Episode 156. Outdoor Class (6)
The collection of the magic core continued smoothly. Smoothly, that meant for Kaizen, Rubin, and the students.
“Wow, does this plant look like a fish?”
“There are plants that move when you touch them.”
At each new fork in the road, Kaizen would assign groups and disperse them from the rest of the group.
Each team leader led their team members to discover different magical plants throughout the cave.
Each team leader was given a map of the cave. They were to regroup at the point where they had initially dispersed in the afternoon.
‘Of course, today’s class will end earlier than expected due to the disappearance of Luden Poinen.’
A smile that couldn’t be hidden flashed across Kaizen’s face.
“From here on, Professor Benitez will take you into groups of three. You can split into groups at each fork in the road.”
“all right.”
Kaizen had also made sure to drop the professors. Rubin looked at the map and saw that Kaizen was sending the professors as far away as possible.
“Let’s go, Luden. You and I have to move around diligently.”
“Yes, professor.”
The number of people in the group gradually decreased, and by lunchtime, only Rubin and Kaizen were left.
Croak, croak, croak.
The endless croaking of fluorescent frogs. As everyone took out their lunch boxes and started eating, Kaizen looked at Rubin and asked.
“It’s time to eat, but can we walk around a bit more?”
“Yes, I would like to explore every nook and cranny.”
“Yes, there will be many unique magic plants inside.”
Rubin followed Kaizen’s lead. Rosenthaler waited quietly for the enemy to appear, keeping his eyes wide open, wondering when and where he would emerge.
‘But what is that mushroom? I’ve been holding it for a while now.’
Other people might have passed it by without a second thought, but Rubin knew. Kaizen had picked a mushroom the moment he entered the cave, and he had never let it go since.
“Oh, it’s blocked.”
Suddenly, Kaizen’s footsteps stopped.
Before they knew it, they had reached the end of the cave. For a split second, Rubin’s dark smoke swept over Kaizen, and he soon realized that he was getting anxious.
There is something here.
Rubin guessed so.
As expected, when I spread out my eyes wide, I could see that what I saw was not everything.
‘Is it a hidden space?’
A dead end in front of you.
It seemed like we had reached the end of the cave, but it wasn’t true. What we saw in front of us were not rocks, but trees, and a passageway continued beyond them.
And then there was a sense of presence. He was hiding in a dark passage, waiting for someone. It had to be Rosenthaler.
“This can’t be happening.”
Kaizen continued his poor performance.
He put his hand on the wall that was blocking him, and it looked incredibly awkward. Along with that awkward hand movement, the mushroom he was holding rubbed against the wall.
Phageit.
‘It’s funny, Kaizen. You even found a space like this.’
At that moment, the tree roots that had been seen as a wall began to react to the mushrooms. With a dull sound, the thick roots began to twist, and soon began to reveal one of the passageways that had been blocking it.
Kukukukung.
“Wow, that’s amazing, Professor.”
“There might be something in there.”
You must have had a hard time making plans. So, at this point, you should say something that Kaizen would be happy about.
“Professor, can I go in first? I’m really curious.”
You want me to go in on my own? Oh, thank you so much. A look of unconcealed joy appeared on Kaizen’s face.
“Well, then I guess I should leave a mark here just in case.”
“Yes, I will go in first.”
“Just follow me. Oh, wait a minute.”
“… … ?
“Before you go in, take this with you.”
Kaizen put something in Rubin’s hand.
“This is… a magic stone?”
“Yes, I prepared it for safety. It has a built-in ice breaker, so if something happens inside, activate it right away. Just hold the magic stone tightly and shout the ignition word ‘ice breaker.’”
“all right.”
I don’t know what kind of trick he was doing, but Rubin was confident that he wouldn’t be fooled. He took the magic stone and put it in his pocket.
“Even if magic is banned, this space exploration was not planned. It can’t hurt to be careful.”
A tone that sounds like an excuse.
“Thank you for taking such great care of me.”
“Okay, if you go in first, I’ll follow you right away.”
Rubin walked straight down the passage, leaving Kaizen behind. The fluorescent frog had only been there until just before the passage, so it was getting darker and darker.
How much further did we walk like that?
I felt Kaizen moving behind me. He said he was leaving a mark, but there was no way he would actually do that. Then why was he dawdling? The answer was obvious.
Kukukukung.
The vibration of the tree roots felt behind my back. Far from leaving a mark, the entrance was blocked. Now, there were only Rubin, Gaizen, and Rosenthaler lying in wait in the passage.
“… … .”
Soon, Kaizen appeared. His eyes sparkled with a mixture of fear, joy, and relief.
The door was completely closed, so even the faint light that was shining was completely blocked.
‘I like it better if it’s dark.’
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Rubin walked all the way to the end of the passage. There was a cliff waiting for him there. If he hadn’t said he would go in first, Kaizen would have pushed me here.
‘It’s simple.’
While thinking like that, Rubin concentrated the dark smoke behind his back. Then, he could fully feel Rosenthaler’s gaze, hidden in the darkness, staring at him.
And at that moment.
Taat!
The masked Rosenthaler, who had been cowering, charged forward, revealing a sharp aura.
