Practical Training, Day 2.
After leaving the Academy at dawn, arriving at the Marquisate of Ludvecia only to experience a monster wave, and witnessing a successor being chosen for the Marquisate, the chaotic first day passed.
Morning of Day 2 began.
“Looks like everyone is in good condition.”
In one of the guest rooms of the Marquisate of Ludvecia, set up like a practical training room at the Academy, Instructor Esta gathered the students of the special class, including me, and wrote large letters on a portable blackboard.
“I have an announcement to make in advance. On the fourth day, we will return to the Academy.”
“What?!”
Yunia exclaimed in surprise.
“Are we going back earlier than scheduled?”
“Yes. You must be curious about the reason. Of course, it’s due to your achievements.”
When Instructor Esta projected a magic panel onto the white wall, a graph appeared, glittering as it took shape.
The graph, which should have had multiple bars, showed only one bar towering high. Yunia checked the values on both axes of the graph and dropped her jaw.
“Oh.”
“For the monsters hunted during the monster outbreak, even though the magic stones were distributed to the hunters, the ‘kill score’ was recorded. In fact, thanks to those magic stones, we could record accurate numbers.”
“…So we’ve already filled our achievements from the first day.”
“That’s right.”
Instructor Esta pointed to the kill score we had obtained—in other words, the practical training points according to monster hunting.
“One hundred thousand points. That’s the score you’d get by hunting 2,000 ‘Giant Ants,’ which are notorious among C-rank demonic beasts for their ferocity.”
“If Giant Ants are C-rank… aren’t they those creatures about 2 meters tall?”
“Two thousand of them would essentially be a colony, including a queen ant. If hunters were to raid them, the difficulty would be at least B-rank, or even A-rank.”
“Exactly. It was a dangerous situation that would make ordinary hunters shudder, but you’ve already achieved that score—the ‘upper limit’.”
Instructor Esta pointed her finger above the 100,000 points displayed on the magic panel and aimed toward the ceiling.
“Although the boss monster, the [Wolf Boy], was handled by Marchioness Ludvecia, if you consider the score correction for the Phoenix student who supported her, the score would pierce the sky. Unless an S-rank demonic beast pops up in other areas, or someone subdues an entity whose score hasn’t been previously calculated, the first place in practical training scores is virtually decided.”
“Ah, hahaha….”
“By the way, as of now, the practical training scores are shared with all groups. Of course, I’ve submitted a detailed report on how you achieved this score, so there should be no students doubting it.”
“Since there’s a report from an instructor and the White Sword Saint, they wouldn’t doubt it, but couldn’t the students feel deprived?”
“Probably.”
Even at my words, Instructor Esta shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“But that’s reality. Just because you’re all freshmen doesn’t mean you start from the same starting line. There’s [Cutting Wind], and the other three have already shown tremendous talent and achievements.”
Difference in talent.
Difference in skill.
It’s not something typically said in a place of education, but the practical training week is ultimately a period for students to become aware of aspects they couldn’t see at the Academy.
A process hoping that the students, who are like flowers in a greenhouse at the Academy, will realize the cold reality beyond the green belt.
“Most students experiencing the Academy’s practical training week for the first time come to recognize their own talents. Some will show unsightly appearances during the training, and some may display their true abilities only in real situations. But that’s something they have to overcome.”
Instructor Esta tapped the peak of the graph.
“Your role from now on is to become the ‘goal,’ ‘upper limit’, and ‘standard’ that they have to reach.”
“You’re saying we become the target that the freshmen… now our peers have to chase?”
“Exactly. In that sense, the current team composition is very appropriate: vanguard, middle guard, rear guard, and supporter.”
Respectively, Ludmila, Yunia, Evangeline, and me.
“Those who aspire to be warriors or knights, following the martial path, will aim for Ludmila. The magicians will aim for Yunia, those who handle summons will aim for Evangeline. And the support classes will look to Phoenix as the standard—with the will to surpass someday.”
“Won’t small birds tear their legs trying to follow storks?”
“Even if their legs tear, the process and results of striving and flying with such effort won’t disappear. And magic… provides the opportunity for small birds to evolve beyond storks into hawks or eagles, even wyverns.”
Instructor Esta smiled lightly at us.
“Returning to the Academy, the treatment of the special class will change. You’ve definitely achieved results this time, and now you’ve proven with numbers that you’re truly ‘special admission students’.”
Until now, students might have had mixed feelings about the special admission students.
They might have thought that the suppression of the angel incident was just because we knew the theory or because the instructors were nearby.
