novelnext Chapter 214 : Clockwork Rabbit
Chapter 214 : Clockwork Rabbit
It was an adorable doll decorated with pink and white ribbons.A winding key was attached to its back.
‘...Does it move if I wind this?’
Click, click...
After winding the key several times, the doll trembled.
Then...
Tap!
It leaped out of my hand and landed on the ground.
Snap!
The rabbit doll extended its hand toward me.
...Was it asking for a handshake?
“I look forward to working with you.”
I bent down and shook the tiny hand it had offered.
It seemed to have rather decent artificial intelligence.
‘I remember seeing dolls like this in the game a few times. They really did move according to the user's commands.’
However, their weakness was obvious.
Their durability was so pitiful that they were destroyed after taking a single hit.
On top of that, they practically had no attack power.
After all, there wasn't a single person in the world who would find the soft cotton fists of this doll painful.
‘Rather than attacking, they were mostly used for scouting or as decoys.’
Even without combining it with anything else, it had been quite useful on its own.
‘Now then... let's see how I can make use of it in this world.’
In the end, I'd only find out through experimentation.
I took the Magic Mini Cannon out of my Subspace.
“Can you hold this? I'm not sure if you'll be able to since you're made of cotton.”
As soon as I asked, the doll immediately nodded and reached out with both hands to accept the cannon.
Then it promptly rested it on its shoulder.
It looked like the kind of scene you'd only see in a Hollywood movie, with the protagonist carrying a bazooka.
Even though it was tiny, it somehow looked dependable.
“Isn't it heavy?”
The doll nodded again.
...Though its little arms did seem to be trembling rather pitifully.
Still, since it insisted it could handle it, I decided to let it be.
“Then follow me.”
There happened to be another monster spawn point nearby.
Sure enough, after walking only a short distance, I discovered a spider-type monster wandering among the bushes.
It stood about eighty centimeters tall.
Roughly half the size of the Lizardman and the small golem I had dealt with earlier.
Compared to the other monsters, it was faster and had higher attack power.
In exchange, its HP and defense were significantly lower.
Looking at the doll, I snapped my fingers.
“When I give this signal, fire.”
The doll nodded.
Holding Illaune's Heart, I reached into empty space with my other hand.
A card wreathed in flames appeared in my grasp.
‘Let's go.’
I charged at the monster with all my strength.
Since its HP and defense were low, successfully landing an ambush was the key.
‘Huayo!’
Fwoosh—!
The moment flames enveloped Illaune's Heart,
I swung it straight at the monster.
Kieeek—!
With a sharp slash, two of the spider's legs were severed instantly and burst into flames.
Just as it prepared to counterattack—
Snap!
I snapped my fingers.
BOOM!
A small explosion erupted, sending the spider's body flying backward.
The doll had fired the cannon.
‘To be honest, I had my doubts about whether it'd actually be able to aim properly...’
It was an excellent marksman.
Without harming me in the slightest, it had struck only the spider's body with perfect accuracy.
The impact from the cannonball had briefly stunned it.
This was my chance.
Gripping Illaune's Heart with both hands, I brought it down onto the green gemstone attached to the spider's back.
Crack!
The gemstone shattered into pieces.
The spider's body dissolved into black ash and scattered away.
...The first hunt was over.
My coordinated attack with the doll had been a complete success.
When I gave the doll a thumbs-up, it returned the gesture with one of its own.
I picked up the chest lying on the ground and opened it.
The moment I saw the ring inside, I couldn't help laughing.
“I'm getting something of this rank already?”
The description of the Object before my eyes read:
SS-rank - Ring of Replication
Creates a duplicate of an Object.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
SS-rank.
A top-tier item.
At this stage of the game, the probability of obtaining an SS-rank Object was below two percent.
I hadn't expected one at all, yet it appeared much sooner than I thought.
‘At first glance, being able to duplicate Objects makes this seem absurdly overpowered.’
However, in the game, it hadn't been nearly as incredible as it looked.
You could only carry up to five Objects.
In other words, even after duplicating them, you could only carry three additional copies.
You were also limited to giving only one duplicate of the same Object to another person.
As a result, it wasn't considered an overwhelmingly powerful Object.
...However.
‘My Inventory is practically limitless.’
This was going to be much more interesting than I'd expected.
After putting on the ring, I extended my hand toward the doll.
Two hours after the mock battle began.
The Blue Team's resting area.
The Spring of Life.
This place, where a small spring bubbled forth beneath a tree radiating green energy, was where combatants washed away their accumulated fatigue and recovered their vitality.
Ren, Arlhart, and Elined were taking a break there.
...Thud!
Thud! Thud!
The ground trembled little by little.
Something enormous was approaching.
The surface of the spring rippled.
Small pebbles bounced across the ground.
Soon, that 'something' appeared before Ren's group.
...It was a gigantic golem made of stone and green vegetation.
It stood roughly seven meters tall.
A watchtower had been mounted on its upper body.
Yet Ren's group wasn't surprised.
Instead, they looked at it as though it were a familiar sight.
Thud!
The golem lowered itself onto one knee before coming to a stop.
...Then someone lightly jumped down from its shoulder.
“Yahoo~ I'm back!”
A cheerful voice.
The owner of the golem was Kaelyn.
“Welcome back, Ms. Kaelyn. Seeing that golem up close is actually pretty intimidating.”
“Hm? Really? Hehe, I tried making it based on a Block. Does it look similar?”
A Block.
A colossal golem standing twenty meters tall.
In the Mock War, it was regarded as one of the battlefield's core weapons.
However, because there weren't enough participants for the mock battle, it seemed they had decided not to use one.
