EULE 31

Chapter 31

Sasha and Stephan’s team left, and right after, Lionel’s team entered the waiting room.
Lionel was clad head-to-toe in black leather, optimized for combat. The clothes fit snugly to his body, so that every movement he made revealed the strong lines of his frame.

“Hey.”
Nathan spotted Lionel and casually slung an arm over his shoulder in greeting.
“Hi, Lionel. What turn is your team?”
“Last.”
At Lionel’s reply, Nathan gave a playful whistle and winked.
“As expected of the protagonist—your order is different too. You’ll end up taking first place in style.”
Lionel chuckled lightly at Nathan’s exaggeration.
“Well, you never know.”
“Come on. Don’t be modest. You’ve never once lost first place. Especially in battles against monsters like this.”
At Nathan’s flattery, Lionel quietly smiled again before asking,
“What about you? When’s your turn?”
“Right in the middle.”
Lionel nodded at Nathan’s answer.

At that moment, Lionel noticed Jaelyn behind Nathan. Her face had gone completely pale. After observing her briefly, Lionel asked Nathan,
“Is something wrong with Jaelyn? She doesn’t look well.”
“It’s her first time in a monster combat test. Even if it’s just holograms, I think she’s nervous about facing monsters up close.”
Nathan shrugged casually.

“Hold on.”
Passing by Nathan, Lionel sat down beside Jaelyn.

Thanks to feeling a little better than earlier, Jaelyn quickly became aware of someone sitting near her. She lifted her head, and there, almost within reach, were dazzling golden eyes.

Startled, Jaelyn barely managed a greeting.
“Uh, h-hello!”
“Nervous?”
“Y-yes. A little…”
“You’ll be fine. Remember what I told you? Holograms can’t harm you in any way.”
Jaelyn nodded.

Just then, from the hologram arena, came the sound of multiple explosions, followed by Stephan’s scream.
The students who were scheduled later weren’t allowed to watch earlier groups, for fairness, but the desperate cries echoing through the arena were enough to make anyone imagine how brutal the test must be.

Lionel gave a somewhat awkward smile in contrast to his earlier words of encouragement.
“…Good luck. I can’t take the test with you, so all I can do is say that.”
He carefully patted Jaelyn’s shoulder in reassurance.

Meanwhile, Nathan, watching the two sit together, stroked his chin and tilted his head slightly. Something about Lionel seemed… different.

Lionel was always kind to everyone, rarely showed emotions, and was impossible to read—but Nathan’s sharp instincts told him there was something unusual this time.

After all, Lionel was always warm and considerate with everyone. There was nothing strange about this situation at all.
So why…

“What is this?”
His intuition buzzed.
Like something interesting was about to happen.

Nathan tilted his head this way and that in puzzlement—until someone suddenly called his name, and his train of thought vanished.

The earlier teams had struggled badly, so quite some time passed before it was Jaelyn’s team’s turn.

Adrian clapped his palms together a few times to get Nathan and Jaelyn’s attention.
“Alright, you all remember the strategy, right? We won’t be facing any monsters directly, so just do exactly as we practiced.”
“Mm-hm.”
After confirming Jaelyn’s nod, Adrian continued without even glancing at Nathan.
“Then let’s move out.”

With Adrian in the lead, Jaelyn’s team left the waiting room.

The path they chose was known to harbor troublesome monsters, the kind ordinary students would never pick. But Jaelyn’s team had a reason: the strategy Jaelyn had devised only worked on this route.

At the entrance of the aspen forest to the southeast, they waited for the signal. Soon, permission to begin came from the control room.

Stretching lightly, Adrian announced the start of the test.
“Monster Combat Midterm, under Supervisor Professor Wallace. Team 3, leader Adrian, starting from the southeast entrance.”

At last, the mock exam against monsters began.

As soon as Jaelyn’s team stepped into the forest, shimmering rainbow-colored light rippled around them, and two holographic soldiers materialized.

Adrian immediately checked their condition and reported to Nathan and Jaelyn.
“Soldier 1: fractured left arm. Doesn’t seem to hinder movement too much. Soldier 2: laceration on right thigh. Needs bleeding stopped, and will require support to move.”

Nathan also glanced over the wounds and said,
“This isn’t the worst. One can move on his own, and the other can walk if supported. That’s good.”

Adrian agreed with a nod.
“Our biggest worry was how bad their injuries would be, but this isn’t so bad. First priority is stopping the bleeding. If the smell of blood spreads, it could draw in monsters in hordes.”

“M-monsters…!”
At the word “monsters,” Soldier 1’s face went pale, his body trembling.

Ignoring his reaction, Adrian pulled bandages from the leather bag at his waist and tossed them to Nathan.
“Nathan, you take Soldier 1. I’ll handle Soldier 2. Jaelyn, help me.”
“Y-yes!”

While Nathan bound Soldier 1’s broken arm to his body, Jaelyn supported Soldier 2 and sat him on a flat rock.

Adrian drew a small dagger from his belt and swiftly cut away the fabric around the wound.
The metallic smell of blood was disturbingly real.

The soldier’s heavy weight against her shoulder, the rough texture of the fabric beneath her hands—Jaelyn knew it was a hologram, yet it felt so real she almost believed he was alive.

The laceration on Soldier 2’s leg was wide, but not very deep. Adrian cut away the bloodied cloth, sprinkled coagulant powder over the wound, and the soldier groaned in pain. Once the bleeding slowed, Adrian pressed a large gauze over it and bound it tightly with bandages.

His hands moved with practiced skill, wrapping the bandages neatly—strangely delicate work for someone with such large hands and a brash personality.

“Adrian, how… how are you so good at bandaging?”
Adrian replied matter-of-factly.
“Blademasters get injured all the time. Everyone learns basic treatment like this.”
“I-I see.”

When the bandaging was done, Adrian asked the soldier,
“How is it? Can you walk?”
The soldier silently stood, limping forward. Adrian tucked away the leftover bandages and coagulant.
“Running through the arena is out of the question.”

Nathan, too, finished treating Soldier 1.

With that, Jaelyn’s team began crossing the aspen forest toward the Black Peak cliffs. Adrian supported the injured Soldier 2 as they walked.

They had hoped to move faster, but the dense forest terrain slowed them down. Thankfully, there were no monster habitats in this southeastern route, so they didn’t need to rush in panic.

After a long trek, they finally reached their destination.

The thick forest gave way to the sheer vertical cliffs of Black Peak, with a barren desert of sand stretching beyond.

Stopping just before leaving the woods, Adrian turned to the others.
“Let’s begin here.”

At his words, Jaelyn pulled from her bag the magic diagrams she had prepared in advance.

High above, atop the cliffs, Jaelyn spotted the nesting grounds of flying monsters—Kellasteins. Dozens of red-bodied creatures dotted the black cliffs.

It wasn’t so bad. Scouting the monsters earlier with Lionel had proven useful.

While Jaelyn scanned the cliff tops, Adrian and Nathan focused their mana, forming huge orbs of power. Their spheres spun fiercely, glowing crimson and teal.

Kellasteins were flying monsters, requiring at least two or three skilled mages and swordsmen to deal with even one. With just five people—two of them injured—facing an entire flock head-on would be suicide.

That was why Jaelyn’s team had no intention of fighting. Instead, their plan was to blind and deafen the monsters, then cross the desert without combat.

After all, the objective of this exam wasn’t to slay monsters. It was to escort the wounded through the arena as quickly as possible.

When the mana orbs reached full power, Adrian and Nathan launched them.

The two glowing spheres raced across the desert, side by side, spinning faster and faster. The gap between them closed until—

They collided.