How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 60

Glast subjugation battle (9)

– ‘So, be strong.’

– ‘I dedicate the last sentence of this book to you, who marked the end of my life.’

– ‘Lucy.’

The last page of Archmage Glokt’s travelogue.

Although it is now a memory that has faded over time, it was also an unforgettable memory.

The moment she closed the last page next to Glokt’s remains, the girl had no choice but to accept.

The great wizard who accomplished this long-lasting feat was fully anticipating how his only family member and disciple would face his death.

This is evidence that Glokt himself, more than anyone else, acknowledged, accepted, and waited for death with detachment. That’s why the girl also had no choice but to let him go.

Will the day come when all the pain of loss is healed and even the scars disappear in the end?

Will there ever come a day when we can sit back and relax, saying that what is lost is lost and that it is all just past pain?

The memory of the girl leaving Glokt’s hut with her dull white hair ending there ends.

The day I set out on the road. What the weather was like… I couldn’t remember.

*

The cool, straight magic tower rises with the power to pierce the sky.

Dark red magic gushes out like hot spring water from the passage leading inside the underground waterway, threatening to devour anyone who approaches.

Considering the amount and source of magical energy flowing inside, Tailley and his party seem to have entered the subjugation of Kum, a researcher of astrology.

I hope to overcome this as quickly as possible. However, Kum is a boss that takes a lot of time. There is no way to defeat it with regular attacks, and it is a time challenge type boss where you must withstand attacks before being eaten by the magic power of the star.

Having said that, my situation is also the same.

I have no intention of moving away from the entrance to this underground waterway until Taily finishes the final battle.

Since no one has the heart to let them up on stage, they just stay firmly in place and push away anyone who approaches them.

– Grumble

-Whee!

The mercenaries all took out their weapons. I quickly observed the figure.

It is of a different class from the mercenary force that appeared during the Ofilis incident.

At that time, those who were immediately empty were quickly gathered together overnight.

However, this time it is Elte’s last move, for which he has spent ample time preparing.

The appearance of each mercenary is unusual.

It is different from the last mercenary unit, which had no military uniforms and uniform uniforms. Their movements are systematic, their weapons are neatly maintained, and their shiny armor is as good as that of the royal guard.

Not only that, they are all middle-aged to elderly veterans. Most of them are retired soldiers or skilled workers with less than 10 years of experience. The stab wounds carved on the forearms or around the face testify to the maturity of the experience.

Sue appears to be a little over fifty. All of them are skilled veterans, and that’s how many they have.

Those people are forming a formation against four students without even letting down their guard.

For convenience, they are divided into simple infantry, magic soldiers, and archers… but it is just that they are divided that way for convenience, and it does not mean that one class cannot handle other weapons.

They are that mature.

“Life or death doesn’t matter, except for Lortel. End it quickly and quietly.”

Before he could finish his words, an old swordsman standing at the front of the infantry kicked the ground.

With his quick and accurate judgment, he would probably be the leader of an infantry unit.

In an instant, I finished assessing the opponent’s strength, and the direction the tip of the sword was pointing was my neck.

He leads the conversation and stands at the center, making him clearly the most important member of the other party. The defense on such a topic is not very thorough. There is no other goal like this.

While everyone was concentrating on Elte’s words, they let their guard down, and decided to take down the opposing party from the very top. It was a quickness worthy of his long career.

– Kaang!

But the sword cannot reach me.

What got in the way was Yenika’s staff.

A strong defensive magic unique to the earth spirit surrounded Yenika’s staff.

Since I had already noticed that Yenika’s defensive magic had been implemented, I didn’t even move from the beginning.

Realizing that his strike was in vain, the mercenary leader quickly kicked the ground and tried to widen the distance again.

In order not to allow that movement, Yenika stretched out her hand and tried to summon the fire spirit… but the archers’ magic arrows flew out and pierced Yenika’s defense shield.

Support for the archers who assist the incoming friendly forces. While Yenika’s movements became stiff for a moment, the infantry leader widened the distance again and pushed himself into the formation.

“Ugh…!”

Yenika waved her hand away to shake off the arrows, then quickly checked out of the corner of her eye to make sure I wasn’t hurt.

“Thank you, Yenika.”

“Careful, Ed. He’s definitely methodical in his movements.”

