Otherworld TRPG Game Master

70 – The Academy’s Rising Difficulty Level 2

“Hey, Lorey. Was there anything special happening outside?”

“Matao-nim. Didn’t I already tell you the color of the underwater thief’s underwear?”

“Forget about that, more importantly, something… different.”

“Something, huh…”

In order to extract all information about the junior for the violet Matao-nim, also known as ‘Facial Scar Senior’ Lorei, repeated the reminiscence of the nth season.

It seemed like the adventurer friend got hit by an ogre’s club and flew away because of the junior. I want to go out and do personal research, but is it okay if I go out? Was there something I didn’t mention?

Ah.

Lorei flicked his finger.

“The junior didn’t seem to grasp the fear of the golem, so I thought it was a good opportunity and volunteered for a fight with the cleaning golem.”

“Gasp…! Why did you do that, Lorei! What if the junior ends up with trauma…?”

“A fantasy magician should have some trauma from a golem. Anyway, as everyone expected, the battle ended with the junior’s defeat, but…”

The junior’s final performance.

Although cut off by the Dust Devil Attack, the junior was trying to do something to the golem. Since it was a spell he had never heard of, he casually asked on the way back. What kind of magic were you trying to use?

The junior said it was a spell improvised on the spot.

“So, for old golems, illusion magic doesn’t work because they don’t have consciousness, right?”

“Mostly true.”

“So, I’m going to create consciousness and put it in and win… That’s what the junior said.”

“…!!”

Matao-nim stiffened as if struck by lightning. Since it wasn’t the attack of the Azure Matao, it must have been a lightning bolt of inspiration that pierced Matao-nim. What could this small genius have come up with?

Reading a person’s inner thoughts is a difficult task, but reading Matao-nim’s thoughts is easy. Various fantasies rose around Matao-nim captured by inspiration. The distorted appearance of the junior, a spaghetti monster flying through the universe.

Opening up a junior colleague’s head and taking something out, then putting it into the spaghetti monster…?

“Now that I have something to research, please leave.”

Lorei decided to pretend she didn’t see anything. It was wise not to get involved in annoying and suspicious matters. She pulled the doormat out and chased the spaghetti monster away, then slammed the door shut. That should put her at ease.

Lorei regained her own time.

—–

Mataju wandered aimlessly around his office muttering to himself.

“Yeah…yeah. That’s right. If I can’t hit it because it doesn’t have a body, then I’ll create a body for it…”

An idea he had never considered before. There was a clue here.

The “thing” that had taken root in his mind was a highly complex magic-mental entity. It could erase people’s memories, drastically change their personalities, and exist conceptually without a physical form, making it impossible to touch.

Yuna didn’t know how it came to be or what its exact nature was. After observing and collecting records for a long time, she only managed to barely grasp fragments of it.

So she had no choice but to wait, slowing down the progress of erosion. The reason she didn’t reveal the true nature of the “something” was because of the common characteristics of mental entities. It turned belief into power.

Yes, just like the illusion magic she created. The more she thought about it and brought it to mind, the stronger she became.

It was a contradiction to try not to think about it as much as possible, while at the same time having to deal with it. A contradiction of not having a physical form. Because of its complexity, not only the Emperor of the Empire and the Great Magician of Mataju, but also those around them couldn’t solve it and just wandered around.

Yuna Mataju also thought that at a crucial moment, she could only resort to her trump card.

“Create it…and strike.”

Give the “thing” a physical form and attack.

Perhaps it could be an effective preemptive strike. Although she couldn’t completely eliminate it, she might be able to weaken its power to some extent. So, what should she give it, what should she bestow upon it?

The clue was in the session.

If it was closely tied to the mind, within the simulation, she might be able to deal with the phenomena caused by the “thing” while minimizing them.

A simulation world implemented through fantasy magic. He was conducting a Cthulhu session targeting academy students. Yuna, hidden from view, was sneaking in, meticulously observing his actions.

A world influenced by some sinister spirit. Devotees serving the spirit and a protagonist trying to save such a world. It seemed to have such a structure.

“⋯⋯This time, too, I am, this time, too, late⋯⋯.”

And players were being annihilated in real-time.

“Tastes bloody good. Lost precious ones. Motivation aligned perfectly. The reactions are more passionate than I thought, but since I added time travel to the session theme, it should become even more chaotic⋯⋯.”

He was looking at the suffering trio with a warm smile. It was an action unimaginable for someone who had turned into a caterpillar, crawling on the ground because he couldn’t make 2nd Prince Ilide kiss him.

“But still, it’s not enough. It’s still too relaxed. Maybe I should bring in a journalist NPC, let them build up some affection, and then proceed with the event.”

