Ch.5554. Midterm Exams (8)

# 54. Midterm Exam (8)

Raycle glared at me and commanded.

“Hurry up and lead the way.”

“Okay~”

I took the lead and crossed through the forest without any obstacles, heading toward the Minotaur’s dwelling.

While we were moving diligently, a rabbit suddenly jumped out from the bushes right in front of us.

And that rabbit disappeared, fleeing from the spot while completely ignoring us.

“Wow, usually when this happens, some super strong monster jumps out next… Is this too cliché?”

“Your comment sounds like a cliché too.”

“Of course there’s no way such an obvious development would—”

In the middle of my sentence, an arrow shot from those bushes flew straight toward my face.

-Swoosh!-

It was a fast arrow enhanced with magical power.

I ducked my head at a precarious moment to avoid the arrow and simultaneously activated two of my unique skills.

“Surprise.”

I approached the large bushes while activating [Mortal’s End].

From inside the bushes came the sound of someone moving urgently.

I entered the bushes with my intimidation fully deployed and finally found the owner of that arrow.

But the owner of the arrow wasn’t a monster.

“An elf?”

A girl who appeared to be about our age—except for her long ears, she looked human just like us.

The girl was shedding tears like white jade, completely terrified.

I immediately deactivated [Mortal’s End], and she seemed to lower her guard a little.

As I waited silently, the girl bowed her head and apologized to me first.

“Um… I’m sorry… Suddenly… I felt an enormous magical power… I thought you were a monster…”

“I’m sorry too, when the arrow suddenly flew at me, I instinctively…”

“No! It was my fault… But by any chance… are you… ‘human’?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The girl looked at us as if we were fascinating.

I could hardly believe this was the same girl who had been crying in fear just moments ago.

“I’ve never seen humans before!”

“And I’ve never seen an elf before.”

That wasn’t entirely true since Gloria was an elf.

“Is this the Kingdom of Persia then?”

“How do you know about our country?”

“It’s common knowledge in our country.”

It was certainly a question befitting an elf who had little interaction with other countries.

Most elves rarely leave their own country.

In fact, elves like Gloria who live among humans are extremely rare, countable on one hand.

“That’s impressive… Are you all on your way to our country?”

“No, we entered a field-type dungeon and fell into this place.”

“Then perhaps your mission is…?”

“To defeat the Minotaur.”

The girl hesitated for a moment before asking me.

“May I come along?”

“Of course.”

***

On our way to the Minotaur’s dwelling, we had quite a lot of conversation with the girl.

Her name was Luna.

She introduced herself as Luna Crystal.

‘Luna Crystal…’

Surprisingly, she was someone I already knew about.

She was the princess and greatest military asset of the Kingdom of Persia, the country of elves.

In the past, after the war had completely ended and the Empire formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Persia, quite a few elves from the kingdom had crossed over to the Empire.

And I remembered seeing Luna when she visited the Empire’s capital to commemorate that alliance.

‘Somehow… she’s different from the image I had in mind.’

Back then, she had a very mature, big-sister type of vibe, but now she was unmistakably a tomboy.

That tomboy was pointing at a large cave.

“I think it’s over there.”

In front of the cave Luna pointed to, five Minotaurs were standing guard to protect their territory.

“This is our chance. Everyone, prepare for battle.”

“But with just five of them, couldn’t you handle them alone?”

Chris certainly had a point.

“How could someone defeat five Minotaurs alone? He’s only 17 years old.”

Luna, despite her appearance, was quite a bit older.

Luna said she was 25 in human years.

Since elves typically live about four times longer than humans, being 25 in human years meant she was actually 100 years old.

“Please wait and watch from here.”

I activated [Mortal’s End] again and summoned [Sword of the Distant Abyss] in the form of a great sword.

Luna looked surprised when she saw the sword I summoned.

Ignoring Luna, I approached the group of Minotaurs.

“Hello?”

The Minotaurs charged at me as soon as they spotted me.

The first Minotaur to reach me swung its huge sword.

Looking at that greatsword, I suddenly wondered, ‘Could I block it head-on?’

‘Let’s find out.’

I met the enormous sword head-on.

-CRASH!!!-

When the two swords collided, a tremendous sound rang out and a powerful wind rushed past me.

‘This actually works…’

The sword’s performance was certainly at an insane level.

