Chapter 92

EP.92 The Forest of Echoing Screams (3)

The forest owned by the Krevelt family.

The students ran through the forest, gritting their teeth. Screams could be heard from all around, but there was no time to pay attention to each one.

Monsters appeared.

From the forest, from the shadows, from the fog.

No matter where they stepped, monsters were there. Moreover, the types of monsters were unusual. Monsters that they had only encountered in books now appeared before their eyes.

They were monsters they had never faced before.

Monsters they only knew from fragmented knowledge.

Of course, knowledge and experience are different. It's rare for someone to immediately put into action what they only know from books. Most students were flustered.

“Aaaah!”

“From the ground! They come from the ground!”

“It’s a Mute Shadow!”

Screams poured out from all directions. The screams seemed to call forth more monsters. The students began to fall into confusion.

Not only were the monsters strange, but the forest itself was odd.

Sunlight barely penetrated. Everywhere was shadowy and damp. The deeper they ran, the thicker the fog became.

“What is this place...?”

“It’s dark.”

“It’s damp. Why is the air like this...?”

The environment was unfamiliar.

The forest they saw from the outside was different from the one they experienced from the inside. The forest they knew was not like this. The unexpected environment added to their unease.

It was dark.

The air was chilling.

It was humid and felt suffocating.

Upon closer inspection, the shapes of the trees were also a bit strange. Looking around, there were trees with twisted branches everywhere.

“Ugh, ugh...”

“Wait, go slowly...!”

It was a bizarre and chilling scene.

Somewhere, the cawing of crows could be heard. Every time the cawing sounded, the students flinched and shuddered.

“Is this a forest?”

The question, voiced by someone, represented everyone's thoughts. The students, filled with fear, moved cautiously, wary of the monsters that could appear at any moment.

...But the students didn't know.

The forest reconstructed through the illusionary magic tool resembled a certain landscape. And the magic tool could create the landscape imagined by the person using it.

The one who used the magic tool was Lania.

What Lania imagined was a forest adjacent to the Demon Realm.

The landscape of the forest, created through her imagination, was intricate. It was indistinguishable from reality. Normally, even if someone who had experienced battlefields used the magic tool... it would be difficult to create such a detailed environment.

The twisted trees.

The chilling fog.

The stench of monsters beyond the fog.

To implement such minor details... unless one had lived in the Demon Realm, it would be impossible.

“Hmm.”

And there was a mage.

“...Was it a bit lacking?”

This mage, who thought differently from others, had spent five years in the Demon Realm. She stroked her chin as she looked at the forest she had created.

‘Something feels lacking.’

Lania.

‘Is it because there’s no demonic aura? Well, spreading that would be a bit much...’

Lania von Trias.

“Well, this should be enough.”

The mage who had traversed the Demon Realm like her own home.

She stroked her chin and muttered.

“They’ll learn after dying a few times.”

Thirty minutes had passed since the start of the exam.

Students were being ejected from the forest one after another. Seeing this, Lania smiled bitterly.

‘If this were a real battlefield, they’d all be dead.’

Fortunately, her mutterings didn’t reach the students.

2.

Thirty minutes had passed since the exam began.

Many students had received a one-hour waiting penalty and returned to the forest’s entrance.

“...”

Some lay sprawled on the ground, while others sat on stumps, gazing at the sky. Their eyes were unfocused.

“Hey.”

Suddenly, someone spoke weakly.

“...What did you encounter?”

“Mana Eater.”

Someone answered the question. Their voice lacked vitality, filled with a sense of futility. One by one, others began to speak up in resonance.

“I also encountered a Mana Eater.”

“...A pack of Black Wolves.”

“I encountered a Mute Shadow. A shadow suddenly shot up from the ground and grabbed my neck... I was disqualified.”

Mana Eater.

Pack of Black Wolves.

Mute Shadow.

These were monsters known to appear in battlefields adjacent to the Demon Realm. It was unclear why they were in this practical exam.

Of course, they could be dealt with.

A Mana Eater was a simple creature. Annoying when it latched on, but easily defeated by a fireball from a distance.

A pack of Black Wolves had low intelligence. Not only was their intelligence low, but their field of vision was narrow. Exploiting their blind spots made hunting them not difficult.

A Mute Shadow could be lured and captured with a spell. Annoying to carry around, but easily caught if you knew it was there.

