Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Midterm Exam (3)
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-Cough! Cough!
As time passed, monsters began gathering one by one.
"Not on my watch!"
Several students rushed simultaneously to the laboratory zone at the center.
Word was that the largest groups of students were gathered at this laboratory and the outer hospital zone.
The hospital side was centered around Arima Kisho.
'...No problems there.'
Clang!
The sound of something shattering echoed out.
Turning my head, I saw a student wielding a hammer smashing a monster's skull.
I didn't know his name, but judging by the number of monsters he'd taken down, he seemed skilled.
If we held out just one more day like this and fended off the demons, we'd be good.
"Zzz..."
Suddenly, a snoring sound made me turn, and there was a repeating-class student fast asleep.
The hammer guy strode over and started beating on the repeater.
"You fucking asshole, wake up."
Thwack! Thwack!
"S-Stop...!"
The hospital zone on the eastern side of the island.
Thirteen students were here.
"...Demons."
And two demons with grotesque faces appeared.
"Heh heh... Nice faces you've got."
One demon licked his weapon as he spoke.
Licking a rusted sword that looked like it could give you tetanus just from looking at it only amplified the demon's creepiness.
The demon swung his sword.
Clang-!
But a sword flew in and deflected the demon's attack outright.
Step, step.
At the same time, one student stepped forward.
Jet-black hair and golden eyes gleaming brightly.
Arima Kisho.
"Playing the hero, are we?"
"Seems like I have to."
It was then.
Step, step.
A faint sound of footsteps echoed.
Everyone froze.
As the footsteps grew closer, some students even began trembling.
Thud.
Finally, the footsteps stopped, and all eyes turned toward the sound.
There stood a figure wearing a large sedge hat, holding a sheathed sword in his right hand.
The first to speak was the demon.
"Who... are you?"
Crackle, crackle.
The sound of burning kindling filled the air.
With nothing much to do, we were all just staring into the fire together.
Eventually, when staring into the flames got boring,
"You fucking bastard!"
Some students would head to the repeaters and give the repeating-class kids hell.
No one tried to stop them since those were the ones who'd tried to become demons.
Demons had a rock-bottom reputation.
I remembered there was a demon playstyle build in the game, but it wasn't easy at all.
Kind of like hard mode on top of hard mode.
If you didn't meet the demons' sacrifice quotas, they'd revoke your power, and even if you did everything they asked, they'd sometimes give you garbage skills.
Sure, some demons occasionally handed out decent stuff, but rerolling characters until one of those showed up was no picnic.
Crackle, crackle.
Watching the burning kindling lifted my spirits a bit.
Old memories surfaced, thoughts of the Light Priesthood, all sorts of things.
I fiddled with the Subspace Ring in my pocket.
Inside, I'd prepared a ton of tools for demon hunting.
Thorough prep makes conquering easier, after all.
Crackle, crackle.
Suddenly, thoughts of the real world popped up.
I'd accepted it quickly at first, but honestly, I wasn't entirely sure.
I kept wondering if seeing the ending would really let me go back.
I was acting like I was clearing the game, but some things had already started diverging a little.
Butterfly effect, maybe.
I'd considered methods besides the ending, too.
This world had special-grade relics, after all.
Step, step.
Slow footsteps approached.
A monster?
"..."
Cold sweat trickled down. My body trembled slightly.
And I wondered if I should even move.
'...'
I stood up and looked toward the sound.
The other students were already on their feet, staring that way.
Crunch.
Yoo I-seol crushed the relic controller on her left hand.
"..."
I concentrated mana in my eyes.
It wouldn't match Demon Eyes or Farsight, but this let me see a bit better than normal.
There's this thing called Murphy's Law.
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
This situation was thoroughly fucked.
Step.
Each step sent small ripples through the surroundings.
It felt like watching a wuxia master gliding over water.
"Everyone's gathered here."
A man? No, woman? Hard to tell.
A character wearing a sedge hat and ragged clothes...
'Was there someone like that?'
Thud.
Something rolled toward us.
"...!"
"Urk...!"
Some couldn't hold it in and vomited at the sight.
It was a severed head...
'Whose...?'
Too dark to see well.
Just as I thought that—
Shrrrk-!!!
