After roughly summarizing my connections at the Academy, I headed towards the Back Alley instead of home.
It was to gather blood before embarking on a long journey.
Once I hit the road, the opportunities for meals would drastically decrease, so I needed to eat while I could.
I also packed several glass bottles to collect blood. They were special bottles treated with magic that could preserve the quality for a long time.
The price was steep, but who cares? I was soon leaving the Empire, and I wouldn’t really need it anymore. The money I got from the Slave market was still plentiful.
Now, who should be the owner of the blood I’d collect in those bottles?
The Empire was frequently patrolled by the Knights Order, so I usually avoided civilians. Typically, the criminals lurking in the Back Alley became the targets.
‘Thinking about filling the bottles, one person might not be enough for today.’
The Back Alley isn’t on the patrol route of the Knights Order. The area I had brought down was quite large, so there were probably many criminal organizations that wouldn’t catch my eye.
I certainly didn’t know every corner of the Back Alley.
The place I primarily operated in was the Dusty Lane, an old ruin. It was the first place I stayed after entering the Empire.
And the total area of the Back Alley was larger than I expected.
When I had gone on a rampage that day, I didn’t only take down the Dusty Lane. A wider territory had been buried as ruins around there.
If there was a base for criminals, it would likely be there.
‘Still, I caused a lot of damage to the Empire during that time.’
Today, to gather some blood, I decided to do one last job for the Empire.
Before I leave, I’ll clean up the Back Alley one last time.
“······.”
In the Back Alley of the Empire, a monster eats people.
Such rumors had spread throughout the Empire. Most citizens didn’t seem to believe it, thinking it was just hearsay.
But is it really just a rumor?
To cut to the chase, the rumors about the Back Alley Monster are true. Iria was the culprit.
So, how many people truly know the truth behind the Back Alley Monster?
At the very least, criminals who frequently use the Back Alley must know. Iria thought so.
‘They couldn’t possibly not know.’
After all, we share the same Back Alley. They must have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Surely, there were those who had the misfortune of stepping into Iria’s territory and perished.
So some of them might have moved their base to another location to avoid Iria.
Finding the base hidden somewhere in the Back Alley wasn’t that difficult. Iria had better senses than a human.
I walked toward the direction where I caught the stench of filth and the sound of something.
How long did it take?
Iria encountered a group of humans gathered in a secluded part of the Back Alley.
Usually, humans who come to the Back Alley are hard to classify as civilians. It’s an area where public order has always been terrible, and since the rumors of a monster emerged, fewer people tread there.
So, it’s correct to assume that those in front of me were all criminals.
After locking eyes, I read their memories and realized they belonged to a pretty famous assassination group in the vicinity.
“What do you want?”
“You can’t be a civilian, so are you from the Empire?”
“Can’t help it if you’re in a tough spot. Just kill me.”
The men with rough appearances began to draw their weapons one by one at the sight of Iria.
Seeing them, Iria momentarily fell into memories. They reminded her of the groups that used to torment her and Riana when they first set foot in the Empire.
‘Back then, all I could do was run away in fear.’
But.
‘Things are different now.’
As they drew their weapons, Iria pulled out a dagger from her possession.
It didn’t take long for her to clean up one area of the Back Alley.
Today, the scent of blood filled the Back Alley.
*
I had eaten enough and gathered ample extra blood.
I had collected about twenty glass bottles.
Without consuming blood, I could hold out for about a week, so I had enough supplies for almost half a year.
Seeing how these small bottles could sustain me for so long, I felt the monster’s body had better efficiency than a human.
I could gather a lot of energy from a small amount.
Regardless, I had fully prepared to leave, and I still had three days left.
I wondered what the other members were doing. I remembered they were each spending their time separately.
Curious, Iria decided to check up on them, starting with Sera.
‘She mentioned being in private tutoring.’
In fact, Iria rated Sera’s talent the highest among the members of the hero party.
After all, Ariel and Klana were born into a different class from the others. They had started on a different starting line.
In contrast, Sera, born as a regular human, had managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
‘Just like Sertia from the previous Hero Party.’
In terms of individual talent, Sera might be the most exceptional. Since she recently started personal tutoring, she had learned how to handle her own power.
I was curious about how much she had grown during that time. Just then, when Iria opened the door to the Dueling Arena…
–Whoosh!
What rushed in through the slightly opened door was a bone-chilling cold and an intense heat to counter it.
The duel between Sera and Reina was fast and fierce.
It wasn’t just a simple dance of flames and frost in the center. The brief magical exchanges intertwined countless spells and tactics.
This is what a fight between mages who have reached a certain level looks like.
If you attack, you must also defend. You read the trajectory of the spells shot at you and move the mana accordingly.
Blocking spells with spells, or intercepting them with barriers spread by mana.
“Cry.”
“Twist.”
Another huge clash of spells.
Then came their respective defensive maneuvers.
Sera deflected the incoming magic with wind, while Reina erected an ice barrier to block it.
Right after defending, they promptly reposition themselves.
If a mage stands still against another mage, they become an easy target.
For Iria, who had lightly learned magic from Rena, this battle was at a level she couldn’t even comprehend.
Yet the two carried it out as if it were the most natural thing. Reina being the Empire’s general was one thing, but Sera was astonishingly brilliant.
She was currently holding her ground against the mage who had single-handedly suppressed the Seed of the Demon King during the attack on the Academy. While what we were seeing wasn’t her full power, it was still impressive.
The fight between the two no longer resembled a mere personal tutoring session between a student and a professor.
“Phew…”
Taking a step back, Reina held the Ice Sword tightly and took a deep breath.
On the half-frozen floor of the Dueling Arena, Reina stomped hard.
–Bam!
At that moment, Reina’s figure vanished.
This was an application of body reinforcement using mana. Having briefly accelerated, Reina quickly closed in on Sera.
Now that the mid-range magical exchanges were over, it was Reina’s test for Sera.
Most mages fall apart when it leads to close combat. This is because the theoretical understanding they had learned crumbles away at that moment.
This is a chronic weakness of all mages. The dilemma that mages struggle with the most when they enter the real battle.
How had Sera overcome it?
In that fleeting moment, Reina swung her sword. She then observed Sera’s reaction through the superhuman vision where the density of time changed.
If Sera couldn’t react to it, she planned to stop midway.
Reina had been giving Sera failing grades; she wanted to keep issuing the same assessment as before.
But in that fleeting moment, Sera responded.
Sera wasn’t just a mage who accumulated theoretical knowledge. Among all the students at the Academy, she had the most dueling experience.
She had fought against swordsmen, mages, and hybrid warriors alike and reacted mechanically.
It was almost as if she knew where Reina would strike.
–Whoosh!
As Sera’s eyes turned towards Reina’s sword, a fire ignited in her right hand.
Then.
She unleashed her punch towards the incoming sword.
The flaming fist of Sera collided with Reina’s sword in the middle.
A massive wave of impact erupted.
Even as flames and frost mixed to create a vast amount of steam, the two didn’t take a step back from that spot.
They stood firm until the explosion completely dissipated.
Only after a moment passed did Reina extinguish the sword in her hand and gather the mana that had spread in the air.
“…I acknowledge it.”
It was the moment when their personal tutoring, which had continued for over two weeks, finally came to an end.
Just before setting off on her journey, Sera had finally managed to earn Reina’s approval.
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