Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Midterms (2)
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The demon was brutally slaughtered.
In the sudden catastrophe, the repeater students were at a loss for what to do.
They'd trusted that demon and acted accordingly, only for it to be cleaved in two out of nowhere.
For a moment, they hesitated, wondering if it was some demon power at work, but the demon was already a cold corpse.
Then, black smoke began seeping out from the repeater students' necklaces.
"Wh-what the hell! What's going on with this?!"
As the smoke drained away along with their turbid mana, the sinister aura vanished, and they reverted back to ordinary repeater students.
Arima Kanna didn't miss that opening.
"Everyone, attack!"
By the time Yoo I-seol and I arrived, the situation was already under control.
All the repeater students had been subdued and were rolling on the ground.
"Let me go!"
"Shut up, you punk."
"Need a hand?"
Yoo I-seol walked toward the students tying up the repeaters and spoke up.
"Was that you just now?"
Arima Kanna glanced at the sword trails stretching off into the distance and said.
I shrugged affirmatively, and her eyes sharpened.
"...Impressive."
"What do we do with this?"
Yoo I-seol had already bound all the repeater students and was prodding the demon's corpse with her foot.
The bisected body was utterly repulsive.
It looked like a crudely sculpted mud figure, which explained why demons covered their faces.
"Ugh! That's so gross!"
Yoo I-seol peeked at the demon's face and jumped back in disgust.
"...So, what now?"
"Dump it in the river?"
The students began voicing their opinions.
"Shouldn't we contact the teachers first?"
The student wielding the hammer spoke up, and everyone nodded.
They must have remembered the two 4th Grade Heroes on standby for emergencies.
"...No signal."
Arima Kanna tried contacting the teachers waiting at the harbor, but all electronic devices were dead.
The other students tapped their watches too, but nothing worked.
Then, a scream came from where the repeaters were tied up.
"Ah, shit! This guy's pissed himself!"
"...I told you earlier I needed to use the bathroom!"
One repeater student had wet his pants, and the one right next to him was screaming.
I looked at the repeater students.
Killing them recklessly could cause problems later, so I'd only taken out the 'demon' for now.
All the students were subdued.
"So, what's the plan?"
Yoo I-seol tapped her shoulder with her spear shaft as she asked.
Arima Kanna opened her mouth to reply.
"For now, head back to the harbor..."
I shook my head.
"No, let's go to the center."
There were two main reasons a demon had suddenly attacked this place.
First, a demon was sealed here.
The demons had invaded to break its seal.
Second, to create more demons.
A little more time, and those repeater students would've turned too.
"Let's take a short break."
At Arima Kanna's words, the group halted.
Our pace was definitely slower with Yoo I-seol and everyone else compared to just the two of us.
And with those repeater deadweights slowing us down even more.
I wanted to ditch them, but that could cause issues later.
Glancing up at the sky, it was around 1 p.m.
We lit a fire and prepared a meal.
Supply crates.
Boxes filled with rations and water, scattered across the island.
Normally, students would compete for the limited supply.
Arima Kanna's group had already found two crates, so we had plenty of food.
"We have the right to eat too...!"
"What're you yapping about, you bastard."
Thwack!
"St-stop...!"
The repeaters, hungry and desperate, tried a surprise protest but got smashed by the hammer student and backed down.
-Woof! Woof!!!
A pack of black wolves charged in.
Not just one or two—five of them.
8th Grade monsters, black wolves.
Slightly larger than an adult man, with claws and fangs you had to watch out for.
Slash!
One student smashed a wolf's head with his hammer.
As the black wolf staggered, the others piled on with a beatdown.
"Die!"
"Tough hide on this thing!"
-Yelp! Woof!
The savage beast's roar turned into a pup's whimper in no time.
The other black wolves rushed to help their beaten comrade but were blocked by Arima Kanna and Yoo I-seol.
-Woof! Woof!
"Hup!"
Arima Kanna swiftly closed in on a wolf and swung her sword.
Slice!
Flesh tore open.
Blood poured from the black wolf's front paw, unable to dodge the blade.
Arima Kanna seized the moment and slit its throat.
Bam!
A loud thud drew eyes—Yoo I-seol had skewered a black wolf.
-Woof...!!!
The remaining wolves charged, but the students who'd finished their beatdown massacred them all.
"That's weird."
Arima Kanna shook the blood from her sword and said.
"No pack leader."
The hammer student cleaning his weapon chimed in.
Black wolves hunted in packs.
And they always had a leader.
"Isn't that one the boss?"
Yoo I-seol pointed at the wolf with a massive hole in its belly—the one she'd one-shot.
That was when it happened.
-Woof...?
A wolf 1.5 times larger than the others approached us slowly.
