hotmtlnovel Chapter 64: Let The Hunt Begin (1)
Chapter 64: Let The Hunt Begin (1)
Chapter 64: Let The Hunt Begin (1)
Sunday evening.
After dinner, the students gathered in small groups of threes and fives to chat or relax in their rooms. Some model students were diligently preparing for tomorrow's lectures.
Ulan was one of them.
"......that's all for the announcement," said a silver-haired girl sitting next to him.
Dilia had finished her lengthy explanation. After taking a sip of cocoa with chunks of ice, she turned back to Ulan.
Do you understand up to this point?
"Um, yes, I understand," Ulan nodded.
Then he reviewed the explanations he had heard so far. Specifically, the upcoming "Practical Hunt" scheduled for tomorrow.
Monday, second week of April.
In other words, tomorrow at 6 p.m.
The practical exam for the Practical Hunt class taught by Professor Stella would commence. The location was the forest beyond the academy's north gate, where monsters of 2-star or lower roamed freely.
The students will be paired up in teams of two to hunt them down.
But it's not just about hunting.
The goal of the course was to create good hunters; and that's why the exam evaluates not only their hunting skills, but also their cooperation with their teammates and even their survival.
Perhaps for this reason, the duration of the hunting exam was notably longer than other exams.
A total of 72 hours.
Up to a maximum of three days, students had to survive in the forest, hunting monsters. They were provided with a backpack containing essential items for survival and two types of weapons. Everything else needed had to be obtained directly from the forest.
'And the final grades would be based on.......'
how long they lasted in the forest and how many monsters they killed.
That's all Dilia told him.
As Ulan recalled all the details, Dilia suddenly widened her eyes, as if remembering something, "Oh, right." It seemed she had forgotten.
"There are rewards, depending on the results."
"What kind of rewards?"
"The first-place team gets exempted from the written exam."
Ulan's eyes sparkled.
It was obvious. To someone like him, who would faint after reading just a few pages, the written exam was a terrifying ordeal, almost on par with the Trial of a Warrior.
But to be exempt?
"I guess I'll just have to go for first place."
"Yeah. We, the two of us, can do it," Dilia smiled weakly.
Afterwards, a moment of silence settled between them. Once the main conversation had ended, there was nothing left to say.
Yet, even in silence, there was a moment.
"You know, Ulan."
"Hmm?"
"What do we do now?"
It felt somewhat regrettable to part ways like this. So she coyly asked him a question. If he had some free time, why not suggest going for a walk together? That's what she thought but Ulan's response came back.
"I'm going to the library."
"The library?"
"I have a book to return."
And one more thing he had a reason to go to the library.
In about ten minutes, at 8 p.m., he had promised to meet Noah in the reading room.
She said she had something important to tell me.
Her face was uncharacteristically serious. Just as he was recalling Noah's expression from earlier in the cafeteria, Dilia replied, "Sure, I'll go too."
She didn't really have a reason to go to the library. Still, she wanted to be with Ulan more, so she offered to accompany him. Ulan, meanwhile, nodded in agreement.
"Sure."
"Yeah."
A faint smile spread across her face and they headed straight for the library.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, at that moment...
Noah was already in the reading room.
She had nothing better to do, and there were some things she wanted to organize.
Squeak!
She opened her notebook and began to write notes quickly. It was a summary of the major events that would take place during the midterm exam period.
How much time had passed?
"Okay, that's it."
After she had finished organizing everything, Noah looked satisfied.
There were two major events that would take place during the first semester midterm, and the one that Noah was most interested in is Professor Dirac's outburst.
The time would be the last Thursday in April.
and the location was Zone Two of the Fountain of Magic.
Professor Dirac comes there for a practical exam, and after giving his students a challenging task, he abruptly and mysteriously leaves.
To enter Zone Three.
A secret job to do.
and a short time later, Professor Dirac returns to Zone Two as if nothing had happened.
But not for long, as his scheduled exam time comes to an end, his body disintegrates in a sudden power surge.
And he immediately turns into a monster.
An event boss that kills indiscriminately, and a 7-star demonic beast. That's the general outline of the event.
If successful in subduing him, substantial rewards and a special key with a unique power would be obtained.
It was this key that Noah was after.
Of course, the difficulty is considerable.
The opponent was a 7-star demonic beast.
In fact, it had one of the lowest success rates in the original game. Many gamers gave up on the reward. However, Noah couldn't afford to do that, as she hadn't obtained proper rewards so far. So, she was determined to obtain this one way or another.
So this time, .......
She decided to be honest with Ulan and ask for his cooperation.
Because Ulan's strength was essential for a safe subjugation. Also, making hasty plans like last time and failing to get the reward would be problematic.
