Chapter 101 : Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Midterm Evaluation (5)

From atop the rocky mountain, while waiting for Madre, I recalled the information Rachel had shared about him.

Undefeated warrior cadet.

Compared to Frey Academy, it was a concept akin to the top cadet, but according to Rachel, the title of undefeated was twice as hard to earn as being the top.

‘Bullshit. Just an arena champion.’

The visions he mainly used were a protective aura emitted from his entire body and martial arts utilizing wind.

And then.

‘Watch out for his arm.’

I recalled Rachel’s final warning.

It was at that moment.

Ziiiiing──!

The night sky.

The shimmering light from the Safety Zone in the distance wavered precariously before going out.

Simultaneously, the Mountain of Trials was engulfed in complete darkness.

It had begun.

Their assault.

At the same time,“Hey.”

A familiar silhouette waved a hand in the darkness.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you.”

“Chuck. Right. You were feeling unsatisfied too, weren’t you? That it ended like that.”

I took off the skull mask.

“I was unsatisfied.”

“…….”

“You drew your sword, so we should see it through to the end. But we didn’t.”

Madre blinked at me, then made an expression of disbelief.

“You. What are you?”

“Why?”

“You’re Gerard?”

Holding Raven, I answered.

“Are you an idiot? You saw me, so why ask?”

“……You’re really that cadet?”

“Yeah. So what? Does that matter?”

Madre’s rigid expression twisted oddly.

I smirked and put the skull mask back on.

Then I spread both arms.

“Shall we finish it? Skull mask removal.”

Come and take it off.

Seeing this, Madre’s entire body shook as he burst into maniacal laughter.

“Chuck…… Khahahaha!”

The attack began with that laughter.

It seemed he was going all out from the start.

The moment I felt the space compress, a massive fist was already right in front of my nose.

Calmly, I drew Raven and swung it upward from below.

A flash of light. Madre, retrieving his fist, shouted while still laughing.

“Nice! This is it!”

His expression was dyed with pure joy.

“This tension. This thrill! Yes. Whether you’re a thief or a cadet, that kind of thing doesn’t matter!

Today is the greatest day of my life!”

“It’ll be your last day.”

“Hahaha! Then that’s even better!”

Madman.

As I swung Raven, I used Telekinesis.

Tododok, the dagger sheaths on my belt opened simultaneously, and four daggers shot out at once.

“Whoa!”

Startled, Madre quickly retreated, but there was nowhere to escape.

All the daggers hit him.

However, they failed to achieve their purpose and bounced off powerlessly.

Protective aura.

The aura enveloping his body was protecting him.

“Surprised?”

Ignoring his smug grin, I used Dagger Shift.

The target was the dagger that had just been flung backward.

As soon as I shifted, I infused mana into Raven and swung.

Shwaak, blood spurted.

The wound wasn’t deep.

His combat sense was impressive; he twisted his body in that split second to dodge.

Immediately after dodging, Madre unleashed a barrage of punches.

I saw a glint in his eyes.

Here it comes.

Fist wind.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

Soon, blades of wind followed the trajectory of his punches, overwhelming my vision.

I used Dagger Shift to escape the area, but Madre quickly followed, swinging more fist winds.

“I get it! A vision that moves through weapons! Haaap!”

Madre stomped the ground.

A gale surged around him, scattering the daggers that had fallen to the ground in all directions.

I used Telekinesis to retrieve them and then cast a spell.

[Water Prison].

In an instant, moisture gathered, surrounding him.

“What, what’s this? Magic?”

While he was flustered, I cast another spell.

[Thunderbolt].

Kwarung!

A combo of Water Prison and Thunderbolt.

But even that couldn’t penetrate his protective aura.

No matter.

It was a feint.

I was already swinging Raven with both hands.

From top to bottom.

A simple slash, but one where all power was concentrated for a lethal sword technique.

Lion Slash.

Recognizing the majestic force, he chose not defense or evasion, but attack.

