How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 21

“Someone definitely pushed me!”

In response to Lois’s indignant outburst, Claire replied curtly.

“The only person behind you at the time was Kamon.”

“So, Kamon…”

“But Kamon already knew all the answers. He had no reason to push you.”

“No, I’m really telling the truth!”

“Hey, stop talking nonsense. Please get your head straight and stop fooling around. You always cause trouble like this.”

“Argh, seriously!”

Lois shouted in frustration at Melin’s reprimand, but no one paid him any attention.

“Lois, it’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes.”

The only one who tried to comfort him was the kind-hearted Elaine.

“Forget it, I don’t need that kind of comfort.”

“But Kamon is really amazing.”

“What?”

Even Elaine’s kind nature couldn’t prevent Melin from frowning at what she considered an over-the-top comment.

“What the hell is so amazing about that bastard?”

“He memorized all the magic seals of the Seven Towers. I mean, it’s still surprising that he could memorize all the magic seals of the Seven Towers like that…”

“Isn’t that something any wizard should know?”

Refusing to acknowledge Kamon’s prowess, Mellin spoke with skepticism, prompting Elaine to shake her head firmly for the first time.

“No, Melin.”

“What?”

“Each tower usually has about thirty unique spells. Only one or two of those are widely known.”

“…..”

“Although I couldn’t examine them closely, there were many seals among those statues that I had never seen before.”

At Elaine’s explanation, Lois, who had been silent due to the lack of attention, jumped into the conversation.

“What? So Kamon memorized all those seals? How?”

“I don’t know about that. Anyway, I also have memorized most of the representative seals of the towers, but there were ones even I didn’t know.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. No wonder they call him a genius mage.”

“Genius mage my ass. He just stupidly memorized them.”

Despite Mellin’s grumbling, Lois chuckled and remarked.

“Mellin, acting like that is a bit unbecoming.”

“What’s unbecoming is you constantly making excuses.”

“Argh, I’m telling you, someone pushed me from behind!”

“Stop fighting, you two.”

“We’re not fighting, okay? Why would I fight with an idiot?”

“What, an idiot? I’m just stating the facts!”

While the team members bickered and conversed, Chelsea, standing a bit away from them, silently watched Kamon Vade’s back with deeply sunken eyes.

* * *

Bubble, bubble.

“It’s hot, hot.”

“This time, is it a lava zone?”

They arrived in a clearing surrounded by boiling lava.

And at the center of that lava…

“Hey, that looks like another boss monster.”

“A mermaid? Then, is it a Volcano Mero?”

“No, look at its head. It’s wearing a crown. That’s a Mero Queen.”

Splash! Splash! Splaaash!

A gigantic mermaid monster swung its tail repeatedly, striking the lava-covered ground.

“Ha, there’s something worse than a werewolf.”

“Not just any Mero, but a Mero Queen?”

“Professor Delon, is he insane?”

The overwhelming appearance of the powerful boss monster brought a sense of despair to the team members’ faces.

Moreover…

“Th-there’s no way around. There’s lava on all sides.”

The boss monster had appeared in a place where every direction except where they stood was surrounded by boiling lava.

“What the hell… How are we supposed to defeat that thing, and how are we supposed to cross this lava field?!”

With no visible bridge to cross to the other side, the atmosphere naturally turned somber.

Just then, Lois abruptly asked Kamon Vade, who was nearby, while staring at the Volcano Mero Queen.

“Kamon, do you have any idea?”

“L-Lois?!”

“We can take that thing down, right? There must be a way.”

Lois looked at Kamon Vade with eyes full of trust and faith. Given Kamon’s track record of pulling off the impossible, Lois believed he might find a solution even in this dire situation.

‘You have a plan, right? There must be a way.’

Perhaps it was the sincerity in Lois’s plea that reached Kamon.

“Yeah, there is.”

Rustle!

Kamon immediately pulled something out of his bag and shouted.

“We’ll take that thing down with this.”

“I knew it!”

Lois shouted with a bright smile, but then Elaine’s trembling voice reached his ears.

“Huh? That…”

“What?”

Lois turned his gaze in response to Elaine’s reaction and quickly recognized the object in Kamon Vade’s hand.

“Isn’t that a Salamander Feather?”

“Yeah, it sure looks like it…”

Elaine and Claire continued, confirming Lois’s suspicion.

“No, that’s just a toy.”

Lois muttered under his breath. The ‘Salamander Feather’ was once a wildly popular toy among the noble children across the continent. Its feature of absorbing surrounding heat made it occasionally useful in hot regions or during summer, but its practical effectiveness was minimal, leading to a consensus on its lack of utility.

Ultimately, it was sold as a child’s toy, never once used in dungeon raids or similar contexts.

‘He’s going to take down a boss monster with a toy? This can’t be real!’

However…

“……”

Brrrr, zzzing!

Ignoring Lois’s inner turmoil, Kamon activated the Salamander Feather with a detached look in his eyes.

And then.

Rustle!

Kamon reached into his bag again.

Brrrr, zzing!

Brrrrrr, zzing!

“What…?”

The number of feathers activating around them steadily increased.

One, two, five, ten, twenty, a hundred, two hundred… Three hundred?

