章 52: Ch.52 Yo, Yo, Yo, Isn't This the Invincible Gojo Satoru? You’ve Slipped So Much!
Gojo was always very approachable, granting nearly every request his students made. However, because of his personality, most students were generally reluctant to ask him for help.
So, when Akira made a call, Gojo Satoru arrived at the fastest speed possible, even crashing through a dormitory door and two walls because he was going too fast.
He walked in with his arms spread wide, as if for a hug, and deliberately spoke in a deep voice, "My beloved students, are you all alright? Your invincible Teacher Gojo is here!"
Akira immediately saw through his antics. "You're really hooked on the Whitebeard act, huh?"
"I knew you'd get it." Gojo looked pleased, his expression even more punchable than usual.
"I think calling him was a mistake." Maki Zenin was the first to lose her patience.
"Salmon," Toge Inumaki was the second.
"There's no choice; Gojo's strength is the one thing we can't doubt—not that I'm praising you," Panda cut off Gojo's anticipated self-congratulation, but it was useless; Gojo was already basking in his own glory.
Panda tried his trump card: closing the door and releasing Playful Panda.
It still didn't work.
Playful Panda, although playful every day, had kept up with his training and could now touch Gojo's Infinity barrier. He was easily lifted by the scruff of his neck by Gojo.
"If you encounter an unbeatable enemy, feel free to rely on the perfect being—Teacher Gojo!"
As he spoke, he even struck a pose reminiscent of Kars from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Akira almost couldn't resist blurting out spoilers. Stop setting up flags, will you? Don't you know your original ending is just like Kars-sama's—stuck in eternal contemplation?
Damn it.
"Enough fooling around."
Akira adopted his "True Teacher" stance to suppress the "Fake Teacher."
"This matter involves breaking Rika's curse."
"Oh, oh, so you've already—Akira, you did well, well done!"
Ignoring Gojo's playful remarks, Akira seriously explained the curse-breaking plan for Rika and their three failed attempts.
Yuta's first attempt, followed by Akira leading the team on the second.
After "summoning Gojo," they went to the cafeteria for something to eat and to adjust their mood, only to run into Maki and end up revealing everything to the entire dorm.
Driven by curiosity, everyone ventured into the dream dungeon together, resulting in a third failed attempt.
After listening, Gojo crossed his arms and put on an Araki face: "I see, a nightmare difficulty dungeon, like Dark Souls. Can I understand it that way?"
Akira nodded. "The difficulty is about the same, though the direction differs. After three attempts, I've gathered some experience—"
"Stop right there. Clearing a dungeon is only fun when you do it yourself. The unknown is the greatest challenge."
"I was just telling you to be prepared and cautious."
"That's for the real world. This is a nightmare dungeon. You're all here, talking to me, which means the dungeon isn't that dangerous—not deadly, at least."
"This is probably the only humane part of the nightmare. I believe it's Rika's 'goodwill' within."
"That's enough. Now, watch as Player One, Gojo Satoru, carries you through—let's start the raid!"
The no-nonsense, white-haired teacher waved his right hand as if opening a door.
There was silence; no one responded.
"Come on, work with me here." Gojo peered over his sunglasses with a sincere look. "I haven't had a chance to make a flashy entrance lately. I wanted to help you and Nanami during the last mission, but you only contacted me after it was over."
As the saying goes, it's easy to invite a god but hard to send them away. Akira knew he couldn't hold back this "Gojo" now, and they indeed needed his strength at this stage:
"Darkrai!"
"Mmm!"
Silent but fierce, Darkrai opened the portal again.
"Oh, oh, oh! Here we go! Nightmare Dungeon Raid, Let's go!" Gojo entered first, leading the way.
The others exchanged glances, quickly reaching a consensus through eye contact, all revealing playful and mischievous smiles.
When Akira and the others officially stepped into the nightmare dungeon, the battle was already underway.
This was a world truly worthy of the name "Nightmare."
The sound of bells echoed, announcing the arrival of the apocalypse.
Black, purple, and red hues spread across the entire sky.
A stench like rot and sulfur intermingled, weaving together a unique atmosphere of "curses."
Under such a sky, on the ground below, countless shadowy figures, impossible to tell if they were living, dead, or lost souls, roamed and wandered. The moment they sensed the intrusion of outsiders, they swarmed forward.
Gojo stood amidst these shadows, casually pulling, and an entire area of shadows was drawn up into the sky by an invisible force, twisted into a ball.
Then, with a casual push, a force radiated from his palm, blasting another group of shadows away, clearing a vast space.
After doing all this, Gojo didn't forget to wave at his students.
However, at that moment, two shadows emerged from below, attacking Gojo from the human blind spots at an extremely close distance.
Of course, Gojo's "Six Eyes" possessed the ultimate insight, providing a 360-degree view. Even with his sunglasses on, he didn't miss them and shattered the ambushing shadows in time.
But that was just the beginning. More and more shadows poured in from underground, from inconceivable places, among them noticeably different entities.
For instance, non-human creatures, crawling on all fours, with lolling tongues and fangs, more agile than humans.
Such creatures broke through Gojo's defenses. One messed up his hair, and another headbutted him, sending him flying and leaving him in a mess, prompting him to shout:
"Where did these dogs come from?"
Seeing this, the students didn't show concern or anxiety; instead, they added fuel to the fire:
"Well done!"
"Great job!"
"Salmon."
"Bamboo."
"Oh my, isn't that the invincible Gojo Satoru? You've slipped so much after just a little while?"
Of course, it was Akira speaking. Though he was closest to Gojo, he didn't take a step forward because he knew that staying still was safe. Moving would make him a target for the shadows. That was the experience they had gathered from clearing the dungeon. But Gojo didn't listen, so he deserved to be ridiculed.
Gojo wasn't angry. He used a technique to send all the shadows far away, along with scraping the ground to prevent sneak attacks, while calmly fixing his hair. "I was careless, didn't dodge."
"I can't believe you. You know enough to compare it to Dark Souls, but you didn't expect a 'Double Dog Formation'?"
"I was just giving an example. How was I supposed to know it would actually happen?"
The two veteran gamers stared at each other.
The third veteran gamer, Yuta Okkotsu, chimed in, "This is Rika's dreamscape. It might have something to do with her preferences. We used to play games together a lot; she was way better than me."
"Next time, say that sooner." Gojo complained. He truly hadn't expected Rika's nightmare to be so intense.
Akira mocked Gojo, "It wouldn't have helped. Who said clearing a dungeon is only fun when it's completely unknown?"
"I said that." Gojo had at least this redeeming quality: he owned up to his words, willing to take responsibility and punishment.
Wait, punishment.
Akira noticed something off:
"Something's wrong. How did those dogs hurt you? What happened to your 'Infinity'?"
"Because we're in Rika's domain. My 'Infinity' was neutralized, or, in WoW terms, it was dispelled."
"!!!"
PS: This is, of course, additional fan lore; it's not in the original story. After all, the prequel only had four chapters before it ended.
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