Chapter 11

【11】10

Gollibun was certain he would pass the test.

This was because he had managed to endure thus far without being eliminated.

Moreover, he had a sturdy party around him.

The reason Gollibun hadn’t been eliminated until now was simple.

The group of test-takers he first encountered were a cooperative bunch that aimed to defeat the monsters together.

Since then, Gollibun had clung to this party.

The party’s skills were outstanding.

They had even managed to handle a troll quite efficiently.

During a previous battle, Gollibun’s Fire Ball had even claimed the life of the troll.

‘Of course, I’m skilled.’

He commended himself thus.

But luck only went so far.

“Kkkkkaaaaaaaa!”

Gollibun screamed.

The student who acted as the party’s leader had his arm bitten off, quickly shattering a bead to escape back to the Hero’s World.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiek!

A monstrous creature emitted a sound that seemed to rip the ears apart.

It was a monster they had never seen before.

This monster resembled a massive spider.

Of its ten legs, all but the foremost were grotesquely bent.

The section of its body that emitted silk was broken, and its head was half-torn off.

Despite appearing nearly like a corpse, this horrifying creature was still alive.

Kiiiiekkkk! Kkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeek!

“Fire, Fire Ball!”

Gollibun hurriedly cast his magic.

Whooosh! Bang!

The Fire Ball struck the spider’s face directly.

“Hahaha! What do you think of that? Taste my Fire Ball!”

Gollibun clenched his fists triumphantly.

However, once the smoke of the Fire Ball cleared…

The spider revealed itself, completely unscathed from Gollibun’s attack.

Terrified, his face went pale.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiek!

“Gyaaaaaaah!”

The angered spider charged, and Gollibun screamed, fleeing in terror.

The knight students readied their weapons to halt the spider.

Bam! Crash!

“Grk!”

But they were flung everywhere by the spider’s strength.

The monster was far beyond what they could handle.

“How… how are we supposed to win against this?”

One student let out a desperate cry.

Gollibun, trembling, retrieved a blue bead from his robe.

‘Ta, I must escape! B, but if someone knocks this thing down, I might still pass the test!’

Without the will to defeat the monster himself, Gollibun still hoped someone else could take it down for him.

Just then,

“Wind Spear.”

Poof-!

Kiaaaa!

A spear of wind descended from the sky, impaling the spider’s back and causing purple-black bl**d to spurt.

Chiieeek!

The wound closed instantly.

“… A real monster.”

Abad hovered in the air using the Fly spell, frowning deeply.

Whooshhhhh!

This time, flames descended.

The flames coalesced into a single point.

Celia, her Rapier charged with a fiery aura, her eyes sharp, lunged forward with her weapon.

Kwaak!

Kiaaaa!

The spider, its head pierced through, screamed and swung its front legs.

Celia hastily retreated out of the attack range and landed on the ground.

“Tch! And it heals from that too?”

Celia and Abad, upon hearing the cry, rapidly launched an assault on the spider.

Though struck directly by magic and aura, the spider healed effortlessly.

“I’ve never seen this kind of monster before.”

“It could be a demon from Tartarus.”

Muttering these words, Celia gripped her Flame Storm tightly.

“It also appears to be part of this trial.”

“Hm? Indeed. Could this creature hold the key to mastering this world?”

Abad’s lips curved.

The staff in hand, he began reciting runes.

Wind magic surged around him.

Seeing this, Celia stiffened, raising her aura.

‘Stealing my thunder, huh.’

If defeating the giant spider was their trial task, to take first place she had to take it down before Abad.

Until now, they had cooperated, but now their relationship shifted to competition.

Whooshhhhh!

Celia’s crimson eyes gleamed.

With her Flame Storm, a concentrated ball of fire gathered at the weapon’s tip.

Pulling her left arm back, holding her sword, Celia assumed a thrusting stance.

Kwaak!

Her feet dug deep into the ground.

‘Prominence!’

Celia’s strongest attack.

A concentrated auric thrust unleashed with all her might!

Puuhhh!

A blade of blazing fire shot forward.

Kiaaa?

The flame pierced through the already torn head of the spider, passing right through its body and emerging from the backside.

“Yes! No matter how exceptional your healing, this much…”

Bang! Bang!

Kiiiieeeeek!

“No way!”

The massive spider rose to its feet, emitting a sound that tore through the ears.

“An excellent attack, but…”

The hovering Abad wore a sly smile.

“The power of a knight is evidently different from that of a wizard.”

Abad completed the spell, spreading his arms wide.

“Rafal.”

A secret technique of the LeWalyn family.

A fierce gust of wind enveloped the spider.

“Aaaaaaaah?”

“Is, is this the spell of a wizard our age?”

The test-takers caught in the wind screamed in shock.

‘It’s over.’

Abad wore a meaningful expression.

But.

“Isn’t it?”

As the spell faded, the massive spider revealed itself.

Its body, torn to shreds, was quickly healing.

Even Abad’s attack, which could arguably be called the strongest among this group, had no effect.

Celia’s face showed signs of defeat.

‘How am I supposed to take down something like this?’

‘As I suspected.’

Leo’s eyes twinkled, watching Celia and Abad.

‘The Spider Princess of Talatunia.’

He had suspected it upon seeing the troll corpses.

