Three hours into exploring the forest, we already discovered another crystal flower.
「No. 2, No. 4! We did it!」
「Our magic has already increased this much. Let’s find one or two more and head back!」
Thrilled by the unexpected success, the Violets eagerly advanced deeper into the forest.
“One! Two! One! Two!”
Our arms and legs automatically synchronized as we marched.
Being perfectly connected, it was effortless for us beautiful girls to move in unison.
The expedition wasn’t entirely smooth.
This forest was a habitat for monsters.
“Grawwr!”
“It’s a Skulkit! Attack!”
A Skulkit charged at us through the bushes.
We drew our weapons.
“This is going to be a piece of cake!”
We had grown tired of hunting this creature back in the lab.
As No. 3 lured it as bait, Numbers 6 and 5 quickly pinned it down, and No. 1 struck the back of its head.
-Thunk!-
<Critical Hit!>
[You attacked from the rear, activating compatibility skill: Rear Assault Critical. Damage has increased!]
“Grawwwk!”
The creature collapsed with a single blow.
“We took it down!”
“Don’t get too excited just because we got a couple. Other monsters live here too.”
“Don’t worry. We’re not alone, are we?”
I folded my arms and argued with myself.
Walking through the trees with a carefree, picnic-like stride, we heard rustling from a bush. No. 6, who was leading, stopped.
“Stop!”
“Prepare for battle!”
We raised our weapons and took defensive positions.
The source of the noise soon revealed itself.
“Grawwk…”
“Another Skulkit.”
“It looks hurt.”
A Skulkit limped toward us, whining in pain. Gripping our hammers and daggers, we cautiously approached it.
Suddenly, a human-sized black shadow dropped from above.
-Thud!-
“Kyarrung!”
“Grawwwk!”
It was a beast with the appearance of a fusion between a cat and a person.
The creature pounced from above, slashing the Skulkit’s throat with its sharp claws.
“What… What is that?”
“It’s a Felinut!”
I had never fought one before but had seen it in the lab, fighting other test subjects.
The creature’s name was Felinut, a swift and ferocious lower-tier monster about the size of an adult man.
“Kyarr…”
It sniffed the dead Skulkit’s corpse before plunging its snout in and starting to eat.
Shocked by the sudden appearance, we instinctively backed away.
No. 5 accidentally stepped on a branch, breaking it with a crack.
The sound made the creature twitch its ears and turn its head angrily.
“Kyarrung…!”
The Felinut frowned in anger at having its meal interrupted. But there was something even more pressing…!
“Ew..! It’s so ugly!”
What if Guillermo del Toro had maliciously adapted the musical Cats into a movie?
The result might resemble this creature, its human and feline features grotesquely fused and distorted into something uncanny.
A nightmare for all furry enthusiasts, a bogeyman cat-mom bursting out of closets to punish naughty children!
“Take the initiative! Strike first to win!!”
No. 1 bravely charged forward with her alloy hammer, fiercely swinging it at the grotesque half-cat’s face.
-Thunk!-
“Kyarrung!”
“Urgh!”
The Felinut swatted away No. 1’s hammer with its forepaw. But that was part of the plan.
As No. 1 rolled aside, No. 5 immediately thrust her blade toward the creature’s chest.
She put her weight behind the strike!
“Kyah.. Kyahk..!”
“Did it work?”
There was a problem.
The blade stopped halfway into the creature’s chest.
It felt as tough as when we had fought the Team Leader Ogre back in the lab.
“What the…! Why won’t it go in?”
Enraged by the pain, the Felinut swung its forepaw.
The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. My body spun mid-air.
My mask came off.
My hat fell.
But why was my torso way over there…?
「Huh? I’m flying… Eh?」
“Ahhh! No. 5! Your… your head!”
「Ahhh! What is this? I was just in class!」
No. 5 had been decapitated by the Felinut’s strike.
The sight left the rest of the Violets gasping in horror.
“Ahhhh! No. 5 is dead! Run away!”
“Calm down!”
No. 6, who had flanked the creature, swung her spanner at its head.
