Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Ambush
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"Professor?"
Dodging the sheer rock face by a hair's breadth, there was Professor Juri waiting for the two of us.
My mind went completely blank in that instant.
Professor Juri was the one tailing us?
"You two. What exactly are you scheming right now?"
"You're the one tailing us! Do the Grand Prostration!!"
I'd suspected her ever since she picked a fight with me.
Not only did she bail without doing the Grand Prostration, but she was tailing us too?
Did that mean Professor Juri was targeting Chayuri Floridel?
She might even be in cahoots with the dean.
That's when Chayuri looked at me with an extremely uneasy expression.
"Hold on, Ian. It's not her."
"What?"
"The one tailing us with malicious intent... it's not Professor Juri."
The moment Chayuri said that, a chilling sensation prickled at my back.
I instinctively shoved Chayuri aside and threw myself out of the way.
By the slimmest of margins, something let out a horrific kee-ik as it grazed past my back.
And that something slammed down into Professor Juri, who had been standing right in front of us.
Fortune smiled, at least—Professor Juri deployed a defensive spell just in time, blocking the assailant's attack.
She's a professor, so of course she's stronger than me.
In the brief window she'd bought us...
Title: Help plz
Author: Kim Muggle
(Photo of the professor's and assailant's magic clashing)
The unknown tail turned out to be the prof who picked a fight with me back then.
Prof blocked our escape while we were running.
But then a shady assailant ambushed from behind in that opening.
Dodged the first hit, prof tanked the attack.
Shit what do I do
I posted to the gallery faster than ever before.
But the situation was too dire; that was all I could manage.
Before I could even check the archmages' replies, another chilling attack sensation hit me.
Lifting my head, I saw a razor-sharp scythe—clearly no mere 2nd- or 3rd-tier spell—barreling toward me, wreathed in black flames.
"Fuck...!"
I hurriedly calculated a defensive spell.
The 2nd-tier [Overlapping Square Shield] wouldn't cut it.
I needed to compute the 3rd-tier defensive spell I'd recently learned, but damn it—that scythe was coming even faster.
My computation was quick, but I'd wasted time posting to the gallery.
A blunder. In magic battles, a single second in computation speed decides victory or defeat.
I should've at least confirmed the enemy's next attack before posting.
Blind faith in my gallery-posting speed had nearly left me defenseless by a hair's breadth.
And I wasn't even sure if a 3rd-tier defense could stop that thing—
Shuuuk—
The scythe closed in right before my eyes, death imminent—when, by the barest margin, a translucent barrier sprang up in front of me.
The barrier and scythe collided, screeching like metal on metal in a horrific cacophony.
At the end of that brief yet eternal noise, both the scythe and barrier vanished together.
Almost simultaneously, someone swooped in to block our front.
"For now, we can agree that guy's our common enemy. We'll talk after we deal with him."
It was Professor Juri.
She didn't seem intent on killing us like that assailant.
Makes sense, I suppose. For the moment, we could team up with Professor Juri to fight.
Yeah, she's a professor—she's gotta be strong.
Pathetic as it sounds, having an ally of her caliber eased my mind a bit.
But Professor Juri's expression was even more anxious than mine or Chayuri's.
"Professor, can we win?"
"No idea. His tier's about the same as mine, or maybe a touch higher. And he's a forbidden mage to boot."
Forbidden mages outclass standard spells of the same tier.
They ramp up entropy and chaos factors, but those guys have already sold their souls.
"Beating him while babysitting two green cadets? Even tougher."
In other words, the situation heavily favored the enemy.
Chayuri and I wouldn't be much help in this fight.
I hurriedly checked the gallery.
Super urgent so only jotting my best call. Run while prof buys time. At least, prof def wasn't tailing to attack you guys.
Agreed. But prof doesn't look like she can take that forbidden mage.
Running while prof stalls is Kim Muggle's highest survival odds. But teaming with prof to take down the forbidden mage? Possible too. Assuming gallery helps and Kim Muggle pulls it off perfectly. Honestly impossible. Plus, that path gives Kim Muggle 50%+ death chance.
Summary: Save yourself, sacrifice prof and bail. Worry about prof? Give it a shot. Latter risks death. +My take: minimum kidnapping.
"Run away."
I skimmed the gallery replies just as Professor Juri spoke up.
"But Professor..."
"I won't abandon cadets as a professor. Go while I buy time."
Professor Juri's assessment matched the archmages'.
"You'll just get in the way. I'll stall and bail too, so hurry..."
But she hadn't considered the gallery's second option.
Teaming up to take down the forbidden mage.
She had no idea I used the gallery.
No way she'd think a freshman could contribute in a fight.
I was the same.
I couldn't see how I alone could help in this battle.
With gallery help, maybe—but it was a gamble.
Still, leaving her alone meant she'd be in danger, and I knew it.
Frankly, this was a sacrifice-the-prof-and-survive scenario...
"Got it! Chayuri, let's go!"
Fuck, what choice did I have?
Regardless of my grudge against Professor Juri, dithering here wasn't rational.
