I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 828 - Side Story 101: Something the World Doesn't Need (1)

The fight was one-sided.

The mages grabbed the injured and hurriedly fled outside the forest.

Fortunately for them, there were no fatalities. Even in the case of injuries, it was thanks to their bodies being protected by artifacts. Of course, Hans also held back his strength.

The spirit beasts didn't chase after the fleeing mages and just watched quietly.

Some spirit beasts flinched as if they were about to dash out at any moment, watching the people who showed their backs while running away.

Even after becoming spirit beasts, they couldn't completely suppress their wild nature. Wanting to chase prey that showed their backs was a kind of instinct.

However, they couldn't do that now. It was because a being more intense than their innate instincts was suppressing them.

"Alright. Everyone gather."

When Hans opened his mouth, the spirit beasts reacted.

The spirit beasts stood before Hans as if respectfully treating a workplace superior.

"Aren't you lining up?"

Hans frowned.

The wicked appearance of countless spirit beasts mixed together with even a spoonful of the Beast of Gevaudan added displayed an overwhelming presence.

The spirit beasts were startled and lined up in rows and columns.

Hans nodded his head satisfactorily as he watched.

Especially the movements of the spirit beasts who had been beaten like dogs on a dog meat day by Rudger from the early days were the most prompt.

Thus, an unprecedented and rare scene unfolded of spirit beasts gathering and lining up in one place.

"......Uh, um."

Veronica tried to say something upon seeing this but closed her mouth.

She simply decided not to say anything and to accept this situation naturally.

'I've already seen an ancient person who transcended humanity fight with an 8th Circle mage, so it's not surprising anymore that spirit beasts listen well.'

Veronica had reached a kind of state of enlightenment.

Casey, standing next to her, watched the situation with interest in a different sense.

'Hmm. What would happen if I wrote this as a novel? No matter how I look at it, readers would complain that the plausibility is destroyed. Why does an 8th Circle mage exist, and what is the forest of spirit beasts? I'll have to adapt all of this.'

Casey pondered how to transfer this adventure into a work.

If she showed it as it was, harsh criticism from readers seemed unavoidable, because even to her, it didn't make sense.

Casey possessed excellent insight. In her mind, what would happen after transcribing this event as it was had been implemented quite concretely.

The gist of criticism was simple. Even for fiction, it was too implausible and unrealistic.

'No, now that I think about it, it's annoying. I'm writing the facts from reality as they are, but do I have to hear that it's unrealistic in a novel?'

In life, there are times when reality seems faker than fiction but Casey knew how to compromise.

Casey let out a sigh. If it were before, she would have pushed through according to her convictions. Even if people around her tried to dissuade her, she would have glared at them asking why.

In the end, she had changed. Even herself, who was confident she wouldn't change.

But it wasn't a particularly bad feeling. Rather, there was a sense of relief wondering why she hadn't known until now.

Meanwhile, Hans gave instructions to the spirit beasts.

"More people will come to this ruin. What you have to do is......"

The spirit beasts tensed up and waited for Hans's next words.

"......deliberately frighten them while making people come to this place."

......!

The spirit beasts opened their eyes wide in surprise.

They thought he would tell them to prevent people from coming, but they didn't expect him to tell them to subtly let them through.

Actually, Hans who was speaking had similar thoughts. Since the spirit beasts listen to him well anyway, couldn't he just use the spirit beasts to chase people away?

Nevertheless, the reason for acting this way was because of Rudger.

"Anyway, I think you understand. Each of you move to your positions."

The spirit beasts were awkward. Each position? When was such a thing decided?

At that clumsy movement, Hans's expression distorted again.

He was already troubled enough as it is, but the spirit beasts weren't listening, so anger welled up from frustration.

The moment the spirit beasts saw Hans's expression, they were startled and scattered in all directions.

For such haphazard movement, their paths didn't overlap with each other.

Even though they were spirit beasts, in the end they were beasts. Their unique instinct conversely led them to appropriate places.

"Anyway, I did as you said, brother, but is this okay?"

"Yes."