Mana-forged chains bound the figure before us.
Yoo I-seol? No.
Turning, I saw Han Ain casting the spell.
'...'
Quick thinking.
Only students or Orbis staff could enter here, after all.
Shatter!
The sedge hat figure cloaked himself in mana, and the chains crumbled like dust.
And the turbid mana we all felt.
Ah, everyone realized.
'That's a demon.'
The top students charged in: Seo Ji-ho, Cha Ryu-jin, Han Ain, Yoo I-seol, Arima Kanna, and even the hammer student.
Chains extended from Yoo I-seol's left hand, binding the demon's body. The demon cloaked in mana again.
Crack-!
But this time, it didn't break free easily.
Cha Ryu-jin, Seo Ji-ho, and Arima Kanna joined in.
Fist aura coiled around Cha Ryu-jin's knuckles, and sharp sword aura blazed menacingly from Seo Ji-ho's dual blades.
"Haa..."
A small sigh from the demon.
And then—BOOM!!!
An explosion rang out as the students tumbled across the ground.
"So, what will you do?"
The sedge hat demon looked at me as he spoke.
I was already in a low stance, ready to draw my sword.
"..."
I drew.
A thrust and flames shot toward the demon.
A speed even active heroes would struggle to react to.
The demon raised his sword.
Still sheathed.
CLANG-!!!
The clash of metal on metal echoed.
And... my sword was blocked.
Lee Han-su's sword bore down on the demon.
The students rolling on the ground thought simultaneously,
'He got it.'
After all, the power of Lee Han-su's swordsmanship so far had been beyond imagination.
It had effortlessly sliced through 7th-grade artificial monsters, and in the ranking matches, he'd shattered the barrier itself in an absurd display.
Rumor was the mage who set up that barrier had quite the headache because of it.
And the one most certain of victory was Yoo I-seol.
When she acquired the relic on her left hand, she'd looked up the monster Lee Han-su had hunted.
'Wendigo'. One even active heroes dreaded.
Lee Han-su had cleaved it in a single strike.
Yeah, no way it could block that head-on.
Next was Seo Ji-ho.
Lee Han-su had casually sliced through a demon engulfed in flames.
He still remembered the scene vividly.
He'd even tried swinging his own sword the same way.
It was solid.
He wasn't sure if his current self could do it.
And then—CLANG! A massive boom shook the surroundings.
"..."
As the dust settled and visibility cleared, the sedge hat demon was visible lightly blocking Lee Han-su's sword.
"...Not bad."
The demon carefully touched his sedge hat.
It had been slightly nicked.
The sedge hat demon looked around.
"Hm..."
Then he pointed his sword at me.
At the same time, the scenery shifted.
"Draw your sword."
The surroundings were no longer the island but some wasteland.
The ground was sand-covered, grains flying with every gust of wind.
The students rolling on the ground were gone.
I knew what this was.
A 'technique' born from a lifetime of mana cultivation.
'Domain'.
Instinctively, my hand went to my sword.
Surprisingly, it drew smoothly.
Normally, the penalty should've prevented it.
"This place's 'law'."
The sedge hat demon took his stance as he spoke.
A stance all too familiar to me.
Low body, ready to draw.
Iaido Technique.
"You die if you can't block. Give it your all."
Immense killing intent crashed over me simultaneously.
[Mental Protection activated.]
[Mental Protection activated.]
The sensation of death scrambled my mind fiercely.
Breathing grew a bit hard.
"Huff... Huff..."
I pulled the Subspace Ring from my pocket.
And took out every means at my disposal.
[6th Grade Relic Demon Mask (Red)]
Physical abilities enhanced.
"..."
A red gem appeared in my hand.
Flame Jewel.
A one-use relic that boosted fire-attribute skills.
I madly used the enhancement relics I'd bought with magic stone sales.
"Preparations done?"
I gripped my trembling sword.
Lowered my stance.
Crushing the Flame Jewel, the mana inside me blazed wildly.
Roar-!
The raging flames calmed.
All gathering in my sword.
Solely for the next move.
Here, no binding penalties, no empowering traits existed.
Quiet.
"..."
"..."
We drew simultaneously.
[Encountering One Sword Kill.]