Chapter 429
Chapter Title: The First Trial
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Lunia crossed her arms and surveyed her surroundings.
‘Abad from Lumerne, Rwen from Azonia, and Dignes and Ameran from Demian.’
Lunia was Seirun's year representative.
Not only that, but she was also a candidate for student council president.
Though she had a fierce and hot-tempered personality, the fact remained that she was Seirun's top student.
As such, she was well-acquainted with the personal details of the top students from the other hero academies, who were her direct competitors.
‘They’re all famous magic students from their respective schools.’
It was no exaggeration to say that all of them were among the best mages in the second year of any hero academy.
‘Though Luka and Chloe Müller from Lumerne are missing… the two of them were probably assigned somewhere else.’
She hadn't realized it when she was falling down the cliff, but once she came to her senses, she found they had all been scattered.
“It seems like this started the moment we entered the training retreat.”
As Abad spoke with his characteristically gentle smile, Rwen replied.
“I agree. The five of us being gathered like this must mean we’re on the same team, right?”
Watching Rwen fiddle with her magnificent fox tail, Dignes opened her mouth.
“Gathering only mages must be for a trial suited to us.”
“Yes, I’m sure of it. I just checked, and it seems we can’t go back up the cliff. There’s a barrier.”
Ameran from Demian chimed in.
“Looks like we’re all on the same page.”
Lunia grinned.
As expected of mages, they were all quick and accurate in their analysis of the situation.
“Well then, that means our destination is beyond these bushes, right? I wonder what kind of trial awaits… huh?”
As she stared at the bushes, Lunia felt a pulse of magical energy from above and lifted her head.
*Thud-!*
A sword, a spear, and a shield fell from the top of the cliff, embedding themselves in the ground.
“Weapons?”
“Why were these sent to us?”
They approached with puzzled expressions, each picking up a weapon that suited their fancy.
Lunia was holding the spear with a sour look on her face.
*Rumble-! Rumble-!*
The ground trembled.
*Flash-!*
A pair of red eyes glinted from within the darkness beyond the bushes.
“It seems the test has begun.”
Rwen raised her index finger with a nonchalant expression.
*Fwoosh-*
A small fireball ignited at the tip of her finger.
The fiercely burning sphere of flame flew toward the bushes.
*KABOOOM! FWOOOSH!*
A powerful explosion erupted, and flames swept through the area, setting it ablaze.
*Thump-! Thud!*
But the unknown monster didn't even flinch.
Seeing this, Rwen’s eyes twitched.
*Thud! Thud-!*
A large brown object came into view, raising both its hands and letting out a ferocious roar.
“Kya-ho!”
“What is that?”
“Heh heh.”
“…A bear?”
Lunia wore a look of disbelief, and Abad burst out laughing.
Dignes had a grim expression.
“It’s a very cute teddy bear.”
Ameran exclaimed in admiration.
“I was expecting something incredible, but this is disappointing.”
Rwen scoffed and created a magic circle on her palm.
She then unleashed her magic at the teddy bear, which still had its hands raised.
*KRA-GA-GA-GA-GANG-!*
A terrifying gust of wind blew forth, sending everything in its path flying.
As the thick cloud of dust settled, Rwen flinched.
The others also wore looks of surprise.
*Shing-!*
An eerie sound echoed from the teddy bear's fingertips as sharp claws shot out.
“Huh?”
The moment Rwen let out a dazed sound.
“Kyaaaaah!”
The teddy bear, now with a ferocious expression, slammed its hands down.
*KABOOM-!*
Rwen hastily threw herself aside to dodge the attack.
The teddy bear's paw slammed into the spot where she had been standing.
The ground exploded as if torn apart, sending dirt flying everywhere along with ghastly claw marks.
The brutal display, so contrary to its cute appearance, momentarily froze everyone.
“This damn bear! Why isn't magic working on it?!”
“It seems to be a type of guardian powered by magical engineering. Its magic resistance must be high, so it won’t be affected by ordinary spells.”
At Rwen’s urgent cry, Abad stepped forward.
Lunia stood beside him and said.
“In that case, we just need to burn it down with overwhelming firepower from the start, right?”
*Fwoooosh-*
Flames erupted from Lunia’s body.
“Shall we see what Seirun’s year representative can do?”
“You won't be disappointed.”
Lunia grinned and unleashed her magic.
*Flash! KABOOOOOOOOOM-!*
A pillar of fire erupted from beneath the teddy bear's feet.
“It’s fine?”
Lunia muttered, her face showing a hint of bewilderment.
Abad completed his spell as well.
*WHOOOOOOSH-!*
A massive tornado trapped Lunia's flames and the teddy bear within it.
