Trials and Rewards (5)
As Iri said, when I looked back, sure enough, one person was missing. I counted heads and checked the roster. The one absent was probably...
...2nd year, Rian von Hildegaard.
A man whose presence couldn't possibly go unnoticed had vanished without a sound.
Kazuha stared at Iri with hollow eyes.
"No way he ran off, right?"
"There's no way...?"
He'd been so unassuming up until now, but Rian was still a 2nd year. Unreliable as he might be, he wasn't the type to bolt in front of the freshmen watching him. That was the Rian von Hildegaard that Iri knew.
For now, his survival marker was still lit. He might have lagged behind somewhere, but with the boss monster planted right in front of them, there was no time to worry about that.
Why had Shion assigned her, of all people, as leader? This was her chance to show real leadership.
Iri gripped her sword hilt with both hands, steeling herself.
"But do we have a way to take it down?"
"...We need to get in close first. But with it thrashing around like that, we can't."
Kyle muttered bitterly.
The salamander was still rampaging across the field. Whatever they did, they had to slow that violent frenzy first.
"Senior, salamanders are fire-attribute, right?"
"Y-yeah! They are!"
"Any way to weaken it? Not for long—just enough time to rush in."
Edel Di Bison, stuck between Kyle and Iri, felt utterly helpless. She didn't know how things had ended up like this, but everyone staring at her felt so unfamiliar.
'Huh? Wait a sec...'
Suddenly, déjà vu hit her. It reminded her of something Shion had once said.
-Senior, you're our team's brain. You might not be great in real combat, but you're amazing at magic interpretation.
So Shion had predicted this from the start? If he'd even accounted for his own absence and picked her to fill the gap...
Edel shivered. All that talk of perfect theory scores, and Shion Illeionhart had seen even further ahead. That kid junior, fresh out of the gate at Arsen...
Anyway, they were in the boss room now—no turning back.
"Fire's counters are basically water, ice... and earth for soil-related stuff. But it's just us, so..."
Water and earth. Liquid and dirt. Ice was so rare it wasn't realistic; water or earth it was.
"Swamp... yeah, that's it! We have that!"
Something flashed in her mind. Right, there was that method.
"We just need to stop its movement, right? Enough to get close."
"Yeah. A moment would do."
"Then... hold on!"
Edel Di Bison swiftly formed hand seals and closed her eyes. Faint mana gathered like birds flocking together. A gray orb hovered above her index finger, its surface—a mush of water and earth—gurgling wetly.
"I'm making a swamp under the salamander now. It might break free quick, but it'll buy at least two minutes. Can you close in during that?"
"Two minutes? Plenty of time."
"Why're you looking at me...? I'm not going. Look, I don't even have a sword."
Elin Beonard waved both hands frantically, backing away. Glancing back at a prickling gaze, there stood Kai Alma with a distinctly displeased face.
"Same here—no sword."
"No, you fight with your fists, that's different! Mine was a sword from the start!"
"That's on you for not keeping your weapon secure. Not a valid excuse to sit out."
"But that's not...!"
...It stung inside. Sure, dropping the weapon was her fault, but who could've guessed it'd land at that guy's feet and get crushed?
"No weapon? Fight with your body. If you're in the combat track, you can manage that much."
"No way!"
"Just thirty seconds—no, fifteen. Draw its eyes a bit. That's all we need."
"How'd it turn into this...?"
Elin scanned the group. But everyone stayed silent—no one took her side. Tacit agreement on their faces.
"...What, now you pull this?"
Finally, Elin turned in resignation.
"Twenty seconds. Hold for twenty."
"...That's more than before."
"Recalculated. That's what we need."
"Ugh..."
Wrong party members, clearly. Should've joined Serin Anette's group.
"Casting now. Everyone, get ready."
At Edel's command, Class A and X scattered. Kyle Ivanstair to the left end, Kai Alma to the right. Iri held the center. Elin Beonard waited north, face sour, with supporter Kazuha glued to Edel.
One shot. Miss it, and they'd all get wiped—or reverse-summoned en masse.
They held their breath. Until Edel's signal.
"Go! Now!"
Edel hurled the gray orb. The moment her voice rang out, cadets charged from all directions.
The salamander lifted its head. Mouth gaping, prepping a breath attack.
But everywhere it looked, a single person—not a mob like before. One blast would just scorch the surroundings uselessly.
