Chapter 18: Hunting Grounds (3)
Je1CLMarie hopped across the dense forest as if she was out on a walk. Her feet that were as energetic as a freshman of the Academy led her forward to a place that had actual freshmen students lying down on the ground.T9y
h0Hc8Q6“Ughh…”lnc
uvBX“M, my back…”mhO
TFuDJ“Are you alright? Are your wounds serious?”fymTIH
uKYCShe was just asking as a matter of formality and received a response that was in the scope of her imagination.oehA
5m7LBL9“I’m alright…”ux1GZIS
S0KBZThe student sounded discouraged more than anything. It seemed that she hadn’t been expecting the gap between themselves to be so big.irerl5t
5YFqMThe genius mage, Marie Dunareff – the official rank of Grade 1 that she received wasn’t for show.HJj
LoxMZ“I’ll let you off this time so good luck!”Fet
e9x“Uhk… Alright.”U0M
NYfch“That’s good! I also had to push myself like you guys last year! You’ll be able to do better next time!”q2RE
HVMwGWithout taking the armband of the disheartened freshman, she caressed her head and turned around.VUZr
KP1ozIa“How is this possible with only low-grade spells…”cqqGqR
3RupF92Lying down next to the astonished freshman were 10 of her peers.wNItjqk
Su8Cl“Hmm~. I like how all the freshmen are brave! But…”FbSO
OqntThere’s no-one like him yet.uAEEAWu
fndJI6uMarie cheeks flushed while thinking about the impressive freshman boy. If it was him, he probably would have continued fighting without giving up.THjUlIB
ob9“That would be troublesome~. I don’t think it’ll be easy to stop him.”11zKnr
yBCWould she be able to come across that boy in this practical lesson? The odds weren’t that high but if she did manage to see him…DhwMl
LwVThe imagination alone made her heart palpitate.Aiqr2
D9A– Rustle!4tG
I6NThat was when tree branches shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Marie’s wrists and ankles.25YNEHT
FbH“You let your guard down!”PB5vLX1
IRk54The owner of the voice was a girl with refreshing green hair. She pointed an antique staff, that appeared like the entanglement of tree branches, at Marie.2NXj66c
H6w2B“O spirits of the forest. Lend me your aid!”XS1
IDbSmall fragments of light emerged following her request.Lo2lVc
iAUThey were the natural-born spirits that existed in the vast woods of the hunting grounds. Seeing them appear voluntarily without any contract, Marie gave a smile.gYv
od9Q“So you are that druid freshman, right?”ltz
7ycy5She was able to stealthily move tree branches outside of Marie’s perception and a single request from her immediately called the lofty spirits of the forest.BII6bW2
0K9iA druid had the blessings of the forest. It was definitely not an overstatement to say that this was a part of her territory.1S0D2ZN
uVPrXMf“You should surrender. You can’t beat me in the forest.”WcN
qzzMarie understood where her confidence was coming from seeing the dozens of spirits that were surrounding her. Druids were born with natural affinity to spirits. It was because their hearts weren’t tainted by worldly matters and were instead tinged by nature.9pt
FjzZuShe was a strong spiritual elementalist who could easily receive the help of the elementals and spirits in the forest without even forging a contract. Besides, the overwhelming vitality of the forest was also a source of power for druids.xDnYdkU
e1egywn“I’m Marie. Marie Dunareff. What is your name, hoobae-nim?”N3yrK
KkKPd“…Yuel. I am Yuel of the Avelorn Forest.”GY7
CcKJeJx“Nn. Unfortunately, Yuel, I have my pride as a senior and can’t surrender.”UGA
8nwPc“You don’t sound persuasive with your limbs restricted.”78kpesy
ijyt“You mean this?”10QOh
n7V8KSeeing the branches tightened around her wrists and ankles, Marie floated a relaxed smile before flexing her limbs.tellht
3tCN6H– Crack! Crackk!LWKZU
sVly“I’m sorry, tree.”VpT
f1OMFWAs soon as Marie used her power, the branches were ripped apart like paper. Yuel blinked her eyes on repeat in a fluster, seeing how easy it was for her to break out of the restraint.nfj
blcH“H, how could that be!”crqW
eSd4bOs“Nn~. You see, I’m the oldest daughter of a family of farmers! I’m confident in my strength!”VnoH
UvNg1q– I even received a bull after winning in an arm wrestle tournament!xotb
f3E1“That’s clearly not at the level of a normal farmer!”FFNk
19l7Although Yuel had been mobilizing only a small number of branches to hide from her sight, a mage breaking out of it with her sheer power… was dumbfounding, but Yuel still believed that she was in the advantage.N9gYNfU
