Hunter Academy’s Battle God

The audience’s cheers were loud enough to make the ears warble, and the host laughed as the excitement intensified.

- Incredible! People seem to be looking forward to this match in particular!

Of course, YuSung’s undefeated record and title as the Fist King’s disciple garnered a lot of interest. Not to even mention feats like the Sardonyx raid. On top of that, Germany and Ireland were considered the aces of the EU alliance. It would be weirder if people weren’t so interested.

- Excluding the rules related to player elimination, the sub-game rules are the same as in previous matches!

Paf—!

[Team A]

[Participants]

- Gaon (South Korea): Lee SiWoo / Sumire

- Choten (Japan): Sakura / Isshin

[Team B]

[Participants]

- Munich (Germany): Rakion / Verdandi

- Blin (Ireland): Elan / Ackman

After the participants’ names appeared on-screen, portals appeared for them to enter.

Whir—!

- Students, please move to the portals!

Sumire felt nervous as she looked at the portal full of mana that seemed to move like a wave. 'It's about to start…'

As she looked back and saw YuSung, she was able to relax a bit and clench her fist in determination. 'I will… win!'

* * *

[- Swamp -]

They found themselves in a simple world.

Rustle, rustle—

Sumire started in a swamp with all sorts of strange sounds around her.

"Am I… in the woods?" All she saw were sparse trees and the mire of the swamp. Since her view was otherwise obstructed, she couldn’t tell much else.

It was the worst starting place for an ordinary hunter, but not for Sumire.

'It might be hard to see, but…' She crouched down among the tall plants and cragged trees. Thankfully, the foliage would also make it hard to see her unless they knew where to look. 'This is the best place to hide!'

It was the best environment for someone with low combat power like Sumire. Finally, she entered a hollowed-out tree for cover. Was there a need to go that far when it would already be hard for people to see her?

'It's a bit embarrassing…' She quietly huddled up like a raccoon in its burrow. It might’ve been seen as cowardly or timid by others, but she didn’t care.

"Summon Familiar…"

Swoosh-!

The mana around her turned black, and a pair of wings emerged from the gathered mana.

Paf—!

Lilith, who hadn't been summoned in a while, spread her wings and shouted in joy. "Aah! This fulfillment… My master called me! Everyone, prostrate yourselves before the witch who…" As always, her entrance was over-the-top.

"Lilith…! Shh-!" Sumire urged her to be quiet.

"D-did something happen?" the summon asked in confusion.

"There's a holy-type priest on the opposing team," Sumire whispered.

"Oh, no!" Lilith frowned as if she’d seen something filthy. "Is… is that so? Then you’re hiding here because…"

"I'm planning to summon a bunch of skeletons and ghouls… and make them hide around the swamp." Sumire carefully explained her strategy as if it were a top-secret plan.

Lilith clapped her hands in admiration. "Holy power is weakened and dark energy is stronger in a swamp like this, so it’s the perfect place for an ambush! You made a great choice!”

Naturally, the summon wouldn’t hesitate to jump into a pit of fire if her master ordered it, so hiding to avoid an enemy was nothing.

She crouched down next to her master. "I will always be by your side, Master!"

With the preparations complete, it was time for Sumire to begin churning out the undead.

Swoosh—

"Darkness…" she murmured in a quiet voice as she raised her hand. "Shall cover the sun…"

Dark Clouds of Despair (Skill) - Dark clouds move to hide the sun. They strengthen the undead underneath their shade.

It was a skill she used during summoning rituals. Normally, the clouds would shoot up into the sky, but they instead spread weakly at a low altitude.

[The Witch's Dark Magic is fortifying the familiar spirits.]

[The Witch's Dark Magic is fortifying the Dark Clouds of Despair.]

Would anyone outside the swamps even imagine an undead factory was operating in such a place?

"Let's start with 10 ghouls!" Sumire settled down and started production.

"Growl…"

"Growl?"

After the summons were ready, it was Lilith’s job to place them. "I’ll find a good spot for these guys, Master!"

Thanks to her, Sumire was able to focus solely on summoning—it was a highly efficient division of labor between a necromancer and her familiar spirit. After some time passed, Sumire summoned another high-ranking familiar to help with command.

Swoosh—!

"Summon Familiar."

"Master, have you called for me? I, Darren, am always ready to deploy at your command." It was Darren, who gained the ability to speak fluently after he went from being a death knight to a dullahan.

'I just can’t get used to his appearance now…' Sumire gave the familiar a lukewarm smile. She hadn’t realized it back when he was a death knight, but it was terrifying to see the dullahan holding his own severed head, especially when it spoke.

