The two huge fireballs flew toward Teams A and C, while the remaining one came straight at our base.
At this, Song Cheon-hye shouted as if screaming,
“Th-The barrier! We have the barri…er… right…?”
But her voice trailed off toward the end, as if she wasn’t sure it would actually hold.
We were soon able to see the results of the performance test.
The moment the huge fireball struck the barrier, an explosion worthy of its size erupted.
Kaabooooooom!
It seemed to withstand the impact for a brief moment but soon shattered with a crash, and smaller fireballs scattered in all directions.
In an instant, the base turned into a sea of flames.
Staring at the burning dormitory, Han So-mi cried out almost like a scream.
“No! Our nice house!”
But that was only the beginning.
The flames flared up violently, and from within them burst out monsters of all kinds of shapes.
“It’s elementals!”
“Stop them!”
“Protect the tower, the tower!”
The chaos intensified, and scattered battles broke out everywhere.
After all, this was the <Fire Dragon’s Nest>.
A place claimed by an S-rank dragon.
The Flame Emperor Dragon may have entered a dormant phase, but that didn’t mean its draconic soldiers had ceased their activities.
It must have been watching everything.
A bunch of humans showed up, built a base, then wandered around killing monsters and collecting crystals.
There was no way it would just let that continue.
As the crystals dwindled, the humans’ range of activity expanded, and the territory being encroached upon increased accordingly.
It likely judged that this was the time to sweep them away.
If it truly set its mind to it, there were plenty of ways to do so.
Even the monster wave that occurred in the morning had been, at least in part, artificially orchestrated.
If that was enough to resolve things, great. If not, then it was likely meant to gauge our fighting power.
And this was the second strike.
They had gathered the energy generated by the volcanic eruption to launch an ultra long-range bombardment, even sending elementals along with it.
And even that wasn’t the end of it.
Whoosh—
Not long after the battle began, some figures strolled out leisurely from within the flames.
They had the forms of half-human, half-dragons, with bodies curved and ridged like claws.
Draconic soldiers.
They looked slightly different from the ones we saw in Craft Haven, likely due to different materials, but their fighting power should be roughly comparable, around the lower to mid tier of third-year students.
A couple of them floated in midair, scattering fist-sized fireballs like seeds.
The moment they hit the ground, they flared up more fiercely, and elementals were born.
Elemental summoners.
If left alone, their numbers would grow without limit, so the best course was to eliminate them as quickly as possible.
Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to be thinking the same thing, as they focused their attacks on them.
Tududududu!
Boom boom!
One of the draconic soldiers countered with flame magic, while another slowly descended to the ground.
Even then, it diligently continued summoning elementals.
We need to take that one down.
As I moved in that direction, Song Cheon-hye landed beside me amid crackling currents of electricity.
“I will assist.”
“Good. We’re going in.”
We kicked off the ground side by side.
……!
The summoner-type draconic soldier reacted immediately.
Pointing straight at us with a finger, it directed the newly born flame elementals to charge all at once.
Even so, we did not slow down in the slightest, and at the moment of collision, compressed wind exploded outward.
Boom!
The elementals were blown away in a heap.
Through the brief opening that revealed itself, Song Cheon-hye slipped through.
In an instant, she closed in on the draconic soldier and unleashed a burst of electricity.
Fzzzzzzzt!
Even as electricity coursed through its entire body, the creature showed no sign of concern and swung its flaming hand at her.
At the same time, it gestured toward the elementals with its other hand, clearly intending to call them back.
Of course, I had no intention of letting that happen.
Boom!
I raised a wide Ice Wall to block them off.
“Iso↗late↘.” (TN: Isolate)
Then, creating distance from the incoming elementals, I cast Blink into the air.
In a flash, I appeared above the summoner’s head and brought down Wind Force.
Boom!
The creature collapsed flat on its back and slid across the ground before forcing itself upright.
But before it could do anything, Song Cheon-hye was already right on top of it.
With her body wrapped in crackling currents, she slammed into it shoulder-first.
Boooom!
The summoner was sent flying once more.
It got back up, only to be struck by Wind Force again and thrown back down.
Even as it was being pummeled senseless, it gathered flames in its hand, but in the next instant, a streak of frost shot toward it.
Boom!
The flames were extinguished, its hand froze over, and as it tried to retreat, a whirlwind bound it in place.
A thick bolt of lightning followed immediately after.
Fzzzzzzzzzt—!
In the end, the draconic summoner turned into a handful of ashes and scattered away.
Song Cheon-hye picked up the item card it left behind.
“That was easier than expected. Even considering it was a summoner type.”
“We’ve improved a lot.”
In terms of both specs and experience.
Tududududu!
Boom boom!
Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa had also nearly secured victory in their ranged battle against another draconic soldier.
Judging by how battered its body looked, it would likely go down soon.
On one side, Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi were pressing yet another draconic soldier.
Each time it swung its flaming greatsword, they lightly deflected or evaded it, steadily building up sword energy in turns.
During midterms, it had taken three or four of them working together just to barely take one down, but now the two of them seemed more than capable on their own.
If they continue to grow stronger, one-on-one might become possible.
And later on, they might even be able to handle several by themselves.
To bring things to a smoother close, I cast amplification and enhancement spells on Go Hyeon-woo, Seo Ye-in, and the others, then scanned the battlefield to see if anyone needed support.
Just then, a thunderous roar echoed from somewhere.
“Krrrhaaa—!”
Turning toward the sound, I saw Park Na-ri facing off against a draconic soldier.
Bum leapt nimbly and slashed with its forepaws, while Chammy darted around swiftly, grazing past it in quick passes.
