Chapter 21

“…Are you insane?”

“Even if we do that, there are only two of us. What are you planning to do?”

The students were flustered by the unexpected development, but it didn’t take long for them to regain their composure. They probably thought they could simply overwhelm us with superior numbers.

‘Of course, if there were just a few more of them, that wouldn’t have been a bad plan either.’

However, Class 1-B had assigned too many personnel to the attack squad. Lured by the prey before their eyes, they had made a somewhat hasty judgment.

The number of students left for defense was eleven in total.

And with that number, it was a figure the two of us could somehow handle.

“How shall we proceed?”

“I’ll provide support.”

“Then I’ll attack.”

Cheong Joohwa had subtly scattered Talismans around before even approaching me. Her quick judgment and execution were already at a level that could be called professional combat.

“Wide Threads!”

As Cheong Joohwa formed a Hand Seal and recited the Incantation Trigger, the Talismans hidden outside the field of view of the Class B students began to glow.

“What’s this?”

“When did she…?!”

One male student who hadn’t let his guard down quickly deployed a Defensive Art, but I wasn’t about to just watch.

‘Earth Rat.’

I too had summoned Earth Rat before facing the Class B students and hidden it underground.

Moreover, due to the concealment Art applied to Earth Rat, simple detection-type Cursed Techniques wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint its presence.

The Class B students had to pay a heavy price for that.

Thud!

Crunch!

“Ugh!”

“Huh?”

“Why did the ground suddenly…?!”

The ground where the scattering students stepped instantly began to collapse.

Naturally, the Arts they were preparing were disrupted, and the caught students were left completely defenseless in an instant.

“Four down first.”

Whoosh.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Seizing that opening, Cheong Joohwa swiftly delivered the finishing blows.

Beep!

The four students swept up in the ground collapse had their Identification Tags dyed red, rendering them combat ineffective.

‘Good start.’

We clearly seized the momentum in the initial engagement. A sufficient achievement.

However, even if they were first-years, they were still Class B students. Naturally, using their fallen classmates as stepping stones, a fierce counterattack began to fly our way.

“Void Public.”

“Poison Dagger Hail!”

“Rending Burst!”

I, who had become the target of countless attacks, quickly hid behind Cheong Joohwa. And I began constructing not a Defensive Art, but an Offensive Art.

“Cover me.”

“…Why are you clinging to me like this?”

Because it’s more efficient. If I were to engage in a head-on fight, my meager Spiritual Power wouldn’t last long.

But Cheong Joohwa, who possesses top-tier stats not just among first-years but across second-years as well, could easily block attacks of this level.

“Wall of the Azure Sky.”

Whoosh!

Fwoosh.

Fwish.

Bang!

As expected, Cheong Joohwa cleanly blocked all the attacks.

The Wall of the Azure Sky, a Defensive Art boasting high difficulty even among Intermediate-Rank Art Formulas. The sight of her deploying it so effortlessly left the opposing students speechless.

And now, it was my turn to score points.

“Fear-Bringing Delusion.”

The Intermediate-Rank Curse-type Art Formula I had been diligently constructing while hiding behind Cheong Joohwa. The same one used by Pee Yujin, an A-Rank student, in the previous Forbidden Arts Studies class.

“Guhk!”

“Hurk!”

Beep!

It was an Intermediate-Rank Art Formula made even more powerful by the Forbidden Technique Value. Naturally, two Class B students who had no means to withstand it received additional elimination judgments.

“Was that really improvised? Why is your coordination so good?!”

“Didn’t you plan this from the beginning?”

The remaining five students shouted with a sense of injustice.

That was understandable. What Cheong Joohwa and I displayed was coordination so seamless it could make one believe we were a pair who had practiced together for a very long time.

Because of that, Cheong Joohwa also spoke to me with a hint of excitement.

“You’re pretty sharp, huh?”

“You’re not the only one.”

While I was deliberately matching Cheong Joohwa’s style since I knew it, the fact that such clean coordination followed meant we had good compatibility.

As I said, Cheong Joohwa has a romanticized ideal about a trustworthy team. This fight would be an opportunity, however small, to change her perception of me.

“Five left. Is it okay if I take 30 points?”

“Suit yourself.”

If all eleven had coordinated from the start and applied thorough pressure, the result might have been different.

But they lost the flow due to the surprise attack, and now, with over half their personnel taken out, the remaining five could be sufficiently overwhelmed even in a head-on fight.

“Fierce Wolf. Bone Bear.”

Whoosh!

Two bone wolves and one bone bear leaped out from my shadow.

[Grrr.]

[Gik.]

Simultaneously, the Black Bird flying in the air let out a fierce cry.

[Kee-eeek—!]

Although they were low-rank Shikigami, they were undeniably a force not to be ignored.

Seeing them, the fighting spirit of the Class B students began to gradually fade.

“F-four Shikigami at once…?”

“…The rumors were true.”

The rumors undoubtedly referred to the incident during the mid-term evaluation. The story that I achieved an overwhelming victory against Cheong Haram, an A-Rank student, with incredible Shikigami Art.

At the time, the duel arena’s view was blocked due to overlapping Barrier Techniques, which caused the rumors to become inflated and spread even more.

We weren’t inferior in terms of combat power, and the momentum was on our side, so the outcome of the ensuing fight was, in a way, predictable.

Beep!

“Ugh!”

Beeeep!

“Gah!”

After swiftly dealing with the five, we soon destroyed both Barrier Stones belonging to Class 1-B, which were now defenseless.

Crunch!

Crack!

“Ah, we really got 50 points. This feels weird somehow.”

“Let’s go now. The other side will probably be decided soon too.”

I called Cheong Joohwa and moved while checking the Terminal given by the school at the start of the term.

