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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“A-are they going to be alright?”
Lotto asked, concerned about the twitching muscleheads sprawled on the ground.
“They’re not dead, so chill. We need to tie them up before they wake up.”
Attribute Stones, crafted from processed magic stones to replicate Ranked Magic below the stone’s grade, were useful for their versatility and lack of mana requirement.
But even the lowest-grade “Shard” was expensive, requiring a magic stone worth 10 silver coins.
And their power was weaker than a mage’s direct casting.
The surprise attack and simultaneous detonation of multiple Fire Shards had produced a greater effect than expected, but if left alone, these guys might recover.
We tied their hands and feet, then looped the ropes around their necks, linking them together.
Any struggle would choke their teammates, preventing them from breaking free by brute force.
“Y-you bastards! Using traps? How cowardly!”
One of them yelled as he woke up.
“Cowardly? This is survival. Are you saying all hunters are cowards?”
They struggled, but it was futile.
Time passed, and midnight arrived.
[Alright, Day 1 is over. The number of teams that failed to secure a treasure is—eight! Half the teams are already eliminated! I’m pleased to see such enthusiasm. Now, the eliminated teams will be removed from the field.]
As soon as she finished speaking, the captured students’ bodies began to darken.
“W-what’s happening?! Let me go! Aaagh!”
Lotto yelped and stumbled back as they were seemingly consumed by shadows.
But I knew what it was.
“Butterflies.”
The same black butterflies from the entrance exam.
Jet-black even in broad daylight, they now swarmed in the darkness, engulfing the students like darkness itself swallowing its prey.
‘This is a convenient way to handle eliminations and manage people.’
Without the butterflies, the eliminated students would have to walk out themselves, or the Academy staff would have to retrieve them one by one.
While teleportation magic existed, few could use it, and it would be a waste of resources for such skilled individuals to retrieve students.
Fiore said,
“I expected some eliminations, but half the teams in one day is pretty fast. This might be over tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Finding treasures will only get harder.”
Me hoarding treasures like I had a cheat code was the anomaly.
Finding fist-sized treasures in this vast forest was normally difficult.
‘And splitting up the team to search is risky.’
It would increase the chances of finding treasures, but also increase the risk of encountering other teams, which was practically guaranteed to be hostile.
If a lone team member encountered another team, they would likely be eliminated.
Even if the remaining eight teams had stolen treasures from others, they probably had little to no spares.
They would be desperate for a quick victory.
“But we don’t need to rush. We’ll lay low and wait for the other teams to destroy each other.”
With multiple treasures already secured, and the ability to find more relatively easily, we were in no hurry.
We could quietly wait and win, or prepare our defenses and fight on our terms.
After hearing my plan, Fiore said,
“Playing defensively is a good idea, but how about adding something to it?”
“Adding what?”
“Specifically—”
I nodded as she explained.
‘Not bad.’
It might’ve been a simple thing, but there was no harm in doing it.
Fishing, after all, was always fun.
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Day 2 of Treasure Thief.
A loud boom echoed through the forest.
The ground erupted where Eagle Fendevig’s Mid-Rank Wind Sphere landed, uprooting trees and scattering debris.
If low-rank formulae were like daggers or arrows, mid-rank formulae were like grenades, capable of wiping out everyone within a certain radius.
Blocking with a shield was impossible, and even dodging the direct hit wouldn’t save you from the shockwave.
“…T-this is ridiculous…!”
A Combat student, witnessing his teammates obliterated, stammered in disbelief and horror.
“Hand over your treasures. Then I’ll let you go without further harm.”
Despite Eagle Fendevig’s arrogant declaration, he couldn’t bring himself to resist.
Whirr.
Three swirling orbs of blue mana, like miniature tornadoes, circled Eagle protectively.
Each one was the same spell that had just devastated his opponents.
And it took Eagle mere seconds to conjure a new Wind Sphere after firing one.
He could spam mid-rank formulae and single-handedly wipe out entire teams.
The student, slumped on the ground, stared up at Eagle in despair.
‘Are mages really this powerful?’
The scale of firepower was on a completely different level.
His sword felt like a twig compared to Eagle’s magic.
Just as Eagle frowned and was about to speak to the stunned student—
Whoosh!
An arrow flew towards Eagle, only to be deflected by an invisible barrier.
“Who’s there?!”
Boom!
Eagle unleashed his three Wind Spheres, blasting apart the surrounding trees.
“Tch, missed.”
He clicked his tongue.
Hau Fendevig, another mage who had blocked the arrow, chided her brother.
“Please refrain from such unrefined displays.”
“Unrefined? We’re in the middle of the forest, what refinement are you talking about?”
“Have you forgotten Father’s teachings? A noble must maintain their dignity and pride in any situation. I’ll report you to him if you continue like this.”
“Alright, alright, I get it.”
Eagle turned back to the student he had been interrogating.
The student was unconscious, bleeding from a head wound caused by the flying debris.
Suppressing a sigh, Eagle looked at his teammates.
Like the Fendevig siblings, their teammates were also from the Kingdom of Morian, but not all were mages or nobles.
Three warriors from Combat and a priest from Support.
It was a standard party composition, indicating they hadn’t prioritized personal connections or social status.
“Dirund, did you search them?”
Dirund, the young knight, replied,
“None of the students we defeated had treasures.”
“Could they be hidden somewhere?”
“Even if they hid them, one of the team members should have the mark. But there’s no sign of it.”
“A wasted effort. How annoying.”
Eagle Fendevig looked disgusted.
He didn’t care about the details of the project; it was simply a nuisance.
Searching for something meticulously didn’t suit his temperament, and spending nights in the forest was uncomfortable.
He preferred the straightforward combat of the first stage.
Even finding other teams was a chore.
So, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by the news his teammate brought a few hours later.
“You found tracks from another team?”
“Yes. They tried to conceal their base camp using the surrounding foliage, but it’s definitely there. They’ve even fortified it with a makeshift barricade of logs.”
“Hmm, a defensive strategy. Not a bad idea.”
As long as other teams were eliminating each other, hiding and avoiding conflict was a viable strategy.
But—
“That means they’ve already secured a treasure. Perhaps even multiple treasures.”
It was practically an open invitation.
“They’ve prepared a gift and invited us. It would be rude to refuse. Let’s go.”
Hau Fendevig objected.
“It could be a trap.”
“It might be, but it doesn’t matter.”
Eagle’s eyes gleamed.
“—I’ll just blast through any petty tricks they try to pull.”
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