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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The students lined up at the entrance of Whist Forest.
It was a forest quite far from the mine-buried area.
Of course, most of those mines had been removed by me, so there was unlikely to be an incident where someone accidentally entered and set off a mine.
“This test is about hunting magical beasts!”
“Hunting magical beasts…?”
“Suddenly?”
The students began to whisper at Sergei’s hearty shout.
Of course, they would have guessed it to some extent.
Whist Forest was famous for it being filled with magical beasts.
But they didn’t seem to expect being suddenly thrown into actual combat.
“Everyone doesn’t need to worry too much! The magical beasts you’ll face are black hounds! The ones that are active in relatively low-concentration mana energy environments.”
“If it’s just black hounds…”
“At least that’s a relief.”
The heightened atmosphere had already calmed down.
They were the guys I faced last night.
If you consider a single individual, they have the combat power of a mad dog.
Although it’s a bit troublesome that they move in packs, since they have almost no intelligence, if you fight while utilizing terrain well, it won’t be too difficult for a party to deal with even hundreds of black hounds.
“Just because they’re lower magical beasts, don’t let your guard down. Everyone has probably only seen black hounds in places like magical beast gardens. What was the image of the black hounds you saw there?”
“They were just like staggering old dogs.”
“Yes. That’s because it wasn’t a suitable environment for them. The area you guys will enter now is a place with a low concentration of mana energy. There, you will experience a heavy body, nausea, and dizziness. On the other hand, the black hounds will rush at you in their best condition to bite your necks.”
“Ah…”
“It’s truly an extreme situation. Remember. Even if you feel suffocated, if you breathe quickly, more mana energy will accumulate in your body. And always be aware of your escape route. Even if you kill all the black hounds, if you can’t get out and collapse, you’ll die right away.”
“Eek…!”
“You’ll enter in parties of five! If you kill 20 black hounds, you can come out! If you judge it’s too much, you can retreat and re-enter, but don’t forget this test is a race against time! Now I’ll announce the parties I made!”
I was a bit nervous here.
In case I ended up in the same party as Ainz.
I had to move separately from Ainz here, but if we were in the same party, I would have to leave Ainz in the forest and come back.
I had to avoid that situation.
“The last party! Schlus Hainkel…”
Fortunately, such a mishap didn’t occur.
Ainz, Trie, and I were all assigned to different parties.
It was probably because we were the top three competing for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in Battle Magic right now.
It seemed the parties were formed with consideration for the balance of power.
“Then from the first team.”
“Yes!”
Five students, including Ainz, answered and stepped forward.
What they were given was a single bottle of mana energy antidote.
If they just had to hunt 20 black hounds and come out, that would be more than enough.
But whether that would actually happen…
“The person who makes the most outstanding contribution in the party will be given bonus points. Now, Team 1, enter!”
At Sergei’s signal, Ainz’s party ran into the forest.
Bonus points for the most outstanding contribution…
This was a trap Sergei set using his own judgment.
Because what this practice required was not individual ability but teamwork.
If there were teammates who ran wild trying to get bonus points, that team would be annihilated in an instant.
Would Ainz be able to suppress his desire to stand out…?
“Go now.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Soon, an assistant followed Team 1 with slightly narrowed eyes.
In case an emergency situation occurred, the assistant would probably evacuate Team 1, but…
This time, even the assistant wouldn’t be of much help.
“Now then, the remaining teams, stay on standby. As soon as Team 1’s test ends, Team 2 is up, so don’t let your guard down.”
“Professor.”
“Any questions?”
“What should we do if mana energy rushes in during the test? I heard that in Whist Forest, mana energy periodically flows in and out.”
Trie asked, raising her hand.
As expected of Trie, who was sensitive to safety.
No, but when she was beating me up, she didn’t seem to care about safety at all…?
“Hahaha! I was waiting for that question! You don’t need to worry about that! Today is one of the two days a year when the mana energy fog doesn’t move!”
“Ah, is that so?”
“So right now, layers are actually formed. The area where black hounds are active is clearly defined, so if the strain on your body is too much, or if you see magical beasts other than black hounds, you can immediately retreat. Then you won’t be exposed to high concentrations of mana energy. In case you’re more curious, let me tell you…”
Sergei, who seemed to be in a good mood, began spewing words like a machine gun rap.
But I was busy sharpening my senses and observing the surroundings.
In case the Intelligence Agency guys were here.
In the original work, they followed Hertlocker and monitored the test the whole time.
There was a very high probability they would be here today as well.
