chapter_0221

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
221

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
221

Luca did not choose this
forest as the location for the exam with any particular meaning.

Out of the few remaining
places excluding dungeons, this forest seemed most appropriate, thus
it was chosen.

Some places seemed too easy
for a person like Lucy, while others looked excessively difficult.
Some places had many people, making it easy to get caught, and others
were too far, making it impossible to keep to the schedule.

After considering such various
factors, the only place left was this Dead Forest.

Luca began pondering in the
morning, made a decision by noon, and by evening, he brought her to
this location. Therefore, it was impossible to prepare in advance.

If the forest had been a
well-known place, it could be explained as having known it
beforehand, but that wasn’t the case either.

The Dead Forest is a notorious
site with many bad rumours. Nobles feel no reason to approach this
place, and adventurers who are superstitious wouldn’t even dare set
foot here.

Clerics do visit regularly,
though only to manage the area so that various evil spirits cannot
escape outside.

In short, the Dead Forest is a
place unknown to people.

Therefore, it could be
asserted with certainty: it’s impossible to have pre-studied this
forest. How can you study something that’s not known?

However, strangely enough,
Lucy Allen knew this forest too well.

Her footsteps were confident
as she walked through the pitch-black forest, where it was hard to
see even an inch ahead.

If nothing had appeared at the
end of her path, one might have thought it was just baseless
confidence, but that wasn’t the case.

At the end of Lucy Allen’s
steps, there was always something.

These things invariably had a
profound impact on the forest. Things that those who knew about the
forest unanimously said should never be encountered.

The first time she defeated an
evil spirit, it could have been considered a coincidence.

When Lucy met her second
opponent, doubt emerged.

By the time she encountered
the third, a specific thought crossed his mind. After defeating the
fourth, he considered it highly likely. Now, facing the true master
of this forest, he was convinced.

Lucy Allen’s purpose became
clear: she intended to purify this forest.

A place that, after the undead
spirits appeared long ago, no one had thought to resolve.

Because it was considered
unworthy of such effort, people were content with merely maintaining
the status quo.

Lucy was trying to restore it
to its former state.

Why?

It probably wasn’t Lucy
Allen’s own will. It was likely the will of a greater presence, one
that had hugely influenced the making of the current Lucy Allen.

The unholy entity that had
surely drenched this forest in death was immense.

It blanketed the moon and
star’s light with its dark magic. This horrific presence filled the
void left by the vanished guardians of the forest entirely with its
own aura, making it far from trivial.

Even Professor Luca from the
Academy felt its overwhelming pressure.

If a mere citizen faced it,
they would’ve dropped to their knees and called upon their god.

A seasoned adventurer, instead
of drawing their weapon recklessly, would’ve fled to report
information about it.

The lord of the area around
the forest, upon seeing it, would have sought salvation from the
Church rather than confront it directly.

A being that grandly asserted
its existence, shrouding the sky, was not something an Academy First
Grade student could handle alone.

It required the Paladins of
the Church to declare a subjugation mission.

If what stood before them now
had been just an ordinary Academy First Grade student, Luca would
have stepped in and eliminated that undead spirit himself.

He was someone who pushed
students to the edge of life and death, but never into death itself.

But this time, Luca didn’t
intervene. He didn’t feel the need to.

Luca’s decision wasn’t
unusual. Anyone seeing Lucy Allen glowing like the sun in the middle
of the forest would think the same.

Luca saw Lucy walking towards
the ominous force that would surely terrify anyone else.

He saw her preparing for
battle instead of trembling, even when faced with such a sinister
scene.

He saw her standing tall, like
a beacon in the darkness, drawing all the undead spirits’ attention
to herself.

He saw her raising her voice
against the master of the forest.

And he saw her fighting
against the unholy presence without retreating an inch.

The curses of the surrounding
undead spirits couldn’t even touch Lucy.

The unholy magic of the
forest’s master was powerless against her. The magic that would have
normally rotted anything it touched dissipated like smoke before
Lucy.

The undead spirits resurrected
from the ground turned to dust the moment they touched her divine
energy, and the master’s magic was no different.

In contrast, Lucy’s attacks
were always formidable.

Each time she swung her mace,
the massive form of the forest’s master trembled and let out a pained
groan that echoed through the forest.

