One Against Eighty

Noon on the sixth day.

"What the hell? Why?"

A massive cluster of dots on the minimap was flooding toward the center of the island.

"I think they're coming for us."

"Should we make a run for it?!"

"H-Hoyeon..."

"Hold on a second. Hah. These dumb bastards."

Looks like Kim Young-han didn't have as tight a grip on his team as I'd thought. The proof was right there in front of me — he'd climbed to third place, overtaking Elise, and they were still charging straight at us. That shrewd bastard would never pull something this stupid. There was nothing to gain from the top ranks tearing into each other.

"Let's keep some distance and fall back for now."

The plan to head for the center of the island was scrapped. If we kept going like this, we'd run into Kim Young-han's team before day seven even dawned.

"Lucy, Rumi. How many points do you two have?"

"I have a hundred and eighty."

"I've got two hundred and ten!"

"That's enough."

We needed to stay above two hundred points until day seven. That was the condition for survival. Rumi was short twenty — I could cover those, no problem. We were already too far behind Nam Da-eun to catch up anyway, so splitting a few points didn't matter. Even taking down the final boss wouldn't close the gap that had opened up.

"And what exactly are we supposed to accomplish by keeping our distance?"

"...Just wait."

If only she'd just go along with whatever I said, like Lucy and Rumi. Convincing Elise always meant showing up with a logical argument, and it was exhausting.

"I thought there was something at the center of the island. See that empty clearing and the huge tree in the middle?"

"Yeah."

"I figured it might be some kind of marker, so I wanted us positioned there. For now, though, we fall back."

"I'd appreciate it if you shared that kind of insight sooner. Fine. I understand."

Whew.

I swallowed a sigh of relief, and we started walking in the opposite direction of Kim Young-han's team.

Kim Young-han was at the head of the cadets, charting a course that followed Lee Hoyeon.

If we keep this up, we'll run into him any minute now.

Kim Young-han's team had taken down countless boss monsters, found treasures, and hunted everything that moved. Naturally, that meant they'd collected a mountain of artifacts. Among them was one that boosted movement speed within a small area, and another that amplified buffs.

At first, a few cadets had just been messing around, toying with the artifacts. Then, out of nowhere, the two of them synergized — and the entire team suddenly got faster.

"Let's go get Lee Hoyeon!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

Thrilled by their newfound tracking speed, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cadets threw their hands up and piled in behind Kim Young-han.

What the hell are these lunatics cheering about...?

The ones who got this excited were always the first to die.

"Hahh..."

Kim Young-han was collecting a trickle of points from over eighty cadets. He couldn't exactly bow out and say he didn't want to go. So he had no choice but to take the lead and chase after Lee Hoyeon.

"Captain, what's wrong?"

"Don't call me that."

Alright. Let's look on the bright side. Better they target Lee Hoyeon than come after me. The second someone pointed out that they were all working together, so why was he the only one sitting at third in the point rankings — it would all be over.

Of course, Kim Young-han had been hogging the codes from the treasures and boss monsters, so the other cadets hadn't been able to check the rankings. But with locations already public, there was every chance the point rankings would go public too.

"Let's go! Hunt down the enemy of all men — the pretty boy, Lee Hoyeon!"

Sorry about this, pretty boy...

Kim Young-han whipped the cadets into a frenzy and chased after Lee Hoyeon.

"Let's gooo!"

"Enemy of men! Kill him!"

"Guys are so simple. Still, Da-eun will handle everything, right?"

"Obviously. You know how strong Da-eun is."

Each of them chasing Lee Hoyeon for their own reasons, Kim Young-han's team pressed on.

"...They're too fast."

When Kim Young-han's team picked up speed, we picked up ours to match. But they just got even faster, as if answering us. We'd already kicked it into high gear, and they still came after us at more than three times our full sprint — like they'd boarded a damn airplane.

"They must've gotten some kind of artifact."

"At this rate, they're going to catch us for sure."

"..."

Elise and I — the team's strategists — put our heads together.

Should I just shut off our location coordinates right now?

I'd experimented on a hunch and discovered that the Rune Barrier could even shut off the location coordinates the battle royale provided. The problem was how the Academy would take it. It was a cadet's skill, so they ought to allow it — but the other cadets might start complaining.

If the reaction was a cadet broke the exam rules, that was fine. But if the verdict became the Academy can't even punch through a single cadet's skill, things would get messy. I'd already experienced firsthand how the people at Victoria Academy didn't do their jobs. I had no interest in getting tangled up with them again.

Even if I shut off the coordinates, I should save it as an emergency measure — for when there was no other way to escape. I'd just have to claim it wasn't on purpose. What else could I do?

"Let's fall back as far as we can. After that, I'll buy us some time."

"...Why you?"

"I'm the only one who can actually get away."

It was the obvious play. No matter how fast they chased us, if I committed to combining Acceleration and the Rune Barrier to hide my position, they'd never catch me. While I bought time, Elise, Lucy, and Rumi just had to hold out until day seven arrived. Then we'd win.

Elise looked at me like she hadn't expected that.

I don't know why she's looking at me like that. Where else is she going to find someone as kind as me?

Just how long has our Elise been living around terrible people, that she can't trust anyone like this? I know her painful history, so I understand. You'll understand my pure heart soon enough, too.

