Page 48

(Melon)

Melon spaced out for a moment, and after she came back into herself, she noticed that an unnerving quietness had surrounded her.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you alright?" Melon lowered her out-stretched fist that she just attacked with, her face and tone is filled with guilt and regret.

The rowdy crowd from before, as well as the upperclassmen from various branches that were spectating, were all hushed.

There was a metallic clatter; *Clink-Clank* *Clink-Clank* *Clink-Clank* as if something metallic was falling apart.

The buckler that the proctor held onto had a hole, and fractures started to spread from the hole, until not only did the magical barrier shatter, but the buckler itself fell to pieces as well.

The proctor, Sir Akberv also found that he had fallen into the spectator seats, and had to shakily raise himself from the ground. Despite being covered in dirt and dust, he was mostly unscathed.

Well, physically, at least. Mentally is another question altogether. His emotion was roiling like a stormy ocean.

He never imagined that slacking off from official work, being a proctor just to escape the monotony of military work, would let him meet someone like this.

This 'test taker' in front of him possesses power that no one present could compare to. Perhaps she was on his level? Maybe not; seeing how she sent him flying with just a punch. This must mean that she... is perhaps on the same level as the princess!?

If it were not for his sharp intuition urging him to immediately activate his high ranked barrier [Arte] to defend, he might have been... No, if this wasn't just a test and was actual real combat, then he would already be dead.

In just a few seconds, Sir Akberv's mind was racing with multiple thoughts.

Such as: What is this lizardkin's affiliation? Is she affiliated with the seven great nobility? No, that can't be. He himself has never heard of anyone called 'Melon', and even if she was a trump card, none of the factions would be playing her at this moment.

Could she be from the Grella sect? Unlikely, those people are often extremely preachy...

"What is your purpose in coming to this academy?"

"I'm here to learn how to use [Arte]s, sir proctor."

After the entrance exam, I successfully received the student certificate, and then the important day that I looked forward to came around.

Following Mr. Gabab's footsteps, Ms. Mirabelle pulled me to the activity area square, which was already filled with many adventurer groups.

"Little Melon, this is your first time joining a raid, be sure to follow us closely." Said Mr. Lawrence.

"Melon is way stronger than you, what do you mean? She technically doesn't need our protection." Ms. Mirabelle's words made me feel a bit embarrassed.

Mr. Gabab walked straight towards an officer wearing bureaucratic clothing, to check in for us. I heard from Ms. Mirabelle that 10 groups are participating in the raid, and there are 5 people in each team. There are also 10 healers, and one is assigned to each group.

"Don't underestimate me, although I know water and wind magic, I'm specialized in light-type magic, after all, I am a priest."

Is that right? I thought she was like Ms. Grace, an elementalist.

...Ms. Grace should be much stronger than these people, right? I'm not sure of the answer to this question, since I don't really know many [Mages].

As for [Fighters], I also haven't really encountered a lot of them, am I considered strong? I'm not completely sure myself, but after the entrance exam, the main instructor told me something like this, "You won't be able to learn what you want in this school."

The main instructor also asked me some questions I didn't really get, like asking for my name again and where I'm from. It's not really a secret, so I answered truthfully.

Ahh, I'm getting off topic, I should just focus on what's in front of me right now.

"Hey, are you really not thinking of becoming an adventurer?" Said Ms. Mirabelle, sitting beside the fountain.

Yes, rather than saying I'm experiencing the life of an adventurer, it's more like I'm filling the empty spot in [Eyes of the Night Cat B-team], Ms. Mirabelle says that the team only has four members, and has been missing one more for a long time. If I can help out, it would increase the chance of success.

As for the reason for me joining the raid, it is to prepare a perfect coming-of-age gift for Master. I'll get the money for the gift if I successfully finish the job.

...If it wasn't for the gift, I wouldn't leave Master's side. I am neglecting my duty as a slave by joining the raid.

Even though it's like I'm tricking Master, this is a gift for him, so excuse me for doing so, and I'll apologize to Master later (even though I would probably get praised according to Master's personality).

