Chapter 161 – Metal vs Lightning.

“H-help!”

A high-pitched scream pierced the air as Katherine flailed her arms wildly. A small creature clung to her face, clawing, biting, and even ramming its tiny horns against her in a frantic effort to break through the protective barrier provided to all the students. If it succeeded, the teleportation spell would activate, sending her back to the teleportation chamber and ending her chance to participate in the test.

“Lady Grandwell, don’t worry, I’ll hel…”

A young man shouted from a distance, trying to turn around to assist. But the moment he took his eyes off the beast they had been fighting, it struck. The lightning tiger let out a roar as its body crackled with living electricity. Its speed and strength surged, and it charged straight into the young man. His summoned serpent tried to intervene, but was too slow to stop the assault.

“Ahh… N-no!”

His body turned blue as the teleportation spell activated, pulling him out of the test. The lightning beast wasted no time. It turned to the remaining test participants and gave chase. With her protectors unavailable, Katherine was left vulnerable, relying only on her orcs for defense. But the last remaining Warrior Orc was already locked in combat elsewhere.

Rusty gave his opponent no chance to recover, positioning his metallic frame directly in the orc’s path. This was the same type of Orc he had faced before, though it now stood in a larger, more imposing form. Despite Rusty using his standard body variant, his stats were far higher than before. The orc’s blade, no matter how forcefully it struck, could not cut through him. Each hit left behind nothing more than shallow scratches, barely marking his reinforced body.

As he went on the counter-attack, he glanced at his little ally. The imp, summoned by Gwen, had been part of their plan from the beginning. They wanted their enemies to focus on Rusty as the main threat, and it had worked. The imp had slipped away unnoticed, hiding among the bushes and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Though the creature was weak, it was more than enough to threaten someone like Katherine, who lacked any ability to fight in close quarters. Her barrier was already beginning to fail.

“G-get it off!”

She kept screaming, flailing helplessly. It was obvious she had never been in a real fight or faced an enemy directly. The imp was weak, and a skilled summoner would have easily been able to push it off or summon something to deal with it.

There were even low-level summons that could be conjured instantly, but her panic made it impossible for her to concentrate. Summoners were capable of casting simple self-defense spells with a bit of training, but she had clearly neglected such preparation.

She always relied on her entourage, letting others take the first hit for her. Her talent for summoning had made her overconfident and complacent. Now, that confidence meant nothing. The archer orc who had shielded her earlier was gone. The warrior orc was unable to break away from Rusty and instead was dying under his brutal mace strikes. She had no way out.

“I… N-no, this can’t be!”

A sharp crack rang out, like glass shattering. The imp’s bite went for her neck, and the protective barrier collapsed. The test’s magic recognized the final blow. Light enveloped her, and she turned into shimmering blue particles. Just before the world disappeared, she caught one last glimpse. It was not of the imp, but of Gwenndolin, the girl she had mocked and belittled. Gwenndolin’s expression no longer showed fear. It had changed into something else, pity.

A stunned silence fell over the battlefield. The moment Katherine vanished in a flash of blue light, the heavy pressure that had gripped the area disappeared. For a brief moment, everything felt calm. The person who had been viewed as the unstoppable tyrant of Summoning Class A was gone. To Gwen, it all seemed unreal, more incredible than even her first unexpected victory. But this time, she could no longer call it a fluke.

“We did it. We defeated Lady Grandwell. Someone pinch me… ow.”

Airy reached out and pinched one of Astrella’s cheeks, giving it a good tug just as her master had asked. She, too, had her grievances from how the other students had treated her. Among the nobility and mages, blood purity was valued strongly. Someone like Astrella, who carried the mixed blood of three different races, had always found life difficult. Defeating someone like Katherine gave her a sense of hope. Her blood did not have to define her worth, and people like Katherine were not to be feared. They were spoiled, privileged brats who had a head start, but what mattered was the final outcome.

“We really did it. We beat her.”

Gwen’s legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed. The adrenaline that had kept her standing began to fade, leaving behind exhaustion. With her tormentor gone, there seemed to be nothing more to fear. She allowed herself to relax for the first time. But just as she was about to fall to the ground, something flickered in her direction.

“Watch out. That beast is not dead yet.”

Rusty’s voice echoed through their shared connection as he appeared in front of her. He arrived just in time to block a massive bolt of lightning. He raised his shield to intercept the blast, but the defense did little to protect him. The lightning passed through the shield and surged through his body. Heat spread through his frame as the mana inside him became unstable. Even the monster core that powered him was affected.

A roar echoed across the battlefield. The white tiger still stood. Arcs of electricity danced along its body as it slowly stepped forward. Its muscles flexed, but its eyes remained locked on its new targets. Every other student was gone. Most had been defeated, while one had fled the moment Katherine was taken down by the summoned imp. With no one else left to challenge it, the monster turned its attention to the last remaining group, Rusty and the others.

“We need to run. Living armor monsters are weak against lightning magic!”

Astrella shouted as she rushed to Gwen’s side, helping her up from where she had fallen after nearly being electrocuted. It had been the first time Rusty was struck by such an attack. Normally, his shield could handle magical damage, but this lightning had behaved differently. It hadn’t been deflected. Instead, it passed through his shield, surged across his armor, and even affected his core while ignoring his defenses. The result was devastating. His health dropped by half in a single hit, and he knew he couldn’t survive another.

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“Astrella is right, we should retreat.”

Gwen nodded as she couldn’t see another way out, but Rusty didn’t like that idea.

“No, there has to be a way. We can beat this creature. Look.”

Rusty steadied himself and pointed toward the monster. Though it looked fierce, it wasn’t charging. Its mouth hung open as it panted heavily. Wounds covered its body, each one glowing with a faint blue light. Mana was leaking from every small gash.