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“Damn, she’s good,” I said even as I watched Iomene dashing fast enough to keep up with the other two students —one of the ranger students was absent— who had been using their fastest speed, their faces red with exertion, their weapons and backpacks abandoned. Iomene, on the other hand, not only still had her backpack and her weapons, but also she had her bow in hand, releasing an arrow smoothly whenever a flying monster pulled off from the group, either directly killing it if the monster was weak, or targeting a soft spot like an eye or a wing tendon to slow them down if it was a stronger monster.

She was impressive when she stretched her abilities to the limit. Also, I was finally seeing the magical features of her bow being displayed after she run out of arrows, sending glowing bolts of energy rather than physical arrows. “Interesting,” I murmured as I tried to decipher the magical nature of the arrows, but failed to do so. The distance was a factor in that of course, but still, I could have detected it easily if it was some kind of elemental or arcana trick.

“Interesting,” I murmured, my curiosity awakening. Unfortunately, as the monster horde closed in, I didn’t have time to pay attention to her, no matter how interesting her weapon was, my attention switching to the nature of the horde.

The horde was several times bigger than the one I had taken down before, the dust cloud they create threatening to drown the horizon. It was clear that, unlike the previous horde I had taken down, it had a chance to grow. Still, the sheer numbers weren’t exactly a threat to a well-fortified town.

Unfortunately, the real problem was the composition of the horde. As usual, most of the monsters were the low-class ones, but still, it had enough creatures above Class Ten —hundreds, as far as I could detect with a glance. The defensive structures of the town could probably hold them for a couple of days, but unless the high-level monsters were taken down quickly, they would eventually result in a breach.

It was a smart approach, I realized as I saw the presence of the horde. After our breach had told them their attack was no surprise anymore —while simultaneously destroying a majority of their cannon fodder in the process— apparently, they decided to follow an extended campaign. And monster hordes were the perfect weapon to be used for that, especially since they just triggered and directed the monsters, rather than actually commanding them.

I suspected that their initial aim was to use them as a blunt instrument against the defenses of the school before following up with their undead army, creating layered chaos, but honestly, their current strategy was better, forcing the school to disperse their forces to defend their supporting towns, exposing the high-level combatants in the process.

It was a sure bet that this horde wasn’t their only weapon.

“Such an interesting method of warfare,” I said even as I frowned. Humanity was already struggling to survive against the ever-growing threat of monsters, a careful reading of the history displaying the negative trend swallowing more and more cities, pushing humanity back despite all the advantages given by the System. And now, a bunch of nobles decided that the loss of even more cities was just an incidental loss in their struggle for power, potentially destroying the most important school for raising combatants in the process.

With a mentality like that, it was shocking that humanity had managed to survive until now.

“It seems that I need to take a more active role,” I murmured. I didn’t know just how many deadly threats we were facing, but I wanted to keep things under control. With that decision made, I started drawing a long string of runes around the ward structure, turning it into a bomb, even as I watched as Iomene and the students stepped into the protective area of Cornelia’s ward.

Only for the monsters to smash against the wards with their full strength, threatening to overwhelm them immediately.

Luckily, the assault triggered several fire spells at once, taking down a nice chunk of the horde, gifting Cornelia with a considerable amount of experience —particularly valuable since as the level difference between us dwindled, I was about to lose my ability to boost her level directly. Still, rather than focusing on the convenience of helping her farm experience, I turned my attention toward the single-minded focus the monsters were displaying to chase Iomene, something outside of their usual crazed behavior.

Just like the previous horde I had watched.

Very suspicious, I thought even as I expanded my senses, and caught the subtle aura of another magic gem, this time an air-natured one. It was on the bag of the surviving ranger, which I suspected that he was aware of. Now that I was examining him carefully, I could see that he was calmer than necessary, and moreover, I was able to recognize the signs of acting. He wasn’t as exhausted as he was showing.

It seemed that I misread the group composition. They weren’t just a bunch of random students, they were a bunch of random students with a spy mixed in.

