Chapter 16: Hunting Grounds (1)
YazC“As expected of the Great Witch.”AHt1
oOWZ5BI was long aware of how strong she was, but I still couldn’t help but marvel at how absurd it was. Lady Josephine was probably the only mage that could use such a large-scale dimensional movement spell.3DU
brkIt was one of the highest-ranked spells, ❰Unique Grade: Crowd Teleportation❱. This time around, it was a random teleportation but when the Academy was in danger, I saw her teleport hundreds of students to one place.R1mN8
e3jZrwiExcept for the Chairman who was sick all the time, she would probably be the strongest person out of the entire Academy. That was also why she was in charge of someone as unique as Hua Ran.bvXhUq
xDUbaNow, the quest at the hunting grounds was finally underway. My goal was to defeat one Grade 2 named character at least.nX9R
gKTIn this practical lesson, the surrounding students would gang up on the named characters, which was obvious because their armbands would equal more points. In turn, it was actually a disadvantage to have a higher Grade in this activity – it was like a balance patch put in place to make the high-achievers eat shit.DGP
JR7bLM‘I guess the Academy wants weaker students to build experience at forming parties and the stronger students to experience fighting multiple enemies at the same time but…’Oe1At
H1LF3That might have been fine if that was all there was, but there were in fact 2nd year students as well in this forest.dKIH
dAKyTheir job was to become an obstacle and thoroughly stop the freshmen in the stead of Grade 1 and Grade 2 demonic beasts, which obviously did not exist in the forest for safety purposes.Dxa
p5US– Clank! Chank!AEH
5CJ– Y, you bastard!gKLo7E
QSoWV4g– Hahahat! Become a sacrifice for my marks!F0F
E1hnLv– Die! Die!0oeYMKk
0PsfjA group of students that were quick to understand the rules were swinging their swords around already. Well, none of them would be too hurt though, because all the weapons that came into this forest had a spell cast on them that made them non-lethal.8M4xu
XHbI5‘About time I started looking for Alicia.’BSwUakW
1j8io6I raised my senses to pick up the location of the rune in Alicia’s belly. Although it didn’t let me clearly see her location, it gave off a peculiar aura that guided me forward.OKKps6x
kfe“That way.”LuwxDkD
8mF9WThe mana inside the rune was closer than expected. Chasing after its trace, I traveled through the forest as a bunch of boisterous shouts reached my ears.9E9WDx
Sr6hB– Clank! Chang!kKo
qUQ3Kj7– Kuhak?!Qryoyx
G70– Go in!uxyE
Wa8ktdThe students of this damn Academy were all brawns as well. Even though their brains were good, their minds were very simple and straightforward.WW0
yEaIt might be because of the mental relief they got from how the blades of the weapons were sealed, but they attacked each other without turning back. Most of the students in the forest were like aggressive mobs that attacked first in an RPG.Roar
Q3z7xI ran for a long time while avoiding unnecessary fights and soon arrived at an open plot of land which already had signs of a battle.rKR4R
UfW“Ughh… A, are you aiming for my armband as well!”8qAi
EHpiKeyWearing the same unique martial uniform that revealed her shoulders, Alicia with her lustrous brown hair was gazing at me in the middle of seven fainted students.x2rrrq
GcoZD“Give me your armband.”p0e
uSu5n6“I trusted you, Mr. Korin! You gave me candy so I thought you were a good person!”AN1Fy99
FpjG1GgShe said while pointing her sword at me.cnb
PaoygVS“N, now that it has come to this! We cannot get along anymore! Die if you wish to survive! Survive if you wish to die!”rqB6gfB
WdzPug“I understand what you’re trying to say, but that’s not how you use that expression…”iT4
vg6FuAlicia was a purely physical-type fighter and a Grade 2 Knight and her specialty, Eyes of the Boundary, was still something she couldn’t use to its full potential.wNgiG8s
CshUEqBJudging based on her ability to fight as an individual, she was probably average among Grade 2 students…OEJDH
Zw3‘It’s doable.’0UN
rWZHlThe blue armband on her left arm was very appealing.Ofh
dO2QKn****tLW2z
TCyAt the entrance of the forest after the disappearance of the students were Chairman Eriu, Senior Professor Josephine and Hua Ran, who was crouching down with a bored gaze.mmj3e
q6AK“Let me now head off to the forest as well, Chairman.”gTZ
Wt7NAlthough there were several professors located across the forest, it would be even safer for her to enter the fray just in case.Fr4x7n
