Book 1 Chapter 99

【99】98.

"Haaap!"

Chelsea moved quickly, unleashing a barrage of magic.

"Fast."

Haul of Class 1 deflected the swirling wind magic with his spear, his brow furrowed.

Seeing this, Iliana raised both arms and hopped.

"As expected of Chelsea! Small but strong!"

"Who are you calling small!"

"Why aren't you helping! Raden!"

Chelsea and Haul shouted at Iliana simultaneously.

Iliana flinched, retracting her neck.

"Wind Chain!"

Chelsea created a chain of wind and shot it out.

Haul then lightly stepped with an aura step, evading Chelsea's attack.

'As expected of someone aiming to be a Battle Mage. They're no joke. To be able to cast magic while moving at this speed…'

Haul had already eliminated five magic students, but Chelsea was on a different level from the previous ones.

'And even if they close the distance, they're used to close combat.'

Unlike the other magic students, Chelsea didn't fall even when approached.

Meanwhile, Chelsea found Haul just as burdensome.

'They move like a snake, making it incredibly annoying to approach!'

While Haul's Poison Aura was a bane to other mages, Chelsea, whose specialty was wind magic, had a type advantage.

She blew away the poison with the wind.

However, despite the disadvantage in types, Haul closed the distance while evading Chelsea's magic.

'I'm faster.'

As Haul was ranked just below the top three of the Knight Department, the match showed no signs of ending.

"You two, fight on!"

"Then stop watching and help! Raden!"

"How long are you going to stand back! Hurry and join us! Iliana!"

As Haul and Chelsea shouted simultaneously, Iliana scratched her cheek.

"Even if you say that, it's too ambiguous to attack you two?"

"What's ambiguous! You're in the Magic Department!"

"What are you talking about! You're in the Knight Department!"

"No. I haven't chosen either yet."

Leo wasn't the only student who hadn't chosen a department.

Precisely, among the dual-class students, there were a few who were ambiguous about their department.

Iliana was one of them.

During the preparation training for the department war, she focused more on Knight Department classes, as the Magic Department training emphasized mobility.

As a Sword Mage, mobility was already secured.

Therefore, she trained with Knight Department students throughout the preparation period for the department war.

"Then help me! Haul is in Class 1!"

"Sorry, Chelsea. Haul taught me a lot during Knight Department classes, even though he grumbled about it. So it's a bit difficult to attack him harshly just because he's in Class 1."

Haul had helped Iliana, a skilled individual, to solidify her place in the Knight Department before the department war.

Chelsea pressed her temples and said.

"If you're not going to help either side, go somewhere else. Don't just linger around and be a nuisance."

"I agree with Chelsea Lewalin."

Haul sighed and said, and Iliana laughed playfully.

"No, but. If you two keep fighting, eventually one will win and the victor will be tired, right? Then I'll take down one of you! Heh! Isn't that a good strategy?"

Chelsea and Haul's faces turned cold simultaneously.

"It's a joke! Just a joke! Later, when one of you gets tired, I'll help you…"

"So, you're going to backstab us?"

"A wicked strategy."

"Huh? Huh? I said it was a joke."

"Chelsea Lewalin. I propose we deal with Raden first."

"Our minds are aligned. I was thinking the same thing."

"Ah! I swear it was a joke!"

Iliana screamed.

Fwoosh! Bang-!

Something fell from the sky behind Iliana.

Grrrroooooowwwwl!

It was an異形 (I-hyeong), a monstrous creature with a colossal body, likely three meters tall.

Its thick hands, which looked capable of crushing a human body with a mere brush, wielded a fearsome battle axe.

Hiss- hiss-

It let out a powerful snort from its nostrils.

A monster with a bull's head.

"Minotaur?!"

"Why is a magic beast here!"

Chelsea and Haul were astonished.

Grrrroooooowwwwl!

The Minotaur swung its axe down towards Iliana.

Kuaaang-!

***

"As expected, you are here. Vice Minister Ji."

"It has been a while. This is the first time since the entrance exam, Lord Roses."

The people around Ji hurriedly stood up.

Seeing them, Roses raised his hand.

"Every day, we hear news of your nephew from the imperial court. Indeed, the Emperor himself is impressed with Zerdinger."

As Roses Lewalin said with a smile, Ji also smiled.

"Didn't Abad and Chelsea also take first and second place in the Magic Department in the midterm exams? I believe His Majesty will be even happier about that."

The attention of those around naturally shifted to the influential figures of the Zerdinger and Lewalin families, who supported Lorden, the strongest nation in the western continent.

At that moment, the entire audience watching the department war began to murmur.

"Is that… a magic beast?"

"Why did a magic beast appear in the department war?"

"Was Neigran a magic beast outbreak area?"

As the spectators wore puzzled expressions.

The professors also noticed the anomaly.

"Why did a magic beast suddenly appear?"

Sedjen's eyes widened.

Halind stood up and quickly headed to the control room where the department war was being conducted.

"What's going on?"

"P-Professor Halind! This is a disaster! We can't get in touch with the control room in Neigran!"

