episode_0013

“Do you understand? We are currently trapped in the mountains.”

“Bern, does Bern know what’s going on right now?”

“Yes.”

It’s not like I didn’t anticipate this situation.

However, Requiem usually starts making declarations of war from the second round after the first round ends.

From the second round onwards, the story progresses differently from the first round, with more choices available in the second round.

So while playing the game, one of the choices among the various branches leads to an ending route.

If you played the first round without consulting a walkthrough and followed the standard path, a happy ending is guaranteed at first.

But from the next round onwards, due to multiple choices provided,

the outcome may not always be a happy ending as it was when you first played the game; a bad ending could also occur.

The ending of this game changes significantly depending on the route taken,

and can be broadly categorized into three types: Happy Ending, Bad Ending, and True Ending.

From what I see, depending on the protagonist’s choices, a happy ending may await at the end, or perhaps a thorny path filled with despair.

But that’s okay. This is reality. I will walk towards a new path that no one has ever ventured before.

I will escape from my family and survive. Then, I will witness the conclusion of this world and return home.

Even thinking about it, it’s a flawless plan.

If I were to collapse in a place like this, endlessly playing only this game for a long time would be a blow to my pride.

Now, let’s make a plan to escape from this place.

There must be other protagonists who have been enrolled here.

And not just the protagonist, there will also be named individuals like Elisha.

Moreover, the protagonist of this world is strong enough to clear a Grade 3 dungeon alone.

The protagonist Ian possesses a late-blooming trait and a system that adjusts his stats when fighting opponents stronger than himself.

So, the protagonist should be doing well on his own.

Of course, for now, it’s up to me, Ellen, and our team members to take care of things rather than the protagonist.

It’s nighttime now, so the academy side probably hasn’t caught on yet.

We need to hold out at least until morning.

And Requiem hasn’t just set up a barrier here, as I expected…

“Ellen, our goal now is not to find the object. We need to escape from this place.”

“Yeah, if Bern says so, then that’s how it is. So how do we escape?”

“First, such a large-scale barrier cannot be cast alone.”

“That makes sense. So to maintain such a large-scale barrier, there must be a suitable medium for it.”

“Yes, and if the barrier is being maintained around that medium. There’s only one place.”

“The peak of the mountain…!”

That’s right. We must destroy the medium located at the peak of the mountain, compressing the mana of countless people to create magic stones.

But the path up won’t be easy.

Due to the barrier disrupting the flow of mana, traps activated by magic won’t all work.

But Requiem wouldn’t have just set up the barrier. Although they are low-ranking, there might be monsters of at least Grade 7-8 released.

It wouldn’t matter if it were just me and Ellen, but all the second-year students are here.

Among them, there are students specialized in support roles like medicine or alchemy rather than combat.

If such a student gets separated from their team members, it would be a big problem.

If several people are together, even if monsters appear, major injuries can be avoided, but

if someone is ambushed by several monsters alone… a terrible situation would unfold.

From the second round onwards, the darker aspects of this game start to emerge.

My top priority is to survive.

However, that doesn’t mean I want to see others getting hurt or dying.

If I didn’t know, I might not have cared much, but knowing and turning a blind eye doesn’t sit well with me.

I want to see the end of this world while I’m alive. But there’s no way the view from atop others’ corpses would be a pleasant one.

Let’s leave the summit to the protagonist of this world.

“Ellin, we’re changing our objective.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

As I casually picked up the sword tucked at my waist, I added,

“Let others handle the intermediaries at the summit, and let’s gather those left on the mountain.”

“Got it! We haven’t known Bern for long, but he’d probably say the same!”

“Is that so? In that case, Ellin, hold on tight. You might fall.”

“Okay!”

Let’s go gather the kids.

…

“Ugh. Huff. Ugh….!”

“Hold on! Ron! Don’t fall asleep! Just a little longer!”

A young man carrying another man with a turned robe on his back, running aimlessly up the mountain.

His name is Lloyd Fowler, a second-year student in the swordsmanship department who has recently entered his second year.

On his back is a relatively larger injury-ridden wizard, Ron Kais.

Separated from his fellow group members Bern Flame and Ellin early on during the exercise, they had no choice but to head towards the mountain first.

