Excursion 2

-Pam!

A strong impact was heard in the forest. Some leaves of the trees were detached by the vibration, and the birds took flight, frightened by the loud noise.

"And that's how you easily take out a bear with razor claws!"

Hari said with a big smile as he looked at the surprised students behind him.

The reason for the students' surprise was because of the gigantic bear with a hole in what would have to be its stomach, This was a razor-clawed bear, a monster that, despite its large size, was quite fast, using its sharp claws capable of cutting through steel to make lethal attacks on its enemies, hence its name

That fearsome monster was completely shattered with a single hit, and it was clear that that was not the way to deal with such a monster, unless you are a complete monster like this guy

"Awesome!!!"

Leticia shouted with stars in her eyes as she took notes in a small notebook.

'What the hell are you supposed to be writing down?'

"Alright! let's get on with the field trip!!! if we're lucky, I can also show you the simple way to defeat a salamander!"

No, I highly doubt a salamander lives in a forest.

The excursion in which we were supposed to learn how to track and fight monsters boiled down to Hari running into a monster and pulverizing it with a hit, although he did teach some useful things by letting the students fight some not-too-strong monsters while he corrected their tactics and fighting methods, so it wasn't completely useless.

We moved on, looking for another monster, until Hari stopped walking suddenly

"Sir? is something wrong?"

Asked one of the students but he didn't answer, he looked to the side and with a smile that never left his face asked.

"Who are you?"

The students were confused by his weird acting but became on their guard when they heard a hoarse voice speak from the direction Ranbir was looking in

"Haha, what a surprise, I thought I had hidden my presence well."

A large, stocky figure covered in black robes appeared out of nowhere startling the students

"Yes you did, but it was that huge murderous intent that gave you away."

"Hahaha, I'm sorry, but I just get excited every time I meet someone strong."

The black figure began to expel a sinister aura that made the students tremble as glowing red eyes showed inside the robe

"And you are the strongest person I have encountered in a long time."

After saying that, he pulled out a dark red stone and threw it into the air, The stone shattered and a barrier the same color as the stone enclosed everyone present.

The students, although frightened by the aura of the figure, did not lower their guard and raised their weapons with trembling hands while watching his movements attentively, Only one among all those students unsheathed his sword with a firm gaze.

The figure noticed this and directed his gaze towards the girl, This one, when crossing her eyes with the figure, shuddered a little but did not back down and gripped her sword tighter

"Haha, you must be Pendragon, worthy of your name."

"You still haven't answered my question."

Hari said as he released his mana towards the figure, countering its sinister aura.

"Who are you?"

He asked with a smile and bright yellow eyes.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet, right?"

The figure walked towards Hari as his sinister aura grew stronger.

"My name is Ottar."

He grabbed and removed his tunic, revealing black armor and his eyes with a black sclera and red eyes. His skin was grayish, and he had a large grin showing his sharp shark-like teeth

"A demon."

***

The situation in Norma's group was no different; in front of them was a figure covered by a black robe, She was sitting on the branch of a tree while swinging her legs 

"Eh~ you're pretty cute; how do you keep your skin so white."

"..."

Norma didn't answer him and just stared at her with an expressionless face.

'She's strong, I can handle her but the students might be in danger, we can't call for help because of this barrier, it seems to cut off all connection with the outside, even I would take a few minutes to break it'

While Norma was thinking, the figure was still calmly standing on top of the branch. 

"Mm, you're not going to answer, huh?That's the problem with you serious ones; you're not capable of holding a conversation."

-Bom!

While the figure was talking, suddenly a fireball hit the branch she was sitting on, creating a huge explosion.

'That's a fireball?!'

I thought Anisa surprised by the power of the attack while looking at Norma with admiration.

"Hey, it's bad education to attack someone while they're talking, you know?"

But her thoughts were cut off when the figure's voice was heard from a completely different place

The figure's robe seemed to take a chunk of the impact, burning in several places. Flying with the wind, it blew away from the figure's body, revealing a woman with purple hair, black sclera eyes and red pupils. She wore a dress split in three parts, leaving her long legs in the air

She stretched her hand out to the side, summoning a staff with a sinister design with an eye-like stone at the tip.

-Pam

She hit her staff on the ground and several monsters appeared behind him, but they were different from the normal ones.

They gave off a dark and dangerous aura, their bodies had red symbols on various parts; their eyes completely lost their focus with uncontrollable bloodlust 

Demonic beasts

Monsters are much more aggressive and powerful than normal monsters. 

Norma, who saw this, sprang into action and instructed the students. 

"Stay back, but don't let your guard down!"

""Yes!""

