The period for the academy’s traditional event, the freshman practical training, had arrived.
Those in the know understood that “practical training” at the academy usually meant a good round of hitting and getting hit.
Whether it was duels or survival exercises, our academy which loved to drill students under the motto of “grow through clashing with one another” had chosen the Illusion Subjugation Battle as the goal for this round of training.
The Illusion Subjugation Battle was a type of training where students defeated artificial monsters within a space formed by illusion magic. It was said to be a method created to guarantee the safety of academy students.
Even if students were attacked by the monsters, they might feel the impact, but since everything was made of illusion, there was no risk of injury. The sensations, however, were so realistic that students naturally felt as if they were facing real monsters.
In the midst of that tense atmosphere, the students were driven to think of ways to defeat the monsters with their own abilities, and the training would end when either the student or the monster was down or gave up, at which point the student would return to reality.
Simply put, it was a test where you fought and won against virtual monsters in a virtual dimension.
What should I say? Feels kind of like an exam using VR.
The fact that things previously only seen in fantasy or sci-fi movies could now be realized through magic really stirred a man’s heart.
“Alright, is everyone gathered?”
Professor Idrus, who had assembled us in the spacious training arena, checked that all the students enrolled in his swordsmanship class had arrived and called everyone’s attention.
“I trust everyone’s well prepared for today’s training? I apologize for only revealing the details today for the sake of fairness, but I believe in all of you who’ve been training hard.”
I’m sorry, Professor. I didn’t prepare at all.
Since I hadn’t even known about the training and have made no particular preparations, the whole situation struck me as painfully absurd.
Since I had no particular ambition for fame or promotion in rank, I had hoped for a comfortable and laid-back school life. However, because this practical training would count toward our grades, failing to produce any results could lead to poor marks.
And if such unfortunate incidents happened a few more times, I might even get expelled for insufficient academic performance.
Fortunately, I felt a bit relieved when I heard that the practical training simply involved subjugating monsters.
There was no way they would summon monsters too difficult for first-years to handle, so I figured that as long as I pretended to put in some effort, I could pass without much trouble.
“This practical training will be conducted a bit differently from before. It will be a joint session with the first-year students from the Magic Department.”
Huh?
“Apparently, there has been some conflict recently between Auror users and mages among the upperclassmen of the Academy. If it were just verbal arguments, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but even in real combat situations with actual monsters, they failed to trust each other and ended up seriously injured while fighting among themselves. It’s good to take pride in your own power, but too much pride can be poisonous. Therefore, starting with this year’s first-years, the Academy has decided to implement a system to promote harmony and cooperation between the two departments.”
Murmur murmur—
Many students began whispering at the sudden change in the practical training’s format, and this reaction wasn’t limited to the students of the Swordsmanship Department….the students of the Magic Department were the same.
“For this practical training, one student from the Swordsmanship Department and one student from the Magic Department will form a team to conduct the subjugation mission. Naturally, the difficulty of the monsters will also increase. If you wish to pass the practical training safely, your only choice is to cooperate with your teammate and defeat the monster together.”
The professor delivering the practical training details then began calling out the names of the swordsman and mage students who would be paired together.
The first pair called looked quite awkward at first, but perhaps because grades were on the line, they quickly composed themselves and began discussing their strategy.
Soon, the two of them stepped into a magical circle drawn on the floor and were transported into a virtual space.
Their actions were broadcast through a special tool to both the professors who would evaluate their performance and the other students watching.
One team after another entered and exited the illusionary space, and various expressions flashed by…. students delighted to have passed the practical training successfully, and others dejected after failing to respond properly and being forcibly eliminated.
For reference, Pollo was also called midway through. His partner was a male mage with an unfamiliar name I had never heard before.
It wasn’t that I was particularly relieved to avoid the wrath and jealousy of the heroines just because Pollo’s partner wasn’t a girl… but still, I couldn’t deny feeling a bit of relief.
“Finally, the last team. Mars Noctus, Selene Eus. Step into the magic circle.”
The noble lady who had been paired with me glared in my direction with sharp eyes, as if it were my fault that she didn’t get to team up with Pollo.
As I deliberately avoided her gaze and stepped into the magic circle, the noble lady approached for the teleportation and whispered in a low voice.
“Hey. You rigged this, didn’t you?”
“I’m just a lowly baron. What power would I have to tamper with the academy’s system?”
“You pulled some trick because you wanted to team up with me! Ugh, you sure know I’m pretty, at least.”
“Do you think I’ve gone mad or something?”
“What?”
It didn’t really seem like the noble lady truly believed I had done anything, but it appeared she was just annoyed and taking it out on me.
While I was bickering with her, the illusion magic finished activating, and soon we were enveloped in a bright light and transported into the illusionary space.
Just as the noble lady and I stepped onto the magic circle, I thought I saw a flash of red in the corner of my eye….but I dismissed it as my imagination and chose to focus on the illusionary subjugation battle that was about to begin.
***
The moment Mars and Selene had just completed their teleportation into the illusionary space—
“Huh? Wh-Why is this happening?”
As the tool being operated started making a loud, erratic noise and froze up, the assistant who had been managing it let out a flustered voice.
Normally, the illusionary space would display a real-time feed of the students fighting virtual monsters inside, but for some reason, the equipment had gone dead and stopped functioning properly.
“What’s going on?”
“P-Princess— I mean Student Council President! I-It’s just that…”
At the assistant’s exclamation, the princess approached, and though flustered, the assistant began to explain in detail what was happening.
“It seems the space itself is experiencing some kind of issue. For now, let’s retrieve the students inside and begin an immediate inspection.”
“Yes, understood.”
Asteria simply assumed there was a problem with the illusionary space and promptly ordered the staff to inspect it.
