Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Behemoth
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A protagonist's day begins early in the morning.
No matter how much of a growth story it is, there's no novel where one can grow without effort.
Growing without effort just makes it an overpowered character story.
Thus, Arthur grabbed his sword and headed to the training grounds before the sun had even risen.
The training grounds were quite popular, so he had to secure a spot early.
His current standing was in the upper ranks of Class B.
As a transmigrator, he had obtained all sorts of fortuitous encounters and was showing a growth rate far superior to the original Arthur.
Even so, it wasn't enough.
As is cliché in novels where a transmigrator intervenes, the current story was progressing much faster than the original.
To keep up with the pace, even training 24 hours a day without sleep wouldn't be enough.
He needed to get to Class A as soon as possible.
Considering the series of events that were about to unfold, he needed to be at least at that level to handle them easily.
Otherwise, he would have to go through all sorts of hardships to stop them.
'In the Behemoth event, Arthur was unconscious for three days...'
A major event was coming in a few months.
In the Behemoth defense, the original Arthur suffers a serious injury during a confrontation with the demons.
Fortunately, he succeeds in stopping them, but as a price, he is hospitalized in the infirmary for three days.
He didn't want to experience that kind of pain and waste of time.
In addition to that, there was something else pushing him to work harder.
'Luke...'
That transmigrated extra was currently at the academy.
Yesterday, while chatting with Tia, he found out that Luke had come to the academy.
As a guest professor, no less.
That wasn't all.
Rumors spread quickly.
A rumor that he had unilaterally assaulted a Class B professor under the guise of a duel had already spread far and wide.
Setting aside the cruelty of it...
'His skills are definitely...'
Strong.
For some reason, his growth rate, despite being an extra, was far faster than his own, the protagonist.
Feeling that the gap was only widening, he planned to adjust his training schedule starting today, waking up earlier and sleeping later.
And so, Arthur arrived at the training grounds, drinking the mana-increasing potion he had obtained from the auction house.
But what was this?
Someone had already arrived at the training grounds.
'...Who could it be? At this hour?'
This wasn't the first time he'd come out to train at this hour.
He had been following the same routine for several months now, and he had never seen anyone else at the training grounds this early except for himself.
The person, with navy-blue hair and blue eyes, was freezing the training grounds with a chilling ice.
Coincidentally, it was someone he knew.
'Daio Brando?'
He was the rival character of the Arthur he had possessed; it would be stranger not to know him.
That's why he was even more puzzled.
The character Daio was originally arrogant and insolent.
He was the type to play around like a grasshopper while others trained, not a man who would wake up early in the morning and work hard like an ant.
'What the...?'
He only became a hard worker after his encounters with Arthur.
But he hadn't had a single interaction with him yet.
They weren't in the same class, so it was hard to meet, and knowing his personality, there was no need to deliberately stir up trouble.
So what change had occurred this time?
To find the source of this anomaly, Arthur approached Daio.
***
He thought he was the best among those his age.
In a world that hailed him as an elite, he was a talent of a different caliber.
Even though the top and second-top students were above him, he believed he could catch up soon.
To be honest, he even thought the gap wasn't that significant.
Of course, there were far more people in the world with unreasonable strength.
From the academy professors to the high-ranking adventurers, and the only three S-rank adventurers on the continent.
Lucia Merigold had retired, so now there were only two, but that didn't diminish their prestige.
Even retired, only her profession had changed; her strength remained the same.
They were all martial artists of a certain age.
They were beings who had grown through numerous life-or-death battle experiences based on their outstanding talent, so he believed he too could become like them with time.
But, just yesterday.
He met an existence beyond measure.
At first, he didn't know who it was.
Seeing him spewing curses from their first meeting and showing laziness despite his position as a professor, a sudden irritation surged through him, and his body moved first.
He just wanted to teach him his place.
Under the guise of a handshake, he froze his hand.
And then he immediately turned and went up the stairs, but at some point, he heard his voice, and an indescribable pain shot through his abdomen as his consciousness vanished instantly, like a match being blown out.
Waking up later in the infirmary, Daio learned from his followers who the man was.
Luke.
The person who had miraculously entered the academy without mana and ranked last in the entire school.
He, who had dropped out at some point, had returned as a temporary professor.
That meant the pain he'd suffered was from an attack made with pure physical strength, without a single ounce of mana.
How could someone his age possess such power?
No matter if he was caught by surprise, being knocked out in one hit was just absurd.
After experiencing strength on a completely different level, he couldn't help but feel utterly pathetic.
That was why Daio had come to the training grounds early in the morning to train.
"Hup!"
He spread mana into his hands.
He drew it out indiscriminately in all directions, without limit.
It was mana he had never pushed to its limit before.
Always just enough. He had only ever used as much as was necessary, so his body, suddenly pushed to its limit, cried out in pain.
