episode_0226
by admin“Each squad member, to your positions.”
“Eve, Alpha.”
“Andrew, Beta.”
“Rosaria, Gamma.”
“Urias, Delta.”
“Confirmed. Good luck.”
All party members take their positions, armed with mana. Beta in the front line, Eve on the left, Urias on the right, and Rosaria in the rear. They stand in a circle, their backs to the portal they entered, facing the outer wall of the mock dungeon.
*Gulps*-
A sound of swallowing echoes. It’s unnaturally loud in the deathly silence, but nobody says anything. It’s because everyone feels the same.
Tension, more tension. The safety zone barrier before them is about to break. Beyond it, countless enemies will be swarming. The moment the barrier breaks, they’ll surge in like a tidal wave. Damn it, can we win? Did I raise my mana enough? Narias made it look so much easier… What if we lose? What if we fail?
And then, that moment arrived.
*Grrrrrrruuuumbllle*-
A loud and clear stomach rumble bursts forth, making all serious thoughts vanish from their minds.
Which one of you…? At a moment like this, couldn’t you just…
“Pffft-”
“Puh-p”
“Pu-hee- hahahahaha!”
Sounds utterly unrelated to tension erupt at the peak of tension. The stiff atmosphere shifts.
Right, how can you control bodily functions?
“Come to think of it, we haven’t eaten today. Being hungry is completely understandable.”
“Yeah, let’s all go out for a celebratory dinner after this!”
“I want meat. Hearty meat after intense exercise is the best!”
“After this battle, I’m definitely going to…”
“Shut up!!”
The mood lightens considerably. Their stiff backs, limbs, and fingertips relax, even their vision softens. Yet, the tension itself remains. Their mana remains active.
Body and mind, fully prepared.
*Tchut- Tss- KWA-JI-!*
As if waiting, the safety zone barrier shatters.
…
…
…
“L-Let’s go all out—!!”
“Don’t spare a single one of them—!!”
Fade, the leader of 3-A. The moment his cross-shaped magical artifact, held high in the air, emits light, the safety zone barrier crumbles. Immediately, the remnants of the Narias Alliance charge forward with wands and swords.
“Just like always.”
“Kill anyone who dies first.”
“As Narias-nim wills—!!”
Since 1-A’s leader is absent, Eve takes on the role. With her signal, everyone raises their mana. Andrew charges forward, Eve and Urias aim their magic bullets, and Rosaria disappears.
Day 4, the final battle.
Attackers: The Anti-Narias Alliance. Leader: 3-A, Fade. Participants: 109 from the Knights’ Academy and 102 from the Magic Academy. Total forces: 211.
Defenders: Party 1-A. Leader: 1-A Eve Istar. Participants: 18 from the Magic Academy. Total forces: 18.
The numerical difference is a staggering 12 times. Add in the fact that most of the Alliance are upperclassmen, and the experience gap is also insurmountable. Even Admiral Yi Sun-sin would throw up his hands in disbelief at this.
But Nari, who has been observing everything, smiles quietly. Everything is going exactly as planned.
The reason the Alliance launched their final, all-out attack after 69 hours of the exam time… was to maximize their score.
Hunting magical creatures, searching for magical artifacts, fighting other participants, defeating bosses, and earning survival points every three hours. It was to fatten themselves up before devouring everyone else, a truly arrogant reason.
It was well within Nari’s predictions.
Also, the existence of the barrier-breaking artifact. She realized the exam administration’s trap long ago. It was even discussed in the pre-exam meeting with Nix.
Nifrantz Academy would never create a ‘perfectly safe zone.’ That was her first suspicion. To simply stay inside and breathe to earn points? It was too obvious a trap.
So she was certain a barrier-destruction artifact existed. The first thing Nari did when the exam started was to check the barrier’s incantation. When she traced the boundary, she realized it was easily broken by a specific wavelength. That was her second suspicion.
The third was the movements of the other upperclassmen. Their actions, given their knowledge of past exams, must have a purpose. They actually found such an artifact.
It was well within Nari’s predictions.
And… the present situation.
It’s utter chaos. Unless they trained assuming actual warfare, the academy cadets are generally aspiring adventurers. They’re not used to this kind of large-scale battle. Disorder and friendly fire are unavoidable.
*Puk- Kwa-duk-!*
“Ku-heok- I’m from the Alliance…”
“K-damn it…!! I shot wrong- Ku-heok-”
“Huk- Randy—!!”