c8jOvq“Sure. Then I will be watching over from here. If by any chance…”X6wRma
UoHAgi4“I will make sure you don’t have to take action.”NDa
bh7xuThe professors in the forest were all proven veterans. There were also senior students inside, but their strengths had been restricted so there should be no-one suffering from big injuries.iGbc
3kvAfter opening the dimensions, Josephine was about to walk into the forest when a soft whisper stopped her in her tracks.ROgz87K
9UAS“Me too…”Phx
NDIx8It was Hua Ran.akWizL
KloehT“…Sorry?”hdBUEg
7OG“…”WJI2Ebt
wBn“I want to do it too.”CuyD0A
KBDyICChairman Eriu appeared slightly surprised by her sudden remark but Lady Josephine raised an objection before the Chairman could even say something.c2O
3T4ug“You cannot. You can’t restrain your abilities and this activity is meaningless for you at first…”zsP
bo3aHer words were put to a stop by the carefully risen hand of the Chairman. The Chairman slowly walked up to Hua Ran, kneeled on one of his knees and met his eyes with hers.W1G
vPHH“You seem to have had a change of mind.”vDTuw6r
3Bs0F4d“…”pmKCQk
NAZIHua Ran looked straight back into his eyes.3FaUbFV
EqPw“I see. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine as well. You can do as you wish.”C4Y
xAUM“Chairman!”2mDxXR
9jZENY“I know, Clara. I know this lesson is not suitable for Student Hua Ran and I also know that this child has access to quite the dangerous amount of power.”dEIq
JTAeXY“…”K7EE0v
yRAPkoo“Hua Ran. Can you promise me one thing?”JWRTDiI
eivPEiHua Ran didn’t reply, but she didn’t turn her head away and that was a sign of approval, which was already better than before.wE8r
X42qhI“Try your hardest to not cross the bottom line. It is always going to be you who decides the color of your soul.”7oOvpGj
ahwJQpr“…I will try.”ANW
yNm8KlThis was something Korin wouldn’t have expected.YZ8
tvVHe wouldn’t have expected the big tempest caused by the butterfly effect; and the result of him flapping his wings.D0JNUPH
sZH7yGBut unfortunately, half of that was what he brought upon himself.LXDTt
qtXiEmG****HGpBO
YEQZAlicia Arden was in a panic when she got viciously attacked by her peers immediately after the teleportation.H5TJ
zopC1I‘Why is everyone attacking each other? How mean! Why can’t everyone be as kind-hearted as Mr. Benefactor?!’sAVMN
8SGelS4She had already been mercilessly betrayed right before entering Merkarva Academy, so her response wasn’t that late. Seven of her peers attacked her but Alicia managed to defeat all of them with ease.bDj
zihHqYShe was conscious of it herself, that she was in the realm of ‘geniuses’ thanks to her astounding talents. Of course, it might be nothing compared to her older sister who was the true genius, but she did not deny the fact that she was a powerhouse in the top 1 percentile.EZMnx
9braIn the end, she was a genius who didn’t feel the drive to work hard and had no passion.GY4Km
6jKHRQ“Huu…”MPcPt
4bZHZThat was why she wasn’t that cautious even after seeing Korin, a Grade 5 Knight. He was a nice person and was a kind person who invited goodwill, but that had nothing to do with his strength.1SkOtxH
GLoHpHe was just a Grade 5 student. She had easily defeated the union of Grade 3 and Grade 4 students, so she thought it would only take her 10 seconds to neutralize a Grade 5 Knight.mq3
WuR‘What is this person?’uhYJYG9
tJuykGThat was what she had been thinking 30 seconds ago.MjWH0Q9
H8GwX– Chakk! Changg!cVj
Fb7gl‘He’s extremely strong!!’OqO6API
m7VYByThe Grade 5 Knight snuggled in with the spear in hand. While misleading the eyes with his slithering spear, he would suddenly stab forward at a terrifying speed.izk82w
Dqc3She tried a variety of attacks – sword dance at a close distance, and attacking from outside of his range.zslbG
Jw6oPBut the opponent saw through her sloppy attempts every time and constantly pressured her by attacking back.EHWRfSI
nsAsyThere was no room for retaliation. Logic told her that she should be able to see a gap after closing the distance, but the retrieval and stab of his spear were so quick that she could not exploit it.ZOfP
9hbHe was just using a little bit of snap in his wrist and footwork to make this possible, and he was as seasoned as a veteran soldier.sxoG
kix‘But it’s not like he doesn’t have any gaps! His breath before his stabs and his swings are a bit different! If I make use of that data…!’d6e
ko6qs“Huu…!”YpU34I
