SWNOVELXO Chapter 97
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 97
While Sivar was setting fires (?) here and there, Grace and Lee Yeonju were busy investigating various parts of the house.
Although there were many places to search, they felt confident they could find it if Sivar bought them enough time.
“F-F-F-Found it!!”
While thoroughly searching the third house, they discovered the artifact inside a drawer.
The artifact was about the size of a tangerine and looked like a stone with a single gem embedded in it.
Its appearance was so unremarkable that it could easily be overlooked. However, since this was the latter half of the trial, they immediately realized it was the artifact.
‘The trial is ours now.’
The odds of victory had skyrocketed ever since Sivar regained attack rights, but now that they had found the artifact, they could finally relax.
The only thing left was to figure out the artifact’s effects. Most artifacts activated when mana was infused into them.
Grace began infusing mana into the artifact and waited for its effect to activate.
Boom! Bang!
But nothing could be taken for granted. As the sound of explosions, like bombs going off, echoed from outside, Grace flinched.
Even though Sivar was diligently acting as a shield, she had no idea what on earth was happening out there.
Could such sounds really come from makeshift Molotov cocktails? She was curious but also terrified.
‘Still, I guess I have to go outside······?’
Now that the artifact had been found, the next step was regrouping. With that thought, Grace started moving.
Despite the screams coming from outside, she reassured herself that it would be fine. If it was Sivar, he could overcome any obstacle.
The only person she was truly worried about was Lee Yeonju. She needed to get the news to her quickly so they could regroup faster.
‘Just in case······’
Grace tightly gripped the artifact in one hand while keeping the other ready to cast magic at any moment.
If luck wasn’t on her side, she might run into another team as soon as she stepped outside. Because of the mana infusion, she couldn’t afford to let go of the artifact either.
Just as she was about to reach the door, Grace slowly extended her hand toward the doorknob.
That’s when it happened.
Clunk!
Without any warning or sense of presence, the door swung wide open. The situation was so sudden, it was almost absurd.
Naturally, the one who opened the door was Sivar, but Grace had no way of knowing that. Startled out of her wits, she reacted instinctively.
“Ahhh!!”
She stretched out her hand to cast magic. Though only a scream escaped her lips, at least her hand moved as intended.
The problem was that it wasn’t her empty hand but the hand holding the artifact that she extended. She was so shocked that her hands moved in the wrong order.
As a result, the artifact flew straight toward Sivar’s mouth. Spinning as it went, it landed with perfect accuracy.
“Grace. I’m bac······ Gulp?!”
Gulp!
Without knowing a thing, Sivar swallowed the tangerine-sized artifact whole.
A series of coincidences had led to this accident. An accident that could never be undone.
[The artifact has been damaged!]
[The artifact has been damaged!]
And that brings us to the present. Both Sivar and Grace were dumbfounded by the artifact’s cries for help.
Sivar, who had swallowed the tangerine-sized artifact, and Grace, who had accidentally thrown it while trying to cast magic, were both at a loss.
It was less a harmonious melody and more a cacophony of chaos. Even the perpetually timid Lee Yeonju seemed normal in comparison.
“··· ···”
“··· ···”
Sivar, with a bewildered expression, glanced at Grace after hearing the artifact’s voice resonate from his stomach.
At the same time, Grace, wearing a look of disbelief, met Sivar’s gaze. Both of their faces seemed frozen, as if their thought processes had completely shut down.
“Grace!”
“Huh, huh?”
“The mana field is shrinking rapidly! Other teams will converge here soon!”
Thankfully, Lee Yeonju’s quick arrival snapped them back to reality. Grace grasped the situation thanks to her shout.
The artifact was now inside Sivar’s stomach, and retrieving it was nearly impossible. Couldn’t he just vomit it out?
It was impressive enough that he had swallowed a tangerine-sized artifact, but forcing it back up would be genuinely dangerous.
It could get stuck in his esophagus, creating a situation where nothing could be done. A time attack seemed like the better option.
