Entrance Ceremony (2)
"Kyaaaaah!"
The sand snake. Commonly called a sand serpent or even an earthworm, this monster was something of a mascot that always appeared during the academy's entrance ceremony. It showed up both in the entrance ceremony and in the mid-story arcs, and the current sand snake had its power deliberately restricted by the academy so we students would be the ones to fight it.
"Hah!"
"Damn it! Cut the tail first!"
"It's too hard! The sword won't go in!"
Well, even with its power restricted, the battle was far from easy. The students had no real experience hunting monsters, nor had they ever practiced team coordination. Their attacks flew in every direction at once. While they did inflict some damage on the creature, it was hard to call any of it strategy.
"Get lost!"
With a roar of flames, the surrounding air grew scorching hot as someone burst from between the students, spear in hand. The sight of him leaping skyward wreathed in blazing fire drew far more attention than anyone else's movements.
I recognized him instantly from that distinctive appearance that stood out even among the other students.
Kena Freya.
The direct heir of the Freya family, whose symbol was the sun and whose specialty was fire. In the main story he appeared as the protagonist's rival, but could be recruited as an ally through certain events.
Boom!
The flame-wrapped spear slammed directly into the sand snake's head. The impact was on an entirely different level from the other students' attacks. Still, it was nowhere near enough to finish the monster off.
"Seriously, I told you to announce yourself before jumping in."
Crack. Thud. Thump, thump, thump.
Following Kena's strike, a voice rang out, and this time a massive ice fist surged upward, pounding the creature's body. If the Freya family took the sun as their symbol, then the one using the moon as theirs and commanding ice was the greatest prospect of the Einstro family.
"Why are you butting in, Reglia Einstro!"
"It's Einstro, not Einstrol! I told you to be careful or people will think you're descended from some idiot snow troll!"
At the appearance of Kena and Reglia, the students' eyes turned toward the pair even in the middle of combat.
"It's Freya and Einstro."
"The sun and moon families. Sure enough, they're direct heirs."
"Are those two close?"
"They've probably known each other since childhood."
"Figures. They're from the four great families, so they're on a completely different level from us."
Some gazes held envy and jealousy, while others shone with admiration and awe. The two seemed accustomed to this kind of attention and brushed it off calmly, but I wanted to tell them—and everyone around them—that they shouldn't be so relaxed. The damn thing wasn't even down yet.
Rumble.
"W-what the—?!"
The sand snake that had been lying still suddenly reared its head, eyes gleaming with savage fury. Having located the enemy who had just dealt it heavy damage with ice—Reglia—the creature began thrashing violently.
"Even when it's spoon-fed to you, you can't finish the job. I see the ice queen's standards are crystal clear."
"S-shut up! That was just to keep it in check, okay?!"
Kena mocked Reglia for failing to finish it off, and her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as she shouted back. From my perspective, it looked like Reglia should have been the one doing the teasing. After all, their first strikes had clearly given her the upper hand.
"Kyaaaa!!"
Look at it now. The sand snake had locked its gaze onto Reglia. It had clearly recognized her as the one who'd delivered the most threatening attack. Whether she realized it or not, Reglia's expression twisted.
"If you're a snake, go hibernate already!"
Reglia's skill, Glacier Shaping, activated. A far greater number of ice projectiles than before materialized and began hammering the monster. Her earlier claim that the first strike had only been to restrain it wasn't entirely a lie—this attack was clearly more dangerous.
But it's still not enough.
Even so, it wouldn't be enough to defeat the sand snake. No matter how much its power had been restricted, this was a monster prepared for all of us new students to fight by combining our strength. It was safe to assume that while its offensive capabilities were limited, its defensive stats had barely been touched.
Hmm......
To take it down, Mir's help would be essential. With the unique abilities granted by her trait, Incarnation of Light, it would be easy to resolve.
Or I could step in myself.
Boom!
"Watch out!"
"Debris incoming!"
As the sand snake thrashed, shattered pieces of the auditorium shot through the air.
"Hoo."
I tightened my grip on the sword and swung it with force. A light yet chilling slash rang out, and the fragments split apart along the arc of my blade.
Is Mir still not moving?
When I glanced at her, Mir was watching the battle between the sand snake and the students with indifferent eyes. There was no sign she intended to intervene. She clearly wanted to stay out of the fight and remain a third party.
Guess I'll have to do it.
If Mir wasn't going to act, then I would. But to handle that thing, I needed one piece of preparation. And that preparation was currently flying straight toward me.
"U-ugh......"
"You okay?"
"Th-thanks."
I easily caught the student who'd been sent flying by the wind pressure of the tail. She didn't appear injured—just drained from exhaustion. I smiled faintly. In that state, she wouldn't be able to rejoin the fight anytime soon.
"Rest here for a bit."
"Ugh......"
"Oh, by the way—can I borrow your sword?"
"Huh? Don't you have one too?"
Of course I did. But to do what I wanted, two swords would be ideal.
"Don't you want to finish that snake quickly and end the entrance ceremony?"
