Chapter 149 — True Skill Is Revealed Where Others Falter

1

The Blood Slime.

This red, gelatinous mass, commonly known by its name, possessed abilities far more terrifying than its appearance suggested.

When one thinks of slimes, the first thing that comes to mind is corrosion.

The slime’s body, composed of viscous fluid, was highly acidic.

So acidic, in fact, that it could corrode metal in an instant, which is why the standard method to deal with slimes was through magic.

However, this Blood Slime had the property of absorbing any magic up to 3rd-Class.

Born from ordinary slimes that had absorbed the blood of demons, it naturally had an increased resistance to magic.

[Fulgetra]

[Altus]

Rumble—!

There were only two ways to completely obliterate a Blood Slime.

Either freeze it with ice magic or burn it with intense heat.

Moreover, these creatures fed on mana itself.

In other words, to kill a Blood Slime, you had to pour in mana until it was completely saturated and burst.

It was a monstrously draining fight, one that many avoided, but now the scene before them was utterly devastating.

The stench of decay filled the air as the red slime evaporated entirely.

“Are you low on mana?”

“I’m still fine.”

“Sorry about this.”

Elena scratched her head awkwardly.

The slime’s outer layer had been burned away, leaving its core exposed to the air.

The rigid, lifeless remains of the Blood Slime filled the view of the two third-years.

An unbelievable display of power, an unbelievable level of skill.

“This was good practice.”

[Growl!]

Manus responded curtly and continued walking forward.

He maintained the shining orb of light while casting magic, adding [Altus] to the mix.

Originally, he had used a 4th-Class spell to incinerate the slime, but today, he had managed with a 3rd-Class spell enhanced with [Altus].

This was proof that he had precisely gauged the Blood Slime’s resistance to magic.

Moreover, his familiar, Albion, had no problem thrusting its paw into the slime and crushing its core.

Albion’s fluffy fur acted as a perfect shield, protecting it from external damage, much like how polar bears or penguins could survive in extreme cold.

“There’s nothing left for us to do.”

“Just protect him, even if it means throwing away that shield. He’s our only hope.”

“…Got it.”

Aiden glanced down at his shield.

Sure, it was something that could be replaced at any time.

After all, it was just an academy-issued shield, not a real weapon.

If it came down to it, he was prepared to carve out a rock to protect Manus.

That’s how crucial Manus was to this dungeon raid.

The role of a “Guardian” suddenly came to mind.

Aiden reminded himself of what it truly meant to be a Guardian.

“—I must protect him.”

“Now that’s more like it. Let’s go.”

Elena also had a way to deal with the Blood Slime.

She could imbue her arrows with mana and pierce its core.

However, she didn’t have the vast reserves of mana that Manus had, nor the level of control he possessed.

All she could do was move around and distract the enemy.

Being a third-year and only capable of this much—

She suppressed the rising frustration within her.

There would be time for self-reproach after the evaluation.

‘Focus for now.’

It was time for her to do what she did best.

They continued their journey toward the end of the dungeon.

2

The next day.

There had been enough time for the second years to hear the news.

Alano gently stroked the bright red feathers of her phoenix, letting out a soft sigh.

Her half-closed eyes were filled with worry.

An artificial dungeon.

No matter how much magic had been used to create it, it was still a place where real monsters lived.

Many of her seniors had already been eliminated within just one day.

Professor Kaiser, the third-year’s elemental magic instructor, had reportedly locked herself away to study the magic circle all day long.

In the midst of the unsettling atmosphere, Alano was also waiting for her turn to enter the dungeon.

“Alano, are you nervous?”

“How could I not be?”

“You’re the strongest mage. What’s there to worry about?”

“The strongest, huh…”

Alano wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

Now that Manus had skipped to the third year, Alano was indeed the strongest mage among the second years.

But so what?

Even if she was the strongest here, she was still just a student.

And she was worried about Manus, who was now spending a full day in a dangerous place.

She remembered something he had said once.

[Dealing with demons might be easier than dealing with monsters. For now.]

‘I’m worried because it’s even more dangerous.’

Even for Manus, he probably hadn’t spent four consecutive days using mana in battle.

She was just as scared.

Would she be able to lead her team well?

And… would they survive?

She had sternly warned the first years not to overexert themselves.

But even as she said it, she knew that those kids wouldn’t give up easily.

“We have safety measures in place, so I’m counting on that. And we have Guillermo too.”

“Yeah, let’s do our best.”

It seemed that the title of the second-year student council president bestowed a sense of infinite trust in her teammates.

Though in reality, it didn’t mean much.

But still, others believed in her.

So she had to stay strong.

“…Don’t push yourself too hard. After all, this is just an evaluation.”

“I know.”

Guillermo, who was assigned to the same group, encouraged her as well.

Excessive pressure only led to mistakes and slow reactions.

