Melusine, Become my Noble Phantasm!

"Mark, how far until we reach that plant?"

One of the boys rubbed his sore legs. Honestly, most of the students in the Botany Department weren't exactly built for combat. After all, their focus was breeding and research, not fighting. Plus, since the Age of Gods had long passed, replicating the legendary plants of that era was near impossible.

Their subject itself seemed to have a bit of a retirement feel to it. Word was that ordinary folks in the Far East had already developed ultra-high-yield rice strains. Compared to that, these botanical researchers hardly seemed relevant. Maybe only archaeology students occasionally needed help identifying ancient plants during excavations.

To a large extent, most who ended up in this department were family's marginal picks—either those resigned to maintaining the status quo or scions of families who'd been doing this research for generations. Both types were extremely rare.

Though a few resisted, most accepted their fate. After all, they were just student magicians—how could they defy their own families?

In other words, most of the students in this subject were complete noobs.

Mark himself was panting now, his physical stamina just average. Some of the girls in the group were already struggling to keep up. But the black-haired girl with twin ponytails trailing behind pushed up her glasses, barely sweating at all.

She sighed quietly. Compared to humans, her body was definitely stronger. If she hadn't been so unsociable, and if the others had paid more attention, her abnormal stamina might've been exposed. That would've forced her to leave the Clock Tower early.

Still, this place was far from civilization, and the natural scenery helped calm her restless mood.

Mark wiped sweat from his brow, studied the map, and told the others, "We're almost there. Believe me—after all, you're following me because you trust me, right?"

The girls gave bitter smiles. What else could they say? Even if they hoped to marry into a rich family, now was not the time to doubt Mark.

The girl who had tried to seduce Mark earlier took a deep breath, smiling again as she took the lead. Since flirting hadn't worked, she'd improve her image in other ways.

"If Mark says so, we should trust him. Otherwise, why follow him here? Let's go!"

She strode ahead—only to be met with a rocket launcher firing straight at her.

The thunderous blast of gunpowder naturally caught her attention. But everything happened too suddenly. Though some in the Botany Department were strong, this girl definitely wasn't. She could only stand frozen as the missile approached.

Then came the explosion. Gunpowder filled the air. Limbs and debris flew everywhere—one piece of flesh even struck another girl's face. Screams echoed through the forest.

The assassin who fired the rocket sneered with dissatisfaction. According to the target's personality, he should've been the first to lead. So when someone peeked ahead, he pulled the trigger.

But all he had blown up was a random scapegoat.

That was a big problem—they'd already begun, but the targets were now alert. Even if confused at first, these were magicians. How could they stay that way?

Still, attacking early morning could cause maximum damage before the targets reacted.

"Fire!"

One student reacted instantly. He pulled a special seed from his pocket, charged it with magic, and it rapidly sprouted into a nut-shell-shaped shield. Placing it before himself, he urged others to defend.

He also tossed seeds randomly on the ground, growing bulletproof nut shields scattered everywhere—his best effort to protect his friends.

Thanks to his quick thinking, though some were injured, no one died in the first volley. Several girls hid behind Mark, dazed.

One whispered, "Should we push Mark out? If they're targeting him alone… can we survive?"

Mark slapped her sharply. "Push me out? I want to see if you survive! Since they've already started attacking, their goal is to keep everyone here!"

The girl clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing her mistake. Even if they survived, if anyone found out she had said that, she—and even her family—would face Mark's wrath. She was doomed.

I'm so pretty… why do I have an extra mouth?

-End Chapter-

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