CH 18

“Sorry, Hazard! I have to go! I’m terribly sorry. I’ll pay you back later!”

Nathan hurried off, saying goodbye to Hazard. Thanks to his long legs, Nathan was able to get out of there quickly. “Oh my! Did you get a nosebleed again?”

“Oh, but there was only a little bit of blood this time. It’s no big deal.” After seeing Nathan disappearing with his friend (Etton), Hazard hung a slight smile around his mouth like a habit.

“You called me by my name.”

***

“Whoa.”

Obviously, after he ran into Hazard in the morning and embarrassed himself he began running away to almost avoid further discussion, but he forgot that the afternoon class was right after. The department of magic tended to practice with the department of swordsmanship because of its small number of people. However, Nathan overlooked it because he had never seen Hazard in this class before.

“You haven’t come to this class before, have you?” ‘Why are you here all of a sudden?’

Nathan glanced bitterly at Hazard. He was talking to Remberton. Then Hazard finds Nathan’s eyes and waves his hand.

“Nathan, are you close with the prince?”

“No.”

“Isn’t he waving ‘hello’ to you?”

“Well…” 

The children next to him asked Nathan as well, but he honestly had nothing to say, so he only swept the back of his neck nervously. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with Hazard. I also don’t know why he’s waving at me.’

“Professor Joe was called away by other faculty. We’ve been together for a year, so just get along well with each other.”

Professor Michael’s voice turned Nathan’s attention away from Hazard.

“In these groups, there is one senior student majoring in magic and one freshman student. There are two seniors in the department of swordsmanship, two freshmen, for a total of six people in one group. Senior students in each group take care of their first year juniors.”

T/N: Some may not know but when they say ‘Juniors’ they don’t just mean the direct year before the seniors like in American School. When they say ‘Juniors’ they mean anyone younger/just starting while in comparison to whomever. 

“Yes!”

“This is my first practice with the freshmen so seniors, please explain to them in detail. Then let’s go ahead.”

There were several entrances to the forest. Therefore, unless you entered the same entrance, you were less likely to encounter another group inside the forest. Then Professor Michael came up to Nathan. 

“Don’t overdo it, Nathan.”

“I understand, don’t worry.”

“I heard from Etton you had another accident.” 

“Oh, no. I just had a slight nosebleed and it stopped right away.”

Nathan hurriedly waved his hand. Looking at Nathan for a long time, Professor Michael shook his hand as if he wanted to sigh. Nathan bowed his head and moved back to his group.

“Shall we go, too?”

“Yes!”

Nathan familiarly entered the forest entrance. The rest of the team followed him. The seniors stood in the back and front, while the freshman stood in the middle. Nathan had a sore ear. This is because the boy standing next to him chattered nonstop.

“Hey, juniors! Be careful and you won’t get hurt! Just trust your seniors!” 

“Watch where you’re walking, Agnes.”

Nathan sighed as he saw Agnes walking backwards. Nathan had a wand in his hand that was slightly longer than his height. For two years, Nathan’s been using the magic tools that fit him. 

He broke dozens and managed to pull one out to find it. The name of this one is the “Window of Light”. Like its name, it was eye-catching and easy to misunderstand at first glance. In fact, it can be used as a spear, but if he could have known that Nathan had learned nothing in the department of swordsmanship, he would have written it as a spear. A mere stranger to swordsmanship, he in reality simply replaced it as a cane.

“Oh, come to think of it, we haven’t even said hello properly yet! I’m a senior in swordsmanship, Agnes Root! Nice to meet you!”

Then Agnes tapped Nathan, who was walking next to him. Nathan was already tired. I can’t believe I’m in the same team with this guy again.

“…I’m Nathan Norbert, a third year student in the Department of Magic.”

“It’s a bit noisy, isn’t it? Do it for me, boys. It’s also Lariya, a senior in the department of swordsmanship.”

“Ehhh- I’m Yulrey, a freshman in magic! Nice to meet you!”

“I’m a first year swordsmanship major, Manan!”

“We’re in the same grade, I’m Ranan. We’re twins.”

It was the aristocracy who had the last name attached to it, and it was the common people who did not have it. But neither Nathan nor Agnes really cared. 

