(Selena Rhyms' POV)
A few hours earlier.
The afternoon wind blew cold at the Main Overwatch Post perched on the border of the Northern Forest. Yet, the chill of the mountain air was incomparable to the frozen glare I cast upon the magic map on the command table.
"Instructor Samuel," I said flatly. My gaze remained fixed on the hologram map, refusing to turn. "I hope your reason for calling me down directly from the tower to this muddy post is strong enough. My afternoon tea has gone cold because of it."
The white-bearded old man beside me, Instructor Samuel, bowed deeply. His usually calm face was now filled with worry lines that could not be hidden.
"Forgive my presumption, Your Excellency Headmistress. Truly, I would not dare disturb your rest were it not for an urgent matter," his voice trembled slightly. "However, the mana detection algorithm in the lower category exam sector shows an anomaly I cannot ignore. This is not mere student mana fluctuation."
"Not ordinary fluctuation?" I lifted the teacup, sipping a little though it was no longer warm. "Explain! Do not beat around the bush!"
Samuel pointed toward the southwest sector on the map. "Massive monster movement is occurring. Judging by the pattern, it is a Monster Train."
One of my eyebrows raised. "In the first-year exam? Wasn't the perimeter fence set to break up monster herds? Our security system should prevent something like this from happening naturally."
"That is the problem, Your Excellency. The fence is functioning normally; all indicators are green. However, these monsters... their movement is not random. The pattern is too neat, as if they are being herded artificially to a specific coordinate point."
A soft snort escaped my lips. A cynical smile carved itself on this face polished with red lipstick. My eyes scanned the red dots on the map gathering in one narrow area like ants swarming sugar.
"Herded, you say?"
My politician's brain worked faster than any magic circuit. This was no natural coincidence, but human intervention. And in this Academy, there were only a handful of people who had the resources, access, and motive to sabotage a low-level exam.
Karl Benzzi.
That boy must still be fuming after being humiliated by my granddaughter, Elena, and her favorite student, Arin. It seemed he bribed some supervisor instructors to manipulate monster routes, intending to make Arin and Erika fail completely in this exam.
"Truly petty," I muttered softly, tapping my folding fan on the marble table. "He is still playing laughable childish games."
Samuel looked at me anxiously. "Do we need to stop the exam, Your Excellency? If this is sabotage, student safety could be threatened."
"Stop the exam?" I chuckled, a dry sound devoid of humor. "No need."
I felt Samuel's confused gaze, but I did not care. In this mind, a profit-loss calculation was running fast.
Arin was a valuable asset; that was an undeniable fact. His Antibiotic business potential could be worth millions of gold coins to the Rhyms Family. However, that boy was too wild. He was cunning, brave, and difficult to control. He needed a little... lesson on the reality of power.
If he failed this exam due to Karl's sabotage, his position in the Academy would be shaky. His scholarship might be threatened with revocation. In that moment, the Rhyms Family would come as the only "savior." He would become more obedient, more dependent, and more loyal to us.
Let Arin suffer a little and see that without Rhyms' protection, he is merely fresh meat before wolves. Besides, I could use this incident of Karl's cheating later as a political weapon to pressure Duke Benzzi at the next council hearing. One stroke, two islands crossed.
"But Your Excellency, the number of monsters..." Samuel tried to argue.
"Let it be, Samuel. Children need to learn that the world is unfair," I decided firmly. The fan in my hand closed with a loud snap. "As long as their lives are not threatened, this is a good character test."
"Are you sure, Ma'am? The emergency badges exist, but..."
"I am very confident in our system," I cut in. The Exam Badge possessed absolute emergency teleportation magic. In the worst-case scenario, Arin would only be injured and eliminated. No one would die.
However, that assumption collapsed five minutes later.
The tent flap was thrown open roughly. A field supervisor ran in panting, his face pale as if he had just seen a ghost.
"Report! Report, Your Excellency!" he shouted in panic, ignoring salute protocol. "High-level mana signal detected in Sector 4! The wave is massive!"
CRASH!
