In truth, dynamite had low presence in this world. After all, any wide-area explosive spell was more convenient than dynamite.
But in this situation, dynamite’s advantages shone through—it wasn’t affected by the Forest Lord’s ability.
Upon recognizing the dynamite, all the freshmen fell silent. Who carried something like this in their maid skirt for no reason?
Yet hope surged in their hearts. This dynamite had arrived just in time. With magic unusable, such a high-damage weapon was a godsend.
It was like Doraemon’s four-dimensional pocket—who would have thought Ximo would have dynamite at a moment like this?
Mira handed the dynamite to Xiliya with a complicated expression. Ximo hadn’t lied… this thing really did pack a punch.
Xiliya swiftly tied the dynamite to the vine. Though the Forest Lord had some intelligence, it wasn’t much. Dynamite had no magic signature, so the offshoot vine didn’t sense its danger and allowed Xiliya to proceed.
Xiliya’s mind stirred… Perhaps Ximo truly was the biggest wildcard.
In her past life, without Ximo, the freshmen would never have thought of dynamite while dealing with the magic puppet. Without this variable, they would have wasted far more time on it.
“If possible, I hope everyone can hurry up.”
Melrose’s reminder came from afar. The noble Roland Princess now looked somewhat disheveled, her student uniform stained red with the foul blood of magic beasts.
The later waves of magic beasts had engaged them in combat. As the saying goes, two fists can’t beat four hands—they were gradually overwhelmed by the magic beasts swarming from all sides.
Then, a massive explosion boomed behind them. Xiliya rushed over without regard for the shockwave. Upon seeing the scene, she froze.
The academy’s magic puppets were truly top-quality—even a point-blank large blast hadn’t damaged them… But the Forest Lord’s offshoot wasn’t so tough. The once-thick vine was blasted into fragments, and the magic puppets embedded in it were scattered everywhere, no longer glowing green under the Forest Lord’s control.
As soon as Xiliya approached, she felt her magic power stir back to life. She quickly pulled out her teleportation magic device—sure enough, it worked now.
“Success! Everyone, over here!”
Without needing Xiliya’s call, everyone rushed toward the only spot where magic could be used. Melrose and Ximo disengaged from the fight and turned to flee as well.
The Forest Lord finally sensed something was wrong. Though as an advanced magic beast its intelligence far exceeded normal ones, it couldn’t recognize what a magitool did.
Only then did it realize these humans weren’t planning a magical assault. The Forest Lord’s main body finally acted, sending several tendrils toward the group.
Though the Forest Lord was fast, the academy’s magitool activated even faster. In an instant, the students’ figures blurred.
Only Melrose and Ximo were a bit farther away, having been fighting the magic beasts. They were just one step from the magic-enabled clearing.
“Ximo, hurry—”
Xiliya’s anxious shout rang out. She instinctively reached toward Ximo. Ximo finally stepped in, and her teleportation magic device activated immediately.
But the Forest Lord’s tendril had already wrapped around. Melrose’s body stalled as a thin tendril stealthily coiled around her ankle.
Melrose lost balance instantly, the tendril yanking her back.
This all happened in a flash. Ximo, closest to Melrose, turned without thinking and grabbed her hand to pull her back.
Xiliya’s pupils shrank. She tried to yank Ximo back… but she was just a tad too late. Her hand missed Ximo’s hem because the magitool had activated—Ximo’s figure vanished from the exam grounds in an instant.
However, because Ximo had reached back for Melrose, her body tilted slightly backward. That tiny distance placed her magitool back under the anti-magic field, and the once-glowing device dimmed again.
“Ximo, don’t worry about—”
Melrose swiftly severed the tendril on her ankle with her rapier. But her words cut off halfway, as she realized it was too late.
The Forest Lord’s tendrils had enveloped them, and more critically, a new vine embedded with magic puppets extended over, re-covering the entire area in the anti-magic field.
…
Meanwhile, Teacher Shirley watched as students teleported out one after another, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.
Good, it looks like the students are all safe…
“Ximo!”
Xiliya was the last to teleport out. She pounded furiously on the boundary of the barrier magic, staring deathly at the now-dimmed teleportation array.
The array no longer lit up. Xiliya waited ages, but Ximo and Melrose never emerged.
“Has everyone made it out? Is anyone injured?” Teacher Shirley rushed over, asking hurriedly.
“Teacher, Ximo and Melrose haven’t come out yet. The academy’s reinforcements…”
Teacher Shirley’s pupils shrank. She hadn’t expected students to still be trapped inside—and among them was the Roland Empire’s princess!
“No one on site can break through that domain right now, but we’ve requested reinforcements from the academy. The Principal and Instructor Shasta are on their way with people. They’ll be here in at most fifteen minutes…”
Teacher Shirley grabbed Xiliya, who was desperate to charge back in. “Calm down! Going in now won’t help!”
Xiliya bit her lower lip, looking defeated. She knew that full well, but… was she supposed to just wait here helplessly?
Xiliya anxiously paced in circles. She hadn’t even waited two minutes before she gritted her teeth and decided to head back into the forest to help.
But just then, the previously dormant Teleportation Array began to glow once more. Xiliya whipped her head around, her heart clenching sharply.
As the light faded, Melrose and Ximo’s figures materialized in the array. Xiliya was just about to let out a sigh of relief when she sensed something was wrong.
Melrose stood in the center of the array, cradling the unconscious Ximo in her arms. But… where had Ximo’s clothes gone?
Melrose had draped her jacket over Ximo, and the moment they teleported back, she used Elemental Magic to raise an earthen wall, blocking anyone from seeing Ximo.
Shirley Teacher rushed over to check on the injuries, but Xiliya—who should have moved too—stood frozen in place for several seconds.
No way. From earlier until now, at most five minutes had passed, right?
What on earth had happened in those five minutes? Why had things turned out like this?!
