The Academy’s Time Stop Player

"It was the will of Horton, the original owner of Maharazu."

At those words, the eyes of Bekarudon widened in shock, visibly shaken.

Slowly, he straightened up to face Philaten.

Soon after, his gaze shifted from Philaten to Hajoon.

"Horton... entrusted it to a human?"

"The king did not specifically choose a human. He simply wished for someone of equal strength to inherit Maharazu."

"Even if that someone is a human?"

"Yes."

Bekarudon's face froze in confusion.

He murmured, as if sighing, "Why would Horton make such a choice?"

"It was the king's final will."

Bekarudon fell silent for a moment.

Numerous thoughts raced through his mind during the quiet.

"Are you certain this was our dear friend's will, Philaten?"

After gathering his thoughts, Bekarudon spoke, to which Philaten calmly responded, "From the start, the king never harbored any animosity towards humans."

"I understand how you feel, Bekarudon. But do not misdirect your resentment."

Hearing this, Bekarudon's gaze once again found Hajoon.

With a neutral expression, he seemed to contemplate something as he looked at Hajoon.

Then, turning his gaze back to Philaten, Bekarudon said, "He's a human without magic. He can't truly unlock the power of Maharazu."

"He possesses the strength to surpass that limitation. You know this, don't you?"

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Bekarudon slowly closed his eyes.

Recalling the situation he experienced moments ago, he spoke, "So, even without magic, he possesses power equivalent to 'shattering'?"

Seemingly making a decision, he fell silent for a moment, then opened his eyes, looking at Hajoon.

"May I ask your name, human?"

His tone was neutral.

However, it lacked the hostility it had before.

Facing him, Hajoon stated his name, "Kim Hajoon."

"Kim Hajoon," he softly repeated Hajoon's name and slowly stood up.

Bekarudon then began to look down upon Hajoon.

He spoke, "After the battle with the traitorous kings where I was defeated, I found myself in an unfamiliar place. I realized that outside, there are detestable humans swarming around. My initial intention was to lead my forces and exterminate them... but I've had a change of heart."

Slowly, he lowered himself.

Bending one knee to the ground, he looked at Hajoon, then proclaimed, "In accordance with Horton's last will, I, the Soul Devourer, King Bekarudon, recognize you as the new owner of Maharazu."

His voice resonated solemnly throughout.

He slowly extended his hand towards Hajoon, and the silver chains wrapped around him began to gather, taking the shape of a small bracelet.

Soon after, a faint surge of magic emanated from his body.

A surge of pure blue mana, entirely distinct from the ominous purple hue earlier.

Upon seeing the mana, Philaten's eyes widened in astonishment.

"What is that mana...?!”

Soon after, the blue mana emanating from him began to seep into the bracelet.

The bracelet, now imbued with mana, hummed with an indistinct sound, emitting a faint blue glow. Bekarudon handed it over to Hajoon, saying,

"Take this. It's a tool that Horton once gave me."

"Why give this to me?"

"You won't understand the significance of inheriting Maharazu now. This will help you in the future. Take it."

Hajoon, slightly hesitant, accepted the offered artifact.

Bekarudon then turned, with heavy steps, and leaned against a wall. Watching him, Philaten spoke up.

"Bekarudon, won't you join us? If revenge is truly what you desire-"

"Do not be mistaken, Philaten."

Bekarudon interrupted Philaten's words,

"I still do not trust humans. I am simply following Horton's wishes."

"Bekarudon..."

"Forget about the attack. Either way, I don’t have much time left. You know that too, don’t you, Philaten?"

Philaten knew what the blue-hued life force that had just emanated from him signified.

Vitality.

He had transferred his remaining life force into the tool before handing it over to Hajoon.

Realizing the meaning behind his action, Philaten's expression could only turn somber.

"Why would you..."

"I was already on borrowed time. After losing to the traitorous kings, my end was near."

As he spoke, his body began to crumble, turning to sand.

Starting from his legs, then to his arms, he disintegrated into the earth. With a bitter gaze, Philaten watched as Bekarudon met his end.

As Bekarudon's form gradually vanished, he cast a final glance towards Hajoon and spoke in a calm and composed tone,

"Kim Hajoon... I am relieved that you, of all people, wield Maharazu."

"What do you mean?"

With that, Bekarudon slowly closed his eyes.

Just as his entire body was about to turn to sand and settle onto the ground, he conveyed his final words to Hajoon.

"You are incredibly powerful... As long as you live, no one will surpass Maharazu, not even those who betrayed the king..."

With those final words, his entire form dispersed into the air as sand, leaving a serene silence in the space.

