Leave the Rear to Me
“Leave the rear to me.”
The instant William and Enri’s fallen forms, and Elizabeth’s legs giving out as she sank to the ground, filled my vision, a monster’s roar swallowed the forest whole.
—Kyaaaaaaah!!
The cry dripped with thick murderous intent, as if the beast had finally acknowledged its prey as a worthy equal.
Without taking my eyes off the direction the Hell Hound had been flung, I tightened my grip on Gungnir and settled into a counter stance.
—Kuheong!!
A ferocious howl split the dust cloud, and in the blink of an eye razor-sharp claws were right in front of my face.
“Kh!”
The impact followed. Heightened senses caught every twitch of its body, yet my frail flesh failed to answer perfectly. As I tried to recover my collapsing posture, I felt the next strike already coming. Instantly I predicted its path and swung Gungnir.
Puhwak!
Thick hide burst open and a chunk of the Hell Hound’s flesh tore free.
—Keng?!
For the first time the monster had taken a clean hit; it recoiled, trying to pull back.
“Uryaaaaah!”
I pressed the attack without pause. Wrapping myself in the raging crimson mana of Dragon Blood, I drove a relentless series of thrusts into the beast’s massive frame. The furious onslaught painted its already red hide an even deeper scarlet as blood sprayed.
—Kyaaaaaak!!
The Hell Hound was not content to simply endure. Deliberately offering its left shoulder to my continuous strikes, it lashed out with its right foreleg and forced distance between us. While I drank in every scrap of surrounding information to predict its next move, one fact suddenly registered.
I’m smiling?
My face wore a savage grin, teeth bared toward the enemy—I was unmistakably smiling.
Haha. I’ve lost it. I’ve definitely gone insane.
To be enjoying a life-or-death struggle… even I found it ridiculous, yet right now I felt more alive than ever.
“<With movements like light, crush the enemy>”
Annihilating Charge
Using the skill I closed the gap in a flash and thrust. The creature saw me hurtling forward, leapt high, and dodged the charge.
“Got you.”
Watching it rise into the air, I spoke the activation phrase.
“<The dragon’s roar shakes the heavens.>”
Dragon Roar
Kurararara!!!
A catastrophic storm of mana that truly lived up to the name of a dragon’s roar slammed into the airborne beast. The Hell Hound lost its balance midair and crashed to the earth; in that same instant my spear flashed forward with blinding speed.
Chwaak!
Gungnir, sheathed in crimson mana, severed the monster’s foreleg. The red afterimage faded, and a fountain of blood erupted.
“──Kieeeek!!”
Even through the continuing scream I poured every ounce of strength into the spear in my hands. The creature opened its jaws, sharp fangs lunging, but its staggering speed was no longer something I could not evade. Just as I calmly read its motion and prepared to dodge, I met the murder-soaked eyes of the beast.
“!!”
It had driven the claws of its remaining foreleg deep into the ground and was waiting for me to move. Determined not to let me escape, it twisted its head with brute force toward whatever direction I chose and pressed the attack. Sensing I could not avoid this one, I braced to take as little of the impact as possible.
But before I could—
“<O wind, become a wall that bars the enemy>”
Wind Wall
A barrier of wind sprang into existence.
Kkaang!
The surprise strike slammed into the wall of wind. In the brief moment the Hell Hound faltered, I chose counterattack over defense and drove power into my legs.
“<With movements like light, crush the enemy>”
Annihilating Charge
I charged the dumbfounded monster.
“Dieeeeee!!”
The distance vanished in a heartbeat. Through the tiny opening Elizabeth had created, my spear plunged home—piercing the jaw, slicing the tongue, burying itself deep inside the creature’s mouth. I poured every last drop of remaining mana into Gungnir.
“<The dragon’s roar shakes the heavens.>”
Dragon Roar
Kurararara!!!
The skill, packed with every ounce of my soul, detonated with the roar of a dragon. A point-blank bombardment inside its own maw! The crimson mana storm tore through the Hell Hound’s body from within, mercilessly shredding it. Accompanied by a sickening wet explosion that punched through my eardrums, unrecognizable chunks of meat rained down like a storm.
