Wonder When They'll All Get Here
"......"
Bewilderment. Injustice. Rage. Despair. Resignation.
A kaleidoscope of expressions flickered across Jeniel's face as enemies closed in from every side. It was like watching a master of face-changing opera.
"Shiiit... for real......"
Her emotions had finally boiled over. A thin, trembling voice. The tip of her nose gone red.
"I... I......"
And when tears finally began to bead in those teal eyes—
"See you later."
—Slash!
Leon, ever the considerate gentleman, personally severed her neck for her.
It was consideration, alright. She was a martial artist and a noble young lady — she couldn't very well be seen crying in front of everyone.
Mana rippled around her fatally wounded body, and moments later she was transferred out of the field.
That was the end. Class J's final survivor had met the end of her evaluation.
"Hah~!"
Leon exhaled in pure satisfaction and sheathed his blade.
Revenge complete.
A cigarette right about now would have been perfect — a nice little victory smoke. Unfortunately, the current situation didn't allow it.
While Leon basked in the afterglow, the Class A cadets were sprawled across the ground. Nearly two hours of continuous pursuit. Even bodies forged by Cheren and Leon's brutal training were thoroughly spent.
Still, the results were more than satisfying. They'd taken down Class I, Class C, Class F, and now Class J. And in racing from the field's southwest all the way to the eastern edge, they'd claimed most of the Grade 2 and Grade 3 zones along the way. The point gap between them and the other classes had to be enormous by now. The assortment of weapons and gear they'd picked up was just a nice bonus.
Leon tilted his head back and looked up. The bluish sky had grown a shade darker. The sun was driving its face into the earth. Before long, that bastard would go hide itself among the mountains.
"Rest up while you can."
He said it with a glint in his eye and a crooked smirk.
"'Cause the second the sun goes down, we're moving."
At those words, the cadets all pulled out potions and dumped them down their throats.
At the same time.
The central zone of Eledor.
Tap. Tap.
Celia's beloved weapon, Rivgium, kept rapping against her palm.
"I'm bored."
Tedious. Dull. This stagnant standoff was thoroughly disagreeable.
Currently, the six Grade 1 zones were split evenly three ways among Class G, Class D, and Class E — two zones each.
These three classes hadn't come to the central zone simply because they'd seen Class I's signal flare. They'd planned to gather at the center as agreed yesterday anyway. They'd just been delayed clearing a few zones along the way.
Well. Did it even need saying? Of course that's what they should have done. Just ignore it and move on? Some people had decided to sprint ahead and claim the high-value Grade 1 zones first. Others had chosen the safer path — building up steadily, starting small and working their way up. Simple difference in temperament. These ones belonged to the latter camp.
Anyway. Having rushed over at the sight of the flare, they'd found the central zone completely empty. And like dividing up a cake, after a careful game of reading each other, they'd split it three ways and occupied the place. From then until now, the standoff had held.
Class G had gotten lucky. Arriving a bit earlier, they'd been able to clear zones that still had field monsters left. And true to Grade 1 zones, the gear they'd obtained after taking down those monsters had been quite useful.
"Hmm......"
Celia's catlike eyes narrowed slightly, mirroring her boredom. If she'd had a tail, it would have been hanging straight down by now. In other words: she was in a foul mood.
"......"
"......"
"......"
The Class G cadets around her kept stealing anxious glances her way. ......Afraid she was about to say they should just charge in and smash everything.
Celia wanted to, deep down. But she knew full well this wasn't the time.
Just watch a little longer.
Not so much caution as rational judgment. From their position, they had no idea what state the other seven classes were in. That a full five classes had already been wiped out was something none of them here could even dream of. Their vague estimate put the dropouts at three or four classes at most.
By the way, what's Class A doing?
Celia tilted her head slightly. Judging by how they'd been acting so far, it wouldn't have been strange at all for them to come charging in here already. At the very least, shouldn't they be poking around?
I don't think they've been eliminated.
That was certainty. Celia's firm conviction came from the existence known as Leon. With Leon among them, there was no way they'd gone down easily. Objectively speaking, that was correct.
