episode_0322

“It’s begun.”

Alone in a secluded area of the forest, with no one else around.

Having prepared in advance, I equipped the Blackwood dagger that I had tucked inside my skirt, making sure not to stumble and fall flat on my face.

“Seems like I’m not near the riverbank…”

Although it’s called random teleportation magic, the actual locations for potential teleportation were predetermined by the professor of natural studies. Dropping students unexpectedly in the middle of a hobgoblin nest in the forest would be too unethical, even for a survival lecture.

Initially, there are no monsters at the teleportation site, but it’s still a ‘moderately dangerous’ location where you can’t let your guard down.

By randomly teleporting students to about a hundred pre-selected locations under these conditions, the lecture begins.

“If my life is really in danger, the professor will come to rescue me.”

The fact that students can use teleportation magic means that the professor can also move to the teleportation site, allowing them to roam the forest like it’s their own backyard.

Of course, I couldn’t completely relax. If I were to face danger at the same time as another student, the professor would have to choose who to rescue.

I never intended to let my guard down. Being forcibly rescued in the middle of the course and not completing it properly would be a loss when considering the experience points gained upon completion.

“First, I need to find Edan quickly.”

The key is whether I can find Edan in this vast forest… but we had already agreed on a signal in advance.

The most important things for surviving in the forest are establishing a campsite and securing a water source. Simply setting up a campsite near the riverbank greatly improves your chances of survival.

In the Hobgoblin Forest, there are two main rivers. A large, wide river flowing from the east, and a slightly narrower river flowing from the west.

A wider river may help with securing water, but it also increases the risk of flooding and encountering dangerous animals or monsters living in the river.

So, Edan and I agreed to meet at the narrow river flowing from the west. Even though it’s narrow, it doesn’t matter since we only need enough water for two people.

“If I follow the sun, I should be able to roughly determine the direction.”

It’s around 2 PM now, and in this world, the sun rises from the east to the west, so the setting sun indicates the west.

With that thought in mind, I walked in the direction of the setting sun.

It’s a rare 5-day, 6-night camping event in the forest, and I secretly hoped to spend a little more time with Edan.

***

About two hours have passed since the start of the natural studies lecture.

I had set up camp near the upper reaches of the western river, collecting firewood and waiting for Edan as agreed.

To survive in the forest for a long time, maintaining this campfire was crucial. It served as a source of warmth, cooking food, and a defense against nighttime threats.

Although one might think that there’s no need to light a campfire with the presence of the high-level fire spirit, Sally, it was a separate issue. As a high-level spirit, Sally could draw on the contractor’s magic power instantly, making her a type of spirit that could drain the contractor’s magic power.

Especially since Sally and I had only made a temporary contract, not a formal one, it was inevitable that we would soon run out of her power every time we needed fire.

“If it were at the academy, it wouldn’t matter, but here in the forest, we have to endure for the next 5 nights and 6 days.”

Relying on Sally’s flame magic for all the fires throughout the 6 days would deplete all of the over 4,000 units of magical power in no time.

The distribution of magical power was essential for survival and living in this forest, so it couldn’t be wasted carelessly, no matter how much there was. Especially when camping, since magical power didn’t replenish as well when sleeping and waking up, it had to be saved even more.

And by setting the fire like this, it would be easier for Edan to find me, so if we had to be picky, that was the main purpose.

“The problem is that monsters will also gather when they see this smoke.”

“Krrrk, krrrk.”

“Kerrrk, keung!”

Even though I had just defeated a group of goblins, more monsters were rushing in without realizing their lives were at stake.

Of course, goblins were not a threat to me now, so I just used multiple castings of magic arrows to kill them instantly.

-Phew!

“Kkkeurgh?!”

“Kkuheuk, keung!”

Lower-level monsters that fell with just one arrow were no longer my enemies.

If there was at least one opponent I could properly fight one-on-one, I would need to bring at least a named Hobgoblin…

“Grrrghh!”

“…Ah.”

…I didn’t mean to say that I wanted to fight right now.

Well, it doesn’t matter. If it’s a named Hobgoblin, it could be a decent experience point event until Edan arrives.

It would be about ten times the experience points of a normal goblin, so it was a good opponent to spend some time with.

