Lightning Wasn't Part of the Plan
Beyond the fog, red eyes multiplied.
Ten.
Twenty.
I gave up counting.
"Those are all for the evaluation, right?"
"They've got the markers on their necks."
Erika pointed at the nearest wolf-type demonic beast. A red mark hung clearly from its throat. The problem was that the horned boar beside it and the black lizards crawling through the trees all wore the exact same mark. Beasts from completely different territories were baring their fangs at us and us alone.
"Having markers doesn't mean they all get to pour out at once."
"Makes it easier if we drop them all together."
The corner of Erika's mouth curled upward. One look at that face and I didn't need to ask who it was easier for.
The beasts kicked off the ground as one. Erika shot forward too. She smashed a fist into the first wolf's skull, twisted, and drove a kick into the boar's flank.
Thud!
The two creatures went flying in opposite directions. Above them a black lizard launched itself from a tree, sharp claws aimed straight for Erika's back.
"Above you!"
I swept my hand and the wind inside the fog surged upward. The lizard's body twisted midair. Without even glancing back, Erika swung her elbow. The lizard slammed into a tree trunk.
"Nice!"
"Watch where you're fighting!"
"You're watching for me!"
Why is she so casually treating me like a pair of spare eyes?
But she wasn't wrong. The fog I'd pushed forward parted every time a beast moved. Even the rustling behind the undergrowth that my eyes couldn't see, I felt as pure flow.
Three from the left. Two from the right. One up in the trees.
"Erika, right side!"
Erika dropped low and a horned beast sailed over her head. I shoved the wind straight on. Most of it smashed into a trunk midway and scattered. What remained only grazed the creature's side—far too weak to send it flying. Its feet tangled for a heartbeat. In that opening Erika spun and kicked its legs out from under it. The beast rolled across the ground a beat too late.
I'd caught the flow perfectly. But more than half the power vanished before it ever reached the target.
"Cheongha, behind you!"
Lydia's voice rang out as a golden barrier sprang up. Black thorns shot from between the trees and slammed into the shield.
Clang-clang-clang!
The thorns ricocheted in every direction. Lydia kept the barrier steady with one hand and stretched out the other. Shards of mana shaped like golden scales sliced across the forest. Beasts hiding in the brush dropped with precise strikes to the forehead.
Attack and defense at the same time. As expected of the Saintess. It wasn't just her capacity for kindness that was massive.
"Stay by my side, Cheongha."
"I'm fighting too, you know."
"I know. That's exactly why I'm telling you not to go any farther."
Lydia smiled as she blocked another thorn flying toward me. Mom's protective range was a little wide, but this time I decided to behave and listen.
Erika smashed the front. Lydia held the rear. I found the enemies through the fog and opened gaps with wind. It synced better than I'd expected.
The power wasn't anything like when I'd blown the beasts away all at once at the entrance. The denser the trees grew, the more the wind fractured into scraps, and it couldn't stretch far. Still, it was enough to create openings for Erika's fists and cut down the attacks Lydia had to block.
I knew I was helping. That only made it more frustrating.
Yesterday I'd spun a storm inside a circle and sent the dummies flying all at once. Today my strength itself hadn't vanished. The wind was clearly gathered at my fingertips, but the moment I sent it any distance it shattered against the trees. It felt like having both arms bound behind my back and only being able to wiggle my fingers.
If I could just see a little sky, I could do this properly. Even when I looked up, all I saw were layer upon layer of leaves.
Of course I knew that wiping everything out alone wasn't the only measure of strength. I just didn't like it.
The last wolf-type beast took Erika's fist and crumpled to the ground. The forest fell quiet for a moment. Unconscious beasts lay scattered everywhere; two of them were even hanging from the trees. Erika dusted off her hands.
"Is that all of them?"
"It better be."
I tore the marker off the nearest beast. I already had one, but more points were always better. Lydia frowned as she examined the fallen creatures.
"This is strange. The control magic is far too weak."
"Control magic?"
"Practical exam beasts are restricted so they can't inflict fatal wounds on students. But that last attack..."
Lydia's gaze turned to the black thorns embedded in her golden barrier. Their tips were stained a poisonous purple. The shape was far too vicious to laugh off as evaluation-only.
"We should inform a professor."
Lydia pulled out a Return Crystal and threw it to the ground. The crystal shattered, spreading blue light. We were enveloped in the glow.
And then nothing happened.
The blue light flickered a few times and simply went out.
"Huh?"
I stared down at the broken shards.
"Is this a defective product?"
Lydia's expression hardened.
"The Return Crystal isn't working."
Erika wiped the smile off her face too. The beasts had broken free of control. The safety device wasn't functioning either. This wasn't an evaluation. It was an accident.
A roar echoed from far away.
BOOM!
Red flames shot up above the trees—combat from another team. From the opposite direction came a string of exploding sounds. It wasn't just a problem in one zone.
I instinctively searched for the direction Kyle had gone. The forest was too dense; I couldn't see a thing. I wanted to leave it at he's the original protagonist, he'll survive somehow. But ever since I'd interfered, the original route kept getting wrecked. This time I couldn't just sit back and trust the protagonist buff.
To find the other teams, we first had to get out of here and report the situation to the faculty.
"Let's head back to the entrance."
