NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: - Class Placement Evaluation (4)
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[The demon has been recognized as an enemy.] [The unique trait [Hunter] is activated!] [The level and stats are temporarily greatly enhanced!] [The skill tree temporarily becomes +10!] [Status] Name: Isaac
Lv: 126
Gender: Male
Year: 1st
Title: Freshman
Mana: 34000/34000
– Mana Recovery Speed (A-)
– Stamina (A)
– Strength (A+)
– Intelligence (D+)
– Willpower (S) Potential ??Details??
Power… overwhelming!1T/N: This is Issac referencing a Starcraft cheat which makes the player invincible. ‘Power Overwhelming’ = ‘?? ?????’
My body didn’t even feel like my own. It was so light!
It felt as though there would be a burst of wind if I even slightly swung my fist.
An uncontrollable amount of mana was overflowing inside me.
I felt like I could easily get rid of that demon.
「Cold Divergence (Ice Element, ★1)」
An icy chill surged through my entire body, enveloping me in cold air, and enhanced my ice magic output.
It was a level of mastery that the ordinary Isaac could never even hope to achieve, but with the current me, it was possible.
[Hmm!!]
The demon, [Pernicus the Contemplative], exuded a strong sense of vigilance as he poured out his magic and created a black [Ice Spear] in the air.
「Ice Spear (Ice Element, ★4)」 + 「Black Ice (Ice Element, ★5)」
= 「Black Ice Spear (Ice Element)」
A huge [Ice Spear] menacingly ripped through the air and targeted me.
Despite its incredible speed, avoiding it was child’s play.
The [Ice Spear] had a limited attack range. Its main purpose was to be hurled at enemies to pierce them with its tip, which was best used for huge magic beasts.
However, Pernicus used [Ice Spear] against humans.
If I avoided the [Ice Spear], he would use a tactic that involved blowing up the darkness mana that he already infused his [Ice Spear] with in advance, which would blast ice shards in every direction.
It was an incredibly difficult attack pattern to avoid.
But, the current me?
‘I’m a Demon-Limited Hunter.’
I could just parry that [Ice Spear].
I spread my palms and poured out my mana generously. Because my skill tree increased to +10, I was able to use magic that I couldn’t normally use.
I swung my arm, and then.
──Tuhtuhtuhtuhtuhtuh—!
Following the movement of my hand, a massive [Ice Wall] spread out.
「Ice Wall (Ice Element, ★4)」
Kaang—!!
The [Ice Spear] couldn’t pierce through the solid [Ice Wall].
After hearing the two spells collide, I immediately jumped off the cliff.
Woooooosh!
“Whoa!” (Guwaak!)
My body leaped like a ball, and I felt like I was floating in the air for a while.
It’s exciting…! This dizzying feeling is as if I were bungee jumping…!
As adrenaline and dopamine rushed through my body, the feeling of excitement surged.
I dispelled the [Ice Wall], causing the gigantic wall of ice to instantly disintegrate into a powder that scattered into blue light. The sight of the blue light engulfing my surroundings was spectacular.
In the midst of that light, I went flying toward Pernicus.
[Hmm?!!]
Just from his expression alone, one could see how flustered Pernicus was.
He hastily attempted to use his magic, but it was too late.
As I soared towards him, I poured ice mana into my right hand.
A blue magic circle appeared in front of my palm, and mana condensed as I reached out my hand in Pernicus’ direction.
When I finally reached the enemy, the mana fully condensed before erupting into a magnificent explosion.
「Frost Explosion (Ice Element), ★5」
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah────!!
Ice exploded in all directions, releasing an onslaught of ice upon the demon.
A misty cold air was rampant as the explosive flood of ice engulfed Pernicus.
The enormous block of ice created by the [Ice Explosion] initially appeared to cover the Delphine Forest before rising off the ground and extending diagonally toward the sky.
I landed softly on the ground and rose.
“Whew.” (Greung…)
My sigh became a cold chill that permeated the air.
I lowered my hand and turned to face Pernicus, who was trapped in the ice block, seemingly in pain.
Slowly, I clenched my right hand.
