The person most knowledgeable about hunting magic beasts was none other than Ludmila.
“This won’t work.”
Ludmila firmly declared it “impossible”.
“If the magical beasts we just saw are indeed the Founders of the ones currently inhabiting the Eastern Plains from 500 years ago, then our current strength won’t be enough to handle their numbers.”
“The pressure they gave off was intense, but is it really that bad?”
“It’s not just bad; it’s because we don’t have enough firepower to penetrate their shells. Well, maybe we could muster enough firepower. But if we imagine eliminating a dozen of them and then running out of mana—what happens next?”
Ludmila shook her head in frustration.
“We’d be slaughtered. You can’t take on the whole herd. It’s like trying to hunt buffalo in the plains: you need to isolate one that’s strayed from the group, not charge at the entire herd.”
She likened the 400 A-rank magical beasts to a herd of buffalo on the plains. Coming from someone as experienced as Ludmila, this was no exaggeration.
“If we compare it to the most challenging foe we’ve faced recently, like that tentacle tree, imagine not just one but at least 200 tentacle trees moving together.”
“That’s dangerous. But what’s the point of fighting such a perilous enemy if there’s no real gain?”
“Just experience. You won’t get any magic stones or corpses from those magical beasts.”
The group fell silent, even Mont Blanc, their emergency food supply floating in the sky, had no response.
“Phoenix.”
“Yes?”
“Is this really the trial left behind 500 years ago by the Four Founders for humanity?”
“That’s right.”
“And it’s already like this on the first floor?”
“Humans 500 years ago must have had an extremely difficult time surviving.”
And indeed, they did.
“The reason we’re living in an era of peace now is thanks to those who thoroughly eradicated such beasts, leaving no descendants.”
A tribute to the Four Founders and humanity’s heroes.
“Don’t you think the Founders thought to themselves, ‘Even if we’re forgotten, it’s fine as long as future generations can live in a peaceful world’?”
“…”
“At the same time, perhaps they feared that the crises they faced might return one day. Hoping that strong individuals like themselves would emerge, they established the Academy.”
“Now I understand why the Four Founders abandoned their own wealth and glory to build the Academy.”
Yunia gave a bittersweet smile.
“For the sake of future generations.”
Seeds for the future.
Making such a monumental decision, one that ordinary people could never make, was why they were hailed as heroes.
“But if it’s for the sake of future generations, couldn’t they have put something weaker, like slimes, on the first floor?”
Praise was praise, but complaints were complaints.
Sure, they had created an era of peace, but for those who now had to pass these trials, complaints were inevitable.
Hammer Tops .
That’s what they call it in the game, but it’s the name in the game.
“That’s the name used in-game. But what we saw, Ludmila, was likely the ancient version of the [Tricera Drake].”
“That’s correct. Its head was as hard as a shield, though it was a more grotesque and jagged version compared to the current ‘Tricera.’”
“It’s like comparing a wooden round shield to a steel kite shield, isn’t it?”
“That’s about right.”
As Evangeline pointed out, the modern descendants looked like something you might buy in a beginner’s village—a crude wooden round shield.
But 500 years ago?
Those ancient specimens resembled hero-grade or mythical-grade shields with grand, ornate designs.
You could practically envision tearing off their skulls, polishing them, and turning them into shields that would terrify enemies on the battlefield.
“And they were…”
“Over 3 meters tall inside that tower. Think of the difference between a Great Ogre and a goblin.”
What had happened in 500 years for such majestic creatures to shrink into their current diminutive forms?
There had been a time of peace—a stark contrast to the era when humans couldn’t afford to farm magical beasts for their cores, where taking down just one A-rank beast required risking numerous lives.
And from my perspective—
“Is it tough?”
As someone who had cleared this tower to its highest floor, I couldn’t help but ask.
“Phoenix.”
“Yes, Miss Yunia?”
“You sound like someone who’s actually conquered the magical beasts in there.”
“Why would you think that? Do I seem like the kind of person who’d deceive you?”
Surely not.
“Maybe we’re just shocked. After all, we’ve managed fine at the Academy so far—always ranking first in practicals and such.”
“That’s true.”
