The Forest Lord’s petals all spread open, revealing the ferocious maw hidden within. Fetid saliva dripped down its sharp teeth, sending chills down everyone’s spines. This was the Forest Lord’s true form—the flower shape had merely been camouflage.
Melrose led everyone to retreat to a distant corner, far from both the horde of magic beasts and the Forest Lord itself. She stared at the massive creature ahead and forced herself to stay calm.
Though her “persona” was one that faced any difficulty with composure, this crisis far exceeded Melrose’s expectations. Even as the Roland Princess, she couldn’t help feeling a bit panicked.
Calm down. The Academy would surely notice something was wrong and take action. Besides, the Principal and Instructor Shasta were there too—they shouldn’t run into any major issues… But could they really hold out until rescue arrived?
What Melrose didn’t know was that the Principal and Shasta weren’t at the Mist Forest’s edge right now. After the student terminals lost signal, Shirley had immediately terminated the exam. She quickly reported to the Academy on one hand and sent people into the forest on the other. Now, all the new students who hadn’t entered the Swamp Land—and whose student terminals still worked—had already been evacuated from the forest.
Melrose felt the terrifying pressure radiating from the Forest Lord. Without a doubt, this one was a full-fledged advanced magic beast, even stronger than the Chimera from earlier.
Sweat beaded in Melrose’s palms… Books said the Forest Lord wasn’t skilled at direct combat; otherwise, it wouldn’t rely on camouflage and parasitism to survive. But there were always exceptions. Could they really handle this three-to-four-story-tall monster?
Among their group, she was the strongest—a mid-intermediate mage. Next was low-intermediate Xiliya, and the rest of the new students ranged from lowest to upper-low tier.
Worst of all, the Forest Lord was suppressing everyone’s magic power. This meant their combat strength was severely diminished. And with its ability to shield magic fluctuations, the Forest Lord itself wouldn’t be affected by barrier magic. In other words, they faced an advanced magic beast at full power.
“This mutated Forest Lord has the ability to suppress magic fluctuations over a wide area. We need to try putting some distance between us and it.”
Melrose called for everyone to fall back further, though she had no confidence in her heart. If the Academy’s reinforcements didn’t arrive, could they escape on their own?
Since student terminals and teleportation magic devices failed the moment students entered the Swamp Land’s range, that proved the Forest Lord’s ability covered at least the entire swamp. And the cage of vine tentacles it had created was only the size of this swamp patch. Even retreating to the edge might not get them out of its range.
Melrose focused intently, straining to circulate her internal magic power with all her might. But the formation for [Arrow of Pure White] collapsed instantly as soon as it began forming at her staff’s tip.
No good—even she couldn’t cast magic normally, let alone the others.
Melrose knew she had to step up and lead the escape now. It was her duty as a princess.
“Roar—”
A roar that pierced their eardrums erupted. The Forest Lord’s maw spewed foul odors, making everyone’s ears ring. The parasitized magic beasts lurched forward toward the group as if receiving a command.
Melrose scanned the others’ faces. Nearly all the new students looked lost, and even the somewhat capable Mira was the same. Only Ximo appeared a bit tense but kept a calm expression.
Ximo figured facing such a grotesque monster warranted some tension, but her assassin’s mental fortitude left her with little discomfort.
It oddly gave her a sense of numbness, like seeing something shocking from one of those illicit books and knowing she should react but feeling nothing… Commonly known as being desensitized.
And then there was Xiliya… Melrose suddenly felt someone pat her shoulder—it was the unflappable Xiliya.
Xiliya was the calmest of them all. Having lived two lives and faced multiple life-or-death crises, she had grown numb to it.
“This monster’s ability is off,” Xiliya said firmly. “Suppressing magic fluctuations in other mages’ bodies is extremely difficult. Even for an advanced magic beast, it shouldn’t be able to do it over such a wide area.”
Fortunately, the parasitized magic beasts moved sluggishly, and the Forest Lord itself showed no sign of attacking. This gave the group time to discuss tactics.
The Forest Lord planned to wear them down with these expendable pawns before harvesting the “food” itself. Without caution, it couldn’t have lurked in the Mist Forest and grown this large.
Xiliya chose the simplest approach. She stopped huddling in the corner with the others and instead circulated her internal magic circuits desperately while boldly moving around.
With her rebirth, Xiliya had far more experience than these new students and a keener sense for magic. Acting like a human radar, she quickly noticed that heading in one direction intensified the suppression on her magic circuits.
“This is…”
Pushing aside obstructing branches and undergrowth, Xiliya froze at the sight before her.
“What’s wrong?”
Melrose and Ximo hurried over. Melrose frowned upon seeing the thing in the bushes, while the clueless Ximo didn’t react.
“What’s this? Building blocks?”
Ximo tilted her head at the cube-like objects wrapped in vines, sparking with “pzzt pzzt” electricity. She had no idea what they were.
“Academy magic puppets,” Xiliya said grimly. “No wonder this monster’s ability covers such a broad range.”
“This is trouble.”
Seeing both of them pull grim faces, Ximo grew even more puzzled.
“These are the magic puppets the Academy deployed in the forest,” Melrose explained briefly. “No wonder they couldn’t transmit data back—they’ve all been… parasitized by this thing?”
The Academy had released these puppets to mimic other magic beasts’ forms and weakened versions of their abilities, meant to aid the exam. Who knew they’d end up in the Forest Lord’s grasp.
