Main Episode 1: The Hypnotist's Shadow

At the same time.

Canya panted heavily as she stared at the sand golem before her.

“Haah. Haah. Of all things, it just had to be one with terrible compatibility for me.”

Her primary weapon was none other than poison magic.

However, the golem standing before her was not a living creature.

It was merely a golem composed of a core.

As such, poison had absolutely no effect on it.

ROOOAAAR!

At that moment, the golem let out a monstrous roar and swung its fist.

A fist larger than her entire body tore through the air as it came hurtling toward her.

Even with the gauge suit, the pain would feel just as real.

Canya activated her high-speed movement to narrowly dodge the golem’s punch.

BOOOOM!

The golem’s fist caused the entire cave to shake violently for a moment.

Getting hit even once would mean elimination. That’s how powerful the attack had been.

Gulp!

Canya swallowed hard and drew two daggers.

She then unleashed two swift slashes upon the sand golem’s undefended arm.

Slash!

In the next instant, the sand golem’s arm was severed cleanly, contrary to her expectations.

With this unexpected success, a smile crept across Canya’s face.

If its defense is this weak, I can handle it.

She had been intimidated by its overwhelming size, but it wasn’t nearly as threatening as she’d thought.

Its speed wasn’t particularly fast.

Its durability was weaker than expected.

At this rate, she could defeat it alone without even resorting to poison.

I thought I was unlucky to run into a boss monster right away.

This could actually be considered good fortune.

I’ll take down this golem and claim first place.

Her eyes burned with determination as she prepared to press the attack.

Hsssssss.

Suddenly, the severed arm of the sand golem began to regenerate.

At the unexpected sight, her mouth fell open in shock.

It regenerates?

She had cut off its arm, yet the boulder-like limb was returning to its original state.

It wasn’t the fact that it regenerated that surprised her.

The issue was the alarmingly fast speed of the regeneration.

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard, Canya’s eyes narrowed in frustration.

She swung her blade once more.

Slash!

Once again, the sand golem’s arm was severed.

Canya moved to swing her sword again.

But at that very moment—

Whoosh!

The sand golem’s arm came flying toward her.

Completely unexpected, Canya’s eyes widened like saucers.

Thud!

Unable to dodge in time, Canya was sent flying into the opposite wall.

Even though she had blocked it, a deep wave of pain coursed through her body.

Crash! Boom!

Then, as if to deliver the finishing blow, the sand golem slowly approached her.

Canya rose to her feet unsteadily.

She regulated her breathing.

Just as she was preparing to resume her combat stance—

Swoooosh!

The sound of something flying through the air reached her ears.

Wondering what it was, she turned her gaze.

However, nothing appeared in her line of sight.

What is that?

As a question mark hovered over her head, suddenly—

Thud!

The sound of something collapsing echoed through the cave.

Startled, she whipped her head back to the front.

In the next moment.

“Huh?”

A question mark appeared above her head once more at the sight before her.

The golem that had been about to finish her off had suddenly collapsed on its own!

What just happened?

Harboring doubts, she approached the golem.

Carefully, she prodded it with a branch in case it woke up.

“......”

“......”

There was no reaction.

As she tried to get closer.

“Are you alright?”

“Kyaaaaah?!”

An unexpected voice from her side caused her to let out a very feminine scream without thinking.

When she turned to look, it was Baran—the one who had defeated her in the previous duel.

“Uh, how long have you been here?”

“I just arrived.”

“I-I see.”

He had appeared without any trace of presence, so she thought he had been there the whole time.

“More importantly, is that golem the boss ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠monster?”

Baran tilted his head as he looked at the fallen sand golem.

Watching him from behind, Miroel let out a wry laugh.

Your disciple really does have quite the shameless side to him.

While Baran pretended not to hear Miroel’s jab, Canya was closely examining the sand golem.

Soon, her eyes widened at the hole in the golem’s chest.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ah, there’s a hole in the golem’s chest. But this is unexpected.”

“Pardon?”

“I didn’t expect that you wouldn’t be able to see the hole even though you can see the golem.”

Canya stared at Baran ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a slightly surprised expression.

“I can see the traces of mana on the golem, but not the hole itself.”

“Aha. I’ve heard the rumors, so you can see mana after all?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Baran nodded slowly.

Upon hearing that, Canya understood one thing.

No wonder his senses seemed too sharp for a blind man.

This world was mostly composed of mana.

Therefore, for Baran who could see mana, being blind wasn’t particularly inconvenient.

Of course.

Even then, most things would still be invisible to him.

Anyway, more important than that was figuring out who had defeated the sand golem in front of them.

At first, she had suspected Baran, but looking at his face.

He wore such an innocent expression, as if he knew nothing at all.

It didn’t look like he was lying.

“Hmm. I wonder who took it down.”

As she stroked her chin with a serious expression, pondering.

Phew. I almost got caught.

Meanwhile, Baran was breathing a sigh of relief internally.

The timing had been perfect, and he had destroyed the sand golem’s core with a single strike.

Thanks to that, he had gained the points effortlessly, but the problem was that Canya had turned her head toward him.

She might realize he had secretly stolen the last hit, so he had no choice but to approach her.

From her perspective, she probably hadn’t expected the person who sniped it to arrive so quickly.

Of course, it seemed like she suspected me at first.

Anyway, his Hollywood-level acting had somehow gotten him through that as well.

At this rate, I’m starting to wonder if you’re actually pretending to be blind, disciple.

At that moment, Miroel delivered a rather sharp remark.

He felt a jolt inside, but thanks to his Calm trait, he didn’t show it on the outside.

I really need to be more careful.

With that thought, Baran stood up.

Canya asked in a puzzled tone.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes. I was targeting the boss monster too, but it’s already been defeated.”

“Hmm. You’re right. There’s no point in lingering here.”

Hearing his words, Canya stood up as well.

Now that the boss monster is taken care of, I should start preparing.

As Baran organized his thoughts and prepared to move on.

Shiver!

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.

It wasn’t just him; Canya’s face had turned deathly pale.

Disciple. I sense demonic energy coming from over there!

In that instant, Miroel pointed toward the direction of the professors’ waiting room.

Just to be sure, he activated Mind’s Eye.

“What the f...”

In the next moment, he nearly let out a curse, almost breaking through his Calm trait.

Because an episode that wasn’t supposed to happen yet had already begun.

What? Why so soon?!

As Baran questioned this, suddenly—

Ding!

An alert message rang out.

When he checked it quickly, numerous quest messages that differed completely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the previous ones flooded his vision.