One by one, the archers disperse and disappear through the darkness of the forest. The archers’ arrows, which do not know when and where they will fly, put pressure on the defense magic so that it cannot be disarmed.

Fighting while wearing defensive magic is like fighting while carrying a rock.

Defensive magic is something that is implemented at the right time as needed, and is not the type of magic that can be worn around the body at all times like a shield. All similar magics have poor magic efficiency.

If you let your guard down, you never know when you might get an arrow stuck in the back of your head. The pressure is quite big.

“As expected, spirit masters are picky.”

Elte has already confirmed Yenika’s power.

It goes without saying, but there is no way that no countermeasures have been taken when the opponent’s strength is already known.

Elte took out a scroll from his pocket and unfolded it. Inside her, a seemingly complex law was drawn as large as a page.

Legendary grade magical engineering supplies ‘Belarusian Prejudice’.

It is a high-end magic engineering item worth dozens of gold coins per piece. Considering that it was a consumable item, it was quite expensive even among legendary grade magic engineering supplies.

Its ability is to suppress magical power.

It was compatible with the night butterfly flower reagent used by Elvira.

Although the night butterfly flower reagent is relatively easy to manufacture, it has the disadvantage of not lasting very long and having little effect if the opponent’s magic sensitivity is high.

However, Elte’s magic engineering supplies are of a different class. There was a reason why there were dozens of gold coins per sheet.

Even with a decent amount of magic power, it is impossible to free yourself from the magic suppressing effect of that magic circle.

The activation range is relatively narrow, and it has the fatal disadvantage of taking time to operate and preparation for activation being obvious. However, in this numerically inferior situation, it is not very meaningful.

“If that thing activates, it’s over.”

Lortel declared, adding defensive magic and activating it.

“In fact, most of our power is magic, and if our magic is suppressed for even 10 minutes, we will be quickly overwhelmed.”

“What are the chances of suppressing the mercenary group before that magical engineering product is activated?”

“A mercenary unit that is that well-trained and experienced must be prepared for a long-term war.”

My goal from the beginning was to hold out until Taily’s final battle was over, so time is on our side.

I stroked my hair once, took a deep breath, and swallowed. Anyway, if you do something with that magic engineering product, you have a chance of winning. Fortunately, a few methods came to mind.

In any case, Elte itself has almost no fighting ability, so as long as you get close to it, you will be able to subdue it somehow.

I was thinking about how to approach this…

-Hwiik

I suddenly felt shaken. This was the response from Lucy, who was riding on her back.

Lucy put her hand on my shoulder and half-raised me, stretching me out. Then he quietly looked up at his magic tower.

“…”

Even a desperate battle situation would have felt like a mosquito buzzing to this girl.

Lucy pays no attention to the mercenaries surrounding her, and continues to look at the magic tower with her head held high.

His eyes, which always look dazed and sleepy, are wide open for some reason.

Lucy just stared at the sky for a while, holding the witch’s hat with one hand in case it fell off.

“Lucy.”

It’s predictable.

Lucy… probably instinctively sensed what the magic towers surrounding her were built for.

Just because it looks blank and stupid, you should not misunderstand that it is empty inside.

Lucy’s knowledge of magic in general is far beyond that of ordinary people.

You can’t usually see him studying because he memorizes whatever book he reads in one go, but his knowledge is at a level that makes him worthy of being called a genius.

Considering the magic response, this ridiculous level of Aspect magic, and Professor Glast’s actions… I have the ability to fully infer what he will do.

-Poof.

Lucy got off my back with a light movement and glanced around. Little by little, magic began to flow through Lucy’s body.

*

The sense of intimidation given by the scale of magical power exceeding the limit is like seeing Mount Tai up close.

It is impossible to know its full scale just by measuring it up close in front of your eyes. The unknown actually brings greater fear.

Therefore, there was a cold silence around.

The mercenaries do not hastily enter our range.

If we disarm the defensive spell and switch to attack, the damage on our side will be great, but the mercenaries will also suffer damage on a scale that cannot be easily overcome.

Lortel, who freely uses middle-level magic, and Yenika, who knows how to use even high-ranking spirits.

Rather than hastily entering into an all-out war, it is better to maintain this standoff and wait for Elte’s magical engineering products to be activated. Anyway, we are the ones who have to move first.

It was a truly skillful and appropriate response.

If the opponent’s strength was really as Elte and his party predicted.

“I have a place I want to go.”