The students responded and followed her orders perfectly, despite being scared they were part of the prestigious Athena academy, elite among the common people

"Aren't you going to summon your staff? Someone could die if you don't take this seriously."

"I don't need my staff to deal with someone like you."

She said in a cold tone as several magical circles appeared behind her.

"I'm going to smash that arrogant face of yours!"

The demon was visibly angry as she ordered the beasts to attack.

The beasts pounced without hesitation, eager for a taste of blood, Norma did not react to this and with a snap of her fingers, the multiple magical circulations on her back activated at the same time

-Bom Bom Bom

Several explosions occurred in succession, raising a large cloud of earth, but the demonic beasts continued to advance as if nothing had happened 

"A barrier"

In the back, the demonic mage had placed a barrier on the beasts to resist the attack 

"Heh, don't underestimate me."

The demonic mage hit her staff against the ground and the earth beneath her feet began to rise, taking on a humanoid form and creating a large stone golem.

"Shall we play?"

***

-Pam Pam Pam

Hari and Ottar were clashing their fists, creating shockwaves that made the trees tense, The students, on the other hand, were facing numerous demonic beasts that Ottar had summoned by breaking a summoning scroll

"Groooow!"

A wolf-like demonic beast let out a roar before pouncing on a distracted student, By the time the student realized the beast's attack, it was too late, Closing his eyes tightly, he awaited his fate

-Slash

But to his luck, a golden glow passed quickly, cutting the beast in half, That glow did not stop and continued cutting multiple demonic beasts.

[Pendragon Technique: Sword Dance]

Leticia mercilessly slashed the beasts that came in her path with impressive fluidity and speed

"Damn, she sure is strong."

No normal student could move like that; the Pendragon family's techniques are something else.

-Slash

I slashed at a beast that tried to dig his claws into my neck; his body was full of cuts due to the 'close' fight we had, I could have killed him with one hit but I couldn't get out of the role even in this situation, less with Leticia nearby 

-Pam!

"Well, Leticia isn't the only monster." 

In the distance, Hari was still exchanging hits with that demon called Ottar, That bastard could finish the fight if he tried a little harder, but from his slightly different smile from before, I could tell he's having fun

"He's also using this situation to teach us."

He could easily take care of that demon and these beasts without much trouble, but he wants us to experience what it's like to be in a real battle so we're prepared for the future

"Of course he's not just leaving us to our own devices."

Although it may not seem like he is attentive to each of the students, if he sees that one is in a dangerous situation, he quickly moves to help him. He is a true monster capable of doing all of this at once

-Clank!

My thoughts were cut off by a beast that attacked me from behind, I turned to deflect its claws with my sword, and the beast recomposed itself from the impact and attacked again

'Slow'.

I dodged its attack and slashed it across the length of its abdomen, The beast screamed in pain and rage and began to attack me ferociously.

-Clank Clank

I blocked all of its attacks, making it look like I was struggling, attacking it when I saw a gap, This lasted for 2 minutes before the beast fell dead due to its wounds

"Ha~ man, this is annoying."

Having to fight like this is a pain in the ass, His attacks are slow and predictable, I could have killed him about 20 times while I was concentrating on doing the deed

"At least things seem to be going well."

No students have died yet; some were injured but nothing serious, They are handling the situation better than I expected, attacking as a group on a single beast to finish faster and conserve energy, using the formations they taught us in the combat trials and helping each other, Even the nobles and commoners are working together, putting aside their differences

"I guess they are students of the Athena academy for a reason."

I was about to continue fighting but suddenly the world stopped.

A figure covered in a black robe appeared next to me and put his hand on my shoulder

My head slowly turned to look at the dark figure next to me, and as I did so, my mind moved as fast as possible, trying to find a way to escape while my heart seemed to be about to explode

Helpless

That's how I felt; no matter what I did, I felt like I wouldn't be able to escape.

-Fum

Suddenly the scenery changed, we were no longer in the forest but in a more open space, the beasts and students were nowhere to be seen, I didn't understand what happened, but when I felt the grip on my shoulder loosen a little, I immediately used the Dragon Race to get as far away as possible.

"Huf, huf, huf!"

Sweat was running down my forehead and my heart was beating uncontrollably as I looked at the figure in front of me

"That speed is definitely not something someone who has a hard time taking down a single demonic beast would have."

Said the figure with a monotone.

"Who the hell are you?"

I asked him but he didn't answer; he just stood still, staring at me, as if he were evaluating me

"My name doesn't matter."

He said as he slowly raised his arm that, when he had it fully extended, a black spear appeared, pointing it at me He continued talking 

"You just need to know one thing."

A dangerous aura began to emanate from him, which caused my body to instinctively go on guard.

"I won't stop until you wake 'it' up."