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The field trip was reaching its end without incident. All groups had gotten their share of experience through combat, foraging, camping, and some encounters with monsters. Now they just needed to go back home.

But life was all about unexpected events, especially when outside of a human settlement. One of the groups had encountered an evolved ogre the day before, who led a group of goblins and orcs.

But what if there were more than one evolved ogre? Suppose one had greater intelligence and chose to form a special army composed solely of ogres. This army could then target a small group of humans who were busy dismantling their camp…

“Ghah!”

Taking the camp by surprise, the monsters attacked the teacher, whom they identified as the leader of the group, striking him against a tree. Their intention was to knock him off balance to prevent him from using any magic, but the hit ended up being more powerful, rendering the teacher unconscious.

“Teacher!”

The younger humans, or rather the students, quickly fell to confusion, and the monsters began the attack in earnest.

The evolved ogres’ strategy had worked perfectly. There was only one miscalculation, one of the younglings actually had the ability to command over the rest and restore order.

“I’ll hold them back! Randal, you check on the teacher!”

Mathias gave orders to his classmates while he engaged the ogres in combat. Deploying not only barriers, but also his signature ice magic, restraining and stopping the ogres from getting closer.

The teacher was unconscious, but he did not seem to have any serious injuries, and should recover without much issue.

A spear of ice pierces through the chest of an unaware ogre and pins it against a tree. Mathias was wearing a magic amplifying silver bracelet, which made his already powerful spells even stronger, and colder. But ogres were resilient creatures, as proven by the ogre who remained alive even after that.

But that was still only one immobilized ogre, out of many that were still in perfect shape. That would not be enough to stop the attack.

“Mathias, I’ll help you!”
“No, I can handle it alone. Check if everyone else is okay, then take them all to the gathering spot at the forest’s entrance. Evacuate everyone.”
“G-Got it!”

The student that approached Mathias while holding his staff, quickly turned around to follow Mathias’ orders.

The ogres would likely not follow them outside the forest, and rather than trying to fight back with such few numbers, it was better to regroup with the rest. They would leave everything behind, carrying as little weight as possible to run faster.

But it was also an universal fact that trying to escape a disadvantageous fight was easier said than done. The ogres had not counted with Mathias’ power, but that alone was not enough to overturn the situation.

“Grahhhhhhh!”

The ogres began punching their way through the tall icicles Mathias had created. Those monsters had incredible physical strength, which overshadowed even that of dwarves, who were some of the strongest people. Not even Mathias’ icicles could stand up against that.

After cutting down the icicles, an ogre jumped over them for an overhead attack.

“Icicle Spear!”

But Mathias had already anticipated that and shot an icicle that went right through the monster’s head. That made Mathias the main target of the evolved ogre, who was leading the monsters.

That was also exactly what Mathias wanted though, as he could remain as a distraction and let everyone else escape. The ogre that jumped had directed his gaze upward, distracting him.

“Growl!”
“Grawr!”

Two ogres used that opportunity to run past Mathias and chase after the escaping students. They had decided they would leave Mathias to the evolved ogre while they chased after the easier prey.

But that was where the ogres made another miscalculation. Mathias’ reaction time was faster than they had assumed. Icicles sprung forth from the ground, blocking the ogres, and then more came out on each side to build a wall.

“I’ll take care of them, just keep running!”

Some students hesitated for a moment, but Mathias’ commanding voice gave them no room to argue, so they just kept running through the forest to get away. A wall of icicles blocked the ogres that tried chasing after the students.

“This is as far as you get.”

Mathias’ movements were calm and collected as he reached into his jacket’s pocket, taking out a mana recovery potion. After drinking it all in one go, he threw the empty bottle away and wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

All the ogres surrounded Mathias, looking at him with suspicion but not doubting their superior position. Ogres were stronger than humans, and there was a proper pack of them there, while Mathias was only a demi-human facing the monsters alone. It was clear who had the advantage.

But even in that situation, Mathias had no intention of having this be his last fight.

“Good, everyone got away. I really don’t want others to see this after all.”