It had even become a bizarre item that increased my strength by 100 when summoned as a greatsword.

Considering the ability boost from [Mortal’s End], my strength was probably similar to or greater than the Minotaur’s.

“Weaker than I expected.”

I smiled and struck down on the Minotaur’s sword with mine.

-Crack!-

In that moment, the Minotaur’s sword shattered into pieces, and I aimed for the now weaponless Minotaur’s neck.

-Slash!-

The Minotaur’s head was separated from its body in an instant.

And my sword absorbed the head and body at an incredibly fast rate.

Having absorbed the Minotaur, the sword seemed unsatisfied, as if it wanted the others as well.

‘But how do I release the abyss?’

I applied force to my hand in the same way I did when summoning the sword.

-Slither-

Along with an inexplicable feeling of emptiness, an even darker aura began to swirl around the already black sword.

As if entranced, I slashed the sword through the air.

A black slash appeared in the empty space and flew forward, cutting through everything in its path.

Stones, trees, and even Minotaurs.

Moreover, the life forms that lost their lives to that slash returned to me in the same form as the slash and were absorbed into the sword.

“Wow… what is this?…”

Even I, who had seen countless skills, had never seen anything like this in my entire life.

I once again enveloped the sword with the abyss.

Then I cut a large rock nearby.

-Slash. Slash.-

The rock was sliced apart as if it were a piece of paper.

I stared intently at the blade that seemed capable of cutting through anything.

‘Could this cut through that ice wall too?’

Even her ice wall wouldn’t be able to withstand this.

It might not cut as easily as this rock, but it wouldn’t hold out for long either.

“Let’s head back quickly.”

I fed delicious food to the still-hungry child.

The child ate the food ravenously, and when I came to my senses, all the food had somehow disappeared.

But the child was still hungry, and I watched that sight carefully.

“Looks like you’re still hungry.”

I was looking at what seemed like my own reflection inside the sword.

It was just my reflection in the sword, but somehow it gave me chills.

It felt as if the abyss that had left me had formed into another me.

‘Must be my imagination…’

I deactivated all my skills and went back to the others who were waiting for me.

“Are you really a monster? How did you just take down 22 of them by yourself?”

Luna asked us with rounded eyes.

“Are all humans as strong as Albert?”

Raycle and Chris shook their heads vigorously.

“No, he’s just weird.”

“Enough of that, let’s go back now.”

Just as I finished speaking, a status window appeared with perfect timing.

[Congratulations!]

[You have completed the mission.]

[A portal will be generated shortly.]

[Dungeon rewards will be distributed after returning to your original location.]

Almost immediately after that message appeared, a large portal was generated in front of us.

Raycle and Chris entered the portal as soon as it appeared.

Before returning, I said goodbye to Luna.

“I hope to see you again if the opportunity arises.”

“Yes! Say hello if we meet again.”

“Of course, I’m not rude enough to ignore a princess’s greeting.”

“What…? How did you…?”

“Until next time.”

Leaving behind Luna with her bewildered face, I entered the portal.

As soon as I entered the portal, that nauseating feeling I had experienced when entering the dungeon returned.

“Ugh…”

About a minute passed, perhaps?

We returned to the place where we had been before entering the dungeon.

Raycle, who had returned through the portal before me, asked:

“Why are you so late?”

“Shouldn’t you at least say goodbye before leaving? You inconsiderate jerks. But why is he like that?”

Raycle seemed fine, but Chris was vomiting profusely on the ground.

Raycle spoke as if he knew nothing about it.

“I don’t know either.”

“What’s wrong? You were fine on the way there.”

“This crazy bastard kicked me in the stomach…”

Raycle said with an aggrieved expression.

“Did I do it on purpose? I said I was sorry.”

“If you’re sorry, help me clean this up.”

“Well, that’s…”

I asked the teacher who was watching the scene with a pleased expression.

The teacher was holding a strangely shaped box, though I wasn’t sure what it was.

“So we get full marks, right?”

“I’ll give you a bit more, thanks for making sure everyone returned safely.”

It seems Raycle had already explained to the teacher what had happened in the dungeon.

“It was what I had to do. More importantly, what you’re holding, teacher. Is that our reward?”

“That’s right, open it.”

I immediately opened the box the teacher had been holding, and Raycle and Chris, who had been busy cleaning until just now, approached to see what the reward was.