Chapter 107
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Ostracism
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In an instant, this absurd situation left me speechless.
Why.
Where the arena had been, a hemispherical barrier had formed.
Countless spells continuously slithered across the surface of the hemisphere.
They were unmistakably in the shape of snakes.
Jörmungandr was supposed to be dead in the setting.
Jörmungandr was an ancient magical beast mentioned only in passing in the original story.
I didnt know what its abilities were, but there had to be a reason why its shed skin was moving.
I stared at the unidentified barrier.
Professors and staff members had gathered to handle the situation.
Miraculously, almost no one was seriously injured. At worst, it was just bruisesnothing life-threatening.
But there were students whose fates were unknown.
The students from the elite group who had been taking the exam. And among them was Wendy.
Damn it.
I thought Id prepared thoroughly, but this game had surpassed my expectations once again.
Wrath welled up inside me.
I tried to suppress it with Patience, but I couldnt help the boiling frustration from helplessness and self-blame.
Count.
A voice I hadnt heard in a while reached me.
I turned to see a long-bearded cat approaching.
Myohail.
This is entirely my fault.
Shouldnt you be by Wendys side right now? What are you doing here?
I have no face to show.
Myohail bowed his head to me.
He must have been feeling the weight of responsibility for leaving Wendy alone.
Seeing that cooled my heated head a bit.
I wasnt the only one worried about Wendy.
I averted my gaze from Myohail.
I had no right to blame him.
After all, I had essentially let Wendy slip away right in front of me.
Calm down. This was something no one could have predicted.
Right now, the priority was rescuing the students trapped inside the barrier.
Myohail. What do you think of that barrier?
You might not know this, Count, but that snake
Jörmungandr, right.
Myohails eyebrow twitched slightly.
Oh You already knew?
I read it in a book.
Of course, the original novel, but
Myohail nodded, apparently thinking of a different book.
You must have delved into ancient magic tomes, Count, to be so knowledgeable. Then you must also know that its Jörmungandrs shed skin.
Yeah. I know that too.
Myohail leaped onto a chair.
Then we can skip the explanations. I went down for a closer look because I couldnt understand why Jörmungandrs shed skin had transformed like that.
He seemed to share my doubts.
Myohail put on small horn-rimmed glasses from somewhere and stared at the barrier.
Oh dear My eyes arent what they used to be. From what I can see, its no different from a living spell.
A living spell?
Ah, to be precise, its a spell with a will of its own. Its not a spell implanted into a living mediumits the spell that has overtaken the medium.
Like some kind of parasitic AI.
Myohail continued his explanation.
I dont know the exact reason, but the spell has gone berserk. Its so ancient and complex that I cant tell what it says right now But I can say for sure that its not Jörmungandrits just a spell taking its form. If it were the real Jörmungandr, the school wouldnt be standing.
Indeed. At least it wasnt the real thinga relief.
I nodded and asked Myohail,
Cant you dispel the barrier?
I could shatter it right now if I wanted.
I almost asked why he hadnt done it already.
But he hadnt said he could dispel it. Hed said he could break it.
To dispel the barrier, you have to unravel the embedded spell. Look over there.
Myohail pointed to a woman standing before the massive barrierProfessor Ariel.
She was muttering something nonstop at the barrier, swinging her staff around, but it wasnt working.
Shes trying to dispel the barriers spell, but as you can see, shes outmatched. Even if she unravels it, it regenerates immediately. Its not just a single massive spell. Its an aggregate of countless spells. So without dispelling them all at once, the only option is to smash it. But if we do that
The students inside wont make it.
Myohail spoke gravely at my words.
Without knowing the internal structure, we cant smash it recklessly. In the worst case, they might have been consumed by the spell and become part of it
A hypothesis I didnt even want to consider.
If something happened to Wendy in there, it would be game over for me.
Yes. There was no time left.
I asked him impatiently,
Then is there no way to get inside the barrier?
Its difficult. I could probably dispel the spell just long enough to slip in. But it would seal shut again. Plus, if it detects mana, the barrier will spit out any intruder.
