Chapter 54: Bomb
After that, nothing much happened.
“Zetto… Hi…”
Yuri greeted me in the classroom, looking tired.
“…”
I could see Aizel staring at me from the side.
Despite what had happened, everything was going on as usual, as if nothing had happened.
Yuri’s hair was braided into a fine braid as always, and Aizel was wearing her usual sullen expression.
Yuri, who was sitting next to me, leaned over to look at Aizel and opened her mouth.
“Aizel, do you want to go to a cafe afterwards?”
“…Sure.”
Unable to resist Yuri’s bright smile, Aizel replied in a small voice.
The difference was that Aizel and Yuri had gotten to know each other a little better.
I wonder if they had a close conversation at Priscilla’s house the other night.
Priscilla, Aizel, and Yuri. Since it was only women, it could have been normal girl talk.
Well, I can’t imagine Priscilla or Aizel talking like that.
Sitting between Eisel and Yuri, I waited for Edward and organized my plan.
Three seconds, that’s how long I can use Chapter 2 without coughing up blood and passing out.
It would have been nice to train my body to make it stronger, but I was running out of time and to build a body that could withstand Chapter 2 in a short period of time, an elixir was essential.
‘The question is where to get it…’
Soon, the first-year students would go on a field trip to the north.
‘Would I be able to get the elixir there?’
I had some money left over, so it’s not a bad option to use it to buy elixirs.
If I can, I should buy as many elixirs as I can. Some may have side effects, but as long as I’m informed and knowledgeable, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Bam!
Edward arrives in the classroom and claps his hands together, drawing the attention of the chattering cadets.
Soon, all eyes are on him, and he opens his mouth.
“Everyone, I have some great news.”
The corners of his mouth turn up, and the cadets are intrigued.
Yuri, sitting next to me, had a twinkle in his eye while Aizel and I didn’t react because it was obvious what was going to be said.
“Our first-year cadets are going on this field trip, so let’s hear it for them!”
At Edward’s next words, the cadets clap for a moment.
The cadets continue to clap and chat with their friends.
“But isn’t it important where we’re going on the field trip?”
“Well, I heard from a senior that they were going to a martial arts tournament as a group.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that. I heard they let mages compete, too.”
The cadets burst into laughter at the mention of mages competing in martial arts tournaments.
It seems that the location of the field trip is decided by the instructors and the principal, so it changes every time.
“We are going to… Fort Polwyn in the north of the country! Exciting, isn’t it?”
Edward paused in mid-sentence and announced the location to the cadets.
He waves his arms in the air, trying to build up the tension, but the mention of a fortress sends the cadets’ spirits plummeting.
The humans and demons were currently in a truce so Fort Polwyn was located a short distance down the road near the Demon Lands. In other words, we were going on a military field trip.
“So you’d better prepare some extra warm clothes, the cold in the north is bitter.”
Edward said as he held up his index finger and after a moment of silence, one of the cadets raised his hand.
Edward, pointed at the cadet.
“Yes?”
“It’s a long way to the north, we’re not traveling by wagon, are we…?”
“That’s a silly question, this is the Innocence Academy after all. We don’t travel by ordinary carriages.”
“Then?”
“Have you heard of airships…?”
At the mention of ‘airships’, the cadets’ spirits begin to rise.
Edward makes a face as if he’s built an airship, but then he coughs and starts talking.
“Hmph, we’re going to be traveling by airship. If it’s an airship, it wouldn’t take long to get to the north.”
Judging from the cadets’ reactions, they seemed to think that the airship was more important than the fortress.
In a fantasy world, this airship is quite a novelty and it is a rare form of transportation, even across continents, however the Academy had an entire fleet of airships.
I think this is where the majesty of the Graham family comes into play.
The cadets were so excited about the airship that they pushed Edward aside and began chatting with their friends.
“Airships… I’ve always wanted to ride in one.”
Yuri was just as excited. Her eyes were wide and he was staring into space as if there was an airship there.
‘It’s my first time too, but…
I wonder why I’m not excited.
It wasn’t because I had already experienced modern things like airplanes and subways.
Still, it’s a fantasy, so it should be more romantic than that but I wasn’t looking forward to it because…
[ An airship… I suppose I’ll have to hold onto my apprentice… ]
…I had Sierra with me.
I think I’m going to have to carry Sierra on my back the whole time I’m on the airship.
What’s the point of having an ultra-luxury cabin…
I couldn’t help it. Maybe I should ask her to stay in the sword for a while.
“But first… I have more good news. Before we leave for the field trip, I thought I’d give you a special lesson.”
Edward waited for the cadets to quiet down, and when they did, he spoke up.
‘A special lesson?’
Edward’s eyes light up at the words, though he doesn’t want anyone to see it.
If it was a special lesson, the reward was likely to be special as well.
“We’re going to have a small mock battle, and since this is my class, I’ve been paying special attention to illusionary magic.”
I remember seeing small-scale mock battles in games. To put it simply, it was a team deathmatch.
