Quit The Hero Party

EP.93 Sword and Shield (1)

The final location of the exam.

The heart of the Krepfelt family-owned forest.

“······.”

Belnoa remains silent.

Just one more step to the end of the exam. However, he simply can’t move.

It was a tough test.

The air in the forest was stale. The beasts lurking were troublesome. One had to stay alert at all times, not knowing when a beast would jump out.

‘I’m tired.’

No physical injuries, but mentally exhausted. To be honest, he just wants to finish the exam as quickly as possible and go back to the dormitory to rest.

Belnoa lifted his head.

Looking forward, the last obstacle of the exam awaited him.

If he gets over that obstacle, the exam will be over. Since there were no signs of anyone else having come this far, he might be the first to pass.

“What are you doing?”

But.

“Not coming?”

He didn’t think he could get past.

Belnoa narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge the level of the figure standing in front of him.

Rania van Trias.

He doesn’t know her exact strength, but he has seen her fight. Based on that memory, he could infer a bit of her skills.

His pondering was brief, and the conclusion came quickly.

‘I can never win.’

Revisiting the word ‘never,’ Belnoa let out a long sigh.

“Ha······.”

In essence, Belnoa doesn’t hastily decide the outcome of a fight. Even the strongest have weaknesses. If you poke at them, they too bleed. They suffer and sometimes even face death.

But, for that to work, there needs to be a weakness.

He sees no small gaps in the professor before him. Whatever move he made would surely be blocked. Be it spells or physical techniques, in every aspect, he was bound to be outmatched.

Belnoa opened his mouth.

“Um, Professor?”

“Yeah.”

“To someone who is capable of melee combat against the royal family’s special forces, the Hound… how am I supposed to defeat her?”

That was the truth. The professor before him was a person who had sparred equally against the masters of melee combat, the Hound, with bare hands.

‘You want me to fight someone like that?’

It was a hopeless match.

As if reading the disbelief in Belnoa’s gaze, Professor Rania shrugged.

“Well, if you fight like this, of course, you’ll lose.”

Snap!

She snapped her fingers.

Belnoa instinctively tried to turn his body. However, the manifestation of the spell was faster than his movement.

Boom!

Belnoa’s hair stood on end. He slowly lowered his gaze. The spell had detonated on the ground. The boundary between the clearing and the forest was marked by the spell embedded in the ground.

The ground was deeply gouged, emphasizing the line drawn. Gulp. Belnoa swallowed dryly.

Before he knew it, he had stepped over the boundary. That spell served as a warning. Crossing the line would invoke the spell.

‘······If it had been aimed at me instead of the ground.’

That spelled the end of the exam.

He sensed the disturbance in mana. However, the gap between sensing it and the manifestation of the spell didn’t exist. By the time he realized it, the spell was already right in front of his face.

Far away.

An insurmountable distance lay between them.

Feeling the difference in levels, Belnoa looked up. With her finger extended as if testing, the professor spoke.

“You see, just by snapping my fingers, the conclusion is reached.”

“······I suppose.”

“And now you understand, right?”

“······.”

“That I have no intention of ending this exam that way.”

Belnoa slowly nodded.

“Belnoa.”

She called his name softly.

Her gaze dropped. Her mischievous, bright blue eyes were now chilling.

“What’s the theme of this exam?”

Her tone sounded like it could also be a part of the test. Belnoa took a moment before responding.

“······I believe it’s about adapting to and learning from the battlefield environment.”

“More details.”

“Not to be flustered against beasts that can pop up from anywhere, and to always maintain composure… the virtues a knight on the battlefield should possess, I’ve heard.”

Rania nodded at Belnoa’s answer.

“That’s right. But, didn’t we miss one thing?”

“······Learning from failure, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

The reason death through illusions doesn’t disqualify but rather deducts points is to encourage learning through failure.

“Well then.”

The one who designed the test, Rania, asked.

“Did you learn from your failures?”

“······.”

Belnoa couldn’t answer.

He hadn’t failed. Not even once, he had reached the center of the forest.

“See?”

With Belnoa’s silence, Rania chuckled.

“While everyone else learns from their failures, it’d be a shame if you don’t.”

That’s why I’m here.

Muttering that, she stood up from the stump.

“Belnoa.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Battle Magic is the study of reality. The closest thing to actual combat. You know that, right?”

“······I know.”

“Then here’s a question. Will an enemy engage you at your level in actual combat? Given your upbringing in the slums, I thought you might understand.”

Belnoa shook his head.

Rania nodded.

“Right, real combat is different.”

She stretched her arms wide.

The skull helmet she wore tilted to brush against her forearm. The wind tousled her hair.

Within the billowing locks, her blue eyes narrowed.

The atmosphere around her changed. She exuded an air not of a professor, but more like a knight. She spoke in a chilling voice.

“It’s real combat, Belnoa.”

“However, even in real combat, there must be minimal fighting to learn something.”

She raised her arm.

“One constraint.”

She spread her hand wide.

