The contest between the two monsters continued.
However, the result was already obvious.
The poor maid's unique skill basically did nothing against Krystal. Not to mention sucking her mana—it was Krystal who was taking her time "studying" Miranda's skills instead.
"Kugh…!"
After two minutes had passed, and seeing the carefree look on the witch's face, Miranda finally couldn't sit still. She stood up, reached toward the rapier hanging at her waist, and planned to draw it.
"Sit."
"…!"
But with a single word, her actions were stopped. Miranda's body moved on its own, releasing the rapier's hilt and sitting back down on the chair.
Krystal didn't even lift a finger to do that!
The difference in their strengths couldn't be more obvious.
"Three minutes. Time's up." Krystal smiled, closing her eyes. "Unfortunately, you failed. And I've already seen everything about your skills. You can leave."
"Bitch…!" Miranda cursed, her expression turning scary. "Don't you dare—!"
Although she was trying to say something else, Krystal didn't bother waiting for her to finish. With a snap, Miranda's figure vanished from the seat, leaving only me and Master in this mysterious room.
"That's one crazy animal you have claimed, my disciple," she said, opening one eye and glancing at me. "Makes me wonder how you tamed her to that degree."
"Master, you make it sound inappropriate," I sighed, scratching my head. "I haven't tamed her. She's naturally like that."
But upon hearing my reply, Master's eyes opened wide in shock. Then, she gently shook her head, lips curling into a wry smile.
"…That wasn't intentional? To think you didn't even realize what you did to that poor girl. You're a natural, it seems," she sighed.
"Anyway, about what I heard. My disciple, is it true you've almost died twice in a single week?"
Ah… I knew this was the real reason she visited.
Although I didn't want to answer yes, I couldn't lie to her. And no, it's not that I'm loyal to her or anything—it's just that she has a lie-detection unique skill, so lying to her doesn't work. Rather, it would only backfire against me if I tried.
I stood before her as straight as I could and gave a salute.
"Yes, ma'am. I almost died in two incidents, but still survived thanks to your teaching!"
At this point, I was already resigned to my fate.
"What a wonderful thing to hear, my dear disciple." She smiled sweetly. "Then, so that you won't reach the point of near-death again, shall we give you extra training for this month~?"
Yep…
I always knew it'd end like this.
I'm not crying, definitely. It's just sweat falling from my eyes!
Of course, my opinion didn't matter to her.
Before I could even nod, the scenery around me had already changed.
Earlier, I was in something like a receiving room of a rich noble's manor, but now…
No matter how I looked at it, this was the middle of a jungle. And not an illusion either, since I could feel life moving around me.
"For this month's extra training, try to reach the edge of this place, Prajmalik's Jungle, in one week."
Although I could hear Master's voice echoing around, her figure was nowhere to be seen. Of course, this was a given. After all, I was currently inside one of Master's real-life dioramas.
Anyway, I had no time to complain.
"One week, huh…"
It's quite a long time, but with Master's magic, that should be equivalent to about an hour and ten minutes outside.
The problem was that Master's "teaching" is quite brutal.
One week for an escape mission, which is usually a day at most, is quite generous. And there should be a great reason for that generosity…
"GRRRRR…"
"…!"
And not long after, I figured out the reason.
"Mother-fucking god…"
Ahead of me stood an animal. A white tiger… I guess? That's what my appraisal was telling me. However, it was the size of an elephant.
Right.
A predator as big as the largest land animal!
At a glance, I could tell it wasn't a monster I could defeat, even if it stood still for a full day. Thus, I put all my focus on buffing myself and—
"RUN!!!"
Seeing a running prey, the white tiger chased after me joyfully.
Its speed was just as frightening as its size.
"YOU FUCKING OLD HAAAAG!!!"
I could only curse, leaking various liquids as I ran.
---
Krystal Lenners.
The greatest mage in the entire world.
The esteemed Skill Holder who has thousands of skills at her disposal.
The oldest witch of the Black Forest… and one of the seven great heroes of the world.
Hearing her titles and knowing her real age is well over four digits, one would imagine she had dozens, if not hundreds, of disciples. But in truth, I was the only one.
The reason?
Nobody had ever survived her "disciple acceptance ceremony" in the past.
The time with Miranda? That was practically a joke. Master knew it was impossible in the first place, so she even bet the much-envied "disciple" position on the line.
I guess you understand now, right?
Master gauges one's limits before testing them, and when she gives trials, they're designed to be nearly impossible to clear. Thus, nobody survived the trials she gave.
The same went for me.
After she saw the one-year-old me using magic, she took an interest in me and sent me to a trial ground, claiming I'd be her first disciple if I cleared it.
Of course, I wasn't interested, so I simply tried to find a way to escape… But since I cleared it by fluke, I ended up becoming her disciple.
Really, if I'd known what fate awaited me, I would've done everything I could to fail that almost-impossible-to-fail exam.
However, the past is the past, and there's no way to change it now.
Since then, every month, Master would send me to various trials of her design, trying to kill me…
No, that's not a mistake. All the trials were designed to be impossible. One mistake leads to death, and this trial—the 25th one—is definitely just as nasty.
After escaping the white tiger, I ended up being chased by an anaconda, captured by a giant silverback gorilla, and then flown through the air by a peregrine falcon.
It was a mystery how I was still alive. I should've died six times by now.
But such "lucky" streaks had always happened to me.
Of course, I'd figured it was related to my S-level luck, but… just being lucky isn't enough.
To clear Master's trials, I usually need to use my head.
And now seemed to be the perfect time.
"RAAAGH!"
I headbutted the falcon's leg, causing it to loosen its grip on my body. I guess the principle is the same as when a doctor hits your knee for reflexology?
I'm not sure how, but it let go, so all's well. Anyway, now I'm free... falling straight toward the ground.
Huh? Was it the wrong use of my head? What are you saying?
It worked, so it's definitely correct!