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Chapter 83

“Ugh... this place seems tough.”

“I thought the first subjugation practical is usually held in D-class Danger Zones. What is thi— cough! Cough!”

With most of the students never having been to a Danger Zone before, they were unable to adapt, caught up in constant coughing or retching. Even those who did have prior experience seemed mostly left in bad shape.

But that wasn’t strange; this was the Black Lotus Seas, a place famous even among other C-class Danger Zones for its high concentration of demonic aura in the air.

“Agh... I don’t think I can do this...”

“I’m heading back...”

Many quickly declared forfeit and retreated, having underestimated the intensity of the demonic aura here. Feeling their own rapidly deteriorating condition and experiencing symptoms of mana backflow, they knew that overexerting themselves here could lead to serious injuries and potentially ruin their entire semester.

“I need to be more cautious...”

“This place sucks...”

Watching the ones who retreated already, the remaining students braced themselves and heightened their senses as they slowly adapted to the harsh atmosphere of the Black Lotus Seas.

“Hm. That should do it,” said Se-Hoon.

Despite having just passed through the terminal, Se-Hoon was already able to walk lightly, shaking off his body as he moved.

“How is he...”

“Huh...?”

Mystified, the surrounding students, who had been busy catching their breath, all wondered how Se-Hoon had so rapidly adapted to the atmosphere. Though he was an honor student, wasn’t he still a student of Borsippa, a non-combat technical college?

Did he wear some special equipment?

He seems to be only wearing light armor...

Meanwhile, the person in question was taking a deep breath.

Breathing in the air mixed with demonic aura into his body, his darkness mana—Moon Shadow—spread out like a net inside him.

Ssss-

Experiencing the efficiency of Moon Shadow in expelling the demonic aura, Se-Hoon made a satisfied smile.

As expected, it’s way easier with darkness mana.

Unlike the quite tricky-to-control fire mana, which collided with the demonic aura when attempting to burn it away, darkness mana just calmly removed any demonic aura in his system.

The process wasn’t as fast as before the regression, but he was still satisfied with how it was now.

He turned to look at his side.

“Have you gotten used to it already?”

Answering his question, Erika, who somehow managed to walk alongside him, nodded.

“Yes.”

“Caw!”

A harsh caw followed her short response.

Lowering his gaze at that familiar sound, Se-Hoon saw her holding a stark white birdcage with a crow sitting on a perch inside.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that one.”

“Well, I don’t usually need it.”

It was the same crow that Erika had buffed to shatter the automaton during the entrance ceremony. Se-Hoon remembered the moment clearly since she had buffed an ordinary animal and not a familiar spirit.

I thought it was only for the demonstration... So it’s used in combat too?

Although Erika was highly proficient at buffs, there was a high chance that she would be overwhelmed immediately once the effects of the buffs weekend even slightly.

And if that happened, then aside from the crow’s misfortune, the real concern would be that her only weapon would be gone in an instant, which wouldn’t be good at all.

“Is an ordinary crow going to be enough?”

“It’s fine. It’s not very dangerous here anyways.”

“Hm. True, true.”

While he hadn’t properly seen her in combat yet, based on the buffs she applied during her demonstration and glimpses of her potential, her combat abilities were at least B-rank.

And since the Black Lotus Seas, despite being a notoriously difficult Danger Zone, was ultimately only a C-class zone, it was unlikely to pose a danger to her.

She must be really confident, judging by how she came here in just her student uniform.

Also noticing that she seemed to have brought no other special equipment aside from the birdcage, Se-Hoon further inspected her, wondering if she had hidden something.

“Caw!”

The crow inside the cage protested his gaze by spreading its wings and cawing. Realizing what it was doing, Se-Hoon looked at it incredulously as Erika inserted her index finger into the cage.

“Caw?”

The crow hopped toward her finger, rubbing its beak and face against it.

It has completely become her pet. He was fascinated by the affectionate crow.

Lowering her head to also look down at the cage, Erika calmly started to speak.

“And—”

Boom!

But before she could finish, a heavy sound interrupted her words.

Wondering if a monster had appeared, Se-Hoon quickly turned his head, but all he saw was a small platform on the ground and a man standing on it.

Isn’t he...

The man was over two meters tall, boasting a physique that looked like a carving from a log. His short hair was peppered gray and his face bore deep wrinkles and scars, imparting both the weight of years and an intimidating presence.

Narrowing his eyes at the familiar figure, Se-Hoon watched the man, who had drawn the attention of the surrounding students, begin to speak.

“I am Kasar, the head professor of the Department of Swordsmanship and the one in charge of this first-year subjugation practical! Now, before we officially begin, I’ll talk briefly for a minute, so pay attention!”

Hearing his introduction, the students quickly straightened up and focused on him.

Considering that Kasar was the man poised to hold one of Babel’s highest authorities next year—the position of the dean of Aqaur Quf—everyone had immediately responded to his instructions.

