“Since Student Aiden is a Swordsman, I’ll use magic to assist him.”
Celeste nodded slightly when she saw Aiden’s grip on the sword.
She raised her right hand, and a pale blue glow appeared in her palm.
Aiden swallowed hard, clutching his wooden sword with both hands.
Gritting his teeth, he nodded and fixed his gaze on the snarling Shadow Hellwolf ahead.
Though the creature was a magical beast, it was still roughly the size of a wolf, not much different from facing an ordinary wolf.
Could a man wielding a weapon really be defeated by a single wolf?
But the moment the Shadow Hellwolf suddenly transformed into a black shadow and lunged forward, Aiden realized just how wrong he was.
Its speed was at least three times that of a normal wolf, leaving him no time to react.
“Crack.”
Just as the wolf’s sharp claws were about to strike him, an Ice Spike shot from behind, freezing all four of its paws.
Although the ice quickly shattered and didn’t hold the wolf in place, its movements were clearly slowed down.
Seizing the opportunity, Aiden rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the claws that grazed his clothing.
He quickly got back on his feet and swung the wooden sword hard at the wolf’s back.
The dull thud echoed as the wooden sword struck the beast.
The wolf’s figure wavered a few times but remained standing.
[Master, in this world, all Swordsmen are Magic Swordsmen who combine magic with swordsmanship. There are no Swordsmen who rely solely on sword skills. Moreover, you’re using an ordinary wooden sword, which doesn’t deal nearly enough damage.]
Ruby flew anxiously to Aiden’s ear, pointing to other Students who were fighting with swords.
Their blades shimmered with magical light.
With just a wooden sword alone, breaking through the Shadow Hellwolf’s defenses was impossible.
[I know.]
Aiden gasped for breath, his hands gripping the sword starting to go numb.
He understood perfectly, but he didn’t know any magic yet, let alone how to enchant a weapon.
So even if his strikes were useless, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep fighting.
The wolf had already turned around, its blood-red eyes fixed on him.
Aiden could only raise his wooden sword again, even though he knew it might still be futile.
Although Aiden’s swordsmanship was decent—learned from watching movies and anime—it was all in vain without the means to break the enemy’s defense.
For a moment, the situation on the field became awkward.
Not far away, several groups of faster Students had finished their fights.
Their Shadow Hellwolves dissipated into purple smoke.
After all, two people taking on one Shadow Hellwolf wasn’t too difficult.
Naturally, the attention of the others turned to the most eye-catching pair on the field.
Seeing Aiden swing his wooden sword wildly without any magical aura, they all wore puzzled expressions.
“What’s this transfer student even doing?”
A girl with a ponytail whispered, and the boy next to her shrugged.
“Who knows? Maybe he’s putting on a circus show.”
They couldn’t help but laugh softly.
Celeste’s gaze flickered between Aiden and the wolf.
She seemed to realize his predicament, then slowly raised her right hand.
A pale blue glow shot from her fingertips, wrapping around Aiden’s wooden sword.
In an instant, a thin layer of ice formed on the blade’s surface, the edges sharpening into an icy edge.
With the ice blade enchantment, Aiden’s next strike was noticeably more effective.
After a few rounds with Celeste’s Frost Magic support, the enchanted wooden sword finally cleaved through the wolf’s body.
The Shadow Hellwolf howled once and collapsed, lifeless.
“Thank you.”
Aiden exhaled in relief, wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve as he walked over to Celeste.
“I just wanted to finish the mission quickly.”
Celeste’s expression didn’t change at all in response to his thanks.
She merely nodded, giving a brief reply.
Aiden stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye.
He knew this girl instinctively rejected men because of her past experiences and was naturally cold, so he said nothing further.
After this incident, he started planning how to improve his own strength.
Initially, he thought this mission wouldn’t require combat—that he only needed to get along with the future witches.
But now, it seemed personal power was indispensable.
Just then, the Shadow Hellwolf, which had been defeated and lay lifeless on the ground, suddenly revived.
Before anyone could react, it leapt into the air, aiming straight at Celeste’s back.
“Danger!”
Aiden reacted instinctively, rushing forward and pushing Celeste aside.
The wolf’s claws grazed his back, tearing his uniform but thankfully leaving no wounds.
Celeste’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden turn of events.
Before she could react, Aiden was shielding her.
As the Shadow Hellwolf’s attack missed and it prepared to reposition, a dazzling bolt of lightning shot from the edge of the Training Ground, striking the rampaging beast precisely.
The Lightning Arrow hit the wolf, which let out a wail before dissolving into purple smoke.
Instructor Toronto’s face darkened as he hurried over, anxiously asking if Aiden and Celeste were injured.
“N-no, we’re fine.”
Aiden turned to confirm the wolf was thoroughly defeated and finally relaxed.
The commotion drew everyone’s attention.
When the smoke cleared, many Students gasped—the scene before them was Aiden pressing down on Celeste, his hands on her shoulders.
Her blue hair was splayed messily on the ground, and her uniform was disheveled from the tumble.
“Student Aiden, could you please step away?”
At that moment, Celeste’s cold voice came from beneath him.
Her tone was harsher than usual, laced with a hint of irritation.
“Sorry!”
Aiden finally realized how inappropriate his position was and hurriedly flipped over to his feet.
He thought to himself that this was bad—Celeste was extremely misogynistic, and any physical contact with her would probably tank his favorability rating.
Though, to be honest, there wasn’t much left to fall.
He dusted off his clothes and glanced at Celeste out of the corner of his eye.
The icy beauty’s face was expressionless as ever, lips pressed into a straight line, fingers smoothing down her rumpled collar.
“It was urgent back there—my apologies.”
“Thank you for saving me, Student Aiden. But… it’s nothing, thank you.”
Celeste shook her head, her voice calm again.
The latter part, “But please don’t touch me casually,” was swallowed back.
Aiden secretly asked Ruby to open the System Panel and saw Celeste’s favorability score still stuck at -273.
He breathed easier.
Following the Shadow Hellwolf’s sudden rampage, Instructor Toronto announced the remaining groups would pause their training.
All the Shadow Hellwolves were recalled, and everyone was told to rest and relax on the spot.
After frowning over the Summoning Array, he hurriedly left the Training Ground.
“Phew.”
Aiden exhaled deeply, thinking he had gotten through the Practical Course.
He was about to find a place to sit when a familiar voice sounded from behind.
“Isn’t this our transfer student? You looked pretty close with Celeste just now.”
Rufus was leaning against the railing, a malicious smile on his face, mocking.
[Master, new Event Mission generated: Successfully endure Rufus’s provocation.]
Almost simultaneously, Ruby flew to Aiden’s ear, pointing to the newly generated Mission Panel.
[Completing this mission will earn 100 points!]
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