Chaos in the Survival Midterm

Surviving the all-too-common survival midterm amid the great chaos was half luck for Liu Yen and Lane Arthur. Since they were outside the Romance Academy, they avoided getting swept up in the academy’s turmoil, and they hid outside as long as possible until the barrier narrowed. Most of the students had already flocked inside, so the area was surprisingly relaxed. Thanks to that, they managed to rest their exhausted bodies for a few hours. But—

“...Only six people left? What the fuck happened in there?”

“It’s definitely abnormal.”

Six survivors total. Excluding the two of them, that left just four. Only four people remaining in an academy that vast.

What on earth happened?

Roughly five hours had passed since the announcement that three hundred survivors remained. The Romance Academy was no ordinary size. Even though the barrier was steadily shrinking the playable area, running into someone in a place that large wasn’t easy. Yet only four left? No matter how you looked at it, something had clearly gone down.

“Tsk. Even dog shit has its uses, but there’s none to be found.”

“...Are you talking about Oppa?”

“Who else would it be? Of all people, he just had to get ambushed...”

At the sixteen-hour mark, the barrier—unlike before—began shrinking slowly but without stopping. That was why Lucas, Lane, and Liu Yen had decided to head inside the academy. None of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them had expected to be ambushed the moment they stepped through the entrance.

What shitty luck.

Unlike the defenders who could hide their orb deep inside the academy, Liu Yen’s group had either kept theirs on them or hidden them nearby when they entered. And with the barrier refusing to stop, leaving an orb outside wasn’t an option. Even though they had stayed on high alert, Lucas was still eliminated in the sudden attack.

“Fuck, does it make any sense that they were camped right at the passage we entered?”

“...Could that really have been a coincidence?”

“Do you know where the other survivors are? We just had the absolute worst luck and ran into them.”

“I guess...”

Since it was impossible to know the locations of other survivors, there was no way to describe the ambush as anything but terrible luck. At least only Lucas had been eliminated. That was something. Grinding her teeth at the thought of the attacker, Liu Yen cautiously poked her head out from the bushes.

That damn princess!

Kim Eun-ha, the princess who had eliminated Lucas in a single blow. With one punch she had driven him into the ground and shattered the orb on his body, then immediately fled toward the center of the academy. The unconscious Lucas had been dragged away by the instructors, leaving six survivors who now had to move with extreme caution.

“Between me, Liu Yen, and the princess... who could the remaining three be?”

“Hey, you psycho. Remember our deal? We cooperate until only two remain.”

“Ha, Liu Yen, you should stop with the baseless paranoia for once.”

Now that they had confirmed the princess was still alive, stabbing each other in the back here would make winning impossible. They would just end up like Lucas—turned into dried fish by the violent princess. It was far better to team up, eliminate the princess, and settle things when only the two of them remained. That offered the highest chance of victory. Neither of them was foolish enough to miss that fact, which was the only reason their precarious alliance still held.

“First we need to hide the orb.”

“How? That fucking barrier keeps shrinking. The entrance we came through is already beyond it.”

“...The only option is to head as close to the center as possible.”

The biggest variable in this survival test was the ‘orb.’ The fact that you didn’t need to carry it at all times had allowed for fierce battles right at the academy entrance. Even if students were knocked out or sent flying, as long as the orb stayed hidden, they could jump back in. That made the fighting even more intense. However, with the barrier constantly closing in like now, hiding the orb was no longer easy. If possible, the only choice was to conceal it at the exact center of the barrier—the literal heart of the academy.

“The others are probably thinking the same thing.”

“Anyone who’s survived this long would realize that much.”

“In that case… holding out might not be a bad idea.”

Should they hide and endure until the very last moment, or move to the center and secure the best position first? It had become a battle of wits.

“...You’re right. Trying to make the other students clash with the princess first wouldn’t be bad either.”

“Then let’s camp out. Is there a tall building nearby?”

“Not sure.”

If they were going to camp, a tall building would be best for gathering information and securing a wide view. Liu Yen scanned the surroundings and pointed at the clock tower.

“Then let’s go th—”

“—Huh?”

Liu Yen’s eyes trembled. A single name had floated up in the air. The name “princess” carried that much weight.

“...!”

