Combat Training Practice (1)
Combat Training Practice (1)
——「 Combat Training Exercise Notice 」——
- All students who received this notice should assemble at the location below.
(Route Map)
- Present this notice to use the academy southern magitech gate checkpoint free of charge. (Note: You may not be able to use it for free without this notice.)
————
Two days after the weekend ended.
A notice arrived.
'I never get tired of looking at this.'
Ian stared at the paper in his hand with genuine admiration.
Specifically at the [Route Map].
The map laid out the route to the magitech gate in detail, even marking his current location. It was like having a navigation app open.
He often had trouble finding his way, so this was a real help.
'Magitech is amazing.'
He had felt it before, but highly developed magic seemed no different from modern technology.
"Hup."
Shouldering his pre-packed bag and magic staff, Ian stepped out of his dormitory.
Oddly, the staff felt heavier than the bag. He chalked it up to his imagination.
'I really need to step up my strength training.'
He thought about this as he boarded the mana tram, and soon the tram slid smoothly into the platform.
[ Academy South Gate Platform ]
The south gate, where Lichten's administrative buildings were clustered.
Neatly paved, broad roads stretched out before him.
— Suggested Route: Walking (18 min), Carriage (8 min)
'Twenty minutes walking is fine.'
The reasoning was the same as when he had met Sebastian at the east gate on the weekend.
Ian was gradually accumulating more firsthand experience of this world.
He visited the library regularly, but looking around whenever an opportunity arose like this was valuable, too.
For example, the various modes of transportation he saw now.
From cheap carriages acting like taxis, to the occasional steam-powered car.
There were also mana trams cutting through the middle of the neatly stone-paved roads.
Beyond the buildings, slicing through the distant horizon, he occasionally glimpsed the curved flanks of a mana train skirting the city outskirts.
And high above, the magitech gate building itself.
Just from the transportation alone, it was obvious that magitech was what kept Lichten running.
"I definitely need to buy Eco Mana stock soon."
Ahem.
Hopefully nobody heard that?
Ian swallowed the words he had unconsciously muttered.
He had to be careful with such premium stock tips.
Looking around, all he saw were people with heavy dark circles.
They looked like zombies, but when he turned his head again, a sign reading <Lichten Magitech University> came into view.
Not quite on the level of Lichten Academy, but still one of the continent's prestigious universities in the field of magitech.
Countless magitech geeks from here kept the city running.
'A few of them are at the academy as exchange students, too.'
Even by Fanta X Aca standards, there was a notable magitech nerd at the academy. If he got the chance, building a connection wouldn't be a bad idea.
- "Hey, student! Medicine! Buy some medicine!"
Anyway.
The closer he got to the magitech gate checkpoint, the more street vendors seemed to appear.
"We have medicine that boosts concentration!"
"For those feeling nervous! One calm-mind pill and all your worries vanish, right? You're gonna buy one, right?"
"Hey there, young lady! Eat this and your mana sensitivity goes up, I swear! Just trust me and try it!"
Somehow, the vendors had found out about today's combat training exercise and were busy tempting the students.
Would students from a super-elite academy like Lichten actually buy that stuff...?
"One mana sensitivity booster, please."
"There you go. Here y'go, honey. Good luck on your test~"
Surprisingly, the occasional fool did exist.
Being a good student and being wise were two different things, apparently.
Maybe there was a complacent thought of, 'Surely they wouldn't scam a Lichten student?'
Or maybe it was desperation: 'I really need a good grade this time.' Before entering this place, every one of these kids was called a genius somewhere.
Anyway.
None of that mattered to Ian.
Training, gear, hidden pieces.
He knew those three were the only true path to growth.
And so.
— Sniff sniff!
The moment he spotted a pitiful cat sniffing at the [Mana Sensitivity Boosting Medicine],
Ian strode straight toward her without hesitation.
"Augh! Why are you grabbing me?! I want to eat that medicine and shine too! No fair, Ian! You do fine without this stuff!"
Oblivious to the future despair of clutching a stomach churning from mystery powder, this one cat with her tail swishing could be rescued with confidence.
Danya, suddenly grabbed by the scruff of her neck, flailed about.
But Ian was already skilled at handling Danya.
He deftly dodged her thrashing tail and headed toward the magitech gate.
"Whatever. I knew it was a scam, meow."
Once set down, Danya walked calmly and muttered in front of the checkpoint.
Ian understood.
Combat training exercise.
Even if it was controlled, this practical involved facing real mid-tier monsters of at least a Grade 6 threat level.
