Chapter 245 : The Key
Chapter 245: The Key
The news that the first-year camp had suffered devastating losses also reached Kaylin and Ren, who were waiting in front of the castle gate.
"It seems Mr. Kunking accomplished something incredible."
Word quickly spread that Kunking had defeated over 150 cadets and destroyed two watchtowers along one of the ground routes.
"Professor Jennings also ordered everyone to abandon their defensive posture and begin the offensive."
The probing phase to identify the enemy's weaknesses had ended.
With 25% of the first-year forces eliminated and two watchtowers destroyed, the delicate balance had collapsed under their tremendous losses.
That was when Jennings finally drew his sword.
If the first-years lost just one more watchtower, their castle wall—the equivalent of the team's life—would come under direct attack.
As a result, they had no choice but to commit even more manpower to defending the watchtowers, placing them in an impossible situation.
There was no way to avoid further losses.
Since the second-year Schulers held an overwhelming advantage, they moved swiftly to seize this opportunity.
Thus, the second-year Schulers left only the minimum number of defenders behind at the watchtowers while the majority advanced toward the first-year camp.
As Ren took a step forward, Kaylin blinked.
"Ren, where are you going?"
"Miss Kaylin, it's time for me to join the attack too."
Kaylin immediately made a miserable face.
"What? If even you, my conversation partner, leave, what am I supposed to do? I might die of boredom!"
"I doubt you'll actually die. Sorry, but I'll see you a little later, Miss Kaylin!"
After waving his hand, Ren quickly ran toward the enemy camp.
Left alone, Kaylin pouted as she watched his retreating figure.
"Ugh, I want to go out and summon the Block already~!"
But until Jennings gave the order for her to deploy, all she could do was remain in front of the castle gate, stamping her feet impatiently.
A pitch-black, cramped space.
'...It feels like I'm trapped inside a coffin while still alive.'
It really did.
The musty scent of earth stung my nose, while solid walls completely surrounded me, making it difficult even to move a finger.
I couldn't see a thing, either.
'It couldn't be helped. This was the only option.'
I had summoned Boogie's Wall and taken shelter inside it.
There had been no way for me to escape the tunnel filled with Kunking's blazing inferno.
'As expected, Kunking was much stronger than usual.'
Even for someone as powerful as Kunking, one of the strongest second-years, annihilating over a hundred opponents in one go was no easy feat.
On top of that, he couldn't avoid wasting stamina and Mana while defending against attacks pouring in from every direction.
But...
The story changed completely if the environment amplified his absurd firepower to its limits.
The same spell could vary drastically in power depending on where it was used.
Within this enclosed terrain, the scorching heat erupting from Kunking's hands would naturally strike every surrounding wall.
Unable to escape, the trapped radiant heat instantly heated the stone walls.
The heated rock then released that heat all over again.
It had become a gigantic oven.
A superheated hell where even convection couldn't occur, allowing him to eliminate his enemies in an instant.
'Looks like everything's mostly settled down. I should head out.'
I opened my Subspace and took out my hand hammer.
Then I swung it directly into the wall before me.
Thud! Thud! Crack!
As dry chunks of earth broke apart, faint light seeped inside.
Like hatching from an egg, I brushed away the dirt and crawled out of the coffin-like wall Boogie had created.
...I was still inside the tunnel.
The suffocating, acrid air assaulted my lungs, while the charred devastation stretched out before my eyes.
Not far away, Kunking, whose body was still covered in lingering embers, stared at me with wide eyes.
"Dedencman...?"
His face was as fierce as ever, but there was unmistakable bewilderment mixed into it.
"So that's where you were?"
"I didn't have much of a choice. It was the only place I could hide."
"...I never noticed."
Kunking muttered as he alternated his gaze between me and the earthen wall I'd broken through.
"You somehow survived, Dedencman."
"I got lucky. That dirt wall blocked more than I expected."
I answered casually, but it hadn't really been luck.
Even inside the wall, it should've heated up to the same extreme temperature.
Yet all I felt was a slight sting.
I hadn't suffered any real damage.
The reason...
Flame Ruler
You become much more adept at controlling flames.
Pain and damage from fire are greatly reduced.
It was Tuesday's passive skill.
Apparently, it was thanks to that ability that I'd survived the inferno.
"...Looks like you wiped them all out. Good work."
After I said that, Kunking took several steps toward me and asked,
"So then, what do we do next?"
I shrugged.
"My part is over."
"Now it's time for you to secure your ranking."
Kunking folded his arms and slowly nodded.
"...You mean we split up?"
"Yeah. They're not stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice. From here on out, we're each on our own."
After staring at me for a while, Kunking suddenly spoke with the expression of someone making a solemn vow.
I wondered what he was about to say.
"I won't allow Heidel to steal my ranking, Dedencman."
"...?"
"For your sake as well, I'll make absolutely certain to crush Heidel."
No, there was really no need for friendly fire.
I let out a small sigh before speaking.
"You're already overwhelmingly in first place."
"Don't push yourself."
"I wish you good fortune in battle, Dedencman."
Leaving behind that brief farewell, Kunking shot out of the tunnel like an arrow.
I also exited the tunnel and immediately looked up at the sky.
Just as I'd expected, there were still no signs whatsoever that the Cleaner was beginning to move.
In the original game, the Cleaner only appeared during the latter half of the match.
If events followed the original story, I still had some time left.
Of course, I never assumed everything would always follow the original story.
