‘It’s a forest…’
No matter where I looked around, it was filled entirely with trees and bushes.
It wasn’t wrong to call it the Great Forest.
‘Survive in a place like this…’
You might think it’s reckless for the Academy to throw us here, but this forest has been managed by the Academy for a long time.
Surveillance Magic was applied in various places to prepare for any incidents that may happen to us, and should anything happen, we could return through the wrist guard received beforehand before being transferred by the Teleportation Magic Circle, so there was no need to worry even if something occurred during the test.
Of course, it wouldn’t stop someone from saying, “Please, kill me,” and actually trying to die.
If someone was that way, they wouldn’t even come to the Academy in the first place, so it was an unnecessary worry.
‘What I need to worry about right now…’
Is just earning enough points to bring these guys into Class A.
Unlike when facing a demon, I couldn’t do anything right now except heal or buff; of course, I could defend by creating a Divine Barrier, but for now, unless I used the stone of oppression, I was much weaker in direct combat compared to them.
At best, I could create a weapon made of Divine Power to swing around.
In other words, when it comes to fighting, I had no choice but to leave everything to them.
‘Is it possible…?’
I hoped they wouldn’t fight and would cooperate for now…
I thought it would be good to act like I was discussing with the two of them about what to do next, leading them to share their opinions naturally.
Just as I thought that, I was about to call Evan and Albert to start the conversation.
“Hum.”
Suddenly, Albert started to walk in a strange direction, ignoring us.
“[W-What are you doing, Brother Albert…?]”
Where could he possibly be going?
I called out to Albert in a panicked voice, but he glanced back at me for a moment before turning his head again and moving on.
Seeing Albert’s actions, Evan’s expression tightened, and he quickly approached to grab his shoulder, but Albert glared and swung his arm, throwing Evan’s hand away.
“You…”
The tense atmosphere began to rise again, and I flinched.
I couldn’t let them fight again like this.
I stepped in between the two who were getting ready to fight.
The moment I intervened, Evan flinched his shoulders, and Albert turned his head sharply, clicking his tongue.
Ugh, these guys are driving me crazy.
“[W-Where are you trying to go?]”
“I said that if we catch a leadership entity, we get high points.”
Hearing that, I froze right where I stood.
This guy, no way…?
“[Are you planning to hunt…?]”
“Is that a problem?”
A lot, you crazy!
Even in the game, defeating a boss was an extremely difficult task.
If you didn’t know the patterns, you couldn’t clear it at all, and even if you did know the patterns, with low initial stats, you would just die from a single hit, so you absolutely couldn’t get hit.
In other words, no hits were the basics of defeating a boss.
And my attacks dealt next to nothing, so I had no choice but to use tricks.
The most famous trick was to play as a necromancer and stack curses to deal fixed damage based on max health while avoiding attacks and killing it without losing concentration.
Or play as a magician and burn it down bit by bit.
Just like the bosses of this kind, later on, videos of defeating them using all sorts of odd methods popped up, but to put it differently, those methods existed because the bosses were that strong.
In other words, beating it down with brute force while relying on countless strategies is impossible for a newbie unless they have ample experience.
Ironically, while bosses grant huge rewards to ensure everyone passes the class assignment test, they are essential for high scores.
I had cleared all classes, knowing the patterns of all jobs, but one thing I had to keep in mind was that this was reality.
Since they could show movements I wouldn’t expect, I had decided not to blindly trust my knowledge from the game.
There was no need to push ourselves to hunt a boss.
But…
‘You want to hunt that?’
I thought he might be some aristocrat with strange pride in his magic fueled by vanity.
“[That’s not okay. It’s too dangerous.]”
“Then don’t follow me. I’ll go alone.”
Is he insane?
If that happens, our team would be judged as separated, resulting in a major deduction of points, ruining the test.
It was like proceeding down a path of annihilation, so if we left Albert behind and moved on just the two of us, it would be catastrophic for our cooperation points and could guarantee we would fall into a lower class.
But if we followed him and ended up failing to defeat the boss, that would land us in the lower class too.
‘What a mess.’
If it meant ending up in the lower class either way, it would be better to go in the direction that at least offered some chance.
‘I feel dizzy.’
Why did I have to be stuck with someone like this?
I suppressed my anger internally and looked at Evan.
From his expression, he seemed to be struggling to hold back.
If it were me, I would’ve seriously grabbed him by the collar and yelled at him for even thinking of participating in the test right now, if my image hadn’t been at stake.
No, I wouldn’t just yell; I would have beaten him somewhere hidden to force him to comply.
‘The greatest crisis in my life as a saint…’
I never thought I would experience something like this…
Damn it…
Unfortunately, it wasn’t like I had a sharp solution here.
I knew the location of the boss but didn’t know my own location, so how could I find it?
‘Is there really no choice?’
I could only hope that monsters would appear while I followed behind as much as possible.
Once again, I prayed enthusiastically to the goddess.
Please, just let me live once…
*
How long had we been walking?
If anything, it was a good thing that we hadn’t encountered a single monster during this long trek.
Thinking about the need to earn points by defeating monsters, it wasn’t exactly something to cheer about, but considering that Albert wanted to move alone, it was a relief.
‘Does this guy think it’s okay to roam alone as a magician?’
Is he really thinking at all?
Unless he was a high-ranking magician or a grand sorcerer, instantly casting spells and attacking nonstop would be impossible, so typically, standing alone was incredibly dangerous.
Usually, a magician is welcomed in a party because they can use powerful firepower or wide-area annihilation magic that is otherwise impossible.
However, to put it differently, no matter how strong the firepower and area damage are, if using them takes time and effort, that’s a different story.
If there was a party that could protect such an unguarded magician, it wouldn’t matter, but a magician moving alone without a party is fundamentally powerless.
As a magician, he should be well aware of that.
So, if he was moving alone and not with teammates, it would be strange if he was thinking about finding monsters rather than worrying about his own life.
Still, if he showed unyielding will to move alone, there could only be one explanation for that.
Luring.
He was trying to lure us to a certain place.
It was impossible to encounter a boss monster in this vast forest just by wandering in any direction.
A commanding entity, due to its nature, hides well, and in this wide Great Forest, which would take all day to traverse in one direction, it would be strange to find a boss monster just by walking randomly.
But… what was Albert thinking to take a step to hunt the boss alone?
Logically, there was no way you could meet a boss monster simply by walking in one direction in this vast Great Forest, so what was he actually thinking by doing that?
I should have noticed those doubts sooner.
I realized that point too late.
And then,
“[W-Wait…!!]”
By the time I realized, it was already too late.
With a more lifeless expression than before, Albert succeeded in luring us to the place he arrived at and activated the magic circle.
By the time we realized we had fallen into a trap, it was already too late.
“[W-Dragon… Sir…!]”
“Ah…!”
In the end, instead of escaping, we could only watch as everyone stood atop the glowing magic circle as it began to shine bright.
Our bodies seemed to be surrounded by light before disappearing from that spot completely.