“I won’t ‘attack first.’ As long as you don’t cross this line.”

As she bent one finger back, she traced a line on the ground with her toe. About three steps away from the stump. She continued.

“Constraint two, I won’t designate you as the target of my spell. My spells will only be used for intercepting spells.”

She bent a second finger as she spoke.

“There are three more constraints remaining.”

“······.”

“Using all five constraints placed on me, touch any part of your body to that stump…”

She pointed at the stump she had been sitting on.

“That’s the condition for passing the exam.”

“······What are the remaining constraints?”

“That’s the test question. Figure it out yourself.”

She bent her remaining three fingers.

Then, lowering her arms, she smiled.

“Good luck finding them.”

Rania gently tapped her skull helmet on her head.

“No matter how unlikely it seems, if you search carefully, there’s bound to be a gap or two.”

That sounded like a tale from experience.

Belnoa steadied his breath and organized his thoughts.

‘Five constraints.’

Of the two victory conditions, one didn’t need thinking. Inflicting injury was impossible. There was no need to waste time on the impossible.

Belnoa firmly set his goal.

‘Touching the stump.’

That would be the objective.

What did he need to do to achieve that? Belnoa pondered as he took a step forward.

He crossed the boundary.

No spells soared toward him. No attacks followed. The condition of not making a preemptive strike was honored. Belnoa gripped his dagger tighter.

‘······It’s tough.’

Tough, but.

‘It’s not impossible.’

The nightmare of the slums, Belnoa.

A boy who has survived by biting down on the necks of strong opponents in the slums, grips his dagger.

To hunt the exposed beast.

2.

Thwack.

Swinging the axe, flesh fell away. The illusory flesh vanished as it fell, melting away like snow.

“Hmm.”

Lac looked at the pristine edge of his axe, tilting his head. Was it because it was an illusion? It didn’t feel satisfying to cut through.

‘It should be heavier.’

When he struck with the axe, there was no resonating thrill along the blade. There was no satisfying sensation of splitting muscle and severing bone. Lac absentmindedly licked his lips and lowered the axe.

“Is it nearing the end?”

The air in the forest was gradually clearing.

Lac, who had run around snow-capped mountains since childhood, was sensitive to the flow of air. The breeze felt different.

Lac sensed the end of the exam was approaching.

He walked quickly. After a while, an open area came into view. And there was also the figure of someone who had arrived first.

‘Belnoa?’

In the clearing stood Belnoa.

His arms hung limply, and he was breathing heavily. As he wiped his mouth, droplets of blood came out.

‘······Injured.’

Then, who was his opponent?

Lac, hiding his presence, stepped aside. The view of the clearing, previously obscured by the foliage, suddenly appeared.

Another figure stood there.

Lac scowled as he recognized the person.

“······?”

At a glance, it was clear that this figure was in a standoff with Belnoa. However, the scenario was utterly incomprehensible to Lac.

‘Why is Professor Rania here?’

Lac blinked.

Even while he blinked, Belnoa drew in a harsh breath and raised his arm. He held the dagger sharply.

That gaze remained clear.

Belnoa lunged at Professor Rania with agile movements.

Whoosh!

He threw a shadow dagger. Seeing the approaching projectile, Professor Rania flicked her left index finger.

Crack!

The dagger was deflected by a mighty Smite! While she was distracted by the dagger, Belnoa closed in and swung the dagger.

Swish!

She caught the blade of the dagger with her bare hands. Amazingly, it seemed she had anticipated this, as Belnoa dropped the dagger while bending his fingers.

The shadow that enveloped the dagger exploded.

Boom!

The exploding shadow engulfed her. In the chaos, Belnoa snapped his own fingers. With a Crack, his finger broke as an offering.

The Star rewards the offering.

At the moment the completed spell aimed to enhance the shadows.

“I warned you.”

Boom! An arm burst through the shadow. A hand clawed at Belnoa’s hand, which was adorned with the sparkling circuit.

“It’s hard to engrave a new circuit.”

It ripped apart.

Snap! Crack!

The circuit was torn. The scales of equilibrium shattered. The offering failed. The offering was returned, and the manifestation scattered in the air.

Crunch.

Emerging from the dissipating shadows, she kicked Belnoa in the abdomen. His body soared through the air, his eyes wide open.

Guh!

Sent flying, Belnoa tumbled on the ground for several rounds.

After rolling several times, he finally got up, breathing heavily.

Damn.

Emerging from the shadows, Professor Rania pulled on her gloves. Then she lightly brushed her hands off.

“Are you going to continue?”

She asked like that.

To that question, Belnoa shook his head.

“······.”

Watching that, Lac swallowed hard. He grasped the situation roughly.

‘The final gate of the exam is Professor Rania.’

Lac gulped. Sweat dripped onto the axe he gripped. Although he had gotten used to it over the past few months, Rania still remained a terrifying presence.

‘Like a feral beast.’

However, the current aura felt different from usual. The fear was lesser than before. The beast’s fangs were missing. Its claws dull. The sight was reminiscent of a beast chained up.

