Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: 4. Temporary Hero Promotion Exam (4)
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When Vivian first appeared in the cavern.
Felix couldn't help but laugh, even though he was in a situation where he might die.
That bitch is done for now.
She's going to break in front of this unprecedented giant slime.
That's what he thought.
He could tell from her late arrival and her dirtied clothes that even just passing through the path had been grueling for her.
So, the exhausted Vivian would fail without doing a thing.
Just like always.
But when Vivian cast Light, that certainty cracked.
Vivian floated a total of ten lights in the cavern.
It looked like she'd cast them all at once, but it wasn't multi-casting.
Vivian had simply cast the spell ten times in rapid succession.
They appeared so quickly that it seemed simultaneous.
What was even more astonishing came next.
The moment Vivian turned her gaze toward them, thin, sharp Ice Spears flew in.
The ice spears pierced straight through the slimes pressing toward them, reaching even Marie's party struggling in the distance beyond.
'Wha... What speed... No, how is Vivian...'
Vivian cast Ice Spear twice more to aid the other hero parties.
The casting time was less than a second.
Thanks to Vivian, they escaped death, but neither party had the stamina left to fight.
Vivian didn't care.
"I can do this..."
Hundreds of Green Slimes leaped toward her, swallowing her form in an instant.
Felix shouted without thinking.
"Yes! That little..."
His voice trailed off.
The moment he thought she'd been crushed flat.
Thousands of ice shards burst outward from Vivian, shaking off the Green Slimes.
Slimes pierced through their cores by the sharp fragments crumbled in midair.
Ice Barrier.
It was the small ice crystals she'd used to entertain the children, now made larger and harder, densely layered around her body.
Ian grinned at the sight.
"Nice improvisation."
Ice Barrier wasn't meant to be used that way originally.
She'd forcibly strengthened the crystals to mimic the effect.
That alone elevated her beyond aspirant level.
Immediately after, Vivian hurled an Ice Spear at the slime horde.
As the space widened, so did the size of the ice spear.
-Crunch!
There was no need to aim for the core.
The ice spear, larger than the slimes themselves, pulverized their bodies and cores alike.
She rolled away from the charging slimes to create distance, then fired another Ice Spear.
Dozens of slimes exploded.
Vivian rolled again and sprang to her feet, then ran straight ahead.
Hundreds of slimes chased after her as if to devour her.
"Why is she doing that?"
"Did she run out of mana?"
The fallen aspirants had become her spectators.
To them, Vivian looked like she was desperately running to buy time.
Ian saw it differently.
She was luring the scattered slimes together.
After running for a while, Vivian charged straight at the wall.
Just before collision, she threw herself sideways.
The slime horde crashed into the wall like a wave.
Immediately after, three massive Ice Spears from Vivian obliterated the flailing slimes in one go.
"Whoa..."
One of the watching aspirants let out a gasp of admiration.
"That's the mage who built that ice tower last time, right?"
"I thought she just made big spells, but this is..."
"She's way beyond aspirant level..."
Felix's party had lost all will to fight.
Felix wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come.
"Uh-oh!"
The King Slime approached Vivian as she paused to catch her breath.
She looked like a bug before a giant.
A shadow loomed over her head.
"Why isn't she dodging?!"
"She's gonna die like that...!"
Some grew anxious.
Others secretly hoped out of jealousy.
But Ian just smiled to himself.
"She's watching properly."
Vivian's eyes were locked straight on the King Slime's core.
With a calm mind amid her burning body, she sorted her thoughts.
'This slime can split rapidly into Green Slimes. That means its size shifts are insanely flexible. The core can move easily.'
'Half-hearted attacks will just increase the Green Slimes. If the body outside the core breaks off, it splits too.'
'I need a perfect one-shot. One that crushes the core completely, with precise timing...'
'It's coming straight at me now that I've stopped.'
'Now.'
-Boom!
With a deafening roar, the King Slime's core exploded.
Its remains scattered, pierced by something enormous.
The entire cavern trembled faintly.