UPZ“You know about the attributes of forest spirits, right? They are on a definite advantage against you, sunbae-nim, who uses water-attributed spells.”zPzX8w
WwqSX“Let’s see~ if that really is the case.”Q2UN
X3YzV– Pababang!j3n
JqvPBalls of water immediately came flying at Yuel. They were low-grade spells and weren’t lethal but they were enough to physically neutralize other people.QdF
XUmyV7K“O spirits.”0CTq91
4i0Uv2Yuel communicated with the spirits by using nothing but her voice and asked for their help. The forest spirits immediately moved the ancient trees, which were like their bodies, and formed a wall of tree branches that blocked the balls of water.fmWpTW
yYnCpFE“Hmm~.”VrK
Y7la2WThe drenched branches soon returned to earth. In retaliation against Marie’s sudden attack, Yuel processed her evergreen mana.5O4g
8wqbuG“Bloom, o life.”k1dGk
ZqgL17A large flower bud appeared from the ground, but when it blossomed, what appeared weren’t beautiful petals but the hideous forms of carnivorous plants.CZn4
TQLw“Uehk…”65smu
7rUSMarie marveled at how unsightly it was but did not turn her eyes away from it.3aleY
9z4n‘It’s not a plant of this forest. That means it’s not an actual plant that she grew with mana.’K3UqHdE
gd2WRnThey were pure magic forms of life that were created from magic. It was when she came to that conclusion – those carnivorous plants that were born to devour something shot their heads towards her.JjrXqG
Z59aBMi– Hiss hiss!qk83lY
mUek– Hiss hiss!60GZ
3TAhkThe carnivorous plants opened and closed their horrifying teeth while threatening to swallow the air alongside her. Marie raised her staff in response and used Water Bullets to shoot them down.haY
gXkQ8– Hiss hiss!Cizb6
F6ZuUIt resulted in a frontal collision between the Water Bullets and the carnivorous plants. The physical power of Water Bullets should be more than enough to easily deal with those plants – that was what Marie thought, but things went in the opposite direction.EyGBl
ZDn5n9– Splash!wzIvU
3VHxWO“Nn?”YT2zRyY
66urKUEven after being hit by the bullets, the carnivorous plants did not sway a single step and instead turned bigger.17LHcP
czI1sMy‘Ahah~. So they eat mana huh?’hbUlvwH
fNCKv3– Click!DOK75c
33NoAgMarie clicked her fingers in the air as a water bubble appeared out of the air before rapidly turning bigger. It was roughly about as big as a Water Bullet but the amount of mana inside it was on a whole different league.oBS
ZQw2M7“Water Bomb.”min9a4
msaDeD– Boom!5rLF5ev
fm7OThe Water Bomb exploded in the air. It swallowed the approaching carnivorous plants with its aftershock and flung them away.dbPt
leQ5H“Tch…!”mnfhoJs
kCGTShe was clever and had quick judgment. It was as expected of a Grade 1 mage.RGBG8p
zITCO3It was a required skill of a battle mage to analyze the opponents’ actions and decipher the enemy’s magic formula to retaliate in time.jXOL
XuXtAnd Marie was someone who received Grade 1 as a battle mage.n5Sx
GuN‘But I’m still at an advantage in the forest. There is no way I can lose in this place!’UZ6s
j0C2Yuel tapped the ground with her staff and linked herself with the earth below. Now, the trees of the forest that were on her side as well as the ground beneath would move according to her will.u57
bdaYiIU“It’s completely drenched, isn’t it? All the way underground?”OizCw
htJZe“Sorry…?”tuJ7gS
0SHhv9It was then.Gie
8yb❰Combination Spell: Frost❱ZLVr
qHbE– Chaaaakk!6VK
ExSIn an instant, flowers of snow bloomed all across with Marie at the center. The carnivorous plants which had been pushed away with the Water Bomb were completely frozen. Everything which had been splattered with water was covered in ice. In other words…bMhIbi
GRoEV– Ruuumble!G8f
uVX62fSuddenly, the earth soared up as specks of dirt bounced off and juddered as if everything expanded out of nowhere.uvv
dhiG3m“Huh?”52qD
36RThe tree branches underground did not heed to Yuel’s link. It was the first time this had happened and she was thus greatly flustered.n2BtkpG
BKeA“The branches underneath were wet, right? I froze them.”cf9AhGF
osIt“H, how is this…”64T
R6p1nb“You can’t limit a mage’s ability to their main attribute. Remember there are combination spells in elemental magic.”jPD
J6lMarie Dunareff’s specialty in magic was everything including the water attribute. Freezing the molecules of water that appeared from her spell was one of the combination spells she had.AB6