-Woof...! Grrr!
It cautiously scanned the surroundings.
Sniffing around, thoroughly inspecting the black wolf corpses.
-Grrrrr!!! Awooooo!!!!!
Seeing its fallen subordinates, it let out a mournful howl.
Once the howling ended, the pack leader's eyes changed.
Fierce resolve gleamed in them, as if vowing to slaughter us all.
We'd struck first, yet it felt like we'd done something wrong.
-Grrr!!!
The pack leader black wolf moved.
As expected of the leader—its speed was on another level from the others.
We outnumbered it, but its eyes held no fear.
Pure, unyielding bravery.
"Hiyah!"
One student swung his hammer at the leader.
Then, something unbelievable happened.
The wolf seemed to meet the attack head-on, then deflected it with its head.
It spun its entire body at the perfect moment, redirecting the blow.
"Wh-what...!"
The momentum sent the wolf airborne.
The wolf was flying.
Laughter echoed simultaneously.
-Heh.
A clear sneer.
"What're you splitting, idiot."
But Yoo I-seol hurled her spear, punching a hole straight through its gut.
-Krrrng...!
A sound like it was unjustly wronged.
Already midair, the pack leader black wolf couldn't dodge and ended up skewered.
Thud.
"Hmm..."
Arima Kanna sensed something off.
The island's monsters were artificial ones.
Crafted without mind-affecting curses or lethal traps.
Average 9th to 8th Grade level.
But the ones they'd just killed were different.
Around 7th Grade strong.
The group handled them easily due to numbers, but solo mid-to-low tier students might've struggled.
Arima Kanna's gaze fell on the black wolf corpses.
Overly sharp claws and fangs.
And the leader was excessively large.
'These are artificial monsters?'
Step, step.
Footsteps approached.
All eyes snapped toward the sound.
"Oh? You guys are all here."
Everyone relaxed.
No first-year didn't know that face.
It was Seo Ji-ho.
With him were Cha Ryu-jin and Han Ain.
Cha Ryu-jin was dragging three bound men like sacks of trash—a sight that could've sparked serious misunderstandings for any unaware student.
"You guys got attacked too, huh."
Seo Ji-ho glanced at our tied-up repeaters and said.
Cha Ryu-jin saw them, then tossed the three men toward the repeaters.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Thud!
Han Ain crossed her arms and stepped forward.
"The path to the harbor's blocked."
She began briefing the situation.
In summary: The route to the harbor was obstructed or swarming with monsters, hard to break through, so they'd headed central.
The monsters had suddenly gotten way stronger.
And so on.
"Good thing we didn't head straight for the harbor—would've just wasted time."
The hammer student said, and everyone nodded.
Demons came in all varieties.
Generally, monsters capable of intelligence and granting power to humans were classified as demons—even a goblin if it could think and transfer strength.
Demons were ranked too: lower, middle, upper, top-tier.
The one sealed here was an upper demon.
Not your average monster-disguised demon, but a one-of-a-kind in the world.
Demon Tyrfing.
If its seal broke, it was game over.
Tension started creeping in.
I'd prepared as best I could, but anxiety was inevitable.
Looking up, the sky showed 6 p.m.
Magic sure was convenient.
Floating a massive digital clock like that.
'Should've gone mage.'
If I'd possessed a mage, life would've been way comfier than now.
There were more than a couple hidden pieces I hadn't found yet.
'Gotta track 'em down eventually.'
Lost in thought, someone approached me.
"Excuse me, I have a question."
It was Han Ain.
"Who're you?"
"..."
I teased a bit, and she scowled hard.
Damn.
"What did you say to my sister back then?"
"Nothing much."
"...Don't speak casually."
"..."
Exhausting.
Didn't notice from the monitor, but dealing with her in person was no joke.
"Just said she seemed human."
Her face crumpled at my words.
"...I see."
A gentle sea breeze blew across the ship where the teachers waited.
Four Heroes and one mage aboard.
4th Grade Hero Park Ju-seong had stepped off the deck to enjoy the cool ocean wind.
"You look happy."
Someone called out to Park Ju-seong.
It was Kim Cheol-su, another 4th Grade Hero.
"You know and still ask."
Park Ju-seong chuckled.
Park Ju-seong and Kim Cheol-su were Orbis Academy classmates.
They'd meshed well as students and often stuck together.
"Ah~! Maybe I should get married too."
Kim Cheol-su grinned slyly.
"You don't even want to."
"Yeah, true."
Step, step...
"By the way, what's that?"
Kim Cheol-su pointed at a lone man.
His face was hidden under a wide-brimmed hat.
Wearing tattered black clothes, a sword sheathed in its scabbard in one hand.