Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End

It was finally nighttime, and a crowd slowly gathered by the borders of the Fog Forest. The gathering of students brought a bustle to this gloomy place where students would hardly come to.

As its name suggested, the Fog Forest was constantly shrouded in a layer of mana-filled fog. Other than limiting the visibility, the fog also befuddled any magic tools and spells that were typically used to discern directions. Under such treacherous conditions, many of those who dared to enter into the Fog Forest eventually lost their way and were never seen again.

Due to that, the academy marked the Fog Forest as a forbidden area.

The Fog Forest extended beyond the Saint Freya Academy into the southern parts of Leinster. In fact, only 10% of the Fog Forest was located in the Saint Freya Academy.

Due to the high concentration of mana in the forest, there were many precious magic materials that could be harvested from the forest. That was also the reason why many adventurers tried to challenge the odds and venture into the forest hoping to strike it rich, only to end up as another name on the list of missing individuals.

There were some legends surrounding the enigmatic Fog Forest, such as the forest concealing some shocking secret and all sorts of hubble-bubble. These also played a part in inviting curiosity about the forest, though Roel felt that most of those rumors lacked credibility.

Anyway, the reason why everyone was gathered before the Fog Forest at this moment was because it was the entrance to the dungeon.

Despite the dangers of the Fog Forest, those who were blessed by the spirit guides would still be able to remain safe if they only loitered in the outer perimeters of the Fog Forest. As for those who failed to get close to the spirit guides over the last few hours…

“I can do it, really. Please let me in. I’ve prepared a long time for this!”

“Senior, please give me a chance! Let me just give it another try…”

There were two distinct groups at the moment. One consisted of teachers and students with glowing spherical balls flying around them, and the other was filled with students with either desperate or despondent looks on their faces.

The Enforcement Division had cast a special spell at the entrance that would drive away any spirit guides who hadn’t gotten attached to any student, as if jilting their partner. Naturally, those students who lost their spirit guides wouldn’t be permitted to enter the Fog Forest. This was a safety precaution taken to ensure the students’ safety.

There were some tenacious students who were unwilling to give up and tried barging their way into the forest, but they were all taken down before they could even come close.

Roel looked at the group of eliminated students and sighed deeply before turning his attention back to the two motivated young ladies standing beside him.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll surely acquire a Rose Ring and turn this place into our love nest.”

“Miss Charlotte, what nonsense are you spouting? Roel is my subordinate, and I’m his protector. It’s only natural that he’ll be standing by my side as my aide after I become a Ringbearer.”

The golden-haired girl looked at the auburn-haired girl with a provocative smile on her lips as she reached out to grab Roel’s tie, as if declaring her dominance here. On the other hand, Charlotte also responded with an ‘amicable’ smile too.

“I have no qualms with Roel joining your faction if you did manage to obtain a ring, but does that hinder our relationship? Surely you can’t be thinking of dictating the private life of your subordinates, are you? Are you actually a tyrant?”

“Charlotte, you…”

Nora’s eyes narrowed sharply upon hearing those words, and Charlotte met her gaze without fear. Neither was willing to back down at all. Roel could only sigh softly to himself and pray for the dungeon to open as quickly as possible.

As if his prayers had been heard, the shadows shrouding the Fog Forest suddenly darkened as the spirit guides began to shimmer around energetically.

“It’s starting.”

“Yes, it is.”

The two young ladies shot a glance in Roel’s direction before exchanging a nod and parting ways. They followed their own spirit guides into the forest. Roel waited for their silhouettes to be fully concealed in the fog before setting off himself.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

Roel carefully opened up the magic tool, and the spirit guide inside soared into the sky before descending back to his side. It circled a few rounds around him before heading into the forest, and he quickly followed it too.

As he headed deeper and deeper into the forest, he found the concentration of fog around him becoming thicker and thicker. At one point in time, it looked almost as if he was walking amidst an utterly white landscape, but the fog abruptly dissipated a few steps later. His field of vision suddenly opened up, and he found that he was able to see beyond several hundred meters.

So, the first thing Roel did was to scan his surroundings, and he found himself surrounded by massive trees. They were of a different species and size from the eerie and warped trees of the Fog Forest, looking far more luxuriant in comparison. In fact, it made him wonder if he had been transported into the ancient era.

While he was assessing the new environment, more students arrived in the area under the lead of the spirit guides.

As the scores were determined individually and most of the students who were coincidentally teleported to the same area didn’t know one another, they didn’t bother teaming up either. They chose to keep some distance away from one another while preparing for the upcoming battle.

The forest remained quiet for quite a while when the howl of a wolf suddenly shattered the serenity of the night.

Grar!

Under the moonlight, pairs of gleaming eyes suddenly appeared from the depths of the forest, growing more and more numerous as they approached the students. It was a pack of mutated Demon Wolves, a species commonly found in various parts of the Sia Continent. They averaged at around Origin Level 6, making them one of the weakest demonic beasts individually.

At first glance, it would appear as if there was nothing frightening about them other than their number.