"Uh?"
"I can take it down fast. But to do that, I need one more sword."
"You're a dual-wielder?"
"Well, let's say I am right now."
At my answer, she slowly offered her sword. Even though it could have been a lie, she handed it over without hesitation. I thanked her for that innocent trust, took the blade, and charged toward the sand snake.
Of course, I left her with one more line before I ran.
"I'll finish it quickly, so just wait and watch."
You can sit back and enjoy the show like you're eating popcorn.
Boom!
The area had become a complete mess, filled with deafening noise. I wove through it all, unleashing the full power of my 30 Strength stat.
Slash. Bang!
I cleared away everything in my path—cutting, deflecting, dodging. Repeating those simple, fundamental actions, I finally reached the center of the battlefield.
"It's dangerous! Stay back!"
As I drew closer, Reglia noticed me and shouted. But I ignored her and closed the distance instead, drawing my blade.
Creak.
I compressed my muscles.
"Wait...!!"
Boom!
I released them all at once in an explosive burst.
"S-so fast?!"
"What the hell?!"
"...Who is that?"
"Who is that guy?!"
Displaying techniques impossible for a new student, I rapidly scaled the sand snake's body.
Sliiice.
"Kyaaaaack!"
"Its hide is ridiculously tough."
I forced the blade in and carved a long gash in time with my sprint. The scales kept catching the sword—if I let up even slightly, it felt like the blade would bounce free. Even with 30 Strength, it wasn't easy.
Still, if I can just get a little farther......
At that moment.
"...Oh no!"
The sand snake suddenly twisted, launching me into the air. Even as I fell, regret washed over me. Just a little more and I would have reached its head. Then I could have used my skill to end it!
Thud.
"Huh?"
Right before I could execute a proper landing, an ice platform formed on the ground. I worried it might be slippery, but strangely it felt as stable as stepping on snow.
"Seriously, you rush in so suddenly and dangerously!"
Reglia complained about me jumping out alone, but a new idea had already formed in my mind. I pointed at the ice platform I was still standing on and asked,
"Thanks for the help. Can you make more of these?"
"It's not a difficult shape, so yes, but wait...!"
Tap.
"One more platform!"
"Ugh!"
Even though I shouted without explanation, Reglia frowned but faithfully created another platform beneath me. Using this method, I wouldn't have to risk climbing the creature's body directly. I'd never received help like this in the game... It was a rather novel experience.
"Kiiiik......!"
The creature, which had been focused on Reglia until now, turned its eyes toward me. Makes sense. While she had struck it with ice fists, I had sliced its skin open with a sword and drawn blood.
Tap. Tap.
My time on each ice platform was brief. The instant I landed, I jumped to the next, advancing steadily. My target was the sword still embedded in the monster's body.
Ten meters to the sword! Five meters!
Whoosh!
"Ugh?!"
Crimson flames blocked my path. The heat stung my skin even from a distance. There was only one person here who could wield fire like that. My gaze snapped toward Kena Freya.
"That bastard."
It probably hadn't been intentional. The flames he'd fired had accurately struck the tail heading this way, twisting its path. But in the process, I had nearly been hit.
"You crazy idiot! What are you doing?!"
"It was a mistake! What do you expect when it's that fast?!"
"Then predict it and attack accordingly!"
Having nothing to say to Reglia's shout, Kena gritted his teeth and looked down. Yeah. Even Reglia was creating platforms right in front of me one after another, but you can't even calculate that and almost burn an ally?
More importantly, that pattern should be coming out soon.
Considering the damage and psychological pressure we'd inflicted, the pattern I needed to watch for the most was likely to appear.
"Kyaaaaack!"
Here it is.
Stone Rain
The sand snake's scales slowly opened, and stone fragments between them shot forward like missiles.
Ratatatatat.
The most dangerous pattern when facing a sand snake. It was the skill that inflicted indiscriminate wide-area damage forward—Stone Rain.
"Everyone, gather!"
Reglia hurriedly erected an ice curtain to protect the others and created a barrier for me as well.
"Quick thinking."
In that short moment, she had managed to wrap a curtain around the front line and even shield me. Of course, given the distance and rushed casting, my barrier looked relatively weaker in defense.
Crack. Creak.
It was already fracturing. Still, she'd bought us enough time.
That bastard. Why did it feel like far more stones were flying toward me?
It's not my imagination.
The attacks were unnaturally concentrated on my side. Had it guided the direction even in the middle of this? It was more intelligent than the version I'd faced in the game.
Bang. Crash. Boom.
These weapons......
Just as my barrier was about to shatter and I prepared to block the stones myself, glowing weapons flew in from one direction and intercepted them.
"You were just watching like it had nothing to do with you."
In my sight was Mir, floating a white sword, spear, axe, small dagger, and several other weapons in the air while looking at me. Our eyes met—hers glowing from her skill—and with the weapon I had recovered, I finally reached my target point.
...Then shall I show them what I can do as well.
The highlight of this entrance ceremony would be mine. At least, there was no new student here who could interfere with that.