Chapter 273

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 22, 2025

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1.

After successfully sneaking away Fertisha, time flew by like an arrow, reaching December. And soon, the finals period was coming to an end.

“Phew, winter break is just around the corner.”

Looking at my misty breath dispersed into the air, Ivella smiled with a relieved expression.

And who could blame her?

She and her friends had just finished the last exam of the finals.

“And the start of break means…”

“It’s time to head to the desert.”

Delia chimed in at that moment.

A strange tension settled on Ivella’s face. The journey to the desert, which felt so distant, was now right at their doorstep.

“It’s fine. There’s no need to be so tense.”

Did she notice this, I wonder?

Noa spoke up with a smile.

“We have Ulan with us, after all?”

“Uh, hearing that makes me feel a bit better…”

Ulan’s presence reassured her. As Ivella’s expression began to brighten, Noa added,

“And when we arrive in the desert, we’ll meet up with Tisha, Laurea, and Ian, so there’s no need to look so worried.”

“…That just makes me more anxious.”

Ivella frowned.

Laurea was someone you couldn’t let your guard down around. Especially her skill at approaching Ulan without anyone noticing was nothing short of artful.

Just as she was nervously biting her nails, Delia, who had been silent until now, stole a glance at Ulan. A shadow darkened her face. Concerned, she asked,

“What’s wrong? Is something going on?”

“Are you worried you might have messed up the exam?”

Late to the party, Noa also remarked while looking at Ulan’s expression. Meanwhile, Ulan shook his head quietly, revealing the reason for his downcast look.

“I’m worried about not being able to find Rakus’s minions.”

After sending Fertisha off to the Arpen Duchy, Ulan and Delia returned to the Academy and worked tirelessly every night to uncover the identity of the watcher.

However, they ultimately failed to identify it, and this result morphed into a certainty: the watcher was indeed Rakus’s minion.

Of course, there was no hard evidence.

But the fact that, despite all their efforts, they couldn’t find the shadowy figure—even a trace—was proof enough.

Because the abilities and characteristics possessed by Rakus and his minions were no different.

‘Absolute Stealth.’

They were monsters operating in the cracks of space.

So as long as they didn’t openly show animosity and merely observed, no one would discover them. Even Ulan at his peak would have the same problem.

‘Of course, there are exceptions.’

Out of all the characters in the original story, there was one person who could see through Stealth.

Just as he was trying to think of who that might be, Noa was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts. A strange voice called out.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Could I ask for your cooperation?”

Five men in black uniforms.

They were agents from the Special Operations Division directly under the Magic Department.

Seeing them suddenly speak up, Ulan tilted his head in confusion.

“What kind of cooperation are you talking about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special.”

“We received a report that a suspicious individual has been lurking around the Academy.”

“So, we…”

As the agents were about to continue, Ulan immediately shook his head.

“Not me.”

“…I didn’t even say it was you yet.”

The agents let out a sigh.

As they said, Ulan had gone from being a suspicious individual to a well-known figure at the Academy.

At this point, it felt odd if someone didn’t know him.

So, if a report did come in about him, it wouldn’t be about a suspicious character, but rather that Ulan had caused yet another incident.

“Please provide detailed eyewitness accounts.”

After a quick cough, the agents summarized the information regarding the suspicious individual based on witness statements.

“The first sighting was three days ago.”

“Notable characteristics include a build much smaller than yours.”

“It’s elusive, mainly active in the forest, and has been seen moving around freely in the trees.”

“It’s also been spotted catching insects and occasionally eating mushrooms.”

As they shared various accounts, Ulan suddenly nodded. Seeing this, the agents’ eyes sparkled with interest.

“Do you have a guess?”

“Yes.”

Ulan replied without hesitation.

This reaction filled the agents’ faces with expectation. Meanwhile, Ulan scratched his head, responding nonchalantly.

“It’s obviously a monkey.”

“…Not really.”

“If it lives in the forest, climbs trees, and eats insects, it has to be a monkey.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Realizing how that logic held, he couldn’t find a counterargument.

Just then, the head of the agents shook his head.

“Regardless, it’s not a monkey. A monkey wouldn’t carry a weapon.”

“Carrying a weapon?”

“That’s why we need to find it swiftly.”

The head agent nodded.

If they left the suspicious figure untracked, it could hurt the students.

After carefully observing Ulan’s group’s reactions, the head agent sighed heavily.

“…From the looks of it, I see you haven’t seen it.”

