### Episode 61: Field Trip (3)
‘Wh-what…? Wh-what…?!’
Estia was thrown into confusion!
Born as the princess, her life had been isolated from men, except for her brothers, her father, and the elderly stewards of the palace. At her age, she’d had some sex education, but theory and reality are ultimately separate things.
She, who had never even held hands with a man, found herself in a situation that was turning her mind into absolute chaos.
‘W-what is this?! Am I… am I about to lose my virginity to a guy like this?!’
While sleeping with someone doesn’t necessarily mean losing one’s chastity, Estia knew of Rab’s wild reputation. Even though he was disguised, she was aware that his natural appearance was quite handsome. She thought he wouldn’t be able to control his overwhelming desires.
How could nothing happen when you’re alone in a tent with a beautiful woman?
Estia even considered that, as a woman, he might have shown her some consideration by offering her a sleeping bag, but if he exerted his strength, there would be little she could do to resist. She felt she would end up giving her innocence to such a lecherous wolf.
“So, what are you doing? Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“Yes, I’ll sleep…”
Under the awkward atmosphere, they entered the tent.
Rab, who was facing away from Estia, seemed to fall into a deep sleep within minutes, his breathing deep and relaxed.
But Estia didn’t trust it. She remembered the gossip of the maids.
“So… what happened with him?”
“He said we just held hands and slept, but… he grabbed more than just my hand~”
“Mother! What a girl!”
She never did find out exactly what the maid grabbed, but Estia already knew that relationships between men and women in the same space were never simple.
“Is he sleeping? No, I shouldn’t fall for it!”
Though Rab was snoring lightly and showed no movement toward her, Estia didn’t believe it.
And so, she spent the night wide-eyed, determined to protect her chastity.
“Phew… sleeping outside really doesn’t suit me… Did you sleep well? You look very tired…”
“Yes… I’m fine… No, uh…”
Nothing… happened!
—
Tia seemed unusually weary, but it was rare for a girl to experience camping. Estia assumed it was just the change in sleeping arrangements that made her tired.
More importantly, today was a crucial day.
In a short while, in the afternoon, many followers were expected to gather in this training area.
Thanks to waking up earlier than expected, there was still ample time to prepare.
“Mmm… so, what’s the plan?”
Oh, that’s right. I hadn’t told Tia the plan yet because I feared she might refuse.
It was a risky plan, and I wasn’t sure if she’d help.
While Tia wasn’t in any real danger, the plan could easily lead to my own.
If the plan fails, I might be forcibly expelled at the most critical moment, leaving me unable to directly defend against the Black Mages.
“Still… let’s trust.”
I explained the carefully thought-out plan to her.
“Are you insane?!”
Yep, that was the response I expected.
—
“Damn it! What a suffering!”
Maiten was pushing through a large bush and advancing forward.
Feeling overconfident due to defeating five opponents at the beginning, this one night in the wild had left his body extremely exhausted.
Born a noble, he was used to warm homes, delicious meals, and luxurious beds. Being thrust into the wild without anything and sleeping on a pile of leaves while listening to the sound of insects was extremely hard for Maiten to endure.
“Damn it… when is this practice going to end?”
At that moment,
BOOM! KABOOM!!
“What, what is this?!”
The ground-shaking explosion was accompanied by something rushing toward him from a distance.
“What, who is that… Rab Netoire?”
ZOOM!
Rab Netoire, only vaguely recognizable in shape, sprinted past Maiten at an incredible speed, leaving Maiten dumbfounded.
“Catch Rab Netoire!!”
Then, a pretty brown-haired girl appeared from where Rab had just fled.
“Don’t you… aren’t you Tia, the second-ranking student in the Department of Magic? What’s going on?”
“This isn’t the time for that! We need to catch that guy quickly!”
“What…?”
“That idiot Rab has an early exit ticket! If the escape mechanism activates in an hour, Rab will leave this hellish training ground on his own!”
