Section 11: Dragon Heart (4)

I headed northwest, away from the center of the field.

“Frondier, are you sure we should be going this way?”

“Hm?”

Aten spoke up beside me.

“I heard the boss is in the center of the field.”

“Yes, it is.”

In this practical exam, we earned points by killing monsters. Of course, the number of points varied from monster to monster. Stronger, higher-ranking monsters were worth more than weaker ones, and small, fast creatures that mainly fled were worth a fair number of points too.

And then there was one monster worth an exceptionally large number of points. It was in a league of its own—so much so that killing it alone was said to guarantee first place.

The field boss.

“If we’re going after the field boss, shouldn’t we head toward the center...?”

Aten’s question was perfectly reasonable. I nodded.

“Well, yes. But we’re not going after it.”

“What?”

With my current stats, I didn’t stand a chance against the field boss. If I remembered correctly, the monster was called Truncus. Picture a freaking enormous rhinoceros beetle.

It flew, bit, and rammed things with its body. It couldn’t have been simpler. But its raw stats were so overwhelming that there was nothing I could do about it.

I might be able to manage something with Gram, but plenty of students would be challenging Truncus, which meant plenty of eyes. And my mana reserves still weren’t large enough to use Gram freely.

“Let’s hunt monsters around the edges while the other students are distracted by the field boss.”

Before long, the center of the field would descend into chaos. There would be students taking the boss head-on, cautious types hunting the monsters around it, hyenas hiding and watching hungrily for a chance to steal the boss materials, and thieves trying to pick those students’ pockets.

I wasn’t confident I could handle that chaotic struggle.

“But there are fewer monsters on the outskirts.”

“That’s fine.”

I knew where they all were.

While everyone’s attention was on the boss, we worked our way through the monsters on the outskirts. Once we’d gathered a considerable amount of materials, I stopped walking.

“The plan worked well. With this much, we should have no trouble getting a good score.”

“...”

“Frondier?”

I heard Aten, but an ominous thought had taken hold of me.

“... There aren’t enough.”

“What do you mean? I think we’ve gathered plenty of materials.”

“Not monsters. People.”

We were on the outskirts of the field. Perhaps that was all the explanation needed, but there was something eerie hanging in the air.

Aten said, “You just said everyone would be distracted by the field boss.”

“Yes, but I thought some students would have the same idea as me.”

I hadn’t expected to hunt monsters without any interference. Anyone could come up with a plan like this. Yet we hadn’t encountered a single student since coming out to the edges.

Was this really just a coincidence? Had every single student really headed for the center, leaving no one to come this way?

I glanced around and spotted a nearby drone diligently filming us.

... Should I try it? If I wove one and sent it up into the sky, I could get a look at the situation. Ordinary Weaving wouldn’t work, but it might be possible with Black River.

I added the drone to the Workshop.

[Imitation of a Constel-Made Camera Drone]

- A fake modeled after Constel’s video drones.

- As a fake, it has no video capabilities.

“... What?”

The instant I saw that, a chill raced through my entire body.

“... Aten.”

“Yes?”

“Keep an eye on our surroundings.”

Aten started to say something, then took up a ready stance and surveyed the area. She must have held her tongue after seeing my expression. I appreciated her consideration.

‘Was it a fake from the beginning? No, that can’t be.’

They would have been found out immediately. Aten was right here beside me, after all. If no footage of her appeared, people would notice right away.

In other words, after the game began, while attention was focused on the field boss, someone had swapped out the drone without my knowledge.

The drone was that close to me, and I hadn’t even noticed it being replaced.

... An enemy on an entirely different level.

I made my decision.

“Menosorpo.”

At the word, the magic circle spread out. Better to shore up our defenses while the enemy had yet to show themselves.

Every coordinate within Menosorpo’s domain belonged to me. That meant I could immediately detect any enemy already inside—except...

“Frondier, what are you—”

“Shh.”

I put a finger to my lips. That alone should tell Aten how serious this was.

Only, I worried that my voice had trembled—and that she might have noticed.

‘... What the hell is this monster?’

The moment I spread the circle, cold sweat ran down my back. The enemy was already inside the domain. And not far away, either.

I could feel their presence scraping against my skin. The immense pressure made the field boss seem laughable.

Their location—

“What’s this?”

A voice suddenly reached us. Startled, Aten turned toward it. It was rare to see her surprised, but the enemy was close enough for us to hear their voice—and she hadn’t realized it until now.

“Don’t tell me you spotted me?”

Speaking in a carefree voice, a man slowly emerged from the darkness.

... Gray hair. A rough beard. A muscular body and an enormous greatsword to match.

The man approached with that sword resting on his shoulder. I watched him as though frozen.

I knew who he was. I knew he was a Named Character, and a villain. I also knew that, as I was now, nothing I did would let me stand against him.

—Renzo, the Freeloader of Chaos.

One of the strongest human villains stood before me.

“Never thought you’d spot me. Good instincts, kid. Don’t know what that magic circle is, but putting it up here was a good call.”

“...”

I couldn’t answer. Normally, I might have managed a sarcastic remark, but my lips were sealed shut. They wouldn’t even twitch.

If anything, that seemed to pique Renzo’s interest.

“... You know who I am, don’t you?”

At his words, Aten glanced at me.

“Do you know him?”

“No time to explain. He’s an enemy. Nothing the two of us do will be enough to take him on.”

“... I can tell that much just by looking at him.”

