251st Episode
The intermediate evaluation test details were announced to the students.
The second-class students reacted as if they had been expecting this, while the third-class students, unsure of how to prepare, either asked the second-class students or discussed among themselves.
In front of the third-class students’ dormitory, Jusephin held a large bag and pondered with a serious expression.
“Bag… what should I fill this bag with…?”
There was a weight limit for the bags that participants in the intermediate evaluation test could carry.
Using tricks like artifacts was obviously impossible, so the bag had to be filled as efficiently as possible with only the most necessary items.
It would be difficult to find food during training, so water and preserved food were essential. However, due to the weight limit, deciding how much to pack was problematic.
While everyone was seriously considering this, Ray waved at Sebas who was passing nearby.
“Senior!”
“…?”
Sebas frowned and approached.
Ray pointed at the bag Jusephin was holding and asked.
“What should we pack?”
“…”
Seeing Sebas’ unpleased expression, Delun quickly rephrased the question beside Ray.
“Could you share your wisdom with us, Senior?”
Only then did Sebas decide to give advice, briefly replying.
“Water and a bit of salt.”
“…Anything else?”
“If possible, bring one expensive potion.”
Sebas gestured to Jusephin to move aside, took her seat, sighed deeply, and added an explanation.
“Listen up, reds. This training isn’t just for a day or two; it’s at least a week-long minimum. Even without eating, we can last about half a month, right?”
“Uh… yes.”
“But if dehydration hits, you’re screwed. There’s no way out. Once dehydrated, you’ll collapse and have to be carried by someone else. So, pack water and salt. Other problems can be solved with mental strength, but not dehydration.”
As Sebas spoke, Ray burst into laughter nearby.
Experts possess mana as an energy source, allowing them to survive and operate in harsh environments far longer than ordinary humans.
However, even experts cannot maintain their physical abilities without hydration.
If there were accompanying mages or water-generating artifacts, the problem would be resolved, but such assistance wasn’t available during this test.
“Wow, it seems tough, Senior.”
“Yeah, brace yourself. And… prepare some leather straps that can be chewed, soaked in sugary or salty water, and tied around your sheath. During the test, chewing on that might help you stay upright.”
“Is it hard to obtain food inside?”
“It will likely be difficult. Don’t expect much. But if you work hard, the instructors might host a small event halfway through.”
At the mention of an event, Jusephin brightened up first.
“I’m already looking forward to it!”
“Yeah, look forward to it.”
Sebas said with a smile.
Indeed, during rigorous training sessions, instructors sometimes hosted surprise events midway.
When students had been starving for over a week, becoming weak and frail,
instructors appeared at the perfect timing, welcoming students while cooking soup and roasting meat.
But they ate it all themselves.
“…Shit.”
Whenever instructors smacked their lips and ate their own food, one student usually went berserk and charged at the instructor.
Other students had to hold back the charging one, leaving only the smell of meat behind as they continued on their way.
Recalling these tough memories, Sebas closed his eyes tightly and opened them again.
“Be mentally prepared and get ready well.”
“Yes, understood. Thank you.”
Third-class students took turns thanking Sebas.
Soon after, the date for the intermediate evaluation test arrived.
Team assignments were completed before the test began, and Ray ended up in Team B with Johanna.
Ray lightly patted Delun, who was assigned to Team A, on the shoulder.
“Don’t get hurt and come back safely.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”
“Yeah. Actually, I’m not too worried.”
Ray smirked.
Delun had often received somewhat outdated training in Phillip’s County, making his resilience clearly superior to other students.
After sending off Delun, Ray headed to the Team B gathering point with Johanna.
Among those at the Team B gathering point, Sebas and Harvey’s faces were also visible.
“Please take care of me.”
After exchanging pleasantries, the students in Team B followed Nelson to the Golden Tower located within the Izhise premises.
This golden tower, known as the Golde Tower, was established in various parts of the Imperial Capital to control the mana flowing from the Mana Veins beneath it.
Many mages were waiting around the Golden Tower to deploy barriers.
Upon arriving at the Golden Tower, Nelson warned the students standing in line.
“Be mentally prepared. If even one person drops out, everyone fails. If you don’t want to become sinners, endure until the end. Keep moving your legs even if you can’t see ahead. We don’t need burdens in Izhise.”
Since the training conducted within the barrier ensured safety, Nelson pushed the students hard to prevent complacency.
As the students’ gazes became resolute, Nelson stepped back.
“Don’t be a burden. Understand?”
“Yes!!!”
“The test begins.”
Tzzz!
The mages started deploying the barrier.
Ray immediately gathered his mana into his core, almost imprisoning it entirely.
The current barrier being deployed resembled a “Spatial Barrier,” and Ray’s mana possessed strong resistance against spatial barriers.
If Ray let his mana flow aimlessly, the barrier could distort or evaporate before fully forming.
Whoosh!!
The scenery changed, and the students found themselves in the middle of a desert.
Ray looked at the desert and smirked.
“We’re seeing the desert here before going to Doralanche.”
As Ray glanced around wondering if any sandworms might appear, second-class student Loen lightly clapped his hands.
“As we discussed earlier, I’ll exercise command. Since I’m the commander for this test, I hope you follow my orders.”
“Yes, understood.”
Not only the third-class students but also the second-class students replied respectfully.
