063

I rolled on the ground as if I were falling, sweeping the floor.

My body was stiff as if it were paralyzed.

Every time I moved, my joints ached, and an unbearable pain shot through my body as my rigid muscles were squeezed.

But all that pain was better than dying.

'Still a long way to go.'

The five Beholders were only hovering in the wide clearing in the center of the canyon, showing no intention of approaching me.

They shot a few warning spells, but that was all.

I could clearly feel their intent not to attack directly unless I crossed into their territory.

With a nature like that, they must have been able to coexist with the harpies, maintaining their boundaries.

I had shown them the powder Berlis gave me, but the Beholders, despite their large eyes, seemed unable to figure out what it was.

I had to get closer.

'But...'

If my predictions were correct, I needed to go another 50 meters forward, but at that moment, I would cross gazes with not one, but two Beholders.

Could I do it?

'No, I have to do it.'

I got up, caught my breath, and took my stance.

I focused solely on running.

The Beholder's magic was a straight line. So I had to avoid the linear trajectory and slow down.

Before a Beholder cast a spell, the air around it shimmered.

If water droplets formed, it was Ice Missile.

If the air distorted, it was Fire Missile.

And, if a dot gathered in the center of its eye, it was Mana Laser.

Since the speed of the three attacks was different, a wrong guess would mean death.

"Hmph!"

I ran forward.

I looked at the Beholder that was staring only at me from afar.

As if it had noticed me too, a humming heat appeared around it.

Fire Missile.

Its speed was the slowest among the Beholder's spells, but the heat, which seemed to burn the entire air, drew a trajectory and hindered movement.

'In a curve.'

I drew a loose curve, moving away from a straight line with the Beholder.

With a whooshing sound, an orange line was drawn in the air.

In the meantime, the area around the Beholder's eye sparkled with blue light.

'So you're going to shoot after calculating my evasive path?'

The fastest, Mana Laser.

I focused.

It was a light that would pierce through the air the moment I thought it was being fired.

Dodging in advance was useless.

The moment the light gathered in the center of its eye.

"Hah!"

I bent my legs and quickly threw my body to the side.

And almost simultaneously, with a 'pashat' sound, the Mana Laser pierced deep into the ground.

Black smoke rose from the fist-sized hole with a burnt smell.

'How much further?'

I ran a little more.

I had to dodge one more spell to close the distance.

Small water droplets began to form near the Beholder's eye.

It was Ice Missile.

If hit, that part would freeze slightly, causing frostbite.

It was as thick as a forearm, and being a javelin made of ice, its piercing power was considerable.

"Got it!"

But it took time for the Ice Missile to form.

That short amount of time was enough.

"Take this!"

I untied the string of the pouch I had brought in my arms and threw it forward.

Between me and the Beholder, the powder scattered in the air, creating a hazy smoke.

Flash—.

And in that moment, all the surrounding Beholders began to look at me.

The pupils of the Beholder that was making the Ice Missile sharpened, and the Beholders that were floating in the air started flying towards me all at once.

Their speed itself was only slightly faster than a human's walking speed, but it was a different story when the magic started humming around the eyes of five of them simultaneously.

Five living magic cannons of overwhelming power.

'Damn it!'

My response to the Ice Missile fired by the Beholder in front of me was a little late because I was looking at the other Beholders.

I quickly rolled on the ground a couple of times, but the missile must have grazed my clothes, as the fabric on my back hardened and gave off a chilling sensation.

But the urgent matter wasn't the Ice Missile.

A small dot condensed in front of the pupil of the nearest Beholder.

Mana Laser.

There was no time to dodge.

'I have to cut it!'

I unconsciously drew my sword.

A throbbing sensation, incomparable to any pain I had felt so far, tormented my arm, shoulder, eyes, and neck.

In a state where the pressure in my eyes was so high that they felt like they would burst at any moment.

'Cut.'

The mana was shot, aiming for my forehead.

Swoosh—.

And it was split in half by my sword.

Chzhzhzhzhzhk—!

It felt as if metal was scraping against the blade.

My wrist throbbed as if it had taken damage from the blade receiving strong energy.

My right arm hurt so much that I could barely move it.

The vision in one eye blurred, and blood flowed from the corner of my mouth.

But.

"...I did it."

I had cut, magic.

As if surprised by the phenomenal sight, I could feel even the Beholders hesitate, unable to react.

Using that brief gap, I immediately got up, spat out the blood that had welled up in my mouth, and ran without a second thought.

"Ugh, ah!"

As if I would fall forward, or twist my ankle and roll sideways.

I myself could feel that I was in a complete mess.

Numerous spells flew at me from behind.

I did my best to run, trying my best not to get hit by the Mana Lasers.

I recalled the map I had memorized.

The distance from here to the test site was about 20 minutes if I kept running.

My body creaked and ached, but I could endure it.

And...

"Uwaaaaaaaaah—!"

On gentle slopes with a lot of weeds, I just gave up on my body and rolled.

Walking or running properly would only be slower, and the Beholders, being floating monsters, were almost unaffected by the terrain, so I was sure to be caught.

"Hah, hah."

I shoved a fairly tough tree root into my mouth and chewed on it haphazardly.

A bitter and musty taste filled my mouth, waking me up.

Just a little, just a little further like this.

Pashak!

Just then, a Beholder's Mana Laser pierced a tree right in front of me, as if it had gotten close without me noticing.

The tree, hit in the trunk, broke and fell towards me.

If I didn't slow down...!

Thump!

Before the tree could fully fall, a man with a huge build struck the tree to one side and sent it flying.

At the same time, my body was lifted into the air.

