CH 32

The clock struck midnight.

It was a late night, and everyone should have gone to sleep. Despite the late hour, the academy was still bustling with activity. The disappearance of three freshmen on a field trip to the Fountain of Magic had created quite a stir.

Soon after the news was reported, the security guards in-charge of security immediately mobilized and organized a search party. Same was true for Roen Philaude, the deputy commander of the security guards.

However, Roen's steps were not directed towards the scene of the incident. Instead, he headed for the headquarters of the Magic Department. After a while, he arrived in front of the Head's office.

Knock, knock!

Just after he had rapped on the door, the door swung open as if of its own accord, revealing a dimly lit room illuminated by a candle burning softly. Behind it sat a young girl with a mischievous smile on her face, her gaze meeting Roen's with an eerie intensity.

Meeting her gaze was almost intimidating.

Roen lowered his head, "I apologize for disturbing you while you were resting."

"Fufu, I'm fine, just relax your shoulders. As you get older, you tend to sleep less anyway," girl replied with a faint smile.

She was Deflyn Chernihiv, the Head of the Magic Department.

Roen nodded in response to her consideration and then proceeded to explain the situation regarding the disappearance at the Fountain of Magic.

"Hmm, so to summarize, there was an unexplained magical incident at the Fountain of Magic, and as a result, three first-years went missing?"

"That's right," Roen nodded.

Deflyn continued, "Have you secured statements from any witnesses?"

"Of course. Those near the boundary of Zone One and Two reported that an unidentified cave suddenly emerged."

"A cave?"

"Yes, it's hard to believe, but everyone present at the scene testified to the same thing."

A cave, huh?

Her eyebrows narrowed slightly, "Is there anything else?"

"They say a violent surge of water and waves swept over the students, dragging them toward the cave. The last testimony was about them being pushed towards the direction of the cave."

"………."

"And one more thing. There was a somewhat unusual statement. According to it, the three students might have been pushed into the depths of the cave."

He finished the report.

Deflyn's eyebrows twitched. This was a habit of hers that appeared only when she became genuinely interested in something.

"Who made that statement?"

"A girl named Noah Darshen. She was with the missing students until the end."

Noah. She recognized the name.

A name she'd heard relatively recently.

Who had she heard it from? Deflyn racked her brain for a moment, then remembered the source.

Head Berge of the Military Studies Department.

More precisely, it was part of the information that had been included in the dossier handed over by Berge about Ulan. Berge had mentioned that Ulan, the barbarian who had entered the academy, had come with another barbarian.

‘And that other barbarian is……’

……the girl named Noah Darshen.

Immediately after remembering this, Deflyn's eyes sparkled for a moment.

"Could I see the list of the missing students?"

"Yes, of course."

He had brought it with him, knowing this would happen.

Roen politely handed over the list. As Deflyn absentmindedly flipped through the list, her gaze suddenly froze on a familiar name.

【Ulan Bator, Age 17】

Somehow, she recognized it.

Deflyn's eyes narrowed. Like a crescent moon. The corners of her mouth twitched, and she couldn't take her eyes off Ulan's name for a moment.

"I, uh, Head?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just got a little lost in thought."

"No, it's alright. You must be troubled by this, naturally."

After collecting her thoughts, Deflyn got to the point.

"Anyway, the reason you've come to me is because you need the Special Operations Unit's assistance, correct?"

"That's correct. A disappearance inside the academy can be handled by the security guards alone, but if the Fountain of Magic is involved, then……," Roen's voice trailed off, as if he felt embarrassed.

The security guards under his command had jurisdiction over all incidents surrounding the academy. However, the Fountain of Magic was an exception.

To enter that area and return without any casualties required the cooperation of the Mages. Moreover, it couldn't be just any Mages; In addition to magical prowess, it would be helpful to have combat prowess, as well as the ability to improvise and deal with unexpected situations.

And conveniently, the Magic Department had a group of experts who met these criteria.

‘The Magic Department’s specialized unit, the Special Operations Unit.’

