Chapter 131
Chapter 131
One hour before encountering Kunking.
An announcement echoing across the entire island rang out as a warning.
[……We are repeating the announcement. A fire has broken out in the northern part of the island. Please refrain from approaching the area.]
I could tell who it was just from the voice.
‘……Professor Hilda.’
As if she were watching me heading toward Kunking, she repeated the warning several times.
‘When Elined or the other cadets were in danger, she never even made an announcement.’
I felt as if Hilda was particularly trying to protect me.
It wasn’t self-delusion.
I had some grounds to think so.
‘Hilda was never the type to actively protect someone.’
The Hilda I had seen in the game gave off a very different impression compared to the Hilda standing before me now.
I had been feeling it for a while.
Even when I was receiving Scholar lessons, it was the same.
“I will raise Student Villed to become the greatest mage in the world.”
That was what Hilda had told me.
From her tone and expression, I was certain she held no deceit, no falsehood, and no hidden agenda.
‘Hilda really intends to put those words into practice.’
For some reason, she wanted me to grow immensely.
Even after that statement, she continued to attend the weekly Scholar classes.
Of course, perhaps because I lacked talent, my mana growth showed little progress.
Any other professor would have canceled my Scholar selection, but Hilda always smiled and stayed positive in every Scholar lesson.
‘……Why did she choose me?’
From the start, Hilda was never written in the game as someone who would select a student and earnestly nurture them.
‘Then why me of all people?’
Knowing her true identity, I simply couldn’t understand.
……Regardless, I could ‘make use’ of the situation.
With that quick judgment, I was rushing alone toward Kunking.
After some time had passed.
‘It must be soon.’
Perhaps due to the radiant heat of the fire, the air around me felt stiflingly hot.
It was still bearable, but every breath carried the scent of burning.
‘……This must be the Danger Sense skill.’
Clang, clang―.
Not long ago, the sound of bells had begun to ring inside my head.
At last, the ringing stopped.
When I looked ahead…… the source of the flames came into view.
A black shadow staggered out of the fire.
“Uuugh…….”
It was Kunking, in a rampaging state.
I opened Subspace and poured water over my body.
The cool water seemed to relieve the heat.
Inside Subspace, I had stored plenty of water to fight against Kunking.
Running out of water during the battle wouldn’t be a concern.
Next, I drew out the Buckler and Heart of Ilawne that I had hidden on my back.
Boom―!
Flames exploded from Kunking’s back.
Using the force of the blast, Kunking shot straight at me.
Though the distance was great, the speed was considerable.
I slipped the Buckler onto my arm, and as I grasped the air, Boogie’s card appeared in my hand.
I raised my buckler-armed hand in guard and created a green shield.
Boogie’s power gave me overwhelming defense at the cost of being unable to move while casting the shield.
……But.
Crash―!
When Kunking collided with me, cracks spread across the shield.
He clasped both fists and raised them to the sky, then brought down his blazing strike with an explosion.
Shatter―!
The shield shattered to pieces.
Kunking was a flame-attribute offensive powerhouse.
In the past, even when Ren had struck Boogie’s shield hundreds of times with full power, it had never faltered.
Now Kunking smashed it apart in only two hits.
Part of it was attribute advantage, but it also meant his rampaging power was terrifying.
Of course, I had expected the shield to break.
Boogie’s card shone once more.
……Yes, this was exactly what I had planned for these few seconds.
It was only to buy a little time.
Clang!
I blocked Kunking’s third strike with the Buckler.
This Buckler, forged from Clovarium, had the ability to nullify an opponent’s mana.
Whoosh……
The flames clinging to Kunking’s body began to fade.
And then.
Boom―!
From the ground on the left, a massive pillar of earth surged past my nose.
It was Boogie’s attack, using an earthen wall.
Crashhhhhh―!
Rushing forth with tremendous speed, it sent Kunking’s body flying.
He floated briefly in midair before crashing into the ground.
The flames attached to his body were extinguished.
But only for a moment.
‘……So it’s not very effective.’
Whooshhh―!
Flames reignited across Kunking’s body, and his depleted mana quickly regenerated.
‘He’s practically a monster…….’
I sighed shortly as I watched him slowly rise again.
I thought I had landed a solid hit, but Kunking showed hardly any damage.
‘So this much won’t work on him after all,’
As he adjusted his stance and set his foot, I instinctively drew out Ramji’s card.
