The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy - Chapter 107

Chapter 107: End Of Semester (X)
After teasing Rose for a few minutes, we finally made our way back to the others.

“Ah! You guys are back!” Lucas waved as soon as he saw us.

We walked up to him, but I couldn’t help but notice the strange glances from Iris and Maya.

They were probably thinking I’d made a move on Rose or something, especially with how much she’d been giggling.

And yeah… that probably wasn’t far off from the truth.

“What you guys are thinking of doing for now?” I asked almost immediately.

Zeva had told us the group’s grades would be based on the number of monsters we killed, but she didn’t mention how long this would take.

Besides, she should be in the frontline, fighting against the monsters.

“…I think we should go to the Vulcan,” Lucas said seriously.

Everyone’s eyes went wide, including mine.

I wasn’t expecting that.

The Vulcan?

That place was crawling with those undead creatures.

Why would we go there?

Did the Excalibur say something?

The Excalibur, from what I knew, had a heroic spirit inside that could give its user guidance or warnings.

Could it be that Lucas had some kind of sign to head there?

“Absolutely not!” Iris immediately shot it down, shaking her head.

Maya nodded quickly in agreement.

“It’s too dangerous! Besides, you’ve already used up more than fifty percent of your mana!” Iris pointed straight at Lucas.

“…I can use Aura…” Lucas muttered, clearly trying to push back.

“So?!” Iris argued.

“It’s still dangerous!”

She put her hands on her hips, ready to scold him further. Lucas paused, probably trying to come up with a way to argue back, but before he could, Ella spoke up.

“I agree with Lucas,” she said firmly.

“The faster we kill those monsters, the faster we can get out of here. Besides, the instructors should be there since the Vulcan is the source of the monsters,” she added.

“But—!” Iris tried to interrupt, but Ella wasn’t having any of it.

“No buts!” Ella cut her off, her tone leaving no room for argument.

“Let’s just end this quickly, together!” she said, clenching her fist.

Then, she glanced at me, her voice softer but still determined when she finished.

“And together, we’ll make it through.”

As soon as she said that, every single one of the group members, even Ethan, turned their eyes toward me, as if waiting for me to make the final call.

Damn it…

“…Volcano it is.”

“Alright! Time to go kill some monsters!” Maya shouted, suddenly all hyped up.

She threw a few punches in the air, practically bouncing on her heels.

Her energy was quite contagious, and even though I didn’t share her enthusiasm about charging into a monster-infested volcano, it was hard not to feel a little fired up myself.

“Let’s get this over with…”

I sighed.

Lucas grinned at me, clearly happy with the decision.

“Right! Let’s move out, then.”

Without wasting any more time, we started walking toward the direction of the Vulcan.

There were a bunch of zombies in the way, but we quickly cleared those since it was easy fighting as a team.

We didn’t exactly have perfect chemistry, but it was more than enough to deal with those undead creatures.

『 Ice Generation (✦ 1st-Level Spell ✦)』

As we got closer to the volcano, I summoned a bunch of ice shards hovering around me, cooling the air just a little.

With my strong affinity for ice, the heat of the volcano made my body feel like it was on fire. The pressure was unbearable.

“…It’s hot.”

Maya grumbled, wiping sweat off her brow.

“…What did you expect from approaching a volcano?”

I couldn’t help but reply back.

“Pfff…”

The others laughed at my response, and even Maya couldn’t help but grin.

She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

I took a deep breath and glanced around.

The walls of the volcano loomed high over us, the heat radiating from them, but I noticed a large cave opening ahead. It looked like our path.

“…There!” Ella suddenly pointed, her eyes locked on something further up.

I turned and saw it too—multiple zombies were stumbling out of a cave entrance, just a few meters ahead of the one I had spotted earlier.

Should we go in that one or the other?

‘Hmm…’

『 Judgement Eye (✦ S+ Level Skill ✦)』

I activated my skill, scanning the caves.

The red glow surrounding the right cave made my stomach twist.

That one was way too dangerous.

The orange glow around the left cave was much safer.

“…We should go to the cave on the left.”

“Why? Aren’t more undead creatures coming out of the right cave?” Maya frowned, scratching her head.

My face twitched at her words.

She was asking for the reason while saying the reason in the same sentence.

Even Lucas face-palmed, clearly frustrated by the lack of logic in her question.

“That’s exactly why.” Rose sighed and then spoke.

“Because there are more monsters coming from the right cave, we should go to the left. Fewer monsters, less risk.”

“Ooooooohh! I get it now!”

Maya nodded twice in comprehension.

“Let’s head out then,” Ella spoke, taking the lead.

We all followed her, moving quietly to avoid drawing attention from the creatures outside.

It didn’t take long to reach the left cave entrance, and we crept inside, careful not to make a sound.

Once we were inside, the darkness swallowed us whole.

“…It’s dark,” Lucas muttered, squinting.

“Rose, can you use your flame magic?”

Rose nodded.

Sizzzle!

With a flick of her wrist, floating fireballs appeared above her hand, lighting up the cave.

But something didn’t feel right.

“I dunno, this place is a bit weird…” Ethan couldn’t help but say.

“I can’t hear the sound of lava… Shouldn’t we be able to?” he added with a frown.

His words made me shiver, as I stretched my senses to their limits.

Ethan was right.