The monstrous creature’s feeding method was exactly the same.

A cursed monstrosity and daughter of Demon Queen Silatuna, it once ruled the Forest of Monsters.

Originally, it was an unfathomable calamity capable of wiping out entire nations alone.

But now, it was far from its prime.

Its body was barely holding its original form, battered and beaten.

The trembling magical aura it once emitted came from a head now half-torn away.

Compared to its golden era, it had fallen to being a rather insignificant monster.

‘So the power lodged in Albys’ left eye originates from the Fairy King.’

Fairies.

Exalted familiars who had co-existed with elves from long ancient times.

Tiny, transparent-winged creatures, they harbored formidable magic.

Only Elves could contract with them, making their presence in human realms extremely rare.

Talatunia had devoured the Fairy King’s right hand 5000 years ago.

Luna would not forgive Talatunia for reducing her homeland to rubble and devouring the Fairy King’s appendage.

The Spider Princess who single-handedly brought down kingdoms was slain by the [Ancestor of the Star Cloud].

And yet, after thousands of years, Talatunia lived on.

The reason was simple.

‘It lies within her.”

The Ring of Life, a symbol of the Fairy King.

A ring that bestowed infinite vitality had been devoured along with the Fairy King’s hand.

Leo gripped his sword, adjusted it, and threw it forward.

Screaming wildly, the giant spider reeled, impaled through the head by Leo’s sword.

Appearing beside Celia, he spoke nonchalantly.

“You’re struggling?”

“Step back, Leo. This isn’t something you can handle without mastering aura.”

A cutting blade of wind descended from the sky onto Talatunia.

The wounded creature looked up and let out an ear-piecing scream before jumping.

The extraordinary leaping height allowed her to reach Abad almost instantly.

“Wind Break!”

Chelsea, who had been recasting the spell nearby, activated it in urgency.

Kooaaaagggggg!

A powerful gust of wind struck Talatunia, thwarting her attack on Abad as she tumbled to the ground.

Boom!

Talatunia’s fall shook the earth.

“Brother, are you alright?”

“Thank you, Chelsea.”

Abad, smiling at his sister, descended. He judged the air to be unsafe.

Other applicants joined, enclosing Talatunia.

“How do we take this monster down?”

As Abad muttered seriously, Leo asked,

“Is the wound healing continuously?”

“Yes. Even my strongest magic didn’t work.”

“Same for me.”

Celia let out a sigh.

“In that case, it’s simple.”

“What?”

“If we can’t defeat it, we must join forces. It’s quite simple.”

“Leo, we’re in a competitive relationship.”

“Is my brother butter?”

Chelsea, standing nearby, erupted.

“I agree with Celia this time. Whoever takes down the monster first gets first place?”

After hearing Celia and Abad, Leo wore a disdainful expression.

“What if we fail?”

“What?”

“And what if this creature endlessly revives? What if we run out of aura and magic first?”

Leo coolly said, watching Talatunia now revealing more menace.

“If the trial objective is conquering the Hero’s World, then the moment we fail to take her down, we all fail.”

“Impossible! Brother and Celia Zerdinger can’t defeat it? There’s no one in our peer group who could. The trial itself is flawed!”

Chelsea stuck out her lip, countering.

But Celia and Abad could not refute Leo’s argument.

It was unfair, indeed, to be disqualified just for not defeating this monster.

Yet, the world was inherently unfair.

“Even if we team up, it will take time to develop an attack capable of finishing Talatunia.”

Despite the concentrated assault by thirty applicants, Talatunia sustained no damage.

On the contrary, the applicants were the ones being driven back.

It was clear they wouldn’t hold out much longer.

Witnessing this, Celia spoke earnestly,

“Who would hold off the monster during the time it takes?”

Abad glanced briefly at Chelsea.

“Chelsea can’t manage it either.”

One slight misstep, and it could result in d*ath.

The Hero’s World was virtual, but dying here equated to actual d*ath in reality.

Watching the two’s serious expressions, Leo smirked.

“I’ll hold it.”

“What?”

“I can hold it for about five minutes.”

“You’re a s*icide mission! You can’t even use aura!”

“That’s why five is the limit.”

Leo turned.

“So for those five minutes, gather your strength.”

“What if it fails?”

Abad asked with cold indifference.

To which Leo chuckled,

“Then we all fail. But I don’t think we’ll miss.”

“Why?”

“Fire and wind have been great friends for a very long time because they complement each other.”

With that calm explanation, Leo walked toward Talatunia.

Observing this, Celia said,

“Prepare, Abad.”

“Phew, didn’t think I’d team up with you like this.”

Amused, Abad raised his magic.

*

Thud- Thud-

“Ughhhh.”

“You alright?”

“I-I barely made it. But how are we going to….”

“For now, I’ll try holding this monster off for five minutes.”

“What?”

The knight student, who had been lying down, looked up in surprise at Leo.

“Just let me borrow this for a moment.”

Leo picked up the mace the student was using.

Its weight felt different from a sword.

Clunk-clunk!

Kiiiiiekk!

With only primitive hatred left, Talatunia howled lowly toward Leo.

“Reminds me of old times.”

Leo smiled coldly.

“Let’s finish off that ugly bug of a pair of plates again, after such a long while.”