In that instant, a sword shot out from his sleeve.

The sword curved like a snake’s head, rushing toward my face.

I saw a thick smile form on his lips.

‘I won.’

Eyes gleaming with the certainty of victory.

But.

“What!?”

Having already known his trump card, I quickly twisted my sword.

From the start, I wasn’t aiming for his head, but that sleeve.

His face stiffened at that exact moment.

Immediately after, Raven swept forward.

His vision, the snake-like sword, and both of his arms.

Shwaaaak!

Before I knew it, Madre was kneeling in a pool of his own blood, looking at me.

With nothing left below both shoulders, Madre was smiling with satisfaction.

“……Heh. Good fight.”

And then his head dropped forward.

At the same time, a shiver ran through my body.

Proof that my level had risen.

But there was no time to feel joy.

I hurriedly sheathed Raven and took off the skull mask.

After returning to my cadet attire, I quickly moved to the next location.

Tadadak!

I finished as fast as I could, but a lot of time had passed.

By now, a full-scale battle between Galbart’s group and the cadets must have started.

I didn’t know whether they were fighting well or not, but the crucial fact was that I had to be the one to finish Galbart.

Experience points?

Of course, that was one reason, but there was a more important one.

Namely,“Self-detonation.”

Galbart would self-detonate at the last moment.

To be precise, the bomb attached to his body would.

‘Galbart has a mana bomb implanted in his body.’

‘……What?’

‘It’s Bishop Lutus’s order. It’s a method they sometimes use. When they’re not confident in killing the target, the Dark Clerics sometimes resort to suicide bombing. It’s the first time a high Cleric has used it, though.’

That’s why Rachel had told me I needed to destroy the mana bomb in his chest along with his heart.

“They’re still fighting, right?”

If this were the original story, they’d be slightly losing.

After all, there were ten Clerics.

All of them high Clerics, and Galbart was a powerhouse contending for the top spot among high Clerics.

……But.

It was a complete miscalculation.

“Where did it go wrong?”

I muttered blankly, staring at the scene before me.

A forest where the heat of battle still lingered.

The fallen bodies around were all Clerics, and Ivan, Yuria, Karina, Gwyn, Hannes, Victor, and other cadets were catching their breath, savoring their victory.

Then they spotted me and ran over.

“Senior! Are you okay?”

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Ugh. What took you so long, you useless guy? You’re no help at all.”

Yeah. The battle was over.

The result was shockingly the cadets’ victory.

So, did they take down Galbart too?

Did they stab his heart?

Since no explosion happened, it seemed so.

Good……

Ziiing──

At that moment, my thoughts froze.

A chill ran down my spine.

[Instinct] screamed.

Run.

There was no sign of Galbart’s body nearby.

“Where’s their leader?”

Ivan said something in response.

I couldn’t hear it.

Beyond the bushes, I saw a black aura.

I quickly ran toward it.

And I came face to face.

Galbart collapsed with a hole in his neck.

“……Heh.”

He sneered at me before his head dropped.

Yeah.

Galbart’s heart was intact.

“Senior? Why suddenly…….”

Yuria, who had followed me, asked with concern. Behind her, the others lined up.

At the same time, Galbart’s chest swelled like a balloon.

“……Ha.”

There was no choice.

Looking at the blinding flash filling my vision, I raised my hand.

Soon, a massive explosion shook the ground.

* * *

I slept for a full day.

Rather than sleeping, it’d be more accurate to say I was unconscious.

When I woke up, I was in the infirmary.

Professor Ilai, who had been tending to me, greeted me first, followed by Baron Tesda and other professors rushing into the infirmary.

I roughly knew what had happened, but I had no memory after the blinding flash.

Well, as long as my body was fine, that was enough.

The 890th class cadets were all unharmed too.

My collapse was just due to exhaustion from pouring out all my mana at once.

Only a day had passed, but the events of yesterday were already plastered across Royal Dream’s headlines.

