“Not a chance! I can never give up on Professor Sadako’s lecture!”
There’s more than just curiosity about the bare face hidden behind the bangs. I’m worried about how Ziang and Titosso will cry and whine if we run away without them.
Plus, Professor Sadako decided to stay at the Academy to keep lecturing because I was seriously paying attention, so if I slip away, there’ll be no one left to attend her class!
‘If I run away, Ziang and Titosso will definitely notice and sneak away too. Then, our professor, who’s heartbroken, will drop her teaching position and retire!’
No matter how I think about it, that’s just too much.
“That brutal horde seems to be your doing, doesn’t it? Even if you take full responsibility, you’re still not going to give up on Professor Sadako’s lecture?”
“There’s no other choice. I guess I’ll have to report to Professor Weird and pay the fines…”
“Truly insane. You’re not just trying to make a name for yourself with one, but two of the Academy’s most notorious professors. What made you end up like this?”
I answered seriously.
“Confused people always live life at a loss.”
“…What a pathetic answer. It’s almost embarrassing that you’re a junior.”
While grumbling, Senior Grim Reaper took out a huge scythe from behind.
“Stop contacting me. I’ll help you this one time, just this once.”
“Wow! Senior Grim Reaper is the best!”
With a 90% certainty of being a tsundere type, it turns out the senior is indeed a tsundere this time too!
—
Ishtar felt the unsettling surge of mana near the open ground.
“Senior, what’s inside there?”
“Ugh, kids don’t need to know.”
“I am Warrior Ishtar. If you’re in trouble, I can help.”
It’s not just a simple act of kindness. Since realizing she’s fallen behind Oknodie, Ishtar hasn’t stopped her efforts.
– Is that really Ishtar the Warrior?
– Honestly, Oknodie seems more like a warrior. Warriors leave people behind, and Oknodie saves people. What kind of warrior is that?
– And it’s practically Jonnas Wahyhiemhai, a Foundation Executive and active professor, who took out the Demonic Contractor Roe.
They’re critiquing without even knowing anything.
Ishtar ground her teeth inwardly.
‘Warriors are originally that sort of people.’
A warrior who can save everyone can’t truly be called a warrior. The one who’s fixated on mediocre success within a level lower than theirs isn’t recognized as a warrior by the one true god, Sofemia of the Sun.
While generic warriors chosen as apostles of other divine classes may choose lives of complacency to elevate their gods and gather faith, Ishtar is different.
‘You must keep challenging yourself. Otherwise, you’ll lose the name of a warrior.’
Thus, a life full of dreams and hopes, taking care of the weak, and moving forward together, cannot be lived. The sun isn’t a being that moves together. It is just an awe-inspiring presence shining the brightest above everyone.
Still, she realized the necessity of collective strength. That’s why she organized a Warrior’s Guard and also allocates time for personal training.
‘But it’s still not enough. Now, my training, my challenges need to proceed!’
She’d discovered not long ago that there’s a facility called Comprehensive Dungeon Theme Park in the underground plaza, bustling with numerous dungeons and monsters.
Though she applied for dungeon exploration, she’s been limited by her status as a first-year, capping her entry-level dungeons. It’s a training ground for everyone but Ishtar herself.
‘I struggled with the lectures, but I’ve begun to adapt. Is settling for this much the only option for this semester?’
At the moment she was reluctantly trying to compromise with reality, she felt an unsettling surge of mana.
“Not good. If first-years wander around, I’m the one who gets in trouble.”
“Then I’ll take down the senior.”
“What?”
“If I’m attacked and knocked down by someone stronger than me, that won’t fall on your shoulders, will it?”
“Ugh?!”
[Light Wave]
[Peak Cut – One Slash]
An absurdly grandiose name that claims to conquer mountaintops with a single cut. Yet with this strike, it carries the right to be arrogant.
Jonnas Wahyhiemhai, who suppressed a gigantic natural phenomenon resembling hail, was developing a technique that would shake off his own past weaknesses.
‘As a third-year, there’s little chance I’ll settle at that level.’
In an effort to prevent safety accidents, the third-year senior, who was restricting entry for lower years, fell flat after receiving a Warrior’s One Strike.
‘Wow, what a crazy girl. Before getting hit from holding on, she should just drop down right away.’
Thanks to the senior who wisely collapsed, Ishtar, having inadvertently taken down a senior in one strike, gained even more confidence.
“Yufi. Skola. A perfect practice partner has appeared!”
“The amount of mana seems manageable.”
“It’s a plant monster. The match-up isn’t great, but I’ll do my best.”
As Saintess Yufi raised her staff, a light wave heralding the enhancement continually poured forth.
[Vision Expansion]
[Breathing Enhancement]
[Reaction Time Enhancement]
[Double Strike Grant]
[Double Charge Grant]
[Poison Resistance Grant]
[Sleep Resistance Grant]
Skola felt chills from the buffs being granted along with the warrior.
‘This is an overwhelming speed of continuous buffs. With this level of buffs, I can handle anything.’
Even Ishtar was soaking up three times more buffs than the others.
They’ve already won. Confidence overflowed even before fighting began. The mana amount exceeds that of the opponent. They leveled up with buffs. The threatening assaults pouring down like blades in every direction couldn’t break through the Warrior’s Holy Mirror – Eighty-One Defensive Formation combo.
[Barrier Grant]
Even the barrier from Yufi was granted over the eighty-one holy mirrors, alleviating fears about breaking through the door.