Ian's gaze was fixed not on Vivian, but off at a diagonal distance.
The massive ice spear from her training session.
Not quite tower-sized in reality, but too huge to call a spear—it had to be likened to a tower. That Ice Spear.
It had been summoned above Vivian's head, stabbing precisely through the King Slime's core and embedding deep into the cavern ceiling.
"Whoever raised that mage, it's terrifying."
Ian chuckled, sucking on his candy stick.
It tasted even sweeter when he was this pleased.
With the King Slime dead, the remaining Green Slimes lost their power and collapsed.
Beneath the King Slime's debris raining down like a storm.
Vivian erected an ice crystal barrier to deflect it.
"Hoo..."
'I did it...'
Turning around, she saw Ian smiling at her.
Seeing that made her smile too.
-Rumble...
Before she could relax, the entire cavern shook.
The ground where the King Slime had fallen began to rise.
Stairs spiraled around the rising pillar-like platform.
-Rumble... Thud.
The violent shaking stopped.
Atop the revealed platform, a green magic stone sparkled.
The dungeon's reward, touchable only by those who passed the exam.
When a dungeon ends, the participating parties react in one of two ways.
They argue over whose reward it is.
Or, if someone overwhelmingly dominates, they stare piercingly at that person.
The current cavern was the latter.
Everyone except Vivian stared at her.
"......"
She seemed about to speak, her tongue moving, then closed her lips.
She slowly scanned the faces looking up at her.
Envy, jealousy, admiration, gratitude.
A mix of emotions reached her.
Vivian's gaze lifted upward.
The green magic stone sparkled atop the platform.
'Me... I'm the one who cleared this...'
Vivian looked at Ian, who nodded.
'Me...'
Standing before the stairs, she hesitated briefly.
Fear suddenly gripped her.
Those unqualified can't even climb these stairs.
They're blocked by a barrier.
What if that happened to her?
Did she truly deserve it?
'Me... I did it. I pulled it off.'
Steeling herself.
Toward the heights she'd always looked up to.
She took one step.
-Step.
The stairs accepted her.
Vivian climbed slowly, step by step.
-Step, step.
Her footsteps echoed in the vast, empty cavern.
Memories flashed through her mind.
Herself, watching others climb from below.
Envying magic stones in others' hands from afar.
The dream she'd failed to help with or earn recognition for, ultimately killing it off.
-Step, step.
Overcoming it all, she reached the top.
Atop the platform, the green magic stone glowed softly.
The lowest-grade stone was larger than usual, thanks to the King Slime.
To Ian, who'd managed the 1st Hero Party, it might be worthless.
But to Vivian, it was different.
The stone she'd only held in dreams, she cradled preciously in her hands.
'A magic stone in my hands...'
Suppressing swelling tears, Vivian looked down.
The landscape lit by her own light.
The view from heights she'd always gazed up at was dizzyingly high and beautiful.
Felix, whom she'd always looked down on, now staring up at her—it thrilled her enough to feel a bit wicked.
Her gaze turned to Ian.
She waved at his pleased smile, and he waved back.
But the hand shape was weird.
'...Wait, Ian? Not here...? Are you serious?'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Felix stared blankly up at Vivian ascending the stairs.
It didn't feel real.
Maybe that wasn't actually Vivian?
That made more sense.
Nothing added up.
The Vivian who'd been too slow at casting, a burden to everyone.
The timid, cowardly Vivian who never stepped up.
The Vivian who crumpled at a single harsh word.
And the white-robed mage he'd just seen.
Floating and maintaining ten Lights instantly.
Saving parties in crisis with back-to-back Ice Spears, no chants needed.
Freely adjusting Ice Spear sizes to crush slimes precisely where needed.
And finally, the red-haired mage who waited for the King Slime lunging at her and exploded it.
"Ha, haha..."
Of course.
That couldn't be Vivian.
Just because she had red hair, light green eyes, and freckles on her nose didn't make her Vivian.
"Yeah, right... It doesn't make sense..."
The Vivian-lookalike reached the platform and took the magic stone.