Boom―!
In an instant, Kunking’s flame-cloaked leg came flying at me.
There was no time to evade.
‘Ramji!’
Just before Kunking’s kick struck me, a gale burst forth in that fleeting moment.
It compressed the air in the trajectory of his kick, then exploded it.
The air flow forcibly reversed the direction of his strike.
It was a technique to disperse the shock through air resistance.
……But it wasn’t enough to completely block his power.
Though the kick’s force was reduced, even the weakened impact sent my whole body flying, slamming into the ground.
“Ghhk……!”
The pain surged from my left arm and spread across my entire body.
If I stayed down, the next strike would finish me.
And Kunking was already closing in fast.
Even wasting a single second would mean taking his attack, so I grabbed my injured left shoulder and quickly stood up, opening Subspace a meter wide.
The moment a torrent of water burst out like a waterfall―
Whoooosh―!
I used Ramji’s card again to summon a storm.
With the sound of the air tearing, explosive wind roared forth.
Kwooooom―!
A massive spray of water mixed with wind engulfed my vision.
Kunking lost his balance and was blown back, while mist covered the field in white.
Though only for a brief moment, I used the chance to dash behind a tree and hide.
‘Fighting without knowing the strategy…… this is absurdly difficult.’
I opened Subspace again and doused my burning left shoulder with water.
It felt like I wouldn’t be able to move the injured arm anymore.
It might even have been dislocated.
This was the first time I had fought without knowing the strategy.
Even so, I couldn’t just ignore this.
If I wanted to proceed with the aftermath of the exam, there could be no casualties.
While I was resting behind the tree for a moment, I heard the sound of him leaping.
Boom―!
Instinctively, I ducked and pressed my head down.
Crash―!
The tree that had hidden me shattered to pieces.
From my crouched position, I watched Kunking swinging his fist at me from point-blank range and thought.
‘……Even if I were reborn, I couldn’t win against Kunking in his current state.’
I realized it clearly.
This year’s freshmen were among the most exceptional since Yggdrasil was founded.
And Kunking was one of the top two or three among them.
On top of that, thanks to Ruber’s Enhancement Potion, he was several times stronger than usual.
‘Unless I had that fusion technique I used to defeat Verdi…… there’s no chance.’
My available cost was also starting to run out.
It was becoming hard even to hold out until it replenished.
But I hadn’t given up.
The reason I had come here despite everything was because I believed Kunking could be stopped.
There were two overwhelming powers on this island beyond the level of cadets.
One was Luga, the bodyguard of the Princess.
And the other was……
The black-haired man who appeared before my eyes.
Five minutes before Villed and Kunking encountered each other, in the Mirror Room.
“……”
Hilda’s complexion darkened.
Villed had suddenly risen from his hammock and was dashing toward the north.
And he had kept running for hours.
“He should have just stayed quietly at home……”
She had even issued repeated announcements about the fire just for him to hear, but she couldn’t stop his steps.
She considered trying mana communication, but stopped.
During this exam, private contact between professors and students was forbidden.
Of course, since this was an emergency, she had attempted it anyway.
But Villed’s mana was so lacking that her transmission couldn’t even reach him.
She also informed Professor Ruber about the fire.
If he arrived on the island, he would resolve everything quickly.
The problem was that it would take him half a day to get there.
The farther Villed went north, the more anxious Hilda became.
In the end, Hilda tried mana communication with Lahan, the field overseer.
“Assistant Lahan, hurry and protect Student Villed.”
Sitting by the beach and observing the situation, Lahan frowned at Hilda’s message.
“Are you referring to Student Villed? His situation certainly looks dangerous, but if I did that, our plan would be meaningless……”
“Assistant Lahan.”
Hilda cut him off firmly.
“I just told you to protect Student Villed.”
“I don’t understand. Is that student…… really that important to you?”
Lahan let out a derisive laugh.
“I think you’re too immersed in playing professor. And that student has such pitiful mana that he can’t even be used as a ‘vessel. He’s nothing but a failure of the Dedenkman Family.”
“……My, Assistant Lahan.”
Her voice, though smiling, carried a chilling undertone.
Lahan’s eyes widened.
His breath suddenly stopped.
No, it wasn’t that he held it—his body simply froze on its own.
A chill ran down his spine.
“You must have mistaken sitting at the same table as being equals. It seems you need to reconsider our relationship.”