"Wouldn't deliberately chasing them away be more effective?"

Hans couldn't understand at all.

Wouldn't frightening them and chasing them away be much more efficient?

Rudger understood why Hans was acting that way.

But that didn't change what needed to be done.

"Hans. People's hearts are strangely crafty, and they're even stubborn."

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

"Let's say those spirit beasts block the ruins and prevent people from coming. Then what choice will people make?"

"Well......"

Hans hesitated while speaking.

Would they see the humans, nod their heads, and give up? Let's retreat because this is a dangerous place?

That couldn't be.

Hans knows well too. Humans are more persistent than you'd think. Rather, they even have a crazy obsession.

The more someone tries to block their path, the more humans try to break through it.

In a way, you could say they're a species whose contrary nature has developed to the extreme.

"The more we try to block them, the more people will try to come here. Rather, they'll think there's something more precious here."

There's something called the Streisand effect.

To make something widely known, it's not about actively spreading information, but rather restricting information and prohibiting its use.

Hans seemed to wonder if that was so, but showed signs of not easily accepting it.

Rudger also didn't intend to explain deeply and persuade him. Seeing is believing. In the end, seeing it directly is the best.

"Anyway, follow what I told you to do."

"Grr. Alright."

Hans decided to follow even if he didn't like it. It meant his trust in Rudger was that deep.

* * *

"A spirit beast! There's one here too!"

"Everyone be careful!"

The explorers didn't panic even upon seeing the spirit beast that suddenly appeared and responded calmly.

They were veterans who had overcome countless adversities. Rather, if there weren't such crises, they would have been more suspicious.

The spirit beast picked up a tree and threw it, shouting.

A fierce battle unfolded that turned over the surrounding terrain.

Explorers weren't simply people who explored or wandered around ruins.

Explorers frequently faced extreme environments that threatened their lives. They were always tested on their ability toward survival.

The people gathered here were those who reached a level by passing such tests.

There were mages, and there were those who retired after once being knights. Besides them, there were those wrapped in artifacts with money, and those equipped with modern firearms.

The spirit beast that had charged in vigorously began to be pushed back instead.

Humans are weaker in pure strength than spirit beasts. Individual strength is the greatest advantage spirit beasts boast.

However, the spirit beasts' disadvantage was in being single entities.

Humans' greatest advantage was conversely in cooperation where they could join hands for a common goal.

Becoming one and gathering their strength to fight.

From distant times until now, the reason humanity could survive to the end and become the master of the continent was because of the power of forming groups.

-Krwaaar!

The spirit beast faltered and retreated, then disappeared beyond the dense forest.

The people who defeated the spirit beast didn't rejoice or anything.

"Everyone check your status!"

"Equipment? Do we have enough potions!"

"Move the injured to the back and focus on treatment! We can't drag this out! Other spirit beasts might hear the commotion and come!"

They thoroughly divided roles and never let their guard down.

The group that quickly reorganized like that crossed the forest toward the ruins.

Naturally, if expected, a new spirit beast appeared.

This spirit beast was also exactly the same as before. Wrapped in the word ferocity all over its body, it explosively flaunted its individual strength.

To not die, and to reach the ruins, the group fought again.

And they won this time too.

"It's retreating!"

"The damage is less this time! Move right away!"

Like that, the deeper they went into the forest, the more frequently they encountered spirit beasts.

And the group's damage gradually decreased.

Around that time, even the experienced explorers felt something strange.

"What is it? I can sense a spirit beast's presence, but it's not approaching."

"Could it not know our location?"

"That can't be. We're moving so openly, yet it can't see us? It doesn't seem scared either. It just feels like it's only watching us."

Rather, some spirit beasts seemed to deliberately clear the way so they could pass through.

Though the movement was so subtle, people with keen eyes quickly noticed.

"This feels more like we're being lured inside?"

That uneasiness slowly eroded the group for a moment.

Beyond their vision, the appearance of a massive ruin came into view.

People's expressions brightened upon seeing the ruins reminiscent of a super-large pyramid standing tall above the dense trees.