That point felt strange. Lac felt discomfort watching the battle between Belnoa and the professor.

‘One thing.’

Just one thing, but something unnatural was apparent in her movements. No matter how he looked, that action seemed awkward. There was no need for such moves in that situation.

‘Every movement of the professor is efficient. It’s honed. Someone like that wouldn’t show unnatural movements.’

Inefficient and unnatural movements.

Moreover, she repeatedly displayed those movements, as if to make it obvious. Lac frowned.

‘Is that so?’

Lac had dueled against warriors from the north, a higher level than his. Those warriors would often impose constraints on themselves during battles.

They would hold back their strength.

-Open your eyes wide and see properly.

-Don’t you find it strange?

And aside from that, they would sometimes intentionally reveal their own weaknesses.

-Practice identifying weaknesses, young master.

-No matter the opponent, they all have a weakness or two. We just highlight them intentionally.

Lac has seen it.

Rania was intentionally exposing her weaknesses.

Since he has seen it, Lac made a judgment.

‘This is a test being conducted under constraints.’

It was a duel taking place under constraints. And if he exploited those constraints, he could reach that feral beast.

“······.”

However, moving his feet forward wasn’t easy.

Even if he discovered the constraints, they were of a type he couldn’t penetrate. The openings created by the constraints were narrow and small.

‘They don’t match me.’

While ideas buzzed to exploit the weakness, they didn’t fit Lac’s combat style.

“Hmm.”

He needed a weapon that could pierce through that gap.

And that weapon didn’t need to be sought from afar.

“Belnoa.”

Lac uttered the name of the weapon he discovered.

3.

Five attempts were made.

Five failures remain.

‘Hunting, my ass······.’

Belnoa chuckled dryly as he stepped back. Nausea churned within. His vision spun.

“Guh······.”

Enduring the urge to vomit, Belnoa crossed the boundary on his own. Charging in this state would only result in getting hit and knocked down.

“Sixth time.”

Then, the voice was heard.

Belnoa looked to the source. There stood professor Rania, looking like she hadn’t changed at all since before the exam began.

Her shirt remained as white as snow.

Not a single stain on it. In contrast, what about his clothes? Belnoa looked at himself.

Having been kicked and rolled on the ground.

Dust and dirt clung all over him. As he stared down at himself, a hollow laugh escaped between his teeth.

‘···Even with these constraints.’

Still, it didn’t measure up.

She was a figure far out of reach.

‘But I haven’t just been failing.’

Out of the five, including this one, Belnoa had not wasted his attempts mindlessly. As he repeated attempts, he discovered another constraint.

It was a deadly constraint.

Using it might reveal a path to victory.

‘······Not enough.’

However, it wasn’t easy to use.

Something crucial was missing. Belnoa knew what that was.

‘The resilience to break through.’

Countless strategies bubbled in his mind, but they hinged upon the premise of enduring a blow. And Belnoa didn’t have the resilience to withstand it.

‘One hit will disrupt my senses.’

By the time he regained his senses, he would already be pushed out beyond the boundary line. A countermeasure was necessary.

‘But how?’

The shield made of the spell won’t do. Attempting to substitute through shadows proved useless. There was no choice but to take the hit and endure.

But muscle doesn’t grow overnight.

‘What to do······.’

While Belnoa was racking his brain.

“Belnoa.”

A voice called from somewhere.

Belnoa turned his head. There stood a familiar figure. A boy with white hair and red eyes. In his hands, he brandished a symbolic hand axe.

Lac von Grace.

An opponent he had trained against many times. A barbarian warrior with excellent resilience······.

“Oh.”

The moment that thought crossed his mind.

Belnoa suddenly spoke.

“Professor Rania.”

His voice directed not to Lac. He turned to look at Professor Rania, seated in the clearing, and asked.

“······Is the exam held in a 1:1 format?”

“There’s no such condition.”

A response came back.

Belnoa turned his head to Lac. There lay the answer to the question he had been pondering.

‘A shield that can take one hit.’

Belnoa muttered unconsciously.

“I found it.”

“Huh? Found what?”

Lac tilted his head in confusion.

Belnoa bit back his thoughts. Then he reached out to Lac.

“Lac.”

“What is it?”

“Do you want to team up?”

“What a coincidence. I was about to say the same thing.”

Belnoa’s hand was seized by Lac.

With strength, Lac pulled Belnoa to his feet. The two exchanged no further words. They gripped their weapons and moved forward.

After all the back and forth, they were two who had fought together since the start of the semester.

They understood each other’s combat styles. They had a rough grasp of what each lacked, and what the other possessed. There was no need to rehearse their coordination.

Chop.

They stood side by side at the boundary. Gripping their weapons, they gazed at the figure in the clearing. Their gazes focused on a single point.

‘Rania van Trias.’

The calamity known as the Nightmare of Apuria.

······Humans sometimes cooperate.

To face a calamity that cannot be crossed alone.

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