“How many did he bring?”

In a flash, Kamon Vade had set up over five hundred Salamander Feathers.

At the same time…

“The heat around us is decreasing.”

“What?”

The temperature actually started dropping as the activated feathers began cooling the surrounding area.

“The temperature is really dropping?”

Brrrrrrr!

“……”

“Wow.”

The sight of over five hundred Salamander Feathers vibrating wildly and dancing in the air was nothing short of spectacular.

At that moment.

Splash, splash!

The enormous mermaid with the red crown, the Volcano Mero Queen, flicked its tail rapidly in apparent irritation.

Whooosh!

Several powerful jets of scorching lava erupted.

But.

Brrrrrr!

The hundreds of activated ‘Salamander Feathers’ began shaking more violently.

Sssssss!

The lava pillars that flew toward them solidified in mid-air. And with the lava turned into ordinary rocks, it was easy to handle.

“…I’ll handle this. Enlarge!”

Boom!

Lois quickly moved forward, successfully blocking the falling rocks with his shield.

Rustle, tremble!

Despite the surrounding chaos, Kamon Vade continued to pull feathers from his bag and activate them without paying any attention to his surroundings.

* * *

By now, there were at least a thousand feathers activated and floating towards the center of the lava zone where the Volcano Mero Queen resided. I watched this scene unfold with a slight smirk.

‘It’s done.’

The Ultimate Hunter, Monster Hunter – Volcano Mero Edition. Prepare the ‘Salamander Feathers.’ Oh, you say it’s just a toy? Yes, it’s a toy. But what if you have a thousand, two thousand, or even ten thousand of them? A thousand feathers absorbing all the surrounding heat… it should be able to suck up all the heat from the Volcano Mero. Then it will just turn into an ordinary mermaid, which you can easily catch. Sounds easy, right?

‘Everything as per the strategy guide is ready.’

Splash, splaaash!

The Volcano Mero Queen’s movements seemed to slow as the surrounding heat dissipated. Having done everything I could, I turned my head to look at Chelsea.

“…”

Still silent, Chelsea was quietly watching me.

“What are you doing? I’ve prepared the meal, do I have to feed you too?”

I provoked her with a taunting remark.

And then…

Swish!

Whether my provocation worked, Chelsea drew her sword and shouted in an unusually cold, low voice.

“Everyone, form up!”

* * *

Screeee!

Defeating the Volcano Mero Queen, now devoid of its heat, wasn’t that difficult. The temperature dropped so much that parts of the lava field solidified into rock.

Following Chelsea’s commands, the team executed an almost perfect raid.

“We finally got it.”

“Never underestimate toys again.”

“Weren’t you the one who dismissed it the most, Lois?”

“Don’t underestimate the Salamander Feathers!”

Just then…

Thump! Thump!

A large floating stone bridge emerged in the center of the vast lava field.

“A bridge appeared?”

“Does it form automatically when we defeat the boss monster?”

“We should go up there. Let’s hurry.”

Without hesitation, Lois swiftly ran onto the floating stone bridge.

Thud!

“Hey, be careful. You might fall,” Melin cautioned sharply.

Lois shrugged and answered proudly.

“Come on, floating stones are sturdy.”

“Still, it might fall if there’s too much weight. Lois.”

“Forget it. Just hurry up!”

With Lois’s urging, the other team members began to move quickly.

But…

“…”

Thump!

Elaine, Claire, and Mellin were all on the bridge, and Lois asked casually.

“Hey, Kamon. Aren’t you coming?”

“Go ahead. I’ll follow shortly.”

“O-okay.”

Lois nodded quickly, responding to Kamon’s deeply sunk voice, and crossed to the other side without hesitation.

Thud!

“Hey, Lois. Where’s Kamon?” Elaine asked, already across the bridge.

“Oh, he said he’ll come soon. He told me to go ahead because he had something to wrap up.”

“Really?”

Lois, who spoke nonchalantly, soon started waiting for Kamon Vade with the other team members.

“…”

“…”

But even after a long wait, Kamon showed no sign of crossing the bridge, prompting Mellin to speak irritably.

“Hey, Lois. You said he’s coming soon. Why is he just standing there?”

“Wh-what? Did something happen?”

“Seriously, what’s going on with him?”

Kamon, standing still at the start of the bridge, had placed his bag down and was staring alternately at the lava and the cave ceiling.

“Hey, Lois. Go check it out.”

“What? Me?”

“You were the last one over. You even talked to Kamon.”

“Yeah, and you’re the closest to Kamon among us.”

“Huh? I’m close? Since when?”

Lois reacted with a confused expression to the first-time claim, but it seemed the consensus was that he should check.

“Ha, seriously…”

Sighing deeply, Lois climbed back onto the floating stone bridge.

Thump, thump!

“What’s the deal now… huh?”

Muttering in frustration, Lois’s eyes caught sight of Kamon Vade standing still on the first floating stone at the bridge’s start, looking alternately at the lava and the cave ceiling.

“Oh? Ka…mon?”

Standing still on the first floating stone at the beginning of the bridge was Kamon Vade, alternating his gaze between the lava and the cave ceiling.