V4C2

Alice’s group immediate separates fromTesfia in the outside world upon branching down a different path than her. Should they get lost, they merely need tohead north to find the headquarters which was established 4km north of thestarting point.

A while has passed since they entered theforest, yet for some reason not a single mamono has been encountered. Alice feels herself being crushed by thetension as she walks forward. Eventhough she realizes combat is inevitable, a part of her desires to never engagein any.

“Alice-san, calm down, everything’salright.”

They have no need to hurry. The words spoken by Seniatt are born from herconsideration towards Alice’s short comings.

Seniatt herself is a similar type toAlice. She, however, is more experiencedand therefore better able to recognize Alice’s troubles. Furthermore, being at the back of the group,she’s able to keep track of everyone.

A common trend among the groups, includingTesfias and Alices’, is to place command with their highest rankingmember. While no rule exists creatingsuch a vertical structured system, belonging to the academy may have created adependency on one.

Alice doesn’t respond in impatience. Her honest gentle feelings lace her words,“Thank you very much.” They are sostraightforward that she herself gets embarrassed and redirects her attentionforward.

The progress of Alice’s group isparticularly slow compared to the other groups. While it’s partially the result of her cautious leading, the pathforward cannot be called easy either. Theroots from the abnormally large trees warp the ground while shrubs obscurevisibility. Alice doesn’t even have theconfidence to say they have been advancing down a straight line.

The trail they travel over might never becalled a proper path. Regardless, Aliceleads her group forward while cutting away the obstacles with her naginata typeAWR. As such, her arms and legs areriddled with cuts and scrapes.

After walking for about an hour, they areable to emerge onto an open space. Thedistance they covered was about half of what they could normally walk. They are also more or less halfway towardsheadquarters.

Massive trees are spaced apart, grantingthem a much cleared field of view.

They all stop. As expected, the outside world is a marvelousplace. Only as magicians are theygranted the only opportunity in their lives to see the outside world. To have done otherwise and never see it wouldbe their greatest regret. While forestsdo exist within the domed walls, they are nowhere near as majestic as whatcurrently lies before them.

Only an unexpected event prevents themfrom admiring the place for hours on end, instead returning them to theirsenses.

“———!”

A disconcerting, strange, laughter ringsout. Everyone turns alert on instinct. They harden their bodies and place power intheir hands. Although intending to actwith caution, they are surprised by a figure emerging from a massive tree’sshadow.

A dog… it is not. Its body has the unmistakable blackcharacteristic of mamono. Furthermore,the fangs in its mouth have undergone a bizarre development, giving them knifelike sharpness.

“ Hii ……!”

The scream sends a shiver of terror upAlice’s back upon hearing it.

The person didn’t scream because of themamono’s repulsive appearance, but the crimson eyes with which it stares themdown. Cries of delight seem to be risingfrom the mamono’s thin, famished, body upon finding prey.

Alice unconsciously cries out, “Absolutelynot!”

Behind the mamono appears anotherfigure. It’s of the same species as thefirst, but with some differences. Itsthick neck and dog like face give it an ominous impression.

Seniatt winces at the panicked cry. She says, “Two E- ranks! [Dire Wolf]! Alice-san, we’re evacuating from here.”

Whether Alice rejects the proposal fromfear is unknown, but she responds by shaking her head. Her voice shakes, but she is still able toremain calm and make an accurate assessment of their situation.

Neither she nor her party members areaccustomed to traveling over the sort of terrain beneath their feet. Their progress will be slow. To begin with, escaping mamono whom originallyinhabit the outside is difficult.

She says, “That is impossible. They would instantly overtake us.”

“If I buy time, all of you…” Seniatt decidesto accept her responsibilities as their supervisor by becoming bait.

Alice again rejects her proposal. For one,she doesn’t find it acceptable. However,she also has a better idea in mind. Shesays, “I will protect this spot. Senpai,you can use defensive magic, correct? Please use that to buy time if the worst come to it.”

The difference in rank between Seniatt andAlice is practically inexistent. Assuch, she tries to warn her of the difficulty. “By yourself would…”

Alice does let her finish. She gives her group members a gentle smile asshe says, “There is no need to worry. Justone shouldn’t be much trouble. Therefore,everyone, would you mind lending me your strength to defeat the other? [i] ”

Thosetrembling in fear will gain confidence by being made to think about an upcomingbattle.

Alice isn’t conscious about it, but shefeels as though she might have heard in a lecture that having magicians who’vesuccumbed to fear upon entering to the outside world return to their senses isimportant. No, I’ve heard this every day at training.

Notjust that, but showing that mamono can be defeated will not only alleviatefear, but also temporarily provide the courage to move.

…

Alice approaches a mamono while holdingher naginata in one hand. Her heart beatsfaster than usual and her legs shiver so much she can barely walk. Regardless, she continues forward, not justto live up to her responsibilities as the highest ranked member of her group,but also because of her pride. Such asituation is what she has been training for.

She takes a deep breathe, but herbreathing continues to quiver. Hercomposure is far from being restored.

