Chapter 81: Siege of Base Camp D II

Instructor Klein looked between the soot-covered girl and the damaged conduits, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure? This is some complicated stuff..."

"I understand it," Eliza continued. "After all, it was my father who built this transportation system to begin with."

The instructor’s eyes widened. "Your father...?"

"Mmm."

Another impact struck the barrier before he could decide.

CRACK—!

Another large fracture spread across the translucent dome, and this time, it failed to disappear completely, lingering there like a scar.

"We don’t have another option," Klein concluded. "Do whatever you need. We’re counting on you."

Eliza nodded and slid down the crater. She quickly dumped her bag of tools onto the floor next to the conduits, and got to work immediately.

The man then turned toward the custodian with a grim look on his face. "How do we get that mirror powered on again?"

The custodian flinched, answering meekly. "U—uhm...there n—needs to be at least the equivalent of a—a 5-Star monster core..."

"Damn it," Instructor Klein muttered. "How many normal cores is that...?"

"At least 180 average 2-Star Cores, give or take, sir."

"We’re going to be dead before that happens."

Rian quickly joined the conversation, pointing toward the wooden crates. "Not really. We have 102 cores inside already. If we can get another 80 or so..."

"Then we’ll be able to get out of here," Instructor Klein slowly realized. "We might still have a chance...!"

Rian sighed softly before turning his attention back to the rest of the camp. The remaining candidates had already taken their positions.

Gareth and the other members of Group Eleven stood behind the reinforced gate. Their weapons were drawn, and enhancement magic flowed through their bodies. Mira’s group occupied the wooden platforms overlooking them, readying their spells.

Orion’s group stood closest to the entrace. Nolan raised his enormous shield, while Celin and Lillian prepared their magic from behind him.

Group Thirteen had been assigned to remain near the center as reinforcement. Though for now, it seemed like that would only be Rian and Marie.

Julius had already begun helping Eliza with her work, stating that his affinity-less mana worked the best for these types of machines.

"You’re not worried about them?" Marie asked, glancing toward Eliza and Julius.

"We kinda need to worry about ourselves first here."

Surprisingly, the students were relatively well-organized. Despite not having a way back, no one was outwardly panicking like Rian expected them to.

However, that was only because they were in the presence of a 5-Star Knight, and no stronger monsters have shown themselves. But Rian knew that would change very soon.

BOOOOOOM—!

The barrier above the northern gate shattered.

Fragments of translucent mana scattered through the air before dissolving. The undead outside immediately surged toward the exposed wall, their weapons scraping against one another as they pressed forward.

"Prepare yourselves!" Instructor Klein shouted.

The first skeletal soldier finally forced its way through the broken wood. Gareth stepped forward and drove his spear against its chest.

CLANG—!

One of his teammates followed up by hooking the undead’s ankle with an axe, dragging it off balance. A Knight from another team pinned its sword arm against the ground, giving Gareth enough time to drive his spear through the gap, causing its body to collapse.

"Make sure to collect their cores! That’s our ticket out!" Instructor Klein yelled, easily taking out another undead before moving on to the next.

Above them, Mira suddenly raised her staff.

"There’s more coming from the southern side!"

And she had been right, as several soldiers were trying to make their way through the lake, exactly like Rian had pointed out.

They toppled on top of each other, sinking into the bottom, but those that could move were approaching them quickly.

Various bolts of different elemental energy rained down on the lake. One hit an undead’s arm and sliced it clean while another shattered another’s skull.

Rian watched the whole exchange, getting a weird feeling he couldn’t quite describe.

For candidates attempting to enter Eidelgard Academy, they were probably far above average. If he really thought about it, just one of these undead warriors would be enough to destroy a small town.

And yet...seeing the students already beginning to struggle, it gave him a new perspective on things.

Orion’s group was performing considerably better.

Nolan planted his shield in front of the broken gate and absorbed the charge of two skeletal soldiers at once. Lillian had spread a zone of Light Magic across the ground, weakening the necrotic mana of all the undeads that entered.

Celin stood on the wooden rafters above them, chanting a spell for what seemed to be the past minute before finally finishing it.

"...O flame stolen from the gods, return to heavens and rain upon mine enemies!"

〈Magia Flare — Pluvia Ember〉

[Rain of Fire]

Dozens of flaming spheres floated above her head, cascading down onto the undead below who had already been debuffed by Lillian. Each sphere that came in contact with an undead left only charred bones behind.

While this happened, Orion dodged and wove around the flames precisely, finishing off the ones that were still alive or any that managed to slip past Nolan. Driving his sword into the last undead’s skull, he stood up slowly before taking a deep breath.

"This area is clear for now!"

They were definitely stronger, but even Orion’s group needed all four members to kill them quickly. But now Rian realized he had lost all perspective after throwing fifty of them into a giant blender.

’Sylpheed’s power really is ridiculous.’

’You’re only realizing that now?’ the spirit replied smugly.

’I forgot you can read my thoughts...’

’I can,’ Sylph replied. ’But don’t forget that you can learn a spell in a matter of seconds just by looking at it once. You’re not normal either...’

’Touché.’

Rian turned toward the blue-haired girl to his right, an epiphany striking him.

’Wait...doesn’t that mean Marie is quite talented for taking out 20 by herself as well? In terms of raw talent...she might be better than Orion?’

’Maybe I should keep an eye on her, well, that is if we managed survive this and she doesn’t get blamed as the traitor after...’

Rian originally wanted to help, but with his low lifespan balance, it would be better to stay back until a real threat emerges.

Though it seemed like the others weren’t doing too great.

A spear slipped past Gareth’s defenses and scraped across his shoulder. His teammate immediately pulled him backward while Mira covered their retreat by summoning an earthen wall.

Marie looked at him. "Shouldn’t we help them?"

"Not yet."

"They’re being pushed back."

"We’re the reserve group," Rian said. "Our job is to move when someone actually needs us. Keep that in mind."

"But—"

Before she could complain, a sudden chill emitted from the southern side of the gate. Both Rian and Marie felt it instantly, turning toward the source.

From the other side of the lake, it was so cold that the water’s surface started freezing up. And there, a figure stood atop the newly formed ice, reeking with the stench of death.

Marie gripped the sword on her waist tightly as Rian tried to squint for a better look. And when he saw it, both of them spoke in unison—

"Something strong is here..."