OUTSIDE OF AZURE TEMPEST (FOREST)

Outside the forest, instructors lounged in their chairs, sipping tea and enjoying a moment of relaxation. Suddenly, a man burst onto the scene, his breath ragged from frantic exertion.

"Huff* Huff* Huff*"

"Sir, sir... We have an urgent emergency," he gasped out.

Instructor Zenith, sensing the gravity of the situation, sprang into action. "What's happened? Why are you in such a state?"

The man, still gripped by panic, replied, "The observation team we dispatched into the forest to monitor the students... They've reported the appearance of an A+ rank monster inside the forest."

Eyes widened in astonishment and alarm as the reality sunk in. "Shit! How did an A+ rank monster breach the forest? Our priority is to protect the students," Zenith declared urgently.

With a unanimous nod, the instructors abandoned their leisure and rushed into the forest, determined to confront the looming threat and ensure the safety of the students.

INSIDE THE FOREST

Irish claimed the ruin stone and departed, leaving Princess and her companions with a few healing potions to tend to their wounds.

As she walked for more than five minutes, a sudden realization struck her mind like a thunderbolt. "I beated them so badly. What if they tell Nova-san about this? Nova-san will hate me for sure. What do I do?... What do I do?"

"Aaaaaahhhhh!"

A piercing scream echoed through the forest, ripping through the tranquility like a jagged knife.

Students ran frantically, pursued by a wolf-like monster of colossal size, its massive frame crushing trees in its path.

"An A-rank monster? They said there would only be up to B+ rank monsters. The students aren't pressing their buttons because they want to collect ruin stones. They should understand that their lives are more important than ruin stones."

A sudden idea flashed through her mind—a way to turn this situation to her advantage. "Yes... I'll save those students and become a hero in Nova-san's eyes. I may be exhausted, but I can defeat that A-rank monster."

Unsheathing her sword, Irish emerged from the bushes, charging straight toward the monster. "Rather than engaging in a prolonged battle, I'll use all of my mana at once and end this in one shot."

The monster, sensing her approach, lunged forward with its fangs bared. Irish jumped, channeling all her mana into her sword, causing it to glow with a dark blue aura, nearly 50cm thick and 140cm long.

As her feet touched the ground, she swung her sword with all her might.

"Saber slash!"

A dark blue slash wave erupted from her sword, slicing through the monster and everything in its path within a 100-meter radius, cleaving through the forest with devastating force.

Irish knelt on the forest floor, her breaths labored and heavy from the exhaustive exertion of channeling all her mana at once.

"Using all of your mana at once is way too exhausting. I don't think I can move for at least ten minutes," she thought, her body trembling with fatigue.

"The ruin stone I obtained after defeating those three... It's a mid-rank ruin stone. That should be sufficient for me. I'm going to press the button and get out of here," she decided, her mind already planning her next move.

"But before that, I'll consume the mana stone of this A-rank monster."

What's a Mana stone?, It's the heart of monsters, were highly sought after by adventurers for their versatility. They could be used for various purposes, from powering electrical devices to enhancing magical weapons. That's why thier demand never goes down.

But no human can consume mana stones Except me.

But How can I consume it?, I think Because of my affinity with dark and soul magic, I got a unique skill name "Predation".

It consumes mana stones and increases my stats and Skills. The powerful the monster the higher my states will go up.

But main point is for is for consuming mana stone, first I have to touch them but I'm so exhausted. All students ran as soon as they saw an opportunity to escape.

Fighting through her exhaustion, Irish steeled herself and stood up on trembling legs. Determination filled her as she started approaching the monster's corpse.

"C'mon, I can do it... I can do it..." she whispered to herself, pushing through the fatigue to reach her goal.

As Irish neared her goal, misfortune struck suddenly and violently. Something collided with her directly, the impact sending her flying through the air until she crashed into the ground, breaking trees in her wake.

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Her armor shattered, her bones fractured, Irish lay amidst the wreckage, coughing up blood in a haze of pain. "Cough... cough... What happened?"

Gazing ahead, her eyes widened in horror as she beheld a grotesque, green-colored monster with two heads, its maws dripping with saliva, a ravenous hunger gleaming in its eyes.

"A twin-headed Ogre? What's an A+ rank monster doing here?"

