91. Academy (4)
91. Academy (4)
The Class Assignment Exam was ruined in an instant due to the powerful explosion.
The students didn't think this was just some kind of exam, either.
Students who were severely injured by the explosion tried to activate their Bracelets out of necessity, but they didn't work.
The explosion just now wasn't just a simple explosion; it had properties similar to an EMP that neutralized all Magic Tools.
Every Magic Tool in the forest, the site of the Class Assignment Exam, stopped functioning.
Fortunately, it wasn't an attack meant to kill people, but one meant to break Magic Tools, so the students didn't die from the explosion.
However, while they didn't die, they suffered extreme damage.
The closer they were to the center of the explosion, the greater the damage, with limbs broken, organs damaged, eyes bursting, and eardrums rupturing.
"Guaaaaaaah!"
"Mom... Dad..."
"He, help me..."
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
The academy students, who were adults but had only recently become so, were enduring the pain in their own ways.
No, they were hoping for someone to help them.
A mage wearing a black robe appeared among those students.
The mage, who appeared as if tearing through space, was wearing a black robe and a black mask, as if advertising that they were a Black Mage.
"Hmm... As expected, security has weakened significantly since the recent appearance of monsters called Creatures."
The Black Mage walked slowly.
In the place they were walking, there was a Padix Academy freshman who had lost consciousness after being covered in wounds from the explosion.
"Kids who have just become adults are full of vitality, as expected. Plus, they're rich in Mana. It was worth preparing hard for this. I need to kidnap the students quickly. I have to get at least one more."
The Black Mage attached a magic scroll to the body of the unconscious freshman.
That scroll was none other than a Return Scroll.
"To think those idiots believe they can protect everyone just because there's a Return Magic Circle drawn. They don't even realize that we can use it too."
A massive magic circle is required to teleport humans without consuming a large amount of energy.
That is why a magic circle was meticulously installed here as well, and the Black Mage planned to use it to kidnap the freshmen in bulk.
The Black Mage removed the Bracelet from the unconscious freshman's arm and put it on their own arm.
The Black Mage's form began to squirm and changed into the appearance of the unconscious freshman.
The Black Mage's unique ability.
Disguise.
It is the ability to perfectly replicate a person one has seen.
It's an overpowered ability where the activation condition is just seeing the person, but the downside is that all combat abilities are lost while disguised.
The moment one tries to use Mana, the disguise is dispelled.
However, it is an extremely excellent ability, to the point that no one can recognize the user the moment they disguise themselves.
The Black Mage who infiltrated this exam using this ability.
"Ah, ah, ah."
Having confirmed that even their voice had changed, the Black Mage moved to kidnap other freshmen.
==
'What is this? What on earth is happening?'
Charlotta kept tapping her Bracelet as she headed toward the center of the explosion.
Unlike the freshmen's, hers didn't just have a teleport function but also a function to communicate with the outside, yet the Bracelet showed no response at all.
'Could the Magic Tool have been broken by that explosion?'
The Magic Tool had broken even though she was quite far away.
'That means... the freshmen's Bracelets aren't working either...!'
She wanted to let out a good curse, but she held back because Lea was following behind her.
"Queen— Lea!"
'Ereve!'
Charlotta knew the fact that an elf was entering among the freshmen.
Ereve.
It was fascinating that an elf was entering a human academy.
The thought of "Why on earth?" came naturally.
The existence known as an elf is fundamentally strong. Furthermore, because they live much longer than humans, they become even stronger than humans.
But one couldn't help but wonder, why on earth would they come to an academy where there's nothing to learn?
She wondered if an elf was enrolling due to some political reason between the Elf Village and the Padix Kingdom.
But right now, there's no need for such complicated thoughts.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. Are you alright too, Ereve?"
"I am alr— I'm fine too."
Prodisia had decided to use the pseudonym Ereve because there was a risk of being caught by that man if she used the name Prodisia as it was.
Prodisia was not yet used to speaking informally to Lea, but she was still adapting.
"Junior Ereve. Can you and Junior Lea help me!?"
Prodisia glanced at Lea. Lea nodded.
"Fine. However, I will protect Lea first."
"That alone is enough, thank you."
Charlotta felt more reassured than ever.
