Chapter 17: Hunting Grounds (2)
xwxvV7IAfter taking down Alicia Arden, I put the blue armband into my pocket.7tHI
pQo‘About this much against Grade 2, huh.’tlnQP
P0wPnwHonestly, I was only able to win because it was Alicia. The others were a bit hard for me to face because of their unique abilities.RHS
Y5KM7‘Both the Druid and the Golem User are annoying but…’gkQBK82
VvWg6cThe most difficult one to fight against among the named characters of the 1st year students was the Mercenary of Flying Swords, Dorron Warsky. Even with the 50% backup of the second line of my Precept, I would probably only have around 30% chance of winning.1TWT
0NV“Hah…”D0x
wjTzxBut more than anything, Alicia Arden was in more of a terrible state than I expected.pJKxm2
phbeThe greatest strengths of Alicia Arden lay in her specialty, Eyes of the Boundary, and her base stats. Eyes of the Boundary was something that would let her see through the gap in the dimension, which immediately made the user enter the ‘Domain’.5np
nDVtPBack when it was a game, the thing expressed as a ‘Domain’ was just a killing move that was described as the person attacking in a suspended world, but it was something that actually existed now that this was the real world.uBMPtR
a46uThe Arden First Sword Style, ‘Domain Severance’, and the ‘Void’ of Six Ways of the Spear were all aiming for that same thing. In the previous iteration, I wasn’t even able to reach the very depth of the Void.LWa
nnvOhbThis was unrelated to a person’s physique and their strength. It was something that could only be activated in an unimaginably transcendent realm of concentration.Vgw
zGlAside from that, Alicia’s basic skills were also very insufficient. Even though I had 3 years of extreme experiences under my belt, that still shouldn’t have been enough to overwhelm her in terms of technique.Tzq
DO9iFThat made me concerned about the boss fight against Marie, which was now less than a month away.vNCAh
9ptSh3“Well… Her stats are still there so she should be helpful.”f0PDvs
so46According to the original plot, the ❰Murderer of the City of Fog, John Doe❱, who was also related to the first missions of the 2nd Arc, would soon be showing himself. At the end of the 1st Arc, Marie would fight against him, who infiltrated into the city, and show signs of awakening.eZ5
uvy‘Should I get close to Alicia and make her train for the time being?’yZtsW
8ZlI still hadn’t fully recovered my skills from the last iteration, but I still knew what Alicia lacked.ANo3ry
CRFmLuina Arden would soon visit the Merkarva City in search of the ❰Murderer of the City of Fog❱, and after meeting her and having a catalyst, that should be enough for Alicia for the time being.cnHQShG
2mnfj‘She’s probably going to have to stay at the hospital for some time, but I guess I should help her out when she’s better.’OxWOPA
KfqBOCUConsidering how she took a eight trigram palm strike with a considerable amount of aura inside, she would probably have to stay in bed for a week. I really wasn’t expecting to be that weak though. Honestly, I might have even beat her with a sword.Jl5fhp4
9lhUiu“There’s a Grade 3!”XOLRD9
k8l3H6“Don’t let him go!”83YkW5
br0pSHp“Y, you bastards…!”7naIyx
qKYUCvThe hunting grounds were very noisy. Students were starting to understand the rules and the clever ones began to hunt in groups.WAXNM
GxhWhether it be against demonic beasts or other students, a numbers game was always an effective strategy and the students were starting to understand that as intended by the Academy.2bs7
MahDIt was natural that low-Graded students would unite and cooperate against their higher-Graded peers, and the group that I came across was of a similar kind.nyZjd8
kwZsy“Huh? Wait. He’s just Grade 5.”dlPq
8RVsg5“Should we get rid of him?”LE9
Dq0jWIE“Don’t bother. What are you gonna do with his armband? Oi, Grade 5. Do you want to go around with us?”LGtXwDO
5kKS“Hmm?”gES
L28JGS“He can at least be a bait for us right? Oi, if you join us, I’ll give you 10% of what we gain.”3bKw
vYl“In your dreams.”LdcGOV
uhgI quickly moved the spear before they could react and hooked off their armbands.na591pA
ZpYfs2h“U, uht?”UZF
zIEJF“What?”LalQ
olLRAv6They were flustered upon seeing their armbands hanging on the tip of my spear, but I ignored them and continued running across the forest.mgpSxHl
