Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Top Priority
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“Dean, is it really okay for you to be here?”
A sort of management room from which the entire sub-space could be monitored.
Vice Dean Kaus looked down at Veronica, who had appeared by his side at some point unnoticed.
“This is just a clone, so it’s fine.”
Kaus’s gaze shifted to the ground beneath Veronica’s feet.
Unlike Veronica, who stood still, her shadow writhed and twisted in every direction.
“Hmm… Did I release too few familiars? Should’ve brought in more.”
“Dean… I think it’s plenty.”
“Yeah?”
Veronica nodded awkwardly, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
“Let’s see…”
Veronica gazed at the dozens of holograms floating in the air.
Images capturing the battles unfolding in each sector, and the students’ desperate struggles.
“That one’s grown a lot? They’re taking down familiars all by themselves now.”
“What’s that one… Did they just get hit once and drop out?”
“Oh… Those guys have great teamwork…”
Veronica’s eyes darted busily.
Then… she propped her chin on her hand and grumbled.
“Hmm… Still too boring in spots…”
“…Sometimes a bit of boredom is nice, Dean.”
“Kaus… From what I see, the kids are holding out way too well.”
“Dean… Why are you always thinking up ways to work the students to death?”
“What’re you talking about, Kaus? I’m just trying to make them stronger.”
Same old, same old.
Kaus shook his head.
He already knew full well.
The moment that untouchable “disaster” had been thrown into this evaluation… no such thing as an easy test existed for the students anymore.
“Where’s Adel?”
“You mean the freshman top seat?”
“Yeah… I made a bet with him. If he holds onto top spot through this semester, I’ll give him an artifact.”
“An… artifact? One from your personal collection…?”
“Yeah, what’s the problem?”
“…There are way too many problems, Dean.”
“Eh, it’ll be fine.”
Does he really think it’ll be fine…?
It’s an artifact borne by a “dragon,” no less.
No student could handle something like that.
“And what’s that cat up to now?”
In one hologram, a bright red cat caught Veronica’s eye.
The cat had tricked all its teammates into traps, getting them eliminated one by one.
“Wow… This one, seriously… Wow…”
It had trolled its team into elimination, yet somehow survived alone.
Its sheer brazen survival instinct was absurd.
“Wait… What’s that one…?”
Veronica’s gaze locked onto another hologram.
Kaus squeezed his eyes shut.
Whoosh…
In the hologram, a brilliant flash plummeted down.
Blue hair fluttering, the girl delivered heavenly judgment.
The Saintess, Lev de Lumière.
The problem… was right beside her. The familiar had turned to ash and scattered, and even her own teammates had been caught in the thunder, vanishing in light.
“S Class must teach something special… Impressive.”
When Kaus chimed in from the side, Veronica flinched.
She cleared her throat a few times, pretending not to hear… and shifted her gaze back to the holograms.
“There she is.”
Veronica’s wandering eyes finally stopped.
She’d found Adel amid the dozens of screens.
“But… Hey… Why are those five together?”
Veronica’s gaze wasn’t just on Adel, but the other four beside him.
Ricota and her lackeys.
“I specifically said to separate those ones, didn’t I?”
“…Looks like the message didn’t go through properly.”
“Oh… It didn’t go through properly?”
Veronica’s brow furrowed instinctively, but she soon brushed it off as no big deal and turned back to the holograms.
…The problem arrived right away.
“…What’s that one doing?”
In the hologram, Adel drew a sword radiating an ominous aura.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she swung it at her nearby teammates.
Swish.
Ricota and her lackeys.
All four bodies were sliced clean across.
“Hey… How do the points work for that?”
“…How should I know, Dean.”
“You’re the vice Dean—how don’t you know?”
“…Was I supposed to predict team-killing too?”
“Exactly… I didn’t see that coming either.”
Who would’ve thought… in a survival where teams were advantageous, he’d eliminate his own.
With his own hands, no less.
***
‘Ahh, feels so refreshing.’
Just a few burdens gone, and already this relieved.
I stretched my now feather-light shoulders back.
‘But they won’t deduct points for team-kill, right?’
To me, it was just removing a major threat to my survival.
If there’s any shred of leniency left in the world, they should give me bonus points instead.
‘From the start, I prefer going solo.’
Honestly… teammates? Don’t need ’em.
They’re nothing but a hindrance to me.
All my skills and traits are optimized for solo play, not group stuff.
‘First things first… Let’s hunt some familiars.’
I took a deep breath and activated 【Silent Step】.
In an instant, the presence cloaking me evaporated completely.
‘Fighting now would be a loss.’
How long since the evaluation started…? Still hundreds of students swarming everywhere, no doubt.
Better to target familiars over students right now.
And…
‘About two hours in, I guess.’
The familiar corpses scattered at my feet began vanishing into light one by one.
‘No way to check scores directly, huh?’
No mana device provided to view points this time.
Just told they’d monitor and record everything…
I looked up.
‘That must be it.’
Outwardly, just an empty sky.
But through 【Laplace’s Eye】, layers of hidden camera-like mana devices came into view.
‘Hold on…’
That instant, a decidedly bad future… no, present unfolded in my mind.
…Those devices let the professors monitor students and assign points.
