The Exam [5]

Chapter 30: It's fine if we lose

Ryan looked down, seeing in energy made him conscious of the long lines of black mana extending below the ground he stood on like tree routes fiercely supplementing the charging skeletons like a wireless charger to an advanced smartphone. It was the connection between the necromancer and his army for sure as it extended outward far beyond what the eye could see... However, unlike when he first saw it, these lines slowed significantly the moment the makeshift walls fell.

He raised his head, staring briefly at Astin, who was showing an appropriate level of struggle amidst the chaos. Ryan turned his head and focused on his senses; now that he wasn't looking directly at him, Astin casually killed a few hundred skeletons trying to cling to his feet. 

The great demon king must have given his classmate a chance to run away after their pitiful plan crumbled in less then thirty minute and soon, very soon, directly after Jacob's shout was heard and the mana canons were reloaded, Astin mercilessly retracted his power and the slowed skeletons attacked even more angrily then before.

Slash--

Ryan evaded the skinless arm of a furious skeleton trying to eat him from a while ago.

BOOM—

"MAGES, CHANGE SHIFTS."

Clank–

"Lina, you heal the wounded."

Clash-

Shouts and screams boomed through the battlefront.

'It's only been less than an hour, and we're already losing ground,' Ryan thought. If not for Astin's interference, they would have died in an instance. One could only be grateful to the whimsical thoughts of a protagonist.

'Maybe this is why he was popular even with that careless personality of his.'

Damion, Ash, Lisa, Amanda, Kevin, Steve, and Astin were the only ones still fighting, and half that battle was single handedly being treated as Astin's playground otherwise, they would have lost a while ago.

No matter how many skeletons fell, more would be coming.

"If not for Astin, our pitiful second-line defense would have collapsed." Ryan wiped away the sweat off his forehead.

'I've got an iffy feeling about this, a feeling that we must win at all costs.' Ryan thought, firing explosions continuously his blond hair became drenched entirely in sweat.

"And if I've learned something from my sister's continuous ramblings about fantasy, it's that those who don't trust their gut feeling end up badly."

"I might end up using my other powers," Ryan panted hard, talking to himself. "Well, I'd rather not."

Thud–

He sent a fireball toward a skeleton, attempting to pass him and reach the castle. He was already using three powers at once, and using more would only cost his health badly. Even if energy vision didn't use much radiation, it indeed put a strain on his eyes and head in severe radiation exhaustion. He had learned the consequences the hard way while experimenting with his powers.

"Haha," Ryan panted, feeling exhaustion starting to set in, a warm feeling in his throat starting to rise to the tip of his tongue as he tasted the salty flavor of blood. He swallowed hard.

"CANNONS ARE READY." A yell sounded from the top of the castle walls.

"We have a problem," a mage student came running toward Jacob. "The enemy forces are scattered from the earlier bombardment. If we fire now, it would be a waste of ammunition."

"How much is left?" Jacob asked resisting the urge to chew on his nail.

"Less than five thousand soldiers," the NPC scout reported.

"Don't fire," Jacob sighed. "Keep monitoring the enemy formation. The moment they gather together, we'll strike again."

Ryan looked back at the disordered army formation and frowned. "This is bad. They shouldn't have been separated. It's as if they've gotten smarter."

The skeletons were advancing toward the castle in a radius that this small group couldn't cover.

Flash---

"Amanda," Ryan stretched his hand and caught Amanda, who was moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

"Hmph," Amanda pouted at being so easily pulled out of her top speed.

"Go get Tracy for me." 

"Okay~" She disappeared and reappeared beside Tracy on top of the castle wall within seconds, then reappeared again, this time holding Tracy like a bag of rice.

"Here is your girlfriend."

"..." Tracy was speechless, she was just about to switch places with Jacob.

"... Can you also go and get Astin and Damion back?"

"Roger that." Amanda disappeared once more.

"Tracy," Ryan called out.

"Ah? Yes."

"Can you use your vines to gather that army?"

