episode_0042

The classroom was noisy, and the students still hadn’t emerged from the excitement of the training camp.

I lay slumped over my desk, vaguely letting the sounds of voices flow past me, waiting for Sara to arrive.

Click!

Just then, the door opened, and she appeared.

“Quiet, everyone! I know you’re excited, but focus. Some of you know, and some don’t, but in two weeks, we’ll have our field practice. You’ll be randomly grouped and dropped into a forest. You need to be careful, because if you don’t keep your wits about you, you could die. Understood? I’ll tell you more details during homeroom, so brace yourselves. That’s all for today. I’ll just call roll and then leave.”

After firmly establishing discipline, Sara called roll as she’d said and then left the classroom.

The murmuring students had already shifted their topic from the training camp to the field practice.

‘Field practice, huh….’

I remembered it as quite an interesting episode.

It was the part where Abel, who had only been growing within and outside the academy, finally began to compete head-on with the top-tier students.

The highlight was the tense standoff with Skadia over the boss monster.

Recalling the thrilling memories from when I played, I suddenly shifted my focus elsewhere.

‘By the way, what about the Transmigrators?’

The bald swordsman was no problem since I’d clearly seen his face, but figuring out how to find the fire mage felt a bit daunting.

Finding them is easy, but obtaining information without arousing suspicion is difficult.

Should I use an information guild?

‘It would cost a lot of money, but it would be reliable.’

However, I already had a mountain of items to use when I intervened in the main story later, so I questioned whether it was okay to spend on something like that.

It seemed better to reconsider commissioning an information guild.

‘No choice, then. I’ll just have to do it myself.’

When I saw them fight last time, I confirmed that all the Transmigrators weren’t too far off from my level.

The possibility of them causing serious trouble right away was low, so if I took my time and gradually found out, an answer would surely emerge.

Or, I could always commission them later when I had more money.

‘Good. That’s decided.’

Now that I’ve decided on future plans, I can comfortably catch up on some sleep.

Lately, I’ve been mobilizing even the Infinite Thread for training, and the muscle pain is so severe I feel like I’m dying.

I gently closed my eyes.

*

“…”

Late in the afternoon, I was currently sitting around a desk with Deborah and three others.

It was all because of the field practice.

Due to the practical session in two weeks, we were randomly grouped, and by chance, I ended up on Deborah’s team.

Well, I didn’t really have any complaints.

Even if it wasn’t her, it would have been an equally uncomfortable situation.

“Alright. Let’s set our positions like this. Ga-il in the lead, Shane behind him, then Ruan and I in the center, and Lia takes the rear. How’s that? I think this is the best.”

“Agreed! Leave the front to me!”

“Just hold them still, and I’ll take care of all of them.”

“I’ll work hard too!”

At Deborah’s words, the team members each expressed their enthusiasm, appealing for their roles.

Only I remained silent.

Perhaps bothered by my quietness, Deborah’s eyes turned to me.

“Ruan. What about you?”

Her tone was utterly haughty.

Perhaps she wanted to act like a cool class president in front of her friends, showing a completely opposite attitude to how she was when we were alone.

When I slightly frowned, her violet eyes trembled faintly.

“…I don’t care.”

“Good. Then let’s go with these positions. Next are everyone’s roles. Honestly, I don’t think there’s much room for disagreement here. Everyone probably already understood when we decided on positions.”

Deborah used illusion magic to project a virtual combat formation map onto the desk.

While Ga-il in the lead drew the monster’s attention, Shane would provide support from behind, and simultaneously, Lia in the rear would cover.

And my role was to block any monsters that rushed in, timing it for when Deborah was casting.

The team members marveled at her delicate magic.

“Amazing, aren’t you? As expected of Deborah.”

“I can understand it instantly.”

“You’re amazing, Deborah! Incredible!”

“It’s nothing special. It’s not that difficult.”

Amidst the pouring praise, Deborah tossed her head back, raising her nose slightly.

Despite her timid personality, her desire for recognition seemed quite strong. Perhaps that thick smokey makeup acted as a switch to transition her dual personality.

‘Anyway, this is going to be annoying for a while.’

Now that the team was decided, it wouldn’t just end with determining positions and roles.

As if to prove it, Deborah offered a suggestion.

“Since we have a rough outline, let’s stop here for today. How about we meet on the weekend instead? We should at least try a mock practice.”

“Of course!”

“Naturally. I’ll definitely make it into the top 30 in this practical session.”

“I agree too!”

In an instant, all the team members except me unanimously agreed.

Their gazes shifted to me.

Under their unspoken pressure asking what I would do, I confidently declared.

“Saturday is impossible.”

As soon as those words fell, the team members’ mood turned gloomy.

Lia, who was in charge of the rear, timidly asked.

“Ru-Ruan. But to get a good score in this field practice, it would be good to work together.”

“Even if it’s impossible, it’s impossible. I have something to do on Saturday.”

“Hmph…”

When her words had no effect, Lia’s lips pouted. She was small and had a somewhat chick-like image, which was quite cute.

Her round head compelled a desire to pat it, but I firmly endured.

