Chapter 84

Chapter 84. Field Training (2)

‘Was I a little careless, since an autosave point was set right now?’

There had been three times so far when an autosave point had been set without my dying.

[You have arrived at the sealed grounds. A new ‘save point’ has been set.]

[Sealed grounds], huh…….

The first autosave point had been [Awakening Ceremony], and the second had been [Academy Enrollment].

And this time, it was [sealed grounds].

It seemed that not only specific ceremonies or incidents, but also arriving in certain regions could become a new event.

That meant this place was that important.

Well, since these were the Demon King’s sealed grounds, it was only natural that they were important.

Looking back, I could understand each one, but I only realized it after the fact.

Since it felt like I was always reacting too late, moments like this made me feel a little pathetic.

I slapped both my cheeks with my hands.

‘Come to your senses.’

“It seems you were surprised too, Lord Alex.”

Perhaps she had seen me slap my cheeks, because Valea spoke beside me.

“Yes, I was a little surprised.”

Indeed. I was surprised.

“You do not need to worry too much. We have not been scattered that far away. If we walk a little, we will arrive at the gathering point where the headmaster is.”

Professor Niel answered my words while looking at the princess.

That professor was truly consistent.

Seeing the professor’s behavior, I looked at Manuel with pity.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Because Professor Niel has taken both your character and your position.

Manuel was still young.

In this world, he was treated as an adult, but in my previous life, he would have been the age of a high school student, so he really was still young.

That meant he was still far from being able to deal with Professor Niel.

At a glance, Manuel had joined this group because of the princess.

Since he knew my ability, he did not despise me like the others.

Even if he was in the same group as me, he had the excuse that we were family, so there was no particular issue with his honor either.

However, because of Professor Niel, he could not take even one step closer to the princess.

Because of his position as the duke’s son and the noble etiquette he had been taught, he hesitated and ended up being cut in line by the professor.

“Everyone, if you have recovered, prepare yourselves.”

At the professor’s words, the party came to their senses.

Except for the princess, who had already drawn her sword, the rest of the party hurriedly drew their weapons as well.

Manuel gripped the excellent sword he had brought from home, and Valea and Piar also held swords, though only for form’s sake.

I also drew the sword I had been carrying on my back.

Piar and Princess Aisha looked at the sword I held in one hand with startled eyes.

“It is clearly a two-handed sword…….”

Since I had grown taller than before, it did not look as strange as when I first carried it around, but it was still an enormous sword that seemed impossible to wield with one hand.

Since I was holding such a sword easily in one hand, it was only natural for them to be surprised.

“You are no longer using the dagger you used before.”

It seemed Valea had remembered the dagger I had used when I fought her not long ago.

“This was originally my main weapon.”

I had often used the dagger because it could be hidden on my body and made it easy to use my ability, but what I had learned and trained with for a long time was this greatsword.

WOOONG.

I infused mana into the greatsword.

A small red haze, visible only to my eyes, rose from the tip of the greatsword.

Now, I could use my ability even without holding the dagger.

The professor also looked at my sword as if she found it strange, but she soon shook her head and spoke to the princess.

“Let us all depart. If we are too late, points may be deducted.”

“Where should we go?”

At Valea’s question, everyone looked at Professor Niel.

She examined the surroundings filled with enormous trees and vines, then wore a somewhat troubled expression.

“Were we moved farther inside than expected? This makes it difficult to find.”

After muttering quietly, she looked around here and there, and eventually looked at me.

“Um…… You are in the Knight Department, correct?”

“Yes.”

Was it difficult for her to speak to me? She could not possibly have forgotten, but she was asking something unnecessary.

“Then could you climb any tree and check?”

At her words, I checked the tree standing beside me.

It was a thick and tall tree that would be difficult to wrap both arms around. Even if it were not me, any inherited ability user with physical ability could climb it.

“I am also in the Knight Department.”

The princess objected beside me.

“Surely you would not tell the princess to climb, would you?”

Instead, the atmosphere turned into one where she was scolding me.

As expected, she was a seasoned politician.

Manuel also looked at the professor with surprised eyes.

No, it would be troublesome if our kind older brother were already corrupted by bad influences…….

I felt as though I had been pointlessly caught in the middle and wanted to say something, but for now, I decided to do as she said.

“What should I look for from the top of the tree?”

“You will know once you climb.”

Yes, yes. After cursing a bowlful in my head, I began climbing the tree.

I wrapped mana around my hands and feet and climbed swiftly, avoiding the branches.

It was a speed that would not have lost to Spider-M.

After climbing to about the height of a five-story apartment building, I reached the top of the tree.

Then, when I examined the surroundings, I could immediately tell, just as the professor had said.

In the distance, a single blue beam of light stretched all the way to the end of the sky.

“How interesting. What kind of ability is that? Is it something like a laser ability?”

Or perhaps it was a flash ability.

In any case, the place where that beam began was clearly the destination the professor had mentioned.

Since I had already climbed up the tree, I examined the surroundings.

From below, it had looked like a jungle full of trees and vines, but the sealed grounds looked different from up here.

A sea of trees stretched endlessly, but in the distance, I could also see a snow-covered mountain range and what looked like a lake.

Far away, I could see what looked like a speck of a flying beast, no, a monster. If it looked that large from this distance, it was a bigger monster than I expected.

