I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City-Chapter 124: The Nest of the Dream Demon

After finishing his shower and heading out of Orion Academy to drink his coffee,

Rohan was met with a gaze that had stuck to him like glue since earlier.

There was no hostility, only a gaze full of affection.

The owners of the gaze were obvious to anyone who looked.

It was Shion and Clara, who had left the mansion with expensive observation equipment they had recently purchased.

Though they had been by Rohan's side for months, the two girls had not made much progress, staying busy with subtle advances.

Still, they hadn't spent the time of their one-sided crush idly.

The two girls had sharpened their instincts as women quite sharply.

From the moment Rohan had introduced the fine restaurant, Anshimjeong, and mentioned he was going to have dinner with friends,

When they realized that it was the place Noah Frozenheart and Ichinose °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Yui had once visited together,

And the moment Rohan told them he was having dinner with friends today,

The girls' instincts had sensed something, and they had begun to follow Rohan, armed with their equipment.

And then,

The moment Rohan got out of the taxi and met Ichinose Yui,

Shion and Clara saw Ichinose Yui’s expression as she was talking to him.

It was like looking in a mirror.

The same expression that they both had when they were with Rohan.

Shion looked at Clara, and Clara looked at Shion, both realizing it at the same time.

"...?"

On the rooftop, Clara, taking her eyes off the telescope, looked at Shion standing next to her.

Judging by the serious expression, Shion must have felt the same realization.

"Shion, sis..."

"Seems like we’re in the same situation. Rohan's in the academy, and there's no way he’s not popular with the opposite sex."

The illusions of competition were stronger than expected.

Samhwa Country, one of the great nations. The heir to the largest corporation, Tianwaitian. She was modest and beautiful to boot.

"Hmm."

Shion continued to contemplate seriously, facing the night breeze from the high-rise building,

while Clara kept her eyes fixed on the telescope, observing Rohan and Ichinose moving below.

‘I’m not sure if we’ll be able to cooperate if she’s from Samhwa.’

The nation had eliminated the concept of polygamy.

Could Ichinose Yui, raised in a country with completely different values, cooperate smoothly like Clara?

‘In any case...’

Neither of them was willing to give up Rohan.

Whether by throwing dust in his eyes or placing a knife to his throat, they would not yield.

They would never give up.

‘This is getting urgent...’

With her equipment in hand, Shion moved with Clara to the next building, trailing Rohan.

Now that competitors besides Lethe, who had recently started calling Rohan for video calls and sending gifts, had been confirmed, they had to do something, but it was a daunting task.

Confessions felt like a step-by-step verification process, and progress was slow.

How should she change her relationship with Rohan?

She had tried some methods suggested by the internet and some techniques Clara had seen in anime, but she wasn’t sure if they worked.

‘I’m afraid of being disliked, so I’m stuck not being able to do anything.’

Sighing, Shion looked up at the night sky when suddenly...

"Ah, sis!!!"

"?!"

At Clara’s urgent voice, Shion quickly turned her head down.

Standing in the alley,

In front of them appeared the black monument.

They confirmed it.

‘...Monolith!’

The two girls threw down their equipment and instinctively rushed to the building rooftop.

Their goal was to jump in before the ominous energy could take shape.

They ran with all their might.

But the long distance they had secured for safe observation became an issue.

By the time they had closed the distance by more than half, the Monolith swallowed Rohan and Ichinose.

"...?"

All that remained in the alley were deep indents in the ground.

Shion and Clara stood frozen, staring at the traces.

***

"..."

Rohan opened his eyes.

He was lying down, his back against something, and fortunately, Ichinose was in his arms.

'Where is this...'

His eyes captured the ceiling of the world.

A moon emanating an alien yin energy hung in the sky. The sky was neither blue nor black.

It was enveloped in a mysterious atmosphere of soft red and purple hues.

Rohan lifted his head to look around.

A forest where black roses grew everywhere.

The fog was dense. The air carried a heavy, sweet scent.

He checked the quest again.

[Den of Nightmares] ◇ Quest Details: A Monolith, the symbol of anomaly, has appeared in Academy City. Escape safely from the twisted space with your ally! ◇ Type: Emergency ◇ Success Reward: 30,000P, full party recovery, unlock exclusive main story ◇ Failure Penalty: None

'...Nightmares. This isn’t good.'

There are incubi among the monsters.

However, in Abyss City, a 'nightmare' usually refers to a succubus.

A monster that bestows a horrendously cruel status effect called "Charm."

It’s especially brutal and harsh on male characters.

A headache is already coming on.