“Judging by his size and the sword he’s holding… he might be a Hobgoblin Swordsman.”

Just because it’s a named Hobgoblin doesn’t mean the species itself changes significantly. It’s just that if an adventurer or mercenary drops a weapon and the goblin picks it up and it suits him well, that determines the type of named goblin.

If a goblin picks up a sword that an adventurer dropped and it fits him well, he becomes a Swordsman. If he picks up a spear and it fits him well, he becomes a Spearman.

Occasionally, those who pick up a mage’s staff or a bard’s flute and use them are called Magicians or Bards. The ones mentioned later travel in groups, so they were a bit more dangerous to encounter individually.

Still, if it’s a Hobgoblin Swordsman… I could probably hold my own in a one-on-one fight.

-Shrrk.

“Come on, you bastard.”

“Gyahhh!”

Where he got it from, I didn’t know, but a Hobgoblin Swordsman of just the right height came charging at me with a sword.

I countered his sword with my dagger buffed with ‘Sharp Blade.’

-Ching!

“…Phew.”

“Kkuhyag!”

…This is worth a try.

With a sword of this caliber, I could easily counter with my dagger. As someone who had received swords from Sword Experts and Sword Masters in the past, I was confident.

Of course, using magic to keep my distance and attack from afar was more ‘Lilith-like’ in terms of combat style, but I didn’t want to break the mood by doing that.

Finding an opponent who could fight me evenly based solely on swordsmanship was not an easy feat. And the fact that it could end with a kill without any mercy, made it even more challenging.

-Kang, kaang, kaang!

“Grrrgh! Gek! Gyahh!”

-Kang, kkaang!

“Phew, phew… haaah!!”

The Hobgoblin Swordsman, nervously swinging his sword at me with just a fist-sized dagger blocking his attacks.

It may have seemed like a simple attack with just swinging the sword around, but that made it a good opponent to practice quick reaction speed and defense.

After all, what a mage needed in swordsmanship was defensive skills rather than aggressive ones. In that sense, it was the perfect sparring partner for me, helping me learn the essential skills I needed.

-Clang, clang, kkaaang!

‘Earth! Gyaahh!!’

-Kkaaang, clang, kkaaaang!!

‘Urrrrk!! Ugyahk!!’

As time passed, the goblin swordsman’s sword swung faster and more erratically.

Carefully observing the gaps in his swordsmanship, I gradually shortened the time it took to deflect his attacks and deliberately simplified the path of his sword movements.

In the simple mind of a monster, memorizing a few movements was all it took to wield a sword, so by blocking a few paths in his swordsmanship, his swinging patterns would eventually be limited to one or two.

If I could just drag the situation to that point, the rest would be easy. Once I knew how he would move, even deliberately missing an attack became much easier.

‘Gyahhh!!’

-Chaeng!!

‘Gyahhh?!’

As the goblin swordsman swung his sword, I slightly relaxed my grip on the sword in my hand, allowing his attack to flow past like water, while at the same time using the ‘sword turning’ technique Harold had taught me to quickly correct my stance.

In the battle between the longsword and the dagger, the only advantage the dagger had was its significantly faster attack speed, which also included correcting a broken stance.

“It’s over now!!”

Although it was just a monster, facing off against a sword-wielding opponent with confidence in my swordsmanship alone.

I was planning to harvest the experience points of the goblin named Hop Goblin by stabbing the dagger into his unprotected heart at the last moment, but unfortunately, my plan was thwarted by a familiar blade that suddenly appeared behind him.

“Die! You, bastard gobl…”

-Swish!

“Lilith, are you okay?!”

“…You bastard, hey….”

“Sorry, I’m late, right?! It was because of the wind blowing at the eastern end of the forest….”

“….”

Just as I was about to finish off the Hop Goblin swordsman, Ethan’s blade that appeared out of nowhere effortlessly sliced through the neck of the named monster, and I, a beat late, stabbed the dagger into its heart, feeling a sense of emptiness as I blankly stared at Ethan’s face.

“Are you hurt?! I saw a lot of goblin corpses around here earlier, maybe Lilith took them all down….”

“…Ta.”

“Lilith?”

“My, my finishing blow!!!”

“L-Lilith?! Why all of a sudden?!”

…The reunion I had longed for with Ethan turned out to be the worst in many ways.