Cornelia Wants to Clock Out

Mental Clash was originally a high-risk control spell card with significant restrictions.

Mages with high mental stats rarely engage in close-quarters combat.

Meanwhile, most warriors skilled in melee combat don't necessarily have the mental stats to outmatch their opponents.

If they were to lose the clash, it would be equivalent to helping the opponent control themselves.

Except against specific professions, this was a spell card with very low versatility and was considered quite useless.

However.

If Dekan were to use this card, he would profit regardless of whether he won or lost the clash!

If he won, he would stun the opponent; if he lost, they would both be stunned, and the opponent would likely be stunned for longer than him.

The moment the spell was activated, a sharp, piercing pain stimulated Dekan's brain, accompanied by an irresistible sense of dizziness.

His vision immediately went black, and his body collapsed.

In the final instant before losing consciousness, he saw it.

Olive's body was twitching violently, and tears were sliding uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Her expression looked as if she were crying in pain yet laughing in excitement.

Beneath the gauze, her gaze had already become incredibly unfocused.

"Ulu-gulu-lulu..."

The pain, which was so intense it exceeded anything she had ever known, seemed to have snapped her nerves, leaving her unable to even control her own tongue.

After Dekan fell into a coma, the limp Olive also quickly tumbled from her chair onto the floor.

Not long after, the lock on the laboratory door began to tremble slightly.

"Ding!"

Accompanied by the sound of shattering, the door was forced open.

The one who walked into the Demon Laboratory was none other than the lock-picking expert Cornelia.

Before using [Mental Clash], Dekan had activated the broadcast function on his ring.

This transmitted the sounds from inside the Demon Laboratory, right beside Dekan, to the nearby corridors.

Even Cornelia, who had been waiting outside, could clearly hear the sound of him and Olive hitting the floor.

And, of course, the sound of Olive's incoherent babbling.

The task Dekan had entrusted to Cornelia was to wait outside the laboratory and, if she heard two "thud" sounds over the school broadcast, to immediately pick the lock and storm into the Demon Laboratory.

Then, Cornelia needed to finish Olive off before she regained consciousness.

Because Dekan wasn't sure how long he could keep Olive stunned.

After all, Olive was a high-ranking demon; given enough time, she might be able to recover on her own.

If that happened, Dekan would truly be in danger.

Cornelia looked at the chaotic scene inside the Demon Laboratory and felt the urge to make a snide remark, but she held it back.

She saw Olive sprawled on the ground, her face flushed, tongue lolling out, completely unconscious.

It looked as if someone had forcibly poured a bottle of strong liquor down her throat.

From time to time, her body would still twitch a couple of times.

As for Dekan, he was lying peacefully beside her as if he were merely asleep, with a faint smile even lingering on the corners of his mouth.

If one didn't know Dekan's plan, anyone passing by would surely suspect that Dekan had done something heinous.

Cornelia hurried to Olive's side.

She had no time to dawdle now; she still had the most important task—

To kill Olive.

This demon was extremely dangerous and had to be completely eliminated to prevent future trouble.

Generally speaking, even if Olive was unconscious, it would be very difficult for a Tier 3 Cornelia to quickly kill a Tier 6 demon without waking her up in the process.

After all, she had even broken her hammer without being able to kill the Tier 5 Batchel.

The physical structure of demons was truly miraculous.

However, Dekan had previously discovered a key point.

A very important method to easily kill demons within the Demon Academy!

Cornelia lifted the unconscious Olive.

She ran quickly to the window.

She pulled the window open and then threw Olive out.

She leaned against the window ledge, gazing out at the world beyond.

Olive had fallen into the endless purgatory, her figure vanishing completely from sight.

Cornelia let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, job done."

She stretched languidly by the window, feeling entirely at ease.

Having an external brain was simply wonderful.

After a moment of thought, she checked the mission objectives.

Dekan had instructed her to check the exploration progress of Mission 1 to confirm whether Olive was truly dead.

During their previous explorations, they had determined that entering a room granted a small amount of base exploration progress, while clearing a room yielded a significantly larger reward.

Whether by clearing the room according to the rules or by killing the Demon Teacher, both counted as a successful clear.

She saw that the exploration progress for Mission 1 had indeed surged just as Dekan had predicted, coming very close to the 50% target requirement.

[Exploration Progress 32.7% → 47.7%]

[Remaining Time: 5 hours 10 minutes]

In that case, clearing just one or two more rooms would be enough.

However, Dekan and Cornelia had already done more than enough; they had agreed before entering the boss room that they would stop committing "crimes" after this job.

They needed to take a break and then properly enjoy the pool party that awaited them.

As for the humans in the boss room, Dekan's advice was not to make contact.

Because they hadn't defeated Olive using the conventional method, attempting to rescue the humans according to the original, standard walkthrough path might trigger unpredictable chain reactions.

With Dekan in a comatose state, the fewer things Cornelia did, the better.

Cornelia crouched down, looking at the unconscious Dekan on the floor, tempted to poke his face to wake him up.

But after a moment of thought, she refrained from an action that might accidentally injure a teammate.

She would just let him rest for a while.

Carefully, she reached out to support Dekan's back and the backs of his knees, lifting him into her arms.

Then, she quickly left the Demon Laboratory and headed in the direction of the Cooking Classroom.

"Umm..."

Since Dekan had only suffered the effects of triple pain and the dizziness from a mental shock, he didn't stay unconscious for long before gradually regaining consciousness.

He felt someone gently holding him, the soft, warm touch making him feel strangely at ease.

He felt goosebumps rise on his skin, and his eyes opened involuntarily.

At this moment, Cornelia had just left the Demon Laboratory and was walking down the corridor.

The moment Dekan opened his eyes, he realized he was being carried in a bridal style by Cornelia.

The two locked eyes.

Both fell into silence.

It should have been a rather lovely scene.

But for a boy to be held in a girl's arms, it felt a bit awkward.

"...I think it would be more appropriate for you to carry me on your back."

Dekan chose an opening line that was slightly less awkward.

"I was afraid that if I tried to carry you on my back, I might break your bones."

Cornelia had indeed considered carrying Dekan on her back.

But she had kept in mind Dekan's initial instructions to her—that his body was fragile and she shouldn't hurt him.

Therefore, she had chosen the safer method of transport.

"Forget it, this is fine too."

Dekan let it go.

It was fragrant, soft, very considerate, and very comforting.

After being busy for most of the Shadow World, what was wrong with enjoying himself a little?

Cornelia: "Should I put you down now?"

Dekan: "My head is still a bit dizzy, just take me to the Cooking Classroom."

Cornelia: "Oh."