Surviving the Magic Academy With Just Intelligence Stats-Chapter 35: New Male Lead Needed

Through the dungeon’s winding passages, Astera Frostweaver strode with purposeful haste, her footsteps echoing off stone walls. As the student council president and captain of the school’s ace team, every movement carried the weight of authority. Beside her walked Celeste Whitehaven, her religious attire and cross-marked blindfold marking her as distinctly different from her companions. Though born a commoner, her awakening of a Mythical-ranked talent had elevated her to the position of saintess within the Holy Church.

Their path was littered with grim reminders of the dungeon’s dangers - the bodies of fallen students lay scattered like broken dolls. Each time they passed one, Celeste would pause, her hands clasped in prayer as she murmured blessings for the departed souls. The contrast between her solemn reverence and the ace team’s urgent pace created a palpable tension.

Their advance halted at the sight of living students - Lysander’s group, running as if death itself pursued them. Their faces were masks of terror, clothes torn and dirty from their desperate flight.

"Stop!" Astera’s command cut through their panic like a blade. Recognition flickered across their faces as they stumbled to a halt, gasping for breath. Though their disheveled state and obvious fear begged questions, Astera remained focused on her mission. Without preamble, she produced a photograph of Ambrose, holding it before them. "Have you seen this person?"

Lysander’s eyes widened slightly as he studied the image. "They’re the group with that crazy girl..." he began, only to have his words cut short as one of the ace team members seized him by the collar.

"Where is he?" the man demanded, his grip tightening on Lysander’s expensive clothing. The noble’s face twisted with indignation - he was accustomed to deference, to having others curry his favor. This rough treatment left him baffled.

"Calm down," Astera intervened smoothly, separating them before repeating the question with quiet intensity. "Where is he?"

Lysander’s mind raced through calculations. He recognized these people through his information network - the student council president and the academy’s elite force. With a resigned sigh, he pointed down the path they were running from. "If you go straight that way, you’ll find them there. They’ve built a huge shelter that’s visible from afar."

"Thanks!" Astera turned to leave, but Celeste’s voice halted their departure.

"They are also students," the saintess protested. "Aren’t we going to escort them out?"

"We’ve already cleared all the monsters on the way," Astera dismissed the concern with a wave of her hand. "They should be able to get there on their own. Besides, they aren’t our main priorities right now."

Celeste’s posture stiffened with righteous indignation. "What do you mean priorities? This is clear discrimination - everyone is equal in the eyes of the goddess. Why do you put one above the other?"

The others regarded her as if she’d just questioned the most obvious thing ever. Astera’s response carried a sharp edge of sarcasm: "Do you want to try telling that to Victoria?"

The name alone was enough to silence Celeste’s protests. She resumed walking without another word, though her disapproval remained evident in every step. Astera watched her retreat, a thought crossing her mind that she didn’t bother to suppress: "Fucking cultist."

…

In the forest clearing, Ambrose stared at Marcus’s unconscious form and the monstrous arachnid that towered before them, his mind racing with calculations. "Dammit! I let my guard down," he berated himself, realizing his enhanced senses had failed to detect the initial attack. He wondered what to do now, earlier when he teleported towards Marcus, he used a huge amount of his mental strength to account for the extra distance, and then he used an even larger amount to teleport with Marcus with him. Now, he had less than half of his mental strength left.

The spider queen launched another assault, its steel-like webbing forming deadly spears that cut through the air. Meihua who was a few meters away from him shouted, "Dodge to the left!" Though Meihua’s warning to dodge left matched his own calculations perfectly, Ambrose remained rooted in place, he didn’t want to leave the unconscious Marcus but he didn’t know if he could still teleport with another person given how low his mental strength was.

"Dammit!" With gritted teeth, he grabbed Marcus and activated Blink once more, knowing full well his depleted mental strength might not carry them far enough. They materialized mere meters away just as the spider’s web obliterated their previous position, turning several trees into splinters.

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Struggling to his feet, Ambrose attempted to drag Marcus to cover, but his body refused to respond. A system notification appeared before him:

[You have reached [Body Limit] using physical abilities in this state is not recommended]

"What the heck?" he muttered in frustration, he hadn’t even managed to move him an inch before he was completely exhausted. The spider queen’s numerous eyes locked onto their new position, and seeing its ranged attacks had failed, it charged forward with frightening speed.

Just before it could reach them, Hualing intercepted the monster with explosive force, her small frame colliding with the massive arachnid. Through their mental link, Ambrose began feeding her tactical information, calculating attack trajectories and weak points.

"Web coming from your right!" he transmitted, allowing Hualing to dodge a deadly strand.

Despite Ambrose’s guidance, the gap in raw power became increasingly apparent. The spider queen’s attacks carried devastating force, each blow sending Hualing skidding backward. Though she managed to land occasional hits, they seemed to barely faze the creature.

Blood streamed from multiple wounds across Hualing’s body as she continued her relentless assault. Her uniform hung in tatters, yet she pressed forward with unwavering determination. The spider queen’s movements became increasingly erratic, frustrated by this prey that refused to die.

Suddenly, the monster’s entire body pulsed with crimson energy. Its already massive form began expanding, nearly doubling in size as it entered a berserk state. The transformation complete, it swatted Hualing aside like an annoying insect, her body crashing through a thick tree trunk before coming to rest in a broken heap.

The enraged creature turned its attention to Ambrose, its numerous eyes gleaming with predatory intelligence. It launched a concentrated web attack, the crystalline strands promising certain death. Ambrose attempted to activate Blink one more time, only to receive another system notification:

[Ding! You have pushed yourself to the limit]

[You have reached [Mind Limit] using mind related abilities in this state is not recommended]

The deadly web closed the distance in microseconds. Even facing imminent death, Ambrose’s Rational Mind skill kept him analyzing possibilities, searching for any avenue of survival. In that crucial moment, Hualing appeared before him, her body moving with desperate speed to shield him from the attack.

But she had miscalculated - the web’s momentum proved too great. The crystalline strands pierced through her body as if it were paper, continuing their deadly path to impale Ambrose as well. The force of the impact lifted them both off their feet, carrying them backward until they slammed into a tree trunk, pinned together like butterflies in a collection.

A/N - rip

This chapter was kinda rushed, i’ll try to edit it later