— Students, please use Gates 2, 3, and 4! Destinations differ per notice, so check carefully!
The magitech gate checkpoint, packed with students.
A peculiar tension hung in the air.
◆
"We have taken every measure to ensure none of you will die. However, don't mistake that for permission to relax entirely!"
Twenty minutes after passing through the magitech gate, the portal.
One hundred twenty students had assembled at the training location.
Before them lay a dungeon entrance bored into the mountainside.
As if it were a place that swallowed light, an unfathomable black darkness gaped open at the students.
"Nevertheless, maintain a proper amount of tension—enough to keep you from panicking! This course consistently produces serious injuries every year! Use your emergency scrolls immediately if an emergency arises. Remember: you can only earn grades if you survive!"
Instructor Gerald spouted words that made it hard to tell whether he was calming the students down or riling them up.
'A little comfort would have been enough.'
Not a single student looked like they had their nerves under control.
From where the students stood, the dungeon entrance seemed impossibly dark and exuded a creepy atmosphere. It genuinely gave off an unsettling feeling.
The students' expressions looked like they were stepping into a grave.
'A few might actually die.'
Ordinarily, this environment would have been controlled as much as possible by the academy's instructors and professors.
But the Blood Rock Sect had meddled here.
Some traps would genuinely try to sever limbs.
Some monsters would genuinely want a taste of human innards.
Ian swallowed dryly.
Tension crept in on its own.
"It's the first time I've seen you look nervous, Ian."
"I-I'm scared too, meow..."
Danya and Everidge grew tense in turn.
Meanwhile, Yulan wore her usual smile.
'If she has time to grin, she could at least calm the kids down.'
No. What am I expecting from a Blood Rock Sect member?
Just as Ian shook his head lightly and tried to soothe his human teammates—
"As expected of a lot with no knight, you can't even keep your heads straight."
A rough, provocative voice.
Ian turned his head and sighed quietly.
'... Tch.'
Jacob. A student from the Knight Department.
Tanker of Group 7, to which Rina Rosewell belonged.
He was the one to watch in this exercise.
Why?
Right now, he wasn't a Blood Rock Sect member.
But the underhanded scheme the Blood Rock Sect had set up.
The first student to fall into that trap was this guy.
Ian didn't know the exact process—
'The first one to turn dark.'
That much he remembered.
"Tch. No guts, just like magic riffraff."
The guy muttered that as he bumped Ian's shoulder and passed by, but Ian clicked his tongue bitterly.
Looking toward Group 7, gathered around Rina, he saw the guy awkwardly raising the corners of his mouth.
Inferiority complex. Self-loathing.
Those emotions were easy to read on the face of the posturing man.
"Ian... did you chicken out?"
Danya asked with worried eyes.
Hey. Chicken out, my ass.
Ian hefted his magic staff and declared,
"Let's go in."
◆
The dungeon interior was, unsurprisingly, dark and damp.
Being the first steps inside, they adopted as safety-oriented a formation as possible.
Ian took point. Everidge, the scout, right behind him. Danya at the rear, with Yulan the priestess in between.
At the entrance, multiple teams had been around, but after passing several forks, each team had split apart.
As they walked, Everidge behind him asked,
"Hey, Ian."
"Yeah?"
"What's with that bat?"
"This?"
Ian raised the Lunar Rod he held in his right hand. Everidge nodded.
Ian's eyebrows twitched lightly.
"Magic staff."
"Huh?"
"I said, it's a magic staff."
"...That thing?"
At Everidge's doubt, Ian shook his head self-deprecatingly.
'Why don't people believe me?'
Probably because he was possessing Pongpongi's body.
He had no choice but to slowly change people's perceptions.
"Repeat after me. Magic. Staff."
"Eh?"
"Ma-gic. Staff."
"Magic staff..."
Everidge echoed reluctantly, while Yulan just kept grinning.
Watching this, Danya relaxed a little.
'That's right. When you're tense, you can't see what's in front of you, meow. Let's focus more on our surroundings.'
She didn't doubt Everidge, the team's scout, but Danya knew her own instincts helped the team.
'...Huh?'
As she relaxed and concentrated on her senses, she felt something.
— Sniff sniff.
The cave dungeon was already damp, making things hard to distinguish...
There was a musty smell.
Like... the smell of an old piece of cloth.
Blink blink.
Danya blinked rapidly and shouted urgently,
"Ian, front!"
A monster suddenly burst out.
Ian swung his magic staff on reflex.
— Clang!
A crisp full swing.
Watching the skeleton soldier's skull fly far away, Everidge murmured,
"Yep, definitely a bat."