But the draconic soldier, standing in a stance like a martial artist, blocked the relentless assault without missing a beat, even launching counterattacks.
It seemed Park Na-ri alone was having a hard time.
As I moved, I left Song Cheon-hye a brief remark.
“I’m going ahead.”
Then, with a whoosh, I used Blink and shot forward.
A hurried shout came from behind me.
“W-Wait, let’s go together!”
“Hey, noob Song Cheon-hye, you should use Blink too.”
“I’m not a noob!”
“Hurry up, noob~”
I pushed my speed even further, slipped into the draconic soldier’s flank, and slammed Wind Force into it.
Boom!
Despite the sudden strike, the creature seemed to block it fairly well.
Even so, it couldn’t help but slide back, and in that opening, Bum and Chammy charged in at once.
“Krrrhaaa!”
“Pieeeee—!”
***
Once we cleared out the most dangerous draconic soldiers, the remaining draconic infantry and fire elementals were quickly dealt with.
[Side Quest: 17th and 18th Week Final Exam] (In Progress…)
▷ Objective 2: Eliminate Draconic Soldiers
Dragonscale Soldiers: 26
Dragonfang Soldiers: 12
Dragonclaw Soldiers: 6
Before long, the survivors began inspecting various parts of the stronghold to assess the extent of the damage.
As she received the detailed report, Song Cheon-hye slightly furrowed her brows.
“This much… I guess we held out fairly well, right?”
“That’s how it looks to me.”
Most of the members who were rendered incapacitated were from the mid-to-lower ranks.
All of our key forces scoring above 900 had survived.
Considering we were practically ambushed and thrown into a chaotic melee, we had held up well.
I added one more comment.
“And it’s relative grading. Other teams are probably worse off.”
“I think so too.”
With one or two promising talents or disciplinary-committee-level fighters missing, their losses were bound to be heavier.
Meanwhile, Han So-mi, unusually downcast, stared at the hut that had been reduced to ashes.
“My new house…!”
Just last night the lodging had been bombarded, and now a huge fireball had fallen on it.
Go Hyeon-woo let out a wry smile and tried to console her.
“Miss Han, do not be too disheartened. A house can simply be rebuilt, can it not?”
“…Is that so? You’re right!”
As if she had never been gloomy, Han So-mi’s face brightened instantly.
Then she shot Song Cheon-hye a burdensome look.
“Rebuild it? A new house?”
“…Uh, yeah. It should be recoverable.”
Song Cheon-hye answered with a somewhat uneasy expression.
A significant number of facilities, including the lodging, had been destroyed or downgraded, but quite a few crystals had dropped from the draconic soldiers and elementals.
While it might not be perfect, we should be able to restore it close to its original state.
On another note, a considerable number of item cards had dropped as well.
For now, we gathered only the basic ones together.
Including those obtained while working on the hidden piece and the ones we had taken from Geum Jo-han and Lee Seul-bi.
Excluding the [Observe] and [Reconnaissance] cards we had used to monitor other teams’ movements, we had:
[Return] ×19
[Observe] ×7
[Reconnaissance] ×6
[Discharge] ×16
[Protection] ×11
Almost in bundles.
Even so, Song Cheon-hye’s expression was not very bright.
Based on our experience so far, the Dragon Slayer Academy’s policy was to push students to their limits.
There was no way it had been designed for us to use items generously.
“Looks like something else is going to happen.”
“We’re going to clash for real.”
To the point where item cards would be flying everywhere.
That assumption became even more certain after checking what the draconic soldiers had dropped.
As expected from the high difficulty of defeating them, the cards were one or two ranks higher in level.
[Bombardment] ×1
[Duplicate] ×1
Some of them were appearing for the first time.
[Concealment] ×2
▷Conceals the appearance of allies within range.
▷Duration: 1 minute
▷Cannot be detected by radar below B rank.
Area-wide stealth.
With just one card, dozens of people can receive the effect.
One minute may seem short at a glance, but for superhumans who surpass human limits, it is more than enough time.
It is enough time to approach from beyond the line of sight, climb a hill, and reach right in front of the enemy’s main base.
With this card, the attackers’ geographical disadvantage is largely resolved.
Song Cheon-hye’s face turned serious.
“The other teams must have gotten it too.”
“At least one for sure.”
Each team had faced the same six draconic soldiers.
They probably suffered more damage than we did, but since there were dozens of first-years, they must have managed to take them down somehow.
System-wise, at least one would be guaranteed, and there was a high chance of additional drops as well.
This time, I asked a question.
“What rank is the radar?”
“It’s C rank, and raising it any further…”
“Seems like a waste.”
To counter [Concealment], we would have to raise the radar to B rank, and from that point on, the amount of crystals required would be no joke.
Which meant we would fall behind in the tower competition by that much.
“So it’s better to just hold out?”
“Probably. They won’t rush in recklessly either.”
To raid the opponent’s base, they would have to commit manpower and cards on a scale close to an all-out battle.
But as things stood, there were too many variables in terms of cards, and the odds were ambiguous at best.
Song Cheon-hye let out a small sigh.
“Still, I can’t feel at ease. That’s one more thing to worry about.”
Even if the probability was low, there was always that one-in-a-thousand chance.
And if that one-in-a-thousand were to happen, the target would almost certainly be our team.
The other two teams were bound by a non-aggression pact, after all.
But I replied indifferently.
“Do you think it’s just us?”
With the appearance of [Concealment], the geographical advantage had disappeared for the other teams as well.
If anything, the fact that they could not predict my next move would weigh more heavily on them.
Since the topic had come up, I pulled up the side quest.
▷Objective 3: Destroy the enemy team’s Crystal Tower (-/1)
I should take care of this soon as well.
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