After roughly sorting out my connections at the Academy, I headed to the back alleys instead of home.
It was to gather blood before embarking on a long journey.
Once on the journey, opportunities to have meals would significantly reduce, so I had to eat while I could now.
I also packed several glass bottles to store blood. They were special magic-treated bottles that would preserve their quality for a long time.
They were expensive, but what did it matter? I was about to leave the Empire soon, so I had no use for money anyway. I still had a lot left from what I received from the slave trader.
Then, whose blood should I put in those bottles?
The Empire was where the knights patrolled frequently, so I didn’t lay hands on civilians unless it was unavoidable. Usually, the criminals residing in the back alleys often became targets.
“One person might not be enough today.”
The back alleys were not included in the knights’ patrol routes. The back alley space I had demolished was quite large in scale, so there would be many crime organizations that had not caught my attention.
Even I didn’t know every part of the back alleys.
I mainly operated in the old ruins of Dusty Lane, which was also the first place I stayed after entering the Empire.
And the total area of the back alleys was unexpectedly large.
It was because the territory I had demolished that day when I went on a rampage was not just Dusty Lane. A wider area centered around there was buried in ruins.
If there was a base for criminals, it would probably be there.
“Still, since I’ve caused damage to the Empire so far.”
Today, I decided to do something for them one last time while gathering some blood.
Before leaving, one last back alley cleanup.
***
In the back alleys of the Empire, there was a rumor of a human-eating monster.
That rumor had spread among the people. Most citizens seemed to not really believe it, saying it was just a rumor.
But was it really just a rumor?
To cut to the conclusion, the rumors about the back alley monster were true. Iria was the culprit.
How many people actually knew the truth about the back alley monster rumors?
At least those who used the back alleys as their main base would know. That’s what Iria thought.
“There’s no way they don’t know.”
Even if they didn’t like it, they shared the back alleys. They would have eyes to see and ears to hear.
There would definitely be those who had the misfortune of entering Iria’s range of activity and died.
So, some of them would have set up their base in another space to avoid Iria.
Finding the base in the back alleys was not difficult. Iria’s senses were superior to humans.
She moved in the direction where a foul smell and some sounds were coming from.
After walking for a while,
Iria encountered humans gathered in a secluded part of the back alley.
Usually, the humans who came to the back alleys were not civilians. Public order had always been poor in this place, and people’s visits had become even more infrequent after the rumors of a monster appearing.
So, those in front could all be considered criminals.
After making eye contact, she read their memories. She found they were a rather famous group of assassins in this area.
“Who are you?”
“Can’t be a civilian. Are you from the Empire?”
“Our location has been compromised. Just kill her.”
As soon as they saw Iria, the rough-looking men began to draw their weapons individually.
Seeing their appearance, Iria was briefly lost in old memories. The people in front of her overlapped with the groups that had harassed her and Riana when she first set foot in the Empire.
“Back then, all I could do was run away in fear.”
But,
“It will be different now.”
Just as they drew their weapons, Iria also took out a dagger from her bosom.
The time it took for her to clean up one section of the back alley was not very long.
The back alley smelled of blood today.
***
I had eaten enough and even collected plenty of extra blood.
The number of glass bottles I packed was about twenty.
The time I could endure without consuming blood was roughly a little over a week, so it was like packing almost half a year’s worth of food.
Seeing that I could last such a long period with these small bottles, I felt that the body of a monster was indeed more efficient than humans.
I could obtain a lot of energy from a small amount.
Anyway, even after completing all the preparations to leave, there were still three days left.
What were the other members doing? I remembered them each spending their own time.
Suddenly curious, I decided to visit them one by one, first to Sera.
“She said she was in personal training, right?”
Ultimately, Ariel and Clana were born differently from others from the beginning. Their starting lines were completely different.
Despite that, Sera, born as an ordinary human, became someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
“Just like Sertia was in the previous generation’s Hero Party.”
In terms of individual talent, Sera might be the most outstanding. After receiving personal training, she was said to have grasped how to handle her power.
I was also curious to see how much she had grown during that time. That was when I opened the door to the training hall.
-Whoosh!
What blew in through the small opening of the door was a bone-chilling cold and a heat intense enough to offset it.
***
The duel between Sera and Reina was fast and intense.
It wasn’t simply flames and frost undulating in the center. There were countless spells and tactics intertwined in the short magic equation.
This was the battle of the two strongest mages in the Empire.
If you attacked, you also had to defend. Read the trajectory of the opponent’s spells and move your own mana.
Intercept spells with spells or block them with a barrier of mana.
“Cry and despair.”
“Distort.”
Another big collision of spells.
And the ensuing defensive actions from each other.
Sera deflected the magic flying at each other with wind, and Reina erected an ice wall to block it.
After defending, they immediately stepped back and changed positions.
For Iria, who had lightly learned magic from Rena, it was a high-level battle that was impossible to even understand with her head.
The two pull it off as if it’s the most natural thing. Reina was an imperial general, so that was one thing, but Sera’s growth was dazzling.
She competed with the mage who had single-handedly subjugated the Demon King’s Seed during the Academy raid incident. Of course, what was being shown now wasn’t her full power, but it was still amazing even considering that.
The fight between the two no longer looked like personal training between a student and a professor.
“Haa……”
Reina, who had stepped back, gripped an ice sword and took a deep breath.
In the half-frozen training hall, Reina planted her foot on the ground so strongly that the ice floor cracked.
-Clang!
At the same time, Reina’s figure disappeared.
It was an application of physical enhancement using mana. Reina, who had briefly accelerated, immediately caught up to Sera.
The mid-range magic exchange was over, and now it was Reina’s test for Sera.
Most mages crumble when it turns into close combat. It was the moment when the magical common sense they had only learned in theory shattered.
That was the chronic weakness of all mages. The most difficult challenge faced by mages who had entered real battles.
How had Sera overcome that?
In a fleeting moment, Reina swung her sword. And in the gaze of a superhuman where the density of time was different, she observed Sera’s reaction.
To stop midway if she couldn’t react to this.
For Reina, who had been giving Sera failing evaluations, to provide the same evaluation as before.
But in that extremely short moment, Sera reacted to it.
It was because Sera was not a mage who had only accumulated theoretical knowledge. She had the most dueling experience among all the Academy students.
Sera, who had faced everyone from swordsmen and mages to magic swordsmen, reacted mechanically.
As if she knew where Reina would aim.
-Whoosh!
When Sera’s eyes turned towards Reina’s sword, fire ignited in her right hand.
And,
She threw it towards the incoming sword.
Sera’s fist wrapped in flames, and Reina’s sword collided in the middle.
A collision of a huge shockwave occurred.
Even though the flames and frost mixed to create a vast amount of steam, the two did not back down a single step from that spot.
Until the explosion completely dispersed and disappeared, the two did not move.
After some time, Reina erased the sword she was holding and retrieved the mana that had spread in the air.
“… You’re ready.”
It was the moment when Reina’s more than two-week personal training ended.
Sera was finally acknowledged just before embarking on the journey.