The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 183 Random Defense in the Midterm Exam (5)

Student Council President Dolores.

She was watching with a pleased expression as her 1st-year club juniors set a new record. But as time passed, Dolores’ expression grew stiffer.

“Why isn’t the exam ending?”

She wasn’t the only one with this reaction. The entire audience, students, and even professors who were monitoring the exam were bewildered.

“What’s going on?”

“Why hasn’t the exam ended when their HP is 0?”

“They’re 1st-years! Who initiated Phase 2?”

The phases were managed by magical devices that emitted a blue light, looking like crystals. Those in charge of these devices were staring at the instrument panels with distressed expressions.

“It seems that there’s still a strong life reaction left beyond the registered students in the exam area, causing an error.”

“What? What are you talking about? There are only four students in the arena!”

The professors’ responses were bewildered. Originally, there was only the life force equivalent to about four humans in the arena, and that had been converted into points by the HP suits. With it now at 0, there shouldn’t be any life reactions left.

Yet, clearly displayed on the instrument panel was one more “life-filled being” capable of combat.

The professors were dumbfounded and tried to look beyond the magical barrier, but they couldn’t see any living creatures other than the students.

“In any case, it seems that there was an error due to a conflict between the life reaction check magic and the phase management magic.”

“Oh no, this is serious. Why did this error happen? Even if there are only four students in the arena… Ah, that’s not the most important thing right now! Quickly, stop this match!”

“To be precise, we are from the phase management department, not the life reaction checking magic department…”

“Who cares about your department?! It’s not going to work, is it? It’s faster to stop the golems than try to fix the magical code, right?”

“But… You see, starting this year, golem creation and movement have been automated. The related magical code is linked to magic stones, and to dismantle it, we would have to deactivate the life reaction check magic and the phase management magic first.”

“What? Are you kidding me? You set up the magical code for the exam so carelessly! Then what do you suggest? Tell me how to fix this!”

“Well, there is a solution, of course! Since the magical barrier code surrounding the arena is separate, we could temporarily disable it, allowing the students to exit.”

“Then, disable the magical barrier!”

“But the magical barrier isn’t under our jurisdiction… This could lead to complicated issues in terms of responsibility.”

‘Jurisdiction’ and ‘responsibility’ were truly words that could make anyone’s brain freeze, even if they were rational and sensible people. In times of crisis, it was even more so. What appeared to be minor issues stacked on top of each other due to overlapped administrative work.

Nonetheless, there was a solution. They needed to disable the transparent magical dome surrounding the arena and allow the trapped students to exit.

The head professor gave instructions with a boiling face.

“Then quickly disable the magical barrier. Let the students inside come out.”

“But the magical barrier isn’t under our jurisdiction, so… I will try to find someone who has the magical barrier key.”

The professors of the department head level moved hastily.

Finally, a professor holding the magical barrier key appeared. It was none other than Banshee Morg, a promising candidate for the next vice-principal.

He was supervising another exam in a different building but rushed over upon hearing about the series of events happening in Tudor’s team.

“The magical barrier key? Well, I do have it…”

Banshee Morg was perplexed as he produced the key, which contained a spell for disabling the magical barrier. The key had a large letter “A” written on it.

“The magical barrier dismantling key isn’t possible with just one key. If we don’t have the B key, the A key is useless.”

To enhance security, the key had been divided into two parts.

After Professor Banshee’s announcement, all the professors began searching for the B key. Yet, another incident occurred.

“Professor Sadi, who has the B key, left her post without authorization!”

“What? Seriously!? Oh, that bitch! It’s been days since she was disciplined for her neglect… Where in the world did she go?!?”

“She said she was going to the restroom, and then we lost contact.”

“Damn it! This crazy woman…!?”

While the professors were wasting time dealing with these various issues, Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca were struggling to fend off the ants.

“What the hell? Why isn’t the fantasy dungeon, golem creation, or magical barrier being disabled?”

Their HP had already dropped to zero the last fight, so they had no choice but to physically fight against the monsters.

The ants were still relentlessly rushing at them.

In a defense-type structure like this, the monsters were generated without limit. Moreover, in the 2nd phase, specifically designed for 2nd-year students, these were not ordinary ants.

[O-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!]

A giant ant with a massive body rose up among the swarm. Its head was as broad and tough as a shield, covered with countless spikes, and it was several times larger than the other ants.

“A soldier ant!”

Figgy exclaimed in shock. If such creatures mixed in with ordinary ants, there was no hope.

“Damn it, we have to stop it!”

“I’ll give it a try!”

Tudor and Sancho did their best to stand their ground, but they couldn’t produce a wave of mana from the depleted mana pool.

The soldier ant rushed forward with its shield-like head and sent Tudor and Sancho flying.

Crash!

It smashed their supply spears and axes, which were already bare. Then the soldier ants began to push them with their shielded heads.

It felt like being overwhelmed by an army of shield bearers. Figgy, Tudor, Sancho, and Bianca were crushed by the oncoming ants.

“It’s heavy!”

“Ugh! They keep coming!”

“I… I feel like I’m going to die!”

“Aaah! What are the professors doing!?”

Everyone was groaning in agony.

The situation was quite severe, but the accident had occurred in the blink of an eye. The professors had not yet figured out a solution and were too busy arguing with each other.

Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca were struggling to fend off the ants as their HP had already reached zero. They had to physically engage in combat against the monsters.

Meanwhile, Dolores, who had rushed to the scene, felt a deep sense of despair and frustration. She couldn’t understand why the professors were not taking action to help the students.

“Guys, just hold on a little longer!”

Dolores took a deep breath and then drew a dagger from the professor’s belt next to her. Ignoring the professors’ protests and warnings, she dashed toward the magical stone.

“What are you doing, Student Council President!”

“Are you out of your mind!? Stop right now!”

“If you break that, it won’t end with just expulsion! We’ll directly demand compensation from Quovadis…!”

But no threat or warning could stop Dolores. She was determined to save her juniors at any cost. She raised her dagger and was about to strike the magical stone.

“Hyah!”

However, just as she was about to bring the dagger down, a series of violent noises echoed from inside the arena. The audience outside, behind the magical barrier, was startled.

“!?”

Dolores quickly looked around, and the other professors who were rushing to stop her also froze in astonishment as they watched what was happening inside the arena.

The magical barrier, designed to keep external intruders and internal exits blocked, was still intact. However, inside the barrier, something they had never seen before was happening.

A man stood there, in front of Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca as they faced the oncoming ants. His aura was imposing and seemed to exude power.

“Step aside.”

It was Vikir.