Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The First Event
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On a flat plain where all the first-year students had gathered.
A professor, standing with her back to the forest, used magic to amplify her voice so even those in the back could hear.
"I will now explain the team assignments before the practical training begins."
To prevent the stronger students from clustering together, the professors had assigned the teams arbitrarily.
Each four-person team was composed of one student from Class A and one from Class B, with the remaining two spots filled by students from Classes D and E.
While students from Class A and Class B were more than capable of handling the monsters in the forest alone, this arrangement could be seen as a precautionary measure by the professors.
And in her team was...
"Hey, Liche! We're on the same team! Let's do our best!"
"..."
She was teamed up with two male students from Class E and Arthur, the very person she had loathed just this morning.
She hadn't suspected it before, but thinking about it now, she seemed to be getting tangled up with Arthur with strange frequency lately.
There were also times when Arthur had deliberately sought her out.
'Am I being too sensitive...?'
Right. It was just for the sake of cooperating during this training exercise.
Once it was over, she could go back to ignoring him as usual. She just had to endure it for now.
Once all the students had gathered in their teams, the professor explained the day's exercise.
"Today's practical training is a real combat drill where you will hunt monsters in the forest. Unlike the sparring matches you've had against fellow students, these creatures will try to kill you, and you will learn things that duels could never teach you."
"The professors will be on standby here on this plain just in case. We will monitor the forest with mana and provide immediate support if anything happens, but mana is not omnipotent. You never know what might occur in a real battle, so do not be arrogant. Be cautious."
"The monsters you hunt during this exercise will be reflected in the next rank adjustment. Points will be awarded based on the grade and number of monsters, and the scores will be tallied. Combat between students is forbidden, so it would be best to avoid any disputes. If any student-on-student combat is discovered, the student who initiated the attack will be expelled."
Expulsion.
The shocking word from the professor's lips sent an immediate stir through the crowd.
"If you have any questions, I will take them now."
The professor's explanation had been perfectly clear, needing no further questions.
If it weren't for that last sentence.
Despite the intimidating word, someone had to bite the bullet. A student cautiously raised their hand.
"Yes, you there. What is your question?"
"Um... is it really... expulsion for fighting another student?"
"Yes. It is a matter that the Headmaster herself has approved."
The Headmaster.
A great mage so renowned that even those outside the academy knew her name.
The Headmaster and Chairwoman of Jeomineol Academy.
If Lucia Merigold had given her approval, not even the teachers could carelessly voice dissent.
In other words, it wasn't a rule that a mere student could overturn.
There was likely a good reason for the expulsion policy, and to some extent, they had to accept it.
"Professor! With all due respect, I think expulsion is too harsh! I believe that through combat with each other, we can cultivate our split-second judgment and skills!"
Someone tactlessly spoke up.
The problem was that the person who said it was none other than Arthur, a member of Liche's team.
"Hmm. And who are you?"
"I am Arthur, from Class D!"
For a Class D student to do something even the most conceited nobles wouldn't dare was the perfect way to get on the professors' bad side. But the others remained silent, firstly because they were also curious, and secondly because they couldn't just interrupt a professor.
"Alright, Arthur. You said expulsion is too harsh."
"Yes! That's right!"
"Then let me ask you a question. In a life-or-death battle with a monster, could you forgive someone who stabbed you in the back?"
"Uh, what...?"
"With a common enemy like a monster before you, are you telling us to educate a traitor who would attack an ally for their own gain?"
When one should be focused on the monster right in front of them, attacking an ally from behind was an act of betrayal.
It was, of course, something no one should ever do. A fight between students, when faced with a common enemy, was a suicidal act of allies fighting amongst themselves.
Besides, if they were told not to do it, they simply shouldn't.
It seemed Arthur had put some thought into his words, but if this was the result of his thinking, he was only proving his own foolishness.
In the end, unable to refute the professor's sound logic, Arthur was thoroughly put in his place.
"...Hah."
Liche sighed at the fact that her teammate was an idiot whose enthusiasm outpaced his sense.
***
*Fwoosh!*
With a single fire spell from Liche, the upper body of a Shift Chameleon melted away.
Despite being in the middle of a dense forest, her precise mana control allowed her to strike only the monster.
She had been training constantly, so she didn't feel a drastic change, but she felt a little stronger than before, which put her in a good mood.
"Whoa! That's Liche for you! Amazing!"
If only that man behind her wasn't there.
The two male students from Class E followed along with him, cutting the tails from the monsters she killed.
It was convenient for Liche, which was nice, but since this practical was being graded, it would be better for them to go hunt their own monsters. Yet, they continued to follow her.
Especially Arthur. For some strange reason, he had been trailing right behind her from the very beginning.
His habit of showering her with praise in a booming voice every time she killed a monster was not only loud but also felt like he was deliberately following her just to get on her nerves.
