SWNOVELXO Chapter 93
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 93
Charging forward with a bomb vest strapped to your entire body. On 21st-century Earth, doing such a thing would earn you the label of a lunatic.
Fundamentally, it’s unethical. If you put a bomb vest on a hostage, there might be situations where you’d have no choice but to kill that hostage.
Moreover, if you wear something over it, it becomes hard to notice, leaving others defenseless and caught off guard.
As such, the perception of bomb vests is deeply rooted in their cruelty and brutality.
Doing something like this with your one and only life—how could anyone view it positively?
“C-Can’t we just blow it up?! If we keep this up, we might attract the attention of other teams······!”
“No! If we blow it up, he might die! Just run away!”
As I chased after them like a madman, Luna’s team, though confused, quickly fled.
One of them suggested detonating my bomb vest, but another team member refused. That’s the dilemma of the bomb vest.
Detonating it could cause severe injuries or even risk lives, but leaving it alone puts even themselves in danger.
‘It’s fine if it explodes, though.’
Of course, I don’t mind if it explodes. Once I take off the bomb vest, it’s over, and I won’t be seriously hurt either.
Even if I do get hurt, I can just recover with regeneration. While others might have to risk their lives, I don’t.
At worst, I’ll just singe some clothes. Thanks to my exceptional regeneration ability, I can pull off such insane stunts—and it’s so much fun.
‘Lord Chaos enjoys it too, so there’s no problem.’
As soon as I strapped on the bomb vest and started chasing Luna’s team, my faith increased. The fact that it didn’t decrease but rose means Chaos is pleased.
The professors might have had something to say about it, but I didn’t care. As I said before, I’m doing this because I don’t have attack rights.
Besides, in my current state, you could say I don’t really grasp ethics. I probably just thought it was a brilliant idea.
Giving the professors who imposed such absurd restrictions a taste of their own medicine felt great, and watching the fleeing team was entertaining.
Since ancient times, primal chases have always been thrilling. I drove the team into a suitable spot.
“W-What if we run into another team like this?”
“Just keep running!”
Luna’s team seemed worried about encountering another team. By now, I must have drawn all the attention there was to draw.
After driving them to a suitable location, I picked up speed and ran ahead.
As I increased my speed, the gap between us narrowed, and their expressions grew increasingly desperate.
“H-Hey······!”
Whoosh!
I zipped past the person who had just opened their mouth to say something. Soon, I was face-to-face with Luna, who had been running at the front.
Luna appeared visibly flustered to see me right beside her. I waved at her and sped past completely.
“······What the hell?”
“Where’s he going?”
As I passed them, Luna’s team came to a slow stop. Their reaction was one of utter confusion.
It made sense. Just moments ago, I had been charging at them as if I were about to blow everything up. They must be more baffled than alarmed.
But it was merely a short reprieve. Just ahead was a house I had scouted earlier.
And who was in that house? A very familiar face.
“Hey, you crazy bastard! Who taught you that?!”
“K-Kara Unnie?!”
It was Kara. As she and her team burst out of the house, Luna’s eyes widened in shock.
As you might have guessed, this was Kara’s house, which I had identified beforehand. I was worried they might have left in the meantime, but they were still here.
Kara was first startled when I confidently entered the house, then doubly shocked by the bomb vest strapped to me, prompting her to flee outside.
“Take that off right now! I’m telling you nicely—take it off!”
“No.”
“Do you even realize how insane this is······! Ugh! Seriously!”
Despite her extensive practical experience, Kara repeatedly yelled at me to take it off, but I cleanly ignored her.
Judging by her expression, she seemed more angry than shocked, and I had a feeling I’d get a serious scolding later.
Still, the important thing right now was the herding, so I focused on the chase. I relentlessly pursued Kara and Luna’s team.
“C-Can’t we just force it off him?”
“What if we accidentally press something? Even if it’s Sivar, he’d get seriously hurt!”
While implicit alliances are allowed during trials, temporary alliances are not. But right now, everyone was simply running away from a massive threat.
It’s like when you encounter a giant beast while fighting amongst yourselves—you just run. Fighting together isn’t an option, so fleeing is the best course of action.
“How about we split up and run separately? That seems like a better idea!”
“Let’s do that!”
Not a chance. As soon as I noticed signs of them trying to split up, I surged ahead like before.
