Surviving the Magic Academy With Just Intelligence Stats-Chapter 43: It’s Over, Finally Done, Final (fr fr this time)

The afternoon sun filtered through the canopy as Ambrose finished securing the last bandage around Marcus’s torso. Despite the seemingly simple task, his pathetically low strength stat had turned it into quite an ordeal. Just shifting Marcus onto his side had left Ambrose’s arms trembling from exertion – a stark reminder of his physical limitations. Still, he managed a small smile of satisfaction as he surveyed his handiwork. Though Marcus had lost a concerning amount of blood, his vitals remained stable. With proper rest, he should make a full recovery.

A sudden hush fell over the battlefield, drawing Ambrose’s attention. The sight that greeted him stole his breath away. Hualing hovered in the air, transformed into something otherworldly. A crystalline halo of blood floated above her head, its crimson light casting an ethereal glow across her features. She looked like an angel of war, beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.

But the moment of awe shattered as a figure materialized beside her with impossible speed. Even with Ambrose’s enhanced perception, he could barely track the movement – just a blur of motion that resolved into a humanoid shape. As his mind processed the newcomer’s features, his heart nearly stopped. Grey skin that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Obsidian horns that curved up from an aristocratic brow. This was no human, but a demon, and a pretty high ranking one at that.

Time seemed to slow as the demon’s hand reached for Hualing’s head. The motion appeared almost gentle, almost caring – right until her entire form dissolved into a fine crimson mist that scattered on the wind like flower petals in a storm.

Yet even as he witnessed what should have been a horrifying death, Ambrose’s pulse remained steady, his mind clear. Partly this was thanks to his Rational Mind skill, but more importantly, he had noticed a new addition to his abilities just moments before:

[Lord’s Covenant](Unique) - The sacred other half of the blood oath, marking the lord’s acceptance of their knight’s eternal loyalty. This talent creates an unbreakable bond between lord and knight, enabling support and communion across any distance. (Subskills: [Blood Revival](SSS), [Soul Link](A), [Lord’s Voice](B), [Blood Sense](B), [Knight’s Beacon](C))

Unexpectedly, Hualing had actually awakened a contract-type talent, creating an unbreakable link between them. As long as his heart continued beating, death could not truly claim her. Even now, he could sense her through their connection:

[Blood Sense](B) - Allows the lord to sense their knight’s general condition and location at all times. The lord maintains constant awareness of their knight’s physical state, including severity of injuries and blood loss. They can also sense the general direction and approximate distance to their knight, making separation nearly impossible. The accuracy of this sense increases with proximity.

Though Hualing’s presence felt distant and faint, like a candle flame glimpsed through frosted glass, it persisted. Ambrose suspected that the longer he waited to resurrect her, the more difficult the task would become. But that consideration fled his mind as the demon’s gaze locked onto him. Those ancient eyes began to glow with eldritch power, and before Ambrose could even think to resist, darkness claimed his consciousness.

…

Ambrose closely watched the demon’s movement. That’s right, he was still conscious. Despite the demon’s mental assault, Ambrose remained fully conscious, his mind sharp and clear. The combination of his Rational Mind skill and Mental Fortress had proved remarkably effective against the sudden mental attack:

[Mental Fortress](S) - Creates an impenetrable defense system against all forms of mental interference. The user gains complete immunity to hypnosis and mind control attempts, 95% resistance to illusion-based abilities, and 90% resistance to mental-type damage. The skill also eliminates mental fatigue entirely, allowing for indefinite peak mental performance while providing rapid recovery from any mental strain that does occur.

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Though the skill’s description made rather grandiose claims, Ambrose had discovered its limitations – while it prevented mental fatigue and provided excellent defensive capabilities, it didn’t actually reduce the mental strength cost of his abilities. Still, in situations like this, its protective aspects proved invaluable.

Keeping his eyes closed and body still, Ambrose relied on his Spatial Awareness to track the demon’s movements. The creature moved with casual grace, retrieving what appeared to be a spatial storage bag from thin air. With a negligent gesture, it absorbed both the Spider Queen and its scattered offspring into the container. The demon gave the bag a contemplative shake, muttering, "Still not perfect..." as if evaluating some unseen quality.

Its attention then shifted to Liu Meihua’s unconscious form. The demon reached toward her face with an almost curious expression, only to halt mere inches from contact. "Hm? You actually managed to awaken this soon?" Surprise colored its voice before shifting to resignation. "Well, no matter! We’ll just have to move our plans forward a little."

Abandoning its interest in Meihua, the demon returned to where Hualing had made her last stand. It crouched, pressing one finger against the blood-stained earth before bringing the crimson droplet to its lips with an analytical expression. "Hmm, I wasn’t paying attention before but wasn’t that a domain type authority?" The demon’s face contorted in frustration as its palm met forehead. "I should have taken her alive for questioning, she seemed to be related to the Spirit King." Rising to its feet, it sighed, "Well, it doesn’t matter now, I’ll just have to endure the professor’s nagging."

Seizing the opportunity, Ambrose activated his Mind’s Eye skill, hoping to gather intelligence on this powerful being:

[Name: Sin of ???]

The attempt yielded nothing but that cryptic fragment, the rest dissolving into incomprehensible symbols despite Ambrose expending over half his mental strength reserves. By his calculations, he’d need at least quintuple his current mental strength to pierce whatever veiled the demon’s true nature. The vast gulf in their power levels was sobering, but it raised an interesting question – how had such a powerful entity penetrated the dungeon’s defenses?

Before he could pursue that line of thought, the demon’s head snapped toward him, its gaze penetrating despite Ambrose’s pretense of unconsciousness. "And what do we have here..." it purred, stalking closer with predatory grace.

Salvation came in the form of distant voices cutting through the forest: "I think they are over there, let’s hurry!" The approaching chorus of concerned murmurs gave the demon pause. It scratched the back of its head with exaggerated annoyance, "I should probably get moving if I don’t want to get lectured even more by that shitty professor." Shadows gathered around its form like a cloak, and between one heartbeat and the next, the demon vanished as if it had never existed, leaving behind only questions and the lingering scent of brimstone.

A/N - This arc is finally over (fr fr this time)