Volume 16 - CH 4

「Hmm?」

When we arrived at the sixth floor of the tower, I saw a woman in a black robe running up the stairs on the other side.

I couldn't see her face, just from the bottom of her feet down, but. ...... No way right?

「It looks like we should defeat this enemy.」

In the hall there was a slug about a meter long. It was all black with a shiny surface, similar in texture to those black sea anemones.

「Melissa, this guy could be dangerous. Don't get too close」

I have a bad feeling about this, so I'm telling her.

「I told you, don't looking down on me. I can handle an enemy of this caliber. ――In the name of Thor, the angry God of Thunder, let his azure glory be a warning to the thunderclap! Thunderflare!」

Melissa used an intermediate lightning spell. A dazzling electric shock shot out from the rod she pointed at, hitting the slug.

But the slug kept moving and didn't seem to be damaged.

「No way! It's not working!?」

「It seems that electric shocks don't work. Then use my wind magic――Wind, become a blade and cut through the enemy! Wind Cutter!」

This time, Nicole attacked with wind magic, but it didn't seem to do any damage at all.

This enemy might be the type that doesn't respond well to magic.

But since we're in the middle of an exam for the magic academy, defeating it with a sword might get us disqualified. I guess we should try some other spells first.

「I'll take care of it. Jajaja Jajaja Jajaja!」

I hit the slug with all of my Ice Javelin spells, but it's still absorbing them. It doesn't freeze.

「W-What the hell is this enemy?」

「Electric shock doesn't work, wind doesn't work, and Ice doesn't work on it either!」

「I'll try other attributes as well.」

I also tried the fire and earth attributes, but still no luck.

「Examiner! Can I attack it with my sword or go through it without defeating it?」

I asked the examiner, who was supposed to be hiding and watching, but he didn't respond.

「No, you can't do that. This is an entrance exam for a magic academy, and magic is the only thing that matters.」

Melissa said, well then, as long as it looks like magic , it's probably safe.

「Hell's rope, tie it up, Spider Rope!」

I chanted a made-up spell and used my [Turtle Shell Binding] skill.

「Oooh, that kind of spell....」

「That's a weird chant, isn't it?」

But just as I thought I had successfully tied it up, the slug must have been producing acid mucus, because the rope began to smoke and shred.

「Ugh, no good, huh! What should we do!?」

「C-calm down, Nicole, there must be something we can do!」

Well, that's what one would normally think, but it seems that this is not the monster that the examiner gave us.

More importantly, the difficulty level is too high.

「Nicole! I'll draw it away. In the meantime, go upstairs and get the feather.」

「I-I got it!」

「No, you can't! Not until we defeat this enemy.」

「No, this isn't the enemy the academy sent.」

「Huh? What do you mean?」

「There's no time for details. Try not to receive its mucus」

Just to be safe, I pretended to mumble a spell and then used [Instantaneous Movement] to get around to the other side of the slug.

「N-no way! A teleportation!? Such a legendary spell ...... No, it's an illusion. Of course it is!」

I slashed at it with my sword to test it out, and although it was pretty hard, I could scratch it.

It might split apart, but it's slow and doesn't seem to be as tough an opponent as that anemone.

「What the heck is this monster? Did you guys summon it?」

The examiner came down from the upper floor. It looks like Nicole called the examiner.

「No, sir.」

「Where on earth ...... All right, I'll deal with it.」

「Be careful, none of the attributes will work.」

「Nonono. It's okay if you hit the opposing attributes. First of all, the flames――The four great spirits, in the name of Salamander, with the offerings of my mana, become a wall of fire, a Firewall!」

The examiner placed the wall of flame on the slug's head side.

「It's not working, is it ......? Then ice, ――Ice spirit, gather and be a frozen arrow! Ice Arrows!」

The ice arrow hit, but it seems to have been absorbed.

「Wha! That was absorption!? That's ridiculous.」

「I told you. Don't you have any more great magic?」

「Ummm, my best magic is fire, but I'm weak. ......」

As the examiner was pondering, the bad news was that another team came up from downstairs.

「Whoa, a monster!」

「Leave it to me!」

「Let's do this!」

「Oi, stop it, don't get too close. That's a bad idea!」

「That's right. You guys stay back!」

The examiner and I warned them, but the inexperienced boys seemed to be licking their chops.

「Han, what are you freaking out about? It's just a different color of Big Slug.」

「That's right. Let's go! ――In the name of the Salamanders, the Four Great Spirits borrow their claws with an offering of my mana! Fireball!」

They hit it with a small fireball, but it still has no effect.

「Oh, shit. I got hit right. One more shot.」

「I'll smash this mocus with my rod!」

「Oi, back off! Mucus is bad! Don't receive it!」

「Uhyahhh!? Eeeekkkkk! Ughh, my arm!」

「Uwaaaawaaaaa!」

「Eehh?」

I don't know what to say.

One of them held his arm in pain as he was hit by the slug's mucus. There was sizzling white smoke coming from the slugs, a powerful acid.

「I told you so.」

I grabbed the neck of the trio of idiot kids who were slumped over and in a panic, and I evacuated with [Instantaneous Movement].

「Huh?」

「Wow, did I fly?」

「What was that!?」

「Oi, give me your arm.」

I washed them with a high potion.

「Ugh, it's stings. ......」

「You'll have to live with that. Well, you're in luck, you didn't lose your arm. You can treated the rest in the temple.」

「T-Thank you.」

「What the hell was that!? That big slug. It's too hard. It's too strong!」

「That's right! I've never heard of anything that could make that crazy dissolver fly!」

「It's no wonder you don't know what an enemy with an indeterminate name can do to you. Just stay back.」

In the meantime, the black slugs were sending mucus everywhere, and even began to dissolve the stone floor.

「What, it-it's not supposed to melt the stone too. ...... This is not good! The exam has been canceled! All students must evacuate immediately.. A backup teacher is on the way. The exam is canceled!」

「Wait! If we beat that thing, we can resume. Retesting is a hassle.」

「That's true, but how on earth are we going to defeat an opponent whose magic doesn't work?」

「I have skills.」

I drew my sword, stood in front of the black slug, and focused my mind.

My stance was the "Star-Eye" stance of the Welbard Waterfowl sword.

It is a stance that balances offense and defense, with the tip of the sword at the level of the opponent's eyes.

The black slug, moving slowly, seems to be able to see my position and is approaching me.

Not yet.

I want to take no damage against this enemy.

That's why I'm not moving yet.

It's not until it spits out its mucus and sends it flying that I make a quick move.

「【Zantetsuken!】」

I sliced the black slug with its mucus, using a sword line that sliced up from the lower left to the upper right.

「Ah, that's amazing, you cat it in half!」

With a *fwump*――

The black slug turned into black smoke and disappeared.

I had expected it to split apart and prepared for the next attack, but it didn't seem to be that big of an enemy.

「Yaaay! You did it, Alec-san!」

Nicole jumped for joy, but I guess the danger was over for now.