The Silver-Haired President's Assault
Having set out in the dead of night to find the hidden piece, I looked at the object before me and smiled with satisfaction. It's still right where I remembered.
◈ Arrow formed of pure divinity
◈ Capable of weakening the Legion Commander within the Time Dungeon
It was an arrow made entirely of holy power. To be exact, this was the item meant to weaken the legion commander that would appear in the Time Dungeon. Originally it hadn’t been an arrow, of course. It must appear differently depending on the player’s job according to the settings I configured. Since my class is an archer, I suppose that’s why it manifested as an arrow.
I can feel an intense divinity radiating from that arrow.
Even Miroel, standing beside me, clicked her tongue in awe at the sight. The arrow possessed that much remarkable holiness. I quickly stored it inside my subspace pouch and immediately raced back toward our base camp.
Whew. Good thing I wasn’t late.
When I reached the destination, I let out a quiet breath of relief. I’d been worried I might miss Risa’s turn, but fortunately I had returned just in time. Now I could finally rest a little.
The next day passed with training as its starting point. According to the original story, this was around the time the student council would begin to move. Yet, contrary to expectation, not a single person came our way.
“It’s almost too peaceful, isn’t it?”
“It really is.”
Sherry nodded in agreement with Risa’s comment, as if she felt the same.
I had been certain the student council would come charging in. However, for some unknown reason, no one had shown up. It was right then—
Ranking Updated
1st Place: Baran
A sudden alert rang from my bracelet. Everyone’s eyes snapped toward it.
“Is something the matter?” I asked Luden, who stood beside me.
Luden glanced at his bracelet and his eyes widened in shock.
“Huh? First place has changed.”
“Pardon?”
The unexpected statement made me ask again without thinking. Aria, standing nearby, answered for him.
“The first-place spot has changed to Mr. Baran.”
“......”
As far as I knew, the original first place had belonged to none other than Shannon. In the original work Luden had held the top rank, but the catfight had pushed him down. Yet now it claimed I had taken first place instead of Shannon.
I definitely wasn’t out hunting artificial monsters.
Which meant there was only one possible reason I had risen to the top.
Shannon’s been eliminated.
His strength wasn’t so weak that he would fall easily to anyone here. The fact that even he had been taken out could only mean one thing.
The student council has begun to move.
Even so, this was far too early. It was still morning, after all. The student council couldn’t have started their operation long ago. Yet Shannon—of all people—had been eliminated at an absurdly fast pace.
Don’t tell me…
The next instant, a possibility flashed through my mind. What if the student council president herself had moved directly? Then Shannon’s elimination made perfect sense.
In the original story, the president only moved on the final day.
Just what had prompted her to act so soon? As I pondered that question, the sound of crisp footsteps reached my ears.
Step. Step.
Our group’s gazes turned toward the source. A calm voice spoke.
“I’ve finally found you.”
The next moment, a beautiful woman with silver hair tied in a ponytail appeared—Elsa von Liones.
Everyone swallowed dryly at her entrance. She wasn’t releasing any noticeable aura, yet the overwhelming gap in power made the very air feel heavy.
At that instant, Luden poured mana into his blade and swung. A perfectly timed surprise attack, slicing through the air. But—
Clang!
Against all expectation, Elsa raised her sword and blocked it without even looking.
Insane.
I never imagined anyone could stop Luden’s strike so effortlessly. The girls here had grown tremendously since the break, yet the level gap still seemed insurmountable.
Still, our goal remained the same: land a valid hit. I hadn’t yet figured out a proper countermeasure, but testing her strength at least once wouldn’t be a bad idea.
If things go well, we might even end it here.
It seemed Sherry shared my thought. She released her mana, and a small sun bloomed in the sky before—
Whoosh!
Black flames surged toward Elsa. She watched the incoming blaze with an indifferent expression.
“As expected of the Patrick family. That is indeed a distinctive flame.”
With those words she swung her sword. In a single stroke, Sherry’s orb split cleanly in two. As Elsa turned to deal with Luden’s sneak attack from behind—
“Hmm?”
