At the entrance of the Howling Mountain Range.Beyond the thick fog blanketing the range, dozens of people had gathered.They were Union faculty, convened to devise countermeasures for what had occurred.The reason they’d assembled was the anomalous mana phenomenon that had arisen in the Howling Mountain Range, the testing ground for Practical Class Group C’s exam held yesterday.Leaving most matters to students’ autonomy is one of the Union’s educational principles, but in an emergency like this, rolling up one’s sleeves is only natural.Amid the murmuring—The voice of Professor Grania—Headmaster of Eredor and one of the retired Seven Tower Masters—rang out, tinged with anger.“Where is the person in charge, Professor Verdandi?”“…Found outside the barrier. Currently in critical condition and rushed to the infirmary.”“Verdandi is in critical condition?”Grania raised a brow.Among Ishtal’s many sword instructors, Professor Verdandi is one of the foremost talents.She stood on the cusp of the Master realm and had the ability to climb even higher.However, upon reaching Master, one must serve the family—so she had halted that training and was serving as a Union professor.For her to be in critical condition meant at least a Master-level combatant—or a foe of comparable might—had appeared.“So, what’s the condition of the students~?”To Professor Martelgia’s question, Ishtal’s teaching assistant Pellin looked troubled.“Unascertainable. A powerful barrier and dense fog have enclosed the entire mountain, making entry itself impossible.”“……”Listening to Pellin’s explanation, Grania silently fixed his gaze on the fog-wreathed range.'A mage capable of spreading a barrier over this whole mountain… and with enough combat power to subdue Professor Verdandi with ease.'In his mind, he ran through the few beings capable of such things.'The Twelve of the Dark Path. The Twelve Venerables.'Humanity’s twelve traitors. Even speaking those ancient wraiths’ names is forbidden.The power of a name only strengthens them.But it has been a hundred years since they vanished and ceased activity, and in the present, few know of their existence.Even those who do dismiss them as legends or folklore of the past.Grania himself had never faced them directly.Thus there was no guarantee this was their doing, and he hoped his worries would prove unfounded.Their stirring would never bode well for humanity.'Right, I’m being oversensitive.'Writing it off as mere suspicion, Professor Grania moved again to plan countermeasures.It was then, as the professors busied themselves to resolve the crisis—“Ho-ho! Everyone, it seems your worries run deep.”With a genial laugh, an elderly man with a kindly face walked toward them from afar.Chairman Hengarde Ubellon.The Union’s famously nominal chairman had come here in person.With a less-than-pleased expression, Grania addressed him.“Chairman? What brings you here…?”He hardly stirs at the best of times, yet in the busiest hour he’s come all the way here.'An incompetent high official only sows confusion in the chain of command.'With no real ability, he’d only get in the way of resolving the incident.Regardless of Grania’s displeasure, the Chairman answered as if it were only natural.“What else? Our Union’s students are in danger—how could I, the Chairman, not come? Hoho.”“……”He speaks well.He’s really here not to fix anything, but to stamp his face so he can dodge blame later.Whether he knew Grania’s thoughts or not, the Chairman pointed at the dense fog and translucent barrier draped over the range and spoke.“Time is short, so let’s get to the point. A barrier must have a material medium or mana source. The Howling Range is vast, but there aren’t that many ley lines with mana concentrated enough to serve as a medium.”Hearing his explanation, Grania sighed inwardly.'Who doesn’t know that…'A barrier’s creation fundamentally requires a medium, and that medium is, as a rule, a mana-bearing ley line—this is common knowledge.What changes by stating it now?He wanted to retort, but for the moment held his tongue and listened.The Chairman continued.“I’ll tell you the locations of each ley line. Professors, go to the corresponding spots and break the barrier’s medium or the formed magic circles. Then we should be able to enter the barrier’s interior.”Grania asked, surprised.“Excuse me? You mean you know every ley line’s location in this range?”“Of course. If I didn’t, why would I be here?”“……”Well, that changes things.What has the faculty wringing their hands is precisely that they can’t pin down the ley lines’ exact locations.To think the Chairman—whom they thought good only at networking and politicking—had this side to him.As all eyes turned to him in surprise, he puffed out his belly and said,“What? I’ll have you know I’m a mage too. Let’s hurry and save our precious students.”“Chairman.”Just as Professor Grania slightly revised his opinion of the Chairman, moved by this—“If the families’ overseers barge in over this and start tearing through the Union, it’ll be troublesome. Heh-heh.”“……”It sounded more like he worried about the aftermath than the students’ safety—but the professors told themselves it was just their imagination.***“Grrrk.”Demer, his wrist gripped in my hand, kept straining to yank it free.Crunch-.Bulging veins stood out on the gray forearm.It was a monstrous strength to the eye, but not enough for me as I am now.Still holding his wrist, I squeezed—and crushed it.Crack-.With a sickening crunch, his wrist was mangled to pulp.Kyaaaah-!As the shattered wrist dangled, he howled like a beast in pain.He severed his own broken wrist, backed away, and put distance between us.Grrrk-.His growl sounded somewhat different than before.Rather than charging at will, he trembled slightly and watched me from where he stood.Like a beast frozen in fear—the exact opposite of a moment ago.