I remember it was a notorious content for users. It was a bad game, so to speak.
As is usually the case in games, there were a lot of players who tried to do it alone without thinking about their teammates and I was one of those players when I first started playing the game.
However, PvP(Player vs Player) is not easy. Moreover, the players were mostly Class A, meaning that the overall level is high.
The first time you get lured into a group of enemies…that’s when you realize something’s wrong.
The small-scale mock battles require you to work with your teammates to strategize so if you have a good team, it’s easier to win first place.
As a result, there were many players who repeatedly saved and loaded until they had a good group to get to the top.
Personally, I preferred to bend over backwards to get to the top, even if I was unlucky.
Why obsess over rankings you ask? Because there were always rewards for small-scale battles and often, it was an item that helped the players immensely.
Just then, Edward opened his mouth to speak with a wicked grin.
“To encourage your active participation in this mock battle, there will be rewards for you cadets! There will be four groups of four, so there will be four groups in total. Fourth place, unfortunately, will not receive any rewards. The same goes for third place.”
Not many cadets were looking forward to the rewards.
There was a lot of talk among the cadets about what they would be rewarded in class, even if it was the Innocence Academy.
“…Well, let’s start with number one: the group that wins the honor of first place gets to choose a weapon from the Academy’s arsenal.”
Most of the cadets’ eyes widened at Edward’s next shocking statement.
The Academy’s armory was more than just a warehouse of weapons.
Innocence Academy has a centuries-old tradition where graduates who died would donate their weapons, and outrageous weapons would be found in the Labyrinth.
All sorts of mystical weapons lie dormant in the armory.
‘He must have done a good job of convincing Julius…’
It’s a reward that’s rarely seen in the game but I wasn’t tempted since I had Sierra.
The Spectral Sword was essential for the Ghost Slayer Technique and even without it Sierra was comparable to a great sword since it had been forged by the gold dragon Deidros.
But unlike me, the eyes of the other cadets were burning.
‘At least I don’t see anyone who won’t work hard.’
Aizel frowned for the same reason I did.
Mages could equip themselves with all sorts of weapons, starting with wands and ending with bracers and such, as long as they were useful to their magic, and by the look on Aizel’s face, she’d already gotten her own.
‘A staff and a spear.’
I remember that she didn’t usually take it out, but only during important battles.
It was a golden staff with a stylish design that had the form of a small stick, but when she used it, it snapped open and transformed into a spear.
It’s so cool that some players have asked if they can get Aizel weapon but this is where the reason it’s called an exclusive weapon comes into play: if you’re not an Aizel, you can’t get it.
“Of course, there are rewards for second place. It’s a small reward compared to the armory, but…… When I went on my trip this time, I saw the auction house selling ‘Mandragora’.”
As Edward continues to explain, he pulls the mandragora from his arms and shows it to the cadets.
Mandragora is a root plant that takes the form of a human and the scream of a mandragora when it is plucked is said to be deafening.
Difficult to grow and harvest, the mandragora was a strictly “elixir” that boosted health and mana. However, it doesn’t increase them by much as it’s not as good as some of the more famous elixirs.
Regardless, as an elixir, it was expensive so I was worried about Edward’s wallet, as he had bought four mandragoras at his own expense.
[I hope you don’t want to eat that, apprentice…? I’ve already tasted it, and it’s not fit for human consumption.]
Sierra glanced back and forth between Edward’s mandragora and me, her face colored with embarrassment.
…That’s right. Mandragoras were notoriously tasteless. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t eat it.
I had a reason to be second, not first.
As Edward wrapped the mandragoras in the cloth once more and tucked it into his arms, he continued to explain that he had already organized something to balance things out, and haphazardly spread out four tents in the center of the room.
“When you’re going into battle with your allies, you have to plan your tactics first, and these tents are your tactical rooms. As soon as I call out your name, you’ll enter your group’s tent.”
…For the first time in quite a while, Edward’s lessons were paying off. What’s more, I have no intention of giving up on the mandragora.
Now I just need to get organized
***
I was the first to enter Group 2’s tent, guided by Edward and according to him, I was the leader of the group.
The tent was bigger than I expected and I couldn’t hear Edward calling out to the other cadets from outside the tent, so there was some sort of soundproofing spell active.
The tent was set up like a tactical room, with a table with a map on it and a bunch of chess pieces.
It was set up exactly like in the game and it brought back a lot of memories.
For strategy, the map included information about where each group spawns, how the terrain is laid out, etc. But I had a bandage over my eye…so I’ll have to leave the strategizing to the other members of the team.
I’ll just have to give orders in the middle of the battle.
Although I don’t think it’s possible to make a plan while looking at a map.
‘What’s the composition of the group?’
Edward said it would be a balanced group, which naturally excluded Aizel and Yuri.
‘Aside from them, I don’t really know anyone else with whom I have a strong connection.
I was so focused on my own growth that it was still hard to think of others.
While I was thinking about it suddenly, an unidentified person’s leg crashed through the tent.