“Nathan, Nathan! Start explaining!”

“Why me?”

“Nobert, can I do it for you?”

“Well, no, I’ll just do it, Lariya.”

Agnes was good at using his body, but he had no brains for studying. It was the same with Lariya.

Of the three, Nathan would be the best at explaining. 

“You two, listen up. Don’t make mistakes in front of our juniors.”

“All right~”

“First of all, before we came into the forest of exams, we got something from the professor, right? Professor Michael explained it briefly then, but I’m saying it again because it’s important.”

Nathan took out the yellow and blue beads he received for his share.

“Yellow is a magic tool with [return] magic. Call it a ‘return seat’ for convenience. If you use this, you can teleport straight out of this forest, and the designated location is the entrance to the forest. Don’t use it in vain. It’s a deduction factor. But you have to use it when you are in a dangerous situation. When you run into a bunch of demons, when you think you can’t fight and win even if you have six people, or when you get lost in the woods, etc. It should be used in such cases.”

“Yes!”

“It’s simple to use. Since magic and gin are already engraved, you only need to pour in mana along with the spell. The order is [to a safe place]. Those in the swordsmanship department can also use it.”

“If I can use it, you can use it!”

‘Yeah, if this muscle idiot can use it. You can do it, too.’

This world was not as peaceful as where he lived. There was a monster called the ‘Mamul’, and although it was quiet now, wars also happened frequently. So death always seemed near. Many people die from evil every year. Perhaps the children who are now attending the Aurora Academy will also be dispatched to deal with such evil when they graduate and join the military for the country. Therefore, the Academy was their practice stage.

In the freshman and sophomore grades, they come out in practice as ‘Forest of Tests’ under the guidance of professors and the seniors. The forest was on the road from the outside to Aurora Academy. This is the same forest Nathan passed by when he first got on the train. Compared to other places, the forest of the examination was used for education under the guidance of professors because there are somewhat weaker deamons there.

Here, students face the daemons directly. They learn what evil spirits are, how to fight, and how to deal with them when they are confronted defenselessly. They need to be careful not to get hurt as much as possible, but when a large number of people gathered, accidents were bound to happen no matter how well they did. It is this magic tool to prevent it even a little more. In short, it can be seen as an emergency escape.

“And the blue one is a signal. We don’t really need an order for this, but if you inject mana, it will burst on its own. You can use it in case of an emergency.” 

“Senior, I have a question. Why is it called the ‘Forest of Tests’?”

“Is there really a dungeon here?”

The twins, who were listening to the story, asked Nathan.

“In fact, the name of the forest is not the real name of this forest, but the name of the dungeon here.”

“Wow, there’s a real dungeon!”

“Did you see the dungeon, too?”

“No, I haven’t, but Professor Michael has.”

“I know the story! It’s really famous. But all the dungeons are sealed, right? How did you find out?”

“The dungeon here is a little different in nature from the rest of the world, that’s why it’s called the Forest of Tests.”

Nathan went back to his memory. What he learned and what he read before he came to this world were subtly mixed.

“As soon as we enter the forest, the Dungeon test begins, and the Dungeon is what evaluates. Only to those who are worthy, the dungeon shows its true self. In the dungeon, there is a reward for those who pass the test. Professor Michael’s eyes were the reward.”

Nathan knew about this dungeon because he learned it in class, but also because this was the dungeon that Hazard entered on his graduation day in the original story.

“Do you remember Professor Michael’s eyes? He has eyes that are hard to see as human eyes. That is the reward of the dungeon.”

Professor Michael’s eyes were the eyes of a dragon that saw through everything. Describing them as such is still an understatement. It was a reward Professor Michael received in the Forest of Tests long ago. The eyes of the wise see the truth beyond human common sense. Those eyes helped make Professor Michael what he is now.

“Professor Michael said he was a dungeon survivor. That’s true!”

“Is it true that Professor Michael lived longer than my grandfather?”

“Well, I don’t know that much.”

Nathan, of course, knew but kept quiet. It was written in the novel, because it was not what he heard from Professor Michael and told him directly. If you say something without thought, you may not know how it will affect your future development. Then Nathan continued.