SRS 155

Once all students had entered, the earth within the illusion barrier vibrated, and a giant hydra appeared across from the students. It was identical to the one seen during the entrance exam, but the pressure it exerted was on an entirely different level.

Its ferocious momentum triggered the students’ fear. The first-years from the West Tower recoiled and cowered.

“At this rate, they will tell us to hunt hydras in our second year.”

“That’s impossible in the second year!”

“R-right?”

“Unless we were told to do it in third year!”

“…….”

“Yohan. I think you should help them calm down.”

Suhyeok suggested as he watched the students mutter absentmindedly, unaware of what they were even saying.

“Alright.”

Yohan immediately took measures to spread divine power so that his voice would echo in his friends’ heads.

“Everyone, calm down.”

When Yohan’s voice resonated in their minds like the headmaster’s, the students stopped talking one by one. Yohan looked at the hydra, which fortunately did not attack first unless provoked, and issued instructions.

“Don’t be afraid; just do as we practiced. We’ve trained for this. First, let’s encircle the hydra. The melee team to the front, mages in the middle, and ranged attackers in the back. The support team should pull back entirely to rescue and heal the injured.”

“Right… Let’s do it like we always do!”

“Yohan is helping us this time too!”

“What are you all doing? Move, move! Since it’s come to this, let’s become the top-scoring tower and get rewarded!”

The students, having become level-headed at the calmly given instructions, suppressed their fear and regained their reason. Yohan withdrew his divine power as he watched his friends move like well-trained soldiers. Speaking like the headmaster was effective for injecting opinions into a crowd and drawing their attention, but he did not want to use it often because it left him feeling dizzy afterwards.

“Are you alright? Lean on me for a bit.”

“…Thank you.”

Mikael looked up at the sky after letting the exhausted Yohan lean against him.

“I don’t see any mana gluttons.”

“But Senior Hale wouldn’t have made up something that didn’t exist.”

“That’s true. I agree.”

“…What should we do? Will you be fine?”

A mana glutton was a monster one grade higher than a mana predator, which mages already found troublesome. While a predator ate mana flowing from a mage, a glutton steal the mana from the mage. Concerned by the difference in the amount being taken, Yohan looked at Mikael, who hesitated for a moment before smiling.

“It’s fine. I’ll try facing them once, and it feels like I’m losing too much mana to handle, I’ll retreat then. For now, let’s use flight magic.”

“True. Someone needs to draw aggro from above so the mages on the ground don’t get hurt.”

Suhyeok patted Mikael’s shoulder. It was his way of saying “do your best.”

Yohan nodded with a heavy heart once he realized that he lacked a justification to stop Mikael, especially since Suhyeok pointed out things he hadn’t considered.

“Then, I’m counting on you.”

A mage deprived of mana falls into a state of exhaustion, and in severe cases, loses consciousness. Although he knew this, he was very reluctant to expose Mikael to danger, but there was no other way. If he was really worried, it would have been wiser to quickly cooperate [visit our site]with his friends to defeat the hydra and get out, rather than dragging things out worrying about Mikael.

When Yohan reluctantly asked, Mikael cast flight magic on everyone in Room 304. His casting speed was faster than in the past. Just as the other students were growing, Mikael’s skills were also steadily improving.

He grabbed Yohan’s forearm, who was still worried, and whispered.

“It’s fine. I won’t faint just because I lose a little mana. Besides, this test has a contribution system. It will be faster to fill up my contribution and exit than to get exhausted from having my mana drained.”

“…I suppose so.”

Perhaps it was because he decided to wield mana instead of divine power, which he had been forbidden to use. Mikael’s mana was as great as Yohan’s divine power. Yohan allowed himself to relax as Mikael repeatedly said that he was fine.

“Don’t overdo it. If it gets hard, make sure to ask for help.”

“Yes.”

“Then, let’s begin.”

Once all preparations were complete, Yohan signaled Suhyeok and Kylus. The two relayed the orders to the team leaders, and the melee team moved first. The students, wielding their respective weapons, launched an offensive against the hydra. The hydra woke up and opened its eyes under the barrage of attacks and roared.

“Divine shield squad, to the front!”

Since they had suffered from the creature’s poison in a previous battle, the West Tower students had come prepared this time. They had received numerous blessings from priests and saints. They formed a line with shields imbued with a significant amount of divine power. At that moment, the hydra gurgled and spewed poison.

Ssssssss!

The poison was blocked by the divine barriers projected by the shields, making a searing noise.

“Now! Attack again!”

When a brave warrior friend shouted, the students let out a roar and thrust their weapons into the hydra’s body.

“Preparation complete! Melee team, pull back!”

