NOVEL WEB Chapter 6
Episode 6: Beautiful Girls Have a Special Effect That Allows Them to Intervene in Any Situation.
Kisou Academy is one of the oldest academies that has existed since the early days of Hinotuchi Academy City.
Continuously receiving support from various companies outside the city, Kisou Academy’s power has had a significant influence on this Hinotuchi up to the present day.
Clam Kirara was one of the students who disliked the current state of Kisou Academy.
Of course, wrongdoing and plundering were considered just. If you had strength, everything was justified.
She deeply detested the corrupt form of meritocracy that had spread throughout the academy.
Thus, it could be said that her actions against Kisou Academy were an inevitability of sorts.
In her case, those actions took the form of live streaming.
There are quite a few students who broadcast their dungeon explorations. For the general public, dungeons are unknown spaces, and even learning about them through video has sufficient appeal.
“Everyone’s hearts will be instantly purified! ——It’s Jouka here!”
Clam struck a pose in front of the live camera designed for dungeon broadcasts. The autonomous drone, designed so as not to interfere during combat, captured Clam with its inorganic lens.
She was operating as an exclusive exposé streamer for Kisou Academy.
Soon, comments began flowing into the small, semi-transparent window that appeared via her Dive Gear.
: We’ve been waiting.
: There she goes, the escapee.
: Hellooo, Jouka!
“Yes yes, everyone seems energetic today! So, as promised earlier, I’ll expose the negative legacy left behind by Kisou Academy! Yay, Student Council President, are you watching? …I’ll drag you down from your position eventually.”
: Eek!
: Why isn’t this guy arrested?
: Madness trying to destroy Kisou Academy while being inside it.
The comments seemed somewhat fearful upon seeing Clam’s condition, but she didn’t seem to care.
“So, for the fourth phase of the ‘Destroy Kisou Academy’ project, let’s make it successful today, right? Every time, the discipline committee or enforcers come to silence me, and we lose evidence at crucial moments.”
: Too bad (one illegal lab exploded).
: It’s impressive she can even evade the enforcers.
“Well then, I thought about this. If there’s a place where those dogs of the academy can’t reach immediately, wouldn’t that work? Right?”
: Smart.
“Right, right? That’s why I’m visiting a certain academy. Ah, I won’t say which one. If I did, I’d also get chased by that academy’s discipline committee.”
: This person entered without permission.
: This is the one, discipline committee.
: Go go!
: Can she visit our place next time?
The comments were, as usual, somewhat cheerful.
Once confirming that her viewers exceeded ten thousand, Clam began moving.
Following the information obtained beforehand, she navigated through the dense forest without hesitation, arriving at a certain facility.
This was the northernmost point of Factom General Academy’s beginner dungeon—a former facility used to manage the dungeon.
“Up until ten years ago, there was a facility here to control the dungeon, but it disappeared due to an accident. Well, it’s clearly just evidence tampering.”
Saying that, Clam walked around the site for a while before finally pinpointing a specific spot on the ground.
“All right, off you go, man-eating frogs!”
Mechanical frog-like devices created by her Dive Gear were her weapons.
The frogs leaped toward the marked spot and detonated upon reaching it.
“Phew! Once again, good job, maa-chan.”
: Inhumane weapon.
: Hmm, this must be a Kisou Academy student.
From the explosion, a large staircase emerged from the ground.
Pointing at it, Clam explained.
“Take a look. That’s the entrance to a secret experimental facility. Everyone, this is definitely going to be a legendary episode! Oh, by the way, since the archives will likely be deleted by Kisou Academy again, please record and spread it yourselves.”
: Hurry up!
: Whose dungeon is this?
: You always end up missing the evidence by a hair.
: Be careful, it’s dark, right?
Ignoring the accelerating comment section showing the staircase, Clam proceeded further inside.
Inside the experimental facility, the signs of abandonment over ten years were evident. Somewhere nearby, electricity still seemed to be supplied, as the emergency lights faintly illuminated the corridor.
Using the light from her Dive Gear, Clam moved forward.
