Chapter 28: Special Lesson Part 4

“Watch the upper right!”

“I know.”

Erin stepped forward with her left foot.

At the same time, she raised her sword and slashed through the charging skeletal warrior in one powerful arc.

She immediately blocked the thrust of another warrior rushing in from the front with her blade.

Twisting the hilt in her grip, she hooked and deflected the opponent’s sword, then slashed horizontally across the now-exposed chest.

“There are so many of them, it’s disgusting!”

Crack!

Lucia swung her star-tipped staff hard, cracking the smooth skull of a skeleton.

Seeing the skeletal warriors closing in from all sides, she slammed the base of her staff onto the ground.

From the point of impact, a dome-shaped wave of holy energy expanded and swept across the area.

The undead caught in the divine energy burst into flames and slowly turned to ash.

“If you had that kind of spell, you could’ve used it earlier…”

“Do you think holy energy just pops out of the ground? I only used it because we were getting overwhelmed by their numbers.”

“So… you can’t use it again?”

“It’s not impossible, but it’s best avoided. After using that much power, I probably won’t be able to move even a finger.”

“Not very efficient, huh.”

“In that case, I suppose we can leave the next gate to our great hero?”

Though she smiled, the corners of Lucia’s lips trembled.

She was clearly suppressing her anger.

But Erin, unaware of Lucia’s expression, casually stated the obvious.

“I’m not a hero yet.”

“Oh… really now?”

At Erin’s nonchalant remark, the tension melted from Lucia’s face, replaced by a look of resignation.

Lucia decided it wasn’t worth arguing with Erin and let go of her lingering frustration.

Avoiding pointless losses—this was a skill she had mastered through countless political battles on her path to becoming a saint.

“Hoo… Anyway, I guess beating our master here is out of the question.”

“………Most likely, yes. We wasted a lot of time dealing with the undead.”

“The matchup was in our favor, but fighting such a large group showed our weaknesses.”

“Individually handling them takes too long, and using big spells consumes too much energy.”

“Next time, we’ll need a more efficient way to wipe out enemies quickly.”

“In my case, making a pact with a light spirit might solve my holy power issue.”

While heading toward the next gate, Erin and Lucia reflected on the battle.

They clearly identified the problems and assigned themselves new tasks to overcome them.

As the future hero and saint, they were determined to continue growing.

***

“At last, we’ve finally reached the final gate.”

The door was enormous—twelve spans tall.

Erin and Lucia stood before the largest gate they had seen so far.

They instinctively knew this was the final trial.

They placed their hands on the door.

“Master should be beyond this, right?”

“Probably. Let’s be ready for a lecture when we go in.”

Creeaak…!

Together, they pushed the door open and stepped through.

What greeted them was a bright arena bathed in light from a massive glowing crystal embedded in the ceiling.

At the center of the arena stood an ogre, gleefully smashing skeleton warriors with a mortar.

Unlike the warriors they’d seen before, this one wore armor adorned with many ornaments, clearly marking him as a general.

“Master’s not here.”

“Instead, we’ve found the most dangerous one yet.”

A two-horned ogre, who had effortlessly taken down the final gate’s guardian.

Erin and Lucia gripped their weapons tighter and dropped into battle stances.

The ogre, spotting them, flashed a chilling grin and slammed the mortar down with a thunderous crash.

The cracked skull of the general was utterly shattered, bone dust scattering in the wind.

It was the signal—the battle had begun.

“It’s coming!”

“Yeah!”

The ogre leapt high into the air and closed the distance to Erin in an instant.

Chaaang!

She blocked the descending mortar, her sword clashing violently against it.

The sheer force made Erin wince, her brow furrowing in pain.

“I’ll bind it!”

Lucia raised her staff and brought her hands together.

From both walls, golden chains shot out.

They wrapped around the ogre’s arms and legs, attempting to restrain its movements.

“Graah-ha-ha!!”

But with a burst of laughter, the ogre shattered the chains as if they were paper.

Lucia didn’t flinch.

She brought her index and middle fingers together, channeling divine power between them.

Like a martial artist unleashing an inner force, she fired a concentrated blast straight at the ogre’s heart.

“Even that didn’t work?”

The surface of its chest was slightly scorched, but the ogre’s thick hide remained unpierced.

Still, the blow made it hesitate, opening up a crucial window.

Seizing the moment, Erin closed the gap and thrust her sword at the ogre’s chest.

“Urgh!”

“Ha-ha!”

The ogre spun its mortar quickly, deflecting the strike.

It then swung wide, striking Erin hard in the side.

She tried to block by switching her grip to reverse, but one arm wasn’t enough.

Unable to absorb the impact fully, Erin was sent flying like a baseball.

“This is way too intense for training!”

Lucia yelled at someone who wasn’t even there.

Still, she kept her cool, preparing to counter the charging ogre.

She aimed the tip of her staff directly at the beast.

