Chapter 120

“Damn, the leader is going to get caught and killed by that ogre!”

Allen exclaimed in a panic.

“27 seconds.”

Riviera murmured, watching the chase with one eye closed.

“27 seconds?”

“27 seconds until the ogre has his meal.”

“What? It’s already been like 5 seconds! Shouldn’t we save the leader quickly?”

“Calm down.”

Elaine interjected.

“We have to trust and wait. If we interfere now, it’ll be a mess.”

“Right. This is the battlefield.”

Riviera pointed to the ground with her finger.

It seemed like there was nothing special, but she had already subtly drawn a magic circle there.

It was such a clever job that the other side hadn’t noticed at all.

Even Elaine was impressed by the technique.

Magic circles were often considered grunt work among magicians, so most only skimmed the basics.

Because it required drawing and writing everything by hand.

Thus, it was a field where magicians who couldn’t compete in mainstream areas often ended up to make a living.

But Riviera’s skill with magic circles was professional level.

Even though she already had advanced magic skills.

‘She’s a classmate with much to learn from.’

Elaine thought as she spoke.

“One person ties up the sister, and the three of us take down the brother… That’s the best plan, right?”

“Agreed.”

“I’ll handle the sister then. You take care of the brother.”

“Got it. I’ll take care of it.”

Even in the urgency, the two calmly made final adjustments.

Meanwhile, Allen just stood there with wide eyes.

Only 10 seconds remained.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

The sound of running footsteps was loud in their ears.

“Leader, just a bit more!”

Allen cheered.

-This way. Don’t stop, just keep going.

Riviera subtly pointed to a spot and sent a telepathic message.

Max, known for his quick wit, would surely understand.

Seeing his eyes flicker for a moment confirmed it.

“Roar!”

Ethan let out a wild roar.

The power was enough to make their eardrums shake and their eyes squint.

“Huff, huff… Move! Move!”

Max used every last bit of his strength to sprint.

Ethan was almost upon him.

A large club swung at his back.

Whoosh!

The air was cut with a deadly sound.

But the club barely missed Max’s protective suit.

At that moment.

The ground flashed, and the magic circle activated.

“Ugh?”

The binding magic circle ensnared Ethan’s body.

“Let’s get him.”

Riviera fired a barrage of Magic Arrows.

No need for big spells.

As long as they landed effective hits, spamming lower-class spells was more efficient.

“Got it!”

Allen also jumped in, delivering rapid thrusts.

Ethan looked precarious under the barrage.

But.

“Grrr! Roar!”

With a roar, Ethan summoned all his strength and broke free of the bindings on his arms.

Wham, wham, wham!

His right arm swung the club like a storm, smashing the Magic Arrows.

Thud, thud, thud!

His large left hand deflected Allen’s thrusts one after another.

“Hmm, he really is a human ogre.”

Riviera nodded in acknowledgment.

“Ugh, it’s not working at all!”

Allen despaired as if hitting a wall.

Even so, Ethan had only blocked the first attack.

He was still at a disadvantage.

“Brother!”

Emily called out urgently, trying to rush to his aid.

But.

“Sorry, but this is war.”

Elaine blocked her path.

“Ugh, you’re…”

Emily’s face hardened.

She recognized Elaine immediately.

Despite being from a generation known for its failures, Elaine was one of the academy’s top fighters.

But Emily couldn’t back down.

She bit her lip and summoned her spirits.

“Salamander, Muldun, Shuriel, Naiad.”

Emily summoned mid-level spirits of four elements simultaneously.

She pushed her mana to the brink.

She was putting everything on the line.

“So that’s your resolve. Let’s have a good fight.”

Elaine moved both hands for the first time.

One side summoned Ice Rain.

The other summoned multiple Fireballs.

Using two spells at once.

And they were opposing elements, fire and ice.

A sight that would astonish any ordinary magician.

It was an incredibly difficult skill.

Elaine performed it calmly.

This demonstrated why she was known as “Elaine of Fire and Ice.”

Gulp.

Emily swallowed dryly, seeing Elaine’s full power.

