[Lifespan Remaining: 10 days, 13 hours, 29 minutes.]
"Raise the shields!"
Instructor Klein ordered the guards, all of which headed to their zone and placed a device onto the ground. After a second, a bright light spiraled into the air, connecting with each other and creating a dome around Base Camp D.
The transportation mirror was officially dow and someone had stolen the core, but in this situation, there was no time to find the culprit.
’We need to find a replacement...’
Though one thing Noct knew for sure was the fact that the culprit had not expected a trap to be placed there. They probably expected nothing and had to defend themselves from the blast.
However, in doing so, they damaged the mirror in the process. And even if Noct did manage to find a replacement monster core, the mirror would have to be recalibrated to match with the other side in Rexford.
"I can do it..." Annie suddenly stepped forward. "We’re calibrating from really far away, so it will take some time. But I’m sure I can do it."
CRACK—!
An impact struck the barrier as soon as she said those words, causing everyone’s head to snap toward the direction of the attack.
"We don’t have another option," Klein concluded. "Do whatever you need. We’re counting on you."
She quickly approached the mirror, dumping her bag of tools onto the floor, and got to work instantly. Instructor Klein turned to the custodian, who was supposed to be the expert knowledge on it.
"How can we get that mirror powered on again?"
The custodian flinched, answering meekly. "U—uhm...there n—needs to be at least the equivalent of a—a 5-Star monster core..."
"Damn it," Instructor Klein muttered. "How many normal cores is that...?"
"At least 400 average 2-Star Cores, give or take, sir."
"We’re going to be dead before that happens."
Noct quickly joined the conversation, pointing toward the wooden crates. "Not really. All the combined cores we have would add up to around 300 already. If we can get another hundred or so..."
"Then we’ll be able to get out of here," Instructor Klein slowly realized. "We might still have a chance...!"
Noct sighed softly before turning his attention back to the rest of the camp. The remaining candidates had already taken their positions.
Lucy and the remaining members of Group Eleven stood at the center of the camp. Both Alex and Airy wasn’t doing so well, but Lucy herself seemed to have pulled herself together.
It was because of them that this disaster happened, therefore, they would be the ones to help defend their camp with their lives on the line.
Lucy wanted to take the main northern gate, but Klein stopped them from doing so, reassigning them to the eastern gate instead. Mira’s Group Twelve was assigned to the western gate while Robin and Instructor Klein took the north.
As for Group Thirteen, they were ordered to stay at the center and provide support. Finn had already begun helping Annie with her work by providing his affinity-less mana, so it was actually only Noct and Alice.
She approached slowly. "What’s...going to happen now?"
His expression must’ve been quite grim, as when Noct turned, it caused her to flinch a little. "There’s no reason to start pointing fingers now. We need to survive this, whatever it takes."
Surprisingly, the students were relatively well-organized. Despite having no way back, no one was outwardly panicking like Noct had expected them to.
Even the guards seemed scared. Maybe it was because they were elites, but even after watching one candidate die, it didn’t seem to phase them much.
It was probably because they were in the presence of a 4-Star Knight, and no strong monsters had shown themselves. But Noct knew that would change very soon.
BOOOOOOM—!
The barrier above the northern gate shattered.
Fragments of translucent mana scattered through the air before dissolving. The undead outside immediately surged toward the exposed wall, their weapons scraping against one another as they pressed forward.
"Prepare yourselves!" Instructor Klein shouted. "They’re coming!"
The first skeletal soldier finally forced its way through the broken wood. Lucy stepped forward and drove her sword against its chest.
CLANG—!
Alex followed up instantly, using an arrow that grew large vines onto the ground, which grabbed onto the undead warrior’s ankles and drove it off balance.
One of the guards nearby pinned its sword arm against the ground, giving Lucy enough time to drive her sword through the gap, causing its body to collapse.
"Make sure to collect their cores! That’s our ticket out!" Instructor Klein yelled, easily taking out another undead before moving on to the next.
Above them, Mira suddenly raised her staff.
"There’s more coming from the eastern side!"
Even with the effort of Group 11, it was clear that they wouldn’t be able to hold the eastern side. So they could only cut their losses.
"Pull back!" Noct yelled out.
Luckily, with the geography that their camp had been on, a small lake had stood between them and the eastern side. Skeletal soldiers, which tried crawling their way through the lake, had an exceedingly difficult time.
They toppled on top of each other, sinking into the bottom, but those that could move were approaching them quickly. Various bolts of different elemental energy rained down on the lake, helping coming from Mira’s side as their gate was relatively empty.
Noct watched the whole exchange, getting a weird feeling he couldn’t quite describe.
For candidates attempting to enter Rexford Academy, they were probably far above average. If he really thought about it, just one of these undead warriors would be enough to destroy a small town.
And yet...seeing the students already beginning to struggle, it gave him a new perspective on things.
Robin’s group was performing considerably better.
Nolan planted his shield in front of the broken gate and absorbed the charge of two skeletal soldiers at once. Violet had spread a zone of Light Magic across the ground, weakening the necrotic mana of all the undeads that entered.
Celine stood on the wooden rafters above them, chanting a spell for what seemed to be the past minute before finally finishing it.
"...O flame stolen from the gods, return to heavens and rain upon mine enemies!"
?Magia Flare: Pluvia Ember? — [★★★]
[Rain of Fire]
Dozens of flaming spheres floated above her head, cascading down onto the undead below who had already been debuffed by Violet. Each sphere that came in contact with an undead left only charred bones behind.
While this happened, Robin dodged and wove around the flames precisely, finishing off the ones that were still alive or any that managed to slip past Nolan. Driving his sword into the last undead’s skull, he stood up slowly before taking a deep breath.
"This area is clear for now!"
However, Noct felt like something was still wrong. The Hidden King’s Tomb was located north, and therefore, most of the undead force should be coming from the north.
But...where was the boss?
That was when Noct sensed something, a deathly mana, traveling as strands that traveled between the skeletons approaching the camp. It then stopped at the eastern gate, manifesting as a cold presence.
’What is...?’
From the other side of the lake, a sudden chill emitted. It was so cold that the water’s surface started freezing up. And there, a figure stood atop the newly formed ice, reeking with the stench of death.
Alice gripped the sword on her waist tightly as Noct tried to squint for a better look. They both couldn’t see the creature, but they both could instinctively feel it.
"Something strong is here..."