“This…!”

Before the stunned Liu Yen could react, Lane was already sprinting toward the center of the academy. The fact that she hadn’t attacked during that opening was probably the last courtesy of their alliance. Probably. They now had to watch out for the mysterious survivor who had managed to eliminate the princess, so the alliance remained intact for now.

Who could possibly be strong enough to defeat the princess…!?

The only ones who came to mind were Sasaki Ito and Crown Prince Kim Seong-il. Maybe even Abel Legion, whose blade work Liu Yen had never been able to perceive, was a possibility. But Kim Seong-il’s elimination was already confirmed, and the survival status of the other two was unknown.

While chasing after Lane and running through various possibilities—

“...That’s—”

“Ha, look who showed up.”

“………Everyone.”

Kim Eun-ha was walking toward them, accompanied by academy staff. Lane watched her with lingering wariness while Liu Yen wore a faint smile. The princess met their gazes and let out a hollow laugh.

“Watch your backs. Both of you.”

“...What?”

“Your Highness, eliminated contestants aren’t allowed to speak.”

“Sorry. My mouth was itching too much.”

Leaving behind those cryptic words, the princess walked past Liu Yen and Lane. With a hollow smile and a quiet, simmering anger, she never once looked back.

Strange.

Liu Yen didn’t know the princess well, but the Kim Eun-ha she had observed until now was someone skilled at controlling her emotions. Right now, however, she gave off the faint heat of a volcano that had already erupted once, leaving only ash behind.

But there was no time to worry about the princess.

Watch your backs? Of course.

Lane Arthur was running ahead of Liu Yen. Staring at the back of her head, Liu Yen smiled coldly.

Though it won’t be me who needs to be careful.

Lane was probably thinking the same thing. But in a survival test, that was only natural. What mattered was perfect timing and sharp instincts. Above all, she still had one use left on the Protection in the Dark artifact that blocked surprise attacks. Even if Lane tried to stab her in the back, she could respond. With her final insurance prepared as well, she had nothing to worry about.

“We’re finally here…!”

After passing several buildings and roads, the center of the Romance Academy finally came into view. It was a massive fountain plaza with no buildings nearby, resembling a grand auditorium. Amid the ornate decorations, sculptures, grass, and trees—

“……….”

“Hero…!”

“As expected.”

A blond male student stood waiting, gripping a greatsword with an expressionless face. The Hero, Abel Legion, stared at them with emotionless eyes.

No wonder his swordplay felt off.

Abel Legion’s true intentions and abilities had been impossible to read until now, but this confirmed one thing. The Hero’s combat ability was at least on par with the princess. However, only Liu Yen realized that.

“How…?”

Lane found it difficult to accept that Abel Legion had defeated the princess. He had never shown any combat ability before, and Lane had seen the princess’s strength with her own eyes. Liu Yen had briefly clashed with Abel at the fortune teller’s base and could roughly guess his power, but Lane was different. All she had known since childhood was that his class was Hero. And now he was supposedly stronger than the princess? Then Abel was clearly a ‘strong one’—

“Hey! Idiot! Dodge!”

“Eh, ah?”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Thud.

The moment she noticed, Abel’s blade was already swinging toward Lane. In that brief opening when her mind had been caught up in her “weak to the strong, strong to the weak” mentality, Abel had swung his greatsword without missing a beat.

“Legion! You’re not actually trying to cut—!”

One of the test rules: any attack that threatened a student’s life resulted in elimination. But Abel swung his sharp blade as if that didn’t matter. The moment Liu Yen shouted—

“...Huh?”

Vrrrrrr—

Abel’s greatsword suddenly glowed, engulfed in blinding light. The immense radiance forced even Lane—who had been about to activate her psychic powers—to close her eyes.

Whoosh!!

The glowing blade passed straight through Lane’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body. It was such a surreal sight that both Liu Yen and Lane herself were left speechless. Then something rolled out of Lane’s embrace.

“...The orb?”

“What the…”

The greatsword that had passed through Lane had precisely sliced only the orb she carried. What that meant was—

A skill!

And it was the Hero’s skill, one he had never revealed or even hinted at until now. Whether it was a class skill or a general skill, he had never shown any of them. Is he really allowed to reveal it here!?

