The Academy’s Barbarian

Chapter 85.1 - Declaration of War (2)

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Noah and Dilia joined the battle; the battle resumed, but the tide had not changed.

The reason was simple: the number of monsters pouring out of the Abyssal Rift was much greater than there were enemies to defeat.

"Ugh, there just seem to be more and more of them."

"......End, I can't see it."

Noah and Dilia muttered in frustration as they watched the hordes of monsters swarming toward them.

Ulan also nodded silently; as if in agreement with the two's opinions.

The Abyss Rift, which showed no signs of closing. In addition to the endless stream of monsters, it was not a good idea to fight indiscriminately in this situation.

If it were my previous life.......

He wouldn't have cared about tactics or anything. He would have focused solely on defeating the enemies in front of him until he collapsed from exhaustion.

However, after meeting other warriors and fighting alongside them, Ulan's fighting style gradually changed.

'Of course, I still don't know tactics.'

But now, he could consider efficiency.

Ulan surveyed the battlefield with a calm gaze; the first thing that caught his eye was a monster with a colossal body, almost the size of a building.

'A large upper-grade, Corcus.'

It was better for a warrior to face it rather than a mage because Corcus had the ability to reduce the effectiveness of magic on its skin, making it much more challenging for mages to defeat it. Therefore, defeating such a creature required a significantly larger amount of mana.

It was an inefficient way to fight.

'But I'm different.'

With a simple swing of his spirit-enhanced axe, Ulan was able to tear through the tough hide and split Corcus in half.

So it made sense that a warrior would be the one to deal with a creature as resistant to magic as Corcus.

'On the other hand, facing demons...'

Ulan's approach was inefficient.

Demons were magical beings born from mana. Although they showed relative weakness to mana, they had substantial resistance to physical attacks due to their intangible nature.

Of course, Ulan could tear them apart with his strength.

'But there are so many of them.'

Counting just the ones on the battlefield, there were close to a thousand. Even some headed towards Zone 1, yet the numbers were still overwhelming.

In other words, if Ulan wanted to eliminate demons, he needed to swing his axe extensively. Compared to Corcus, this approach was highly inefficient.

Just as he finished his thoughts

Kwazik! Kwazik! Kwazik!

Ulan swiftly split the Corcus that had come close. Then, he turned to the two girls who were preparing magic behind him.

"We'll split the roles."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'll handle the giant ones while protecting you two. So, don't worry about anything else and focus on reducing the number of demons."

As soon as Ulan finished speaking, Noah and Dilia nodded.

It was a simple proposal, almost embarrassingly so, but it was better than fighting without a plan.

After canceling the magic they were about to cast, Dilia looked at Noah, "Roughly, if we divide it in half, it should work, right?"

"Ugh, I'm sorry, but I don't think that's gonna work."

"Why?"

"Well, it's just that I haven't really learned any useful spells in a situation like this."

Noah's mentor, the shaman Azur.

She was one of the named characters in the original [Arsene Continental War], and she was one of the top ten supporters in the entire continent.

And Noah, who was taught by Azur, only possessed skills that are specialized in support.

So I enrolled in the Arsene Academy to learn offensive spells.

But that ended in failure.

Because the magic that Noah wanted to learn was only available for enrollment from the second year.

Of course, it wasn't that there was no way to attack. Noah had various curse skills.

'However.......'

Demons were magical entities without physical forms; therefore, curses had no effect on them.

Meanwhile, after Noah's answer, Dilia frowned and sighed, "......Noah, really, you're useless."

"T-that's not true! I can still do things like break through enemy formations or block their retreat. Or gather them in one place, or..." Noah rambled on, trying to make excuses.

But Dilia had already lost interest in her. She looked back at the battlefield and muttered, "Too much, for me, handle on my own..."

"Why don't you use Meteor Shower?"

At that moment, after Ulan had dealt with the third Corcus, he casually threw in his suggestion. Surprised, she looked at him with a highly astonished expression, "H-how do you know that, Ulan?"

"I've heard it before."

Did I say such a thing? Dilia tilted her head. It made sense.

Meteor Shower was one of those things she'd never told anyone about.

But if he knows about it, then....

She must have said it before without realizing it.

Otherwise, Ulan, who was not versed in magic, wouldn't have brought up the term Meteor Shower first.

After organizing her thoughts, Dilia nodded, "Yes. In that case, I suppose it's possible."

Meteor Shower.

It was a Rank-7 star constellation magic, a tactical spell that poured down meteors like rain. However, due to its complicated magic spell and high mana consumption, it was considered one of the more challenging constellation magics.

"But, I'm not good enough."

Among all kinds of magic and spells, from Rank-7 onwards, it was the realm of an Archmage.

