Chapter 45. Swamp Serpent Hunt (2)
"Everyone, get back!"
The team leader shouted urgently and threw himself out of the way.
However, his team members couldn't move, as if their feet were glued to the ground. It seemed they had been poisoned in a short amount of time.
"Damn it! Wind!"
In his haste, the team leader swung his staff and summoned the wind element.
He tried to blow away the Swamp Serpent's poisonous smoke, but it wasn't enough to drive away the smoke that covered the swamp.
'I was wrong.'
He, who had picked a fight with Radel, regretted not having a countermeasure for the poison.
Since all the team members specialized in element magic, they had planned to solidify the ground of the swamp and create a defensive barrier with wind.
They thought that would offset the disadvantage of the terrain and the danger of poison.
But there wasn't just one Swamp Serpent here.
They hadn't prepared for the poison spewed by multiple monsters at once. This couldn't be blocked with just a little element magic.
'I was pretty confident in my skills!'
But in a real battle, there were too many unexpected variables.
"Aaaah!"
One of the team members screamed as he fell into the swamp.
He had failed to avoid the charging Swamp Serpent and had lost his footing.
- Shaaak!
The Swamp Serpent's tail quickly found its prey and coiled around it.
"No!"
It was the moment the captured team member was being dragged away without a chance to do anything.
Slice!
Someone swiftly ran up and slashed the Swamp Serpent's tail in one go.
As the sword passed, the Swamp Serpent's tail separated from its body, and the team member wrapped in the tail also fell to the ground.
Thud!
'Is it a professor?'
The team leader thought it was a professor or a staff member who had come to save them.
However, what appeared before them was Radel's party, whom they had encountered earlier.
"Good job, Gusto. Give him the potion and get him out quickly."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Radel, who had given the order to Gusto, took out a Detoxification Potion and threw it to the other two.
"You guys drink this and get out of here."
The team leader stared blankly at Radel's calm demeanor and nodded.
"Th-thank you. How can I ever repay this debt……."
"You're in the way, so just get out of here."
Radel said nonchalantly and took out another Detoxification Potion for himself to drink.
The team leader thought that even that looked somehow composed.
- Shaaa!
The Swamp Serpent, whose tail had been cut off, was enraged and approaching the party again.
Radel glanced at Gusto, who was helping the injured escape the swamp. He had to stop it from heading towards them first.
The Swamp Serpent's form was revealed as it cut through the fog and approached.
Chwaak!
The swamp churned, and its black scales glinted.
- Shiiik!
The Swamp Serpent, which looked like a giant snake, opened its mouth and spewed poisonous smoke.
Ding.
[You face an overwhelmingly strong enemy.]
Radel, facing the Swamp Serpent, heard the notification and drew his sword.
'An overwhelmingly strong enemy.'
Defeat an enemy overwhelmingly stronger than me.
It was the final advancement condition for the Basic Swordsmanship skill.
If he did well, he might be able to raise it here.
The Swamp Serpent's green eyes, glittering with rage from its severed tail, stared at Radel.
Ding.
[The enemy looks down on you with its unique magic 'Predator's Gaze'.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[You are freed from the status effect 'Fear'.]
Was this thing capable of magic too?
It was a good thing he had Status Effect Nullification at times like this.
The Swamp Serpent, after looking down at Radel for a moment, decided it would be better to chase after the party that had begun to escape the swamp and turned its body in that direction.
It was a smart one, chasing after the injured right away.
"Armandy, how much magic can you use?"
"What?"
Radel quietly asked Armandy.
Armandy, who was preparing an attack magic, asked back as if to say, what do you mean.
"We're inside the academy."
Armandy was a little surprised inside when he saw Radel subtly nod his head.
He had accurately pointed out the location of the academy's flying golem.
The freshmen weren't aware of them, but a large number of flying golems were roaming inside the academy. It was to prevent external intrusion and to protect the students' safety.
It was a situation Armandy had to be careful about, as he had to avoid drawing attention as much as possible.
"……Illusion magic should be fine."
"Then lure that thing."
Watching Radel briefly explain the plan, Armandy's mind became complicated.
It was because it was quite plausible.
'So he wasn't just a lunatic?'
* * *
Gusto was silently leading the injured out of the swamp.
Gusto's condition was fine, as the effect of the detoxification magic was still active, but the condition of the others, whose health had dropped while fighting the Swamp Serpent, was not good.
Even if he cast Heal, it would only treat wounds and injuries; he couldn't do anything about the already depleted health.
With their health down, they were also affected more quickly by the poisonous fog.
"Ugh!"
When one of the team members gagged, Gusto fed him the Detoxification Potion he had received from Radel earlier.
Radel had given Gusto the Detoxification Potion, telling him to keep it in case anything happened during the battle.
'Did His Highness foresee even this?'
Gusto briefly looked back to check on Radel and Armandy.
But what he saw was the Swamp Serpent sliding towards them at an incredible speed.
- Shiiik!
Gusto's body tensed.
Just as he was about to put down the injured to prepare to draw his sword, the Swamp Serpent suddenly stopped as if it had sensed something strange.
'What's that?'
Gusto spotted Armandy using magic not far away.
And on the opposite side, he saw figures that looked similar to themselves, injured and running away.
'Illusion magic!'
At that moment, Armandy was concentrating more than usual.
He was controlling his magic power, which far surpassed that of a freshman, with an artifact, but it wasn't easy to hide his magic skills.
He controlled the magic with a high level of concentration.
As it happened, Armandy was from a Mage Tower of the illusion magic lineage. If he was careless, his true skills were likely to be revealed.
