The blind villain of the academy

Chapter 192: Fourth Day [2]

Chapter 191

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Episode 46 - Fourth Day [2]

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Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Amid a snowstorm that blocked most of the visibility.

A person dressed in loose white robes; at first glance, any lover of the supernatural would mistake the figure for the Snow Ghost.

The person’s head was covered by a hood made of smooth, thin fabric, concealing the face from anyone who looked.

The snow beneath the figure’s feet crunched softly. Deep footprints were left behind in the snow.

Yet, more than five meters away, the footprints vanished without a trace.

Soon, the mysterious figure reached a slope where a cave spiraled downward.

The mysterious figure entered the cave and descended to the bottom. The place was completely dark, yet the figure did not use a torch.

The figure continued walking until reaching the end of the cave. There stood a stone door.

It was worn and half-frozen, covered by a thin layer of ice. The figure extended a hand and used an energy that was neither Mana nor the Power of Chaos.

The white-robed figure channeled that strange energy, and suddenly the door responded with a loud creak.

Then, slowly, the door opened, revealing what lay beyond.

On the other side was a vast chamber, roughly the size of a football field.

At its center stood an enormous spike-shaped pillar of ice. Its blue was so dark that it was nearly impossible to make out even a few centimeters into its interior.

The robed figure walked up to the ice pillar and placed a hand against it.

The figure slowly moved the hand across the surface, feeling the ice’s extreme cold.

The hand was quickly pulled back before the figure looked down at the fingers.

The skin had turned pale, tinged with faint shades of blue and violet.

"Ice created with Soul Power."

A gentle voice, unmistakably that of a woman rather than a man, echoed faintly throughout the chamber.

The woman looked at her fingers and, using the same energy as before, the pale bluish-violet color disappeared.

It was replaced by a pleasant sensation of warmth spreading through her body.

Then she raised her head and looked through the ice.

"...."

She frowned slightly behind the veil covering her face.

At the center of the ice pillar was a faint figure. It appeared human, but on its head—or perhaps its forehead—it had two antlers like those of a deer, or perhaps a roe deer.

In any case, someone was trapped at its center.

The woman then looked away and lowered her gaze to the ground.

Surrounding the ice pillar was a kind of circle filled with intricate patterns, hieroglyphs, or a web-like network whose lines intertwined to form countless unknown designs.

"Astral Soul Magic... How can humans... no, the Chosen of Chaos, know this magic?"

The woman stared at the magic circle in bewilderment.

Naturally, she did not belong to this world but to another place that the beings of this world could not reach.

She knew exactly what kind of magic had been engraved into the floor.

It was known as Astral Soul Magic.

There were countless Astral Magics, but only a handful combined Astral Magic with Soul Magic.

"Ah, it doesn’t matter."

She looked at the silhouette inside the ice pillar and muttered,

"If I don’t thaw this person out and receive ’that,’ I’ll fade away and cease to exist in a few days..."

As she spoke those words, a strange fear seemed to torment her, as though the thought of disappearing was truly terrifying.

***

Clank! Boom!

Light magic illuminated the sky for several seconds before erupting into bursts of light above dozens of grotesque monsters.

It was followed by a sword glowing with a faint white radiance, slicing through flesh and bone before reducing the monsters’ bodies to ashes in a matter of seconds.

However, even though dozens of corpses lay behind them...

Before them still stood towering, slender creatures, flying monsters, and a smiling moon that seemed to be staring directly at them.

The moon’s silvery glow illuminated mountains and plains made of black flesh, entrails, and trees covered with mouths and blinking eyes.

Meanwhile, a trio slaughtered endless hordes of monsters with all their might as they advanced toward the place where the moon hung in the sky, to the south.

About three hours later, the trio slipped toward a nearby mountain and entered a cave that, fortunately, was made of solid rock.

Rinna sat down on the ground, panting from exhaustion.

Black veins covered her body while sharp pain and overwhelming fatigue tormented her.

Shortly afterward, Rinna uncorked a test tube containing a crimson liquid. Then she took a sip, tasting a strong metallic flavor.

In less than a second, the black veins covering her body disappeared, the pain and fatigue faded away, and her mana was completely restored.

"Ah..."

She let out a sigh as she looked at the test tube.

’But... is it really okay to drink this...?’

