novelraw Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Chapter 56
The worry about student attacks proved to be unfounded, as no one targeted Lucian.
However, that was thanks to Zephyros being by Lucian's side. He had been meticulously controlling the wind to keep them from encountering others.
"Let's avoid them."
As the wind alerted him to an approaching student, Zephyros said with a stiff face.
"We can just face them."
"It'll be a pain if we get mobbed."
Zephyros wanted to avoid any unnecessary fights. He wanted to focus on catching monsters and raising his score.
"You think Theo's okay?"
Lucian, who was participating with a regular sword since he couldn't use the Holy Sword in the competition, muttered.
"He's miserably fragile..."
How absurd it was to hear that his shoulder was shattered just by Ignatz's grip.
He was so fragile that it felt like glass would be sturdier than him.
"But, for some reason, I have a feeling the magic division is being thoroughly dominated by Theo Lisitoel alone."
"Hahaha. That might be true."
They recalled their conversation with Theo before the competition.
"Ready?"
"Yeah, it's pretty much complete."
Lucian readjusted his grip on his sword, his palms sweating.
"An accident is going to happen."
With so much already changed, even Theo couldn't be sure if the situation would unfold like his prophetic dream.
There was no harm in preparing for an accident in advance, so Lucian nodded.
"A high-risk monster meant for the 5th-year preliminaries will be released into the 1st-year preliminaries."
The culprit was unknown. The prophetic dream didn't say whether it was a mistake by the mercenary managing the monsters or if there was someone else behind it.
But what was certain was that the 1st-year preliminaries would be suspended because of it.
"Will Theo's plan really work? Honestly, it seems difficult."
"What can we do? We have to try, at least."
The Holy Sword, forbidden in the preliminaries, could not be used.
Zephyros, having completed the final trap, dusted off his palms.
"It's about time."
Tension was evident on Lucian's face.
The monster they had to face was on the level of a dungeon boss.
Facing something like that would be difficult even for Zephyros and Lucian.
But isn't taking on such a difficult task a challenge truly worth doing?
"This isn't a challenge we need to risk our lives for. Let's take it easy."
At the touch of Zephyros's hand on his shoulder, Lucian finally smiled comfortably.
Right, everything will go according to plan.
Because it was a plan devised by none other than Theo himself.
* * *
The anomaly happened in an instant.
Rumble─ The ground shook like an earthquake.
However, the student who was struggling to fight a monster didn't think much of it.
The space known as a 'Gate' was a place where any kind of anomaly could happen at any time, so he figured a mere earthquake was nothing to worry about.
What was really important was to hunt as many monsters as possible and get a high score.
Blinded by his goal, he failed to notice the threat that would unfold beneath his feet.
In that moment, the ground split open.
As soon as he lost his footing, he lost his balance and began to fall.
A mistake!
He realized it too late, but it was impossible to avoid the pit.
In that case, I have to use magic to stop the fall at least!
He hastily tried to use magic, but his once-disrupted mana fluctuated violently, and he couldn't control it.
Am I going to fall like this─ The moment he squeezed his eyes shut, an unfamiliar feeling of levitation enveloped his entire body.
The student, who cautiously opened his eyes, was floating in the air above the sunken pit.
"Are you okay?"
It was impossible not to know the face of the person asking the question.
The one who was the first to come to the training ground and the last to leave, swinging his sword.
There was no student at Lapis Academy who didn't know the Descendant of the Hero.
They say that when you're too surprised, words fail you.
The student couldn't say anything, just moved his mouth like a fish.
"Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah!"
As soon as he answered that he was okay, Lucian smiled brightly and threw himself down the pit, holding a crude sword.
"Uh, huh?!"
Isn't it really dangerous to fall like that?!
Just as he was about to reach out to grab Lucian, his body was suddenly thrown out of the pit.
"It's dangerous, so you stay here."
Another person's voice.
It was also a face he couldn't help but recognize.
Zephyros Nevera. The sole heir of the Duchy of Nevera and one of the five heroes of the Academy.
"You, you guys are?"
Lucian, who possessed the Holy Sword, and Zephyros, who wielded the power of the wind.
Neither of them were people who needed to be worried about within the Academy.
But the thing he had briefly seen while falling into the hole was definitely...
"It was a Jiyeolgu."
"...You know that monster?"
Zephyros looked at him as if surprised.
Even as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, he recited the information he had memorized from the monster encyclopedia.
"The dark skin, the red dragon veins visible even to the naked eye.
The characteristic of bursting out from the ground... it all matches the characteristics of a Jiyeolgu."
It was a monster that shouldn't have appeared in a forest-type dungeon like this.
Why was a monster that subsisted on magma here?
For a simple dungeon anomaly, something was strange.
"Don't tell me... you're going to fight it directly?"
It was reckless. It was a monster that was too dangerous for a first-year to face.
"Yeah. It's dangerous over here, so stay away if you can."
"Wait─"
Before he could be stopped, Zephyros leisurely entrusted his body to the wind and disappeared down the pit.
"He'll, he'll be okay, right?"
Right, they're both strong anyway.
I can go back like this, continue catching monsters, and still get an average score. But...!
The hesitating student squeezed his eyes shut.
Damn it! I don't care! I can't just let those two go alone!