“There sure are a lot of cages… Apparently, experiments like these were conducted here.”
: What kind of experiment?
: Tell us the content!
Seeing the comments, Clam opened her mouth while rummaging through the cages.
“Once upon a time, there was a plan to create a more advanced gear than what explorers currently use with their Dive Gears. Originally, it was a project by a certain company outside the city, but Kisou Academy apparently provided substantial funds, people, and location.”
According to Clam, the project had already failed. However, she had also heard rumors that a few completed units existed.
“A gear based on the bodies of girls with suitable traits. Its name is Demons Gear. By utilizing human souls as programs, users can extract far superior specifications compared to regular Dive Gears.”
: I’ve heard about it as an urban legend.
: It can’t possibly exist.
: Scary.
: How does she chase after such dangerous stuff?
While scrolling through the varied comments, Clam continued her exploration silently. Around her, several frogs hopped protectively like guards.
About thirty minutes after Clam infiltrated the experimental facility, she found herself deep within, with nothing significant discovered.
“I thought there would be research materials at least. Well, disappointing.”
: Isn’t the mere existence of this facility enough evidence?
“That’s true, it is some evidence, but it doesn’t show any connection to Kisou Academy.”
Clam’s goal was to completely eliminate the corrupt power entrenched in Kisou Academy. She didn’t seem particularly interested in anything else.
“Well, this is the final room. Quite a large and sturdy door, isn’t it? Maa-chans!”
: Ooh, signature move.
: A woman with only explosions in her brain.
: That’s why alarms go off when you open things like this.
“Oh, stop being annoying! This facility has already been abandoned. Ignore any alarms if they sound!”
With that, Clam sent the frogs toward the door. The moment several frogs stuck to it, the door exploded with a loud noise.
Looking at the hole that opened in the smoke, Clam nodded.
“This method never fails.”
: She knows no other way.
: Her confident face is cute.
Before the smoke cleared, Clam crawled through the hole and jumped into the room.
This place seemed to still receive a substantial amount of power. Though dim, multiple monitors and a massive embedded computational device on the wall emitted an eerie glow.
“It seems like this is the main event.”
Saying that, Clam looked at the object seated in the center of the room.
A cylindrical, giant glass case filled with orange liquid, inside which floated a curled-up girl.
She’s alive.
For some reason, her intuition told her that.
“The form of a girl… Could it be the Demons Gear?”
: Real thing!?
: Legendary episode incoming!
: Jouka, you did it!
: Find evidence linking it to Kisou Academy!
“That’s right. Let’s find some evidence. Honestly, I didn’t expect the real thing to still exist… What should we do? This is certainly unexpected…”
Behind her, an explosion occurred.
Clam immediately understood that it was her gear self-destructing to protect her.
“Maa-chan acted autonomously!? Meaning, there’s something hostile toward me.”
The door through which she had just entered, now featuring a hole large enough for only her to pass through, revealed a mass of flesh-colored organic material beyond it.
Partially charred, but seemingly unaffected.
“I’m trapped in this room… Is the purpose to kill intruders?”
Currently, with the only exit blocked, Clam made her decision after a second of thought.
“All right, let’s blow everything up and escape.”
: Escape segment begins.
: As usual.
: Again?
: This person is dangerous.
: Are you going to explode the girl too?
“Would I really blow up this valuable Demons Gear? With this evidence, other schools could intervene in Kisou Academy under the pretext of retrieving the Demons Gear. It’s worth a fortune.”
Saying that, Clam unleashed countless frogs toward the door beyond the hole. The frogs attached themselves to the nearby flesh-colored mass and exploded.
However, it didn’t seem to have any effect.
“These bombs can turn fifty-centimeter-thick steel plates into splinters… But if it comes to this…”
Clam attached the frogs to the door. They exploded, causing the door to collapse.
It seemed the opening was now wide enough.
The flesh-colored mass slowly entered the room.
: Creepy!
: What is this thing!?
: Not human, surely.
: Dungeon boss? Feels familiar but different.
The comment section accelerated.
It was a monstrous humanoid figure without a face, resembling skin-colored clay forced into a human shape.