Victory was practically assured! Initially, it seemed like the plant horde receiving attacks from the warrior would quickly be obliterated by their onslaught.
“Warrior, aren’t you spreading too many holy mirrors? The attacks keep getting obstructed by the other mirrors, disappearing when they should land hits.”
“It’s not me.”
“What?”
“That’s not the holy mirror I conjured!”
“!!”
Before Skola could fully process the words, from behind her, a holy mirror opened up, releasing a striking attack.
Startled, Skola evaded, finally noticing a holy mirror absorbed by the plant horde’s Pulling ability.
Surprisingly, that plant horde had successfully absorbed the warrior’s technique and turned it into their own.
‘So we’re fighting a monster that uses the warrior’s skills right now?!’
“Skola, destroy the holy mirrors without barriers!”
Following Saintess Yufi’s words, there’s a way to differentiate. They only needed to destroy the holy mirrors without the protective barriers.
But that wasn’t easy at all.
“Hurry up!”
“I’ve been trying to destroy them! No matter how many times I break them, new holy mirrors keep popping up!”
Unbeknownst to them, the royal jelly that initially appeared to be merely a nutritious jelly was imbued with mana, causing an increase in their recovery speed as it absorbed the sprites.
This difference led to a catastrophic miscalculation of their power levels, ultimately concluding in defeat for the warrior.
“Ugh.”
“Ishtar!”
Thanks to Yufi’s barrier, she avoided serious injury, but Ishtar was flung to the corner of the open ground.
“Failure! Everyone, run away.”
This can’t be stopped. They need to escape. Yet even fleeing is now arduous.
[Holy Mirror]
[Wind Cutter]
[Earth Ripper]
[Finishing Move – Tempest Blade]
[Finishing Move – Seven Vortex]
[Finishing Move – Horizon Demolisher]
The holy mirrors produced consecutively around Ishtar, Yufi, and Skola. The wind blades and finishing moves poured down from the closest holy mirrors.
The plant horde, capable of mimicking all types of mana using skills, proved more formidable than they imagined.
‘Opening holy mirrors was based on the assumption of them being destroyed; is it really supposed to get this tough? On top of that, how can a plant use finishing moves?!’
The sturdy body of the tough vine had durability comparable to that of the warrior, while the enhanced mana control of the spider vine showcased the ability to unleash the warrior’s finishing moves.
The most trivial monsters adventurers first encounter when leaving their village.
Goblin.
Slime.
And plant monsters.
The plant horde, once deemed trivial, countered by mimicking the warrior’s techniques, trampling over her pride.
“I’ll clear a path for you. You all escape.”
The only one to avoid using her attacks amidst the holy mirrors, Yufi amplified her secret weapon, the 100 stack finishing move, and shattered all the holy mirrors surrounding her and Skola.
“Just hold on a bit longer. I’ll call the instructors!”
“Yufi, you won’t need to go that far.”
Skola halted Yufi, who was hurriedly trying to operate her magic watch.
Pointing in the direction, they saw Oknodie, looking utterly enraged, along with a senior who looked just like her.
“Are the games over? Then get out of the way.”
It’s not a game. They were genuinely fighting. As Yufi tried to argue back, her mouth involuntarily shut, and her feet were instinctively pushed forward.
“?!”
This isn’t magic. Yet, it manipulates phenomena like magic.
As she realized she had somehow settled into the naturally spread Domain, projecting her will onto the surrounding space, Yufi began to feel fear.
Holding her lips shut and being pushed forward.
What if it went beyond that, and she tried to slice her throat and burst her heart?
Would she be able to resist?
“To deal with monsters that possess the ability to mimic attacks isn’t challenging; just blow them all away in one strike so they can’t even mimic.”
Grand Magic.
The power she witnessed during summer vacation on a cruise ship erupted from a single scythe.
[Tentative, Shinigami Slash]
A slice that erased the plant horde as if carving through space. No fragments of the materials remained; the uprooted roots were lifted up into the vacuum.
[Reversal Slice]
With a strike trailing back, all the roots of the plant horde were obliterated. The formidable adversary that had posed challenges for the Warrior’s Party vanished with two swings of the scythe.
Yufi and Skola could only follow the remnants with dazed expressions.
“If you can’t perform at this level, then leave the plant hordes with mimicry skills alone. Your half-hearted talents may cause more catastrophic mishaps, and people who should kill each other end up assassinated by monsters leading to endless assassination requests.”
After gently lecturing them, the senior left the open ground, holding random dangling stems from the air.
Watching Oknodie elegantly bow and see off the senior, Yufi realized.
‘That’s… a fourth-year from the Foundation. There are experts like that even beneath the executive level in the foundation…?’
The Wahyhiemhai Foundation is way stronger than she had anticipated.
On the other hand, all Ishtar had was herself and her companions. The empire’s capable individuals would only provide the bare minimum support to a warrior who poses a threat to the emperor’s status.
If she needs power, she has to become strong herself; if she needs reinforcements, she must recruit them herself. While Oknodie lends on the Foundation’s strength to easily acquire such talents…
“This is… a complete defeat.”
“…”
Skola’s words were correct. There’s an overwhelming gap beyond imagination.
Even Ishtar, as a warrior’s comrade, feels this level of powerlessness.
Ishtar, the very person concerned, surely feels it even more intensely.
Yufi’s gaze followed the motionless Ishtar, unable to lift her head.
An awkward grip on the weeds beneath her hand.
What kind of face is Ishtar making right now?
Yufi felt terrified at the thought of seeing that face.
