All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 42

42. Obstruction Level – 2

Of course, as Kirke said, it’s true that Hastings didn’t step out yesterday.

But he doesn’t necessarily have to move himself.

He could have used Villadi or others in his network.

While Ian received Kirke’s report, Haryun also spoke in a serious tone.

“The only evidence there is a small arrow hole. We can’t attack him on the pretext of obstructing the exam with that.”

“Hmm. Acting on a hasty judgment will only help him. And as far as I know, Hastings has been inside the Academy for the past few days.”

“He might have used someone else.”

“Is it really him?”

“There’s no one else who would attack me with such zeal and effort.”

As Ian stated firmly, Haryun thought for a moment and asked.

“Wouldn’t you be able to track down the person who retrieved the arrow?”

He shook his head.

“You can’t?”

“Ah. It’s not that I can’t, but there are no traces at all.”

Besides Kirke’s words, there were plenty of ways to leave no trace.

While they were thinking, Wildy said.

“Instructor Hastings has a top-tier artifact called the Bow of Bohelan.”

“I know. It accepts Aura and creates powerful magic arrows, allowing even Experts to exert Master-level power. If he used that, it’s possible,” Oerina added.

Ian shrugged.

“Then he must have lent it to someone to interfere.”

At those words, everyone groaned and fell silent.

The plan they had carefully laid out was facing difficulties from the start.

“Should we retreat? There are a few more ley lines I’ve been eyeing.”

The materials used to set up the barrier were a waste, but what could they do?

No one answered Haryun’s question.

While they were silent, Park Bare and Widia, who were preparing the meal in the back, shouted.

“Hey! Let’s eat first! You need to eat to do anything!”

“Yeah. Whether we move the base or whatever, we need to eat first! I’ve made a delicious stew!”

The stew in the large pot is served on wooden plates.

“I caught some rabbits earlier. It’s rabbit stew.”

Perhaps because the plan had gone awry, everyone seemed to have lost their appetite.

As they barely touched their food, Park Bare laughed heartily.

“Hey! Eat up!!”

“Yeah, yeah. Park Bare and I put our skills to work, so how can you do this?”

As the two boasted, Blanche looked displeased.

“I wish you hadn’t shown off your skills. Hey, why did they cook?”

Everyone was busy building fortifications, exploring the surroundings, securing water, and preparing sleeping arrangements.

That’s why Park Bare and Widia cooked.

“Well, they said they practiced.”

“Those two joined the cooking club this time. They were so confident.”

Everyone hurriedly made excuses, but the fact remained that the meal, which was supposed to boost morale, had instead diminished it.

Everyone listlessly stirred their spoons in the bland stew.

Already depressed, the tasteless food made them even more gloomy, so Ian opened his mouth.

“Let’s at least sprinkle this on it.”

He took out a pouch from his bag and put a spoonful of powder on his plate.

“What is it?”

“A magic powder that makes you feel the taste of home when you add it.”

Blanche curiously scooped some powder from the pouch onto his plate and mixed it in.

Then, after taking a bite, his eyes sparkled.

“That’s it! This is the taste!”

He started devouring the stew.

Surprised by his reaction, everyone sprinkled the magic powder on their stew.

“This is good.”

“It’s not fancy, but the taste has become very rich. What is this?! Is it really magic powder?”

“What magic are you talking about?! Hey, Oerina! Your teacher is a witch, right? Do you have anything like this among the witch’s potions?!”

“If I had something like that, I would have made it and eaten it already.”

That this bland stew became delicious with just a spoonful of powder was astonishing.

Even the mages were amazed.

The students from the merchant family’s eyes gleamed at the effect of the powder.

‘It just looks like powder, but it creates this taste?’

‘This will definitely sell well.’

“How do you make… Ah. I see. It’s your unique recipe, Ian, right?”

As Wildy admired, Ian nodded.

“That’s right. I made this in my spare time after alchemy class.”

They were able to use various ingredients during alchemy class.

He created it by appropriately synthesizing and processing the ingredients he bought from the market at that time.

‘I want him more and more.’

He tends to be a bit wild in terms of personality.

Overall, Ian was someone they really wanted to get their hands on.

And.

That was what Haryun and the other students were thinking as well.

“Hey, can’t you make anything else?”

“Um~ Ian~ Could you make some of that powder for me too?”

“Share some during the survival exam. Huh?”

Those who tasted the seasoning showed fervent affection for Ian’s pouch.

Ignoring them, Ian put the pouch in his bag and put down his empty bowl.

“Let’s continue the conversation we were having earlier. Anyway, it’s a fact that there was interference. Even if we take revenge, we need to think about the exam right now.”

‘Let’s say Hastings interfered.’

‘Are we going to give up the exam right now and go down to grab him by the collar?’

‘Perhaps he was aiming for this.’

So, the exam comes first.

“That’s true. Here.”

Agreeing with his words, Graegin unfolded the map.

“According to your investigation, there are almost no habitats near this ley line. Those who prepared while taking the monster hunting class, come and tell me the location of the monster habitats near here.”

As they began to mark the map, Ian and Valla shook their heads.

They had already been to all of them, and most had been cleared out.

“The C-class guys also take the monster hunting elective, so they must have been around here too.”

“Why would guys who don’t use ley lines go around near ley lines? Seriously.”

As everyone grumbled, Ian looked at the map and said.

“There’s still one place I haven’t checked. And they wouldn’t have touched it there.”

