Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Villainess (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Time flew by, and the day of the practical exam arrived.
I checked the feel of the blue mana stone in my pocket and confirmed the necklace around my neck one more time before heading to the exam site.
The exam venue was packed with magic department students from every grade.
I glanced around briefly and spotted the teacher carrying a massive greatsword on his back.
I'd visited the staff dorms over the weekend and clung to the swordsmanship department that very morning.
I'd worried he might be annoyed by my antics and not send the Great Sword Department Head.
Fortunately, the Swordsmanship Department Head had kept his promise.
I made my way toward where Class 1-A was gathered.
"Eric! Where've you been?"
"Just the bathroom for a sec."
"Alright! Everyone's here, so let's move! We're heading to the northwest exam site."
The homeroom teacher counted heads and began leading us.
A temporary exam site had been set up in a small forest.
In the center stood a massive base camp where the Magic Department Head and other teachers had gathered to prepare for emergencies.
Before long, we reached the forest's outer edge.
"If you leave the forest during the exam, you're disqualified! Keep that in mind. Remember your groups? Group A, you're up!"
I stood from my spot and glanced at Scarlet.
I'd been anxious about ending up in the same group, but luckily, we were separated.
"To repeat: collect the mana orbs hidden in the forest. Once you touch one, it imprints with your mana—no stealing them after that."
"What if you snatch it before they pick it up?"
"That wouldn't be stealing; you'd be the one who picked it up. Of course, lethal spells are forbidden! Attacking without a mana orb nearby means disqualification. See the sky?"
I looked up at the treetops and spotted proctors stationed here and there.
"They're watching everything, so take the exam seriously. We'll score your attitude separately! Now... go!"
The homeroom teacher's words barely ended before the students dashed off.
I ran without using mana, heading straight for the forest's heart.
My exceptional spatial awareness picked out the awkwardly hidden mana orbs even without mana, but I ignored them entirely and kept pushing toward the center.
'An Archdemon...? Eric's just spouting weird stuff, making me uneasy.'
Feeling a chill for no reason, Scarlet shivered slightly and scanned her surroundings.
As a class held outside the academy, the exam site brimmed with guards and safety personnel.
Maybe because it was a well-tested location—watchtowers dotted the area with dispatched knights posted at each.
Soldiers lined the forest's perimeter at intervals, watching for any students slipping out.
The flying proctors were all 4th Circle mages.
And the magic department teachers? The lowest was 5th Circle.
'No casualties during exams in all these years... Even an Archdemon couldn't pull something here, right?'
She let her guard down with that casual thought—then the air's texture shifted.
The fresh wood scent vanished, replaced by a murky, stagnant stench.
'This... smells like that dungeon...'
In that instant, leaves that should have stayed green in early autumn rained down.
The sudden anomaly threw not just the kids into chaos, but the proctors and teachers too.
"Everyone, stay calm and hold position! The teachers will figure out what's—"
The homeroom teacher's steadying voice cut off.
He froze, staring behind the students.
Glancing back casually, Scarlet saw a black rift tear open in the air, and a woman step through.
"Ahh, fresh air after so long~ Mmm... divine."
Or could you even call her a woman?
Her build was female-like, but black wings sprouted from her back, a tail swished behind, and a pair of black horns crowned her head.
Where she stepped, grass withered to reveal barren soil.
Her spreading miasma wilted every plant, rotting even tree trunks.
The vibrant green forest, bursting with life, turned desolate and brown in a heartbeat.
Just her presence ravaged the land.
"A-Ar Archdemon..."
The murmur spread—no one knew who started it.
"Karma's got limits, so I need to hurry..."
"Raaagh!!!"
-Kwang!
A massive man wielding a greatsword crashed between the Archdemon and the students.
"Everyone, run to the forest center! The Magic Department Head's erecting a barrier!"
"Huh?"
The Archdemon faltered as the sudden intruder ignited with battle spirit.
"I'll buy time—hurry...!"
-Peruk!
The Great Sword Department Head hadn't let his guard down for a second, eyes locked on the Archdemon.
Yet he couldn't even perceive her strike before flying back.
He smashed through nearby trees and crumpled to the ground.
"What...? Lame. One little probe and you're done?"
The Archdemon glanced at the flung Great Sword Department Head, then turned to Scarlet.
"Found it. Archmage Talent."
Grinning brightly, the Archdemon approached Scarlet.
"Here's your choice: everyone else dies but you, or you give up your talent and save them all?"
The Archdemon's gaze pinned Scarlet.
The crushing pressure that let only her move eased; Scarlet spoke.
"Why not... just kill us all...?"
"Huh? Haha! Questions in this spot? Archmage Talent lives up to the hype..."
The Archdemon looked skyward.
"World doesn't work that simple... Damn goddess makes killing you cost more than all these bugs combined."
She rattled on cryptically.
"Extracting talent's way cheaper than outright killing. Oh! With effort, you might hold onto 3rd Circle! Taking what's already yours is a different game."
She glanced at the flung Great Sword Department Head.
"That loser's still kicking. Can't waste precious karma here—maybe in a few years."
Turning back to Scarlet, the Archdemon raised a hand.
"Struggling to decide...? I can help. Kill 'em one by one."
Scarlet looked at her friends, then steeled herself.
"My talent..."
"I'm a teacher. Could die for my students."
The balding homeroom teacher stepped forward, mana herb in mouth.
"Every veteran mage has a hidden ace. Even me, 10 years a 6th Circle."
Gigantic gears materialized behind him, meshing and spinning.
"My magic specializes in endurance... Take thiiis!"
-Kwang!
