Chapter 14
Episode 1 Mid-Boss (1)
One of the seven large buildings of the Academy branch. Inside the Victoria Hall, where the Combat Departnt held its classes, things were in a stir due to an unexpected situation.
People gathered closely together in the auditorium. Serving as both a classroom and an ergency shelter, this was the first destination for those who sensed sothing was wrong.
“What... is going on here?”
With Canis’s help, I entered the auditorium. Countless gazes turned toward . Most of them were upperclassn. Even in a situation where everything was turned upside down, they had evacuated swiftly.
Winter kept fidgeting, trying to grasp the situation. Watching her, I shook my head and headed to a spot a little off to the side. The tutorial still needed so ti before it could properly begin.
“Co rest.”
Due to the ceiling’s many ridged sections, there were plenty of spots to sit. As I settled into a comfortable position, the oblivious Canis followed suit.
Winter, who had been standing there dumbly, finally noticed us and let out a sigh. She began thumping her chest in frustration, and for so reason, that struck as funny.
“Isn’t it bad for us to just sit here like this?”
“So what? Is a situation where up and down reverse a common occurrence?”
“No, I an, shouldn’t we be doing sothing—figuring out a way or a reason…?”
Winter’s words were valid. As she voiced her anxiety, I glanced around. Notable individuals stood out. The top and second-ranked students of each year. Talented warriors who could achieve remarkable feats wherever they went.
But even with all their knowledge, there was no way for them to resolve this magical phenonon. A grand-scale magic that affected only living beings within a massive building. Unless it was the headmaster himself, no mage could easily dispel this.
“You explain.”
Stretching my legs, I gave Canis a nudge as she sat next to . Anger, who had popped out at so point, swatted my hand away and growled. I gave a smirk, as if to say I wasn’t offended.
“This is a grand-scale magic. You know what that ans, right?”
“Huh? Yes... Isn’t it the largest class of magic in each category?”
“That’s right. To put it simply, it refers to magic with power and scale above Hexa class. In this case, I think it’s a barrier-type magic that activates on targets with a specific keyword.”
Since magic is such a profound field, once you start defining it, there’s no end. But in terms of raw power, it’s relatively simple.
From Normal to Hexa. A typical Normal-level spell would be sothing like firing a magic arrow, while a representative Hexa spell would be dropping a teor. Magic with that level of destructive force is called grand-scale magic.
The noisy murmuring in the auditorium gave way to silence. That was because amidst the chaos, a rather convincing explanation had been heard.
In fact, most students’ attention was now focused on Canis. It was a situation that might make others shrink away, but Canis continued her explanation calmly.
“Since it’s a barrier-type magic, there’s only one way to break it from the inside. Destroy the core that maintains and anchors the spell. Of course, it won’t be easy.”
“Wait. What is that student’s affiliation?”
A sharp voice was directed at Canis. I turned my gaze to find the overly rigid tone. At the end of my line of sight, violet hair tied in a ponytail swayed gently.
Second-year Combat Departnt top student. Soloven Rahorakti. The nad character known as ‘Soloven, the Guarding Sun’ had appeared.
She was the central figure who would lead this episode. She frowned as she looked at . Soloven, for no apparent reason, checked her equipnt and slowly approached Canis.
“I’m Canis Ulbushis, second-ranked in the first-year Magic Departnt.”
“Ah, so you’re Lady Ulbushis. I’m Soloven Rahorakti, top student of the second-year Combat Departnt. I’m relieved to have you here, Miss Ulbushis.”
Episode 1 proceeded in two main directions. One was rescuing the first-year Combat Departnt students trapped sowhere. The other was destroying the core of the barrier, which would be guarded by golems.
First-ti players usually rushed straight to destroy the barrier core. But veteran players went to rescue the first-year combat students first.
‘Because it’s always the better choice.’
Among the first-years was none other than Bereninche. Of course, saving her didn’t guarantee she would help you—but if you picked the right dialogue options, there was a decent chance to recruit Bereninche.