“Sadly, that’s right.”

“Understood. If you spot the suspicious individual later, please contact us immediately.”

“Will do.”

“Thank you. I’ll take my leave now.”

Bowing his head, the head agent led his team away. As they gradually moved farther away, Ivella murmured with curiosity.

“I wonder who the suspicious person is?”

“Could it be related to Rakus’s minions…?”

“Absolutely not.”

Noa strongly denied Ulan’s words.

It was an obvious reaction. There was no way that the Master and High Mage, who couldn’t even find a trace, would be detected by agents or ordinary students.

Right after hearing the Special Operations team’s sightings, Noa had already guessed who the suspicious person might be. Just when he was about to share it with everyone,

Thud! Whoosh!

Something rolled and flew from the ground.

Simultaneously, Delia perked up her pointy ears and quickly realized what had flown toward them.

“Huh? A rock?”

“It seems to have come from over there.”

As Ivella pointed toward the forest, once again, a rock flew in from behind the bushes. However, the peculiarity was that they felt no presence beyond the bushes.

As soon as they realized this, a strong sense of vigilance bloomed on Ivella and Delia’s faces. In contrast, Ulan, seemingly unfazed, made his way forward quickly.

A moment later, arriving at the destination, he roughly parted the bushes. As he did, Ivella was left tilting her head at the sight that unfolded.

“Huh? There’s no one here?”

As she pointed out, there was no trace of a presence at the spot where the rock had come from. Just as she wore a puzzled expression,

Thud!

Once again, a rock flew in.

This time, it wasn’t from the bushes but from above, a pine tree covered with needle-like sharp leaves. Instinctively looking up, they all gasped.

“…!”

Their eyes widened in unison.

There, they spotted an all-too-familiar face that should not have been there.

Ulan too spoke up with a shocked expression.

“You are…?”

“Ahhh, long time no see.”

A figure who let out a big yawn.

A Boy from the Beastfolk armed with a bow and arrows waved at Ulan’s group.

It was the Hunter, Sven Isaac.

2.

Sven suddenly appearing caused everyone to wear puzzled expressions, and Sven leapt down from the tree.

Quickly, the first to regain composure was Ulan, who asked,

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? You called for me.”

“Called you?”

“Yeah. Laurea said so.”

Ulan was left bewildered by this revelation.

Ivella and Delia were similarly puzzled. Naturally, they had never called for Sven.

At that moment, Noa stepped forward.

“To clarify, I was the one who called for Sven.”

“What? You called Sven?”

“Yes. He’s the only one among us who can see through Rakus’s Stealth.”

The Eye of the Abyss howled, Rakus.

The only one capable of uncovering those lurking in the gaps of space was the party’s sharpshooter, Sven Isaac.

In fact, during the battle against Astevan in the Eastern Jungle, he had successfully found Rakus’s minions and fought against them.

“So the solution to finding out the identity of the watcher you mentioned before is…”

“Yes, it’s Sven.”

Noa smiled brightly at Ulan’s words.

If Sven could find Rakus’s minions, Ulan and Delia could then take them down. That was the plan Noa had devised.

“Although you arrived a bit later than expected, I’m just glad you made it.”

Originally, he was supposed to arrive three days ago. Yet, the simple fact that he had arrived was what mattered, so they didn’t make a big deal out of it.

However, Sven shook his head.

“I’m not late. I arrived three days ago.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

If what Sven said was true, it meant he had arrived at the time Noa expected. Then why did he only show up three days later?

While Noa was left in a daze, Ivella’s eyes lit up as if she had thought of something.

“Could it be that the suspicious person we heard about earlier…?”

“That seems likely.”

Ulan nodded in agreement.

The suspicious figure first sighted three days ago, elusive and good at climbing trees—Sven’s description perfectly matched the eyewitness accounts from the Special Operations Division.

Finally, the pieces began to connect.

Meanwhile, as all eyes were on him, Sven turned to Ulan and Noa and asked,

“By the way, the Rakus’s minions you mentioned earlier—are they those large floating eyeballs?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ulan’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Exactly. Have you seen them?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Where did you see them? How many?”

It seemed the identity of the watcher was indeed Rakus’s minions. Ulan pressed him for an answer, and Sven scratched his cheek, responding.

“There were a total of seven, but they’re gone now.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I’ve hunted them all.”

“…Huh?”

Noa blinked dumbfoundedly.