Alice grips her AWR and channels her manathrough it.

“—— ——!!”

Her doubts towards being able to smoothlyaccomplish the task quell on the spot.

That’sright… I’ve been giving it my best.

An out of place smile spreads acrossAlice’s face upon seeing the fruits of her hard work. A mysterious confidence wells up from withinherself, one that alleviates her fear.

The mana enveloping her AWR displays ablade free of hesitation. It representsher the source of her courage.

Everythingwill be fine!!

Alice calmly closes the distance betweenherself and the mamono. She graduallyrotates her naginata— instantly going from slow to rapid. The shift creates the illusion of a circularwall appearing before her.

She not only possesses a high level ofmana, but also an awe inspiring level of spearsmanship technique. With anattitude that’s ready for combat, Alice continues forward.

The mamono pounce the moment she enterstheir range. They attack in a straightline— blade like claws ready to dig into her.

“[Reflection]!” Alice doesn’t shout the name of her spell dueto inferior skill in magic, but as a manifestation of her spirit… She’sencouraging herself.

[Reflection] is a spell that reflectsmagic. It has no effect against physicalattacks. Still, the claws of the mamonoare deflected.

Alice sighs in relief at the result. At the same time, she recalls something Arusmentioned during her mana control training. “To begin with, mamono generatemagic within their bodies. Their blackbodies are for all intents an AWR. Assuch, mana is always clinging to the outsides of their bodies.

It’s for that reason normal weapons do notaffect mamono.

As such, Alice suspected [reflection]would. Regardless, [reflection] is notenough to defeat the mamono. Shetherefore dashes forward, focusing her attention on the one sent bouncing back [ii] .

She swings her blade up from the bottomthe moment it lands.

The Dire Wolf releases an eerie cry, “ Gigii !”, at being scooped up. Its expectation of crashing into the groundis instead replaced with a floating sensation. As a four legged creature, it prefers being on the ground. To remain airborne is fatal.

“Not yet!”

Alice does not overlook thisopportunity. The warnings Arus providedher have all already been reviewed. Shetwirls her naginata and cuts up the mamono’s body.

On her final strike, she feels a sort ofresistance. Realizing she hit thenucleus, she continues the swing and stops.

The mamono’s body crumbles away.

“I did it… Everyone, there’s only one left…”

Alice turns back towards her group. With her victory, she wants to show that themamono can be defeated. Her excitement,however, causes an error in judgement. Experienced magicians would never allow such feelings to arise in theirpartners and would exterminate them completely. Furthermore, they would advise to expel all negligent thoughts theinstant the outside world is treaded.

“Look out!!”

The thud of a mamono crashing into something echoes behind Alice. The semi-circular wall protecting her was created by Seniatt’s prided spell, [spiral veil]. It creates a high densityair by vibrating the air in place and is living up to its reputation as herbest magic.

“Thank you very much!”

Seniatt’s tone is more reminiscent of anelder sister than an upperclassman as she says, “You’re strong, but still needa bit of work.” She then directs hergaze onto the remaining mamono and speaks to her other group members. “Are all of you just going to sit there andlet Alice-san take care of everything?”

She rebukes them, but whether she couldhave inspired anyone without Alice first having defeated a mamono before theireyes is questionable. Regardless, eachmember grips and channels mana into their AWR.

No one has fear in their eyes. They approach Alice and get into formationaround her. Together, they overwhelm themamono with their numbers and achieve their first group victory without anydanger.

–Noble Diamonds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6,report!!–

Headquarters was notified about theextracurricular lesson’s commencement. Nothing had gone wrong and they were well furbished to deal with anyemergencies.

The headquarters is setup similar to thatof an official military instillation’s. Allowed in are teachers experienced in combat. Outside the headquarters on standby is theupperclassmen reinforcement unit.

Loki, originally, is not suited tospeaking in public. At present, she hasno need to speak with the teachers. Thesame, however, cannot be said about the students on standby. Her deficiency, however, runs counter to theexpectations of Arus. As such, she doesnot shriek from her task.

She steps out of the tent serving as themain office and senses a restless atmosphere. The reinforcement unit is the source. They have yet to face any mamono, but already dread the idea. Naturally, the eyes of the almost fiftystudents fall upon her the moment she appears.

Loki says, “As of now, the extracurricularlesson is underway. As you’ve beeninformed in advance, I will be sending you instructions through your <<con sensor>>. All of you will be entrusted to judge yourown situations.”

Her words are a warning.

She continues, “Please act with your partnerin mind, no exceptions. Arbitrarydecisions will not receive support from headquarters. Please note that dealing with theconsequences will be your own responsibility.”

She threatens those who would move with disregardtowards their instructions. Headquarterswill not rescue them from any dangers they bring upon themselves.

Naturally, Loki’s words are nothing morethan a threat. She doubts she’ll be ableto assume complete control over them with it, but experience has shown thatit’s effective nonetheless. In fact,since the extracurricular lesson is being enacted under the assumption thatsome harm will occur, large problems take priority over the small ones. The director, too, made that request of Arusupon accepting the situation.

