknownst to Alex realizing the reason for the runaway, Oknodie waited outside until it was break time.
Stacking three chairs he pulled out of his backpack like a tower, balancing them expertly on one leg while peeking out the high window, his precarious yet absurd sight only made Alex worry he might fall.
“Hey, what classes are taught here at the Kiddie Zone?”
“Learning how not to be scammed, ways to extend your life, and how to manage artificial bodies healthily. Looks like there’s nothing special since it’s the kiddie class!”
“Well, picking some decent monster cells should naturally increase your lifespan, so it’s nothing major.”
A routine as mundane as a child going to kindergarten.
After attending all the lectures, Alice expressed interest in the weapons attached to her body and began circling around the Homunculi to separate them while headed towards the academy’s black market.
Unlike the regular shops that had limitations on goods or were lacking in items, the black market was essentially a barter market collecting students’ hidden collections.
“I’m selling nine broken building stone blocks!”
“I need a metal shield magical tool to protect against debris from temporary classrooms falling from the sky!”
“I’m selling lost boxes from the magic department. Cheap unopened random boxes that haven’t been unsealed!”
“Want to buy an instructor ID?”
“I’m selling a daily friend. Available for sale.”
“Anyone selling ways to combine the flash dash function to run faster than a flash?!”
Ignoring the quick-sale stolen goods from the wrecked campus facilities in the chaotic market, Alice confidently wandered deeper into the alley.
“That’s… a school uniform?”
“Not the kiddie zone uniform, but the regular youth department uniform!”
Wearing a uniform that was not permitted for her current self, yet once familiar, Alice strolled around as if she were a student attending lectures, sat on a bench watching passing students, and entered the study room to study like other classmates.
“Hey… that girl looks kinda weird. What’s she doing?”
“She’s probably got her reasons!”
“True. Given there are monster cells involved, it wouldn’t be strange at all for her to regress or have a disconnect between her body and memories.”
Unaware of the enraged principal following behind, Alex poked his nose into Alice’s pathetic daily routine.
“People shouldn’t yearn for and covet a life that’s not theirs. That’s a sure path to madness. Just look at me. I’m some empty guy who became the strongest monster, tried to get professor-level power, and ended up like this.”
“What kind of shape is Senior Alex in?”
“Chained up by the neck, dragged around, hiding in the professors’ research dimension, trembling in fear of when Professor Buzhaar might catch me and I’d become part of the monster’s core.”
Alex felt a sense of kinship while looking at Alice.
“Then you should just tell her directly!”
Only late at night did Alice return to the dormitory, spotting the light on in her room, she chuckled softly.
“Goo, remember I said if you keep the light on at night, you’ll be sleepy during the day while photosynthesizing?”
“I’m not Goo. I turned it on!”
“Oknodie? Who’s that person next to you?”
“Someone reflecting on their actions?”
The person reflecting—Alex—called out to Alice with a serious face.
“Come here and sit down for a moment.”
“What is this…?”
Not understanding at all, Alice sat down, listening to an even more baffling sermon.
“You see, a person must also learn to be thankful for the given daily routine. You have Goo with you and Oknodie supporting your dorm life, don’t you? No matter how you went from being human to a Homunculus and regressed at a young age, you need to forget the past and learn to move forward.”
“Excuse me for interrupting such good words…”
“Ah! A grown-up talking means you should say thank you and bow your head. Even though I’ve had a cell implant and my skin has improved and I look younger, I’m much older than you.”
“That’s not…”
“Look at Goo. How pitiful does it look, having fallen asleep waiting for you?”
With Alex’s sudden lengthy lecture, Alice thought this could go on for hours and just kept quiet, allowing everything to pass through her.
“Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. What was the thing you wanted to say earlier?”
After the lecture ended, it seemed like Alice had to hold back her anger to spare someone’s life as she replied with suppressed frustration.
“It seems the principal has been cursed with a marking spell; it’d be better to confess quickly and enter the Punishment Room before it activates.”
“Huh? Wh-what? What the hell is this? Why am I marked? Why can’t the dispel work! Oknodie, what’s the inscription written in this marking magic?”
“Function Drain!”
Before entering the Punishment Room, Alex was cursed to have his function experience points continually drained at regular intervals.