Melek warned through amplification magic. The warriors retreated two steps, and immediately after, the mages’ magic projectiles rained down on the hydra. The ranged team responded instantly to maintain the flow of the offensive by firing arrows and throwing spears.

–Grrrrrrr!

The giant hydra stomped its feet at the offensive.

“Mikael.”

“The earth shall be peaceful.”

Upon receiving Yohan’s signal, Mikael chanted a spell almost simultaneously with the hydra stomping its feet, calming the ground that was on the verge of an earthquake.

“We’ll back.”

Suhyeok and Kylus spotted the hesitant and flustered hydra and jumped down. Their intention was to deliver a powerful blow to exploit its weakness.

It was right when the two of them jumped.

Swish!

From afar, something rushed toward Mikael and Yohan out of the darkness.

“Yohan!”

Mikael, who had been holding onto Yohan, sensed the danger and hurriedly flew downward. Yohan realized the identity of the approaching enemies a step too late. It wasn’t just one. Three monstrous birds were flying in from three directions.

Mana gluttons…!

Yohan threw a spear made of divine power, but that alone was not enough to hit the birds. The creatures chirped as if they were mocking him; they easily dodged Yohan’s spear, and charged at him again.

As they got closer than a certain distance, the creatures greedily opened their beaks.

“…Ugh.”

Even through his skin, Yohan could feel his invisible mana being sucked into the beaks of the monster birds.

–Skree! Skree!

The monstrous birds flew in even faster. Perhaps because they had absorbed mana, their speed appeared to have increased significantly.

“Yohan, can you hit them? Maintaining precise flight while dealing with those things is too much for me.”

Because it was difficult to maintain flight separately from Yohan, Mikael chose to pick him up instead and asked a question while dodging the agile attackers. Sweat had already formed on his forehead.

“…I should be able to at least interfere. Undine.”

Yohan called upon the mid water spirit he had contracted visit our site with long ago. The water spirit appeared. She tilted her head, and then, upon realizing the situation, gasped in shock and clung to Yohan. Her cowardly nature was still the same.

“Undine. Can you weave through those birds and draw their attention? If they aren’t looking at you, you can attack with water. I’ll give you as much energy as you need.”

Though Undine was flustered and hesitated, the spirit gained courage when Yohan mentioned sharing energy. The water spirit nodded and flew toward the monster birds.

Bang!

Undine detonated water bombs in mid-air to draw the birds’ attention. Angered by the nuisance, the monster birds glared at the spirit. Yohan felt like he could hear the frightened spirit’s voice from somewhere.

Soon after, the spirit began to run away with her tail tucked to avoid the monsters targeting it.

“Can Undine keep drawing their attention?”

“No. She’ll return after being chased for a bit.”

“In that case….”

Yohan frowned. Then, Mikael shook his head as he guessed the plan his friend had come up with.

“Undine isn’t enough. The difference in rank is too great.”

“I know. But….”

Yohan gripped his spear with a complicated expression.

Can I hit them with this spear? The birds are too fast. Or maybe an arrow…

No. Arrows are slow too. Then…

While various thoughts were swirling in his head, Mikael lowered Yohan from his embrace and cast a flying spell on him again. Then, he reached out a hand. Straight fingers grasped Yohan’s arm and lifted it. Stunned, Yohan followed his lead and stretched one arm straight forward.

Just as he was wondering what he was supposed to do in this posture, [stolen content]he looked up at Mikael, and the latter, who had pressed his body close to Yohan’s back, whispered.

“Yohan. Do you know what a gun is?”

“A gun? I know. People from other dimensions used them often. But those things can’t wound a monster–”

“I’m not telling you to use a gun. I’m telling you to try using divine power like a gun.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll help you. Concentrate the divine power on your fingertips.”

Mikael held Yohan’s other arm to support the one he was holding up. Yohan hesitated, but seeing the water spirit being chased on the verge of tears, he realized there wasn’t much time and gathered divine power at his fingertips.

“It’s not a simple discharge. Target the bird and fire the divine power in its direction. Give your divine power a will. Create the trajectory of a bullet in your mind. And then, imagine and grant it the fastest speed you can achieve.”

Mikael whispered in a gentle voice and gripped Yohan’s wrist tightly. A low laugh brushed past Yohan’s ear, he had ​visit our site​realized that Yohan was completely clueless.

“You can do it.”

At that very moment, Yohan felt an unfamiliar divine power flowing from Mikael.

Mikael’s divine power flowed through Yohan’s body, stimulating all his senses to tell him where and how to channel the power, which path to create to shoot it out, and at what speed to release it.

At that, Yohan looked at him in shock.

“…You!”