Chapter 46.1: The Final Assessment

Chapter 46.1: The Final Assessment
Isolde moved carefully through the thick undergrowth of the dungeon forest, her breathing steady as she listened closely for any movement. With five magic stones now in her pouch, she can't help but to let out a sigh because she was far from achieving the requirement to pass the third and final assessment.

She is aware that her progress is slow and that is because she is trying her best to be undetected. She knew that if she will stand out a lot of her fellow examinees will try to ambush her to get her magic stones. But so far, everything was going smoothly for her sake - maybe too smoothly.

She brushed a few branches aside, keeping her steps light and soundless. Her eyes scanned the environment, alert to even the faintest signs of a lurking monster. Since their domain is a forest there can be a variety of monsters around. What she hunted so far are wolves but there could be other monsters that are more dangerous than wolves.

She was then about to move forward but then she heard screams an it was not far from her. Three voices—definitely female and one of them was familiar.

Isolde’s body instinctively moved towards the sound. Without second thoughts, she sprinted, leaves crunching beneath her feet as she followed the desperate cries for help. Just as she initially thought, it wasn't that far, maybe a few meters north of her location.

The moment she crossed a steep incline and ducked beneath a hanging vine, the scene came into view. Her breath caught.She know that she is not obliged to help because if a stuent has already dire wounds, the dean assured that they will immediately be transported back to the examination hall in one piecee.

But her conscience wouldn't let her just look away.

Three girls stood trapped against a large rock formation. Their backs were pressed tightly together, eyes wide with fear. Surrounding them were five towering monsters—trolls, each one almost thrice the size of a man. Their skin was thick, with gray-green hues, and their yellowed fangs gleamed as they snarled. It was the same type of monster that she fought on her way to the academy, the only difference is that the trolls now are acting solely based on instinct.

One of the girls was the same one Isolde had a conversation with yesterday - it was Mira. Her hair was slightly disheveled, but her hands glowed faintly with magic as she tried to hold up a shield made of water.

However, knowing the strength of the trolls, Isolde knew that in a few more minutes Mira will lose mana and the trolls will be able to pierce through the water shield she created. On the other hand, Isolde don't know what's wrong with the other two on why they aren't helping Mira because they can already land an attack while Mira is maintaining the shield.

But despite her curiosity, one thing is for sure the trolls were growing impatient.

“Don’t let it down!” one girl shouted.

“I’m trying! So at least do your best to cast an offensive attack!” Mira yelled back, clearly straining.

Isolde didn’t waste time. Her hand reached for her sword and as she raised her left hand a gust of wind surged from her side and slammed into the nearest troll’s legs, knocking it off balance. The creature bellowed as it hit the ground, causing a brief opening in the tight circle around the girls.

“Move!” Isolde shouted as she ran toward them, eyes focused, voice calm.

The girls turned in surprise but didn’t hesitate. Mira, whose shield was fading, dropped to the ground and rolled away as Isolde jumped in front, landing between them and two incoming trolls.

Her palm hit the earth, and with a whisper, the ground trembled.

“Rise.”

Spikes of earth jutted up from beneath, impaling one troll’s foot and forcing it back with a painful roar. The second one tried to charge her from the side, but Isolde sidestepped and thrust her palm forward again—this time, summoning a small vortex of water that slammed into its face, blinding it momentarily.

“Can you still fight?” she asked without looking back.

The girl from yesterday, panting, stepped up beside her. “Yes. I owe you one.”

Isolde was initially planning on making them handle most of the attacks to take down the trolls, and she will just be a support but from the looks of it Mira is already about to suffer from mana depletion and the two other girls are just the same.

"Just how long were they fighting these trolls for them to be in such state?"

“No need,” Isolde decided. “Just rest and try to recuperate your mana. If you can cast a spell no matter how simple, try to attack the trolls. I'll make sure that they will not reach you.”

Although confused, the girls simply nodded, regrouping behind her. The other two trolls were approaching now. Five of them still alive. She needed to thin their numbers.

Isolde raised both arms and closed her eyes for just a second. Her mana surged. The air around her vibrated.

“Burn.”

A precise stream of fire erupted from her hand, not too wide, but powerful enough to hit the chest of the troll on the far left. It roared, swinging wildly, and caught one of its companions in the leg with its flailing arm.

They’re clumsy. That was their weakness. Strong, but slow which made them quite uncoordinated. Isolde turned to the other girls. “Focus on defense. I’ll go offensive.”

“Got it!” one of them said.

Two trolls rushed at the same time. Isolde gritted her teeth, gripping her short sword. She ducked under one swipe and slid across the dirt, slashing at a tendon behind the troll’s knee. It howled and stumbled forward.

The other girl cast a wind spell—an impressive one, slicing across the troll’s shoulder. Another took the opportunity to slam a water burst directly into its face.

Together, they pushed them back.

But the largest troll wasn’t done yet. It slammed its fists on the ground, sending a wave of force across the area. The shock hit Isolde hard and made her stumble, but she stayed on her feet. She could feel the others getting weaker, though.

She had to end it.

Gathering a few of her mana for a strong spell, she raised her right hand and whispered, “Flame binding.” Ribbons of fire wrapped around the legs of two trolls and exploded upward, trapping their arms and burning through their thick skin. The monsters roared in pain but couldn’t break free. With a final coordinated effort, Isolde leapt into the air, sword glowing with fire, and plunged it into the chest of the lead troll.

The beast convulsed, then fell with a thud that shook the ground.

The others, now panicked and heavily injured, tried to flee—but a final volley of water and wind spells brought them down one by one. Isolde knew that those were from Mira and her teammates.

The forest grew silent again. Isolde breathed heavily, chest rising and falling as she knelt on one knee, the last embers of her fire spell dying at her fingertips. This is the first time that she felt tired from fighting monsters - well maybe because the first time that she did, she was only a mage, a support, and that she didnt handled fighting in front.

Behind her, the three girls stared, wide-eyed, not quite believing what just happened.

Isolde stood and turned to them. “Are you hurt?”

They all shook their heads, too stunned to speak. Mira—the one with the calm voice and the kind smile—finally stepped forward.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “If you hadn’t come…”

Isolde gave a small smile. “You would’ve figured something out.”

“Maybe,” the girl laughed breathlessly. “But probably not in time since our mana is about to run out.”

Isolde reached into the remains of one of the trolls and pulled out a dark purple magic stone. She tossed it toward the girl.

“You three take the stones. You have five here. Split it.”

The girl looked at the stone in her hand, then at Isolde. “What about you?”

Isolde shook her head ”It's your hunt, so the magic stones are yours to keep. I just helped you."

One of the others stepped forward. “You’re serious? These monsters are Grade 3…”

“Doesn’t matter,” Isolde said with a shrug. “By the way, why are you guys almost run out of mana? WIth your abilities and magic you could have took down at least three of them?"

The three looked at each other then back to her and Mira started explaining the reason why and Isolde cannot help but to frown in disbelief of what she heard.