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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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The heart of the forest pulsed with life, a vibrant ecosystem teeming with unseen activity.
Towering trees obscured the sky, creating a maze of shadows, and the rustling of leaves added to the sense of anticipation.
Strange cries and the rustling of small animals echoed through the trees, giving the forest a life of its own, as if it were a sentient being.
“This feels different.”
Elisha moved cautiously through the forest, her senses alert. Magic spells shimmered around her, her steps measured and precise.
“Being alone like this is surprisingly refreshing. But I have to focus. I need to win this bet.”
She walked on, her resolve firm.
“There it is.”
After walking for a while, she finally spotted movement. A bear-like beast with black fur and sharp fangs was about to pounce on a small animal.
“I can handle that.”
She took a deep breath and began chanting a spell, taking advantage of the beast’s distraction.
“Goddess of Ice, lend your warmth to my fingertips. May your icy judgment befall all that you touch-”
She whispered the incantation softly, careful not to alert the beast.
An ice spear materialized, the sharp whistle of its flight cutting through the air as it hurtled towards its target.
“Kyaaa -!”
Elisha’s magic pierced the beast’s flank. Crimson blood spurted from the black fur, and the beast, mortally wounded, collapsed to the ground, thrashing weakly.
“Graaa -!”
But as the magic pierced deeper, an enraged roar echoed through the forest.
Elisha sensed another presence behind her. Before she could turn around, a massive shadow loomed over her.
“What? There were two of them?”
She barely managed to dodge the attack, throwing herself to the side. The shadow of the beast that had attacked from behind was even larger.
“Huu.”
She caught her breath, her eyes narrowing, her resolve hardening.
“Fine. Then I’ll just hunt both of them and get a higher score.”
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“Being away from Master makes me a little nervous…”
Eilly, on the other hand, was more cautious. She moved stealthily, her footsteps silent, a long sword, almost as tall as herself, in her hand.
“The strongest monster… The larger the monster, the more limited its movements will be.”
“So, if I avoid direct confrontation and target their weak points, I should be able to handle them…”
She formulated her strategy as she moved.
“Footprints. And very large ones at that.”
Eilly’s sharp eyes scanned the ground, spotting a trail. It indicated that a monster had headed deeper into the forest.
The massive footprints, six times the size of a human’s, caught her attention.
“…There it is!”
She lowered her stance, concealing herself in the bushes, and moved forward. She spotted a massive monster drinking from a large river.
“That’s a Cyclops.”
It was a blue monster, at least five meters tall, wielding a wooden club larger than a grown man.
“Alright -”
She steadied her breathing and drew her sword, aiming for the Cyclops’s ankle.
“Groar?!”
A direct hit. The Cyclops cried out in pain and stumbled.
“…!”
Eilly aimed for another attack. She intended to finish it off quickly by severing its neck, but the Cyclops’s massive arm swung wildly, forcing her to dodge.
“Whoa!”
The Cyclops thrashed around like a child, then, spotting Eilly, swung its club downwards with all its might.
Boom –
She leaped out of the way just in time, but the sight made her gulp.
The sheer force of the blow had created a crater in the ground. A single direct hit from that massive club would be fatal to her.
“This won’t be easy.”
But Eilly’s eyes still held a spark of confidence. She adjusted her stance, her movements calm and precise, preparing for her next attack with a smooth, natural grace, despite the tense situation.
“Let’s do this.”
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“Let’s see, are there any strong-looking monsters around here?”
Melina surveyed the forest from her vantage point high in the trees, using her elven agility and wind magic to move swiftly and maintain a wide field of vision.
“Meow~”
Lates, as always, was by her side.
“This forest is definitely my home turf.”
The arrow nocked on her bow glowed faintly green, as if blending in with the forest.
“There.”
She spotted a faint movement in the distance, too small and subtle for ordinary eyes to detect, but clearly visible to her elven sight.
“Huu~”
She inhaled briefly, her lips pursed, her hand steady as she drew the bowstring. As she released her fingers, the arrow flew.
“Keeeng-!”
“Hmm….”
She landed gracefully on the ground and walked towards her target. She had hunted a Dire Wolf.
Melina looked at the monster’s carcass, lost in thought. It wasn’t a particularly strong monster.
“I should probably head deeper into the forest. Hmm?”
As she pondered, scanning her surroundings, she spotted a new trail. It looked like a giant snake had passed through.
“Oh?”
A smile touched her lips, and she tilted her head, listening intently.
Lates, circling around her feet, also stared at the trail, a shared sense of anticipation in their eyes, like a detective and their assistant discovering a clue.
“It seems I’m destined to win this.”
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“I hope the students are all safe.”
Deep within the forest, an academy instructor continued his patrol. His mission was to ensure the students’ safety and control the population of dangerous monsters.
“Hmm?”
He stopped, noticing something unusual.
“What’s this?”
He saw a small pile of stones, artificially arranged, as if someone had marked their territory.
Whoosh—!
“Ugh?!”
A sudden pain grazed his shoulder. He turned his head and saw an arrow embedded in a nearby tree, its trajectory a near miss.
“You dare trespass on our territory…”
Figures emerged from the bushes, monsters with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of snakes. Their eyes gleamed menacingly.
“Lamias…!”
The instructor gritted his teeth. Lamias were intelligent monsters, known for their cunning and ability to understand and counter human tactics.
“Tsk.”
He drew his sword, but he instinctively knew it would be difficult to break through their encirclement.
The Lamias surrounded him, their hostile intent clear. They seemed to be planning to capture him alive. The instructor, sensing their intentions, looked for an opening.
‘If I can just reach that spot…!’
He planned his escape, bending his knees to prepare for a leap –
Boom—!!
“Aaaaagh!!”
A sudden burst of flames engulfed him. A powerful magic attack sent him tumbling to the ground, his body scorched with burns, the pain making his head spin.
“Ugh…”
Through his blurry vision, he looked in the direction the flames had come from.
A red Lamia, radiating an overwhelming presence, stood there, a sinister smile on her face, unlike any of the others.
“You dare trespass on our territory? You must not value your life.”
The red Lamia pointed a large staff at him, her smile filled with cruelty and ruthlessness.
“Your Majesty, what shall we do with him?”
One of her subordinates asked.
“Capture him. I’ll question him later.”
At the queen’s command, her subordinates moved swiftly, binding the instructor with sturdy ropes.
“Now, what shall we do?”
The Lamia Queen looked down at the instructor with a sinister smile. The instructor gritted his teeth and turned his head away.
“Your Majesty.”
Just then, another Lamia appeared. She seemed to be a scout, and she bowed her head respectfully before the queen.
“There are numerous young humans roaming the forest.”
The red Lamia’s eyes narrowed, and a faint vein pulsed on her forehead as she noticed the surprise and confusion on the instructor’s face.
“Oh, is that so? It seems the humans are openly trespassing on our territory.”
“I don’t know what they’re planning, but they need to be taught a lesson.”
A cruel smile touched her lips as she addressed her subordinates,
“Follow me. I’ll show those humans who dare set foot in our forest what awaits them.”
The Lamia Queen’s voice echoed through the forest.
Her army began to move, and an ominous, chilling aura spread through the trees.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m new to translating so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
