The day of the group training camp.

The day of the training camp had finally arrived.

I was climbing a mountain with a backpack far larger than myself strapped to my back. The other trainee knights were all carrying the same bulky loads.

This particular mountain was part of the northern range, known for being the most rugged and treacherous in the region.

Strangely, the soil here was pitch black and crumbled underfoot, while the trees stood dry and withered, clinging to life. All of it was due to the pervasive presence of Magi.

Although we had only been climbing for about an hour, the effects of the Magi were evident—everyone seemed more fatigued than usual.

"Huff, huff… I feel like I’m going to die…"

"Stay alert, all of you!" barked Alruin, the supervising knight. "This is a hotbed for Magi, and their appearances have been far more frequent recently. If you don’t want to find yourselves dead or dragged into the Demon Realm, keep your wits about you!"

"Yes, sir!"

The trainee knights responded in unison, myself included, as I hopped up onto the rocks ahead.

"Up we go, up we go," I chirped, cheerfully ascending the trail.

As usual, I had the system's stamina recovery buff keeping me going.

Even so, it wasn’t as if this climb was entirely easy. My stamina would drain completely before the system restored it, forcing me to teeter on the brink of collapse each time.

It would’ve been nice if the system could restore stamina before it was fully depleted, but that would’ve been too convenient, I supposed.

As I continued my energetic climb, I noticed Edgar and his group just ahead. Their legs were trembling as if they were about to collapse.

Look at them, shaking like leaves.

When Edgar spotted me, his face twisted with irritation.

"Why the hell are you still fine? What are you made of?"

"Want me to find you a walking stick? You look like you’ve aged seventy years in an hour."

"You little—!"

"Bye!"

I left a short laugh behind as I swiftly climbed past them.

Though Edgar and his gang had started ahead of me due to their naturally stronger physiques, I’d finally caught up to them.

Just as I turned my gaze forward, I noticed something—a thick, black smoke swirling in the distance. I immediately recognized it as Magi.

This is it!

My hand instinctively reached for my sword.

Whoosh!

Before I could even draw it, a bright, white slash cut through the Magi, dispersing it completely.

I turned to see who had beaten me to the punch and found Adrian standing there, looking a bit sheepish.

"That was close," he said, his tone casual.

"Oh… thank you," I replied begrudgingly.

"Mm-hmm."

Adrian coughed awkwardly, his face tinged red, before continuing up the trail. I, however, felt bitter.

"Thanks for saving me, but did you really have to steal my Magi?"

Eliminating Magi was the best way to gain experience points. One successful fight against Magi could net more experience than a whole day of training. That was why I’d been so excited about this camp, located in an area teeming with them.

Still, I consoled myself. It’s fine. I’ve got plenty of time.

This was my first time training alongside Adrian. Because the camp combined knights from different squads, we were all grouped together for this retreat.

Camping on a mountain where Magi frequently appeared would sound like insanity to most people, but to me, it was thrilling.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, Alruin called everyone to gather. We had reached a wide, flat area midway up the mountain.

"Alright," Alruin announced. "We’ll set up camp here for the night. We’ll rotate night watch duties, but don’t fall into too deep a sleep."

"Understood!"

The knights all retrieved their tents from their backpacks. I set up mine quickly, thanks to the countless practice sessions we’d had in the dormitories. Compared to the others, my tent was up in no time.

With my watch shift not yet upon me, I slipped into my tent.

But lying still wasn’t as restful as I’d hoped.

"Ugh. Here I am, in a place full of Magi, and I have to stay in my tent? I want to go hunt them."

Frustrated, I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of chasing Magi like pesky mosquitoes.

It wasn’t clear how long I’d been asleep when I suddenly woke up. My turn to stand watch hadn’t come yet, but I felt wide awake. Blinking a few times, I stepped out of my tent.

The dark forest stretched out before me, lit only by the faint glow of the moon and stars.

To my surprise, the other knights’ tents were nowhere in sight.

"...What’s going on?"

I glanced up at the sky. The moon and stars glowed yellow, so at least I wasn’t in the Demon Realm.

What could’ve happened while I was asleep?

Just as I tilted my head in confusion, I heard faint laughter in the distance. From the sound alone, I immediately knew it was Edgar and his gang.

"Seriously? Did they ditch me here as a joke?"

Their pranks were getting out of hand.

Did they think leaving me alone in a desolate, Magi-infested forest would scare me into tears?

"Actually, this is great."

Their antics gave me the perfect excuse to wander off and hunt Magi during the night.

Grinning to myself, I set off down the dark mountain path, using the moonlight as my guide. The laughter faded into the distance until it was completely gone.

After walking a bit farther from my tent, I heard a faint rustling sound. Turning toward the noise, I locked eyes with someone unexpected.

It was a figure whose silver appearance gleamed even in the dark.

"Meteor?"

What was he doing here?

Meteor was part of the training camp, but his superior stamina and skills meant he was always far ahead of the rest of us. Even when we set up camp, he was assigned to a different group, so I hadn’t seen where he’d pitched his tent.

But here he was. Could it be…?

"Crescent," Meteor said, looking slightly startled, as if he hadn’t expected to be caught.

"Why are you here? Don’t tell me you followed me to protect me from Edgar and his gang?"

"What? Don’t be ridiculous. I was just patrolling the area as part of the watch."

"Oh, is that so? Well, thanks for your hard work," I said nonchalantly.

Still, if Meteor was around, I wouldn’t be able to eliminate any Magi myself. He was far faster than me and would likely take them all down before I had the chance.

As I turned to leave, Meteor called out to me in a hurried voice.

"Hey, where do you think you’re going? Do you even realize how far those brats dragged you? You could be in serious danger!"

"Hmm. So you were worried about me," I teased with a sly smile.

"Enough. Let’s just head back," he grumbled.

"Fine, fine. But since we’re already out here, how about we patrol together before we return?"

"...I guess that’s fine," Meteor replied reluctantly.

Perfect!

Instead of returning to the campsite, Meteor and I continued trekking through the forest. I kept my senses sharp, determined to spot Magi before he did.

As we walked, Meteor began talking.

"I reported Edgar and his gang to the instructors. They’ll face punishment for what they did. From what I’ve heard, this wasn’t the first time they’ve bothered you—"

"Ahhh!"

Before Meteor could finish, a scream rang out nearby.

Without hesitation, both of us dashed toward the sound. My short sword was already in my hand.

Ahead, I saw Edgar and his gang cornered, shadowed by a swirling mass of Magi.

I immediately hurled my sword over their heads.

"Before Meteor gets the chance!"

Thud! Clang!

Time seemed to slow as the black smoke dispersed, vanishing into the air. My blade struck a rock, letting out a sharp metallic ring.

And then, with a soft plop, a chunk of Edgar’s green hair fell to the ground.

The group of boys turned to stare at me in shock.

Edgar, meanwhile, patted his head frantically, as if checking to make sure it was still attached.

Ah, my blade must’ve grazed his hair.

I shrugged apologetically. "Oops. Sorry about that. You all looked like you were in such a hurry, I just threw my sword without thinking. Guess I gave you a free haircut."

"You…"

Edgar’s face turned pale, as though he’d just seen the gates of hell.

"Well, at least you won’t need a haircut for a while, right? But tell me—were you seriously trying to ditch me here?"

I grinned as I finished speaking. The boys stammered and waved their hands frantically.

"N-no way! Never! Haha!"

"Yeah! Absolutely not! Haha!"

"Haha!"

I laughed along with them.

This training camp was turning out to be far more fun than I’d expected.

The only one who didn’t seem to be enjoying himself was Meteor, who stared at me with a look of utter disbelief.