A living spelltruly troublesome.
Was there really no way?
No. There had to be a way.
As I thought for a moment, I realized one thing Myohail had said caught my attention.
Myohail You said the barrier detects mana?
Yes. Its a spell, so of course.
Then could someone without mana enter the barrier?
In theory, yes. But in practice Ah.
Only then did surprise spread across Myohails face.
He realized the man before him was someone without mana.
Indeed Your body should be able to do it, Count. No doubt about it. But we dont know whats inside the barrier. I think it would be dangerous for you to go alone
He was right.
If I went in, there was a high chance Id encounter a swarm of magical beasts inside.
With no mana at all, he probably thought I didnt have many means to fight back.
But I had a body honed by traits and moon magic.
I was confident I could handle low-level beasts now.
Even if not, my answer was already decided.
This was the only way to save Wendy.
I told Myohail,
My students are the same. So send me inside the barrier, Myohail.
Gah!
The last goblin let out a dying groan.
Cough Cough!
Wendy bent over, coughing.
Before her lay countless fallen magical beasts.
How many hours had she been fighting?
Her once-abundant mana was nearly depleted from the fierce battles.
And even after slaying so many, the cries of innumerable beasts echoed from afar.
This place really is.
Goblins, orcs, kobolds, ogres.
Just from the types shed encountered, she could guess.
This was likely the space beyond the demon realm gate. They must have been sucked in when it broke.
When Wendy and the students awoke after falling, they were in a muddy swamp.
Drizzle fell from the gloomy sky, and beast cries came from all directions.
They had fought and fled their way here.
The barrier had its own ecosystem.
There were trees and forests, and a river flowed in the distance.
But it was vastly different from the world outside.
Everything here was dying.
Wendy stared at the scattered raindrops.
This rain.
It was no ordinary rain.
The beasts corpses around her were slowly melting in the downpour.
The sight of the dead dissolving into the mud was nightmarish.
The rain falling on Wendy was the rain of death.
The reason she could withstand this acidic rain unscathed was thanks to the protective barrier Myohail had cast.
But she realized it was reaching its limit now.
Her body, soaked by the rain, was starting to ache.
Cough
Wendy coughed and turned toward where the other students who had fallen here were gathered.
She had to check their conditions before more beasts swarmed.
Huh?
Something caught her eye where the students were.
She soon realized it was a tent made from rags worn by the beasts.
Unlike Wendy, they had no barrier, so theyd made a shelter from the rain.
Wendy called out to them huddled under the tent.
A-Are you all okay? Cough
Yeah. We caught a break.
A male student sighed.
Damn. What the hell is this rain? It hurts like hell. My skins all burned.
The girl clinging to his side grumbled, rubbing her swollen red arm.
Seeing that, Wendy felt crushing fatigue. Shed been near her limit even before the exam.
She had fought nonstop while the others regrouped. It was a miracle she was still standing.
There was still some time before the beasts swarmed again.
Wendy spoke.
Um C-Can I rest a little too? Ten minutes No, twenty minutes Then I can fight more
No. Were over capacity here.
N-No?
The voice came from a girl inside the tent.
Cant you see? Theres no room for you.
B-But Im exhausted from all the fighting
Suck it up. Youre the top student. You must know a spell to keep the rain off.
Yeah. I heard you used magic to dodge rain on your first day. Just do that again.
The other girl chimed in agreement.
At their cold attitude, Wendy replied in a trembling voice.
But Ive almost used up all my mana Cough
You think we didnt fight? We worked hard making this tent while fighting. We barely have any mana left either.
Indeed, there were beast corpses where the students pointedthe ones theyd slain to get here.
But their number was pathetically small compared to what Wendy had taken down.
I-I know Thats not what I meant
Suddenly, Wendy was at a loss for words.
The students under the tent were glaring at her with displeasure.
Receiving such icy stares from those shed thought were comrades froze her in place.
Then what?
A girls words stabbed at her heart.
Are you saying we should sacrifice ourselves instead of you, the study whiz? Huh?
The rain pelted painfully down on Wendys shoulders.