Episode 60. Midterm Evaluation (5)

“Hey, kid, you’re not even thinking about waking up.”

It’s been two hours since Yuren passed out from magic exhaustion.

I tried tapping his cheek and shaking his shoulders to wake him up, but he was so deeply asleep that there was no response.

“At this point, is he dead?”

Of course, it was just a joke because he showed no signs of waking up.

‘Normally, when you pass out from magic exhaustion, it takes a really long time to wake up.’

I knew this fact all too well because I, who had experienced magic exhaustion countless times due to having only a tiny bit of magic power, could proudly call myself a professional in the field of magic exhaustion.

‘I should start moving if I want to earn some points.’

About four hours had passed since the midterm evaluation began.

Surprisingly, I had earned zero points in half of the eight-hour time limit.

The Wolf Monster I caught at the beginning didn’t give any points, probably because it had wandered in from outside, and the One-Horned Beast was caught by Yuren, so I didn’t even get one point.

‘If this continues, I’ll be at the bottom again.’

I really wanted to get rid of the label of being the “bottom-ranked hero.”

“If I want to earn points, I should start moving….”

I sighed deeply as I looked down at Yuren lying on a makeshift bed (I made it quickly because it felt wrong to leave him on a hard rock).

‘I can’t just leave him here.’

I had no choice.

“Should I set up a barrier to chase away the monsters?”

In the past, I wouldn’t have even thought of using a barrier, a magic that consumes a ridiculous amount of magic power.

But lately, thanks to my increased magic power, I could at least create a simple barrier.

‘It’s not that effective, though.’

After all, now that the One-Horned Beast was dealt with, the only monsters left were low-level ones.

“Hmph.”

I drew blood from my palm with my sword and drew a magic circle around Yuren.

‘Finally, I’m properly using the magic I learned from Senior Sophia.’

I had created a barrier once before when fighting Ashtaroth, but back then, it was more of a crude magic shield made by forcefully pouring magic power into it, based on the theories and knowledge I had learned up to that point. It was embarrassing to even call it a “barrier.”

‘The axis of the barrier is based on the Hexagram Theory, and the circulation of magic power is adjusted according to the Arcadia Circulation Spell Theory….’

I was quite confident in theory, so the process of creating the magic circle was somewhat enjoyable.

“Alright, it’s done.”

Whoooosh!

I activated the barrier by flowing magic power into its core, like turning on a light switch, and looked proudly at the gray mist enveloping Yuren.

‘After always just studying theory, actually using it feels different.’

No matter how detailed the settings and plot you prepare when writing a novel, the result is always different from what you imagined.

Using magic in practice made me realize that while theory and knowledge are important, intuition is even more crucial.

“I still have a long way to go.”

There were still many hurdles to overcome before I could use magic as naturally as breathing, like Senior Sophia.

“Well, let’s start moving.”

I turned around, leaving Yuren behind.

“Pururur… Puhiiing….”

At that moment, the One-Horned Beast, which had been lying on the ground after being struck by Yuren’s sword energy, staggered to its feet.

“What, you’re still alive?”

Should I really call it a mid-level monster?

It seemed to have survived the golden tsunami that was like a natural disaster.

“Pururur, purur.”

The One-Horned Beast panted and staggered away from me as if trying to escape.

“Hey, hey. I’m not planning to kill you, so no need to run, man.”

I raised both hands to show that I had no intention of attacking.

The average intelligence of monsters isn’t very high, but a monster that can be called a “familiar” should be able to understand such a simple gesture.

“Hiiiiing… Pururur.”

“Huh?”

Despite showing no intention to attack, the One-Horned Beast didn’t stop.

‘What’s going on?’

I narrowed my eyes and approached the One-Horned Beast.

The One-Horned Beast continued to stagger forward as if it couldn’t see me.

‘It’s not running away from me.’

For a moment, I wondered if it was because of the barrier I had set up around Yuren, but the barrier’s range was far from here, and it wasn’t the kind of barrier that would affect a mid-level monster.

‘Then what?’

If it’s not running from me or affected by the barrier, then who is it running from?

Grgrgrgrgr!

At that moment, the ground shook as if there was an earthquake.

“Kuh!”

Before my brain could process it, I urgently kicked off the ground and moved away from the epicenter.

Kwaaaaaaang!

The ground exploded, and a cloud of dust rose.

“Hiiiiiiing!”

The One-Horned Beast let out a pitiful scream as it was grabbed by something and flung into the air.

Kwaaaak!

The One-Horned Beast’s body was split in half, and a torrent of red blood poured down.

“This is….”