Lucy shook off her clothes and spoke as if it was no big deal.

“I’ll clear a path.”

“…”

According to the original scenario, Lucy should have been taking a nap on the roof of the Trix Building.

He is a character who wakes up from a drowsy sleep only after the incident is over and thinks back in the epilogue of Act 2 that something like that happened, and his role comes to an end.

However, if you stimulate Lucy in Phase 1 and wake her up, she will encounter Professor Glast who is running away.

And Lucy, who fully understands the full story of the situation, is persuaded by Professor Glast’s words and joins in, resulting in a bad ending.

The curtain ends with Lucy alone, overpowering Tailley and the others, and quietly walking into the underground tunnel.

“W-what’s going on?”

“Um, is that a student?”

Magical power swirled around Lucy’s body and soon soared. Its scale overwhelms the crowd.

A look of confusion spread among the mercenaries. No matter how long you’ve lived, you’ve probably never seen someone unleash magical power on this scale without any preparation or chanting.

The swirling wind is not a natural wind. It is simply a physical force that is created as a by-product of magical power being released.

However, even the storm was difficult to withstand, so everyone had to adjust their posture.

The mercenaries all began to swallow their dry saliva.

Anyway, I am a student. We will never let down our guard, but we have the advantage in terms of power.

Among the opposing forces, the most dangerous person would undoubtedly be second-year senior Jenica Palover.

If you deal well with the elemental magic that Yenika uses, you will definitely win.

You may have thought so, but unfortunately, the opponent’s maximum power is not Yenika. There was no point in crying out as if she was being wronged, asking if that even made sense.

The wind increases in strength.

The source of the storm is a small girl.

Even the school uniform doesn’t fit his body, and he is a listless wizard standing with his collar hanging down.

Eventually, the girl’s magical power became so great that it could no longer spread, and it got to the point where it felt like it was truly going to devour the world.

-Hwiik.

-sudden!

Silence returned again.

Just like the first time, there is no wind at all, and it is a quiet forest scene.

All the fluttering collars had calmed down, and only the occasional sound of insects in the grass was heard in the audience.

It felt like I had suddenly returned from a stormy sea to Myeonggyeongjisu without any tremors.

That feeling of disparity made not only the enemies, but even Yenika and Lortel unable to move.

However, all mercenaries with considerable experience will know this.

It’s not that the magic has disappeared.

That magnificent magical power is compressed to its limits in that tiny body. At this point, you will begin to get a sense of what magic Lucy used. No, it’s not magic in the first place.

Lucy walked.

With bouncy footwork and fluttering sleeves, he ran like a rabbit towards Elte, who was holding magic engineering supplies. If you just look at their lively gait, it looks like they are going out on a pleasant trip.

However, none of the mercenaries who noticed Lucy’s condition could stand in her way.

Rather, the crowd began to split on both sides along the path Lucy was walking.

“What are they doing? Stop that student! Stop him!”

Elte, who was startled, shouted urgently.

Obviously, the aftereffects of the magnificent magical power were enormous, but I don’t feel any particular danger right now.

She is just a girl of small stature, walking forward with blank eyes.

A sight where dozens of large mercenaries could not even think of blocking their path. I didn’t understand this.

At this point, Elte realized. There was no way it was very common for a girl to freely control that amount of mana.

I don’t know her face, but I have heard rumors about her. An unidentified monster living in Sylvania. First-year senior Lucy Mayril is that girl.

“Is everyone crazy?! Move!”

“Hwaap!”

Meanwhile, a mercenary who still looked young jumped out from the crowd.

He looks relatively energetic. In other words, it is highly likely that he still has limited experience compared to others.

There is a difference between courage and courage by a single sheet of paper.

-Kang!

The blade flew, but it could not advance any further as soon as it touched Lucy’s pale skin.

It feels like hitting a rock. The mercenary who threw the knife felt goosebumps all over his body.

Lucy didn’t even look at me.

– Tung.

With a movement similar to knocking on a door, I tapped the man’s greaves.

The light armor was shattered by that light knock. Of course, it didn’t end there.

– Boom!

With a loud noise that sounded like an explosion, the energetic mercenary fell.

It floated through the crowd for a while and got stuck in a nearby zelkova tree. It was a level of shock that wouldn’t be surprising even if a few bones were broken.

As always, Lucy is a wizard and doesn’t use battle magic very often.

