Several days had passed since the consolation banquet.
With the first Labyrinth Conquest Battle behind it, the Royal Arcadia Academy of Magic was slowly but surely shifting gears toward the next stage—preparing for the second conquest scheduled for two months from now.
As a result, scenes far removed from the mundane peace of everyday life were unfolding throughout the grounds.
In the Medical Wing, the treatment of the wounded continued unabated. Walking through the hallways, I passed numerous students with their arms in slings or wrapped in bandages. Some had finally roused from comas induced by mana depletion, while others remained confined to their beds, still in the throes of recovery.
However, many of those who had completed their treatment were already moving on to their next steps.
I saw those who had only just recovered standing in the courtyard, swinging wooden swords.
I saw those practicing their incantations over and over at the training grounds.
And I saw those scattered throughout the academy attending lectures, absorbing every scrap of knowledge they could about traversing the labyrinth.
The students had begun their respective preparations.
The most recent conquest was over, but it was far from the end.
If anything, the real challenge started now.
It was because they understood this that the students who had recovered from their injuries were striving to regain their strength as quickly as possible, desperate to surpass who they were before.
(—But... not everyone can overcome their fear like that.)
On the path from the student dormitory to the Main School Building, I frequently spotted students weighted down by heavy luggage as they prepared to leave the academy for good. Many of them wore expressions like the walking dead. They kept their heads bowed, moving toward the main gate with slow, silent steps.
They would exchange a few brief words with a teacher, and that was it—no further ceremony, just a quiet farewell.
Some students had family members waiting for them.
Having likely not seen each other for a long time, some were pulled into relieved embraces, while others simply handed over their bags in silence.
However, not everyone had someone waiting.
I saw many others boarding communal carriages arranged by the academy.
Bundled together by their shared circumstances, groups of students climbed into the carriages without a word.
While some spoke softly to one another, others simply stared at the floor from their seats.
No one made a scene; no one screamed.
They simply left the academy in silence.
Those who cannot fight cannot remain here.
And so they leave.
While they are still alive.
While they still have the chance to choose a different life.
(...That’s for the best.)
The labyrinth is not kind. It is a place that claims lives without mercy.
That was exactly why—
The ones who remained were all individuals who had found their resolve.
They were the ones who had decided to challenge the labyrinth even if it meant betting their very lives.
With that resolve in their hearts, the students moved forward with their own preparations.
■
The Academy Cafeteria was a little quieter than usual this morning.
Normally, this place would be teeming with students at this hour.
However, with the conquest so fresh, many were still in the Medical Wing, leaving several tables empty.
Even so, groups of students were scattered throughout the hall, hunched over their meals as they talked.
Most of the conversation likely revolved around the labyrinth.
Reflections on the battle.
Where they had fallen short.
What they needed to train before the next descent.
Those topics echoed from every corner.
Our group was no different.
"That fight at the Core... it was pretty brutal," Yuu muttered, tearing off a piece of bread.
I looked up at his words.
"Was it that bad?"
"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "You probably know since you went as far as the Core room entrance, Rai, but there was a monster in black iron armor past that point. You know, like the one you were fighting. That thing was incredibly strong... we had a hell of a time with it."
Yuu gave a wry smile as he ate his bread.
Beside him, Ciel gave a small nod of agreement.
"It was a monster that blades wouldn't penetrate unless you hit the joints. Even Lene’s greatsword couldn't cut through that plating."
"...It's true."
Lene looked down, her brow furrowing slightly as she recalled the encounter. Eventually, she looked at me with a hesitant, questioning gaze.
"Lord Rai... you defeated them so easily, didn't you?"
At her reserved comment, I paused my meal.
"They aren't difficult once you know the trick to beating them."
"A trick...? What are you talking about?"
Yuu put his bread back on his plate, his brows knitting in confusion.
I chuckled and set my knife and fork down.