"Rohan...?"

"Are you okay, Ichinose?"

She wriggled as she lifted her head from his embrace.

As Rohan let go of her hand, she coughed and stood up.

"Ahem, I’m fine. But what's this sticky smell..."

With a serious face, she sniffed and then opened her eyes wide.

Looking around, her face filled with confusion.

"Have you heard that the Monolith sends people somewhere?"

"...A dungeon?"

"Yes."

Rohan confirmed as he surveyed the surroundings.

'I should figure out the direction first.'

There was no need to explain right away that this was the Den of Nightmares.

Ichinose would soon conclude what kind of monsters they would face here.

'With all this fog, it’s hard to judge.'

If there were buildings in sight, it might be possible to guess, but the thick fog made it difficult even for Rohan.

At least he was reassured by the fact that he had secured his weapon.

He allowed himself the luxury of a calm observation.

'Maybe we should start leaving traces as we move.'

He decided.

He looked away from the rampant black roses to Ichinose, who seemed frozen in place, barely able to look around in her first experience of such an environment.

It was a natural reaction, all things considered.

Rohan approached her and playfully poked her soft cheek.

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Her head turned toward him, her face full of anxiety.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"Rohan..."

"I was the first to return from the Monolith, remember? Trust me."

Rohan hadn’t mentioned it himself, but Ichinose must have known.

Information would have reached the upper echelons of the great powers.

"Sigh..."

Ichinose took a deep breath.

Her expression slightly relaxed.

"Prepare to treat me to a steak when we get back, Baby-nose."

"...When we get back, I'll rent out a place and let you eat all you want."

"That would be torture. Just buy it normally."

Rohan took out his phone, activated the timer, broke off a branch, and plucked a black rose from the ground.

He made sure to press the flower down with a stone to leave a trace before they started walking.

Ichinose carefully followed behind Rohan.

After about five minutes of walking in silence.

"Rohan. Where do you think this is?"

"From experience, it’s probably a completely different world. Even the sky's color is odd."

"...I guess dungeons are like that. That was a silly question."

"Not at all. It’s a valid question."

Rohan spoke as he unsheathed a glowing blade from his back.

Ichinose, sensing unknown creatures slowly approaching, prepared herself by resting her hand on her katana, Yoru.

Unlike the tense Ichinose.

Rohan could anticipate the approaching monsters.

'The minions of nightmares are mainly of two kinds.'

The state of humans who have fallen prey to a succubus or incubus.

This was even covered in the theory classes at Orion Academy.

Creatures drained of vitality by nightmares, left as empty husks.

And those who attracted the attention of nightmares and became playthings, known as Pleasure Dolls.

Husks, like empty candy wrappers discarded after eating, were likely to be encountered in such forests or outskirts.

Pleasure Dolls would usually be found in the lairs of nightmares.

While husks are as easy to handle as zombies, Pleasure Dolls and nightmares vary greatly depending on the situation.

— Aahhh... ugh... — Ughh...

The meaningless voices revealed themselves.

As Rohan predicted, three husks approached.

Their translucent grey skin, sunken eyes, and dried-out faces moved sluggishly like zombies.

'No anomaly in the dungeon then.'

Seeing that the husks were all male, it was highly probable that there were succubi, not incubi.

"Ichinose, they’re husks."

"Husks mean..."

A single piece of information was enough.

Ichinose must have finished deducing what kind of monsters were present in the dungeon.

"Shh!"

With a step forward, Rohan’s blade arced in a semicircle.

The husks’ waists were severed, collapsing into pieces.

[+2P] [+2P] [+2P]

Rohan did not hesitate to strike down those who were once human.

For them, death was both liberation and rest.

"Rohan..."

"Yeah."

"What if you fall under a succubus’s charm?"

She had obviously come to a conclusion.

Rohan felt a sense of pride, but Ichinose’s heart ached as she spoke, her mouth dry and hands trembling.

"Just stab me in the thigh with a knife, or hit my solar plexus with the sheath of your sword. Pain will wake me up."

"How can you say that!"

Dealing with a succubus’s allure could be handled in many ways.

The most well-known and effective method is to inflict a pain sharp enough to snap the mind back to reality.

"Is there another way?"

"..."

With a serious tone, Rohan started walking again.

"If you hesitate and I turn into a husk, you'll have to kill me."

"Rohan. Is there possibly another way..."

"Eating plants like sage or lavender might help a bit? Having a strong mind is best, though."

What Rohan mentioned was one of the basics taught in textbooks.

However, both knew.

There were a few other ways to break the charm.