Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Cynthia had underestimated her injuries. Even with the help of a Saint-level Potion, she couldn’t stay conscious until the very end.

As she was talking with Richter, she suddenly lost control and slipped into unconsciousness.

In her groggy haze, she vaguely heard someone calling her name, followed by snippets of indistinct conversation.

But gradually, she could no longer hear anything at all.

Her mind was muddled. She couldn’t think. And without her awareness, time continued to pass, never stopping for anyone.
By the time she woke again, three days had passed.

Cynthia opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a white magical chandelier, while the faint scent of herbs lingered in the air around her.

Crescent moon patterns were carved into the walls, along with totems symbolizing the Goddess of Healing. It seemed this was the infirmary of Moon Soul Academy.

There was no one else in the room. Cynthia sat up and checked her body.

The holes in her body had already healed. The wounds on her hands that had cut down to the bone had regrown flesh, and the dizziness from before had vanished as well.

What surprised her even more was that the bottleneck that had kept her stuck at five stars was showing signs of loosening.

Getting injured this time hadn’t been entirely without benefit.

Cynthia got out of bed. After pouring herself a glass of water and drinking it, she opened her Light Screen.

There weren’t many messages.

Aside from several messages from Rafael, the rest were notifications that Griffin had submitted her withdrawal from the Individual Competition on her behalf, along with updates her four teammates had posted in the group chat about how the Individual Competition was going.

Sangmo had lost in the second round.

Because she had been unconscious and unable to attend, she was considered to have forfeited in the fourth round and likewise lost her eligibility to continue participating in the Individual Competition.

Eli had also been defeated in the fourth round.

Richter and Vernel had lost in the sixth round.

Those results were already excellent-at the very least, they had surpassed their initial expectations.

Judging by the schedule, the Individual Competition still had two days left before it ended.

After those two days, there would be a five-day break, which was meant to serve as preparation for the Team Competition.

Mm. In other words, she could still lie around for seven days.

That was what Cynthia had been thinking. However, just as she thanked the infirmary teacher and returned to her dorm, a message from Griffin popped up in the group chat.

[Tomorrow, Vernel and Cynthia, the two of you will go to Moonlight Island on the second floating island to collect these materials.] (Six lists attached.)

[The other three will go to Undead Island on the third floating island.] (Nine lists attached.)

[Time limit: complete within six days.]

Did he know she’d woken up through her location? His timing was way too precise…

Cynthia felt that her life was rather unfortunate. Reluctantly, she opened the images and checked the listed materials.

Most of them were spiritual plants. There were also materials such as Magical Beast skulls and pelts, as well as crystal ores and elemental stones.

After replying with an okay, Cynthia opened the part-time task page and scrolled to the very bottom from memory.

The part-time task for Moonlight Island was still there. It also involved collecting these kinds of materials, and most of the materials overlapped with the list Griffin had sent.

Compared with the other tasks, this one was less difficult, so it awarded fewer points. But it was still better than nothing.

If she accepted this task, she could take care of two things at once.

Cynthia asked Vernel for her opinion.

Vernel quickly replied: [Whatever the captain decides.]

Seeing that she agreed, Cynthia signed up online.

Only after taking care of all that did Cynthia open her chat with Rafael.

The five major academies were very far apart from one another, each established in a different area.

Members who did not belong to an academy also could not enter it.

So although Rafael’s messages sounded extremely anxious and worried, he couldn’t actually enter Moon Soul Academy.

Following the original owner’s usual attitude and way of replying, Cynthia sent back a brief response.
[I’m fine. Don’t worry. Everything’s all right.]

The reply came almost instantly.

Rafael: [As long as you’re okay.]

[I’ve watched the recording. You did very well. It was a wonderful match.]

Cynthia: [Thank you.]

Rafael’s side showed that he was typing for a long while before a single message finally came through: [Do you have any plans for the holiday in a couple of days?]

In her memories, he had never been good with words, but he had always been gentle about everything. It was clear that he was trying his best to take the initiative and find something to talk about.

Cynthia understood what he was implying, so she turned him down tactfully. [My mentor assigned me a task for the holiday. Let’s meet and talk next time when I’m free.]

Perhaps sensing that she didn’t want to continue the conversation, the other side fell silent for a moment before finally replying with an okay.

Cynthia shut off the Light Screen and pressed a hand to her forehead, sorting through her thoughts.

She could only hope that Rafael would truly do as the original owner had wished, gradually let the memories of their childhood fade, and simply treat her as if she were invisible from now on.

–

The next day.

The five of them were awakened by Griffin’s remote magical alarm clock just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

They met downstairs at the dormitory, exchanged a perfunctory greeting, then split into two groups and headed for the task routes Griffin had assigned them.

Moonlight Island lived up to its name. It was utterly dreamlike.

The island’s outer edge was made up of silver beaches and sea.

Deeper in lay the Moonlight Forest, stretching endlessly beyond sight.

After Cynthia and Vernel investigated the island’s routes, they ultimately agreed to head first to the waters around Moonlight Island in search of the Moonlight Stone and Phantom Moon Fruit that could only be found in the sea, as well as the Nightmare Beast.

Cynthia had just been about to condense a water-repelling magical barrier with her mana when Vernel suddenly took out two nearly transparent pearl-like pills.

After swallowing one, she handed the other to Cynthia.

She introduced it briefly. “Water Avoidance Pill. After you take it, it forms a barrier. Not only does it ignore water pressure, it also allows you to breathe normally underwater. The effect lasts around forty-eight hours. Captain, you should take it too.”

“Thank you.” This time, Cynthia didn’t refuse.

Things like this generally came from the eastern part of the continent. The original owner’s memories contained information about them, but Cynthia had never actually come into contact with the real thing.

Vernel’s expression remained calm. “You’re welcome. Let’s go.”

She stepped into the water first.

Cynthia swallowed the Water Avoidance Pill and followed close behind.
The underwater scenery was in no way inferior to the view above the sea.

Schools of fish wove through every part of the seabed, and the coral, influenced by the environment, gave off a faint glow.

At the deepest part of the sea floor, there was even an underwater forest.

From a distance, it was magnificent. Up close, it was dreamlike.

But countless dangers lurked there as well.

When she sensed a Demon Shark of unknown rank charging toward them, Cynthia hurriedly raised her hand and pulled Vernel behind a Moonshadow Tree to hide.

After it left, Cynthia pointed at the Light Screen. “According to the map, the Nightmare Beasts live in groups in this Coral Forest. We’ll deal with them first.”

Vernel’s gaze slipped over Cynthia’s hand, which was holding her wrist, and she seemed slightly unused to it. “…All right.”

Cynthia’s attention was entirely on observing the movements around them, so she didn’t notice Vernel’s reaction.

Once they had decided on a route, she released Vernel’s hand and took the lead toward the target location marked on the map.

Nightmare Beasts weren’t very high in rank. Most were around First to Second Order, with the highest limit being Third Order, but their medicinal value was extremely high.

Aside from that, Nightmare Beast packs especially liked collecting shiny things.

In other words, there was a chance they might find a Moonlight Stone in their nest on this trip…