Syria was sulking.
Reluctantly, I decided to calm her down.
“Well, this is all part of the plan.”
“Huh?”
“When I got angry back then, I lost control of my emotions and slammed my head into it, but the goal was also to train the kids. I wanted to distract Zerato, who would be watching us.”
“I see! So that’s the deeper meaning behind it.”
She actually believes this.
“Seeing a magician wearing an Atlerina Academy uniform and looking like a novice with only a robe on, and then having her head caught by a fellow saintess and easily slammed into a wall? It’s perfect for being underestimated, don’t you think?”
Well, to be honest, I was also quite angry.
Unlike with Noah, controlling my emotions was difficult in Olivia’s body.
“Now that I hear it, I feel a little upset.”
“Let’s just move past it. It’s just the way things are. Thanks to that, the operation was a success. Zerato is stupidly sending supplies.”
Zerato is no fool.
He had caused damage to the kingdom with his dungeon-terror methods before.
The problem is that he’s facing me and Syria right now.
“That’s true. He’s summoning monsters using the dungeon master’s mana.”
Although he must be receiving power from Clanis, the fact that he’s not holding back on mana is also true.
From my perspective, Zerato is no match for Syria.
It’s the dungeon that’s the issue.
If it were a direct confrontation, he would probably be crushed.
Right now, he’s using the dungeon as a shield.
But there are more of them than I thought.
“Anyway, there are plenty of bear warriors, right?”
“He’ll probably summon hundreds of them.”
“There are even bear knights and bears riding griffins.”
“It’s all just bears.”
“No, what does he think people are? The magician contract says we can only summon thirty bears while attending Atlerina, right?”
“What?”
“You should have anticipated this situation.”
Magicians need to think a few steps ahead.
“I should have expected this.”
“Do you think there’s a crazy person who would try to challenge the Imperial Palace after the Demon King is dead? Especially with the protective barrier designed by Lord Noah?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
“If a dungeon attack happens, the knights and soldiers of the Imperial Palace will be immediately called to action, and they’ll just shoot that new weapon, or gun, from the walls to take them all down.”
“That’s probably true.”
“Since the barrier protects them, Zerato’s attacks will never reach the defenders of the Imperial Palace.”
“The soldiers will defend with cannons placed on the castle walls.”
“Olivia!”
“What is it, Croissant?”
“The number of undead is too large!”
“Could Zerato’s mana really be that abundant?”
It seems like this won’t work.
I have no choice but to step in.
I raised my hand and conjured a small glowing orb.
“Purifying Light.”
“The orb emitted a beam of light powerful enough to illuminate the dark dungeon.”
“Where the light touched, all the undead vanished.”
“Wait, what was that magic?”
“It’s a miracle called Purifying Light. It purifies all undead within the range of the light.”
“Why are you using it now? Wow, I was the only one suffering.”
“Well, I was just respecting the way you were showing off, snapping your fingers.”
“Even though I did that much, I couldn’t step in directly.”
“Even if she made that frustrated face, I didn’t care.”
“Wow. You’re too much.”
“I’m a magician, you know? Do you think a magician can’t deal with things like that?”
‘She’s underestimating me.’
“Huh? Aren’t miracles something only saintesses can learn? Isn’t that what you were using?”
“The Imperial Church is corrupt. I’m just a saintess in name. You know that, right?”
“Thanks to me, the Imperial Church has somewhat stabilized, but right now, there aren’t many miracles available to learn there.”
“To learn high-level miracles, you’d have to go to a monastery between the Church Kingdom and the Empire.”
“Maybe the high priest will bring some miracle scrolls this time.”
“Oh. I see. But how did you learn such high-level abilities?”
“Miracles and holy magic, it’s all the same in the end. They’re just within the scope of magic.”
“As I always say, the difference is just in the terminology.”
“That’s true. But… that was really flashy, wasn’t it? Where did you learn that?”
“It’s a secret.”
“If I had to say, I created this myself.”
“It’s not even magic that qualifies as a miracle.”
“At this point, even our bear warriors could handle it.”
“Well, one of the bear knights has burst open.”
***
One of the bear knights wielding a sword had exploded.
The cotton stuffing inside spilled out.
“Oh, my poor bear!”
Syria cried as she hugged the bear knight.
“There’s no time for this.”
“But can we hold out? The saintess’s mana… We still have to fight the dungeon master. With Zerato having gained power, it’ll be tough for the saintess.”
“Why, are you planning to have fun?”
“This is your turn, too.”
‘He’s someone who’s been beaten by me several times.’
“Even if he’s gained power, he’s still far below the Four Heavenly Kings. He’s someone who’d get cut down by Adran.”
“I don’t think I’ll lose to a guy like him. But it’s infuriating.”
“Wait, what’s that?”
Syria pointed to a group of red-eyed skeletons rushing towards us.
They were black skeletons with glowing red eyes.
The red hearts embedded in their chests were particularly striking.
The heart that was the only thing attached to their otherwise bare bones was not just any heart.
That heart was a bomb.
Those are meant to attach to the enemy and self-destruct.
Since undead can be created from corpses at any time, they are efficient monsters for Zerato.
Moreover, their destructive power is immense.
“They’re self-destructing skeletons. Zerato created them.”
The creepy bastard’s self-destructing monsters gave the kingdom’s army quite a bit of trouble.
Because of this, the kingdom greatly increased their archers.
“Zerato created them?”
There were similar things before Zerato, but it’s no exaggeration to say that he was the first to mass-produce them.
Handling them is simple.
“It’s simple. Just aim for the red heart in their chest.”
