Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“Hahaha!”

Jaina, who had been kicked by the giant skeleton and fell into the water, splashing droplets everywhere, returned to the entrance via teleportation magic within seconds. She wiped her eyes with her wet hands, which were also soaked from the water, and shook her head. “Congratulations, Professor. You failed at the first section. You didn’t even get close to the boss.”

“What was that…… Wait! More importantly! There was a teleportation spell set up, so why didn’t you teleport me back before I fell into the water?! Why did you set it to activate only after I fell?!” Jaina exclaimed, spreading her arms wide in frustration. The wet clothes, dripping with water droplets, began to dry slowly as she activated a magic spell, but the icky feeling remained.

“Then it wouldn’t serve the purpose of the exercise. If you just teleport back safely after failing, what’s the point of having this mock Gate for practice?”

“……”

The other Jaina fell silent, perhaps realizing that what Mira had just said was something she herself had emphasized countless times. The reason for having penalties for failure, such as allowing fake monsters to inflict non-fatal but real injuries or ensuring that one would get dirty from falling into traps before being rescued, was to make the dungeon practice meaningful.

Jaina, who seemed taken aback by having her own words thrown back at her, grumbled as she adjusted her wet clothes.

“You’ve got a smart mouth on you, don’t you? Who taught you to be so witty?” Despite her grumbling, Jaina wore a smile on her face as she ruffled Mira’s hair. It was only natural for her to be pleased that her student had applied what she had taught and returned it to her in this manner.

“Did you deliberately ruffle my hair with the slightly damp hand?”

“What are you talking about? You’re too sensitive.”

As they spoke, Jaina had used her still-damp hand to ruffle Mira’s hair, indicating that she wanted to get back at him in some way.

“It’s fine. I didn’t learn it from anyone, I figured it out on my own.”

“You’re a quite smart kid. You’ve got me there.” Jaina squeezed Mira’s head playfully and then released it. She then prepared to enter the Gate again.

“Wait a moment, please.”

“Why?”

“Since this Gate was designed for a group of three, and I based the challenge on that assumption, why don’t you experience it as intended? You can use the clone magic, right?”

“You’re quite the talker. If I listen to you any longer, I’ll end up giving you my heart and soul, huh? Fine, I’ll do as the creator asks.” Jaina snapped her fingers, and her body split into two, with the sword-wielding Jaina further dividing into two, resulting in three Jainas, including one with a staff.

“This time, I’ll clear it right away, so wait for me.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. If you really do, I’ll praise you. Maybe I’ll even ruffle your hair.”

“You cheeky brat.”

Jaina, with a playful smile, lightly tapped Mira’s head a couple of times before entering the Gate with her clones.

It seemed like the after-effects of the school trip hadn’t completely worn off for Jaina either, as she was usually not one to engage in such banter. Perhaps the alcohol from the trip was still lingering in her system.

Mira reactivated the camera drone that had been sent in earlier. Despite the increased number of skeletons to match the additional Jainas, the three of them were advancing swiftly. Their teamwork was impeccable.

In the game ‘Dark Soul,’ which served as the inspiration for this Gate, the number and strength of enemies increased proportionally with the number of players in co-op mode. Mira had faithfully incorporated this aspect into the design, but it seemed to have little effect on the Jainas.

The trio quickly reached the spot where the original Jaina had been kicked off the cliff by the giant skeleton. The giant skeleton, unfazed by their presence, continued to shoot arrows at them.

“I didn’t notice it earlier when I was just glancing through, but now that I’m paying attention, there’s an invisibility spell cast on the corner. If you’re not careful, you’ll definitely fall for it.”

“Let’s take care of the archer first. I’ll handle the hidden one.”

The sword-wielding Jaina stepped forward, and the staff-wielding Jaina cast a spell, resulting in the skeleton being struck by fireballs and ice spikes before shattering into pieces.

“Got it.”

“Good, now let’s deal with the remaining one.”

However, perhaps because they hadn’t detected any traps earlier, all three Jainas paid no attention to the differently colored floor. They were about to step on it whenㅡ

“Waaaaah?!”

Before Mira could finish her thought, the Jainas fell into the cliff once again. As soon as they stepped on the differently colored floor, the area around them collapsed, sending them tumbling down into the water below.

Splish-splash, the three wet Jainas reappeared next to the Gate, drenched from head to toe. They glared at Mira and shouted in unison, “That’s cheating!”

“It wasn’t like this before!”

“You deliberately made it so we couldn’t clear it?!”

“When I was alone, the floor was fine. Now that there are three of us, it collapsed.”

This was another one of the co-op challenge gimmicks in the ‘Dark Soul’ series. Solo play areas would suddenly turn into traps when played in co-op mode. Finding and avoiding these traps was part of the fun.

