Arc 1 Chapter 38 : Desert Monster

[Raul's PoV]

Last night, I couldn't sleep comfortably. I had to sleep in a cave located on a rocky cliff not far from where Valeria and I had parted ways.

Speaking of Valeria, right now she is running from three giant desert lizards chasing her. It seems that the green-haired girl left behind the gear she was carrying so she could run faster.

I've been watching her being chased by those lizards for almost an hour now while enjoying my breakfast from atop these rocks.

Valeria hasn't used her magic to defeat the lizards. My guess is that last night, a Pinktail scorpion stung her, rendering her unable to use her magic.

I purposely didn't rush to save her when I saw her being chased by monsters. I want her to learn a lesson: always stay vigilant when in the wild.

Yesterday afternoon, I warned her to scan the resting area to ensure no monsters could harm her while she slept.

But of course, it's normal for her to let her guard down when her body is exhausted. Humans tend to lose focus on their surroundings when their bodies are tired and desperately need rest.

Sometimes, I also do that after coming home from work. Once, I was so eager to sleep that I forgot to lock the door, and a thief easily broke into my home in my previous life.

"Well... looks like it's time to save her."

Valeria's face had turned red, her breathing was irregular, and her steps were growing sluggish.

Activating my Acceleration magic, I darted forward quickly and unsheathed my sword.

Kreyaa...!

One of the desert lizards leaped to pounce on Valeria from behind.

"Leaping Slash!"

One of the lizard's heads was severed and dropped to the ground. Fresh blood splattered onto my academy shoes.

Kreya...!

The two remaining lizards lunged at me.

With swift movements, I dodged and stabbed one of the lizards in the neck, then lifted my sword, splitting its head in two.

Seeing its companions die so easily, the last lizard quickly fled, leaving us behind.

"Are you okay?" I asked while sheathing my sword.

Valeria didn't answer my question. She sat down, hugging her knees, not wanting to show her face to me.

Is she embarrassed because I saw her in such a pathetic state?

My guess seemed right when I heard her crying.

"This is all your fault…"

I heard her mutter that.

Well… Honestly, if I had stayed with her last night, this wouldn't have happened. But I can't always be there for her. Valeria has to start learning from her mistakes before the real disaster strikes.

It's like a parent who doesn't want to see their child struggle in life but knows they have to teach them how hard life is for their future.

I sat down next to her without saying a word.

One thing I've learned about women when they cry is to sit by their side and wait for them to calm down. Talking to her now would only make things worse.

Not long after, her sobbing stopped. But Valeria still didn't want to show me her face.

"Are you calm now? Let's continue our journey," I said, crouching in front of her. "Get on my back. I'll carry you until your stamina recovers after being chased by those lizards."

Shortly after I said that, I felt the weight on my back as Valeria climbed up and held onto me. I stood up, holding her legs to keep her from falling when I ran.

Valeria clung to my shoulders and rested her head against my back. I could feel her labored breathing this time. It seems her stamina was completely drained.

"Acceleration…"

After activating my speed magic, I ran to reach the city area before nightfall.

I could tell her breathing had returned to normal. Valeria seemed to have fallen asleep on my shoulder.

Her gear and food supplies were gone due to running away from those three monsters. Looks like I'll have to share my food and water with her from now on.

Well... I had anticipated this. I really need to find other participants to share my supplies with later.

"I wonder what kind of participants I'll hunt next."

---

[Valeria's PoV]

I opened my eyes...

Where am I?

Looking around, it seems I'm inside a cave.

I just remembered, I lost my ability to cast magic because I was stung by a scorpion. After my barrier faded, monsters started coming after me, forcing me to abandon my supplies and gear to escape.

I remember what that guy said yesterday.

"I bet you'll lose all your supplies and gear in just one day."

How pathetic...

I wanted to prove him wrong.

In the end, I lost my gear and supplies before the exam even reached 24 hours. All the things he said to me before and after the test came true.

What's wrong with me...?

Why was I so stubborn about not wanting to cooperate with him when I was fine helping my teammates during the first stage of the exam?

Was it because I wanted to prove something to him?

No one has ever surpassed me in knowledge or magical combat at the academy. That's because the duels were based on direct combat, where long-range fighters like mages had the advantage. With my Voiceless Incantation ability, I've always been able to defeat other students with the speed of my magic activation.

But this survival test will gauge our combat abilities in real-world battles. Enemies will use dirty tricks; they won't show up unless they're confident in winning, and they'll exploit everything to secure victory. Just like that man did to me and my team before. There's no fair fight in life-or-death situations.

That's why I lost to him. That's why he seems invincible, even though he doesn't possess as many powerful spells as I do. That's why I crave his recognition.