‘Shall we begin?’
* * *
At that moment, when he was about to rush in and snatch Per away, Rosenthaler felt something strange.
Tadadot.
‘…Huh? You dodged it?’
Not only did he avoid it, he even managed to distance himself momentarily.
‘Is it a coincidence?’
No matter how much potential he has, Per is just a young and ordinary magic student. He should never have noticed Rosenthaler, who was attacking him with perfect traces.
‘It must be a coincidence.’
But failure is failure anyway. There was nothing I could do about my anger reaching its peak. A menacing glare stood out from Rosenthaler’s masked face.
Hit!
He quickly pulled himself together and leaped again. It was a swift movement that followed the target without giving him a moment to rest. This time, it was filled with even greater murderous intent.
Swoosh.
Just before reaching his target, Rosenthaler swung his fist with all his might, full of aura.
An ordinary person would never be able to withstand a fist filled with aura. Even if he were to be naked and not wearing any armor, it would mean that he would at least be knocked out if he was hit.
but.
‘… Will you stop it this time?’
This time, it was definitely not a coincidence. I could clearly feel the physical resistance blocking my fist. I don’t know how I managed to block the fist filled with aura.
‘shit!’
I tried to simply knock him out, but this time it was a complete failure.
The only good thing is that the target was pushed back quite a bit as he took the punch head-on.
Jiiiiiik.
The cool friction sound filled the passage as the target’s two feet were pushed back. The target fell straight down the cliff.
“after.”
Rosenthaler let out a short sigh and clenched his teeth. He had to go down. If he could block his own punch, there was a high chance that he wouldn’t die if he fell.
“Shit!”
I felt like my pride was being trampled on for going through all this trouble just to deal with a single young cadet.
Tadah.
Rosenthaler jumped up big and soon landed at the bottom of a cliff. A dark cave. He immediately looked around.
‘What is this place?’
It was no ordinary community. Tall, strange plants were growing everywhere.
Is that a sunflower? It looked like that.
Looking at the color of the petals alone, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary sunflower, but the shape of the flower opening upwards is definitely that of a sunflower.
Even if you choose a place, why did you choose a flower field like this?
Rosenthaler looked around, thinking that this was a very strange place to carry out a kidnapping.
“But where is this kid… … .”
At that moment, Rosenthaler’s eyes widened. Inyoung, wearing a fluttering wizard robe, suddenly rushed forward. Rosenthaler instantly raised his arm to block it.
The first attack was blocked, but the second attack, which came towards the bridge, was completely unexpected. I had no choice but to allow it.
“Ugh.”
Rosenthaler threw the guy who was trying to cling to him to the other side. Whoosh. The opponent flew through the wind and landed softly.
‘What? This is unexpected. I thought it was just a simple kidnapping.’
Rosenthaler couldn’t understand it at all. Wasn’t the opponent a newly enrolled magic student? Even if he was Per Lorenzini, his movements were unacceptable.
‘Is this a camouflage?’
Thud. Thud.
Rosenthaler took off his cumbersome coat. Now that it was like this, he had no choice but to confront him seriously. If he was going to use this much force, it would be difficult to end it with a simple kidnapping.
‘That guy is funny. He’s not even running away. Is he trying to beat me?’
Just as Rosenthaler took off his coat, the target also unbuttoned his cadet robes. However, both of them kept their faces hidden behind masks.
‘Are you really going to do this?’
Rosenthaler smirked. He might try to use more force. But he probably won’t draw his sword. He should try to take it without sheathing it.
Instead of ‘Robson’s Sword’, what he took out was a thick club. No matter how much of a club it is, once it is filled with Aura, it is no longer an ordinary club. It becomes a vicious weapon of slaughter.
Phew. Phew.
A single layer of aura wrapped the club tightly. It was impossible to crush the target without a trace, so this was adequate for the time being.
Well, this alone wasn’t a big deal as it would destroy a single body part.
‘I guess I’ll have to give up on taking it cleanly.’
* * *
Rubin’s black eyes flashed light from time to time. The two drones’ eyes were mingling in a messy way.
Before the wind that had risen first could even die down, a new wind would blow over them, entangling them together. Every time, the sunflower clusters at the edge of the crater would sway as if they were about to be uprooted.
How much time has passed like that?
Rubin shrugged and took a deep breath.
Rosenthaler may also be controlling his strength to avoid killing his target, but so does Rubin.
Only Rubin’s circumstances were a bit more complicated.
Rubin had to gradually increase Rosenthaler’s power. If Rubin suddenly went all out, Rosenthaler might immediately think of the Assassin’s Sword.
‘The most important thing is not to let anyone know that you’re a member of the Assassin’s Sword.’
At the same time, I had to find out Rosenthaler’s fighting habits. The big and small habits that come out in his stride, his gait, his fighting movements. Habits in combat always show up, regardless of how strong the opponent is.
In fact, there were some weaknesses and loopholes that appeared here and there during the actual match. Rubin memorized them all without exception.
‘As of now, Rosenthaler is at least a 3-star player.’
In terms of aura, it was identical to what Rubin had. I wondered what his ceiling would be.