Which made picking a fight right now an even worse idea. There was no telling when Class A might come crashing in — and when they did, they'd need to join forces with the classes around them to take them down. Just holding out here was already widening the score gap enough. Starting a fight was something to consider only after the sun went down, at the earliest.
And so they waited. Until the sun sank in the west. Until the moon rose on the opposite side.
With six-hour days and four-hour nights, twilight and dusk passed quickly. And the moment the murky darkness settled in—
Something changed.
The Grade 1 zones numbered six in total — from 1-A through 1-F. These six zones were clustered together like pizza slices, their borders touching. Which meant the absolute center of the field was a point reachable in a straight line from any of them.
Classes D, E, and G, stationed throughout the central zone. Like ants swarming toward honey water, they were all converging on the absolute center at once.
......Because of Class I's signal flare, which had shot up brazenly from that very spot.
What?
That single word pierced through every mind present. They were guarding their zones airtight right now. How had someone slipped all the way in there to fire an arrow? No — never mind that. Why send a signal from there in the first place?
Reasoning alone couldn't provide an answer. All they could do was go there themselves and find out.
So they formed up and set out. Celia's Class G did the same.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Warriors with spears in hand raced across the earth in disciplined formation. Golden wheat reaching to their waists was trampled and crushed beneath their feet. The 1-B zone they'd occupied was open plains of sprawling wheat fields — nothing in the terrain blocked their path. Thanks to that, they looked set to reach the destination ahead of any other class.
The end point drew near. The spear fighters' eyes grew still. Their presence sharpened further. Unconsciously, more strength poured into the hands gripping their spears. The posture of martial artists preparing for battle.
And then—
"""......!!!"""
Every eye went wide enough to tear. At the same instant, twenty-five sets of footsteps stopped dead, as if by a lie.
Screeeeeech!
Feet that had halted so abruptly couldn't overcome their momentum and dragged across the ground, kicking up a long, grating noise. Dust clouds billowed up all around. The acrid grit dug into their noses — but not a single person cared about that. Everyone's mouths were shut deep and heavy.
"......What... is this."
Someone muttered in a trembling voice.
Killing intent.
So vicious and savage it felt ready to shred their entire bodies to pieces at any moment. The murderous aura froze them solid as ice. What in the world was this? In all their lives as martial artists, they had never felt — never even imagined — an aura like this. Just enduring it was nearly unbearable.
Hands, feet, and pupils trembled violently. Color drained from their faces, leaving them cold. Racing hearts sent out fierce warnings. Instinct screamed inside their heads to turn around and run, right now.
Fierce. Vicious. Cruel. It wasn't simply the will to kill — malice and hostility bled through as well. How could anyone project killing intent this raw, this naked? A bone-chilling dread flooded all the way into their lungs.
Just as one by one they began to edge backward—
Whoooosh!
From the front of their formation, a proud aura surged forth to meet the killing intent. Noble, pure mana scattered among the cadets on the wind. Like opening an umbrella in a downpour, the cascading killing intent was deflected away.
"Pull yourselves together."
It was Celia.
"It's just killing intent. Keep your heads straight and it's nothing. What, you're going to get scared and run before we even start?"
The look she cast back over the cadets was upright and firm. The corners of her mouth had already lifted into a haughty smile. That attitude snapped Class G's cadets back to their senses.
"R-right! Everyone, focus!"
"Ugh, damn. I was seriously about to bolt."
"Hey. You're drooling."
They raised their own auras to resist the killing intent. Spear tips that had been drooping rose again. Clouded eyes began to clear.
"Good."
Confirming this, Celia turned her head forward once more. For all her confident bearing — the moment her face was hidden from the cadets, the smile at her lips vanished without a trace.
......Leon.
A thread of tension flickered across her eyes.
"La~ lulu~!"
Spinning—
A dagger danced at Leon's fingertips. At his feet lay a bow and quiver. His mouth was split wide in a grin of pure delight. On that face was nothing but pure enjoyment, and anticipation.
"Wonder when they'll all get here."