Chapter 98

Chapter 98. Toward the Ruin

‘When a large number of humans gather in one place, even more monsters gather.’

The information I had heard about the sealed grounds and monsters during field training was true.

I could clearly understand that fact from the monsters rushing toward us.

The number of monsters charging at nearly one hundred people was more than twice our number, and what was even more frightening was that several types of monsters were charging at us at the same time.

Monsters created their own ecosystem when humans were absent, but when humans appeared, both prey monsters and predator monsters rushed toward humans all at once.

If the group was small, they usually only had to face one type of monster, but when such a large-scale group moved, it inevitably attracted various types of monsters from far away.

“Align the unit!”

The royal knight order at the front drew their swords and faced the monsters rushing in.

They clearly proved what it meant for nobles capable of using inherited abilities to become knights.

An acceleration ability user shot forward and scattered the wild dog monsters charging first, while physical enhancement ability users whose strength and stamina had been strengthened raised their shields and blocked the monsters’ advance.

Then the mana circulation art ability users who had been standing one step behind slipped between the shield-bearing knights and split apart the bodies of the stopped monsters.

It was a coordinated attack that flowed as naturally as water, as if they had matched their timing dozens, no, hundreds of times.

In that way, the monsters’ initial attack collapsed, but there were still many monsters charging at us.

Following the fallen monsters, various kinds of monsters burst out from the forest ahead.

“Fireball!”

Several monsters that had been leaping over the fallen monsters were swept away by a fireball flying from behind the knights.

Next, blades made of water sliced apart the monsters that continued bursting out, and vines moved to bind the monsters.

Electricity also poured down, and the air exploded.

The noble officers at the rear had displayed their abilities.

As expected, a wide-area attack created with inherited abilities could not be compared to the abilities of knights.

The number of monsters that had continued pouring out decreased sharply.

Along with the noble officers, the Inherited Ability Department students also showed off their abilities against the monsters, but unlike the noble officers, it did not seem easy for them to inflict proper damage.

“It would be better to pair up in twos or threes and attack one target.”

Still, thanks to the advice the noble officers gave them, the students also gradually began producing meaningful results.

Finally, we Knight Department students prepared for the monsters’ attacks while surrounding the noble officers and Inherited Ability Department students, just as originally planned.

The royal knight order was the shield blocking the front, our Knight Department was the armor, and the noble officers and Inherited Ability Department were the weapon.

The people above who had arranged the formation intended to operate the ruin exploration party like a single knight.

It was not a bad plan, and in reality, it was an effective formation. However, it was not a particularly good operation for the Knight Department students.

Because we continued moving forward, the monsters’ main force collided with the royal knight order, but these sealed grounds were a place where monsters poured out from every direction.

The monsters charged at us from other directions as well.

The armor made up of Knight Department students was not as sturdy as the shield formed by the royal knight order.

The armor was not blown away, and the people inside were not injured, but we could not prevent several parts of the armor from being damaged.

Facing an attack fiercer than expected, I stayed close beside the princess and did my utmost to deal with the monsters.

I looked around as much as possible and helped other students too, but the person I had to pay the most attention to was still Princess Aisha.

The overwhelming numbers we had seen at the beginning did not continue pouring in without end, but as we advanced through the forest, the monsters attacked constantly.

The Knight Department students began getting injured one or two at a time, and eventually, the first death occurred.

The first person to die, contrary to my expectations, was the third-year senior who had spoken to me kindly.

He had dreamed of becoming the next royal knight commander, but he could not avoid the blade of death.

No, his kind personality caused his death.

Because he did not spare himself while trying to help the students around him, he met death before anyone else.

As expected, the battlefield was a place where kind people died first.

The monsters attacked us constantly, but we continued advancing.

When the monsters’ attacks stopped, we waited briefly to recover our stamina, but most of the time, movement and combat continued without pause.

By morning, afternoon, and the time night fell, two more students died. All of them were Knight Department students.

It was a situation that made me understand why House Chaifri’s knight order had failed to explore the ruin fifty years ago.

A small team of four or five people might be one thing, but crossing the sealed grounds with a large-scale group seemed nearly impossible to survive without considerable preparation.

Even in this exploration party, which consisted of the royal knight order, noble officers, Royal Academy professors, and students, people were dying like this. There was no way the knight order of a single house could have endured it.

Perhaps Count Chaifri had also realized that, because his expression worsened as time passed.

Before night fell, the exploration party found a place to rest.

There was a large clearing in the middle of the forest, large enough for the entire exploration party to stay.

Since there were no trees around, visibility was secured, and the ground was flat as well, making it look suitable for setting up camp.

Once the group settled in, the headmaster placed the box I had seen before in the center of the clearing.

It was the object I had seen during field training. A remarkable relic that made the fixed area where the box was installed slip out of the monsters’ sight.

When the headmaster opened the box, a pillar of light shot into the sky, and at that moment, the air around us changed.