Of course, it wouldn’t be enjoyable if one had to experience the consequences physically, as the Jainas were doing now.

“If you had paid a little more attention to the floor, you would have noticed the cracks starting to form.”

Indeed, as Mira pointed out, if they had inspected the floor instead of focusing solely on the giant skeleton with the Spartan kick, they would have seen the cracks indicating an impending collapse.

One of the distinctive features of the ‘Dark Soul’ series was that there were almost no “cheap” patterns as long as the player was attentive and observant. Jaina, realizing the truth of Mira’s words, shook her head in exasperation.

“I understand, but I’m not sure if something like this would actually appear in a real Gate. You know, it’s important to maintain a balance and not just focus on creating traps.”

“There are Gates that are monsters themselves, and there are Gates where monsters shoot ballistas. I can’t guarantee that something like this won’t ever appear.”

“Hmm, you’re right. I can’t say for sure that it won’t happen at all. Are the other Gates similar to this one?”

“They’re not exactly the same. The concepts are clearly differentiated.”

“……Do you have a hobby in design or something? How did you manage to create twelve of these in just one day?”

“I had a good idea, and I applied it.”

Mira was referring to a game series that was considered a masterpiece among masterpieces, excluding the second installment, which was still decent enough to be compared to the top two students in the class.

Mira felt that since the two students beside him were ranked first and second in the class, it would be fair to consider the game he based his design on as a twenty-something student.

Jaina, who was standing next to Mira, licked her lips. “Hmm… If you were to take my place one day, it would be a perfect fit, but it would be a waste to keep you confined here. Let’s try one more time. Is that alright?”

“I don’t mind, but when do you plan to test the other eleven Gates?”

“I’ll stay up all night if I have to, but I can’t go back without checking them all. That would be embarrassing.”

The Jainas’ eyes sparkled with determination.

.

.

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“So, how did it go?”

“They managed to clear it, but it took them quite a while.”

In the game, one could dodge all sorts of attacks by rolling on the ground, but in reality, there was no such invincibility frame. Rolling on the ground wouldn’t make one immune to attacks, so it was impossible to dodge them head-on.

The only option was to take a methodical approach and tackle the challenges one by one, but the Gate had been designed to be slightly more difficult than the average Academy student’s level, resulting in a naturally prolonged process.

“You’re amazing, Professor. If it were me, I would have given up and just tasted a bit of it.”

“That’s the key element. It’s about creating the impression that with a little more effort, one could succeed.”

The ‘Dark Soul’ series was known for its difficulty, striking a delicate balance between ‘too hard’ and ‘not quite manageable.’ It evoked a sense of tenacity, making players want to keep trying instead of throwing their controllers in frustration and uninstalling the game. It was a level design that even the most skilled players would find challenging, but the developers of ‘Dark Soul’ had pulled it off.

“Both of them will have a hard time. They have to go in and clear it themselves, after all. Their exam scores are at stake.”

“Ah.”

“……”

Everyone’s gaze suddenly shifted to Mira, who had remained silent. Rosalia, who had been chatting with him earlier, Priscilla, who was snuggled up in his lap, Laura, who was sipping tea next to him, and Latina, they were all looking at him.

Of course, the two people in question were not present, as they were working on the group project with their teammates.

“You didn’t forget, did you?”

“……I think they’ll be able to clear it. Probably.”

“It’s one thing to be able to clear it, but it’s another to go through a lot of trouble. Especially since neither of them is familiar with the ‘Dark Soul’ series, and Leona will have her strength restricted when she enters.”

Laura, who had extensive knowledge of both male and female-oriented games, chimed in.

“You’re like me, aren’t you? Always going for the kill, even when it’s not necessary. Of course, I love that about you as well.”

“So, that’s why you went to a science-focused university?”

“You’re clueless, Rosalia. Not all science and engineering majors are about building things.”

“Huh?”

As Priscilla hit Rosalia, who was left dumbfounded, Laura casually took a sip of her coffee.

“You don’t have to worry too much. It’s a game designed so that even first-time players can identify and respond to all the challenges if they have a basic level of skill. They shouldn’t have any major problems.”

“Earlier, you said they would go through a lot of trouble. Your words are contradictory.”

“Saying that they won’t have any problems is different from saying they won’t go through any trouble.”

“You’re being pedantic and petty.”

Latina glared at Laura, who remained unfazed as always.

“……”

After a moment of contemplation, Mira stood up.

“Are you going to help them?”

“No. I won’t. After all, it’s not just them; everyone else will find it challenging as well.”

Mira gave Priscilla’s cheek a final tickle before putting her down and creating a dimensional door in the middle of the club room.

“I have something else to take care of.”