Mana Energy Cataclysm (3)
The students stood in formation at the entrance to the Wist Forest. They were quite a distance from the minefield. Of course, I had already removed most of those mines, so the chances of someone accidentally stepping on one were practically zero.
“Today’s test is a monster hunt!”
“A monster hunt…?”
“Out of nowhere?”
The students began murmuring at Sergei’s booming declaration. They had probably guessed something like this might happen. After all, the Wist Forest was famous for being infested with monsters. Still, they clearly hadn’t expected to be thrown straight into live combat.
“Don’t worry too much! The monsters you’ll be facing are Black Dogs! They operate in relatively low-concentration mana energy environments.”
“If it’s just Black Dogs, then…”
“That’s a relief, at least.”
The previously tense atmosphere quickly settled back down. These were the same creatures I had fought last night. Individually, their combat strength was roughly equivalent to that of a rabid dog. The fact that they moved in packs was a bit annoying, but since they had almost no intelligence, a well-coordinated party could easily handle hundreds of them if they used the terrain properly.
“Even though they’re low-tier monsters, you mustn’t let your guard down. I’m sure most of you have only seen Black Dogs in places like the Monster Research Institute. What did they look like there?”
“They just looked like frail old mutts.”
“Exactly. That’s because they weren’t in their proper environment. The area you’re about to enter is saturated with low-concentration mana energy. Your bodies will feel heavy, you’ll feel nauseous, and your heads will spin. Meanwhile, the Black Dogs will be in peak condition, lunging for your throats.”
“Ah…”
“It’s truly an extreme situation. Remember this: if you feel like you can’t breathe, breathing faster will only cause more mana energy to accumulate in your body. And always keep an escape route in mind. Even if you kill every last Black Dog, if you collapse before getting out, you’ll die on the spot.”
“Hic…!”
“You’ll enter in parties of five! Once you’ve killed twenty Black Dogs, you may come back out! If you feel overwhelmed, you may retreat and re-enter, but don’t forget that this test is a race against time! Now, I’ll announce the parties I’ve formed!”
I tensed up here. I was worried I might end up in the same party as Ainz. I needed to move separately from him in this event. If we were grouped together, I’d have no choice but to leave him behind in the forest. That was something I absolutely had to avoid.
“Last party! Schluss Heinkel…”
Fortunately, that misfortune never came. Ainz, Trie, and I were all assigned to different parties. Probably because the three of us were competing for the top three spots in combat magic studies. It seemed he had tried to balance the parties based on overall strength.
“Then starting with the first team.”
“Yes!”
The five students, including Ainz, answered and stepped forward. They were given only a single bottle of mana energy antidote. If they were only supposed to hunt twenty Black Dogs and come back, that would be more than enough. But would it really go that smoothly…?
“We will award bonus points to the single member of each party who performs the most outstandingly. First team, begin!”
At Sergei’s signal, Ainz’s party dashed into the forest. Bonus points for the most outstanding individual… This was a trap Sergei had deliberately set. What this practicum demanded wasn’t individual ability, but teamwork. If anyone tried to run wild on their own to earn those points, their entire party would collapse in an instant. I wondered whether Ainz could suppress his desire to stand out alone…
“You may go now.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Soon after the first team, an assistant followed, eyes narrowed in focus. The plan was probably for the assistant to evacuate the first team in case of an emergency, but… this time, even the assistant wouldn’t be of much help.
“The rest of you, stand by. Once the first team’s test is over, the second team will go immediately, so stay sharp.”
“Professor.”
“You have a question?”
“What should we do if mana energy surges during the test? I heard that in the Wist Forest, mana energy periodically floods in and then recedes.”
Trie raised her hand high as she asked. Typical of her to be so sensitive about safety. Though when she was beating me up, she didn’t seem to care about safety at all…?
“Hahaha! I’ve been waiting for that question! You don’t need to worry about that! Today is one of the two days a year when the mana energy fog doesn’t move!”
“Ah, is that so?”
“That’s why the layers are currently clearly divided. The area where the Black Dogs operate is strictly defined, so if the burden on your body becomes too great, or if you see any monsters other than Black Dogs, retreat immediately. That way you won’t be exposed to high-concentration mana energy. And just in case you’re still curious…”
Sergei, seemingly in a good mood, began rattling off information like a machine gun. But I was too busy staying alert and scanning the surroundings. I was checking whether any intelligence agency operatives had come. In the original story, they had followed Hurtlocker and monitored the test the entire time. The odds that they were here today were extremely high. But finding them was another matter entirely.