muKDHYTwo white bands from those two Grade 4 students… Adding that to Alicia Arden’s blue armband should equal quite a high number of points.HozigRb
hPhMy goal was to hit 100 points in this lesson; obtain the ‘seed’ and aim for the hidden piece. I would definitely be able to reach 100 points if I took the armband of another Grade 2 student but that was nothing easy and it was questionable if I could even come across them in the first place.k13y
tgLAdIn the game, you could save and load to get 100 points but that wasn’t an option in the real world.HB1d2oc
Hk0JqdMy job now was to steal all the armbands of my peers!RyaQ2v
nHjHf– Clink! Clank!cwG
H2A4BBII was heading North with a bunch of thoughts filling my head when a bursting thud echoed across the forest.lsu
yosAZ– Claaaaank!QOEnkPQ
qHYVc0f– Clang!Mhd
aavjF– This is unfair!dJCr
dVyOSThe sound of clinking metal and screams filled the forest as the heat of the battle came closer and closer.Xsw
7OZ‘Wait, why are they coming towards me?’opwLfU
NDS– Screeeeach!wtHQ
sARYmThat was when something came flying in.PQf0vmb
t3sQq“Huhp…?!”8QVrbs
ZF3coSomething was falling above my head while giving off a heavy load of pressure. This pressure…7hT54
RqY0I instinctively thrusted my spear!gxwnVo
YiWWXp– Clang!t6DY
GewSrSwathing the spear with my aura, I let it collide against the falling sword as the two blades fell in a stalemate.3Hh8raf
AJfGS“Kuhk…!”EzGsqth
oaoIt was heavy, as expected of the magic sword created with heavy iron which was 4 times denser than steel.GpS77z8
TWk9Although there weren’t any special traits in this sword, it definitely had a simple merit which was weight. Normally it was a magic sword used against large-type boss monsters but the fact that this sword came flying at me… could only mean one thing!mO5mBv8
Z31– Clang!aOPb
NVYDQ8C“Hoh, you flicked the heavy iron sword away? You’re quite skilled aren’t you?”Ci4PJjv
dhuLxbThe Mercenary of Flying Swords walked closer while retrieving the magic sword. After seeing me, the man couldn’t hide the slight speck of doubt that appeared in his eyes.Pdu
osdFT“Grade 5?”blyw
EQGXij“Damn it…”ubX4gcu
wIpNbdLThe atrocities of a battle were in full display behind the man’s back.pscu9
O4UrDozens of peers were lying unconscious on the floor. Not only were there students but there were also the corpses of demonic beasts and bits of Soul Dust that were left behind by demonic spirits.4xoLew
ISkWls6All of this was something done by that one man – that former mercenary who looked a lot older than his actual age.IKRKiFv
Xjp9“Dorron Warsky…”tV16
zk4t“Being famous is sometimes quite tedious. There are too many people attacking me all the time.”LFSxav3
wOY1WE– I want to avoid unpaid fights though.Vypr
3tJwREven though he had shown an overwhelming victory against dozens of students, the Mercenary of Flying Swords did not have a single wound on his body.sossX
QbN09“How about you just pretend like you didn’t see me?”cpThDx
nyD739“Why bother?”w1Zr
CGqEEOKHis five magic swords threatened me.wjb
Y909XHe was saying there was no reason why a predator should bother letting a rabbit run away.cODT
VjP7Nw2“…This is not going according to plan.”sMoGZE
6n7zLLet’s run away.bYp
2CNFvEh– Screeeaach!jFkBXD
vCIQAThe magic swords rushed towards me through the woods.5bBF
8uamU***b16Be
d6bFAlicia powerlessly walked out of the hunting grounds.usJYdfF
TIFz“Uhh… To think Mr. Korin was that strong…”Yf5Oo81
Nv6GmWas he even a Grade 5? She wondered, but what was filling her head more than that doubt was the harsh comment he gave about her that seeped through her bones.qrVq85
F56ugYX『Lack of practice from over-reliance on talent.』6sfnZmV
y5ITLack of practice… That was the same criticism as the one she received very often back home.CsMKPp
GVLlopU“I don’t even plan on going down the path of swords though.”KPe
2zRkC9VEven though she was gifted, Alicia had no serious plans on becoming her grandpa’s successor. She had been doing it because it was cool and was a good exercise.N5IP
cRMLPsPAnd more than anything, it’s because she wanted to be praised by her older sister from a different mother…Oqp
K2f0『We can’t stop the blood!』DUGr
fOWPkM1『The weapons were made non-lethal. How is that even possible!!』NTBG
YZbImThat day was when everything changed for her. The day of her first spar had changed everything in her life.PRi