The footsteps inside the tent were heavy.
‘…It seems that we are connected.’
The Caligus family, one of the four elemental families of the continent, specializes in earth magic and the son of Maxim Caligus, the current head of the Caligus family Amon Caligus enters the tent and plops down in a chair without saying anything.
“…”
His legs spread, he crosses his arms, and he stares at me.
[He must be the Caligus kid I saw in the Labyrinth before, he’s pretty strong for a kid, that’s good.]
Sierra, whose eyes narrowed as she glanced at Amon, said so.
Amon was certainly not weak but I don’t have fond memories of him in the small-scale mock battles I’ve played in the game.
He’s passive-aggressive, disobeying the player orders and acting on his own whim without even trying, and he often says demoralizing things to his teammates.
Because of this, Amon was treated like a bomb by players in small-scale mock battles.
Many players would load their saves whenever Amon showed his face, saying things like, “He doesn’t listen.”
Oddly enough, this is not the case when he is put through a small mock battle after he has taken the Path of Awakening.
Amon’s post-advancement tank was well-received and reliable. However, I didn’t even talk to him much, let alone play his path since I couldn’t even save and load like in the game.
I thought, “Okay, maybe Amon isn’t so bad after all.”
There’s no denying he’s strong and maybe he could be a reliable tank if I could get him to play nice.
I turned to Amon, who was glaring at me, and opened my mouth.
“It’s been a while since we’ve talked, hasn’t it?”
“…I don’t want to talk about that.”
“…”
Amon’s firm reply ended the conversation.
‘He’s not so easy to please after all…’
The conversation with Amon ended abruptly, and an icy atmosphere took over the command center.
After a long silence, the next member of the team entered the room.
She cautiously entered the room, her eyes tightly closed.
“That… Please, please, please…!”
She immediately bows down to the ground without even looking at me or Amon.
Watching her, Amon sighs.
“Hah…”
“Ugh…Mr. Amon…?”
Amon and she knew each other. They could only be acquaintances.
Her name was Lucia Windless, and her light blue hair was bouncing around. She was a member of the same four-element family as Amon and Yuri.
The Windless family of wind magic and the Caligus family of earth magic were two of the four elemental families. Nevertheless, I could barely hold back a sigh.
Lucia’s standing within the Windless Family is not good and Amon doesn’t like her…
“If I have to marry that bitch…”
“Mr. Amon…don’t be so angry… Please don’t… Hmph…”
As Amon became nervous, Lucia spoke in a trembling voice….Even if she was timid, she was too much.
Her magical talent is exceptional, but she’s too cowardly to utilize it properly and as a result, Lucia was treated poorly within her family.
In the game, Lucia does all sorts of crazy things when she sees an enemy, such as falling into a state of “fear” and attacking her allies in a panic.
This made her an even bigger bomb to players than Amon, except that she was a woman.
‘I might have to go for second place by myself…’
Aizel wasn’t going to be serious in this mock battle, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for me to go it alone given the power of the Reverse Heaven.
But with two bombs in the team, there’s a lot of unnecessary confusion.
It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time, a feeling I’d only felt when playing the game but I wanted to make the bombs in front of me do their job somehow.
“Come on, don’t be so cold, we’re going to be fighting together, right?”
I said in a friendly tone, stepping between Amon and Lucia.
“Hey, give up the weapon. You won’t get anywhere with her.”
Amon said to me, glaring at Lucia.
His words made Lucia sulk but I don’t let Amon’s grumbling deter me.
“No, we can do this.”
“…You must be out of your mind…Lucia Windless will shoot magic at her allies if they stand still.”
Amon snorted at my response.
He wasn’t wrong and I knew this from my experiences.
If Amon was a water bomb, Lucia was the real deal.
“…”
But I just stared at Amon in silence.
By now, the last member of the group who had joined after Lucia was looking back and forth between me and Amon to see what was going on.
Finally, Amon, unable to bear the silence, spoke up.
“You…… Are you seriously trying to get to number one?”
“…Yes.”
Amon clicked his tongue in response to my firm answer but as he clicked his tongue, his eyes started to light up.
Of course he wants to go to the armory and get a good weapon.
“Yeah, I hate to admit it, but… but you and I might make a formidable team…”
Amon turns his head away from me, and suddenly starts talking nonsense.
“Let’s try some crap. Armory… Let’s go! We have Zetto and I, Amon Caligus!”
Suddenly, Amon leaps to his feet, raises his fist in the air, and shouts in a bold voice.
The unnamed cadet, who was the last to join the group, quickly reads the mood and shouts, “Let’s go!”
“Uh, uh… Let’s go…!”
Lucia, seeing this, narrows her eyes and throws her arms up.
Having said that, I had no intention of going to the armory, no intention of coming in first. It was all an act to get Amon to participate.
I needed him to follow my lead in order for things to go smoothly.
‘I’m going to leave the group before we can take the first and then I’ll die on purpose to take the second place.’