"I need to serve my Master, please allow me to refuse."

"Well, we already guessed it would be this answer, you can always come here to help out if you want, we welcome you with open arms."

Even though I haven't officially joined this guild, I often visit [Eyes of the Night Cat] because of Master, if Master is a part of the guild, I will also work my hardest for it.

I carefully listen to the surrounding noises, not because of vigilance, but out of curiosity, after receiving the skill [Hearing Enhancement], these things became much easier.

"So, about today's mission. Though the reward is high, the danger is high too, I wouldn't have come if it weren't for the Adventurer's Guild recruiting so tensely."

"Yeah... this is my first time subjugating a dragon."

"According to sighting reports, it should be a two-legged dragon, which is a rare beast, it's said to have the size of a house! Rank B teams like us joining a special A-level raid, it's almost like we're playing with our lives."

"Being an adventurer is already a dangerous job, we really should stop complaining about that."

"Right, I heard the second princess will also participate—"

"Oh? That [Diva of the Wind]?"

There are a lot of gossip here, but the content is basically the same as what Ms. Mirabelle told me. The goal of this special A level raid mission is to slay the two-legged dragon appearing on the mountain near the Capital.

Adventurers' missions are categorized into two types, "Normal Raids" and "Special Raids".

"Normal Raids" target those mobs that need to be cleaned up once in a while. For example, the periodic goblin raids, slime raids, etc. Master would even give me some slime cores to exchange for money at the guild while I was still living in the secret base. So normal raids are so commonplace, that even non-adventurers are encouraged to help.

These missions can be completed repeatedly, and you see them on the guild board occasionally, the difficulty level rarely goes above D, and C level missions are usually special exceptions.

"Special Raids" are more special missions, normally targeting more special entities, like suddenly appearing monsters, a mutant, a rare monster, etc. The reward is generally higher.

Apart from the earth dragon suddenly appearing near the Capital, the Mountain King near Saddin is also a special raid entity.

I think there was a mass-scale raid like this against the Mountain King twenty years ago.

But the raid took a long time due to the Mountain King's sneaky nature, many assaults had failed, and the raid team even camped in Saddin for a year.

In the end, the crop yields of Saddin couldn't support the raid teams, prices started to rise, and the mission ended in failure.

But the Mountain King has never attacked the village, which meant that his bounty never increased, so no one wants to hunt it any more.

I don't know the qualifications for the team recruitment, but I do know that [Eyes of the Night Cat B-team] was recruited by force.

The total number of people joining the raid, apart from the officers, is 53. 50 of those are people from the teams, and the other 3 are S-rank adventurers.

S-rank adventurers, they sound very powerful, since there are less than ten of those in the country... Other than that, I heard that one of them joining the raid is the princess of this country.

Princess turned adventurer... the "Diva of the Wind"?

While waiting for the announcement, I heard many stories about her.

Single Handedly defeating an entire group of mobs, the spear in her hands capable of piercing rocks... I wonder if she knows any [Arte], maybe she can teach me?

And, the person leading the raid is another S-rank adventurer.

Rowendemay Jones, also called "Boom-Stick", is a [Mage]... he seems to have been appointed to join the raid by nobles, some people also say that he's supported by nobles.

The voices talking about him are faint, and that's everything I was able to hear.

As for the third S-rank, I don't know. Almost everyone is talking about the second princess, she seems to be very famous.

Continuing to listen to the surrounding gossiping, at last, I heard what I was looking for.

"I don't really like this plan..."

"Sorry, but it can't be helped. We still have to ask you, the second princess, to be the one to explain the plan."

"...Having to listen to that bastard really drives me mad."

Listening to these words, someone walked up the stairs.

The crowd quieted down.

"Fellow acquaintances, nice to meet you. I, the second princess of Tegittan, will now explain the plan to all of you."

Immediately after that, the second princess presented the part of the plan I am most untrusting of.

This plan — is undoubtedly a one-sided pact.