Dilia, who was still at the level of an advanced-level mage, couldn't cast magic of that caliber.

'Of course, theoretically, I understand it, but...'

Even so, it didn't mean she could perfectly execute the magic. Thus, Dilia sighed softly.

"Also, my mana is a bit lacking......."

"Ah! Don't worry about the mana."

Just then, Noah burst in and held out a blue-glowing amulet.

"I made it in advance just in case. Here, take it."

"What is this?"

"It's a magic amulet. It literally contains mana. If you hold it in your mouth and breathe in, you can absorb the mana stored inside."

In other words, it had similar abilities to a mana potion.

Dilia understood Noah's words in an instant, and looked at her with a new gaze.

"Noah, you're surprisingly, useful."

"Hehe, arent I?"

"Even though you're useless in battle."

"Ugh, stop calling me useless," Noah groaned with a gloomy face.

Facing the slightly depressed Noah, she burst into a light laugh. However, after a moment, she spoke seriously again, "Ulan. I'll be honest with you."

"Go ahead."

"The truth is, I don't have any confidence," As she tightened the hem of her skirt, Dilia bit her lip. "Because I've never, ever, succeeded."

After answering, she lowered her head; as if she were sorry she couldn't help. She was prepared to take whatever blame came her way. But Ulans response was unexpected, "I know."

"Huh?"

"If you didn't try at all, of course, you wouldn't have succeeded."

If she had never tried, it was only natural that she had never been successful. Dilia's eyes widened at Ulan's words.

"Uh, how did you know that?"

"I've heard of it before."

With the same response as before, Ulan fell silent, reminiscing. He remembered the story he heard from the past life of Dilia.

The division of levels by mana proficiency is a standard for ordinary mages, but not for those who are Blessed by Mana.

It was a night after a past battle, around a campfire, where Ibella and Dilia discussed regrets from the past.

At that time, Dilia abruptly said something like this:

In other words, regardless of rank, as long as you understand the theory of magic perfectly and have enough mana, even a advanced-level mage can use Rank-7 magic.

Dilia, who was suddenly giving an explanation about the level of magic, soon wore a melancholic expression and sighed, muttering:

That's why I regret even more. If I had tried using Meteor Shower back then, I could have saved more soldiers...

A self-reproach for not saving more lives due to belated realization. Ulan finished his reminiscence of Dilia's regret from the past life and then spoke up, "And it's okay."

"......what?"

"Even if you fail, it doesn't matter."

"Why......?"

"Because whether the magic works or not, it doesn't change the fact that we're going to win this battle."

It would just take a bit more time.

After slicing off the head of another charging monster, Ulan spoke calmly, "So, go ahead and try."

"......."

So that you can use Meteor Shower without hesitation when the time comes.

If she did that, she would be able to relieve some of the regrets she had kept in her past life.

Soon after he finished saying what he wanted to say, Ulan turned his attention back to the battle.

Meanwhile, at that time

Dilia looked at Ulan's back with trembling eyes, her fists clenched tightly.

Ulan is right.

She hadnt challenged the unknown.

If she had to give a reason, it was the expectations around her and the burden of failure; expectations that, as the genius mage of the kingdom, she would undoubtedly succeed. This burden weighed heavily on her shoulders.

'But.......'

The person who told her that it's okay to fail was Ulan, and for the first time. The moment she heard that, the pressure that had been weighing her down melted away like snow.

Her shoulders felt lighter.

Dilia couldn't help but smile faintly.

For some reason, she felt like she could do it now. After a moment, she opened her mouth with a determined look on her face, "I need some ...... time."

"I'll wait as long as you need."

"I'll help too!"

Ulan and Noah replied at the same time.

It was as if they were just waiting for those words. Afterward, Noah spread amulets around Dilia.

"What is this?"

"It's a tactical formation."

Along with a short answer, a detailed explanation followed.

Its a formation that blocks out surrounding sounds and the flow of mana. In other words, its a technique that helps you focus solely on magic.

She wasn't sure about the exact effect, but she felt the intention to help her. Dilia nodded without saying a word.

"Huuuh."

She began to inhale and exhale and focused her mind. In her mind, she ran through the calculations necessary to complete the spell, then prepared the spell, step by step.

Meanwhile, Noah, who completed the formation, gazed at the abyss in the distance.

'When will they stop coming out?'

The monsters showed no signs of decreasing; the sight of them, swarming like ants, was enough to make ones skin crawl.

However, she was not worried.

Ulan was still in top form, and they had easily defeated one of their concerns, Corcus.

I hope the Rulers don't come out.

An ominous thought flashed through her mind.

Noah shook her head quickly. She did so to shake off the sudden anxiety that had come over her.

(End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . . )

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