Chapter 86

(5)

10.

Crunch crunch!

The sound of pencils moving busily.

It was the noise of countless students filling out their answer sheets. Most of them had performed poorly in the first and second exams. So it looked like they were trying their best to recover in this written test.

Except for Noa.

She couldn’t concentrate on the exam.

No, she couldn’t focus at all.

Because there was something way more important than this exam.

‘…When is this going to change?’

What she was looking at was Professor Dirck.

Earlier, he had his head bowed low, but now he was staring blankly into space. His eyes were vacant, as if bewitched by something.

‘In the original story…’

During the exam at the Source of Magic, he gets caught up in some incident and comes into contact with the Power of the Abyss. Up to this point, it was similar to the original’s progression.

The evidence was the Ashen Magic coiling around Professor Dirck.

‘Next, when the Power of the Abyss collides with his original Magic Power, it causes a Magic Overload, and Professor Dirck turns into an Abyssal Monster.’

A terrifying 7-star Demon Beast.

It was a monster that couldn’t even be faced unless you were an Expert or a high-level Sorcerer.

‘…It was supposed to be like that.’

But there was a difference from the original story.

That feeling of discomfort she had sensed earlier.

It was the amount of Magic Power possessed by Professor Dirck.

In the original, he only comes into contact with a tiny amount of Power of the Abyss, not even one-tenth of what he originally had.

‘But right now, it’s completely different.’

The situation itself was different.

This wasn’t just contact; he was entirely engulfed by the Power of the Abyss.

Compared to what he originally had, it was five to ten times the amount. This fact made Noa feel a hint of anxiety.

‘Surely he won’t turn into an even stronger monster, will he?’

There was a slim chance that it could happen.

Just looking at the expanding Power of the Abyss suggested as much.

Noa anxiously bit her lips. Then suddenly, her eyes went wide.

‘That’s right! I need to warn Ulan!’

He would think Professor Dirck was normal since he couldn’t see the Magic Power.

But it was too far to give him a heads-up.

What should she do? Give up on the exam and just sneak over to tell him? Just then, as she turned to glance at Ulan.

‘Huh?’

Noa’s eyes grew wide.

He was just like her.

Throwing his answer sheet aside, Ulan was glaring solely at Professor Dirck. At this sight, Noa blinked her big eyes in surprise.

‘Could it be that Ulan noticed too?’

It was the only explanation.

His sharp gaze, and more than anything, the way he had fixed it on Professor Dirck was evidence of that.

‘How he figured it out, I have no idea…’

If he was on guard, then there was no need to warn him.

At this rate, the moment Professor Dirck turned into a monster, Ulan would immediately spring into action and swing his axe.

‘Somehow, I feel a bit relieved.’

Ulan was a Strong One who had reached Mastery.

If he was on guard against Professor Dirck, then the worst they feared probably wouldn’t happen.

Just as a feeling of relief washed over Noa and she let out a sigh of relief.

“Hmm.”

Ulan let out a low groan.

His gaze was fixed on Professor Dirck. More precisely, it focused on the blackboard next to him. That was where the questions for this written exam were written down.

‘I don’t understand a thing.’

There were a total of twenty exam questions.

All of them were essay-type, and the last five required calculations based on Magic Formulas.

The fact that they weren’t multiple choice shocked him, but what shocked him even more was something else.

‘This isn’t anything I’ve seen in the book.’

For the past ten days, he had poured his heart into studying but hadn’t seen even a single one of these topics. But that didn’t mean it seemed like the questions were written incorrectly.

Other students were busy filling out their answer sheets.

‘Could it be that Noa told me the wrong material?’

It was the most logical assumption.

Ulan glanced over at Noa.

Fortunately, she was looking at him as well, so their eyes immediately met in the air.

And in that moment.

Noa nodded with a stern expression.

‘That means…’

Could it be a sign of agreement?

As he was confused, suddenly the answer sheet in front of Noa came into view.

It was blank, with no answers written.

The moment he saw this, Ulan realized the situation.

‘I’m doomed.’

It was clear that Noa had misunderstood the exam range.

So she must have given up just like him, unable to solve even a single problem. Ulan concluded.

But he was different from Noa.

Even if he didn’t know anything, he had no intention of running away in the face of a looming battle.

Just as he was looking at the question again.

Suddenly, a crimson eye flickered.

