Chapter 957
<957 – Slave Hunting (4)>
Hephaestus recalled Professor Buzhaar’s instructions.
– “It’s time to pay the debt, my friend.”
– “Who’s going to be the monster this time?”
– “There’s a brilliant student named Oknodie. If that child wishes for it, I’d gladly give my heart.”
He knew that even though Hephaestus was an elderly professor who had survived long due to the monster cells, Oknodie was the kind of student causing a stir on campus.
The fact that the student was merely between 10 and 11 years old, a girl abused by the Foundation, and the Papa Slayer who drowned her biological father, and that offering one’s heart to an 11-year-old was a metaphor for falling in love, all made it abundantly clear.
Naturally, contempt crept over Hephaestus’s face.
– “I don’t know if it’s a metaphor or a literal statement, but it’s quite revolting.”
– “Hehe. Don’t worry. It’s me who will face Oknodie. You just need to separate two of the professors backing Oknodie.”
– “Even if I can separate the professors, do you really think the Heir of the Foundation would willingly accept monster cells? They lack for nothing in this world, being in a position of power. Plus, if they even have the Vessel of God potential of a Demon King, it would be reckless to touch them, right?”
Oknodie was indeed a huge figure, disproportionately massive compared to her small stature.
One could almost think of her as an equal to the notorious Buzhaar and a dark shadow of equal stature.
– “Oknodie may have many things, but there’s one thing she lacks.”
– “What could that be?”
– “Experience.”
A child’s lifetime is overwhelmingly inferior in terms of experience compared to an old man’s.
The wicked wisdom accumulated by the old monster Buzhaar over a millennium could not be matched by someone who had only lived 11 years!
“Experience, huh.”
Hephaestus felt pity.
If that wicked being decided to exploit the superiority of experience to deceive her, Oknodie’s future would inevitably be one of utter humiliation.
However, right now, those he felt pity for weren’t just Oknodie.
He, too, was a being who had lived for a few hundred years at least, and the professors who would face him were also in an unfortunate position.
[Domain Expansion]
[Domain Expansion]
In the clash of high-tier masters, the retired professor and Jonnas unfolded their domain expansion as a precursor.
The reason Hephaestus felt pity while observing the two professors from Oknodie’s faction was simple.
It was an outdated combat method that had already been ‘graduated’ three hundred years ago.
[Domain Generator]
The technique of the highest-level mana arts, which enables skilled masters to announce their capabilities to the world and dominate the entire flow of Nature Mana, was simultaneously released from the domain generator thrown by Hephaestus.
The retired professor and Jonnas, who were trying to put pressure on Hephaestus with their combined strength, found themselves greatly disappointed.
They had inadvertently found themselves surrounded by the domains of the domain generator that had unfolded on all sides.
“Even a person’s soul can exist independently from the body, so how can a domain not do the same?”
He creates a domain.
Compared to other Production Department professors, Hephaestus holds a serious pride, believing himself to be the strongest in the Production Department.
Except for one person, Professor Buzhaar.
“It’s simple. While a domain can exist independently, what cannot be independent is Buzhaar’s grasp.”
It’s a simple story.
Buzhaar is the owner of all monster cells.
Whatever a monster can do, Buzhaar can do too.
The domain generator is the same.
It’s something Buzhaar can accomplish as if it were ‘common sense’.
“Oknodie. That’s the reason you must lose.”
Did they neutralize each other’s professor cards?
They were mistaken.
No matter how many they separated, it would make no difference.
Only Oknodie would be losing power.
Professor Buzhaar is a legion unto himself.
*
“Experience points. That’s nice. It’s like gold that feels insufficient no matter how much you have. But… why are you looking for that from me?”
Professor Buzhaar genuinely couldn’t understand.
“Experience comes from overcoming challenges. Do you really believe you can overcome me? Me?
“Of course!”
“There’s a correlation between knowledge and self-confidence in this world. When knowledge is limited, one scales the ‘mountain of ignorance,’ overflowing with confidence, but with just a little more knowledge, one becomes disillusioned by their own shallowness and plummets into the ‘valley of despair.’ Your shining talent might have trampled others, but not today.”
The collective power of a thousand years of accumulated monsters cannot be caught up by a mere 11 years.
“Do you see these generators?”
As Professor Buzhaar snapped his fingers, the domain generators installed in the moving monsters from Gehenna soared up.
