BXBX NOVEL Chapter 100 - The Competition (3)
Chapter 100 - The Competition (3)
Let\'s see.
One of them was built like an orc, a massive figure.
Another was incredibly agile, and the last one was a muscular woman, whose physique couldn\'t be hidden even by her clothes.
Their skin was darker than Kirrin’s, their eyes a piercing red, and their faces emotionless, impossible to read.
They were unmistakably pureblood Dark Elves. Linus and I had killed a lot of them back in the Black Swamp area.
We ambushed them while they were infiltrating human defensive lines, dozens of them at once.
Come to think of it, maybe some of the Nemara tribe were mixed in back then.
That was well before the assassination attempt on the Emperor, so it’s possible.
"Has Kirrin not arrived?"
Snapping me out of my thoughts, one of the Dark Elves asked again, his voice so monotonous it was as if nothing in the world interested him.
"Before you ask about Kirrin’s whereabouts, shouldn’t you first…."
"Apologize for barging in unannounced and introduce yourselves properly?"
Before I could finish, Hindrasta interrupted.
The woman in front, showing no emotion, glanced at Hindrasta and slightly bowed her head.
"We are Kirrin’s siblings."
"The headmaster’s siblings?"
Everyone was surprised. Did Kirrin have siblings?
Actually, it’s not that strange.
Dark Elves and regular elves don’t use the word "family" but rather the term "tribe."
In the case of elves, it’s a matriarchal society, with no concept of fathers, only mothers. Elven men leave the forest upon coming of age, wandering the continent, and visiting nearby forests to procreate.
The children are raised communally by the mothers, so all children of similar age are essentially siblings.
Dark Elves, on the other hand, have a patriarchal, polygamous society.
There is a tribal leader with multiple wives, and child-rearing is similarly communal.
So, those of the same age within a tribe are all considered siblings.
"We represent our tribe, and since our younger sibling is working hard in the human world, we thought it was commendable and wanted to see her face. We heard her academy students were participating in the competition, so we came to see if we could catch a glimpse."
"I see. Unfortunately, the headmaster isn’t here."
"Has she not arrived yet?"
"No. She’s not coming today."
I wasn’t lying.
Kirrin is currently tied up with academy work, and her attendance at the competition was uncertain.
Besides, since the evaluation is done through illusion magic, there’s no need for her to cheer anyone on.
I had already told her not to bother coming unless it was for giving out rewards and encouragement afterward if the students won.
"If you have any messages for her, feel free to leave them with me."
"I’ll speak to her directly if we meet later. Until then."
After the Dark Elves left, the students sighed in relief and stepped out from behind me.
Maybe it was just me, but the booth seemed a lot brighter now.
"What was that?!"
Ismera, who had been clinging to me, jumped back, startled, and pushed herself away.
"Who were those Dark Elves? Are they participating in the competition?"
Merilda asked, watching the Dark Elves disappear between the booths.
"Probably. Their numbers match, and if they were allowed through the main gate, I can\'t think of any other reason."
"True. Even though the war is over and their tribe was pardoned, they wouldn’t be allowed into a military base without a valid reason."
I hadn’t expected the Dark Elves to participate in the competition.
I don’t know about the other teams, but Dark Elves are a race specialized in assassination.
Even Kirrin, a half-blood, can jump up two floors in a single leap and handle throwing weapons as if it were instinct. Imagine how skilled the purebloods must be.
An unexpected threat has appeared…
# # # # #
The final identity checks of the participants were completed, and all the preliminary procedures were finished.
Now, only the main event remained.
Knightley was so tense that her lips were trembling, while Merilda clasped her hands together, eyes closed, taking deep breaths.
Hindrasta was munching on snacks provided by the organizers, and Ismera was continuously patting the students\' heads and rubbing their shoulders.
"You can do it. I believe in you."
But Ismera’s hands were trembling uncontrollably.
[Attention, all participants.]
At that moment, a magically amplified voice echoed throughout the hall.
[The organizers have prepared the evaluation scenario. The evaluation for this competition is as follows.]
The general details of the virtual scenario the students would face were clearly announced.
In summary, they were to infiltrate a facility equipped with various traps, detection spells, and security systems to steal important documents.
Additionally, they were provided with details about available allied forces, weather, terrain, and other specifics.
But the more I listened, the more familiar this sounded….
What is this…?
"Professor, this seems much harder than I thought…"
Knightley turned to me, her face filled with worry.
But I didn’t have time to answer Knightley’s concern.
Something was nagging at me, like I was on the verge of remembering something important.
"Professor! What should we do? We need to come up with a plan!"
"Quiet down, Knightley. Professor Dian seems to be thinking."
"Come on, now! What’s there to think about? We just need to do it!"
Hold on, hold on…. There was definitely an operation we ran that was similar to this….