1kxVuiYAlicia’s sharp eyes perceived Korin’s brief exhale which was the prelude of a ferocious stab. Although she had no passion for martial arts despite being one of the successor candidates of a renowned martial household, her innate gifts were incomparable to average people.fWTd
4wcn6She did not miss that gap and instinctively knew this was the opportunity to slash at him.zdGy
calaPS｢Six Ways of the Spear.｣0YwE
Qe0｢Second Style. Horizontal Gust of a Tiger.｣mRvg35z
mlpbpThe shaft of the spear was swung at Alicia, who dared to shorten the gap between them. Right – although she had been pressured by his relentless stabs, the wide-range swing of a spear was the scariest attack of its kind.kpCR
mjUILSjIt was impossible to dodge it with ease and attacking wasn’t a viable option either because the spear would be the one landing first.W6JidmJ
5mgIn the face of the mighty power that forced others to give up on attack and focus on defense, Alicia had to stop her offense and block the spear.xbmusKo
U3n– Pang!0SH
G50mFhI“Uh…?!”1UcUs
WRM8His attack carried the fierce impact through the blade of the sword, and it felt as if the air had exploded next to her. Alicia was too light to hold her ground against the attack and ended up bouncing off to the side.vdGa
pXZR‘Condensed aura?!’yJv
pMLIt was an attack made by supplementing the aura with an outburst which could only be done through the amalgamation of the body, mind and technique. It was very efficient as long as it was used properly, but it wasn’t something that was easy to learn…fenK
S6B4dMt‘How is this a Grade 5 Knight?’PbHO9
YuQZrw6Korin continued swinging the spear in a dazzling manner that tried to trick her eyes. His movement and his highly experienced skills that always let him find the right attack regardless of his posture had definitely exceeded the limits of a Grade 5 Knight.Ec6IS
Eh6AfB‘It’s not like he’s physically strong but…! All of his skills are no joke!’DvMO
ZMOZFirst off, she decided to flick the spear away. By pressing down on the spear, she would restrict its movement and dash in for the final slash!fRfNy
qHvr– Chank!uA94nz
OZLJatHowever, Alicia’s ambitious goal was stopped by his first response. Her attempt to fling the spear away instead resulted in a fancy return of the spear that deflected her sword off instead.JoKRt
22BOuter Trap – swinging the spear outward to deviate the attack.hxEXeqF
HFS01AAfter pushing the sword off to the side using the outer trap, he pressed on the blade again with the shaft of his spear. In the blink of an eye, Alicia’s sword was all the way down next to Korin’s thigh.iX1DUG
8tlxFvThis was the Inner Trap – swinging the spear inward to restrain the enemy’s weapon.RQAp
9Es“Huh?”Pbr9E
sNn5Alicia became startled after realizing that her sword was suddenly facing the bottom, and what she saw next was the spearhead stabbing towards her.wHAmed
CoZStab – a forward thrust.S9W
2uYRThe combination of those three fundamental skills was what made up the most basic yet most profound counter skill of the spear – the pinnacle of spearmanship.jbv5
XCOc｢Six Ways of the Spear.｣Qjoh
Osm9E｢Third Style. Trap and Stab.｣N4b
uIpyn“Kuhuk?!”kupx
JpiHThe tip of the spear landed on her solar plexus. She blocked the attack with her aura but the power behind the stab pierced through and made her gasp for breath.YhrmLo
2TkYyr“Uht…!”AXzob
Rp9wWithout even giving her the time to restabilize herself, the spear struck her sword once again. Their weapons were flung off and those weapons were each about to return to their original places when the spearman kicked her ribs with his leg.dXt6S
YI1UC“Kkuuk…!”YYVKH
4mNSi“Lack of practice from over-reliance on talent.”A08wl
MOaxBn2“Eekk!”7lX4e
xvJShe retrieved her sword. It was faster than that of the spear due to being a shorter weapon, but what came instead was a palm that was even faster than her sword.gbe
wojCNF“Looks like you only relied on the sword and didn’t learn anything else.”GyaDj
AhXThe aura-embedded palm strike landed a clear attack on her chest.r6Nhzd
3xx– Pang!V3RO
72lL5k“Hhuuk…?!”gOQcK
vy8Along with the same burst of air that echoed across when she was hit by the Horizontal Gust of a Tiger, Alicia flew in the air for 10 meters before landing on the ground. Consecutive attacks to the solar plexus was enough to drive normal people unconscious but Alicia immediately stood back up after rolling on the ground.iuxk
KKPNBcs“Kuhu…”P1sd
VucookaIt was painful. That palm strike just then made the half-digested food inside her belly climb back up her throat, but it was in perilous situations like this that Alicia became the most rational.86RT
