The blind villain of the academy

Chapter 184: Field Exploration Squadron [3]

Chapter 183

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Episode 43 - Field Exploration Squadron [3]

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"But is it really okay for you to be in this Squad...? Mhm."

Suddenly, the woman looked toward my waist.

The other girls did the same, and surprise appeared in their eyes.

"You’re a Swordsman. I thought you would be a Summoner or an Elementalist, since spirits or elementals could serve as your eyes."

I shook my head.

"No, I’m a Swordsman..."

I had to explain some of my Traits and convince them that I moved as if I could see without any problems.

Since it wasn’t the first time someone had asked how I could move around so calmly, I explained it rather quickly.

They listened in silence as if I were telling them a fairy tale.

"So you’re saying your blindness is caused by your Unique Trait."

"Yes."

As I spoke with the woman who seemed to be the leader, the girl with glasses stepped closer.

"Oh, wait a moment, your face is almost completely hidden..."

She raised her hand, but I stopped her and took a step back.

"You can’t do that... it’s uncomfortable."

The memory of Lumina lifting my bangs flashed through my mind.

For some reason, that made me feel strangely uncomfortable.

’Ugh, why am I acting like this all of a sudden...?’

While I was thinking, the girl from before apologized.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know it made you uncomfortable."

"It doesn’t matter. Anyway, my name is Adel."

I decided to change the subject and get straight to the introductions.

The leader of the Field Exploration Squad sighed and said:

"I’m the leader of these idiots. My name is Arwen. Four-Eyes over here is Ariana, that tsundere is Noelle, those twins are Celestia and Ceres, ah, and that guy over there is Cassian."

"I’m not a tsundere."

’It seems they’re all commoners, aren’t they?’

The fact that they hadn’t mentioned any surnames meant they weren’t nobles.

Although, since we were on another continent, surnames were probably irrelevant for the most part.

"I’m Clana Ordeal."

"Lumina Moonlight."

Arwen looked at Lumina and Clana in surprise.

"I’ve heard a bit about you two, a princess and the greatest talent of the Holy Continent. Am I right?"

"Yes."

Clana said, while Lumina simply nodded.

When Arwen noticed that neither girl spoke much, she turned to me with a bright smile.

"Adel, right? Don’t worry. Even if you can walk around just fine, I’ll be taking special care of you, okay?"

"Ah, uh, thanks."

Even though I don’t really need it.

"Alright then, you can take a seat. Ah, and you four, stop making such a fuss, understood?"

"Don’t worry, Senior."

"I never bother anyone."

"We’ll behave, Sister."

"Yes, Sister."

"As long as nobody bothers me, I’m fine."

Arwen nodded, then turned toward us.

"Ah, and by the way, there aren’t actually any beds. Everyone just finds a place to sleep on that couch, in a chair, or wherever."

From the back, a guy named Cassian said:

"That’s because we work all day and barely sleep three or four hours at most."

Arwen nodded at his words.

It wasn’t anything new to me. In my memories, there was a dialogue where the player complained about sleeping on the floor.

"Anyway, it’s already midnight, and you just arrived, so you should get about three hours of sleep. We’ll leave at four in the morning to explore the mountain ahead."

***

Clana sat down a little away from the others and looked at Adel.

She narrowed her eyes as she examined the color of his hair, his build, his height, and the way he spoke.

Although their voices sounded different, it wasn’t unusual for people to change or alter their voices with mana.

Clana stared at Adel. No matter how much she observed him, the image of the Prophet who had saved her in Black City kept appearing in her mind.

’Same height, same build. His way of speaking is different, but his hair color is exactly the same, and...’

She couldn’t help describing in her mind how similar the two of them were.

Although she had no proof, Clana wasn’t an idiot.

Either Adel was the Prophet, or they simply looked almost identical.

’But that man was a Six-Star Awakened.’

And the Adel standing before them was a Four-Star Awakened.

Her Mana Sense couldn’t deceive her, and neither could the Academy itself.

’If it weren’t for that difference in power, I could easily assume that Adel is the Prophet.’

Clana thought that perhaps they simply looked very similar.

Or perhaps she was just overthinking it.

In any case, that didn’t mean she wasn’t suspicious of Adel.

