Chapter 22

EP.22 Practical Training (1)

[It's time for practical training.]

The Merhen Academy has buildings that are excessively large, scattered throughout its vast grounds. This place, the 'Calis Hall,' was one such example.

Calis Hall is often used for practical training. I was here with my team of three fellow first-year students from the Magic Department.

An empty room. On one wall was the entrance we had come through, and on the opposite side, a tunnel-like passage led deeper in.

In front of us, a 'Messenger' was flapping its wings at a speed that was almost invisible, like a fly or a hummingbird.

A spherical speaker the size of a human fist. It was a magical device owned by the academy, enchanted to transmit voice and video of the observed scene.

The Messenger was emitting Professor Fernando's characteristic sarcastic voice.

[You are grouped into teams, and the teams were randomly assigned. You will now be fighting against illusions of monsters. Knock down the monsters one by one until you reach the final destination, and the performance evaluation will be over. If anyone is judged to have sustained a fatal injury, that student will be disqualified.]

Calis Hall alone cannot accommodate all the first-year students of the Magic Department. Therefore, teams that were not assigned to Calis Hall will conduct their practical training in various other locations.

[The main criteria for this practical training are how well you understand the characteristics and weaknesses of the monsters you have learned about, and how well you can apply elemental magic in combat. Additionally, your ability to collaborate will be factored into your attitude score. It's best to approach this seriously. The training will start in 10 minutes. Make sure you are fully prepared.]

<The Mage Knight of Merhen> Chapter 2, Episode 3: Practical Training.

In this part, the protagonist Ian Fairytail gets involved with Siel Carnadas, a Class A student.

She is one of the official heroines and will play a crucial role in Ian obtaining the legendary light-attribute weapon, the Radiant Sword, later on.

Feeling annoyed by everything, she approaches the practical training half-heartedly and doesn't care if other students get hurt by her magic.

Ian gets into an argument with Siel because of her attitude.

Then, the building collapses, and the hidden Garzia appears, starting the "Ant Swarm" part of Chapter 2, Episode 4.

Ian and Siel fight the disaster ants together, but eventually, Siel decides to take on the ants alone.

Meanwhile, Ian moves through the ants to reach the center of the building.

Encountering and fighting the hidden Garzia is the main content of Chapter 2, Episode 4.

Of course, since I've already defeated Garzia, Chapter 2, Episode 4 is definitely skipped. So, this practical training will end peacefully.

...Probably.

"What an unpleasant situation."

As soon as Professor Fernando finished speaking, a beautiful girl sighed in a voice that seemed to have been waiting for this moment.

Her light brown short hair cascaded in waves down to her shoulders.

She wore a red rose hairpin and a shawl with a golden border and a red background, which was very eye-catching. The shawl also had a rose embroidery.

Her eyes, which were looking at me, were a vivid gold.

Rozelle Redriver. A Class B student.

[Rozelle Redriver]

Level: 52

Race: Human

Attribute: Fire

Danger Level: X

Psychology: [She feels humiliated by you.]

"Having a lowly E-class in our team is bad enough. And you're the lowest of the low, aren't you?"

With a mocking face and a confident tone, she belittled me.

This was a familiar treatment by now.

Just as I was about to ignore her, she suddenly leaned in close to me.

Wow, she smells good. Must be using expensive perfume.

"Even a worm has a role to play. I'll assign you a role that suits you, so please don't get in the way."

"..."

Why is she so eager to pick a fight?

I really don't get it.

The other two male students, intimidated by the atmosphere, didn't say a word.

Indeed, Rozelle had a talent for deflating people's spirits.

'Sigh.'

In <The Mage Knight of Merhen>, her role is minimal. If we must categorize, she's an extra, at best. She gets a bit of a scolding from Ian and then gets taken down?

We're both just pipsqueaks, you know.

[Now, we will begin the practical training. Everyone, enter.]

Ten minutes passed in the heavy atmosphere.

Professor Fernando's voice rang out from the Messenger.

"Let's go."

Our team started moving down the tunnel.

It was a dark tunnel, but we soon reached the end.

In a not-so-wide arena, five black wolf monsters, 'Black Wolves,' were wandering around. They were illusions created by a monster-illusion magical device, so there was a bit of noise in their appearance. However, it was minimal and hard to notice unless you looked closely.