The Mountain of Trials, which had been attacked, was swarming with investigation teams, and the Central Knights and Special Magic Corps were on the scene.

Naturally, the ongoing Survival Game was completely halted.

The one who came to see me after I rested in the infirmary was Dean Bell Toro.

“Hello.”

“Yeah. Sit.”

And so, I faced the dean again.

Once at the disciplinary committee, once to receive an artifact.

Once in the infirmary.

This was already my third meeting with the dean this month.

If I included the time since enrollment…… hmm. It’s still less than ten times.

But I had a feeling it’d surpass that soon.

“How’s your body?”

“I’m fine.”

“Good to hear.”

Honestly, it was uncomfortable.

Not my body, but the professor’s excessive attention.

What kind of potential did he see in me to care this much?

At this point, I was curious.

What kind of reaction would he show when he found out I was a thief?

“It’s pure curiosity about this incident. Before coming to you, I met with Ivan.”

“Yes?”

“Your expression. You seemed curious.”

“Oh.”

I must’ve unintentionally shown an uncomfortable expression.

I turned my head to move my facial muscles.

Control your expression. Control.

“I heard the gist from Ivan. You joined the scene last, right?”

“Yes. By the time I arrived, the situation was already over.”

“Right. It’s a relief the kids managed to overcome it; it could’ve been a huge tragedy. Oh, no. Is it already a tragedy that this happened? Heh.”

“…….”

“Do you know the name Galbart?”

It was a sudden question, but I shook my head.

“First time hearing it.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“He was the leader of that group. Also, the one who self-detonated at the end.”

As if waiting for it, I scrunched up my face.

“I’ve never seen a villain as cruel as him. To think he’d throw himself away to harm the Academy. What made him so vicious?”

The dean didn’t answer.

He just stared at me intently.

A gaze so transparent it felt like it was piercing through me.

So, as if I really didn’t know, I put on a shameless act with a face of steel.

“What was his goal, doing something like that? It’s too much to say it was just enmity toward the Academy……”

“Who knows. Maybe to ruin the exam, or to eliminate one of the cadets, or perhaps the Academy itself. What’s certain is that there’s a force out there targeting the Academy, and the terror will continue.”

The dean leaned back in his chair.

His gaze had been withdrawn by then.

“Can you tell me what you did after the Survival Game started?”

I mixed some lies with the truth.

My drop-off point was the northern sector.

While proceeding with the Survival Game, eliminating other cadets, I encountered an unidentified intruder and fought and defeated him.

After learning from the intruder that he wasn’t alone, I was rushing to the Safety Zone when I met Ivan and the other 890th class cadets.

“That’s all.”

The dean nodded.

“Good. Thanks to your judgment and spirit of sacrifice, many kids were able to escape danger.”

His gaze landed on my wrist.

Where the Bracelet of Protection should have been, there was now nothing.

Only a blackened burn mark on my skin indicated that the Bracelet of Protection had once been there.

“Regret it?”

I gave a bitter smile.

How could I not regret it?

It wasn’t even a one-use item, and I broke an artifact without using it much.

Right before Galbart activated the mana bomb, I poured all my mana into activating the Bracelet of Protection.

Thanks to that, I protected myself and the others, but I lost the Bracelet of Protection.

“I regret it, but it’s fine. As long as the result was good.”

But why bring this up now? Is he planning to give me another one?

……I quietly held onto that hope.

“When I said I’d give you an artifact, why did you ask for the Bracelet of Protection?”

I blinked.

What’s the intent behind this question?

‘Is this guy thinking I foresaw this incident and asked for the Bracelet of Protection?’

No way.

Right?

“You received the Star’s Blessing before, and this time you could’ve gotten an artifact of the same rank. So why specifically ask for the Bracelet of Protection? Did you anticipate something like this would happen?”

Oh. Looks like that’s exactly what he thinks.

He’s mistaking me for some kind of prophet.

At this point, I’m a bit worried about what comes next.

‘How do I clear up this misunderstanding?’

I scratched my head.

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