Maximum evaluation [2]

Chapter 10

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Episode 3 - Maximum evaluation [2]

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Evan was sure he would pass the exam.

After all, he had managed to survive without being eliminated so far.

He had also joined a strong group.

The reason for his survival was simple.

The first group of candidates he encountered had decided to work together to defend themselves against the monsters.

He had stayed with them ever since.

Even better, the group's skills were exceptional.

Especially in dealing with trolls.

In a previous battle, Evan had managed to kill a troll on his own with a fireball.

"Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself."

He patted himself on the back inwardly.

But deep down, he knew it was all just luck.

"Haaah"

Evan's scream pierced the air.

Boom!

The group leader, with his arm already half-chewed, quickly shattered his token, escaping from the simulation of the Fragmented Dimension, leaving the rest behind.

Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the area.

It was the first time Evan had encountered such a monstrous creature.

It was like a troll, except its body had multiple limbs and heads with dozens of eyes, its entire form a dark shade of green.

A bloated, fat body with long, writhing hands.

However, despite its horrific appearance, the creature was very much alive.

Rumble!

"Fireball!"

Evan chanted a spell.

Wooom!

The fireball struck the bizarre creature's face.

"Hahaha! How about you try my Fireball?"

Evan laughed loudly, thinking he had killed the creature.

But his confidence evaporated instantly when the creature emerged unscathed from the attack.

To Evan's horror, it seemed to have no effect at all.

"H-ha... Haaah... Help!"

Terrified, Evan turned and ran as the enraged creature lunged at him.

The knights in the group tried to defend themselves, but their efforts were futile against its overwhelming strength.

Clank! Clank!

But it was all in vain compared to the force of the creature's limbs.

It was impossible for them to defeat it.

"H-how the hell do we beat this thing?"

The group members shouted in alarm.

Trembling, Evan retrieved his blue token with shaky fingers.

"I need to escape... Ha, but if someone can defeat that creature, maybe I can pass the exam!"

He was torn between the desire to flee and the hope that someone else would defeat the spider and allow him to pass the test.

Just then...

"Creation Magic, Fragmented Crystallization!"

Hundreds of razor-sharp glass shards rained down on the creature.

Boom!

The countless sharp crystals slashed through the creature's body as it screamed and roared furiously.

Dark purple blood splattered across the landscape.

Rumble!

Although the wound healed almost instantly, the sight left everyone in shock.

"What kind of monster is that?"

Franz shouted in surprise upon seeing the creature's troll-like form, yet distinctly different.

Flap!

Wavy black flame-like lines slashed all over the creature's body.

Ashly swung her sword, slicing through the enormous creature with swift strikes.

Straightening her posture, she stood beside Franz.

Rumble!

Feeling the wounds inflicted by Ashly and the burns from the black flames caused by the Sephir family's Black Aura, the creature screamed and thrashed wildly.

Dozens of clawed hands lunged toward Ashly.

Franz and Ashly scattered.

Ashly brandished her sword.

Clank!

Cuts appeared on all the hands, yet their wounds healed rapidly.

"Damn, it's some kind of self-healing."

Ashly and Franz, having rushed to the scene after hearing the scream, immediately launched their attacks against the creature.

However, despite their combined assaults of magic and Aura infusion, the creature remained unharmed.

"I've never encountered a monster like this before."

Franz frowned as he stared at the grotesque, shapeless creature.

"Maybe it's from the Raknarok."

Ashly's sword glowed, black flames flickering around it, as a dark aura spread across the entire blade.

"This must be part of the test too,"

Ashly said as Franz glanced at her briefly.

"Huh? So, do you think defeating this creature is the key to passing the exam?"

Franz's lips curved into a smile.

He extended his hands, and runes with intricate patterns appeared throughout the surrounding air.

Suddenly, dozens of spells manifested as gravity began to increase everywhere.

Ashly thought as she watched Franz's magic.

"I knew the competition would eventually resume..."

A blue glow emerged from her eyes.

The black aura intensified and then surged to the tip of her sword as the heat around her began to rise.