“But this is the first real ‘wall’ we’ve encountered.”
In their first year, it was natural for students like Yunia to encounter countless challenges.
Strong upperclassmen.
Obstacles posed by faculty.
Jealousy from peers.
Crashing into these walls and overcoming them, both physically and mentally, was the essence of growth at the Academy.
Thanks to my support, they had breezed through the first semester with ease.
But now, they had to find their own way forward. If they gave up here and reached for a ‘cheat code’, how would they handle the challenges waiting on the upper floors or the true apocalypse yet to come?
“So, what will you do?”
“Just one question, Phoenix.”
Yunia raised her hand, speaking as the group’s representative.
“Phoenix, you brought us here because you believe our current strength is enough to clear this place, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“And are you planning to give us some groundbreaking strategy or hint at this point, saying something like, ‘It seems like my method is necessary after all’?”
“You could clear it that way, but unfortunately for you, this first floor is something you all can handle on your own.”
I took a step back, making a show of leaving things to them.
“Yunia, Ludmila, Evangeline. I believe the three of you are more than capable of clearing this floor.”
“…”
“Especially if you have support from Instructor Kadisha. There’s no reason why you can’t do it.”
I am a heroine master and a heroine trainer.
Battles are for the heroinemons; the trainer’s role is not to intervene.
Of course, if I wanted to, I could unleash overwhelming strength that would surpass even the mightiest of heroinemons, given my “primeval superhuman” status. If I chose to, I could simply “delete” the enemies outright.
But I won’t do that. If I intended to, I wouldn’t have even entered this place in the first place.
“Alright. We’ll think it over.”
These three weren’t the type to take shortcuts in life.
“Good. Then I’ll sever the link temporarily. Discuss and plan in reality, and let’s reconnect in about five hours.”
Though the events occurred within the illusionary space of the Seven Star Trials, preparation in reality wasn’t a bad idea when facing such a wall.
“What will you do in the meantime, Phoenix? Prepare with us?”
“No, I’ll be here…”
I summoned a parchment out of thin air with mana.
“…Writing a paper on what we’ve observed and studied here, so the instructors won’t be blindsided later.”
* * *
Thirty pages.
A report in the guise of a thesis.
“Phew.”
Rather than composing a thesis, it felt more like transcription, as I simply extracted pre-conceived theories from my mind and inscribed them onto the parchment with mana.
“Alright, you can come out now.”
“Fwaaahh!”
With a refreshing scent of mint chocolate, Kim Fenrir appeared.
“Why did you call me, nya?”
“To choose which one to tackle.”
“Tackle?”
“Yes.”
I gestured alternately at the two towers.
“Do you want to ravage the Tower of Sustained Magic, or take a swift tour of the Wind Attribute Tower using your stealth?”
“The first one’s dungeon clearing, but the second is just sneaking around like an invisible cat, right?”
Fenrir chuckled softly, glancing over her body.
“Even in an illusion, if I go in cloaked with pure ‘wind mana’ without that pesky ‘angelic attribute,’ nothing inside will even notice me. It’ll just be a straight sightseeing trip to the boss room, nyah.”
“Exactly.”
The sage who created this illusionary space had configured the magical beasts within to react aggressively to the presence of mana infused with angelic attributes.
Angelic mana wasn’t tied to any deep truths about the heavens; it was simply a unique trait inherent to all humans. Detecting this mana would provoke hostility in the beasts.
Conversely, if one entered with pure, attribute-less mana, the beasts in the towers would become passive, non-aggressive mobs.
“Fenrir.”
“Yeah?”
“I’d like to tweak the Wind Tower a bit beforehand.”
“Not the Fire Tower?”
“That one needs to be challenged as is.”
Just as I once broke through these trials under Changyeom’s blazing inferno in hell.
“But for the Wind Tower, let’s adjust it into something more…to your liking.”
“I don’t mind, but how exactly are you planning to change it, nyah?”
With Fenrir at my side, I stepped toward the Wind Tower.
“From now on, this place will…”
Creak.
“…Become the Mint Chocolate Tower.”
The entire tower would transform, steeped in the essence of mint chocolate.
“Let’s start remodeling.”