"Ah."

It was Yeni, one of Hati's mercenaries.

"...The test is still ongoing, is it okay for you to intervene?"

Was my condition that bad?

As I was about to smile self-deprecatingly with that thought.

Yeni, who was carrying me on her shoulder, spoke in a serious voice.

"Big twouble. Our boss made a wittle mistake."

"What?"

"The Hawpy Queen showed up. We have to bwing all those Behowdews. Teachew, mewcenawies, evewyone has intewvened and is at waw with the hawpy wight now."

I felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over my head.

"Harpy, Queen? But they said there was no queen..."

"Thewe wasn't, at that time. But it was just that she wasn't thewe then. We had awfuwwy bad wuck. The wawgest of the hawpy individuaws was pewfowming a wituaw to become the Hawpy Queen."

"A ritual?"

"Monstews hunt and eat stwongew demons than themsewves to become a highew species and wetuwn. Then they get stwongew."

"And that Harpy Queen, of all days, today..."

"When she came back, hew fowces wewe shattewed. She was fuwious and chawged in duwing Cwass C's test."

"The students! What about the students?"

A monster horde becomes dozens of times stronger if there is a higher-ranking leader.

For example, an Orc Shaman or an Orc Lord.

An Orc Shaman casts frenzy on all orcs, erasing their survival instincts and making them surrender their bodies to madness alone.

An Orc Lord makes the entire orc population like a single army and a nation.

They suppress their instincts and think and act almost like humans.

"Yuwia is howding them off fow now. Boss Hati, Gwoup Weadew Wozawin awe with hew."

"What about the other mercenary groups?"

"They went ewsewhewe fow a mission today. Today it's just the boss, me, and the gwoup weadew."

"To that place!"

"Teachew, you'w not in a nowmaw state wight now. Stiww want to go?"

But it was precisely at a time like this that I had to go.

"...Behind... five Beholders. They must... follow me."

Yeni's body twisted slightly as if she was checking behind her.

"Damn, they'we weawwy Behowdews. Teachew, you'we weawwy weckwess."

Yeni's walking speed increased.

It was almost twice the speed I had been running at, stumbling and falling all over the place.

Even if I ran at full speed on flat ground, I couldn't reach this speed.

My head and limbs were shaking violently on her shoulder, making it hard to stay conscious.

But one thing, I could feel the noise of the spells hitting the trees gradually receding behind me.

No, one more thing.

— Kieeeeeeeeeek!

The venomous cries of the harpies were getting closer from afar.

"Nearby, put me down nearby."

At my words, Yeni put me down just before we completely exited the mountain path.

I barely suppressed the rising nausea and looked ahead.

— Kieeeeek!

"What are you doing! Raise your shields!"

"Are you going to let your friends next to you die just so you can live? Snap out of it!"

The flock of harpies formed a huge circle and continuously hammered at the shields.

Some of the harpies shot their feathers from the sky as if trying to shed all the feathers from their wings.

But what was scarier than anything was the harpies' coordinated attacks.

A couple of harpies would fly between the shields, grab the ends of a shield, and pull it up into the air.

Three harpies would then rush into the empty space where the shield was instantly taken from three directions.

Kwaaang!

"I told you to throw yourselves back if your shield is taken! Do you want to die?!"

Hati suddenly appeared in that gap and struck down two harpies with his mace in a single blow.

The remaining harpy seemed to have been dealt with by other returning students with their swords in the meantime.

His head was covered in the harpies' bodily fluids and blood.

For a moment, a purple glow flickered over his body and disappeared.

'Yuria.'

I hurriedly looked for Yuria.

I couldn't see her.

She must have been among those shields.

'What about the injured students?'

From here, I couldn't see the extent of the students' injuries well.

Since Yuria was still using her holy power like that, there probably weren't any major injuries.

I stood up, constantly reassuring myself.

"Take me over there."

"Awe you cwazy? Teachew, you'ww die if you go in youw cuwwent state."

"The Beholders are following me. I have to go there and make the harpies and Beholders fight each other."

"Daamn."

After saying that, Yeni picked me up again, this time holding me in front of her.

It was the so-called princess carry.

"If I cawwy you on top, you'ww get hit by the hawpy feathews and die, teachew."

"...It's better than dying."

Even in this unavoidable situation, laughter escaped my lips.

Yeni clenched her teeth as if resigned and took a deep breath.

And in that moment, the surrounding scenery exploded backward.

As if dodging the Beholder's pursuit until now was just a game, every time she kicked the ground and moved, her body shot forward as if she were flying.

"Open the shieeeeeelds!"

Almost simultaneously with her shout, one side of the shield wall opened.

And in that moment.

"Kuhk."

Yeni threw her body into the opening as if sliding.

My body, in her arms, also rolled on the ground with her.

For a moment, I felt my arms getting scraped and my body being thrown about on the ground in a mess.

A firm hand grabbed me and set me up.

It was Hati.

"Crazy, bro, did you just fight a war by yourself?"

"Teacher?!"

The students who were recovering their stamina inside rushed over to see me.

Among their faces, mixed with fear, tears, snot, and sweat, a desperate expectation lingered.

Leading them and blocking with the shields in front were the returning students like Bridget, Pan, and Eleveth.

14 and 15 years old.

Just because they were one year older, there were students who held their shields and did not back down.

"I'm here."

I said that and looked up at the sky through a gap in the shields.

There were about 20 minutes left until the Beholders arrived.

Until then, we had to evade them and retreat as safely as possible.

"Sir!"

Just then, another person broke through the shields from one side and ran in.

Rozalin.

My sword.

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