'Right, can you make the ground shake as if they're really running away? Snakes sense vibrations. Armandy is a real magician, so he can do at least this much, right?'
Recalling the annoying 8th Prince's words, Armandy ground his teeth.
He said he just needed to lure it, but that wasn't it at all.
It wasn't difficult, but it was a tricky spell.
But he couldn't even curse him to his heart's content.
It was because the 8th Prince was facing the Swamp Serpent alone.
'It's almost taken the bait.'
Radel, seeing the Swamp Serpent hesitating, took out a dagger and cut his arm.
Even if it was a monster, wasn't it ultimately a giant snake?
It was bound to rely on its sense of smell rather than its sight.
The Swamp Serpent, smelling Radel's blood, finally flicked its tongue and changed direction.
It was just as planned.
'There's no need to fight in a disadvantageous situation.'
Radel moved to distance himself from the injured while also gradually luring the Swamp Serpent away from the swamp.
He had no intention of giving the monster a geographical advantage. And he had no intention of landing an effective blow on a creature with high magic resistance using Armandy's magic.
If he caught it cleanly with his sword, he could get a lot more byproducts.
Radel smiled, recalling his experiences as a Hunter.
The Swamp Serpent's scales, leather, bones, poison sac—everything was money.
He was sure that even here, the byproducts of a monster of that level would be quite profitable.
"Huh?"
Radel, who was running away and drinking a potion, was surprised by the sound he heard in his ear.
Ding.
[The effect of the Hayden-style Beginner Magic Potion is activated.]
[All health is restored.]
[All magic power is restored.]
[You are freed from all poison for 30 minutes.]
Radel's eyes widened at all the notification sounds.
He felt not just invigorated, but overflowing with energy.
He thought he had drunk a Detoxification Potion, but it seemed it was the one and only Hayden-style Beginner Potion he had made.
Indeed, the wisdom of his ancestor was great.
At this rate, there was no need to drag things out any longer.
Radel turned, kicked off the ground, and charged at the Swamp Serpent.
'Basic Swordsmanship!'
Radel's arm moved along the trajectory he had practiced countless times.
Thrust, slash.
If that simple motion was repeated several times, any enemy was bound to stagger.
- Shaaaak!
The Swamp Serpent writhed in pain as its scales were cut and opened its mouth.
And it spewed out poisonous smoke in one breath.
"Ha!"
But it didn't work on Radel, who had drunk the Hayden-style Beginner Potion.
'This is real doping.'
Radel unhesitatingly broke through the poisonous smoke and plunged his sword into the Swamp Serpent's eye.
Even an overwhelmingly strong enemy was helpless before a fatal weak spot.
- Shaaak!
The Swamp Serpent shook its head violently, blood pouring from its eye.
Due to the recoil, Radel lost his grip on the sword and was thrown off, rolling on the ground once.
Smoke spread thickly in all directions, and fog covered his vision. He could feel the death throes of the Swamp Serpent.
Running towards the faintly visible Swamp Serpent through the thick poisonous fog, Radel took out his staff instead of the sword he had lost.
"Light!"
Light gathered at the tip of the staff.
Radel calmly swung his staff.
Swoosh!
The light that shot out from the tip of the staff embedded itself in the Swamp Serpent's remaining eye.
Chijijik!
The pain of its eye burning.
The Swamp Serpent thrashed about, hitting its body against a nearby tree and crying out.
- Shaaa!
At the same time, a welcome notification sound reached Radel.
Ding.
[You have defeated an overwhelmingly strong enemy.]
[The skill advancement condition has been met.]
[Skill: Basic Swordsmanship (C)]
[Do you want to advance the skill? (Y/N)]
Done!
Now, if he just finished it cleanly, he could have both the Cryptozoology evaluation assignment and the Swamp Serpent's byproducts.
It was the moment Radel approached the thrashing Swamp Serpent to put an end to it.
The Swamp Serpent, sensing its life was over, raised its head, as large as a man's torso, and charged to swallow Radel.
'The final attack.'
Just as Radel was about to dodge, he felt a hot heat from behind.
And in an instant, a fireball plunged into the Swamp Serpent's open mouth.
No, you're shooting fire now?
The inside of the Swamp Serpent's mouth is all poisonous gas.
Despite the sudden situation, Radel made a quick judgment and started running.
BOOM!
As expected, the Swamp Serpent exploded with a tremendous sound.
'My byproducts!'
And so, Radel's silent scream also echoed with the sound of the explosion.
* * *
"Your Highness, wasn't that really dangerous just now? As expected, only real magic shines in a moment of crisis."
Armandy approached Radel and said in a bright voice. Radel was in the middle of picking something up from the burnt remains.
He had caught the Swamp Serpent, and at the end, he had even saved the 8th Prince's life with flame magic. He believed that with this, the 8th Prince would let him go.
Freedom!
That was all Armandy wanted.
To not be involved with the 8th Prince anymore!
However, the 8th Prince seemed to have other ideas.
"Armandy, you're hopeless after all."
Radel muttered quietly.
In the water pitcher he was holding were the burnt bone fragments of the Swamp Serpent.
"Huh? What do you mean by that……?"
Armandy instinctively felt a chill run down the back of his neck.
Just then, Gusto, who had dropped off the injured, approached and said.
"Your Highness, you've done it."
"Yeah. But Gusto, how much divine power do you have left? Do you think you can use Heal?"
"Of course. Is there someone to heal?"
"Just wait a little. There's going to be one soon."
Radel gripped the water pitcher tightly and stood up.
"Armandy, can I see you for a moment?"