It felt like his mana circuits, spread throughout his body, were being violently pulled by hand.
Like an internal organ, it was a terrible pain to which one could not build a tolerance.
"Hah...! Hah...!"
It had only been a moment, but sweat was already pouring down like rain.
"Daio Brando?"
It was then.
A voice came from over Daio's shoulder.
"Who is it?"
Turning to see who it was, he found a red-haired man standing there.
Was there someone else using the training grounds at this hour?
"Ah. Sorry. I'm Arthur, from Class B."
The lack of a surname meant he was a commoner, someone Daio would normally look down on.
However, given what had happened the day before, he had no intention of starting anything.
Besides, he was busy with his training.
"...I see."
That brief dismissal was meant to convey that he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
But the clueless commoner didn't leave and spoke to him again.
"Hey. Are you training?"
*Can't you tell by looking?*
"Why? You're in Class A. Aren't you strong enough?"
I used to think so. Before I met him.
"Him? Who's him?"
"Luke."
"......"
After he answered the question, there was no reply.
He didn't know why the sudden silence, but since it was finally quiet, he intended to resume his training.
"Do you want to train together?"
If only that suggestion hadn't come from behind him.
"...What?"
He thought he must have misheard.
"Well, if you're going to train, it's more efficient to do it with someone than alone."
*Is even a guy like this looking down on me now?*
Hadn't the person in front of him just introduced himself? As being from Class B.
Luke might be an exception, but Arthur was in Class B, and he was in Class A.
This was the academy's way of certifying that he was stronger than Arthur.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
There was no need to waste time on a duel with an obvious outcome.
However.
"Are you scared?"
"......"
How did he manage to pick only the words that would get under his skin?
If this were a real battle and not a spar, he would have praised him.
A successful taunt in battle was a direct path to victory.
"Fine. If you want to spar that badly, I'll oblige!"
Immediately after, Daio slammed his hand down, freezing the ground where Arthur stood.
-Krrrrack!!
Of course, his opponent didn't just stand there.
Arthur drew his sword.
Drawing the weapon characteristic of a warrior, not a mage, he slashed vertically in front of him.
The line became a fuse and burst into flames, surging forward to meet the ice he'd sent out, evaporating it.
Steam from the evaporation filled the training grounds from the impact, and Arthur, seizing the opportunity, burst through the steam to launch a surprise attack.
Once horizontally, once diagonally, once upwards.
But Daio chose to push Arthur back.
He responded to Arthur's elegant sword path with a shield made of ice.
Mages, who are vulnerable in close combat, all learn a certain level of close-quarters skills.
Close-quarters combat wasn't exclusive to warriors, but naturally, warriors had the advantage over mages, so Daio chose to block with a shield rather than counter with a sword.
The sword ricocheted off the shield, and Arthur and Daio returned to their initial standoff.
"Hmph... Not bad."
"Hah... Right?"
It seemed they had both shown what they could do.
Each prepared their trump card.
Just then, an unexpected shadow fell over the training grounds.
""...?""
What was happening?
Arthur and Daio looked up at the sky at the same time.
"...What is that?"
"The hell?!"
The shadow didn't just cover the training grounds.
A massive shadow had descended upon the academy. No, upon the skies of the entire empire.
***
'What the hell is that?!'
Arthur couldn't help but be bewildered upon identifying the source of the shadow that had settled over the empire.
Because the culprit casting that shadow was the very monster he had been thinking about before coming to the training grounds.
The Behemoth.
Being beneath its massive body, hundreds of meters long, all he could see was its belly, but thanks to the descriptions in the novel, Arthur knew what the Behemoth looked like.
Reminiscent of a great whale, the Behemoth's body was white and its belly was blue.
Long wings stretched from both sides of its body, with fins below its belly, and next to its large, toothless mouth were round, gentle-looking eyes.
But contrary to its gentle-looking eyes, its massive body was of a terrifying size, capable of wiping out the empire just by landing.
The problem was, why had it appeared now?
By his estimates, the Behemoth event shouldn't have started for at least another two months.
No matter how much the pace had accelerated, this seemed too fast.
'How am I supposed to prepare for this?!'
His plan to train and handle the event with ease had gone up in smoke.
-Bwooooooooooooooooooooooo—.
There was no time to marvel at the wondrous roar that shook his eardrums.
Because the Behemoth's mouth opened, and countless monsters poured out.
Monsters of all types and grades scattered.
"Son of a bitch...!"
Ignoring whatever Daio was saying behind him, Arthur kicked off the ground.
Soon, the Behemoth's altitude would lower.
That would be the key to this event.
As its altitude decreased, they would be able to enter the Behemoth, and defeating the demon controlling it from within was the final goal of this event.
Arthur ran towards the girls' dormitory at full speed.
He had to go get the heroines.
Given the uncertain situation, he needed people to cooperate with.
At this point, there was no one else who could be of help with their skills besides the heroines.