The teacup in my hand shattered from an unconscious squeeze. Cold tea dripped onto my silk gloves, leaving ugly brown stains.
"What did you say?" My voice lowered, cold and dangerous.
"I-it is... a Silver Golem, Your Excellency! Our detectors confirmed its energy signature. A Tier 3 Monster!"
"Impossible," snapped Samuel, his face paling. "There should not be monsters of that tier in the beginner area! Who let it through?!"
My heart pounded hard inside my chest cavity. This was no longer mere student bullying or light sabotage. A Tier 3 Monster could kill a first-year student in the blink of an eye, even before the emergency badge mechanism had a chance to activate.
"Track Arin's position. Now!" I ordered. That tone made the room temperature drop drastically, freezing the staff's panic.
"Y-yes!" The magic operators worked frantically, their fingers dancing over the Magic Rune Artifacts. "Scanning student Arin's ID... Complete. According to the badge signal... Student Arin is on the edge of the forest, in Safe Zone B-2."
"Safe?" My forehead furrowed deeply. "If he is in the safe zone, why is there a report of a Silver Golem in the same sector?"
"Perhaps the detection tool is wrong, Your Excellency," said one of the operators nervously. "Arin's signal is stable in the green zone."
Suddenly, a commotion occurred at the medical entrance connected to the command tent. A Class B student who had just been evacuated due to a leg injury was brought in. He raved hysterically, tears wetting his dirty face.
"No! They are not safe!" shouted the student upon seeing the hologram map. "They are in the cliff crevice! Arin and Erika are trapped in a dead end! That Golem is chasing them! I saw it myself!"
I stared at the operator sharply, a gaze promising severe punishment. "You said he was in the Safe Zone?"
"T-that is what is shown on the screen, Your Excellency! The signal is clearly there! I am not lying!" The operator trembled in fear.
"That must be a fake signal," I hissed.
Cold sweat began to seep down my back. Karl Benzzi... or whichever bastard helped him, they did not intend to make Arin fail. They intended to kill him.
This was premeditated murder. And they brazenly did it in the backyard of my power.
If Arin died, not only would millions in gold investment be lost. Rhyms' reputation as a protector would be shattered. My political enemies would laugh and dance on that boy's corpse.
"Move!"
The operator's body was shoved roughly. This hand was raised over the hologram map. An academy system clearly infiltrated could no longer be trusted. The search had to be done personally.
Mana in massive amounts exploded from my body. Emerald green magic circles formed on the floor, spinning with high-level complexity.
"Instructor Samuel, divert the defense circuits to my control!" I ordered.
"Y-yes! Hold positions!" shouted Samuel to the other staff.
Fifth Circle Magic: Eye of the Wind Spirit.
My consciousness expanded, merging with the airflow in the northern forest. Every inch of the forest was combed, searching for signs of Arin's life. Trees, rivers, and student panic were clearly visible in my mind.
My vision was directed to the cliff crevice mentioned by the student earlier.
However, when my consciousness tried to penetrate that area...
BZZZT!
An invisible black wall slammed into my mind.
"Ugh!" My body staggered back, hand reflexively clutching my head which throbbed in pain.
My tracking magic... blocked? No, it wasn't just blocked. It was like being eaten. This familiar and disgusting nausea... I knew it. This was not academy magic, but an Anti-Mana Field used by heretics.
"Iron Blood Sect..." I whispered, face paling.
The room went deathly silent. Samuel stared in horror. "Iron Blood Sect? You mean... that terrorist group has infiltrated this exam?"
"Bring that Class B student here!" I ordered Samuel without answering his question.
The trembling student was dragged before me. His shoulder was gripped tightly, to hell with politeness.
"Tell me! Did you see Arin and Erika? Did their badges work?"
"N-No..." answered the student while crying, snot running down. "I saw Erika thrown by the Golem strike... but... there was no red teleportation light. Rescue Harpies did not come. She... she just lay there!"
The grip on his shoulder released.
Their badges were sabotaged and trackers falsified. That area was now blocked by cult magic.
