Thwack!
A giant sword slashed through the slime's body.
WAAAAAA!
The slime screamed, though it was unknown whether it was from pain or anger.
Doran looked at its rapidly healing wound with annoyance.
"Tch, is it even taking damage at all?"
Inside the barrier, Jack observed everything calmly.
'Hmm, it heals so fast… I don't think I can attack it as quickly as him.'
Wind element made Doran fast, and combined with his swordsmanship, he was a perfect damage dealer. But still, he couldn't overcome the monster's regeneration.
'It seems the only way to deal with this thing is to blast it thoroughly.' But Jack couldn't do that easily, especially in such a small area.
'Huh… it seems the others aren't so useless after all.' Jack's senses spread through the canteen, and he detected Teacher Veyra, Old Ray, Teacher Jon, and Max evacuating the students that came running to watch the fun or to use washroom from the school, guiding them safely to the ground.
"All right, you two—run the moment you get the chance," Jack said, looking back.
Kael blinked. He didn't understand what Jack was implying, but his muscles automatically tensed.
He grabbed the man and took a stance, ready to sprint toward the exit.
"You be ready," Jack said to Doran.
"Tch, I have a name, bastard," Doran replied annoyedly, but he understood what Jack was doing. He created some distance from the monster.
The barrier covering the canteen flickered for a second before breaking into mana particles.
"Mana Bullets!"
Jack shouted the name of his spell—not because he wanted to appear cool, but because he had to if he wanted to cast instantly.
Casting magic instantly is not an easy task. Even if the spell is as low as F-grade, it requires focus. Speaking the name aloud is one of the tricks to intensify a caster's concentration.
The barrier covering Jack slowly started to disappear. His book glowed as he raised his hands, and around him, small blue mana bullets began to form.
This entire process happened in a fraction of a second. Jack flicked his hand, and the mana bullets rained down on the giant monster like a machine gun firing.
BRRRRRRRTTTTTTT!!!
The monster screamed as its regeneration couldn't keep up with the speed of the barrage. Its body was torn apart, and the several small slimes it had formed were instantly vaporized.
"Damn… is this guy really just a support mage?" Doran looked at the scene with wide eyes.
You have to understand—Mana Bullet was a simple F-grade spell, also known as the beginner's spell because of its easy application and low mana consumption.
But as a climber grows stronger, they no longer use it—especially after going through class awakening. After all, why would they, when they can rely on class skills and abilities that fit their elements?
This is also why most magicians don't train this spell much. But Jack… this guy seemed to have trained it to what Doran believed could only be called perfection.
"Don't just stare—attack it," Jack said with a frown, pulling Doran out of his train of thought.
"Right… ~inhale~" Doran took a deep breath, gripping his sword with both hands as he raised it toward the monster.
He circulated his cultivation technique, Zephyr Circulation, causing the surrounding wind element to stir.
"Wind Breaker!!!" he shouted as his sword moved, unleashing a slash that split the very air around it. The earth itself began to tear apart as the strike launched toward the monster.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
The monster screamed—and this time, it was definitely from pain.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
---
Outside the school building
"What the heck!" Teacher Veyra looked at the school building, now cut in two, with horror.
"The principal will definitely be heartbroken seeing this," Teacher Jon said calmly—but if anyone looked at his back, they'd see he was sweating enough to fill buckets.
Old Ray, unlike the others, appeared the most calm. "To force boy Doran to actually use his trump card… this monster must be something."
Behind them, the students stared with amazement and awe.
"...Is this something a human can even do? God?" Max, the warden, looked at the scene in horror. His cane slipped from his trembling hands.
"...Climber…" he mumbled with longing.
---
"~Cough~ Wha…t t-the hell?" Kael wobbly stood up from the ground. Looking ahead, his eyes widened.
Dust slowly settled, revealing a massive sword mark carved deep into the ground. When he lifted his head a little, he could see the sky.
"The whole school was cut…"
The school building wasn't just made of mana-infused cement—it was also enchanted with powerful magic, durable enough that even Tier 1 climbers could barely scratch it.
And yet… it had been split in two.
"This is crazy… is this the power of a Tier 2 climber?" Kael was in awe. He had never witnessed powerful climbers in action before. After all, there was a big difference between watching on a screen and seeing it firsthand.
Then his eyes landed on Jack, who was standing in front of him.
"Don't just stand there—run! Because it seems we're a bit late…"
Kael frowned and shifted his gaze forward. There, he saw it—the monster, standing inside a raging tornado of mana.
Up in the air, Doran clicked his tongue. He could feel it—the monster was growing stronger with every passing breath.
Jack sighed as he willed the mana in his body to extend outward, gently covering him. His body lifted off the ground, and he began levitating into the air.
In a flash, Kael saw him standing beside Teacher Doran.
"Ahhh—" Kael grabbed his arm, wincing in pain. The fierce winds generated by Teacher Doran, combined with the lack of a barrier protecting him, had slammed him hard into the ground.
He quickly looked back to check on the man whose name he still didn't know.
And of course, he wasn't all right—blood trickled from his head, and he appeared to be unconscious.
But that was not all. A fear washed over Kael because… he saw a slime half as big as him close to the man.
"H… how?" But before he could think too much, his body moved instinctively.
BAM!
Before he could reach the monster, a solid kick hit him. Kael slid across the ground a bit before stopping and coughing up his saliva.
He looked at the person who had kicked him.
It was a boy his age with black hair and green eyes, with a face full of potential.
"Do you want to die?" he said in a nonchalant tone, though a hint of worry could clearly be seen in his cold and indifferent eyes.
"Aedric…"