Hell descended upon the world.
Theresia, who appeared amidst the chaos, was perceived as the demon that controlled hell.
“W-What is this—Kohukk!”
The cadets trapped within the realm struggled to breathe, coughing violently in the scorching air.
Theresia observed them with indifference, casually approaching one of the cadets. With a swift swing of her sword—
Crassang!
The artifact broke, and one cadet vanished.
The other cadets, witnessing the scene, looked at her summon in disbelief.
[Beep, beep, beep.]
[Kek]
[Kolok!]
[Keek!]
Even their summons suffered under the unbearable heat. This was the power of craftsmanship—special Origin Arts that could only be utilized by summons wearing exclusive formal attire.
Among these, Theresia’s exclusive skill was “Domain Declaration”, the ability to summon the last battlefield she had experienced during her lifetime. It was the battlefield where all the Phoenix Knights, herself included, had sacrificed their lives.
“Surrender,” Theresia commanded, her gaze fixed on the struggling cadets.
Since it wasn’t a direct attack, the cadets weren’t considered eliminated. After all, hadn’t she merely raised the temperature of the air? If this level of judgment led to elimination, large summons might be disqualified simply by walking.
“This is the easiest way out,” she added.
“Hngh, this heat…!”
A blonde-haired girl raised her upper body, struggling to resist Theresia’s oppressive aura. Seeing her attempt to rise, Theresia smiled faintly.
“Oh? You have remarkable spirit.”
The girl, with her proud demeanor, summoned her rock golem to counterattack.
“But it’s futile.”
Slash!
The golem was cut down by a sword whose movement was imperceptible. The severed section began to melt like lava. It was a wound the golem couldn’t regenerate.
Witnessing her summon crumble without resistance, the girl fainted.
“Kek, s-save me…”
“I… I surrender…”
One by one, the cadets collapsed under the relentless heat. Eventually, every cadet fell.
When all was quiet, Ian looked at Theresia and gestured for her to retract her skill.
“Well then… now.”
Ian rose and grabbed the wrist of the first girl who had fallen, preparing to retrieve her artifact.
“…Ian?”
“—Ian!”
“Stella and Dinua?”
Belatedly, Stella and Dinua appeared.
* * *
[Third Person POV]
“Ian!”
Ignoring the fallen cadets, Dinua ran straight to him and embraced him tightly. She began inspecting him for injuries.
“Are you okay? Where does it hurt? Are you sick? Should we give up the exam and let you rest?”
“Don’t fuss. Why would I give up the exam for this?”
“But—!”
“It’s fine. There’s more I need to do.”
Gently pushing Dinua away, Ian began collecting the artifacts from the fallen cadets. One by one, he smashed them.
Tiling! Tiling!
Each time an artifact shattered, his own artifact vibrated with an audible resonance.
After accumulating dozens of points in an instant, Senior Dinua approached him, visibly distressed.
Ian turned to Stella while attempting to console Dinua.
“So, what happened?”
“…What?”
“We were looking for you. You were here, and then you suddenly disappeared.”
“…Did I?”
Stella bit her lip, avoiding Ian’s gaze. It was clear she was too embarrassed to respond.
Ian understood her hesitation. It was as if she had inadvertently passed her burden onto him. For someone like Princess Eritz, admitting to causing trouble for others must have been difficult.
Pretending not to notice her discomfort, Ian turned his attention to Dinua. She was covered in soot, evidence of her struggles.
“Senior, are you hurt?” Ian asked, pointing to her knee. Beneath the charcoal smudges, a small, bl0od-stained wound was visible.
Dinua suddenly began to limp, as if realizing her injury only after Ian pointed it out.
“Ouch…! It hurts so much…”
“Is there a pond nearby?”
“Oh, um, I know one.”
But Dinua made it abundantly clear—through exaggerated expressions—that reaching the pond would be “very” difficult due to her “injury.”
Her intentions were obvious. Ian sighed and knelt in front of her, turning his back.
“What are you doing? Hurry up—ugh.”
“Wow, you’re heavy…?”
“No, just surprised,” Ian muttered. She had jumped onto his back so abruptly that he was momentarily startled. It wasn’t as though she was truly heavy.
‘Her… chest…’
She weighed about 50 kilograms, and it felt like 10% of that was concentrated in her chest. To prevent her from falling, Ian had to lean forward slightly.
He adjusted his grip, supporting her firmly.
“Alright, Senior. Which way?”
“…This way.”
Ian sighed in resignation, ignoring her mischievous tone. He glanced back at Stella.
Arms crossed and nose in the air, Stella avoided his gaze with an air of indignation.
‘Typical tsundere.’
Seeing her stubbornly stand still, Ian began walking.
“What are you doing? If you don’t follow, I’ll leave you behind.”
“W-Wait! I’m coming!”
When he made a move to leave her behind, Stella quickly followed.
‘If only she could just act cute from the start. What a waste of a pretty face.’
Ian shook his head lightly and continued forward.
Get More Chapters on Patreon: From now on, FSM Level 2 will become the CN WN Bundle. The price will remain the same which is $10. Also, the price for the KR WN Bundle will also be decreased to $10 to match this bundle.
With this I have gotten rid of the level system. The reason I am doing this, is because I plan to add more chapters to the $5 Patron tiers. Previously the readers got 2 advance chapters when they became a $5 Patron, but now I’ve increased the chapters they will get to at least 5 chapters and more. So the current updated tier system will work like this:
The Individual Tiers ($5) will give you access to 5 chapters or more.
The Bundle Tiers ($10) will give you access to all the chapters of CN or KR webnovels.
The Supreme Patron ($30) will give you access to all the webnovel chapters on Goblinslate.