Tracy thought for a moment and nodded. "Let me try."

"Growing in full bloom, under the blood moon," Tracy chanted a spell concentrating the mana she managed to save, the green mana wrapping around her body as she chanted word by word. "Carrion flower."

Crackle--

A violent earthquake struck as the ground shook, and a five-meter-long corpse flower emerged from the ground.

The rotting smell of human corpses and blood sent the skeletons into a frenzy as they dashed toward the flower.

The astonishing scent left people momentarily stunned.

"Blah." Someone even threw up because of the smell.

"..." Tracy felt annoyed at the sight of people looking at her side with repulse and disgust.

"Thank you, Tracy," Ryan said, his lips curved upward into a happy smile.

"..." Tracy felt a little better. She wouldn't be so petty and would spare someone's life.

"Aim the cannon at the flower," Jacob immediately shouted, bringing everyone back to their senses.

"..." Tracy was annoyed again.

"READY."

"FIRE."

Boom.

The three rays of pure condensed mana were fired at the same time from three different cannons, ripping through the atmosphere and combining into one huge ball falling into the middle of the skeleton army.

BOOM---

The skeleton army was instantly reduced by half, giving the rest of the students time to breathe.

"Yeah." The mages felt like dying as they sat down on the ground, unable to move.

"How much is left in there?"

"About two thousand," the NPC shouted.

"Hooray!"

"Haha, we're almost there."

"We can win."

"They're not moving, the skeletons."

"We did it! We did it!"

"Did we win? Already?" Someone said hesitantly, not convinced by what he just heard.

Bang— Bang— Bang— 

An ominous sound of drums beating rang loudly in the silent battlefield.

"AAAAAARRRRRRGGGG--"

An evil cry echoed across the battlefield.

As the remaining skeletons that had stopped moving all at once fell over, their lights dimmed, cores disappeared, and their bones turned into dust. The black mana that was serving as a point of connection between the arm and the necromancer also faded away in an instance.

The five gigantic skeletons surrounding the necromancer also began to collapse.

"Gulp... What, what the hell is going on right now?"

No one could muster the effort to say a word. Dust slowly gathered around a huge mana core that appeared from thin air.

AAAARRRGGG—

A huge sky-towering skeleton formed from white bones, and on top of it, covered in black cloth, sat the necromancer.

"U.. Waah?"

"W... wh... what the hell is that?!"

Kevin fell to the ground.

Not only Kevin, but everyone was struggling to stand up.

Ryan, Damion, and Ash were struggling to stay standing, barely able to breathe. Only Astin remained unfazed.

"Ahn... How are we supposed to win against that thing?"

"How do we even kill such a monster in the first place?"

"We're not gonna fail if we lose to that, right?"

"It's fine if we lose." 

"I guess so."

"Hahahaha." Cold water was poured into the previously delightful atmosphere.

The hope that the students held onto earlier vanished without a trace.

"That's at least an A+ rank, right?"

"This must be an error in the system, right?"

The monster started to move. It moved only three times, and with every step, the ground shook.

It stretched its hand, and the momentum created a strong wind that swept the entire battlefield backward. Soon enough, its hand clenched the front wall of the castle, looking at the trembling mages.

The ordinary human NPCs died in an instant.

The wounded students were rendered unconscious.

"Reload... reload the cannons," Jacob screamed without a sound. "Ah."

"We need to reload the cannons."

"Why are you even trying?" A deep, slow male voice resounded in Jacob's ears. Blood fell from the cracks between his teeth, and his eyes cried tears of blood as he fainted.

"JAC..."

"HEEEY!" a shout was heard. "You crooked-nosed knave."

Whistle---

"Hey, I'm talking about you, you poor, dirty, and unruly little necromancer piece of loggerhead."

"I bet if I picked up a pig from a dumpster, it would be cleaner than you."

"You yaldson." It was surprising, the person who screamed at the top of his lungs, in an awkward manner as if not used to cursing out loud. Contrary to his noble upbringing, his voice reverberating in the field as if he wanted the sky to hear his desperate cries. "Over here! Look! Look at me!"