"You know that every monster has a specific weakness, right?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Like being weak to magic or physical attacks," Ciel added, following Yuu’s lead.
I nodded. "In combat against monsters, the most important thing is finding that weakness as quickly as possible. No monster is perfectly invincible. There’s always a flaw—take that Armored Monster, for instance."
I tapped the table lightly with my finger.
"Just as it looks, its physical defense is abnormally high. If you try to slash it head-on, you won't do any meaningful damage."
"""Ugh..."""
The three of them grimaced simultaneously.
It seemed they had all tried to take it on with stubborn, direct force.
Ciel might have tried a more technical approach, but regardless, trying to overpower that heavy armor was the wrong move.
I smiled at their reactions and continued.
"Armored-type monsters almost always have high physical resistance. That means fighting them with swords or spears is the most exhausting method possible."
"No kidding," Yuu muttered with a dry laugh. "Blades barely left a scratch."
"It's true," Ciel agreed. "Outside of the joints, it was like hitting a stone wall."
"With an opponent like that, the first thing you should do is test them with magic. You cycle through the magic attributes to see which one gets the strongest reaction. That provides the opening for your strategy."
"Ah... so that’s why Elysia was focused on using magic."
I nodded at Yuu’s observation.
"At the very least, she was likely the one using the most optimal fighting style in that situation."
She had kept the vanguards from approaching recklessly, maintaining distance while cycling through attributes. Fire, water, lightning, wind—she must have tested several.
Testing attribute reactions against an unknown enemy is the textbook way to handle a fight.
(Though, in this case, even that wasn't strictly necessary...)
The Black Iron Armor was an extreme case. It wasn't so much about attribute compatibility as it was its fundamental structure. To put it simply: its physical resistance was maxed out, but its magic defense was effectively non-existent.
Fire, water, lightning, or wind—it didn't matter.
As long as you hit it with magic, that "invincible" defense would crumble.
Of course, it wouldn't just stand there and take it, but it was a far more realistic way to win than trying to hack through it.
"Now that you mention it, that thing did look a lot more bothered when the magic hit," Yuu muttered, picking up his bread again.
He chewed slowly and let out a heavy sigh after swallowing.
"If I’d realized that sooner, it might’ve been a lot easier."
Ciel shook her head slightly.
"It can't be helped. When you're in the middle of a life-or-death struggle, you don't usually have the luxury to think like that. It just proves how amazing Elysia was for being able to do it."
Real combat isn't as simple as a game.
The battlefield is fluid. The positions of your allies and the movements of the monsters change every second.
Monsters don't follow pre-programmed patterns.
There’s no guaranteed opening after a specific attack like you’d find in a game.
Observing and identifying a weakness while under that kind of pressure—it’s easy to say, but doing it is a different matter entirely.
"I guess you're right... As expected of our Student Council President."
Just as Yuu finished speaking, a voice drifted down from behind us.
"That appraisal is a bit of an overestimation."
We turned to find Elysia standing there.
As always, her posture was perfect, her back straight as she looked down at us.
It seemed she had been standing nearby for a little while.
"Whoa, Elysia!" Yuu barked in surprise. "You were listening?"
"Only toward the end."
Elysia shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"I wasn't nearly as calm as you seem to think I was back then."
She placed a hand lightly on the back of an empty chair.
"I only tried magic because I couldn't think of anything else. It wasn't exactly a calculated, calm judgment."
She let out a small breath and gave a self-deprecating smile.
"To be honest, I was just desperate."
After saying that, her expression tightened.
It was clear she hadn't come over just to join in on the small talk.
Elysia looked over the four of us, her voice turning serious.
"I was looking for you."
"For us?" Yuu tilted his head.
"Yes. I was at the Medical Wing on Student Council business when I received word."
The atmosphere at the table shifted instantly.
Yuu, Ciel, Lene, and I—all of us turned our full attention to her.
"The girl we rescued in the labyrinth—she has finally woken up."