I stared at the giant monster that had emerged from the ground, covered in blood.

A monster with the head of an alligator and the body of a human.

Its body, covered in green scales, was filled with armor-like muscles, and sharp teeth gleamed between its gaping jaws.

And.

“…Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

The Alligator Monster, which had torn the One-Horned Beast apart in one bite, had four pairs of red eyes glowing menacingly on its head.

‘Why is an eight-eyed monster here?’

What the hell is this situation?

“Grrrrrrrr.”

A low growl.

The pungent smell of water and moss stung my nose.

Four pairs of red eyes filled half of its elongated face.

‘An Eight-Eyed Monster.’

A powerful monster that even heroes ranked within the top 100 of the Three Kingdoms Hero Rankings, so-called “rankers,” would find difficult to defeat.

Probably only heroes with exceptional skills like Professor Lucas or Professor Elisha among the professors could handle it.

‘Why is such a monster appearing in a third-year candidate exam?’

I narrowed my eyes and examined the massive, five-meter-tall monster.

Like the Wolf Monster I encountered when I first entered the exam area, the Alligator Monster’s body showed no “markings.”

‘It’s definitely not a surprise event by the professors.’

That means this Alligator Monster also came from outside.

‘I’ve never heard of such a monster appearing in the exam area in my past life.’

There are two possible explanations.

Either no one encountered this monster in my past life, and the exam ended without incident.

‘Or.’

The future has changed for some reason.

“I don’t know which it is, but one thing is certain.”

This is not the time to calmly think about where this monster came from.

“Grrrrrrrr.”

The Alligator Monster let out a low growl and took a step forward.

Thud.

Just one step caused a heavy shockwave to reverberate through the ground.

“Graaaaaah!”

The Alligator Monster charged with a fierce roar.

I kicked off to the side and swung my sword at the Alligator Monster.

Kaaang!

The sword bounced off its scales.

My palm tingled as if I had struck a block of iron.

“Tsk.”

As expected, normal attacks don’t work.

‘I need to aim for its weak points.’

I took a deep breath and kicked off toward the Alligator Monster.

The Alligator Monster swung its long tail like a whip as it charged at me.

‘Now!’

Sun Sword Fifth Form Variation, Black Dot—Absorb.

A technique that uses the properties of a black dot to condense magic power and absorb the surrounding energy into the sword.

Shoooop!

Like turning on a vacuum cleaner, the wind around the sword was sucked in.

I swung the sword at the tail that was lashing out with a fierce sound.

‘I can’t clash head-on.’

If I clashed head-on with the tail covered in hard scales, my sword would shatter.

‘I need to just graze it.’

I swung the sword not with the blade but with the flat side toward the tail.

Shoooop, thud!

As the flat side of the sword touched the tail, the tension created by the black dot caused the sword to stick to the monster’s tail.

“Kuh!”

My body flew up like a weight tied to the end of a whip.

‘Wind Step.’

I pulled the sword stuck to the tail and kicked off into the air as if stepping on the void.

Using the magic power spurting from my toes as propulsion, I landed on the Alligator Monster’s back.

“Huh!”

I reversed my grip on the sword and swung it down at one of the four pairs of glowing red eyes.

But.

Kaaang!

The sword bounced off its eyelid.

‘What the hell.’

How tough is its body that even its eyelids can’t be pierced by a sword?

“Graaaaaah!”

Even though the sword bounced off, the impact must have been significant because the Alligator Monster let out a horrific roar and shook its body violently.

“Kuh.”

I tried to hold onto the scales to avoid falling, but the monster’s strength was too much.

I felt my body floating and then crashing roughly onto the ground.

Thud!

“Cough!”

A dizzying shock ran through my back.

My internal organs felt crushed, and my limbs twisted at unnatural angles.

“Grrrrrrrr!!!”

The Alligator Monster, confident in its victory, clashed its sharp teeth and let out a triumphant roar.

“Grrrrrr.”

The Alligator Monster turned and approached where Yuren was lying.

It fiercely swung its tail and destroyed the barrier I had set up around Yuren to chase away monsters.

“Grrrrrr.”

As the Alligator Monster quietly looked down at Yuren lying there, letting out a low growl.

“Hey, alligator head.”

A voice came from behind.

“Grrr…?”

The Alligator Monster blinked its four pairs of eyes and turned its head.

Where the voice came from, the human who had clearly been crushed on the ground moments ago was now standing unharmed.

“It’s not over yet. Where do you think you’re going?”

Fierce green eyes glowed.

Sssssssss!

A sound like flesh burning.

“Bloom.”

A gray smoke rose.