After assigning guards separately, people began preparing food and setting up camp.

It was there that I learned just how impressive the relic bag and the noble officer’s subspace were.

All kinds of food ingredients and camping equipment poured endlessly out of the bag and the subspace, and the people who had come almost empty-handed were able to finish preparing a plentiful meal and a comfortable camp, to the point that it was hard to believe this place was the sealed grounds.

I had filled my relic pouch with personal equipment and food ingredients, but it did not seem necessary to take them out secretly.

“Somehow, it feels as though I lost.”

“What feels as though you lost?”

While I was grumbling to myself, Valea suddenly cut in.

This was clearly the place where the Knight Department students had gathered to camp.

Valea, naturally, was from the Inherited Ability Department.

However, after finishing her meal, she had crossed over to our side and was chatting with the female students. Right beside me, no less.

I knew she had many friends in the Inherited Ability Department too, so I had no idea why she had mixed herself in here.

“It is nothing. More importantly, why did you come here?”

“Naturally! I came to comfort everyone because I thought you would all be gloomy.”

At my question, she answered energetically.

Just as she said, the atmosphere in the Knight Department was not very good.

That was because three comrades and friends had died in a single day.

All of the dead were from the second and third years.

Because of that, the first-years were quiet as they watched the upperclassmen’s reactions, and the second- and third-years forced themselves to act as if nothing was wrong, but the atmosphere had sunk heavily.

“I am from the Inherited Ability Department, after all. That means I can lift the mood without worrying about everyone’s eyes.”

Even if she was not from the Knight Department, she still needed to worry about everyone’s eyes.

As expected, she was a woman difficult to understand.

Still, thanks to her chattering with the princess and the other female students, the dark atmosphere brightened a little.

However, Bria, who had already seen death several times, seemed to be struggling more than the others.

“How much farther do we have to go?”

Was it post-traumatic stress disorder? This was a world far tougher than my previous life, but suffering after seeing a comrade’s death was no different from my previous life.

Without thinking much, I answered her question.

“We should arrive if we go for about one more day.”

However, at my words, everyone around us who had heard the question looked at me.

“H-How do you know that?”

“I did not hear anything about that either.”

When the people looked puzzled and the princess shook her head, I let out an inward sigh.

It seemed I had made a mistake because I was needlessly worried.

Thinking about it, there was no way I should know the schedule.

The senior knight of the royal knight order, the headmaster, and Count Chaifri had not told us the schedule.

However, I did have a way to know.

The front of the map I possessed showed the route to the ruin.

Of course, at the time the map was drawn, this place had been the center of the Old Empire, and now that the Demon King had been sealed, it was covered in forest and vines.

Even so, now that we had come this far, I could find terrain that could be matched to the map.

‘Since House Chaifri must have searched for the ruin while looking at the map, it is only natural that I can recognize things when we get close.’

Even now, I could find terrain similar to the terrain drawn on the front of the map. The small river flowing beside the clearing was also shown on the map, and the rocky mountain visible in the distance could also be found on the map.

It seemed we had come roughly halfway, so if we walked for one more day, we should arrive.

The map was marked in more detail, but unfortunately, most of the markers were buried under the dense forest, making it impossible to find them.

Still, I could tell well enough that we were heading toward the center of the Empire.

Even before my eyes, a broken vessel was rolling on the ground. An ancient pattern, now barely visible. It was a vessel of the Old Empire.

I had been lost in these idle thoughts for quite some time.

The people were still looking at me with sparkling eyes.

“I heard it in passing.”

In the end, I told a poor lie that did not work well.

At my words, the princess and the other students nodded, but Valea looked at me with strange eyes.

At a glance, those eyes clearly showed that she did not believe me.

“Now that I think about it, I do not know whether we will be allowed inside the ruin.”

A first-year student nearby sighed as he spoke.

His name was Leonel.

He was the male student I had spent a week with during field training.

“That is true. We are not ruin experts, after all.”

“The noble officers and the royal knight order came too, so they will probably explore the ruin. Will we guard the entrance?”

The other students also began talking.

The students who had been extremely positive only a day ago had returned to reality.

“Thinking about it that way, perhaps everyone was competing pointlessly. It does not seem that different from the other practical groups.”

There were students who felt disillusioned.

“Still, since we saw the royal knight order members, perhaps we will receive bonus points in the interview.”

And there were students who wanted to see it at least a little positively.

As for me—

I briefly checked the princess.

She was still a young girl, but she was conversing calmly like an adult.

Unlike me, the princess seemed like a true genius. Naturally, she must have looked that way to her two older brothers as well.

The princess would definitely enter the ruin, and if the princess went, I would also end up exploring the ruin.

---

The next day, the exploration party, having lost one more student, finally arrived at old ruins around evening.

Inside the ruins, there was a path leading to the ruin.

The princess came to participate in the ruin exploration together with several students.

And I was included among those several students.