Arin and Erika were trapped in a death box with no exit and no help.
Thoughts raced wildly. If instructors were sent there now manually, it would take at least fifteen minutes to penetrate the forest. Fifteen minutes in a fight against a Silver Golem and a Cult was an eternity. Arin would be a corpse before help arrived.
Teleportation magic could not be used because the sect's blockade messed up spatial coordinates.
This situation was truly infuriating. Family investment, the medical future Arin promised, and this pride were being gambled on the edge of a cliff. What could be done? How to give him a way out when he was surrounded in a dead end?
Eyes fell on the miniature academy model on the table. The magical barrier wall surrounding the forest... that thing kept monsters from getting out, but right now, that thing also kept Arin from being able to run.
If he could not retreat... then a way forward must be given. A path to the wild forest outside the academy.
"Disable the Northern Sector Magic Barrier," I ordered.
"What?!" Samuel and the other supervisors stared crazily. "Your Excellency! That violates level one security protocol! If the barrier is opened, wild monsters from outside can enter! And exam monsters can escape to residential areas!"
"I do not care!" I snapped. Hand slammed the table until it cracked. "Disable it now! Give that boy a way to run! I take full responsibility!"
"But, Your Excellency, the risk is too great..." Samuel tried to hold back. "We must report to the Council first..."
"DO IT OR I WILL FREEZE YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW!"
Sixth Circle mana aura exploded, pressuring the entire room until it was hard to breathe. The operators trembled in fear and immediately pressed the emergency lever.
On the monitor screen, the energy wall in the Northern Sector flickered, then went out.
"Your path is open, Arin..." I whispered, squeezing my hand until the knuckles turned white. "Run and live!"
"Wait, what are you doing, Headmistress Rhyms?"
A cold and authoritative voice sounded from the tent entrance.
Head turned. The Vice Principal and three members of the Honorary Council entered. Behind them stood Instructor Adnia and Instructor Robert with thin smiles full of victory. They all came from the political faction opposing me, the Delphine and Benzzi faction.
"You just disabled the academy's main defense to save two Class C students?" said the Vice Principal in an accusing tone. He stepped forward pointing at the red monitor screen. "While we know there are indications of Cult involvement there?"
"They trapped my students!" I retorted sharply, stepping closer to them. "We must send a rescue team now! The barrier was disabled so they could get out of the trap zone!"
"Cannot be done," cut in Adnia. Her voice was smooth yet venomous. "According to Anti-Sect emergency protocol Chapter 4 Article 2, contaminated areas must be isolated until Royal Paladin troops arrive. We must not send instructors there. It could be a trap to weaken school defenses."
"That is nonsense! You just want to let that boy die!"
"We prioritize the safety of thousands of other students over two students who are... problematic," said the council member calmly. His eyes radiated cold bureaucratic cruelty. "Your decision to open the barrier was very reckless, Selena. We will take over command starting now. Raise the barrier again!"
"Do not dare..." I growled. Green mana began gathering at my fingertips.
"Do you intend to attack the Council, Headmistress?" asked the Vice Principal, raising his hand. The guard troops behind him prepared. "That is an act of treason."
Instructors from the opposing faction began to move, blocking Samuel and my people. Debate broke out. Voices of mutual accusation filled the command tent.
I stood frozen in the middle of that commotion. Hand clenched tightly beside my dress, nails digging into my palm.
They won. Yes, this time they won.
They used bureaucracy as a murder weapon, then used procedure to tie my hands while Arin fought alone in that hell.
I was the Headmistress of Lion Academy, a Sixth Circle mage. But faced with this political spider web, I could not move.
Gaze cast toward the dark northern forest through the tent slit. Far, dark, and deadly.
"Forgive me, Arin," I thought. Bitterness filled my tongue, a sense of helplessness I had not felt in a long time. "I have done everything I could from here. The rest... is in your hands."
Amidst this disgusting political intrigue, an opportunistic noblewoman like me could only do one very useless thing: Pray.
Hang in there, Kid. For both our profit... please do not die.