Chapter 58: Dungeon Practice (8)
“Wow! Wow! He’s actually running away?”
“…That guy, Vincent. I knew that the will within his sword wasn’t sharp, so he would be weak when it mattered… but I never expected this much.”
“Hehe. How many are adept from the start? It looks like it’s his first time in real combat. Teaching him well from now on is our job.”
“I suppose so… Sigh...”
In front of the dungeon, there stood the largest building. Inside, professors from each department were showing various reactions as they looked at the screen floating in the air.
On the screen hovering in mid-air, several small scenes were simultaneously visible. They all showed the students who had entered the training dungeon.
With a special magical device installed in advance inside the dungeon, they were peering into the internal landscape that pierced through the isolated space.
Usually, this would be impossible. However, in a training dungeon, where the magical pattern inside had been perfected for a long time, it somehow became possible.
Thanks to this, Professors Iona, Jason, and Christina could vividly watch Vincent, who was fidgety throughout the battle and ran away after seeing Helena in the end.
“Nevertheless, student Helena is truly remarkable. Not only her holy arts but her physical techniques have reached an impressive level.”
“Huh… She still has a long way to go. Most priests of the Church of Righteous Radiance are like that, but Helena especially gets furious when going up against monsters…”
“Still, it’s better than getting scared and running away, isn’t it?”
“Well… this is the lowest-level dungeon, so it’s alright here. If it were elsewhere, recklessly dashing out during a battle would be more dangerous than running away alone.”
Jason and Christina sigh deeply, worried about their own students.
Among them, Iona was giggling. No wonder.
“Hehe. Our Magic Department is the best, after all! Isn’t that right, Jason?”
“…I’m also a professor now, so address me with ‘Professor’, Professor Iona. And it’s just that student Yandel excels. It doesn’t mean the entire Magic Department is the best. Look here. This student named Vilhelm, even as a mage, did not take the lead despite everyone’s dissuasion.”
“Ah… He still hasn’t fully adapted… Hmm. His propensity to leap into action hasn’t changed…”
Then the professors’ gazes shift from Yandel to the party where Vilhelm was.
There were about ten parties to evaluate, but there were only three professors, so they couldn’t pay attention to every student.
Perhaps that was why.
They missed the glimpse of the black robe’s hem that briefly flitted across the corner of the screen.
“Aaahhhh!”
From the distance, the Evil Rabbit shot its horn. Vincent, startled by the flying corn, hid behind me.
“Ah! Save me! The horn… the horn is coming…!”
“Don’t cling to me like that! It interferes with my magic!”
Thanks to the system adjustment, even though it wasn’t necessary to be highly focused while casting magic, it was never good to have your concentration disrupted when you were continuously casting spells.
“Besides, I put up a shield for you! It can block that sort of projectile around six times!”
“But it was flying towards my face!”
“Swat it away with your sword! You can do it!”
Such a troublesome guy!
I pushed Vincent away roughly and released the magic at the end of my staff.
“Water Cannon!”
With the activation word, a high-pressure stream of water was shot.
From behind, an Evil Rabbit targeting Helena was directly hit by it and tumbled to the ground.
“Kyaahhhhh!”
Tsk.
I aimed for its head but missed. It was all because of Vincent. Anyway, that was the case.
Although its ribs shattered and its internal organs turned to mush, the monster’s unique tenacity kept it alive.
And then it went on a rampage.
“Kreeeeeee!”
But Helena wasn’t just going to watch.
Rushing forward with its horn, she caught the Evil Rabbit in mid-air.
Grabbing the strangulated rabbit by its horn, she struck it with her sword, breaking it. Helena then decisively slammed it on its head, ending its life.
Such an incredible combo… It wasn’t really a priestess’s job.
Anyway, with that brief moment of respite, Helena immediately charged at the rampaging Evil Rabbit.
“Lord! Today, I offer up this cursed being whose very existence is a mistake!”
Saying so, she grabbed the tentacles, trying to sneak out from between the creature’s split jaws.
“Kwack?”
The Evil Rabbit let out a confused sound… but that became its last words.
“Hnngh!”
Stepping on the Evil Rabbit’s mouth, Helena ruthlessly yanked out the tentacles.
Swoosh!
Not just the tentacles but even its internal organs were spat out in one go, making the Evil Rabbit’s belly concave.
“Ah… The Lord’s grace fills my body. What is there to fear?”
With a voice full of emotion, Helena said this and then stomped on the head of the Evil Rabbit that was still twitching.
…Terrifying.
Too scary!
How could she be called a priestess?
I understood why Vincent ran away after seeing Helena up close.
But I couldn’t run. That was because…
There were still many monsters, and at this very moment, there were those trying to ambush the righteous, radiant Helena from both sides.
“Shock! Shock!”
I quickly cast basic magic that could be used with just an activation word.
“Kreek?!”
“Kyaaak!”
Though basic magic didn’t have much power, being electric, the shock magic could cause temporary paralysis.
What happens when one’s body gets paralyzed just when it was attempting to leap?
Thud.
They would simply collapse in an awkward position.
For a moment, two Evil Rabbits, rendered powerless, lay in sight. Helena wore a delighted smile upon seeing them.
“Thank you, Brother Yandel! Such a precious gift!”
No, it wasn’t a gift.
However, Helena, filled with the thought of smashing the monster’s bodies, burst into laughter as she summoned her divine power.
Swish.