‘If they were dealt with one by one, they could be handled.’

Indeed, each monster, when considered individually, wasn’t that difficult. The methods to hunt them were well-known, even appearing in textbooks.

‘...The problem lies elsewhere.’

There were two major issues.

‘One, this place is a forest.’

The fog made it hard to see, and the dense undergrowth made it impossible to predict where monsters would appear.

‘Two, the fact that all three are present together.’

Indeed, this was the biggest problem.

The three types of monsters complemented each other’s weaknesses. The arrangement was highly malicious.

‘To capture a Mute Shadow hiding in the shadows, a spell must be used.’

Using a spell would trigger a reaction from the pack of Black Wolves.

‘To deal with the pack of Black Wolves, a wide-area circuit must be drawn.’

When trying to draw a circuit, Mana Eaters would suddenly fall from somewhere.

‘So, what should they do?’

In the forest, they were too busy running to think clearly. But once outside, the answer came quickly.

“Stock various types of spells...”

It wasn’t enough to stock only simple spells.

Considering these monsters, they needed to stock a variety of spells with different ranges.

“Ah...”

As this thought crossed his mind, he remembered the warning Professor Lania had given before the exam.

-I recommend you stock enough circuits.

Indeed, that’s what she meant.

“But, even so, this is a bit...”

Wasn’t the difficulty level too high?

The students sighed deeply.

The arrangement of the monsters felt malicious.

Wasn’t the difficulty level too high? At the very least, it wasn’t suitable for first-year students.

‘Professor Macht wouldn’t have done this.’

And Professor Macht wouldn’t have designed such a crazy difficult exam. Though his personality was a bit rough, the exams themselves were easy.

Then, who designed this exam?

‘Professor Lania.’

Lania von Trias.

The nightmare of Afflia.

The students’ gazes naturally turned to where the nightmare was sitting. She was surely sitting on a large rock.

“...Huh?”

But the students who looked at the rock tilted their heads in confusion. Just a moment ago, Professor Lania had been sitting there.

“Where did Professor Lania go?”

“What do you mean? Wasn’t she just there?”

No matter where they looked, they couldn’t see the professor.

The students tilted their heads in confusion.

3.

Near the forest, in a tent.

Macht Krevelt was monitoring the students wandering in the forest using a magic tool. This was to send Krevelt family knights in case of an emergency.

“Hmm...”

Indeed, it was a difficult exam.

It was natural for the students to be flustered. It was too difficult for first-year students.

‘Considering the difficulty...’

At the very least, it was on par with a second-year practical exam. Indeed, it wasn’t suitable for first-year students. Macht had initially opposed this practical exam.

‘Because the difficulty was too high.’

However, the exam proceeded without changes.

There was a valid reason.

“...”

Macht closed his eyes and recalled the conversation he had with Professor Lania a while ago.

-After all, most of the students in the Combat Magic Department will end up on the battlefield. Even if not the battlefield itself, at least in places related to it.

That’s what Professor Lania said to Macht, who opposed the practical exam.

‘She’s right.’

Unlike other departments, the Combat Magic Department’s career paths were focused on the battlefield. Many students had entered with the intention of going there.

Children of knight families.

Children of minor nobles seeking merit.

Talented commoner children.

They would head to the battlefield after graduation. While not everyone, many would.

-Honestly, I don’t really like it. There’s still a lot of time until graduation... but what would happen if they were thrown into the battlefield as they are now?

They would probably die.

-Well, they’ll learn a lot as they progress through the years. Still, isn’t it better to learn this sooner rather than later?

That’s what Professor Lania said.

-The shock is better sooner. They usually learn through experience on the battlefield... but isn’t it much better to learn through practice? Isn’t that the point of practice?

What is practice?

-If they fail, they’ll get a feel for it. Ah, this is what I should do here. This is what I shouldn’t do here. They’ll realize these things.

Learning through experience on the battlefield.

Of course, not everyone learns from failure. Most are discouraged and lose motivation.

But not here.

-This is Afflia, after all.

As Professor Lania said, this is Afflia.

“...”

Macht slowly opened his eyes.

-This is a place where the kingdom’s top talents gather. Shouldn’t they be given this level of trial to learn something?

His gaze was directed at the forest’s entrance.

