The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 245 Survival Competition (1)

The dawn of the National University League day had arrived.

Participants from Colosseo, Varangian, and Temisquira knocked on the gate of Mage Tower.

As soon as they knocked on Mage Tower’s main gate, it opened automatically, creating a spectacle as if a living organism were opening its mouth.

“…Wow.”

Students entering the tower couldn’t help but marvel, unknowingly letting out gasps.

While the Mage Tower appeared as a tall and narrow structure from the outside, stepping inside revealed a truly breathtaking scene.

Each floor featured vast forests and lakes, seas, deserts, canyons with flowing lava, and snow-covered mountains.

Countless stars gathered on the ceiling, forming constellations that created a massive galaxy.

The sound of waterfalls flowing down the walls was chilly.

As water droplets hit the surrounding mushrooms, they produced a brilliant musical sound, and fireflies emitting light rose into the air.

With each step up the stairs, a babbling stream flowed refreshingly between their toes.

Before they knew it, it had risen, engulfing every space up to their knees, waist, shoulders, and fingertips.

At first, students who stumbled in the water panicked, fearing they might drown, but soon they regained composure and began to enjoy the spectacle.

‘The magical water,’ another artifact that could be obtained by winning the competition.

This mysterious water could be drunk, hands and feet could be immersed without getting wet, and one could even breathe inside it.

“Wow, look at this! My clothes are completely dry! It feels so smooth!”

“I can breathe and hear clearly as if I’m out of the water. It’s amazing-”

“Yet the feeling of being in the water is definitely there!”

In this mystical space, students swam, floating through forests and mountains, deserts and volcanoes, seas and deserts, canyons and galaxies, ascending through a variety of environments.

And as they ascended, new spaces, unique terrains, and mysterious natural phenomena unfolded before the students.

The essence of Mage tower was the distortion of spatial laws, combining different places through the essence of magic.

* * *

Before the Survival Competition took place, there was a procedure where representatives from each school gathered for discussions. Above all, the first priority was to choose the map for this tournament.

[Olympiad Survival Challenge – Map Selection]

Lava Zone (Inferno Hell)/Volcano (Charlefero Crater)/Desert (Yuni)/Jungle (Red and Black Mountains)/Snow Mountain (Tochika Fortress)/Sea (Cruel Sea)/Abandoned Mine (Forgotten Land)/…

Various terrains were proposed as the competition venue. Each school’s representatives secretly had their preferences.

Bakilaga, the representative of Varangian, wanted the snow-covered Snow Mountain.

“Northern folks are resilient to the cold. Ice is like a blanket or a comforter.”

Lovegood, the representative of Temisquira, desired the sea.

“Southern people are familiar with the sea. No particular reason.”

Hohenheim, the representative of Mage Tower, wished for the Lava Zone.

“My specialty is creating fire and lava through magic. Hehehe.”

And soon, it was the turn of Dolores, the representative of Colosseo.

“…”

Huh? Dolores seemed lost in different thoughts. She was contemplating what had happened in the dormitory yesterday. Specifically, about Vikir.

“Weird. No matter how I think about it…”

How could he be so powerful?

Dolores had experienced three university leagues so far during her school life and never imagined witnessing a male student standing up against Bakilaga with strength, especially considering he was just a first-year student at Colosseo.

“The grades he achieved in the midterms, the knowledge rivaling Professor Banshee, and the mysterious demerit record…”

At that moment, a thought crossed Dolores’ mind.

“Could he be the royal who concealed his identity and enrolled in the academy…?”

If the rumor, dismissed by everyone as mere gossip, were true, it would make some sense. But there was no evidence. Nah, that couldn’t be it.

While lost in various thoughts about Vikir’s face, Dolores was interrupted.

“Hey, Saintess.”

Bakilaga, who was next to her, called out.

“What’s occupying your mind so seriously?”

“Oh, sorry. Just thinking about the arm wrestling match from yesterday.”

When Dolores adjusted her posture, Bakilaga chuckled with a mischievous smile.

“You’re shocked that your boyfriend is so unexpectedly strong?”

“…What?”

“Well, you’ve been single all three years in school, so I thought you might not be interested in guys. Turns out, you must have had high standards if you picked that guy. If he’s your campus couple, that makes sense.”

“What? No, that’s not…”

“Huh? Secret relationship? Hahaha, I guess I wasn’t paying attention. It’s possible when you’re a campus couple. CC, right? Enjoyable times.”

Bakilaga laughed, turning his head away. Dolores, realizing the meaning behind his words, tried to correct the misunderstanding, but…

Rustle, rustle, rumble…

The roulette wheel determining the map had begun to spin, and so it couldn’t be helped.

Eventually…

Click, clack!

The wheel came to a stop.

The central arrow pointed to the map where today’s competition would take place.

And…

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Bakilaga from Varangian, Hohenheim from Mage tower, Lovegood from Temisquira, and Dolores from Colosseo – the expressions of all four student representatives simultaneously frowned.

