The Reunion of the Disciples (1)

Raoul, who had been absentmindedly following the back of Rudis who had disappeared into the dark forest, looked at the dying campfire from the battle with the monster and spoke to Albert.

“… As expected, it looks like there’s definitely something hidden.”

“I wonder what the Empire is doing now, creating its own people. It just makes me more worried.”

When Albert says that he is concerned about Raoul’s actions for reasons other than his own, Raoul does not necessarily refute them or express his opinion.

-The one we banished…! Rudis was protecting me!!

Ellis’s words, spoken tearfully at the hospital, were clearly sincere.

I don’t know exactly how things will turn out, but one thing I know for sure is that he probably won’t cooperate with us in this ranked survival, but he won’t eliminate us as an enemy either.

If that was the case, Chairman Albert and I would have already left this fantasy world.

And he, who had been harassing them at the Royal Academy and always at the center of things… this time he acted as if he were the villain and helped them.

‘… If I make it to the finals, will you let me ask, Rudis?’

Why on earth did you act like that at the Royal Academy, why did you need to keep Ellis and Nora… secretly do something to protect us?

And what was the reason he had to keep it hidden until the very moment he was banished?

I wanted to know that.

“Chairman, let’s get out of here first.”

“Where are you planning to go? It’s late at night now.”

“If the same monster shows up again, we’re out. So, rather than going into the forest, it would be better to climb the tree near the entrance and stay there until morning.”

“I see. Let’s do that.”

I wanted to ask you the truth, so I spent my first day on a tree in the dark forest.

*

-Kwaang! Kwung! Gurrrrung…!!

“Haha, young people are full of energy.”

“… How old is your brother?”

“I’m twenty-two, the same age as you.”

High above the trees in a lush forest under a bright sky.

Harve, who was watching the battles of the other participants on the plains with me, frowned as if he didn’t expect this answer, but soon shook his head and changed the conversation.

“Can we not participate?”

“Why? Survival is a survival game. They’re going to fight each other and get separated, but we can just sit here and watch while eating jerky.”

“But Mr. Clark, the Academy Director… “

“I told you not to show disappointing magic, I didn’t tell you to fight until you drop.”

“Well, that was true… ?”

While others were fighting to the death, no, to the point of actually dying, as if they were anxious to show off their skills, as soon as the sun rose, I suggested to Harb that we find a higher tree and hide ourselves there.

At first, he thought I was hiding and planning to ambush the others, but now that the battle is getting fierce and he’s in a situation where he could definitely take out at least 5 people if he rushes in, he seems a little anxious because I’m not moving.

But this ranked survival battle is literally just a battle to show off basic abilities.

Magic, swordsmanship, martial arts, and the ability to judge situations and survive. It’s a test where you just have to use all of those to survive for 2 nights and 3 days. They’re giving meaning to Clark’s words right before they participate and are wasting their abilities, but if they keep doing that…

-Phew!

-Kyaak…!!

If you get stabbed in the back by someone weaker than you and get knocked out, that’s the end.

They will not be able to compete in the round of 64 thereafter.

And even if I don’t show up, at least half of the remaining players will definitely be eliminated tonight, which is the last night according to the story, so there’s no reason to waste my energy here.

“Then do you plan on continuing to stay here like this?”

“No way. There are people who want to find you later when the power is weak.”

“People you want to find?”

“Yes. Oh, Harb, do you want to go in there and fight? Then you can move separately… “

“No. We will move together.”

“That’s fortunate. I feel secure when Harve is with me.”

So I started explaining to him who I wanted to find the people I wanted to find so that he could join me in my survival.

One is the princess. She followed me to the competition, but if she hasn’t been eliminated yet, she’s probably hiding somewhere and holding on.

In the story, the incompetent villainess fell in love with the main character, Raoul, and made an accident by whining to Clark, the imperial wizard who had been acting as her teacher, and her brother, the crown prince, and barging in with an escort. However, now she participated on her own without telling her brother, let alone her teacher.

Of course, even if they didn’t say anything, those two would have been aware of the princess’s movements, but they probably wouldn’t have given her an escort.

I didn’t want to just leave her behind while she was struggling somewhere.

And the remaining one is Nora.

She must have heard the teacher’s words and participated in the ranking match, so she must have followed me here.

Considering the magic I felt yesterday, I’m sure it’s somewhere in this dense forest, but for some reason I can’t feel any magic right now, and I feel uneasy because I can’t sense any of it, nor can I sense her sensing magic.

‘But if you have the magic book I gave you, you won’t lose to just anyone.’

Originally, Nora should have moved with Raoul, but looking at the situation yesterday, it is highly likely that Nora ended up alone since Ellis did not participate.