“……”Even so, without a flicker of emotion, I stretched my hand toward him.Somehow, I felt I could use magic without difficulty right now.I recalled my most familiar magic—Mana Chains—and summoned up that memory to cast it.I recollected the feel of magic threading out from a crystal orb and worked my head to call up the formulas needed for calculation.In response, the demonic energy circulating within naturally gathered into my hand.Then—Before I could even finish the calculations and direct the mana—Thwack-.A chain of black mana launched from thin air and pierced his heart.Demer looked down in a daze at the chain impaling his chest.And then—Clatter-.Dozens more chains tore from space and rained toward his body all at once.As if skewered by dozens of spears, his body was reduced to a wreck.Grrrrr—.With a groan, his crimson eyes in the dark blinked once—then never opened again.Swaaaa—.His body turned to black motes and scattered on the wind like a mirage.As if nothing had been there from the start, his form vanished before my eyes, completely gone.Demer’s body, erased without a trace.The chains of black mana embedded in him sagged limply to the ground, then dissolved into particles of mana and dispersed into the air.“……”When the fight ended, the forest grew quiet, as if nothing had happened.In that unpleasant silence, I stared blankly at my right hand.My right hand trembled slightly.In one sense, I had taken a human life, yet I felt little emotional disturbance.Demer was only an NPC in the game, and once he became a demonized being, there was no turning back. Guiding his soul to rest was the right act.Besides, had I not put him down, Freya and I would have died. This was self-defense.At least, that’s what I believed now.Clench-.Calming my mind, I slowly curled my fist.'…I obliterated the foe who had subdued Freya in an instant.'Overwhelming physical strength surpassing a demonized being, even for a moment.And chantless magic—no, not merely skipping the chant, but omitting calculation and mana handling themselves, casting exactly as I thought it.'I’ve never played a character like this.'A balance-breaker of the highest order.I’d wondered why so many penalties were piled on a character with low base stats—apparently it was because of potential like this.Loen’s base physical ability had been balanced assuming this absurd power.And there was something else I learned from this.'Loen may have the bloodline of a high-ranking demon.'The Half-Human, Half-Demon trait is a bloodline-inheritance trait.Most inherited bloodlines are Epic, guaranteeing a minimum capability—but depending on the character’s potential, the growth ceiling varies wildly.If it’s a paltry demon bloodline, the set maximum potential would be low.But if it’s a high-ranking demon bloodline, not only the base numbers but the potential would be exceedingly high.There’s so little information on Loen that I can’t know for sure, but whether parents or distant ancestors, someone likely bore an exceptional demonic bloodline.As I pondered, a log surfaced before my eyes.[Resonance decreases.]Swaaa—.With combat over, the magi drained from my body.Like air leaking from a balloon, the magi that had suffused me dispersed rapidly.It didn’t feel great to have my strength seep away, but it would be troublesome to keep accepting magi into my body—so this was for the best.After a moment—Sensing no more magi within, I put Derode’s Ring back on to erase the lingering traces in my body.Then I opened and closed my hand, checking for any abnormalities.The cuts from his claws had fully healed. The shoulder that had been pierced was spotless, not even a scratch remaining.Truly superhuman recovery.But Life and vigor hadn’t come back; my body felt immensely heavy and fatigued.Confirming that my body was otherwise intact, I let out a deep sigh.“How do I handle the cleanup.”I looked over the clearing where Gillean’s coffin had slammed down.Thankfully, no notable battle scars or remnants of magi remained in the forest.At most, a few deeply pressed footprints.Demer’s °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° corpse had turned to motes and vanished, so no problem there.The heightened magi density would dilute with time and soon be hard to distinguish.'Time is…'I glanced down to check, but my wristwatch was already broken and dead.Lifting my head, I saw the fog and clouds had cleared; the moon hung bright in the night sky.By feel, our two-hour night-watch shift hadn’t yet passed.If I returned to the tent as is, nothing would seem suspicious.I’d just need to change out of my school uniform—shredded to rags by his claws—into a spare from my pack.“……”With that decided, I looked to Freya, slumped against the tree, unconscious.She was still out cold.I pressed fingers to her wrist and under her nose—pulse and breathing were steady.She seemed uninjured aside from the loss of consciousness; left alone, she’d wake later.She’s tough and strong as it is. Not just anyone can be a Hero candidate.Still, she showed no sign of waking soon, and I couldn’t leave her here—so I’d have to carry her back to the tent.“…Up we go.”I slung Freya over my shoulder and pushed myself to my feet.'Heavier than I thought.'My legs wobbled and my arms trembled.I’d heard an unconscious person feels heavier, but this much…Well, my Strength isn’t that high to begin with, and I just fought a grueling battle.With Freya over my shoulder, I made my way back to camp where the bonfire burned.After laying the soundly unconscious Freya in the tent, I kept the night watch alone, circling the camp.'…In case he—or those demonized beings from before—strike again.'I’m the only one who can respond to their threat right now.I can’t put the rest of the team in danger.Though the changeover time had passed, instead of waking the next watch, I silently patrolled the perimeter.In that deepening quiet, the night grew ever darker.

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