Chapter 17
—Awoooooooo!!!
“Aaaagh!”
“Save me!”
“The werewolf escaped!”
“Hey! Hold on a little longer!”
“No! The magic tool containing the sleep spell is broken! We have no choice but to call a mage!”
“It was fine until yesterday, so why now...!”
“Damn it...! Is there no mage around?! I’ll pay handsomely, so help us! Please!!”
The werewolf standing on two legs was terrifying.
Its eyes gleamed yellow, and its claws were unnaturally long.
—Twang!!
Before long, the last chain was torn free.
The beast kicked off the ground.
“Aaaagh!”
The werewolf closed in on one of the caravan members and tried to swing those vicious claws.
“N-no!”
The beast merchant screamed.
If the werewolf drinks blood, we won’t be able to handle it.
It’s weak now because it’s starving, but if it absorbs even one person, the damage will spiral out of control.
“A-Avoid it!!”
—Clang!
Then a clear chime rang out.
The werewolf, its claws deflected, turned its bright yellow eyes toward the source.
“Are you all right!”
Yellow hair and a white cloak.
“L-Lunaris!”
She was a student at the knight academy.
“Now that I, Elian Hugo, am here, you’re safe!”
Blue mana was radiating from the blade.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was aura!
The beast merchant said, looking at his shoulder insignia.
“As expected, he’s a second-year! Body enhancement and aura, too!”
To think he could keep that newly learned aura going for so long!
Elian swung the blade, which shone white, at the werewolf.
A series of ear-splitting metallic clashes rang out.
Though he couldn’t land a decisive hit, it was enough to push the werewolf back.
The battle went on for several dozen seconds.
He was sent flying hard after being kicked by the werewolf.
Screeeech.
“Ggh...”
He’d made a mistake and allowed the attack through.
But the werewolf wasn’t in any better shape.
It knew that even a crude aura blade would still cut if it landed.
They stared at each other.
Both he and the werewolf knew it now.
Any opening would still lead to a decisive hit.
Then a quiet voice rang out.
“Why are you only focusing on him? I’m here too.”
A small figure jumped out from behind the werewolf.
She said it as if she were complaining, but the cause was probably her.
“You trying to die?”
Neither he nor the werewolf had sensed her approach until she was right up close.
Her reptilian eyes gleamed with a murderous light.
She slashed a large gash across the werewolf’s back.
The werewolf hurriedly turned and swung its claws.
Both attacks missed by a hair’s breadth.
It was obvious her swings lacked weight and strength.
But she was the one slowly accumulating real hits.
“That’s... the one from earlier?”
The famously sturdy scarecrow at Swordmillia.
The first-year dark horse who had cut it down in a single stroke without even using mana.
She was fighting the werewolf.
***
“You’re the junior I saw earlier! Perfect timing!”
The man in front of me shouted brightly as he joined in.
A dust-covered cloak,
He must have been fighting here until I arrived.
“What do you mean by ‘junior’?”
“Hmm. A bit prickly, aren’t you? Good. A junior should have some bite.”
With a handsome face, he cheerfully blurted out a misunderstanding-riddled comment.
Unfortunately, there was no time to correct him.
“Shall we handle this with just the two of us from here?”
“Sure.”
Because it hadn’t been cut cleanly.
...Hmm.
As expected, without any sword-related trait, even landing hits on anything C-rank or above didn’t mean much.
Isela would’ve cleanly split it in two.
That guy had an SSR swordsmanship trait.
His abilities were swordsmanship-related, too.
I should pick up a trait that lets me coat a sword in mana later.
—Grrrroooaaar!!
But that didn't mean we couldn't win.
The werewolf was dripping blood from its back.
I might even be able to scrape out a win fighting alone...
If I came back injured, Aris wouldn’t like it, right?
“Even better. If it had died in one hit, that would've been a letdown.”
“You’re overflowing with confidence. Call me Elian.”
“Yumia.”
We quickly exchanged names.
It was to coordinate our attacks.
“Looks like you’re a first-year, so you haven’t learned aura yet.”
“Regrettably.”
Though I doubt I’ll learn it even when I’m a second-year.
Because this isn’t your school.
“Then make an opening. I’ll stab it.”
“Sure.”
The other side would have the higher attack power.
We had the advantage for now, so if we steadily wore it down and held the line, we could win.
Or we could just hold out until someone stronger than us arrived.
That was enough of a win condition.
We hadn’t even coordinated our moves, yet we waited for the enemy to come.
Don’t overreach; when you’ve taken the favorable ground, you win for sure.
Right now, the bleeding side was at a disadvantage.
Since we were at an advantage, neither of us moved.
He was basically cool-headed and knew how to fight.
I gave him a somewhat surprised look.
He looked at me and smiled faintly.
—Kwooo!!
“Here it comes!”
The moment the werewolf swung its claws, we both dodged to the side.
The sound of metal crashing against metal rang out again.
The only difference was that there were occasional sounds of leather tearing along with it.
“It’s coming your way!”
“Got it!”
The werewolf ran through the market street, trying to use the terrain to its advantage.
But it was already two-on-one.
It was an even match against one person, but with two, we’d win for sure.
The werewolf’s body accumulated more and more wounds.
After a few minutes, the street was awash with the werewolf’s blood.
Its hide was drenched in blood.
It seemed to have lost too much blood, and staggered once.