By blocking their path in advance, I completely eliminated any chance of them splitting up.
“Bomb!”
Boom!
I even threw bombs here and there. I had prepared for this by keeping a few bombs in my pocket.
As I continued herding them this way, the number of teams increased before I knew it. Naturally, they were all busy running away.
“Hey! If it’s going to be like this, why don’t we just blast him with magic? That’ll solve everything!”
Antonio, who had joined in midway, shouted angrily. He must have been watching from a distance before getting drawn into my aggro.
“But if we do that, Sivar will······!”
“Better than being toyed with by that lunatic! Eliminating him is the best option!”
He had a point. At least three teams were being herded by me right now.
That’s over ten people being toyed with—by me, wearing a bomb vest.
Perhaps that’s why more and more people started falling for Antonio’s characteristic persuasion.
“He’s right! At this rate, we’ll fail the trial!”
“Just shoot already! We can’t keep going like this!”
“He’s the one who ruined it first! Damn wildling!”
They seemed properly pissed off. It felt like it was time to wrap up the herding.
With so many people gathered, they’d probably start fighting among themselves once I left. Even if they scattered, it didn’t matter.
Their plans were already in shambles, and my team was likely heading to our desired location by now.
Just as I slowed my steps to move elsewhere—
“N-No! No matter what······!”
“Let go of me! Take this!”
Amid a brief commotion, something flew toward me. Judging by its round shape, it seemed to be a bomb.
I dodged it lightly with a step. The bomb fell to the ground.
No, on closer inspection, it wasn’t a bomb. It was just an ordinary stone.
‘What’s this?’
Just as I wondered if they had thrown it randomly, a sound came from outside my field of vision.
Turning toward it, I saw another round object rolling on the ground, just like before.
This time, it wasn’t a stone—it was an actual bomb. They must have thrown the stone as a decoy, anticipating I’d dodge.
And in that split second, as if they had pre-heated it, the bomb reacted the moment I saw it.
Boom!
First, the bomb near me exploded.
Boom-boom-boom!!
Then, a chain reaction caused the bomb vest strapped to me to erupt in a massive explosion.
******
As the massive explosion occurred, a powerful gust spread in all directions.
The dust carried by the gust forced the students to close their eyes, and they only opened them after the wind subsided.
“······Sivar?”
The first to open her eyes was Kara. Staring at the lingering dust, she muttered softly.
No matter how low the lethality of the bombs, a bomb is still a bomb. On top of that, Sivar’s body had been covered with them.
Even for Sivar, it was extremely dangerous. With a bewildered expression, she stared into the dust and soon grimaced.
“You bastard······! What the hell did you just do?! Were you trying to kill someone?!”
Kara grabbed Antonio by the collar and yelled. For a woman, she was tall and had a fierce demeanor, exuding a menacing aura.
But Antonio didn’t care at all. Instead, he irritably brushed off Kara’s grip and retorted.
“So what, we should’ve just kept running? We wouldn’t even be able to complete the trial at this rate! Do you even know what we’re doing right now?”
“Are you saying we should trade lives for some stupid trial?”
“If he’s wearing a bomb vest, he’s already forfeiting his life! And the protective barrier would’ve activated, so he wouldn’t have died anyway!”
“You bastard······!”
While Kara and Antonio were bickering, Luna focused her gaze through the cloud of dust.
Even with her exceptional vision, it was hard to see through the dust, but now it was gradually starting to clear.
‘I hope he’s not seriously hurt······’
Luna knew just how remarkable Sivar’s regenerative power was. Even if he was on the brink of death, as long as regeneration kicked in, he could recover completely.
So, while the explosion might have injured him, there was a high chance he had already recovered. The real issue was what came next.
What kind of reaction would Sivar show? Would he get angry, or remain as indifferent as usual?
Just as she was quietly waiting with such thoughts, the dust fully cleared, revealing Sivar’s figure.
“······Huh?”
“What is that······”
But something was strange. Sivar was nowhere to be seen, and only a round object remained.
To be precise, it was a protective barrier. The kind that activates when someone is eliminated or faces a comparable crisis.
“A protective barrier? Why is that······?”
“H-Huh? A p-protective barrier! He’s been eliminated!”
“R-Really? Is that true?”