[Class 1-B Base, Barrier Stone destroyed.]

[2-D Yun Nak-hyun combat ineffective.]

[2-D Jeong Hansol combat ineffective.]

[2-D Choi Cheol-seong combat ineffective.]

[1-B Alicia combat ineffective.]

Following the messages were the names of the students who performed the actions, attached like tags. Excluding the students Cheong Joohwa and I eliminated, it seemed Class 2-D was still being pushed back.

‘The information updates have stopped.’

A short time after the Barrier Stone destruction notification appeared, there were no further information updates. Class B had probably retreated or both sides had entered a stalemate.

As Cheong Joohwa and I hurried towards the Class 2-D base, there, as expected, students from the two forces, having halted combat, were in a standoff.

Murmur.

Murmur.

The Class B students who had lost their base were in a state of utter confusion, unsure what to do.

We revealed ourselves from their rear.

“Huh? Look, it’s Cheong Joohwa.”

“Hey! Are you crazy?”

The Class B students who had instantly lost 100 points vented their frustration, and Cheong Joohwa shrugged her shoulders, ignoring them.

I slipped between them and spoke.

“As you can see, your base has been completely wiped out.”

“…So what? Are you telling us to just quietly accept defeat?”

At those words, I shook my head expressionlessly. Even if they were Class B, they were still first-years. They didn’t seem to have fully grasped the rules of this test yet.

“Didn’t you notice something odd?”

“……?”

“If this were a simple head-to-head match, deciding everyone’s elimination based on Barrier Stone destruction would be simpler. But in this test, team points and personal points are separate. Why do you think they made it that way?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“It means that as a team, you’re finished, but as individuals, you still have a chance.”

At those words, several Class B students made expressions of disbelief. Soon, one of them asked a question.

“Now that we’ve lost our base, you’re saying it’s more beneficial to cooperate with another class to increase our points?”

“Correct.”

Normally, alliances between classes in a test like this would be meaningless. Because each had a place to defend, the very idea of exchanging appropriate support lacked realism.

However, for those who had already lost their base, there was naturally nothing to hold them back.

Putting aside the issue of trust, it meant cooperation itself was always possible.

Whisper whisper.

[What should we do?]

[It’s a bit awkward, but wouldn’t it be better to aim for survival points or elimination points at least?]

[No matter what method they used, the two of them took down the entire base. Those two are dangerous.]

[Ah, damn it. If we fight, we’ll all be eliminated anyway. Let’s just support from behind and protect our points.]

It didn’t take long for a conclusion to be reached.

In the end, the remaining forces of Class 1-B decided to cooperate with Class D.

Time passed, and it became a dark night.

Probably every class had fierce battles today, so for the sake of recovery, they likely wouldn’t execute night raids.

I checked the information via the Terminal and assessed the situation of the first test.

‘The remaining ones are Class 1-A, Class 2-A, and Class 2-B, right?’

Including us, that makes exactly four teams surviving.

Even though we supplemented our forces with Class 1-B personnel, it remained unchanged that we were the weakest.

In fact, being a hastily formed alliance, it was difficult to trust them.

‘If we fight normally, we have no chance.’

To be clear, the remaining three teams are on a different level. Whichever we face, we cannot win.

But it didn’t matter. After all, from the very beginning, I never intended to lead Class D to victory in the first test.

‘It’s a bit late to say this now, but for lower classes, defending the Barrier Stone doesn’t really have much meaning.’

The test continues until 48 hours pass or only one class’s Barrier Stone remains.

No matter how wide the island is, as long as there’s a place to defend, it’s absurd for a lower class with relatively weak combat power to hold out for 48 hours.

Ultimately, it’s only a matter of timing; it’s consistent with the idea that our Barrier Stone was destined to be destroyed by an upper class sooner or later.

‘What’s important is how many additional points we can earn until the first test ends, and the avenues to earn survival points.’

Our points weren’t bad even now, but if possible, I wanted to raise them by about 50 to 100 points more, just in case.

‘So, either aim for elimination points or target Barrier Stones.’

Naturally, both methods are difficult in a head-on fight. If we aim, the best moment would be when the upper classes fight each other.

‘They probably know that too, so they’ll try to eliminate us, the nuisance, first.’

That’s only natural. There’s no reason to leave room for a sneak attack during a fight. Surely by tomorrow, the Class D base will be helplessly devastated.

‘Even if we all run away together, all the other classes will unite to definitely eliminate us.’

Rather than fighting to the death and having everyone eliminated, it’s better for a small number to survive and try to profit from the chaos.

‘If we succeed in destroying another team’s Barrier Stone, common points will be added to the other eliminated students as well.’

Some might call it cold, but that approach would also be helpful from a team-play perspective.

As I was reaching that conclusion, the Black Bird floating in the air detected something.

“…A night raid at this point?”

Over thirty personnel.

Seeing Seo Jian among them, their identity was clearly Class 2-B.

‘The entire class is moving. They’ve abandoned their Barrier Stone too.’

Since winning the final victory is difficult for both sides, they probably acted with the mindset that as long as they take down Class D, they don’t care what happens afterward.

I quickly called back the Black Bird. Given the level of Class 2-B students, there was a possibility they might notice and intercept the Black Bird.

Then I woke the sleeping Cheong Joohwa and quickly explained the situation.

“Then we should run.”

Just from my brief explanation, Cheong Joohwa grasped the entire situation. She probably already understood what the best course of action was in this test.

As I was quietly trying to slip out of the base, Cheong Joohwa stopped me.

When I looked at her with a puzzled expression, Cheong Joohwa pointed to the very center of the base and said to me:

“Since it’s going to be destroyed anyway, let’s destroy it ourselves before we go.”

“……”

It seems I may have instilled some wrong ideas in her.