Chapter 34: Facing the Illusions
Before long, the time for rank-specific training had arrived. Since this wasn't the outdoor training that all Knight Faculty students participated in together, an announcement had directed each rank's students to use the training grounds in their respective pavilions. Ludenberg headed toward the training ground established inside the White Pavilion.
He had noticed it from the first time he entered the White Pavilion, but a notice stated it was unavailable outside of rank-specific training sessions, so Ludenberg had never used it until now. He examined the training ground thoroughly. Why on earth had it warned against entering carelessly?
As he scrutinized the area, his eyes caught sight of strange patterns. They appeared to be a Sacred Law Formation laid into the center of the training ground floor, but they were so intricate that he couldn't discern their function.
While Ludenberg focused on the Sacred Law Formation, the other Innocence students who had arrived began wondering what kind of training they'd do today. Murmurs spread through the White Pavilion training ground, and at that moment, Professor Hainkel Hereis entered.
Behind Professor Hainkel was a female priestess dressed in robes emblazoned with the moon emblem. Spotting her, the Innocence students' commotion grew louder.
"Isn't that a Lanur priestess? What's she doing here?"
"No idea..."
"Quiet! I'll explain today's training soon, so pay attention!"
Professor Hainkel shouted at the Innocence students, sensing the disturbance. The murmurs that had been spreading among them vanished in an instant at his command.
"Now, look at the floor. You'll see a Sacred Law Formation."
At Professor Hainkel's words, the Innocence students—except for Ludenberg—finally noticed the formation in the center of the training ground and looked startled.
"Today's lesson is to experience illusions through this Sacred Law Formation."
Illusions? Lanur sacred law?
While Ludenberg tilted his head in curiosity, the other Innocence students began questioning Professor Hainkel.
"What kind of illusions?"
"Illusions featuring erosion beasts. Our Lanur priestess here, Priestess Daphnen Ahillan, will explain the details."
The Innocence students turned their attention to her all at once. Daphnen, accustomed to such gazes, stood calmly and spoke.
"Activating this Sacred Law Formation will summon erosion beasts. But these are mere phantoms—nothing more. So you can engage in mock battles with them without worrying about getting hurt."
"If erosion beasts appear... what rank are they?"
"Low-rank erosion beasts. This formation can summon up to mid-rank ones, but..."
Daphnen trailed off there. Professor Hainkel picked up where she left off.
"It's still too early for you to face mid-rank erosion beasts. Even low-rank ones are highly dangerous, and few of you have ever properly fought them."
The Innocence students nodded vigorously in agreement. Some had seen erosion beasts before, but aside from Ludenberg, almost none had faced them in direct combat.
"So first, you'll learn how to confront erosion beasts using low-rank ones. Once you've mastered them, you'll move on to mid-rank. Now, the students I call will arm themselves and take the positions I designate."
Professor Hainkel then called five names. They equipped their weapons and stood in the spots he indicated. Confirming they were in place, he turned to Daphnen beside him.
"If you would, Priestess Daphnen."
"Understood..."
Daphnen murmured something under her breath in a soft voice and activated the Sacred Law Formation. Light began seeping from it, followed by a purple mist that enveloped the training ground. Then, before the positioned Innocence students, five low-rank erosion beasts materialized as per Professor Hainkel's instructions.
Their grotesque appearances instilled a visceral disgust in the Innocence students. Those facing them up close recoiled in horror.
"Ugh... what the hell is that? It's disgusting. Hey, is that really what they look like? You've seen one before, right?"
"Yeah. When they're all twisted and gross like that, it's definitely an erosion beast. But I've only seen them from afar, so I'm not sure if these are exactly the same."
"But why aren't they moving?"
The students exchanged words. As they said, the erosion beasts stood frozen, as if time had stopped.
Daphnen, overhearing, explained.
"They only move when the Sacred Law Formation is manipulated. They're paused right now. Manipulate it, and they'll start moving."
No sooner had she finished than Professor Hainkel ordered the five Innocence students.
