The Last Place Hero's Return-Chapter 115: Final Evaluation (5)

A pale trail of smoke curled upward. In the dim, shadowy space, the faint glow of a cigarette flickered red like a firefly. Professor Baldwin slowly rose from her seat, extinguishing her cigarette with a twist.

She turned toward me with a faint smile. “Phew! I was wondering who could’ve smashed a golem so easily, and of course, it’s Dale’s party.”

I narrowed my eyes, glancing at the diamond token pinned over her heart like a name tag. In my previous life, Professor Kane had been the one in the secret room with the diamond token. That much I clearly remembered. It seemed like the future had changed when Professor Baldwin joined the academy because of the Sealing Ritual incident.

“Didn’t expect to see you here, Professor Baldwin,” I said.

“Originally, that punk Lucas was supposed to come, but I had some free time, so I asked to switch with him,” she explained.

“You asked to switch?”

Professor Baldwin smiled as she looked at me. “Yes. I figured if I came here, I’d get to meet you, Dale.”

She really swapped with him just for that? As I stared at her in disbelief, she gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Alright, let’s get on with the exam.” She spread her five fingers wide as she continued. “Five minutes.”

Her eerie purple demon eye gleamed coldly. “If you can last five minutes in a fight against me, I’ll give you this token.”

“Five minutes...”

Even a five-year-old could understand the simplicity of the rule. But just because the rule was simple, it didn’t mean the trial itself was easy.

As always, Albert reacted like a perfect variety show audience member, stumbling back in shock. “N-no way! We have to fight Professor Baldwin?”

“Calm down, Albert,” I said.

His face pale, Albert replied, “C-calm down? Dale, you know exactly who Professor Baldwin is! She’s ranked ninth in the Tri-Nation Hero Rankings! The Cursed-Eye Spider, Elisha Baldwin! No one at our academy can match her, except maybe the headmaster!”

“Wow!” I exclaimed.

This guy’s reaction was almost impressive. Now I got why Professor Kane kept picking him for things.

Professor Baldwin placed another cigarette in her mouth with a completely indifferent expression. “This is starting to make me blush.”

She lit the cigarette and looked at me. “So? Will you take the trial?”

“Of course.”

She smirked slightly. “Good answer.”

She took a long drag from her cigarette. The spark that flew from the tip of her cigarette became the signal, and she said, “Well then, let’s begin.”

Dozens of silver threads immediately spread out across the area like a net.

Iris said, “Let me cast a blessing first!”

A pure white light radiated from her and seeped into my body. Feeling as light as a feather, I scanned my surroundings. The area was filled with jagged rocks. Between the rocks, silver threads stretched out like a spider’s web.

It felt like I had just walked into a spider’s nest. Frowning, I decided to test the waters first. I stepped back to create some distance.

“Yuren, Camilla. Try to draw her attention,” I said.

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

“Understood.”

The two of them dashed forward. Yurina was the first to reach Professor Baldwin. A golden aura surged along her blade.

“Haaap!”

The once-dark space lit up like the sun had risen.

Professor Baldwin gave a faint smile as she watched the brilliant golden aura. “A sun from House Helios, huh. Impressive! This is far beyond what you would expect from a mere cadet.”

She flicked her fingers, and a silver thread shot out and instantly coiled around Yurina’s sword.

“Ugh?”

“But still...” With a swift pull, Professor Baldwin yanked the sword and delivered a clean spinning kick. “You’re too inexperienced.”

Struck square in the stomach, Yurina was sent flying. “Guh!”

“Hyaaaah!” Camilla charged in next, swinging her sword high above her head.

Her claymore, heavy with destructive force, aimed straight for Professor Baldwin’s skull.

“Strong.” Professor Baldwin dodged with a simple twist of her body, letting the massive blade crash into the ground. “But far too predictable.”

In a blink, she slipped into Camilla’s guard and drove her elbow into Camilla’s solar plexus.

“Ack!” Camilla staggered back, coughing and gasping for breath

Professor Baldwin snapped her fingers as she stared in Iris’s and my direction. “Now then, I suppose it’s your turn?”

The silver threads woven between the rocks rapidly contracted, crushing the surrounding stones. Then, shards of stone burst out like arrows in every direction. Their target was Iris.

“Guh! S-Saintess!” Camilla shouted.

Still clutching her abdomen, she tried to rush to Iris’s side, but there was no way she could outrun the flying debris.

“Ugh!” Iris shut her eyes tight as the deadly stone shards came raining down on her.

At that moment, I unleashed a blaze of grey flame, knocking away the incoming shards.

Professor Baldwin turned to me. “Oh?”

She watched as the rocks disintegrated into powder and smiled. “How did you know I would target Iris?”

“When facing a party, the standard tactic is to take out the support first,” I answered.

