Chapter 380
Chapter 380
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 380
Chapter Title: The Meaning of Survival (2)
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“In that case, I'm obviously with Shirone.”
Amy, walking over to the red team, high-fived Shirone, Iruki, and Nade in turn before finding her spot.
“Tch, desperate to stand out. This is why newcomers are a problem.”
Screamer was displeased that Shirone had been the first to make a move.
Even those who had spent two or three years in the graduating class were cautious when choosing a team. For Shirone to so readily declare a team was an act of ignoring the hierarchy and showing off.
‘At least that guy's a bit better.’
Screamer looked back at Dante.
Seeing him still contemplating, it seemed there was an understanding between those ranked first.
He was still a guy he didn't like, but letting emotions cloud his judgment in an evaluation was a shortcut to failure.
“Hey, let's join Fermi's side together. I know from last year. With Fermi, victory is guaranteed. Of course, I'll be no pushover either.”
If he could draw Dante in, he could isolate Shirone. Then he'd be able to gather even more teammates.
“Hmm.”
Dante paid no attention to Screamer's words.
Lost in his own thoughts, he started moving with his companions.
“Let's go. I've decided.”
Screamer's face twisted.
Even Dante, said to be the kingdom's greatest talent, was joining Shirone's team.
‘What the hell? They're not kids...’
When Dante, followed by Canis and Arin, crossed the line to the red team, his bewilderment turned to irritation.
‘Have they lost their minds? Do they even know what survival means? If they'd just looked up last year's results, the answer would be obvious.’
In last year's survival evaluation, the ratio between the red and blue teams was a staggering 22 to 8.
Ultimately, the majority's choice was correct.
Naturally, Fermi was among the 22, and he endured up to stage 5 to become the final survivor.
‘So annoying. To think I have to do this again.’
Screamer shuddered.
The things they would experience in the Virtual Zone today were extreme situations you wouldn't even see in a nightmare.
The difficulty was prepared up to stage 7, but there was no need to go that far anyway.
He had heard that only one person in the entire history of Alpheas Magic Academy had ever passed stage 7 of survival.
Even that was merely an unconfirmed fact.
“Fine, whatever. Just be a sacrifice for my score. Let's go, Pony.”
Screamer spun around and headed for the blue team. Pony, who had been staring at Shirone for a moment, followed him.
As the number of students choosing teams grew, Boyle, after long deliberation, made his decision and spoke to Pandora.
“I'm going to the blue team. You should choose quickly too. Unless you want to be accused of just piggybacking later.”
Pandora tilted her head.
“Blue? Is there a reason you're so confident?”
“I have my reasons. But I won't tell you. I don't want to influence your decision.”
“It's fine, just tell me. I won't be swayed.”
Only then did Boyle look around before whispering in Pandora's ear.
“As you know, survival is an event that evaluates self-discipline. It's not about skill or things like that, it's about endurance.”
“And?”
“I heard only one person in the school's history has ever completed the survival test. We probably won't last until the end either. So, it's best to leave it to someone who specializes in this kind of thing and just focus on our own records.”
“Hmm...”
“You know, right? That guy Fermi has been the final survivor for four years in a row.”
“I see what you mean. But in that regard, Shirone is no slouch either. He's an Unlocker. His mental fortitude should be considerable. And he actually showed good results in cognition and judgment.”
Boyle sighed as if it were a shame.
Why was the difficulty of the survival evaluation set so high?
Because if even one person could endure it, the competition itself wouldn't work in the first place.
If someone could guarantee they'd pass stage 7, everyone, unless they were a fool, would join that person, and the team balance would end up being 30 to 0.
Therefore, both Shirone and Fermi were bound to fail.
In that case, the conclusion is that Fermi, who has at least taken the survival test for over four years, has a much better advantage.
The fact that students from Class Two and above were heading to the blue team without much hesitation also supported Boyle's thinking.
“Well, the decision is yours. Anyway, I'm going with Fermi.”
Boyle didn't voice his thoughts.
It was ultimately a value judgment. He shared information out of the bond they'd formed studying together since they were young, but the moment he tried to persuade her, their alliance would start to crack.
Pandora watched Boyle enter the blue team's area.
She was also torn, but the one whose skills she had seen with her own eyes was Shirone.
The reason most of Class Three belonged to the red team was likely because they thought similarly to her.
“Ah, it's either this or that anyway.”
Pandora followed Boyle towards the blue team.
The graduating class was a ruthless place, but because of that, she had also come to realize the importance of allies.
‘If it's a 50/50 shot, I'll stick with him, win or lose.’
By the time Pandora chose the blue team, the general outline of the teams was becoming clear.
As expected, the students who hadn't scored well in the evaluations were being extremely cautious until the very end.
One of them was Maya.
Having been in the graduating class for a long time, she too knew that siding with Fermi was advantageous.
‘Umm, I guess...’
Maya turned towards Fermi's side. At that, Screamer, who was on the blue team, lifted his chin and spoke.
“Hey, you're not actually thinking of coming here, are you?”
Collie warned sternly.
“Screamer, external pressure during team selection is forbidden.”
“I was just asking.”
“That's a warning. One more warning and you're disqualified.”
“Tch!”
Screamer clicked his tongue and turned his head away. But this, too, was part of his calculation.
Maya was worth pushing away at the cost of one warning.
He had suffered massive point losses from constantly being grouped with Maya in strategy and tactics.