[Olympiad Survival Challenge – Map Selection]

Jungle (Red and Black Mountains)

Because the roulette wheel had chosen a map that was uniformly the worst for everyone, today’s competition map was decided.

* * *

On the other hand, the staff from each school gathered in one place. In the northern part of the round table, there sat a muscular man with a thick, bushy beard, wearing a helmet with protruding bull horns.

In the southern part, a warrior woman with bows and knives strapped to her back crossed her legs. To the east, an old man with flowing white eyebrows and a long, luxurious white beard, sitting with an enormous stature.

They were respectively Basilios, the deputy director of Varangian; Hippolite, the principal of Temisquira Women’s College; and the Tower Lord ‘Whitebeard Whale’ of Mage Tower.

In the western part of the table, a middle-aged man with black, solemn hair and deep-set eyes sat silently, wearing an expressionless face. He was Professor Banshee, the vice principal of Colosseo Academy.

Tower Lord White Whiskered Whale of Mage Tower spoke up, “Hehehe, it’s an honor to host this year’s competition at our Mage tower. We express our gratitude to the responsible individuals who have traveled from afar.”

He looked alternately at the representatives of Varangian and Colosseo, asking, “But may I ask why both the deputy director and the vice principal are here? Aren’t the director and the principal present?”

It was a question about why the highest-ranking officials didn’t come and the second-ranking ones did.

In response, Deputy Director Basilios looked uncomfortable, “Due to the ‘unpleasant incident’ that happened last time, the director is still recovering.”

“Ah, that ‘Miss Ouroboros’ or whatever villain caused that.”

Tower Lord White Whiskered Whale raised his hand and gestured into the air. Suddenly, a newspaper article appeared before them.

[Breaking News] Night Hound. Endless Atrocities!?

-(※ This article is a corrected version)-

-The worst villain ever, ‘Night Hound’ ‘Miss Ouroboros,’ has once again revealed her fangs.

Early this morning, students from the Varangian training camp on the Yellow Road suffered a major attack from ‘Night Hound’ ‘Miss Ouroboros’ during their field trip, resulting in significant casualties…

There were X00 injured and X00 severely injured, including the training camp director from Varangian, ‘…,’ who also…

No fingerprints were found on the only piece of evidence left at the scene, a ‘broken vodka bottle’…

It was a newspaper published by Colosseo Academy’s newspaper club in the past.

Even though Varangian had been attacked by an unknown criminal a while ago, the aftermath seemed to linger.

(Later investigation revealed that the attacker who assaulted Varangian was not Night Hound but Miss Ouroboros. The motive behind the attack was identified as an avenging act of faceless revenge due to a personal grudge.)

Due to the injuries sustained by the training camp director from Varangian in that incident, Deputy Director Basilios attended this event as an interim director.

Meanwhile, Professor Banshee of Colosseo began to speak just as he was about to explain the absence of the principal.

Click, clack!

Just when the map was being finalized, the terrain of the competition for 400 students from four schools was decided: the terrain of Red and Black Mountains, a land ravaged by fire and darkness.

The topic smoothly transitioned.

Upon seeing that the flooded terrain had been selected as the competition map, all the school leaders swallowed an audible sigh.

“Of all the maps, it had to be the one everyone fears the most.”

“Yes, places like the lava zone or snow mountain may be challenging to obtain food and water, but once secured, they can be preserved by drying in the scorching wind or burying them in the ground.”

“However, the jungle, being hot and humid, causes everything to quickly rot. It’s difficult to obtain food and water due to the abundance of contaminants and poisonous substances.”

“…”

Eventually, a large mirror, reflecting the faces of the 400 students, appeared above the round table. This mirror was the legendary artifact ‘Spare Eyes,’ won by the Tower Lord Whitebeard Whale of Mage tower as a prize for winning the university league in the past. According to legend, it could show the current situation of anyone, even from a thousand miles away.

Everyone couldn’t help but admire Mage Tower’s artifact.

“Oh. Mage tower’s ‘Spare Eyes’ is always mysterious.”

“You can see the appearance of all the students in it.”

“You can clearly observe what the 400 people are doing as if they’re right in front of you.”

“…”

Professor Banshee, however, remained silent and clenched his fist again.

Eventually, the leaders of each school began to chat while watching their respective students.

“So, who are the contenders for this year’s competition?”

“Well, it must be Varangian’s ‘Bakilaga,’ Temisquira’s ‘Lovegood,’ Mage Tower’s ‘Hohenheim,’ and Colosseo’s ‘Dolores,’ right?”

“Yeah, those kids had the best grades among their peers in the previous two competitions. Most likely, those kids have a high chance of winning artifacts this time as well.”

“…”

But Professor Banshee still remained silent.

However, the other school leaders started to ask inquisitive questions.

“Professor Banshee? May we ask where you are looking?”

“The ace of Colosseo, Dolores L Quovadis, is on the opposite side.”

“The direction you’re currently looking is where the first-year students are gathered.”

But Professor Banshee just chuckled and let out a sigh, showing a disinterested attitude.

“I’m looking at someone else.”