’If only I knew how the Prophet fights, I could find out whether he’s Adel or not.’

Since it wasn’t impossible to temporarily increase an Awakened’s power, it could be done through drugs, potions, Relics, or Traits.

’It’s better to stay out of it for now and simply observe him.’

After thinking it through carefully, Clana made a decision. She would observe everything related to Adel from a distance.

***

"Good morning, everyone!"

"...?"

Suddenly, a loud shout woke me up. White lines began to form around me, my senses returned, and my consciousness fully awakened.

’I don’t even feel like I slept at all.’

It felt as though I had fallen asleep only a few minutes ago.

I got up from the sofa where I had fallen asleep. Beside me was the girl Arwen had called a tsundere.

’Her name is Noelle, right?’

When I thought of the word tsundere, a protagonist who was also a tsundere came to mind.

After standing up, I stretched my body and finally managed to wake up completely.

About thirty minutes later, everyone present was ready to head outside.

Arwen took the lead and said:

"We’ll split into two-person teams. Each pair will explore areas that aren’t too far from the others, of course."

"But since there are nine of us, one person will have to go alone..."

"I’ll go alone."

At that moment, Lumina raised her hand.

Arwen looked at her and asked:

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous. We’ll be checking the area around that mountain over there."

Arwen pointed toward the mountain covered in ice pines.

"I’ll be fine."

Arwen looked at Lumina for a moment and then nodded.

"Well, if you say so, then it’s fine. So, who’s going with whom? Ah, that’s right..."

Arwen looked at me and asked:

"Will you come with me, or do you want to go with someone specific?"

At her question, I discreetly turned my head toward Cassian.

He was silent, staring at the mountain with an expressionless face.

A smile appeared on my face for a moment before disappearing.

"Yes, I’d like to go with Cassian."

At my response, Cassian looked at me for a moment before smiling cheerfully.

"Hahaha, that’s great. The only two men in the Field Exploration Squad together on their first mission. Isn’t that amazing?"

I nodded without saying anything, though inwardly I was smiling.

When Arwen heard my answer, she seemed disappointed for a moment before nodding.

"All right, then the others..."

Shortly afterward, every pair was decided.

Arwen teamed up with Clana, the girl with glasses named Ariana teamed up with Noelle, and naturally, the twins Celestia and Ceres went together.

Arwen explained the different areas we needed to inspect.

The objective was to determine whether there had been any unusual monster activity.

This was because one of the entrances to the Abyss was located somewhere within the Central Tower of the Abyss Containment Team.

Monsters and other creatures were often drawn to this place by the energy emitted from the Abyss entrance, an energy invisible to humans.

Therefore, every day, the Field Exploration Squad had to inspect all the areas around the mountain early in the morning.

Then, around noon, they would investigate other areas farther away from the mountain.

"All right, let’s go."

Shortly afterward, we left the Tower. We then walked toward the mountain slope and eventually split up.

Everyone headed in different directions.

Cassian and I had to go toward the Ice Spires area.

A region filled with enormous spikes of ice, forming various structures as though they were minerals.

The snow beneath my feet crunched while the powerful wind battered my entire body and slowly covered me with snow.

’This cold is no joke, even with Mana Coating.’

A thin layer of mana covered my body. Otherwise, I could freeze solid within seconds.

’Come to think of it, Apostle Kaiser should be frozen somewhere on this mountain.’

According to my memories, the battle would take place at the highest part of the mountain, known as the Valley of Graves due to the large number of frozen monsters there.

It was a vast area filled with monsters adapted to the freezing environment.

’If only I knew where the Ice Witch is hiding, I might even be able to prevent Apostle Kaiser’s return.’

In any case, I had no idea where the Ice Witch was, much less where Apostle Kaiser was frozen.

Lost in thought, I was pulled out of them by Cassian’s voice.

"Can I ask you something?"

I turned toward him and nodded.

"Yes, that’s fine."

Cassian nodded and then asked:

"Is there any reason you wanted to come with me instead of Arwen? She seems extremely concerned about you even though she barely knows you."

Ah, so that was what he wanted to ask, although I wasn’t sure whether this guy suspected something.

After all, the villain I’ll be killing before long is none other than Cassian.