The longer we stayed, the higher the odds all three of us died.
Obviously, we should bolt ASAP.
Even if she's the worst prof ever, abandoning her feels shitty.
And after taking the same forbidden mage attack, she didn't seem like the dean's lackey.
Still, save who you can. Gallery said this was best.
If trying to save her just hinders, we all die anyway.
"But Ian!"
"This is the best shot!"
I grabbed Chayuri's arm and ran.
Chayuri glanced back at Professor Juri several times before finally moving.
But then,
"Hmm. Hmm. Why's an academy prof show up? Hmm. Hmm. Annoying. No choice. Hmm."
The forbidden mage muttered to himself, then a sinister aura surged.
The same repulsive, chilling vibe I'd felt from the dean—from entropy itself.
"Run now—"
Professor Juri's urgent shout rang out,
and before we could fully escape the space,
a wave of disgust crashed over us as massive darkness swallowed everything.
-Over here!!!
Professor Juri's sharp cry pierced the dark.
I bolted toward her voice without thinking.
In the gloom, Professor Juri appeared with an expression I'd never seen before.
"Ugh... Situation changed. Stick by my side for now. Don't go anywhere. And block anything I can't."
I nodded silently.
The explanation was sparse, but I got the gravity.
She might not know this darkness either—or no time to explain.
Fucked. Forbidden mage cast something, whole area's pitch black. Prof's dead serious, says stay by her side. What now.
At minimum, I needed to figure out this darkness.
Might be a way out... had to check.
Professor Juri going silent suggested no escape at all.
And the gallery archmages started replying.
Just text, yet despair seeped from the words.
Fuck you should've run sooner like I said. Anyway, you mentally okay? You, prof, top student too.
This guy's mind seems fine still
Every second counts so just follow orders now
Mind? Mine was fine. The darkness felt off, but no madness.
Professor Juri's pupils seemed shaky, but that was it.
Chayuri, though... was off.
"Ugh, ugh... Grrk..."
Chayuri's eyes lost focus blankly.
Even slapping her shoulders a few times only briefly sharpened her gaze before it faded again.
But I had zero mental issues.
"...Ah."
Then I remembered the bracelet from the auction house.
Looking down, one black bead on the bracelet was gone.
The one that protected against forbidden magic.
I'm fine. One black bead gone from bracelet. Prof idk, seems to be holding. Top student's eyes going haywire.
Fuck it's that spell. Gotta escape.
Think of it as a spell that traps folks in darkness and gnaws their minds. You're shielded by the bracelet for now, so your head's fine. Kill the mage, escape, or shatter the spell—one of the three.
Black bead can't destroy the spell?
Black beads protect wearer from forbidden magic, not shatter a huge-area spell like that
Bracelet doesn't have that ultra-high-tier destruction spell? Use that?
Idiot, use that inside and Kim Muggle blows up too
Oh right ;;; suicide basically
Can't we extract just Kim Muggle? If he follows orders perfectly, he could escape.
But someone needs to buy time for that. Tell prof 'I'm bailing solo, stall for me'?
At least take top student and escape
Even if Kim Muggle's a genius, can he tank forbidden mage hits AND escape carrying top student? Prof probably can't either
Kwaaang—!
Mid-scroll through the replies, a massive shockwave hurled my body.
Not a direct hit.
Shock from the forbidden mage's attack clashing with Professor Juri's defense.
"Professor, you okay? Mentally?"
"Still... holding. Floridel's gone, Ian?"
"Hard to explain, but I can resist the mind-break. Can't help in combat right now, though..."
The prof vs. forbidden mage duel was at least 6th-tier.
And Professor Juri was under mental assault too.
Protecting us while taking him down? Impossible.
No room for escape either.
Despair flickered across Professor Juri's face.
Team with prof to kill forbidden mage? Backlash means he can't sustain long.
Odds too low. Prof was already slightly outmatched. Fail and you're dead for sure
(Swordfight con)
Ask prof for protection spell, then Kim Muggle blasts the darkness with explosion magic. Prof can handle 6-7th tier defense.
To counter that forbidden spell needs 6-7th tier. Not easy ones. Kim Muggle learning in minutes? Tough.
Yeah even genius Kim Muggle—past spell learn times mean no 6th-tier in minutes. Even easy 5th took practice.
The gallery couldn't settle on an answer yet.
No time to blame the archmages.
They were piecing together the highest survival odds from the info.
Archmages could shatter this forbidden spell effortlessly.
But not me. My weakness dragged this out.
No matter the brainpower, without execution power, it's moot.
I was pissed at this bullshit situation,
but angrier at my own frailty.
Kwaang—
Meanwhile, Professor Juri blocked another forbidden mage attack.
Chayuri had already collapsed, mind lost.
"Fuck... fuck, what the hell...!"
This hellish, body-twisting horror.
Amid powerlessness-fueled rage, I nearly screamed.
Then, one archmage commented on the gallery.
Their ID was—
I have a way. From now on, do exactly as I say.
Where'd all their usual vulgar bullshit go?
A serious tone I'd never seen before.