"What?"

Halind's face hardened.

"Immediately halt the department war and recall the students."

"Yes? What do you mean…"

The processing agents looked bewildered at Halind's sudden command.

"Are you saying you'll leave the students in a dangerous area without any control!?"

"But Professor Halind, if we do that, from above…"

"I'll take responsibility! Stop arguing and recall the students!"

"Yes, yes!"

Startled by Halind's fierce demeanor, the processing agents activated teleportation.

"N-No! Teleportation isn't activating!"

At the urgent cry of the processing agent, Halind's eyes widened.

"What's happening! Halind."

"It's an emergency. All connection with Neigran has been severed!"

"What?"

Sedjen's face turned pale.

Several hours had passed since the department war began, but there were still a hundred students remaining in Neigran.

"You take command here. I'll go to the principal."

"Understood."

Halind left the control room and looked at the magic broadcast screen, his face contorting.

'What in the world is happening!'

***

The students who survived the department war also began to notice the anomaly one by one.

"Haaap!"

"Kkkh!"

A Knight Department student was roughly pushing a Magic Department student.

"It was tough moving so fast! But this is it! Don't resent me for eliminating you! I'll treat you later!"

The two students from the same class were close friends.

So they had promised not to resent each other even if they had to fight in the department war.

The Knight Department student, creating an opening, grinned and thrust his sword towards the abdomen.

The magic bracelets provided to the students immediately activated teleportation magic the moment they detected the wearer's danger.

It was magic granted to protect the students' safety.

Therefore, even if the abdomen was actually attacked, there wouldn't be serious injuries.

Thwack!

"Kkhk?"

"Uh…"

And then, the situation that unfolded caused both the Knight Department student and the Magic Department student to widen their eyes.

"W-What… Kkheok?"

Seeing his friend spitting up blood, the Knight Department student's hands trembled.

"W-What is this! Snap out of it! Snap out of it!"

Clutching his friend with a pale face, he shouted in tears.

"Hello! Is anyone there! Help me! My friend is hurt!"

Meanwhile, outside the city walls, monsters from the surrounding area suddenly began to gather towards the fortress.

The students defending the city gate looked surprised.

"What the heck! What's happening?"

A Summoning Department student looked surprised at the situation outside.

While the departments were engaged in fierce battles, a large number of monsters suddenly attacked.

As a result, the area in front of the city gate descended into chaos.

"Monsters?"

"W-Wait, there are too many!"

A large number of monsters.

Normally, they would have joined forces, but due to the ongoing department war, they couldn't combine their strength.

"Lucky us!"

A Summoning Department student rejoiced.

The monsters' attack came at a opportune moment while they were struggling to hold off the Knight and Magic Department students.

From the perspective of those defending the city gate, it was a very advantageous situation.

Just then, Warden, sitting on top of the city wall, narrowed his eyes.

He had never participated in combat before.

He simply sat and watched the department war, as if waiting for someone.

He had ignored the requests for help from his fellow Summoning Department students.

Suddenly, Warden stood up from his seat.

"What? Are you finally going to help too?"

The Summoning Department student who was directing them scoffed, as if asking if he was finally going to act.

But Warden just stared at the horde of monsters.

'That's strange. The monsters are acting collectively all of a sudden?'

Warden, a summoner, felt something unusual in the monsters' movements.

'They're being controlled by something.'

Thinking that far, Warden looked up.

In the high sky above the fortress, Warden spotted a black dragon he had seen during the midterm exams and summoned his spiritual power.

"Huh? Warden?"

Goooooo-!

A red light enveloped Warden's entire body.

Fwoosh! Kuaaagagagagag!

A large explosion occurred in the middle of the monsters attacking the Knight and Magic Departments.

"W-What?"

"Warden? Why is he helping us?"

During the department war, a student from another department.

And Warden, who had a bad relationship even with students from his own department, was helping them, so the other students looked bewildered.

"Open the city gate."

"What? What nonsense are you spouting? And why are you suddenly helping them!"

"Stop babbling and just open the city gate. It's not time for the department war now."

"What kind of nonsense is this out of nowhere! And why should we obey your orders… Kkkh!"

Warden grabbed the neck of the directing student with his hand.

"No time for explanations. Fall."

"Kkkh-!"

The student whose neck was being choked rolled his eyes back and fainted.

Amidst the shock of the surrounding students, Warden said in a cold voice.

"From now on, I will command. Open the city gate."

Warden said, pushing the fainted student aside.

"From now on, our enemies are the magic beasts and monsters. If there are those fighting amongst departments, we'll deal with them first, so be aware of that."

"A-Alright!"

"I'll pass the word on to the students from other departments too!"

"And you."

"Eek? W-Why are you calling me?"

A female student trembled in fear at Warden's call.

"You've contracted with a wind beast, haven't you?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Then go tell the people at the other city gates."

Warden looked up at the sky and summoned his spiritual power.

Fafnir began to descend at terrifying speed.

"An unusual situation has occurred, so halt the department war."