Chapter 85

Part 10: Party Battle

Two monsters that looked like black leopards.

The two monsters, one large and one small, appeared, maintaining a distance from each other.

'They are too far apart to handle simultaneously.'

I glanced behind me.

"Ah, there are two of them. Student Alex! Make sure to block at least one!"

Professor Niel shouted at me with an angry expression.

He even called me by name, though he didn't want to speak to me at all.

The appearance of two monsters was different from what I had expected.

"I will block one of them."

At that moment, Manuel stepped forward.

He looked at me and extended his hand.

Zap!

Sparks shot out from his hand.

Kyaah!

The monster, struck by electricity, curled up and screamed.

As he said, he blocked the monster from approaching.

He continued to emit electricity, striking a cool pose.

It looked like he would soon be exhausted.

Still, thanks to him, the other monster crouched in the bushes, which was not a bad response for the first time facing a monster.

It was a hundred times better than Piar, who was hiding behind the professor out of fear.

The princess's face turned pale, but she didn't drop her sword, and Vaea nodded at me.

To be honest, Princess Aisha still seemed inexperienced, but with Vaea around, it should be fine.

Then, how skilled is the professor?

While thinking about this, I turned my gaze back to the monster.

As the professor said, it seemed I only needed to deal with one.

Roar!

The other monster, which had stopped moving due to the sight of its companion being electrocuted, started moving again.

It leaped out of the bushes and bounded toward me, leaping from tree to tree.

'Is a monster doing parkour?'

Despite its three-dimensional movement, there was no reason for me to miss.

I gripped the greatsword with both hands.

It was a greatsword I hadn't used in a long time. It had no special abilities and wasn't a famous sword.

But it was a very sturdy sword.

I remembered Martin, the son of Duke Iero, who said it would never break. The bastard who died came to mind.

I circulated mana through the meditation techniques I had learned and infused it into the sword.

My body felt lighter, and the sword became sharper.

There was no need to use any other abilities.

I swung the greatsword at the black monster leaping down from above.

Whoosh.

Ten sharp claws extended toward my head, but the sword collided with them before they could split my head open.

The monster's claws, like my sword, were infused with mana.

In the past, dealing with monsters with such sturdy, mana-infused claws was difficult, but now it was different.

Swoosh.

The greatsword cut through the monster's claws. It then severed the legs and split the head in half.

Thud.

The monster fell to the spot where I was standing.

I rolled to avoid being crushed by the monster, still riding the momentum of my swing.

I confirmed the dead monster, shaking the black blood off my sword.

It was indeed a corpse.

The dead monster was, as expected, a creature that had been deformed by mana contamination.

It moved according to its pre-monster habits, but it was a mistake for a creature that couldn't fly freely to leap into the air.

"Ugh!"

Roar!

The moment I cut the monster, Manuel's mana was also depleted.

His skill was not bad, and his power was decent, but using it so recklessly left no mana left.

The other monster, which had been emitting smoke, let out a roar and lunged forward.

I was about to throw my sword at the running monster but stopped.

The ground beneath the running monster was undulating.

Vaea's domain had already been activated.

However, Vaea only prepared and did not attack the monster.

'Is she trying to hide her skills?'

Or does she want to see the skills of other students like me?

The black monster charged right up to the group.

At that moment.

Snap!

Professor Niel snapped his fingers.

Boom!

At the moment he snapped his fingers, the monster charging forward was sent flying backward by an explosion.

'Did he burst the air?'

The spot where the monster was sent flying was flattened in a circular shape, and a gust of wind reached me.

Clang!

The attack didn't seem very strong.

After being pushed back for a while, the monster charged again.

However, each time the professor snapped his fingers, the monster's body split and it spurted blood.

It was as if an invisible blade was passing over the monster's skin.

'Is it the ability to move air or wind?'

It was a good ability. It was useful for defense, possible for long-range attacks, and the lack of a visible weapon made it difficult for the opponent to defend.

Clang! Clang!

The charging monster couldn't get any closer and dodged the invisible attacks.

The princess took a deep breath at the sight.

She seemed ready to fight.

Just as the princess was about to charge, the professor shouted at Piar.

"What are you doing? Can't you see the other students are fighting?"

Piar, who had been trembling, regained his composure at the professor's words.

"Ah, yes, yes!"

He quickly looked around and extended his arm toward the princess.

Then, let's see what the reserve bomb can actually do.

"Amplify!"

Piar extended his arm and recited a spell-like incantation.

It seemed to be a keyword to activate his ability, but it made me feel a bit embarrassed to hear it.

I could see the mana gathering in Piar's arm and extending to the princess.