It’s hard to describe because it’s magic. It’s just overwhelming physical force… it’s just violence.

Compress that magnificent magical energy into your body to its limit. The physical force it emits and overwhelms the surroundings… makes any interference with the girl’s body impossible.

There is no law of destruction. There is, but there is not.

It is a move that pours an overwhelming amount of magic power, even more than Lucy’s magic power, and exceeds its physical power. Of course, there is no way that would be possible.

The more ignorant the means, the more ignorant the response becomes. However, since all of those ignorant countermeasures are based on magical power, Lucy’s mana compression will never be destroyed.

None of the mercenaries move.

Those who have lived through various limbs over the past years have a unique sense of pride. No matter how scary an enemy appears, it will never abandon its comrades and run away.

That doesn’t mean you can’t fight it.

Therefore, I have no choice but to stand helpless.

“You are the leader. All we have to do is catch him.”

Lucy, who had arrived right in front of Elte, raised her head and let out a clear voice.

Elte gritted his teeth with trembling hands and activated his magic engineering supplies. A unique power that suppressed mana appeared from Elte’s hands, but Lucy did not flinch.

You can pump out sea water, but you can’t freeze it.

That fact was so obvious that not only Lucy but also Elte understood it.

The moment Lucy was about to extend her hand towards Elte…

“hey.”

A blonde boy stood between Elte and Lucy. She didn’t look very good because she was running and rolling around.

“You know, right? You could die.”

Lucy’s mana is compressed to the limit, and each movement of her hand is like getting hit by a truck.

If you get hit once in a vital spot, or if you fall and hit the wrong part, you die instantly.

A mercenary corpsman wearing several layers of armor and safety equipment might not know this, but Elte, who is untrained and wearing only one layer of cloth, can die instantly if she is caught by Lucy’s hand even once.

It’s strange. He is not a person worth worrying about Elte’s life. There was some confidence that even if Elte lost her life to Lucy, he would not stop him.

The following questions revealed that it wasn’t Elte he was worried about.

“Is it okay to kill him?”

Lucy Mayril, who was born with the blessing of an archmage, has an unavoidable fate.

A promise I shared with Glokt during his lifetime to become one of the pillars of preventing the disaster that would one day come to Sylvania.

Do not murder.

Avoid getting blood on your little hands even if you accidentally do so.

At least while I am in Sylvania, I will lead a life as a student.

We are destined to open our eyes one day and wake up to face the world, but for now, it’s okay to sleep for a while and enjoy that lazy life.

However, the moment you get blood on your hands, that life is over. The life of leisurely strolling around the bachelor pad and taking a nap in a sunny place must come to an end.

The day she touches blood for the first time is the day Lucy wakes up.

Lucy would know that fact well. The star’s blessing imprinted in my life is by no means a power given for free.

“Leave this alone.”

Lucy looked straight at him with blank eyes.

Tension continued to linger among the mercenaries. Although she looks like a small girl, in reality it is like facing a huge weapon in front of her eyes.

He is a person with a level of power that can blow up an entire area if he wants to.

You might think that I’m crazy when I see her confidently speaking in an orderly tone in front of someone like that… but I can only think of that because I don’t know Lucy.

“…okay.”

As the compressed mana is released, a frenzy swirls around the area once again.

After one storm, Lucy’s enormous magical power turned into smoke and dissipated.

A feeling of embarrassment spread among everyone. I couldn’t believe how Lucy released all her power with just one word.

Ed hit Elte on the back of the head with the handle of the dagger, captured him, and held the knife to his neck.

With that head taken hostage, the situation was over.

The mercenaries no longer had the will to fight.

“Then it’s over.”

Lucy said this in a low voice and turned her body back. If you look at the sky, you will see a row of gigantic magic towers.

If this situation is over, Lucy no longer needs to be attached to Ed.

“Where are you going?”

However, Ed Rosstaylor called Lucy out.

“I have somewhere to go.”

Ed Rosstaylor is the type of person who does not necessarily get deeply involved in other people’s affairs.

Lucy knew that fact well, so she left it at that.

Of course, I didn’t expect an answer to come back.

“If you go… are you sure you won’t regret it?”

-Stop

As if those words hit the nail on the head, Lucy stood still and looked up at the sky without answering.

And then… I looked down again…

He soon answered something in a quiet voice… and then disappeared.

It was a high-level spatial magic.