How to Steal the Protagonist's Women

Luna shouted at the assistant professor.

"What... what are you doing!?"

The assistant professor, standing at a distance, spoke to Luna.

"If you stay quiet, it'll be over soon."

Luna was trapped in the hand of a massive golem.

A golem made of sand.

Luna had followed the assistant professor, and the place he entered was a forest.

She had been so distracted in class today that she hadn't heard the warning to avoid the forest training grounds.

She followed him, wary of being led into the forest.

Despite the difference in their abilities, she was confident because she could already use wind-based escape magic.

But the assistant professor suddenly stopped, snatched her bracelet, and pushed her into a pile of sand.

In an instant, the sand gathered and formed a golem, which bound Luna with one hand.

"Do you really think you can get away with this!?"

"What kind of language is that to use with a professor~? Hahaha!"

The assistant professor laughed mockingly at Luna's words.

'The binding is weak. If I can just take down this golem...!'

She needed to do something to break free.

Luna tried to focus and cast a magic circle.

But she had relied too much on her bracelet for casting magic circles, and when she tried to cast one now, it shook violently and scattered in the wind.

"Hahaha! I heard you were a top student, but you're just a fake genius!"

'Ugh... I need to focus... focus...'

Luna ignored the assistant professor's taunts and concentrated.

Not relying on the bracelet...

She tried to visualize and draw a magic circle using her own mana.

Fwoosh!

"What... what's this!?"

"Huh!?"

Just as Luna tried to draw the magic circle with her finger, a magic circle glowing with a sky-blue light appeared in front of her, aimed at the golem.

'It worked!'

Luna was so happy that even in this desperate situation, a bright smile broke out on her face.

But she quickly realized the situation.

'This should be enough!'

She poured her mana into the spell, casting 'Blades of Wind.'

Swish, swish, swish!

Though the destructive power was low, the multiple blades flying toward the golem looked threatening.

'It's just a sand golem. In this gap... huh!?'

"What... what's going on...?"

The Golem, which should have been sliced to pieces and collapsed, was completely unharmed and continued to tighten its grip on Luna.

"Ugh... haah!"

"Puhahaha!"

The assistant professor suddenly laughed and shouted at Luna.

"I don't know what you just did, but it was entertaining. If you had used magic the moment you were caught, you might have escaped by now. Too bad."

Luna couldn't understand what the assistant professor was saying.

"Your mana has already been sucked dry by that golem. Didn't you notice?"

"Mana... golem?"

The assistant professor had always brought female students here and assaulted them in this manner.

Students caught by the golem would have their mana drained by this seemingly harmless creature, leaving them exhausted.

Once the student was exhausted, he would release the golem and threaten to report them to the school unless they complied, using them as his playthings for three years.

Moreover, since mana golems weren't part of the first-year curriculum, most students didn't even know they existed.

It was a trashy act among trashy acts, one he had never failed at over the years.

"Luna Stadtfeld, do you know what happens when you run out of mana?"

"Ugh..."

Luna tried to cast another magic circle, but her head began to spin.

She was entering a state of mana exhaustion.

The assistant professor, satisfied with her state, continued his explanation.

"First, your body loses strength. Then, your vision blurs, and you start to feel dizzy."

"Ugh!"

The assistant professor looked at Luna and continued calmly as if teaching a class.

"At that point, it's pretty much over. You can't use mana even if you want to. And if you're drained further..."

"Haah... stop..."

"You won't even be able to open your mouth, your body will be completely powerless."

Luna's face had already turned pale, and her head drooped.

"Don't worry, mana exhaustion wears off in about an hour. But..."

"Haah... haah..."

"I'll make sure you enjoy yourself while you're still conscious."

Tears welled up in Luna's eyes out of frustration.

She had just found someone she liked.

But now, instead of that person, she was about to lose her first experience to someone she despised.

As her body lost strength, Luna regretted her choices.

'...If I had known this would happen, I should've confessed.'

"Alright, that's enough..."

Just as the assistant professor was about to approach Luna with a satisfied expression, a man's voice came from behind.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What, what's this!?"

The assistant professor, startled by the presence of someone else, turned around.

At the sound, Luna also lifted her head with great effort, her vision blurry.

In her hazy sight, she saw a figure.

"Damn, the rumours were true. No, this guy's even worse."

It was Seong Suho.

***

The moment I headed to the classroom to get a bit more sleep, I overheard a conversation among the female students that I couldn't ignore.

"Luna, you're not getting into any trouble, are you?"

"Ah... no way..."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

I asked the girls to explain the situation.

'...Assistant Professor, wasn't he supposed to be dismissed?'

[Correct. There's a possibility he might do something to Luna Stadtfeld.]

I asked the girls for a favour and ran toward the forest training grounds.

When I arrived, I found a dense forest.

"Damn, this place is huge!"

[It might not be here...]

Rustle, rustle~

I heard the sound of something causing a commotion deeper in the forest.

"Over there!"

And when I arrived, I found a situation that matched my expectations perfectly.

Except for the golem—I hadn't expected that.

Luna was trapped in the golem's grasp, and the professor was standing at a distance, laughing gleefully.

When I arrived, he was visibly panicked and started spewing nonsense at me.

"Y-You! Why are you here!? Get out of here right now! If you leave now, I'll let this slide!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Shouldn't I be the one saying that? Get lost, and I'll let this slide."

"...Y-You bastard! How dare you talk to a professor like that!"

The assistant professor was more enraged by the challenge to his authority than by the exposure of his actions.

He began casting a red magic circle with the wand he was holding.

"I'll bury you, not just expel you, but as a corpse!"

I thought he'd try to cover up the incident and run away, but it seemed he was planning to escalate things further.