Noah made a firm resolution.
While she was contemplating this...
Ding! Dong!
the bell chimed from the clock tower, signaling 8 p.m.
For example, that the exemption from the written exam would be increased from first to third place, and that it would rain late tomorrow night.
And the moment she heard all this, Dilia abruptly turned her head, "Not worth listening to." Such absurd nonsense.Wasn't it even true in the first place?
Dismissing Noah's words as lies, Dilia completely lost interest. On the other hand, Noah didn't give up and persistently continued his speech, "Next, please accept this."
"What's this?"
"It's an amulet that tells you where the other person is. Of course, it won't be effective if they're too far away, but still, it's better than nothing."
A pair of amulets; these were specially made amulets in case the Abyss Worshippers turned the forest into a maze.
"Give one to Dilia."
"......No need, I don't need one," Dilia glanced at Noah dismissively. Meanwhile, she didn't respond. As if Dilia's opinion didn't matter.
"And this one is for Ulan."
A small pouch made of cloth.
It looked like there was something inside.
"If you ever find yourself in a predicament, open it, because there will be answers in it."
"I see. Thanks."
Unlike Dilia, whose disbelief was palpable, Ulan meekly accepted Noah's advice.
Some time later, when all was said and done, Noah looked a little relieved, "That's all I have to say."
All the measures that could be taken have been done. Now all that remained was to trust Ulan and Dilia, and wait for their safe return.
"Take care, Ulan."
"I will."
Meeting Noah's worried gaze, Ulan nodded silently.
And so, Sunday night descended.
* * * * *
The next afternoon
it was the day of the Practical Hunt exam.
Was it the fact that they would soon be leaving the academy and living in the forest for 72 hours? The students gathered at the north gate had a strange mixture of nervousness and anticipation on their faces.
And Dilia was no exception.
For 72 hours.......
She could be with Ulan.
This thought kept her awake all night.
Somehow, she couldn't sleep because of the fluttering feeling in her chest. At the moment when she, forgetting the exam, has an excited expression.
"Dilia."
She heard a low, gravelly voice.
It was Ulan's voice. Dilia turned, flushed, to greet him, but at that moment, Ulan held out something in front of her.
"Take this."
"Huh? This is......."
An amulet with a blue pattern on it.
It was the same amulet Noah had handed her yesterday in the library. Dilia frowned when she recognized it, but Ulan spoke again, "She said you just have to keep it on you."
"Do you ......really believe what she said yesterday?"
"I do," Ulan nodded without hesitation.
Noah might not be completely trustworthy, but her prophecies were as trustworthy as they come. Noah's prophecies had never been wrong before.
Perhaps because of Ulan's prompt response? Dilia looked uncomfortable. She looked back and forth between Ulan and the amulet with a frown on her face when
"Alright, everyone's here."
a cheerful voice tapped her ear.
It was Stella, the professor in charge. Arriving with the backpacks for the students, she took the podium as each item was handed out.
"Now, before we begin the exam, I'll inform you of some changes." As if she had something to say, Stella continued, "First of all, regarding the 'rewards' I mentioned last time, I've gotten a lot of feedback that first place was practically a given, so I decided to give benefits up to the 3rd place."
"Wow, really?!"
"Well, I guess it's worth it for third place, right?"
"Right. Honestly, if it's only for 1st place, it wouldn't mean much, but this changes things."
Students showed positive reactions.
Meanwhile, at that moment, Dilia's eyes widened like a startled rabbit. Because just yesterday, she had heard a similar story.
It was still too early to be surprised.
"Next, I'd like to introduce you to the people who will be protecting you for the next 72 hours. Come over here!"
Stella waved her hand and a moment later, five men and women in pure white coats revealed themselves. And the students who saw them widened their eyes.
"Those, those uniforms are......!"
"The Special Operations Unit of the Magic Department?!"
"Yes, that's right, we were originally going to enlist the help of the guards, but they told us that the task force was available, so they came to help us."
Stella replied with a smile.
As the five agents introduced themselves, Ulan muttered in a blunt tone.
"All just like Noah said."
"......."
Dilia clamped her mouth shut.
Until just 10 minutes ago, she had dismissed and laughed off these words as nonsense. But now, all the words that were laughed off had turned into prophecies. Her eyes were a mixture of surprise and bewilderment. With a shaky gaze, she clutched the amulet in her hand and tucked it away.
After a while, after the distribution of items was finished, Stella stepped down from the podium.
"That's all for now! I'll tell you about the exam as we travel to our destination."
Stella headed straight to the front of the group.
Moments later, the students left the academy under the protection of the agents of the Special Operations Unit
to the location of the hunt
toward the northern forest.
(End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . . )
Translator's Notes:-
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