An Utterly Ordinary Group Project (6)

"I-Is that really okay?"

Loto looked on with concern at the sight of the muscular figures sprawled across the ground, twitching faintly.

"He's not dead, so don't worry. More importantly, let's restrain them before they wake up again."

The Attribute Stones, which processed Magic Stones to replicate 'hierarchical magic' below the stone's grade, were excellent in that they allowed for a variety of spells to be prepared in advance and didn't require the user's own mana. However, even the lowest-grade 'fragments' used Magic Stones worth ten silver coins as their main material, making them expensive. Their power was also weaker compared to when a mage cast the spells directly.

The current result had exceeded expectations only because multiple 'Flame Fragments' had detonated simultaneously against completely defenseless targets at their feet. If left alone, these guys might just spring back up.

We tied the fallen students' hands and feet, then looped the ropes around each other's necks to completely restrict their movement. The structure ensured that if one person struggled, another student's neck would be choked. There was no way to brute-force their way out.

"Y-You bastards! Using a trap like this is so underhanded!"

"This is a survival test. What's underhanded about it? And aren't hunters basically all sneaky by nature?"

Some of them woke up midway and thrashed around, but there wasn't much they could do while bound. Before long, time passed, and midnight arrived.

The moment those words were spoken, the bodies of the restrained students began rapidly turning pitch black.

"W-What is this?! Let go! Aaaagh!"

The sight of them being consumed by what looked like black shadows made Loto shriek and stumble backward. But I knew exactly what it was.

"It's the butterflies."

It was the swarm of black butterflies that had appeared during the entrance exam. Even under the bright midday sun, they were jet black. Seeing them move in a group at night and swallow people whole made it look as if darkness itself was devouring its prey.

This would certainly make cleanup and personnel management convenient.

Without that swarm of black butterflies, the eliminated students would have had to walk out of the forest themselves, or the academy—including the professors—would have needed to send people one by one to retrieve them. There were spatial teleportation spells, of course, but users capable of handling that much mana were rare. It would be ridiculous to have such high-value personnel running ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around collecting students.

Fiore spoke up.

"I expected it to some degree, but having half the teams eliminated in one go is still quite fast. We might see a conclusion as early as tomorrow."

"True. It'll only get harder to find treasures as the days go on."

It was strange that I had snatched up treasures in such a short time, as if I'd turned on some kind of map hack. Normally, finding fist-sized treasures scattered somewhere in this vast forest would be incredibly difficult.

Splitting up the team to search wouldn't be easy either.

It would increase the chances of finding treasures, but it would also drastically raise the odds of encountering other teams. In this situation, running into another team was practically the same as declaring hostility. If it was just one opponent, maybe, but wandering around alone and bumping into another full team carried far too great a risk of being eliminated outright.

Even if we assumed the eight surviving teams had stolen treasures from others, they likely had no spares left—or at best, maybe one. They would all be trying to force a quick decisive battle.

"But we have no reason to play along with their rushed pace. We'll hide our presence as much as possible and wait for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the other teams to destroy each other."

We already had multiple treasures secured, and if we wanted, our team could obtain more relatively easily. There was no need for us to hurry at all. If we could just stay quiet and pass the test like this, that would be ideal. If not, we'd finish all our interception preparations and fight from an advantageous position.

After hearing my plan, Fiore said,

"I think going with a defensive siege strategy as the base is a good idea. But how about adding one more thing to it?"

"Add something? Like what?"

"Specifically—"

I nodded at Fiore's suggestion.

Not bad at all.

It was simple in a way, but there was no harm in doing it. Fishing was always fun, after all.

Treasure Thieves, Day 2.

A massive roar echoed through the heart of the forest.

Where Eagle Pendevig's Mid-tier Wind Sphere had struck, the ground erupted violently. Soil flew upward as trees and bushes were ripped out by their roots and hurled through the air.

If low-tier spells were like arrows or bladed weapons—personal armaments for use against individuals—then mid-tier spells were like grenades, capable of wiping out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everyone within a certain range.

There was no way to block them with a shield. Even if you dodged, getting caught in the aftermath would leave you combat ineffective.