But there was no time for pondering. With urgency, she reached for her pocket to press the give-up button, only to find it empty. Her armor and clothes torn apart in the attack, the button had been lost.

Panic seized her heart as the realization of her dire situation sunk in. "Shit! Where are the instructors? I'm going to die at this rate."

The Ogre, sensing her vulnerability, approached slowly, knowing she had no strength left to resist. As it drew closer, Irish's heart raced faster, her fear mounting with each step.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as regret washed over her. 'Sob... sob... sob... If I had known I was going to die like this, I should have confessed to Nova-san. Sob... sob... sob...'

Despite her despair, thoughts of Nova-san filled her mind.

'As a low-class noble, hardly distinguishable from a wealthy merchant, the idea of falling in love with a demon was not just taboo—it was strictly forbidden among nobles and royals. The mere thought of my family discovering such feelings would spell disaster.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, we were both girls. While I had never felt anything like this towards any other girl, my heart raced whenever Nova-san was around.

Since the first time I laid eyes on her at the Dueling Grounds, I found myself drawn to her. While I was now consumed by fear and uncertainty, Nova-san's presence exuded an aura of calm and confidence. Unlike me, who was paralyzed by fear and waiting for death, I knew Nova-san would take decisive action. She is just so cool.

The Ogre loomed over her, its shadow casting her in darkness. Raising its massive fists, it prepared to strike a fatal blow.

In a moment of desperation, Irish let out a scream, her voice trembling with tears and fear. "I don't want to die, Nova-sannnnnnnn!"

"Thumpppppp"

As the Ogre's punch collided with a deafening impact, a shockwave rippled through the air, the echo reverberating through the forest.

But to her astonishment, Irish found herself still alive and unharmed. With a mix of disbelief and relief, she cautiously opened her eyes. "Nova-san?"

Before her stood Scarlett, effortlessly blocking the Ogre's punch with a single hand. Her charming smile and comforting voice washed over her, easing her fears. "You look cute, even when you're crying, introvert-chan.

I got quit the good senses and I sensed a dangerous thing here, So I came."

Her cheeks burned red, staining them with a deep shade of crimson as embarrassment flooded her senses. Irish felt tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "Sob... sob... sob..."

The Ogre, shocked by Asta's intervention, attempted to communicate with garbled words. "Uuuu... Like us... why with humans?"

Scarlett couldn't help but marvel at the creature's unexpected intelligence. "Huh? This monster has some intelligence? I thought only demons could communicate. Well, who cares."

Without hesitation, Scarlett clenched his other hand and delivered a powerful punch to the Ogre's stomach. The force of the blow was overwhelming, tearing the creature's upper body apart in a single strike.

"Darn... I defeated an A+ rank monster with one punch. Did I just become a one-punch woman? Hehehe," She chuckled, her victory secured with astonishing ease.

Scarlett reached into a small pouch attached to her waist and retrieved a healing potion, swiftly administering it to Irish.

As the healing magic took effect, Irish felt her strength returning, and she impulsively leaped forward, wrapping her arms around Scarlett in a tight embrace. Scarlett blushed furiously as their bodies collided, feeling a rush of embarrassment at the unexpected intimacy.

"Thank you so much for saving me," Irish exclaimed gratefully, her voice filled with genuine appreciation.

Scarlett gently brought Irish's face in front of her own, using her hands to brush aside her hair, which obscured her right eye. With a tender gesture, she pressed a kiss to her forehead, her words imbued with a sense of calm reassurance. "Don't worry, I won't let you die."

Inside, Scarlett couldn't help but panic at the unexpected kiss. 'Darn... I kissed her... but it was only on her forehead. She won't get mad at me, right?'

Meanwhile, Irish found herself lost in a whirlwind of emotions as Scarlett's lips met her forehead. Her face flushed with heat, her heart racing with an intensity she couldn't explain.

"Do you have a fever?" Scarlett's concerned voice broke through her reverie. "But I gave you a healing potion though."

Startled back to reality, Irish stumbled over her words in an attempt to compose herself. "Oh... no... no! I don't have a fever. It's just that, um... I-I want to collect that monster's mana stone," she deflected, eager to change the subject and conceal her embarrassment.

Scarlett scratched her head in puzzlement, questioning the purpose of collecting the mana stones. "Huh? What's the point in collecting these? We're not adventurers."