Her blade missed him entirely, cutting through empty air. I quietly glanced at Lillia. She wore a bewitching smile.
Having Lillia on our side really is convenient.
I had known her ability was overpowered even in the original work, but the reminder still hit me anew.
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
Elsa nodded as if she had instantly grasped the situation. For the first time, she released her own mana.
Whoosh.
The sheer volume pouring from her body made every nerve in my body stand on edge.
She’s actually insane.
I had planned to calmly assess her strength, but it looked like I couldn’t afford to stay relaxed. No matter how much she was holding back, continuing like this would only lead to all of us being eliminated.
Humm.
I slowly regulated my breathing and formed an arrow. Blue sparks crackled as I compressed as much mana as possible. Without hesitation I interfered with space itself.
Humm.
In an instant, a small subspace opened before her. I fired the arrow straight into it.
Whoosh!
The arrow instantly appeared right in front of Elsa. A valid hit should have been guaranteed. But the opponent was the strongest student council president in history. As expected—
“This is the same technique you used last time.”
Elsa moved her sword slowly, then—
“Huh?”
She redirected my arrow toward Lillia. The entire party flinched at the unexpected counter.
How is she even doing that…?
I had anticipated it wouldn’t work, but I never imagined she would return it like this. As Lillia tried to dodge with a startled expression—
Humm!
A barrier of holy power formed in front of her. My arrow struck the barrier and stopped dead.
“As expected, the Saintess’s power is on another level.”
Elsa gazed at Aria’s divinity with open admiration. She quietly looked over our entire group.
I thought there would be no teamwork, but this is surprising.
Just yesterday these girls had been at each other’s throats. I had assumed she would subdue us easily, yet their coordination was flawless.
It’s a little unexpected, but…
“You’re still children, after all.”
Elsa muttered the rest under her breath and kicked off the ground. The next instant—
“?!”
Her body vanished. It was the high-speed movement technique. I was the only one who could barely follow her velocity; I whipped my head around. The moment I tried to loose another arrow—
“!?”
Elsa had already positioned Kanya as a human shield. The completely unforeseen move made me freeze, unable to fire.
“Your coordination is good, but you still lack real combat experience.”
With that calm assessment, Elsa swung her sword lightly. At the same time—
“Kyaaaah!”
Kanya, unable to dodge the strike, tumbled across the ground. Her gauge dropped straight to zero.
Kanya — Gauge: 0
“Now six of you remain.”
Elsa’s voice was as cold as ice. The thought of using Possession crossed my mind for a moment, but I shook my head.
Not yet.
It was unfortunate that Kanya had been eliminated, but the situation wasn’t dire enough to use my trump card. Of course, if things continued this way we would all be wiped out, but that was exactly why I needed to create a chance to run.
Can’t be helped.
I never wanted to resort to this, but… I quickly turned to Lillia.
“Miss Lillia, could you create even the smallest opening against the president?”
“I can create one, but it won’t be enough to land a valid hit.”
“I know. I only need enough time for us to escape.”
“Hmm. Very well. I’ll trust you.”
She released her mana at full power. Mist began to rise slowly around us.
“Hmm? Illusions again?”
Elsa quietly waited for her opponent while circulating mana through her circuits, wondering what trick they would try this time. Then—
“From the front?”
Contrary to expectation, I charged straight at her. She wondered if her senses had been disturbed, but they remained perfectly clear. In other words, the Baran before her was the real one.
What is he thinking?
She prepared to swing her sword. It was then that my voice rang out.
“I love you, President.”
“Eh?”
The sudden confession made her face flush bright red. She shook her head rapidly.
T-this is no time for—!
Though flustered by the unexpected words, she knew she had to move immediately. He was clearly trying to use this opening to attack. She swung her sword with full strength.
Whoosh!
The mist around us cleared completely in an instant.
“Ugh. I got hit once.”
For a brief moment, nothing was visible except her. It seemed that while she had been distracted, my entire group had fled.
“Haa… I never expected to fall for a trick like that.”
Elsa pouted slightly as she muttered to herself. Still determined to find us, she began walking quietly. Completely unaware that her heart was now beating faster because of my confession.