Practical Training
The dense forest stretched out before us, its thick canopy casting deep shadows across the ground. All of the academy's first-year students had gathered here in a tight cluster. This was the site for our practical training.
Professors would be stationed at regular intervals throughout the area, and only low-level monsters below level 100 had been placed here, so there was supposedly no risk of any students dying. That was the academy's official explanation, at least.
But as always, for an episode to get interesting, something had to go wrong. The boss monster that would appear this time was a variable the academy hadn't accounted for.
Before we set out, I was sharing one last conversation with Yas and Abel.
"Luan, you haven't forgotten about Abel, right? If we run into each other in the forest, we're forming an alliance. I don't want to fight you guys."
"I completely agree with Yas! This practical doesn't mean we have to fight each other! Working together will make everything so much easier!"
"Sure, whatever."
I watched the strangely excited pair and gave a half-hearted nod. Yas might not realize it, but Abel had no chance of completing this practical peacefully. He was bound to clash with Scadia no matter what.
He's the protagonist, after all, huh?
Abel had ended up teamed with Alissa, Yuni, and Pernia for this exercise. The teams were supposed to be formed randomly, yet that bastard called fate was carrying out the future exactly as planned, undeterred by the variable of us transmigrators. The last member of their group was apparently a girl too. When Yas first heard about it, he'd been green with envy, calling it a harem party.
I can understand why, though.
After all, Yas's team was the complete opposite—five guys strong. A total sausage fest. He'd even told me about the time someone asked him to pick up the soap in the bathhouse and he'd bolted out of there. That pretty much said everything.
It was about time to head back to my own team.
"It's time to move out. I'll catch you guys later."
"Yeah! See you soon, Luan."
"One more time—an unconditional alliance! If you attack us, you're a traitor!"
I let Yas's repeated emphasis on our alliance go in one ear and out the other as I returned to my group. Deborah, who had spread the island map across the ground and was explaining our strategy to the others, stood up to greet me.
"All finished with your business?"
"Yeah. You were explaining things again? You've already gone over it multiple times."
"Because it's that important. We need an efficient route if we want to hunt the maximum number of monsters."
This practical was also a form of competition. Even if students weren't supposed to fight each other, paths would inevitably cross during the hunt, and in the worst cases, someone might steal the prey you'd been tracking. So we had to choose a route that minimized overlap with other groups while maximizing monster encounters.
Deborah had analyzed the island's terrain to identify every possible monster type and plotted out the optimal path. As expected of Roxana's disciple.
As I stood there impressed, Sara clapped her hands sharply to draw everyone's attention.
"Alright, the practical training begins now. If anyone gets injured, report immediately to the professors stationed nearby. Understood? If you push yourselves too hard trying to rack up points and end up seriously hurt, you'll be disqualified on the spot. Keep that in mind. I wish you all the best of luck. Begin!"
The signal had barely dropped before the teams that had prepared in advance all burst forth along their chosen routes at once. The chance to use everything they'd learned in actual combat had everyone fired up.
Deborah unfolded her map and pointed toward the forest.
"Let's move out too. This way."
Our first destination was the valley. We'd follow the gravel bed along its floor, climb the slope to enter the forest proper, then ascend the central mountain to locate monsters. It wasn't particularly flashy, but it was a route that let us thoroughly check every corner of the area.
We followed Deborah's directions and made our way toward the valley with practiced ease.
At this rate, it'll be quite a while before we run into Abel, won't it?
By some coincidence, our route and Abel's party were heading in completely opposite directions. At this rate, encountering them would be nothing short of a miracle. Still, since Deborah was one of the main heroines, there was no way this episode would pass without them meeting. Something would surely force their paths to cross.
While I advanced through the forest lost in these thoughts, our group's footsteps suddenly halted. I lifted my head and spotted a group of goblins sitting around a bonfire in the bushes ahead, cackling away.
They seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, giggling and laughing without a care.
Deborah issued instructions immediately.
"Four goblins total. Ria and I will take down two of them. That should throw the others into confusion. Then Gail and Shane, you move in and finish the rest. Clear?"
Everyone nodded silently in response.
While Deborah cast her spell and Ria drew her bow, I scanned our surroundings.
Looks like I'm the only one with nothing to do.
The original Luan's reputation as a delinquent meant that getting too involved would likely cause more problems than it solved. Staying back was basically the same as helping. The fact that the entire party accepted this without complaint told me my rumors were indeed quite terrifying.
As expected, a person shouldn't live too kindly.
While I pondered the advantages of my delinquent status, Deborah finally finished her casting.
"Now!"
The moment the command left her lips, a fireball and an arrow streaked forward. The goblins struck by the attack died instantly, without even time to scream.
─Kieeeek!
The remaining two let out shrieks upon seeing their companions fall. Just as predicted, they fell into panic and couldn't process the situation, merely flinching in place.
Gail and Shane raced down the slope and dispatched the defenseless creatures. They put up some resistance, but the overwhelming gap in physical ability was simply too much.
Deborah led Ria and me toward the goblin corpses.
"Well done, everyone. Doesn't look like there's anything worth taking, so let's move on. The valley should be just ahead."
It still seemed somewhat distant, but we could already hear the sound of flowing water from somewhere. Before long, we stood before the valley itself.
The water was so crystal clear that the bottom was completely visible, offering a refreshing sight that seemed to cleanse the viewer's very soul. Everyone stood there mesmerized until Deborah snapped them out of it.
