Display of Skills

As Nickel and Timur gradually revealed themselves from the astral plane, it was clear to anyone that they were not ordinary undead.

Especially Nickel, who had undergone an evolution and awakened the power of sloth, exuded a lethargic dignity that made it difficult to approach casually.

"Undead?"

"Black Mage!"

Glau and Mantos exclaimed one after another.

Judging by their delayed realization of my identity, it seems they came here without knowing anything.

I don't know why they came, but since their intentions don't seem to be good, I immediately gave an order to Timur.

"Release him partially. We need to know at least their purpose and who the client is."

Upon my command, Timur let out a low whimper and stepped forward, wagging his smooth tail.

"Just two undead, and yet you make such a fuss."

"We'll just end it once we kill the sorcerer!"

Mantos stepped forward towards Timur, and it seemed like my undead alone were enough for them. Glau, on the other hand, aimed directly at me.

Mantos drew a pair of double axes from his back.

Then, Timur, clenching his fists tightly, let out a roaring cry and charged forward.

Crash!

As I watched the scene unfold, an axe flew from somewhere.

I slightly tilted my head to dodge it, and it got stuck in the tree beside me.

"Huh? Quick reflexes, huh?"

"I'm curious too. How good are your reflexes?"

I pulled out the lodged axe from the tree, and mana began to circulate.

The power of mana activated my body, temporarily granting me a tremendous strength that an ordinary human could not match.

Whoosh!

Crack!

"Ah!"

Glau, who had been watching me mockingly, desperately dodged my attack.

However, the thrown axe flew at an unexpected speed and sliced off the tip of Glau's ear before embedding itself in the tree behind.

"What the hell are you!"

Thump!

Crack!

At the same time as Glau's surprised question, Mantos flew through the air.

Although I had limited mana, Timur, who displayed monstrous skills while mana lasted, kept Mantos busy.

"What is this..."

I left Glau, who was staring at me in dismay, and walked forward, extending my hand to Nickel.

In response, Nickel instinctively handed his sword over to me.

"You'll have to be my practice partner for a while."

Glau, seeing me approaching with a sword in hand, looked around in utter confusion, as if none of this made any sense.

"Is this a dream?"

"Not a dream, Goblin."

I raised the sword and said, "Don't disappoint me. Show me what you're capable of."

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Meanwhile, Dianne did her best to save the students, but she couldn't save the one who was attacked first.

Despite her efforts, the student's hands were drenched in blood, and all attempts to stop the bleeding seemed futile.

However, she was able to save one of the students, so she sat by their side, waiting for help to arrive.

"Dianne, is Taylor... dead?"

"He'll be alive. Don't worry."

Dianne worried not only about the student who was taken away but also about Adrias Cromwell.

These people didn't seem to attack with good intentions.

"Who and why would they target Adrias?"

It would have made more sense if they targeted her instead.

At that moment, she heard some commotion nearby.

"They've arrived. Just hold on a little longer."

However, contrary to her hopeful shout, the figures that appeared were cloaked in black robes, emanating a solemn atmosphere.

"Dianne Alven, we've found you."

"Report to Kidwell immediately."

Hearing their conversation, Dianne cautiously stood up from her position.

"Who are you?"

"You don't need to know, Dianne Alven."

"Are you in cahoots with those people just now?"

"Those people?"

One of the robed figures, after briefly questioning Dianne's words, spoke as if he understood.

"It seems like the hybrids arrived first. How on earth are they still alive?"

"What is your purpose? Identify yourselves."

"Identity? Ask your father in the afterlife."

They came for me after all?

Dianne's mind raced furiously.

She immediately erected a barrier of thorny ice and took control of her surroundings.

Soon, a storm of immense magical power engulfed Dianne.

"Indeed, the daughter of Bart Alven. A monster begets a monster, is that it?"

As long as her opponents weren't students, she didn't need to hold back her strength.

Though she hadn't harmed anyone yet, she wasn't the type to show mercy to those who aimed for her life.

Kwaaaah!

Dianne's magical power flowed in an immense current that couldn't be matched by the perpetrator.

Perhaps it was due to the snow falling in the snowy mountains.

The flow created by her mana and spellcraft turned into a massive snowstorm.

"Undoubtedly strong. But still young."

The man thought it was a waste of magical power.

It would have been better if she had used small combat spells with that mana.

The members in robes charged at her.

Some stayed in place and cast spells, but they were insignificant, petty attack spells.

'Of all times...'

Dianne couldn't leave her position to protect the remaining students.

Soon, the enemy's spells broke through the blizzard and pounded against her barrier.

The weakened spells couldn't break the barrier, but they were enough to shake Dianne, who lacked experience.

'This can't continue.'

She heated her own heart.

And enduring the excruciating pain, Dianne resisted the burden on her head.

Then, sharp ice shards bloomed from all directions like flowers.

"Double casting?"

The man in the robe who was giving orders from behind couldn't help but be astonished at the spectacle.

Using such large-scale magic while double casting?

Was it truly a woman in her early twenties?

Ice shards suspended in the air poured down towards the approaching enemies.

Their speed and power were enough to pierce through the opponents and bury them into the ground.

Whooosh! Thud.

Normally, the attack would have been blocked, but in the fierce snowstorm, it was impossible.

Among the more than ten robe-wearing individuals who were approaching through the blizzard, half of them lost their lives or were severely injured in a single strike.