She didn't say anything, though, because she felt he would take even that as a sign of interest and be pleased with it.
An hour passed like that. It was an hour after the hunt had begun.
That was when she felt a change in the forest.
The monsters, which she had been encountering at least once every five minutes, gradually became scarcer until they were nowhere to be seen.
Considering the size of the forest, it was possible to just be unlucky and not find any, but to not see a single one was definitely strange.
"We have to go back...!"
Sensing something was wrong, Liche tried to urgently issue a retreat order.
But it was already too late.
Her two other teammates were lying on the ground.
Only she and Arthur were still standing.
"You're quite a perceptive child."
A chilling voice.
Something like a dark, damp fog spread across the ground, and an unsettling gaze that felt like it was scanning her body put Liche on high alert.
The darkness soon coalesced into the form of a person.
The man with jet-black pupils and purplish skin was proof that the being before them was a demonkin.
More importantly, the curse within Liche's body began to react to that foul demonic energy.
"A demonkin...!"
A public enemy of humanity.
If monsters were like natural disasters, then demonkin were villains.
Villains whose hobby was to revel in slaughter, to mock and toy with humans.
Monsters, who attacked humans on instinct without reason, could not be placed on the same level as demonkin, who possessed reason yet still enjoyed destruction.
"So you've finally shown yourself! You cowardly demonkin!"
While she was cautiously assessing the situation, tense, Arthur, who had been quiet until now, suddenly stepped forward.
"Hmm... so it's you."
"That's right!"
They spoke as if they knew each other.
It was puzzling, but Liche had no time to dwell on such things.
"Arthur! We need to retreat now!"
"Taste my blade!"
"That idiot...!"
The demonic energy emanating from the demonkin was unsettling, but it felt weaker than her own.
Honestly, she felt she could win even if she fought it alone.
But knowing the dangers of demonkin, Liche could not afford to underestimate her opponent.
That was why she hadn't moved rashly, but that fool had just charged forward, swinging his sword.
In the next moment, a strange phenomenon occurred with his blade.
A cluster of pure white light faintly bloomed before transforming into a sword aura that enveloped the blade.
'A light attribute...?'
An incredibly rare attribute.
And he possessed it.
Suddenly, the demonkin dodged Arthur's swing, scattering darkness as it moved to the side. It countered with a punch, but Arthur parried the attack by raising his sword, a display of both offense and defense.
Seeing that even Arthur, who was far weaker than her, could hold his own, Liche thought the fight was manageable.
For that reason, she tried to support Arthur by launching a thinly-formed spear of flame at the demonkin, using the utmost of her mana control.
"Useless."
Her spell clearly struck its body, but it inflicted no damage whatsoever.
"Magic has no effect on me."
If that was true, then why was the demonkin dodging Arthur's attacks?
Her mind, accelerated by the heat of battle, quickly produced an answer.
The dazzling light-based mana, a gift from the gods, was a fatal weakness for demonkin.
Magic was ineffective, but the physical force of a sword could not be stopped.
Either way, there was nothing Liche could do.
Not only could she not use light-attribute magic, but she also didn't know how to wield a sword.
If she tried to help with her meager skills, she would only get in the way.
In the end, Liche, the strongest student present, could do nothing but watch helplessly.
'How powerless...'
Had she forgotten, just for a moment, because she'd been praised as the top student recently?
She had striven to become strong enough to kill demonkin, but she was still weak.
Still a frog in a well.
"...Grrr."
She gritted her teeth.
This was no time to wallow in foolish sentimentality.
She had to buy even a little time until the professor's support arrived.
Since when had she started to accept the unfairness of the demonkin?
If it was impossible, she just had to make it possible.
Liche then began to focus on what she could do.
When the demonkin attacked, she would shoot magic at the ground to throw it off balance, or create a wall of fire to partially obstruct its vision.
She felt the tide of battle begin to turn.
But that thought was fleeting.
"This is quite...! You fight well, brats!"
Suddenly, a black mist enveloped the demonkin's arm, soon forming into the shape of a gauntlet.
"Liche! Phase two is starting!"
Phase...?
She didn't know what he meant, but it was clear the demonkin before them was stronger than before.
Orbs of light and black mist clashed, creating a brilliant spectacle.
Its speed and power had noticeably increased.
Her methods of obscuring its vision and obstructing its path no longer worked.
Even Arthur, who had been holding his own, was now visibly tiring.
In the end.
"Guaaaack!!"
Taking a fist to the abdomen, Arthur was sent flying into a tree.
'Ah... it's over.'
The defeat of Arthur, the only one who could harm the demonkin, signaled the end of the battle.
In that moment, as Liche gave up all hope.
"Aaaaaaaaaah━━━━━━!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"...Ghk!"
Something shot out from the forest and struck the demonkin squarely in the side.