Even if not, the second-ranked first-year student would still be a huge help. And since they already knew the layout, it saved playti from being dragged out.
I silently waited.
“Have you been able to grasp anything about the current situation?”
Originally, Canis wasn’t supposed to be here. As a warrior, she had no way of analyzing magical phenona. Soloven, along with other capable students, would normally do everything they could to assess the situation. After that, she would take command with her charismatic presence and head toward the barrier’s core.
However, if there was a competent mage around, all of that could be skipped. Thanks to that, key combat personnel had already gathered around Canis.
“They’ll handle everything just fine.”
“Ah, okay.”
Before I knew it, I had drifted away from Canis and consoled Winter. She too seed to spot familiar faces and let out a relieved breath.
These were people who, if thrown into a battlefield, would slaughter dozens of ordinary soldiers and co back alive. That fact was terrifying on its own—but if they were on your side, that was a different story.
If I just waited like this, they would eventually head toward the core of the barrier with high probability. And with Canis present, identifying the core would be simple. When that happened, I’d go to where the first-year students were.
“Um, you’re not surprised at all, huh?”
Winter was puzzled by how calm I remained the entire ti. I shrugged. I had nothing else to say.
“Just pray to the Goddess. And if you’re still anxious, go shake a bell or sothing.”
“Okay…”
Winter replied in a deflated voice and clasped her hands together. She knelt down reverently and began to pray. I was dumbfounded that she actually did it just because I said so.
I figured it was just her way of coping with the tension. I looked away. I had to participate in the first-year rescue, no matter what. If it ca down to it, I’d go alone.
In [Difficult Dungeon], there was a companion system. You could recruit allies through affinity, quests, gifts, and various other ans to have them participate in battle.
Sadly, when I played as Davide, there were only two characters who could beco companions. Considering Davide is a bastard in human form, it’s understandable no one would want to team up with him.
Even so, there were characters who would accept Davide as a companion. And their performance wasn’t bad, either. One of those characters was currently trapped.
If you played Davide as a support role, you had to recruit that character no matter what. If you played him as a damage dealer, they were still worth considering.
“I think Davide-sunbae over there would know more than I do~?”
And then ca the one thing that shouldn’t have been said. Countless gazes turned toward . Naturally, most of them were filled with hostility.
Canis pointed at with a mischievous grin. Even Soloven, who had been speaking with her, turned her gaze toward .
“……”
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence settled in. When I glanced at Winter, she was still engrossed in her prayer, completely out of it. I gave up and turned to Soloven.
She clearly didn’t like . Still, perhaps thinking there was a reason Canis had brought up, she stepped closer.
“Do you know anything?”
Her voice was cold, void of any expectation. Hearing it, I let out a dry chuckle. This wasn’t bad either. Since no one gave any say in the matter, I had already planned to act alone.
“Now that I think about it, there are no first-years.”
“What?”
“The students gathered here are all second, third, and fourth-years. There isn’t a single first-year Combat Departnt student among them.”
Only then did Soloven’s face turn serious. Her throat flushed red. She must’ve been embarrassed to realize she’d overlooked sothing so obvious, despite stepping up ahead of the third and fourth-years with such confidence.
I understood. It wasn’t because the people gathered here were idiots. That’s just the nature of grand-scale magic.
“That confirms it.”
“Miss Ulbushis?”
“That was a perception restriction just now. One of the characteristics of barrier magic. You might’ve read it in a book before, but so advanced barriers are designed to prevent people from recognizing attacks as attacks.”
As long as you were paying close attention, you were fine—but if not, you'd forget in an instant. That was the feature and purpose of barrier-type magic.
At Canis’s explanation, Soloven slowly nodded.
“Then what could’ve happened to the first-years?”
“There are several possibilities. They might’ve been bound in place the mont the barrier activated. Or they could be in a place we currently can’t detect. Or perhaps… they were attacked, and are now dead or too injured to move.”