Rubin carefully kept his cover on Rosenthaler so he wouldn’t be detected, and focused on understanding the bastard’s realm.
“Hoo, hoo… … .”
Rosenthaler’s breathing became increasingly ragged. He pulled away for a moment and glared at Rubin with murderous eyes.
‘That little brat named Perla was this skilled?’
This was a mistake on the part of the Imperial Order. They knew enough about Enzo, but not about his son. Which magician in the world could move so nimbly?
‘It doesn’t even look like he’s using magic.’
But there’s no way he was an assassin who used the dark side. That’s just nonsense.
I heard that among the Samhwi magicians, there are some who are magically unmanned. Could it be that one? In the current situation, that seems the most likely.
‘Or maybe, Enzo died in the meantime?’
In other words, the ‘chain of awakening’ may have already been broken.
Enzo has been out of contact since he escaped from prison. He either died or ran away somewhere. There is no trace of him.
So this was also a possible guess. If not for this reason, the state of the opponent in front of me right now cannot be explained.
‘Or… is this bastard Kaizen trying to kill me?’
The assumption was that, without his knowledge, Kaizen had hired a skilled warrior.
As this thought crossed Rosenthaler’s mind, his expression darkened.
Whether or not I captured Per, Gaizen had to die anyway, but I felt a strong desire to kill him as painfully as possible.
“f*ck. What am I going to do about this?”
Rosenthaler’s voice was soft. He was so frustrated that he finally revealed his voice in front of Rubin.
Judging by that, Rubin thought it was time to put an end to this boring fight.
I had gradually raised his level and figured out his fighting style and habits, so now it was time to see what his maximum was.
To do that, we need a blow that will startle him.
‘Brion Auror is absolutely not allowed. And revealing the dark side is not allowed yet.’
If he had only dealt with Rosenthaler in secret, he would have risked revealing his true nature. There was no need to become the object of the imperial command’s attention unnecessarily.
Rubin, who had been thinking that he might as well use magic, soon gave up. Rubin’s mana was currently not at a level where it could be used in actual combat.
Just then, a good idea occurred to me. Something heavy in Rubin’s pocket.
‘There was a magic stone that Kaizen gave me.’
As Kaizen said, I don’t know if the magic built in is really ‘Ice Strike’, but either way, it was definitely a magic that would trouble Rubin.
And that means it’s enough to confuse Rosenthaler, too.
‘Let’s reveal the darkness a little. Just a little so that they can’t gauge my realm.’
Then, he could just pretend that he was also struggling to survive the attack. Since they were both wearing masks, there were plenty of other ways to escape.
Rubin, who had formulated the plan, did not hesitate. He soon assumed an attack stance and rushed straight at Rosenthaler.
‘But if that little brat is a magic student, why doesn’t he use magic?’
As if the question had been conveyed, Rubin activated the magic stone at the right moment. He held the magic stone tightly and shouted the starting word.
“Ice Strike!”
A voice that sounded familiar. For a moment, that thought crossed Rosenthaler’s mind, but he had no time to continue the thought. Rubin threw the glowing magic stone into the air.
Jiiing.
Then, using the instantaneous power that had been increased by the darkness, it flashed in front of Rosenthaler’s nose. Rosenthaler felt that Per had disappeared from his sight for a moment.
The next moment.
Boom.
Along with the loud noise that announced the appearance of the magic stone, I felt something wrapping around my whole body.
“… … !”
It was a power and speed I had never felt before.
‘This kid…! Was he hiding it all this time?’
Rubin succeeded in temporarily restricting all of Rosenthaler’s movements.
He immediately pulled out his dagger. It was not the Soul Weapon Blood Frost, but an illusive weapon.
Phew.
At that moment, a sphere made of ice burst out of the air from the magic stone.
‘As expected, the ice attack was a lie.’
The magic embedded in the magic stone was not Ice Strike, but Ice Lightning. In other words, it was a bomb made of ice. It was an attack magic that was two levels higher than Ice Strike.
“You, you, really?”
Rosenthaler had an instinct that it was Rubin he had been dealing with, but he could not continue.
Because Rubin was grabbing his own neck and was about to swing his dagger down.
‘You’ll have to show your worth if you don’t want to die here, Rosenthaler!’
Kwakwakwakwakwang.
The ice lightning exploded with a loud noise, sending ice shards flying in all directions.
“What the hell is this situation!”
Rosenthaler unleashed his five-star aura at once and let out a roar of rage.
“… … !”
Not only that. Amidst the countless ice shards flying in all directions, the thing reached out its hand into the air.
Right after.
Wheeeeeeing.
With a thunderous roar that tore through the air, something heavy revealed its presence.
Rosenthaler’s treasure, which had been lying quietly on one side until now, a longsword covered in a bright yellow aura, was rushing towards Rubin.
More precisely, it flies into his hand at his master’s call.
‘A flying sword, that was it.’
Robson’s sword.
It was flying fiercely towards Rubin at an unavoidable speed and angle. It was clear that he would not be able to dodge it safely if it continued like this.
Still, Rubin was smiling brightly behind the mask.