3TYha‘I knew it. She’s the type of person that shows her true colors when provoked.’94bLHy8
SbtP3EWhile Korin was once again realizing how much of a genius she was, Alicia was also serious now that she had become ever so rational.wGUMO
RJT‘He’s strong. I have to use my strongest attack!’2YbqM
qQAfHe wasn’t an opponent she could look down on just because he was in Grade 5. His skills and combat senses had been trained to the extreme and was definitely above her own.oED26c
NCDWithout closing the gap, Alicia sheathed the demon-slaying sword back into its scabbard and postured herself. It was the posture for battojutsu[mfn]the craft of drawing out the sword Battōjutsu (抜刀術, battō-jutsu) (“the craft of drawing out the sword”) is an old term for iaijutsu (居合術). Battōjutsu is often used interchangeably with the terms iaijutsu and battō (抜刀).[/mfn] which was unique to Alicia’s fighting style.uyhjni
r2R0❰Arden First Sword Style. Domain Severance❱bZKSgm
p9iWLpNIt was still an unpolished move, but it was one that allowed her to definitely slice anything that was next to her.7RHFn
7Xi“…”TZ2
HcX09Korin Lork observed her while holding the spear while Alicia was eager to end this fight with this one strike.80aw6u
sNfp‘I will hit you with my strongest counter-skill if you come near me!’ZlX
HJe“…”PKMu9
Fxy49The spearman deeply stared at her. For some reason, he stayed still without moving an inch for several seconds.msX8E
xrPInstead of running up, he relaxed his arms and lowered his guard.sXFNuR
Y0p“Eh?”hRWM4
FkQ1BYbThis is not good…KBkkiZh
zKOrqThe fact that she let that fluster show on the outside was a clear proof of her inexperience. While looking at the blank-minded Alicia, Korin picked up a few pebbles and grinned.UBiRoc
gumYYLj– Fling!AJUfWW
T7OiKOpThe pebble came flying at her.MZR
PCzZJfu‘Did he notice just by seeing that it was a counter-skill against his approach?’6zR2YN
7Ei02aIt was clear what these pebbles were for. He must be planning on dashing towards her as soon as she unsheathed her sword to parry the pebbles.s6biH6z
WQe69‘It won’t go the way you want!’VfUa
znIhVyEmpowering her entire body with aura, she blocked the incoming pebbles.ZNMmH
zohxgNMFortunately, she was in a vastly superior advantage when it came to the total amount of aura. It should be a piece of cake to hold off against his pebbles!rAHnX
jidj3xU– Bam! Slam!qez
1oYQc‘Hmph! This is nothing! As if I would…’FoIwYS
sgRbXHer superhuman eyes saw a letter engraved on the pebble. Immediately, it flared up in red.1qAPC
suGOiKw〚ᚲ〛- Kenaz.b8CLZ5
RBrSRy“H, huh? Magic?!”jryDuyn
nN7– Hwaruk!pGOW6ik
I3KyoGSeeing the scorching piece of rock, she unconsciously unsheathed her sword and parried it away. Little sparks landed on her clothes but she judged that her aura would be enough to defend them.rT4
lFj“Having and not having long-ranged attacks is a big factor.”CvyG
qxMSeveral more pebbles came flying at her with the words, Hagalaz, Sowilo and Berkana engraved on them.V7zq
3seR2V0The runes of the harsh tempest, scorching sun and birch twigs were like oil to the flames of Kenaz.LapQ
XVES“Ahh, that’s hott…!”cFGPy
ucXShe could no longer hold off against that vigorous rush of flames. Although rune magic was only as strong as an elementary-grade spell, the power created by the combination of several rune letters was on the level of a medium-grade spell.OHparJb
BmL6At this rate, she would be burned to death. Alicia was in a panic but still managed to react in time to the sound of something cutting through the air.3UyLD
prwG– Crush!fRIy2ei
tWnKorin got in front of her while her vision was being blocked by the flames and the downward swing of his spear was as brutal as always.9zsgM
a3RM9T“Kuuk…?!”Qyd
xohBecause of her fluster due to his sudden use of magic, she was late in responding to the attack and had to kneel on one of her knees.dp75
SQ5K‘W, what should I do? M, my clothes are being scorched! What if my hair gets burned as well? Ah, I forgot my sunscreen!!’PWPM
ODyD– Chaak!QPs
UfS“Huh?”OXfT
FKUIt was the sound of something being ripped off in a very clear and refreshing manner.cwpLn
HZNoK“Uhh?”Nhn7
cHiWNaaSitting in Korin’s hand was Alicia’s blue armband.tz0
xKJ“Are you an idiot? How can you think about something else during a fight?”dkrJc
s11v“Ehk? Ehk? P, please have mercy…”J8H
P8S“No. Go back.”JyFm1
WjkKzTears welled up in her eyes.BXeZ
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