‘Wait, that’s definitely…’

Upon closer inspection, it was something he had seen in a book.

A problem that could quickly be solved by applying specific formulas and repeating a few basic arithmetic operations.

But then, for a moment, Ulan found a critical flaw in that problem.

‘…Three-digit addition.’

An area that Ulan had not yet reached.

His crimson eyes trembled slightly. But the moment of hesitation didn’t last long.

‘I’ve grown a lot since then.’

Especially since entering the Academy.

He’d read books almost every day without fail, and for the past ten days, he had refined his studies to the point of even bleeding from his nose.

And as a result.

He had reached a level where he could proudly say he was far more knowledgeable than in his past life.

‘So, I’ll challenge it.’

Even if it was an unknown territory.

Shaking off the tension coursing through his body.

Ulan grabbed his pencil with a determined expression.

He then copied the problem onto his answer sheet, pouring all his concentration into it.

To challenge the three-digit addition.

“Five minutes remaining until the exam ends!”

“Start wrapping things up!”

Just then, he heard the supervisors’ announcements.

The supervisors, who notified the end of the exam, then approached Professor Dirck to report on how it went.

“Um, Professor?”

“The exam will be ending soon…”

“Are you okay?”

The supervisors spoke with concern.

They couldn’t help it.

Professor Dirck’s appearance was alarming.

It had barely been thirty minutes since he returned to Zone 2, and his body was as skinny as a scarecrow.

Anyone could tell he was in no normal condition.

“If you’re feeling unwell, you can leave first.”

“That’s right. We’ll handle things here.”

“…”

They kept trying to talk to him, but there was no response. Professor Dirck merely gazed blankly into space, his eyes unfocused.

“Professor?”

Just then, one of the supervisors reached out.

The moment he grabbed Professor Dirck’s shoulder, his expression turned to shock.

“Goodness, what is this sweat…”

Sweat that soaked his clothes completely.

The supervisor continued speaking in astonishment. But what came next was unheard.

Whoosh! Bang!

With the sound of wind slicing through the air.

The supervisor’s head exploded in midair. The sudden shower of red blood, brain matter, and fragments plunged the scene into silence.

“…Huh?”

An utterly unexpected situation.

It was too sudden, and it took a moment to process the reality before him.

“W-What?!”

“Suddenly his head…!”

And that was their last words.

Bam! Crunch! Splatch!

An indiscriminate assault ensued.

Their chests, heads, and entire bodies were torn apart. Soon, the identity of their attacker was revealed.

It was none other than a tentacle of Ashen color.

The tentacle moved like the limbs of a mollusk, and at the end, sharp teeth were embedded, devouring the corpses of the supervisors greedily.

Just then.

Professor Dirck’s body burst open.

A violent shockwave followed, overwhelming the surroundings.

Boom boom boom!

A massive shadow loomed over the exam hall. It was Professor Dirck transformed into a monster. This marked the beginning of a scene of horrifying chaos.

“Ugh, Aaaah!”

“A monster! It’s a monster!”

“Everyone, run away!”

The exam hall turned into a total mess in an instant.

The students screamed and scattered in all directions.

They all tried to get as far away from the monster as possible. But oddly enough, some even headed toward the monster.

They were girls who had anticipated such a situation.

Noa and Delia.

However, what they were focused on was not the monster. It was a student seated too close, unable to escape.

“Ulan! What are you doing there?!”

“Quick, over here, come on!”

Given the current situation with Professor Dirck turning into a monster.

Ulan had yet to leave his desk. He showed no signs of leaving. He was solely moving his pencil with tremendous concentration.

Then at that moment.

“…I’m done.”

His previously stiff expression brightened.

He had finally completed all his calculations. He had reviewed them several times, so he was confident about it. The only thing left was to write the answers onto the now empty answer sheet.

He quickly grabbed his pencil.

“The answer is…!”

But at that moment.

Whack!

The monster’s tentacle struck Ulan.

The force of it shook the ground. A new shockwave made Noa’s eyes widen.

“U-Ulan!”

Noa screamed.

But Delia’s reaction seemed different.

Unlike Noa, who was pale and anxious, Delia had completed her Magic Formula.

And she unleashed it at the monster.

Flash! Whoosh!

A massive beam of starlight flew down from the sky.

Noa recognized what it was at once.