Just as there was the Surveillance Unit under the Military Studies Department, there was a Special Operations Unit under the Magic Department. Composed of intermediate-level Mages and above, they were involved in all cases involving magic and had independent investigative and adjudicative authority.

'And...'

It was known to obey only Deflyn's commands. Even the Headmaster couldn't mobilize the Special Operations Unit without her cooperation.

That was the reason Roen had come to Deflyn's office late at night.

Fortunately, she readily agreed to his request.

"Here's the dispatch orders for one unit of the Special Operations Unit. I hope this can be of assistance."

"Yes, I appreciate your cooperation, Ma’am," Roen bowed his head politely.

With this, his purpose was achieved. He turned around immediately. With the Special Operations Unit in tow, he was headed straight for the scene.

Some time later, after he had left the Head's office.

Deflyn, alone, closed her eyes, and then lightly tapped her desk as if lost in thought.

"Fountain of Magic. Disappearance. Waves. Caves……."

Soft murmurs echoed through the room.

These were the clues related to the disappearance incident. And Deflyn knew one important piece of information that connected them all.

"..........the Trial of a Hero."

Her eyes, slightly widened, reflected the moonlight.

There was a time when she had taken an interest in the Fountain of Magic. During her stay in that area, she had been engrossed in investigations and research and had stumbled upon intriguing records from a distant past.

Back when the Arsene Academy had just been established.

At the time, a few renowned professors had made preparations for future generations, leaving behind records of various things.

‘An ancient ruin named the Trial.’

An arrangement for when the Gates of the Abyss would one day open. The Trial of a Hero was one such preparation.

‘I tried to go in, too……..’

But she had failed. She couldn't even locate the cave that was supposed to be the entrance to the ruins, let alone enter them.

The reason was simple; she hadn't met the conditions.

‘When three or more individuals possessing the qualities of a Hero gather, the entrance to the hidden trial will be revealed.’

After recalling the conditions for the opening of the trial, something that she had learned only after her research on the Fountain of Magic had concluded, Deflyn looked at the documents again.

"I think I understand your purpose now."

Ulan was strong. Not just strong, but exceedingly skilled. For someone like that to enroll in the academy, there had to be a reason.

She hadn't managed to figure it out last time, but she never thought she'd uncover Ulan's purpose in this manner.

"Well, what's left is simple."

She was knowledgeable not only about the Trial of a Hero, but also about the other trials. As a result, she decided to ask Ulan to cooperate in her research as a condition to reveal the information about the other trials, excluding the Trial of a Hero.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Deflyn's lips.

It was a smile that blended anticipation and satisfaction.

━━━◇◆◇━━━

Meanwhile, around that time, Ulan and his group briskly moved towards the location of the final trial. As they walked endlessly through the seemingly endless corridor, suddenly...

Thud!

…Ibella and Sylphie stopped in their tracks. Both grimaced and instinctively plugged their noses.

"Ugh!"

"W-What's that smell...?"

An overwhelmingly foul stench had suddenly engulfed the area. It was unbearable without covering their noses. However, Ulan's reaction was different. He sniffed the air, trying to figure out what it was.

"It smells like blood."

But it wasn't just the scent of blood. There was an unidentified odor mixed in as well. Perhaps that was the real source of the stench.

Ulan continued walking in silence. Whatever it was, if he didn't move forward, he wouldn't be able to identify it. Ibella and Sylphie followed him, pinching their noses.

How much time had passed?

The group finally arrived at the end of the path. Before their eyes lay a massive chamber.

"Wow!" Sylphie exclaimed in admiration. 

Unlike the previous chambers they had passed through, this one was lavishly adorned. The luxurious decorations on the walls were enough to dazzle anyone who saw them.

The admiration didn't last long, however.

The stench has only gotten worse since they arrived there.

"Ugh, my head is pounding..."

The stench was bad enough to give Ibella a headache.

Her groans weren't an act of exaggeration. Even Ulan couldn't endure it any longer and plugged his nose.

"Oh, look, there's something written here."

