Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179 Chapter 40.4 - A test

Just like that, Irina and Sylvie, distracted by their conversation, turned their attention to where Astron was pointing.

To their surprise, a small squirrel made entirely of mana walked gracefully in front of them. The creature's form shimmered with ethereal light, and it seemed to follow a predetermined path through the forest.

"A Mana Formula disguised as a squirrel?" Irina mused, her eyes narrowing as she observed the magical creature. It was quite a sight to see such a complex life form was imitated by a magic formula, meaning they would get a lot more points just from capturing and defusing it.

Sylvie couldn't help but smile. "It's so cute! Can we catch it?"

'Hmm….She is weak to cute things.'

Irina mentally noted seeing Sylvie's reaction and chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Of course, we can. Remember, the goal is to find these formulas and understand them. Let's work together and capture it without harm-"

SWOOSH!

Just as she was about to continue her words, suddenly, an arrow shining green went right past through her ears.

STAB!

And stabbed the pitiful squirrel from its legs, hindering its movements. However, instead of dissipating, the squirrel staggered, its movements hindered by the magical impact.

GASP!

Sylvie gasped, worried about the creature's well-being. "Did you have to do that?"

Irina, with a mixture of frustration and intrigue, turned her gaze to Astron. "What was the point of that? We were supposed to capture it unharmed!"

Astron, unfazed by their disapproving glares, calmly retrieved another arrow. "Relax. It's just a magic formula. We needed to see how it reacts to an attack, right?"

He looked composed for someone who had just shot a pitiful, innocent squirrel. "And, it is not like it is dead or anything. The formula is just fine; what you are seeing is nothing but an illusion."

Just as he said, the squirrel would have dissipated if the magic formula had been affected and destroyed. That itself showed that the arrow didn't cause any harm to their objective. It actually made their lives easier since the squirrel was bound to be different from other formulas.

Most likely, it would be able to escape rapidly.

"Still….."

However, even then, it was quite heartbreaking to see that cute squirrel squirm like that.

"For someone who burns monsters alive, you are quite sensitive about a little mana squirrel," Astron remarked, his tone as expressionless as ever.

Irina shot him a glare, her frustration mounting. The reason wasn't because he was wrong. It was because he was right since she had killed countless other monsters and took pleasure in the act of combat.

'But, I haven't fallen enough to shoot an innocent squirrel.' She wanted to retort, but she didn't hold her word. She knew he was just going to shrug it off anyway.'

"Sigh….Let me take a look."

With a hearty sigh, Irina approached the struggling squirrel. She extended her hand, palm glowing faintly with mana. The magical aura enveloped the wounded creature, and she carefully observed the reactions of the formula. It squirmed but showed no signs of dispersing.

"Remarkable," Irina murmured, her gaze fixed on the enchanted squirrel. "The formula has a resilient structure. The arrow impact seems to have altered its movements but hasn't disrupted the magical construct. Interesting."

She retrieved a small, intricate artifact provided by the academy for this exam. The device was designed to record and analyze mana formulas, an essential tool for investigators since awakeners would always leave traces in the form of Magic Formulas even if they had used skills.

Of course, this device they were provided was actually the lesser version of the real one, but it still did the job.

Placing it close to the mana squirrel, Irina initiated the recording process. A minute later, the squirrel disappeared, leaving no trace as the mana was absorbed by the artifact.

"It is over, let's go." And then, she continued leading the group into the forest.

On the way, none of the three talked. Sylvie was busy looking at the environment and controlling her eyes, and Irina was observing him.

'This guy….'

Looking at those shining purple eyes, Irina thought to herself.

'I knew it. He is quite smart.'

She still didn't know why he was ranked this low, but after being with him for a whole period and exploring dungeons, she admitted that Astron was someone who learned fast. He might not be a genius like her or this monstrous girl, but he was at least way above average.

The time it took him to learn the Mana Observation was a lot shorter than even most of the mages under their family, whom she had sparred when she was a child.

'Tch. I can't make fun of him anymore.'

Now that he finally got a grasp of how to use Mana Observation, she lost the small chance to make fun of him.

'Well, it might not be that bad.'

His reaction speed was insanely fast, and most importantly, the time for him to assess the situation and make decisions was almost nonexistent.

He didn't waste any second while making plans and acted instantly, just like he did with the squirrel.

'I hate to admit it, but he is a lot better in terms of this.'

Even though it might scratch her pride, in the end, she wasn't an asshole who refused to accept other people's achievements.

'Well, I might have been that asshole.'

Just like that, the group ventured into the forest, looking around for squirrels. Since all three of them were able to use Mana Observation, they swiftly found Mana Formulas disguised as parts of a forest.

Irina used her magic to trap the monsters where the magic formulas were attached.

Even though she was a fire mage mostly focusing on explosive elements, because this time it was a capture, she used other forms of magic as well. Even then, she proved why she was labeled as a genius, as her other forms of magic were also strong and swift.

Astron was Astron, as he simply used arrows, and as for Sylvie, she was the one that surprised the two the most, as she was somehow able to 'charm' the magic formulas, making them unable to move.

It was quite a weird scene to witness and clearly something Irina was seeing for the first time.

However, that peaceful time reached its end not long after...

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