He assumed she understood that, but anyone could see that she was visibly anxious.

Why had she become like this, she who was usually called the “Ice Queen”?

Her ability to command with composure and precision was befitting someone from a prestigious family.

Even Guillermo recognized that.

“…”

“—Let’s go.”

He didn’t say anything more.

Manus would have known the right thing to say, but Guillermo didn’t think he had that talent.

He realized that watching over someone and saying the right words at the right time was surprisingly difficult and tedious.

All he could do was support Alano, the mage and leader of their party, from the sidelines.

The Guardians of the Buckley family were famous for being silent, right?

He couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly, thinking that it was just in his blood.

“The first groups are entering now!”

The supervising assistant raised their voice, beginning to send the students onto the artificial island.

Alano, too, safely landed on the island at the designated coordinates.

The professors watching her were clearly eager to see what she could do.

A prestigious family.

She was expected to show the strength of the Harrison family, said to surpass even the Caesars in ice magic.

At that moment, one of the general studies professors, Trevor, quietly made his appearance.

This was the week when everyone, except the fourth-year graduates, had to go to the artificial island for dungeon exploration.

“Oh. Professor Trevor? Welcome.”

“Haha, am I not allowed in here?”

“No, of course not. As a history professor, you wouldn’t find a better teaching aid than this. Please, come in.”

Thankfully, the professors welcomed him warmly, and Professor Trevor entered the observation room without issue.

He had worried that he might be discriminated against or rejected, but it seemed that the academy professors didn’t care much about such things.

He calmly looked around and stood alongside the other professors.

They had all been up all night, their eyes wide open.

But none of them showed any signs of fatigue.

Trevor couldn’t help but admire the dedication of the Mythos Academy faculty.

“You all don’t seem tired at all. If I stay up all night, I feel like I’m going to die.”

“Well… we’ve trained for this. But we’re not exactly knowledgeable about history.”

“I suppose I’ll need to start training more whenever I have free time.”

Though they exchanged trivial small talk, their eyes remained glued to the screens transmitting the footage.

Magic was truly amazing; it could lay bare all the secrets of a person.

Whether this was something born from someone’s mind or not, it was true.

Under the guise of evaluation, they were monitoring every move of the students.

If anyone saw this, they might say it wasn’t right.

But no one questioned the contradiction.

No one cared to.

For some, this world was utterly revolting.

3

His eyes felt dry.

Despite having studied magic for a long time, he rarely experienced fatigue setting in so quickly.

When he tilted his head, his stiff bones and muscles groaned in protest.

Crack—

The sharp sound of his joints snapping brought him back to his senses.

“This… isn’t the situation more serious than we thought?”

“Not from what I can see. It seems manageable enough to intervene if necessary.”

Professor Kaiser countered the comment from beside her.

It had been a month-long endeavor.

The results had been mostly determined, and it didn’t seem to be escalating into a critical issue.

The dungeons had become more difficult because several key segments of the magic circle’s lines had gotten tangled.

It looked like an error that occurred during the activation of the magic circle.

While she had considered the possibility of someone tampering with it, she concluded that such a delicate manipulation would have taken months of work.

“Just pure luck, I suppose.”

“Lucky indeed.”

“Ultimately. Now that our work is done, let’s head back. Need me to cast a recovery spell on you?”

The assistant shook his head.

Honestly, all he did was follow orders, so he wasn’t even that tired.

The real work had been done entirely by Professor Kaiser.

“I’m fine.”

“Alright. Get back to your duties. I’m heading back.”

With a bright smile, Professor Kaiser hummed a tune as she returned to the control room.

Chesthip, watching her leave, let out a small sigh.

When he checked his pocket watch, he realized that the promised time had already passed.

He could almost hear Siren’s nagging in his ears.

He looked around and hurriedly started walking.

Who would have thought to mess with such a massive magic circle? Things had actually gone better than expected.

Seeing Professor Kaiser struggle for hours made him feel like the heavens were on his side.

‘Let them suffer a bit in the dungeon.’

Other people’s misfortune was his happiness.

Especially when it happened to someone he resented, the pleasure was doubled.

Chesthip was savoring that feeling in real-time.

Now, once Manus returned, he had a splendid gift waiting for him.

He pondered how to set off the climax.

Should he subtly inform a professor?

Or maybe drop a hint to the head maid?

‘Whatever I choose, the Caesar name is bound to be tarnished.’

But he shouldn’t forget what was truly important.

Assistant Chesthip’s goal was to reclaim his position, not the destruction of Caesar Manus.

That would just be a bonus, something nice to have but not necessary.

However, he was unaware of one crucial fact.

He didn’t know that Manus, in the dungeon, was slaughtering monsters with unparalleled skill.

It was a typical mistake for someone fixated only on their own objectives.

While he was running forward, he didn’t realize that others might be soaring above him.

–TL Notes–
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