“······?”
What should I say?
Feeling like I’m falling to my death in a dream?
No, that’s not quite right since I wasn’t dreaming.
Anyway, I opened my eyes because something felt off.
*Clatter clatter…*
The carriage was occasionally shaking and going at a steady speed.
I looked back and saw the other carriage following closely.
But an annoying sound kept ringing in my ears, leaving an uncomfortable sensation.
If I were used to Schlus’ body by now, I could tell right away what it was.
Someone was interfering with the mana around us, editing it.
In other words, they were weaving a spell to activate magic.
‘Who is it?’
Is it a student or Sergey trying to use magic?
But none of the people in this carriage seemed to be trying to cast a spell.
Could it be from the carriage behind?
No, that wasn’t it either.
The mana wave was coming from the right.
It was from that thicket.
*Boom!*
“Heehee!”
In that instant, the carriage suddenly flipped forward.
The horses screamed as they were sucked into the pit, and the front wheels followed suit, tipping over.
As a result, I bumped my forehead against the front seat…
Is this a trap?
“Ah. Is everyone alright? Stay still…”
Just then, Sergey was getting up and trying to calm the students with a casual laugh when…
*Puff!*
“What?! Smoke?!”
“Everyone calm down! Don’t get up from your seats!”
White smoke spread everywhere.
The smoke quickly filled the area, obscuring anything beyond 10 meters.
‘Ah… damn it.’
Only then did I realize what was happening.
A bandit ambush.
Why had I forgotten such an important thing? Well, that’s because it wasn’t addressed in the original story.
And why are bandits appearing now, you ask?
In the original, those guys were torn apart by the intelligence agency tailing Hertlocker without anyone noticing.
“What is it, Professor?”
“Are they bandits?”
“Everyone be quiet! We need to focus on the sounds!”
Sergey shouted with an irritated voice.
Well, with the students’ lives at stake, he couldn’t help it.
At that moment, I felt a chilling sensation behind me.
This massive mana…
There could only be one other person besides Sergey.
This crazy guy is about to launch a spell.
Just as I was about to dismantle the spell, a good thought came to mind.
“Eight o’clock direction!”
*Boom!*
As soon as I yelled with all my might, a thunderous noise erupted, threatening to tear my eardrums.
This bastard.
I didn’t think he could hit that hard with one shot.
Sure enough, Sergey and the students were staring back at me with their mouths agape.
I sighed and turned to look behind me.
“Ugh.”
The strong wind had already cleared the smoke in the area, and the ground was scorched a deep red in the eight o’clock direction.
This looked familiar.
The flame magic Aintz had cast on me.
It was exactly a powered-up version of that spell.
“Assistant! Keep an eye on the kids! I’m going to check it out!”
Sergey jumped up and headed into the thicket.
Soon he came back with a bewildered expression.
“It seems the bandits have been wiped out.”
“Wow…”
Even the students looked dazed, unable to believe it.
At this point, it was about time to step forward.
“Hahaha! I shot it! I shot it! Can you see that crater? Whoa! What unbelievable power!”
“………”
I was wondering why he hadn’t come out.
Sure enough, Aintz was bragging loudly.
I wanted to smack him on the head right away.
“Aintz.”
“Oh! Schlus! Of course it’s thanks to you pointing out the direction! Thank you! Your keen insight and my magical power combined… Whoa! It was awesome, wasn’t it? A complete dream team!”
“………”
Dream team, huh? More like a disaster duo.
I was about to scold him when he started talking nonsense again.
“Aintz. What would you have done if I hadn’t pointed out the direction?”
“Well, I obviously wouldn’t have shot it…”
“When I told you the direction, your spell was already in the activation stage. Am I wrong?”
“Uh… But I would have shot it anywhere!”
“In a situation where visibility is zero due to smoke? What if an innocent person was in the path you shot?”
“No way there could be a person on this mountain road…”
“Well, that’s uncertain.”
“………”
Aintz slumped his shoulders and slowly shut his mouth.
He seemed to accept it but didn’t quite understand.
He looked like a child all excited and chatting when he got scolded.
What a guy. Awakening?
Maybe I had too high expectations.
“Great power comes with great responsibility. Remember that, Aintz.”
“……… Okay.”
I spat out some slightly embarrassing words.
If I had said that in reality, it would have been pretty embarrassing, but no one in this world would know that line.
Aintz turned away, pouting as if he didn’t like the situation.
And I realized I had no right to give him such a lecture.
I might have looked a bit ridiculous.
“Haha. Schlus has a point, but still, in the end, we did well, so how about we all give Aintz a round of applause?”
“Wow! Wow…”
Sergey, who had been watching with bated breath, intervened as he was sweating profusely.
Good timing for mediation.
Yes. Ultimately, it was true we had taken out the bandits without any damage.
I was about to clap while smiling coolly when…
*Creeeak…* *Boom!*
I heard something falling.
Turning around, I found a thick tree, like a baobab, had fallen and crushed the second carriage.
The horses pulling it were caught under it as well.
They didn’t even get a chance to scream and turned into jerky.
“Th-there’s a wildfire!”
“What?!”