"Then, Darren, please take command of the ghouls and skeleton warriors in the eastern area!" Sumire commanded as she avoided eye contact.

Darren's severed head, unaware of her discomfort, flashed a toothy smile. "Yes! Leave it to me!"

Clatter! Clatter—!

Sumire touched the ground as Darren rode away on his skeletal horse. Her undead army was nearing its completion thanks to all the time she’d invested, but the true game hadn’t started yet.

'Don't be nervous… This area is big enough… so I can summon it!' She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. The next summoning ritual required high concentration, and it would be a disaster if enemies attacked during it. Her undead were guarding the area, though.

"Lord of Mana…" Sumire began to lowly chant as she felt the mana running through her body. "Wake up from your rest."

There was a mana distinctly separate from her in her body that’d been transformed through Velvet’s dragon core—it was a precious opportunity the little girl had given her.

She closed her eyes. "With the breath of death…" The sensation of her mana being summoned into the high-level summoning was almost like she was being physically pulled.

She’d started as a low-level necromancer, but she felt that her meeting YuSung, obtaining Laplace’s Tablet, and reaching that point was fate.

"Awaken anew!"

Fwoosh—!

The ripples in her mind calmed, and mana fluctuated over the ground in waves.

"B-Bone Dragon!"

Whether the summoning was a success or not was still unknown, but the ground began to shake as if an earthquake were happening.

WHOOM-

* * *

* * *

Ackman of Blin Academy, who was wearing his Blue Robe instead of the usual uniform, sprinted with all his might and desperately gasped for air.

"A-ahh! Agh! Seriously, why right from the start?!"

Swoosh—!

A blade of energy shattered the rock ahead of him the moment he turned his head.

BOOM—!

Of course, his pursuer and the one who’d shot the blade of energy was none other than Isshin.

Swoosh—

Isshin sheathed his sword and frowned at Ackman, who kept running away. "You aren't going to fight?" he asked.

"I'm a priest who serves Deus. A priest doesn't recklessly slash like you, understand?" He had quite a sharp tongue for someone who always ran. "Watch closely. I'll show you how we fight."

Fwoosh—!

He suddenly spun and faced Isshin with a book in his hands.

Flip-!

The book rapidly flipped its pages and stopped at a certain entry.

"See this? This is my specialty. The Page of Blessing. This is how I fight."

Flash—!

A green light poured out of the book and engulfed Ackman, who began to laugh as if he’d just stumbled upon a great fortune. "Hahaha! It seems that you're unlucky!"

"Are you crazy…?” Isshin asked. Ackman seemed completely at ease against his sword stance.

"There's no need to rush. The blessing I received is known as [Squirrel of the Wind]. As the name indicates, it makes me light and quick." Ackman posed as if he were ready to charge at any moment, and his eyes blazed with fighting spirit. He looked determined, but his small stature wasn’t very intimidating.

"The wind of Deus is guiding me! Let's see if you can catch me-!"

Tap! Tap! Tatatap—!

Ackman leaped away like a squirrel and climbed the rocks ahead. Not even Isshin was able to match his incredible speed.

"Ha! How about that, you barbarian?! You can't follow me now, can you?!" At the top of the mountain, Ackman encountered a familiar face. "What?! Why are you here?!"

It was none other than Elan, who was busy meditating.

"We met faster than I thought we would. Did the winds of fate lead you here?"

"This isn't the time for that nonsense! The guy from Choten Academy is…"

"I already know. I knew you would both come. The spirit of the rock told me." Elan stopped his meditation and stood up.

Ackman felt reassured. 'Even if he's crazy, two-on-one should be okay!'

Paf—!

He pointed down the cliff he’d just climbed. "Good! I'll buff us, so let's attack together!"

Isshin would most likely be tired from climbing the cliff and be an easy target for their combined attack.

"There's no need for that." Elan shook his head and crossed his arms. "After all," he murmured, “she’s here just in time.”

Swoosh—!

The ground began rising toward the sky.

"Woah?!" Ackman staggered and tried to lower his body toward the ground for balance, but he ended up touching soft, white fur instead of the hard stone of the mountain.

"Kyu- Kyukyu?"

When he heard the rabbit’s cry, Ackman seemed to understand what was happening and excitedly shouted, "C-crazy-! Y-you summoned her!"

Elan was filled with confidence, as if such a thing were obvious.

"Kyu!"

The master of the mountain, Kanina, had descended in what could have been the turning point of the match.