Chapter 699: A Not-Quite-Failed Ambush
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 699: A Not-Quite-Failed Ambush
"I’m really sorry, Sister Xiao Han. But since we’re on opposite sides now, I’ll be the one in trouble if I keep trying to act friendly, right?" Annie looked like she had no choice, but she didn't bother making excuses.
After all, no one ended up here by accident; they were all here to take my life. Any excuse Annie offered would have been the start of hypocrisy.
But she didn't offer any.
"Fine, fine. I’m starting to appreciate you, Annie. I wonder how much you’ve grown since we last met?"
"This isn't the place for a walk down memory lane."
At that moment, a girl standing nearby frowned and barked out a sharp reprimand.
"Aren't you only showing yourselves to stall me until your main force arrives? Annie is playing the emotional card to waste time, but what are you doing, you useless trash?" I looked at the girl who had interrupted my conversation with Annie and unleashed a verbal barrage.
The word "trash" seemed to strike a nerve, making her jump in fury.
"Who are you calling trash?! You—!"
"I'm calling whoever can't read the room trash. Here, have a fireball."
I snapped back at her and sent a Fireball Spell flying her way without the slightest attempt at concealment. Such an obvious attack was easy enough to dodge, but she still looked pathetic doing it.
"Your physical stats are a bit lacking, aren't they? After this League Hunting Exam is over, why don't you come to Teacher Bai’s Body Cultivation mini-class next semester for some training?"
"I’m not taking any of your Body Cultivation classes! That stuff is nothing but heresy! A witch should use spells... Gack!"
Before she could finish, my Book in the Box slammed right into her face. I had even held back; otherwise, against these "delicate" students, that blow would have sent blood spraying everywhere.
"You dare challenge a Teaching Assistant with that level of skill? You might not even beat me, let alone the others," I said, moving swiftly to her side and catching the Book in the Box as it bounced back.
I stood right in front of her, my very presence a massive provocation.
"You!"
She instinctively backed away, reaching for her bow to notch an arrow, but I sent her flying with a "Slap!" from my Book in the Box.
As she scrambled in confusion, she whipped out a dagger from her waist, only to be swatted away by the book once more.
"Anything else? Look at you. You're a student at a Witch Academy, so why did you choose to be an Elven Ranger? You're an archer who doesn't know how to maintain distance, and you can't even hold a dagger steady."
I mockingly patted her cheek with the Book in the Box. Enraged, she swung a fist at me, but the result was even worse. I didn't even need to move much; her forearm slammed into the spine of my book. She hissed in pain, instinctively doubling over and clutching her arm.
With that burst of short-range force just now, her forearm was at least cracked, if not fractured. For a lower-year student without Immortality, if they didn't want to die and respawn to heal, they had to rely on healing potions.
But those supplies cost Points.
Looking at her fully decked-out gear, she had probably spent all her initial Points on equipment.
"Did you all see that? In this League Hunting Exam, the so-called professions, skill trees, and rule-based gameplay are for the candidates who follow the script and hunt variant beasts. You don't even know what kind of group you're facing, yet you charge in like reckless fools. Are you that eager to die?"
I glanced at the disarmed Ranger and ignored her, taking two steps toward the rest of the group. My gaze landed on Annie. My words carried a lecturing tone, as if I were trying to teach them a vital lesson.
"I know you chose to hunt me because you think I'm your age. You think my strength comes entirely from my spellbook, and now that I'm restricted like you, you think you have a chance. Who gave you that delusion?"
"I don't mind giving you a little lesson on why Teaching Assistants are terrifying. For example... what a TA has left once you take away their Mana Source and spellbook."
"A TA still has combat experience far beyond yours, a massive reserve of knowledge, a much broader perspective, superior physical stats, and a higher Life Level..."
Just as I was about to warn them against throwing their lives away so blindly, a Fireball Spell suddenly streaked toward me.
"It looks like the main force has arrived. I was kind enough to share some intel, and this is the thanks I get?" I narrowly dodged the fireball and saw a crowd that made even my eyes widen. They were rushing toward this location like mad.
The numbers... were far beyond my expectations.