What seemed to be a massive blaze of black flames was forming.

With her feet firmly planted, she concentrated her energy for her ultimate attack.

"Resonance."

It was the most powerful attack Ashly could perform, channeling all her Aura into a single point.

The blade of her black sword unleashed its power and pierced one of the creature's heads until it reached its core.

Wooom!

The flames penetrated the creature, burning through it down to the abdomen.

"Alright! No matter how tough you are, this should be enough..."

Crack!

"No way!"

The giant creature rose once again with a piercing scream.

"That was an incredible attack, but..."

Using gravity to his advantage, Franz was floating several meters in the air.

Then he smiled as he said,

"There is a clear difference between the destructive power of a knight and that of a mage."

He extended his hands as the magical runes, glowing with dozens of spells, lit up.

"Arcane Rune Magic, Rune Rain!"

A storm of spells rained down upon the creature.

Boom!

It was like watching countless colors and explosions as the creature was torn apart all over its body.

Lights shone from the sky as the dozens of spells descended.

One of the ultimate magics of the Ares family had been revealed.

"Damn, is he even a mage of this generation?"

From a distance, the cadets caught up in the battle shouted in astonishment.

"... No way, and I thought my magic was incredible."

Franz's magic was like a masterpiece to the ordinary mages who didn't come from prestigious families like the Ares.

"Easy and quick."

Franz admired his work with satisfaction.

But...

"Huh?"

His magic had dissipated, and the giant creature appeared once more.

Even though the creature had clearly been torn apart by Franz's magic, it simply healed itself as if it had regeneration.

Although Franz had unleashed the most powerful attack of all, it seemed ineffective against the resilient creature.

Ashly's frustration was evident on her face.

"How do we defeat this thing?"

The difficulty of killing this creature was growing.

Its ability to heal itself remained the biggest problem.

***

A hint of satisfaction was reflected on Alex's lips.

It wasn't a bad mentality to strive to be the best.

Franz and Ashly were undoubtedly skilled...

"But will they be able to defeat the monster on their own?"

A creature that regenerated infinitely couldn't be defeated without immense power.

Ashly and Franz were the only ones capable of launching a viable attack against the monster.

But even they seemed inadequate.

"True heroes overcome such trials."

A hero found a way to defeat their enemy even when at a disadvantage.

They weren't people who reached level 6 or 7 of the hero rank just by luck.

They were true heroes who carved their own path by defeating the strongest enemies in their way.

"This is a great lesson for you."

Because Alex had gone through similar situations, he understood very well the path a hero faced.

***

"How unexpected, so it was a Melancholy."

A bizarre creature.

One of the monsters that arrived in this world alongside the Great Evil, Antares.

A creature that came from Raknarok.

The Melancholy was a creature so powerful that, at level 5, it could destroy an entire country on its own.

It ruled the Wild Forest when the Great Evil arrived.

Additionally, the Wild Forest was once home to the fairies.

"The governor of the fairies was wounded by this creature."

Fairies.

Beings similar to humans but with a few differences.

Their size was the same as a human's, but their eyes were different.

The governor of the fairies had eyes shaped like stars.

Moreover, the stars in their eyes represented power among the fairies.

Although in the past, contracts could be made with fairies, that was no longer possible.

Since the era of the three heroes emerged, no one knew if fairies had made contracts with humans for the last 10,000 years.

Sophia, who was the strongest fairy, joined my group after I killed the Melancholy that had destroyed her home.

With my help back then, we joined forces and killed all the monsters in the forest that had arrived with the Melancholy.

"An aberration that took the Ring of Stars."

The Melancholy absorbed the Ring of Stars.

A ring of immense power that allowed the Melancholy to reach level 9 in a single day.

It was the ring of the governor of the fairies and the gift that was meant to be given to Sophia.

"The item to obtain is the Ring of Stars."

It seems I have an idea that the Ring of Stars will drop after killing the Melancholy.

Crunch!

My posture shifted.

The sword in my hand trembled.

The muscles in my body tensed, and my strength was at its peak.

My blue eyes shone intensely as my toes pressed firmly against the ground.

