How to Survive at th Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Glast Subjugation (3)

Ayla, who had gone to et with Professor Glast, has not returned.

Sitting in a corner on the campus grounds, Taylee—who had stuffed a sandwich in his mouth—suddenly tilted his head.

The Monster Ecology course’s lessons were rather easy, similar to an elective course. Since it was Ayla, who was already well versed in such subjects, passing the test wouldn’t be a problem even if she missed a few classes.

However, it was strange that she hadn’t been seen at all, given that she had both Elental Studies and Combat Magic classes in the teacher’s district.

It was Ayla, who had extrely poor proficiency when it ca to combat-type skills. There was no way that soone as hard-working as her would miss a class specializing in an area she was weak in.

“… Did she head back to the dorm?”

His long, two-handed sword—embedded with many jewels—seed to be perfect in length.

The jewels were filled with magic power, which supported the various magics imbued in the sword.

Not only that, all of the other accessories he was wearing were also imbued with various smaller effects. He had beco rather proficient, even in other secondary support skills. No longer could he be called a failing student wherever he went.

He still had a long way to go, but he had managed to complete a decent amount of aningful training over the past year.

Taylee picked up the sword he had put down nearby while eating his al, turning his body to look around. As his Swordmaster’s Skills increased, his vitality also increased. He wouldn’t have a problem with his physical condition, even if he were to push himself a little more after classes.

“Did so type of important business co up?”

Taylee kept talking to himself as he started walking away.

There were two days until the Sage’s Seal Resonance Transferal.

It was only a matter of ti before Taylee would hear the rumors claiming that Professor Glast had kidnapped two students.

* * *

Without any notice, my eyes suddenly snapped open.

I suddenly woke, no trace of the feeling I would normally get after a good night’s sleep.

In my slightly dazed state, I couldn’t focus imdiately. Soon after, I rembered the situation I had been in right before I lost consciousness. I held onto my sense of reason.

“Eeeeeek!”

After quickly recovering my mories and promptly raising my upper body, I heard a strange noise.

The first thing that I saw was a ceiling made of stone. Looking down a little lower, there was a smooth wall made of the sa material.

There was an iron bar set up on one side. Looking around, the imdiate image that ca to mind was a prison cell. Inside of it, a girl was trapped alongside .

“D-Don’t co any closer!”

The girl crouching in a corner of the prison wall shouted at

with a shaky voice. On one hand, she was taking a defensive position and holding her body close. However, seeing her so full of fear only proved that she didn’t have the power to resist.

Really. If I were a black-hearted criminal she definitely would have been the perfect prey.

Well, it wasn’t a cri to be scared, but… It wasn’t the smart thing to do.

“Ayla Triss… Right…?”

I tried to suppress my growing headache as I used my hands to wipe across my face. I stood up from my seat, taking in the scene once more and checking to see what was outside of the bars.

I thought I knew the reason that Ayla was so terrified.

Looking through the bars in the room across from ours… There was a monster being kept in the prison.

Its lower body appeared to be that of a lion’s or a tiger’s, but its upper body was on the large side—even compared to other monsters. Looking sowhat like a rugged Ogre, with feathers protruding from its forearms, half a demon’s wing on one side of its back, and a bluish discharge trickling out of its severed ear… Not only did it have two arms, but there were all sorts of arms protruding from its waist and its back.

Since it was asleep, it didn’t appear hostile. However, its looks were enough to make your breath catch from nerves just by looking at it.

It was Act 2, Chapter 7’s ‘Devil of the Underground Waterways’. Professor Glast’s research team was holding it to study it and further research on monsters.

Ayla had been called to a professor’s laboratory, only to be attacked suddenly and fall unconscious. Then, once she’d woken up, she had co face to face with a sleeping monster.

Not to ntion, she was in the sa room with the unconscious fallen aristocrat that was an enemy of hers… I could understand Ayla’s dramatic reaction.

“I see you’ve regained consciousness, Ed Rothstaylor.”

On the other side of the bars, a man that appeared to be the caretaker ca into view.

“I’m sorry about the poor treatnt you’re receiving despite being a precious student.”

His face was full of wrinkles. He was wearing a mask to hide the burn scars that he had received while researching elental studies. Right on the edge of the mask, I could see a bit of the scar that certainly caught my eye.