'This guy's completely insane.'

[Suho, be careful. Since he's still an assistant professor, he could use his position to manipulate the situation and put you in a difficult position.]

Judging by what I was seeing, Armonia was right.

But there's a perfect remedy for guys like him.

'Alright... this won't do! Let's shoot!'

[?]

I quickly drew a magic circle, raised my arm, and fired a steel ball at him.

Bang!

"Kyaaaah!!"

The sound of a pig's squeal echoed.

(XX: You devil!)

The devil wasn't me—it was him. I just gave him a taste of divine punishment.

The assistant professor collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth and trembling.

He was clutching his groin with both hands.

I walked over to him and stepped on his back.

"Phew, since he's going to be dismissed anyway, it'll work out."

[Suho...]

"Huh?"

[You need to save Luna Stadtfeld quickly.]

"Since this guy's in this state, it's about time... huh?"

I thought the golem would stop if I took down the one who created it.

But a completely different situation unfolded.

"Ahhh!!"

Instead, the golem tightened its grip on Luna and began rampaging through the forest.

It started slowly moving toward me.

Luna, her face pale, struggled to speak.

"Mana... run... away..."

I was sure that golems stopped when their caster was subdued.

"What the hell! What's that!?"

[Suho, it's a mana golem. You need to avoid it.]

"That thing?"

It was the creature we had learned about in class today.

The special magic professor had clearly said it.

Mana golems are deadly to students like me and Luna.

"Damn it, I need to shoot one more time."

I aimed at the golem's head and fired another steel ball.

Bang!

Clang!

"What the hell!"

I had definitely hit it.

If it were sand, it should have scattered.

But the steel ball shattered against a blue barrier before it could reach the golem's head.

[It's already absorbed Luna Stadtfeld's mana. It's still absorbing more, so you're in danger too.]

"Then what should I do!?"

[You need to run and get help.]

"No! Luna's..."

[Your safety is more important than Luna's right now! With your current mana level, you can't break through its barrier. You need to escape...]

Armonia was shouting, unlike her usual calm self.

The golem, which had been quite far away, was almost upon us.

Armonia kept shouting in my head to run.

...Run away now?

Don't make me laugh...

There must be a way...

[Suho! It's affecting you too!]

"Alright!"

I pulled out the superconductive bullet I had received yesterday from my pocket.

I placed the silver bullet on my finger and prepared to fire.

Armonia tried to stop me.

[The golem's outer layer is too tough now! It's using Luna Stadtfeld's mana to reinforce its barrier. Even with your mana, it's hard to break through!]

"...No, there's something else!"

I immediately created a magic circle on the assistant professor's back.

[That's...]

Mana Drain.

A spell considered trash because of its inefficiency.

But if used simultaneously with another spell, it could be the ultimate magic.

Now the golem was starting to absorb my mana too.

I focused and aimed at the golem's chest.

"Armonia! Restore my mana now!"

[Understood.]

I instantly felt my mana replenishing.

Twelve coin-sized magic circles lined up on either side of the silver bullet.

The magic circle I was using now was the one that had caused me to experience mana exhaustion before.

Unlike the four magic circles I had used before, this one was arranged in a golden light, forming a long, magnificent barrel.

"Six chambers, fire!"

[Suho, that's...]

The moment I created the magic circle, the assistant professor let out an inhuman scream.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!!"

If the earlier scream was that of an animal in pain, this one sounded like the wail of a soul in hell.

The problem was that not only his mana, but mine too, was being drained.

Thankfully, most of the drain was focused on the assistant professor's mana, so I wasn't completely drained.

And when the preparation was complete.

The twelve magic circles on either side heated up and began to release an enormous amount of electricity.

Even as my hands trembled, my aim remained steady, directed at the golem's torso.

"Now!"

Bang!!!

A sound unlike any steel ball I had fired before echoed as the superconductive bullet was launched.

The moment it was fired, birds scattered from the forest due to the shockwave.

I let my arms hang limply and stared at the golem.

"Haah... haah..."

The golem's blue barrier... was shattered.

But...

Crack...

The golem only took a few steps back from the impact of my shot, still intact.

"Haah... haah... what... what's going on..."

[Suho, the core! The barrier is broken, but the core is still intact.]

"Haah... where... ah..."

I remembered what the professor had taught about dealing with mana golems.

"The difference with mana golems is the core. Most golems have their core in the centre. The reason is that the chest is very thick and stable. Like our hearts."

And he had said that the core of a mana golem moves around within the sand.

"So why was the mana golem's core designed to move? The reason is that the core acts as a mana drain. The core is always..."

"Haah... haah..."

I struggled to lift my arm, my body hanging limply.

A steel ball rested on my hand.

I was aiming at... Luna.

She had already passed out from exhaustion.

I aimed at her and spoke to Armonia.

"Mana... haah... haah... fill me..."
[No! If you use that ability now, there's no turning back!]

Despite Armonia's cries, my mind was already set on firing.

The professor's final words echoed in my head.

"The core is always located where it can most efficiently absorb mana."

My aim, directed at Luna, was actually at the sand buried in the golem's fingers...

"...!"

Bang!

I hit the black core.

The impact was much weaker than any of the steel balls I had fired before.

But the golem began to crumble, and sand poured down.

Luna, buried in the sand, came into view.

I needed to get her out...

But my body wouldn't move.

No, I couldn't move.

[-__—! __—!!]

Armonia was shouting something, but I couldn't hear what she was saying.

Then my vision started to turn red.

I felt something flowing from my nose and mouth.

Countless drops of liquid fell to the ground.

I couldn't tell if my vision was red or if the liquid was red as I collapsed on the spot.

***

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