“Instead, I’ll participate on Sunday. So know that. Is that the end of it? I’m leaving.”

Having delivered my notification, I quickly exited the classroom before anyone could stop me.

‘Just in case, I should visit the magic item shop on Saturday.’

There was still quite a bit of time until the field practice, but since I didn’t know if any urgent matters would arise, it was necessary to prepare in advance.

I began to check my schedule.

*

“Oh, you’re here!”

As soon as I entered the designated training hall, a chick-like figure exclaimed excitedly.

She held a bow as large as her own body.

Despite her energetic appearance, Lia was a sniper type who focused on each shot from a fixed position.

I hadn’t seen her fight, but with a bow that size, its power was surely undeniable.

I approached my teammates.

“Alright. Everyone’s here. Let’s start the training right away. First, let’s practice forming our formation and moving. Just a moment.”

After her explanation, Deborah pulled out something like a remote control from her pocket and operated it.

Then, just like during the class assignment test, the space melted fluidly, turned white, and then was repainted.

Before we knew it, we were in the middle of dense green foliage.

I subtly admired it.

‘As expected of the Academy.’

This was the power of the Illusion Combat System installed within the group training hall.

The Academy had also installed numerous cutting-edge magic systems to allow students to safely experience real combat.

It probably cost a fortune, too.

Just as my thoughts were drifting into adult concerns, Deborah opened her mouth.

“Done. Now, let’s form our formation and move. Alright, everyone to your positions!”

Deborah truly had an unexpected leadership quality.

That’s probably why she was the class president, but anyway, with her crisp briefing, everyone moved in an orderly fashion to form their formation.

I quickly moved to Deborah’s side.

Actually, unlike the others, my role was simple: just staying in place and observing the surroundings.

Of course, it would be different in a real battle, but for now, there was no difficulty.

After moving around the forest in formation for a while, we took a short break after 30 minutes.

“I think the formation is pretty well established. Now, after this break, let’s summon monsters and have a full-fledged battle.”

“Okay, Deborah! But what kind of monster will you summon?”

“Hmm. Since it’s our first time, it’s better not to overdo it. An Orc should be fine for the first one, wouldn’t it? What do you all think?”

An Orc, based on the lowest individual, was a low-level monster with a level of approximately 60.

By current standards, where the average level was close to 80, it was a super easy difficulty, not even enough for a warm-up.

Ga-il flexed his arm, emphasizing his bicep, and said.

“I don’t mind even a Warrior! Tell them to come as many as they want!”

“Ga-il! You’re exaggerating too much! If a Warrior appeared, no one except Deborah would be able to handle it!”

“I agree with Lia. That’s too dangerous.”

A Warrior was on a different level from a regular Orc.

Its level exceeded 100, its physical abilities were at least twice as strong, and most importantly, it could use sword energy, making it impossible to handle with ordinary iron weapons.

Ga-il’s sturdy shield would be cut like paper in front of it.

‘Well, it’s not like we’ll ever encounter one anyway.’

No matter how much it was field practice, it was still just a test, and the Academy wouldn’t be crazy enough to throw students into a place with Orc Warriors.

Of course, it’s true that a boss monster appears, but that’s an unforeseen variable, so it’s an exception.

A moment later, we ended our break, found a suitable terrain, and formed our formation.

“Then I’ll summon it. Everyone, be alert!”

With a warning, Deborah summoned an Orc.

The space crackled and shook, and a blurred figure gradually intensified, its body forming from its feet as if loading.

Once fully summoned, the Orc opened its eyes, roared at us, and then, axe in hand, charged.

Ga-il blocked its path.

“Over here! Over here!”

Clang! Clang!

As he struck his shield with his longsword, a clear sound echoed. Stimulated by the sound, the Orc slammed its axe against the shield.

But since Ga-il excelled in both strength and durability, there was no damage.

Shane seized the opportunity.

“Hup!”

Shane, moving nimbly, plunged forward, his rapier slicing across the Orc’s ankle.

It wasn’t severed, but it was cut quite deeply, stiffening the Orc’s movements.

“Graaaah!”

Even as it screamed, the Orc continuously swung its axe as if to unleash its pain with its body.

While Ga-il and Shane worked together to accumulate damage, Lia, calmly aiming her bow from behind, fired an arrow.

The bowstring was so powerful that the arrow instantly closed the distance and struck the Orc’s eyeball.

Thwack!

The sound was incredibly heavy.

The Orc, its brain destroyed through its eyeball in an instant, staggered before completely collapsing, its breath gone.

The system seemed to recognize it, reversing the summon and erasing the Orc.

“Wow, we won!”

“Ha-ha! It was nothing!”

“Too easy.”

The team members were euphoric in victory.

Although it was an expected outcome, for a first battle, their coordination was good, and it had gone smoothly.

Deborah, seemingly deep in thought, lowered her head and murmured before drawing everyone’s attention.

Clap!

“You all did well. But this is just the beginning. It was only one monster. From now on, we’ll gradually increase the number.”

“Ah, okay!”

“Don’t worry. We won’t let our guard down.”

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

With such fervent enthusiasm, the battles against the illusions continued.

And then, the day of the field practice arrived.