“Take this!”
-Clang!-
<Critical Hit!>
[You attacked from the rear, activating compatibility skill: Rear Assault Critical. Damage has increased!]
“Kyawwwk!”
A loud metallic clang rang out, and the Felinut momentarily lowered its head.
However, it had only suffered a minor blow. Enraged, it retaliated with a devastating strike.
Horrible pain struck my chest.
“Aaaargh!”
“Argh! It hurts!!”
「Ahhhhhh!」
「Aiiiiiieee!」
When the creature pierced No. 6’s heart with its claws, we screamed and ran.
Staggering and clutching our chests, we barely managed to escape.
“No. 6 is dead too! Just run!”
“Aaaaaah! Flee!”
But the Felinut was faster than us. No. 3 was caught.
“Kyarrung!”
“Urk…”
Blood spilled as No. 3 collapsed under its claws.
Only No. 1 managed to escape the forest alive.
“Waaah…”
Crying from pain and frustration, No. 1 stumbled toward the dormitory. No. 4 emerged, helping her up.
“Ughhh…”
At the same time, No. 2 and 7 staggered out of the classroom and library, nursing their pain in the bathroom.
Our adventure ended abruptly in failure.
The next morning, we scouted the forest again. Using the magic gained the previous day, we created two new recruits: No. 8 and 9.
“With more of us, we can beat the Felinut this time!”
“Charge forward!”
“Kyarrung!”
But another Felinut attacked, tearing apart three more.
The Violets fled in terror.
“Gyaaah!”
“The blade won’t go in! Neither will the hammer!”
A few hours later, after recovering our magic, we re-entered.
“Kyarrung! Kyarrung…!”
“This thing is toying with us!”
This time, a different Felinut ambushed us.
It seemed the crystal flowers grew in Felinut territory.
“Eek!”
We retreated again, at the cost of four lives.
During lunch, we hurriedly convened an emergency Violet meeting.
My mind buzzed with noise.
「What’s the problem, exactly?」
「Did you see No. 3 stab it? Even though it was hit with a fatal blow, the knife stopped halfway in!」
「What if we gang up on it and shred it to pieces?」
「No. 5, what happened when you tried that earlier? The thing just swung its arm once and sent everyone flying! Our strength is just that of an ordinary girl.」
I suddenly recalled my time at the research facility.
「This is strange! The Ogre Guards we faced in the lab were far stronger than this low-level beast. Yet we managed to bash its skull in with just screwdrivers and daggers.」
「That’s obvious. While we landed the final blow, it was Kalia who delivered the decisive strike. That’s probably why its body reinforcement and ether shielding weakened.」
Ah, I’d forgotten.
It’s a given in this world that beasts have ether shielding covering their skin.
The Skulkits and mutant animals I killed in the lab were weaklings without ether shielding. But even a mid-tier beast like a Felinut requires firearms or extraordinary strength to defeat without magic.
「So the issue is our weapons. Let’s find some proper blades! This school must have practice swords or spears stored somewhere.」
「That’s a great idea! We’ll arm ourselves and smash those cats to pieces, then secure all the crystal flowers!」
Some of the Violets raised their voices in agreement.
Hearing this, No. 8 began protesting vehemently.
「What? You want to fight in melee? No way! I don’t want to lose my legs again!!」
During the morning exploration, No. 8 had lost all her limbs except one arm to a Felinut.
「I agree! Who else here has had their head lopped off before? Besides, we don’t even know how to use sword energy!」
Quiet until now, No. 5 chimed in from a corner of the mental council.
「We’re ignoring the real issue. Don’t forget that striking with weapons lacking ether infusion either gets absorbed or nullified! And we don’t even know how to use body reinforcement.」
No. 2 responded rationally.
She was right.
Overcoming the ether shielding of beasts and Awakened individuals required far more brute force than we currently possessed.
「This is insane. Weren’t we planning to explore a dungeon outside the school this weekend…?」
「If we’re struggling this much against just one Felinut, we’ll be completely wiped out in a beginner dungeon. No way.」
Then, a new suggestion emerged.
