Rod’s old story had been going on for quite a while. It was entertaining, even excluding the part where he confessed to Rize and got rejected.
What I found most fascinating was the flow of time. Apparently, he had met the parents of some professors.
He had met so many people that it seemed like just another fact to him. I only realized this after coming to the Academy.
‘Didn’t Rize meet Hector a long time ago too?’
It’s amazing to think about it. Meeting someone who is now an adult when they were a child.
It’s no wonder some old folks treat grown-ups like kids. It means those memories are still vivid.
Anyway, Rod’s old stories continued until dinner. I wanted to hear more, but I had to put it off since I needed to eat.
‘The theory was… whatever. I guess I just heard some entertaining stories.’
To be honest, it didn’t really help with the theory. It was just for passing the time.
Rod himself tried to share some theory, but the story went off on a tangent at some point.
I think I’ll listen to it often since it’s quite fun. Next time, I should bring snacks and tea.
A few days passed. I was pondering with friends on how to better utilize the theory when—
Time flows, but classes continue as they always do. And there are even some rather interesting practice sessions in between.
“Today, we’re going to learn how to conquer a dungeon. We’ll have a mock practice for that.”
The beautiful woman with a cold demeanor, Sara, spoke first. Other professors stood next to her.
As usual, the morning class was theory, but the afternoon was different. Usually, one professor handles it, but today everyone has gathered.
Seeing this meant something was up for the afternoon training. Students, including me, huddled together, listening to Sara’s words.
“Dungeons are generally classified into two types. Places where monsters that live in groups or clans reside. For instance, goblins are a prime example. Goblins, in particular, have a habit of collecting items, so if you strategize well, you can gain a lot.”
It’s not just goblins, though. Most monster hideaways are referred to as dungeons.
Not only are the byproducts of monsters incredibly valuable, but you can occasionally find the corpses of other adventurers.
You can earn bounty through those bodies or loot items. Surprisingly rewarding.
“The other case is when humans reside in them. In this case… it’s more dangerous. You might witness some gruesome scenes.”
Gruesome scenes can vary widely. First off, there’s human trafficking, drug manufacturing, and other such horrors.
The most horrifying one was a place where someone was butchering people. A guy infamous as a butcher.
Users who stumbled upon it said that humans are indeed more demonic than demons, and even Satan would take a back seat.
‘They’re beasts, not humans.’
Beasts might regard their kind as rivals, but they don’t treat them as mere objects.
Of course, in extreme situations, they might resort to cannibalism, but that’s the instinct of every creature.
Who could blame someone for cannibalism when they’re about to starve? The one who eats is likely to be the one traumatized.
“Therefore, today’s mock practice is simple. Avoid the traps we’ve set up and defeat the enemies inside. Everyone, take a look at this.”
Sara knocked on something. It appeared to be a target board with a vaguely familiar figure.
More like a doll than a target. It looked quite thick, resembling a leather doll.
“It’s a specially crafted dummy. It’s the enemy you’ll face during the mock practice. A gentle tap is fine, but…”
*Tap-tap—*
Sara knocked on the head of the dummy again. There was no response.
“But if you hit it hard…”
*Wham!*
And then a strong punch. The moment Sara’s fist struck the dummy’s head, it crumbled to the floor.
If it just fell down normally, I might have shrugged it off, but this dummy was a bit unique.
It seemed like it would fall over but then it stood back up like a Weeble. That punch was quite strong, yet it looked just fine.
“You can see it’s still intact.”
“……”
Everyone likely felt the same thing Sara’s statement conveyed. What are we doing here?
However, Sara maintained her usual cold expression and continued explaining.
“It only falls into a brief groggy state, so to ensure it’s truly subdued, a bit more force is needed. For example, a weapon.”
“……”
“If you cut off its head, you can be sure to kill it, and don’t even get me started on the vital spots.”
*Stab!*
At that, Sara plunged a dagger into the dummy’s neck in a blur of speed.
Unlike before, the dummy didn’t stand up proudly but collapsed to the ground. It couldn’t get back up like a Weeble.
“What you all will do is avoid or disable traps during the mock practice and eliminate all the dummies inside. Then, bring back the items.”
That sounds like a pretty fun practice. Like the tutorials that often pop up when playing FPS games on Earth.
I feel like I should say that my skills in fruiting enemies are exceptional. Here, I guess I should say it’s about taking down dummies.
Anyway, with all the explanations finished, we moved to the room where the mock practice would take place. It was said to be similar to a Special Dueling Arena.
‘Looks like a set straight out of a proper FPS tutorial.’
Though it was enclosed so one couldn’t see inside, from the outside, it really resembled that.
Plus, it must be quite large since it’s filled with various traps. I feel like it will be used often.
“You’ll each enter here and break through. There are areas that are unfavorable for melee fighters and others that are bad for mages. We’ve balanced it as much as possible, so don’t complain.”
“Will there be any injuries?”
“Often.”
Normally, you would expect the answer to be no to that question. However, Sara’s response was the complete opposite.
While she might have said it to raise tension, Sara has a reputation for not lying.
That resulted in a peculiar feeling of tension in the air. Since this was my first mock practice, I was quite curious.
“But you don’t need to worry too much. The difficulty level of the practice isn’t that hard.”
“Then why will there be injuries?”
“Who knows. Maybe you’ll get careless?”
In many ways, it was contradictory, but the order was decided. The order was all fairly randomized.
How fair could it be if the professors themselves drew lots? Honestly, there’s no need for manipulation; it’s fine as is.
“Number 1 is…”
“……”
“……”
The order from the lottery. The moment they checked the numbers, Sara lost her words.
As she went silent, other professors glanced at their number cards in surprise. And they also fell silent, equally astonished.