But she soon shouted with determination.

“Tch, let’s do this!”

Thus began the duel of pride between two geniuses.

* * *

“Huff, huff… Damn.”

I couldn’t straighten my back for a while.

After sprinting with all my might, I was out of breath, and my body felt like it was falling apart.

In contrast, Ethan was still full of energy.

Born a beast, it made sense.

I had to admit that his trained skills were several levels above mine.

I wasn’t ready to fight a true strong opponent yet.

‘Well, time will solve that.’

I thought optimistically.

I knew the path to getting stronger, so with time and effort, I would surely improve.

‘If I survive, that is.’

Thinking about the event in the third year where Max gets involved and dies, I smirked bitterly.

“Huff, I’m feeling better now.”

Finally, I stood up.

I had recovered.

I grabbed my wooden sword and charged at Ethan.

“Damn you, cowardly seniors! Fight me honorably like proper seniors! Don’t tie me up and gang up on me!”

Ethan shouted angrily, barely holding on.

His arms were free, but his legs were still bound.

I smirked.

“Hey, Ethan.”

“You finally show yourself, you coward! You lured me with deceitful words, trapped me, and now three of you are ganging up on one! Don’t you have any shame?”

He called the others “seniors” but me “coward.” He was really mad.

“Come on, you’re a warrior. You know there’s no such thing as cowardice on the battlefield.”

“I don’t know that!”

“Really? Then you’ll learn today.”

I twisted my lips into a smile and timed my attack.

Two attackers.

Two arms.

So, any additional attack?

He’d have to take it.

Bang, bang, bang!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Magic Arrows and thrusts rained down on Ethan again.

He hurriedly blocked with his arms.

That was the moment I was waiting for.

Thud!

I stomped the ground with all my might.

Ethan’s body was monster-level, so I needed executioner’s strike to bring him down.

“Take this!”

Whoosh!

The powerful strike cut through the air.

And soon hit Ethan’s chest.

Thud!

A huge sound echoed.

“Ugh.”

But Ethan only grimaced and groaned, not falling down.

His legs were bound, but I felt he would have withstood it anyway.

“Impressive.”

I acknowledged.

But this was a mock battle, not real combat.

Beep beep!

“Damn.”

Ethan shook his head.

“Ogre hunt complete.”

Riviera released the binding, and Ethan lay flat on the ground with a sullen expression.

Only the sister remained.

Our gazes turned to where Elaine and Emily were.

“Oh.”

Riviera blinked in interest.

A high-level fight was unfolding there.

“Wow… Should we join in, leader?”

Allen asked with wide eyes.

“No.”

I shook my head meaningfully.

“Huh?”

“Let’s give our top student a chance to shine. The fight will be decided soon.”

My prediction was spot on.

“Ahh!”

After a fierce battle, all the spirits vanished, and Emily was hit by a Fireball, falling.

Thud!

“Ouch!”

She grimaced in pain, having fallen on her back without breaking her fall.

Beep beep!

“Ugh? So… humiliating.”

Emily collapsed helplessly, closing her eyes tightly in the face of the merciless casualty treatment.

“Good job, everyone.”

I clapped a few times to encourage them.

With this, we had taken care of two key members of the Princess’s faction.

Including the two we took out earlier with the surprise attack, that made four.

With this much, the second-year students at the fortress should be able to hold out quite well, as long as the Princess doesn’t get actively involved.

However, I knew.

There was still a dangerous guy left.

Slane, the Fang of Carnage.

‘Normally, something really troublesome would happen here.’

Slane, who joined the fortress attack late, suddenly attacked his own ally, the Princess, in an overwhelmingly advantageous situation where victory was practically assured, because he was bored.

This unprecedented event instantly certified Slane as the academy’s top psycho.

It was known as the team-kill incident.

Fortunately for him, the Princess was too strong, so no one actually got ‘team-killed,’ and it could be dismissed as a shocking mishap.

Will that incident happen again this time?

‘No, the chances are low.’

Thanks to the interesting setup I created, the likelihood of Slane going berserk out of boredom was slim.