“Early… exit ticket?!”
The students at the Academy had increasingly negative opinions of this practical exercise.
Even without the threat to life, the humid temperature, the terrain covered with trees and bushes, and the abundance of insects made living in the wild harder than anyone expected.
It could seem similar to those who had already been disqualified, but they were officially failures.
Though they were moved outside the training area, they awaited harsh physical training as a form of mental discipline.
On the other hand, the early exit card was considered a pass, meaning it counted as staying until the end. This meant that while others suffered inside the field or the waiting zone, the one who held the card could relax outside.
Considering this, Maiten took a deep breath.
“Rab Netoire has the early exit ticket!!”
—
“Damn, so many survivors… should I consider this fortunate…?”
It’s been 40 minutes since I used the early exit card as bait to lure the remaining survivors. Now, roughly 50 students are launching all sorts of attacks to capture me.
“Phew!”
“Gasp!”
An arrow of wind narrowly missed my neck as I swung from tree branches, moving swiftly through the forest like Tarzan.
“Damn, I missed!”
“We can’t catch him with physical abilities! Surround him!”
When did you all get so familiar with each other?
Typically, the Department of Magic and the Department of Combat aren’t that close.
Mages tease warriors as muscle-brains, and warriors criticize mages as weaklings, a classic cliche of Academy faction rivalries.
Still, under the common goal of escaping this hell, they’ve united as one, even devising unprecedented tactics to cut off my breathing room.
We’re roughly 10 minutes away from the enemy’s appearance.
I can’t afford to lose any forces, and it would suck if I fell here, but in this desperate situation, all I can rely on is that my body holds up.
“Over here!”
“Ugh!!”
I narrowly dodged the magical barrage from the Department of Magic students, only to be confronted by Maiten, who brandished his wooden spear and charged at me.
“CLANG!”
“BOOM!”
“Rab Netoire! Give us the exit card!”
It’s like a zombie apocalypse where everyone’s fighting over the last escape ticket.
If it were real, it wouldn’t be as frustrating.
“This… I can’t give it!”
It isn’t technically wrong, since it doesn’t exist, and therefore I can’t hand it over.
With a quick twist of my palm, I redirected his spear’s trajectory and lured the students towards a large open space I’d previously scoped out.
Unaware that they were being conscripted, the students blindly followed behind me.
When I reached the spot Tia and I had agreed upon, she was already there, gathering another group of students.
With Maiten’s group blocking my back, I was surrounded.
Tia seemed unsure, waiting for my cue as to whether to attack or hold off.
“Hah hah, you can’t run now, Rab Netoire.”
Almost… what, some villain? No, more importantly, where are you supposed to appear?!
As I anxiously scanned my surroundings, Maiten took it as a sign of fear and became even more smug.
“You look frightened. Just hand over that exit card, and we’ll knock you out without much hassle.”
“Damn… hurry… hurry!!”
At that moment, a student whose gaze had been fixed on something above me frowned with a peculiar expression.
“What… what is that…”
Following his gaze, we both looked up.
A massive hole in the sky. And a chilling presence emanating from it.
“Alright. The episode finally begins—”
As everyone’s attention was drawn to the bizarre sight, a thunderous roar engulfed the entire training area.
“GGGRRGH!!”
“What is that?! My head feels like it’s ringing!!”
‘What…?! An attack like this wasn’t part of this wave!’
Confused by the unfamiliar roar that rattled my brain, a gruff voice echoed from above.
“Yes! Yes! Exactly this! This is the smell of fear I’ve always wanted!”
A giant man, easily over two meters tall with a hulking physique, stepped out from the hole.
He wore no shirt, showcasing his muscles, while his lower body was covered by tight shorts. His appearance resembled a green radioactive monster, except his skin was peach-colored.
Of course, I knew who this monstrous giant was.
The problem is—
‘Why are you here already?’
He’s not supposed to appear in this episode yet!