The portal at the cavern's end closed.
The exam was over.
Of the three parties, only Ian's—with one lone mage—passed.
Felix stared dazedly at the Vivian-lookalike, then at Ian, who met her gaze.
He was waving like a greeting, but oddly.
Pinky finger raised and wiggling.
The lookalike's face flushed red in an instant.
She stomped her feet atop the platform, flustered.
What did it signify?
Even as the lookalike acted strangely like Vivian might.
She looked around at the people, took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Sylvia is a third-rate hack mage compared to me-!!"
The sudden insult stunned everyone.
Ian alone savored his candy stick, chuckling.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "You're so mean...!"
Vivian whined after descending the platform.
It had been a great show after so long.
Too bad more people hadn't seen it.
"What if word spreads about this? Ugh..."
"Won't you get famous?"
"Nooo-! Absolutely not! Wh-what do I do? Should I beg those people to forget...?"
She muttered anxiously but wouldn't let go of the magic stone in her hand.
"It was good though, right?"
Vivian looked up shyly and smiled.
"Yeah... Hehe, it feels amazing. I never imagined I'd hold a magic stone."
"Honestly, didn't it feel a bit refreshing when you yelled that?"
Vivian glanced around, then whispered in my ear.
"Yeah..."
Yeah, people need to shout like that sometimes.
And that wasn't entirely false.
In my eyes, Vivian's talent surpassed Sylvia's.
Especially when she herded the slimes for the hunt—I was genuinely shocked.
I'd never taught her that.
Fighting scattered slimes one by one would take too long and endanger other parties.
So she'd improvised a tactic on the spot—that's no ordinary skill.
-Clap, clap, clap, clap.
Slow applause.
Turning, I saw Felix smirking and clapping.
Here we go again with this guy.
"Impressive. Truly impressive, Ian. And whoever the mage impersonating Vivian is."
"...Huh?"
Vivian made a dumbfounded noise.
I nearly dropped my candy stick too.
What's his deal?
"Ian. Forgive me for realizing late. You're the 1st Hero Party manager, right?"
Realizing late my ass.
I heard him blabbing about it with the aspirants he brought.
"And yet."
"Penny's words have come true. She said she'd take the 1st Party, but I didn't expect it this soon."
I'd heard she was gunning for the 1st Party.
"I get resenting being fired, trying to throw your weight around in the Managers' Guild. But this is a problem."
"...Did you hit your head earlier? You should get healing from your priest."
"Bringing a fake official hero who looks like Vivian to monopolize the aspirants' magic stones in the exam hall. That's exactly what you're doing!"
He's lost it.
"Why not become a bard instead of a manager? You suck at this."
"Shut up-!"
The Penny mask shattered.
Felix, eyes bulging, drew a dagger from his pocket.
The others gasped in shock.
"You, you...! How dare you! This is insane! You, and Vivian too...!"
"Playing with dangerous toys."
"Arghhh-!"
Felix lunged, poised to stab.
I briefly wondered if he was sane, then realized.
He thinks I'm a normal person.
One who'd drop dead from a few stabs.
One of the possibilities Taylor warned about—not surprising.
I could dodge, counter.
Even kill him in self-defense here.
But it's a shame.
Just like how Felix had slowly strangled Vivian to death.
I wanted to crush him bit by bit, ever so slowly.
That knife wouldn't even scratch me.
But that doesn't erase his attempt on my life.
If I use this to hold the Managers' Guild accountable, expose it publicly, and strip Felix of his precious social status?
People like him suffer most when their position crumbles.
Once I prove I'm Philip to him at the right moment...
It'll be entertaining.
I finished thinking; he still had two steps left.
I stood still, willing to take the stab.
-Kwahang!
Numerous ice spears plummeted from above, embedding vertically before Felix.
He crashed into them and sprawled out.
That brute size and density.
Casting speed fast enough to mistake for multi-casting.
"...Vivian?"
Vivian's expression behind me was unnerving.
Lips set firm, eyes rolled back in fury glaring at Felix.
I'd never imagined she could look that chilling.