A faint golden shimmer of divine power, blending with Helena’s golden hair and eyes, gave off a rather mysterious aura… But to the Evil Rabbits’ eyes, she must have seemed more terrifying than death itself.
“Kkyueot?”
“Kkyuit?”
Trying to look like ordinary rabbits and showing cute expressions, they even shook their horns.
But their desperate struggle for survival did not move Helena.
“These despicable monsters! They dare try to enchant me?”
In her anger, Helena threw a clump of concentrated divine power from both hands.
Holy Strike.
It was one of the few direct attack divine arts for priests, it was swiftly launched at the two Evil Rabbits.
BOOM!
With an explosion, the head of an Evil Rabbit was gone in an instant.
Was this power equivalent to two-thirds of a Fireball?
A regular Holy Strike wasn’t usually this strong. Perhaps it was due to the famed aggressive divine power of the Holy Light.
Well, on the other hand, it was utterly useless for non-combat purposes.
With this, it seemed all the monsters lured into Vincent’s trap had been dealt with.
“Phew…”
As I sighed in relief, Vincent, who had been hiding behind me, cautiously asked,
“Did you get them all? I don’t sense any more movements.”
“Don’t speak ill. Why would you even ask that?”
“What? I was just…”
Ignoring half of what the protesting Vincent said, I gathered magic once again.
Whoom.
A widespread psychokinetic magic centered around me.
It was a workaround taught to me by Carla because I hadn’t yet mastered the proper detection of magic.
Its range was short, and it couldn’t detect magical phenomena, but it could sense the presence of monsters.
Luckily, I didn’t feel any resistance.
“Phew… It seems we’re done for now. I don’t sense any other monsters nearby.“
“Really?”
“Yes, truly. So, please keep your distance now.”
“Ugh…”
Only after hearing my affirmation did Vincent step forward.
With Helena, who was trudging with a face full of guilt, joining us, the three of us finally faced each other clearly.
“Why such a face, Priestess Helena? You fought well.”
“That’s the problem. I am primarily a priestess, after all. I tried to be more reserved this time, but… I got carried away.”
“Well, it would’ve been risky if this wasn’t a training dungeon.”
When a priestess becomes too active in the battlefield, other party members might not receive proper support.
Recovery and blessings might come late. And if Helena were to die or faint, the party would rely entirely on the mage for support.
Support magic was less efficient than divine arts, so the mage would exhaust much faster, and their firepower would diminish.
The increasing pressure on the frontline would eventually cause it to crumble, leading to the party’s demise.
It was a well-known fact. That was why, in party fights, the main target was always the priest/priestess.
Although this was a training dungeon, and the result turned out good, Vincent’s recklessness wasn’t much different from negligence.
However,
“It’s okay. This isn’t a high-level dungeon. It’s for training. And someone had to take the lead.”
“Brother Yandel…!”
Helena’s eyes sparkled with emotion.
After all, she might have only heard things she shouldn’t do from the Church of Righteous Radiance and the Academy so far. Hence, my seemingly casual response must have been quite impactful to her.
If Vincent had his own individual story of overcoming fear and finally awakening, Helena’s story was surprisingly about her honing her martial skills to the extent that she could fight in the front line like a Holy Knight.
Around then, she would be recognized not just as a Saintess candidate but as a true Saintess.
“Ah, but Sir Vincent…”
“Just call me Vincent. I’m sorry for earlier. I was so taken aback that I couldn’t do my job properly.”
Vincent bowed his head.
“It’s okay. But what about next time? Can you fight at the front?”
“That… might be a bit difficult.”
Well, that made sense. At this time, Vincent was almost a worthless character.
But it wasn’t completely impossible.
In reality, one might not expect it to be this serious, but in H&A, I’d encountered Vincent in the training dungeon’s party more than once.
“So, what if you support Helena instead of leading the charge? You can do that much, right?”
“Um, I think I can do that.”
“Priestess Helena? How about it? Will you lead the front next time?”
“Yes? But…”
Seeing Helena’s hesitance, I reassured her.
“Adjusting our strategy to the dungeon is a given, right? The monsters here can be managed with Priestess Helena’s strength. There shouldn’t be a problem if you’re at the front.”
“Since you put it that way, I’ll give it a shot.”
Both Helena and I exchanged smiles.
After the chaos we’d been through, it felt like our party had grown closer.
“In summary, Priestess Helena will confront the monsters with Vincent as her support. I will provide magical firepower from the back and give the orders. Does anyone have a better idea?”
“No, none.”
“I’m fine with it.”
Both nodded, signaling their agreement with my plan.
Good. Now, I can naturally give orders.
In the heat of battle, I was the only sane person, so it was only natural. But…
It was also true that it had become easier to direct them towards the hidden piece.
“Let’s move on then.”
I briefly surveyed our surroundings, pinpointed the location of the hidden piece, and signaled in its direction.
It was regrettable that the party members couldn’t control themselves, but maybe this could be a blessing in disguise.
In a corner of the training dungeon.
The guard of the academy, who was guarding the entrance to the giant rabbit’s boss’s lair, fell helplessly.
Thunk.
The fallen body was half torn, as if bitten off by a giant monster, with a rough tear line.
One by one, guards, who were on par with experienced mercenaries, were annihilated.
The ground was littered with blood and flesh.
A man in a black robe stood alone atop this carnage, mumbling softly.
“Everything is as He wills.”
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