The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned - Chapter 60

The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned 60

60. Midterm Evaluation (5)

“Damn, this kid has no intention of waking up.”

It’s been two hours since Yuren fainted from mana exhaustion.

I tried tapping his cheeks and shaking his shoulders to wake him up, but he was so deeply asleep that there was no response.

“At this rate, isn’t he dead?”

Of course, it was a joke because he showed no signs of waking up.

‘When you faint from mana exhaustion, it takes a really long time to wake up.’

I knew this well because I often fell into mana exhaustion due to my ant-sized mana, and I prided myself on being almost a professional in the field of mana exhaustion.

‘I need to start moving if I want to earn points.’

About four hours had passed since the midterm evaluation started.

In the eight-hour time limit, half of the time had passed, and the points I had accumulated were surprisingly zero.

The first wolf beast I caught didn’t give me any points, probably because it was an outsider that wandered in, and in the case of the unicorn, Yuren caught it, so I didn’t get a single point.

‘At this rate, I’ll be at the bottom again.’

I wanted to get rid of the annoying label of being the bottom-ranked hero.

“I need to start moving if I want to earn points…”

I sighed deeply as I looked down at Yuren lying on the makeshift bed (I made it simply because it was a bit much to lay him on the hard rock).

‘I can’t just leave him like this.’

I had no choice.

“Should I make a barrier to ward off the beasts?”

In the past, I wouldn’t have even thought of using a spell that consumed mana as recklessly as a barrier.

These days, thanks to my increased mana, I could at least make a simple barrier.

‘It’s not very effective, though.’

Anyway, since I caught the unicorn, the only beasts left were those below the Oan level.

“Hup.”

I cut my palm with a sword to draw blood and drew a magic circle around Yuren.

‘Finally, I get to properly use the magic I learned from Senior Sophia.’

I had made a barrier once when I fought Ashtaroth, but back then, it was more of a mana curtain made by recklessly pouring in mana rather than a barrier crafted with the theories and knowledge I had learned, so it was embarrassing to even call it a spell.

‘If I base the barrier’s axis on the hexagram theory and adjust the structure according to Arcadia’s circulation spell theory…’

I was quite confident in theory, so the process of making the magic circle was rather enjoyable.

“Alright, it’s done.”

Wooong!

Just like turning on a light switch, I channeled magic into the core to activate the barrier, and with a satisfied expression, I gazed at the gray mist enveloping Yuren’s body.

‘It’s different from just studying theory all the time and actually using it like this.’

No matter how meticulously you set up the plot and write a novel, the result is always different from what you imagined in your head.

Actually using magic, I realized that while theory and knowledge are important, senses are even more crucial.

“We still have a long way to go.”

There were still many hurdles to overcome before I could use magic as naturally as breathing, like Senior Sophia.

“Well then, shall we move on?”

I turned my body, leaving Yuren behind.

“Frrrr… Fuhiiing….”

At that moment, the unicorn, which had been lying on the ground with its body slashed by Yuren’s sword aura, staggered to its feet.

“What, you were still alive?”

Indeed, it should be called a high-level beast.

It seemed to have survived the golden tsunami, which was no different from a natural disaster.

“Frrr, frr.”

The unicorn, panting heavily, staggered away from me as if trying to escape.

“Hey, hey. I don’t intend to kill you, so there’s no need to run away.”

I raised both hands to show that I had no intention of attacking.

The average intelligence of beasts isn’t very high, but a beast that could be used as a familiar should be able to understand such a simple gesture.

“Hiiing… Frrr.”

“Huh?”

The unicorn didn’t stop even though I showed that I had no intention of attacking.

‘What?’

I narrowed my eyes and approached the unicorn.

The unicorn continued to stagger away as if it couldn’t see me.

‘It’s not running away from me.’

For a moment, I wondered if it was because of the barrier I had set up around Yuren, but the unicorn was far beyond the barrier’s range, and it wasn’t a barrier that would affect a high-level beast in the first place.

‘Then what is it?’

If it’s not running away from me or affected by the barrier, then who is it running away from?

Krrrrrrng!

At that moment, the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

“Ugh!”

Before I could even think, I urgently kicked off and moved away from the epicenter.

BoooM!

The ground exploded as if it had burst, and a cloud of dust rose up.

“Neigh!”

The unicorn let out a pitiful scream as it was grabbed by something and lifted into the air.

CRACK!

The unicorn’s body was split in half, and red blood poured down.

“This is….”

I looked at the giant monster that had broken through the ground, while being drenched in the pouring blood.

A monster with the head of a crocodile and the body of a human.