CRASH.

In the middle of the forest, I also saw trees collapsing as something made a path through them.

“This is definitely a dangerous place.”

Seeing it from here, I could feel that this place truly was the sealed grounds.

After checking the pillar of light once more, I jumped down.

Tap.

When I landed on the ground with a small sound, everyone’s eyes gathered on me.

“I saw a place where a beam of light is rising into the sky.”

I pointed in the direction where the beam of light rose.

“That is correct. The headmaster did that.”

Professor Niel answered me coldly, then immediately explained gently to the princess.

“Now then, let us depart.”

She led the party again. This time, since we knew the destination, everyone began moving in the direction I had pointed.

As we advanced through the jungle-like forest full of trees, vines, and thick undergrowth, I felt stifled.

I had not traveled through much of this world, but this forest felt unfamiliar and strange.

There was almost no wind, and both the air and mana somehow felt sticky.

I could feel several times more mana than in other places, but it was mana that seemed ominous in some way.

Perhaps because of that, the vine-covered forest looked extremely gloomy.

The party also seemed extremely tense.

At that moment, the professor opened her mouth again.

“As all of you know, these Demon King’s sealed grounds are the place where, during the Great War, the Heroes fought the Demon King and the monsters alongside countless soldiers and knights, and sealed the Demon King.”

She continued explaining as we walked.

After the Demon King appeared, the battlefront had been pushed back endlessly. With the help of mysterious ability users called Heroes, however, they were able to push the front line all the way here.

In the process, the Old Empire and countless nations were destroyed, and soldiers, knights, and people died in uncountable numbers. In the end, however, they managed to push the Demon King and the monsters to the eastern end of the continent, the sealed grounds.

Unfortunately, the Heroes could not kill the Demon King. Instead, they sealed him in this place, and the sealed Demon King’s mana swept through the surroundings, trapping the monsters here.

The Heroes and humans were also exhausted from sealing the Demon King, so they could no longer fight.

They had no choice but to designate this place, where the monsters had gathered, as the sealed grounds and turn back.

It was a story I already knew, but hearing it in the actual sealed grounds felt different.

“Then is this unpleasant feeling because of the Demon King’s mana?”

“The Demon King’s mana. It is also called demonic energy.”

Professor Niel kindly answered the princess’s question.

Come to think of it, a strange mana was mixed into the stagnant mana.

It was mana I felt as though I had seen somewhere before.

My mind itched until I finally remembered.

It resembled the mana I had seen from the female lecturer who killed herself at the entrance ceremony, and from the man who called himself Piar’s master.

Various imaginations appeared in my mind.

From the image of the sealed Demon King brainwashing that so-called master, to the image of imperial researchers building a laboratory in the sealed grounds and analyzing demonic energy.

Tsk. It seemed I had read too much manga and web novels in my previous life.

I erased those useless fantasies and stored only the facts in my memory.

After that, the professor’s explanation continued.

Thanks to the professor’s efforts to look good to the princess, the lesson proceeded faithfully even here.

It was unpleasant to watch, but since it was helpful to us, I decided to shut my mouth and listen carefully.

As we walked through the forest like that, I suddenly stopped.

I felt something strangely irritating.

“Please wait a moment.”

I stopped the party and examined the surroundings. Nothing had particularly changed.

I pushed mana into my ears. It was quiet.

There was no way it should be quiet. As expected, something was there.

This time, I infused mana into my nose. An unpleasant smell seeped into my nose.

Found it!

“Why did you stop us?”

At that moment, the professor frowned and asked me.

“A monster.”

I pointed toward the two o’clock direction.

At my words, the professor frowned.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

“You noticed it faster than I did?”

“I have a good nose.”

I pointed at my nose with my finger.

Thanks to my nose, I had barely managed to confirm it.

Come to think of it, the movement of mana had also changed slightly. The way mana moved was different from outside, so I had almost missed it.

“Ah, that is right. Something is approaching.”

The professor had an expression that said she found it hard to believe, but at the princess’s following words, her face became awkward.

However, soon she noticed it as well.

“The princess is right. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

Since she was this blatant, it actually felt refreshing.

“Since a monster has appeared, let us practice a formation. The Administration Department and Inherited Ability Department do not learn this separately, but formations are important when facing monsters.”

Even so, an academy professor was still an academy professor. She gave the necessary explanation properly. Of course, she was doing it while looking at the princess.

“Various formations can be created depending on the inherited abilities of the group members. Fortunately, we have Knight Department students here, so first, the Administration Department and Inherited Ability Department students should step back.”

At the teacher’s words, Manuel and Valea quickly stepped back.

“And the Knight Department students should come forward. A knight blocks monsters first, and afterward, the nobles kill the monsters with their abilities.”

In the end, she was simply telling the knight to take the hits.

“Ah, Princess, please step back a little and protect the other students. Another monster may appear during the fight. It is better for one of the knights to protect the other ability users.”

It was true, but in the end, it sounded like she was telling only me to go forward.

Perhaps the princess had the same thought, because she looked at me, but I waved her back with my hand.

The professor was right.

Grrrrrr.

Grrrrrr.

Through the dense forest, black monsters that looked like leopards revealed themselves.

There was not just one. Two of them, one large and one small, appeared before us.