Macht saw the students who had been ejected from the forest and were waiting for an hour.

『No, here, you should do this...』

『When the Mana Eaters fall, why not start like this? If you do this...』

『Then the pack of Black Wolves? They’ll attack too, right?』

Through the magic tool, the students’ voices could be heard. The students gathered at the forest’s entrance, putting their heads together to think of strategies.

『Damn, just try it.』

『If it doesn’t work, you can try again. After all, failing just means a deduction in points, not disqualification.』

『Just try it and if it doesn’t work, try again.』

They headed back into the forest without much thought.

Macht watched their progress. These were the students who had been disqualified within a minute of the exam starting.

But this time, it was different.

『Here!』

『Fireball, fireball, quickly!』

『Lure the pack of Black Wolves! Take out the Mute Shadow in one go!』

They devised a strategy and reattempted.

They managed to hold out for about twenty minutes before being ejected back to the forest’s entrance.

“Hmm.”

Macht stroked his chin.

It wasn’t just them. Many students were being disqualified and repeatedly attempting to advance deeper into the forest.

『Now!』

『Quickly, fire away!』

They tried.

『Damn, right there...』

『We misjudged the terrain.』

They failed.

『If we lure the pack of Black Wolves this way?』

『Maybe use a different type of circuit?』

『Yeah, maybe reduce the offensive spells and stock more of these.』

With a look of regret, they sat at the forest’s entrance, planning their next move. They spent an hour engraving new circuits and tried again.

‘The most basic value of a mage.’

Macht smiled as he watched them.

“To keep trying.”

Indeed, that’s what it was.

“Is this what you imagined?”

When asked, a voice came from the magic tool.

『Yes. I didn’t set it for three days for no reason.』

“I see. It will definitely be helpful.”

Macht nodded.

『Isn’t the reason for deducting points instead of disqualifying for failure also this?』

Failing is okay.

『They’ll find a way. And once they experience this... it will look different.』

Learn from failure.

This was the purpose of the practical exam.

The girl seemed to be saying this.

Macht was also a mage who had experienced battlefields. Though he hadn’t stayed on the front lines, he had many terrifying experiences on the battlefield.

Terrifying, but.

If you survive, it becomes a lesson.

‘...Each of these experiences is a lesson.’

Macht also knew how precious each of these experiences was.

“I see.”

Macht nodded.

“You’re right.”

Over the four days of the exam, the students would learn a lot. It would be tough, but learning always involves some effort.

“The students’ levels will rise.”

Macht felt grateful to the girl. He couldn’t have designed such a high-level exam.

‘I can’t handle a magic tool to this extent.’

Creating such a detailed illusion was no easy task. Macht looked at the girl reflected in the magic tool with renewed eyes.

‘Indeed, she’s worthy of being Professor Roselle’s student.’

There was something more than what met the eye.

Though he had dismissed her at their first meeting, the more he saw her, the more depth he found.

Indeed, it was a well-structured exam.

Well-structured, but.

‘Even so...’

Macht slowly spoke.

“Even so?”

『Yes?』

“The condition of the exam... isn’t it a bit much to ask them to defeat a boss?”

Glancing sideways, he saw the boss reflected in the magic tool. Looking at it, Macht sighed deeply.

‘To defeat that?’

The scene of the students defeating it was impossible to imagine.

‘Wasn’t the plan to keep them in the forest for four days?’

He even had this thought.

As Macht thought this, the girl’s voice came from the magic tool.

『Nah, it’s fine.』

The girl smiled.

『What to do when you face an opponent with no clear solution. This is a very important question, isn’t it?』

Then, she placed a skull cap on her head, seemingly from nowhere. Soon, the illusionary magic tool displayed a word above her head.

Macht slapped his forehead.

“...She’s going to drive them crazy.”

He somehow understood why Professor Roselle often slapped his forehead.

The end of the exam.

What awaited the students at the end was not a monster. The person who planned the exam was waiting there.

The nightmare of Afflia, Lania von Trias.

* * *

After defeating all kinds of monsters, the students headed towards the center of the forest. The process was far from smooth. They failed many times and tried again many times.

After breaking through the maze-like terrain of the forest and clearing all the fog, they finally reached the center of the forest...

The students faced an open clearing.

There were no illusionary magic tools in the clearing. The warm sunlight