His bent spine, small stature, patchy hair… It all showed the passage of ti and stress, making him look like a scruffy old man… Either way, he was the most well-rounded of all Professor Glast’s colleagues and followers.

Koom, a researcher of Celestial Studies.

In the final chapter of Act 2, Professor Glast’s laboratory phase, he played the role of the final boss.

He was an enemy with quite a tricky pattern, but if you avoided his attacks and bought ti, the Celestial Magic Power would eventually eat away at him until he self-destructed. After that, the Devil of the Underground Waterways would escape from the laboratory once more, buying Professor Glast so ti to escape.

“I’m not sure what Professor Glast is thinking, but I have been instructed to take care of you thoroughly, as you are both necessary talents.”

“Is that so?”

“You’re calr than I thought you would be.”

‘Opening my eyes to find myself in Professor Glast’s secret laboratory…’ That was sothing I had already predicted would unfold, even before I had fallen unconscious. It was sothing that was supposed to happen, so there wasn’t a reason for

to be taken aback by it.

“I thought you would jump at

and cause a ruckus like Ayla. You’re quick to understand what I say, more than I had expected.”

From what he was saying, it appeared that Ayla had started screaming to be let go as soon as she’d co to her senses.

As he turned his head and looked towards Ayla, she flinched and took on a rather pathetic defensive stance once more. As for , I didn’t have the slightest intention to do anything of the sort. My paranoia over getting seriously hurt was a disease.

“Well, Professor Glast must have a reason for all of this.”

When I responded with such a simple answer, both Ayla and Koom tilted their heads in confusion.

No matter how much confidence I might have in Professor Glast’s academic achievents and abilities, it wasn’t normal for

to say such a thing after being subdued and kidnapped without a single explanation.

I didn’t particularly believe in Professor Glast as in the first place. Being a character that would et his fall at the end of the storyline anyway, I really couldn’t.

“Anyway, I’ll be at the end of this corridor looking over so research data while I monitor everything, so don’t worry too much.”

After saying that, Koom walked towards the end of the hallway.

Sticking my head out, I looked down the hallway and—as expected—it had the exact sa layout as the ga.

If you went across the hallway, you would probably find the Monster Research room. It was pretty much the central location here in Professor Glast’s secret laboratory.

I still couldn’t believe I was able to go deep into that place without any risks. The route I needed to take had been shortened quite a bit.

There was nothing else I had to do. All I needed to do was sit around and wait. Everything would be fine.

While I sat there and waited mindlessly, Taylee would eventually show up with his subjugation team to save the kidnapped Ayla. They would make a complete wreck of the laboratory. During that mont, I would take the opportunity to escape, and head straight to the Soul Library.

To get all the way down to the monster research room, they would have to go through the Soul Library and defeat the librarian. Once Taylee arrived, the library would have already been fully cleared.

No matter what I ended up doing, there wouldn’t be any magic books or bookshelves with souls in them to interfere, as they would have already been subdued. Also, there wouldn’t be any angry soul librarians as I wandered the library.

With the area completely free of those that would get in my way, I could run around and finish my plans—gathering all the various magic book replicas and magic engineering production formulas that I wanted.

And what would I have to do during that ti? What will I have to take care of?

Absolutely nothing.

… The idea of reaping so many benefits without putting in any of the work was starting to make my conscience hurt.

“Heeek… Eeek…”

Well, it was a bit ntally exhausting being in the sa space as Ayla while she trembled in fear.

Professor Glast really made a poor choice. Why kidnap Ayla, of all people?

That woman was just a ticking ti bomb, one that was heavily favored by the main characters of the world. Since he picked the wrong person, he should at least be prepared to have his laboratory completely destroyed.

Even as I said that, I do feel a little sorry for Professor Glast. He didn’t have the luxury of knowing the full situation.

“If you take even one step closer, I’ll scream. I’ll bite my tongue, so don’t co any closer. I… I’m serious! D-Do I look like I’m lying? If I fight back with all my might, even you won't be able to walk away unscathed! So don’t move an inch!”

I wasn’t moving. I didn’t say a word, and I really don’t care whether she bit her tongue or not. I was just blankly staring into the air, trying to organize my thoughts as Ayla’s legs suddenly fell asleep and she started spewing out sharp words at .