"Stay focused, everyone. There are definitely more monsters around here. We need drinking water, so we have no choice but to search. Let's hurry!"
Following her orders, we resumed our search.
At that same moment, atop the mountain peak, a Sabre Tiger faced off against a man.
─Grrrrr!
The white-furred beast with blue stripes couldn't underestimate the human before it. It circled warily, searching for an opening.
The man let out a small laugh.
"Too weak. This won't be any fun at all."
Luxurious golden hair and clear blue eyes. The man named Ethan Gloucester looked like he'd stepped straight out of a painting of a noble prince. He was an Apostle of the Dark Cult—and a transmigrator from Earth, just like me.
Ethan reached into his coat and pulled out a small black orb. Demonic energy swirled violently within it.
"I'll have to implant a magic core."
This orb, condensed with pure demonic energy, had the ability to transform any monster it was implanted into into a mindless demonic beast.
As Ethan examined the core, the Sabre Tiger saw what it thought was an opening and charged.
─Kwaaaaaang!
The roar shook the entire area. The cry carried the oppressive weight of an apex predator, enough to make any prey freeze in terror.
The problem was that Ethan was an even greater predator than the Sabre Tiger.
"How dare a mere beast show such insolence!"
Enraged by the creature's arrogance, Ethan raised his hand and pointed at the charging monster. Demonic energy erupted from his palm, crashing down across the area and slamming the Sabre Tiger into the ground with crushing force.
Kwaaaaang!
The tremendous pressure drove the beast more than a meter into the earth. It couldn't even twitch.
Ethan approached with leisurely steps and knelt on one knee before the Sabre Tiger's face. Their eyes met.
"You're weak. So very weak. Therefore, I shall make you strong. You should be grateful."
Ethan pried open the Sabre Tiger's jaws and shoved the magic core down its throat. The beast thrashed desperately to reject it, but the overwhelming power held it down, reducing its struggles to mere twitches.
Soon, the transformation began.
─Kwaaaaaaaaa!!
Crack! Crunch!
The Sabre Tiger's fur turned pitch black as its muscles swelled, doubling its size. Its claws and fangs grew even sharper and more lethal.
Ethan retrieved the gravity orb and slowly backed away.
"Hmm... Still weak, but it should be usable. At this level, it ought to be able to kill the protagonist's party without much trouble."
Ethan felt no particular emotion toward Abel. Three years ago, his heart had been completely stolen by one person.
To uphold his deal with the Goddess of Darkness, Abel had to die. Only then could Ethan return home.
Leaving the demonic-energy-corrupted Sabre Tiger behind, Ethan departed from the mountain peak.
Unfortunately, we didn't encounter any more monsters after that. Whether they'd climbed into the sky, burrowed into the ground, or simply moved to a new water source elsewhere, there were strangely no monsters to be found in this area.
In the end, we abandoned the valley and climbed back up the slope into the forest.
"This is strange. Why aren't there any monsters? Let's have a simple lunch first, then head up the mountain. From there, we should be able to get a rough idea of their movements."
While we were eating a quick meal in a clearing—
─Plop. Drip... Whoosh!
What had started as a few scattered drops quickly turned into a torrential downpour, hammering the surroundings.
We hurriedly took shelter beneath a large tree.
"What do we do? I didn't expect rain at all."
"The weather forecast didn't mention anything either."
"Damn it! Of all days..."
The team members grumbled, cursing the weather service for their disappointment. Rain this heavy would make movement difficult, and there was even a chance the practical might be canceled entirely.
To their complaints, Deborah pulled raincoats from her subspace pouch and handed them out.
"Here. Good thing I brought these just in case. Let's move quickly before they call off the practical. We need to hunt at least a few more."
"Wow, Deborah's the best!"
"Incredible."
"I need to take notes from her!"
The three of them reacted like excited vending machines as they pulled on the raincoats. I put mine on as well, and once we'd finished our meal, we immediately set off toward the mountain.
We were about halfway up the slope when—
"Huh? Deborah, there's a monster corpse over there!"
"A corpse?"
"Yeah! But... it's weird. The wounds look all blackened and necrotic."
"We should check it out!"
Following Ria's lead, we soon stood before the remains. Just as she'd said, the wounds were pitch black. The body had been so savagely torn apart that it resembled little more than a tattered rag—difficult to even look at.
Deborah examined the corpse, tilting her head in confusion.
"What could have done this? Could another monster be responsible?"
This area was supposed to be inhabited only by low-level monsters. There shouldn't be anything capable of tearing apart prey with such overwhelming force.
Except for one.
The Sabre Tiger.
Only the creature destined to cause the incident in this episode could have done something like this. The real question was why the wounds were blackened. That was a characteristic of demonic beasts. Only monsters corrupted by demonic energy could leave curses in their wounds that caused them to rot black like this.
In other words, the Sabre Tiger might have been corrupted by demonic energy, unlike in the original game.
This is dangerous.
The moment I sensed the threat—
Rustle!
A house-sized black Sabre Tiger burst through the undergrowth. Corrupted by demonic energy, it was twice its normal size, radiating an oppressive aura that made my entire body tingle with warning.
"Everyone, be careful!"
I shouted the warning immediately, but it was already too late.
Crunch!
The Sabre Tiger leaped forward like a black gale. In the blink of an eye, it sank its fangs into Ria's neck. Her delicate throat was torn away effortlessly, spraying blood as it flew through the air.