However, whether due to the overwhelming number or the strain of the blizzard, Dianne couldn't follow up with another attack.

"Haa, haa..."

Kneeling on the ground, she was approached by the remaining five individuals in robes.

One of them crossed the barrier with a sword in hand.

"You've seized the opportunity quite well. If you had a little more growth or experience, it would have been us on the receiving end."

"I don't know who sent you, but you won't be unscathed either."

"Haha. Are you worried about us? It's you who should be worried now..."

Whiik! Thwack.

Suddenly, someone flew in, stepping on the shoulders of the robe-wearer who was speaking, and then stomped on the head, creating a hole and landing on the ground.

The robe-wearer, bleeding from the head, fell to the ground in agony.

"Who are you...?"

The person who suddenly appeared to rescue Dianne was a masked swordsman.

He glanced back at Dianne and moved forward to confront the approaching enemies.

"Wh-who are you?"

"Just kill them for now!"

The robe-wearers attempted to launch a combined attack, but those who approached through the blizzard couldn't withstand the masked swordsman's assault.

The masked swordsman moved as if predicting the enemy's movements, swiftly striking their vital points with precise stabs and slashes.

Squish!

"Aaargh!"

In an instant, the masked swordsman killed the five opponents, leaving the remaining robe-wearing magicians at a distance.

The robe-wearing magicians who were watching him became bewildered and stood there, unable to decide what to do.

"Wh-who is that? The Knight Academy instructors must surely have their hands tied!"

"Kidwell! When is Kidwell coming?"

At that moment, someone approached from behind the robe-wearers, blood dripping from their hands.

"Kidwell? Are you referring to this person?"

Ivy Claire approached with a smile.

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I initially didn't intend to step forward, but seeing Dianne in danger, I had no choice but to intervene.

She was one of the seeds that could prevent the world's destruction.

I couldn't let her die in a place like this.

"They were after her, not just me. Were they targeting her from the beginning?"

The only question was that this event was completely unheard of in the game.

An event of this scale should have been mentioned at the starting point of the game to some extent.

"Did I change the future?"

If that's the case, I have to take care of it.

Observing from the nearby forest, I received the mask and sword from Nickel, which I had obtained from Bloody Dan before. Then, I summoned him using reverse-summoning.

After putting on the mask and releasing mana, my appearance changed.

I couldn't bring about a drastic transformation, but I altered it enough to make it difficult to guess my true identity. I then emerged from the forest, piercing through the blizzard.

Activating my mana, my exceptional physical abilities allowed me to easily leap over Dianne's ice barrier and descend above the head of the man who intended to harm her.

As I landed, I swiftly created a hole in his head. After confirming Dianne's condition, I pondered.

'Did she use double casting?'

Sometime in the future, she becomes a monster capable of not only double casting but also triple and quadruple casting.

However, in my memory, she only managed to perform double casting at least a year from now.

Whether this growth is a good thing or a tragedy, I set it aside and focused on the approaching enemies.

Swish!

While her athletic talent was impressive, what I felt firsthand was her remarkable combat talent.

If her athleticism was A-rank, her combat skills could be considered S-rank.

Swish!

The opponent's sword grazed the tip of my mask, narrowly missing me.

Calculating the opponent's angles, speed, and rhythm as if predicting their movements, I blocked consecutive attacks and severed their wrist.

Slice.

"Aaargh!"

As the enemy screamed, I beheaded them and wiped the blood off my sword.

Having killed all five of them, I noticed the robe-wearing magicians who had been casting attack magic from a distance.

I thought I should take care of them too.

'Ivy Claire.'

As soon as I thought that, Ivy appeared behind them, so I turned around.

I've done enough; now it's time to hide before my true identity is revealed.

Those remaining will be taken care of by Ivy anyway.

"Wait!"

Dianne urgently called out to me as I tried to return to the forest.

I hope I didn't bother hiding my true identity for nothing.

If my identity is exposed, not only the origin of my mask and sword but also various complications will arise.

Therefore, I ignored her cry and passed by.

"Name! Just give me your name, and our family will reward you!"

"No need. Take care of yourself."

Luckily, my voice was distorted as well.

I continued to hide in the forest.

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Ivy killed all the remaining robe-wearing magicians, leaving only two alive for evidence.

'In the past, I would have killed them all...'

Adrias Cromwell.

A brazen mage who fearlessly stood up against me, exuding hatred towards dark mages.

Thanks to him, I realized the need for witnesses.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

Ivy approached Dianne, whose bleeding had miraculously stopped.

However, Dianne pointed to the collapsed student first.

"This student is in more urgent need. I've stopped the bleeding, but they have lost a lot of blood..."

"Alright, let me check."

While Ivy examined the condition of the fallen student, she asked about the masked and unknown swordsman who had disappeared when she appeared.

"Who was that person just now?"

"I don't know either. I asked for their name in exchange for a reward, but they didn't answer."

"That seems suspicious."

"Suspicious? Not at all!"

Dianne shook her head.

Her eyes sparkled despite her exhausted body.

"He's definitely not suspicious. He saved me, after all."

"It's suspicious that we don't know their identity. Take a rest, as there will likely be more rescue teams coming from elsewhere."

Dianne couldn't agree with Ivy's words.

And she recalled the moment when the masked swordsman appeared.

"A masked... swordsman."

A storybook-like event that she had admired had actually unfolded before her.

Once again, she looked back at the forest where he had disappeared, exhaling an excited sigh.