“Where is it?”

“Here.”

He pointed to a part of the map.

Seeing that, Blanche looked extremely displeased.

As everyone wondered, he sighed deeply and said.

“Drake habitat.”

“…Drake, you mean a wyvern? An S-class monster.”

“Yeah, that.”

Wyvern.

A powerful monster belonging to the dragon species that flies in the sky.

It breathes fire, and its scales and bones are so hard that even Aura can hardly scratch them.

In addition, it is cunning and cruel, so it is classified as S-class.

Even the Academy tells you to just avoid S-class monsters if you encounter them.

“When did you find that again?”

“You’re really amazing.”

Ian waved his hand casually at the admiring students and tapped the map.

“Isn’t it just a matter of catching it and exploring the surroundings for the remaining time?”

“Isn’t it too dangerous? It’s better to go to another ley line…”

“The other ley lines will have been cleared out too. People have to be a bit petty.”

It was as Ian predicted.

As Kirke reported after finishing the surrounding exploration, he shrugged.

“Still, a drake.”

A flying monster is harder to catch than a regular monster.

Especially how can you catch a drake that belongs to the S-class.

That’s a monster that only Masters can catch.

Everyone was worried, but Ian didn’t seem to have much burden.

“Oerina.”

“Huh?”

“You said you can use gravity magic.”

“Yeah.”

“Then that’s enough. Let’s go, just the two of us.”

Haryun frowned at Ian’s answer.

“It’s dangerous. Valla and I will join you.”

“I’ll help too.”

Not only Wildy but also several others stepped forward.

Ian shook his head at them.

“You guys go find some other monsters. It’s a shame if you catch the drake and come in second place.”

The monster hunting exam is only the second for Class B.

Since they don’t know what and how the other classes will catch, they have to catch as much as possible.

“That’s true.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Ian said nonchalantly and sat down to meditate.

As night fell, Ian and Oerina immediately got up.

Everyone was worried that they were only going alone, but they had no choice but to believe in Ian’s skills.

As they walked along the rough mountain path and arrived near the drake’s habitat, she swallowed hard.

“Is that a troll bone?”

“Yeah.”

“Looking at the skull… it looks like a Three-Eyed Troll….”

In addition, there were quite a few bones of many other monsters.

Perhaps because of that, her body trembled.

“T, this place is a bit strange…?”

This must be the drake’s restaurant and execution ground.

Because it was a place where many deaths were settled, Oerina was instinctively feeling fear.

Ian also confirmed the aura of death sensed by Kirke and nodded.

“Let’s start. Oerina, prepare the magic. We’ll catch it right away. Energy Ball.”

-Kwaaaang!!

Ian used the artifact he had stolen from Blitas of Class C before.

-Kuaaaaaaaa!!

Hearing the sound of the energy ball colliding with the rock, the drake roared.

Two golden eyes flashed from the top of the mountain, glaring at them.

“Hic…”

She felt like a frog in front of a snake.

She stopped preparing the magic and became frightened as Myane approached Oerina.

“Huh?!”

That alone loosened her frozen body.

In a surprising situation, Oerina looked at Myane in bewilderment.

But Myane was just washing her face with her white cotton ball-like paws.

‘Is Myane… protecting me?’

Ian, and Myane too.

They were too relaxed in front of the S-class monster Drake, which many people feared.

While she couldn’t erase her bewilderment at the sight, Ian said.

“Prepare the magic again.”

“Huh? Uh, uh. But it takes a while because it was canceled earlier…”

“I’ll hold it down.”

Oerina glanced at the drake and immediately chanted the spell.

The drake, which landed with a flap of its wings as if mocking them, opened its mouth.

-Krrr!!

It seems to think of the armed duo as just a midnight snack.

Ian, who was staring at the drake’s golden eyes full of arrogance, flashed his eyes.

-Krrr…?

In an instant, the drake’s body froze.

It was frozen by the energy emitted by a human who was nothing more than a snack.

-Krrr… K…

‘It’s dangerous.’

‘You have to run away.’

‘You shouldn’t be here.’

The monster’s wildness ordered a retreat, but the drake couldn’t move.

The drake, caught in Medusa’s Evil Eye, trembled greatly.

The golden eyes flashed, and the toothed teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

‘Still, it’s a dragon species. It has to do this much.’

‘No. It looks like it’s almost done too.’

The drake, which succeeded in resisting the Evil Eye, spread its wings to escape as its instincts screamed.

But Oerina’s magic was faster.

“Gravity!!”

-Kuuuung!!

A huge gravity pressed down on the drake’s body.

“Huk… Huk… I, Ian… I’m counting on you to cover the rear…”

She used up all her magic out of guilt.

But there was no worry.

Because Ian would be able to do it.

As she slumped down and spoke weakly, Ian asked Kirke.

‘What are the expensive parts of the drake’s corpse?’

‘You’re saying everything is expensive.’

Then it would be better not to injure the body as much as possible.

‘I’m going to use the Curse of Revenge from the Demon Yeon Sea. Prepare.’

How many lives was it?

There is a technique learned from a witch in a world where only endless seas of trees spread.

The curse of death used by her who lost her entire tribe to other tribes.

Ian picked up the skull of the Three-Eyed Troll that was lying on the floor.

As Kirke’s report ended, Ian looked at the skull he was holding and said.

“Rage at your deaths. And return it.”

The moment Ian’s command fell.

A ghastly red light flickered in the empty eye sockets of the skull.