Crack—!
Kwajajak-!
Then, the huge block of ice shattered and dissipated into a beautiful blue powder, before scattering into shards as Pernicus fell to the floor, coughing up blood…
[Huuu… uuum…]
…With the expression of a failed philosopher who couldn’t find the answer he desperately sought, no matter how much he repeated his thoughts.
Pernicus turned to ashes and scattered away in the wind.
“…”
It was over.
I succeeded in preventing a bad ending.
I felt such a strong wave of relief that made my entire body shiver.
I’m glad…
All of a sudden, a system window appeared before my eyes.
[Congratulations! You have defeated the demon [Pernicus the Contemplative (Lv 105)] and gained EXP!] [Level Up!! Your level has increased to 30!] [You have gained an additional 8 bonus stat points!]
This time, there wasn’t any special achievement, but there was one other thing that more than made up for it.
A black, finger-sized, spherical jewel had fallen where Pernicus turned to ash and vanished. It was the reward for defeating Pernicus.
I picked it up and put it in my pocket.
[You have obtained the loot [Remnant of Darkness]!] [Remnant of Darkness] It imbues the user’s basic elemental magic with dark mana, granting the ability to learn a new elemental magic.
Rank: Tier 1
The Remnant of Darkness is mine now.
The main character?
[Ian Fairytale] Lv: 38
Race: Human
Elements: Light, Fire
Danger: X
Why would such a pathetic bastard need something like this?
Anyways, his level increased significantly since the last time I saw him at the entrance ceremony. At the time, he was only level 32… Being the main character, his growth rate was ridiculously fast.
He chose fire as an element other than light. I was glad we had no overlap… No wait, if my second element was fire, there would be an overlap. I could only hope that my second element wasn’t fire.
After obtaining Hilde’s Frostscythe, I would need to acquire the final weapon of the second element that I would acquire later, so it was better if it didn’t overlap with Ian.
…Ah, now my body is getting heavy. It seems that I returned to my normal state.
It was as if I had been wearing sandbags all my life, and then took them off for a moment of freedom before ultimately putting them on again.
[Status] Name: Isaac
Lv: 30
Gender: Male
Year: 1st
Title: Freshman
Mana: 260/350
– Mana Recovery Speed (D)
– Stamina (D)
– Strength (D+)
– Intelligence (D+)
– Willpower (B) Potential ??Details?? [Combat Skills] Elemental Series 1: Ice
– Elemental Firepower (D+)
– Elemental Efficiency (D+)
– Elemental Synergy (C)
– Elemental Series 2 (Locked)
It seemed my skills had returned to normal…
No, my total mana increased by 10 points, and [Elemental Firepower] increased from D to D+.
Apparently, my stats had improved while dealing with Tristan Humphrey and [Pernicus the Contemplative].
It was a small increase, but it still felt great.
“…What are you?”
“Huh?” (Greung?)
I forgot Luce was here too…
She was glaring at me with a wary face.
“Are you a monster?”
I was sure I looked like a dangerous monster right now, but she still calmly asked about my identity.
No matter what answer I gave, she would only hear ‘Greung’ or ‘Guwaak’.
It was in my best interest to quickly run away. Now that the big event was over, I needed to collect more mana grains.
I was going to collect as many mana grains as possible, until the end of this class placement evaluation.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to be concerned about being looked at suspiciously even though a Grade E student like myself made it through the lengthy class placement evaluation, since it was a secret who survived and how they survived.
Unless someone like Tristan bragged about it.
Luckily, he had a lot of pride, so he wouldn’t go around bragging about how he got beat up by me.
I turned my back on Luce and started running away.
“Wait a minute!”
「Water Generation (Water Element, ★1 )」
“Whoa!” (Guwaak!)
Splashh-!
Tuk─
A column of water shot up at my feet. I was startled and stumbled backwards.
It was Luce’s magic. I never thought that she would try to bind my feet…
“Name… What is your name?”
“…”
Why are you asking a grunting monster for his name?
“Greung.” (Greung.)
It was going to sound like ‘Greung’ or ‘Guwaak’ anyway, so I just answered with a cry.