Canis’s last words caused the atmosphere to plumt. It was only now that everyone began to grasp the gravity of the situation.
The reason no one had taken things seriously despite facing the unknown was simple. “The professors will co save us,” or, “The Imperial Knight Order will show up eventually.” That kind of complacency.
But after what Canis said, that complacency could no longer hold.
“What’s the purpose of the barrier?”
“It’s obvious. No one would use a grand-scale magic like this just to trap us. There must be sothing they want. And I doubt it’s anything peaceful.”
“Sounds like we need to rescue the first-years.”
“You should think carefully. What the vice-representative said is just a hypothesis. Right?”
Soloven, who had been speaking seriously about a rescue, turned to look at the man who had interrupted. He had a rigid face and strong features—Mars Romana, the third-year top student.
Mars addressed Canis, and she nodded in response. I was genuinely impressed. The guy looked like he could squeeze juice out of goblins with his bare hands.
“That’s right. I’m confident, but there’s still a chance I could be wrong.”
“In a case like this, we need to make the right decision. If the first-years were already taken out, then we’re wasting ti. And even if they aren’t, destroying the barrier’s core will still save them.”
I wanted to point out that the existence of a barrier core itself wasn’t guaranteed—that it was only a theory—but held my tongue. He looked terrifying, and I wasn’t in the mood to start an argunt.
“What if there’s no core? What if this isn’t even barrier magic?”
And soone went ahead and said the hard thing. Canis, the one who first brought up the hypothesis, threw that out. Mars shut his mouth.
“Then we’ll split into teams.”
“Teams?”
“Yes. One team will handle the rescue of the first-years—the rescue team. The other will go destroy the core—the assault team. Two teams, like that.”
“Not a bad idea.”
Soloven offered a compromise. Canis just smiled pleasantly and held her tongue, while Mars nodded in agreent.
“I’ll form the rescue team with the second-years.”
“Then I’ll form the assault team with the third and fourth-years.”
“Those with personal weapons should preferably be placed in the assault team.”
“Good. I’ll go speak to the fourth-years myself.”
“Yes. Please do.”
And so, everyone dispersed to gather people. Fortunately, since they were all Academy students trained in classes and drills, the process went very smoothly.
Now free for a mont, Canis approached with quick little steps.
“So what are you going to do?”
What a pain. I frowned as I noticed several gazes starting to gather on . Whether intentional or not, she was exhausting to deal with.
Freed from her private prayer, Winter now looked around in confusion at the suddenly changed atmosphere of the auditorium.
“Take care of this one for .”
I pressed down on Winter’s head, which was dumbly turning side to side. Using the motion, I stood up and made the request to Canis.
Both girls tilted their heads in unison as they looked at . To be honest, I’d rather join the rescue team for safety—but that probably wouldn’t happen.
Davide was the lunatic who stabbed a classmate in the gut. Practically confird as an internal threat. Nothing was more dangerous than that.
If it were , I wouldn’t team up with soone like Davide either. That realization frustrated . Sadly, I was that Davide.
“Whatever you do, don’t join the assault team.”
“Huh? What’s the assault team?”
“I said don’t join it. Got it? Actually, just stay here and be quiet.”
“…Okay.”
After my warning, Winter pouted and stuck out her lower lip. I chuckled and got moving. If they didn’t let join, I’d just act alone. As I walked toward the exit, a familiar voice called out.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Soloven called out to , her face grim and cold. I stared blankly for a mont, then slowly replied.
“What do you care?”
“…You are aware of how serious this situation is, right?”
Her face twisted at my curt response. I couldn’t hide the indifferent look on my face.
“Whether I die or not has nothing to do with you. You really going to bring along the guy who stabbed his own classmate?”
“…”
Soloven’s brows trembled at my harsh words. Speechless at the truth, she couldn’t respond as I turned back toward the door.
And finally, nothing stood in my way.
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