While the monster’s upper half dissolved into a bloody mist, I felt eyes on me and turned. The battered trio stood there. William and Elizabeth, still conscious, were staring at me with the most absurd expressions of overwhelming emotion. I gave a wry smile at those foolish faces and started toward them.
My legs buckled.
“Uh…?”
My vision tilted. I collapsed face-first into the dirt. With my cheek pressed to the ground, a system chime announced that the time limit on the consumed items had expired. The horns that had sprouted from my head vanished, and the red aura clinging to my body drained away in a rush. An overwhelming wave of exhaustion crushed both body and mind. Heightened senses slammed shut; my vision blurred. Thinking no more enemies remained and that I could finally rest, I was about to let go when—
“Hey! There are students over here!!”
“A healer—get a healer, now!!”
Multiple voices filled the suddenly quiet mountain. I forced my leaden eyelids open a crack. Through the haze I saw faces I had seen countless times in the game—official Heroes who had come to suppress the terror attack on the Academy.
They got here fast, the bastards…
I wanted to unload a torrent of curses, but the words that actually left my mouth were different.
“M-me… later. The… others first… cough.”
Those two still have a mountain of flags to clear. You will keep them alive no matter what.
“Your wounds are severe. Do not speak. Healers are already administering first aid. Rest easy and leave the rest to us.”
Only after hearing the Hero’s words did I finally allow myself to slip into unconsciousness.
Ah… an unfamiliar ceiling.
When I opened my eyes, a pure white ceiling I had never seen before greeted me.
“Urgh… where…?”
I tried to sit up on creaking limbs and immediately sensed someone nearby.
“Y-Young Master, are you all right?!”
Ack—this girl?!
I looked down at the person who had thrown herself over me the moment I tried to rise, burying herself in my arms. The girl gazing up at me with tears clinging to her lashes made me speak.
“Elizabeth Spencer, is it…?”
My voice cracked into an ugly rasp, yet the girl’s face blossomed into a radiant smile of pure joy. Then she hugged me even tighter.
Guh! Is she actually an assassin?!
“Ahh, Young Master. Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness.”
Lacking even the strength to push her away, I gave up and asked what had happened after I collapsed.
“Three days have passed since you fell, Young Master. The two who fought alongside us have already received treatment and been discharged.”
Both of them had been in rough shape, but with healers in this world they had recovered quickly.
“Your condition was extremely poor, Young Master. Yet you improved so rapidly that the doctors were astonished; they say your body now has no major issues.”
I already knew I would be fine. The consumable items I had scavenged from my inventory might not have granted permanent stats because they were unrefined, but every last one of them was legendary-grade elixir material.
After a brief exchange with the doctor who came to check on me once I woke, I learned the full sequence of events from Elizabeth, who had remained at my bedside the entire time.
“The Scavengers summoned inside the Academy were swiftly eliminated by the knight order dispatched from the Imperial Palace and the Heroes who happened to be nearby.”
The faces I had seen just before blacking out really had been the supporting Heroes. Four students had died in the attack. There had been a great many seriously wounded, but all of them had been healed. Compared to the game, where dozens had died right at the start, far more lives had been saved. That was only possible because the Hell Hound that should have rampaged inside the Academy had instead died on the empty rear mountain where no students were present.
“The mastermind has not yet been caught. However, according to what our house has uncovered, the unidentified individual who offered himself as a sacrifice is likely a pawn of the cult known as the Light of Dawn.”
Light of Dawn.
The organization that would keep causing disasters and tormenting everyone all the way into the late story. Already a wanted criminal syndicate within the Empire, infamous for everything from human sacrifice to indiscriminate slaughter.
“The Academy has declared a one-week suspension for post-terror cleanup and a mourning period for the deceased students.”
“So it came to that after all. At least you all made it through safely.”
If the main cast ran into trouble before the story even began, it would be a disaster. I’m truly glad you’re all okay.
“Ah, um, that is… Young Master, you also…”
Elizabeth stammered something, but I paid it no mind and looked out the hospital-room window. Beneath a cloudless blue sky, the buildings of the Hero Academy filled my sight.
At last… the tutorial is complete.
The long entrance ceremony was finally over.