Chương 62: “Leader of the Pack”

"Ugh!" The student's sword came down in a diagonal slash, and Arthur sidestepped it. He brought his own blade up in an arc and sliced the boy across the ribs. The enchanted sword connected, and the necklace around the student's neck shattered. The boy vanished in a flash of light, pulled out of the exam zone before the hit could do real damage. Arthur lowered his sword and scanned his surroundings. The mountain was thick with undergrowth, and visibility dropped past twenty meters in most directions.

He could hear fighting somewhere to his left, the clash of steel and someone shouting, but it was distant enough to ignore. He moved forward. The semester's final exam had been running for a few hours now. Students were scattered across a designated section of the mountain, competing for points through combat and objective completion. The three principals had already given the rules and the provided safety measures. Arthur adjusted his grip on the sword.

He had a proper weapon now, enchanted steel with a reinforced edge, balanced well and heavier than the wooden practice swords he'd trained with or the rusty piece of metal called a sword he brought with him from the village. He also had a decent breastplate strapped over a set of leather fittings, and his clothing was made from a material that could take a hit without tearing apart at the first slash. All of it was new. And all of it had been paid for by that woman's money.

Last week, he and Liana were walking back from the campus library when Celestia's maid, Martha, appeared in front of them. She had bowed politely and presented a small wooden box, alongside some official-looking paperwork, explaining that Lady Celestia wished to settle her debts from the recent incident. Arthur had looked at the box and then at Martha.

"I don't want her money." Martha's expression had remained unchanged. She continued holding the box out with steady hands.

"My mistress anticipated this response," she said.

"She asked me to inform you that this is a transaction, and that refusing payment for services rendered would be an insult to the service itself." Arthur opened his mouth to argue, and Liana's elbow drove into his stomach. He doubled over. Liana snatched the box from Martha's hands before Arthur could straighten up.

"We accept," Liana said. Her voice was polite and composed.

"Please convey our gratitude to Lady Celestia." Martha gave a small nod, glanced at Arthur, who was still hunched over and wheezing, and then departed.

"What was that for?" Arthur managed to say, once he could breathe again. Liana tucked the box under her arm.

"We need equipment for the exam, Arthur. Now's not the time to reject money."

"But it's from—""I know who it's from." Liana was firm.

"And I don't care. I'm not going to ask Archmage Elena for money. She's my mentor, and there are lines I won't cross with her. This is a better option." Arthur rubbed his stomach and said nothing. She was right, and he knew it. But that only made the thought worse. They'd expected the gems inside the box to be worth a decent amount. Enough for a serviceable sword and maybe some basic armor.

Liana had suggested they get them appraised at one of the jewelry shops in Summit's market district before selling, just to make sure they didn't undersell. The jeweler had taken one look at the gems, gone very quiet, and excused himself to the back room. Shortly after, he returned with two city guards. Arthur and Liana spent the next few hours in a holding cell at Summit's local precinct. The guards were professional and curt.

Two commoner students carrying gemstones of that quality was, apparently, suspicious enough to warrant detention. It turned out that the gems were from a limited-edition set crafted by a famous artisan who had died during the Great Demon War. The pieces were rare enough that two commoner students walking in with them and no proof of purchase was going to cause problems.

Cases of students stealing jewelry from noble classmates were common enough at Summit Academy that the store had called the authorities on the spot. Arthur sat on the bench in the holding cell, arms crossed, staring at the wall. Liana sat beside him, her hands folded in her lap.

"This is her fault," Arthur said.

"You don't know that she did this on purpose, didn't you leave the paperwork at your room because you wanted to keep proof of her "evilness"?" Liana said.

"She definitely did this on purpose." Liana didn't argue further. The cell door opened about an hour later. Martha walked in, and behind her, two guards who looked considerably less authoritative than they had when making the arrest. The maid spoke briefly with the officer on duty, produced documentation that confirmed the gems had been gifted, and the matter was resolved. Martha turned to Arthur and Liana as they stepped out of the cell. Her expression was composed and faintly apologetic.

"My mistress sends her regards," Martha said.

"She also asked me to remind you that, I quote, 'commoners should learn to carry documentation when handling valuables.' End quote." The jewelry store, once informed of the misunderstanding, bowed itself to apologize. The owner personally escorted them back inside, offered them tea, and appraised the gems at a value significantly higher than what they would have fetched on a normal sale. They walked out of the shop with enough money to buy everything they needed for the exam and then some.