B6LhPdAnd that was also when she grabbed the attention of her grandfather and became a successor candidate.zgIRk
jp6『Looks like you only relied on the sword and didn’t learn anything else.』nkTZW0
ObKPHowever, she still felt pain after receiving such criticism.f6E
k51hV“…I must have looked pathetic.”uudyezC
KKPWould her benefactor have criticized her the same way? Thinking about it like that made her lethargic.Ujf51fS
qJq7O“He was strong,” Alicia murmured to herself while thinking about Korin Lork. She had never seen such a sharp spear before. How much sweat and blood must have gone into it to perfect his skills to that level?YKAuy
TmejFrom the fundamental skills of a spear to his experience that let him overcome the weakness of a spear and his perfect skills… He reminded her of her older sister.QeS
e3kZShe found herself laughable for being self-conceited for being called a genius and not working hard.T4x00o6
rjdu“Should I… try a little harder?”HfoD
NjEDwAlicia decided to practice her sword more after going back instead of being satisfied by others calling her a genius.k1R
fKQRv5“He gave me pieces of information, candies… and also gave advice…”YzagLH
bZiHdHis face was quite wild and his muscles…JFn0Cpy
E1FztSShe recalled Korin’s appearance one by one, and that was when something caught her attention.hklDv
UVICu7“Uhh, that belt…”c12QNAX
FgLB3uWasn’t it the same one as the one her benefactor was wearing?vdZ
fci“Student Alicia Arden!”FPG1o
uG5RuFYThe voice of an old professor helped her leave her world of imaginations.scn
RiS4“Ah, yes…!”jvvVdp
7BV“Ms. Arden. You’re going the wrong way.”CxtRn
yHDiL“Sorry?”glz1q
p3OwLUM“That’s the habitat of Grade 3 demonic beasts.”TkEqz
PSuZ“What? Really?”lvSou6K
Tx7A“The entrance is on the other side. Go that way. And don’t lose the way this time.”G3u
PnR“Ah… Yes…”ZddVlTh
xDfRQ4Hiding the blush in her cheeks, Alicia dashed through the forest. She was buried in embarrassment and soon completely dismissed the thoughts about belts.HJ3h
kfR****tZV3H
jNWhnMercenary of Flying Swords, Dorron Warsky was a veteran mercenary.17cZo5n
I7QHe had been a part of a group of mercenaries ever since a young age, and was a veteran who defeated countless demonic beasts and spirits. The official acquisition of a Grade 2 guardian certificate which he got even before the admission was the proof of his incredible experiences.AIBuc
GJfzyW“How fascinating.”ADJx6
goEDorron muttered while observing the crushed trees and the new vacant plot of land that replaced the previous lush forest. Old and tough trees that had been growing for centuries were torn apart like pieces of paper, and the magic swords of flame and lightning had left behind traces of a catastrophe.vptQ2e
pj6zL3GBut this was far from what Dorron was capable of.XP3
4WPS‘He dealt with the swords before I could even use them properly.’3Xy0EP
tnUHThe core of the flame sword had been penetrated before its output could be raised to the maximum, and the lightning spiritual sword was buried so deep underground that Dorron couldn’t take it out even with his specialty, telekinesis.bYyLyHo
AeDnPlus, the magnetic iron sword which worked well with magic circles of acceleration had their weak point exploited, and the formula had been broken.0iVg
iIqHx“Who is he? It was as if he knew about the abilities of all my swords and my specialty.”eEk
Z66LNZ3More than anything, he was very experienced. Putting outside how he knew about his abilities, he was proficient at efficiently dealing with the problem.Kk0
Cc6Dorron was startled by him targeting the swords but from what he felt during their collision, his physical strength itself wasn’t that great. He was barely on the level of a Grade 3 Knight, and would probably have to be considered a Grade 4 Knight.tNH
ebbBut that alone proved that the grading test had given a terribly wrong result of a Grade 5 Knight to Korin. Dorron also couldn’t guess how such a powerhouse had stayed under the radar for so long.FN6n
If57o8W‘That’s a lot of money gone. I have to give up on this practical lesson.’gei
0OjThree of his five magic swords were broken. He would be able to repair them quickly as long as he had the materials but it would also take a whole load of his precious time for those materials to arrive.HdT
IL9S****Kx5B87o
ORP“That almost killed me!”Nat