*Fwoosh-!*
But as if completely unaffected by such magic, the teddy bear tore through the fire and wind with its claws and charged.
“Just run!”
“What in the world is that teddy bear?!”
The five mages screamed and fled.
Dignes used earth magic, causing the ground to rise and form a massive wall.
*CRASH-!*
The teddy bear effortlessly broke through the thick wall, swinging its paws wildly as it picked up speed.
This time, Ameran used water magic to create a huge swamp on the ground.
*Splash- Splash- Splash-!*
But the teddy bear ran across it as if it were solid ground, chasing after the five of them.
“Kiyooooooh!”
The teddy bear began to twist its head erratically, drool dripping from its mouth.
At this point, it had transcended bizarre and become pure terror.
“That teddy bear! It just got caught on a rock and its foot tore!”
“What?!”
“It seems like pure physical force works, just not magic!”
At Abad’s shout, Lunia observed the teddy bear closely.
Sure enough, cotton stuffing was sticking out from the soft-looking fabric, which had been torn by branches and rocks.
Seeing this, Dignes shouted at Rwen, with whom she had an exclusive contract.
“This means we’re supposed to defeat the teddy bear with these weapons! Rwen! It’s your turn!”
“Why is it my turn?!”
“You’re a beastman!”
“Get rid of the prejudice that all beastmen are skilled in martial arts!”
Rwen shrieked hysterically.
“You should fight it, you’re a strong dwarf! Or how about you, Lunia El Lundua! You can handle summoned beasts! You should step up!”
“Not all dwarves are monstrously strong! I’m a delicate magic artisan!”
“I was trying to, but I can’t summon my beasts!”
As they were all yelling at each other.
“Keeeeeeek!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Seeing the teddy bear roaring right behind them, the students screamed and ran even faster.
***
“Doesn't it sound like someone is screaming somewhere?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
Chen Xia tilted her head at Chelsea’s words.
“It seems some coward is screaming somewhere.”
“You don’t seem to have any fear, Bormann.”
“Of course! This body is a wild warrior of Azonia and a descendant of the Brave Hero Ar-on!”
Bormann shouted, flexing his bulging muscles.
Driana, who had been watching him quietly, spoke.
“You.”
“What is it? Dwarf girl with the strange way of speaking!”
“You have a magnificent physique.”
“Hoh? Do you understand the beauty of my muscles?”
“Of course. Have you ever considered being a model for the sake of art?”
“What do I have to do?”
“Get naked.”
“Excellent! Behold! Dwarf girl! The beautiful, toned body of a beastman!”
Bormann, who loved to show off his strength and muscles, took off his shirt without hesitation.
Bormann struck a pose, flaunting his mighty muscles.
Chelsea, who had been in a party with him before, grimaced.
“There he goes again.”
“Chelsea! If you’re a combat mage, you shouldn’t neglect your physical training!”
“I have no intention of becoming a muscle-bound freak like you.”
“If you train your body consistently, not only your muscles, but maybe your short stature will grow too!”
Provoked, Chelsea was about to smack Bormann with her staff when Chen Xia stopped her.
“Good, wonderful!”
Ignoring them, Driana smiled brightly and clapped, which made Bormann preen.
“Take the rest off.”
“Uh, well, that’s a bit…”
But Driana’s words, which went beyond his imagination, made even the confident Bormann’s shoulders slump.
“Shouldn’t we stop fooling around and find a way out of here?”
A male student from Seirun said, adjusting his glasses.
The place they had fallen into was none other than an underground stone chamber.
Inside the huge rectangular room, the only light source was a magic lamp.
“We can’t find an exit, can we? So we were just doing something constructive.”
The Seirun student let out a deep sigh at Driana’s words.
“I don’t think a strip show counts as constructive.”
*Drrrk-*
Just then, the floor began to flash red.
*Vwoom-!*
The students hastily moved away from the red-lit sections.
“Hey! Bormann! What are you doing! Move!”
Bormann stood proudly in the glowing red area, which looked dangerous at a glance.
“Hmph! I don’t know what this is, but running away isn’t my style! I’ll face it head-on…”
*BZZZZZZZZT!*
“Ug-gug-gug-gug-guk?”
Bormann’s body trembled as if he had been electrocuted.
*Tssss-!*
As the floor returned to normal, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Bormann staggered but managed to keep his balance.
“Hmph, that stings.”
The floor where Bormann was standing began to glow again.
“Hey! Move now!”
“No! I will not yield to a mere trap like this! I will overcome it… Gack-!”
*Thwack-!*
Chen Xia quickly approached Bormann and kicked him in the side.
*CRASH-!*
Bormann was sent flying and slammed into a wall.