The princess's body and sword, which had been faintly glowing, began to shine more brightly, and the princess, who was about to charge, looked surprised at Piar.

"Wow, it feels like I have too much power."

"Go now and fight."

Professor Niel, who had been keeping the monster at bay, gently pushed the princess's back.

"Okay!"

The princess charged forward with great force.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but chuckle.

If we only consider the princess, Professor Niel is truly an excellent educator.

'Or is he related to the princess?'

I even had such thoughts.

The princess arrived in front of the bloodied monster.

Although it was originally black and didn't look much different, the monster was emitting smoke from its body, and its skin was torn, spilling blood.

'The table is set beautifully.'

Thanks to Piar, the princess seemed to have an excess of power.

The princess, with her small stature, swung the sword, which looked like a greatsword, at the monster.

The sword fell toward the monster's head.

Although it was a mess, the monster was still moving.

The monster quickly moved its front legs to block the sword.

Swoosh!

However, a monster on the verge of death couldn't possibly infuse mana into its body.

The monster's front leg was severed and flew into the air.

"Got it!"

The princess was delighted to see the severed leg.

However, the monster didn't die from losing a leg.

"Danger!"

The monster lunged at the princess, spewing blood, as the professor shouted.

The princess, startled, opened her eyes wide, and the professor quickly moved his hand.

Click.

The monster, which had opened its mouth and approached the princess's face, suddenly stopped.

The monster's body was entangled with vines that had grown from the ground.

Swoosh.

At the same time, I cut the monster's neck.

"Are you okay?"

The startled Professor Niel ran over, and the frightened princess hiccuped.

I glared at Vaea, shaking the blood off my sword.

'Not just hiding her strength, but almost got us killed by trusting Vaea.'

Or was it my fault for trusting Vaea?

Vaea, looking at me, clasped her hands and apologized, but it seemed intentional to me.

"Thankfully, it's all thanks to Vaea."

However, Professor Niel and the other students, who didn't know her true nature, praised Vaea.

They perceived that Vaea had stepped in at a critical moment to save the princess.

Fortunately, the princess quickly regained her composure, which was not typical for her age.

When the princess stabilized, the professor sighed and looked at the students.

"The monsters were stronger than expected. Everyone did well except for Piar."

When the professor checked the students, he skipped over me. Did I do better than expected? As a result, Piar was in a double bind.

Although he trembled at the sight of the monster, he regained his composure and provided support. Isn't that enough for a student in the administrative department?

Manuel, not considering the situation, used up his mana and was eliminated early, and the princess still lacked the skills to fight.

Moreover, Vaea was playing around without showing her true abilities.

Or, if we consider this, did I not fight properly either?

In the end, all the students had issues.

Professor Niel, in an attempt to give the princess experience, put her in danger.

However, I had no intention of stopping the professor from scolding Piar.

Although it wasn't Piar's fault, considering the trouble he caused, he deserved to be scolded.

"…Next time, you need to pull yourself together!"

After scolding Piar, Professor Niel continued to move us forward.

"Monsters are almost entirely useful, from their skin to their blood. Especially for the equipment of nobles and knights who use mana, the byproducts of monsters are ideal."

The professor's lecture resumed, similar to the one he gave earlier while looking at the princess.

"Since we don't have the time or means to transport them, we'll leave them behind, but it's best to come with a group to collect the bodies. Alternatively, you can get a 'relic bag.'"

He was talking about the 'relic bag' in the kingdom's treasure vault.

A bag that can hold a large amount of items without increasing in weight.

It was like the inventory or subspace items in games, but since I had never seen one, I didn't know what it looked like.

The group continued to move forward while listening to the professor's lecture.

We encountered more monsters on the way, but this time we handled them safely.

I went to the front to block, and Vaea activated her domain to protect everyone.

Piar regained his composure and provided amplification to everyone, and the princess supported me from behind.

'Although Manuel, who had used up his mana, became a burden…'

Manuel seemed very dissatisfied, but it was a matter of noble honor to blame others for his own mistakes.

'He might cause trouble later…'

But that was something to think about when it happened.

"Now, let the team leader take charge of the battle."

As the battles with the monsters became more stable, the professor handed over the responsibility to us.

"Ah, yes, yes. Everyone, form up!"

We followed the princess's command and dealt with the approaching monsters.

The princess led the group without any issues.

Professor Niel praised her highly, but honestly, with this group, it didn't matter who was the team leader.

After a few more battles and a few hours of walking, we finally reached the assembly point.

The open field was filled with the dean and students.

In front of the dean was a wooden box with an open lid, emitting light.

The light we had been following came from this wooden box.

"You are the fifth group to arrive."

We weren't first, but it wasn't a bad result.