Boom! Boom!
I shouldn’t use the “Light of Purification” anymore.
Every time the light touches the black skeletons, they dissolve and explode.
The skeletons only need their hearts hit to die, but if anything else hits them, they explode due to the magic engraved on them.
Even worse, since their main goal is self-destruction, they have minimal equipment.
That’s why Zerato is so damn creepy.
At least if they’re far away, I can still take care of them with the Light of Purification without being affected by the explosion, but if we get too close, the students will be in danger.
***
“Alright, students. Now is the time to test your magical abilities. Those are self-destructing skeletons. Aim for their hearts.”
They should be able to handle that.
Zerato really is an idiot.
He’s making it so easy for the enemy.
Honestly, this will help the kids improve their magical skills more than any ordinary dungeon would.
Let’s just put up a barrier or something.
“Wait, we don’t have that much mana.”
One student whined.
“Basic magic like mana bullets is enough. Just aim for the heart.”
Elemental magic uses quite a bit of mana.
I’m not sure about the students who have large mana circuits, but no one here has circuits as large as mine.
That means if they aren’t skilled with elemental magic, they’ll run out of mana quickly.
The goal is to destroy the heart.
The heart will explode with just a little push.
“Olivia! If we get caught up in this, will we die? I don’t think your bears will last long either!”
Croissant upperclassman and antagonist who leads a group of noble girls against her, muttered bitterly.
“The barrier’s already up. They’ll probably just instinctively rush at us and explode once they hit the barrier.”
Indeed, the self-destructing skeletons charged toward the students and hit the barrier, causing explosions.
“So, this is real combat training?”
Only now did Croissant seem to understand.
‘Yes, the point is to increase your magic proficiency.’
***
So, the second lesson begins.
Whizz, Bang!
The mana bullets fired from all directions hit the self-destructing skeletons.
“Saint, this takes too much mana.”
A student, whose face had turned pale from mana exhaustion, spoke.
I handed him a mana potion and decided to give him some advice.
“Don’t underestimate basic magic. Why do you think I asked Syria to bring her bears? Minimize the mana used for the mana bullets, and just aim for the heart.”
“If the Empire’s army used new weapons to fire mana bullets, wizards should be able to shoot without firearms.”
“That’s how you can use higher-level magic.”
***
At my instruction, the students began to control their mana bullets and aimed them at the self-destructing skeletons.
“Wow. You’re really good at teaching.”
Syria, who was uselessly sewing up the bear’s stuffing, was simply impressed.
“We don’t have much choice in this situation.”
“I’m not really teaching.”
In the end, life is all about real experience.
The students need to face off against that filthy dark magician themselves.
“Isn’t this something Noah would consider turning a crisis into an opportunity?”
“Ah, well, I’m not really a fan of that.”
Boom! Bang!
At first, the students struggled to control the mana bullets.
But soon enough, those with potential, or those interested in the magic department, started to produce small mana bullets and used them to destroy the self-destructing skeletons.
“Hmm, they say humans can unlock superhuman strength when they’re in a crisis.”
“That’s true.”
Syria stared at me for a while.
I wonder what she’s about to say.
After a little while, Syria tilted her head slightly.
“I see. I understand now.”
“Wait, what?”
“Nothing.”
Before I knew it, the number of self-destructing skeletons had decreased.
I couldn’t afford to relax though.
There were still more than expected.
We moved downward with shields leading the way.
“It looks like the rampage has started.”
The number of undead was unusually high.
Even if the monsters from the dungeon Adran had modified were turned into undead, this was excessive.
“It might be due to the Dungeon Core’s influence.”
The Dungeon Core is the heart of the dungeon.
‘I’m sure I destroyed it before.’
‘That means Zerato must have created a new Dungeon Core.’
‘Even though Adran made it before, it would have taken quite some time for Zerato to claim it as his.’
If he created the Dungeon Core in such a short time, then it must have been with Clanis’ help.
That madman really seems to want to target the Imperial Capital.
Well, causing a dungeon terror and cutting off the roads between the Imperial Capital and other regions would still be impressive.
“What’s going on in your head?”
“Clanis has given Zerato quite a bit of help. It’s strange, right?”
“It’s definitely strange.”
“Why is Clanis so obsessed with the Empire? If Zerato’s rampage is because of a Dungeon Core, then this is clear.”
“They’re seriously planning to destroy the Empire.”
“It’s a pretty severe move.”
“Even though the Four Heavenly Kings and their armies are strong, the Empire has been standing for 1,500 years.”
“Even though the nobles are corrupt and the royal family is weak, people still follow them for a reason.”
“The country is led by a system where the power is checked by the assembly.”
“Moreover, the Empire’s army created new weapons during their fight against the Demon King’s army.”
“In fact, the Empire is advancing.”
“The Four Heavenly Kings aren’t weak, but if the Empire gathers all its forces, even they might face total annihilation.”
Knowing this, they avoided a full-scale war against the Empire and attacked only the kingdom.
“It’s impressive, really.”
“Impressive.”
“I’m genuinely amazed.”
“What?”
“To challenge the Empire.”
“Are you talking about Zerato?”
“It’s probably Clanis behind it.”
“I’m sure of it.”
“Zerato always backs down when Clanis says something.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Why indeed? The answer is obvious.”
“To overthrow the Empire.”
“Are you crazy? Overthrow the Empire?”
“Exactly what I mean.”
“They’re taking far too many risks.”
“Of course, if they mobilize all the dungeons in the country, maybe it would work, but this is still an absurd method.”
“Could this be some new form of suicide?”