But I Was Faster, Wasn't I?
But I Was Faster, Wasn't I?
[ Team 13 Roster ]
Magic Faculty, Danya Catsnesia.
Magic Faculty, Ian Blackangus.
Reconnaissance Department, Everidge Half.
Priest Department, Yulan Altisichi.
'Just as I thought.'
No luck — the crazy priest hadn't been swapped out for anyone else.
Yulan Altisichi.
He put on a convincing priestly act, but underneath, he was a cult fanatic.
Even at a glance, his eyes were far too clear and blue. I also didn't like the fact that his full name contained "sich." I couldn't say why, but things never ended well with anyone whose name had that sound.
The clear-eyed madman smiled broadly.
"Priest Department, Yulan. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Ah-ha-ha!"
"Pleased."
Ian smiled and clasped Yulan's hand.
He knew the man was a villain, but that didn't worry him.
This wasn't the time the bastard would bare his filthy fangs.
'...Or so I thought.'
He must have been imagining things.
A sliver of foul energy crept through their clasped hands. It was subtle — so faint he would have missed it if he hadn't been focused.
'Looks like a brainwashing trigger.'
The intent was insidious, but that kept the power from being very strong. Ian immediately used his purification to cleanse the tainted energy.
The clear-eyed madman searched for his next target.
His gaze settled on Danya, who was already watching Ian warily. The moment Yulan's eyes gleamed —
"Gyak!"
Ian gave Danya's tail a quick tug.
She yelped and jumped.
"Wh-wha — what! What are you doing!"
"Sorry. Almost got dust on your tail."
"Who says you can just yank a beastman's tail without asking, you idiot!"
Her hand flew to her waist. She was seriously angry.
But Ian knew how to handle Danya.
"Your tail's as soft as it looks."
— Thump!
A compliment stopped Danya cold.
Ian gently pulled the frozen Danya behind him.
A flicker of disappointment crossed Yulan's bright lunatic eyes.
'Still a long way off, bastard.'
The corner of Ian's mouth curled up.
Seriously, the Blood Rock cultists had to be commended for their creepiness.
The Blood Rock Sect.
They were one of the Thirteen Evils — the representative cult faction in Fanta X Aca. Simply put, the Thirteen Evils were groups who wouldn't hesitate to harm people in pursuit of their goals.
In martial arts terms, they were the unorthodox sects, practically villain-class existences.
But the Blood Rock Sect was notorious even among them.
They worshiped a god of blood and darkness, and they would do anything for power.
They literally sucked blood and offered up flesh to gain achievement. The rate at which they accumulated power was overwhelming, which meant every cultist was strong.
All that piled-up achievement often drove them mad — the classic cases were [Blackening], where they turned black and rampaged, and [Bloodening], where they turned crimson.
'Pongpongi, who reappeared in the most recent story, was in a [Blackened] state.'
Pongpongi hadn't learned a single combat spell, but he was still strong enough to tear the academy apart — his natural talent had something to do with it, too. That alone explained the Blood Rock Sect's power well enough.
"Hello. I'm Yulan. Pleased to meet you, brother."
"...Everidge Half."
The reconnaissance student named Everidge Half seemed put off by Yulan. He'd stepped back a pace, so he was probably fine.
If anything, his interest was aimed this way.
"You can't mean the Ian Blackangus?"
"I'm not sure what 'the' means, but probably?"
"Nice to meet you! I've personally looked up to you."
What was that supposed to mean?
"As you can see, I'm so utterly average that I'd kill for even a fraction of the guts it takes for you to draw aggro like that, Mr. Ian."
...I had no words for that.
Without responding, I observed Everidge.
He really did look extraordinarily average.
Plain brown hair, average height, and based on how he'd been left alone, his skills were probably just as average.
"...Thanks."
While I was giving that half-hearted reply —
— Now! Everyone prepare for combat!
The instructor shouted.
The hundred and twenty students who'd been milling about in clusters all froze at once.
"Combat preparation?"
"Weren't we just supposed to form teams today?"
But Ian had been expecting it, and he swiftly tightened his bootlaces.
'Tsk, tsk.'
He clicked his tongue inwardly.
How could students at Lichten Academy be this soft?
Using the entire afternoon just for team assignments? Lichten Academy wasn't that leisurely.
He'd figured there had to be something else going on, and this was it.
Thirty portals snapped open in a line.
What lay beyond was probably a basic training dungeon.
— It's a speed run! You'll be ranked by breakthrough time. Everyone, enter!
While most of the students were still flustered,
Ian quickly took the lead.
"Snap out of it, just get inside!"
Ian's team was the first of all thirty to enter.
◆
Inside the dark cave.
Team 13 got to work clearing the artificial dungeon the moment they landed.
The training objective was to break through in the shortest time possible.
There was no reason to delay.
Admittedly, the team didn't look too thrilled.
"Relax. You're not going to die."
"...Huh?"
"Think about it. They threw us into a dungeon the second we made teams. Obviously, it's set up as a low-difficulty dungeon. This is a speed run. The right time to think is while you're running."
Swayed by Ian's logic, they started the clear without hesitation.