*BZZZZT-!*
Fierce sparks flew where Bormann had been standing.
As the light faded, Chen Xia smiled sweetly.
“I was trying to save you.”
“Save him a second time and he might actually die.”
Driana crossed her arms and shook her head.
*Flash-!*
Simultaneously, red-lit sections appeared all over the floor.
“It seems this is a training exercise to avoid the floor.”
“Is it a trap where the path opens once we clear all the patterns?”
Chen Xia tilted her head at the Seirun student’s muttering.
Chelsea lowered her stance and muttered confidently.
“What’s this, it looks simple enough.”
“I doubt it will stay simple.”
As Driana spoke, the patterns on the floor began to light up in a complex sequence.
***
“This is pretty harsh right from the start.”
Leo muttered as he looked at the screen projected by magic, and Melina smiled sweetly.
“I’ve prepared training that allows them to maximize their strengths or supplement their weaknesses.”
The person who had planned the first day of training was none other than Melina herself.
“I felt that the cadets who have the ability to annihilate enemies on the front lines, like Ar-on, were still physically lacking. So, to push them beyond their limits, I restricted their aura and added gravity magic to their bodies.”
Melina pointed to the students climbing the cliff, then to the students being chased by stuffed dolls.
“For mages like Luna, I wanted to improve their ability to respond in crisis situations.”
“Luna certainly proved she could be useful even when she couldn't use magic.”
Whether facing an enemy immune to magic or in a situation where it was difficult to cast spells, Luna was never useless.
‘Whether it was a sword becoming a bow… she even bashed enemies with a club.’
Having gone through all sorts of trials, Luna, despite being a mage, was formidable in a chaotic battle.
In actual crises, she had the ability to escape on her own without needing Leo and Dweno to protect her.
“But why stuffed dolls?”
Bears, rabbits, dogs, cats, and so on.
When asked about the unusual appearance for guardians, Melina smiled brightly.
“They’re cute, aren’t they?”
The stuffed dolls, drooling and letting out bizarre screams as they chased the students, were a far cry from cute.
‘Sometimes, her sensibilities are really unique.’
Leo shook his head.
“For students like Dweno who have to protect someone, persistence is what they need most, right? Furthermore, they need the mental fortitude to endure and withstand pain.”
“So you prepared electric torture?”
“It’s not electric torture. It’s repetitive training to help them endure for a long time.”
If they made one mistake on the floor pattern, they had to start over from the beginning.
And the patterns would get progressively more complex, and the electric shock for failing would also get stronger.
‘It will certainly improve their responsiveness and concentration.’
The saddest thing for the students was that today was just the beginning compared to the training that was to come.
Leo clicked his tongue.
“They’re all going through a lot. Can’t even relax during their vacation.”
‘You’re the one who pushed the kids into this pit of hell, Leo.’
Melina was not foolish enough to voice her inner thoughts.
She didn't want to get roped into suffering with them by saying the wrong thing.
‘It doesn’t feel right for someone my age to be rolling around with the kids.’
Melina patted herself on the shoulder and let out a soft sigh.
***
*Crackle- crackle- crackle-*
The firewood was burning.
The dwarf extinguished the embers with his foot, packing up the camp.
The elf mage groaned, stretching as he got up from his spot.
The dragon was already awake, gazing at the black flames burning beyond the mountain.
The beastman warrior sat, his sword drawn, staring intently at his reflection on the blade.
The human, who was sitting on a nearby rock chewing on jerky, spoke.
“Ar-on.”
“…”
“Ar-on?”
“Oh, huh? Did you call me?”
Ar-on, snapping out of his thoughts, looked at Kyle, who had called him.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“If you’re scared, just say so.”
“I’m fine.”
Ar-on smiled and shook his head.
Watching him, Luna, who had been stretching, opened her eyes wide.
“What a surprise! A battle is right around the corner, and Ar-on isn’t trembling! Isn’t this a first?”
Luna made a fuss, snatching the bread Kyle was about to eat.
As Kyle scowled and tried to take it back, Luna greedily stuffed the bread into her mouth.
“This damn pointy-ear.”
When Kyle pressed Luna’s cheeks with both hands, Luna started choking him.
“The fools are energetic in the morning.”
Dweno clicked his tongue and looked at Ar-on.
“You seem to have steeled yourself.”
“Yeah, I can’t keep trembling forever.”
Ar-on answered energetically.
Lisinas, who had been observing Ar-on intently, asked.
“Ar-on.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you really okay?”
“Of course.”
Ar-on readjusted his grip on the sword named Courage.
“Don’t worry.”
*Shing-!*
The blade glinted sharply.
“You guys… I’ll be the one to protect you all.”