Return Of The Strongest Player
chapter-53

"Ms. Gomez," said Arthur, still healing from his wounds. The petite woman appeared from within the forest, alongside Gary, Jake, a few other students, and a few other teachers. It seemed like most of the hunting party had gathered.

Their expressions were strained, as if they'd just emerged from a tough battle.

Noticing Arthur's injuries, Jake quickly approached the crimson-eyed man, genuine concern visible in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," replied the crimson-eyed man, letting out a strained chuckle. Suddenly, blood emerged from his lips, staining his chin and clothes. [Judgment Regeneration]'s was equivalent to the strength of a person's body and the amount of mana they had.

The stronger a person's body, the more mana and power it consumes to heal it. After unlocking his constitution, it was a lot more difficult to heal wounds than previously, even with such a powerful regeneration skill.

So, although it could heal muscle tissue, [Judgment Regeneration] was incapable of manipulating the bone structure, and if it couldn't fix the structure, there was no possibility of it being able to heal the bones themselves.

Since healing bones when they weren't aligned properly would lead to deformities.

"What's the situation like?" Ms. Gomez asked flatly.

"Caroline's running out of mana, Evan is injured, and so am I," explained Arthur in a compacted set of words. "Alisha arrived a few minutes ago, and is barely holding on. She has a lot of injuries, too."

"What about the elephant itself?"

"Practically unscathed," replied the crimson-eyed man. "I slashed its tusk a little, its weak point. But that's basically it."

Ms. Gomez nodded, walking forward while unsheathing her longsword. It was a thin, white blade decorated with patterns and a golden hilt. A ruby gem was embedded on the hilt, providing it luxury.

"Stay back."

Ms. Gomez's words weren't to be argued with. Her words in such a situation were absolute, unable to be refuted or retorted. The wind danced at her fingertips, and with a cold look, she headed toward the elephant.

"Ainsworth, get back."

Noticing the appearance of Ms. Gomez, Alisha quickly grabbed Evan's collar before pulling him back to where Caroline stood. Carol's blessing had already faded, and she was in the process of recovering her mana.

The elephant shifted its attention to Ms. Gomez. With a loud trumpet, it released an enormous amount of dark mana. Even the Invisible Venom Lizard knew it would have a difficult time winning against such an opponent.

"[Moonlight Crescents]," Ms. Gomez whispered, and mana burst from her body.

Glowing, purple crescents formed, floating Ms. Gomez as they exuded a terrifying aura. As the petite woman extended her arm, the crescents shot towards the elephant, piercing the wind as they traveled at a terrifying speed.

At that moment, Ms. Gomez tapped the ground with her left foot. "[Jail]."

Boulders rose from all four directions of the elephant, and at that moment, the crescents collided with its hide. The crescents passed through the elephant's hide like it were butter, delivering deep cuts in the process.

"Close."

Spikes emerged from the boulders located on all four sides. The mana coated spikes sharpened themselves.

The boulders then began closing, shaping themselves in the format of a prison. The elephant trumpeted in horror, watching the spikes approach his body slowly yet steadily. It released all its power.

Cracks appeared on the boulders, but they didn't shatter. Instead, Ms. Gomez hastened the process.

Trumpet! Trumpet!

The elephant protested as the spikes mercilessly embedded themselves into its body. Eventually, the four boulders formed a square, and the trumpets of the beast faded. Then, from the top of the 'jail', blood poured out.

Within the blood were also pieces of flesh, which previously belonged to the Tuskim Elephant.

"It's done," said Ms. Gomez, letting out a sigh of relief. She then withdrew her mana and shattered the [Jail]. All that remained of the elephant and Lizard was the pool of blood surrounding the area.

The students were silent, in awe of Ms. Gomez's strength. She never publicly revealed her power, which was why many underestimated her. However, in the history of Arcadia Academy, she was the only teacher directly recruited by Athanasia Arcadia, and not one of the executives instead.

Her actions seemed to have been lost in history, as no one seemed to remember the sheer terror her name permeated.

"We're going back. Treat the wounded."

*

Once the Invisible Venom Lizard was reported dead, Class A and B headed back to Arcadia Academy. It was an arduous journey, but it didn't take too long to reach the school. The reason it was arduous was due to the injured students.

Ms. Gomez and the few students who faced off against the Lizard were praised to no end. The former received a paid vacation, which was obviously not the case for the students, who left unhappily.

Arthur was taken to the infirmary alongside Evan and Alisha. It wasn't long before he healed completely.

After he was healed, school resumed.

"It's a good thing you didn't die," commented Flecker, letting out a chuckle before abruptly realizing the depth of his words. "Ahem… it's because if you died, who would help me with my theories?"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," replied Arthur casually, jotitng down notes on the chalkboard. A soft breeze permeated across the area, while the rays of dawn illuminated the classroom.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Silence.

"It's obvious that you care about me," Arthur resumed his noisy writing, ignoring the metaphorical fumes that emerged from Flecker's ears. The crimson-eyed man watched the teacher flail around like a child.

'It makes sense why such a childish person didn't pursue power,' thought Arthur. That's when a thought suddenly struck him. 'Where was he during the incident against the elephant… I didn't see him even when Ms. Gomez appeared with all the teachers.'

Thinking it wasn't important, Arthur pushed the thought to the back of his mind, choosing to enjoy the comical scene of Flecker flailing around, attempting to explain.

Just like that, a few months passed.