After the ordeal, Hajoon stepped out of the dirt Barus and approached Joa.

Joa looked at Hajoon with a dazed expression and began to speak, "Is it... over now?"

"It seems so," he replied.

Letting out a sigh, Joa's strength left her legs, causing her to slump down on the ground. The tension that had gripped her all this time finally dissipated with his words.

She looked up at Hajoon and flashed a faint smile, "It really is... over."

The multitude of paths that had appeared before her eyes had vanished. Surely, with the visions of her potential demise gone, it meant the danger was over.

"I saw you talking to that entity," she began.

She looked at Hajoon with a soft smile tinged with amusement, "But I'll keep it a secret. It'll be easier for the Irregular that way."

"Well, thank you for that..." Hajoon trailed off. While he appreciated her discretion, he had to admit he didn't understand half of what the conversation with the entity was about. Probably only Philaten knew the full extent of it.

He decided to inquire more about it later. For now, he needed to address their immediate situation. "We should leave this place. We can't stay here forever."

"Yes, but... there's a problem."

Following her gaze, Hajoon turned to look at the only exit. Almost immediately, the remaining monsters began to swarm towards them.

"Do you think there's a way out?" she asked, doubt apparent in her eyes. With three unconscious allies and an overwhelming number of monsters, escaping seemed nearly impossible.

But Hajoon had a solution in mind. He could simply use Time Stop (SSS), release them from their restraints, and flee. Of course, the exhaustion from such an action would fall upon him.

'But then, how do we scale that cliff?' he wondered. They had to climb that cliff to escape the dungeon...

Perhaps he'd have to release the Time Stop and seek Joa's assistance. As these thoughts ran through Hajoon's mind, the monsters began to surround them.

Joa slowly stood up, gripping her mace and said to Hajoon, "Irregular, you should rest. I'll handle this."

But before she could continue, an unexpected event caught them off guard.

"What is...?" she muttered, her voice filled with wonder.

All the monsters surrounding them were bowing, their heads lowered in deference to a single boy.

And Joa remembered this scene.

Numerous monsters, bowing down as if surrendering to a young boy wielding the golden hammer. It was a vision she had seen in the Irregular's future.

In the dungeon, a bizarre scene was unfolding.

Whooosh! Thud! Thud!

Hajoon, Joa, and the rest of their party were escaping the dungeon with the aid of magical beasts.

Of course, the three who had fainted were oblivious to this, but Joa couldn't help but wear a somewhat incredulous expression.

"I never thought I'd be helped by magical beasts in my life."

"Neither did I."

To be honest, I never expected to ride on their backs to escape the dungeon.

Contrary to their previous aggression, these now docile creatures approached Hajoon, offering their backs. Recognizing this as an invitation to mount them, the party quickly made their escape on the backs of these beasts.

But why?

The only thing that came to mind was the bracelet that Bekarudon had handed over.

As Hajoon gazed at the bracelet, Philaten, the spirit within, responded to his curiosity.

"It's an artifact imbued with the life force of the Water King. These creatures probably sensed its aura and submitted."

He did have a slight hunch that their submission was due to this artifact.

Seizing the moment since Philaten was already speaking, Hajoon asked about Maharazu.

"What exactly is this hammer?"

For once, Philaten, who always answered Hajoon's questions, remained silent.

Hajoon patiently awaited her response. After a while, she spoke slowly.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you that."

"You can't tell me?"

"It's a rule set by King Horton. This rule is binding, and unless certain conditions are met, I can't reveal the information. If I did, it might lead to the scenario Horton feared."

"What conditions?"

"A condition you, as the owner, cannot fulfill. Even though you've passed the trials and inherited Maharazu, you need magic power to meet that condition."

Hearing Philaten bluntly state that he would never know made Hajoon's brow furrow.

However, it wasn't Philaten's fault.

If there was a fault, it was in his lack of magical power.

"Magic power..."

It was one of the innate abilities that those who awakened as superhumans should possess.

Every superhuman should naturally harbor a hint of magical power within.

Yet, Hajoon had none.

He hadn't felt the need for it, nor did he make any effort to acquire it.

Creating magical power was, after all, impossible.

While he could use magic in the game via artifacts or magic tools, it was impossible to cultivate it within his body.

"I'll have to think about this later."

Considering it was an unsolvable issue for now, Hajoon decided to ponder on it later.

About 40 minutes had passed riding the magical beasts when the entrance, the same one they had used to initially enter the dungeon, appeared in the distance.

"We're finally... out."

Seeing the entrance, Joa whispered with a faint smile to Hajoon.

Indeed, their quest through the dungeon of magical beasts had come to an end.