Then I started moving my feet again. Fortunately, Luce didn’t try to stop me anymore.
“…Greung.”
For some reason, Luce kept repeating the sound of my cry to herself.
I ignored it and continued to run through the darkness of the forest. I had to get out of here and search for mana grains.
After running quite a distance from Luce, I removed my Cloak of Disguise.
Now, if I put this Cloak of Disguise into the magic pouch, it was like destroying the evidence.
Every time I see this large piece of clothing fit into a small pocket, I get amazed. They say it’s a storage spell, but I don’t know the principle behind it. Anyways, the magic pouch is a really convenient item…
…where did it go?
‘Where did the magic pouch go?’
It wasn’t there. No matter where I looked, there was no magic pouch…
I looked back at my memories, I was sure… Before I ran away from Luce, I heard a ‘Tuk’ sound when she used her [Water Generation] spell…
Was it then…!?
‘Ah, I have to go back.’
Darkness filled the sky, and the place where I briefly stopped because of Luce’s magic was also very dark. That was why I probably didn’t notice the magic pouch falling…
How do I go back and pick it up?
Is Luce still there? If she is, would it be better to go back in while disguised and pick up the pouch?
No, it would be unnatural for a monster that had fled after defeating a demon to suddenly return and retrieve something. Luce would undoubtedly find it strange.
Besides, I wondered if she would let me go. It was over the moment she caught me. There was no way I could resist her interrogation. It would only be a matter of time before she realized that the clothes I was wearing were a Magic Cloak of Disguise.
If that was the case, it was a bit of a risky gamble…
I had no choice but to go as Isaac and pick it up naturally. Falling down pretending to be surprised, sneaking back, secretly picking up the magic pouch, and running away.
According to my memory, Luce didn’t touch Ian. This was because she had already accumulated enough points, and her head was filled with thoughts about the demon.
Besides, she was a person who had no interest in other people. She didn’t even know who the student with Grade E mana was, and didn’t even try to find out until the story of ?Magic Knight of M?rchen? was over.
She wouldn’t have any doubts about the fact that I, a Grade E, was still alive.
In other words, it was worth betting that she didn’t care about weaklings like me.
I hid the Cloak of Disguise in a pile of grass and headed back to the place where I had fought Pernicus.
━─━─━━─━「?」━━─━─━─━
Luce required some time to collect her thoughts.
The monster that just left was strong enough to crush the demon, who Luce struggled against, with one strike. Common sense told her she shouldn’t be caught or chased by a monster that strong.
If the madness and hostility he exuded had been directed at her, it would have led to irreversible and disastrous consequences.
Yet, Luce mustered the courage to stop the monster just once. It was because she wanted to ask for its name.
For a moment, she regretted doing such a foolish thing. Anxiety swept over her at the thought of fighting the monster.
But the monster quietly left. It was a relief.
“Greung…”
Luce recalled his answer.
Greung. It was called Greung.
Of course, she knew it was just a cry. However, not knowing what to properly call it, she decided to call it ‘Greung’.
‘What is its true identity…?’
Luce posed a question. It was still impossible to know at this point.
She then heard the rustling of grass. It came from the direction that the monster had left in.
Could it be that ‘Greung’ had returned? Luce took a quick look at the direction of the noise.
“Crap!”
…It wasn’t. It was an ordinary male student.
A man with red eyes and silver hair tinged with a bluish glow under the moonlight.
As soon as he saw Luce, he fell down on his butt in surprise.
Luce couldn’t hide her disappointment.
She had already earned enough points because no one could match her.
That man was surely nobody important.
Besides, her head was full of thoughts about the demon and Greung. She didn’t have time to worry about a frail-looking guy.
“To- top…!”
It’s noisy, don’t make a fuss and just go.
Luce frowned.
Did he notice her frowning expression? The student with blue-silver hair crept back with a terrified face as if he had seen a ghost.
Then, he quickly got up and started running.
“…”
Luce looked at Ian, who was still unconscious.
He looked like he would be fine, so she walked away, leaving Ian unattended.
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