Its body, covered in green scales, was filled with muscles as hard as armor, and sharp teeth glistened between its wide-open jaws.

And then.

“…Ha”

A hollow laugh escaped from between my lips.

The crocodile monster that had torn the unicorn apart in one bite had four pairs of red eyes gleaming menacingly.

‘Why is an eight-eyed monster here?’

What kind of damned situation is this?

“Growl.”

A low growl.

The smell of brackish water and moss tickled my nose.

Four pairs of red eyes filled the protruding half of its long face.

‘An eight-eyed monster.’

It was a powerful monster known to be difficult for even the top 100 ranked heroes, the so-called ‘rankers,’ to handle.

Unless it was a hero with exceptional skills like Professor Lucas or Professor Elisha, it would be impossible to face.

‘Why is such a monster in the third-year candidate test site?’

I narrowed my eyes and examined the entire body of the giant monster, which was about five meters tall.

Like the wolf monster I encountered as soon as I arrived at the test site, there was no ‘mark’ on the crocodile monster’s body.

‘It’s definitely not a surprise event from the professors.’

From noble mtl dot com

So, this crocodile monster also means a monster that flowed in from the outside.

‘I’ve never heard of such a creature appearing in the exam hall in my previous life.’

There are two possibilities that can be inferred.

Either no one encountered that monster in my previous life and the exam ended.

‘Or.’

The future has changed for some reason.

“I don’t know which one it is… but one thing is certain.”

This is not the time to leisurely think about where that monster came from.

“Grooowl.”

The crocodile monster let out a low growl and took a step forward.

Boom.

Just taking one step caused a heavy impact that shook the ground.

“Raaargh!”

The crocodile monster charged with a fierce roar.

I kicked to the side and swung my sword at the crocodile monster.

Clang!

The sword bounced off the scales.

My palm tingled as if I had struck a lump of iron.

“Tsk.”

As expected, a normal attack won’t work.

‘I have to aim for the vital point.’

Taking a deep breath, I kicked towards the crocodile monster.

The crocodile monster, seeing me charge, swung its long tail like a whip.

‘Now!’

Solar Sword Form 5, Variant Style, Black Spot (黑點)-Absorb (吸)

It was a technique that used the characteristic of the black spot to condense magic power and draw in the surrounding energy to imbue the sword.

Whooosh!

Like turning on a vacuum cleaner, the surrounding wind was sucked into the sword.

I aimed my sword at the swinging tail, letting out a fierce battle cry.

‘I must not collide head-on.’

If it collided head-on with the tail covered in hard scales, the sword would shatter instantly.

‘Just a feeling of bringing it close.’

He swung the sword towards the tail, not with the edge, but with the flat side.

Shooo, thwack!

As the flat side of the sword touched the tail, it stuck to the beast’s tail due to the tension created by the black spot.

“Ugh!”

His body flew up as if a weight tied to the end of a whip.

‘Wind Step.’

He pulled the sword stuck to the tail and stretched his leg as if kicking the air.

Using the magic power emanating from his toes as propulsion, he climbed onto the back of the crocodile beast.

“Hup!”

After reversing his grip on the sword, he struck down towards one of the four pairs of red, glistening eyes.

But.

Clang!

The sword bounced off, blocked by the eyelid.

‘This is insane.’

How tough must its body be if even the eyelid can’t be pierced by a sword?

“Graaah!”

Even though the sword was deflected, the impact seemed to have been felt, as the crocodile beast let out a terrible scream and shook its body violently.

“Ugh.”

He tried to hold on to the scales and not fall off, but the beast’s strength was too great.

With a sensation of his body floating, he was thrown roughly to the ground.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

A dizzying shock transmitted through his back.

With the sensation of his internal organs being crushed, his limbs twisted at odd angles.

“Grrrrr!!!”

The crocodile beast, confident of its victory, clashed its sharp teeth together and let out a roar of triumph.

“Grk.”

The beast turned its body and approached the place where Yuren lay.

The crocodile beast fiercely swung its tail, shattering the barrier that chased away the demonic hands surrounding Yuren’s body.

“Gr-r-r-r.”

As the crocodile beast looked down at the lying Yuren, letting out a low growl.

“Hey, crocodile head.”

A voice came from behind.

“Gr-rk…?”

The crocodile beast blinked its four pairs of eyes and turned its head.

Where the voice came from, the human who had clearly been crushed against the ground earlier was now standing there, completely unscathed.

“Where are you going? It’s not over yet.”

Menacing green eyes glinted.

Ssssss!

With a sound like flesh burning.

“Rise.”

Ashen smoke billowed up.