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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Finding the source of the blood wasn’t difficult.
The closer we got, the more prevalent the signs of explosions and lingering magical energy became.
The surrounding landscape grew increasingly surreal, and a thick, acrid smoke obscured our vision, the stench of burning flesh assaulting our nostrils.
As the smoke cleared, we saw them. Students, most of them injured.
Blood flowed freely from open wounds, splints bound broken limbs, and cries of pain echoed through the air.
Torn black fabric, remnants of uniforms, and shattered mana stones littered the ground.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“I… I can’t… sob…”
“I… I give up!”
They’d clearly encountered a monster, but how had they sustained such severe injuries?
Even lower-ranked students should be able to handle a single low-level monster, especially since monsters weren’t known for their intelligence.
Monsters were born from mana, driven by an insatiable hunger for it.
Some theorized they were searching for a parental figure. Others believed their bodies were composed of mana. Still others claimed they needed mana to grow and evolve.
The reason was unknown, but their hunger for mana was undeniable. And they obtained it by consuming the mana that resided, however faintly, within all living beings.
The mana stones embedded in their bodies indicated their rank: Lowest-Rank, Low-Rank, Mid-Rank, High-Rank, and Highest-Rank.
The monsters used in the academy’s evaluations were typically Lowest-Rank or Low-Rank. Even Low-Rank monsters could be defeated by students working together.
So, this level of carnage didn’t make sense. Dozens of students were injured, surrounded by the remains of numerous monsters.
Low-Rank monsters didn’t travel in packs. And even if they did, this many students should have been able to handle them.
Something wasn’t right.
As I approached the scene, a figure caught my eye.
A man surrounded by students, his body adorned with artifacts, calmly assessing the situation.
Albert, the eldest son of House Iris, someone I’d always found a bit overwhelming.
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“Well, this is an unexpected reunion.”
“What happened here?”
Albert’s face brightened when he saw me, but I was more concerned about the carnage. I didn’t want to deal with whatever had caused this.
I asked him what had happened, hoping to identify and avoid the source of this chaos.
His answer shocked me.
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A few hours earlier…
Albert had been fielding requests from students eager to form an alliance with him.
“Young Master Albert, would you consider an alliance with our team…?”
“Albert, we’d like to propose an alliance…”
“Do you have any existing alliances…?”
He was the son of one of the four great dukes, a high-ranking student. They were the ones who needed him. They flocked to him, desperate for his favor.
It was an advantageous situation for him.
‘Forming an alliance to counter Isabella wouldn’t be a bad idea…’
He wasn’t as intelligent as his sister, but he was still the heir to House Iris. He knew how to assess a situation and maximize his gains.
He’d accepted their offers, becoming the leader of a sizable faction, his confidence growing with each new member. He could even challenge those ranked higher than him now.
Then, a scout returned with a strange report.
The monsters seemed to be converging on a single location.
Similar reports came from other scouts, confirming the unusual behavior. Monsters weren’t known for their coordinated movements.
Why? What was the reason? He didn’t sense any unusually high concentrations of mana. Why would they gather like this?
His confusion was interrupted by one of the students.
“…I wonder how many points we’d get for killing all those monsters…”
It might have been an idle thought, a fleeting desire quickly suppressed.
But the others had heard him, and their eyes lit up.
“Yeah… they said we get extra points for killing monsters…”
“But there are so many of them…”
“…We could earn a lot of points…”
They knew they’d killed a few monsters already, but nothing compared to the horde they’d just discovered. This was a chance to close the gap between them and the other teams.
They couldn’t resist the temptation.
“…Should we try and kill them?”
“We… we can’t die…”
“We could climb the ranks…”
Their eager anticipation turned into a silent question, directed at him, their leader.
He understood their desire. Greed. It was a fundamental emotion in noble society, something his family had instilled in him from a young age.
It was a repulsive, yet intoxicating feeling, and it was reflected in their eyes, their eagerness to seize this opportunity. And he felt it, too.
‘If we could kill them all…’
‘We could handle them, right…?’
‘I still have some artifact uses left… and they’re not intelligent…’
A voice whispered in his mind, tempting him.
He wanted those points. He could almost taste victory. The thought of surpassing his rivals was intoxicating. He wasn’t sure if it was a wise decision, but…
‘I can’t disappoint them…’
He used that cowardly excuse to justify his desire, his greed.
He agreed, and they cheered, rushing to check their equipment.
He’d questioned his decision, but it was too late to back down now.
They set off in search of the monsters, following reports of their gathering in the eastern forest.
They spoke excitedly about the points they’d earn, about their potential rankings.
As they approached the designated location, a sense of unease settled over him.
The mana concentration was normal, nothing unusual. There was no reason for the monsters to gather here.
But the other students were too excited, their eyes gleaming with anticipation at the sight of the monsters in the distance. They were ready to charge, and he, too, couldn’t resist the lure of extra points.
He found himself at the front of the charge, the other students following close behind, their eyes fixed on the monsters.
The monsters charged as well, and the battle began.
Tentacles, wolves, even plant-like creatures—they swarmed them, and he crushed the skull of a wolf that lunged at him.
He killed one monster, then two, then six.
Then, a question arose, a question shared by several other students.
The monsters had stopped attacking. They were just circling them.
Weren’t monsters supposed to be mindless? Driven by a primal urge to kill?
A scream echoed through the forest.
“Aaaaagh!!”
“What is that?!”
Terror filled the eyes of the students nearby, and Albert finally understood the source of his unease.
Why were the monsters gathering in a single location? Why were there so many of them in a place with no unusual mana concentration? Why were such diverse species acting in unison?
He’d known the answer all along, but he’d refused to acknowledge it.
A professor had once explained,
[Monsters typically gather for two reasons.]
[First, an unusually high concentration of mana.]
[That’s the most common reason.]
That was what the professor had said, and since this was an academy evaluation, Albert hadn’t even considered the second possibility. But now, he couldn’t deny it. It was happening.
[And, well, the second reason is…]
The monsters used in the evaluations were typically Lowest-Rank or Low-Rank. They’d underestimated them.
But what Albert saw before him was not something to be underestimated.
It was big. Impossibly big.
A ten-foot-tall wolf, its jaws clamped around a student’s torso, its red eyes fixed on them, a chilling glint in their depths.
Its vertical pupils, unlike any wolf he’d ever seen, resembled those of a dragon. Its pitch-black fur was like a shadow, making it difficult to target.
Its saliva melted their armor, its claws tearing through flesh and bone. A casual swipe of its paw sent trees crashing down, students scattering in terror.
A single howl sent the other monsters into a frenzy, a low growl silencing their chaotic movements.
[…The presence of a more powerful monster capable of leading them.]
A being capable of controlling Lowest-Rank and Low-Rank monsters.
A Mid-Rank monster.
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