U9PI was quite fortunate to avoid being disqualified in the fight against Dorron. The helping factor was that I remembered all the traits of his magic swords and those magic formulae in the previous iteration and the game.ocwhE2Q
JIMPQ‘If I didn’t successfully neutralize the tedious flame sword and the lightning spiritual sword at the start of the battle, it would have been over.’FhM
TXXDorron Warsky was one of the core party members alongside Alicia Arden for the player at the start of the game. He was very versatile unlike the Druid who depended on terrain and the Golem User who had a clear limit when it came to interpersonal fights before being trained at it.SYpyjm
BO8Besides, his various elemental-attributed magic swords were excellent at dishing out a lot of elemental damage so he was the strongest ally character that could be used until the end.t7d
RKaRJvThe only downside was that he cost a lot of money because of his character’s personality traits, ❰Miser❱ and ❰Employee❱, but he was even better than Alicia in terms of strength.hTs4
1i5Lmw“Kuhg…”71bPqX
h21Magnetic iron sword… The wound created by his super acceleration sword which was accelerated by his proud magic formula was still screaming in pain.nQ8
ddmnJSEven though it definitely had become a non-lethal weapon thanks to magic, my shoulder was ripped out just by coming into contact with it.VzZU
okc4XpBut it was okay because the wound was already starting to close.EvNc1nU
OZg9‘❰Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior❱. It’s working nicely.’G0vF
bxbIIt was the specialty that greatly increased the regeneration ability when the HP went below a certain threshold during a fight. Instead of something as simple as regeneration, it was similar to a regression and a perfect restoration of the body.rsypcF9
yGM49PR“Huhu. That’s what you get for taking my shoulder!”ruF1jA
URpBgkThree of his magic swords were broken. We were still at the start of the main story line, so those swords were made using Grade 3 demonic stones and were relatively cheap. Because they weren’t specially-crafted swords by a proper Grade 1 blacksmith, the joints and the fusion of the formula and the sword were still quite weak.7r6p08C
4KqIt will cost quite a lot of money to repair that.kqXUYAj
qhR1– Ruuuumble!!k19RFb
Bu4hX9zThat was when the forest quaked. Water droplets dispersed in all directions and even managed to reach me, which was ridiculous considering how far I was.KHG
A2FdMTThere was only one person in this Merkarva Academy who would use such a high level water-attributed spell in the forest.L5t7S8C
3eQno“Marie?”S6KCpuS
DTRIt was northeast of where I was, and was probably near the final destination of this practical lesson, the shed.H0rr
ojyVlvThe only person capable of pushing Marie to this level could only be one of the named freshmen characters; either Yuel the Druid or the Golem User, Kranel Luden. Kranel would probably last about a minute and Yuel the Druid… might actually be able to fight back a fair bit considering the overwhelming advantage of being in a forest.elak
86dWvp9“Maybe she would last about 3 minutes?”wlRBH6
GKWTBut even with the environment in consideration, the fight wasn’t a favorable one for her. Her opponent was none other than the strongest student of the 2nd year students; a genius that rivaled Lady Josephine, the strongest mage out of the named characters of Merkarva Academy.s4RS6qz
nblK– Rumble! Ruuumble! Ruuuumble!!XUeiNGm
xfFThe exploding noises of amplification spells and alchemic formula made the forest let out a shrieking yell. Knights who had been quarreling with blades until now would be dumbfounded at the sight of something so supernatural, and the ones that were going down the same path of magic might despair at the face of an overwhelming talent.ufp66OV
qD9‘Scrap that. It would be great if she could last 2 minutes.’KrN8zMF
B9qJMLThat was Marie Dunareff – the child beloved by magic who fell from grace due to an unwanted awakening.4IdjTDE
coN0She was the final boss of the 1st Arc who I had to beat after a month’s time.1h7hx
wjr“Ugh… Let’s not even go near that place.”0hLvH
Rk8OiTPI decided to go the long way around.pPH
FGRHdpFBeing disqualified due to being caught up in that fight would be the most disheartening thing to experience.I4aJsms
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!