Rena, having recruited two members for her team, handed the application form to her supervisor, Eve.
“Oh, the application date is tomorrow. Well, it’s going to get busy soon, so it’s better to do it quickly. Are you departing first thing in the morning tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
The exam period was just around the corner. Lucia’s opinion that missing classes during exam time would have severe consequences influenced this decision.
Even though attendance would be processed as an official absence, missing important classes was directly tied to their grades.
After reviewing the documents two more times and taking a sip of tea, Eve stamped the paper.
“Um, I’m sorry. Originally, this was my job, but I couldn’t get the schedule to work out.”
As a professor at the academy, she couldn’t be away for too long.
That’s why she announced this external practicum to provide the students with some real experience.
Since the danger level wasn’t that high and a top student was among the first-years, she thought it would be fine.
“I know you have Iria, the valedictorian, and Rena, who’s ranked seventh, along with Lucia. I can trust you all.”
“Thank you!”
“I’ll process your academy attendance as official absence during the practice period, so go without worry.”
“Yes!”
Receiving the stamped documents along with some financial support, Rena bowed her head.
Then Eve spoke one last time.
“Just be careful. You never know what might show up in undeveloped areas. Don’t push yourselves too hard, and if you sense danger, get out immediately.”
During the preliminary exploration, the cave entrance was filled only with low-level monsters, but what lay below remained uncertain.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the students, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.
*
A day had passed since submitting the application to the supervisor Eve, and it was the morning of the external practicum’s start.
Group external practicums were tough right from the beginning.
Of course, it wasn’t the exploration of the cave that was hard; it was the frequent friction among team members.
“What are you staring at?”
“W-Who says I’m staring?!”
The two immediately began bickering as soon as they met that early morning.
They weren’t close and felt awkward around each other, so their conversations were limited, but this was how it usually went.
Walking while glancing at Iria, meanwhile, Lucia was concerned about her sensitive gaze.
Due to the trauma from that day, Lucia still couldn’t make eye contact with Iria. In reality, Iria didn’t remember the events well, so she had no thoughts about it.
Though Lucia had faced significant humiliation from Iria initially, they had settled that last time.
Thus, there were no lingering ill feelings towards her. If anything, it was Lucia now who was cautious around Iria.
Regardless, the three who met at the designated location were now walking through the market street.
They were out to buy various necessary items before heading for the external practicum.
“I just need a sword. I have my personal one, so I don’t need anything else.”
Lucia displayed the sword hanging from her waist.
The funding received from Eve was around 60 silver coins, which was slightly insufficient to buy items for three people but enough for two.
With Rena needing no equipment, it seemed she would have more money left than expected.
“Iria, come here for a moment. I’ll show you how to check magic stones.”
“……”
Rena called Iria over and pointed at the items displayed in the shop.
At the direction she indicated, small stones were arranged by color.
“The red ones contain the element of fire, the blue ones the element of ice, and the green ones the element of wind. They look the same, but their prices vary by grade. Do you know how to use them?”
“No.”
Iria shook her head.
“Iria has a good handle on mana, but she has a low total amount. You’ll need magic stones. First, hold it like this…”
Rena picked one of the magic stones and gently infused it with her mana.
Suddenly, the mana inside the stone burst forth into the air. It wasn’t Rena’s mana, but the mana embedded within the magic stone itself.
Magic stones are stones filled with mana. When crushed or slightly infused with mana, the mana inside flows out.
“This way, you can use magic without expending your mana. Of course, you can only use it once, but it’s not very commonly used because it’s expensive compared to its efficiency. Still, it might be useful for you, Iria.”
“Sounds definitely handy.”
Iria, who was good at manipulating mana, thought that if she could compensate for her low total amount with magic stones, it would greatly improve her strength.
Thinking it was more useful than expected, Iria asked about the price.
“So, how much are they?”
She intended to buy a few later even if it wasn’t for the external practicum.
Rena answered Iria’s question.
“Low-grade magic stones are 1 silver coin. Mid-grade is 30 coins, and high-grade is 1 gold coin.”
The prices for magic stones were more expensive than expected.
One gold coin equals 100 silver coins. There had to be a reason people didn’t use them much.