Harb said that four students from the Frisia Academy participated, but one of them was not Ellis, but someone he had never heard of, so it was unlikely that he was acting with Nora.

-Kwaaang!!

“… The explanation is over, and it looks like things are starting to settle down there, so let’s get moving.”

“Would you like to go deeper into the forest?”

“Yes. Yesterday, I felt the magic of the person I was looking for, and he was in the forest.”

“Okay, then let’s go.”

Leaving behind those who were showing off their skills in the open field with no cover and where people were clearly visible, we walked deeper into the forest.

*

“Not good.”

“That’s not good.”

Nora, who had been ambushed yesterday and was concentrating on recovering with potions, was hiding in a cave with a silver-haired woman named Coti Royal Labyrinth who had hidden with her.

“The fighting outside is getting more intense. If we stay here any longer, others will surely come.”

“Huh! Miss Black Witch can’t move yet?”

“Oh my… Witch? Are you talking about me?”

“Net! Black hair and black clothes. I’m totally advertising myself as a black magician! So I decided to call you Black Witch!”

“I didn’t say my name yesterday… No, that’s fine. To cut to the chase, I can move. But if you ask me if I can fight… I guess it’ll be hard since I can’t move violently.”

I suffered serious burns to my legs yesterday from an attack by an enemy magician.

I used the potions I had and the ones the woman named Coty had, but they only relieved the pain and healed the wounds. I didn’t recover enough to run or move around vigorously.

That’s why, instead of climbing a tree to hide, he came to a small cave nearby.

“I see! I’m really screwed!”

“Yeah, if someone comes, me… “

“Net! I’ll throw you out as bait and the girl will have to run away!”

“… Are you really just throwing out your words without choosing them? “

I looked at her and let out a hollow laugh, wondering if she was being honest or stupid, or if she was definitely both. Then, she puffed out her plump chest, snorted, and spoke confidently.

“The girl’s survival method is a bit strange! The black witch is strong and seems like a nice person, so I tried to take the bus, but the driver said that there’s no way to recover the girl’s investment, so I have to save my life!”

“Pfft! Okay, okay. You do it. I was going to drop out yesterday anyway, but I persevered thanks to you, so I’ll pay you back for your help.”

“Wow! A woman’s righteousness!”

“Ah…? Haha!”

“Wooohoho…?! Klook!”

“Poohaha! What the hell are you doing…! Hahaha!”

They say it’s not a good situation, but when I hear a conversation that has a strange context, I find myself laughing without realizing it, and as if trying to laugh along, Coty tries to laugh out loud but starts coughing, and I find that so absurd that I end up laughing even harder.

Oh, how long has it been since I last laughed like this?

If I think about it, it’s been a really long time since I’ve laughed this happily since I entered the Royal Academy.

I feel a little gloomy again when I think that this is something that has changed since the day Rudis hid everything from me, but my gloomy feeling is slightly relieved by the sight of the pretty silver-haired woman laughing strangely again as if she will not be defeated by my laughter.

If I continue this ridiculous conversation and nonsense, I might just get through today. I was even thinking of such a ridiculous and hopeful prediction.

“Woohoohoo! Hobbit?!”

“Stop. I’m here.”

“!”

After covering her mouth, he quietly cuts off the laughter and speaks.

As if my wishful thinking was the problem, people started getting caught in my area detection magic.

Unlike yesterday’s perfect state, this time it was a detection magic that had been deployed into the area by sharpening the magic circle so that the opponent could not detect it.

A significant number of people started getting sick at the same time.

“… Three are approaching the cave right away. And two are following behind them as if watching. They are probably coming because they are almost certain that we are here. “

“Oww! Can I win?”

“Impossible. I don’t know about the three people coming right now, but the two following behind are definitely at the same level as me, or slightly weaker.”

“Whoa! That means the girl has to cut off the black witch here!”

“Huh. Yeah, that’s right.”

She promised to cleanly throw me away, picked up her luggage, got up from her seat, dusted herself off, smiled broadly, and continued speaking.

“Which direction should I run to?”

“You’re going to abandon me, do you really think I’ll tell you properly?”

“If you fool a girl, you’ll only get revenge later on, making you cry!”

“Pooha! I see, I don’t want to cry either… As soon as you leave the cave, run to the left. Then, you’ll come across a big tree, so hide near it. There’s a battle going on in that direction too. “

“Net! I’m a girl!”

“Okay, bye.”

“Survive!”

The silver-haired woman who casually threw out words that were either sincere or just empty words and then really ran out of the cave.

I really think it’s been a long time since I’ve had such a pleasant time, and now I’m wondering how I should survive.

I could probably get the three or so guys who approached me to back out by threatening to blow themselves up in the cave, but there’s also a chance that they’ll collapse the cave and bury me alive.