“Student Council President. Is there a problem?”
“Professor Ares. It’s nothing serious. It seems there might be an error in the construction formula of the illusionary space, and the situation inside can’t be seen. I’ve already sent someone to fix it right away.”
“I see.”
Professor Ares, the Head of Student Affairs who had accompanied Asteria to observe the class, received the latter’s report and, upon realizing that the situation wasn’t particularly serious, responded with a casual attitude.
“Since the students’ safety is our top priority, I told them to take the inspection seriously… Maybe it’s time for some disciplinary training for the assistants.”
“Not a bad idea. It would be a valuable experience for the assistants as well.”
Just as the two casually exchanged such chilling words, a student council member came rushing over, panting heavily.
“Is the inspection complete? Then let’s resume the practical training immediately…”
“President! The illusionary space is functioning normally!”
“Hmm? Then what’s the problem?”
The member who was pale-faced and restless finally spoke shocking words.
“The magic circle currently in place isn’t a gate to the illusionary space! It’s a spatial teleportation spell set to a completely unknown location!”
“…What?”
The unexpected revelation left not only Asteria but also Ares, who had been watching from the side, completely speechless.
“We’ve urgently summoned professors from the Magic Department, but… the formula is extremely complex, and there’s a strange energy interfering with the use of mana. We have no idea when the analysis will be complete!”
“Damn it!”
“P-Professor! Please hurry and show the way, now!”
Even the imperial princess raised her voice in panic, urging them forward, and soon they were faced with the shocking truth that the two students had been transported to an unknown location due to some sort of scheme.
***
Surrounded by a bright light, the place where we opened our eyes was a huge arena.
It resembled a colosseum, and it seemed as though it had been untouched by human presence for a long time. It was heavily weathered, with thick green moss growing in various spots.
Even the gently blowing wind carried a fishy and musty smell.
Faced with such a perfect illusion, I was once again impressed by the level of magic in this world.
“Is this an illusion? No, it feels way too real…”
The illusion was so vividly detailed that it even depicted the squelching sensation of stepping on something sticky and having it cling to the sole of my shoe, to the point where it felt unpleasant.
Was this the uncanny valley thing?
“What is this place… Did we even have a space like this?”
“Huh? Wasn’t there a place like this in previous training sessions?”
“No. From what I heard from the seniors, they’ve never encountered such a grim space. Usually, the illusions show grassy fields or caves where monsters are frequently found, or maybe labyrinths…but I’ve never heard of such a gloomy and dark place being used before…”
“Maybe they added new locations this time? It could be a new setup to give students a wider range of experiences.”
“Maybe that’s it…”
While exchanging such casual conversations and looking around, I realized something felt off.
“But… where are the monsters?”
“Right? Normally, they at least give us a bit of time to come up with a plan or steel ourselves, but have they ever taken this long to show up?”
Inside the cold and silent arena—
The only things moving were insects crawling along the ground, and nowhere in sight was there anything that could clearly be called a monster.
“There might’ve been an error in the spell. If we wait, the professors will probably take care of it.”
“Haah. As if being stuck on a team without Pollo wasn’t annoying enough, now even the magic is pissing me off? I’m already irritated, so don’t come near me!”
“… Sure. Let’s do that.”
Just as I sighed at the grumbling of the noble lady who was clearly displeased with the situation and turned to look elsewhere.
Drrrrrrrrr—
Clang—Clang—
The iron door on the opposite end from where we were standing slowly opened, and with the heavy clinking of chains, we sensed something massive crawling out from the pitch-black passage.
“You’re late! Do you know how long you made us wait?”
…Something’s not right.
As that indescribable presence crept closer, my body instinctively sensed the threat. Every hair on my body stood on end, warning me that whatever it was, it was extremely dangerous.
With each approaching step, the scent of blood grew thicker.
Then, it finally emerged from the corridor, revealing the source of that ominous sound in its full overwhelming form.
“…That’s supposed to be a monster? I’ve never even heard of anything like that before.”
“………”
The creature was as large as a house and had the head and body of a bull… but what shocked me the most was its limbs. They looked as if someone had forcibly enlarged human arms and legs to fit its monstrous size.
The snake attached in place of a tail, as if to match the creature’s huge size, boasted an enormous length like an anaconda from the jungle and gave off an intimidating presence.
“Young lady, that thing—”
“You! Don’t interrupt! I have to show Pollo how amazing I am!”
I tried to stop her, uneasy about the whole situation, but she ignored me completely and immediately began constructing a spell toward the monster.
[Ice Age!]
The cold air from her magic quickly turned into a freezing storm, sweeping over the monster and turning it into an ice statue in an instant.
[Vulcanus!]
A giant lava spirit appeared next. It created a hammer of molten lava and slammed it down on the monster with full force.
Boooom—!!!
With a tremendous boom, the spot where the monster had stood exploded, and a cloud of dust shot up into the sky.
The area where it had been was now obscured by the explosion and the smoke, making it hard to see. Normally, anyone witnessing the power of that spell would have assumed the creature had been instantly annihilated.
However, my instincts were still screaming that the danger wasn’t over.
The noble lady looked at me with a triumphant expression. She was clearly pleased with her magic.
“See? That was amazing, right? With this, even Pollo will have to see me in a new—”
Thud—!
But the sound that followed left her no choice but to shut her mouth.
When we looked toward the source of the noise, we saw the monster slowly walking out through the cloud of dust and smoke, without a single visible wound on its body.
In fact, it seemed even more composed, approaching step by step, with its gaze fixed calmly on the noble lady.
“Wh-What… How is it still alive after taking that—”
Crash—!
In an instant, a harsh crashing sound rang out, and the creature stomped forward, then charged at the noble lady with its huge jaws greedily wide open.
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