“Let’s get about 5 low-grade ones…”
“Buy one high-grade one.”
Lucia, quietly listening to their conversation, pulled a gold coin from her pocket.
“Huh?”
Rena froze at the sudden large sum. Lucia spoke without making eye contact with her.
“You need to be prepared for emergencies, right?”
“But the money…”
“I’ll cover it, so it’s fine. You two can keep the support money.”
Lucia was the second daughter of a noble family. This amount of money was nothing for her.
And…
“Let’s get two more.”
Iria handed Rena two gold coins. She too had some funds acquired through the dark routes a few days ago.
“……Why do you both have so much money?”
“I’m Aster.”
“I’m Iria.”
“……”
Here were two students who suspiciously had a lot of money.
In the end, Rena was the only one from the poor common class. One gold coin was what her family earned in a month.
Experiencing the stark wealth gap in everyday life, Rena felt like crying.
Nevertheless, she purchased 3 high-grade magic stones and 5 low-grade ones with the funds she had.
Even after buying all that, she still had 55 silver coins left in support, so her financial situation was in the clear.
Moreover, standing next to her was the noble Lucia and the young rich girl Iria.
She thought she needed to use the support money efficiently, but now that feeling was shattered.
Being with those two dulled her sense of money.
“By the way, Iria. Don’t you need a sword? I think with the money left, you could buy one and leave right after.”
“Then just one dagger, please.”
Buying something expensive wouldn’t last against Iria’s strength and would break soon anyway. So based on experience, it was better to just buy something cheaper that could be tossed after using it once.
Hence, Iria grabbed a quick and cheap dagger.
Just when they finished preparing everything to exit the Empire.
“How about grabbing some lunch before we go?”
Rena, the actual team leader of this practicum, spoke up.
After all, for an ordinary human, it was about time to start feeling hungry.
“Alright.”
Lucia also agreed with the suggestion.
They weren’t sure how long the external practicum would last. Prolonged hunger could directly affect their performance.
However, Iria’s reaction to this wasn’t very positive. She just turned around with a stiff expression.
“Just you two eat.”
“Aren’t you eating, Iria?”
“I’m feeling a bit unwell.”
“Hmm……”
Now that she thought about it, Rena realized she had never seen Iria eat while sticking close to her.
Was Iria actually some kind of food monster? Was it really possible for someone to have physical abilities that surpassed grown men, yet not eat?
When she thought about it, it didn’t really make sense.
“……”
At that point, Iria sensed that the gazes directed at her were somehow off.
She read Rena’s memories in that instant. Right now, she was under suspicion.
Thinking she shouldn’t let it go on like this, Iria stood up briefly. Then she bought a grilled chicken skewer from a street vendor and returned.
It took a lot of courage to bring that food to her mouth. It looked quite appetizing on the outside.
After taking a deep breath, Iria took a bite.
Nyum nyum.
It was better than expected.
Her taste buds were slightly different from humans, so she didn’t perceive flavors as well, but it wasn’t bad enough that she couldn’t eat it.
“Well, it seems like Iria is going to eat that. Let’s go.”
With that, Iria was left alone.
She tossed the chicken skewer into a trash can after just one bite and quietly headed somewhere.
Behind the market streets.
Iria, having hidden herself in a place where few people wandered, collapsed.
Cold sweat poured down like a waterfall, and her entire body twisted in what felt like severe pain.
“Uugh!”
As something other than human blood and flesh entered her body, Iria’s system reacted violently in rejection.
After throwing up around four times, she later spat out the blood from her damaged body. Her vision was half-blurred, and blood smeared around her mouth.
As the blood flowed out of her, she belatedly recognized a truth.
Iria wasn’t human. Thus, it was impossible for her to blend seamlessly among humans.
For a moment, she had dreamed of becoming human.
“Hah, hah……”
She was a foolish monster.
Just because she mingled with humans for a while, she deluded herself into thinking she had truly become one of them.
As her thoughts became complicated once more, she felt the urge to retch again.
“Khak!”
Finally, after vomiting blood once more, she regained her senses.
With a cold head, she collected herself.
Wiping the blood smeared around her mouth, she brushed away her hair, soaked in cold sweat.
How long can she endure?
Today’s lunch tasted like blood.
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