Chapter 52

Merciless Measures

Northern Wall of Aulrax.
At the top of the watchtower overlooking the northern hunting grounds—
Three elderly men stood by the window, gazing toward the field below.

The dusk was falling, and the landscape outside was soaked in golden light—serene, almost sacred.
Until—

"Good heavens! What in the world is happening?"
"D-Don't tell me the beast prison has collapsed?"
"…Hah."

The old men's jaws hung open, unable to close.
Shock and disbelief froze their weathered faces.

Because right before their eyes—

Kwaarrrr...

The great slab of rock atop the hill began to tilt and tumble, crashing downward in a thunderous roll.

Boom!

Even from a distance, the rising cloud of dust was immense—visible clear across the field.

The deputy leader of the Revolutionary Army, Erek Kaid, frowned slightly.

"Hmm. That area… isn't that where the girls' dormitory stands?"

Immediately, another elder reacted.

"Heavens! Then our young girls—are they hurt? We must send a rescue team from our Kishiris Cathedral at once!"

The speaker, her long white hair tied in a single braid, was Grace Miller, the High Priestess of the Kishiris Order—
A sect that ordained only women as clergy, and thus could not ignore such a disaster.

But—

"Be calm, Grace."

Bamilo Dimarc stepped back from the window, his tone composed.
He stood here as the representative of the Aeolem Grand Church.

He too had been startled by the rockslide—
Yet realization soon dawned on his face.

So… the Third Prince is making his move.

Understanding this, he gave a small, grim nod.

Grace's pale cheeks, meanwhile, flushed red with anger.

"A boulder fell on the girls' dormitory! Our children could be dead or injured!"

"..."

They were girls who had just completed their coming-of-age rites—
Yet she cried out as if her own daughters had been harmed.

Bamilo studied her in silence, thoughts stirring.

Does High Priestess Grace know about that mad plan?
And did she approve it—or simply turn a blind eye?

…He could not yet be sure.
Whatever rivalry existed between their two orders, they had long stood together under the Revolutionary banner.

And if his suspicion proved true—

It would be… terribly sad.

At that moment, Erek Kaid finally spoke.

"High Priest Bamilo is correct."

His words firmly cut off any attempt at interference from the Kishiris Order.

"You may not dispatch a rescue team, High Priestess Grace."

"Erek—you too?!"

"You know the rules as well as I do. Once the Ritual of the Crimson Wind begins, everything must be accomplished by the hands of the children themselves."

"But a rockslide on that hill has never happened before! Is losing our children to a natural disaster part of our tradition now?"

A sharp retort—
Yet the archmage only smiled faintly.

"Fortunately… it seems no child was killed or even injured. So you needn't worry further."

"...!"

It was no empty claim.
If spoken by a great mage, it was doubtless based on magical detection—
and Grace could only fall silent.

"Then I suppose… that's a relief."

With a sigh of relief, she stepped back.

Meanwhile, Bamilo watched her every expression with care.
If she were to propose rebuilding the girls' dormitory—

Then it would be almost certain.

The culprit behind the Ultra Wave incident had exploited the gender-divided dormitories to target the boys.
If Grace now mentioned rebuilding the collapsed lodge—

She would be aligned with the perpetrator's intent.

But she said nothing of the sort.

"Very well, then. Let us continue to observe."

With that, the High Priestess of the Kishiris Order withdrew.

For now—nothing was certain.

As the sun sank in orange glow, silence settled once more between the three elders.

Until—

"By the way, High Priest Bamilo."
"…?"

Erek Kaid turned toward him, his eyes unreadable.

"What is it, Erek?"

The archmage blinked vacantly—

"That boy… Shan Aledro, was it?"

"...!"

"What kind of child is he? I find myself curious."

A question Bamilo had never expected struck him squarely.

That was a sprint.

The moment the six of us burst from the rocky crevice, we ran like wild, terrified horses.

"Uwaaaaahhh!"
"S-Sui—no, En! Faster! Run faster!"
"Shark! Take care of Baruel!"
"Got it!"
"Guhhh—guhhhhhh!"

Even Hekster, still reeling from losing one of his Cores, and Baruel, whose body lagged behind the others, clenched their teeth and ran.

It was pure instinct.
Anyone who had felt that monstrous, quaking presence behind us—
would have done the same.

"It's coming! It's coming!"

Even I—who knew exactly where the boulder peak would fall—
could think of nothing but running as far away as possible from the terror that shook the earth.

How long did we run through the forest?

Kwooooom!

A shock like the world itself tearing apart slammed into us.

"Ugh—!"

I grabbed Baruel's shoulder as we crashed to the ground.
When I finally raised my head—

"..."

The trembling had vanished, as if it had never been.

Then, glowing before my eyes—

[Sudden Event: "An Eye for an Eye, a Rock for a Rock" has ended.]
[You have earned 3 Strength Points as a success reward!]
[Unique Achievement: "Terrain Modifier" achieved.]
[New Title acquired: "Imitator of the Gods."]

"Phew…"

I exhaled a long breath of relief and stood up.

I hadn't thought we would fail—
but still.

Wow… that was the most intense moment since I arrived in this world.

