-Asher Frostblade's point of view.
I went deeper into the forest.
Up ahead I would find a huge lake that I would have to cross.
However, along the way, Asher got a little sidetracked.
A week ago, he had studied and memorized all the books needed for this semester, anticipating that he would need them.
So the first thing was to find supplies and then hunt sea monsters in the lake.
"A good seafood chowder."
Along the way they encountered several low-grade monsters, too weak to pose a challenge.
Thud!
I turned my head just as a large rock fell from the treetops.
Xiu. Xiu.
It was not one, but a dozen boulders hurtling down from high above, dropping from a height of nearly fifty meters. Each one measured one meter square.
"Tch."
Asher clicked his tongue.
Whoa!
The mana shot out of his body, transforming into thin needles three meters long, with tips so thin they seemed invisible.
Thud!
The air hissed as the mana needles shot out with speed.
Clank.
Asher snapped his fingers and the needles dug into every rock three feet square, but nothing happened yet.
Clank.
He snapped his fingers again, and suddenly hundreds of thorns erupted from the needles, shattering each rock and turning them into grains of sand that fell like a storm from above.
"Damn bastards."
I looked up briefly as I snapped my fingers. Hundreds of mana needles shot into the treetops, followed by screams and groans that echoed from overhead, more than fifty meters away.
The vegetation was dense, with trees over a hundred meters tall and grasses as tall as they were. The monsters were well camouflaged, using the terrain to their advantage.
"I didn't think the monsters in this dungeon were so intelligent."
Rumors spoke of creatures that seemed too cunning, almost frightening when confronted head-on. These creatures were said to form villages, being extremely adept at surviving in this dungeon.
It was true that the dungeon was full of valuable resources, which explained why this semester was held here.
Muffled sound!
Grotesque bodies of six-armed monkeys, muscular and mutated in various parts, fell from the treetops to the ground.
I looked at the bodies.
"Monkeys mutated by mana."
Mutations in animals were not uncommon. If the mana stayed in their environment for too long, it could alter their cells, deforming their bodies within a year.
Typically, these monsters were classified as grade 9 or 8 because of their low combat ability.
In the worst case, they became grade 7.
However, these mutants did not go beyond grade 9.
"Too bad they are toxic."
Mutants were toxic due to the contamination of the mana inside their bodies. Although mana represented vitality, in these beings it became poison, because of the strange bacteria that developed after mutation.
For a magician, this poison was lethal. The stronger the poison, the more lethal its effect.
I left the mutant monkeys and continued on my way.
"Mmm..."
Before long, I came to a rather large lake.
"How strange. I should have taken another path, why is the lake here?"
Although I had taken a detour, the lake was right in front of me, which confused me.
I looked at the position of the sun.
"I should have taken another road..."
I looked briefly at the lake.
"..."
I noticed something peculiar and quickly moved my mana. Several spells activated.
Rumble.
The ground shook as a four-legged sea creature with a huge mouth full of teeth leapt from deep in the water towards the shore.
"A mana sea beast."
There are two types of mana beasts: terrestrial and marine.
Although some fly, those are still land beasts, so only two main types are recognized.
It is said that land and sea beasts do not get along well and often clash in their respective territories.
However, when this monster came out of the lake, and even though its mana was between grades 9 or 8, I wasn't worried.
"I thought it would be something stronger, but this? This is weak."
To my mind, the beast was puny.
Its large, crocodile-like body was covered in scales and fins, with vents that gave chills just looking at them.
Asher put aside the spells and simply brandished a mana sword.
"You will die quickly."
The sea beast looked at Asher furtively as its legs twitched and its great mouth opened, lunging at great speed.
I closed my eyes and heard its footsteps approaching, and then....
Clank.
I swung the sword, cleaving the beast in half with a clean cut. Its body froze and quickly fell into two halves.
"That was pretty impressive."
"..."
"Who are you?"
Suddenly, a group of cadets appeared from the dense vegetation.
It had only been four hours, and they were already hunting in groups.
I frowned at the sight of them.
It looked like their leader was a girl in the first circle.
"Heh."
I laughed at the sight of these cadets daring to approach.
I had defeated a mana beast so easily, but they didn't seem to be afraid of Asher.
Still, I waited for the leader's words.
"Why don't you join our group? There's still room, and with your strength you'd be a great help."
I frowned even more.
They didn't seem to recognize someone lonely.
So I replied.
"No."
Asher gave a quick reply, but the mood among the cadets changed, especially the leader's, whose tone became more serious and commanding. The other cadets began to tremble.
"That's your answer?"
I realized it would be a hassle to deal with them.
"Yes."
The cadet raised her hand.
I waited, but nothing happened. I was taken aback.
Asher then spoke.
"What did you do?"
"Oh, nothing important, I just created a suppression field."
"..."
Asher's face suddenly changed.
A suppression field, how had he done that?
Although it is a magical ability, it takes time to create a suppression field. Its purpose is to strengthen the creator over his opponent.
That meant that the cadet in front of Asher would temporarily be stronger than him until the field was destroyed.
Suddenly, a shiver ran through Asher's body.
"Mmm."
I looked at my body and realized that I was paralyzed by thin purple strands of mana.
"A curse mage."
I laughed as I remembered a curse mage from the past.
For a moment, I thought it would be difficult, but....
"Curse magic has several weaknesses, especially mana threads."
The easiest way to break them is to infuse more mana than the mage can handle.
"That's it."
The cadet spoke, a grim smile appearing on her face.
Now she understood why the others feared her.
She was completely insane.
Despite this, I looked at her with a relaxed expression as she frowned and pulled the strings tighter, pinning me down.
"Are you still confident in this situation?"
"Mmm, I could say yes."
"Heh, you arrogant bastard. I'll beat you until you beg and drag you all over the forest while the monsters attack you."
"That's scary. That's all you had to say?"
"Heh, and what can you...?"
Clank.
The threads snapped.
Due to the large amount of mana that came out of Asher, the threads couldn't take it all at once and burst.
I looked at the cadet, whose face instantly paled. Still, I remained still and calm, at least for now.
"Now tell me, do you know anything about this lake?"