"You know about my barrier, right?"

"I do."

"I can use it to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hide your location coordinates for a little while. Once you get too far from me, the barrier will drop and they'll come back. Stay hidden until then, alright? When we cross into day seven, we'll meet at the center point connecting all four of our positions."

I locked eyes with Lucy and Rumi, who'd been listening from the side. Both of them looked worried when I said I'd buy time, but after I insisted I'd be fine, they nodded. Elise couldn't hide her surprise that the barrier could block location coordinates too. But there was no time for a longer explanation. Even as we talked, Kim Young-han's team was closing in.

"I'll head this way. Stay hidden, then we'll regroup."

Kim Young-han's team still needed time to catch up to us — but our girls needed time to hide, too. To buy them that time, I had to meet Kim Young-han's team first.

"Hoyeon..."

"You'd better come back alive!"

"...Alright. Thank you."

Lucy and Rumi were seeing me off like wives sending their husband to war. We'll see each other again soon.

Elise watched me with a conflicted look on her face. I gave a light wave and ran toward Kim Young-han's team.

"...What?"

The first to sense something was off was, of course, Kim Young-han. He'd been watching Lee Hoyeon's coordinates from the front of the pack for hours, following them the whole way.

"Captain. What's going on?"

"Lee Hoyeon's... coming this way?"

Lee Hoyeon's coordinates had suddenly U-turned and were charging straight toward them.

What's he thinking?

Even for Lee Hoyeon, charging eighty people by himself didn't make any sense. Even with some lower-level cadets mixed in among the eighty, not a single one of them was weak enough to lose to just one person.

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

"The other three girls' coordinates are still... wait."

The three female members of Lee Hoyeon's team, who'd been blinking on the minimap just a moment ago, had vanished.

Did he take them out himself?

Kim Young-han hurriedly checked the point rankings. But Elise's name was still there. So were Lucy's and Rumi's, further down the list.

"...Did the runner-up high from the one-on-one tournament go to his head?"

The three girls' coordinates disappearing most likely meant they'd gotten an artifact that hid their locations. Whether an artifact that broken even existed was questionable — but nothing else explained it.

"Hey. Lee Hoyeon's charging this way by himself?"

"He's seriously doing one versus eighty?"

"Guess that's the kind of balls you need if you want to pull that many girls..."

The other cadets were starting to catch on.

"Captain. What do we do?"

"..."

Is there some kind of catch?

No matter how he turned it over, there was nothing to lose. They were going to run into Lee Hoyeon anyway, following these coordinates. If a fight broke out, they could handle him, no question. And if it didn't, Kim Young-han's team was just continuing on their way — no loss either way.

"...Split into four teams and surround him! Lee Hoyeon's coming!"

"Captain says surround him!"

Kim Young-han took the best measure available to him in the moment. The team split into four and closed in, wrapping around Lee Hoyeon. Lee Hoyeon had to be watching every bit of this movement — and he still didn't run.

The encirclement's already complete. There's nowhere to run.

Certain of victory, Kim Young-han went to meet Lee Hoyeon. His complexion was so good, you'd think he'd been camping out here instead of surviving.

"Hey, Kim Young-han. Here to get revenge for losing that one-on-one?"

"It's been a while. Pretty boy Lee Hoyeon."

Eighty cadets formed a wide circle around Lee Hoyeon, boxing him in from every direction. And yet Lee Hoyeon looked completely at ease.

"Wow. That's a lot of people. Rounding them all up like this is a talent in itself."

"...What are you thinking? You're completely surrounded. This isn't the time to look that relaxed."

Kim Young-han couldn't make sense of the situation at all. Why the hell was he so calm? What was he plotting?

"Heh. Relax. This isn't a war. You don't die if you lose."

Lee Hoyeon shrugged and joked, and Kim Young-han let out a hollow laugh.

"Guess I'm the only one taking this seriously again."

Kim Young-han shook his head, let the hardness drop from his face, and the corner of his mouth curled up. It was obvious he'd come to buy time so the girls could get away. Not that Kim Young-han needed to care about any of that.

"Everyone! Pile on him all at—!"

Step. Step.

A girl cut Kim Young-han off and stepped out of the crowd. She was a striking girl — sculpted features, straight hair falling all the way to her waist.

"...Nam Da-eun?"

Judging by that startled look, Kim Young-han hadn't been told about this either.

"Nam Da-eun? What is this..."

"I said I'd handle Lee Hoyeon. You agreed to that."

"That was for when we ran into all four of Lee Hoyeon's team at once... Nam Da-eun. Hey, Nam Da-eun?"

Nam Da-eun didn't even pretend to listen. She walked right up to me.

"..."

Lee Hoyeon was more than a little thrown by Nam Da-eun's sudden appearance.

I was just going to draw some aggro and then bolt with Acceleration. Why is she doing this all of a sudden?

Lee Hoyeon checked Nam Da-eun's status window.

Artifacts you could find on the island hung all over Nam Da-eun's body.

She gathered artifacts just to spar with me?

"It's been a while. Thank you... for back then."

Nam Da-eun offered her thanks — and drew her sword.

What the hell did I ever do to her?

Gulp.

Lee Hoyeon swallowed and felt the tension take hold.

Thump.

At the same time, his heart began to race, and his mana started to accelerate.