When I glared at her, she gathered so weak magic power and created a low-grade defense.

Her beginner Elental Magic proficiency had improved sowhat, but not enough to keep up with her grade. With a defense as weak as that, I would be able to shatter it even casting a quick and half-assed ‘Wind Blade’. Though, considering that her body was still trembling in fear, she did put up the best defense that she could.

After everything that had happened, I didn’t think it would be of use to tell her that I didn’t have any hostility towards her.

If I had to decide how I felt towards Ayla, it would have to be more friendly or kindly.

I had already played Silvenia's Failed Swordmaster several tis. Within every route, at any point in ti or in any situation, I was able to witness her honesty and sincerity as she stood next to the protagonist ti and ti again.

It was quite comndable, so I viewed her highly. Why would I ever think of her with hatred or hostility?

Given the situation, and what Ayla thought of , it couldn’t be helped that she would stay away from

like that… But still, it wouldn’t be bad to at least say everything that I have to say to her either way.

“I’m not going to attack you, so you don’t have to overreact.”

I decided to only speak facts.

“I don’t have any ill feelings towards you.”

“What… Did you say…?”

Sitting in a corner of the prison cell, I sighed deeply as I stared up at the ceiling.

Ayla still hadn’t relaxed at all, despite my totally disinterested behavior towards her. For a long ti, she kept staring at

as she breathed heavily. Then she slowly lowered her arm, though she still had that anxious expression on her face.

As the magic power flowing along her arms stopped, the defense she had been keeping up gradually faded. It didn’t an much in the first place since Ayla’s level of magic power ant that she wouldn’t have been able to keep that defense up for an extended period of ti anyway.

“… You’re lying.”

“If I did want to harass you for so reason, would it make any sense for

to waste this golden opportunity? Don’t you agree?”

In a place where no one could get away, where our vast difference in strength ant that Ayla couldn’t fight back…

Ayla must have been completely horrified, trembling in fear because she recognized that fact.

“Stop wasting your strength saying stupid things and just sit still, Ayla.”

I spoke to Ayla with a confident tone to my voice.

“As long as you wait, Taylee will eventually co to save you.”

“Taylee…? You… Do you even have the right to say his na…?”

“And what if I don’t? Well, I am sorry about what happened at the entrance exam, but there was a reason I had to do that back then. There’s also the fact that he helped trendously during the Glasskan Incident.”

“You’re sorry…?”

Ayla glanced down at

with her eyes full of confusion, staring at

again.

“Saying that you’re sorry… Did you just apologize? Right now, you…? Are you really Ed Rothstaylor?”

“Are you suspicious of

just because I apologized? Seriously, why can’t you just trust ?”

That wouldn’t have been a strange reaction if I were the sa Ed from before I entered his body, but it had already been a year since then.

At that point, she needed to calm down and accept it already. Whether the character Ed had changed, gone crazy after being excommunicated, or he was like that from the beginning… Just accept one of those reasons as fact and realize that I no longer had the desire to pick a fight with her like before.

As long as the main storyline didn’t get twisted, I didn’t really care what she did. None of that was of interest to .

“Even if you don’t believe in , you can believe in Taylee, right?”

“Uhm… That’s…”

“I’m sure he’ll co and rescue you. He’ll find out that you’ve been kidnapped and he’ll sohow figure out his way down to this secret laboratory, destroying everything in his path as he cos to get you out of here. So don't be scared for no reason at all. Just trust in him while you wait.”

Changing my strategy, I started ntioning Taylee’s na a lot more as her expression relaxed a bit. Nevertheless, that defensive stance of hers didn’t change one bit. Sitting in a corner and trembling like a little puppy in front of a wild beast… Seeing that, I felt sorry for her instead of angry.

“I believe in Taylee.”

“Alright. That’s great.”

“But I don’t want Taylee to co to my rescue.”

What nonsense was she talking about now?

Ayla continued with her story with her face buried in her knees.

“I’m nothing more than a useless lump of baggage for him. Taylee has gone through all sorts of hardships in his life. If he ends up risking his life breaking into this place, which is full of monsters, all because I was kidnapped… Then I’d rather…”

“Ayla Triss. You’ve been watching over Taylee all this ti, so you know perfectly well that he’s the kind of guy that becos stronger with each hardship in his way.”

The protagonist of