Irish explained, "I have a unique skill named 'Predation.' It allows me to consume mana stones, increasing my stats and granting me some of the dead monster's skills. Just like heroes can level up, I can also grow stronger."

Approaching both the wolf monster and the twin-headed Ogre, she consumed their mana stones. Immediately, her stamina and strength returned, revitalized by the energy of the stones.

After regaining her strength, Irish began to ponder something. 'Should I confess to Nova-san? But Nova-san is a succubus, there's no way she'll be satisfied with a woman, right?'

"Umm, Nova-san, I want to ask you something," she hesitated, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

Scarlett replied with her usual cool indifference, "Yeah, ask anything."

Summoning her courage, Irish broached the subject. "Ummm, actually, I had a fight with someone. They started it first, but I got a little too carried away and beat them so badly, even blood came out of their mouths. Is it my fault? Will you hate me?"

With a gentle yet firm tone, Scarlett reassured her. "As always, you're too kind, introvert-chan. You should have broken their bones one or two."

Irish's eyes widened in delight, a radiant smile spreading across her face. "Really? I'll make sure to do that next time."

"And I also had something to ask you," she continued, her frustration and anxiety mounting as she struggled to find the right words.

"Umm...uhh... Actuall, I lik–

Before she could confess her feelings, however, the instructors arrived on the scene, interrupting their conversation. "Hey, students, are you okay?" they called out, diverting attention away from Irish's confession

I couldn't quite decipher what Irish was trying to express, but soon after, the competition was abruptly cancelled. While relief washed over us that no students had been killed, an unsettling atmosphere settled in. Instead of being celebrated for averting potential tragedy, I sensed a growing fear and apprehension directed towards me.

As for the ruin stones, those who had already collected them were allowed to keep them, while the remaining students were allocated stones based on their individual qualities and capabilities.

As for me, I thought fighting monsters in real life is enough for me but To my surprise, I was awarded a High-Rank ruin stone, a recognition that left me both puzzled and intrigued.

Meanwhile, Aoto received a map that purportedly led to the "Sword of Athena". I had initially believed such maps to be exceedingly rare, but it turned out that the academy distributed copies annually in the hopes that one day a student would uncover the legendary sword.

Outside the forest, I encountered Princess, Elminia, and Richard, who bore solemn expressions that hinted at imminent action. However, their concerns were of little consequence to me, so I retreated to our dorm room to unwind and relax. After all, what did their troubles matter to me?

AOTO'S DORM ROOM

Scarlett retrieved her High-Rank ruin stone, contemplating which skill to enhance with its power.

"Hmm, which skill should I use this on?" he mused aloud. "I have two ultimate skills, and one is locked, so it's obvious that I have to use this on my other ultimate skill, 'Evolver'."

With her decision made, Scarlett focused her attention on her chosen skill, and the ruin stone began to glow brightly as it took effect.

Ultimate skill : Infinite Growth>

Ultimate Skill: Infinite Growth

This skill bestowed upon its user the ability to continuously increase their strength by 5 to 20 stat points every second, for as long as the user remained alive.

However, during combat engagements, the user's stats would increase even more significantly based on the strength of their opponent. Increasing stats 100 or 1000 and so on stats per second as per the enemy's strength.

"Ohh! So that's the reason why my stats and senses increase every second," she exclaimed, a sense of realization dawning upon him.

Just then, Aoto entered the dorm room, clutching his map. Scarlett couldn't resist teasing him. "Hey Aoto, are you going to find that sword?"

With a heavy sigh, Aoto replied, "Sigh! There's no way a womanizer will be worthy of this sword, but I'll try at least once, one day."

Scarlett couldn't help but retort with a hint of aggression and mockery, "Hehehe! Loser!"

However, Aoto's response took a playful turn. "I'll be the one saying that. Do you know what day it is tomorrow?"

Scratching his head in puzzlement, Scarlett questioned, "What day?"

Aoto chuckled joyfully, his voice filled with amusement. "You forgot. Tomorrow is Richard's birthday, and we have to celebrate, especially you. Hahaha."

Scarlett's eyes widened in astonishment, his mouth hanging agape. "Ughhh! I forgot," she exclaimed, her panic evident as she began to roll on the ground, crying out like a baby. "Sob... sob... I don't wanna go... I don't wanna go."