At that moment, Sylphie found something on the floor in the center of the room.

There were engraved letters on the ground.

"Observe, cooperate, and you shall prevail? Hmm, what does that mean?" Sylphie frowned, puzzled.

While Ulan was about to ponder it along with her...

Poke! Poke!

…when, suddenly, someone poked him in the back.

It was Ibella's finger.

"Ulan, what do you think that is?"

She pointed to the far left corner of the room.

There stood a massive figure that seemed to be about five meters tall. It bore a humanoid resemblance. Ulan gave his honest impression, "It looks like a golem."

"Doesn't it, right?"

Ibella seemed to agree. Perhaps it was a figment of her imagination, but the appearance felt oddly familiar. As Ulan was trying to recall where he had seen something similar...

‘The Trial of a Hero.’

…the end of the road that arrived after knocking down countless enemies. There was a golem similar to that one there, too. A golem called the Ruin Guardian.

In fact, they were almost identical in appearance.

Except for one thing.

‘Different materials.’

Back then, the Ruin Guardian boasted a steel-like body, so much so that weapons would break after only a few uses.

This one, on the other hand, was different.

At first glance, it wasn't hard. Rather, it looked jelly-like and elastic.

‘What the hell is he doing?’

The question was in his squinty eyes. It was then that Ibella spoke up, "Oh! Could it be the Fountain Guardians?"

Professor Miel had mentioned them before.

The Fountain Guardians were golem created by mages. In that sense, Ibella's guess was plausible.

But Ulan shook his head. "I don't think so."

"What? Why?"

"It's a gut feeling. There's something unsettling about it. The foul stench, for one."

"Huh? That smell was from that thing?" Ibella asked in surprise.

Ulan nodded. The stench grew stronger as they approached the golem.

And then.

Suddenly, they heard a scream.

"B-Blood Golem?!"

It was Sylphie. She stared at the golem in horror, as though she knew its true nature.

"Do you know what that is?"

"....Yes, although this is the first time I've seen one in person."

Her eyebrows trembled.

Sylphie's gaze seemed uneasy as it flickered. Then, she gulped nervously and continued, "The Blood Golem is a creature mentioned in the historical records of the ancient Desert Kingdom. It was referred to as the kingdom's secret weapon back then."

Blood Golem.

True to its name, it was a golem created using human blood as a medium. The peculiar aspect was that the process of creating it was extremely complex and cruel.

"It is said that normal human blood is not capable of condensing mana, so blood infused with mana was needed. Usually, it was obtained from shamans or mages who committed crimes"

Typically, the number of mages needed to create a single Blood Golem was 999; it meant that almost a thousand mages had been sacrificed to create one Blood Golem.

But that wasn't all.

To create a Blood Golem, a powerful soul was also required; a soul so potent that it would not wear out even when bound to the golem's body for an extended period.

"Just hearing the description makes it seem incredibly powerful."

"It was even called the Kingdom's secret weapon. It was said to be completely impervious to magic below the intermediate level, and immune to curses and hexes."

A golem impervious to both magic.

Ulan's forehead involuntarily furrowed. His intuition already told him that this was a formidable adversary.

"More than anything, metals that touch a Blood Golem corrode rapidly. Even if you coat and imbue your weapon with mana, it can't withstand the golem's corrosion."

"..................!"

Ibella's eyes widened. It was to be expected.

If magic doesn't work, and swords don't work, how the hell were they supposed to take it down?

"Then how do we take that thing down?"

"There are two ways," Sylphie held up two fingers, "The first is to attack it with a weapon infused with Aura or Spirit. That way, the weapon won't corrode, even against a Blood Golem."

"What? Aura?"

"That means you need someone in the realm of a Master."

As Sylphie finished her explanation...

…Ibella cast a fleeting glance at Ulan and shook her head. No matter how strong he was, he hadn't reached the realm of a Master yet.

'After all, if he was a Master, he wouldn't have entered the academy in the first place.