But deep inside, Arthur felt like this was wrong; he just wished the money hadn't come from her. A branch snapped somewhere ahead and to his right. Arthur's attention returned to the exam. He raised his sword and shifted his weight onto his back foot. Another student stepped out from behind a tree, weapon drawn. Arthur exhaled and moved forward. The student charged and Arthur raised his sword to meet the first swing, but a whistle of air from behind the student made him jerk his head sideways.

An arrow punched into the tree trunk where his face had been a half-second earlier.

'Another team-up.' This was the third pair he'd run into. Students had figured out quickly that fighting alone on this mountain was a losing strategy, and two-on-one engagements had become the norm over the past hour. The swordsman in front kept Arthur's blade busy while the archer stayed hidden, waiting for openings. Arthur parried a thrust and stepped back. At this point, the archer would be repositioning and he had maybe two seconds before the next shot.

So he used his dash skill, and he blinked past the swordsman, closing the distance. The archer was crouched behind a fallen log, already nocking another arrow. His eyes went wide when Arthur appeared in front of him. Arthur's sword came down, and the archer's necklace shattered before he could loose the shot. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The swordsman shouted something behind him.

Arthur turned, parried the boy's overhead swing, and drove his pommel into the student's jaw. The necklace cracked after the follow-up slash for the second hit, and the boy vanished. Arthur stood there, breathing hard. His arms felt heavy, and the dash skill had taken more out of him than he'd expected. He had already used it four times today. He leaned against a tree and took a moment to catch his breath.

"Who's there?" The female voice came past a cluster of thick bushes. Arthur straightened up and turned. Serena Flamesy stepped out from between two trees. Her dark red hair was cut just past her jaw, tangled with bits of leaf from moving through the undergrowth. She wore fitted leather armor, and her sword hung at her side. She looked at Arthur, and Arthur looked at her. Serena grinned. She drew her sword.

"Come on! It's a rematch!" she bellowed. She planted her feet and raised the blade in front of her. Arthur's arms ached, and the dash skill had left him drained, but he gripped his sword with both hands anyway and readied his stance.

"Well, well, well," a voice called from behind them, "if it isn't the wannabe?" Arthur and Serena both turned. Five students stood in a loose group on the slope above them. All of them were armed and armored, polished armor and an array of enchanted weaponry. Arthur recognized them. They were the same group from the mandatory classes, the ones who'd spent the semester shoving past him in hallways and mocking him whenever they could. The one in front, a tall boy with a silver pin on his collar, spoke again.

"Lady Flamesy, we have business with that commoner over there." He pointed his sword at Arthur.

"If you'd kindly step aside." Arthur's grip tightened on his sword. Five against one would have been a problem. His body was already running low, and using any of his skills right now would just leave him unable to move anymore. Serena looked at the group of nobles and said, "Our rematch is postponed." And with those words, Serena immediately moved and closed the distance to the nearest noble before he could react and drove her sword across his torso. His necklace shattered on impact and he vanished mid-stumble.

Arthur was a step behind her. He caught the second noble's panicked swing on his blade, redirected it, and slashed across the boy's shoulder. Another flash of light. The remaining three tried to regroup, pulling back and forming a line. The tall one with the silver pin barked orders at the two beside him, but Serena was already on top of them. She hit the one on the left with a downward strike that he barely managed to block. The force of it buckled his guard and drove him to one knee.

But Arthur's follow-up caught him across the chest, and his necklace broke. Arthur next engaged the one on the right. The boy fought better than the others, keeping his distance and using his surroundings to his advantage. Arthur feinted low, then cut upward. The boy blocked it, but the impact knocked his sword wide. Arthur stepped in and struck him in the ribs. The necklace shattered. The only one who remained was the tall one. He stood with his sword raised, looking between Arthur and Serena.

His face had gone pale. Serena didn't wait. She walked toward him with her sword at her side, and the boy turned to run. He tripped on a root and scrambled to his feet. Serena caught up quickly and brought her sword down across his back. The last necklace shattered. Arthur let out a long breath and lowered his sword. His arms were shaking. He looked at Serena, who was already walking towards Arthur while brushing leaf debris off her shoulder. He raised his hand toward her, palm forward.

"Wait." Serena stopped, one eyebrow raised.

"A lot of students are grouping up," Arthur said. He was still catching his breath, and the words came out between gulps of air.

"I've fought three pairs already, and those five just now. It's only going to get worse from here. Maybe we should work together for now and fight each other later. Don't you want to get the top spot in a final duel?" Serena crossed her arms and looked at him. Her head tilted to the side as she thought it over.