Lydia turned around. The path we'd come from was filling with fog again. From within it came the sound of dozens of footsteps.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Heavier than before. Erika stepped in front of me.
Parting the fog, a massive demonic beast revealed itself. Its body was the size of a small house, and rock-hard scales jutted from its back. The horns on either side of its head were as thick as tree trunks. No marker on its neck.
"They were managing something like that too?"
"No."
Lydia answered immediately.
"That is not a beast that should be in the practical zone."
The giant beast roared. The air trembled and leaves rained down from overhead. Erika kicked off the ground. Red mana wrapped her fist. Her punch slammed into the beast's jaw.
BOOM!
The massive head snapped sideways. But it didn't fall. The beast swung a foreleg. Erika blocked with her arm, yet her body was driven back several steps.
"Tough one."
She laughed as if she were enjoying it. From the brush behind us, smaller beasts were swarming in again. Lydia's barriers spread in every direction. Claws and thorns poured endlessly onto the golden walls.
I pulled the wind in. But there were too many trees. The harder I pushed, the more the wind shattered against the thick trunks. I couldn't use the gale I'd made at the Training Ground as it was. That didn't mean I couldn't do anything. I just couldn't fight the way I wanted.
Instead of spreading the wind wide, I forced it into the narrow paths where the fog flowed. Between tree and tree. Toward where Erika stood. Low and fast.
"Erika, run with the wind!"
"Do it!"
Erika dropped into a stance. The instant she kicked off the ground, I fired the wind at her back. Her red hair streamed out long behind her. Erika's body shot between the trees on the wind—a charge several times faster than usual.
"This is good!"
Erika laughed as she drove her fist forward.
KRA-KOOM!
The accelerated punch uppercut the giant beast's jaw. The beast toppled sideways, shaking the earth hard.
It worked. I couldn't move that massive body with my wind alone. But if it was just shoving Erika, it was more than enough. I immediately prepared the next wind.
Between the scales of the fallen beast, purple light flashed. Ominous mana was gathering into a single point.
"Lydia!"
Lydia layered golden barriers one after another. A purple beam collided with the shields.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KOOM!
The golden walls shuddered violently. Lydia's feet were driven halfway into the ground. Erika struck the beast's head again, but the purple light didn't fade.
I had to stop it. Wind alone wasn't enough.
I clenched the Yeouiju in both hands. Above the forest there was a sky. Just because I couldn't see it didn't mean it was gone. The wind flowing over the leaves. The moisture piled between them. The fog that had been covering the forest this whole time. I gathered the scattered flows above the beast's head.
I meant to bring down rain. Scatter the purple light with water, then turn its head with wind. That would be enough.
But the gathered flow trembled in a way I hadn't expected. Blue streaks of light tangled rapidly inside the Yeouiju. My hair floated upward. My skin prickled.
Something was wrong.
I tried to hastily release the flow I'd seized. But it was already too late. The gathered moisture and wind compressed into a single point.
"Wait—"
KRA-KOOM!
Blue lightning punched through the branches and crashed down. Directly onto the giant beast's back. The flash painted the forest pure white. The beast slammed into the ground without even a scream. The purple light shattered into pieces.
The lightning rode the wet fog and spread outward. The smaller beasts that had been rushing in collapsed one after another, bodies convulsing. A moment later, the smell of burning filled the forest.
No one moved. I stayed frozen with my hands still lowered.
Lightning. Lightning had just fallen right in front of me.
I had clearly intended to bring rain. I hadn't known where it would land, and I hadn't even imagined lightning would form. Yet by pure chance it had struck the giant beast's back dead-on.
Erika slowly turned to look at the beast. Her red eyes gleamed even brighter than before.
"You."
She grinned.
"You could do something like that too?"
I looked back and forth between the Yeouiju and the fallen beast. Honestly, this was news to me too. No—even now I had no idea how I'd done it. I'd pointed out the beasts' positions and shaken their balance for a moment here and there. But every finishing blow had been Erika's, and that final lightning strike had been pure coincidence. Calling it a fight I won with my own power felt somehow unsatisfying.
"Did you think Azure Dragons only handled rain and wind?"
I lifted my chin as casually as I could. Lydia looked from the fallen beast to my hands.
"Did you know where that lightning would strike?"
"Of course."
My mouth moved faster than I did. It was a lie. If it had fallen even a little to the side, we would have been hit too.
"Looks like I'll have to fight you again after all."
"Why does the conclusion always end up there?"
"This time I want to take a lightning strike too."
"You'll get fried if you get hit."
"That thing's fine, isn't it?"
Erika pointed at the giant beast. Black smoke was rising from its mouth. If she could call that "fine," I definitely should never fight Erika.
Lydia quickly scanned the surroundings. Beyond the fallen giant beast, the fog began to shake again. One, two. I started counting the silhouettes of beasts visible through the fog and quickly gave up. The entire path we'd planned to take back was blocked by a swarm of beasts. Breaking through that way was impossible.
"We can't go this way. It would be better to move somewhere with open visibility and send a rescue signal."
She pointed to a blue mark on the map.
"There's a lake near the second checkpoint."
"A lake."
I looked at the lake marked on the map and allowed myself a small smile. In the forest, the terrain had worked against me. But here it would be different.
This was finally my proper stage.