"Now, fight those erosion beasts. They're illusions, but you can strike them directly, and they'll strike back. The impacts won't be severe, so no need to worry about injury."
After Professor Hainkel's explanation, Daphnen added more details.
"To be precise, they do have substance. They're illusions that defy the laws of phantoms. If they hit you, a purple mark will appear on the struck area."
"What happens if a mark appears?"
"Nothing much—just mild pain. If you get three marks, the illusion turns to red ash. That means defeat."
"How do we win?"
"Each phantom has a heart, just like real erosion beasts. Their positions vary. Destroy the heart, and it becomes black ash. But you must do so before three marks appear."
Daphnen explained clearly to the Innocence students. The illusions were phantoms with substance, harmless overall. Hits left marks; three marks meant defeat for the student. Destroying the heart first meant victory. Defeat turned the phantom to red ash; victory to black.
Having heard everything, the Innocence students assumed stances, eyeing the erosion beasts with faint tension.
Once they were ready, Daphnen chanted.
"...May the illusion sometimes take on substance."
At that, the frozen erosion beasts sprang to life. They lunged at the Innocence students before them like rabid dogs. Though merely low-rank, they closed in at astonishing speeds. The students cloaked themselves in divine power and swung their swords.
With clean slicing sounds, some succeeded in cutting through the erosion beasts.
"...Too easy?"
But no black ash scattered yet. Realizing this, one student glanced back in dismay. The beasts were regenerating and mutating before their eyes.
The Innocence students panicked. They knew erosion beasts didn't die easily, regenerating lost limbs while mutating. But knowing and experiencing were worlds apart. Losing composure mid-battle was unprecedented for these ever-victorious elites, disrupting their rhythm and aim.
The erosion beasts deformed their legs into hooks for attacks or fired spikes from severed wounds. The flustered students, forgetting countermeasures, accumulated purple marks. Inevitably, as each reached three, the beasts ignited in red light.
Defeat.
The first five couldn't properly respond to the sudden mutations.
"See? That's what erosion beasts are."
Professor Hainkel's matter-of-fact voice echoed across the training ground.
"Based on your divine power quantity, control, physical prowess, and technique, you should have dispatched them easily. Yet you lost."
The five who had fought looked crestfallen.
"Of course, aside from a few exceptions, most of you have never even encountered erosion beasts, let alone fought them. It's natural. Don't be too ashamed of this result. And don't worry—no evaluation scores from this fight."
Their expressions eased at his follow-up words. Hainkel added one more thing.
"Don't get complacent. Erosion beasts are utterly unpredictable. In real combat, letting your guard down against a mere low-rank could cost your life."
The Innocence students nodded solemnly, the lesson sinking in deep.
"Now, let's continue the lesson."
Hainkel called more names, positioning them, and Daphnen repeated the summoning. Perhaps learning from the first group, the next students watched the beasts' movements closely. Still, facing unfamiliar foes for the first time had limits, and many ended in defeat.
Ludenberg watched the Innocence students battle the erosion beasts with mild disinterest. He had already fought countless erosion beasts in the Eastern Erosion Zone under his father, Duke Leonard Lavante's guidance.
When Ludenberg fought them, Leonard never intervened, no matter how gravely injured—only stepping in at the brink of death. Ludenberg had suffered shattered bones multiple times and nearly lost limbs on several occasions. Those brutal battles against dire threats had honed him, making him more knowledgeable about fighting erosion beasts than anyone present except Professor Hainkel.
Thus, tensing up over low-rank ones now was beneath him. Low-rank? He was confident he could handle mid-rank right then. Before coming to Solemnute Adem, Duke Leonard's final assignment had been slaying a mid-rank erosion beast.
For Ludenberg, far superior to his peers, the lesson was inevitably boring.
"Next: Ashytara, Evelyn, Brian, Granias, Jerome."
But then, a name that piqued his interest was called amid his boredom.
Ashytara.
A person he couldn't help but care about, try as he might not to. Unconsciously, Ludenberg turned toward her.