Even if you're a barbarian, you'll be treated differently if you're in the realm of a Master. If he became a citizen of the Empire, he would have immediately received titles and territories.

There would be no reason for him to attend the academy.

With these thoughts, Ibella dismissed any lingering regrets, "And the second method?"

"That's not easy either. You'll need a weapon made from a very special ore called Hematite Stone, or Bloodstone."

{T/N:- Lol! Talk about coincidence. Our man fulfills both these methods.}

"Hematite Stone?"

"Yes. It's an unique ore that becomes harder as it absorbs blood. It's extremely rare and valuable because of its scarcity."

Sylphie's complexion darkened.

"In other words, it's difficult to gather a sufficient amount to craft a weapon. So..."

"I take it that means this method is also useless."

"Phew, kind of," sighing heavily, Sylphie voiced her frustration.

Ibella's face turned grim as well. Neither option was feasible under the current circumstances.

However, Ulan's reaction was different.

It was obvious why.

'Because I already have all those things.'

Realm of a Master.

A weapon made of Hematite Stone, or Bloodstone.

Coincidentally, Ulan possessed them all. That's why he couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"Ulan," Ibella approached him, her eyes serious.

"Let's go back to the place where we faced the Ordeals."

"Y-Yes! That sounds like a good idea," Sylphie nodded in agreement.

Perhaps she had assessed the situation as grim, a losing battle. On the other hand, Ulan shook his head.

"It's alright."

"What?"

"I can do it."

So don't worry.

That was what he wanted to say. However, Ibella's expression only grew darker.

"I know you're strong, but if what Sylphie said is true, running away is the safest solution for now."

"Right, she's right. That thing... the Blood Golem isn't something a student can handle. According to records, it's even destroyed entire cities!" Sylphie shouted in frustration.

However, Ulan remained unfazed; he had destroyed an entire city himself. Granted, it was a city of monsters, but still.

"I don't think it's planning to move yet, so if we retreat to a safe place and wait for reinforcements..," Sylphie was explaining the plan when a violent vibration shook the chamber.

Crumble! Crumble!

As if it was an omen of an upcoming disaster.

At the same time, the expressions of the two girls trembled.

Tension. Fear.

Just as these two emotions overflowed from their eyes, Ulan, who had been observing the source of the vibrations, mumbled softly, "He's moving."

"...........!"

Before that statement could even finish, the subject of their conversation had suddenly sprung into action.

The Blood Golem slowly stood up, its sticky blood dripping onto the ground.

The moment she witnessed this sight, Sylphie's face turned pale, "Uh, what should we do?! What should we do?"

She was panicking, her feet shuffling.

On the other hand, Ibella's expression was as hard as stone. Just then, Ulan strode over, "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Ha, b-but that thing…..!"

"Trust me," Ulan cut her off with a brief remark.

His voice was resolute, his gaze filled with confidence. Sylphie closed her mouth, reassured by the unwavering tone and the assurance of victory she saw in his eyes.

Perhaps he had found another method, unknown to her, just as he had done when facing the Undeads.

"........alright. I'll trust you."

Ibella nodded too.

Just as Ulan had trusted in her abilities, she decided to believe in Ulan's strength, "If there's anything I can do to help..."

"Then, I will leave them to you."

"Huh? Them?"

What was he suddenly talking about?

As she scratched her head in confusion, a familiar sound echoed not too far away.

Srrrkkkk! Srrrkkkk!

The sound of tattered clothing dragging on the ground.

Moments later, figures with rusted swords appeared from different directions. Sylphie's face showed annoyance, "Ugh, even the Undeads!"

"Ah, the Undeads?" 

Ibella's reaction, in contrast to the exasperated one from Sylphie, was more composed. After all, she had grown used to dealing with the Undeads by now.

Using the method Ulan had taught her, Ibella had no difficulty suppressing the Undeads.

"Okay, leave those to me."

"It seems you're quite confident," Ulan grinned satisfactorily.

With a satisfied smile, both of them fell silent. Then, without needing to decide who would go where, each headed toward their respective battlegrounds.