"…T-This is ridiculous…!"

A student from the Combat Department, the only one left standing after witnessing his entire team get annihilated in an instant, spoke in a trembling voice. His face was filled with disbelief and shock.

"If you have any treasures, hand them over quietly. I'll let you go without any unnecessary pain."

Despite Eagle Pendevig's arrogant declaration, the student couldn't even muster the will to resist.

Woooong.

Three spheres of violently swirling blue mana orbited around Eagle like guardians. Each one was the exact same spell that had just obliterated his comrades along with the surrounding terrain.

Moreover, it took only a few seconds after firing one Mid-tier Wind Sphere for new ones to form around him again. That meant Eagle could spam mid-tier spells as much as he wanted. It also meant he could single-handedly annihilate an entire party by himself.

The student sitting on the ground looked up at Eagle in a daze.

Are mages really this strong?

The sheer scale of firepower an individual could wield was on a completely different level. The sword in his hand felt no more threatening than a tree branch. The overwhelming gap left him speechless, his mind blank.

Just as Eagle frowned and opened his mouth to speak to the stunned young man—

Whoosh—!

A chilling sound sliced through the air as an arrow that had closed in on Eagle was deflected as if it had struck an invisible wall.

"Who goes there!"

Rumble!

The three Wind Spheres orbiting Eagle fired at once. The trees at the impact point exploded, sending fragments flying everywhere.

"Tsk, missed him."

As he clicked his tongue, another mage—the one who had blocked the arrow aimed at Eagle just moments ago—scolded her blood-related brother.

"That doesn't look very dignified. Please stop that."

"What dignity are you even talking about in the middle of a forest at night?"

"Have you forgotten what Father said? A noble must never lose their dignity and pride no matter the situation. If you keep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠acting like this, I'll contact the family estate."

"Ahem, I understand. That's enough."

Eagle turned his head and looked back at the student he had been interrogating. The young man had been struck by a piece of stone shrapnel from Eagle's previous attack and was now unconscious, bleeding from the head.

Eagle barely suppressed the urge to click his tongue again and turned his gaze toward his companions.

The Pendevig twins' party consisted of students from the Morian Kingdom, just like them. However, not all of them belonged to the 'Magic' department like the siblings, nor were they all nobles.

Three warriors from the 'Combat' department and one priest from the 'Support' department. It was a textbook combination, and it showed that they hadn't simply gathered teammates based on personal connections or social status.

"Dirund. How did the body search go?"

The young knight called Dirund answered.

"None of the students who just fell had any treasures on them."

"Is it possible they hid them somewhere?"

"Even if they found one and hid it, one of the team members should have a 'mark' on their hand. There were no such traces at all."

"A waste of time, then. What a hassle."

Eagle Pendevig wore an irritated expression. Whether it was called treasure hunting or treasure stealing, this assignment was an incredibly tedious chore for him.

From the beginning, meticulously searching the surroundings for something simply didn't suit his temperament. Spending the night in the forest was also uncomfortable. If it had been like the first test—where he could just charge forward and crush every enemy in sight—there would have been some fun in it. But having to find other teams was nothing but a pain.

And so, a few hours later, when a companion brought him news, he couldn't help but show interest.

"You found traces of another team?"

"Yes. They hid it quite cleverly using the surrounding bushes, but it's clearly a base. Inside, they've even built a makeshift fortress using piles of wood."

"Hmm. So they're planning to fight a defensive battle. Not a bad strategy."

Since the participating teams would naturally devour each other and reduce their own numbers if left alone, hiding and avoiding fights was actually a fairly decent approach.

However—

"That means they've already secured treasures. And possibly more than one."

At the same time, it was as good as shouting at the top of their lungs that they didn't need to steal treasures from other teams.

"They've prepared a gift and sent us an invitation. It would be rude not to accept. Let's go."

At Eagle's words, Hau Pendevig objected.

"Isn't it possible this is a trap?"

"It might be, but that doesn't matter."

Eagle's eyes gleamed.

"—Crude tricks like that can be blown away from the front."