Her allies were the physical(?) Saintess Lea, who possessed overwhelming strength to the point of ripping off legs at a speed hard to follow with the naked eye, and an elf whose very existence felt intimidating.
Having arrived near the center of the explosion, Charlotta bit her lip hard at the tragic scene before her eyes.
The damage was more severe than she thought. There were 10 freshmen just within sight.
The condition of those 10 was extremely critical.
"Junior Lea... is treatment possible?"
"Ha... this..."
Lea nodded as soon as she saw the condition of the freshmen.
"I think it's possible... but it's impossible to treat everyone here. I think we should treat the friends whose lives are in danger first."
"Kuh...! Understood."
Charlotta kept a strong watch on the surroundings.
That explosion earlier was clearly an explosion with a purpose. It was an explosion that paralyzed all Magic Tools.
That means this explosion isn't the end, and there is something to follow.
'What on earth are they trying to do?'
Charlotta first moved the freshmen who had collapsed nearby to where Lea was, as quickly and carefully as possible.
Originally, moving patients itself is a very dangerous task, but it was an unavoidable choice to protect everyone in a situation where she didn't know what might happen next.
==
While the Black Mage was kidnapping the students who had collapsed nearby one by one while disguised as a student.
'I feel a powerful vitality.'
A powerful vitality was caught on the Black Mage's detection.
Since the Black Mage had raided the freshman Class Assignment Exam to collect vitality, they naturally moved toward the side that possessed powerful vitality.
And they confirmed the existence of that powerful vitality with their own eyes.
'An elf...? Why is an elf at a human academy?'
If they had their way, they would want to use the elf as a material for black magic, but that is impossible.
The existence known as an elf is something that can only be defeated by using all the vitality of the humans captured so far.
They could win, but there would be too much loss in the process, so it's not worth dealing with.
However...
'Why does that human have vitality similar to an elf despite being human— I see... A human who has received the Blessing of the Goddess. This is quite a big catch.'
Seeing Lea, who was diligently treating the freshmen next to the elf, the Black Mage laughed loudly inside.
While it is said that healers are rare, the rarest among them is a human who has received the Blessing of the Goddess.
Humans who have received the Blessing of the Goddess are different from ordinary humans, from their vitality to their Holy Power and Mana.
The humans that the Black Mage likes the most are those who have received the Blessing of the Goddess.
The problem is that such humans are all extremely tricky to kidnap.
Because usually, such humans are protected by Holy Knights guarding them and numerous Magic Tools.
However, the Lea visible before the Black Mage's eyes right now looked too defenseless.
The Magic Tools were naturally neutralized by the explosion. All that could be seen around were an elf and academy students.
Although the elf next to her is very annoying, the situation now is different.
"He, help me...!"
The Black Mage approached Lea, shouting for help.
Charlotta immediately approached the Black Mage and helped them so they could go to Lea, supporting the Black Mage.
The moment they arrived in front of Lea, the Black Mage attached the Return Scroll hidden in their bosom to Lea's body and activated the Return Scroll in their own bosom together.
"What!? A Black Mage!?"
"Queen-nim!!!"
As the bodies of the Black Mage and Lea shone in an instant, Charlotta and Prodisia reached out to stop them, but their hands grasped empty air.
==
"This makes no sense! I was right next to them, and there was even physical contact, yet I didn't know they were a Black Mage!?"
Charlotta was confused by the situation that had just occurred.
'Huh... Is it a unique ability?'
Prodisia was also quite surprised by the situation that had just unfolded.
Since Black Mages basically deal with vitality, they possess Mana made of that peculiar vitality.
Therefore, the method to identify a Black Mage is simple yet difficult.
Because Prodisia deals with vitality due to her unique ability, she easily notices Black Mages.
However, she hadn't suspected them even 1 percent just now.
"Don't tell me they've been kidnapping students like this until now!?"
Charlotta was in shock, but Prodisia was only laughing on the inside.
Because the Black Mage she extremely loathes had disappeared together with Lea.
Prodisia had already sensed Lea's anger through the Hive Mind.
Although she hadn't been by Lea's side for long, she knew how strong Lea was.
No, it's even questionable whether one should describe it as strong.
'Of all people, to target the Queen. As expected, Black Mages are stupid.'