“I've never actually seen a Block before, but this is incredible. I never imagined you'd turn a watchtower into a golem. But... did Professor Jennings approve of this?”
Ren asked with some curiosity.
After all, the watchtower was essentially the team's lifeline.
He had expected Professor Jennings to scold her for disrupting the strategy.
“Well, Professor Jennings said it was part of the strategy, so he gave me permission.”
When the Imperial Princess answered, Ren blinked in surprise.
“I thought he'd be angry that you were dragging the watchtower around. He's much more generous than I expected...?”
“Yeah! I was so nervous because I thought I'd get scolded, but instead he thanked me and said it was a genius idea!”
Kaelyn replied with a delighted smile.
Elined looked back and forth between Kaelyn and the watchtower golem.
During the first mock battle, Kaelyn had simply followed Ren's group around.
She hadn't shown much interest in competing for Contribution Score.
This time, however, things were different.
“This is the first time I've seen Kunking and Sia struggle.”
Elined quietly remarked.
Even those two had failed to land a decisive blow against Kaelyn's golem.
Well, before they could even get close, Kaelyn had unleashed an overwhelming barrage of magic, flaunting her tremendous reserves of Magical Energy.
She was essentially a walking aircraft carrier.
“But~ when Pinzer's Young Master joined in and all three attacked me together, it got pretty rough. We were fighting hard until just now, but I thought I was about to lose, so I ran away.”
“Ah, I saw that. Once you retreated, they also withdrew.”
“Actually, if they'd chased me, I was planning to blow up the golem with a big boom~ and take all three of them down together. But I think they caught on and backed off instead. That's why I hate people who are too perceptive!”
Kaelyn laughed mischievously.
As the conversation continued, Ren suddenly noticed the look in Elined's eyes and spoke.
“Ms. Kaelyn, have you happened to see Mr. Villed?”
“Hm? Young Master?”
Kaelyn tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“Huh? You're right. I haven't seen Young Master at all. Wait... don't tell me the golem accidentally stepped on him...? It stepped on quite a few people, but I never paid attention to who they were...”
“...Ah.”
Elined's eyes widened for a moment before she quietly closed them again.
...Then she turned her gaze toward the hologram near the Spring.
The top ten Contribution Scores were being displayed in real time.
Kaelyn - 45 Points
Heidel - 38 Points
Kunking - 38 Points
Elined - 31 Points
Sia - 27 Points
...
Arlhart - 22 Points
...
Ren - 19 Points
There were currently around forty Schulers participating in the mock battle.
However, Villed's name had never appeared in the Top Ten.
He hadn't even been seen anywhere on the battlefield.
‘Just where is he, and what is he doing...?’
Elined let out a sigh.
It wasn't that she didn't believe in Villed.
She did.
She still considered him a trustworthy companion.
But...
Some things were simply impossible.
The current fifth place belonged to Sia.
There was no way Villed could defeat Sia in battle.
Even Elined herself couldn't guarantee victory over Sia in a one-on-one fight.
Then perhaps Villed intended to use some kind of strategy, just as she had?
...But there had been no sign of him whatsoever.
The mock battle had already been underway for two hours.
Although it was only the middle phase of the battle, she saw no hope.
Elined clenched her fist.
If she lost her position as Fields' Schuler...
Then it couldn't be helped.
If she simply worked even harder than before and became the top student, another professor would surely offer to take her as their Schuler.
Even if she could no longer receive the teachings of the Professor she respected most, Fields...
That alone would be enough.
...Yes.
That would be enough.
‘It was my fault.
So... I have to take responsibility.’
After all, she had made that bet without even asking for Villed's opinion.
Elined steeled her resolve.
...Meanwhile.
At the peaceful watchtower along the Blue Team's left route.
Two Schulers were leaning against the watchtower, fast asleep.
The third, a large-built Schuler, yawned while staring at the horizon.
...Two hours had already passed since the mock battle began.
Yet they hadn't seen a single enemy.
“I'm bored. How has no one attacked us for two whole hours?”
Whether they had actually woken up or had only been pretending to sleep, the other two Schulers opened their eyes.
“Other than those three monsters, the other team isn't much.”
“They've even got someone like Villed taking up a spot. There's no way we're losing.”
“Right?”
The large Schuler nodded in agreement.
...Just then.
He sensed someone's presence.
An ambush?
Turning toward the source...
Instead of an enemy, he found something adorable.
“A doll?”
The rabbit doll marched forward with stiff, disciplined movements of its arms and legs.
It looked strangely similar to an Imperial soldier marching in formation.
The contrast between that serious march and the tiny rabbit made it oddly cute.
...Clunk.
As the winding key on its back stopped, the doll abruptly toppled over.
The large Schuler stared at it for a while.
...After glancing at the other two, who seemed half asleep, he picked up the doll.
Just as he was examining it—
A voice came from behind him.
“So this is your kind of thing?”
“That's pretty unusual. I never thought a big guy like you would carry around a stuffed animal even during a mock battle.”
“T-This isn't mine! I'm a real man! I don't carry around stupid dolls like this!”
The large Schuler's face turned red as he prepared to throw it away.
At that moment—
A tiny sound echoed out.
“Do you hear something? A squeaking noise.”
“Is it coming from the doll?”
One of the other Schulers snatched it away and pressed his ear against its stomach.
...Beep.
Beep.
The sound was definitely coming from inside.
“Doesn't it feel like there's something inside it?”
“Hey! Don't tear it open!”
Before the large Schuler could stop them, the other two ripped open the stuffed rabbit's belly.
Inside was a bundle of long cylindrical objects.
It looked like a bomb...
No.
“This really is a bomb...!”
KABOOOOOOOM—!
At that instant, the surrounding area was engulfed in a massive explosion.