Chapter 95

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 95

Chapter Title: Can't Do Anything Without Me?

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As expected, they can't do anything without me?

Getting closer to the "Giant Footprint Brachio," an astonishing sight unfolded.

Just a little while ago, only Harisha and Karindol's team had been fighting it.

Now, seven or eight teams were clinging to it.

Some people from each team had apparently dropped out, leaving about twenty in total.

"What the hell? When did so many people show up?"

"Chayuri and Nayu-sunbae are here too."

Chayuri and Nayu had even joined the fray.

Yuuna was nowhere to be seen—either she'd dropped out or opted to sit it out.

"Why did the numbers suddenly swell like this?"

"Maybe the president rounded up the other teams? She's got a real gift for persuasion."

"Is that what leadership looks like...?"

Looking down from above, Harisha was fighting with a genuinely thrilled expression.

She directed the other cadets with joy on her face, pausing her attacks now and then to rescue those in peril.

And above all, she was at the forefront, fighting harder than anyone.

She imposed her ideals on others but never pushed her subordinates into the fire.

She strode first into the unseen darkness, then called for people to follow.

And she had conviction in that path. That's why she could advocate for it with such confidence.

So Harisha wasn't the type to rule from the rear.

She was the kind who led from the front. A leader. The word suited her perfectly.

"Let's join in."

"Should we fight too?"

Hisenna and I spoke at the same time.

Everyone down there was genuinely going all-out against this Grade 2 beast.

The subjugation festival had started as a competition, for sure.

But with a Grade 2 beast awakening, cooperation had taken over.

They'd set aside the rivalry, truly uniting to take down the Giant Footprint Brachio.

It was only natural to want in on a battle where everyone was fighting with everything they had.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I quickly posted to the gallery.

Then I descended into the battlefield.

"Ian-junior, Hisenna-junior?"

"Sorry we're late. Mind if we join?"

"Of course! You're welcome. It's almost over anyway!"

Harisha greeted us with a smile.

Then she immediately resumed unleashing spells on the Giant Footprint Brachio.

She said it with a smile, but Harisha didn't look good.

It had been three or four hours since she'd started.

She'd probably been pouring out magic, retreating to recover mana with breathing exercises when it ran dry, then jumping back in—over and over.

Even if she was skilled at mana breathing and managed her reserves well,

physical and mental fatigue must have piled up.

Proof? The Beauty Division Chief who'd fought from the start had already dropped out, and the Vice President was on the brink of death.

Yet Harisha held the front line without losing confidence.

Whether she was pushing through or just delirious, I couldn't tell.

It hit me anew: she truly was a president worth respecting.

"Hisenna, don't worry about flying— just attack!"

"Got it!"

Hisenna and I began attacking the Giant Footprint Brachio from the air.

Kiyoooooo—!

The beast shook its body in agony, clearly reaching its limit.

Holes riddled its thick hide,

and blood poured out like waterfalls, turning most of the field into a bloody sea.

Its body was several kilometers long.

Its neck stretched toward the heavens.

Wonder how that long neck even stayed upright.

And matching that neck in size, its massive tail whipped around like it was plowing the earth.

"Everyone! Tail incoming!"

Spotting the tail's motion, Harisha shouted using a voice amplification spell.

The cadets halted their attacks and scattered in perfect order.

They'd clearly prepared for this tail attack.

Some leaped upward, others dashed out of range, some passed under its legs to the other side—everyone evaded and survived.

But one among them couldn't move.

Even as the giant tail bore down, she stood frozen.

Her mana was tapped out.

I dove toward her, grabbed her collar, and flew up.

"You okay?"

"Ah, thank you."

The senior replied impassively even as I carried her skyward.

It was the quiet girl from Karindol's team earlier.

The one who'd stood silently with hands clasped while Bepepe nagged Karindol.

"Uh, out of mana?"

"Yes. I didn't have enough left to dodge the tail."

"You're from Karindol-sunbae's team, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Uh... aren't you scared?"