She raised her head and looked toward Adel.

Adel was drinking water while leaning against the wall of the cave. There were only a few drops of sweat on him.

His body was covered in a thin layer of black blood that gave off an unpleasant smell.

Even so, he drank the water as if nothing was wrong, completely unfazed by the strong stench.

Rinna let out another sigh and recalled what had happened the day before.

Adel had suggested that they form a team, and Rinna accepted without hesitation.

Later that same day, when the exam was announced, Adel handed her two test tubes.

Inside them was a red liquid, but Rinna immediately understood what it was.

It was Adel’s blood.

Rinna wanted to refuse, no matter how much Adel insisted, but in the end, somehow, he forced her to accept it.

Knowing the effects of Adel’s blood, Rinna understood why he had given it to her.

After all, she was one of the Blessed and would bear the title of Saint in the near future.

As an Awakened with a body blessed by the Light, her only weakness was areas filled with negative energy, such as the Power of Chaos.

This type of energy, which concentrated in those areas, was like poison to Rinna.

And Adel’s blood was the only way for her to recover and return to perfect condition for several hours before the negative energy slowly began destroying her body again.

Meanwhile, not far from Rinna, Clana watched Adel with narrowed eyes.

Her thoughts went back and forth, but they clearly said, "I’m watching you," or simply, "You’re suspicious, so I’ll be keeping an eye on you."

While both girls were lost in thought, Adel put away the water bottle and let out a sigh.

He raised his head and then used his senses to scan a ten-kilometer radius.

Fortunately, there were no signs of movement or wandering creatures.

’There are two ways to clear a Pocket Gate.’

The first was to literally slaughter every monster inside it.

However, that was only possible when the Pocket Gate was not particularly large.

The one Adel and the others were inside was an enormous Pocket Gate; its exact size was unknown.

But considering the dozens of kilometers they had traveled over the past ten hours, Adel assumed it was vast.

’So, clearing this Pocket Gate requires the second method.’

The second method applied when a Pocket Gate had a <Sovereign> or a <Ruler>.

It was an intelligent creature, and its size and strength varied greatly depending on the number of creatures, their danger level, and the size of the Pocket Gate.

’The size is clearly enormous, the number of monsters is extremely high, but their average strength is only Class 3, and at most, Class 4.’

Based on this information, Adel concluded that the Sovereign of this Pocket Gate was most likely a Class 5 monster, or at most, a Class 6.

’Anyway, at this rate, I think we’ll be the first, since I have the only two cadets who wield the Light Attribute with me.’

Their performance and efficiency so far had been flawless.

They had covered several kilometers in just a few hours and were probably no longer far from the Sovereign monster.

All the monsters had been coming from the south, in the direction where the moon hung in the sky.

So the Sovereign monster had to be there.

After a few minutes, Adel stood up from the ground.

He then drew his sword and said,

"It’s time to go."

Clana snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. Then she stood up and picked up the sword lying on the ground.

Rinna followed, taking her staff before stretching her body and letting out a quiet "Mhm" along with a sigh.

"Um, Adel, haven’t you sensed any monsters nearby?"

Adel shook his head.

"No, not within a ten-kilometer radius, so we can walk without worrying."

"Ah, finally, we won’t have to fight along the way."

With renewed determination, the three of them left the cave and began walking south.

Although there were no monsters nearby, that didn’t mean they should let their guard down.

"I just hope the Sovereign isn’t too strong. I’ve heard they’re usually very powerful."

"They’re only that strong when a Pocket Gate hasn’t been cleared within three months. After that, the Sovereign can reach an estimated Class 7 or even higher."

"Ah, right. I didn’t even know that."

"They mentioned it in Theory class."

"Ah... hahaha. Now that I think about it, you’re right. I’m so silly, hahaha."

Rinna turned her head away while Adel let out a wary sigh.

Meanwhile, Clana, walking behind them, simply watched the two of them in silence, never taking her eyes off Adel.

In any case, another ten hours passed.

During that time, dozens of monsters appeared, but after fighting continuously, they finally arrived at a grassland where ancient ruins stood. They looked like the remains of some kind of sanctuary.

And an overwhelming presence could be felt from those ruins.

’So that’s where the Sovereign of this Pocket Gate is.’

At last, they had reached the final boss.