Wooom!

A speed no one here could have imagined.

When I appeared in front of the Melancholy, the sword curved unnaturally as a menacing glow emerged.

Crack!

The entire blade of the sword pierced through the Melancholy's head as I stepped back and stood beside Ashly.

"You're exhausted in such a short time."

"Stay back, Lucius. You're not prepared for anything without Aura."

Ashly shouted as I frowned.

***

A sharp, fragmented blade fell from the sky, cutting through the Melancholy.

Struggling against the sensation of pain, the creature leaped into the air.

Its strength allowed it to soar toward Franz at incredible speed.

"Creation Magic, Cutting Leaves."

Charlotte chanted a spell, sending translucent slashes, as if made of air and water, toward the Melancholy.

Wooom!

The incoming slashes struck the creature, slicing through its body.

The spell forced the Melancholy to crash to the ground with a deafening noise.

Boom!

"Are you okay, brother?"

Charlotte asked with a worried expression as Franz descended from the air and stood beside his sister.

"I'm fine. Thanks, Charlotte."

Now, suddenly, he was quite concerned about the dangers of staying airborne.

The other cadets approached the Melancholy.

"How did you bring it down?"

"That's incredible!"

While the cadets ignorantly praised the moment, Lucius stepped forward and said,

"It's regenerating too fast."

Franz's response was serious.

"It seems to recover from its wounds no matter what magic we use."

Ashly, who was beside Lucius, added,

"My strongest attack didn't seem to have any effect either."

To her words, Lucius responded calmly,

"In that case, it's simple."

"What do you mean?"

The others looked at him, speechless, as Lucius replied,

"If we can't defeat it individually, then we must combine our strength. It's that simple."

However, they shook their heads firmly.

"But this is a competition."

Franz nodded at Ashly's words as he said,

"I agree with Ashly this time. The one who brings down the monster first will take first place in the exam rankings."

Lucius looked at the two of them.

"But what if we can't defeat it at all?"

"Well..."

"What if it keeps regenerating endlessly? What if our Aura and magic run out before we can take it down?"

He gestured toward the Melancholy, whose resilience seemed endless.

Then, Lucius's voice grew colder.

"If the test requires us to kill this creature, then we will all fail if we can't defeat it."

As Lucius tried to explain, Charlotte interrupted.

"That's unfair! If my brother and Ashly can't defeat it alone, then no one our age will be able to. That means this test is flawed."

She pouted.

"Even if we join forces, it will take time to execute an attack strong enough to kill that monster in one blow."

Despite being attacked by over 30 well-trained students, the Melancholy remained unscathed.

Rather, it was the students who were being attacked and forced to retreat.

"How can anyone stop that monster?"

Franz then looked at Charlotte.

"Charlotte isn't strong enough."

In this world, a single mistake could mean death.

And dying in the simulation of the Fragmented Dimension also meant death in reality.

Charlotte didn't have the skills necessary to take such a risk.

However, Lucius had no such concerns.

"Then I'll keep it focused on me."

"What?"

Ashly and Franz looked at Lucius in shock.

"I can hold it off for a few minutes."

"That's suicide! You can't even use Aura!"

"Then a few minutes is my limit."

Lucius stared at them.

"Use that time to gather all the strength you can."

Franz frowned and asked,

"What if you can't last that long?"

Shaking his hand dismissively, Lucius answered,

"Then we'll all be eliminated. But I don't think that will happen."

"Why?"

"Because gravity and Aura are very good friends."

Lucius started walking.

"Get ready, Franz."

Ashly understood Lucius's words and prepared herself.

Franz smiled.

"Haha, I didn't expect us to team up this way."

As Lucius approached the Melancholy, Ashly and Franz exchanged glances and nodded.

***

"Are you okay?"

I asked while looking at some cadets.

"I'm going to hold it off for a few minutes."

"What?"

The fallen cadet looked up in surprise.

Beside him lay an axe.

"Let me borrow this for a minute."

At that moment, the Melancholy roared.

"It's been a long time, Melancholy. It will be a pleasure to kill you again."