No status window appeared. It seemed to be because they were illusions.

We stood at the end of the tunnel, watching the Black Wolves. The moment we stepped out of the tunnel, the fight would begin.

"Black Wolves tend to fight in a scattered formation. So, Alan and Ethan, use rock and ice magic to trap the Black Wolves. I'll finish them off with fire magic."

Rozelle naturally took on a leadership role. She seemed to think it was natural for her to be the leader since she was the highest class among us.

There was no objection to her being the leader. The problem was that I wasn't included in her plan.

I guess she thought that a D-class magic user with E-class power wasn't necessary for something as simple as Black Wolves. In reality, I'm not at E-class anymore, but...

Our team stepped out of the tunnel, and the wolf monsters stopped and began to eye us warily.

The black wolves bared their teeth and growled. The two male students cast their spells at the wolves.

Rumble─!

「Rock Wall (Earth Attribute, ★4)」

「Ice Wall (Ice Attribute, ★4)」

Rough rock and ice walls sprang up from the ground, trapping the wolves.

Rozelle then raised her hands and hurled flames at the monsters.

「Fireball (Fire Attribute, ★3)」

Whoosh─!

Boom─!

The blazing red [Fireball] engulfed the wolves trapped by the [Rock Wall] and [Ice Wall].

It was a highly skilled [Fireball]. The wolf monsters burned and rolled around on the ground before fading away.

Easily defeated the Black Wolf illusion.

"Good, let's keep it up."

We followed Rozelle's instructions and moved to the next tunnel.

Monsters kept appearing, and Rozelle took care of them all.

I want to do well too.

"Oh, we're at the last stage."

"Easy, easy."

We were at the final stage. Rozelle and the male students were annoyingly chatting. The male students seemed happy that Rozelle was giving them a chance to shine.

Even at the final stage, she didn't give me any instructions, showing that she had no intention of letting me contribute.

As we passed through the tunnel, we came to a spacious area with a marble floor. In the center stood the final stage boss.

A humanoid monster resembling a bull, the 'Taurus' illusion.

It was at least 4 meters tall and held a large spear in its right hand.

Now it's time to really shine. I couldn't afford to care about Rozelle's attitude anymore.

So, I raised [Frost Flame] in my right hand, and Rozelle gave me a sarcastic look.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to score some points too. Collaboration is part of the evaluation, right? It would be better if we work together, wouldn't it?"

I tried to smile as charmingly as possible, but...

Rozelle frowned as if she were looking at a bug.

"How disgraceful."

"What?"

I almost didn't believe my ears.

"E-class, you don't know your place. Don't act so low. I'm the most superior here. Wait for my orders. Do you understand?"

"..."

...Is she serious?

"Alan, Ethan, let's go."

Rozelle and the two male students stepped out of the tunnel.

I was momentarily stunned but quickly followed them.

Then,

Whoosh─!

"Ouch, hot!"

「Fire Creation (Fire Attribute, ★1)」

Suddenly, flames shot up around me, forming a circular barrier that left no room to escape.

"Don't interfere."

Wow, this girl. She's really something.

What kind of treatment is this?

Finally, the humanoid bull monster, Taurus, noticed our team.

Rozelle, Alan, and Ethan took their battle stances.

"Alan, Ethan! Form the formation...! Huh...?!"

Rozelle was about to give orders but gasped.

Whoosh─!

"Whoa!"

"Ah!"

Squeak─!

It was a swift movement. Taurus lunged at Alan and Ethan, swinging its spear, and the alarms on their bracelets went off.

The red light on their bracelets indicated disqualification.

[Alan Nevil, Ethan Pearsall. Disqualified.]

A cold sweat ran down Rozelle's cheek. If she had moved just a step further, she would have been disqualified too.

Even from a distance, I was momentarily shocked. How much more so for Rozelle, who was right in front of it.

The disqualification door creaked open. They had to wait until all the disqualified students left before moving.

The Taurus illusion also remained still, holding its spear.

The disqualified students left with frustrated faces. As soon as the door closed, Taurus would start moving again.

"You, you!"

Rozelle turned to me, her voice trembling with urgency.

"I, I'll give you a chance to shine...! You wanted to fight, right? Be a decoy. I'll take down the monster with fire magic while you distract it!"