Almost every student presentswallows. Loki’s words are those of atriple digits magician’s. Furthermore,the silver haired girl before them serves as the commander of their headquarters,the headquarters which is being operated by their teachers.

In that place, there is no one who can goagainst Loki’s eyes. Her unchangingexpression and flat tone sends a chill down everyone’s backs. They are frightened against disobeying herorders.

Loki adds, “Well then, teams one to ten, pleasedeploy at once.”

Due to headquarters being located in theoutside world, a high possibility exists that mamono will attack it. Arus and Loki may have cleared thesurroundings, but that did nothing more than buy time. As such, the remaining ten teams, twentypeople, will serve as guards for the perimeter.

Right as Loki turns around to return backinto the tent, a member of the reinforcement unit speaks up. The female, second year, student voices thefear everyone there has towards the mamono. She says, “Will two member teams be strong enough to face againstmamono?”

Doing anything about it, however, isalready too late.

Loki words are not intended to comforther. With her stoic voice, she merelystates facts. “At highest, only D rankmamono are within this area. For somereason, they’ve taken to hiding. Regardless, you are here because the Director judged your abilitiessuitable for the reinforcement unit. According to the Director, teams of two are sufficient for D rankmamono.”

Her words are encouraging, but that is nottheir intended result.

The girl says, “Except…”

Loki can tell she is still uneasy. She isn’t surprised, uneasiness isn’t easy todispel, after all. She says, “Although Isay D rank, there is no way to know what could happen in the outside world. As such, dealing with the circumstances hasbeen entrusted to your discretion. Ifthe mamono cannot be exterminated, then fallback with the first years.”

“…I understand.”

Permission to escape from mamono does notonly sooth the girl’s anxiety. Everyonetakes comfort in it. That stated, it wassomething made clear in the preparatory discussions as well.

Loki wonders if she failed to properlyexplain the discretionary powers entrusted to everyone. That too, however, even if understood, can’tbe helped considering they are merely hatchling magicians.

“Loki-kun!”

From within the tent comes the rough cryof a teacher. It’s the signal for thereinforcement unit to start moving.

Loki says, “On my way.”

…

Loki has two con sensors. The first is for communicating with thereinforcement unit. The other is fordirect communication with Arus.

The teacher’s report informs Loki of aslight reaction by the residential detection magic. Due to it using a high rate of detectionmagic, it isn’t suited for detecting weak signals. That stated, it won’t ignore themcompletely. The detection magic merelyhas a difficult time picking them up compared to stronger signal. Right now, they can claim to have gottenlucky.

Loki places her hand on the other consensor and says, “B and C rank detected 4km northwest on the map. Seventeen total.”

[You snuffed them out? I’ll head there immediately.]

“Please do so.”

Once the mamono are taken care of, Lokiissues orders to the reinforcement units through the con sensor on her otherear. “Team thirteen, please proceed1100m southeast to coordinates 1981/6145 to provide assistance. Teams fourteen to seventeen, please proceed500m east to coordinates 1123/4579 and provide assistance to groups 34, 60, and79.”

[[Roger.]]

[On our way.]

[Team twelve has reached point. There are wounded. Requesting assistance.]

“Understood. Team twenty two, as of now, you’re to headnorth and assist team twenty.”

[Roger.]

Despite the hectic developments out on thefield, Loki provides precise instructions without creating any confusion. Her skill leaves the teachers dazed withadmiration.

One teacher, however… one monitoring the field,cries out in fluster. “Group 4 has leftthe designated area!”

“““— — — —!!”””

Loki isn’t someone who getsimpatient. Anger, however, is adifferent emotion. Their headquarters islocated at the center of 7km circumference. Everything beyond that is considered outside the designated area. Such has been conveyed to the students manytimes.

Arus has undoubtedly labored to clear thearea of mamono higher than D ranked. Even if the quantity present is unknown, their quality is being controlled. The situation changes beyond the designated area. As detection magic becomes useless outthere, the potential mamono cannot be accurately measured.

“Loki, what do we do!?”

“Please calm down. What is the location?”

“West by northwest. They’re 1650m outside the designated area.”

“Understood. Teams seven to ten, please immediately head1650m west by northwest to coordinates 2377/7467 and provide support to group4. Travel together while in thedesignated area.”

[[[[Roger.]]]]

“Teams one to six, please pull back thedefensive line.”

Even though Loki deals with the situation,an uncomfortable feeling stirs inside of her.

T/N: Wow, it’s been a long time since thiswas updated. It hasn’t been abandoned,but the releases will be slower. Nowabout the story, author-san really pushed the concept of living up to theresponsibility of your position. It wassuper heavy.

Thanks for reading,

~Gandire Alea

[i] それに一体ならばそもそも苦戦はしない筈です。なので一匹を倒したら皆さんの力を貸してくださいね

[ii] だから弾かれて後ろに跳び退った一体に的を絞ってアリスは駆けた。

<4.1 Encounter With a Mamono

4.3 Arbitrary Disturbances>