Furthermore, if the two people following behind are the same three as me, they could kill me faster than I did and eliminate me, even if they threatened to blow themselves up, and use this cave as their hideout.

It’s a situation where I really want to ask what kind of ranking match is this survival, but there’s no way around it now.

‘… Sorry Rudis, I can’t even go to the ranked match preliminaries.’

I wonder what his ulterior motive was in calling me here, but I don’t think I’ll be able to hear it this time.

Now that the guys had come to the cave entrance, I stood up, straightening my uncomfortable posture, opened my magic book, and prepared to chant my magic. What appeared in front of me were two female magicians who seemed injured and a healthy swordsman.

“What? Are you alone?”

“Get out now. Or I’ll collapse this cave.”

“Wait! We didn’t come here to fight you.”

“I don’t want to fight either, so just get out.”

“No, wait! I have something to ask you too…!”

“[Lv. 3]… “

“Hey! That crazy bitch already had her magic ready!”

“Damn! You said you sensed that bitch’s magic, so why is there another bitch?!”

I thought about attacking the three people who didn’t seem to have come to knock me down, but I didn’t have the luxury of doing so.

Above all, the other side was genuinely surprised by the magic that this side had cast with the intention of bluffing, and they began to prepare for battle.

‘It looks like this is really the end.’

Perhaps they are the weak who were injured or ran away while fighting someone.

All three of them are enemies that I could easily defeat if I were at my best.

But right now, I’m at my limit just standing still, and even though I have magical power, I don’t have the strength to stand still and take their attacks in this narrow cave.

I really think this ranking match is over here, and I’m aiming for the cave ceiling instead of those guys and casting my magic…

-Phew!!

“Ugh!”

“[Black Magic] [Lv. 1] Black… ! [Black Hand]!!”

“You… Ugh!!”

“Oh, it’s the princess!!”

“This incompetent bitch! How dare you do this to me!!”

“Hehehehe! The incompetent princess has made her secret and splendid appearance!!”

The silver-haired woman who attacked me from behind again just like last night.

I don’t understand how she lived so secretly, how she could evade my detection and make a surprise attack, but she bit her tongue once and skillfully used [Black Hand] to keep the two remaining people in check, and winked at me.

“Black Witch! Hurry up and help the girl!!”

“You are real! [Black Matan]!”

The plan to blow himself up was completely ruined by her return.

In the end, it was only natural that we would defeat the enemies who had surrounded us from both sides of the cave, and as soon as we defeated the three of them, the silver-haired woman, Koti, who was called the princess, ran to me without hesitation, threw down her luggage, and turned her back.

“Up!”

“You idiot! I’m heavy!”

“The girl’s breasts are much bigger, so they’re heavier! Hurry up!!”

She, who clearly remembered that there were two more people outside besides those three, quickly began to lead me out of the cave, moving towards the left as I had said before.

“No. I’ve completely captured the two guys I mentioned earlier. They’re abandoning me again… “

“Gasp gasp! Girl, if you’re alone now, you’ll die! Gasp gasp! You don’t think you can survive? Gasp gasp… !”

“Is that something to be proud of?”

If we continue like this, we’ll both be tracked down by the other party and we’ll both be finished.

She confidently carried me on her back, but just as she looked, she wasn’t very strong and she kept her mouth shut and forcibly moved me, but now her speed was slower than crawling.

“After a while… the girl feels like she’s going to throw up.”

“… You idiot. You’re going to be eliminated along with me.”

“Ugh. I can’t help it. I wanted to be with a commoner tonight, but the girl’s judgment was reckless.”

The silver woman who said there was someone she wanted to meet, but ended up giving up on that goal and helping me.

I just learned from my enemies that this woman is the princess of this country, but even though she is a high-ranking person, her personality seems much better than mine.

“… Put me down.”

“Gasp, the girl is already on her knees?”

“That’s right. Thank you. You worked hard. Then… [Black Magic][Lv. 1][Black Hand]”

“Whoaaah?!! Is this a betrayal?!!”

She was grabbed by a giant black hand that jutted out from the ground and started to run wild, screaming, “Gyaaak! Save the girl! This tentacle restraint shame play is completely out for the princess?!!”

Phew. You’re really an idiot.

“It’s okay. That’s not the purpose of the magic. I hope we can see each other again after the ranking match is over.”

“Wow?!”

Control your magic to keep her away from this place.

I can’t use the technique of riding my magic to move, but if I could just throw my black hand long and far, I’ve been able to do it since the day I first learned magic.

After I dismissed the silver-haired woman who was called the princess, I looked at the two men approaching.

‘Ha, is this the end? Sorry, Rudis. I’ll see you later. Then… I’ll apologize properly in the situation you want me to be in.’

And then a silver trail fell.