NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
Thud-!
A giant hammer smashed into the troll’s head.
With that, its head burst, brain matter and blood splattering across the ground.
“Get over here!”
“Ugh… okay!”
The hammer’s owner, Dwena, reached out and guided her partner to a safe spot.
“Run faster!”
“This is my max speed…! The bracelet is draining my strength…”
On her partner’s wrist was a bracelet adorned with a yellow gem.
It was an artifact from this tournament, inscribed with the ‘Curse of Weakness.’
‘Dammit! Finding this artifact early didn’t seem like luck after all!’
When they randomly stumbled upon it, they were simply optimistic.
But just moving a little while holding the artifact made it clear.
The more you hold onto it, the more you’re at a disadvantage.
“Huff… huff…”
Just slightly speeding up made cold sweat pour down her partner’s forehead.
Their legs were shaking, close to collapsing at any moment.
The curse’s intensity seemed pretty high.
‘Should we… get rid of the artifact?’
She knew that was the right choice, but it wasn’t easy to make a decision.
How many people could throw their gold away from a sinking ship?
‘It’s not like I can just hide it either.’
The scale and structure of this house were drastically different from the outside.
If they hid it somewhere dark and deep without maps or markers, retrieving it would be nearly impossible.
Yet, leaving traces would make it easy for other teams to find.
It was truly a catch-22 situation.
“Ugh…!”
Finally, Dwena made up her mind and spoke to her partner.
“We’re throwing it away.”
“…Huh?”
“We’re discarding that artifact and moving on.”
“What?! You know the winning condition of this tournament, right?!”
“Then are we just going to continue in this state? If another team spots us and we get eliminated, we won’t have a chance at all!”
“That… that’s…”
Her partner hesitated and took a step back.
“It’s wiser to hand over the artifact to a team likely to win and ambush them when their strength is drained.”
“Is that… really the case?”
“Right. To be honest, neither of us is a winning candidate in this tournament.”
Dwena’s partner was a senior who just barely made it into the upper ranks.
While that performance was quite impressive in Polaris,
‘Comparatively, it’s really not that great.’
It was true that feeling somewhat diminished was inevitable.
Moreover, all members of the student council participated in this tournament, with Elma, the Vice-Student Council President, and Pernia, the Student Council President, being particularly recognized for their skills.
And then there was—
“That damn guy…!”
The monster of a first-year who was the top student also participated in this tournament.
A powerhouse so strong that even landing a valid hit seemed like it would be difficult.
For the weak to discuss winning given such a staggering difference,
“Strategize wisely.”
“…Wow. You’re smarter than you look?”
“……”
Why do they always judge based on appearances?
“Then let’s put the artifact here—.”
At that moment.
Fwoosh!
A sharp rock came flying from far away.
“-!”
It was an instinctual movement.
Dwena swung her hammer mightily, smashing the incoming projectiles.
Crash!
“Ow-!”
“Who did that?!”
Quickly hiding behind Dwena, her partner unsheathed her sword.
Dwena glared furiously in the direction the attack came from.
“Oh? Did you take all of that out?”
“Jane Rune…!”
Jane Rune grinned and leapt towards them.
“Impressive. We have some great first-years this time, don’t we?”
“Hmph.”
“How rude! I just complimented you, so show some reaction~.”
She pouted, sticking out her lips.
No matter what,
Dwena quickly rolled her eyes.
‘The Captain’s partner is definitely…’
The Saint, Rienna.
Widening her field of vision, she spotted the hint of pink hair peeking out from behind a tree.
‘Got it.’
She instantly grasped the situation.
“You also have an artifact.”
“Oh, why would you think that?”
“If you didn’t, there would be no reason for the Saint to be hiding like that.”
“Pfft!”
Jane burst into laughter.
“Isn’t that just a hasty assumption? Deploying a priest to the backline is just common sense.”
“Maybe for an ordinary priest.”
Dwena was already well aware of Rienna’s ‘skills.’
Thus, she understood there was no reason to keep her out of combat.
‘But still, the fact that she’s hiding means…’
Rienna was in a situation where fighting was difficult due to the curse’s influence.
“Well, that’s not wrong. We do have an artifact. And you do too.”
Jane pointed at the bracelet with her finger.
“Are we taking that?”
Just as they were preparing for combat and gathering mana to their swords…
“Wait a second!”
Clink!