"I'm fine."

I'd yanked her up in a rush, so she was dangling from my grip in the sky right now.

One slip, and she'd hit the ground.

Yet she showed no fear—just blank composure.

I set her down safely once things quieted below.

"Thank you."

"Uh, sure..."

Her calm was throwing me off instead.

Anyway, mission accomplished. We took to the air again and resumed attacking.

"Weird senior."

"You mean Rime-sunbae? Yeah, she's definitely unique."

"That's her name?"

"Yeah. She's from a branch family of the Rimgoft house. If I had to put a label on it... she's like Karindol-sunbae's handmaid."

"Handmaid?"

"Yeah. Might rub her the wrong way, but no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠better word fits."

Karindol Rimgoft, the sole direct heir of the Rimgoft family.

Apparently, they'd selected a same-age peer from within the family to protect? Assist? Serve? her.

"Only the Rimgofts know the details."

"Fascinating."

A handmaid, huh. Not unheard of for nobles,

but Rime seemed as quirky as Karindol—pretty intriguing.

That aside, taking down this Grade 2 beast was imminent.

I was running low on mana, unable to cast attack spells anymore.

My mana count had shifted digits. Better to conserve for flight.

Instead, Hisenna attacked from behind me, while teams below unleashed their final barrages.

"Its neck is buckling! Not long now!"

Harisha's voice rang out once more.

The Giant Footprint Brachio that had swung its tail was visibly weakening.

The neck that had pierced the clouds was losing strength.

If things kept going like this, success seemed certain.

Who landed the killing blow? Didn't even cross my mind anymore.

Seemed the same for everyone else.

All focus was on subjugating the beast.

Mana dilemma.

To play it safe, I could land, do some breathing exercises, recover, and return.

I decided against it.

It was almost over, and pure flight wouldn't drain too much.

I kept flying, with Hisenna spamming attack spells behind me.

I tossed up a quick post to the gallery right before clear.

If it didn't die now, it'd be embarrassing—but I doubted it would.

Everyone looked exhausted. But no one was giving up.

They were squeezing out their last drops of mana.

I was in rough shape too.

Especially from flying so long.

From the Grade 2 awakening, scoring in the swamp, to now—I'd been airborne nonstop.

Nearly five hours with barely a break.

Flying fatigues you, but clinging to a broom taxes the muscles hard.

My gripping hands and thighs trembled uncontrollably.

Plus Hisenna clinging to my torso.

Any lapse in focus, and we'd plummet.

Maybe learn a recovery spell for this later.

But it was almost subjugated.

I couldn't bail on this monumental feat just because I couldn't hold on.

Thus, the Giant Footprint Brachio's neck bent further,

everyone sensing victory and wringing out their mana in the final moments.

Then, in that climactic instant,

an unprecedented twist occurred.

Something was off with the Giant Footprint Brachio's movements.

-Kugung... Kugugung...

Until now, it'd thrashed across the field, leaving footprints everywhere.

Suddenly, it froze and began stomping in place.

"Exhausted and out of movement?"

"Doesn't seem like it..."

The Giant Footprint Brachio was mountain-sized and sluggish.

Its attacks hit hard, but cadets landed every hit too.

Wide hitbox made vital spots easy targets.

Dodgeable, and winnable with time—like now.

But was that really a Grade 2 beast?

The nagging doubt from the start.

Grade 2s should have more than tail swings—devastating patterns.

Gallery warnings of "not easy" didn't match this.

It just kept taking hits.

That vague unease amplified.

"No way it's this easy..."

"Huh?"

It'd been agonizing—not "easy" by any stretch.

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But no way it was this straightforward.

Can't be a Grade 2 you grind with repeats.

Beast grades factor in multiple elements—

Whoosh—

I gained altitude anyway.

Teams below kept attacking.

I meant to ask the gallery about its odd behavior, just in case,

but

"Everyone, get out! Now!!"

Suddenly, Harisha's desperate cry echoed from below.