「How about a crossbow? Or a bow? Or even guns! Some students here use firearms as weapons, right?」
「No money. And hunting beasts requires special bullets, which are expensive in their own right.」
「Hey! Do you even know how to infuse ether into arrows?」
「Ah…」
The meeting, which had been dragging on over lunch, eventually circled back to the beginning and was suspended.
「No. 7, want to just eat some ice cream?」
「Yeah… okay…」
No. 7, in charge of attendance, went to the store and bought vanilla ice cream.
「Mmm… it’s delicious…」
「Vanilla! I love it!」
「Wouldn’t it be nice if we all went out together one day and tried different flavors of ice cream?」
We savored our ice cream together.
Vanilla ice cream was the best for clearing a cluttered mind.
「In the end, we didn’t come up with a solution…」
After finishing the ice cream, we were left with the conclusion: no answers.
Until we found a concrete solution, the search for crystal flowers was halted. To evaluate ourselves honestly, our skills weren’t even sufficient to clear a beginner dungeon.
「Wasn’t this afternoon’s class about weapon techniques? Maybe we’ll find an answer there. Like how to infuse sword energy or use body reinforcement!」
No. 6, rummaging through the dormitory noticeboard, relayed this to No. 7.
No. 7 shook her head.
「I doubt it. Do you remember the professors or instructors we’ve met? They were either quacks, lazy freeloaders, or spent class spouting nonsense instead of teaching anything useful.」
「True. Still, this is a chance to get our hands on some swords we don’t have.」
The title of the last orientation lecture of the afternoon was Introduction to Weapon Techniques and Close Combat.
According to the syllabus, students would practice sparring with provided training weapons in the gymnasium, learning various combat techniques.
Most importantly, it seemed to cover sword energy and body reinforcement, which we needed.
「Sparring sounds exciting if this were a normal school. But…」
「Don’t expect much from the class! Our goal is to sneakily pocket any weapons we get, remember?」
「Exactly.」
If this were a normal academy, I might have struggled to calm my pounding heart. But given the state of Polaris Academy, it was bound to be another bizarre encounter.
What kind of weirdo would we meet this time?
I pushed open the gymnasium door to the lecture room.
It was thirty minutes before class, so the place was empty.
Thinking I was alone, I scanned the room, but then I felt a presence.
In the shadow beyond the afternoon sunlight streaming through the gym window, a man was seated.
「…Are you a student?」
The man stood up from his chair and turned around. His presence took my breath away for a moment.
There was something different about him.
No, he was different!
His bleached white hair looked as though it had been stripped of color by hardship itself.
He wore nothing but a simple short-sleeved shirt and black pants.
At a glance, anyone would think he was just a regular middle-aged man from the neighborhood.
But a closer look would reveal that he was an old tree, weathered by battles etched deep into his very being.
The man’s face, covered in small and large scars, had one that ran from above his left eye down to his jawline.
The weight of life seemed embedded in his wrinkles.
Beneath his plain attire, there was no exaggerated bulk, but a formidable presence lingered.
What stood out most was the large gray metal prosthetic arm replacing his left arm. Inside its translucent tubes, a faint ether glow flickered.
Who was this man?
While I stood there, slightly intimidated by his aura, he walked toward me.
「W-what’s going on?!」
His cold gray eyes swept over me, taking me in at a glance.
He’s approaching.
What now?
“Such insolence!”
-Thunk!
“Ow!”
Suddenly, the metal prosthetic smacked my head with a thud.
It hurt!
“Is this how students behave these days? Not even a proper greeting when you see your superior? What a shame…”
“Ouch…!”
The instructor crossed his arms, scolding me harshly.
“What’s with the whining? Hey! What’s your name? Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
“Violet! Violet Rugilinn!”
“Pathetic…”
As I stammered in response, the instructor grumbled in satisfaction and returned to his seat.
「What’s with this guy?」
「Weird…」
「My head hurts…」
I must have seen wrong.
He was just an old-fashioned, nagging instructor!