He was even considering hitting them more. The kids’ mental states have long turned to dust, but he believed that feeling regret up to the ceiling would make starting the second chance from zero a fantastic climax.

Empathy seemed to be significantly diminishing.

Even Saint Tara, Niole, and Neore had lost their appeal. Yet he seemed to have no intention of taking any measures. It’s not normal to offer a person in a rice bowl and hand them a knife after the mess, even if the happiness after the devastation is more thrilling.

This couldn’t go on.

Yuna surveyed the world.

If possible, it would be good to assign a frail NPC that couldn’t even resist to “it.” And if she smashed it, extermination would be simple.

But she couldn’t assign just any character. There had to be commonalities with “it,” whether in personality, abilities, narrative, beliefs, settings, or various other aspects.

The magic Yuna prepared fundamentally involved casting a spell that would ‘delude’ “it.” A vessel with a high synchronization rate that could be mistaken for one’s own body was needed.

Capacity also had to be considered. The larger the capacity, the more “it” could be contained.

An NPC named Isarak caught her eye. It seemed to be designed as a mid-boss. Should she transfer “it” to her? No, it wasn’t a good idea. Isarak’s assigned capacity wasn’t that large.

What about the cult leader? As an NPC designed as the final boss, the capacity was fairly substantial. It seemed like it could hold about 2% of “it.” The given setting also made it easy to draw in “it.” A lunatic, serving an evil spirit, killing people without hesitation for the purpose.

But to see a meaningful effect, she wanted to contain at least 5%⋯⋯.

“⋯⋯Ah.”

Yuna looked up at the sky.

Although it was a night sky filled with shining stars and a radiant moon, Yuna, who had the authority of a game master, saw something different. A colossal cosmic monster made up of countless bubbles. A virtual demon borrowed from a fictional cosmic horror novel.

“…If it’s this.”

If she were to embody ‘it’ in the demon, it seemed like she could fit in 7%. The synchronization rate was also considerably high. An unimaginable demon that manipulated space-time and regarded humans as ants or dust. ‘It’ was an avatar worthy of temptation.

Using the demon as a vessel had additional effects.

What was erased was his memory, but it affected the memories of those who knew him, just like that. The changes caused by ‘it’ spread to the world. Yuna didn’t even know the exact mechanism, but she knew that such a phenomenon occurred.

The reason for wanting to carry out the events in the simulated world was also because of concern over that phenomenon. It was a virtual world, after all. She thought it would be difficult to exert influence outside.

But because there was always the possibility of “what if” in the world. She didn’t know if a random accident would happen to someone who resembled the leader of the real world when she used the leader’s avatar as a vessel.

That’s why the demon.

If she used a non-existent, completely fictional entity that nobody believed in seriously as a vessel. If she could just exterminate it, she could end this incident cleanly.

The only problem with this method was…

“The secret underground… We’ll be leaving in 10 minutes.”

“To think we’re going now.”

The fact that the three of them, who were already working hard, would have to work even harder. The session difficulty would skyrocket. It wouldn’t be an empty data lump of a demon, but a genuine demon with ‘it’ installed, one that actually manipulates people.

“……”

Her conscience pricked at her.

But this time, she needed the help of the pitiful students. The most effective way to inflict damage on the spiritual body was through the power of the mind. Just like how a demon cannot invade a priest who has honed their spiritual practice.

Emotions filled with a person’s courage, friendship, love, anger, and other wills… they greatly helped in defeating the spiritual body.

Still.

Rather than him being completely consumed and going mad, resulting in the empire and society crumbling under a terrifying illusion magic that swept the world… wouldn’t it be better for the three of them to take up arms together…!

“I’m sorry, Bennett. I’m sorry, Tara. I’m sorry, Nioré… But I will do my best too…”

She had planned to wield the power of the Sub Game Master to its fullest extent.

Even so, it would be a difficult journey. Forcing those who embarked on the adventure with good intentions to endure even greater pain was clearly an immoral act. Yuna tightly closed her eyes. However…

The purple Matapju could cut away less valuable things for the sake of something precious.

Yuna felt a twinge of guilt, but she continued with her plan.

In order to extract “it” and inject it into the outside world. He had to stay in the simulation world. At the end of the session, Yuna revealed herself before him.

“U-Uh, Master Matapju?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s me…”

“How long has it been?”

He opened his eyes wide, surprised, and then smiled. It was filled with joy. The feeling of happiness that he was glad to see her after a long time came through directly. Even though he was being consumed by “it,” he seemed to cherish Yuna.

“Did you come secretly? No, that’s not important. What happened at the academy──”

Yuna raised her hand to stop him from pouring out his words. Then she grabbed her hat and lowered it slightly, covering her eyes as she asked,

“Do you… still trust me?”

“Of course. What would you like me to do?”

“I’m going to put you to sleep. For… about two weeks.”