Gone was her relaxed smile;

she fled the Giant Footprint Brachio with a grim face, sweat pouring.

"What? Isn't it over?"

"President says bail?"

"Tail moving?"

Attacking cadets froze at her abrupt shout.

Victory so close—why run?

I descended to check too.

And I instantly spotted why she'd yelled to flee.

Right then, other cadets realized and bolted desperately.

"What's wrong, Ian?"

"Its thighs are swelling."

"...Huh?"

The beast's thighs were bulging.

The four colossal pillars propping its giant frame.

Muscles like skyscrapers tensed rock-hard.

Legs shortening, thickening.

Muscles contracting for power.

And if those exploded outward for propulsion—

————!

A massive quake hit, followed by insane wind pressure.

"Kyaaaaah!"

"Grip tight, Hisenna!"

The Giant Footprint Brachio had jumped.

That single mountain-range of a body, dozens of kilometers long,

had kicked off the ground with raw power.

Its bulk soared kilometers into the sky.

The gust alone blasted nearby cadets like bullets.

Some endured with magic,

but this was just the prelude.

Defying gravity to its apex, the mass

now plummeted under acceleration.

Horrific, like witnessing a planet's end. Cadets fled the phenomenon, but

on the ground, no one was safe from that stomp.

The instant its four legs hit dirt,

a colossal tremor rippled out—a nuclear blast.

The entire field shattered, everything collapsing around the beast.

Piiiiiiii——!

The deafening boom faded into tinnitus devouring hearing.

No time to check ground cadets.

In that crumbling terrain, survivors were nil.

We'd climbed high enough to dodge the ground collapse, barely.

But wind pressure wrecked flight all the same.

If we just didn't fall, we might survive,

but

Tak—

Something gripping my back slipped away.

Hisenna couldn't hold against the gust.

She flew off with a look of despair.

Kimchu in her arms went too.

And I,

"Sh-, shit—"

My quivering muscles finally gave,

broom slipped free, and I tumbled through the air.

Whoosh—the wind hurled my body like a bullet.

Broom gone—who knows where.

No broom, no flight.

Up high with it, I'd felt secure.

Bare freefall? Blackout-inducing terror.

-Kuaaaaaagh!

My muffled scream droned through the ringing ears.

Blasted by the jump's gale like a typhoon, I tumbled downward.

Protection spells hold, right?

First thought.

Terror of death.

What if they failed? What if Chancellor Chiyong gave bad info?

Odds minuscule, yet I shook in dread while falling.

'No, no.'

No. I shook my head against the biting wind.

Plunging bare from this height? Scary as hell.

No clue how far to impact.

But even up here, the massive beast was visible.

Ground cadets—all out.

Hisenna would crash soon too.

But the Giant Footprint Brachio was at its limit too.

Our attacks hadn't been wasted.

It'd hit critical, lashing out to wreck the field in death throes.

Falling meant dropout anyway.

If I could squeeze in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a few more hits...

Blast attacks mid-fall—maybe,

Just falling.

Endure the fall's fear and turbulence—nothing blocks my calculations.

Guided spells hard at this distance.

Five Rays of Brilliant Flash: Rank 5 homing that works here. Efficient too—100 mana each.

I wrung out my remaining mana, firing at the beast.

Moments later, the five rays struck. It writhed visibly in pain.

A bit more. Just a bit,

"Urgh..."

Head throbbed. Dizzy, vision blurring.

Mana exhaustion imminent.

Nothing for it? Wanted to down it before dropout.

Protection spells safe, right...

That's all she wrote—vision faded.

Stopped attacking, switched to breathing for recovery.

Regen a bit, attack again?

Dunno. Head hurts too much. Can I solo...

Dizziness and anguish churned.

One certainty: this fall ends in dropout.

But mid-endless plunge,

a red flash pierced my hazy sight,

"They're really lame! As expected, can't do anything without me?"

And through that light, Elrim appeared in midair.