Regarding me, they might have thought I was just someone who happened to know the theory to distribute magic pants.
But resolving a monster outbreak is a clear achievement they can recognize realistically.
When they came out to the field, they trembled before D-rank or C-rank demonic beasts, but the special class wiped out hundreds of monsters with Mint Choco Booms?
At the very least, just knowing that we can produce the firepower of an A-rank level Explosion spell, practical training students can’t help but feel the wall of talent.
“So, since it’s come to this, we intend to eliminate ‘variables.'”
“Variables?”
“Specifically, rumors.”
Instructor Esta touched the magic panel, and a map unfolded on the screen.
“To reinforce your ‘peak status’ clearly, we plan to hunt a named demonic beast in the northern Demonic Land of the Marquisate of Ludvecia. Not just showing that you can destroy a mass of monsters, but proving that the four of you can raid a named demonic beast.”
“I understand what you’re saying.”
Ludmila, observing the various demonic beasts displayed on the map, pointed to herself.
“Even with [Cutting Wind], hunting a demonic beast of this caliber would be challenging. If we succeed, not only the Academy’s freshmen but even the upperclassmen won’t dare to find fault with us.”
“Exactly. The moment the report spread, students began to nitpick—though it’s hardly legitimate criticism.”
The so-called baseless slander.
“I can imagine it already. ‘What’s so hard about tossing explosion magic into a swarm of monsters?’ ‘They only succeeded because they were behind the Great Wall, a safe zone.’ ‘Did they rely on the help of experienced hunters on the ground?’ ‘With Marchioness Ludvecia and the White Sword Saint—both S-rank—there to ensure their safety, of course, the hunt was successful.’ ‘It was only possible because [Cutting Wind] was in their class.’ Something along those lines, right?”
“…Wait, are you secretly eavesdropping on the world or something?”
“Not exactly.”
If I wanted to, I probably could.
“People’s envy is predictable. It’s the same wherever you go; people are people.”
“…I don’t know if anyone has actually said those things, but if rumors arise, they’d sound similar. That’s why we’re going to eliminate even the possibility of such rumors. We’ll aim for a result so impeccable that the only thing people can say is, ‘It’s just too perfect.'”
Instructor Esta pointed at a marked location on the map, and images of three massive creatures appeared.
“These are the named demonic beasts residing in the northern Demonic Land. All of them are A-rank.”
“All three are A-rank?”
“Yes. A plant-type, an insect-type, and a beast-type. Though not prearranged, the original goal for this practical training was to subjugate one of these three.”
Instructor Esta scratched the back of her neck and gestured toward the images.
“The plant-type demonic beast is called [Tentacle Lily]. It’s a massive tree-like creature, standing about 10 meters tall, using its branches like tentacles.”
“Ugh.”
“The insect-type is [Ground Beetle]. It lives underground and digs burrows, but its core contains an electric charge.”
“Electric charge…?”
“And lastly, the beast-type demonic beast is…”
Instructor Esta paused while pointing to a large wolf-like creature, then corrected herself.
“…A massive lizard clad in armor.”
“…Armor?”
“Yes. Its scales form a natural armor, which earned it the name.”
As Instructor Esta tapped the image of the lizard, a scene played out: the enormous creature, over 10 meters long, crawled across barren land, its shimmering scales gleaming like metal.
“While its exact nature is still unclear, the armor is suspected to be composed of a unique mineral. It neutralizes most magical attacks.”
“Do its scales have inherent magic resistance?”
“That’s the assumption. …Phoenix?”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any suspicions or observations about it?”
“Uh, well…”
Of course, I had suspicions.
“That scale armor—has anyone tried piercing it with non-attribute magic?”
“Not yet.”
Ten years ago, during the battle against the armored angels descending from the heavens, I destroyed as many as I could, but fragments of their bodies were left behind.
Some of those fragments may have seeped into the earth in forms invisible to the human eye.
If the remnants of those angels had permeated the land, would they have simply disappeared?
In short, that creature’s armor may well be imbued with angelic power.
“Let’s go with that one.”
“That one? Wait, you mean the armored lizard?”
“No, not that one.”
While the armored lizard looks like the most likely candidate for holding angelic power, it’s a demonic beast I recall from my ‘player memory’.
The same applies to the insect-type.
“The one using its branches like tentacles—[Tentacle Lilith].”
“…”
It’s the only one that doesn’t exist in my memory.
“Doesn’t it look like the kind of thing that would grab passing women and do something… inappropriate?”
