Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844414118669/episodes/822139846756988100
Several days had passed since the celebratory banquet.
Having completed their first dungeon expedition, the Royal Arcadia School of Magic was slowly but surely beginning to move on to the next phase—preparations for the dungeon expedition two months hence.
As a result, the scene unfolding within the school was a far cry from their usual peaceful daily life.
In the infirmary, treatment for the injured was still ongoing. Walking down the hallways, one could see numerous students with arms in slings or wrapped in bandages. Some had finally awakened from comas caused by magical exhaustion, while others remained in bed recuperating.
However, many of the students who had finished their treatment had already moved on to their next activities.
Some stood in the courtyard, swinging wooden swords with their newly recovered bodies.
Others repeated magic incantations in the school’s training hall.
Still others were attending lectures by teachers throughout the school, learning the knowledge needed to conquer the labyrinth.
The students were each beginning their preparations.
This labyrinth expedition was over. But that wasn’t the end.
If anything, this is where the real work begins.
It was precisely because they understood this that the students who had recovered from their injuries were striving to regain their strength as quickly as possible and surpass their former selves.
(—But… Not everyone can overcome their fears that way.)
On my way from the dormitory to the main school building, I saw students leaving the academy carrying heavy loads time and again. Many of them had expressions as lifeless as the dead. They walked with their heads bowed, saying nothing, moving slowly toward the main gate.
They exchanged a few brief words with their teachers, then said their goodbyes without another word.
Some students had family members waiting to pick them up.
Some were embraced with relief, likely seeing their families for the first time in a long while, while others simply handed over their luggage without saying a word.
But not all students had someone waiting for them.
Many students could be seen boarding the shared carriages arranged by the academy.
In small groups, students carrying their luggage quietly boarded the carriages.
Some exchanged words with one another, while others simply sat down with their heads bowed.
No one makes a fuss; no one cries out.
They simply leave the academy in silence.
Those who cannot fight cannot remain here.
That is why they are leaving.
While they are still alive.
While they can still choose their own path.
(……And that is fine.)
The Labyrinth is unforgiving. It is a place that mercilessly takes lives.
That is precisely why—
Those who remained here were all those who had made up their minds.
Those who had decided to challenge the Labyrinth, even at the cost of their lives.
With that resolve in their hearts, the students were making their respective preparations.
■
The school cafeteria was a little quieter than usual this morning.
Normally, this time of day would be bustling with students.
But now, having just finished their dungeon run, many were still in the infirmary, leaving several seats empty.
Even so, students were gathered around tables throughout the cafeteria, deep in conversation.
Most of the talk was likely about the dungeon run.
Reflections on the battle.
What they lacked.
What they should train before the next dungeon.
Such conversations could be heard here and there.
Our group was one of them.
“…The fight against the Core was pretty tough.”
Tearing off a piece of bread, Yu, sitting across from me, muttered under his breath.
At those words, I looked up.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
Yu nodded.
“I’m sure Rai knows this too, since he made it to the room before the Core, but there was a monster in black iron armor waiting for us just beyond that. You know, the one you fought too. —That guy was really strong… We had a hell of a time with him.”
Yu said this with a wry smile, then brought a piece of bread to his mouth.
Next to him, Ciel nodded slightly.
“Yeah… It was a monster that was practically impervious to blades, except for its joints. Even Liene’s greatsword couldn’t cut through that armor, you know?”
“…Yes.”
At Ciel’s words, Liene lowered her head.
Perhaps recalling those events, Liene furrowed her brow slightly, but eventually she looked at me with a timid expression.
“Lord Rai… you defeated it so easily, didn’t you?”
Hearing her say that so hesitantly, I stopped eating.
“It’s not a difficult enemy to deal with, as long as you know how to defeat it.”
“The way to defeat them…? What the hell is that supposed to mean…?”
Yu put the bread he was holding back on his plate and furrowed his brow in puzzlement.
Seeing that, I gave a wry smile and set the knife and fork I was holding down on my plate.
“You know that every monster has a weakness to certain types of attacks, right?”
“Well, yeah…”
“Like being weak to magic or physical attacks, that sort of thing.”
I nodded at Ciel, who spoke up after Yu.