Many relieved sighs could be heard from the crowd upon seeing their opponents. The freshmen, who averaged out at Origin Level 5, were overjoyed to learn that their enemies were weaker than them, and they felt like victory was already in their grasp.

After all, Origin Level 5 was a dividing line for a transcendent, marking a significant gap in strength. Most of the students believed that they could deal with Origin Level 6 demonic beasts with ease.

However, Roel couldn’t help but frown upon sensing the relaxed atmosphere shrouding them. He scanned his surroundings and noticed that some of the students wearing armor also had grim looks on their faces as well.

It looks like most students will be eliminated faster than I thought.

Roel shook his head as he walked toward a massive boulder to shield his back before starting to channel his mana.

…

It was a bustling night for Saint Freya Academy not just for the freshmen but the senior students too.

The largest stadium in the academy was currently filled to brim, such that there was not a single empty seat to be seen. Needless to say, they were all senior students. They looked at the projection magic tools placed on the center dueling ring with excited looks on their faces, cheering and booing from time to time.

What they were watching at the moment wasn’t a fight between students in the top twenty ranking but the freshmen in ‘Night of the Demons’.

The events in the dungeon were telecasted to all of the students, and it was one of the most popular programs in the academy every year.

Other than to immerse the student in a dangerous scenario where they were forced to fight for their lives, this trial also doubled as a selection, not just for the Ringbearers but the Scholar Guilds and student organizations too. Through the telecast, these organizations could identify specific freshmen whom they wished to extend an invitation to.

As for the normal students, this telecast was simply one of the rare interesting programs in a world that lacked a developed entertainment industry. It was somewhat similar to the football matches in Roel’s previous life, including the gambling and cheerleading aspects of it too.

“Go, young miss, go!”

“Woah, the third team has already survived the first wave of beasts!”

“That golden-haired girl in the seventh team is really strong. Who is she?”

“Long live Her Highness!”

All kinds of discussions and cheerings could be heard in the stadium. Depending on what they saw through the telecast, the spectators would shoot to their feet and roar in delight at one moment, only to facepalm in the next.

But when the projection shifted over to a forest filled with massive trees, the crowd in the stadium suddenly fell silent as a mixture of grim and sympathetic looks appeared on their faces.

The Giantwood Forest was one of the trials in ‘Night of the Demons’ that the senior students had a strong impression of due to its hellish difficulty.

There were more than fifty trials in ‘Night of the Demons’ in total, but the freshmen would only be transported to ten of them or so. Each of these trials had different levels of difficulty, but of them, there were three that were dubbed to be at ‘team wipe level’, though the scores earned would be proportionately marked up as well. One of these ‘team wipe level’ trials was the Giantwood Forest.

The beasts lurking in the Giantwood Forest may look ordinary at first glance, but the wolf pack was actually far more troublesome to deal with than the enemies in the other trials because they were capable of cooperating with one another. In order to buy an opportunity for its allies to deal a fatal blow, they would even go to the extent of sacrificing itself to clamp down on the weapons of the enemies. This was definitely not what any of the other beasts in the other trials would do.

Even the more veteran fighters amongst the senior students would rather deal with a mixed army of Origin Level 5 demonic beasts than to face a pack of Origin Level 6 Demon Wolves. At least the former would just be a normal chaotic battle, but the latter was practically a lynching session.

And for those who did manage to survive the wolf pack, a greater despair awaited them.

“Those freshmen are truly unlucky.”

“What a pity.”

The spectating crowd sighed lamentably.

On the staff members’ side, a crimson-haired woman noticed the presence of a black-haired young man standing amidst the massive trees in the projection, and she couldn’t help but frown. She subconsciously took out a cigarette and lit it up.

Lilian Ackermann was in the stadium as well, sitting on the VIP platform. She had already changed her uniform out for a more comfortable long skirt. She watched the same black-haired young man in the projection intently with her amethyst eyes, her expression oddly nonchalant as if she was unaffected by the heated atmosphere around her.

“Lord Lilian, are you still paying attention to that freshman?” a voice suddenly sounded.

Following that, a dashing orange-haired young man walked over to Lilian’s side. He was dressed in the clothes typical of the Austine Empire. He wore a ring that gleamed with a gentle green light under the moonlight.

He was Glint Doran, a Second Grade student. He was the one who clinched the champion seat in the previous ‘Night of the Demons’, as well as the bearer of the Greenrose Ring. He took a look at the black-haired young man fighting in the projection, only to shake his head.

“Is that undead-type spells? He’d definitely rank in the top amongst the freshmen as an Origin Level 4 transcendent, but he isn’t raking up much kills there. It looks like he lacks combat experience. What a pity it is for him to be transported to the Giantwood Forest. He’s probably still oblivious to the threats lurking around him,” remarked Glint disdainfully as he glanced at the massive trees in the surroundings.

Lilian didn’t refute his words. She thought about that pair of fearless eyes that had met her gaze earlier in the day and fell into deep contemplation.

Is this really all he has?