It was an item.
But should she leave it here, or take it with her?
Considering Kim Hajin had gone so far as to call it cute before leaving it behind… he must have left it for her to take.
Chae Nayun folded up the sleeping bag. The bag, which had had room to spare even after swallowing a whole person, shrank down into the shape of a tiny rice ball.
“Was it always this small?”
Marveling anew, she slipped the miniature sleeping bag into her pocket and checked the exam watch. 7:20 a.m. Yet outside, it was still dark.
“Must be polar night…”
It wasn’t strange for the environment to change.
Chae Nayun loosened up with some stretches, then finished preparing to begin another day.
* * *
From the top of the World Tree, I looked down in every direction. Clairvoyance was unhindered by mere obstacles, granting me every field of vision.
A day had already passed. The cadets were each finding their own ways to survive. Cadets selling food to earn points, cadets hunting monsters, cadet hunters quietly lying in wait to prey on those very cadets… and.
“Hmm?”
The moment I spotted a certain person, a rather sinister idea came to mind.
A way to blow my nose without using my hands. In other words, a scheme to dispose of the guys I couldn’t handle with my own hands—no, with my own ability.
I broke off a suitably sized branch and sharpened it with my knife. Then I carved a specific phrase and coordinates into the stick.
The rest was simple. Grip the branch tightly and throw it at “him.” He was quite far away, so I had to use some of Stigma’s magic power as well.
The branch shot forward like an arrow, lightly grazing his cheek before embedding itself in the ground.
He, who had been striding along imposingly, came to an abrupt stop. Then he looked down at the branch stuck in the ground.
All I could see right now was his back. But it was obvious what emotions he would feel, and how he would flare up.
He bent his knees slightly and picked up the branch I had fired. After checking what was written on the stick, he slowly turned his head toward the direction it had come from. There was no way our eyes would meet, but I avoided his gaze anyway.
Now all I had to do was wait.
…And so, an hour passed.
I had been watching drone footage on my laptop when I straightened up.
“What? Already?”
Beneath the thick darkness, Rachel was heading somewhere with Ju Yeohun. I hurriedly expanded my vision and tracked their route. Their presumed destination was a cliff thick with undergrowth.
At its end, there were two people. One out in front, and another hiding up in a tree.
I didn’t know who they were. What was certain was that they weren’t cadets. In that case, it was right to conclude they were “Djinns” I hadn’t set.
For now, I moved one drone in that direction. However, the drone went dead the instant it arrived. The reason was revealed by a message that reached my laptop afterward.
[Ju Yeohun—has established various connections with other Djinns. Has made contact with a Lancaster-affiliated Djinn.]
“……”
Rachel and Ju Yeohun traveling together was something that had happened in the original as well. But not Lancaster. If Lancaster was involved, their target was undoubtedly Rachel.
And yet, those bastards had boldly decided to fight in an open area. It was probably because cozy places like caves were already being used as shelters by most of the other cadets. On top of that, that area was under “that proctor’s” jurisdiction, so there was a high chance the proctor wouldn’t intervene no matter what happened there.
Even so, it was far too sloppy.
“They must be underlings.”
Bottom-rung grunts blinded by achievements. Brainless fools who only wanted to be favored by Lancaster. Since they were Djinns, their basic combat strength would be more than enough to steamroll most cadets, but they didn’t look overwhelmingly strong.
Still, even if they were only underlings, three against one was too much.
I took out the Desert Eagle.
Transforming it into sniper rifle mode, I looked toward that distant place.
I could see Rachel walking with Ju Yeohun. Rachel had probably temporarily joined Ju Yeohun’s team because of food. In the original, too, Kim Suho had saved her when she’d almost ended up in a rough situation.
I’d revealed my location information to prevent that situation in advance. She was a woman with a strangely useless stubborn streak.
“Ah. Wait?”
Kim Suho suddenly came to mind. To check whether Kim Suho happened to be nearby, I widened my field of vision a little more.
“Pfft.”
Despite the serious situation, a hollow laugh escaped me. Maybe the coercive force of the original really did exist.
As if by exquisite timing, Kim Suho was slowly walking toward where Rachel was. And at his side was Chae Nayun, who had apparently joined him at some point.
At this rate, it would be three against three. Even if I didn’t help, Kim Suho would surely step in, and if Rachel, Kim Suho, and Chae Nayun were together, they should be able to win.
“…Tsk.”
However.
Kim Suho was Kim Suho, and I was me.
By now, I had my own way of doing things.
I shouldered the stock of the sniper rifle. The enemies were clearly visible. My naked eyes reached far beyond any scope.
* * *
For nearly a day, Rachel had shared food with Ju Yeohun’s group. To them, who refused again and again, she had even paid some points.
However, she was uneasy. To her, not only theory but practical results were important. Since she had no way of knowing how many points the top ranks currently had, she had to collect as many as possible.