“In combat against monsters, the most important thing is ‘how quickly you can find their weak point.’ …No monster is completely invincible. There’s always a weakness somewhere—for example, that monster in the black iron armor.”
I tapped the table lightly with my fingertips.
“Just as it looks, that thing has abnormally high defense. Even if you slash it head-on, you usually won’t deal any real damage.”
“‘…Ugh…’”
Perhaps realizing what I was talking about, all three of them grimaced.
It seemed they’d foolishly challenged it head-on.
In Ciel’s case, she might have approached the fight from a different angle, but in any case, trying to overpower that hard armor with brute force isn’t exactly a good strategy.
Seeing the three of them like that, I chuckled and continued.
“Armored monsters usually have high ‘physical resistance’—in other words, trading blows with swords and spears is the most exhausting way to fight.”
“…I suppose so.”
Yu gave a wry smile.
“Actually, our blades barely made a dent.”
“Yeah… Aside from the joints, it didn’t even get a single scratch.”
Ciel nodded as well.
“With an opponent like that, the best approach is to start by testing the waters with magic. You probe to see which of the six magical elements elicits the strongest reaction. That should be the key to defeating it.”
“Ah, so… that’s why… Elisia was relying mainly on magic.”
At Yu’s mutter, I nodded slightly.
“At the very least, she was probably the one fighting the most effectively in that situation.”
She didn’t let the front line get too close, keeping her distance while switching elements to unleash spells. Fire, water, lightning, wind—she must have tried several different elements.
When facing an opponent whose weaknesses are unknown, you first observe their elemental reactions.
You could say that’s a strategy faithful to the basics.
(Well, in this case, it wasn’t even really necessary…)
That monster’s structure itself is extreme, rather than just its elemental affinities. Simply put, it’s incredibly resistant to physical attacks, but when it comes to magic, it’s practically paper-thin.
It doesn’t matter if it’s fire, water, lightning, or wind.
As long as you hit it with magic, you can break through its sturdy defenses.
Of course, it won’t be easy. It’ll put up a fight. But at the very least, it’s a far more realistic strategy than relying solely on physical attacks.
“…You’re right. It did look like it was really hating it when I hit it with magic.”
Yu muttered under his breath as he began to take another bite of bread.
He chewed slowly, munching away, and let out a deep sigh after swallowing.
“If I’d realized that from the start, it might have been a little easier.”
At Yuu’s words, Ciel shook her head slightly.
“It can’t be helped. When you’re actually in the middle of a fight, you don’t have the mental bandwidth to think about things like that… It just goes to show how amazing Elisia is for being able to do that.”
Real combat isn’t as simple as a game.
The battlefield is constantly in flux. The positions of allies and the movements of monsters change from moment to moment.
Monsters don’t follow set patterns either.
There’s no such thing as a convenient scenario like in a game where “an opening appears after this attack.”
Fighting while searching for weaknesses in such a situation—
It sounds simple when you put it into words, but actually doing it is a whole different story.
“Well, I suppose you’re right… You really are the student council president, aren’t you?”
Just as I heard Yuu say that, it happened.
“—You’re overestimating me a bit there.”
A familiar voice came from behind me.
When I turned around, Elisia was standing there.
As always, she stood with her back straight, looking down at me with perfect posture.
It seemed she’d been nearby for a little while.
“Whoa, Elisia.”
Yu let out a slightly surprised gasp.
“You could hear us?”
“From partway through.”
Elisia shrugged her shoulders slightly.
“……I wasn’t as calm back then as you guys think I was.”
Saying that, she lightly placed her hand on the back of an empty chair.
“I tried using magic simply because it was the only thing I could think of. It’s hard to call that a calm decision.”
Elisia exhaled softly and gave a wry smile.
“To be honest, I was just desperate back then.”
With that, Elisia’s expression grew slightly more serious.
It seemed she hadn’t come all this way just to join in on small talk.
Elisia glanced around at the four of us and said in a quiet voice.
“I was looking for you guys.”
“Us?”
Yu tilted his head.
“Yeah. I was at the infirmary for Student Council business when I got the call.”
At those words, the atmosphere at the table shifted slightly.
Yu, Ciel, and Liene—and of course, I—all naturally turned our gaze toward her.
“The girl we rescued in the labyrinth… apparently she’s woken up.”
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