The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter

Chapter 289: Academy Clash (3)

Chapter 289: Academy Clash (3)

The academies began to move in perfect unison.

Initially, there was an atmosphere of sounding each other out for potential traitors, but eventually, they all came to an agreement.

If there was a powerful enemy who could single handily control the flow of the game, it was better to join forces and eliminate him first.

Märchen Academy’s base. The central room.

In the corner of the room, Ciel Carnedas was soundly asleep, lying on a spread-out blanket, while next to the window, Keridna Whiteclark leaned against the wall, cautiously looking outside.

“My familiar says that something feels off…”

Keridna tensed up.

Her eyes turned toward me.

“The other academy students are advancing toward us.”

“I know without you telling me.”

I had already grasped the situation with [Clairvoyance].

Keridna glared fiercely.

“You were expecting things to turn out like this, weren’t you?”

“More or less.”

“Haa, what’s your plan? Why would someone like you participate in this game in the first place? It’s not like you have anything to lose.”

That kind of question is that…? Isn’t that the kind of question you’d usually ask a strong villain blocking the protagonist in comics?

Then the villain starts spouting all sorts of nonsense, like wanting to destroy everything, torment people, or putting on an act as a psychopath.

“To overturn it.”

“Huh?”

“I’m planning to end this game quickly.”

…When I answered, my response felt similar too.

?Magic Knight of Märchen? ?Act 11, Chapter 1, Academy Clash?.

The time limit for the Academy Clash was until midnight the day after tomorrow. The reason for such ample time was due to the structure that inevitably led to a prolonged battle.

In the scenario, it ended on the second night, right?

That showed how important this event was in the game.

And around the time the Academy Clash ended, the? Fairy War?started immediately.

Let’s go over this again.

I recalled the reason why I participated in the Academy Clash.

The first goal is to fight Noah.

Noah Bartin, one of the participants from Bethel Academy, was a male student with iron mana.

Originally, he was meant to be the hidden powerhouse character in the Academy Clash.

But because I participated, he was pushed off the strongest position.

Anyway, Noah was also the final boss of?Act 11, Chapter 1?in the game.

In the game, he accidentally met Ian, allied, and played at being friends, but in the end, only Märchen Academy and Bethel Academy survive, leading them to battle each other.

Noticing that Noah wasn’t using his full power, Ian gave a speech with the eloquence befitting a protagonist, provoking Noah to draw out his iron might.

It was something like… “We’re all fighting with our full strength, so why aren’t you?”

In the end, Ian joined forces with his companions and defeated Noah, who wielded iron mana, gaining EXP.

In short, fighting Noah, who used the power of iron, to practice for the?Fairy War? and to gain EXP was my first objective.

The second goal is to quickly finish this event.

The Iron Fairy, Rachnil, was going to come looking for Noah, intending to absorb him since he had been imbued with iron mana.

Afterward, it would start occupying this area and gradually expand its territory.

If that’s the case.

If the Academy Clash were to quickly end, we could properly prepare for Rachnil before the students were put in danger.

I don’t know the exact time and method of Rachni’sl arrival after all.

The only certainty was that it was going to appear in Aldreque during the Academy Clash.

It was my judgment to make thorough preparations in a secure place.

Shouldn’t we have stopped the event from happening in the first place? No, that wasn’t the right thing to do.

During the Academy Clash, all kinds of influential figures stayed in Aldreque. They were either strong themselves or leaders of the strong. Moreover, even Emperor Carlos was here.

In other words, under the imperial command, many strong individuals would join forces to minimize the damage from Rachnil and, inevitably, protect many people.

This was not mere speculation, as the same occurred under imperial command in ?Magic Knight of Märchen?.

Therefore, the Academy Clash had to be held. And I intended to quickly end this end to protect the students.

Fortunately, everyone is targeting me.

It was fortunate that the enemy students weren’t cowards. Indeed, they were promising talents.

To come up with the strategy of “teaming up to eliminate Isaac before Märchen Academy secures items”.

Given the items and traps in the game, it would have been understandable for them to have the courage to challenge me.

But I was someone who had cleared ?Magic Knight of Märchen? countless times.

Even if I hadn’t memorized the locations of all the items obtainable in the tournament, I knew the locations of the useful ones well enough. I had also memorized most of their effects.

The difference in information alone was overwhelming.

“Overturn the event… I see.”

“You’re not going to argue?”

“Why would I?”

Unexpectedly, Keridna showed a calm reaction.

“There must be an important reason, right? You’re not the kind of person who harms others without thinking.”

“Well, that’s a touching thing to say, so thank you…”

If it were me, I’d probably disapprove of myself for trying to mess up this event, regardless of the reason.

Have I become someone trustworthy?

“Go wild as much as you want. As the ‘Student Council President’, I support you.”

Keridna deliberately emphasized the ‘Student Council President’ title.

Before the Academy Clash started, the student council president election took place, and according to the scenario of ?Magic Knight of Märchen?, Keridna became the president.

It felt like walking a tightrope.

Not that I mind.

We didn’t share a deep emotional connection, it was more comfortable to have a dull relationship with Keridna.

It’s about time to head out.

“Well, I’m off.”

“Take care.”

I got up from the ice chair I had been sitting on.

Since the game was still in its very early stages, grabbing a few items would be enough.

***The host shouted in an excited voice, “What on earth is happening?! A large number of academy students are running towards one place all at once! At the end of that path lies Märchen Academy’s base! Are they all trying to take down the dominant contestant of this Academy Clash, ‘that student’?!”

Numerous students were crossing the battlefield towards Märchen Academy’s base, as if it had been a 4-to-1 match from the start.

The audience immediately understood. If they couldn’t take down Märchen Academy first, the outcome of the game would be as clear as day.