That particular mystery didn’t take long to solve. “Anton, where is my fiancee,” asked the healer girl panickedly even as the ranger collapsed on the ground, making a show of his exhaustion. However, as he did so, he surreptitiously slipped a dagger into his hand, one with a subtle magical aura that I only noticed because I was focusing on it. And since it was subtle enough to challenge my detection capabilities, it was clearly a very dangerous weapon.

“I don’t know,” answered the ranger, who named Anton. “We split for scouting before the horde appeared…” he started explaining, his tone signaling that he was probably dead. Personally, I doubted it, not the ultimate fate, but the exact way he had died. If the bloody edge of his dagger was any indicator, our little spy seemingly used the opportunity to slip the dagger between his friend’s shoulder blades before baiting the horde. “But don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” he added even as he grabbed the hand of the girl, signaling a rather interesting motivation about killing the other ranger.

I shook my head in amusement, as I watched Anton’s responses, the illogical pattern of attack started to make more sense. It would have been much more logical to trigger the horde when they were closer to the camp, giving Anton the excuse to be the only survivor while threatening the city at the same time, but our spy turned out to be too ambitious. Not only he wanted to get rid of his rival, but also he wanted to do it in a way that would ensure his hold on the healer girl.

I would have called him an idiot, but frankly, I was the last person to blame anyone for trying to seduce someone during mortal danger. The only thing I could blame the idiot was the methods he had used, not to mention his misfortune of trying to employ the trick against someone I care about.

“Cease talking, and focus on recovering,” Iomene ordered even as she sent arrow after arrow outside the wards, while the monsters smashed against the wards repeatedly. “We’re going to move in a minute,” she added before turning to Cornelia. “Can the wards hold on?”

“It can hold for five minutes, unless a stronger monster attacks,” Cornelia answered, her face contorted as she supported the wards actively, her mana draining at a steady pace. “We’re still at the outskirts of the horde, and the attacks are easy to push back, but soon, we’ll get enveloped. I don’t think we’ll last long after that.”

“Good, can you keep it going for a minute after we left the camp before triggering an explosion.”

Cornelia took a second to answer, and only because I was using a simple arcana spell to whisper her directions. “Yes, that’s doable,” Cornelia said. “But it’ll take three minutes for me to set it up.”

Helga was startled at the response, as due to the nature of their ward, it was not a viable solution. Luckily, she was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. Unfortunately, her acting abilities weren’t good enough to hide it from Anton, who started to watch Helga suspiciously, especially after Helga and Cornelia shared an extended glance.

I needed to train them about how to hide their attitude at the first opportunity.

Anton stood up, his bow in hand as he walked toward the defensive perimeter, but my attention was on his left hand, holding the concealed dagger, much more professionally than I would have expected him to be capable of. Apparently, Helga wasn’t the only commoner hiding her skills. I had no doubt that as a commoner, he had struggled a lot among the noble students, insulted for his efforts as he did his best to rise to the top, but unfortunately, he decided to save himself by trying to sentence thousands of people to death, which lost any possible mercy he would have gained.

“Rest as much as you can, we’re going to move in two minutes, Iomene warned Anton.

“No, I have rested enough,” he said as he started shooting outside the wards, aiming for the flying creatures. Iomene’s attention was on the horde that was pushing against the wards, doing her best to take down the stronger creatures before they could breach the wards. His voice was sharp and heroic, posing perfectly for the healer girl. However, he also positioned himself perfectly between Helga and the rest of the group, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

I was impressed with his reaction. Too bad that I had no intention to let him live. The only reason he was still alive was that I was hoping to find a way to take him prisoner alive to interrogate, though, if he dared to act against Helga before the wards were breached, I could easily change my mind. He was stronger than his role as a student required, but he wasn’t strong enough for his survival to be a certainty under the circumstances.