LEapibAThe tree branches that had been wetted with the Water Bomb had gone back down, and that was why they froze underground.etiy2
DIp“Not yet…! I still have spirits with me!”70pxQQ
wbAG49As Yuel said, the spirits of the forest were still in a normal state. They seemed infuriated by the disrespectful one who suddenly froze the ground.z88icqG
M4SE“Sorry. But I think I’ll have to say sorry one more time. You see, I’m going to explode a Water Bomb.”7jr
gKrrPoX“A Water Bomb? Something at that level won’t…”vCWO
5MWvoIn the middle of her words, Yuel unconsciously turned to Marie’s staff. She realized that the amount of mana embedded inside was extraordinary, upon noticing that it was heading to the air and turned her gaze to the sky.kAb
ohHMQe“Ah…”2SCzf
XCeIoA great blob of water was being boiled on top.IYBDX
AUkY956Water Bomb.slz9JD
xVNHIt was a low-grade spell that exploded a blob of water with the heat of magic to scatter into the surroundings. It was as strong as a shock wave at best, and breaking a small tree would be considered a remarkable feat.3WOR
w37Even though it shouldn’t be anything great as a low-grade spell…NZR2Z
sF1ik“Water Bomb.”RJZH
z1zT– Kwaaaaannngg!!u9yu
26SzggWhat fell from the sky was a large bomb of water. It was ridiculously enormous and it became a large bomb that covered the entire region.MNa
1YIwx“S, spirits!”Q0Iv9l
0XokHeeding the desperate call of the druid, the spirits began to move. They also turned deathly pale as they moved the ancient trees of the forest to protect Yuel, but…2xsOT3
B0Fy“Booom~”A8OY5
OvYB– Ruuuuumble!!Y3V0sy4
ZlIIt was nothing but a futile resistance to an overwhelming natural disaster.O9rNpG
waihY6x****CH47
Dn5s940The forest looked as if had been bombarded by bombers. The large Water Bomb that destroyed a part of the hunting grounds was the sign that marked Marie’s one-sided victory.RgsSceW
8uPuEven though the seniors of this prac lesson weren’t allowed to use medium-grade spells excluding barriers for self-defense, her spell was still overwhelming and that was thanks to her specialty.rJrupFH
5IY7yQ❰Mana Amplification❱0w2Wffc
wNnbX5KThis overpowered specialty that allowed its user to increase the output of a spell, which was supposed to have a clear limit depending on the formula, was an ability that was definitely fitting of a boss character.WcvvW
1pmuCShe was a Unique Grade boss who was meant to be defeated as a whole party. There was probably only one person among the freshmen students who could have a frontal fight against Marie Dunareff.PlSwO87
210R“A, ahht…! A, are you alright? Sorry! Yuel, you were too strong so I unknowingly put too much power into my attack…! Are you alright?”4mLO
Y6jrl“Ugh…”6DF5Wy
O43el9QYuel gave a dejected sigh while looking at her restless Senior. This girl with water-color hair was amiable to everyone with an easy-going and a warm smile.mBE0Na7
ZZLaShe was a docile girl who loved peace with no animosity against other people. However, hidden behind her face was the horrifying ability of a Grade 1 battle mage.hhuVr
mZyxThis girl was probably an innately adorable and gentle person, and a kind-hearted girl who was always nice and generous to everyone.Zqry
PS0WV3Even in the small society of a druid’s tribe, there were those that were able to form thicker bonds with other people.mo9iTl
QDNRdThese people were nice and formed great relationships with others, but were ruthless when it came to doing the necessary actions.6Mn
5Qcah“Uhhk…”hN5ya
zMT“A, are your bones alright? Do you want me to put some saliva on?”9RCzP28
TeV6IW“How would that… even help?”JkD7so
9zL“K, kuhum… But you know, guardians are meant to get injured as they grow! I also fell down when I was watering the plants on a wyvern and broke my legs—-”mDVaS
vw1uZpWas this mysterious toughness an environmental buff that was applied to the children of farmers?oxhBa
3tzoB0cYuel had no clue. This world was full of suffering and both the city and the farm were too difficult for her. Until she was taken outside by the rescue team that was here to escort the injured students, Yuel had to receive the extreme words of concern and encouragement from Marie.IjPKTfh
fNf“Hmm… Maybe I shouldn’t have amplified? But she wasn’t an opponent I could beat with only low-grade spells and no amplification…”E7IvKXX
SUSFlMarie turned her gaze in concern towards another student who had been staring at her for a long time.zM2