Of course, the salamander lacked the brains for that. It simply targeted the easiest prey.
Whoosh—
"W-wait, why me?!"
The salamander stared north—at Elin Beonard, charging barehanded. It looked like she was begging to be eliminated.
Elin squeezed her eyes shut. A direct breath would knock her out painlessly via reverse-summon. Clinging to that solace, she sensed the flames swelling—
Squelch—
Thud...!
Edel's orb burst, making the salamander stagger. Its front claws scraped the ground, but instead of power, the floor collapsed beneath it. Concrete turned to mush, swallowing the beast.
"Kwek! Kweeeek!"
Normally, a mere swamp wouldn't hold it—a lizard, after all. But Edel's was a fusion trap of multiple attributes. The more it struggled, the faster its stamina drained, sinking deeper.
But if it folded that easily, it wouldn't be a dungeon boss.
As it sank, its long tail whipped the area—spanning east, west, south, north.
East's Kai Alma would eat it first. But he hadn't noticed, fist raised, momentum forward—no dodging.
And his uniform was already shredded from close combat. One hit, and he'd be out.
"...Damn lizard!"
Thought short. Elin dove at the tail, grabbing and yanking it her way.
"I'm got it—!"
"Elin! No!"
"What?"
Kyle Ivanstair's shout hit, along with belated unease.
...Wait, wasn't this a lizard?
Too late—Elin launched skyward. Salamander had severed its tail; the stump smashed Elin into the wall.
"Hey, Elin! You okay? Hey...?"
Thud.
The tail dropped from the wall. Crushed beneath, Elin Beonard slumped limply. No elimination marker—unconscious, probably. Combat ineffective either way.
'One down... effectively out...'
Kyle Ivanstair glanced around. Kai Alma and Iri had closed in. Now, force that maw open and ram in Edel's magic.
Only way for internal damage.
He spun instinctively—salamander right there.
"Wha—!"
Maw agape to chomp, but Kyle raised his sword first. Then he glimpsed the inferno in its throat.
Defeat flickered in his eyes.
...I'm out.
That slowed his blade. Salamander lunged to devour—
But its head jerked sideways. Breath attack fizzling.
Kyle looked up. Some rope-like thing gripped its head.
"Won't hold long! Take it down! Hurry!"
No time for shock—Kyle and Iri charged. They clung to its neck like wrangling an alligator, but lacked strength.
Suddenly, chills crawled Iri's back. Her shoulder felt warm—not imagination.
"Kazuha! Over there!"
"Y-yes...?"
Red eyes locked on Kazuha, who'd ditched close combat to lasso its neck. Maw opened.
Ideal, but Kazuha would drop.
Yet the flames veered wrong—Kai Alma had piled on.
...Searing blaze torched the ceiling. As it died, the head slammed groundward.
Kai Alma's kick crushed down.
Struggling salamander twisted—to Kyle Ivanstair.
"Got it!"
"Yep!"
As jaws parted, Kyle seized with both hands. Opposite Iri did too.
One breath spent; now it could only bite or swallow whole. Alone, tough—but two? Doable.
Forced maw wide. Thrashing pitiful, but this thing had already claimed four cadets. Maybe more.
"Hold on! Too much resistance!"
"What do we do?!"
"I'll hold! You finish it!"
At Edel Di Bison's plea, Kyle reached left—no sword nearby. Salamander bucked.
"...Won't work."
"We need to attack to end it—no time even."
"Two can't hold. Needs all three."
Slack a second, jaws snap—Kyle or Iri gone.
"Then..."
But they couldn't stall. Someone had to land the killing blow.
Kazuha whipped the neck, Kai Alma pinned from above. Edel pinned it in the swamp. Kyle and Iri strained on the jaws.
One slip, balance crumbles.
"We're screwed...!"
Iri's lips quivered. Shion should've led. Too late for regrets.
Screeech...
No warning—the boss room door slid open.
Iri and Kyle tensed at the widening gap. No other group this soon. More monsters sneaking in? Made sense—no mobs on 10F. Dungeons full of traps; another hidden trick?
Step—
Step—
But through the door came... a person. Shockingly.
The approaching man smirked.
"...What're you idiots doing?"
Unsure whether to cheer, but first things first.
"Senior."
"...?"
"Mind finishing it off?"