Maybe I should just leave them be.
Even if I managed to find them by luck, there was nothing I could really do. They weren’t the type to obediently leave just because I told them to. And if I fought them here and used Selection and Concentration, dealing with the mana energy flood would become incredibly difficult. All I could do was hope they would quietly observe.
If they tried to interfere openly, then a fight would be unavoidable…
Damn, what clueless bastards. Because of these guys, everything keeps getting ridiculously complicated. Even though in the original story their country was the protagonist’s homeland, right now I felt like wiping the Trude Kingdom off the map entirely.
Crackle…
The communication artifact Sergei was holding let out a burst of static. His expression grew deadly serious as he brought it to his ear. Should I try eavesdropping?
Sergei’s face had gone deathly pale.
“Huh? What’s that?”
At one student’s voice, everyone looked up. Far in the distance, a pitch-black cloud was visible. It was too low and too dark to be storm clouds. If anything, it looked less like a cloud and more like… yes. Black fog would be the more accurate description.
“That’s impossible. How can the mana energy fog be that dense…!”
The fog began slowly drifting southward. Sunlight was blocked out as shadows gradually spread. In an instant, darkness like night fell, and the fog surged forward as if it would swallow the entire sky.
“It’s a mana energy flood…! Of all times for this disaster to strike!”
So this was what a mana energy flood looked like. Just watching it made my breath catch in my throat. My instincts—and perhaps Schluss’s instincts—were screaming that being swallowed by that fog meant certain death.
“Everyone, evacuate! Into the village’s air raid shelter!”
“Professor! What about the first team?”
“The first team… will be fine. I’ll go myself.”
This was my chance. I grabbed Sergei’s arm. It was so ridiculously thick that my hand couldn’t even wrap around half of his forearm. It made me question all over again whether this was really a human physique. I might be able to brawl with Hurtlocker somehow, but this man seemed utterly impossible to contend with.
“You don’t need to go.”
“What?”
“Doesn’t the assistant have multiple bottles of mana energy antidote? I believe the assistant can take command of the first team and hold out until the situation is resolved.”
“How can you be so sure, Mr. Schluss?!”
Sergei frowned and gripped both my shoulders tightly. It was a difficult question to answer. I couldn’t exactly tell him that in the original story, Sergei had charged into the Wist Forest to rescue the first team, only to be cut off by a monster wave, isolated, and forced to fight alone until the end of the event, ultimately suffering permanent injuries.
“I can’t be certain.”
“Then…!”
“But I am certain about what will happen to the village if you aren’t here, Professor.”
“What?”
“This flood will reach the village. The monsters will easily break down the air raid shelter doors and invade. The only ones who can stop them are us, but what can the students do on their own? You must lead us, Professor.”
“……”
Sergei eventually squeezed his eyes shut. He really, really didn’t want to, but he had realized I was right.
“Is there anyone here who’s scared? If so, enter the air raid shelter now! And do not come out under any circumstances!”
“……”
Sergei slowly scanned the students’ faces. They all looked quite tense, but not a single one stepped back.
“It’s going to be a brutal fight. If you get surrounded by monsters, you might not be able to enter the shelter midway through.”
“……”
Sergei lowered his voice in warning. Still, none of the students moved. Was this the dignity of Imperial Academy students…? I was honestly quite impressed. If I had been one of them, I would have run away without a second thought.
“Hah. What a bunch of fearless idiots. Fine! From now on, we will inspect the barricades to block the monsters! After that, I will explain our defensive strategy! You three over here! You will…”
Sergei began giving calm, composed commands. I had momentarily forgotten because of his overwhelming physique, but the reason he had risen to the rank of Imperial Marshal wasn’t simply due to individual combat strength. His exceptional tactical genius was said to be capable of turning a thousand peasants into an army that could stand against a hundred elite cavalrymen in a single day—if you exaggerated a bit.
“Move quickly! Keep the oil barrels at least two steps away from any fire! Gather all the food from the shops and stockpile it at headquarters! The residents will understand!”
Watching the students move with perfect coordination, it finally hit me. It had really begun. The worst event so far. I clenched my fists and steeled my resolve.
This is going to be one hell of a busy day.
There were simply far too many things I had to do.