062

Gwen’s strategy, while not as refined as Qantaii’s, was stable and unique.

She knew she couldn’t use systematic tactics as well as Qantaii.

She also knew that, being pushed back by the homeroom teachers of Classes D and E, she would have to face numerous harpies.

‘The inadequate and the timid have their own ways.’

She took what she could and discarded what she couldn't.

What she wouldn’t take were the lives of the harpies.

‘This isn’t a competition to kill the most, but a competition to see the students’ capabilities.’

What she took was making the students shine.

The harpies, with more than forty already dead, no longer had concepts like vanguards or rear guards.

Nearly a hundred harpies flew in the sky, seething with venom, making it difficult to even enter or retreat for battle.

Gwen had obsessively prepared for all of this and guided the students.

“Raise shields!”

The students huddled together and solidified their defense with their shields up.

The shields were not breached.

“The students have good stamina, don’t they?”

“If you look at the movement of the shields, you can see them ripple in the middle. The area itself isn’t that large, so it seems the students are taking turns inside.”

“A keen observation. A full forty of our students are positioned as shield bearers! The shield bearers at the front are Taylor, Pormag…”

A few quick-witted students thrust their spears through the gaps between the shields when the number of harpies was low.

The goal was to prevent the harpies from approaching while also inflicting injuries.

“The person who just quickly thrust their spear from the front is Henna. And the students who accurately thrust their spears from the flanks are Jeil and Rotia.”

And when an hour had passed.

They all threw leather pouches into the air.

They were bundles of spices containing salt, pepper, and chili powder.

— Kieeeeeeeeeek!

The harpies shrieked and flapped their wings, and in the meantime, the students quickly retreated.

Their retreat was even cleaner and faster than Qantaii's unit.

“The last student remaining while retreating is Kieros. And even in that process, there are students holding their shields up for defense. They are students with excellent courage and stamina, and they are all…”

Clap, clap, clap.

“Clever.”

“They understand the purpose of this test well.”

“I’m seeing the individual tendencies and skills of the students more than I expected. How interesting.”

That was because Gwen herself was as busy as her students.

Afraid that the evaluating instructors might miss something when scoring, she interjected one by one, calling out the students’ names and boasting about what roles they had and how well they performed.

‘She’s a good person.’

Cassian secretly smiled as he watched her.

He didn’t dislike that side of Gwen.

Although she wanted to be the protagonist in every area, she didn't show that greed when she was with her students.

When it was the students' time to shine, she willingly took on the role of a supporting character, no, a supporter from offstage entirely.

Above all, what Cassian rated highly about her was that the students were probably unaware of her efforts.

‘She might take credit for it during class.’

That was a bit more like Gwen.

With that thought, Cassian slowly got up from his seat.

“Teacher. Where are you going?”

Gwen, who had been going back and forth between the evaluating instructors, meticulously checking each student's score, looked at Cassian.

“Yes. I need to prepare too.”

Seeing that kind of support made me antsy, so I couldn't just stand by and watch.

Cassian checked the luring pouch he had in his arms and started walking towards the path he had taken with Hati.

And a little while later.

“Now then~”

Berlis got up from her seat and clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention.

“There are too many screens, it’s so tiring~ I feel like I’m using too much mana, so may I take a short break? And later, for the screens, hmm~ I’ve shown enough of the returning students' dorms, so I’ll just show the evaluation site!”

“Ah, yes, of course. Just maintaining the screens until now has been a feat of tremendous magic. It’s not an artifact, so handling all this directly must be so tiring!”

At Berlis’s words, the Head of Department quickly chimed in.

It was a perfectly timed exchange, as if they had written a script together.

Berlis smiled sweetly and ended the magic.

“The one who understands my heart is truly the Head of Department~ Then I’ll go get some fresh air and recharge my mana for a bit~”

She placed a hand on her head as if dizzy and staggered out of the tent.

After walking for a while and getting quite a distance from the tent, Berlis stopped in her tracks and looked up at the sky.

In the distance, dark clouds were rolling in.

“Nice weather.”

She smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits.

And around the same time.

“We should get going too.”

The Class F students also quietly packed up and got up.

Normally, they should have moved at the very last moment.

However, to start the event on top of the canyon, they had to start moving diligently beforehand.

They had to climb up the canyon while Class C drew the harpies’ attention.

To avoid people’s eyes, they left the tents as they were.

Among the classes that had already taken the test or were about to, no one paid any attention to Class F.

They just thought it was a final strategy review and practice before the test.

At those indifferent gazes, Pan and Bridget exchanged glances and smiled.

All the students of Class F, except for one, gathered at the prearranged mountain path.

There were no stragglers.

“We’re going to move as quietly and safely as possible. Everyone needs to look out for their friends around them so we can go without any dropouts.”

Pan stood at the very front.

His role, having experienced mercenary life, however briefly, was important.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

I walked on endlessly, following the map I had made.

It was a roughly made map, but it still showed about 95% accuracy.

The places with errors were mostly where natural features had changed due to weather conditions or monsters.

I moved slowly, conserving as much stamina as possible.

— Kieeeeeeeek!

After walking for about an hour, I heard the venomous cries of harpies in the distance.

‘…Huh?’

For some reason, my body froze.