“Precisely one hundred of them. Each one develops a ‘unique domain.’”
The skills of the professors belonging to the monster legion could also be employed by Professor Buzhaar.
It is only natural that the result created by the stronger Buzhaar with the same knowledge would be superior.
“Right now, you’re facing the equivalent of one hundred professors.”
Professor Buzhaar does not have the privilege of being permanently freed from death like Professor Sadako.
The monster cells may cherish their lifespan, but some professors wish to meet their demise and seek rest.
Human desire is not eternal, and sooner or later, one hopes to leave behind their loved ones and move on to them.
There were many professor-level monsters who died that way.
Buzhaar is different.
He remembers all the academic achievements and battlefields they amassed.
His avarice, the transcendent ambition to overthrow the principal and rise to become the new master of the Middle Realm had long since surpassed the boundaries of human nature.
The amalgamation of one hundred professors and a thousand years of madness grinned a chilling smile and asked.
“I will ask again. Even after realizing all this knowledge, do you still find me pleasant?”
“Of course! There’s nothing easier than a gimmick that’s already been ‘cleared’!”
The moment Oknodie snapped his fingers, paper airplanes poured out from his backpack like numerous seniors.
The paper airplanes, headed toward different domains, breezed through their respective areas remarkably smoothly.
“?!”
Buzhaar realized.
That was a ‘domain-customized infiltrator.’
Since Buzhaar could see right through all one hundred areas he would use, it was the pinnacle of production possible.
Smack!
The engraved formulas drawn meticulously from the paper airplane inserted into the domain generator wriggled like ants and broke into the generator.
The monster cells twisted and were forcibly damaged.
The horrific red hue of the utterly wrecked domain generator had no semblance of its original form left.
It turned into the deep darkness distinctive of Dark Mana.
One hundred domain generators.
The entirety had been stripped of its ownership by Oknodie!
“Professor Buzhaar, you should acknowledge this, right? You thought you had reached a plateau of stability after passing the hill of realization, but how small your talent was after all!”
Buzhaar’s millennium.
The domains of one hundred professors.
To catch up to them was no easy feat.
It required many attempts and a considerable amount of time.
However, the player’s time is not limited.
It is infinite.
If one attempt doesn’t work, do it twice.
If two attempts don’t work, then three.
After endless challenges and trial and error, Oknodie arrived at her success.
[Hidden World Raid Boss - Buzhaar]
[Phase 1 – Hundred Role Pillars]
Beyond completely neutralizing Buzhaar’s Phase 1, she had turned it into her own strength with a ‘turnaround play.’
“Impressive.”
Buzhaar felt a chill.
“Is this the fear of the endless knowledge of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation that I’ve only heard of?”
She caught up.
A millennium of time, a hundred professors.
This is not a task ending with mere arithmetic toil.
History.
The product of nearly a thousand years of history must involve accurately grasping the monsters belonging to Buzhaar and fully understanding what kind of strength they had amassed, a nearly mad analysis result.
“Chairman of the Foundation is indeed impressive! Hehe. But I’m even more impressive than Papa!”
The curve of ignorance and the plateau of despair had long since been surpassed as the demigod known as the player fully blossomed the potential of one hundred domains and squeezed Buzhaar.
“So, what about you, professor?”
“Hmm?”
“You still happy to have met me?”
A chill smile crept across Buzhaar’s lips.
“It was astounding but not yet there. It’s still a long way to go. The duration of domain takeover lasting thanks to a mere spell interference encapsulated in a paper airplane is just about five minutes.”
The immense totality of experience is nothing short of a natural fortress.
“Still, you are the challenger. In the remaining five minutes, how do you plan to defeat me?”
“Hmm. How about this?”
As Oknodie flipped her backpack upside down, clay tainted with darkness gushed out.
Each piece of spilled clay began to take shape, and many of those forms looked quite familiar to Buzhaar.
The shapes created by the clay were all ‘professors.’
“Professor Buzhaar, you separated the remaining experience points into ‘monsters,’ right? I turned them into ‘clay.’”
An army of one.
That term did not apply exclusively to Buzhaar.
Paper airplanes.
Clay modeling.
What Oknodie had dismissed as child’s play in her past, meaningless acts, had unseen accumulated experiences transforming into a finished product.
“Well then, shall we get going? One against a hundred; if you get caught, you start becoming a slave!”
With Oknodie’s bright shout, the clay figures charged towards Buzhaar all at once.