Even during that brief exchange, Renzo continued slowly approaching, and we retreated by the same distance.

“What do you want with us?”

I forced myself to speak. I needed time to think. An opening to escape.

I didn’t know whether we’d get one, but it had to be better than doing nothing.

“Oh, I’m not interested in you. I’m here for the princess beside you.”

“Are you the reason we haven’t seen any students?”

“Yeah. Put up a barrier. An approach-deterring barrier. Makes people naturally head another way, without even realizing it.”

An approach-deterring barrier. It created an area people would unconsciously avoid, with vague thoughts like, I don’t feel like going there, or, This doesn’t seem like the right way.

It was less effective in a city, but in an open field like this, it would work extremely well.

“Why? What are you planning to do to the imperial princess?”

“No idea. I just get paid to do a job.”

“... You were paid enough to kidnap an imperial princess?”

“Who knows? I just took whatever seemed reasonable.”

THUD

The man lowered the sword from his shoulder. The tremor reached us even here, driving home just how heavy it was.

“Money doesn’t matter anyway. I’m only doing it because it looked fun.”

Right. That was the sort of man he was.

People often said troublemakers caused trouble wherever they went. What if someone with unrivaled strength went around doing that?

Renzo was that utterly unfunny joke made flesh.

Renzo had no convictions, no dreams, and no goals. If something looked fun, he did it. He wielded that absurd strength with the mindset of a child.

That was what made him a villain. He knew his actions were evil, but he didn’t give a damn about that—making him a villain as close to pure evil as they came.

“So, kid, I’ve got no business with you. Just need to take the girl beside you. Though I was told they wouldn’t mind if I killed her, depending on how things went.”

“Is that your idea of ‘fun’?”

“No. What happens afterward is the fun part. We’re talking about kidnapping an imperial princess. Or killing one. Plenty of fun things are bound to follow.”

Goddamn it.

Constel’s entire faculty and the whole imperial order of knights would come to kill him, and he thought that was nothing more than fun?

“Do you think I’ll come quietly?” Aten asked, displeasure in her voice.

Renzo blinked a few times.

“Uh, yeah. I do.”

A cold light bloomed in Aten’s eyes. Her white hair shone as the temperature around us dropped.

She extended a hand.

Ice Magic, Formula Three

Instant Activation, Area, Amplification Applied

Glacial Mist

The spell manifested right where Renzo stood. Glacial Mist instantly lowered the surrounding temperature and froze its target.

With all three enhancements applied at once, the spell froze Renzo’s entire body in an instant.

“Frondier! Hurry, run while we have the chance!”

Aten called urgently to me, but—

CRACK

He hadn’t even been frozen for a moment. Renzo’s stride was utterly natural, as though the spell had never touched him.

Brushing flecks of ice from his clothes, he said, “Just as I thought.”

That utterly carefree face inspired nothing but terror in anyone who saw it.

“Quiet as can be.”

“... Ngh!”

Aten extended her hand again and gathered mana. I placed my hand on her shoulder.

“... Aten.”

“What is it?”

“You’re the one who needs to run.”

I gently pulled her back and stepped forward. I let out a deep breath, almost a sigh.

Not once had an absurd event like this occurred during this practical exam. Was it because Aten had joined my class, or because Philly was acting more proactively than she had in the game?

I had no idea what butterfly effect had caused this. It only proved what a spectacularly shitty game Etius was.

“When you see an opening, run.”

Aten couldn’t die here. She performed admirably as an elemental mage, but she had another, more important role.

Though she hadn’t yet discovered her talent, Aten was an extraordinarily powerful healer. Right now, she didn’t even know the basics of healing magic, but one day she would discover them.

So if anything happened to Aten, it would be game over sooner or later anyway. Though getting myself killed would defeat the whole purpose.

‘The chances of me beating Renzo.’

Impossible. Not even worth considering.

‘The chances of Aten escaping successfully.’

Extremely low. I’d told Aten to run, but I didn’t expect it to work. Renzo was taking his time. He wasn’t slow.

Even if I created a huge opening and let Aten escape, he could catch up to her in an instant if he wanted to.

‘The chances of reinforcements arriving.’

... That was all I could rely on. The broadcast might currently focus on the center, where everyone was fighting the boss, but people would find it strange if Aten kept failing to appear.

Renzo would know that too, but he probably hadn’t thought much about it. From his perspective, it didn’t matter whether kidnapping the imperial princess succeeded or failed. His only goal was to have fun.

So all I could do here was buy as much time as possible, while Menosorpo was still active.

I inhaled and reached for Black Lotus around my neck. Then I squeezed, crushing it.

Fabrication, Black River

Grade - Divine

Iocheira

Artemis’s arrow.

I suspended a single arrow in midair and aimed it at Renzo. The bow, Chryselakatos, was still restricted to women, so I still couldn’t use it. I had no choice but to borrow Menosorpo’s power as a stopgap.

“... Oh?”

Even with a Divine-grade arrow aimed at him, Renzo offered only a dry murmur of admiration.

I spoke.

“Falling Rain.”

[Iocheira]

? Grade: Divine

? Description: An arrow forged by Hephaestus, the God of Smithing, and given to Artemis. Forms a pair with Chryselakatos.

Ability Details >

- Falling Rain: It shall become rain.

With those words, the arrow multiplied in an instant, filling the space around me with countless arrows.

“Go.”

At that word, the arrows truly became rain, pouring down upon Renzo.