What greeted them first were traps and mechanical devices.
Everything went exactly as Ian had predicted.
Because the scout Everidge was still adjusting, they missed a few traps by mistake, but none of the attacks were lethal.
— Crunch.
All of them proved useless against the metal Ian had roughly wrapped around himself. Even deliberately suppressing his power, that was the result.
"...A mage at the vanguard. This is a new experience. Or maybe I should call it beyond common sense."
Everidge muttered as he watched Ian forge ahead.
"As expected of Brother Ian, he's remarkable. That spirit of approaching any woman without hesitation! I have long believed that alone proves he's no ordinary person! Amazing!"
Yulan was chanting it almost like a hymn.
Being praised by a Blood Rock cultist? That sent a slight chill down Ian's spine.
"Hold on a moment. Something feels... unsettling."
Everidge seemed to think the same,
though probably for a different reason.
"I sense poison in the air."
"Do you?"
"One moment. I'll check and come back."
No matter how average he was, he was still from the Reconnaissance Department.
Everidge stopped the team, moved ahead, and returned quickly.
"There's a zone of colorless, odorless poison mist up ahead. Without purification magic, it'll be difficult to pass. Is that something you can manage, Mr. Yulan?"
"Of course I can."
Yulan nodded confidently — then suddenly trailed off.
"But I can only cover one person, including myself. As you know, maintaining purification magic is difficult."
Ian's brow furrowed at that.
'This bastard's playing games.'
A Blood Rock cultist claiming he could only cast single-target purification? That made no sense. He was definitely up to something.
This was the middle of an academy artificial dungeon. He wouldn't stage anything major, but he might try another of those weird brainwashing spells from earlier.
"Hmm. That's problematic... We're going to lose a lot of time."
Even as Everidge voiced his concern, Yulan was all smiles.
"Don't worry. I can handle it."
"...?"
Noting how Yulan's expression briefly crumbled, Ian raised both arms.
"Grab on. Danya, Everidge."
"...You mean you actually know Purification?"
"Not Purification, but something similar. You won't pass out while we're moving through it."
Everidge still looked skeptical.
"He's telling the truth. I've experienced it."
The one who spoke up was Danya — proudly.
Why are you looking so smug?
Either way, Everidge accepted it and took hold of his arm.
Danya on one side. Everidge on the other.
Just as Ian was about to set off —
"Ohhh! Truly remarkable, Brother Ian. But what about me?"
Yulan asked, beaming.
"Cast your own healing."
Nice try freeloading, you cult rat.
After that, there wasn't much trouble.
Monsters that were tricky to handle up close went down helplessly against Danya's flurry of grass-element arrows.
Everidge, whose stats were all near average, guided the team through the low-level dungeon admirably.
Yulan — whether to keep up his normal-person act — healed and supported with genuine effort.
There was also something unusual about the dungeon layout.
It was designed to make tanking far more important than expected.
Thanks to the results of his constant recent training, Ian didn't find it particularly difficult.
They reached the final destination without much trouble.
Whether all thirty teams were set to arrive at the same terminus, the imposing figure of the instructor stood in a large clearing.
"Hoh, faster than expected. Team 13, fourth place."
At those words, Danya and Everidge's eyes went wide.
"...F-fourth? Out of thirty teams, fourth?"
"It's all thanks to Ian! Your judgment was seriously top-notch!"
"Yeah, good work, everyone."
Ian answered dismissively and leaned against the wall.
Honestly, keeping an eye on that Yulan had been harder than the dungeon itself.
The only relief was that the guy was staying quiet, pretending to be absorbed in prayer to keep up his priest act.
"Team 7. Fifth place."
Shortly after, another team entered and the area grew bustling. Scarlet hair brightened even this bleak space.
Rina Rosewell.
She wasn't smiling — clearly she didn't like the result.
'Well, that ranking is pretty rough compared to her team composition.'
Several of her teammates were faces he recognized. That meant they were skilled enough to have some weight in the game. But their knight was in bad shape. His armor was badly tarnished. The course really did emphasize tanking, so that had likely slowed them down.
Rina walked without much expression. Then, as she turned her head, her eyes met his. Those emerald-green irises rounded in shock.
"...You? How?"
The meaning was obvious. Pongpongi scum like you got here before me? That kind of thing.
Unmistakable disdain.
It could have stung his pride...
"I got lucky with my team."
Ian had no intention of biting back aggressively.
In fact, the more she dismissed him, the better. If she stayed oblivious to his true abilities and let her guard down, it would make dealing with the heroines who'd already banded together that much easier.
At least until he was stronger than them, sowing confusion was the right call.
"......How on earth."
Rina bit her lip, her mouth twitching as if she wanted to say something — then she clamped it shut again. She seemed to be trying to figure out what she even wanted to ask, opening and closing her mouth like a fish.
He'd rather she just walked away, but she didn't.
Ian shook his head lightly.
He didn't know what had thrown her into such conflict. But the answer he could give was clear.
"Don't worry. I won't bother you ever again."
Those were the very words she'd said to the Pongpongi who'd once handed her a lunchbox: "Stop bothering me."
He was sure this was the correct response.