Book 1 Chapter 11
[11]10
Geullibeon was confident that he would pass the test.
This was because he had survived without being eliminated so far.
Moreover, he had a reliable party around him.
The reason he hadn't been eliminated until then was simple.
The group of examinees he met first were trying to cooperate to defeat monsters.
From then on, he formed a party and stuck with this party.
The party's skills were excellent.
They could easily deal with trolls.
In a previous battle, a fireball thrown by Geullibeon had killed a troll.
'As expected, I have skills.'
He praised himself.
But his luck ended there.
"Kkkkkkkkkkkkkk!"
Geullibeon screamed.
The student who was the leader of the party, while his arm was being bitten, frantically broke the orb and escaped to the hero's world.
Kkieeeeeeek!
A giant monster let out a piercing shriek.
It was a monster he had never seen before.
A monster that looked like a giant spider.
Except for its front legs, all ten of its legs were bent grotesquely.
The body part that spewed silk was grotesquely crushed, and its head was half torn off.
Although it looked like a half-dead creature, the horrifying being maintained its life.
Kkieek! Kkieeeek!
"F, Fireball!"
Geullibeon frantically cast a spell.
Hwa-reureureuk! Pung-!
A fireball directly hit the spider's face.
"Hahaha! H, How is it! My fireball taste!"
Geullibeon clenched his fist.
But as the smoke from the fireball cleared.
When the spider appeared, having suffered no damage, Geullibeon's face turned pale.
Kkieeeeeeek!
"U, Ughhhhhhh!"
As the enraged spider charged, Geullibeon screamed and ran away.
Knight students grasped their weapons to stop the spider.
Peok-! Kwaduk!
"Keok!"
But they were thrown around by the spider's strength.
The spider was a monster that they could not possibly handle.
"H, How do we defeat something like this!"
A student screamed in a desperate tone.
Geullibeon took out a blue orb from his pocket with trembling hands.
'I, I have to escape! H, But if someone defeats that, I might be able to pass the test!'
Without any intention of defeating the spider himself, Geullibeon wavered, hoping someone else would defeat it for him.
It was then.
"Wind Fang."
Ppeobeok-!
Kkiaaaak!
Fangs of wind fell from the sky, piercing the spider's back, and purplish-black blood splattered.
Chiiiiik-!
The wound healed instantly.
"…A monster."
Abad, floating in the air with Fly magic, scowled.
Hwa-reureureuk-!
This time, flames fell.
The flames soon gathered into a single point.
Celia, who had gathered the aura of flames onto her rapier, flashed her eyes and thrust her rapier.
Kwagak!
Kkiah!
The spider, its head pierced, shrieked and swung its forelegs.
Celia frantically dodged out of range and landed on the ground.
"Tsk! This heals too?"
Celia and Abad, who had rushed over as soon as they heard the screams, immediately attacked the spider.
However, even after being hit directly by magic and aura, the spider recovered without any problems.
"It's a new type of monster."
"It might be a creature from Tartarus."
As Abad muttered, Celia gripped her Flame Storm tighter.
"And it seems to be the task for this test."
"Hmm? Indeed. Was that the key to conquering this world?"
The corners of Abad's mouth curved.
He, holding his staff, began to chant runes.
The magic of wind swirled around him.
Seeing him, Celia flinched and ignited her aura.
'I knew I'd be beaten to the punch.'
If defeating the giant spider was the test's objective, she had to defeat it before Abad to become the valedictorian.
If it had been cooperation until now, it had now returned to competition.
Hwa-reureureuk!
Celia's red eyes glinted.
Along with them, the tip of the Flame Storm gathered the aura of flames.
Pulling her left arm holding the sword back, Celia assumed a stabbing posture.
Kwagak-!
Both feet dug into the ground.
'Prominence!'
The strongest attack Celia could unleash.
A thrust that concentrated the aura into a single point!
Puhwak-!
A blade of crimson flame shot out.
Kkiah?
The flame pierced the half-torn head and penetrated the spider, coming out through its rear.
"Good! No matter how good its recovery is, this much…"
Kung-! Kung-!
Kkieeeeeeek!
"Unbelievable!"
The giant spider, which had regained its footing, let out a piercing scream.
"A magnificent attack, but…"
Abad, floating in the air, gave a lecherous smile.
"There is a clear difference in destructive power between knights and mages."
Abad spread his hands and completed his spell.
"Raphael."
A secret magic of the Lewalin family.
A gust of wind enveloped the spider.
"Ughhhhhhhhh?"
"I- Is this a mage's spell for someone our age?"
The examinees caught in the gust of wind let out gasps of astonishment.
'End.'
Abad said with a meaningful expression.
But.
"No?"
As the magic dissipated, the giant spider revealed itself.
It was torn to shreds by the gust of wind.
However, the giant spider's body quickly recovered.
Abad's attack, which could be said to be the strongest attack among this year's examinees, was ineffective.
A look of dismay appeared on Celia's face.
'How are we supposed to defeat something like this?'
***
"As expected of talents boasting of Zerdinger and Lewalin! Such destructive power at that age!"
The aide exclaimed in admiration.
'They chose competition over cooperation.'
Albi smirked as he watched the two.
The desire to be the best is not bad.
Celia and Abad have the skills for it.
'But can they really defeat that monster on their own?'
A monster that recovers infinitely can only be defeated by a decisive blow.
Among the examinees, only Celia and Abad can launch an effective attack against that monster.
However, even with their current strength, it's not enough.
'If you are truly worthy of being heroes, overcome that trial.'