Despite getting closer to the heart of the volcano, I couldn’t hear the constant rumbling of molten rock or the hiss of lava.

This cave was… unnatural.

“It’s too quiet.”

I muttered under my breath, my hand instinctively tightening around my sword.

Ella glanced back at me, her expression serious.

“Stay alert, everyone. There might be something very dangerous in this cave!”

We slowly moved forward, keeping an eye on every single thing in the cave.

Yet, the further we went, the more the air seemed to thicken, as if something was watching us from the darkness.

‘…How many mana do I have left again?’

Suddenly, a question hit me.

I had used a 7th-level spell, and that was not cheap for sure!

Closing my eyes, I checked the amount of mana in my body.

“Fuck…”

I muttered under my breath.

“Did something happen?” Ethan, who was at my side, asked curiously.

“…Nothing… yet.”

I let out a low sigh.

Only fifteen percent of my mana was left.

That wasn’t good.

‘…Lumi, can you hear me?’

{Yesssh!}

‘…Great. Do you sense anything dangerous around? Like, really dangerous?’

{Mhm… One. There is a threatening presence around here! But, it’s quite far away!}

‘…How far?’

{…Like around two hundred meters or so.}

‘Great, thanks.’

{Yesh~, Masta~h!}

“Guys, this is weird…” Ethan’s voice broke the silence.

“We can’t hear lava, and we haven’t seen a single monster… this feels wrong, right?”

Ella shot him a sharp look.

“Shut it. Just stay wary and keep moving.”

We all nodded in agreement, but something about the quiet, oppressive air made me uneasy.

Suddenly—

CLANG!

A loud metallic sound echoed down the cave, making everyone freeze in place.

“…What was that?” Lucas immediately dashed forward, his expression tense.

Without thinking, I followed his lead, motioning for the others to stay close.

The rest of the group quickly picked up the pace as we moved toward the source of the sound.

As we rounded the corner, the sight before us made us freeze completely.

A massive, humanoid figure—made entirely of molten lava—was clashing with Zeva and the other instructors.

It was like a nightmare made flesh, its body flowing and shifting like liquid flame.

Its eyes glowed an intense, fiery orange, and its arms swung like massive pillars of molten rock.

The ground around it was scorched, cracks spreading like spider webs from the heat it radiated.

Most of the instructors were already down, scattered across the floor, their bodies smoking from burns.

Zeva, however, was still holding her ground, cutting through streams of lava with ease, her sword flashing through the air in elegant arcs.

Torrents of lava shot out from the golem’s chest, hissing as they rocketed toward Zeva.

But she didn’t flinch.

Crack!

She sliced through the waves of molten rock, the lava splitting in midair.

Zeva wasn’t slowing down—she dove beneath the lava man’s body, aiming straight for its core, trying to strike at its weak spot.

But as soon as she got close, the creature seemed to anticipate her move.

Sizzle!

More torrents of lava shot up from its limbs, reaching the ceiling and blocking her path.

Zeva gritted her teeth, clearly struggling to get close enough to deal any real damage.

The heat in the air was unbearable, and the overwhelming pressure made it harder to think clearly.

“What the hell is that thing?” Maya gasped, her eyes wide as she took in the scene.

I couldn’t speak for a moment.

The thing in front of us wasn’t just a monster; it was a damned fire spirit!

Of course, since this was an academy novel, the spirit always existed. But unfortunately, only elves had affinity to make a contract with them.

Which is why, seeing spirits are pretty rare.

And seeing the size of this one, it should be a Spirit King!

Which has the strength of ten or more SS-level awakeners!

It was a miracle that Zeva was holding on alone!

“Stay back!” Zeva suddenly shouted, noticing us.

“Get out of here! It’s too dangerous!”

Her voice cracked with urgency, but she didn’t let up on her attack.

I could see the sweat beading on her forehead, her energy rapidly draining as she continued to dodge and counter.

The lava man was relentless, launching bursts of molten rock in every direction.

“We have to help her!” Lucas growled, his fists clenched.

Ella glanced at him, then back at the scene.

“Stay in position. Let’s not get reckless.” She turned to me.

“Aestrea, do you have anything that could hit that thing?”

I frowned, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword. I had a few spells left, but nothing strong enough to take down something like that.

Not without risking it all.

“Maybe…”

I gritted my teeth.

“But I’ll need an opening.”

We watched as Zeva dodged another wave of molten rock, her eyes narrowing.

“Instructor, please create an opening for us to attack!” Lucas shouted.

In the distance, Zeva wanted to retaliate, but then nodded her head.

Then, she focused on the giant lava golem.

She needed a distraction—something to make the golem lose its focus.

I glanced at the others for a moment.

‘…Fuck.’

‘…I can’t believe I’m going to use this.’

I exhaled deeply.

And then—

BOOM!

The others looked at me in complete shock, their mouths opening slightly.

After all…

Around me, a thin yet tremblingly powerful violet aura swirled.

『 Aura’s Rank: S+

✦ Disposition: Violet (Power & Luxury)』

Crack…!

My sword shattered into pieces.

It couldn’t hold my aura.

And instead, a freezing chill leaked out of my body as an ice sword appeared.

Yet, it didn’t break.

“Fuuuu…”

I took a long breath.

“Let’s play with fire.”

Fwoop!—