Chapter 491: Winter Opening Ceremony 2

“Hu-wha-wha-what’s going on, Vanny?!”

Emilia cried out, her voice trembling as her wide blue eyes stared at the chaos unraveling around them.

The sky itself seemed to be breaking open, and the thundering crashes of falling ice golems shook the field like a warzone.

“I don’t know—!” Vanessa replied, her cloak already fluttering from the sheer pressure in the air. “But for now, get behind me, Emmy!”

“O-Okay!”

Without hesitation, Emilia moved behind her friend, gripping the fabric of Vanessa’s cloak as her heart pounded wildly.

She could barely think through the noise—the screaming students, the crashing golems, the biting cold that now carried death in every gust.

Vanessa raised both arms calmly, her hands glowing faint green as the wind around her suddenly shifted.

[Mid-Grade Wind Magic]

[Vortex Spear]

FOOOOSHHH!!

In an instant, hundreds of wind-forged spears burst forward like bullets, cutting through the wintery air with terrifying speed and precision.

They shot toward the incoming golem barreling toward the two girls, and—

BOOM! CRACK!

The spears pierced through the ice monster’s limbs and torso like sharpened javelins. The creature howled in pain, its haunting growl shaking the ground.

GOOOAAGHHHH!!!

It stopped in its tracks, glaring straight at Vanessa with pure killing intent, its glowing blue eyes narrowing as it raised a massive arm to strike.

But before it could even move—

[Sacred Elven Art]

[World Root]

VOOOOSHHHH!!!

From beneath the earth, a sharp wooden spike shot upward—clean, precise, and merciless.

It drove straight through the ice golem’s abdomen and pierced all the way through to its mouth, like nature itself had turned against it.

The golem froze mid-roar.

Then, with a sharp cracking sound, it shattered into hundreds of ice shards—sparkling like broken glass across the snowy field.

Vanessa lowered her arms slowly, her breathing controlled, though a small sigh did escape her lips.

Her gaze swept across the chaotic scene—students running in all directions, some screaming, others frozen in panic.

Professors were beginning to react, but the surprise attack had clearly thrown everyone into disarray.

Most of the general department students had no combat experience, and it showed.

Still, it was good that some of the combat and specialized department students were already standing their ground, pushing back against the sudden invasion.

But it wasn’t enough.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two more golems slammed down into the field from above, their landing shaking the earth again.

“W-What should we do, Vanny?!” Emilia asked, clutching her chest. “My divine powers… they don’t work on monsters like those. A-and… I still can’t reveal who I really am…”

Her voice softened near the end. Even in the middle of a disaster, she still remembered her grandfather’s orders.

Until the time was right, her identity as the saintess had to remain a secret.

Vanessa didn’t look back, but her voice was calm and reassuring.

“Don’t worry. For now, preserve your power. Just do what you can. Join the evacuation and help where you’re able—heal a few students if they’re hurt. Quietly. Carefully. No need to show off.”

“But what about you, Vanny?”

“I’ll stay.”

Vanessa narrowed her eyes as more golems appeared in the distance, stomping forward with frozen roars.

She flicked her wrists, mana already gathering again.

“These things might be big and scary, but they’ve got plenty of weaknesses. They’re still just A-rank monsters.”

“B-But that’s still dangerous! That’s not a small rank!”

Vanessa turned her head slightly and smirked. “Maybe for most people. But I’m not most people. I’m an S-rank mage, remember?”

She gently flicked Emilia on the forehead, just enough to make her wince.

“Now go, Amon and Anna are already probably looking for you”

Emilia winced, holding her forehead.

Her lips parted as if she wanted to argue again—but seeing the calm, determined look in Vanessa’s eyes, she stopped herself. She hesitated for just a second… then gave a small, tight nod.

“…Okay. I’ll go.”

Watching Emilia disappear into the crowd, Vanessa let out a soft breath before turning her gaze back toward the battlefield.

Her cloak fluttered behind her, the cold wind brushing against her cheek—but her expression remained calm, sharp, and focused.

Yes, there was chaos.

Screams echoed across the field.

Students were panicking.

But it wasn’t too dire—not yet.

Most of the general department students had already begun evacuating, while the combat-oriented departments were quickly taking the front lines.

They were all first-years, sure, but not useless.

Among them were rising talents, skilled mages, swordsmen, and even beast tamers.

And more importantly, other S-class students were still here too—scattered across the field, fighting off golems on their own or helping the struggling groups nearby.

Professors were present as well.

And considering how fast the situation had escalated, Vanessa was sure the academy staff had already alerted the proper authorities.

Reinforcements—combat instructors, safety officers, and wardens—should be arriving soon.

At least, she hoped they were.

The ice golems were A-rank monsters. Dangerous, yes—but not impossible to handle.

Unless given time to charge their advanced ice-based magic, most golems weren’t all that threatening aside from their sheer physical strength and massive bodies.

Their greatest danger was their durability and the damage they could cause in numbers.

If you knew where their cores were—and could destroy them quickly—they shattered like glass.

Vanessa looked around and spotted a few students still struggling.

Mostly B-ranks and below.

Their spells were either too weak or too misdirected to do real damage to the golems.

Some froze in place, not from the cold, but from fear.

Too many for beginners to handle alone.

She looked up—and her expression darkened slightly.

More ice was falling.

