Chapter 128
Chapter 128
The 20th underground floor of the Main Building, the Mirror Room.
To reconstruct the protective ritual, we had to move to the island where the exam was being held.
Ruber prepared a small Galfell through mana communication.
“Professor Ruber, how long will it take to restore everything?”
“I cannot give you a definite answer, but it will take at least half a day.”
“That’s quite a long time. I hope nothing happens during that period……”
Hilda clenched her fists and responded firmly.
“Don’t worry. I will protect this place.”
“If there’s any problem, please contact me through mana communication.”
“Yes, leave it to me, Professor Ruber!”
Hilda’s strong reply followed Ruber as he stepped outside.
The door closed, and left alone, Hilda turned her gaze to the mirror.
The panorama of the island came into view.
The situation was unexpectedly calm.
The cadets in the central area were evacuating toward the outer edges of the island.
Seventy percent of the monsters had already been eliminated.
Most cadets chose to evade rather than fight when they encountered monsters.
Even if cadets happened to meet each other, they didn’t attack, instead they gathered together or avoided each other.
“At this rate, a bloodshed can be avoided.”
However, the top-ranked students were different.
They were actually hunting more aggressively than before.
The reason was simple.
If they quickly exterminated the monsters and secured their current rankings, it would be advantageous to them.
While observing the mirror, Hilda fixed her eyes on one particular area of the island.
……It was the place where Villed was staying.
She saw Villed lying in a hammock in front of a Tree House.
“I never thought of building a house, how adorable.”
A small chuckle slipped from her lips.
Villed was showing a completely different side compared to the other cadets.
He settled in one place, built a house, dug a well, and now even made a smokeless hearth.
Even while being covered in dirt and sawdust from digging, without a single complaint, despite all the hard work.
That relaxed look, as if he was enjoying it all without the slightest dissatisfaction.
Normally, nobles would hesitate to even get their hands dirty with a handful of soil.
But how could Villed have such an attitude?
The more she came to know about him, the more intriguing he became.
“His craftsmanship is certainly excellent, but I hope he doesn’t apply for Hephaestus.”
That must never happen.
If Villed ever applied for Hephaestus, Hilda was prepared to vehemently oppose it, even with outrage.
Villed should not become a mere supporter or assistant who helps others.
He had to be the strongest figure who asserted his will and led the Empire forward.
That way, yes…… he would surely become a ‘Savior.’
Anyone who heard her would think it was nonsense, since Villed’s current ranking was among the lowest.
Of course, right now Villed’s mana was very unimpressive……
But that didn’t matter.
Hilda had countless ways to raise Villed’s mana within her grasp.
After staring at Villed for a while, Hilda turned her gaze toward the Tree House window beside him.
There was a blonde cadet peeking her head out.
……It was Lapin.
Yes, she had noticed something unusual from the very first day of the exam.
Right after the exam began, when cadets were forming alliances.
Surprisingly, Elined, one of the top first-year cadets, had reached out to Villed first.
But Villed rejected her offer and instead formed a team with Lapin and Karin.
Most would want to team up with strong students like Elined rather than weaker ones.
Villed’s choice was peculiar, to say the least.
Especially the fact that he teamed up with Lapin was very puzzling.
Hilda kept her eyes on Lapin.
“Why is that girl…… always by Cadet Villed’s side?”
It wasn’t only now.
Even during her classes, Lapin was always beside Villed.
‘Why of all people, does it have to be Villed?’
Curious, Hilda had once looked into their past records.
During the Rekorox field trip, Lapin had also been in Villed’s team.
Lapin was a commoner with no clear background.
Villed was a high-ranking noble of the Empire.
There seemed to be no connection, no reason at all for them to be close.
How did they even grow close?
As she pondered deeply, a sudden thought made Hilda hold her breath.
Her eyes widened gradually.
Because she overlapped him with ‘that person.’
“Cadet Villed, you keep surprising me too much.”
Was it just coincidence?
But if it wasn’t coincidence……
“The more I see…… the more alike you look.”
She was lost in thought when it happened.
Villed, who had been lying in the hammock, suddenly sprang up and started running north.
Hilda frowned.
“……That’s dangerous, where is he going?”
In the dense forest.
Moonlight shone down like a spotlight on a single spot.
……There, a cadet wearing a Cat Mask stood facing Kunking.
Kunking glared back at the cadet.
With such a frail figure, they looked terribly weak.
It felt like they would be blown away with just one hit.
“If you don’t want to die, get lost right now.”
If only there was a ring above their head, he would have kicked them away immediately.
Not only because of moral issues, but also because attacking a defenseless cadet could cause problems with his own performance, Kunking was restraining his temper, unlike his usual self.
He thought just glaring alone would be threatening enough.
But…… the intimidation didn’t work.
The cadet in front of him kept looking at Kunking without budging.
Of course, Kunking knew that if one was terrified, they could be frozen and unable to move.
But……
The cadet in the Cat Mask wasn’t trembling at all.
“Are you deaf?”
There was a limit to leniency.
Kunking could feel his patience reaching its breaking point.
“I’ll say it one last time. If you don’t disappear from my sight in five seconds, you’re dead.”
Of course, he wasn’t really going to attack. It was only a verbal threat.
As Kunking growled, the cadet finally moved her feet.
“5, 4, 3…… ha.”
But before reaching 3, Kunking let out a hollow laugh.
Counting was meaningless now.
Because…… the girl wearing the Cat Mask wasn’t running away, but was walking toward him.
“Are you trying to test my patience?”
At his question, the Cat Mask gave no reply.
Now that the distance was closer.
Fwoosh―!