Pillar after pillar of light rains down. It means there are casualties. When an Alliance member is eliminated by a stray attack, the one who eliminated them gets extra points. An Alliance member who gains points then gets hit by a stray magic bullet, and that one also gets more points.
It’s a mountain of corpses, a flood of points.
It was well within Nari’s predictions.
“Ugh…sorry, I’ll go first.”
“Andrew—!”
“Aaah, I feel Narias-sama—”
“Everyone retreat—!!”
The Beta squad, at 1-A’s vanguard, was among the first to be eliminated. They fought hard. No one would blame them for withdrawing early. Instead, with gratitude and camaraderie, their fists clenched tighter.
It was well within Nari’s predictions.
“The defense line is broken! Push through— Eughk-”
“Ugh-”
“Ku-heok-”
The Alliance members, surging forward like a flood through the bushes, were riddled with holes, disappearing into the pillars of light. Those following behind looked around to find the source of the attack. Before they could find anything, holes opened in their heads.
“Two. Three. Four.”
“Stream area, clear.”
“Enemy ranger down. Moving to the next area.”
Rosaria’s Gamma squad fired silent magic bullets from long range. The power wasn’t important; tiny bullets to vital points was enough to cause fatal injuries. In the dense forest, Gamma squad was like a fish in water, safely reducing the enemy numbers.
It was well within Nari’s predictions.
All the battlefield situations played out exactly as she anticipated.
…
…
…
The front line is broken. The lines are collapsing. Without a strong tank to support them, they couldn’t just keep firing magic bullets.
*Chichi-chi-chi-ching—!!*
“K-kraaagh-”
“Mon- Monster—”
Unless it’s Eve, who could wipe out a hundred soldiers alone. She dove into the enemy lines, unleashing her specialty, ice magic.
Urias, who had been ready to cast magic bullets, brought the ‘Dandelion’ closer. She couldn’t do the same as yesterday after taking an energy pill, but after sufficient rest, she had no aftereffects.
No, she felt even better. Last night, she stealthily relieved herself, unable to control herself.
Her mind is clear. Thoughts settled, she draws water mana from her toes. Mana gathers in Dandelion’s gemstone, forming a long blade.
*Tchut- Tss—*
“Huuu…”
She takes a breath, grips Dandelion firmly. She lowers her center of gravity, assumes her stance. Focused intensely, the enemy’s roars are nothing to her.
*Tok-*
A small droplet falls into the center of the lake of her mind, creating ripples.
*Phaa-t-!*
Urias leaps.
Maid-ryu Muyong Sword Style 1: Dice Cut.
Countless sword energies, intersecting in a cross pattern like a net, turn enemies into cubes.
*Sgak- Seogak- Skek-!*
“K-kraaagh-”
She continues swinging without pause.
Maid-ryu Muyong Sword Style 2: Oblique Cut.
Diagonally slanted sword energy tears through the wind. Oncoming enemies are sliced in half.
“Uaaak- R-run—!”
She doesn’t stop.
Maid-ryu Muyong Sword Style 3: Julienne Cut.
Sword energy, barely a line, densely packed, almost a surface. The fleeing enemies are turned into jerky.
*Taat-*
“Heuk… Heuk…”
Urias breathing heavily after slaughtering the surrounding Alliance members. Pillars of light are everywhere. Only after determining all enemies were down did she stop. Or rather, only then could she stop. Focusing on her swordplay, she hadn’t felt the recoil.
The recoil came with great force. Breath heavy, heart racing, the mana within her throbbed, threatening to tear her skin.
Urias couldn’t stand. Bending at the waist, her knees on the ground, she slowly regained her breath, but this is a no-tolerance battlefield.
“Found you- Urias-!!”
“This is the end—!”
Alliance members surrounded her, firing at her.
An unavoidable distance, inescapable encirclement, unstoppable power. Urias sensed her end.
‘This is enough—’
As she closed her eyes to accept her fate, a familiar scent tickled her nose. A smile automatically formed.
*Sss-sss-*
“…You came quickly.”
“Ideally, to maximize points, you should’ve all been eliminated before I came…”
The magic bullets never reached her. The pure white light surrounding her swallowed them all.
Before she could open her closed eyes, her body reacted. The familiar scent sent a jolt to her lower abdomen.
Looking forward, the most reliable back in the world welcomed her. To her knowledge, this person was the world’s strongest.
“Even for you, aren’t you a little too cold?”
Not a clone, but Nari herself. She had returned within the dungeon.
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