‘Aurora Strike!’

A 4-star Stellar Magic, Aurora Strike.

It was best suited for targeting a single entity rather than multiple. Comparing its power to elemental magic, it wielded might equivalent to a 7-star attack spell.

‘That should definitely…’

Even a 7-star Demon Beast would suffer substantial damage. Noa was sure of it.

And in that moment.

The Aurora Strike smashed into the monster’s head.

Ka-boom!

The powerful shockwave soared into the air.

It cleared away some of the dust kicked up by the monster, revealing Ulan’s figure to Noa and Delia, who both breathed a sigh of relief.

Only the desk had been broken.

Ulan was unharmed.

He must have instinctively sensed the danger and dodged just before the shock hit. As Noa let out another sigh of relief, she quickly waved her hand and called out.

“Ulan! Quick, come over here!”

“…”

“Ulan?”

But there was no answer.

Ulan just stood there, staring blankly at the ground with a dazed expression.

The broken desk pieces.

Shredded answer sheets without a trace of their original form.

He looked at the two girls as though he had lost his country.

Noa couldn’t help but shout in disbelief.

“Can’t you hear me?! It’s dangerous there, so hurry and come to where we are…!”

Just as her frustration began to boil over.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of tentacles sliced through the air, blowing away the remaining dust.

Simultaneously, an enraged roar echoed.

[Graaahhh!]

A shout that reverberated throughout the exam hall.

The pain pierced through her ears, causing Delia to frown. But her frown was not due to that alone.

“…No scratch at all?”

The Aurora Strike had hit dead center.

Yet there wasn’t a single mark on the monster’s head. It meant that the magic had no effect.

She wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

Noa’s eyes were wide as well.

In the original, *Chronicles of Arsen Continent*, the classification of a Demon Beast’s grade is determined by the grade of magic that can hit it.

For instance, when facing a 7-star Demon Beast, if someone used a 6-star or lower elemental magic, it couldn’t inflict any damage on that beast.

‘That’s why a Sorcerer is needed.’

To face a 7-star Demon Beast, one needs either a Sorcerer using 7-star or higher elemental magic or an Expert who could wield a mana sword of similar power.

Just now.

The ‘Aurora Strike’ Delia had used was powerful enough to match a 7-star elemental magic.

‘But the fact that it didn’t work means…!’

It meant that the monster in front of them wasn’t a 7-star Demon Beast. It was a beast of one higher tier.

‘…An 8-star Demon Beast!’

Noa’s complexion drained of color.

What they had feared had come to pass.

Just then.

[Grrrraawww!]

The monster turned its head.

Its pitch-black, abyss-like eyes.

The hollow gaze fixed on Delia’s direction. Had it recognized her as prey? The monster immediately extended its tentacle.

“Delia! Run!”

Realizing the danger, Noa shouted urgently.

But Delia couldn’t move.

The moment her eyes met the monster’s, an indescribable fear enveloped her body.

“U-uaah…”

Her legs shook.

All she could do was tremble like a frightened rabbit.

Then at that moment.

Noa grabbed Delia’s hand.

“Run! Hurry!”

Pulling her with all her strength.

Was it because of the strong pull? Delia’s legs, which had been like stone, finally began to move.

Together, they hurried to escape.

But it was a futile act. The tentacle was coming far faster than they could move.

Snatch!

The tentacle raced toward them, closing the distance.

It was just about to jab its sharp teeth into Delia, reflexively closing her eyes at the last moment.

Suddenly, the tentacle halted in mid-air.

As if it had been grabbed by someone.

And at that moment.

Rrrrrrip!

The monster’s body split vertically.

“…Huh?”

The creature’s body severed into two.

With it, the tentacle lost its strength and shriveled up.

After a moment, through the split, a muscular man emerged. He wielded an axe with blood dripping from both hands.

“Ulan!”

Noa and Delia shouted in unison.

Their faces brightening.

But Ulan’s condition looked a bit off.

The usual calm and rational expression had completely vanished, and his face was contorted like a demon.

Not to mention the ominous aura swirling around him.

Seeing this, Noa realized.

‘I don’t know why, but…’

That was a look she had often seen in the original.

One of Ulan’s characteristics.

A penalty that triggers when he loses his reason in anger, showcasing immense power.

It was precisely the ‘Berserker’.

Chapter 22. Changing Future