Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Midterms (4)
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Thud thud thud!
"Thanks... Dores!"
While Darian and Dores were locked in combat, I was fleeing faster than anyone else.
Crackle!
"Gaaah!"
It was less a fight and more a one-sided beatdown, though.
The day Dores would trade blows with Darian had finally come.
Boom!
Darian seemed to be wrapping things up, unleashing a powerful technique.
Even from quite a distance, the impact hit me sharp and clear.
...You okay?
'As expected, Dores...!'
A noble sacrifice. I won't forget it.
Of course, calling it a sacrifice might be a stretch since I basically ditched him and ran.
But you could see it as him paying the price for picking a fight with me at the entrance exam.
Ouch!
"Ngh..."
I was fleeing as stealthily as possible, suppressing my presence completely.
But the persistent pain made me grimace despite myself.
'This is worse than I thought.'
The recoil from firing that slash at Darian during our fight was hitting me harder and harder.
With my tension easing, the backed-up pain was starting to seep in.
My arms, especially the ones I'd used for the slash, were swollen red and barely movable.
"No, I should count myself lucky it ended like this."
I had to consider it fortunate that mishandling aura like that only damaged my muscles.
Unlike the delicate and precise nature of mana, aura was wild and brutal.
Thanks to that, it truly deserved to be called a power full of 'potential,' just as Serin had said.
But aura that slipped control was extremely dangerous.
'Sending aura outside the body is risky to begin with.'
The realm where one completely masters their body and becomes one with the sword.
Typically, unless you were a powerhouse closing in on Trait Level 7 and Swordmaster territory, aura was used only for body reinforcement or coating the blade.
Unlike Serin, who compressed aura to the extreme and kept it under total control.
My slash was closer to crudely hurling the rough aura gripped in my hand.
That shredded the meridians it passed through, but all things considered, I'd gotten off cheap.
"Haa... This condition is dangerous."
The Demon of Deception wasn't some weakling I could face with my body in tatters like this.
Even at full strength, it was a demon victory against which was far from assured.
The reason I'd been confident was solely because my [Eye of Truth] could ignore its illusions.
Not because I could overwhelm it.
"Can't send Arien after it either."
Arien could probably carve the Demon of Deception to pieces.
But would he believe me if I said a demon was about to appear soon?
Not a chance. And even if he did, I'd never escape the suspicious glares.
"Ngh... Complicated."
To reveal what I knew, I lacked the power to protect myself.
No one would naively trust a student with no backing or skills spouting suspicious facts.
Yet trying to handle everything alone meant my body wouldn't stay intact for long.
I could win by fighting recklessly with no regard for injuries.
But in a world where even stronger foes would appear ahead, getting hurt wasn't pleasant at all.
"...Guess I'll rest for a bit."
Checking the time, I had about five hours until the Demon of Deception became active.
From now on, I'd conserve stamina as much as possible and prepare for the fight.
With that, I decided to hide in the branches of a tall tree and wait out the time.
Rustle.
As the sun began to set, the time when the forest bathed in soft sunset hues arrived.
While resting atop the tree, I spotted a student approaching nearby and grabbed a stone I'd prepared in advance.
Whoosh!
A small stone infused with strong power cut through the air and fell into the nearby bushes.
Thwack!
"W-Who's there?!"
The female student whipped around, scanning her surroundings warily.
Now that much time had passed since the exam began.
Students, wound up to the max, would tense at even the slightest stimulus.
'Haa...'
Ouch!
I couldn't relax, fearing top-rankers might sense my presence.
And because of that, the pain coursing through my body showed no sign of improving.
"...Just my imagination?"
Finding no one around despite searching, the girl turned to leave in another direction.
As the sound of her footsteps through the grass faded and her presence vanished, I finally relaxed.
"It'll start moving soon..."
Sunset was near, the time when the forest keeper would awaken.
That's when the one who'd prepared illusion magic beforehand would enrage the keeper, drawing all eyes from professors and students.
I planned to slip away in that moment and search for its lair.
"Until then, I need to recover a bit."
About two hours left now. I could only hope my condition improved even slightly.
.....
The occasional voices of students had now fallen silent.
Checking my wristwatch, thirty minutes remained until the forest keeper awakened.
'Time to move.'
The remaining students were mostly split into factions by now.
They'd all likely gathered to take down the highest-scoring forest keeper.
The raiders, too, would focus there, aiming for weakened students after it fell.
Now was the perfect time to move without running into anyone.
Thud!
Though much improved from before, my still-stiff body descended carefully.
"No one's around, as expected."
A bit away from the forest center, this area seemed deserted.
Time to search for its lair while moving.
I didn't know the exact spot, but I'd heard it hid in a cave by a cliff.
So I'd scout around, checking cliffs bit by bit.
'Can't miss any energy signatures.'
After it kidnapped a student, the barrier at the entrance weakened, allowing entry anytime.
So I'd mark suspicious caves, preparing for the worst if I failed to detect its energy.
I crept forward as quietly as possible.
Rustle!
A sound like someone moving came from the bushes behind me.
Cold sweat beaded instantly; tension spiked.
If a student who'd spotted my hiding spot had waited...
The worst-case scenario of forced combat flashed in my mind.
'Calm down, calm.'
They hadn't attacked me while resting, so they had some scheme.
And oddly, despite my presence being known, they hadn't shown themselves.
'First, turn around.'
To avoid an ambush, I spun quickly, facing back while barely mustering aura to draw my waist sword.
"Come out already."
Twitch!
The bushes rustled violently for a moment.
'...Still not coming out?'
This should've made it obvious someone was in there.
Yet they brazenly pretended otherwise to the end.
"I know you're in there. You don't want to fight, right?"
"..."
"Sigh... Fine. If that's how you want it, I'm just gonna cut through these bushes on my way."
I channeled aura into my sword, preparing to slash the bushes before me.
...Whoever it was, if they wouldn't come out, I had no choice.
In my usual relaxed state, I might've ignored it.
But in near-worst condition, I wanted to eliminate any variables.
"Here I go? Last chance to come out?"
"..."
"Alright, for real this time. One,"
"...Ngh."
"Two,"
"...Wait."
"Three!"
"Eek!"
I deliberately counted slowly and loudly for them to hear.
Each number brought a big twitch and a tiny leak of sound.
As I swung down on "three."
A weird shriek echoed, and a head popped out from the bushes with a 'poof!'
"Wait, wait a sec!"
"...?"
Pink hair and eyes.
A nun's veil and academy uniform close to holy garb.
A female student whose face blended cuteness and allure gazed at me.
'Wait... why are you popping out here?'
The Holy Kingdom's distinctive rosary.
That alone might suggest a student from the Holy Kingdom.
But if it bore the one-and-only gem shining with brilliant blue light...
That changed everything.
"Don't hit me...!"
The last student of S-Class's three members.
The Holy Kingdom's treasure, chosen by the Heavenly God.
The Saintess.