"Tsk... Are you just a mindless mob? With this many people swarming at once, are my life's Points even enough to go around?"
"Hmph! Don't you worry about that! All that matters is that you're dead meat today!"
"Dead meat? Not necessarily," I countered.
I had to admit that this many people was a problem. I couldn't kill them all at once. If every one of them threw a fireball, the sheer volume of fire would bury me; even an Ice Shield wouldn't save me.
But while I couldn't outfight them, I could certainly outrun them. I had already unlocked my third skill: Tailwind Technique.
This was a spell that used wind elements to lighten the body. Naturally, it made escaping much faster. The third skill slot was dedicated to mobility.
"Don't let her get away! Catch her!"
With the arrival of the main force, even the Rangers regained their courage.
I watched the approaching crowd. This chaotic, brute-force attempt to crush me with numbers was indeed intended to put me in the ground.
After steadying my nerves and planning my next move, I actually felt quite relaxed. Even if things went south, I had a way out.
Though I hadn't gained much from this trip, I had tested one thing.
I had verified roughly how many people a TA's Wanted Order would attract. Now, I had a good idea.
Currently, the number of people lured in had reached triple digits and was still rising. It was a terrifying number. Under these restricted conditions, I absolutely could not survive such a tide.
Let alone trying to pull off a "one-versus-thousands" stunt.
Honestly, with this many people, it felt like the perfect time to lob a fireball from a distance and see how many unlucky guys I could blow up.
Facing the Rangers who had already begun their assault, I had to put up an Ice Shield to protect myself from the incoming arrows.
The Ranger's "Precision Charged Shot" skill was truly annoying at a time like this. Not only was it powerful when boosted by special Elven magic, but it was also quiet and stealthy.
The speed of the arrows, combined with Beyonder Power, was both terrifying and hard to track.
To block such attacks, you couldn't wait until the arrow was fired; you had to predict and block in advance.
So, while arrows lacked the explosive damage of a fireball, they were far more insidious in other ways.
Since that was the case, I stopped holding back and used my Ice Shield freely. It was only my second skill, after all. Any candidate who chose the Mage profession like me could guess my tricks with their eyes closed.
"Blades in hand! Follow me!"
"Kill the TA! Grab the Points!"
The distant crowd was led by students in melee professions. Someone had started a chant, igniting the primal urge for chaos in everyone's hearts.
"That's a catchy slogan..."
While dodging the dense attacks, I couldn't help but snark as I repositioned.
"Go, sisters! Kill that Xiao Han over there!"
"Xiao Han, don't run!"
"Hehehe~ It's our turn to chase Xiao Han now, isn't it?"
Faint voices drifted from the distance, mixed with all sorts of weird comments.
As expected, the people who ignored the main objectives to come find me right at the start weren't exactly right in the head.
After a silent internal complaint, I returned fire with a few fireballs during the gaps, but unfortunately, my kill count didn't go up.
"Xiao Han, you can't run. You didn't think people were only coming from one side, did you? At the very least, the teammates I contacted are circling around to block your other exit." That was Annie. I fully believed she was capable of such a thing.
Sure enough, after running a few steps, I saw figures approaching from the other direction.
"So, you've really got me cornered?" I stopped in front of the TA I had tied to the tree earlier. "Then, have you decided how to split the Points?"
With that, I hurled her toward one of the small teams closing in.
"She’s a Teaching Assistant too. I’ll give you a choice: fight over this defenseless one, or keep chasing me?"
As her body traced a parabola through the air, the unique health bar identifying her as a TA lit up. This move completely stunned the newcomers who didn't know the situation.
Where did this TA come from?
And she’s near death!
"Don't fall for it! Get Xiao Han first!" Annie reacted instantly, shouting to her teammates.
But sometimes, things don't go according to the "big picture."
The crowd saw a defenseless "100 Points" landing right in front of a team. Such a massive amount of Points was right there for the taking!
Even though they knew it was impossible to keep it all for themselves, the moment the thought of "what if" crossed their minds, it was enough to drive their primal instincts.
"Stop her! Quick, stop her!"
At this point, some of the more rational blockers shouted out, knowing what they should be doing, but it was too late.
