[Lifespan Remaining: 2 days, 4 hours, 16 minutes.]
Well, Noct should’ve expected something of this caliber, as they were in the yellow zone. Undead monsters were already difficult to deal with if the party didn’t have a Cleric, but an Undead Mage posed a serious threat.
Depending on how strong they were when they were alive, an Undead Mage could easily be recategorized as a "lich" if it was sufficiently strong. Which was why Noct needed to take these ones down now before it became any worse.
Annie’s tracker began clicking violently. "The mages...they’re probably on the peak of 2-Stars. The soldiers too!"
"Probably?"
"I told you, it’s still a prototype!"
The Undead Mage raised its staff, causing sick green light to form above its skull and bathing the trees in necrotic energy. Finn managed to react in time, extending his barrier outward and curving it around the four of them before the spell could be completed.
And a few seconds later...
BOOOOOOOOOM—!
A blast of unholy energy struck the barrier. The force was so massive that it caused Finn to slide backward across the dirt, but his barrier managed to absorb the attack.
Colorless mana rushed from his fingertips, filling the fractures before they could spread any farther. However, it was clear that Finn was growing tired.
"Noct!" Finn called out. "What should we do?"
Noct evaluated the situation with a glance. Another undead soldier began rising from the ground, while the first one that grabbed his leg was closing in quickly. Even worse, the Undead Mage was preparing for another spell.
"Tch...we can’t let them get too close," he concluded quickly. "Finn, keep the soldiers off of us. Annie, I need you to locate us an escape route."
"What about me?" Alice asked.
She already had her one hand resting on the sword at her waist. With the other, a small mark had somehow appeared on her hand, even when Noct could’ve sworn it hadn’t been there before.
Still, if Noct remembered correctly, Alice herself was also a scholarship student and a prominent figure in this arc. So she had to be somewhat competent.
"Can you deal with that mage by yourself?"
Alice drew her sword, allowing mana to flow through her arms and legs, strengthening her body through the most basic form of enhancement magic.
’A Magic Swordsman? The same as Rosse then...’
Unlike the Warrior base class that used aura as their main energy, Magic Swordsman was still technically part of the Mage base class as something like a branching pathway. It was quite popular in Ending Fantasy, actually.
They used mana to replicate the physical prowess of Warriors, with the downside of not being as powerful. But what they lacked in strength, they supplied with versatility, as the biggest upside of being a Magic Swordsman...was obviously access to magic.
And by looking at Alice, Noct could tell why she had earned that scholarship in the first place. The mark on her hand began to glow a soft purple as she readied herself.
’Fate Magic...’
That was why she was personally scouted and given a scholarship by Headmaster Scarlett. Though, she had been expelled and sentenced to prison before anyone could witness her full potential.
As soon as Alice took a single step outside the barrier, Noct could instinctively feel the magic working. She launched herself forward at breakneck speed, dodging a skeletal soldier that tried to intercept her. But with a single twist of her body, she dodged the attack completely and sent the soldier tumbling to the ground.
Alice then simply leaped over it, completely unbothered by the whole ordeal. It was almost like fate helping her out.
Once she chose a destination and began moving toward it, the surrounding possibilities would shift in her favor until she reached it.
However, the Undead Mage had already completed its spell. Three bolts of blue fire shot toward her from separate directions, leaving no visible space for her to avoid them.
Noct didn’t really want to reveal his cards too early, but if someone was going to die for no reason, then there was no point in holding back.
But just as he was about to call upon Sylpheed’s power, what happened next left Noct in shock.
One of the Dead Woods’ blackened branches snapped from above and fell in between Alice and the attack.
Two bolts collided with it and exploded, while the third passed through the smoke that had been created by the impact. However, that gave her enough space to dodge it and emerge on the other side without losing any momentum.
The Undead Mage attempted to retreat, but its heel caught against the edge of its own burial mound.
Alice reached her destination, driving her sword straight into the mage’s ribs and piercing the core instantly.
CRACK—!
The monster collapsed into a pile of bones while Alice landed behind it. Pouring the holy water that was given to each candidate onto her sword, she simply stabbed its skull, not allowing it to revive.
Noct did not miss the chance. As the core dropped onto the ground, he summoned a small gust of wind discreetly, bringing the mana core toward his palm.
’Let’s see how much you’re worth...’
〔Mana-Lifeforce Synthesis [★★★★★★★] — Activated.〕
[Lifespan Remaining: 2 days, 5 hours, 9 minutes.]
’An hour only? Well, I guess I can’t expect much from only a 2-Star monster core.’
Still, it wasn’t as efficient as Noct would’ve hoped. Even consuming a 7-Star monster core only gave him around a month’s worth of lifespan.
The energy inside the core vanished as its mana entered Noct. What remained in his palm was nothing more than a dull piece of crystal.
’Not sure if I’m able to submit a depleted monster core...’
Noct had been optimistic about the fact. Maybe he could absorb a bit of the monster core and keep it shiny enough to submit them. Unfortunately, his skill didn’t particularly seem to care about stopping halfway.
The more he examined the lifeless crystal, the less likely it seemed that the Academy would accept it.
’...Guess I’m going to have to do double time. If each core provided an hour, I’d want to have at least 48 cores just to be safe. Then another ten to pass and however many more was needed to get first-place.’
’Ugh...guess there’s no point in lying low now, is there...?’
"Lower the barrier."
Finn stared at him. "What?"
"Just lower it."
"But there are still more of them!"
"That’s why I need you to lower it."
Finn looked hesitant, but eventually closed his hand. The shield in front of them dissolved away, and the undead warriors that had been held back by it, started charging forth immediately.
With a flick of his fingers, the currents around them started gathering. All three of them could feel the change instantly as Sylpheed’s power emerged.
Noct knew he couldn’t access the same power he had wielded against Leviathan, but from that experience, he managed to pick up a thing or two even without Sylph’s help.
Mainly...
?Fae Regalia?
The winds compressed and formed into several swords that hung in the air, ready to follow his beck and call. Noct stretched his arms before pointing two fingers forward to the charging warriors and muttering a single phrase.
"Go."