While on their way to the mountain, they were almost attacked by other students in the forest or nearly robbed of the objects they had barely obtained.

Fortunately, they managed to reach the mountain. However, the problem started there.

Thinking they had arrived relatively early at the mountain, they found it crowded with students as well.

Unable to rest in such a place, they searched for objects without respite.

During this time, they had a few skirmishes with other students.

The combination of a wizard and a swordsman surprisingly worked well, allowing them to overcome crises safely.

However, Ron was a wizard. Exhausted from running all day without rest, he could no longer move, and while hiding to recover his strength, a barrier was erected.

A large-scale barrier sealing magical powers.

Ron was the first to notice it.

Though he was currently in Class D, his talent was genuine.

Even though he hadn’t fully blossomed his talent yet, he remained sharp even in dire situations.

So when the blue sky was about to be engulfed in darkness like a black sea.

They tried to descend the mountain to escape the area where magic couldn’t be used.

However, the barrier not only sealed their magic but also prevented them from leaving, forcing them to find a place to hide and fully recover their strength.

In the midst of this, they were surrounded by a horde of monsters.

“What’s this? This place should be uninhabitable for monsters.”

With exhausted bodies, they couldn’t face several monsters at once.

Moreover, they were unable to use any magic at the moment.

While Lloyd wielded a sword, Ron, without magic, was no different from an ordinary person.

So he made a decision.

“L-Lloyd, run! I’ll distract them! You need to run too!”

“What are you saying? I don’t leave my partner behind.”

“Y-You idiot! Right now, we can’t use magic, our stamina is depleted, we both can’t survive—”

“No, I will take down all those monsters and we will both survive. Come behind me, wizard.”

As he spoke, something huge emerged among the wolves.

A wolf-like monster, resembling a wolf pack leader, acted as its leader.

Grade 6 Dire Wolf and the Grade 8 monster Gray Wolf it led.

Grade 6 wasn’t that challenging.

Traveling in a pack might make it a bit tough, but with Lloyd and Ron’s usual skills, they could easily handle it.

However, the massive creature that appeared now, the Dire Wolf, was different.

Larger than a typical Grade 6 Dire Wolf, even more enormous than what Bern had encountered, its size was truly overwhelming.

5 meters. In human terms, it was a size no different from that of a giant. Its fangs were extremely menacing, emitting a red light that seemed to breathe life.

However, Lloyd did not back down.

It was an academy he had entered to become a hero.

If such a monster roamed the mountain, turning away was not an option.

Even if we ran away, what if it went after other students? The outcome was clear.

With a massive body nearly reaching 2 meters, even Lloyd, who couldn’t use magic due to fear of death, trembled slightly.

So, there was no choice but to fight.

A battle for life against the monstrous being began.

The clash between a sword larger than a person and the huge monster created a threatening gust of wind.

At first, Lloyd thought he was winning.

But as he began to falter, he gradually allowed the giant monster to land attacks on him.

Eventually, exhausted, he found himself facing the giant creature’s massive foreleg descending towards his neck.

No matter how skilled Lloyd was, his fate seemed sealed.

As he quietly closed his eyes in resignation to his futile death, he heard a strange sound.

“Ah!”

From where the indescribably horrific sound emanated, he saw Ron, whom he expected to be behind him, getting torn apart by the monster’s claw.

“Gah!”

“!!”

Enraged by the gruesome sight, Lloyd swung his massive sword down upon the monster attacking Ron.

His furious strike cleanly severed the monster’s head vertically.

Despite lacking magical power, his sword’s sheer destructive force was enough to shatter the monster’s skull.

Witnessing this scene, the monsters rushing toward them were mercilessly torn apart by Lloyd’s massive blade.

In the process, Lloyd sustained minor injuries, but Ron needed urgent attention.

Carrying him, Lloyd ran frantically, knowing there must be medical supplies in these mountains or a student specializing in healing magic.

That was the current situation.

“Pull yourself together! You can’t fall! I will never let you die. Don’t die. Wizard!”

The bleeding was severe. Without treatment after losing so much blood, there was no hope.

“Oh gods, have mercy on Ron.”

Although typically an atheist, he prayed fervently to a higher power this time.

Please, save this friend…

Did the gods bestow their blessing upon them?

He then noticed her.

The second-year student, the future saint of the academy.