With a deliberately charged fireball, I blasted a hole through their line and made my escape.
I had actually wanted to see if I could kill a few people with that shot, but I failed. For now, running was the priority. While I could have used my physical stats to kill a few more, what would the consequences be?
The consequence would be getting focused down by everyone once they regained their senses.
I couldn't afford that. Even if there were things I could do, I shouldn't do them. This was what I had learned under these rules of "fair" power.
Or perhaps, it was just a basic lesson in knowing when to cut your losses.
"Chase her!"
"She's so fast! Is the gap in physical stats really that big?"
"It's a spell! The third skill for the Mage profession is Tailwind Technique. Damn it, she's already unlocked her third skill?"
"She's been Wanted for over five hours... it makes sense that she'd have it by now."
"It's fine, she can't run forever. With the Wanted Order active, we can track her movements anytime."
The crowd could only comfort themselves this way.
However... while they had let that Xiao Han slip away, they had secured another TA!
Immediately, they fell into a "discussion" about how to distribute the Points for this TA. Needless to say, the discussion was not a pleasant one.
The main force arriving from the front was full of complaints about the wasted opportunity—until they heard that another TA had been killed.
Then, they "happily" joined the game of fighting over the distribution rights.
Perhaps after so many people fought over it, each person would only get one or two Points, but they didn't mind. They thought it was just right.
After all, it was better than one person walking around with a full hundred Points in front of them.
Seeing someone else get that much was more agonizing than seeing one's own Points go negative! In a group setting, no one was allowed to stand out like that!
Even though the ambush had failed, some people were still unwilling to give up and gave chase. Relying on the fact that they had her location, they charged after her in a heat of passion.
But those who had been there from the start understood clearly: there was no point in chasing. Going after her alone was just suicide.
It wasn't just an inequality in combat experience; it was a total mismatch in every physical attribute.
It was more realistic to start planning the next hunt.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the outside world.
Live broadcast screens were playing in every academy, and the Witch Academy was no exception.
"Aww~ Even Xiao Han had to run away from an ambush this time?"
"She had no choice. If Xiao Han were at full power, fighting them would be like bullying toddlers."
"What's the point of saying that? Which TA in the Expansion Realm couldn't do that?"
"I'm talking about Xiao Han's special abilities! If you took away the spellbooks from those other TAs, what would they even have left?"
"And I say your precious Xiao Han is just relying on her Great Spellbook! Give something that powerful to anyone and they'd take off!"
"Xiao Han is just as amazing without the Great Spellbook!"
"Why are you defending her so much? Are you from the Fan Club? Is Xiao Han the center of your universe? You're trying so hard to make her look good."
"What's your problem? I am in the Fan Club, so what? Are we using our status to oppress you? What are you so salty about?"
" I just can't stand you guys! Come on then—!"
Once again, two people started brawling because they couldn't agree on a topic of conversation.
But even more people were focused on this special Multi-School Joint Exam.
Inside the Expansion Realm, the candidates and TAs weren't entirely aware that certain rankings in the outside world were drawing massive attention.
It was just that the reason for the attention was a bit... unique.
There were currently two main leaderboards: the Candidate Point Leaderboard, and the TA Death Count / Total Wanted Duration Leaderboard.
"Scroll to the bottom! Scroll to the bottom! Let me see how negative the score is for the person in last place!"
"Scores are boring. The candidate nicknames are where the real gold is. I've already seen two called 'Step On Me Xiao Han' and one legendary 'I am Xiao Han's ✓'."
"Haha, what kind of trash names are those? Are they that eager to get kicked out of the academy? And... and you can use punctuation in names?"
"They'll probably fix it by the next large-scale test. Enjoy these names while they last."
"Hey, hey! Look at this one! This one is legendary too!"
"What is it?"
"Technician No. 56 from Sentiment Street."
"Hahaha! I bet the academy's biggest regret right now is not setting up a filter for sensitive words or name length."
"Aren't you going to try it? See how the skills of Technician No. 56 are?"
"Sounds like a marketing genius. I'll pay a visit once the Joint Exam is over!"