It was an important detail, because that meant that he had been deemed an acceptable sacrifice in the ploy if things went wrong, meaning he wouldn’t have access to top-secret information. Meaning, between an injured Helga and a dead Anton, the choice was clear. I watched him carefully, ready to cast a shield the moment he acted. Luckily, before he could do so, Cornelia acted.

“I’m going to create a gate at the other side of the camp in fifteen seconds,” Cornelia shouted. “Let’s move.”

“Move,” Iomene ordered, but the students were already moving before she could give the order, the imminent threat conveyed by a crazed horde of a monster destroying the last scraps of discipline they possessed. That didn’t apply to my delicious companions, of course. Not only it wasn’t the first horde they were facing —another monster horde in Cornelia’s case, and an undead horde in Helga’s— but also they were aware that with me present, they weren’t actually in any danger.

Unlike the girls, Iomene wasn’t aware of the insurance. Still, she bravely stayed at the rear guard, her bow elegantly singing whenever a dangerous creature pushed against the protective walls of the ward threateningly to delay breaking. She still moved with the group, but from a distance, giving the students a chance to get away.

Hence, she missed when Anton stumbled, falling behind the group as well. I easily recognized the fake stumble, one that was done to create an excuse for the small dagger that left his hand, flying toward Helga. I reacted immediately, deflecting the dagger with a simple shield, but added an illusion to make it look like a successful hit. I even asked Helga to stumble as well. She didn’t do a good job of it, but the spy was too confident, turning his attention to Cornelia, another dagger in hand. I cast another spell.

[-416 Mana]

That was the moment when an air elemental appeared inside the wards, and before the group could even react, pounced at Anton. Cornelia cast a fire spell, but she recognized my favorite mount, so she intentionally used a flashy spell with no actual substance, which functioned more as a visual screen than an attack. When the flames were down, Anton was grabbed by the elemental, being dragged away.

“No!” cried the healer girl, but apparently, there was a reason for Anton to make a show of his achievements, because it was all she reacted. She didn’t even bother to stop, just continued to run, along with the rest of the group.

Iomene sent a couple of energy arrows at the air elemental, which damaged the construct more than I had expected, slowing its flight significantly. Apparently, I had significantly underestimated the power of her bow. Though, her continued attacks were not without cost, and seeing her spells were not effective, she turned her attention to the more immediate threat, letting one of her students go so that she could actually protect the others, making me admire her even more. I never faced such a decision myself, but without a doubt, it was a hard decision.

I made my construct to take a detour over the concealed spot, making it drop the backpack —more importantly, the air gem it contained— before it continued its escape, carrying the spy along. With the security of the girls ensured and the spy secured, all I needed to do was to keep the horde from following them, before detonating my trap once they were sufficiently away.

“Move, it’s about to explode,” Cornelia cried, quickening Iomene’s escape, who had been alarmed by the fake breach of the air elemental, expecting the wards to fall in a few seconds. I had expected her to notice the ploy, but that expectation only lasted until I looked at her carefully. She was on the edge of exhaustion, about to collapse, but still attacking the strongest monsters she could see.

“I’m going to go back to the school to discuss the latest developments. Go back to the city, and stay away from others,” I asked the girls through another spell, receiving simultaneous nods. Then, in a flight of fancy, I added one last sentence. “Also, make sure Iomene doesn’t die.” That made the girls look back simultaneously toward my location even as they continued to run, their expression having a matching suspicion.

Pity they were too far away to see my smirk, I thought even as I shifted my attention toward the horde that was pushing against the wards. I could have easily destroyed them with a spell, but that would have cost me the opportunity to take the other air gem.

And, more importantly, where was the fun in that…

[Level: 30 Experience: 447193 / 465000

Strength: 41 Charisma: 53

Precision: 35 Perception: 37

Agility: 35 Manipulation: 40

Speed: 34 Intelligence: 44

Endurance: 34 Wisdom: 46

HP: 5370 / 5370 Mana: 5121 / 6600 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [97/100]

Master Arcana [95/100]

Expert Speech [70/75]

Advanced Craft [50/50]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (1/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 20/25]

[Helga - Level 17/21]