"Hmm." She glanced around her, then back at Arthur.

"Fine. But when this is over, we're finishing what we started."

"Deal." Back when they were in a party, they worked well together. So it stands to reason that it wouldn't be too different now. Serena hit hard and fast, drawing attention and forcing opponents to deal with her first. Arthur picked off anyone who tried to flank or reposition. Between the two of them, the pairs and small groups they ran into over the next few hours didn't last long.

Student-on-student combat was the fastest way to accumulate points, and with the number of participants still high, there was no shortage of targets. But there were other methods too. The mountain held rare ingredients worth foraging, and magical beasts roamed certain areas, their mana stones counted toward the tally. The principals had also hidden artifacts across the exam zone. Luck, according to them, was also considered to be an important skill. By late afternoon, roughly an hour remained.

The number of active students had whittled down to around a hundred. The easy eliminations were over. What was left were the ones who'd survived this long, either through skill or by staying hidden. Arthur and Serena were crouched behind a dense line of bush overlooking a clearing. Below them, two groups of students were fighting. One group had four members, the other had five.

And two of the fighters had summoned elemental spirits, a stone golem on one side and what looked like a wind hawk circling above the other. Arthur watched the fight from behind the leaves.

"I was surprised you wanted us to hide," he said, keeping his voice low.

"I thought you'd run straight into that." Serena's fist connected with his shoulder.

"I like fighting," she said, "but I'm not dumb enough to charge into that many people at once." Arthur rubbed his shoulder and said nothing in response. The fight below continued. The group of five was gaining ground, pushing the four backwards. One of the four went down, necklace shattering from a clean hit. The stone golem swung at two students at once, and one of them rolled clear while the other took the hit and vanished in a flash. Then, out of nowhere, a third group suddenly appeared.

Arthur counted them as they emerged. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. But they kept coming. By the time the last of them stepped into the clearing, there were around thirty students, armed and organized, spreading out to encircle the two fighting groups.

"What the hell?" Serena muttered. The thirty moved fast. They hit both groups from the sides, causing the fight to last less than two minutes. Once it was over, the thirty parted down the middle, opening a path. Someone walked through the gap. Celestia von Reingarde stepped into the clearing. Her golden hair was pulled back, and she wore light armor over her academy uniform. A folded fan hung from her belt, and she carried a spear in one hand, its point angled toward the ground.

She stopped in front of the subdued students, who were being held on their knees by her group. Her eyes moved across them. Then she spoke.

"You've fought well today, and I acknowledge that." Her voice carried across the clearing without effort. She raised the spear and let the flat of the blade rest against her shoulder.

"But the exam is nearing its end, and the points you've gathered individually will pale against what a coordinated force can achieve in the time remaining." She looked at each of them.

"I am offering you a position under my command for the remainder of this exam. Your points will be pooled with ours, and the final tally will be distributed according to contribution with the mana stones and rare plants we have acquired." The fan at her belt swayed as she shifted her weight.

"Those who accept will benefit from the protection and strategy of this coalition. Those who decline..." She tilted her head.

"... will be eliminated where you kneel. The choice is yours, and I expect an answer promptly." Arthur stared. Beside him, Serena let out a low whistle. One of the kneeling students, a boy from the group of four, wrenched free from the person holding him. He pulled a dagger from somewhere inside his jacket and lunged at Celestia. Celestia's spear moved. Arthur almost missed it. One moment the spear was resting against her shoulder. The next, it was leveled at the charging student, the tip centered on his chest.

The motion had been fast enough that the boy was already mid-stride when the blade appeared in front of him. And then a bright golden glow erupted around the spearhead. It spread along the shaft and into the air around Celestia's hands, and it didn't look like aura the way Arthur had seen or understood. It was dense and layered, with flecks of gold drifting through it. The boy skidded to a halt. The dagger was still in his hand, but his arm had dropped to his side.

"That's Celestia, right?" Serena said. She was leaning forward, squinting through the brush.

"That Aura she's putting out right now..." Arthur didn't answer. He was watching Celestia's hands, the way the golden light moved around them. The speed of that draw. The aura output.

'She didn't need me saving her back then.' Down in the clearing, Celestia lowered her spear. The golden light faded and the boy with the dagger was still frozen in place. Celestia didn't spare him a second look. She turned and walked back.

'Around forty students should be enough to fill the role of the second Arc's boss, right?' She thought to herself.