He couldn’t instantly grasp what Sven had just said. Meanwhile, Sven, with a nonchalant expression, pointed toward the Student Council Hall and the Source of Magic.

“I dealt with two near that building, and five close to the big lake.”

“Y-You mean you hunted Rakus’s minions?!”

“Yeah. I even brought back some loot.”

Noa’s face turned pale as reality sunk in. Then, as if to add to his shock, Sven nodded and pulled something from his backpack.

Seven stones, each with arrows embedded in them.

As he saw the stones the size of fists, both Noa’s and Ulan’s expressions changed dramatically.

“This, this is…!”

“It’s an Abyssal Core.”

The core that could only be found from Abyssal Monsters.

At this size, it must have come from minions of Abyssal Lords. This meant that what Sven said about hunting Rakus’s minions was indeed true.

‘But that’s impossible.’

There was a world of difference between simply locating Rakus’s minions and hunting them.

Because even in the original story, one had to reach the mastery level of a Master to take down Rakus’s minions.

On the other hand, Sven was at the Expert level.

He was still that way when he fought alongside Astevan in the Abyssal Magic Palace. So, the moment doubt crossed his mind, a sudden realization struck him.

“…Ah!”

The thought hit him in an instant.

The reason Sven could take down Rakus’s minions. A moment later, Noa stammered in surprise,

“Could it be that you…?”

“Yeah, you might be right.”

Sven burst into laughter.

Then he muttered to himself.

“Just before arriving here, I passed the Trial of the Hero.”

“…!”

The moment the reason for being able to hunt Rakus’s minions was revealed, the eyes of everyone, including Ulan and Noa, widened in shock.

An abrupt silence enveloped the area.

A moment later, Noa began reflecting on the Trial of the Hero assigned to Sven.

“The Trial of the Hero doesn’t have to take place in a specific location like it does for Ulan or Delia.”

Among the seven heroes in the original story, there were two where the trial location wasn’t fixed.

Those two were Ivella and Sven. They would face their trials immediately upon meeting certain conditions.

“And Sven’s conditions are definitely…”

The first was when encountering a monster that couldn’t be hunted.

The second was when he became completely mentally independent.

Those were the two conditions.

“Well, the first condition was definitely fulfilled when he fought Astevan.”

The second condition would be fulfilled only later after Sven parted ways from Shulfern.

Specifically, it would be once he no longer depended on Milena Armadin.

Having realized this, Noa nodded in understanding.

“Now that I think about it, it makes sense that the Trial of the Hero would happen at any time.”

Because when Sven’s group left Shulfern, he traveled with Laurea toward the Holy Nation.

In other words, he was in a state where all trial conditions had been satisfied.

As Noa came to this realization, Ulan looked at Sven with a satisfied smile.

“I feel reassured knowing you cleared the trial.”

“Still, I don’t know what the heck’s going on.”

Sven shrugged his shoulders.

But he had learned one thing for sure.

It was that as long as the Abyssal Monsters remained, peace wouldn’t last long.

Of course, it was no concern of Sven’s how the world unfolded.

‘But…’

There was no way he could stand by and let his savior, Milena Armadin, come to harm. So, Sven resolved to fight against the Abyss.

The determination shone brightly in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Noa spoke seriously.

“In any case, it’s now clear.”

That Rakus was orchestrating the Arsen Academy, further monitoring the next student council president candidates, Iris and Kamila.

It was the moment the identity of the watcher, which had been troubling Ulan, was finally revealed. Ivella spoke up, confused.

“But what on earth is he after…?”

“It’s simple. In the original story, Rakus is a lord who specializes in hiding behind the scenes and manipulating people or factions like puppet strings.”

Rank lowest among the lords.

In terms of pure strength, Rakus was similar or slightly weaker than Astevan’s twelve minions combined.

That’s why instead of showing up himself, he hid in the shadows to torment heroes. Based on this, Noa began to speculate Rakus’s aims.

“So he likely intended to distribute Draga’s Leaves through Abyss Worshippers and take control of the student council.”

His light blue eyes gleamed sharply.

The moment he hit the nail on the head, Delia still puzzled asked,

“But why go through such lengths to take over the student council?”

“Hmm, if I were to guess, he might want to use the powers of the student council to interfere with us?”

For example, the student council could potentially spread the heroes across different areas and try to take them out one by one.

After hearing Noa’s words, Ivella seemed to grasp the situation and nodded.

“In other words, it’s a trap he’s setting.”

“Exactly. That’s the right expression.”