It was just a normal harpy cry, but I felt something subtly different.

Was my body reacting on its own because I was too worried about the students?

Or had my body tensed up without me realizing it?

‘That must be it.’

From now on, I had to go and lure five Beholders.

In front of Berlis, I had said I could do it, that it was fine, but it seemed the depths of my body felt otherwise.

‘Let’s go.’

But it was something that had to be done nonetheless.

I slowly began to walk again.

* * *

Jessie, the homeroom teacher of Class C, repeatedly warned her students.

“So everyone has to hold their shields up tight, okay? The harpies don’t have a vanguard and rear guard difference anymore!”

After watching Class B’s test, she had run to the Class C students with a pale face.

It got to the point where the returning students of Class C were the ones comforting her.

“Teacher, you’ve already said that a hundred times.”

“Don’t worry. They’re just harpies, after all. You said we don’t need to worry about harpies.”

“Hey, that’s not it!”

No matter how much she emphasized it, her words didn’t seem to get through to the students.

Not only was she not the type to control students through charisma, but there was also a huge perception gap between her, who had seen the screen directly, and the students who had just been waiting outside.

“Alright, it’s time, let’s go!”

A few of the returning students took the lead and organized the entire formation.

Jessie stood with a worried face, watching them leave.

And inside the Class F tent.

The only student who hadn't followed Pan's group rose from her seat.

As she moved, a purple glow flickered.

Originally, she was supposed to go up the canyon with the other Class F students.

But a few hours ago, before Cassian left, he had come to see her, and the plan was modified.

‘Another teacher told me. Our purpose isn’t to fight and win. You should do what you do best.’

‘You mean I should become bait in the middle of a flock of venomous harpies and let them tear my body apart? Understood.’

‘No, then please, please do the second thing you do best.’

‘You mean I should heal the other students? That’s rather inefficient, you’re asking me to do something difficult. My holy power will surely be wasted. I won’t get a good score.’

‘Then let’s do this.’

Then, Cassian smiled at Yuria.

‘You said you can’t like your failures. Let’s erase a future that won’t come.’

The few hours since he left.

Yuria mulled over the words Cassian had left her.

‘We can make the blind see, the lame walk, and the mute speak.’

And she recalled the words of the god she had abandoned.

‘But it may be more important to assist the blind, to carry the lame, and to understand the voice of the mute.’

Although she had abandoned her god, she had not abandoned the prayers.

‘Always be present in the lowest of places.’

A faint purple light began to slowly follow the footsteps of Class C.

— Kieeeeeeeeeek!

Class C arrived where the harpies’ cries could be heard.

Normally, they should have organized their ranks in a shaded area and then advanced.

However.

— Kieeeeeeeeeek!

“Th-this is strange. Why, my body?”

Every time they heard a cry, the students felt their knees go weak and a tingling sensation in their bladders.

Their hearts pounded for no reason, and their hands were covered in cold sweat.

This was not a normal reaction.

None of the students from the previous classes had reacted this way to the harpy cries.

— Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

And that cry.

It was getting closer.

— Kkieeeeeagakgakgakgakgakakakak!

It sounded like a wail, and also like laughter that was mocking them.

Finally, the students realized.

The shade they thought was a place to hide their bodies wasn’t created by a natural feature.

It was a shadow cast by a huge flock of harpies.

— Kieeeeeeeeeek!

And at its center, a harpy twice as large as the others, with a pair of demonic wings, had its horizontally elongated mouth wide open.

It was the Harpy Queen.

“Shields uuuuuuuuup!”

One of the returning students screamed as if in despair, and the harpies' attack rained down on them.

Kwaaaaaang!

With a huge impact sound, most of the students tumbled to the ground.

There were some students who raised their shields at the returning student’s shout, but they were very few.

Just when they might have lost their lives in an instant.

What saved them was a dome-shaped barrier of purple light.

“This way.”

A small, whispering voice was heard, as if caressing their voices.

They felt the sense of fear that had been suffocating them until just now disappear.

The students' eyes turned to their center.

There, the smallest girl among all the students gathered was praying, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

“Quickly…”

“Gather! Grab the students around you! Are you going to live alone?”

“Fuck, run! You wanna die? Huh?!”

Before her voice could even finish, the returning students who had come to their senses first moved quickly, pulling the new students.

Slapping the cheeks of those who couldn’t come to their senses, and grabbing the hair of those who were crying.

They had to live.

And there were those who were watching this scene.

It was the Class F students.

Normally, they should have just silently watched Class C’s fight and waited.

They were supposed to watch the enraged harpies and then aim for an easy gain when the Beholders the teacher brought and the harpies started fighting each other.

“...Let’s save them.”

Pan, who had been observing the situation gravely, turned his head.

Bridget, and Eleveth too.

All the returning students who had gone through thick and thin together in Class F nodded.

“You guys provide cover with your bows. You’re confident you won’t hit us, right?”

Pan smiled awkwardly as he looked at the students.

Perhaps because they knew the weight of their seniors’ decision.

The new students, with tense faces, only nodded.

“Here we go.”

After saying that, Pan started running down.

And one hour before the clash.

Cassian drew his sword.

The area around the eye of the Beholder that had noticed him in front was buzzing and distorting.

“…Come.”

A long-stemmed mana laser was fired towards him.

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