***
'As expected.'
Leo's eyes sparkled as he followed Celia and Abad.
'It's the spider princess, Talatunia.'
He had guessed it when he saw the trolls' corpses.
It was too similar to the way this monster ate.
A monster that ruled the cursed monster forest as the daughter of the demon queen Silatuna.
Originally, it was a terrible disaster that could destroy nations on its own.
However, it was not in its complete state now.
Its body was crushed, barely maintaining its original form.
Its head, which had exuded terrifying magic, was half torn off.
Compared to its prime, it had been reduced to a pathetic monster.
'As expected, what was imbued in Albi's left eye was the power of the Fairy King.'
Fairies.
High-ranking spirit beasts that have been with elves since the distant past.
Fairies, palm-sized with transparent wings, are beings possessing immense magical power.
Since only elves were contractors of fairies, they are very rare in the human world.
Talatunia ate the right hand of the Fairy King 5,000 years ago.
Luna did not forgive Talatunia, who had ruined her homeland and eaten the hand of her contracted partner.
The spider princess, who could destroy nations alone, was killed by the [Nebula Progenitor].
Yet, thousands of years later.
Talatunia was alive.
The reason was simple.
'It's in its stomach.'
The Ring of Life, a symbol of the Fairy King.
The ring that grants infinite life force was eaten by Talatunia along with the Fairy King's hand.
Leo gripped his sword tighter.
He assumed a throwing posture and threw it.
Swaaaaeaeaeaeak! Peok!
Kiaah!
Talatunia screamed at Leo's sword piercing its head.
And then, standing next to Celia, he said,
"Looks like you're having a hard time?"
"You step back, Leo. You can't handle a target that can't use aura."
Blades of wind, driven by the sky, covered Talatunia.
Talatunia, writhing in pain, glared at the sky and jumped with a roar.
Thanks to its immense leaping power, it reached Abad in an instant.
"Wind Break!"
Chelsea, who had followed frantically, activated the magic she had cast.
Kwaga-gagag-!
A swirling blade of wind covered Talatunia.
Talatunia, having failed to attack Abad due to Chelsea's interference, plummeted to the ground.
Kuung-!
The ground shook as Talatunia fell to the ground.
"Brother, are you alright?"
"Thank you, Chelsea."
Abad, smiling at his sister, descended to the ground.
He had judged it dangerous to stay in the air.
Other examinees who followed surrounded Talatunia.
"How do we defeat this monster?"
Abad muttered in a serious voice, and Leo asked,
"It keeps healing its wounds?"
"Yes. Even the strongest magic I can use was ineffective."
"My attack was the same."
Celia sighed.
"So, right? Then it's simple."
"What?"
"If we can't defeat it, we have to work together. It's a simple story, isn't it?"
"Leo, this butter and I are in a rivalry."
"Why is my brother butter!"
Chelsea, who was next to him, retorted.
"For once, I agree with Celia. Whoever defeats this monster first will take the valedictorian spot."
Leo, after hearing Celia and Abad's words, looked at them with a look of pity.
"What if you can't defeat it?"
"What?"
"What if this monster revives infinitely? And your aura and magic run out first?"
Leo said coldly as he looked at Talatunia, who had begun to show killing intent.
"If the test's objective is to conquer the hero's world, we are all eliminated the moment we fail to defeat it."
"That's absurd! If you, Celia Zerdinger, and my brother can't defeat it, there's no one our age who can defeat this monster. The test is flawed."
Chelsea pouted and argued.
However, Celia and Abad could not refute Leo's words.
It was indeed absurd to be eliminated for failing to defeat the monster.
But the world is naturally absurd.
"Even if we combine our strengths, it will take time to complete an attack that can kill that monster in one go."
Even under the concentrated attacks of thirty examinees, Talatunia showed no damage.
Rather, the examinees were being pushed back.
It was clear they would collapse without holding on for long.
Watching this, Celia said in a serious voice,
"During that time, who will stop this monster?"
Abad glanced at his sister Chelsea.
'Chelsea is also insufficient.'
If things go wrong, they could lose their lives.
The hero's world is a virtual world.
But death here directly leads to real death in reality.
Seeing the two with serious expressions, Leo chuckled.
"I'll stop it."
"What?"
"I can hold it off for about 5 minutes."
"That's suicide! You can't even use aura!"
"That's why 5 minutes is the limit."
Leo turned his body.
"So, you two gather as much strength as you can for 5 minutes."
"What if the attack gathered for 5 minutes fails?"
Abad asked coldly.
Hearing that, Leo chuckled.
"Then we all fail. But I don't think we'll fail to defeat it."
"Why?"
"Fire and wind have been friends for a very long time. Because they have good compatibility."
Leo, speaking casually, walked towards Talatunia.
Watching him, Celia said,
"Get ready, Abad."
"Hoo- I never thought we'd end up working together like this."
Abad, chuckling, generated magic.
***
Tuk- tuk-
"Ugh."
"Are you alright?"
"Barely! But how do we… with that monster…"
"I'll try to stop it for 5 minutes first."
"What?"
The knight student who had fallen down was surprised and looked up at Leo.
"I'll borrow this for a sec."
Leo picked up the polearm the student was using.
He felt a weighty difference from a sword.
Jeobeok- Jeobeok-!
Kieeeek-!
Talatunia, with only primal hostility left, let out a low roar at Leo.
"It reminds me of old times."
Leo smiled coldly.
"It's been a while since I'll smash that ugly mug, you worm."
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