Aha. I see. Kaiden, you bastard….
"Everyone, gather around. I’ll give you the plan now."
I laid out the upcoming scenario and provided specific strategies for each phase.
"Wait a minute, Professor. Is this for real?"
Ismera interrupted, listening intently.
"What do you mean?"
"You’re describing everything down to the smallest detail, like it’s a script. Is this really how it will go? What if even one thing is off? The students might get confused."
"It’ll probably play out like this."
"On what basis?"
"I’ve done this before."
"Excuse me…?"
[The evaluation will begin shortly. All teams, please prepare.]
At that moment, an announcement signaled the imminent start of the competition.
"There’s no time to explain everything now. Just follow the plan, got it?"
"And if it doesn’t go like that?"
"Then use everything Ismera and I have taught you so far to figure it out on your own."
Another announcement followed, calling out the teams and having them step forward from their respective booths in order.
[Imperial Special Mission Academy. Knightley and team, three members.]
"Alright, we’re off."
Ismera and I walked the students to the entrance of the hall to see them off.
"Professor Dian."
Just as I was about to turn back into the hall to escape the hot sun, Ismera called out to me.
"The strategy you just gave them… are you sure it’s accurate?"
"It’ll be mostly right. Don’t worry too much. Even if it’s not exact, the kids will handle it just fine."
"Really…?"
Still looking uneasy, Ismera nodded slowly before asking again.
"But, Professor, how do you know all of this?"
"I’ve done this exact mission during the war. It wasn’t a battle, but a mission. Remember, I mentioned I was part of a special task force?"
"I remember."
"Well, that’s why."
The scenario the students were about to face was based on a mission the Demon King Slayer Task Force had carried out during the war.
Many of the task force’s achievements are well known, but this particular mission was highly classified and had never been made public.
That means, out of all the people here today, only Kaiden and I know the full details.
Kaiden, you bastard. I can’t believe you pulled this off for an empire-wide competition….
Still, it’s not like giving instructions guarantees success. In the end, the students’ skills will decide the outcome.
"One way or another, it’s out of our hands now."
I stretched as I spoke.
"The students are in the thick of it. There’s nothing more we can do. You’ve worked hard this past month."
"I’ll go inside first…"
Looking utterly exhausted, Ismera returned inside.
After lingering for a moment, I wondered if there was a way to observe the students\' evaluation, so I headed toward the evaluation chamber.
Officials at the entrance tried to stop me, but luckily, Kaiden appeared from within.
"Let him through."
At Kaiden’s word, the officials immediately stepped aside. The prestige of the Hero Party is something else.
"Here to take a look at the evaluation?"
"Yeah."
"This way."
Following Kaiden inside, we immediately heard the sound of screams from one of the chambers.
"Waaaaah! Did I kill him?! I killed someone!!"
"This can’t be happening! No! Get away! Aaaahhh!"
In another chamber, academy students who had just finished their evaluations were stumbling out.
They were drenched in sweat and looked completely shaken by the experience.
Kaiden’s illusion magic is so realistic that it’s almost impossible to distinguish from reality. Facing it for the first time must be extremely difficult to endure.
In fact, mercenaries with real experience in killing might perform better than actual academy students in this scenario.
"You’re really a piece of work. Recreating one of our old missions just like that."
I said as we walked down the corridor, and Kaiden gave a faint smile.
"I judged it to be the most suitable test for assessing their capabilities."
"Did the Second Princess approve this?"
"Yes. It seems that, currently, nothing in the Security Office can be done without going through the Second Princess. It’s like seeing the Goddess Banpasha."
Banpasha is the Goddess of Destruction who wields hundreds of blades with hundreds of arms.
She falls to the earth, becoming even stronger after being despised by the Creator Deity, and ultimately slaughters everything on the final day—a very common trope.
It closely resembles the situation of the Second Princess, the child of a concubine, sharpening her sword while controlling the Security Office, and its affiliated organizations.
And Kaiden rarely speaks unnecessarily.
The fact that he compared the Second Princess to Banpasha means that, over the past few days of preparing for the competition, he has already grasped the situation in the Imperial Palace and is indirectly expressing that the Second Princess will eventually stage a coup like Banpasha.
Eventually, it will come, someday.
After looking around the evaluation chamber, Kaiden suggested we take a walk.
"The Capital Defense Headquarters is famous for its well-maintained gardens. How about we take a walk?"
"Alright. Sounds good."
After walking among the beautifully landscaped garden trees for a while, I suddenly thought of something and asked Kaiden.
"By the way, I’m curious about one thing. Did the Second Princess set any conditions on you in exchange for accepting my suggestion to use illusion magic?"
"As expected of you, Dian."
"What conditions? Did she ask you to join the Imperial Magic Division?"
"No. She asked me to become the Head Theoretical Professor at the Special Mission Academy."