I reincarnated as one of the Three Stooges in a fantasy world.

Chapter 13

Nartheis

In this world, all monsters are called "Nartheis," an ancient term meaning "the renegades of creation."

"Nartheis are creatures of various different forms. They may resemble zombies or mutated animals. They can also be sentient or behave like wild beasts. They first appeared when the evil god Roro decided to punish humanity."

Virelle explained to everyone in the classroom, and the students paid close attention to her words, as the drawings of the creatures on the board were horrifying.

"They are divided into four ranks, each with varying levels of difficulty."

"The lowest rank is Zara: any zero-circle mage with 60% progress can defeat them because their cores are visible."

She ran her finger over the drawings, showing where the core might be.

"But don't forget that if you encounter level two Zaras, their cores have a resistance that you'll only be able to destroy in one strike with a first-circle spell—even if you manage to cause minimal damage otherwise."

Next were the Faizes. Unlike Zaras, their cores were hidden somewhere inside the body, and they had two levels, only able to be defeated by mages between the second and fourth circles.

Then came the Ranvil, more intelligent creatures than the previous ones. Their cores weren't physical, so in order to retrieve them, they had to be defeated first, at which point the core would appear. They ranged from the fifth to eighth circles and had three levels.

And finally, the Kairom—only one level exists, and so far, only four have been found. At least one ninth-circle mage is needed to defeat them, and even then, they can still lose.

Like the Ranvil, their cores can only be retrieved after defeating them. But there's one major difference: Kairom always resurrect every ten years. There is no known way to kill them permanently.

"Every ten years, ninth-circle mages gather to eliminate the ones that are reborn. The next one will appear next year, and two more in three years. So for now, don't worry."

Enrico looked at Virelle. I have to prepare myself for them, especially the fifth one. I still haven't experienced the system's warning about the increase in world difficulty.

[The difficulty increase activates when the next arc begins.]

Enrico looked at the system. So even the story's characters won't know... That's bad.

He would need to find a way to warn them without arousing suspicion—perhaps leave a message or create a disguise. Enrico sighed.

The next arc is the first dungeon. There will be lots of Zaras. If they're stronger, the students might die.

In fact, Enrico had analyzed the stats of everyone in class, and apart from the main characters and a few others, none of them would be useful. But he had to try to strengthen as many people as possible.

The dungeon will be in three days.

The academy assigns classes S through D to enter dungeons as a real combat test.

Class ended, and Enrico stood up and went to the rank 91 student, Cris Rolf.

I need to create what I have in mind quickly. This will literally be my own creation, so I have no idea how it will turn out.

Enrico called out to Cris, who stirred uncomfortably. But until then, I'll try to help the others evolve.

---

Valença was training on the field. A large fireball hit the dummy, burning it—it was a stronger attack than Enrico's.

But I don't think he used his full strength against Kai. Should I give up? No, wait, I still have a chance.

Serenya picked up a staff that had been sent to her by her village yesterday. They used part of their money to have an artisan craft it. She didn't want to use it, but considering the level difference between her and Enrico, she decided to set her pride aside.

"I'm at 82% of the zero circle. This staff boosts my magic and gives an extra 10% to my circle. Looking at it that way, I can launch an attack nearly at first-circle level."

Valença looked back and saw Elaris easily dodging Kai's sword attacks.

The two of them disappointed me a little... but they can still be useful.

Elaris jumped up, her backhand on the sword, and stood on top of it.

Kai took a kick to the chin and was launched into the air. But midair, he assumed a stance to draw his sword from the scabbard. Remember the posture. Keep your breathing calm. Tense the muscles and release in one motion.

Recalling his father's journal, he drew the sword and a slash shot out from it, surprising Elaris, who dodged, and the tree behind her was sliced in half.

"When did you learn that?"

"Huff... Huff... From my father's journal," Kai said, leaning on his knee as Valença approached.

"Your father... had something like that?"

Elaris remembered Enrico's words to Kai. He knew? How?

Elaris looked at the sword. Also, that wasn't his own magic. That technique uses his mana and transforms it into another type—but what type is it?

"And that sword—it looks like a magical weapon. Where is it from?"

Kai and Valença looked at her.

"From my father. I was surprised too, but I still don't know what type of magic it holds."

Valença looked at the sword. That's impressive.

Meanwhile, Elaris was deep in thought. Who is Kai's father—and how did Enrico know that? Interesting... Very interesting.

---

Serenya was training, trying to make her body fly, but control magic initially gives strong impulses to the body, so it's difficult to master—even for someone at Circle Three. But she had to try.

She used the magic on her body and was launched upward, trying to control it, but became dizzy, hit the ceiling, and fell to the ground.

"Damn it, why is control magic different from the others and harder to use on your own body?"

She stood up and thought about the defeat she suffered against Elaris. She grew frustrated but calmed down upon remembering how her subordinates stood by her.

"They went to train because they don't want to fall behind Enrico—especially Caelan."

She crouched down. At first, she only saw Caelan and Elian as subordinates. Enrico was more like a court jester to her. But since that Sunday, he had changed—he was different, although there were still moments when he acted like his old self, just to a lesser extent.

Then, as if an idea struck her, she stood up.

"Could it be that on Sunday he received a letter from his family and decided to change? That he went home wanting to make his family proud, but they mistreated him? He did say when we met that his family doesn't treat him well."

She placed both hands on her head. That's it—my poor subordinate. He must have wanted to fight back, that's why he changed. I promise I'll help you.

She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, then stood up and looked outside.

"Maybe he'll be able to escape his family… unlike me."

She recalled Enrico's battle against Kai and how he now had two new magics, then went back to training.

"Well, I can't let my subordinates surpass me."