He had kept it secret for nearly twenty years—why show it now? But Liu Yen didn’t have time to ponder the question.

Clang!

“Damn it!”

She quickly retreated, but the final stack of the Protection in the Dark artifact that blocked surprise attacks had already been used up. Before she could even draw her artifact dagger, Abel’s greatsword was once again enveloped in light—

“………….”

“...What? You’re not cutting me?”

—and stopped right before slicing her. His expression remained unchanged, but it gave Liu Yen an opening. She drew the ceremonial dagger Crowd Parting and swung it wildly through the air.

“...!”

No matter how much of a hero he was, he had no choice but to be sent flying. Abel was hurled into the air in an instant. He landed with the same expressionless face, quickly regaining his stance. In that time, Liu Yen had recovered her composure and pointed her dagger at him.

“You took pity on me at the end? What a stupid choice.”

“…………No orb.”

“Whistle~ You catch on quick.”

Just as Abel said. Unlike Lane, Liu Yen was not carrying her orb. That was the “insurance” she had kept in case of a betrayal.

It was a gamble, honestly.

Liu Yen had hidden her orb somewhere else. Since she hadn’t been eliminated yet, the barrier probably hadn’t reached it, but the problem was that she could be eliminated at any moment. If I finish this before then, it won’t matter.

What she needed was a swift, decisive battle. The original plan had been to team up with Lane, quickly eliminate the others, then stab Lane in the back at the end. But the current situation wasn’t bad either.

I’ll eliminate Legion here.

When he had approached and swung his sword earlier, she had seen it. His orb was hanging boldly at his waist. Whether it was stupidity or boldness, she couldn’t ignore something so visible. If she kept sending him flying with Crowd Parting, the orb at his waist would eventually break too. After that, she could retrieve her own orb, hide it again, and deal with the remaining survivors.

First, she raised her dagger into the air—

“Liu Yen!”

“………Huh?”

The sudden, all-too-familiar voice made Liu Yen freeze for a moment.

“Hero, over here!”

“……….”

Swoosh.

Abel sliced through the ‘orb’ that the owner of the voice had thrown into the air. The name carved on the orb that split helplessly in two was—

“……Ha, haha.”

Only then did Liu Yen understand.

How the hero who had ambushed them had suddenly vanished from the air. Why only four people had remained in this vast academy. And why the princess had told them to watch their backs.

“Liu Yen, you have been eliminated.”

“………Namgung Min.”

“Uh, um. Liu Yen…?”

“You’re fucking dead, you bastard.”

So that was all she could say. Fucking dog.

“Um… that’s fucking scary.”

“………….”

Abel lowered his sword and looked at Namgung Min. The fortune teller was smiling awkwardly after being showered with every curse Liu Yen could think of. In his hand was one shattered orb.

“………That’s—”

“Ah, it’s Miss Aileen’s orb. I ran into her while looking for Liu Yen’s. The moment we met, she handed it to me and left…”

“………….”

Liu Yen and Lane Arthur had been eliminated by his hand. Kim Eun-ha and the student named Aileen Teddybear had been eliminated by Namgung Min’s hand. That meant the only survivors left were… the two of them.

Could this be called a success? Abel let out a small sigh—uncharacteristic of him—and spoke to the still-smiling Namgung Min.

“The promise…”

“Of course I’ll keep it. Here, this is my orb.”

“………….”

The orb thrown from Namgung Min’s hand landed in Abel’s. The name ‘Namgung Min’ carved into it was unmistakably the fortune teller’s.

“……….”

Had his suspicion been unfounded after all? Abel, who had never been able to shake off his unease toward Namgung Min until the very end, felt a moment of self-reproach.

Crack.

When he applied a bit of strength, Namgung Min’s orb shattered helplessly.

“……….”

Until the final moment, he had suspected that the orb might have been switched. But since it clearly marked him as eliminated, Namgung Min’s removal was certain. In the end, he had done everything he could to help Abel win, just as promised.

Since the victory had been secured thanks to Namgung Min, Abel was about to offer at least a small word of thanks when—

“……?”

Only then did he realize the test was not over yet.

Crack!

“………Ah.”

“Farewell, unbeliever.”

The long test had finally ended.