According to the original story, the professors would be protecting the students from the pouring monsters, and Lucia would be dealing with the Behemoth directly.
And so, upon arriving at the girls' dormitory, Arthur headed first to Tia's room.
Tia was the easiest heroine to persuade and the one who trusted him the most.
-Knock, knock!
"Tia! It's me, Arthur!"
Because of the commotion outside, Tia hurriedly opened the door after a single knock.
"Arthur?! What's happening outside!?"
"I'll explain the details after we meet up with the others!"
"Okay!"
As expected, Tia, with her high favorability, followed him immediately.
Next, he went to Stella.
Stella's door was slightly ajar, and her face could be seen peeking out from the gap.
"Stella!"
"Ah! Arthur! Tia!"
Spotting Arthur and Tia, Stella popped out from the door and scurried over.
"...It startled me. It suddenly got dark and there was a loud noise."
Because of the recent series of demon and demonic human incidents, she would get tense whenever something happened.
So he understood why Stella was scared.
"Only Liche is left. Let's go get her, quickly."
"Yes...!"
They immediately ran down the hall and up the stairs.
Tia and Stella were on the same floor, but Liche's room was one floor up.
But... could he really persuade Liche?
Her favorability was already at rock bottom, so he wasn't confident.
As they went up the floor towards Liche's room, they ran into Liche, who was already out in the hallway.
She was on guard, ready for a confrontation at any moment.
"Liche!"
"......!"
"C-Calm down! It's me, Arthur!"
Liche, who had started drawing her mana thinking he was an enemy, lowered her hands upon confirming he was an ally.
"What's happening right now?"
"I'll explain now that everyone's here."
Arthur explained to the heroines, cleverly weaving the information he knew about the Behemoth with what had happened at the training grounds.
"You're saying that dangerous monster is right above us...?"
"An A-rank monster... It's my first time seeing one, but it's incredible."
"Th-Then what should we do now?"
For anyone who didn't already know, that reaction was normal.
"Guys. I know a way to solve this. Could you help me?"
"The Headmaster and the other professors are here, and you want *us* to solve it?"
As always, Liche seemed full of complaints. She wasn't wrong, either.
Still, even in the original story, there was only one way to stop the Behemoth, so there were no other options.
In short, they had to do it.
"The professors are protecting the other students, and the Headmaster will have to stop that monster. If it just falls to the ground, the empire will be blown away."
"I can't trust you. It's not like we've only almost died once or twice."
As expected. Persuasion seemed impossible.
*Then what if I make her want to go on her own?*
"There's a demon inside. You might be able to get the information you want."
"......!"
Arthur had subtly touched a nerve.
Setting aside how he knew, now that she had heard the word 'demon,' Liche had no other choice.
The reason she worked so hard was all to catch a demon.
This event was important because of its large scale; given enough time, Lucia could handle it alone, but...
If that happened, they would miss out on a crucial growth opportunity.
"So, Liche. Won't you help?"
"......"
There was no wait. She didn't answer, but her silence was a sign of affirmation.
Arthur's group left the dormitory.
What they saw then was a scene of utter chaos, different from when the Behemoth first appeared in the sky.
Weaker students were busy fleeing in terror, and magic flew wildly in all directions.
Not only that, but the screams of commoners could be heard from outside the academy, along with the sounds of battle from the Imperial Knights and adventurers.
"Everyone! Let's hurry!"
The faster they resolved this tragedy, the fewer casualties there would be.
Just before the Behemoth landed, when Lucia's attack hit, that would be their timing.
Just then, he felt a massive wave of mana.
Looking back, he saw the tallest building in the academy.
Atop it, he could see Lucia floating in the sky.
Seeing her defy the laws of nature, Arthur and the heroines couldn't help but be mesmerized.
"That's an S-rank adventurer..."
"Indeed, calling the Headmaster a monster doesn't do her justice."
"Sh-She's amazing..."
In reality, she was only simulating flight by pushing off the ground with overwhelming mana.
The principle seemed simple, but it was a feat that no one could imitate unless they were a monster on Lucia's level.
Afterward, the Behemoth's altitude began to slowly decrease.
A small flame that ignited in Lucia's hand instantly grew in size and flew towards the Behemoth's belly.
That flame could no longer be called a flame.
It was enough to resemble a small sun.
-BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The intense magic struck the Behemoth's belly directly, and the sun turned blue before creating a massive explosion.
Struck by the sudden pain, the descending Behemoth stopped moving.
"Ah...!"
Arthur snapped out of his daze.
Arthur's group, heading towards the Behemoth's face with all their might, could see its mouth was still open.
Using mana to strengthen their leg muscles, they jumped high and entered its mouth.
And the person who was waiting for Arthur's group as they entered the Behemoth's mouth was...
"Took you long enough."
Luke.
The one he hated most was already there.
With a pot set over a campfire below him.