In the midst of that, Ju Yeohun suggested hunting monsters. He said he had discovered a Grizzly Bear worth at least 10 points.
“I’m a shooter, so I’ll support from the back. Three points will be enough.”
“No. We’ll split it equally.”
She didn’t ask why it had to be only the two of them. She simply followed willingly. After all, even if Ju Yeohun betrayed her, she didn’t think she would lose in a one-on-one, and if there were fewer people, the points she gained would only increase.
“It was… here?”
However, at the cliff Ju Yeohun led her to, there was not a bear but some man.
Long hair hung in clumps over his face, covering more than half of it, and gauntlets on both his hands gave off a sinister gleam. Those gauntlets were “claw gauntlets,” with dagger-like blades resembling beast claws dangling from the fingertips.
“What? Who are you?”
Ju Yeohun acted with all his might. In case something went wrong, he was creating an escape route for himself. The man on the other side also played along. He extended the blades of his gauntlet. The blades shot toward Ju Yeohun. They sliced his shoulder, and Ju Yeohun screamed as he ran away. The man did not chase him.
“Haa…”
Ju Yeohun quickly disappeared.
What in the world is that person doing? Rachel let out a deep sigh and raised her rapier.
“…Who are you?”
At her question, the man gave a chilling smile.
“────.”
The man spoke. However, Rachel could not understand him. It was neither Korean nor English. He muttered to himself, then suddenly charged at Rachel.
“Ugh!”
Rachel drew magic power into her rapier and defended. The blades of the gauntlet and the rapier clashed, scattering hot sparks. The opponent had more magic power, but it wasn’t precisely controlled, so it was bearable.
After that, the gauntlet came crashing down several more times. Rachel blocked them without much difficulty. Gauntlet versus rapier. The gauntlet had superior destructive power, but she overwhelmed him with technique. As long as she maintained distance, it seemed she could win easily.
“Haa!”
As they exchanged blows, the man’s stance faltered. She would not miss an opportunity that came to her. Rachel dug one step farther in. With a single thrust, she grazed his side, then tried to withdraw again.
However, for some unknown reason, her feet would not move.
In that instant.
Someone dropped down from the tree. Another enemy. Rachel clearly watched him descend. Holding his sword in a reverse grip, he came toward her, with both her front and rear sealed off…
“Guaaak!”
A scream rang out. Rachel did not close her eyes. No thoughts came to her.
Only wondering that she was still alive, she looked ahead. The assassin who had just dropped toward her was clutching his shoulder and rolling in the middle of the ground.
“…Huh?”
First, she looked at her own hand. Had I counterattacked without even realizing it…? She abandoned that absurd thought the very next moment. The same attack came rushing in once more.
A compact, high-powered straight line.
It continued four or five times in succession. The assassin, whose shoulder, abdominal cavity, lungs, and heart were pierced in order, staggered and collapsed, then soon vanished into a handful of dust without leaving a trace.
What was going on?
But Rachel had no time to be flustered. The man with the gauntlet clung to Rachel again. He knew the weakness of long-range fire well. When target and ally overlapped, covering fire became useless.
It was impossible for Rachel to step in and create distance herself. Rachel realized that her feet could not leave the man’s shadow. It was the troublesome magic called “Shadow Grasp.”
Her range of movement had been reduced, but within the area she could move, Rachel parried and evaded his attacks as much as possible. Even in that extremely narrow space, her movements were as graceful as a dance.
At her elusive movements, just barely within reach yet not, the man grew enraged.
Just as the man was about to slam the ground itself with force—another unidentified blow flew in. He was hit in the right shoulder. It was a shot that exquisitely exploited the difference in height.
Rachel aimed for that opening and thrust her blade toward his side.
But before she could, a sword strike from somewhere dug into the man’s shoulder.
“Kraah!”
His shoulder cut, the man retreated far back, then immediately jumped down the cliff.
“What the hell was that bastard?!”
Two people rushed toward Rachel in a commotion. Rachel looked at them. Kim Suho and Chae Nayun. They were people Rachel knew as well.
“What was that, Rachel? Who were those guys just now?”
Chae Nayun asked her. Kim Suho ran to the edge of the cliff where the man had fallen and looked down.
“Did he… disappear?”
Though she still had not grasped the situation, Rachel asked.
“Yes. He disappeared.”
“…What’s with the polite speech?”
Chae Nayun sneered at Kim Suho’s formal tone. Only then did Rachel feel as though she could understand the situation a little.
So it was Chae Nayun who helped me. She must have learned some kind of secret technique. Transparent arrows, Invisible Arrow, or something like that.
“Thank you. Thanks to you…”
At that moment,
Something reflected the moonlight and stabbed her eyes.
It was in the ground. Something embedded in the earth had faintly reflected the moonlight.
Rachel slowly approached and picked it up.
“…A bullet?”