The gears shattered instantly; the homeroom teacher flew back beside the Great Sword Department Head.
"Another loser. No more time—if you don't agree..."
"...I'll do it."
The Archdemon smiled at Scarlet's reply.
"Smart choice."
Scarlet's view shifted in a blink.
She stood atop a towering crag, gazing at the sky-flying Archdemon, then down.
Lava flowed below, hot waves rising.
"This is my subspace. Even if you agree, gotta dodge the goddess's eyes to take your talent."
Legs buckling, Scarlet gripped the necklace Eric gave her and stared down the Archdemon.
"No escape now."
The Archdemon closed in, grinning.
I reached the forest center without delay and sensed the miasma spreading northwest.
The moment trouble hit, the Great Sword Department Head shared a quick word with the Magic Department Head and bolted northwest.
Could he stall till the Swordsmanship Department Head arrived?
The Archdemon's miasma blanketed wide—even the academy 20km away must've sensed it; the Swordsmanship Department Head would've left immediately.
"Everyone to the center!"
The Magic Department Head shouted.
A hemispherical barrier enveloped the base camp in the central clearing.
I watched her pour mana into the barrier.
Dark urges boiled in me.
Didn't you say you'd block the Archdemon?
The Great Sword guy ran off—what're you doing?
But seeing her face quelled it.
"Uh, y-yeah? E-Eric! G-get to the c-center, quick."
Duty-bound to calm students, she couldn't hide her twisted expression or trembling body.
Her barrier hand shook like it'd collapse any second.
Her forced smile twisted grotesquely with her grimace.
Then it hit me.
She's 28—younger than my past life's age.
The department head role's for teaching, not fighting.
She wasn't who I'd pinned hopes on.
I gripped the necklace left-handed to check Scarlet's position.
'Subspace jump... connection'll snap.'
What was happening at the perimeter?
Archdemons can't re-enter the world once in their subspace.
To eliminate variables, I moved to a safer spot.
Anything I missed?
What if my presence derailed the original plot?
I shook off the swirling doubts.
And then—
Scarlet's signal vanished.
I stepped outside the barrier without hesitation.
"Huh?! Eric! Get back in!"
Fearing barrier failure, the Magic Department Head couldn't leave it.
Left hand on necklace, right crushing the high-grade mana stone in my pocket, I spun my mana.
Vast mana from the stone enveloped me.
As I prepped the spell, text appeared:
[A 3rd Circle mage cannot interfere with subspaces.]
'Won't show when I call, but pops up now.'
The translucent message floating, disrupting focus.
Curiosities surged at the sudden status window, but not now.
Magic circles aren't absolute.
A 3rd Circle succeeding at 4th becomes 4th Circle that day.
I shut my eyes, dodging the distracting text.
And imagined.
What Scarlet saw now.
The author detailed this episode with illustrations.
Towering jagged rock.
Legs baking in heat.
Bubbling lava flow.
Archdemon before her.
She looked human sans horns, wings, tail—but knowing the later story, I knew better.
Just camouflage for karma. True form: dark-red skin, piranha teeth, mountain-shadowing wings, slitted crimson reptilian eyes.
Archdemon #2: black magic specialist, Leviathan.
"Eric! What're you doing?!"
Magic Department Head's voice. Ignored.
Nose trickled—body failing under mana overload. Ignored.
This was the Archdemon's subspace.
Home to lava-swimming colossal dragons.
Prep done, I channeled mana into the necklace's red mana stone.
Eyes opened to—
The Archdemon beaming at me.
Legs trembled on collapse's edge.
Scarlet shut her eyes, unable to face the Archdemon.
Then the solid rock underfoot turned soft earth.
"Huh?"
Eyes open: no grinning Archdemon.
Leg heat gone.
Fallen rotten leaves.
Dead, lifeless trees.
Yet far livelier than before.
"Eric! Get ins—huh? Scarlet?"
A wind magic teacher grabbed her shoulder.
"Where...?"
"Eric pulled some position swap. You, in."
Led by the teacher's arm, she entered the barrier.
Then the gripped necklace gem crumbled.
Like the stone that broke after her academy tree spell.
"Teacher! Where's Eric...!"
"Position swap puts him where you were. Where were y—"
The forest-blanketing miasma vanished.
Scars lingered, but air cleared.
Sudden miasma gone, base camp buzzed.
Large-framed middle-aged man dropped from sky amid the noisy site.
"Damn, too late? Magic Head! Archdemon that way?!"
"Swordsmanship Head! Epicenter northwest, but..."
Swordsmanship Department Head kicked off instantly upon hearing.
Situation made no sense.
Mind chaos.
No—she grasped it, but heart rejected.
Eric's 3rd Circle. Subspace interference starts at 4th.
Must be something else.
Scarlet stared endlessly at the crumbled gem shards.
Archdemon's face frozen mid-grin, still processing.
No time to waste.
I dropped the high-grade mana stone into the lava without a second's pause.
Luckily, residual mana kept the inscribed magic circle intact.
Stone sank slowly toward lava.
"Wha...?"
Dawning realization twisted her face.
I stayed stock-still to hide intent, side-eyeing the falling stone.
Moment it hit lava—
Imagine again.
Viscous, heavy lava texture.
Body-searing heat blaze.
Strained mana circuits screamed. Ignored, pressed on.
Archdemon's subspace.
Breaks goddess-set world laws.
If she grabbed me now, death's mercy.
As her twisted face reached out—
Vision filled red with lava.
First death: unaware.
This: boiling agony before blackout.
★ The 2nd Prince route has been extinguished.
★ A virus has been detected. Find and kill the virus.
Virus: 4th Circle Space Mage Eric von Berg