Sharp, jagged shards rained from above, each carrying with it another golem.

The sky was littered with them now, like frozen meteors descending onto the open field.

The ground shook again as another batch crash-landed.

This isn’t just a random spawn…

“Hey!”

Vanessa turned sharply at the voice behind her.

Landing beside her with the grace of a wind-blown squirrel, Flamme touched down casually, looking as unfazed as ever.

Her gray hair fluttered around her face, and her sleepy eyes lazily scanned the chaos.

“Flamme?” Vanessa asked.

The summoner yawned and rubbed one eye with the back of her gloved hand.

“Yo~ Any idea what’s going on?” she asked, like she had just wandered into a group project uninvited.

Vanessa shook her head slightly, but her voice remained composed. “Not entirely. These monsters didn’t come from any of the known nearby nests. My guess is either a failed summoning ritual or… a dungeon break.”

“Hmm. I thought the same thing,” Flamme said, stretching her arms a little. “Though I can’t sense any open dungeons near this area. I even asked one of my spirits earlier, but they didn’t detect any rifts.”

“Could be an unstable hidden dungeon then,” Vanessa muttered, her eyes narrowing. “Or worse… one forced open.”

“Hm~ either way, doesn’t matter much to me.”

Flamme turned her head lazily and pointed toward the edge of the field, where several students were being cornered by three golems.

With a snap of her fingers, flickers of flame erupted in the air.

FWOOSH!

Four fire spirits materialized beside her in a swirl of embers—each one taking the shape of a small fox-like creature, eyes glowing faint red.

“Go play,” Flamme said with a small smirk.

Without hesitation, the spirits rushed forward, each of them launching a concentrated blast of fire at the golems—drawing their attention away from the students and blasting apart their ice-carved arms in seconds.

The students stared in shock, then nodded quickly before retreating toward the safer side of the field.

“Looking at this situation…” Flamme muttered, standing slightly off to the side as another golem was blasted apart by her fire spirits. “This is bound to turn into a battle of attrition…”

Her lazy voice trailed off as she observed the endless stream of golems still raining from the sky.

“I want to just blow all these ice bastards up in one go,” she continued, placing a finger on her lips in mock thought, “but I also don’t wanna accidentally level half the field and get detention for ’property destruction’ again…”

Her eyes scanned the other key areas of the battlefield.

“Stacia’s doing fine,” she noted casually as streaks of platinum-gold fire scorched golems like paper. “Uriel’s stabbing things like it’s a hobby. And even stupid Reina is winning somehow~ She’s actually slicing then limbs like a proper team player. Cute.”

Then, her eyes slid back to Vanessa with a glint of mischief.

“So~ since we’re the only S-class mages here at the moment, how about we go find the dungeon behind all this instead?”

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “You want to leave everyone here?”

“Hey, that’s not what I said,” Flamme replied, hands raised. “Look—we’re basically useless in this setting. Our fire and wind spells are too destructive to use freely, and using basic magic is boring. Besides, the professors and safety units are probably on their way right now.”

She waved her hand toward the incoming reinforcements in the distance.

“Let’s leave the clean-up to them. Destroying the source of the problem—the dungeon—is the real priority right now. I’ll leave most of my mid-ranked spirits here to assist and hold the line.”

She turned slightly and held out a hand, her expression suddenly more serious despite her tone. “So let’s go, shall we?”

Vanessa didn’t immediately take her hand. “Even if you say that… can’t you just do it on your own? I think me being here would be more useful to the students still fighting.”

“Nuh-uh~ You’re coming with me. You’re an elf, remember? You’re probably the most sensitive person here when it comes to mana flow. If we’re tracking down a hidden or unstable dungeon, I need your senses.”

Vanessa looked hesitant.

She glanced back toward the battlefield one more time.

VOOOSHHHH!!!

Flames erupted in elegant waves as Stacia unleashed another spell, melting through several golems with a terrifying calmness that only someone of royal blood could carry.

BZZZZT!!!

Uriel swept through the sky with her spear of radiant light, cutting cleanly through golem cores like a divine executioner.

CRACKLE!!!

Snow stood on raised ground, her glacial magic crystallizing the battlefield, freezing and shattering golems in seconds with precision honed from years of discipline.

And even Reina—was darting around the battlefield, targeting the golems’ feet, toppling them and making it easier for others to finish the job.

Vanessa could feel it.

They were managing.

And she could trust them.

“…Alright,” she finally muttered, sighing softly as she reached out and took Flamme’s hand.

Flamme grinned. “Hehe~ That’s more like it!”

She turned toward the open air and raised her voice, snapping her fingers.

“Baguette, lift us up!”

With a sharp gust of wind and a flicker of magic, a large wind spirit shaped like a squirrel—roughly the size of a wild horse—materialized out of thin air, its fluffy tail swirling like a small tornado.

Without warning, it dipped low, letting both girls hop onto its back before shooting upward into the sky in a spiraling rush of air.

As the cold wind whipped around them and the battlefield shrank below, Flamme leaned forward slightly with a smirk.

“Alright, let’s go dungeon hunting~”

Vanessa held onto the squirrel’s soft mane, the wind brushing her hood back slightly as she stared out over the icy horizon.

“…Let’s end this fast.”

She really hoped that she didn’t make any mistake trusting Flamme’s antics….

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