It made me act childish, almost failing this exam.

How utterly pathetic...

"I really am a fool…"

Wanting to defeat him in a fair fight was a naive thought. There's no such thing as fairness in this world if you want to survive. People will do whatever it takes to win. And in battle, it's no different.

"I need to change my thinking in combat."

I can't just rely on a mage's fighting style. I need to be more flexible, more adaptable, and not bound by any rules in battle, just like him.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

I heard footsteps approaching, and I saw a black-haired man carrying a sack as he walked toward me.

"You're awake?" he said, placing the sack on the ground. "Was my back really that comfortable that you fell asleep so easily while I carried you?"

"W-what are you saying? I was just exhausted! It wasn't because your back was warm and comfy or anything!"

Ughh... Even though I've come to realize my mistake this time, it's still embarrassing to remember that incident.

"So, what did you bring? Didn't you only carry a little supply when you started the second stage of the exam?"

Hearing my question, he sat down, leaning against the cave wall next to me, and unbuttoned his academy uniform.

"You lost your food supplies, didn't you? Now I have no choice but to share mine so we both can survive in this desert," he replied casually. "That's why I went out to find other participants willing to share food with me."

Ughhh... I also forgot about that. Why do I always act like a fool when I'm around him? Alright, Valeria, think clearly now. Forget what's happened and focus on the problem at hand.

"Hee~ Sharing, huh? You mean taking it by force from them, don't you?" I teased him.

He shrugged as if he didn't want to comment on that. But so far, all the actions he's taken have been spot-on whenever I faced him in the first stage of the exam. That's why I want to learn more from him about how to handle tough situations like this.

But there's one thing I must do first.

I turned to the side, looking at the black-haired man's face.

"Hey, Raul…"

The man's body trembled. He seemed surprised that I didn't call him a pervert like I usually did.

"Y-yeah, is something wrong?"

Hee~ Seems like this is the first time I've caught him off guard. He didn't expect me to call him by name.

I moved a little closer and said, "I'm sorry… and thank you for saving me earlier, Raul."

Raul leaned back slightly since our bodies were almost touching.

"Of course, don't worry about it," he replied flatly.

I moved closer to him again. This time, he didn't pull away and simply turned his face away from me.

"So, where are we now? Do you have a plan for the second stage of the exam?"

"Of course, I do," Raul said, touching his chin thoughtfully. "There's going to be a fight over food and water supplies when participants enter the city area. The chaos they create will likely attract the monsters hiding there."

That's right, even some monsters were drawn to the smell of the food I brought for the second stage. I think it's wiser for participants to carry only a small amount of food to avoid attracting dangerous monsters when entering the city.

"In the city area, there will be chaos. We should avoid it and focus on getting out of the area quickly," Raul explained his plan.

"Do we have to pass through the city? What if we go around it?" I asked him.

Raul then explained that if we circled around the urban area, the distance we'd need to travel would increase significantly. He said we wouldn't have enough food or time if we had to take that route.

Moreover, we wouldn't gain any extra supplies if we chose this path. That's because Raul predicted that most students would choose to pass through the urban area, which means we wouldn't be able to steal any provisions they might carry later.

"Why does your shirt look so wet?" I asked, noticing that his undershirt was soaked.

"Hey, I've been carrying you while running nonstop for over two hours, you know. Of course, I'm drenched in sweat after all that," Raul replied, half-sarcastically. "I think I covered about 40 kilometers in that time."

So this is the physical endurance of a Knight student? Did Raul also use magic while running to cover such a distance?

"That means the urban area in this desert is only about 30 kilometers away," Raul said, taking out his pocket watch. "It's already 11 a.m. We'll rest here for two hours, then continue our journey and reach the urban area before nightfall."

After planning our next steps, we had lunch with food Raul had stolen from some unlucky participants who crossed paths with him.

---

[3rd POV]

In the urban area, six students were fighting a horde of monsters. They had previously agreed to form an alliance to ensure their safe passage through the area.

"Adrian, keep that large bird off our backs! Morlin, handle the desert Hobgoblin coming our way!"

A female mage was giving instructions to her companions, directing them to deal with the approaching monsters.

"You three! Take down the regular goblins near that Hobgoblin!"

The remaining three students then began fighting seven regular goblins that were not far from the Hobgoblin. The group consisted of four Knight students, one Healer, and one Mage.

"Earth Shatter!"

The Mage cast her spell, and the ground beneath the goblins cracked and shattered, causing them to lose their balance and fall.

"Finish them off now!"

Three members of the group quickly started slashing and cutting down the fallen goblins, thanks to the Mage's spell.

