NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1058
Oknodie was feeling wronged.
Just like a princess trapped in a tower, how pitiful was his situation, being stuck in Professor Weird’s Research Dimension.
If he had seen an NPC like himself, he would have tried triggering an event by giving them a range from 1 gold to 10,000 gold in tens, showing off various junk items, checking the favorability items, and probing with all sorts of meaningful words.
But that coward Panakeia was just trembling and trying to flee at the mere presence of a disease aura he made up as an excuse to play sick.
Really, even if Oknodie got rid of the aura, Panakeia would simply say, “Good for you. We’ll take our leave now,” while he gave a sigh of relief.
Oknodie couldn’t stand seeing that pesky healer leave so comfortably, so he shot the disease aura straight at Panakeia.
“Gah?!”
Startled, Panakeia activated a holy barrier magic, unfolding a physical defense wall and reciting prayers to repel all ominous and blasphemous things.
“Whoever touches me shall be cursed by Panakeia, the healing god who invested holy experience points in me; you will exhaust your vitality and suffer from erectile dysfunction and infertility as your libido fades away!”
A truly philosophical prayer that makes all beings with a natural instinct reconsider if the worth of eliminating this existence is truly enough to forsake their innate reproductive capacity!
Of course, it had no bearing on Oknodie, who possessed high curse resistance.
Even if Panakeia’s faith and prayer magic surpassed Oknodie’s curse resistance, it wouldn’t matter.
In the first place, Oknodie’s curse aura was just for show.
It was the typical WWE tactic of scaring to intimidate.
After all, there was no way divine punishment would come down on someone who hadn’t been attacked at all.
“Do you think someone engaged in sacred service, coming here with pure intentions to care for sick patients, will go unscathed after committing such an atrocity?”
“What do you want me to do about a sick aura that popped up on its own?”
“Don’t lie. The start of healing is to identify the cause of illness. That aura originated from your intention!”
Panakeia, being one of the continent’s top ten healers, was sharp enough to pinpoint the source of the disease aura.
“Hehe. Caught me.”
“Why are you doing this? Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?”
“But you were the one who was trying to run away first, leaving the patient behind!”
“How can I treat a patient going mad and attacking the healer?”
“I’ve been hit before, and it doesn’t hurt at all! Have you ever been hit? You haven’t, right?”
The Grim Reaper, with a skeleton mask and robe, shook his head at her cheeky attitude in front of an adult.
“How rude. Show some respect in front of adults.”
“Hmph. Why aren’t you siding with me, senpai?”
“I know all about your act.”
Last year, the Grim Reaper successfully graduated with the Shinigami technique as his graduation project.
As an assassin who both made weapons and performed assassinations, the Grim Reaper glanced at Professor Weird and unfolded the veil of darkness.
“Speak the truth. What are you experiencing at the hands of Professor Weird?”
Given the connection between the professor and the student, the Grim Reaper’s question carried a palpable assumption that the professor was always in the wrong!
He never expected that a student’s grudge against the professor would lead to mayhem after trying to swap a curse for experience points.
“I haven’t been through anything too extreme. I’ve just been rolling around for survival in a confined space where many lives are trapped and dying.”
“That’s pretty serious. That ominous disease aura must have naturally twisted the dark mana to survive.”
“Uh, yeah… I think so!”
“I don’t need to be told. It’s not surprising for Professor Weird to make a sick student’s condition worse just because he finds it interesting.”
“Right? He’s a truly evil professor!”
If asked to name the worst character at the academy, Oknodie’s amazing slander would certainly put him among the top three misfortunes!
Unbeknownst to the Grim Reaper, who was obliviously diagnosing Oknodie while a Mini Hydra clung to his clothes,
“To heal your illness, Professor Weird needs to step away. That’s how it works.”
“Huh? What kind of illness do I even have?”
“The ‘Professor Scared’ disease.”
“I didn’t even know that kind of… useful disease existed!”
His statement was void of any redeeming qualities, as Oknodie showed no signs of hiding his true colors.
Looking at the naive Grim Reaper, Jiang thought how enormous Professor Weird’s misdeeds must be.
How much torment must the professor have inflicted during Oknodie’s days as a student for such a pathetic act to slip by without a second thought?
“‘Professor Scared’ disease is also experienced by fourth years sometimes. Once students reach a certain level, they stop letting up and pursue their true abilities to torment.”
