Professor Thunderstep, who had previously asked, "Wasn’t there a bull? Why wasn’t it there?" when the students returned last time.
For some reason, that image suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Focus," Leehan turned his gaze away.
The spirit bull in front of him was emitting a rather unique aura.
First, there were two types of magical energy.
It was clear that one was from an enhancement spell and the other from a potion.
While it was hard to explain theoretically, the aura of an externally cast enhancement spell and the magical energy of a potion working internally were different.
And then there was another aura, similar to magical energy but on a different wavelength.
"Is it the power of the spirit?" Even though Leehan didn’t know much about spirits, he could tell that the bull in front of him was mixed with a spirit.
After all, a normal bull wouldn’t have half its body shimmering like a block of ice.
Every time it stomped its hooves, frost formed on the ground.
"Leehan. It’s staring at us. Do you think it’s going to charge? What do you think?" "I didn’t have any particular thoughts, but maybe it’s angry because we turned on the light." "......"
Derku and Jizel turned their heads to look at Leehan.
Hey! "What? It’s dark, so we need to turn on the light. The one who gets angry about that is the weird one."
"I don’t think it’s important to debate whether the spirit bull is weird or not right now..."
"Ask Choi if there’s a way to deal damage to it, Jizel." 'Is this still not over?' When Jizel relayed Leehan’s words to Derku, Derku let out a deep sigh.
"Probably regular physical attacks won’t work on the spirit part. Enchanting a weapon with magic is still too much..."
Among monsters, there were quite a few that regular attacks didn’t work on.
To deal with such creatures, adventurers often carried weapons enchanted with magic or learned how to imbue their weapons with magical energy.
"Is there anyone here who knows how to imbue even a little bit of magical energy into a weapon?" At Leehan’s question, Derku raised his hand.
Jizel also raised his hand.
Leehan, who had asked the question, raised his hand as well. ...
Jizel looked at the two as if they were crazy.
Derku was one thing, but why did Leehan, who wasn’t even from a knightly family, know how to imbue magical energy?
"I was talking to Derku, but you answered too. Anyway, if all three of us can attack, isn’t that a good thing? Let’s spread out and stab it."
In fact, it was quite fortunate that these three were in the same group.
Both Leehan and Derku were among the top students in the swordsmanship class, and while Jizel was slightly weaker compared to the two, he still had formidable swordsmanship skills.
Of course, their relationship was terrible.
"Ask who’s going to stand in the middle, Choi."
In a situation like this, if they started approaching, the spirit bull was highly likely to dislike the one in front.
Leehan asked, showing respect for the leader.
"Shouldn’t the leader stand in the middle? Can you tell Derku that?" Jizel answered with his middle finger.
Derku sighed.
"Rock-paper-scissors?" "Rock-paper-scissors."
Leehan ended up in the middle.
Jizel on the right, Derku on the left.
Derku thought it was the first time he’d seen Jizel smile so brightly.
Fortunately, the spirit bull didn’t charge even after they turned on the light.
The three students’ strategy was simple.
They would spread out in three directions and approach until the spirit bull reacted.
Once it started reacting, the targeted student would focus on dodging, while the other two would deal damage. 'The problem is dodging.' In hunts like this, the one who lures and dodges is more important than the ones who stab.
Leehan lamented his own inability to avoid being in the middle. -■! The spirit bull, which had only been stomping its hooves until now, let out a chilling roar, exhaling icy breath.
It was clearly a warning to "back off."
Leehan stopped approaching and instead used magic.
"Spring forth, move!" A water orb sprang into the air and flew toward the spirit bull.
The bull, which had been standing still, flinched and moved.
The water orb exploded on the ground.
Splash, splash! "Amazing... wait."
Derku, who had been admiring Leehan’s magical skill, suddenly felt something was off.
The direction Leehan had shot the water orb seemed a bit strange.
It was as if he had aimed downward, forcing the bull to move to the right...? 'That damn kid is really something.' Jizel drew his twin swords.
If Derku had noticed, there was no way Jizel hadn’t.
In fact, Jizel had also planned to lure the bull toward Leehan if it came his way.
Thud! Jizel leaped diagonally backward to redirect the bull’s attention back to Leehan.
Although he was momentarily cornered, it was obvious who the bigger threat was to the bull.
Despite his cleverness, it was like digging his own grave. -■■! Provoked, the spirit bull turned sharply and began charging toward Leehan and Jizel.
"I vanish into the night!" "...?!" Leehan’s figure disappeared.
Jizel didn’t even have time to curse.
He had to draw his twin swords and prepare to face the bull.
He swung the sword in his right hand to draw the bull’s attention and aimed precisely at its jaw with the sword in his left.
Jizel passed by the bull like a skilled bullfighter, dealing damage. 'Tch.' Jizel clicked his tongue at the sensation in his fingertips.
It seemed he had hit the spirit part, as the bull showed no sign of damage.
Frost formed on his sword, but the part of the bull he had attacked instantly regenerated.