The person who stood behind the monster and screamed was the same NPC Sergeant from before.

"HEY... you asshole..."

The skeleton that was about to wreck the castle stopped and looked back.

"Damn you, wretched skeleton! I am Harry di Louis Angus, son of nobility, the young duke of the great empire Angustan."

Holding his sword, the heir to the duchy said, "Don't you dare look down on me, you lowlife."

If there is something the necromancer couldn't stand, it's the nobles.

Boom--!

The skeleton's hand shot like an arrow toward the noble who called it dirty.

Clank--

"I said don't you look down on me."

Crash.

Jumping over the monster's hand, the NPC Harry ran over its bones toward the top where the master stood, avoiding the other hand's multiple attempts to shake him off.

Ryan stood up and headed toward the castle. Astin grabbed him by the arm and said, "Where are you going?"

"To see... Jacob."

"He's going to be alright," Astin said, his tone dangerous.

"..." Suddenly, what's wrong with you? Ryan wondered but didn't ask out loud, "His... his go...going...to... to die... Ah."

"..." Ryan was at a loss as he thought to himself, 'Did my stuttering just relapse?'

Astin's deep mana, blacker than his vision, seeped through his eyes, looking at Ryan silently.

"He won't. This is just a virtual reality; he won't die."

'NO, it was only for a few seconds, but I'm sure Jacob's heartbeats have stopped.'

"All our... classmates are... there in... the castle... even if... no... one dies... it still... hurts."

BOOM--

"You're lying." Astin's hold on him loosened. "Your power said it all; it's screaming, it's hurt."

Boooom--

"You said that in the training session against Eddie; you also avoided me, aware of the fact that I didn't like you," Astin recalled.

Clank–

Sparkle–

"I...I" Ryan felt speechless. It wasn't the time to have a leisurely conversation. Unexpectedly the young noble was holding well, maybe because Astin was slowing the skeleton significantly with mana interference.

"You can see people's powers, can you?" Astin said in an affirmative tone.

'... How perceptive.' Ryan calmed the sense of urgency and nodded slowly. There was no point in lying since Astin wasn't asking for denial.

"Not only that, but you can also make them your own."

"How did...Kn" Ryan didn't even want to ask out loud, he may get a terrifying answer.

'...Nevermind. Though weaker than energy vision, Astin had gained a little of energy perception through his years of experimenting with awakeners, so he must have noticed the different energies in my body.'

The man that spawn from a world with only mana must have been deeply interested in radiation.

"I don't like weaklings, but I was wrong; you have the potential to grow even stronger than anyone else in this academy." Astin black obsidian eyes darted toward the ground.

Thud–

The NPC Harry fell from the sky, his body turning into meat paste.

"I've always liked humans; they're such fascinating creatures," Astin mused as he watched the blood draining out of the NPC's body. "Even the weakest of them can make strong people like you into heroes, tying them to the responsibility of their own lives and blaming you for not protecting them whenever something goes wrong."

"I wonder if I killed everyone here, how long it would take you to get strong enough to take revenge," Astin said with interest.

"..."

"I Don't... Work. Well. Under. Pressure." Ryan said.

"Hmm?" Astin raised an eyebrow.

"If you...killed my... friends, I... might as... well go... depressed... and... commit... suicide."

"...Ah???"

On the battlefield, only Ryan and Astin still stood, looking at each other.

BOOM--

The skeleton's foot was getting closer and closer.

"You're strong enough... to destroy... that thing... in the blink of... an eye." Ryan pointed at the skeleton inhaling a deep breath between each two words.

"You're right." Astin's mouth raised into a faint smile. "But why should I do that?"

"If anyone... dies here... they'll... die in the real... world," Ryan said, the indications in his words obvious.

"Haha, I think in that case, I need to be patient and wait for you to grow on your own." Astin laughed lightly, the amusement in his voice rising, and with a flick of his fingers, the virtual world shattered as Ryan's vision turned white.