xMDJE“Hello? I’m Marie. What is your name?”N1r3Gm
ZcLwf0IHer golden eyes clashed with a crimson gaze.f41Xpa
8Ba1Z****KdHeAP
PZiSfv5Right in front of the shed which was the final destination, standing there to stop any intruders was a large golem.Ee6y
f0pTh“…Sorry but the 1st place goes to me.”Sm2PNXB
n9sFNamed character of freshmen, Golem User Kranel Luden. He was one of the starting party members that were available aside from Hua Ran.UMkcdH0
kxyLLZQHe was standing in front of the shed, stopping every incoming student.Y4Zj9
gWnOAP“Haa… Is today like a special day or something? Why am I seeing all the Grade 2s?”8cmgM6
Id3E8‘Judging from how fast he came here, did he make like a golem horse to rush all the way here? To steal from other students in front of the shed?’AXHQ
6lPRIAlthough defeating Alicia was part of my plan, it definitely wasn’t my goal to meet Kranel after Dorron. I was facing 3 out of the 4 named characters in just one day.ETs28
bVbThis scenario which would be hard to see in the game even with an infinite number of saves and loads was happening in front of my eyes.0Oefu3I
s2yQGK“You have a lot of armbands don’t you? I’ll be first if I take all that…”gs6
ztLrT“In your dreams, buddy. You’re the easiest after Alicia from Grade 2, alright? Watch me break your favorite golem.”5MJ4cI
4Pm…………rge
kl4………nfrI
EWUgA……kl0IJG
9JX5XvoGolem.XjLVz9
NQyCpzIt was a formula for siege warfare that had been inherited down from the ancient times. Using the formula of the user with the golem core at the center, one could create the large siege weapon.ZDGuK1
KqUAs long as there was enough material and mana, it would always be strong enough to break through castle walls so humans had been using golems for a very long time.5tjT
ego9hThe fact that they were classified as siege weapons proved their strength, but that also implied a critical downside.lCaVqVz
zNAbDue to being huge, they were really, really slow.nRrQ
JD3Te– Bang!Ymsa
vHL“Kuahk…!”Bbrb
48WgCUnable to retain its form, the golem crumbled down as Kranel fell with it. Walking past the remains of the destroyed golem, I pointed the spear at his neck.IiNPdo
l0nER“Golems are nothing but big targets for small and strong weapons like people. If I were you, I would have looked for a friend to protect me.”hzg
PBwR5e“…I have none.”ywpqoX8
QU55NL“Huh?”PTdROb
Owi2E5w“I have… no friends.”j3IDUSx
IaD2IXr“Ah… that’s… sorry.”i9hrK
NQf“Kuhk…”n8g6T
cyHny6YKranel let out an agonized groan as if his shoulder was dislocated when falling down from the crumbled golem.Zm5kEk
UQPtv“Stay still.”XwUJ
K25qpTS“Huh?”XaF8jX
KgC4Ak– Creak!6ZeVHj2
XvhrH6“Kuhik…?!”1QLR6o
6GvLxuI relocated his shoulder as a scream left his mouth. The intelligent mages weren’t used to pain as much, so it was something that couldn’t be helped.jn00Z
N5OYXT“With this, I will be the overwhelming victor.”xRZ97l
kJ08Ad“You…!”maANu7O
jqKAJWhile relocating his shoulder, I also took his armband as well as a bunch of green and white armbands.4oHj
P1zP“Huhu. By the way, the armbands that you’ve earned until now will still be your points, so I’m sure you’ll be able to buy a few potions and stuff.”WKqX
SpbOjaX“Uhhg…”Hm42po
r0GGvIncluding Kranel’s armband, I had 117 points in total! It was an absurdly large amount of points!m1dMT36
oLnK0It was the first time I had acquired such a large number of points even when I was repeating this lesson in the game. Was the goddess of fortune smiling on me today or something?IHgC
79BWLeaving behind Kranel, I headed to the shed.Y5IoX
2pmQ3It was time to receive my due rewards.ESjcze6
sCysak……………………………..jPfPt
mkh4IRv……………………………..n1bP
oG0……………………………..wrqlI
PpS3『Results of the Hunting Grounds』FHhF6Df
Jk7Grade 2 Knight, Alicia Arden, injured.Cd94bOt
6IhHGrade 2 Knight, Dorron Warsky, weakened.5kyF
JQvwC0QGrade 2 Mage, Yuel the Druid, injured.sFg4L
QeqnGrade 2 Mage, Kranel Luden, golem core lost.RcUe1L
oOUW5q12 out of the 4 named freshmen characters were unable to fight due to their injuries, and the remaining two were heavily weakened.J7Qkg3R
32FkjAside from that was the crash between boss characters which shouldn’t have happened in the original scenario.r0V
RSgQME1No-one knew what outcome this would lead to. But—dZhXyV
8Cn“Lucky me!”LMb
Dt2AWtThere was no doubt that the things henceforth were due to Korin’s own faults.W6OG
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