I always had to prepare for the worst.
'For now... I'll just spend my time the way I'd originally planned.'
Following the optimal route through the forest, I resumed hunting monsters.
Slash!
Since I prioritized monsters that were easy to defeat, I didn't have much trouble.
After storing the hunting rewards inside my Subspace, I pulled out the map from my pocket.
'The first-years practically occupied the entire forest earlier.'
Looking at the map now...
There wasn't a single person around me.
It seemed the first-years had gathered their forces back at the main camp and shifted into a defensive formation to repel the second-year Schulers' offensive.
Of course, they weren't all focused solely on defense.
"Senior Villed!"
Hearing the sounds of me hunting monsters, a handful of first-years still remaining in the forest occasionally attacked me.
Whenever that happened, I always fled.
But they showed absolutely no intention of stubbornly chasing after me.
"Don't chase him!"
"He might've prepared another one of his despicable traps!"
"That senior can't do anything except run away anyway."
Whenever they encountered me, they'd launch a few attacks to keep me in check...
But they never pursued me.
They probably thought that carelessly taking the bait would only result in another disastrous loss.
It seemed they'd learned their lesson.
...After spending quite some time hunting monsters.
'I think I've gathered enough useful Objects...'
'Time to head back.'
I turned toward our castle gate.
When I emerged from the forest, only one cadet remained standing guard before the castle gate.
The second-ranked second-year.
The red-haired Kaylin.
The moment our eyes met, she threw both arms into the air and jumped excitedly.
"It's Young Master Villed! Welcome back! Come over here! Sit down right here!"
Using Earth magic, Kaylin created a chair.
Once I sat down, she made another identical chair for herself.
She must have been dying to talk this whole time, because words immediately began pouring out of her mouth.
"Honestly, I've been all alone here this entire time! Couldn't they have at least left me one person to talk to? Seriously, everyone's so mean~!"
After listening to Kaylin's complaints, I glanced around.
"Where did everyone else go?"
At my question, Kaylin clapped her hands together.
"Ah, Young Master can't use Magical Communication, so you wouldn't know!"
"They decided I'd guard the castle by myself! Everyone else went out to attack!"
"Really? That means everyone trusted you enough to leave the main camp in your hands."
"Ugh, hearing that doesn't make me happy at all."
With Kaylin's abilities, she was more than capable of defending it alone.
...In the first place, the first-years were already struggling just to defend themselves.
They didn't have the luxury of launching a counterattack.
"Anyway, a little while ago I spotted a first-year scouting around..."
I spent quite a while chatting with Kaylin.
Or rather...
It was more accurate to say that I simply listened while she talked nonstop.
...The reason I'd stopped hunting monsters and deliberately come here...
Was because of the plan.
'I wanted to lower Kaylin's guard a little...'
'But it doesn't seem like she was ever on guard against me to begin with.'
Even so, I decided to make one suggestion to put her even more at ease.
"Hey, Kaylin."
"Aren't you getting a little hungry?"
"Hm?"
Since I'd finally spoken after silently listening all this time, Kaylin blinked.
"Now that you mention it... maybe a little?"
"But where did that come from~? We're in the middle of a match."
"Is there any rule saying you can't eat snacks during a match?"
At my question, Kaylin fell into deep thought.
"A rule like that..."
"Umm..."
"Hmmm..."
"Nope?"
"Then that means we can."
I slipped my hand into my pocket and opened my Subspace.
From within, I took out a plate with a cake I'd prepared beforehand.
"Here."
"A surprise gift."
"This is...?"
Kaylin's eyes sparkled.
"This doesn't look ordinary at all!"
"Is this a cake you made at the Upgraded Livestock Shed, Young Master?"
"Of course."
"Wooow...!"
At my answer, her eyes seemed to shine even brighter.
"Then it has to be delicious!"
"The cake I ate at Young Master's Upgraded Livestock Shed was the most delicious cake in the whole world!"
"What would you like to drink?"
"I've got a smoothie and some milk."
"Hmm, I want both..."
"You only get one cup."
"So let's mix them."
"That sounds great!"
"That's so like you, Young Master!"
I poured the milk and smoothie together into an elegant coffee cup and handed it to her.
"As thanks for protecting the castle gate."
"I'm so touched, Young Master! I'll enjoy it!"
Kaylin cut off a piece of cake with her fork.
The moment she took a bite, she sighed in admiration.
"It's sooo good~!"
"I never imagined we'd be having a tea party here!"
Kaylin's expression had completely melted.
Naturally, I casually brought up the subject.
"...Is the reason you're staying here because of that key?"
As I looked toward the key hanging around her neck, Kaylin nodded without hesitation.
"That's right."
"You know, I think Professor Jennings is being way too cautious."
"I'm confident I'd never let anyone steal this from me—even if I were inside the enemy camp!"
She lightly shook the key hanging around her neck.
...That was the only item capable of summoning the Block, the core strategy.
"Because of this, I can't leave this place even for a single step."
"Then why not leave it with someone else and go join the attack?"
"Whaaat~? No way."
"I'd rather quietly wait here by myself than hand it over to someone else."
"I'm not giving the Block to anybody."
"I'm definitely going to ride it myself!"
Kaylin's attitude was completely resolute.
"Well, if that's how you feel, I guess there's no helping it."
I smiled faintly.
Then I extended my hand toward her.
"By the way..."
"That key looks really impressive."
"I'd like to take a closer look."
"Would you mind showing it to me?"