I Don’t Remember the Number of Regressions of the Villainesses Who Have Returned.

‘What the hell, why is that thing awake?’

I grasped my momentarily dazed mind and tried to understand the situation.

The monster that always only sleeps, and when sleeping, the damage it receives increases tremendously and shows no signs of waking up no matter how much it’s attacked.

In a forest filled only with blue trees, a giant red-furred gorilla appeared that seemed to blatantly announce that something was there.

That thing was staring intently at Gwen and me with wide eyes.

“Aaron. Is that the mask you said we need to find?”

Gwen gestured towards the gorilla’s head.

Following her words, I raised my gaze to the monster gorilla’s head. There, I noticed the white mask embedded between the red fur.

“That’s… right.”

A strange expression that is neither smiling nor crying is drawn on it, but the white mask keeps attracting my gaze with a peculiar pull.

It was undoubtedly the artifact I was searching for, the Mask of the One with Many Tricks.

“Is that so? Then, wait here for a bit.”

The moment she heard my answer, Gwen walked ahead of me.

She slowly gripped the scabbard at her waist with one hand and beautifully drew out the blue longsword with the other.

Simultaneously, Gwen’s aura was changing.

Her aura, which had been meaninglessly swaying in various directions like waves until a moment ago,

It spun rapidly, appearing motionless like a sea in a windless zone.

“Gwen?”

-Bam

Almost at the same time as my call, Gwen leaped higher than the giant monster gorilla.

The moment Gwen’s aura, which had neared the shadow in the sky, was compressed into her sword, turning it from blue to a deep indigo color.

From my perspective, only the flying sword strike was visible to the point where Gwen’s sword was swung at a tremendous speed.

At that moment.

“”Woo! Wooooo!””

A roar or scream that could shake the forest with the sound came from the monster gorilla, which had been quietly watching the leaping Gwen until a moment ago.

At the same time, the monster gorilla swung its giant arm, as large as its own body, towards the sword strike.

An explosive sound intense enough to feel like the air was bursting.

With the wind pressure created by the swung arm, Gwen’s sword strike, which seemed to have an immense amount of aura compressed, changed direction and flew off somewhere else.

“What is that!”

“What the…”

Gwen and I reacted with astonishment.

“”Woo! Woooo!””

The monster gorilla, rapidly beating its chest, swung its arm again at the falling Gwen.

“Ugh…!”

Gwen, who was hit by tremendous wind pressure in the air and had nothing to grab onto, flew far away.

From the moment the monster gorilla’s arm was directed at Gwen, I quickly moved and ran to where she would be thrown.

-Tap

As soon as I confirmed that I was slightly short of distance, I gathered mana in my legs and leaped with all my strength.

“Hup!”

Too close.

Fortunately, I managed to catch the falling Gwen in my arms.

“Are you okay?”

“……”

Perhaps she was embarrassed about thoughtlessly jumping into the sky and getting blown away in one hit.

She turned her head as if to hide her reddened face, without answering or expressing gratitude.

“Gwen, now’s not the time for this.”

However, now was not the time to observe her reaction.

“”Woooo!””

Almost simultaneously as I caught her, the gorilla began running towards us.

The moment I saw the monster gorilla leaping to a tremendous height, I jumped while holding Gwen, timing it right.

-Kwagagaga

As the monster gorilla landed on the ground, dust, and shockwaves engulfed Gwen and me.

I grabbed a nearby tree and endured the impact while embracing Gwen with my remaining arm.

“Gwen. I think the situation is a bit serious for you to be hanging your head like that.”

I called out to Gwen, who I held while waving my hand to clear the rising dust.

“…Yeah.”

Gwen nodded slightly and escaped from my embrace.

She slowly released my clothes that she had been gripping as if reluctant.

“Gwen. Can you handle that thing?”

“For now… I’ll try.”

The moment Gwen grasped her sword with both hands and took a stance, the monster gorilla leaped out through the dust.

“”Woo! Wooo!””

A palm as large as Gwen’s torso reached out towards her.