At the urgent voice, I turned my head to see flames had started in the bushes.
Wow… damn.
I was about to go insane.
.
.
.
“I’m out of mana…”
“I can’t cast any more magic!”
“Huff… Hah… Good job, everyone!”
Under Sergey’s and the assistant’s calm coordination, we began to surround the area where the wildfire had started and started to extinguish it from the outside.
After an hour of dozens of students blasting water, we finally succeeded in putting out the flames completely.
Even Trie, who couldn’t use water magic, helped chop down surrounding bushes that could catch fire with an axe.
Meanwhile, Aintz, who had exhausted all his mana, was restlessly standing still.
“Hahahaha… Well, there was a little commotion, but it’s better than having someone getting hurt by the bandits!”
Still, Sergey seemed to be trying to brush it off with a laugh.
Well, the damage amounted to all the students running low on mana and one carriage getting totaled along with the horses.
“Everyone get on the first carriage! It might be a bit cramped, but still…”
Sergey couldn’t finish his sentence as he walked to the overturned carriage’s pit.
Why’s he acting like this?
We all walked over, puzzled, and looked into the pit.
“Heehee… Hya!”
“Oh…”
The horses were all struggling to stand upright, pierced by stakes stuck in the bottom of the pit.
This is bad. They won’t be able to walk anymore.
That means…
“Haha. Should we skip a semester and start marching class from today?”
“Excuse me?!”
We have to walk. To Whist Forest.
There’s still at least 10 km to go.
I suddenly felt like sitting down.
*
10 km?
If you walk at a good pace, it’s actually not that long.
Anyone who’s served knows that.
But the problem is-
*Huff… Hah…*
“Professor… Are we there yet?”
“Almost there! Just a little more! Hahaha!”
“I’ve heard that ten times already…”
That I have to take these weaklings with me.
The pace kept alternating between fast and slow, wearing me out quickly.
But since I knew panting or walking with a crumpled posture would only waste more vitality, I didn’t look too exhausted on the surface.
“Huh. The results of the training are showing.”
“………”
Seeing that, did Trie mistakenly think we were gaining strength? She proudly puffed up her chest.
No way that could be true.
I shook my head and opened the stats window.
[Displaying Stats.]
[Vitality: 17]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 5]
[Physical Strength: 5]
[Mana: 1]
[Mana Sensitivity: 1]
[Mana Sensitivity: 75]
[Computational Power: 48]
‘Wait, seriously?’
Wasn’t my vitality stat 15 before?
It had quietly risen to 17.
Now that I think about it, I had unconsciously believed that stats were fixed values.
The stats I had set were merely the values from the beginning of the novel, not absolute.
In cases like vitality, strength, and agility, they could be raised just through exercise without any enlightenment or special insight.
Realizing this left me with an oddly stupid feeling.
Or maybe I was just being stupid.
“Hey, everyone! We finally arrived! Now we can rest!”
“Waaaaaaa!”
Nonetheless, we ended up arriving before the sun set.
In the distance, I could see a small keeps city.
That village is supposed to be Whist Forest… not.
Whist Forest is the dense thicket behind the village.
What is the name of the village?
I can’t remember if I haven’t set it up or if it’s just that I don’t recall at all.
“Everyone be careful. Never stray off the paths. You could trigger a mana mine.”
“Eek!”
“And even if you follow the path, you must not go deep into Whist Forest. There are times when mana energy gas floods down like a current.”
“Whew!”
Now everyone probably understood why that village was up high.
Or maybe they were curious why a village like this even exists.
For common people, Whist Forest is nothing but a hazardous area, but not for scholars.
With its high concentration of mana energy and unknown magical beasts, such an environment is rare.
Thus, since long ago, when this land was part of the Trud Kingdom, scholars and merchants have been coming and going, forming a small village.
Its resident count was around 80.
A really tiny village.
“Then the exam on the first day is-”
“Professor! Please!”
“Ahaha! Just kidding, just kidding!”
“………”
That was a chilling joke.
Because if it were Sergey, I could totally see him giving a surprise exam and making us fight magical beasts with drained mana and vitality.
For some reason, people felt a bit more dangerous than in the original.
“An inn has been prepared, so everyone rest well tonight.”
“Yes, Professor!”
As expected of the Imperial University, they splurged here too.
All the students would be assigned separate but small rooms.
So, there was no feeling of cramming together like during a university MT.
But on a tiring day like today, I doubt anyone would want to gather and chatter.
I also comfortably washed up and flopped down onto a chair.
‘I suppose I’ll go looking for the enlightenment tomorrow morning.’
I unfolded the map I received from the innkeeper.
Since it was the same map featured in the original work with illustrations, I remembered the location of the enlightenment well.
Here. The rocky mountain to the east of Whist Forest.
The forest blocking the way is a minefield, so I can’t pass through; I’ll have to go around the lake.
To return in time for the dawn, I should leave a bit earlier.
Then I should go to sleep early tonight.
Just as I was thinking that and lying on the bed-
“Oh shit.”
I remembered something I had forgotten.
My groggy mind suddenly became alert.
This is bad.
I’m about to have someone else snatch away the enlightenment.