Every time she invoked her
divine power, the surrounding undead spirits scattered.

It went beyond a mere
advantage in battle.

An overwhelming strength that
shouldn’t have been possible at her age.

Having worked in the field for
a long time.

Having taught countless
individuals at the Academy.

Having imprinted countless
stars in his eyes.

Because he knew what made a
star shine the brightest more than anything.

Luca couldn’t help but voice
his admiration.

“Is that really a
first-year student of the Academy?”

If the person standing there
were the Saint of the Church of Armadi, Luca would have understood.

Chosen by God and having
cultivated her divine energy from a young age, she had already
created miracles in various places.

But the person standing there
was not a Saint.

Just a few years ago, she was
a reckless child who didn’t hesitate to insult God.

Were it not for the prestige
of the Allen Family, she would have been erased for treason long ago.

Yet now, she possessed such
divine power.

“Is she favoured by God?”

Knowing very well the rumours
within the Academy, Luca was aware of the nickname recently given to
Lucy.

Favoured by God.

It was a silly nickname given
because she was close to Phoebe, but for some reason, Luca thought it
was an apt description for Lucy.

Come to think of it, she did
say that she changed because she heard God’s message.

Luca didn’t like to use the
phrase loved by God for well-known people. To him, it seemed the
causality was reversed.

Luca didn’t believe he got his
talent because he received God’s grace. He thought those with talent
were chosen by God because they were already special.

In the first place, he
believed that those with a talent destined for greatness had already
caught God’s eye.

In that sense, Lucy Allen was
undoubtedly favoured by God.

She possessed the talent that
the great God deemed worthy of his favour.

‘Wow. No matter how proud I
am of my craftsmanship, I must admit God’s work surpasses mine.’

In this regard, the great God
was like Luca’s senior, having created countless suns throughout a
long history. Who was Luca to compete with someone whom God had
already taken an interest in?

Watching Lucy threaten the
Master of the Forest with her mace, Luca couldn’t help but chuckle.

He had to admit it.

That Lucy had been touched by
the hand of a greater jeweller.

That he would only interfere
in the process of refining the star that she had become.

‘Hmm. Maybe I should just
watch and learn from here.

Let’s see just how skilled my
senior is.

And maybe I’ll sneak in a bit
of my own style here and there.

Though I’m not sure if I’ll be
allowed to.’

“You wretched creature!”

“Eek♡ Are you proud of
your massive size, Auntie?♡ You have unique tastes. Are you
possibly a human-orc hybrid?♡ It really suits you~♡”

‘Hmm. But first, I have to
worry whether my magic will even work on Lady Allen. That person has
already far surpassed the academy level.

She’s someone who would be
considered an outstanding talent even if she were an active knight
right now. Honestly, it’s a bit unsettling.

What if my magic fails? How
can I persuade her then? Will she be satisfied if I manage to save
her life? I hope so. I don’t have any desire to die just yet.

Even if I perish, I
desperately want to see her tarnish the light I once saw.’

‘Got it!’

Though I had been holed up in
the Partan Territory since the festival ended, that time was
completely filled with training.

During the day, I repeatedly
trained with Allen’s Knight Order, and at night, I practised handling
divine magic with Grandpa in practice mode.

Not only that, but Bishop
Johan visited our mansion whenever he could and taught me various
things, so my understanding of divine energy has dramatically
improved since before the vacation.

This is one of the results of
that training.

The Light of Purification.

It’s a divine spell I learned
from Grandpa, who performed a miracle with it when facing the Evil
God of Fire (Vahda) in Menestail. It purifies anything impure around
with its holy light.

Like all magic of this kind,
it relies heavily on the user’s divine energy.

The divine energy I possess
was directly bestowed by Armadi.

How could any evil spirits
withstand this divine energy that even threatens an Evil God?

The undead spirits summoned by
the necromancer couldn’t endure the light and returned to where they
originally belonged.

“Are you blocking my way
again?”

As the battle intensified, the
necromancer lost her sanity.

She no longer sought her
daughter’s name.

She just moved to kill me,
equating me with the paladins she saw in the past.

Hmm. For now, I’ll weaken her
a bit more with some more attacks…

‘…I never thought of
that.’