Eventually, gazes turned towards one spot. Those gazes were directed right at me.
“……Sivar.”
“Oh.”
The name called from Sara’s mouth fell heavily, as if it had come down with great difficulty. Coincidence? Not quite so subtle.
Sometimes I wonder if Chaos is secretly manipulating things like this. Of course, that’s highly unlikely.
Well, since I’ve been called, I should get up. As I stood up, all eyes turned towards me.
“Shouldn’t we just exclude him? What if he breaks everything…?”
“If he breaks it, it’s our responsibility. This is what mock practices are for.”
“Or maybe he should just get the last number…”
“Seriously? I can hear you all. Am I really viewed as that much of a troublemaker?”
It might be true that I am a troublemaker, but I intend to take this practice seriously. I pretended I didn’t hear anything and walked towards the professors.
As I approached, they returned to their usual selves, as if they hadn’t just been discussing me. Afterward, Sara spoke.
“Just go inside and come out through the exit.”
“Okay.”
“Professors! By any chance, what’s the record for the fastest completion time?”
Just as I was about to enter, someone asked a question. It was quite a valid question.
Usually, in mock practices, records matter. Sara responded after a brief moment.
“The record is 5 minutes and 20 seconds. On average, it takes about 10 to 11 minutes.”
“That’s longer than I expected.”
“Indeed.”
Like the students whispering amongst themselves, it seems longer than I thought. The record time is already considerably long.
It seems like a painstakingly designed mock practice. It also makes me more excited.
“Now, you’re ready to enter. There will be appropriate weapons inside, so feel free to choose.”
“When does the time start?”
“There will be a line. It starts the moment you cross that line.”
It’s definitely convenient to have magic. After Sara’s explanation, I stepped inside the set.
As I entered the set, I noticed it was slightly darker than outside, likely adjusted to mimic the brightness of a dungeon.
‘Doesn’t seem like much…’
I glanced around and spotted a weapon rack. I picked up a hand axe of a suitable size.
For this practice, having one hand free is better. Picking up a pair could delay my response.
Having finished all the preparations, I figured out where the line that Sara mentioned was. It was easy to find since it was drawn in red.
‘So I just have to cross this?’
As soon as I stepped over the red line—
*Clunk!*
I heard something unlock, then—
**KWA-BOOM!**
“What?!”
A massive fireball hurtled towards me.
What a fiery greeting.
******
When Sivar entered for the mock practice, the professors watched him with worried looks.
They drew lots for fairness, but who would have guessed that Sivar would be the one picked? Especially since this practice had a high risk of destruction.
“Do you think it’ll be okay?”
“It’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.”
They weren’t worried about Sivar. They were worried about the dummies and equipment Sivar might destroy.
If possible, they wanted to emphasize not to break anything, but that felt too discriminatory.
If the other students were to dismantle traps, Sivar might break them instead. It was a bias they couldn’t help but feel.
“Setting that aside, how long do you think he’ll be in there?”
“Wouldn’t it be at least 7 minutes? Even if it’s Sivar, it’s his first time, so it’ll be tough.”
“Well, I don’t know. With Sivar’s physique, he might just plow through.”
“But there are traps to stop that. It’ll take time.”
This mock practice is quite useful. Not only does it test observation skills, but it’s easier for those quick on their feet.
Occasionally unexpected traps spring up or dummies appear. It’s a practice consistently conducted each year.
“Speaking of which, who set the record for the fastest time again?”
“I don’t remember; it was too long ago. At least, it wasn’t from our generation.”
“I took about 10 minutes for that.”
“I did it in 8 minutes.”
While the professors were chattering with both worry and anticipation, the students were having similar discussions.
“What if Sivar breaks everything?”
“Exactly. Then we won’t have anything to do.”
“Isn’t that thing expensive?”
Everyone seemed worried that Sivar might destroy everything. Sivar is indeed clever, but he has a tendency not to use that brain.
His physical talent makes it unnecessary for him to think. What’s worse, he happened to be the first one to start.
“I guess we can just pray that he comes out in one piece.”
“Sivar?”
“No. The things inside.”
“Oh, oh?”
Suddenly, someone reacted awkwardly. That response quickly spread amongst the students.
When Sivar’s friends turned their heads to see, they showed similar responses.
“Is he already coming out?”
“How much time has passed?”
“It doesn’t seem like even 5 minutes has gone by…”
Sivar was emerging from the exit. But his appearance was quite strange.
He looked like someone who had just walked through a fire pit, as he was charred black. The professors looked on, bewildered.
“……Sivar? Why do you look like that?”
“I just took it all.”
“What?”
“I just took the hits because I was worried I’d break something. I’m fine.”
The utterly absurd response of taking the hits to avoid breaking things left the professors dumbfounded. Not breaking things is great, but this was a too extreme approach.
At the same time, they felt a bit guilty. It meant Sivar was definitely aware of the situation.
He was probably seen as a potential troublemaker or a destruction king. He seemed to be picking up on the vibes around him.
“……First, go wash up. Sivar, your practice here is over for today.”
“Okay.”
His clothes were burnt to near-rags. His hair was completely singed black as a bonus.
As Godin spoke, Sivar trudged off towards the showers. People stared at his retreating figure in disbelief.
“Sivar.”
“Yeah?”
At that moment, a gentle voice called out to Sivar. He turned his head.
He saw Luna, who always had her silly expression on. As soon as Luna faced Sivar, she spoke.
“How was the difficulty? Was it easy?”
“……”
Sivar stared blankly at Luna for a while.
“Yeah. It was super easy.”
He replied with an unexpected answer and moved along.
The students, including Luna, felt a strange confidence from that response.
“Ugh…”
What Sivar didn’t notice was that he groaned.
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