But the moment I activated 【Silent Step】… I vanish from the faculty’s observation net.
‘Ah.’
All those twenty-plus familiars I’d cut down so far.
Every point I’d racked up by my own hand… gone up in smoke.
Thud.
I flung myself flat on the ground.
Beyond despair, it was ridiculous. The feeling of my entire two hours flying away…
‘No… Not yet…’
My body sank heavier than before, mirroring my mood perfectly.
But… no matter how heavy, I couldn’t just stay down.
‘Hunt…’
My gaze swept the forest, but it was spotless around me.
Not a single familiar left in my wake.
‘Remaining points…’
The only things left to become my points… were other students.
Step…
I gritted my teeth, stood, and took one step, then another.
With tears in my eyes, I deactivated 【Silent Step】 and walked out from the shadows openly.
***
‘Ah, I should’ve stayed put.’
The familiars wiped out, so to rack up points, students it is.
But what I ran into wasn’t just average students… but something I didn’t want to imagine.
‘I should’ve just quietly hunted familiars.’
It was too late now.
My choice had come back to bite me.
“Hey hey!! Run faster, run!!”
“That’s the disaster! Can’t you see?!”
“Why’s the president popping up there of all places!!”
“What’s that behind her…!!”
Five students scattered in the chaos, running every which way.
Boom!!
“Dare not defy the will of god.”
“Arghhh!!”
“Yaaah—!!”
In seconds, two of the five vanished into light.
The remaining three stood pale as ghosts.
“Gah…!!”
“Huff…”
“Fuck…”
I peeked at the scene with dazed eyes.
‘What’s that guy doing?’
Erwin von Orpheus.
“You’ve done splendidly, my apostle… yes!”
“A-apostle…!”
“……Ugh.”
That crazy zealot had joined the disaster’s side… aka Carnel’s side.
‘Wait, is that even allowed?’
Isn’t that cheating?
Not just failing to take down the disaster, but teaming up with it.
If it was, I’d have done it ages ago.
“Uh… Erwin, let me say it again, but points-wise—”
“It’s fine. If I can stand with my god, points mean nothing.”
“Ah… Y-yeah…”
Carnel forced a smile on her face, her expression incredibly complicated.
‘Gotta admit what’s worth admitting.’
Genius is genius.
Carnel, the genius of geniuses, called superhuman… reduced to that face.
Crack.
‘Huh.’
My body froze.
A twig under my foot snapped with a loud crunch.
“…!”
“Who’s there!”
I’m screwed.
Erwin and Carnel whipped their heads around.
I reflexively activated 【Silent Step】 and ducked behind a tree, but…
My heart felt like it’d leap out my throat.
“I’ll check it out.”
Step.
Erwin approached my side slowly, but…
“Nothing there.”
“I see… Then on to the next sector.”
“Yes, my god.”
“…How long are you gonna keep calling me that?”
“…Pardon?”
Carnel wore a weary expression again and walked off without a word.
‘That was close.’
If Carnel had come to check, I’d have been caught for sure.
Thanks to Erwin, I scraped by.
‘I'll avoid those two for now… I'll head the opposite way.’
Turning my back to where Carnel and Erwin headed, I walked off blindly.
The forest trees were dense, but eerily silent inside.
‘The familiars really are all gone.’
Maybe as students got used to survival, they’d already swept the area clean.
That’s when it happened.
“Huh? It’s the top student.”
Serros burst from the bushes.
“Hey, top student?”
Serros raised both hands, grinning like he was surrendering.
…Why’s this guy here alone?
Usually he’d be with teammates.
“Top student, wanna team up?”
Serros’s tone was casual… but something felt off.
I scanned the surroundings.
The forest was suffocatingly still.
Not even a breeze; no branch stirred.
“…”
And that moment, I spotted something odd behind Serros.
–It’s a mask! Mask!
A spirit hiding in Serros’s shadow, tail swishing as it stared right at me.
Serros grinned.
“Ah… Busted, huh?”
Whoosh!
I swiftly circulated mana.
Pulling my body back, blue flames engulfed the spot I’d just been.
Roar!!
The azure blaze consumed nearby trees.
Then, a belated shout.
“…Ah! Lantern! You’re too late!”
Laphia was rushing over from afar.
Behind her, the fire spirit wagged its blue tail, trailing roaring flames.
“Sorry, top seat.”
Serros shrugged with a sly grin.
And… S Class members excluding Lev, Neru, and Erwin began surrounding me one by one.
“No matter how I look at it, knocking out the top seat is our top priority.”
Each had one of Laphia’s spirits stuck to their backs.
“We’ve been searching forever, you know?”
Let me think.
So, my fellow S Classers had been roaming everywhere just to eliminate me.
Serros spots me, Laphia’s spirit signals my position, and the whole S Class swarms in.
‘I’m the top priority, huh.’
If only “eliminate” wasn’t implied before it.
“So, top seat, wanna go clean? Or… make it a mess?”
The encirclement around me had no gaps, and the spirits all glared at me with glowing eyes.
I slowly raised my hand.
“Good choice…”
As Serros smirked in satisfaction.
I sign-languaged “mountain” toward him.
With both hands.
Whoosh.
Circulating mana.
And Activating 【Silent Step】 simultaneously, I fled straight into the darkness.