Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Forbidden Forest Encounter
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Chapter 55
7
The Forbidden Forest was vast.
Leon Hilfenberg was experiencing it in real time.
No matter how much he walked, the forest showed no sign of ending.
In the end, he hadn't found a suitable spot to camp the previous night and had dozed off in a tree where no monsters lurked.
Fatigue had built up to the point where he couldn't claim to be in normal condition, but it wasn't severe enough to be a problem, so he ignored it.
It was already the second day of the practical exam.
Leon searched the forest for food.
If he didn't properly replenish his nutrients, it would affect tomorrow's portal key hunt.
While wandering through the woods like that,
he came face-to-face with a cranky-looking old man.
The old man was no taller than 120 cm, but he gripped a staff longer than he was.
Circling the old man while emitting black mana were Luvet, his bat-like demonic minions.
No matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like someone who had gone missing in the Forbidden Forest.
There was no concrete evidence, but Leon instinctively knew.
This old man was an enemy. More than that, he was connected to his sworn foes.
"Precursors, are you?"
Leon's hand reflexively went to the hilt of his holy sword.
His blood-red eyes burned with clear hostility.
The lingering scent of blood around him thickened.
He had only recently arrived at the name "Precursors."
Ever since being adopted into the Hilfenberg family, he had relentlessly pursued his parents' murderers, the ones who massacred his village.
That was the name he had finally reached after chasing them endlessly.
But all he knew was the name.
The organization known as the Precursors was shrouded in mystery.
They existed everywhere and nowhere.
It was impossible to identify individual members, hard to gauge the organization's size, and even more difficult to assess their exact military power or influence.
They were like a mirage.
Visible to the eye, but impossible to grasp.
They left no traces, making pursuit incredibly difficult.
From various circumstances and suspicions, it seemed the Precursors were in league with high-ranking nobles.
Not only did they wield considerable power, but they also commanded forces to match, which made sense.
It was an entity no individual could oppose.
Even with the ducal Hilfenberg family at the forefront, victory wasn't guaranteed.
That was why Leon Hilfenberg had kept his abilities hidden, biding his time in the shadows.
"Yohoho, found me out?"
The old man grimaced with a laugh.
Luvet spun in circles in time with the eerie cackle.
"If you've figured it out, no helping that. Let's settle it here."
Leon drew Exwise as black mana rose with chilling killing intent.
If the opponent was an enemy to be vanquished—especially one linked to his sworn foes—there was no need to hide his power.
More importantly, he wasn't alone right now.
He knew of someone else opposing the Precursors, even if he hadn't voiced it.
Theo Agrit.
The polar opposite of Leon Hilfenberg, yet he too regarded the Precursors as enemies.
He had realized this upon facing Jeist, who orchestrated the main building explosion, and Luena, who stole the relic.
Their talk of plans and grand designs was a hallmark of the Precursors.
And those two fit the profile perfectly.
Leon pictured Theo within his eyelids.
The black eyes that rolled indifferently whenever he stood against the Precursors—that was the image of the comrade he had always longed for.
To not disappoint him, he would go all out now.
Clashing killing intent with killing intent, Leon charged.
The sun had just risen.
His holy sword began to glow golden.
"Yohoho, before you head to the afterlife, I'll tell you my name. They call me Boloni of the Freezing Realm."
Talkative.
Announcing his own abilities upfront.
Thanks to that, Leon understood the enemy's first attack.
Clang!!
The ice spear Boloni launched split in half against Exwise.
"Yohoho, what quick reflexes!"
"I thought you were a black mage."
"I wield both black magic and ice magic!"
Crack!
The ground around them froze solid.
In an instant, countless ice pillars rose up, enveloping Leon who had lost his footing.
Obstacles and weapons in one.
The moment he grasped it, Leon accelerated.
His red eyes fixed solely on Boloni, slicing through every ice pillar in his vision with honed senses and experience.
The thick pillars sliced away like tofu.
Closing the distance in one breath, Leon swung for Boloni's neck.
The moment the blade bit into flesh, Boloni's form warped and vanished.
An illusion conjured by black magic.
Sensing it, Leon twisted his body.
"Yohoho, sharp senses too!"
Boloni, now behind him, had Luvet clinging to his staff.
Ominous black mana stirred.
Before the attack could fly, Leon swung Exwise.
The mana accumulated in the blade released.
The unleashed golden mana became a raging torrent crashing toward Boloni.
The spell from Boloni's staff collided with the holy sword's mana burst.
Kagak!!
The incompatible forces tangled complexly.
They shot skyward and dissipated.
"That's a dangerous sword. I must finish you here for sure. But don't think you're the only one who can burst mana."
Boloni leaped back and began drawing a massive magic circle.
The casting speed was fast.
Faster than closing in for a decapitating strike.
Leon gripped Exwise's hilt with both hands.
Raising the sword straight, mana in the air gathered along the blade.
Soon, the holy sword unleashed golden mana once more.
At the same time, pitch-black mana poured from Boloni's magic circle.
The opposing forces clashed violently.
Amid the blinding collision, Boloni shouted.