-Slice

However, Gwen cut through the entire palm.

The monster gorilla’s palm, which had been extended with all its strength, was torn to pieces in an instant.

“If its body is soft enough to be cut like this, it’s sufficient-”

-Crack

When Gwen turned her head towards me, a strange sound came from the severed wrist of the gorilla, and a huge shadow appeared above Gwen’s head.

“”Woo!””

This time, as if it would succeed, the gorilla raised the corners of its mouth as if sneering.

However.

-Slice

Gwen was not weak enough to fall for that level of play.

“Tsk.”

Gwen, who had not only cut off the falling palm above her head but also the gorilla’s giant arm itself, clicked her tongue and frowned as if she had felt something.

“Aaron. This is more dangerous than I thought.”

“…What?”

At Gwen’s sudden weak voice, I expressed my confusion.

“Aren’t you winning, Gwen?”

“I realized it clearly with that last sword strike. I can’t defeat that thing with my current self.”

“What do you…!”

I couldn’t understand Gwen’s following confession.

As she easily cut off everything from its palm to its arm and said such words, I had no idea what her intention was.

However, her answer was.

“I’ve been aiming only at its neck from the beginning.”

“Huh?”

“The sword strike I launched aiming at its neck from the start was blocked by its palm, and even when I swung with all my might, it ended at the arm.”

“……”

“Also, what I felt while cutting is that the more that thing heals, it’s as if it resists my aura and doesn’t freeze.”

“What should we do…”

The more Gwen explained, the more I found myself holding my forehead.

‘Just what kind of effect is that?’

Originally, I had never even seen it wake up.

‘That thing suddenly woke up, and what’s with the ability to recover in response to Gwen’s aura and sword strikes…’

Meanwhile, Gwen’s and my foreheads furrowed more and more.

-Crack crack

“”Woo! Wooooo!””

The monster gorilla’s arm finished healing with a strange sound, and it beat its chest as if pleased, making a drumming sound.

“Aaron. For now, move away a bit. I’ll figure it out.”

At the same time Gwen’s words ended, the monster gorilla ran at a tremendous speed while swinging its arms.

To avoid getting in the way, I ran far away to distance myself-

-Thud

“Ugh…”

While moving away from the monster gorilla, I hit my head on something.

“It’s not even a tree. What is this?”

Although my head was dizzy enough to ring from hitting it with full force since I ran with all my might, I didn’t have time to hesitate, so I grabbed my head, stood up, and reached out to the space I had hit, only to have my hand blocked by something.

‘A barrier?’

A transparent wall was blocking my hand.

“I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere.”

Barrier, gorilla, hyper-recovery, artifact, overtuned.

It’s a combination where nothing related comes to mind.

Moreover, it’s in the early stages right now. No matter what, it’s impossible to defeat that monster covered in such effects.

-Slice slice

Although Gwen’s continuous sword strikes cut off countless chunks of the monster’s flesh, that thing didn’t seem to feel any pain as it grinned and charged at Gwen.

‘How are we supposed to defeat a mob that spawns in the early stages and can’t even be defeated by Gwen?’

“……”

Wait a minute.

A monster that the current Gwen can’t defeat is actually one that no one from the academy can defeat.

But in the game, it was always in a deep sleep, and if attacked while sleeping, it could be defeated very easily.

Moreover, I couldn’t understand it earlier, but now I get my own remark.

‘It was too useless compared to the effort.’

If we assume this is not about performance but about putting in too much effort?

If… that mob was set up from the beginning to be undefeatable once awake?

And if it only happens under certain conditions.

‘Ah.’

The connecting puzzle piece.

‘That thing is a trap-type monster.’

A trap-type monster hides among ordinary monsters, keeping its special abilities sealed unless a certain gimmick is triggered.

Such trap-type monsters were sometimes used in various games for special cases.

‘Catching cheaters.’

I don’t know the exact criteria, but my guess is that it probably wakes up when a user above a certain spec enters the range.