“As you all might already know, this practical is one of the most important evaluation assessments in Babel! After all, heroes are always evaluated based on how well they can subjugate monsters and demons.”

Letting those words sink in, Kasar slowly looked over the tense faces of the students, before continuing calmly, “As this should be you all’s first practical, many of you should be nervous right now, so let me give you one piece of advice! And that is... don’t worry too much about your results today!”

Upon those words, every student expected some cliché advice about trying harder next time even if they fail today, but what followed was different.

“Regardless of whether you are more nervous than usual, too complacent, or too careless, your results today will be purely based on your talents! So, if you performed poorly today, it simply means that your talent and skill are lacking! There is no other grandiose reason!”

“...”

“Thus, I will warn you all in advance: if anyone dares to come to me with some foolish reason, asking to appeal the results after the exam, I’ll make sure you get a failing mark for this practical!”

Do not make excuses for the results—the warning disguised as advice did the opposite of relaxing everyone’s expressions; it made them all more tense.

With Kasar’s warning on top of the high pressure on the students due to the harsh atmosphere of the Black Lotus Seas, the students immediately suffered.

“Agh...I don’t think I can... blargh!”

“I-I’m just going to try again next time.”

The ones who were holding on despite their poor condition fled to the terminal, and the ones who had been somewhat confident re-evaluated their condition.

Watching the students turning into a chaotic mess, Kasar made a satisfied look.

Mmm. It should be at least this intense to give it some resemblance to a real combat situation.

Considering that the practical was conducted with various safety measures in place and even the supervision of many instructors, it was hard for the students to regard it as an actual combat.

As such, Kasar pressured the students psychologically to instill a sense of real pressure.

Blustering without knowing one’s own place will only lead to a swift defeat.

No matter how much the times had changed or how much the training methods had evolved, it was a principle that remained unchanged throughout the centuries.

He scanned the students again.

“At least it’s not raining, it should be easy to find the monsters.”

“I can find them well even in the rain.”

Despite the chaos among the students, he noticed two students chatting amongst the crowd without any disturbance.

...Have they already gotten used to the atmosphere?

Within their own world, Se-Hoon and Erika were chatting comfortably while breathing in the atmosphere that should have been tough for freshmen to get used to. Even Kasar’s warning just now didn’t seem to have burdened them in any way.

But what was even more perplexing was that they weren’t arrogant at all over the fact that they had gotten used to the atmosphere already. They just seemed to find such an environment extremely natural.

Erika I understand, but Lee Se-Hoon... that guy is pretty unusual.

Even though he was supposed to be a student of the Department of Blacksmithing, his current demeanor resembled that of an experienced hero. And while that alone was peculiar, what truly piqued his interest was something else.

He was the one who honed the kitchen knife I left at Helena’s place.

He recalled how the kitchen knife’s blade was unbelievably sharp for a blade that a freshman honed. Back then, he had been skeptical, but now, after witnessing all of Se-Hoon’s various accomplishments so far, he couldn’t help but believe that Se-Hoon had actually honed it.

I’ll have to see how he fights today.

Thinking about his ability to tell what kind of a person someone was just by watching them fight, he decided to keep a close eye on Se-Hoon.

With his decision made, he resumed the briefing, “It seems like this is everyone that remains, so I’ll start explaining the procedure.”

Waiting for the chaotic cluster of students to settle down again, he gestured to the teaching assistants waiting by his side. Moments later, a giant screen was projected in midair.

“The subjugation practical will be conducted on a point system. It means we’ll see how efficiently you can hunt down monsters within the given time limit.”

Images of monsters inhabiting the Black Lotus Seas appeared on the screen, along with assigned points.

E-rank monsters were worth twenty to thirty points, D-ranks were around sixty to eighty, and several C-rank monsters were assigned significantly higher points.

“The Black Lotus Seas has fewer C-rank monsters relative to its vast size, so if you’re confident in your abilities, you’ll need to move quickly.”

To prevent their competitors from getting ahead, the students had to move around incessantly. Realizing how the practical would work, the students glanced at each. Satisfied by their reactions, Kasar, began to finish up the explanation.

“The time limit is six hours. Failing to return within the time frame will result in a penalty, so keep this in mind... and there’s another point I need to talk about.”

Receiving a cloak from an assistant standing by, he dramatically raised it above his head.

“This cloak is a newly developed protective armor that can absorb all damage inflicted on the wearer.”

He lightly tapped on the cloak to activate its protective mechanism and then looked around at the students.

“However, to prevent it from overly shielding and affecting the exam’s integrity, we’ve added one feature to it: the Forced Transfer function.”

He then struck the cloak with a powerful punch.

The moment the punch connected with the cloak, complex magic arrays appeared all over it before it vanished from the stage.

Dusting off his hands, Kasar looked back toward the students who were looking on in surprise.

“If you accumulate enough potential injuries that would render you incapacitated or dead, the cloak will transport you back to the terminal. Do you understand what this means?”