While Luna murmured in confusion, another student shouted. That shout drew the attention of Kara and Antonio, who had been in conflict.
Sure enough, the protective barrier was sitting there conspicuously. It looked as though Sivar had been eliminated by the explosion just moments ago.
“That guy’s finally out! We’re saved now!”
“Hahaha! Yeah! He had to be eliminated! Now we can finally breathe!”
“So, he really can be eliminated······?”
The students hugged each other in joy over Sivar’s elimination. Since he had been practically a public enemy, their happiness was doubled.
On the other hand, Kara couldn’t fully share in the joy. It felt like they had eliminated him through some underhanded trick, leaving her with a sense of unease.
Moreover, she felt bitter about how Sivar had become the class’s public enemy. She understood that feeling better than anyone else.
‘Should I buy him some candy later and apologize?’
As Kara scratched her head, feeling restless, Luna cautiously approached the protective barrier.
There was no way Sivar could be eliminated by just an explosion of this level. He had fought Hector to the death, and yet this explosion?
It didn’t make sense. So, she needed to get closer to confirm.
Knock, knock, knock—
“Sivar? Are you in there?”
Luna lightly knocked on the protective barrier, shaped like an egg, and asked. If he was really eliminated, he wouldn’t respond.
When the protective barrier activates, sleep magic is usually triggered as well. Luna focused her ears.
“······Looks like he really was eliminated.”
There was no response. Luna didn’t feel happy but rather bewildered.
It felt too anticlimactic. She had thought Sivar would survive until the very end, even without attack rights.
But reality was reality. Luna stepped back from the egg-shaped barrier, leaving her mixed feelings behind.
Bang!
Suddenly, a noise came from the protective barrier. It sounded like something being struck hard, not with a fist but with a hammer.
Startled by the noise, Luna quickly stepped back. She wasn’t the only one who heard it.
“What was that? What’s that sound?”
“Is it coming from the protective barrier?”
“No way. That’s impossible······”
Bang!!
Just as they were thinking it couldn’t be, another noise came from the protective barrier. This time, the barrier itself shook violently.
As mentioned earlier, when the protective barrier activates, sleep magic is automatically triggered. So, by now, he should’ve been asleep.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
With loud noises, the protective barrier shook repeatedly. The students held their breath as they watched.
It was as if they were watching a monster hatch from an egg, unable to take any action.
Boom! Crack!
The protective barrier finally cracked. A barrier that could withstand considerable impact was now starting to break.
And it was all from impacts originating within the narrow confines of the barrier. The question of whether that was even possible was written on some students’ faces.
Crack!
At last, an arm broke through the protective barrier. Despite being hit by a bomb, the arm looked completely unharmed.
The arm flailed in the air for a moment before pressing against the surface of the barrier, slowly applying force.
Crrrack! Crack!
Slowly, almost terrifyingly so, the figure of a person began to emerge. Starting with the arm, then the head, neck, and chest.
The students, faced with this truly frightening scene, instinctively stepped back.
“Phew.”
Fully emerging from the protective barrier, Sivar shook his head vigorously.
Luna, momentarily stunned by the sight of Sivar resurrecting himself, unconsciously let her gaze drop downward.
As mentioned earlier, Sivar’s clothes had been completely blown away by the explosion. His pants and underwear were no exception.
“······A sweet potato?”
Luna spotted what looked like a sweet potato in the middle of Sivar’s legs. Of course, it was a sweet potato in a different sense.
Realizing belatedly what the “sweet potato” actually referred to, her face turned visibly red, as if crimson juice would drip out if pressed.
“O-Oh my······! That grotesque······!”
“Wow······ impressive.”
“Ahem! Ahem, ahem!”
The other students weren’t much different. Some expressed admiration, while others showed embarrassment.
Kara’s reaction was particularly noteworthy. She deliberately turned her head away but was secretly peeking with squinting eyes.
It was hard to tell because of her skin tone, but her face was burning redder than ever.
While many students stood there, dumbfounded, watching Sivar’s impromptu nudity show—
Beep!
[Attention, the trial will be temporarily suspended.]
Perhaps the faculty couldn’t bear to watch any longer, as they immediately halted the trial.
[Sivar, please put on some clothes immediately.]
It seemed they were at least considerate enough to protect his dignity.