[The artifact has been damaged!]
The artifact’s cries for help continued. Lee Yeonju, hearing the sound, widened her eyes in shock.
Soon, she realized the sound was coming from Sivar’s stomach and muttered in disbelief.
“······Where is that sound coming from?”
“I’ll give you a quick explanation. I accidentally threw the artifact at Sivar, and he swallowed it. It’s currently being digested.”
“······Excuse me?”
“That wasn’t a summary. That’s exactly what happened.”
“··· ···”
Anyone else would have dismissed it as nonsense. But since it was Sivar, it was oddly convincing.
In the end, they had to deal with the artifact inside Sivar’s stomach before it dissolved completely.
The problem was that no one knew when the artifact would fully dissolve. Normally, it wouldn’t have digested so quickly.
However, the snacks he had been munching on to stave off hunger were the issue. Some of the collected items had been edible.
“How fast is the mana field shrinking?”
“Almost twice as fast.”
“Twice as fast······”
Grace’s mind raced. The best course of action for now was to run.
If they kept running, other teams would likely be pushed out of the mana field and eliminated on their own.
The problem was how long it would take for the artifact to be fully digested. Or worse, if it stopped functioning before that, it would all be over.
‘Should we focus on eliminating the other teams quickly, or just keep running······’
It was a frustrating dilemma, not knowing when the artifact would be completely damaged. If only they could gauge the damage level, it would make things much easier.
Grace sighed and then noticed her bracelet. Could it possibly display the damage level······
[Artifact: 80%]
“Eek!!”
It did display it. But the damage level was alarming.
It had been less than three minutes since the artifact entered Sivar’s stomach, yet 20% of it was already gone.
A rough calculation suggested they had at most 15 minutes left. Considering various factors, they probably had only about 10 minutes.
How was his digestion ability so absurdly efficient? Or was the artifact simply weak to stomach acid?
“We need to hurry! We don’t have much time······!”
Clunk!
As Grace spoke urgently, the door swung wide open. All of Sivar’s team members were gathered in this house.
Therefore, the intruder had to be from another team. Realizing this, Sivar’s team turned their attention to the door.
“So here you are. Running out of time, are you?”
It was Kara. She wore her signature refreshing smile as she looked at Sivar’s team.
Perhaps because of the small meteor Sivar had launched earlier, there were scorch marks scattered across her outfit.
[The artifact has been damaged!]
Right on cue, the artifact’s cries echoed from Sivar’s stomach.
Kara, hearing the noise, furrowed her brows in confusion before asking in a voice filled with suspicion.
“What’s that? Did that sound just come from his stomach?”
“No, it didn’t.”
Grace denied it, but her overly stiff response only made it sound more like an admission.
Kara seemed to interpret it that way, glancing at her bracelet. It appeared that the damage level of the artifact was also displayed on the bracelets of other teams.
She nodded, seemingly understanding the situation, and then took action.
Screeech– Clunk–
She quietly closed the door.
[Sivar swallowed the artifact!! If they run, they’ll be eliminated on their own!!]
She shouted loudly enough for all the teams to hear. Normally, such a claim would be dismissed as a lie.
But the artifact’s damage level displayed on the bracelets would confirm her words as truth.
Even if it were a lie, all they had to do was endure until the end, so it wouldn’t matter. Grace realized this and scowled.
‘Why is this trial turning out like this······!’
The kicker was that Sivar had single-handedly ruined the entire midterm exam. Now it was their turn to suffer.
Grace instinctively sensed the commotion outside and shouted to her team members.
“Let’s head to an open area, not the commercial district! Staying here puts us at a disadvantage!”
“Y-Yes!”
“Mr. Sivar!”
“Yeah.”
Right now, speed was everything. Grace was prepared to sacrifice herself for the sake of the trial.
With that, she spread her arms wide and boldly declared.
“Please hold me!”
“?”
What on earth was this about? Sivar blinked in confusion.