Being ejected from the exam midway through equated to failure in any test.

“Those who are forcibly transferred, regardless if they were in first or second place, will automatically fail the practical. Your points will mean nothing if you’re dead.”

“...”

“So for this subjugation practical session, think of it as real combat and use it to understand your own level. This is the foundation that every hero possesses.”

Seeing the students tense up once again, Kasar nodded.

“The practical starts in twenty minutes. Entry will proceed sequentially with the cloak on, so if you don’t want to fail, feel free to withdraw now. That’s all!”

Finished with his briefing, he stepped down from the platform and lifted what he had been standing on.

Whoosh!

The sound alone indicated the platform’s hefty weight.

Holding it in one hand, he turned to head back inside the terminal, but then he paused.

“Ah. I almost forgot.”

He looked back at the students.

“This subjugation practical allows for teams of two. Feel free to team up as you wish.”

Dropping that crucial piece of information last, he entered the terminal, leaving behind the students who naturally began to look at each other.

Thinking about the imminent grueling test that demanded squeezing oneself to the limit for six hours, the students became determined to secure the presence of a reliable ally that could make a world of difference in the scores.

“I knew it! Let’s go!”

“Uh... weren’t we a team of three?”

“Then who’s dropping out?”

Trying to meet the criteria, both those who had prearranged teams due to knowing that the previous practicals allowed students to work in teams and the teams with an uneven number of members swiftly kicked out or split up their groups.

For those unfortunate enough without a party after all the various minor disputes that arose in the process, they had to hustle to find capable teammates in urgency.

“What a mess.”

Having been informed about the two-person teams by her brother beforehand, Erika indifferently watched the struggle.

“Let’s team up,” she said.

She knew that Se-Hoon, who lacked physical capabilities, would need someone like her who could provide support. Thus, with full confidence, she assumed that they would be on the same team.

“Ah, sorry. I’ve already agreed to team up with Jake.”

Unfortunately, Se-Hoon rejected her offer without a moment of hesitation.

“...Can’t you team up with me?”

“Nope. I can’t.”

In truth, he had chosen Jake intending to properly train him in real combat situations, but he felt no need to explain that much so he just quickly rejected her.

“You have plenty of people lining up to team with you. Just find someone better than me from them. I’ll be going then!”

Waving his hand, he headed toward Jake, who was surrounded by other students.

Leaving behind Erika, who stood motionless, watching his retreating figure.

“Uh...”

As soon as Se-Hoon left, a student had approached her.

“Get a clue, will you?” But she brusquely shooed the student away.

Seeing this, the rest of the students around her didn’t even try to ask to team up with her, fearing they might be rejected as well. They quickly scattered, leaving Erika all alone, staring at the duo from afar.

“Caw!”

The crow cried out fiercely inside the cage, speaking on behalf of its owner.

***

There was a vast network of tunnels within the Black Lotus Seas, formed by the D-rank monster, Lotus Rabbit. The tunnels were large enough for an adult man to crawl into, and they were complexly interconnected deep underground.

Crunch, crackle-

Inside one of these tunnels, a chilling sound echoed.

The noise of bones being crushed and flesh being ground repeated several times over before ten figures emerged from the tunnel, wearing nothing but the remains of the monsters that once inhabited it.

“Sigh... creating bodies from monster corpses feels disgusting every time,” grumbled Willy, the first to emerge. He frowned while inspecting his new body.

Constructed from the carcasses of Lotus Rabbits and various artificial body parts, the sight instinctively provoked revulsion, but he shrugged it off as if it were nothing. Over the past few years, he had frequently switched to even more grotesque bodies, so it was nothing special.

“Captain. Are you sure we won’t get caught?” asked one of Willy’s subordinates as he emerged from the tunnel.

Willy loosened up his body.

“We won’t. To their radars, we’ll appear just like monsters. We just need to be careful when we’re on the move."

“To think we’d go to such lengths just to kill a few brats.”

“I know right? But what choice do we have if the master commands it?”

Having fully adjusted to his body, Willy then reached for a small seam on his abdomen and pulled it wide open.

Click!

His abdomen opened up like a door.

Reaching into the void space inside, he pulled out a black bundle and tossed it to one of his subordinates.

“Plant these thoroughly throughout the Black Lotus Seas.”

“Yes, sir.”

They nodded and quickly melded into the ground, disappearing into the forest beyond. Willy reached back into the void space to pull out another item.

Thump, thump-

This time, he pulled out a fist-sized cube with densely inscribed red letters, pulsing unpleasantly as if alive. Examining the cube, he reminded himself of the command from his master, Puppeteer.

The Divine Tree, huh...? I wonder how useful it is.

Thinking about how the Divine Tree was an ingredient that even his master, the Puppeteer itself, would swear by, he imagined the chaos that was about to unfold.

Smiling at the thought, he quietly moved deeper into the Black Lotus Seas with the rest of his subordinates.