There might have been an academy that would have seized the chance to stab others in the back, but that academy would then become the next target of the others.

From the start, all the academy students assumed that without joining forces, it would be impossible to confront Märchen Academy.

Among the students advancing towards Märchen Academy’s base, a student from Bethel Academy patted Noah’s back and asked, “Noah, are you nervous?!”

Noah stared at his fellow student with a powerless gaze.

“A bit. Given who we’re up against.”

“True. But isn’t it exciting?”

“What is?”

“That we’re teaming up with those we’ve competed against to target the same enemy.”

Looking around, there were many students in different uniforms.

“The Ice Sovereign Subjugation.”

“What?”

“That’s what this is, Noah. If we fought the Ice Sovereign for real, we wouldn’t have a chance, not even as much as a speck of mana, but here, it’s doable, right?”

“You’re… you’re too excited.”

“Of course! He’s a hero, a real hero! I’ve always wanted to see the Ice Sovereign in person! Even if it means teaming up with those other guys, how often will we get the chance to go head-to-head with him?”

“Ah, right…”

Like the fellow student running alongside him, the followers of Ice Sovereign Isaac were as countless as the stars in the night sky. To Noah, this was nothing surprising.

Isaac Subjugation.

At first, many students felt immense fear when they heard about the plan.

However, once they found a possibility of defeating Isaac under the game rules and reached the point where they had to actually carry out the plan, the students were filled with excitement.

They would be able to see the revered hero, the living legend, in person.

They would be able to face his ice magic.

Such thoughts filled the students’ minds.

And that feeling played a significant role in uniting the students from the different academies.

“…!”

Noah’s eyes widened.

“What’s wrong, Noah?”

“I see him.”

Noah, with his sharp vision, spotted someone ahead.

A steep hill reminiscent of ruins. At the very top stood a man.

The sunlight haloed around him, casting a faint shadow over his face, but the students rushing forward immediately recognized who he was.

A heartstone floating beside him, an unknown sense of pressure, and a commanding charisma.

The students advancing from other directions also quickly concealed themselves and froze, holding their breath.

Soon, a heavy silence settled in.

Their gazes were fixed solely on the young man standing atop the hill. Each swallowed nervously as they stared straight at the legend before their eyes.

“Is that… him?”

The new Archwizard who emerged from Märchen Academy.

Isaac.

“Quite a crowd.”

In contrast to his charisma, Isaac’s face held a gentle smile.

The round glasses softened his impression.

“Why is he the one to come out first…?”

“Could it be that he still doesn’t understand this game…?”

Given the nature of this event, where the effects of items and traps were powerful, anyone would be in danger when facing this many students.

So for Isaac, the guardian of Märchen Academy, to step forward first was undoubtedly a risky move.

However.

One student replied, “No… maybe it’s the other way around.”

Seeing Isaac appear alone as if he had anticipated this outcome from the beginning, the students’ minds began to race with the thought that he must have already grasped the nature of this game.

Isaac was a being beyond comprehension.

From the very beginning, it was pointless to try to predict his thoughts, judgments, or actions, but the students, blinded by the effects of items and traps, failed to realize this.

Isaac spoke in a loud voice, “I’m sorry if it feels like I’m disrupting the game.”

“But I’m ending the game here.”

The students flinched, their shoulders trembling.

If anyone else here had said such a thing alone, the students would surely have laughed.

But Isaac’s words carried an extraordinary weight.

“This can’t be…” Hans McGregor, a young muscular man, stepped forward, letting out a voice of admiration.

He was so shocked at the sight of Isaac that he stood there with his eyes wide open, glaring.

The two looked at each other. The two looked at each other.

“Yesterday, at the hot springs…”

“…”

Most of the students there weren’t of interest to Isaac. Anyway, with [Clairvoyance], he had already identified the locations of all the Hearstones. If he destroyed them all, the game would end.

Isaac’s goal was to draw out Noah Bartin’s true power before fighting him.

He planned to quickly remove the qualification stones of the students who would interfere with that goal, thereby eliminating them.

However, there was one exception, the young man standing before him, Hans McGregor.

Isaac was certain from the beginning that he would step forward first.

He did need a scapegoat, and Hans would faithfully fulfill that role.

Isaac looked at Hans indifferently.

“Heh.”

Hans closed his eyes tightly, then reopened them with a faint laugh.

He bowed his head.

“Ice Sovereign, I have longed to meet you. I apologize for my rudeness the previous night. Please forgive my ignorance.”

“Enough apologies. Get up here.”

Isaac took off his glasses.

“I intend to.”

Hans lifted his head again, excitement surging at the thought of fighting Isaac.

Hans chuckled and used body buffing magic on his legs, kicking off the ground.

With a flash, as the dust rose, Hans vanished from his spot.

In an instant, Hans had sprinted up the hill and reached Isaac.

Water wrapped around his right fist, and fire encircled his left fist with fierce momentum.

“O Ice Sovereign, may we brothers have a good battle!”

It was the moment when Hans’s thick fist swung toward Isaac.

Isaac stepped one leg back and casually clenched his fist.

Wham!!

Something swung, deeply denting Hans’s head.

Hans didn’t even have time to scream. Only the sound of his jaw shattering echoed out.

Whoosh!

A beat later, a sharp gust of wind cried out, followed by a heavy, forceful pressure.

Isaac’s fist, shot out like a bullet, was far faster and more powerful than Hans’.

Whuuuush!

Boom!

Hans’s body shot through the air like a ball, crashed through a building at the foot of the hill, and tumbled across the ground multiple times.

The building crumbled with a rumble amidst the rising dust.

“Ugh, gasp…”

The sound of Hans’s ragged, gasping breaths escaped.

“Next.”

Isaac’s calm declaration continued toward the speechless students.