Escaping from a collapsing mountain of stone—
I'd only ever seen that on a movie screen.

Never thought I'd be the one doing it.

Once was enough for a lifetime.
At least I filled up my lacking Strength stat.

When everyone had collapsed to the ground, clutching their still-pounding chests—

"—Team leader."

Baruel gestured toward me.
To my surprise, his eyes were sparkling with genuine excitement.

"What?"

"Do you think the Drake is dead? Or alive?"

"…That's what you're curious about right now?"

"Of course! Naturally!"

Typical mages.

You can't even stand properly, and that's what's on your mind?

What kind of curiosity makes someone wonder about a monster's survival while their legs are still trembling?

I clicked my tongue and answered.

"Obviously it's alive. It's a Rock Drake, isn't it?"

At that, Tyrbaen, having finally regained her composure, suddenly cut in.

"He's right. My unlucky little brother is right for once… It's a Rock Drake."

There was a reason the Rock Drake was also called the Stone Dragon.
It commanded the power of rock—and could not be harmed by rock.

That was why it could shake this massive hill as if it were its own clenched fist—
and why, even if the hill collapsed, it would survive unscathed.

"If anything, my poison spell might've been the real danger. It was a grass-element toxin—must've hurt like hell."

Tyrbaen rose, brushing the dust from her cloak as she muttered.

It wasn't mere arrogance.
Just as swordsmanship had its elemental compatibilities, so did magic—each with its strengths and weaknesses.

Naturally, the Rock Drake is a monster of the rock element.

And grass magic was its greatest counter.
Anyone who'd seen weeds force their way through cracks in stone could understand the relationship easily enough.

I smiled faintly.

"It didn't die, but I bet it's feeling pretty spicy right now."

Thanks to that, the Rock Drake had vomited up the young Grol it swallowed whole—
and in the chaos, I'd managed to obliterate the eastern girls' dormitory.

"Everyone got their legs back? Then let's go check it out."

I led the group forward again.
Just around the bend of this rocky hill lay the spot where the eastern dormitory once stood.
The collapsed cliff would have landed right there.

"En's magic really is incredible, but…"

Still walking on shaky legs, Baruel glanced at me, eyes shining again.

"Team leader, how do you know all this stuff? You look about my age!"

"Hmm."

Now he was showing that typical mage's curiosity.

Well, I can't blame him.

No one had told the kids that a Rock Drake was imprisoned here,
and only someone of Tyrbaen's level could've guessed the kind of destructive power it possessed.

So it made sense that the young mage's eyes were gleaming.

"I've only ever seen tactics like this in books!"

"Books? What kind of books?"

"You know, war-hero tales!"

Ah. Biographies of heroes, huh?

"Pffft—ahahahahaha!"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing at Baruel's overly earnest praise.
Then, avoiding his bashful gaze, I said,

"The reason I know all this is…"

I couldn't help but smirk.

Because I'm a hardcore gamer who poured my entire soul into this game.

Of course, I couldn't exactly say that, so I patted Baruel on the shoulder and said,

"I just prepare thoroughly and dedicate myself to one field."

Meaning, I mastered every strategy, every trick—
and spent every waking moment grinding through this game.

Not exactly a lie.

I was grinning awkwardly at the thought when—

"Dedicate yourself, my ass! What a load of crap!"

A sharp curse cut through the air, followed by a burst of killing intent.

Eve Wyler!

Instinctively, I activated a skill.

[Evasion Technique: Gale Commission]

Just like I'd done countless times in the Tomb Ruins dungeon,
I twisted my body to dodge the incoming arrow aimed straight at me.

Judging by its line toward my neck, it would've drawn blood for sure—

But in that instant—

[Defense Technique: Defensive Cut]

Ting!

A flash of silver clashed in midair.
Kals, lightning-fast, had drawn his sword and deflected the arrow.

"How dare you! To shoot an arrow in such sacred grounds!"

And of course, he just had to throw in that ridiculously clichéd knightly line.
He even looked surprised after saying it.

This loyal idiot… seriously.

Still, thanks to him, I avoided getting nicked.

"Appreciate it, but your mouth's getting confiscated later."

I patted Kals on the shoulder and stepped forward.

"Everyone, battle ready."

The team tightened their grips on their weapons and shifted positions.
Kals stood half a step behind me, blade pointed ahead.

I called out toward the brush.

"Hey! Guess you're finally in the mood to talk?"

Rustling followed—
and then, slowly, she emerged.

The stubborn player who'd rejected cooperation to follow her own strategy.
The one who'd just botched it spectacularly—

A defeated player.

That was the kind of dynamic between us now.

Eve trembled with fury, bowstring drawn, eyes burning.

"You bastard!"

Quite the colorful insult.

But as I glanced around, I noticed something.

"You came alone… So you're here to talk after all, huh?"

Eve was silent for a moment.
Her anger and calculation wrestled within her—

"…Yeah."

Finally, suppressing her rage, she lowered her bow.
Kals eased back a step, and I nodded toward the trail.

"Let's talk on the way to the cabin."

At last—
we could finish the conversation we hadn't been able to have the night before.