Rozelle, placing her hand on her chest, spoke in a ladylike but forceful and trembling voice.

I recalled the dialogue with Rozelle Redriver, an NPC in <The Mage Knight of Merhen>.

She is obsessed with being the 'best of the best.' This was a mindset instilled in her by the Redriver family's harsh education.

However, it was difficult for her to outshine the talented students at Merhen Academy through effort alone.

Being in Class B instead of Class A must be a source of deep frustration for her.

Worse, she is in the lower ranks of Class B.

It's no wonder she's anxious. She must feel the need to show her best performance at every moment, especially in this practical training.

So, she plans to use me as a sacrifice to create an opening for Taurus and then attack. She can't afford to fail here if she wants to be the best at Merhen Academy.

And if she does, it will make her look like the best performer.

Still...

'Isn't it better to put out the fire first...?'

It seems her urgency has clouded her judgment.

"Answer me!"

As the disqualified students left, Rozelle raised her voice, veins popping in her neck.

What's there to answer?

Just do your best.

───[Roar!]

Taurus roared, signaling the resumption of the practical training.

Rozelle's face turned pale.

As Taurus prepared to swing its spear again, Rozelle quickly extended her hand toward the ground and poured fire mana.

A red magic circle appeared on the ground.

A pillar of flame shot up from under Taurus.

Whoosh─!!

「Flame Pillar (Fire Attribute, ★4)」

Taurus immediately leaped backward to avoid Rozelle's attack. It was an agile movement, contrary to its large size, showing excellent reflexes.

"Aaaah... ."

Being good at magic doesn't mean being good at combat. Rozelle had no talent for fighting.

She was trembling all over, seeing Taurus not fall for her magic.

Hearing her trembling voice, it seemed she was currently experiencing a sense of defeat.

This clearly revealed why she didn't rank well during the class assignment evaluation.

Taurus, having avoided the [Flame Pillar] and put some distance between us, started charging at Rozelle again.

–This is it.

Rozelle had successfully drawn Taurus's attention. Now was my chance to shine.

「Ice Creation (Ice Attribute, ★1)」

As Rozelle's mana control faltered and the flames around me weakened, I created ice to extinguish them.

Then, I started running toward Rozelle.

Taurus, coming from the opposite direction, was also charging at her. Despite her repeated fire spells, Taurus easily dodged and closed the distance.

Perhaps sensing her impending disqualification and feeling desperate, she collapsed on the ground, offering her neck to the charging Taurus.

'Already giving up?'

Pathetic. But, it didn't matter to me.

Rozelle was still far away, and her back was blocking the angle for any attack.

I couldn't team-kill her, but it would be a waste not to use this useful situation where she was acting as a decoy.

Fortunately, I had a good option.

I pulled out a dagger from my pocket. It was a dagger filled with the 'Disaster Sheath.'

'Here I go!'

Using the strength honed by hellish PT, I threw the dagger, still in the Disaster Sheath, at Taurus with great force.

Whirr─!

The dagger spun through the air, unimpeded.

It passed by Rozelle and reached the charging Taurus.

I felt a connection between the flying Disaster Sheath and my mana circuits.

As Taurus reached Rozelle and swung its spear, I channeled more power into that feeling.

The magic circle engraved on the 'Disaster Sheath' glowed a pale blue, as if a trigger had been pulled.

Frost exploded violently.

───「Frost Explosion (Ice Attribute, ★5)」

Boom───!!

Suddenly.

Frost and cold air swirled chaotically, and the frost that burst from the black sheath engulfed Taurus.

Sharp ice formations soon dominated the center of the battlefield.

In no time, Taurus's form vanished without a trace from within the ice formations.

Rozelle's bracelet started beeping loudly.

[Rozelle Redriver disqualified.]

The Messenger announced the disqualification in a calm voice. Taurus's spear had hit Rozelle just before my Disaster Sheath activated its magic.

Well, I never intended to save Rozelle, so it didn't matter. Who would want to save someone who was trying to bring them down?

Rozelle, eyes tightly shut and head bowed, was trembling and finally opened her eyes.

I was just picking up the Disaster Sheath from the ground and putting it back in my pocket.

"Wh-What... What happened...?"

Confused Rozelle.

Her easily defeated and frustrated appearance during the battle made