I Will Carry as an Academy Veteran

97

[You have defeated a complete chimera!]

[You have defeated a complete chimera!]

[You have defeated a complete chimera!]

[Impossible achievement… ]

I pushed the noisy status window aside to the corner.

With a loud crash, the gigantic and utterly ruined chimera collapsed, making boiling sounds.

One, two, no, three, four… The chimeras fell like falling leaves.

The demon guy seemed perplexed, as he no longer had a voice. Yes, this is how we move forward.

The ‘Sword adorned with light’ and the ‘Sword that is light itself’ pierced through with arrows, and others followed behind them, dealing with the chimeras one by one.

Magic bombarded the ground, followed by those who rushed in to finish the job.

The strategy for defeating a chimera is simple: find and kill the ‘person’ with a knot where all the magic power is tangled, in other words, the center of the fusion entity somewhere in their body.

The guy with his head dyed white also wielded a greatsword and cut through the chimera’s body.

Alright, if we keep going like this…

“Commander! I’m injured!”

“If you can move on your own, retreat and use the potions and bandages left at the base! If there’s a gap in the position, move directly from the side with more flexibility! Be flexible!”

“I’ll go!”

A swarm of Chimeras pouring down.

Our fifteen-member subjugation unit continued the battle diligently.

They are my party members whom I raised and the elites standing at the top of the academy. I don’t think they will easily fall behind.

I ran with my staff in hand.

Navigating through the magic bursting from all directions, I slashed the eyes and legs of the Chimera in front of me and brought it down.

And then.

“I will finish this! Crush…!”

The blunt end of the greatsword cut through the flesh of the Chimera, severing its neck.

The one who wielded the greatsword, shedding blood with a swing, momentarily looked down at his own hand in a daze.

“…I, I have killed a living human…”

“They are already dead bodies. Even if they are alive, they will soon die. Give them peace.”

“…Yes, understood.”

Saying that, he left again.

I wiped the blood splattered on my face with the back of my hand. The uniform was filled with the blood of the ‘Chimera,’ not mine.

I couldn’t estimate how many I had taken down.

“When I return, I’ll have to discard this attire.”

“Adrian! Are you okay? You’re covered in blood!”

“I’m fine. How are the others doing?”

“They’re all fine! We’ve been told to stock up on magic power in our party!”

As Reyna spoke, she focused on her magic again, and I, too, gripped my staff and dagger, looking ahead.

It was gruesome to see it again.

On a night with a red full moon, a plain where only death unfolded.

A desperate fight between those who cannot die and those who are still alive.

A fight to trample each other.

All those absorbed by that Chimera now, a few days ago, a month ago, or even a few years ago, were probably attending classes, laughing, crying, enjoying happy days like us.

[To the ‘demons’ who created this situation, your blood boils with anger.]

“Definitely going to kill them.”

The black boots trampled on the ground mixed with flesh and gruesome pieces, then rose back into the air.

Act 3.

The development of this act, in a way, resembles a royal road.

We must somehow take over that fortress, and ‘Bellanio’ must defend it by all means.

Although the difficulty spikes from Act 3 onwards, RPG story games are designed to make sure the ‘protagonist’ can clear it somehow unless it’s an end content.

Then.

As Erhan completely tore apart the last remaining ‘Chimera.’

I shouted.

“Everyone! Fall back for a moment! Retreat at least two hundred steps from the front line!”

Then.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Once again, the ground shook violently.

Amidst the pitiful, burnt, fallen bodies of all the Chimeras, flesh and corpses vibrated simultaneously, creating a spectacle of devastation on the vast plain covered in scattered blood.

“…Seniors!”

“Be prepared for the impact, everyone!”

Then.

As the Chimeras’ bodies, spanning thirty-nine steps on the ground, gathered and absorbed into one massive form.

Additionally, a Chimera alive and spanning twenty steps in the air fused once more.

The bodies of Chimeras spanning thirty-nine steps on the ground and those spanning twenty steps in the air merged together.

Blood scattered on the ground, swollen bodies bursting forth, forcibly connecting flesh to flesh.

Much larger than the ‘Fortress’, yes, the ‘Basilisk’, a single massive Chimera the size of a sphere enough to be thrown around like a toy, roared towards us.

─Grooooooar!

Some even dropped to the ground, bleeding from their ears, unable to bear the deafening sound.

“Se-Seniors!”

…Indeed.

In a boss battle, there must be a second phase, of course.

“Erhan!”

“Yes!”

“Starting now, Mission A begins! You are now the commander-in-chief on this battlefield!”

“Yes!”

* * *

─Mission… A?

─Yes, Mission A. Certainly, those demons won’t just stop at sending Chimeras our way; they must have hidden aces up their sleeves. In that sense, when those aces come out, what you and I must do is Mission A.

Right before diving into battle with the Chimeras.

Erhan recalled his conversation with Senior Adrian.

─Exactly what do I need to do?

─When Mission A is activated, you become the overall responsible party on the battlefield.

─M-Me? Lead the seniors? But I’m just a first-year student…

─Erhan.

Senior Adrian said.