If my prediction is correct, Gwen would be set up to never be able to defeat that monster gorilla.

“What should I do?”

I roughly understand the situation, but there’s nothing I can do.

“Ugh…!”

What appeared along with Gwen’s groan was her gradually being pressured.

“”Woo! Woooo!””

With the continuous barrage, Gwen cut off the monster’s hands countless times, but it seemed to have little effect.

“…Let’s run.”

While Gwen is drawing attention like that, I need to do something.

Even if I’m weak, something.

-Tap

I circulated the mana inside my body to my limit.

[Fatigue is rapidly…]

[Soon, at the limit of fatigue…]

[A wave of fatigue…]

Afraid of the accumulating fatigue, I moved while using as little mana as possible, but now is not the time to care about such things.

Right now, I have to create an opening or land a decisive blow.

No.

I must do it.

“”Woooo! Woooooo!””

The monster’s repetitive attack patterns as it runs towards Gwen alone.

“Ugh…!”

Gwen’s expression wasn’t good, her exhaustion visible.

Perhaps she used too much aura from the beginning, thinking of ending it in one go.

That’s why I acted quickly.

“Gwen!!”

I turned her gaze towards me for a moment.

“Run towards me! I have a plan!”

In a situation where her aura was nearing depletion, I had to aim for a finishing blow.

That gorilla with abilities that were extremely advantageous in a drawn-out battle and Gwen, who was still a Sword Expert, had a terrible matchup.

Hearing my words, Gwen hesitated momentarily but soon smiled and nodded.

“Coming!”

Gwen turned in my direction.

I hid behind a nearby tree at an angle not visible from the monster gorilla’s eyes.

As expected, the monster came running while tearing up the ground, chasing after Gwen.

“”Wooooo!!””

As it gained momentum, its speed grew faster and faster as if angered.

And as Gwen passed by me,

“Now…!”

-Tap

I leaped from the tree and fell onto the running monster’s back.

“Ugh!”

The taste of blood gradually spread inside my mouth, perhaps due to the accumulating fatigue.

‘Quickly…!’

I frantically climbed up the back of the wildly running monster.

“”Woo?!””

The monster, realizing something was on its back, tried to direct its arms towards its back, but.

-Slice

“You think the master will just spectate when her butler says he has a plan?”

Gwen narrowly cut off the monster’s fingers.

At the same time, I passed the gorilla’s back and finally reached its head.

“Ugh… cough!”

The blood had pooled inside my mouth to the point where I couldn’t endure it anymore.

In my blurring vision, I trusted the sensation in my hands and began touching the monster’s head.

“Found… it.”

What I felt was something with a smooth texture.

It was the mask.

“”Wooooo!!””

Jumping with tremendous force, enough to make the ground tremble, it tried to shake me off as if dusting off dirt.

“Ahhhhh!”

With the continuous impact, my arms loosened completely as if slipping.

In the end, I fell from the monster gorilla’s back while holding the mask.

At that moment.

A black window appeared on its own without being called.

-Bzzt

As if buffering, the pixels were breaking.

-Bzzt bzzt

Beyond the gradually breaking pixels, something appeared.

It was a blue window.

[Wear the mask and shout. Sword Expert.]

What?

My vision and mind, which had been blurry until just before, cleared up the moment I saw that blue window.

While falling, I pondered whether I should believe the penalty window, but it was a meaningless act.

Anyway, if I don’t, there’s nothing I can do.

“Sword Ex…pert!”

[The hidden effect of the Mask of the One with Many Tricks, {Sword Expert Trial}, is activated.]

[Timer 03:00]

—–

-Bzzt

[Characteristic: Some conditions necessary for the blooming of {????} have been unlocked.]

{Partial blooming of Characteristic: {????}.}

[The name will be changed.]

[Characteristic: {??Backup}]

[With the effect of Characteristic: {??Backup}, your momentarily lost consciousness is substituted.]

[Timer 03:00]

[Now… let’s run wild. For old times’ sake-]

-Bzzt

“-shall we!”