Now’s our chance!
“Yaaaaaah!!”
I kicked off the ground and leapt at the werewolf’s eyes.
A blatant opening.
A mistake.
I’d fallen completely for the trap set by that fake opening!
...Or so they thought.
A wide grin curled my lips.
“Haha. It really is dumber than a human.”
A shield appeared in midair.
The brand-new shield, freshly pulled from my inventory, easily blocked claws that had been dulled from repeated swings.
At that moment, Elian drove his sword into the werewolf’s flank and twisted.
—Awoooooo!!
The werewolf hastily shook Elian off.
But even as he was blasted away, Elian kept a tight grip on his sword.
It was already bleeding profusely.
Victory was certain.
Elian and I moved in to finish it off.
“On three, we stab it!”
“Got it.”
Then the beast merchant who had collapsed nearby shouted,
“Wait! Don’t kill it!”
What?
I thought of the modern-day monster protection groups.
They were the kind of organization that used the words monster and protection together, a combination so bizarre it made your head spin and your brain short-circuit just hearing it.
No way that’s what this was, right?
I asked back in disbelief.
“No, someone’s about to die right now, what are you even saying—”
“If you don’t finish it off in one shot with overwhelming firepower, the werewolf will use its last mana to burn through and turn red!”
The beast merchant shouted desperately.
“A werewolf in that state will surely rampage through the area and cause casualties!”
“That’s a problem.”
I’d wanted to end this without too much damage.
It looked like there really was a rage phase.
Elian shouted in frustration.
“Tch. Only an Aura Expert or a mage can throw out that much firepower at once... when is one coming?! A mage!”
In the end, monsters like this would enter a desperate pattern once their HP dropped below a certain point.
Then we had no choice but to do whatever we could to minimize casualties.
“Ah, right. There’s a good way.”
I’d gone along with the flow because there was a swordsman here and ended up using a sword, but...
“Junior, do you have any bombs?”
“Well... I used to carry some, but I’ve got something better.”
I swapped the sword I was holding for a staff.
Questions filled his eyes.
“...Junior? Why are you carrying a staff?”
I approached the werewolf, which was in a groggy state and had crossed its arms to protect its body.
Even as I closed the distance by a few steps, it didn’t move.
Was it planning to take one hit and then use its desperate pattern?
Arrogant bastard.
I released mana.
My own mana had clearly increased, and natural mana was being drawn toward it.
‘Adjust the magic circle. Maximum power, minimum stability.’
“Casting. Bullet.”
If you deliberately lowered stability, accuracy would drop, but power would rise.
That way, even a basic attack spell could pack power greater than most rare-grade abilities.
Light and heat that could incinerate a humanoid monster in an instant.
“...H-huh, junior?”
“Who’re you calling junior, you punk? Stand back over there.”
A wet-behind-the-ears brat.
I’m older than he is.
Only then did the werewolf sense the threat and draw its claws to tear me apart.
“Too late.”
I had already activated Dragon Eye, greatly boosting my dynamic vision.
Thanks to Adrian, it had gone up even more.
When I activated Dragon Eye to the maximum, everything looked like slow motion.
“Who in the world would just take that, you punk?”
A thick white beam sliced through the air.
—BOOOOM!!
The werewolf’s body was engulfed in light.
“Wait... this is bad...!”
Then heated air burst outward, and dust and a sandstorm engulfed me!
I need to get my shield out...!
But unfortunately, the shield did not answer my call.
I’d already used it!
“Gyaaaaaaaagh!!”
“In Code, Cleanse!!”
We should keep a spare shield ready.
Along with Aris’s voice, I lost consciousness.
***
“Yumia, a first-year at Reinhart National Magic School, bravely fought the rampaging werewolf at the school market yesterday and ultimately defeated it.”
“Bringing glory to Reinhart, bravely standing against humanity’s monstrous foe, and thwarting a demon worshiper’s plot—every one of those deeds deserves praise.”
...Demon worshiper?
I never fought any of those guys, did I?
“Engaging in combat at the school market. Considering the regulations that severely restrict first-years’ combat activity during the first semester, this is clearly a disciplinary matter.”
“...Therefore, Yumia will be awarded 15 merit points, along with 10 demerits and a certificate of commendation.”
The headmaster with the long white beard was muttering something in front of me.
I was lying on the bed, listening with my eyes half-open.
That’s right.
These people had all crowded into the infirmary to do this nonsense.
“Uuugh...”
Something is ringing in my ears.
I wish they’d all shut up.
And if you’re giving me merit points, give me cash instead.
“I knew I was right! You did great! Karnarov, I told you so!”
Isabel grabbed my hand and said excitedly.
Even the professors were all praising me this time.
These were the professors who usually gave me the stink eye whenever I caused trouble.
“Slaying a werewolf? That’s certainly an impressive feat! Well done, well done!”
“And I heard you did it with nothing but basic attack magic and hand-to-hand combat?”
“A first-year defeating a werewolf! I’d love to hear that tale. Come to my office later!”
“Come to my lab later. I’ll treat you to red bean tea.”
The farther they went, the more dangerous it sounded.
“Lastly, I will award you a badge.”
The professors left the badge beside the infirmary bed and all filed out.
Only Karnarov, the professor in charge of first-years, remained.
“You see me very often, don’t you.”
I didn’t mean for you all to clear out and leave only Karnarov behind!!!