But Grace was serious. She waved her arms as if urging him to hurry up and hold her.
“Just hold me already! I’m not confident in my speed, so you need to carry me and run!”
“Ah. Okay.”
If that’s what she wanted. Sivar held Grace as she requested.
Normally, he would have carried her on his back, but given the situation, he had no choice but to hold her in a somewhat embarrassing manner.
“W-Wait a second! Th-This is······!”
It was the so-called princess carry. Grace belatedly realized this and tried to protest, but it was too late.
Sivar was already moving swiftly toward the open area she had mentioned. Lee Yeonju followed closely behind.
“W-Where did you even learn to do this?!”
“I don’t know.”
“I mean, no matter how urgent it is, this is just······!”
Wasn’t this like something out of a fairy tale, with a princess and her knight? Grace’s face turned bright red.
As a young lady of the Ducal Family, she had attended various banquets and social gatherings, even danced with men.
But she had never been in such close contact before. It was both embarrassing and flustering.
“F-Fine! It’s because this is a trial! I’ll let it slide because it’s for the trial!”
“··· ···”
“You heard me, right?! Say you did! Normally, something like this······!”
“Quiet.”
“··· ···”
At Sivar’s sharp remark, Grace clamped her mouth shut. Regardless of the situation, the fact that she was relying on him didn’t change.
She had only shouted to hide her embarrassment. Now, she felt a bit guilty.
“Hurry up! Don’t go outside the Mana Field!”
“B-But another team is······!”
“Is this the time to fight?! Those who are going to be eliminated will get eliminated on their own!”
As the Mana Field moved, the other teams began chasing after Sivar’s team.
Waiting until all the artifacts disappeared might have been a good strategy, but once the Mana Field moved, it became meaningless.
And so, by the time all the eliminated teams had been left behind and Sivar arrived at the open area with Grace in his arms—
“Phew······ Good thing I anticipated this in advance.”
Kara, who had chased them all the way, as if she had expected this outcome.
“Huff······ Huff······ Oh······”
Luna, who had been late to grasp the situation and had pursued them with everything she had, barely hanging on.
“Seriously······ Is this really a trial?”
“I don’t know either.”
Antonio, Elvin, and other students. Quite a number of them had gathered.
Meanwhile, Grace, who had come down from Sivar’s arms, glanced at her bracelet. Her face was still visibly red, even from a distance.
[Artifact: 50%]
Already, 50% had been depleted. From now on, they had no choice but to eliminate the other teams.
The moment Grace thought of this, she immediately made a request to Sivar.
“Mr. Sivar.”
“Yeah.”
“From now on, we need to eliminate all the other teams. Can you do it?”
“I can.”
Of course he could. Sivar nodded and turned his gaze toward the other teams.
Grace smiled proudly, seeing Sivar as nothing less than a reliable knight.
While Sivar was confident, the other teams couldn’t help but feel wary. As mentioned before, alliances were absolutely impossible.
In other words, if an opportunity arose to eliminate another team while dealing with Sivar, they would seize it immediately.
“Damn, should we just hold out?”
“If you try to hold out, I’ll eliminate you first.”
“What about him, though?”
“He’s living on borrowed time anyway, isn’t he?”
That’s right. All of this chaos stemmed from Sivar consuming the artifact.
If the artifact had been intact, they would have given up long ago.
“If you backstab me, you’re dead.”
“Do you think I’d do worse than you?”
There were no allies, no enemies. Everyone was both an enemy and an ally.
Even Sivar’s team couldn’t afford to relax. Aside from their team, everyone else was an enemy.
“······If the midterm exam is like this, how much crazier will the final exam be?”
As someone muttered this, the theme continued to shift in real time.
“By the way, isn’t that artifact expensive?”
“It’s fine. Just write a written apology. Maybe cut the budget a bit.”
“Won’t the Headmaster swing his sword with a smile?”
The professors were simply chuckling and observing the scene.