Just then, Kim Suho muttered seriously.
“Let’s leave this place for now. We don’t know when that person… might come back.”
* * *
Crackle, crackle—
Rachel turned the bullet this way and that in front of the burning campfire.
Staring at it like this wouldn’t reveal anything, but one person did come to mind.
Kim Hajin.
Of course, back then he had used a shotgun, and it was clearly different from now, when the anonymous savior had sniped from a long distance.
However, among the people she knew, Kim Hajin was the only one who used a gun.
“…Hmm.”
But no matter how much she thought about it, there was no motive. During the midterm, she could say it was because he had happened to be beside her.
But if this time was also Kim Hajin, that meant he had helped her from somewhere very far away through sniping.
If so, three questions arose.
First, how had he known she was in danger?
Second, if he really had helped her, why did he not reveal himself?
Third, why had he helped her?
“Did you decide to wear a sword?”
Kim Suho’s voice sounded then. He was speaking to Chae Nayun. Rachel’s gaze slipped down to Chae Nayun’s waist. Just as Kim Suho had said, a blade was fastened there. Chae Nayun scratched her head awkwardly. Rachel became slightly wary. Now she’s trying to encroach on swords too.
“No, it’s nothing special. I just thought it’d be a little hard to insist on only using a bow during the exam. So it’s like a secondary weapon.”
Chae Nayun had brought two main weapons. One was, of course, a bow, and the other was a cadet-use sword. In principle, each cadet could only borrow one main weapon, but Chae Nayun had personally purchased the cadet-use sword from Cube.
“Ah, before that.”
Chae Nayun clapped her hands once. It was an obvious attempt to change the subject because she felt awkward for no reason.
“Rachel. We thought of something. Want to join us?”
Rachel tilted her head without saying a word.
“It’s a personal cooperative. We do fine on our own even without forming a party, right? So we just split up the roles—someone who cooks, someone who finds a place to sleep, someone who stands night watch. That’s all. Instead, we hunt monsters separately, and whoever hunts one gets all the points.”
Rachel thought it was a good idea. However, she held off on answering for a moment and turned on her exam watch.
[Location Information Disclosure List]
—Kim Hajin
—Ju Yeohun
Kim Hajin.
His location information was still public.
“……I think it’s a good idea, but I’ll pass.”
Rachel rose from her seat. Kim Suho blinked and asked,
“Where are you going? It seems dangerous right now.”
“Just for a bit. There’s someone I need to meet.”
“Then we’ll take you—”
“No. It’s all right. I can go alone.”
It was a firm refusal. Kim Suho scratched his head and nodded.
“Stop butting in. You think every woman in the world likes you?”
Seizing that moment, Chae Nayun delivered a sharp jab.
End
With Kim Suho’s arrival, the situation was settled, but even after that, I observed the surroundings for about another hour before descending beneath the World Tree.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
I set foot on the ground. I couldn’t help but groan. Parkour or not, the tree was just abnormally huge.
After shaking out my numb hands and legs, I checked my points.
[22 Points]
22 points. Barely at the lower-middle level. And even then, 12 of those points were practically wrung out of Chae Nayun, so I’d only earned 10 points from hunting monsters.
Considering that first place in the original work had 130 points, I needed to earn at least 50 more points to stay in the safe zone.
If I moved busily today and tomorrow, it should be possible.
With that optimistic thought, I turned around.
“……”
But the instant I turned, my whole body froze and my hair stood on end. I was so shocked my brain went numb, and no thoughts came to me at all.
Right in front of me stood Boss, disguised as Seo Ijin. Without a sound or presence, she had approached me and was staring at me with her black eyes.
Why is she here?
Cold sweat formed on my back. My throat instinctively lurched. But calm down. Boss’s objective should be observation anyway. She probably had no intention of fighting.
“What is it?”
But as if to mock that expectation, she drew her sword and pointed it at me.
“……”
A silent mouth and unwavering eyes. At the end of their aim, the sword blade gleamed blue.
My thoughts stopped for a moment. I didn’t know why, but it was clear she was picking a fight. However, whether it was close combat or not, there was no chance I could beat this woman. I would either die, or get beaten until I died. Those were the only two options.
“You know.”
She spoke in a calm tone. As she said, right now the cadets had become one another’s enemies.
But this woman was far too powerful to be called an enemy. It was similar to how a human and an insect didn’t call each other enemies.
Yet in that desperate moment, I caught sight of something.
In a duel between cadets, what mattered wasn’t victory or defeat. What mattered was only the “exam watch.” Even if you subdued a cadet, it wasn’t a victory if you failed to take it, and even if you failed to subdue them, it was a victory if you took their exam watch.
And right now, the exam watch fastened to her left arm was loose.
Had she worn it wrong from the start? Or had it failed to withstand her magic power at some point and loosened? Or was I simply lucky?
Whatever the case, a way to avoid the fight