In that case.

‘Should I lure him out?’

Since he loves fighting so much, if I bait him well, he’ll come running even if I tell him not to.

Having made up my mind, I spoke.

“Get ready. I’ll lure him out.”

* * *

“This is getting interesting.”

Slane grinned, baring his teeth.

These guys were different from the boring Commoners.

They were holding out quite well against the Princess’s faction.

“The Princess is just playing around?”

Lucia tilted her head and spoke.

“Let her play or whatever.”

Slane said as if he didn’t care.

As long as he could have fun, it didn’t matter if the annoying Princess with her goody-two-shoes act got in the way.

“Let’s just charge in and smash them…”

Slane’s words trailed off.

He sensed someone approaching.

“No, stay here for a moment.”

Slane grinned.

* * *

‘Just as I thought.’

The fortress side was holding out reasonably well.

Because the Princess wasn’t actively moving.

And.

‘That guy showed up too.’

Slane and his gang.

There were five of them.

As long as I could trap the strongest, Slane, in a magic circle like I did with Ethan, it would be manageable.

I stopped walking.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Slane, the infamous junior known for his brutality. Are you eating well?”

I started with a provocation.

“Hahaha!”

But even after hearing the provocation, Slane laughed loudly.

As expected, you can’t judge this guy with a normal person’s perspective.

“You didn’t come here with the idiotic idea of fighting alone… Is this a lure?”

Slane saw through it right away.

He’s a madman, but he’s also shrewd.

That’s how he’s managed to stay a top predator.

“So what if it is? Will you just come along?”

“Why should I waste my time? There are more delicious prey over there.”

“Hmm, really? Even though we took down Alfred, Leon, Ethan, and Emily?”

I threw out a big bait.

Slane’s gang stirred at those words.

“What nonsense is this?”

“Those four got taken down? I’d sooner believe a chick turned into an eagle.”

“Wait a minute.”

Lucia interrupted, spreading her hand.

“They’re really not here. Ethan and Emily.”

“What?”

They checked above and soon realized it was true.

“Really? They got taken down?”

“No way.”

The gang was half in disbelief.

But Lucia looked serious.

“Now that I think about it, it’s suspicious that the Kingdom faction hasn’t shown up at all. There must be a reason.”

She was indeed a sharp character.

And another one.

“Hahaha!”

Slane burst into laughter, finding it amusing.

He realized my words were true.

“Alright, let’s have some fun.”

Boom!

Slane kicked off the ground and charged fiercely.

I was already tensing my legs to run at full speed.

But…

“What?!”

I froze in shock.

My legs wouldn’t move as I wanted them to.

No matter how hard I tried, they wouldn’t respond.

‘Damn it, what’s happening all of a sudden?!’

As I was bewildered, something caught my eye, as if in a lie.

‘When did she get so close…?’

Princess Oscar.

She had been halfway up the hill, but now she was down below.

At that moment, I realized.

‘Damn, she did something!’

The psycho Princess who had killed me dozens of times in the game.

I should be the one holding a grudge, so why is she messing with me again?!

I was seething with anger when Slane clicked his tongue.

“What kind of trick is this? Just die already.”

Slane raised his chain scythe high.

…Damn it, it’s over.

Just as I thought that, Slane’s body lost balance and staggered heavily.

As if someone had suddenly pushed him hard from behind.

‘Could it be?’

My mind raced.

There was only one person who could do something like this.

Princess Oscar.

‘Shadow Strike?’

Only she could launch a surprise attack that even Slane wouldn’t notice.

Why?

‘Because she doesn’t want to… lose her prey?’

The answer came naturally.

The legendary team-kill.

…To think Princess Oscar would reverse it.

It was absurd, but that wasn’t the point.

I had to take advantage of it.

As if in a lie, my legs returned to normal.

“Hyaaah!”

I delivered a full-force strike.

Thud!

“W-What the hell!”

To see the mighty Slane in such a state of panic was a first.

Beep beep!

The casualty warning sounded.

And.

“……”

“……”

Everyone stared at me in shock, having taken down Slane in one blow.