Screech-! The bull turned with an irritating sound.
Despite its massive size, it was incredibly agile.
Jizel shook his head and waved his sword as if daring the bull to come again.
Crash!!!! At that moment, the bull was sent flying sideways as if it had been hit by something.
Leehan revealed himself, having released his invisibility spell.
The sturdy wooden sword in his hand had completely shattered. "......" "......"
Of course, it might sound like an excuse, but Leehan had a reason for redirecting the bull’s attention toward Jizel.
For Leehan to make a proper attack, someone had to draw the bull’s attention.
Even if he had told Jizel, there was no way Jizel would have believed him...
It was painful, but he had no choice but to show it through results.
"Is this really okay, Leehan?!" "It’s fine! It’s not like we’ll be in the same group again after this class anyway!" Leehan replied boldly and chased after the bull in his invisible state.
"Feet, tread the ground!" Leehan’s muttering turned into a spell that enveloped his entire body.
His already sharpened vision became even clearer, and the bull’s movements seemed to come into focus.
Whoosh! It hadn’t been long since Leehan had broken his sword, but he mercilessly poured magical energy into it.
Thanks to the bull’s focus on Jizel, he had enough time.
Leehan swung his sword at the bull before it shattered.
Of course, the sword broke upon impact.
Crash!!!! But the effect was clear.
The bull was sent flying.
Leehan shook his numb hand and shouted before the bull could get up.
"Now! Let’s get out of here!" "Y-yeah."
Derku couldn’t bear to look at Jizel’s expression.
It was too terrifying.
The goat-like Angora looked worriedly at the exit.
Having gone in and come out first with Group 3, Angora was very concerned about Group 4. "What if Wodanaz uses Derku again?" "Don’t worry. Moradi is there. Moradi will handle it well."
"Right? Moradi is there."
Everyone said that, but their expressions were still worried.
It felt like putting a wolf and a sheep in the same place! So when the three of them walked out, the students couldn’t help but sigh in relief. 'Thank goodness!' "You’re out, Derku!" "Moradi, you worked hard!" "......" "......" "???" But the friends who came out noticed that the atmosphere in Group 4 was a bit off.
Wodanaz was usually expressionless and cold, but even Derku looked extremely awkward, unsure of where to put himself.
And Moradi... for some reason, he gave off a murderous vibe, as if he’d kill anyone who spoke to him.
Angora was too scared to say anything.
"Ah. Angora."
"Derku! Did you dodge well?" "Yeah. I dodged well. How did you guys handle it?" Derku asked curiously.
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem like the other groups had solved it the way Leehan had.
"We grabbed a torch from the corner and threw it, then ran out while it was distracted."
"We summoned flames and threw them at it, then ran like hell to get out."
"Hey. You guys are smart. We didn’t have that ability, so we took turns luring the bull and barely found the exit."
The students from each group shared their stories.
Some groups had used their heads to solve it cleverly, while others had brute-forced their way through.
With each story, Derku’s expression grew stiffer. 'Come to think of it, the professor said to face it and then exit, not to take it down, right?' Professor Ingeldel hadn’t said a word about defeating it, but Leehan and Jizel had been so caught up in discussing how to take it down that Derku had gotten swept up in the mood.
The next groups came out one by one.
Some students emerged with their cloaks or clothes covered in ice, looking miserable.
"You all did well. I told you to face it and exit, but some groups even subdued it. That wasn’t the original plan, but since you did such an excellent job, I can only praise you."
At Professor Ingeldel’s words, the students buzzed with excitement.
Some students tried to ask Jizel, "Jizel, did you do it?" but seeing how foul his mood was, they backed off.
"How did it feel to face a monster?" "It was stronger than I thought. And faster too."
"I didn’t expect my attacks to just not work."
The White Tiger Tower students shared their thoughts as they came to mind.
The elf professor nodded and replied.
"I’m sure everyone felt the same." "......"
Derku listened to the professor’s words and wondered where exactly his group had gone wrong.
"Everyone must have felt something different. But while escaping the monster, you must have realized one thing. That there’s no need to be so afraid."
"That’s right!" The White Tiger Tower students agreed.
Even though it was just about running away, facing the monster directly had made them realize that their fear had lessened.
To overcome fear, you must face it head-on.
"Facing a monster is fundamentally the same as swordsmanship. Stay calm, figure out what kind of opponent you’re dealing with, and if you can’t win, think about how to escape. I’m glad you all learned a lesson today that can’t be taught with words."
Derku agreed with the professor’s words.
Of course, his group had just gone in swinging...
"By the way, this semester’s classes will proceed with the groups we formed today. The balance is surprisingly good." "......"
Derku nodded as he listened, then froze.
He looked at Leehan and Jizel.
Their expressions were similarly stiff.
Leehan asked Derku in a small voice.
"Um. Do you think it’s a good idea to apologize for what happened earlier?" "... I think it’s better to just keep me between you two..."