“Erm… It’s not in the spirit of the game to ruin the session schedule for personal reasons.”

Instead of asking why he would put him to sleep for two weeks, he was worried about the next session schedule. Was it that enjoyable?

“Well, I…! I will take on the role of the GM. The session will continue.”

“To snatch away the delicious parts that others have prepared with care…!”

“No, it’s not like that…! In the first place, I prefer love over despair and suffering!”

He muttered for a while. Disappointed that he couldn’t execute until the end despite high expectations, worried if he could properly boost the morale of the players, cautioning against sudden changes.

When Yuna asked if he could quietly comply as a favor for a lifetime, he yielded, demanding a wish ticket from Yuna as a condition.

“It seems like a long vacation. Um, well… Please tell Pingvallez that I won’t be attending the seminar this week. Also, this has the developments for the future. There’s a lot prepared, so even if you leave it, the session should run itself, but there are so many unexpected actions. And about what I intended to do in the next lecture. This time, it’s probably the tentacle maze…”

From Noble mtl dot com

He talked about the various preparations, handed Yuna a pamphlet titled ‘Even a Novice Master Can Do It!: 11 Ways to Induce Players’ Sudden Actions,’ and after that, he firmly placed the ‘mental barrier.’

He entrusted everything to Yuna. Though his remarks were a bit lengthy, his trusting demeanor touched the heart. Yuna reached out with slightly trembling hands.

“…Thank you. Yeah. Then, see you later.”

“Make sure to follow the logs.”

“…Can’t you maintain the mood when someone is moved?”

With a gesture from Yuna, she blurred his consciousness and submerged it deep to prevent him from waking up even from external shocks. And after casting thick defensive spells.

She made a resolution. She would lead this plan to success.

Later, Yuna reversed the illusion magic to change her appearance and stood before the three.

—–

Lying on the bed, Yuli Lancer muttered to herself while tapping her toes, and on this day, she blurted out to the eccentric magician who was obsessed with aesthetics.

“Aren’t you preparing?”

“Huh…? Huh? What preparation?”

“I sent you a formal letter. You are about to leave for dungeon exploration practice.”

“Oh, hahahaha. Was that so?”

“……..”

Yuli Lancer squinted her eyes. Then, she approached the eccentric magician and sniffed his nose. It wasn’t the usual scent but a soft, sweet fragrance.

Closer than usual to the axis, but he didn’t even lift his head. The insane wizard, for some reason, was excessively hunched over. He even lightly clasped his hands together, pressed them against his chin, and hunched his shoulders.

The scent of a female was strong enough to be identified even from 10 meters away. Yuri Lancer raised his glasses and asked seriously.

“Mr. Insane Wizard. Are you, by any chance, flirting with that pole?”

“⋯⋯What, what, what did you say?!”

“Please, it looks like you’re begging to be devoured. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I like passive women.”

“Ugh, hng⋯⋯!”

“That voice. Given your knowledge, there’s no way you don’t know what that groan implies⋯⋯.”

A provocation.

While exchanging banter was routine, it was always within gentlemanly bounds, not crossing any lines. Yuri Lancer did not unseal the jacket, as that would be crossing a line.

The reason the insane wizard had sealed the TS magic was also for the same reason. It was a crossing of the line.

However, at this moment, in the battlefield that only allowed cold weapons, the insane wizard suddenly began casting fireballs. He violated the pact. If they crossed the line first on that side, this side had to cross the line and shift to an attack stance.

Should he unseal── it? Should he retaliate?

Or perhaps, he could shut him up altogether.

As Yuri Lancer roughly loosened his tie and began to unbutton the shirt up to his neck, the moment he brought his hand down. The insane wizard disappeared from the air as if erased from the world.

“Hm.”

Crossing the line while being scared.

But if you take a hit, you return one. It was a long-standing tradition. Yuri Lancer had prepared a nuclear bomb, ‘sneaking into bed in thin attire in the middle of the night.’ He would kill the insane wizard.

After tying his tie again and straightening his clothes, Yuri Lancer prepared a new cooperation document. It contained a request for the professors to participate as monitors in the dungeon exploration practice that students would sequentially experience while studying at the academy. The dungeon the students would use had been confirmed safe by various adventurers, but just in case, the professors would accompany them.

The schedule was two days later. The students initially scheduled for the expedition would depart from the academy.

I glanced briefly at the list written in the official document. It included Bennett Hilton, Neore Restman, and the Holy Maiden Tara.

Considering they were individuals who had traveled through the turbulent world dominated by zealots, a dungeon would be more like a leisurely stroll for them. I remember their expressions from last time; they didn’t look well…

It was a short reprieve until the start of the second session.

Yuri Lancer hoped that this dungeon exploration would serve as a change of pace for them.