If they were on the same team here, the point difference would remain the same whether they won or lost, and he wouldn't be able to avoid being grouped with her in strategy and tactics.
On the other hand, if their teams were split and he won, a gap of a whopping 40 points would open up, allowing him to escape the dreadful Maya.
‘Please, let's split up here. You go to Class Three, and I'll go to Class One.’
Maya, disheartened, walked over to the red team.
Even if it wasn't exactly external pressure, seeing Screamer's hostile attitude, she couldn't muster the courage to be on the same team.
She approached Shirone.
Since he was the first person to choose the red team, she figured it was as good as Shirone's team.
“Can you... accept me?”
Shirone smiled brightly and said.
“Of course. Having even one more person is an advantage. And it's not me accepting you; you're the one choosing our team.”
Iruki and Nade stepped aside to his left and right, making a space for her as if to welcome her in.
While they were partly angry at Screamer's spitefulness, it was also a strategic decision to instill a sense of belonging in her.
‘Self-discipline is swayed by psychology. It's important that every single person holds out for as long as possible.’
In the end, those with the strongest endurance would remain, but being with teammates could be a powerful weapon in itself.
“I'll go this way too.”
Dorothy entered the red team's area with sleepy eyes.
Luman followed, and the timid Suabi also cautiously moved over, watching the others.
‘Oh, this is unexpected.’
Nade sized up the three newcomers out of the corner of his eye.
The fact that Luman, who disliked Shirone, chose the red team strongly suggested that his motivation was Dorothy.
Of course, Dorothy was pretty much the only person Luman was close to, but the fact that even Suabi, who was notoriously indecisive, immediately joined them warranted reconsideration.
‘Some of the Class Two students have considerable trust in Dorothy's judgment. Does that mean... she's really a brainiac, just like Iruki said?’
With everyone having chosen a team, only Eider was left.
Being the youngest was a problem even in situations like this.
The older students he was usually close with were split between the two teams, so he was agonizing over where to place himself.
‘Hmm, which side should I pick to be known for choosing wisely?’
Shirone was watching him with a gentle smile.
Feeling a sense of trust in them as a team, Eider also broke into a grin and dashed towards them.
“Ahem! Ahem!”
Just then, Screamer covered his mouth and cleared his throat.
He would be disqualified if he received another warning, so he had no choice but to send a signal with sound.
Fortunately, it seemed to have an effect, as Eider turned his head.
Collie's sharp eyes were scanning the crowd, so Screamer pretended to be nonchalant to buy time.
‘Screamer...’
In the graduating class, the person who bossed Eider around the most was Screamer.
But he also took care of him just as much, so he was one of the people Eider absolutely could not get on the wrong side of.
Changing his mind, Eider gave a deep bow to everyone on the red team, then turned and ran to the blue team.
“Sir! I'm sorry! I'm changing my team.”
Collie let out a sigh.
But he couldn't give a warning based on suspicion alone, so he ended the procedure there.
Coincidentally, the members of the red and blue teams were split exactly in half, 15 to 15.
‘Hmm, a close match. It's been quite a while.’
No, it was the first time this had happened since Fermi began to distinguish himself in the survival tests.
‘Does this mean Shirone's presence is that significant?’
The advanced class and the graduating class were distinctly different worlds, but the title of the kingdom's number one prospect was powerful indeed.
The fact that it was a title earned by defeating the former strongest, Dante, must have also played a part.
“Now that the teams have been decided, enter the Virtual Zone.”
As the 30 students moved in a group to the center of the Virtual Zone, Collie followed and explained.
“Everyone, listen carefully. This is a matter of life and death.”
The Class Three students, for whom this was their first survival test, looked particularly nervous.
“The Virtual Zone is not the Icheonbeon. This means it doesn't transmit information by converting it into anti-magic. The runes carved on the floor use sophisticated magitech to inject specific sensations into your Spirit Zones as if they were real.”
If the body is under the mind's control, it's not strange for a person trapped in a room-temperature freezer to freeze to death. But this time, it was a method that directly slammed information into the Spirit Zone, an extremely sensitive mental state.
“No matter how virtual it is, it can still strain your mind. Once the survival test begins, your brains will enter a semi-conscious state due to shock. Therefore, consciously leaving the Virtual Zone will be impossible.”
Dark shadows fell over the faces of the Class Three students.
“It gets truly dangerous from stage 4 onwards, so the instructors will also be monitoring your condition through a vision feed. However, remember that as this is an official Red Line evaluation, we cannot step in to save you even if a dangerous situation arises.”
Collie held up two fingers.
“There are two ways for you to exit the Virtual Zone. First, disengage your Spirit Zone. Second, in the unlikely event that you cannot disengage your Spirit Zone, shout 'Toako.' You must remember this. Toako.”
Toako was a word with no meaning, a password created arbitrarily for the survival test.
This was because using a meaningful word could be exploited in the test situation.
“The instructors will absolutely not react to any word other than 'Toako.' This means that no matter what you say—'Help me,' 'I give up,' 'Something's wrong with the Virtual Zone'—we cannot save you.”
All the students of the graduating class revealed grim expressions.
“What I want to emphasize is, do your best, but don't be stubborn. This is just a rehearsal. Also, if you feel anything unusual after leaving the Virtual Zone, speak up immediately so you can receive mental treatment. Has everyone understood?”
“Yes!”
The students' voices echoed off the mountain ranges of the training ground.