But finding those guys was another problem.
‘Should I just leave them be?’
Even if I luckily found them, there was no way to deal with them.
They weren’t the kind to listen if I told them to get lost.
If I fought them here and used ‘Selection and Concentration’, it would be extremely difficult to deal with the mana energy overflow.
I could only pray that they would just quietly monitor.
If they tried to interfere openly, then a fight would inevitably break out, but…
Ah, seriously, those insensitive bastards.
Anyway, things got really messed up because of them.
Although it was Hertlocker’s homeland in the original work, right now I wanted to erase the Kingdom from the map.
Tick…
The communication artifact Sergei was holding made a noise.
Sergei’s expression became quite serious as he brought it to his ear.
Should I eavesdrop?
-Something’s strange, Professor. According to the calculations, it should be the territory of black hounds up to the rocky mountain, but orcs are already appearing.
-Are you sure it’s the first rocky mountain?
-Yes. I’m sure.
-Where is Team 1?
-Team 1 is still within the black hound territory.
-Then…
-Huh? Something’s strange. The orc horde is rapidly moving south?
Sergei’s face had already turned pale.
“Huh? What’s that?”
At that moment, at a student’s voice, everyone raised their heads and looked.
A pitch-black cloud could be seen in the distance.
It was too low and too black to be a rain cloud.
If it was a cloud…
Yes. The expression ‘black fog’ would be more appropriate.
The fog slowly began to move south.
As the sunlight was blocked, shadows gradually fell.
Darkness like night came in an instant, and the fog rushed in as if to cover the entire sky.
“Mana energy overflow…! For such a disaster to occur now of all times!”
This was a mana energy overflow.
Seeing it in person made me feel suffocated.
If swallowed up by that fog, there was no way to survive.
My instinct, no, perhaps Schlus’ instinct was telling me that.
“Everyone evacuate! Into the shelter in the village!”
“Professor! What about Team 1?”
“Team 1… will be fine. I’ll go.”
“Professor.”
I grabbed Sergei’s arm, thinking this was the moment.
It was so thick that not even half of his forearm could be grasped by my hand.
I wondered anew if this was really human physique.
I could somehow match Hertlocker in close combat, but I felt like I couldn’t possibly face this guy.
“You don’t have to go.”
“What?”
“The assistant has several bottles of mana energy antidote, right? I think the assistant will be able to command Team 1 and endure until the situation is over.”
“How can you be sure of that, Schlus?!”
Sergei frowned and grabbed my shoulders hard.
It was a difficult question to answer.
In the original work, Sergei, who entered Whist Forest to save Team 1, was blocked by a wave of magical beasts and isolated, fighting a lonely battle without even contacting Team 1 until the situation ended, and suffered a permanent injury.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that.
“I can’t be sure.”
“Then…!”
“But I am sure of what will happen to the village if you’re not here, Professor.”
“What?”
“This overflow will reach the village, right? The magical beasts will easily break through the shelter door and invade. The only ones who can stop that are us, but what can students do on their own? You have to lead us, Professor.”
“…”
Sergei soon closed his eyes tightly.
Really.
He must have realized that what I said was right, even though he hated it.
“Is anyone here scared? If so, go into the shelter now! And never come out!”
“…”
Sergei slowly looked at the faces of the students.
Everyone seemed quite tense, but no one took a step back.
Was this the dignity of Imperial Academy students…?
Honestly, I was quite impressed.
If I were them, I would have run away without a second thought.
“It will be a difficult fight. If we get surrounded by magical beasts, we might not be able to enter the shelter midway.”
“…”
Sergei lowered his voice and warned.
Still, no student moved.
“Ha. You’re all out of your minds. Alright! Now we’ll inspect the palisade to block the magical beasts! After that, I’ll explain the strategy for defense! You three over there…!”
Sergei began to command calmly.
Due to Sergei’s overwhelming physique, I had momentarily forgotten.
The reason he rose to the position of Field Marshal in the Imperial Army was not simply because of his individual strength.
His excellent mercenary tactics were said to be able to transform 1,000 peasants into an army capable of matching 100 elite cavalry overnight, with a bit of exaggeration.
“Hurry up and move! Keep the oil barrels two steps away from the fire no matter what! Raid all the food from the stores and pile it up at the base! The residents will understand anyway!”
Seeing the students move in perfect order, I finally felt it.
It had really begun.
The worst event so far.
I clenched my fists and pulled myself together.
‘It’s going to be damn busy.’
There was truly so much I had to do.
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