After defeating the regular goblins, the trio assisted their companion, who was locked in a one-on-one battle with a Hobgoblin, as tall as a grown human.

"Hammer Blow!"

One student slammed his hammer hard against the Hobgoblin, sending it flying.

"Earth Missile!"

The female Mage shot down the large bird that had been pestering them. The remaining goblins, seeing this from a distance, fled, leaving the group victorious over the monsters in the urban area.

"Woohoo! We did it!" one of the men in the group cheered.

"Yes… Luckily, we formed this alliance before entering this area. Otherwise, just two people wouldn't have been able to defeat the monsters occupying this place," the female Mage remarked.

"But why did the rest of the goblins suddenly run away?" Morlin asked, puzzled.

"Well… Maybe they were scared after seeing our power," Tristan, the group's Priest, suggested.

The group continued their journey through the deserted city. By the afternoon of the second day, about 30 participants had already entered the urban area. Most of them had been lucky enough not to encounter any monsters on the first day, allowing their teams to reach this area quickly.

"Hey Balerina, do you think we'll run into that spoiled Noble here?" Tristan asked, sounding uneasy.

At this, everyone abruptly stopped walking.

"Hey Tristan, don't mention that guy here," the female Mage, Balerina, warned. "It'll bring bad luck to our group! What if he actually shows up?"

They had heard the stories of how Raul single-handedly crushed entire clans during the first exam.

"R-right... Sorry..."

They resumed their journey, cautiously observing the abandoned city.

Morlin, who was at the back, stopped. He noticed a statue-like figure standing atop a building. He didn't realize that the statue-like figure was actually a monster watching them closely.

"Huh? What kind of statue is that?" Morlin murmured, confused.

He didn't notice how far behind he had fallen from his group, who were now way ahead of him.

"Huh? Everyone's so far ahead," Morlin said as he turned to catch up. "I'd better hurry to rejoin the grou—Ugh!"

A muffled sound escaped as something suddenly struck his body with immense force, sending him flying into the air.

Crash!

His body slammed loudly into the wall of a building, shattering it. A flash of magic light enveloped him, and he disappeared, teleported out of the desert area—indicating his defeat.

The five companions ahead halted when they heard the crash from Morlin's body.

"Did you guys hear that?" one of them asked, now alert.

"Yeah… I heard it," Balerina, the Mage, replied. "And for some reason, Morlin is no longer behind us."

They quickly formed a defensive circle with the Healer in the center, all of them scanning the area for the enemy that seemed to be targeting them.

Yet, after five minutes of waiting, they saw no sign of any monster ready to attack.

"I-I think whatever took Morlin is gone," Tristan, the Healer, said nervously.

"Don't let your guard down! We don't kn—"

Balerina's words were cut short as she spotted a two-meter-tall humanoid monster leaping through the air and landing directly behind Tristan.

"Tristan, run as fast as you can!"

Balerina tried to warn him, but it was too late. The monster struck the Healer from behind, sending him flying.

"Attack that monster!" Balerina commanded.

The four remaining members attacked the humanoid monster with their weapons. But the monster skillfully dodged their strikes and countered with quick blows, taking down one of them.

"Earth Missile!"

Balerina launched another earth spell at the monster, but it easily evaded her magic.

"Damn, this monster's speed is unreal. Could it be a level 3 or higher monster?" Balerina muttered.

"Aghhh!"

A man screamed as the monster broke his arm. The creature then struck him in the face, hurling him into a trash bin.

"Don't give it any room to move!" Balerina shouted at her remaining two companions.

"We're trying! But it's so fast and agile!" one of Balerina's comrades replied.

"Brace yourselves, it's coming again!"

The monster dashed toward the last two fighters. They both activated their magic to strengthen their weapons.

"Die, you bastard!"

"Take this!"

They attacked simultaneously, but once again, the monster dodged with ease and kicked both of them to the ground.

"This can't be… It's even faster than those who use Accel magic," Balerina whispered.

Indeed, the monster was moving even faster than Raul when he had used his magic in the first test.

"If that's the case, I'll use a spell with a wider area of effect!"

Balerina prepared another spell as the monster sprinted toward her.

"Earth Shower!"

The ground around Balerina rose, breaking into chunks that shot toward the monster like bullets from a machine gun.

The monster changed direction, evading all of Balerina's attacks. After dodging everything, it closed the distance to the Mage.

"This can't be… A monster this strong, why is it in our exam...?"

-Bam!

Balerina's body flew through the air as the monster struck her hard in the chest. Moments later, a magic circle appeared, engulfing her body and teleporting her out of the area.

With ease, the humanoid monster had eliminated the participants who had just defeated a group of monsters.