With clear intent, it moved toward Clam.
“What is this thing? —Behind!”
The monster vanished.
In the next instant, Clam jumped forward purely based on experience. A moment later, the sound of something speeding past where she had been resonated.
“Tricking me into thinking it’s slow but actually high-speed combat type, huh? I don’t mind defeating someone using deception. But I can’t die now, so… Maa-chans!”
From her Dive Gear, more frogs were summoned than ever before. Clam caused them to explode indiscriminately and fled through the door.
“Ugh! Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous! That was close!”
: Everything in the room is shattered?
: Ends with explosions as usual.
: Girl exploded too?!
“No worries. My man-eating frogs can direct their explosions. I’ll ensure the monster gets nicely well-done.”
: Saying dangerous things.
: Did she win?
Shaking her head at the comments, Clam replied.
“No. Given the extent of charring from the initial counter-explosion, I doubt it would kill it now. So, let’s hurry and escape… Look, it’s coming!”
Out of the blast wave emerged the monster. Clam ran off with the frogs despite her shock.
“Let’s periodically explode and rush toward the exit!”
: Who’s scarier, the enforcers or this thing?
“Obviously the enforcers!”
: Pretty calm considering the situation.
: Hmm, looks like she’ll escape again this time.
While Clam was desperately fleeing, the comment section seemed to enjoy it as a regular event. Internally cursing them, Clam kept running.
(At this rate, it’ll catch up… The frog explosions are indeed hitting it. I’ve erased its limbs several times. But…)
Glancing back, she saw the left leg that had just been destroyed by an explosion regenerating from the cross-section.
An idea crossed her mind.
(The defensive mechanism feels mismatched with its regenerative ability. Was this entity truly created to capture intruders?)
Once she noticed something odd, countless questions arose. However, Clam shook her head to avoid dwelling on it.
“Anyway, I need to escape now!”
The chase with the monster had lasted twenty minutes already.
Even with the explorer’s physical abilities ten times greater than an average person’s, escaping full-force while pursued by something aiming to take your life was incredibly exhausting.
Had it not been someone accustomed to escaping like Clam, she would have been caught by now.
“Huff huff, just a little more—”
All her man-eating frogs were depleted.
(After the explosion, it fully regenerates in roughly two seconds. The last frog exploded five seconds ago. Escaping this is extremely tight…)
: Isn’t this getting bad?
: Purify-chan, run!
: Contact the enforcers. If you’re caught, it’s over!
: Can’t report and help without knowing which academy’s dungeon this is, Purify-chan!
Gradually realizing the severity of the situation, the comment section suggested mentioning the academy’s name.
However, Clam remained silent.
“This time, I won’t say. It’s genuinely important evidence. If Kisou Academy’s trash finds out, it’ll be meaningless!”
To dismantle Kisou Academy.
For that, Clam risked her life without hesitation.
“If I can get out of this room!”
The moment she stepped into the last room before the exit after passing through the door,
Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed.
“Huh? What’s happening now!?”
The monster was closing in from behind. The possibility of another monster flashed through her mind.
But the next moment, Clam saw something entirely unlike a monster.
“That is—”
As debris fell, moonlight flooded the dim room.
At the center stood a girl.
Dressed in a mysterious and adorable outfit, as though stepping out of a night gathering. Her beautiful silver-blue hair shimmered in the moonlight, and her eyes, like a closed underwater world, gazed at the world with melancholy.
Silently, the girl gracefully descended to the spot.
She was an extraordinarily captivating, beautiful girl, making one almost feel the world favored her alone.
“——Ah, who are you?”
Unconsciously, Clam asked. Upon hearing this, the girl seemed to notice Clam for the first time and turned around.
Instantly, an unusual tension enveloped Clam. The fact that she was being chased by a monster was long forgotten from her thoughts.
“You suddenly dropped from the ceiling… Miss, may I know your name?”
“…Miss?”
Her blue eyes seemed to question whether the term referred to her.
The girl, appearing somewhat lethargic and cold, sighed uninterestedly.
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