The girl in the Cat Mask moved first.
Thud―!
A devastating roundhouse kick.
Though her body looked weak, the destructive power was beyond imagination.
Kunking barely managed to block her attack.
“Well, well, you attacked first.”
Instead of holding back, Kunking swung his fist at the girl in the Cat Mask.
But in that fleeting instant.
……The girl dodged Kunking’s punch.
With only the slightest movement, lightly, effortlessly.
“What……?”
Kunking’s eyes widened.
From her relaxed movements, he was certain she hadn’t dodged by mere luck.
Was there really someone this skilled among the first-years like himself?
He didn’t even have time to be surprised.
Thud―!
The Cat Mask cadet attempted another roundhouse kick.
Her solid foot struck directly at Kunking’s jaw.
“Guhhh…!”
……His brain rattled.
His whole body staggered.
Dropping to one knee, he barely managed to regain his senses.
He couldn’t afford to be dazed by such a trivial attack.
Kunking desperately held on to his consciousness.
“……Who are you?”
He knew his opponent wasn’t on the level of an ordinary cadet.
Could she be the Honor Captain of the Empire that Curio mentioned?
‘No, not that strong.’
Then who exactly was this girl standing before him?
Curio? No, that wasn’t it either. Their builds were different.
Besides, Kunking was certain of it.
……This Cat Mask was far stronger than Curio.
A formidable power had been hiding among the first-years.
‘Who? Who in the world…….’
Kunking had thought the only rival among first-years was Heidel of the Finjer Family.
The fact that a cadet capable of landing a blow on him existed was a considerable shock, but he soon broke into a grin.
“……So I don’t have to hold back.”
Kwaa-kwak-kwang―!
Kunking’s eyes blazed as flames erupted all over his body.
“My body was itching for a fight anyway.”
If his opponent was this strong, then a real battle was justified.
Just as he was about to throw himself into it—
……the Cat Mask vanished.
No, he only thought she had disappeared.
Grab―!
In that fleeting instant.
An intense pressure clamped around Kunking’s neck.
“Ghhhhh…!”
Before he could blink, the Cat Mask had reappeared, seizing him by the throat and lifting him into the air.
Clench―!
Kunking grabbed at her slender arms with both hands…… but her absurd grip strength wouldn’t let him pry her hand away.
“Wha, what the……!”
Thud-thud-thud! Boom! Fwoooosh!
Realizing he was the prey in this hunt, Kunking finally unleashed his full power.
He desperately tried to break free from the girl in the Cat Mask, even conjuring massive explosions with both hands…… but her grip wouldn’t loosen.
None of his attacks worked.
Breathing grew impossible.
“Y-you…….”
Kunking forced out words.
“Who…… are…… you!”
With that, the flames covering Kunking’s body suddenly went out.
His arms drooped, and his eyes closed.
The Cat Mask hurled him to the ground.
Thud―.
Kunking collapsed, his eyes rolled back.
The Cat Mask pulled out a syringe from her pocket.
She injected the green liquid into Kunking’s neck.
Crack―!
Pulling the syringe out, she stomped it underfoot, then touched her hand to her ear and reported.
“It’s done.”
[Well done, Shia. I’ll inform your father. This is beyond expectations. Now, if we conduct just three more experiments…….]
Shia cut her off.
“I know who you are now. You’re the assistant who always tagged along behind my father, aren’t you?”
[……Ah, so you saw. Yes, that’s right.]
“You know what? You never suited my father at all.”
[…]
The woman in the transmission remained silent for a while.
[……Dispose of that mask once you leave the site.]
Click.
The transmission ended.
Shia left Kunking where he lay and walked deeper into the forest.
The forest grew darker and darker.
After some time, she weakly threw away the mask from her face.
Cold air brushed her skin.
No vitality remained in Shia’s eyes now that the mask was gone.
As she trudged forward, her eyes gradually widened.
Because light began to enter them.
A glimmer of silver in the dark forest.
It was as small as an ember, but that faint light resembled a lone lantern.
Step by step, Shia drew closer to the light.
A small life glowing in the shadows.
……It was the silver deer she had seen just two days ago.
Its frail hooves brushed against the grass.
Shia met its moonlit eyes.
“……”
But she quickly averted her gaze.
She simply passed by indifferently, as if she hadn’t seen anything.
The deer too remained silent, making no sound nor move.
……After some distance,
Shia glanced back. The deer was still standing there, watching her.
When she met its eyes, words slipped out of her mouth as though entranced.
“……This place.”
She held her breath, startled at herself. Why…… why had she spoken to the deer?
Why did she do that?
There was no need.
……She didn’t know.
Maybe it was because exhaustion had made her strange.
“This place is dangerous. Follow me.”
Shia spoke and then began to walk again.
The deer followed her.
In the small glow, their shadows stretched side by side.
Meanwhile, Kunking remained collapsed in the forest.
Twitch―. Twitch―.
Then his fingers began to move, pressing against the ground.
Kunking struggled to raise his torso, drool dripping from his mouth.
But his eyes still showed only the whites.
“Ah… ahhh….”
As he muttered, his head hung low.
Fwoooosh―!
Flames exploded from his back.
Like a pair of enormous wings.
Lying in the hammock, lost in thought, I suddenly sprang up and ran toward the northern forest.
Flutter-flutter-flap―!
Looking up, I saw a flock of birds taking flight.
In the distance, smoke rose.
It wasn’t the kind of smoke a campfire would make.
It billowed thick and black, like storm clouds swallowing the sky.
“……Has it already begun?”
I had to make it in time.
My ragged breath strangled my throat, but I couldn’t stop.
All I could do was keep running forward.