─How long are you going to keep using being a first-year and a second-seat as excuses to run away?

─Uh… I-I…

─The demons are right in front of us. Isn’t that so?

Mumbling.

Or like a tyro.

─You must not run away anymore. No room for regret, and really, nothing gets better by running away. That… you, who vowed revenge against all demons, know that best, don’t you?

How he knew that fact was beyond questioning.

Just a single sentence that struck at the heart.

Erhan could only nod his head.

“Yes, simply because I was weak… because I didn’t know anything… No one could have saved me then.”

As he lifted his head, he saw them running into the fortress, passing by the enormous ‘Chimera’.

“Just a moment! If you hand over the command to me, what about you, senior…?”

“I will go inside with my colleagues, personally.”

He would jump into the deathtrap and cut off the demons’ lifeline.

Erhan wanted to ask if he could go too, but he knew better.

A mask… would be a hindrance.

The moment he goes, he becomes a burden.

The reason is simple. He is weak.

He can’t even maintain the ‘Hero’s Sword’ for more than 30 minutes, and his position as a substitute was just luck.

And he realized.

Adrian senior had taken care of him until the end.

Yes. The best position for him to do something… is right here.

As if brushing past.

The image of Adrian senior, who had advised him while looking at him for the last time, came to mind.

“Erhan.”

“You must become a hero here.”

“I believe in you.”

“Not only me, but everyone else here believes in you too. Look back. Bireum, Silbi… aren’t they all the party members you gathered?”

That’s right.

Adrian senior and himself… are different.

They may walk the same path, but fundamentally, what they pursue and what awaits them at the end of that path are different.

“Erhan! Give the command now!”

Erhan nodded his head, looking at the senior next to him.

What does he want?

When he looks back, what has he always yearned for?

“Senior.”

Holding the sword.

“The person I want to become.”

He closes his eyes.

A clear light bursts forth, and the ‘necklace’ he always wore turns to gold.

“I want to become someone… who can fulfill everyone’s wishes… someone who can save anyone in danger.”

The blunt ivory-colored greatsword is engulfed in light, and its edge sharpens, while decorations are attached to the hilt, transforming into a true ‘sword’.

In addition, a thin cloak flutters, covering his back, and protective armor-like gauntlets appear on one shoulder.

The necklace shatters, and the light explodes. Energy surges from his body as he grips the sword with both hands.

“A person who moves to save everyone.”

“The world calls such a person a hero.”

Then he will become a hero.

“Everyone, follow me.”

The hero raised the greatsword.

And then swung it down.

A light and effortless movement.

Simply from top to bottom, a simple sword form.

But the result was shocking.

The air tore, the wind tore, and everything was torn apart, even the body of the large chimera was torn in half.

Erhan looked at it indifferently and said,

“Advance.”

* * *

Erhan’s awakening seems proper.

This guy will now become a real hero.

He will help the troubled, the sick, and in any case, he will help by running incredibly fast.

Some may call him a gullible guy… but he will even save those who curse him as gullible if they are in danger.

The transformation into “heroism” can last at least 30 minutes.

If compressed to about 10 minutes, complete access to “Heroism: Mid-level” is possible.

“Adrian!”

“Here.”

And we were running into a large fortress.

We must not be late under any circumstances.

Even if Erhan has opened the “Heroism: Mid-level,” the chimera is under the spell of “immortality,” so it will not die unless the spellcaster deals with it directly.

Demons are fundamentally made of fire, but naturally, they have a “heart” inside their bodies.

However, Belanio’s heart is “outside” the body.

Until we destroy that heart, Belanio and the chimera outside will not die.

So.

Until they entrust us with that chimera.

We… our mission is to find and destroy Belanio’s “heart” somewhere in this fortress.

Milije, Kalen, Relbrian, Rezilirias, Ebnis, Supple, Reyna.

I have gathered those I can trust, and they will surely repay my trust.

“Here.”

A room in the far left corner of the fortress corridor.

When I opened the door, stairs leading underground appeared.

At the same time, a loud scream from outside pierced our ears.

─Grrraaah!

“Adrian, it seems like the situation is getting urgent on the senior’s side!”

“Well, we need to move quickly too.”

We went down and opened the door.

And…

Beside us, in the darkness below, torches lit up one by one.

Then the altar, and beneath the large inverted pentagram, a large parchment with blood inscriptions.

A large heart was beating heavily.

And.

Swoosh, a sound, and something sprouted from the ‘puddle of blood’ on the floor.

[Congratulations on making it this far.]

[But, you will all truly die here. In the place of my heart, the altar, I am completely ‘invincible.’]

[Ahahahaha, foolish humans! Crawling in here to die on your own! Behave and become my prey!]

A girl in the form of a ‘demon’ stepped forward.

It is not an incorrect statement.

Within this room, ‘she’ can truly do anything.

Immortal as long as her heart is not destroyed, all-powerful.

In contrast, we have limits in magic, stamina, everything.

As time passes, the one whose complexion darkens is us.

But turning what seems impossible into victory in battle.

“Adrian.”

“Everyone, I will give orders. Listen carefully.”

That is the reason I was crazy about the saga of Selenium.