“How can it be cured?”
“Once you graduate, it’ll heal.”
“But I’m still in my third year!”
“Even if the professor reaches retirement age, it will heal.”
“You’ll probably absorb the essence of nature and live until the world’s end, right?”
“There’s another forbidden method.”
“What’s that?”
“Punish the professor. Ideally, with a heavy penalty that puts him in quarantine.”
Oknodie excitedly grabbed the Grim Reaper’s arm and pleaded.
“How do you do that? What did you do, senpai?”
“I placed a bright buff on the professor’s lecture monster and turned a classmate into a 24-week healing state.”
“Oooh… wow…”
Even someone like Oknodie, who often bragged about not dying, couldn’t possibly admit to committing such acts against a classmate while attending Professor Weird’s lectures.
“Surely you must have an acquaintance or two?”
“I’m a social butterfly, no one comes to mind as unfriendly!”
“Damn social butterfly.”
“Huh?”
“Well, it seems there’s no hope for your illness. Let’s hope you quickly become estranged from at least one friend.”
As the Grim Reaper prepared to leave while only offering practical solutions, Panakeia was trying to slip away alongside him.
However, if those two left just like that, they didn’t know what kind of retaliation would come from Professor Weird, who was watching with crossed arms and a frown outside the veil.
A certain flower that only blooms when the professor is extremely pissed has already started to sprout!
“What if he really lies about a contagious disease and plants a new one within our bodies?!”
To survive, he needed to escape the Research Dimension with the help of the continent’s top ten healers.
“Thinking it over, I might be able to hate one NPC a bit!”
Whoever that might be, they are sure to be quite unfortunate.
While sending that glance, the Grim Reaper meticulously asked again.
“What do they do?”
“Do I really have to say?”
“If an innocent gets hurt, it’d bug me. It should be an evil jerk who gets what’s coming.”
Oknodie displayed a huge curiosity regarding who he could dislike as much as he disliked being in a healing state for 24 weeks.
“Does he even have the capacity to hate anyone? If he were a person, he’d probably follow around someone weak just for the joy of them still being alive.”
“While I understand the instructor’s feelings, Oknodie is still a person. He hates villains just the same.”
Oknodzie’s method of hatred is just a little different from anyone else’s.
He uses them as practice dummies without a shred of conscience or tests out cursed magical tool prototypes without consent.
The trials experienced by the subjects can, if done right, yield experience points, leading to Oknodie’s timid revenge under the motto of mutual assistance.
“Timid…? Just a little more audacious and the world’s done for.”
“I’m still very curious about who Oknodie hates that much. I have guesses.”
“Who’s that?”
Both Oknodie and the Grim Reaper stopped their conversation and stared blankly at Jiang.
“If it’s a best friend, I think I’ll get it right!”
“A best friend? Then it has to be accurate.”
“?!”
Suddenly, Jiang’s descent quiz show began!
Who is the student that has garnered the deepest grudge from Oknodie?
Everyone’s eyes twinkled with excitement.
Especially Sadi’s, as she already knew the answer.
“If knowing your friend’s feelings is a condition of being best friends, maybe that best friend is me? Hehe.”
“That’s no good!”
Jiang’s eyes lit up, fully activated to win.
The student marked as Oknodie’s worst enemy.
The candidates are all too clear.
The two cowardly students who got involved but never knew to be thankful, just clammed up.
They’re represented by two names.
Warrior Ishtar.
Black Knight Mob.
Having received all the benefits, they only speak ill when it’s convenient. Quite sneaky!
There are more candidates.
Dobi of the Church of the End.
Titosso of the Revolutionary Church.
Dobi has built up his karma while doing strange things under the pretense of doing it all for Oknodie.
And Titosso…?
That’s just a gag pick.
Oknodie enjoys tormenting Titosso for no apparent reason while showering him with gifts, almost like a form of play.
“Who among the four could it be?”
Jiang concluded his calculations.
“The answer is…”
“Four answers are wrong!”
At Sadi’s remark, Jiang’s eyes widened.
“Wrong?”
“The answer was Senior Hexen, who was released as DLC content, as they imposed mandatory funding to provide essential functions!”
“Who’s that?!”
Jiang, the incorrect answerer, tasted the humiliation of falling from being best friend status in this game show about worst candidates.