Bloody Battle with the Knights
His body screamed with fatigue.
To recover even a little stamina, Zien was resting on a rock in front of the cave.
'About 30 minutes left. Expected numbers...'
Arcana, Celia, Croa.
The remaining participants were down to around 50, dominated by these specific academies.
'Ultimately, three to four parties per airdrop.'
The numbers were similar to the factory encounter. But there were hardly any usable terrain features, and above all, this wasn't a surprise attack.
Anyone who'd survived this long was among the top contenders in understanding the tournament—even the One Numbers. Claiming an airdrop solo carried high risk.
'But.'
Zien had a major advantage.
Proximity to the cave like no one else.
And no signs of life detected nearby.
The PDs' intervention had brought luck.
Zien gained a 10-minute reprieve. But as Amy's message noted, he'd created this situation himself.
"10 minutes. Plenty of time."
His stacked feats had deified his image among viewers. The main cam focused on Arcana, while Zien's exploits swept various sites.
His goal of leaving a deep impression was largely achieved.
A message that went beyond polite into reverent.
Zien wondered when Amy's attitude had shifted like this.
eww
Zien pulled a mana drink from his pocket and chugged it.
Gulp, gulp.
His fourth bottle.
His body was a mess, but his MP was near max.
"That's the best option. With this spot as the target, waiting is all I can do."
Zien always chose the optimal path.
Even outside gates, he was deadly serious about combat.
It was only natural.
Sabers must always make the best choice.
The academy teachers drilled this creed endlessly—and its creator was Zien's past life, Evan Crowe.
At that moment,
Vwoooong—!
A pitch-black moon rose in the sky.
Participant Lucia Elquenes has used the Witch's Moon Shard.
The sky darkened, a blood-red moon replacing the sun and stirring primal fear.
"...This is."
No need to deduce.
As the hologram stated, it was the effect of an S-grade artifact dropped by the academy's witch. Zien admired Lucia's timing.
'Lucia used the Witch's Moon Shard, so Celia Academy holds the school.'
She was broadcasting via hologram: the top party claimed the school. It was one airdrop site, but now no one would head there.
'And.'
The Witch's Moon Shard engulfs Unmanned Island in a 'false eclipse' for the next 2 hours.
The Witch's Moon Shard disrupts participants' vision and mana detection.
Facing the massive airdrop event, Lucia sowed chaos among all contenders.
'Dropouts are inevitable now.'
With mana detection sealed, survival turned more primal. Zien shook off his surprise and moved swiftly.
"Pocket."
From his pocket, Zien pulled two items: [Glow Powder of the Nightlight Butterfly] and [Alarm Eye].
'First, the Glow Powder.'
With practiced skill, he crafted traps from branches and vines. No lethality, of course—these crude setups couldn't harm a Saber.
But their purpose wasn't damage.
'Next, Alarm Eye.'
The Alarm Eye set—three stick-like tools—sent hologram alerts when planted and approached.
Zien placed them: cave entrance, factory-cave path junction, and forest.
Forming a triangle around him.
As long as he held inside, ambushes were impossible.
"Alright, time to wait."
He climbed back on the rock, chin in hand. His face held no complacency or tension—like a true predator.
Her energy unflagging amid this grim scene. Zien was genuinely impressed by Amy.
"No thanks. Focus on the broadcast."
Under the red moon, Zien quietly awaited his prey.
The sole path linking cave and factory.
The surviving Plana party knew such terrain was ambush bait.
With the Witch's Moon Shard distorting sight and senses, the danger doubled.
So they moved without skipping gaps.
"What a nuisance artifact. And so eerie... Lena, see anything?"
The burly Ribenton asked primly.
"Ah, nothing yet."
Lena replied, thinking:
'This party's like him—still can't get used to it...'
Aware or not, Ribenton clasped his hands demurely and chattered on.
"Ugh! Hearing weird noises too... Lena, heard the cave lore?"
"W-what?"
Ribenton shivered at Lena's dubious face.
"Actually, that cave holds a cursed demon sword wielded by..."
As Ribenton rambled solo,
Lena thought:
'Talking that loud gives away our position...'
Her thoughts stayed internal—too passive to call him out.
'He'll handle it fine... he's strong.'
Then the handsome man watching them—Kepan—spoke to Ribenton with utmost seriousness.
"Ribenton."
"Yes?"
Kepan eyed him coldly.
"It's been chilly."
"It has."
"Know the opposite of 'kid cold'?"
"Kid cold...? What?"
"Adult hot! Kick, kekeke!!"
Kepan and Ribenton burst out laughing at each other. Lena stared, deadpan.
'They look fine, but why act like...'
Plana's sole sane member.
Lena pressed her forehead, swallowing her thoughts again.
Kepan flicked his hair.
"Ah, Zone 1 gags too hard? For reference, 'kid cold' and 'adult hot' are..."
Ribenton had yapped cave lore before; now Kepan explained his pun. Lena wanted to plug her ears.
'I wanna quit for real!!'
Crunch.
Her toe hit something mid-internal scream.
"Uwah!"
A mistake she'd never make normally—she was exhausted.
"What's this?"
Lena pulled the stick from the ground; Ribenton inspected it.
"Alarm Eye."
He knew Battle Survival inside out—from locales to items.
"Snagged an Alarm Eye—we're in enemy range."
"I see."
Lena responded to his explanation.
She stared blankly at the stick, then muttered softly.
"Everyone, draw magic tools and form up."
This time, aloud.
Her eyes now held a leader's gravity, unlike before.
"Press to the cave."
Participant detected!
Participant detected!
"They're here."
Two alerts at once.
Zien dismissed the hologram, thinking:
'Two simultaneously. Did they split?'
Inefficient for joined parties under the moon shard.
'Two parties, then.'
He dashed to the forest Alarm Eye. Without enemy numbers or strategy, the cover-rich woods favored him.
The red moonlit forest night.
Trees loomed black in backlit silhouette.
Zien controlled even his breath in the shadows.
'Close. Where?'
The fight Zien would show next was far from the dynamic action Amy and viewers craved.
'End the first foe instantly.'
His black uniform and jet sword blended into darkness. honed like a blade, explosive mana coiled within.
Definitely.
'But surprising.'
Even under the moon shard, they'd erased their presence completely.
They sensed being targeted.
'How long can they hold?'
Zien smirked faintly.
Whoosh—
Wind sliced the forest.
Silence hung, tension thick as a powder keg.
Crack.
Enemy's slip.
Dry leaf crunch—Zien dropped low and kicked off. Weight-loaded lightspeed thrust.
But he halted at the last instant.
"...Isabel?"
The face at sword's tip was too familiar.
"...Zien?"
Whatever ordeals she'd endured, Isabel looked utterly haggard. Her hair a mess, even a leaf stuck in it.
"Found you."
Like reuniting with a lifelong benefactor, her fond expression led to a question wildly out of character.
"...Got any food?"
Isabel Blitz.
Mage tower lord's genius only daughter.
Hardship was alien to her—yet her hunger gauge read 63.
Over 50 meant three days starved; this was cruel.
"Starving... it's truly sad."
Her voice thick with resentment, Zien murmured softly.
"What the hell happened to you?"