Chapter 222: Hurry and Run
'Ely, try to punch a hole with your magic. Just try, don't overthink.' Elena immediately gave a suggestion while Elysia was still confused.
Hearing that, Elysia took a breath and exhaled. She prepared herself for whatever would greet her.
The moment her hand touched the barrier, she pushed aside the constituent energy of the invisible wall. A hole the size of her palm could be seen by her, and it continued to widen until one person who was crouching was able to come out past it.
'Yay! It worked!' Elysia cheered in joy.
'See? Like I said, hehe...' Elena felt proud of that. Their magic was so unique, and Elysia just needed to use it without thinking about unnecessary things.
'En.' Elysia agreed with that, then she stood up and pointed towards the hole she made. "Try this way, hurry. I found a way out."
An exit from this strange forest made the tense atmosphere brightened up in an instant. Serena quickly approached to check Elysia's words.
Sure enough, when she was groping the barrier that could reflect her attack, she found a gap that she could go through. Without lingering any longer, she crouched down and walked out of it.
Cora, Nico, and Zofia were shocked when they saw Serena suddenly disappeared. However, it was a good sign, and a way out was found.
Alternately, they squatted out through the same hole until only Elysia, Zofia, and Vanessa were left. Just as Zofia was about to come out, suddenly there was a sound of screams and battle cry from a distance.
It wasn't from a beast or a monster, but more like several humans voice. A group of students had already entered this strange forest area like them? In that case, they were in danger!
"Zofia, hurry out of here. I'll help the students. Keep running towards the west, and report about this incident as soon as possible. I don't know how many students have entered this area, but those monsters were dangerous. There have been casualties. The first-year students were no match for those monsters. Please, hurry, I can catch up with you later." Elysia urged Zofia to carry out her orders.
Knowing the grim situation, Zofia only nodded then crouched out. Everything was strange, and she felt chaotic. She should report this tragedy as soon as possible.
For some reason, she wasn't worried about Elysia at that moment. She had seen it twice, Elysia threw the three monstrous beasts with ease. So, Elysia would be fine.
Elysia peeked out the barrier to make sure the three girls had run away, then she let out a sigh of relief.
'Even if this hole is made, it won't close again? The illusion of the barrier is still there... Forget it, there are students in danger.' Elysia muttered as she gazed intently at the dome barrier.
'Ely, make this dome barrier unable to accept anyone's entry. Your help will be in vain if the students keep coming to the area of this cursed monster. You saw, right? There have been casualties. We don't know how many people have died.' Elena warned before Elysia rushed to help anyone.
Nodding in understanding, Elysia checked what she could do with this barrier. A barrier of energy was created and maintained by something as its source. She used her sacred vision to confirm her assumptions.
She saw countless threads of magic energy supporting this barrier, and it was connected to many pegs underground.
Unfortunately, Elysia and Elena could not see further than 200 meters underground if they only relied on the sacred vision and the advanced perception. However, that wasn't their objective. Elysia needed to manipulate the threads of this energy to fit her will.
It was different from when she made a hole in the barrier earlier, which was relatively easy. This time, she needed extra work to make the barrier repel all-access, whether in or out.
Regardless, those cursed monsters could not get out of this sealed area, and she had to make sure of that. After slightly changing the dome barrier's rules through the interconnected energy flows, she made a marker near the hole.
'Vann, let's go. We need to help the students to escape from here. We also need to find out a little about that monster. Something is wrong with many things.' Elysia stood up and ran towards the source of the sound she heard a moment ago.
'Okay, master.' Vanessa caught up with her master at once.
On the other hand, from the location where the exclamation originated, more than twenty students fled from the dozen terrifying monsters.
Three students died because of the monsters, and the others decided to run after failing to help their friends.
"Damn! What hideous monsters are that? What's with no beasts above level 30? The monsters we face are way above that!" A student grumbled with a bitter expression.
"Save your breath and strength. We need to escape from this damned forest quickly. The instructors need to know about this. We have casualties already!" Another student reprimanded his grumbling friend.
"And we are a combination of five groups, for goddamn sake! Regan, Benjamin, and Jenson are dead in the previous battle. But we are here running for a way out." The other students complained angrily. If he could defeat those monsters, he would definitely kill them all.
"Grr!"
The monsters were still chasing them from behind. For many reasons, it seemed like they were playing with these humans and weren't serious in the slightest.
*Swoosh* *Swoosh*
Dozens of arrows were fired towards the monsters. Elysia paid close attention to each of the arrows she embellished with some Enhancement Magic.
*Thud*
The arrow was simply stuck into the monster's body. The damage was not much if it was seen from the attacker's perspective.
The monsters didn't even notice arrows stuck in their bodies. The attack that could pierce the hard rock turned into a prick of small needles...
'My magic weakened considerably upon getting in direct contact with that monster... No wonder there was something strange about my sword slash earlier.' Elysia analyzed some details of her attacks. What she suspected was confirmed, and her magic was at a disadvantage.
'Your magical energy seemed to be being absorbed or annihilated so quickly. The attacks you launch leave only physical damage.' Elena had the same opinion.
They had considerations and conclusions about it, including a few things they wanted to check and test. However, right now wasn't the time with their train of thought as they were here to save the students.
"Quick, this way. We found a way out! Here, follow me." Elysia shouted and waved her hand for attention.
The call sounded so sweet to the panic and restless heart. The students immediately turned towards the source of the sound as if the exit was there.
"Miss Elysia, thank you for saving us." The girl sent her gratitude when she saw who came to save them.
"Don't talk. Speed up your steps. Follow me." After saying that, Elysia dashed off to lead the group of 22 students.
'Vann, help me cut some tree trunks and fire them at the monsters behind us. Distract them for a few seconds.' Elysia gave her command to the cat.
"Rawr."
Vanessa jumped onto the trunk of a large tree, cut it with her Wind Claw into many pieces, and threw all the large wooden disks with her wind magic. She didn't need to see the results and immediately returned to her master's side.
*Bump* *Bump* *Smash*
The barrage of impacts rang out from behind, but no one dared slow down their steps only to look back.
'Good job, Vann.' Elysia sent her praise after she used her invisible magic without the students noticing it.
Their escape became smooth afterward as the monsters lost track of them. All of that, thanks to Elysia's help. Also, thanks to the slightly dry soil, their trail wasn't a cause for concern.
As soon as they arrived at the exit point, they were greeted by a monster. Elysia just threw that creature all the way into the sky with her sword strengthened by magic, even though it was weakened a lot by the monster's unique abilities.
*Crack*
"Growl!"
The long sword in Elysia's hand instantly cracked and shattered to pieces. Keeping up with the roar from the monster that was blown away.
'What, destroyed? This academy sword couldn't withstand that much Enhancement Magic and Reinforcement Magic?' Although she said in surprise, Elysia simply threw away the handle and took another sword from her Space Bag.
Meanwhile, the students could only gape in amazement when they saw the monster, which was two to three times their size, thrown away like a rubber ball.
They knew very well about the toughness of the monster's skin and also their strength. Apparently, that monster was nothing in front of this best student in their class... It was very different from them and their battle just a moment ago.
"Quick, this is the way out. Please squat out and quickly return to the gathering place. Tell all the things in this place to the instructors, and ask for reinforcements as soon as possible. Also, tell all the groups you met on your way back to come back with you. This hunting test could no longer be continued. Things got to be the worst." Elysia spoke briskly in her instructions. She had some other concerns besides these 22 students.
What made her most unsettled was her friend. She didn't know Evelyn's whereabouts, and she could only hope Evelyn's group hadn't entered this cursed forest.