They approached the ruins without lowering their guard.

There was no attack from spirit beasts. Therefore, their movement wasn't hindered by anyone.

Finally, the explorers left the forest and could clearly see the ruins.

And they could also see a giant shadow revealing itself beyond the ruins.

[You've finally come.]

A massive resonance that seemed to squeeze the heart.

There was a pressure that made even people who had overcome countless adversities feel chills to their bones.

People's gazes turned toward the top of the ruins.

The giant existence that had been hiding behind the ruins was revealed to all under heaven.

A terrible appearance difficult to describe, like all kinds of beasts mixed together.

Moreover, as if it possessed intelligence, it was speaking in human language.

[Welcome to my nest. Foolish humans.]

"Wh, what is this."

The explorers were flustered.

What should have greeted them should have been ruins and ancient knowledge, artifacts and relics.

But what was guarding that place was an indescribable monster.

-Swish.

Spirit beasts revealed themselves near the ruins.

The spirit beasts were blocking the escape route so that the people who reached the ruins couldn't run away.

The moment they saw that, the explorers had no choice but to realize that this was a trap.

"Th, the ruins! The ancient civilization!"

Someone fell into panic, unable to overcome the fear.

The monster heard those words and laughed as if delighted.

[Kahahaha! Ancient civilization? Yes. You humans have always been like that. So foolishly, if we dress it up like this just a little, you come running thinking it's good. So I'm very grateful for coming into my mouth on your own like this.]

The ruins were ultimately nothing but a giant trap.

This place, which they thought would be overflowing with all kinds of treasures, was actually the monster's nest and trap.

They were ants that foolishly jumped into an ant lion's pit.

[Don't worry. I won't kill you all at once. I'll savor you slowly, one by one.]

When the monster opened its mouth wide, a bundle of tentacles presumed to be its tongue poured out. It was like the legs of a cephalopod, but there seemed to be over thirty of them.

Anyone could see it was for the purpose of piercing people and sucking their blood.

The explorers immediately made a judgment. They had fallen into a trap, and if they stayed here, they couldn't avoid death.

They quickly analyzed the situation and soon could find a weak spot in the spirit beasts' encirclement.

"Everyone break out!"

"We have to tell the others!"

They moved as one body.

[They're running away! Stop them! They must be captured without injury!]

The spirit beasts reacted to the monster's cry. However, their movement was slightly sluggish at the words that they must be caught without injury.

If one were cool-headed here, they would have felt that the spirit beasts' movements were somehow strange and awkward.

But because of the appearance of the terrible monster guarding the ruins, no one had that leisure.

Explosions using magic and artifacts occurred everywhere.

As expected of veterans, the explorers began to quickly escape the ruins.

[I won't let you go!]

The monster moved. As its giant body chased with thumping sounds, even the explorers with strong courage turned pale.

"Crazy!"

It was pressure and visuals that they had no choice but to shout like that.

However, the monster hesitated the moment it was about to reach the forest.

"......! That thing! It can't leave the ruins!"

"Is there some kind of restriction? Whatever it is, that's fortunate!"

The explorers shook off the spirit beasts' interference and got as far away from the ruins as possible.

The monster watched such explorers and shouted loudly that it wouldn't let them go.

[Kraaah! I will never let you go!]

After shouting like that once, Hans soon withdrew the tentacles from his mouth and sat down heavily.

"Did they go?"

One eagle spirit beast flew up, and after a few seconds, returned.

The eagle spirit beast cried keek.

"What is it saying?"

Rudger, who had been secretly hiding and watching the situation, asked as he rose from the shadows.

"They're all running away without looking back. And it seems they have a means of communication among themselves, so they seem to be warning others too. It appears that quite a number of people who were coming this way have turned back."

"See? I was right, wasn't I?"

Hans let out a deep sigh and nodded his head. He had no choice but to acknowledge this.

To think that the solution was to make them come rather than preventing them from coming.

"No, this really works. I really don't understand people's hearts at all."

"You're a person too."

Hans scratched his head with his hand at Rudger's point.

"Ah, that's right."