A magic circle drawn with mana expanded from him, the surrounding temperature began to drop, and a white veil of ice covered the nearby plants and trees.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll become my training dummies.”

That icy white area became the hunting grounds for a young tiger.

My group finishes their field trip without much incident, and we reach the meeting spot at the entrance of the forest. The students are just resting now while I report to Damuel.

“And overall there weren’t any major issues to report.”
“Alright, you can tell me the minor details in writing tomorrow then.”
“Sniff~”
“Would you happen to have a form I can fill? That’d be helpful.”
“I have some in the office, maybe you can come by later?”
“Huff~”

Olivia looked depressed when I got here, and she’s been clinging to my back for a while, sighing deeply. Though the way she’s breathing makes it sound like she’s just sniffing me.

Actually, she’s definitely sniffing me, right?

“Umm, Young Lady?”
“Sorry, but something really sad did happen…”
“I’m sure it did, but I’m a bit busy reporting to Damuel right now…”
“Okay, we’ll continue when we’re back at the dorm then.”

I wasn’t trying to tell her to do it later but to stop, though seeing her walk away with her shoulders slumped down made it hard to say anything more. I look at Damuel to see if he’ll tell me what happened, but he just looks down and sighs with disappointment, I don’t think he’ll tell me anything.

Seriously, what the hell happened out there?

“Would that be everything?”
“Well, there’s still one group that hasn’t come back. We’ll wait for them and then go back home.”
“Since there’s some time, could I-”
“Mr. Damueeel!”

Before I can finish my question, a loud voice interrupts me.

I turn to the direction where the voice came, and I see a few students running here with distressed looks. At closer inspection, I notice they’re also carrying one of the teachers.

This has to be something serious. Damuel and I ran to meet them.

“What happened to you?!”
“I-I…ah…”
“Take a deep breath, try to calm down a little and speak slowly.”

The students look really shaken up, so we try to get them to relax before they try talking again.

“We were attacked by ogres, and our teacher was knocked out.”
“But we managed to get away somehow.”
“Mathias told us to run. But he stayed behind to hold back the monsters.”

The moment he hears that, Damuel starts running, and I follow him.

“We two will go help Mathias! Whoever is free check up on these students!”

I turn back and tell the students what to do while we run into the forest. There’s usually no monsters so close to the exit of the forest, and they’re a numerous group, so I doubt they’ll be attacked here.

The main problem is Mathias, who stayed back alone. I’ve fought a pack of ogres before, so I know that’s not an easy fight.

“Damuel, do you know where Mathias is?”
“Look at the footsteps, we just need to trace them back and we’ll get there.”

Damuel is right, there’s clear white footsteps on the ground. The white color seems to come from ice. I remember Mathias’ preferred using ice magic too, so I see how it all connects now.

We head deeper into the forest while following the footsteps, which grow increasingly whiter, while the surrounding trees also start to show frost and ice on them, making cracking sounds as we pass through.

Eventually we reach a wall of ice, which is half crumbling. I guess the mana keeping their shape is running out, so the ice is starting to melt away. Across the wall I see something which makes me stand still. It’s a dead body. It’s frostbitten and heavily lacerated. A short distance away I spot another similar one.

Further ahead, I see even more of them. An ogre with an icicle piercing its chest, pinned against a tree. Another with all its limbs cut off, and its face covered in ice.

As we search through all of those bodies, we eventually find Mathias reclined against a tree. In front of him is an evolved ogre like the one I fought yesterday, in a pose ready to lunge at him. But the attack will never happen, as the evolved ogre is frozen solid.

We run up to Mathias and check his vitals. His pulse is stable and he’s breathing, so he doesn’t seem to be in any serious danger.

“He really pushed himself too hard here, I’ll have to lecture him when he’s awake.”

Damuel says that with a sigh, but I can tell he’s also relieved to see Mathias safe.

Still…does this mean Mathias defeated all of those ogres alone? It’s true that running out of strength and collapsing in the wild is something to reprimand, but I feel like he should also be commended for letting all of his classmates escape to safety.

And so, while there was a bit of a major incident, the third year classroom A’s field trip ended with relative safety.