He threw himself into the pit.
It wasn't as deep as he thought, but if he didn't land properly, he would undoubtedly be seriously injured!
The pit wasn't that deep.
I have to slow down somehow! The moment he tried to create friction by sticking his scabbard into the wall,
Thud.
A hole suddenly appeared in the wall, and the scabbard slipped right out.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!"
This time I'm really falling!
In that moment, the unfamiliar feeling of levitation enveloped his body once again.
His speed decreased, and he barely managed to land on the ground.
He was out of breath, but he was alive.
"Hooo."
It was scary.
I thought I was going to fall.
"Why did you follow us all the way here?"
At Zephyros's question, he caught his breath for a moment.
"A Jiyeolgu is... dangerous, right? It'd be better if even one more person lent a hand."
After saying it, he felt a pang of regret, wondering if he had followed them for nothing.
Zephyros silently looked at the student who had followed them, then sheathed his sword and held out his hand.
...Is he telling me to take it? After glancing at him, he stood up on his own instead of cautiously taking his hand.
"What's your name?"
"Liber Kairen."
"Zephyros Nevera."
There's no way I wouldn't know that... Liber swallowed the words that were about to come up his throat and nodded resolutely.
"The Jiyeolgu must be suffering from extreme hunger right now."
Zephyros looked at the huge tunnel the Jiyeolgu had created.
The Jiyeolgu was a monster that lived by burrowing underground like an earthworm and feeding on magma.
However, this was a forest area. No matter how deep the underground was, there was no way there would be any magma around here.
In that case, the creature must have been without food for quite a long time.
"Can we handle the ferocity of a starving Jiyeolgu?"
"We have to. What else can we do?"
At the very plain answer, Liber almost said, 'Normally, you'd be worried...'
"Zephi, I'm ready."
Lucian, who had fallen into the pit first, suddenly appeared.
Liber was startled and clutched his chest.
"This is Liber Kairen, this is Lucian."
Zephyros introduced them, but Liber sincerely wanted to say.
'That name, you don't have to say it.'
There might be people in the Academy who didn't know Zephyros, but there was no one who didn't know Lucian.
"Nice to meet you, Liber."
"Ah, no. Nice to meet you too. But, what do you mean you're ready?"
"Ready to hunt the Jiyeolgu."
"Gasp! You were really planning on catching it."
Liber looked back and forth between the two with eyes full of surprise.
"It'd be a shame if the preliminaries ended like this."
At those words, Liber lowered his eyes.
If they caught the Jiyeolgu, this time would also become 'part of the exam.'
But what if they couldn't? The Jiyeolgu would continue to wander in search of food, and the preliminaries would be suspended.
The Academy would have to take responsibility for failing to properly control the monster, and this incident would be recorded as an 'accident.'
"Don't you think so too?"
At Lucian's question, Liber nodded.
He hadn't caught many monsters. At this rate, his midterm exam scores would be at rock bottom!
"Alright! Let's catch it!"
Flames blazed in Liber's eyes.
* * *
"Ah, this is driving me crazy."
Beatrice no longer had the energy to show her emotions.
Why was a Jiyeolgu that should have appeared in the 5th-year preliminaries popping up in the 1st-year preliminaries?!
"We need to suspend the preliminaries immediately."
Evan said, feigning composure.
"I agree. But... how on earth are you going to explain it?
Let's stop because a monster that wasn't planned suddenly appeared? What about fairness? No, what about the Academy's prestige?"
The Flowering Festival was not just a simple festival.
The Flowering Festival's preliminaries, which were conducted by putting dangerous monsters into the Gate under the Academy's magical control.
It was also a place to prove the Academy's abilities to the outside world.
But what if they stop now? It would be an admission of their failure to manage it.
"Fortunately, the Descendant of the Hero and the Wind Master went to catch it, right?"
"The Descendant of the Hero who can't use the Holy Sword and the Wind Master who can't summon wind underground. And they're first-years? It's too dangerous."
Beatrice sighed.
Even though she wore a cold expression on the outside, she was a teacher who cared for her students.
That's why she spoke even more firmly.
"Now is not the time for us to step in, but to trust and leave it to the students. Or are you doubting the performance of the magitool you made yourself?"
Despite Beatrice's persuasion, the worry in the depths of his heart did not disappear.
But, yes... Beatrice's words weren't wrong either.
"Let's proceed as planned for now."
"And then?"
Beatrice narrowed her eyes.
She knew all too well that those were not his final words.
With the dean absent, Evan was the de facto head of the Academy.
That was a separate issue from her personal dislike of him.
"First, take Artemia and go to the monster management office. Especially to the side that was in charge of the Jiyeolgu."
"You think it leaked from there?"
"Yes. If they're dead, the Academy will compensate, and if they're injured, Artemia will treat them. And you, check the monster cages carefully."
"Do you think someone... intentionally released it?"
"Yes."
He didn't think the mercenaries who had received the commission from the Academy would have made a mistake.
He hoped they were alive. If they were alive, he might be able to get some testimony that would give him a hint.
"What about you?"
"I'll watch from inside the Gate."
And, if it gets dangerous, he would suspend the preliminaries and personally escort all the students out of the Gate.
"Alright."
"Then let's get moving."