She nodded. “Excellent. In that case...”

Suddenly, dozens of silver threads fanned out widely and came straight at me.

“You must also know that after the support-type members, the leader of the party is usually the next target.”

Silver threads surged forward like a tide. Just as the silver strands, tangled like spiderwebs, drew near as if to swallow me whole, I unleashed an attack to counter them.

Ashen Flame Style First Form: Ash Severance.

I didn’t dodge the threads. Instead, I slashed them head-on. Cutting through the strands, I kicked off the ground and lunged toward Professor Baldwin. The distance closed in an instant, and I unleashed a fierce slash.

"Very good," she said.

Fresh strands of silver wrapped around my blade. The wild arc of my sword, once slashing like a fly caught in a web, came to a sudden halt. So, I let go of the sword I was holding.

Professor Baldwin’s eyes widened; she clearly hadn’t expected me to just drop my weapon. I lowered my body and sprang forward, throwing a punch straight at her. It was the Berald Combat Style: Mountain Breaker. My fist, infused with flames, struck her, or more accurately, struck the spiderweb she conjured in a blink in front of her.

She said, “Impressive!”

Clicking my tongue, I stared at my blocked punch. A half-baked feint wouldn’t work on her. Still, even if it didn’t land, that didn’t matter. This wasn’t a one-on-one duel with Professor Baldwin.

“You did great, Dale!” Yurina said.

She didn’t miss the brief opening I had created when Professor Baldwin blocked my blow. She immediately closed in on her with lightning speed. “Haaaah!”

Yurina’s soul stigmata flared with light, and the brilliant golden aura burning around her turned silver. It was the Blessing of Moonlight. The more she thought of her precious person, the more mana the blessing granted her. That light now amplified her already immense power to unknown limits.

“White Radiance Wave!”

The ruins trembled as if shaken by an earthquake, and a tidal wave of silver aura came crashing down toward Professor Baldwin.

Professor Baldwin hastily spread her arms. “Tsk!”

Dozens of silver threads coiled around her body, yanking her backward at high speed. As such, the silver wave just barely grazed past her.

The professor looked down at her torn combat uniform, her face hardening. “This is...”

The destructive force had been enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.

***

Yuren’s power was so overwhelming that Elisha had to admit it was astonishing.

I’m starting to wonder if he really is just a cadet. If he’s already like this now, one day, he will carve a new chapter into the long annals of heroic history.

Elisha looked at Yuren with eyes that sparkled with anticipation. “Hoho! I’m looking forward to what the next ten years bring.”

***

I watched Professor Baldiwn’s actions and clicked my tongue lightly. “Now even Yuren’s caught your eye?”

“What? Jealous?” replied the professor.

“Jealous? As if!”

She turned to me and smiled. “No need to worry about that, Dale. I’m not interested in anyone else but you now, Dale.”

I was lost for words.

“Well, enough small talk.” Professor Baldwin raised the Hero Watch on her wrist and said, “There’s still about three minutes left. This isn’t over yet, is it?”

I grinned and raised my sword again. “Of course not.”

Signaling to Yurina and Camilla, I charged once more at Professor Baldwin. Blades and threads collided, and through clouds of dust and flying dirt, our fierce battle raged on.

And then, it was Professor Baldwin who was first pushed back. She winced and bit back a groan as she staggered.

Seeing her retreat, Yurina shouted with joy, “Yes!”

“Dale, how much longer?” Camilla asked.

“Just one more minute and we’re done.”

“Really?” Yurina said in relief.

Was it the thrill of pushing back a Hero ranked ninth in the world or the joy of fighting alongside me? Yurina’s voice was noticeably more excited than usual. “Then if we push just a little harder for this last minute, we can finish this, right?”

She tried to rush in toward Professor Baldwin.

A bad feeling crawled down my spine and spread through my entire body. I immediately grabbed her shoulder. “Wait!”

“As expected of you, Dale. You’re quick on the uptake.” Professor Baldwin, who had been pushed back just moments ago, now wore a faint smile. “Bind.”

She snapped her fingers, and hundreds of silver threads lying scattered on the ground went taut. Nearly invisible to the naked eye, the threads wrapped around me, Yurina, Camilla, and Iris. We were like insects trapped in a spider’s web.

She had laid a trap even in the middle of that frenzied battle?

Yurina’s, Camilla’s, and Iris’s desperate voices rang in my ears.

“Ugh! W-when did she set this up?”

“I-I can’t move!”

“Dale!”

Professor Baldwin’s sinister violet eyes gleamed menacingly as the corners of her lips curled upward. “One minute remaining. Go ahead, struggle all you want, little ones.”

Ranked ninth among the heroes, the Cursed-Eye Spider had bared her venomous fangs.