Hilda’s voice dropped a tone.
It wasn’t even face-to-face conversation, just mana communication.
But even so, the killing intent in her voice made Lahan’s nerves tighten.
“……Porton brat, since when did you think you could question my words?”
“……”
Lahan’s mouth was open, but no voice came out.
His breath was stifled, his fingertips turned icy cold.
“What’s so difficult about it? When I tell you to protect him, you simply protect him.”
Hilda’s voice was calm, but that calmness only strangled his breath further.
“If anything happens to my student……”
Her whisper pierced into his ear like a blade.
“I’ll skin you piece by piece and tear you apart into dozens of fragments while every bone in your body shatters in agony.”
“……”
Lahan swallowed hard.
He felt Hilda’s fury directly through the transmission.
If he wasn’t careful, she really might kill him with her own hands.
“……Understood. I’ll head there immediately.”
Lahan rose and swiftly moved toward the central part of the island where Villed was.
As he traveled, only one thought lingered in his mind.
‘Villed……’
It had been the same before.
Even Ruber, one of the greatest mages of the present, had once considered taking Villed as his Scholar.
Especially, when Hilda—known as the most dangerous presence in the Academy—rose to professor, she had immediately chosen Villed as her Scholar.
It was baffling that someone with no abilities was cherished by so many.
Aside from his origin in the Dedenkman Family, he should have been an unremarkable student.
‘Is there something I can’t see…… that those two professors can?’
But if he observed Villed too closely, he risked earning Hilda’s wrath.
In the end, he had no choice but to set aside his curiosity for now.
Before long, he caught sight of Kunking and Villed.
It didn’t look like Villed had any chance of winning……
But Lahan didn’t want to die by Hilda’s hands, so he rushed forward to intervene.
“Sorry I’m late. I’ve grasped the situation.
Just hold on a little longer and Professor Ruber will arrive soon.”
Lahan spoke to me as he blocked Kunking’s fist.
“……Ha.”
If Professor Hilda truly cared for me.
If I were about to face death, she would use Lahan to save me.
And my assumption had been exactly right.
I sighed briefly with relief.
My eyes met Lahan’s for a moment.
The very enemy who would bring Yggdrasil Academy to ruin within a year was standing before me.
Ironically, he was protecting me.
“Thanks to you, Assistant, I survived.”
I slowly rose to my feet and stood behind his back.
From the moment Kunking had been dosed with the potion, this episode’s main story had gone astray.
So I had to bring this episode to a conclusion in my own way.
Kunking, who was being controlled, and the cadets who were about to be slaughtered.
To create a perfect good ending where no one died.
……I would use Lahan, who wasn’t part of the main story.
“Yes, it’s fortunate you lived. But why was Student Villed here alone? It’s dangerous.”
Even while focusing on blocking Kunking’s attacks, Lahan asked me.
“By chance, I lost my way and ended up like this.”
“……Is that so? You should’ve been more careful. I’ll deal with this criminal, so please retreat quickly, Student Villed.”
Lahan answered nonchalantly.
Just as he was about to counterattack Kunking, I spoke first.
“He’s also a victim.”
“Not the assailant, but a victim?”
As Lahan blinked, I replied immediately.
“Can’t you see his eyes rolling out of control?”
“……You’re right. Now that I look, Student Kunking’s condition is indeed strange.”
“Someone forcibly injected a syringe into his neck.”
“A syringe?”
Lahan’s gaze shifted to Kunking’s neck.
“Around his neck, there are clear bruises and scratch marks from resistance.”
I could feel his eyes gradually turn back toward me.
“……Student Villed. You don’t even know what kind of injection it is, do you?”
“Judging by the green spots where the syringe was inserted, and that he can only use a single attribute despite being capable of multiple, combined with his loss of control.”
I saw Lahan’s brow twitch, but I steadied my breath and continued.
“It matches exactly the short-term side effects described in Professor Ruber’s thesis <Side Effects and Applications of Enhancement Elixirs>, when a monster-enhancement elixir is injected into a human.”
By now, Lahan had turned fully toward me and was staring straight into my face.
I met his red eyes behind the glasses and spoke firmly.
“I believe Assistant Lahan, who assists Professor Ruber, would feel the same way.”
“……Student Villed, you have quite the sharp eyes.”
And a faint smile began to form at the corner of Lahan’s lips.