“Repent beneath the light of Selune!”

A sphere of light formed above a glowing hexagram, and a blinding beam shot forth.

The radiant blast engulfed the ogre’s body entirely.

It was a light so hot, it melted the surrounding walls.

Lucia poured every ounce of her divine energy into that single, searing strike.

“Kh…! This should be enough.”

As she expended nearly all of her divine power, the light gradually faded away.

Her opponent’s body should have melted completely, leaving no trace behind.

At least, that’s what Lucia believed.

But contrary to her expectations, the goblin was still standing—completely unscathed.

Only its front had been charred pitch-black.

“This can’t be happening…!”

***

As the scorched skin fell off in chunks, bright red muscle was exposed underneath.

Even then, the goblin glared with wide-open eyes and gave a twisted grin that sent chills down her spine.

Overwhelmed by fear and with her divine power fully depleted, Lucia collapsed where she stood, trembling.

Her mortar had been burned away, leaving her weaponless, but the goblin’s battle spirit remained unshaken.

Clasping both hands together, the goblin raised them high above its head.

It aimed directly at Lucia’s crown and brought its fists crashing down.

“Don’t give up so easily.”

Just in time, Erin darted in between them.

Tilting her sword diagonally, she managed to deflect the goblin’s punch.

Seizing the momentum, Erin cast an enhancement spell on herself and slashed her sword multiple times in a blink.

Dozens of cuts carved into the goblin’s arm, tearing through muscle and spilling blood.

“Graaaaah!”

In just a few seconds, its forearm was shredded and dangling.

The goblin finally screamed in agony, thrashing in pain.

It stomped wildly and rampaged around.

Holding onto Lucia’s collar, Erin pulled her away to keep her out of harm’s reach.

“Can you infuse my sword with divine power?”

At Erin’s low whisper, Lucia nodded.

“Yes… I saved just enough for that.”

“Good. Let’s finish it with this final strike.”

“If it doesn’t work, I’m not going to forgive you!”

“If this doesn’t work, he’s not going to forgive us either.”

“You really are completely lacking in sentiment, future hero!”

Erin raised her sword vertically in front of her.

The sharp blade reflected the image of the goblin before her.

Lucia brought her hands together in prayer, and a golden aura seeped into Erin’s sword.

Feeling fully prepared, Erin launched herself off the ground and charged at the goblin.

The goblin threw a punch at the girl rushing toward it.

She drew her sword back, lowered her torso, and deftly slipped past the punch.

With a graceful leap to its side, she drew a clean arc at the goblin’s neck with her blade.

***

Then—

The goblin’s two-horned head slipped sideways and rolled across the ground.

“We did it.”

“That was some impressive swordsmanship. Would’ve been nicer if you showed it a bit earlier, though.”

“You only made it possible by stripping off its skin. I couldn’t have sliced through otherwise.”

“At least you’re honest about it.”

At Erin’s straightforward praise, Lucia gave a faint smile and let out a heavy breath.

Meanwhile, Erin looked around, half-expecting Tao to appear and clap for her.

But Tao never showed up, leaving her a little disappointed.

She turned and walked toward the altar behind the training ground.

Without thinking, she picked up an old coin that was lying on the altar.

“What’s this?”

That was when it happened.

The entire cave began to shake violently.

Lucia, still trying to catch her breath, shouted in alarm.

“What did you do this time?!”

“I just picked up a weird-looking coin…”

“Put it back right now!”

Frantically, Erin returned the coin—Sangpyeong Tongbo—to its original spot.

But the tremors did not stop.

The mechanism had already been activated.

Erin grabbed the coin again and ran back to Lucia.

“Seriously, can’t we catch a break for once?”

“Sorry.”

“Forget it! Looks like the cave’s collapsing. We need to get out, fast!”

“What about Master? Will he be alright?”

“Who’s worried about whom? Knowing him, he would’ve turned back the moment things started shaking.
And if we hesitated to look for him, he’d probably be angry.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

Trusting that Tao had gotten himself out safely, the two of them didn’t look back as they rushed along the path they’d come.

The cave started collapsing from the deepest chamber and crumbled rapidly.

Thankfully, their quick thinking helped them find the exit before it was too late.

“Made it!”

“Haa… haa…!”

The two girls tumbled out into the sunlight beyond the cave and collapsed in a heap, panting heavily.

“You two did great!”

“Master!”

At the familiar voice, Erin and Lucia smiled instinctively.

They wanted to tell him everything and be praised for their efforts.

But the moment they turned their heads, both of them froze like statues.

“What’s wrong?”

“Haa… ♡ Haa… ♡”

A fox girl stood bound before them—blindfolded, gagged, and tightly tied with thick ropes.

She was trussed up in a suggestive kinbaku style, resembling a portable backpack, and slung casually over Tao’s shoulder.

In his other hand… was a long whip.

“Master…?”

The two girls were even more shocked than when they had faced the skinned goblin.