Since this was military operation training in the form of an exam, the chain of command had to be respected.
At Loen’s signal, everyone picked up their prepared luggage.
Though the giant bags were filled with water and extremely heavy, everyone gritted their teeth and carried them.
“Let’s go. We need to arrive before Team A.”
Loen walked ahead, chewing on a salt-soaked bag strap.
The other students also regulated their breathing beforehand and started walking.
However, they hadn’t gone far when the ground began to shake.
Kooong-!
“…Already?”
The students thought the ground shaking was a sign of a demon-like sandworm appearing.
Second-class students who had undergone similar training several times before were puzzled by the quick attack but still gripped their sword hilts.
However, soon enough, everyone realized their judgment was wrong.
Kuguguug!
The ground continued to shake. It shook so violently that it visibly rippled.
The students instinctively felt that this wasn’t the ground shaking but rather space itself beginning to twist.
“Is this part of the test…?”
“There’s no way…”
“There seems to be a problem with the barrier?”
“Shit, what is this nonsense right at the start…”
“Stay calm, maintain formation, and secure the perimeter!!”
As Loen shouted, the students put down their luggage and maximally activated their cores.
Most students believed this phenomenon would be temporary.
High-level barriers used for this test were deployed with the cooperation of many high-ranking mages loyal to the Empire.
Even if there was a minor issue, the students believed it would be resolved quickly.
However, as time passed, the situation grew more severe.
Grrrrrrrrk!!
The landscape split apart.
The ground shook strongly enough to stir up sandstorms.
Some students were even hit by intense pressure generated by the barrier’s distortion.
Kwaang!!
“Guh!”
A student suddenly struck and flung sideways was caught by another.
As actual damage began to occur, the atmosphere rapidly turned hostile.
“Hey!!! Are we just gonna sit here?!?”
“Wait!! Don’t move recklessly and wait for now!!!”
“Will waiting solve anything?!”
Second-class students yelled with voices full of confusion.
Unless you were a fairly skilled mage, analyzing the currently deployed high-level barrier accurately was impossible…
Thus, the Knight Department students couldn’t grasp what decision to make.
Should they wait quietly, believing the barrier would stabilize?
Or should they risk breaking the barrier?
No one could provide a definitive answer.
“Do you still think this is a test?? There’s a problem!! We need to break the barrier from inside!!”
“If we try to break the barrier and mess it up, we might really screw things up!! There were only a few high-ranking mages waiting outside!! Just wait a moment!!”
“Hey, if the mages did their job properly, would we be having this problem now??!!”
“So what should we do?! This is a high-level barrier!! Even decent mages wouldn’t dare analyze it, so what can we do on our own?! Should we just stab blindly?? Bet our lives on a gamble?”
“If we stay still, we’re all going to die!! We need to gamble somehow!!”
The second-class students exchanged loud voices.
The third-class students breathed heavily with pale faces while listening to the second-class students’ shouts.
Loen, who held command authority, broke out in cold sweat and drew his sword.
To calm the students, he needed to bang his sword against its scabbard to produce metallic sounds.
However, before that,
Ray impatiently stamped his foot on the ground.
Kooong!!!!!
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
A massive wave of mana flowed through the ground.
The shaking ground was engulfed by mana that warped space and froze momentarily.
The heat of the desert cooled sharply.
In the chilling silence that descended,
students slowly turned to look at Ray.
As everyone’s gaze converged, a rough voice finally escaped Ray’s mouth.
“Everyone, shut up.”
“…”
The students were overwhelmed by Ray’s icy blue eyes that had just been screaming moments ago.
Even the second-class students who had been shouting ceased their breathing and focused on Ray.
Ray, who had been staring intently into the air, finally made a decision and drew his sword.
“We’re breaking the barrier. Lower your center of gravity and prepare for impact.”
The students immediately knelt down.
From the center of the kneeling students, Ray manifested Sword Energy.
Ray swung the powerful force that warped space horizontally.
The unstable barrier tore cleanly along the trajectory of Ray’s sword.
Crackkkkkkkkkkkkkk-!!
The barrier, which had begun to tear in half, eventually started to collapse.
The backlash created winds fiercer than a typhoon, but the students protected themselves by activating their cores.
Hoooowww…
As the barrier completely shattered and the wind settled,
the Golden Tower reappeared before the students’ eyes.
Although they had successfully escaped the barrier, no one cheered freely.
Still chilled by the lingering coldness on their skin, the students stifled their breaths and trembled.
Ray, who had intended to curse Nelson with a serious expression, turned his head away.
Massive amounts of mana that should have been supplied to the mages from the Golden Tower were flowing somewhere else.
Not just the nearby Golden Tower close to Ray, but numerous streams of mana flowing through the Imperial Capital were converging towards a single location.
Ray leaped off the ground and ascended the Golden Tower.
With a higher vantage point, it was possible to precisely confirm where the mana was flowing.
Ray furrowed his brow upon identifying the endpoint of the mana flow.
Mana was concentrating towards the Golden Tower where Team A, including Delun, had headed.
However, there were also many other issues.
“…”
Descending from the Golden Tower, Ray looked at Nelson with a chilling gaze.
“Nelson.”
“…Await your command.”
“Investigate and report what exactly this situation is. As quickly as possible.”
(End)