"Yohoho! That's more like it—if you don't resist this much, where's the fun in killing you! This is enjoyable!"
"You bastard…!"
The clashing mana annihilated each other.
Nearby trees snapped pitifully in the aftermath.
Through the gap, Leon bared his teeth and prepared to charge at the visible Boloni.
At that moment, the space around Boloni shattered like glass.
Space itself cracked, then began folding layer by layer.
Neither Boloni nor Leon could react to the supernatural phenomenon.
"Wh-what's happening…!!"
Boloni began folding from the ankles upward.
In an instant, he crumpled into a cube slightly larger than a fist and dropped to the ground.
Luvet had been caught too, folded along with him.
This wasn't Leon's doing.
Reflexively, Leon scanned his surroundings.
"……Ah."
"……."
Theo Agrit stood amid the underbrush, black eyes wide in bewilderment.
Beside him, shoulder to shoulder, was Ethan Mertezacker with saucer-round blue eyes.
Caught completely off guard, they all stood silently, exchanging no words.
"That."
Leon closed his eyes.
Calming the turmoil and confusion in his red gaze, he opened them again and pointed his sword at the neatly folded Boloni.
"Did you do that?"
"…Probably?"
Theo's rolling eyes turned the answer into a question.
No idea why it was a question, but one thing was clear.
"Didn't you say you're weak during the day?"
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this either?"
For some reason, Theo sounded aggrieved.
Then his strength gave out, and he slumped limply.
8
"Ugh……."
Mana depletion made his stomach churn.
It felt like a woodpecker was pecking at his brain inside his skull.
Clutching his head only worsened the headache.
In the practical exam, Leon encounters Boloni, one of the Precursors.
Recognizing him as a Precursors member, they fight fiercely, and Leon emerges victorious.
That's the core of Broken World's main story here.
Originally, after Jeist, Boloni is the second Precursors black mage you face.
Leon had already suspected the villains so far were Precursors….
From the second semester, the name "Precursors" surfaces, and events accelerate.
Anyway, seeing the holy sword's light at camp, I sensed this storyline was underway.
Checking it out, Leon was holding his own evenly against Boloni.
A boss that was supposed to be tough.
Leon, cloaked in the holy sword's light, shone literally—sparkling.
His radiant golden hair and vivid red eyes gleamed with the sword's glow.
Pushing like this would seal the win.
But it seemed time-consuming, so I decided to lend a slight hand.
Couldn't nap with all this fighting nearby.
Tried to just fold Boloni's ankle with dimension magic.
Then Ethan suddenly hooked arms, breaking my focus, and the spell warped.
Result: I folded the dimension itself, turning Boloni into a cube.
"Buddy, you okay?"
"Not okay at all……."
Ethan, supporting me, asked.
I waved off his worried face.
Boloni's expression kept shifting inside the cube—he wasn't dead.
Not physically folded; I isolated and folded the space he occupied from the outside.
Like folding a phone screen but the video keeps playing inside—hard to describe….
Point is, it's an insanely difficult spell.
Even training dimension magic lately, I can't handle it properly for sure.
"Tired, so let's head back to camp…."
"Ooh, can you walk?"
"Too annoying, carry me…."
"Got it! I'll do whatever you say during the practical!"
Ethan beamed and hoisted me up.
Thought he'd sling me over his shoulder like luggage, but he cradled my back and knees properly with both arms.
Hm, stable and comfy, but feels weird.
Too lazy to get down, so I just went limp.
"Ah… hey, Leon. Wanna come too?"
"Where to?"
"Set up camp… Ah, whatever, just come……."
The main event of the practical was done anyway.
Just need to finish safely now, so Leon tagging along is fine.
Leon nodded without objection.
Thus, we headed to camp… after firing off a signal flare.
The neatly folded Boloni would get picked up.
9
"This one?"
Ethan pointed to a gleaming golden key amid the brush.
Floating in place, mana leaking out—it was no ordinary key.
So I nodded.
Third day of practicals.
A hearty meal, packed up camp.
Scoured the area and found the portal key before lunch.
"Link hands before grabbing the key. That way we go together."
"Right away then!"
Ethan snatched my left hand.
Leon grabbed my right.
Both grips were pretty firm.
"Here we go!"
For some reason, Ethan at the front snatched the portal key.
Sucked downward in a whoosh, we were back in Esterro Academy's auditorium.
"Hm, congrats. You're first place!"
Ken Shwelz boomed cheerfully.
Looking around, no one else but us.
"Yahoo! First place!"
Ethan's blue eyes sparkled as he cheered.
Meant to take it easy, but… no reason not to take first.
With Ethan and Leon, I can just blend in.
"Expected Leon or Ethan, but you taking first, Theo Agrit? Didn't see that coming."
Ken Shwelz asked, surprised.
I shrugged casually.
"You've been showing up to lectures lately—must be paying off. Impressive!"
"Th-thanks……."
Getting praise from the guy who dumped us in the Forbidden Forest out of nowhere…
Felt weird, but I let it slide.
Now all finals were finally over.
Meaning summer break started now.