Dwena unfastened the bracelet from her partner’s wrist and handed it over.
“I’ll give it to you.”
“…Huh?”
“I said I’d give it. You wanted this, right?”
“Well… that’s true…”
“Then take it. I want to avoid unnecessary combat.”
Jane tilted her head, bewildered.
She didn’t expect them to give in so easily.
“You’re smarter than you look, huh?”
“……”
Dwena forced herself to calm the frustration rising within her.
“It’d be a waste of strength fighting you here. Just take it.”
“Hmm~ understood.”
Dwena threw the bracelet.
Jane caught it lightly and then checked its condition, licking her lips.
“Looks good. The curse is really set.”
“…Of course. I have no intention of deceiving you.”
“Fuhuh! Then, good luck~!”
Jane turned and leapt back to where she came from.
Handing the bracelet to Rienna, she quietly slipped it onto her wrist.
“…Sigh. It feels empty.”
“It’s actually for the better.”
Dwena encouraged her partner.
Giving away the fortune they had just found felt disappointing,
But the fatigue from the curse continued to build up.
The longer they held it, the closer they got to exhaustion and ruin.
“Now that the shackles are gone, we can move faster—”
“Oh, right.”
Just when they thought they had escaped danger.
Jane’s voice laced with magic sent shivers down their spines.
“What…!”
Dwena hurriedly checked ahead.
‘Nothing!’
The nonchalant image of Jane they saw moments ago had completely disappeared.
“I’m not the type to leave behind trouble.”
“Dammit! Hurry, get the attack ready!”
“What do you mean?! Suddenly attacking?!”
The voice came from above.
“You seem pretty strong. I thought you’d be a nuisance if I left you.”
“-Is that where you are?!”
“Exactly.”
The branches of a tall tree.
In an instant, Jane climbed to that spot and looked down at them.
“Just planning to dispose of you now.”
With that, she swung her sword.
“Magic Sword Technique”
“Mana Sword”
A volley of magical razor-sharp blades poured down like rain.
Crack-a-boom!
Dwena bit her lip.
‘She never had any intention of letting us go from the start!’
Holding an artifact would mean disadvantage.
That woman probably knew this well.
So, she would crush everything.
If she could render every team combat-ineffective,
That way, no one could take the artifact away from her.
“We win, then!”
Jane shouted confidently.
“Ugh!”
Dwena let out a furious breath and lifted her hammer.
“Grrr!”
The green energy wrapped around her heavy frame.
The energy entwined like vines around the hammer.
“Nature’s Technique”
“Yahh!”
As the vine-hammer swung, the magical blades shattered all at once.
Dwena got into battle stance and ordered her partner.
“Go! Aim for the Saint!”
“What?!”
“We’re stealing that artifact from those guys!”
At this rate, even if they fled, the pursuers would stomp them down.
It was wiser to catch Rienna as a hostage or take the artifact hostage for a chance.
“But…!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the Captain!”
The gap in skill was vast compared to that man.
But just buying time should be possible.
‘Even if she’s a Saint!’
With two curses weighing her down,
It would be a worthwhile gamble.
“Go!”
“Okay!”
Thud-thud!
The partner raced toward Rienna’s direction.
*
“This is….”
“Pretty intense…”
“Wow…! So that’s the Saint of the Divine!”
Whispers rippled through the audience.
“Wasn’t that an amazing battle? Right, Professor Karen?”
“Hmm~ it was surprisingly beyond expectations. Quite impressive~.”
Klona struggled to keep her mouth from dropping open.
-…….
The screen displaying the combat remained calm.
There,
-Kerr… Heh…….
-…Ugh.
Showed Dwena and her partner unconscious on the ground.
Around them,
was the chaotic scene of the destroyed forest.
Amidst the ruins, the faint remnants of sacred power floated.
The holy power that heals, strengthens, and protects others.
Moments ago, it had morphed into pure destruction.
“I’ve heard about it, but seeing it in person is even more entertaining.”
Karen relaxed her arms and rested her chin on her hand.
“Ah… I’m looking forward to this…”
“Oh! Is Professor Karen looking forward to this? Are you predicting the victory of a team that has already obtained two artifacts?!”
“Hmm? That can’t be true.”
Karen shook her head seriously.
“What I’m looking forward to is…”
The guy who would crush that Saint in one blow.
Her beloved student and the one she had under her control.
“Rand Black.”
That was him.