RE: Player again

317

[Chapter 101] [Even If You Mix Blood with Blood (3)]

The 2nd year 1st semester final evaluation of the Middle School Academy was scheduled to take place over a week.

Students dropped off in the middle of the highway were to regroup at Wonju Airport, receive secondary supplies at Hoengseong County Office, and then reach their final destination, Korean Minjok Leadership Academy.

At this time, groups of 10 had to reach their destination using their given abilities to the fullest, without any help from instructors.

Of course, the escorting players were not to provide any help except in urgent situations.

The core of this final evaluation was to improve students' self-reliance.

Those who became able to kill monsters were no longer subjects that only needed protection.

They already had to be able to take responsibility for their own deaths.

That's why the wills they wrote before the final evaluation explicitly stated that the Academy was not responsible for student deaths.

"Forward! Quickly move forward!"

"Hey! Switch properly!"

So the students had to struggle with monsters that appeared one after another.

Although instructors and players dealt with high-tier monsters, even low-tier monsters were difficult opponents for students not yet accustomed to monster combat.

Nevertheless, instructors and players watched the students' struggles without intervening, except in cases where students were about to die.

And students became accustomed to combat in order to survive.

On the fourth day, students who arrived at Hoengseong County Office in filthy conditions all cheered.

Although they sighed deeply at having to go to the final destination without receiving supplies again after resting for a day.

Screech—

It was a march consisting of hundreds of people.

Their pace was inevitably slow, and the mana they leaked couldn't help but attract monsters.

As soon as they left Hoengseong County Office, students had to face monsters coming down between Jogok-ri and Gojipgol.

The Gyeonggang Road they were walking on was somewhat inconvenient to move on as the ground was covered with vines.

Moreover, the tropical rainforest trees densely growing on both sides of the road created an environment conducive to ambushes.

"Everyone deploy barriers!"

"We need to target the ones hanging on trees first!"

Monsters coming down the mountainside and onto the road.

Monsters climbing trees by digging their sharp claws into tree trunks.

And even vines writhing in response to students' mana.

Although the monsters' tiers were low, it was enough to be a dangerous situation.

In fact, someone who ran out with a sword had their forehead badly cut by a stone thrown by a monster hanging on a tree using its long tail.

The vines that had been sleeping until then suddenly transformed into 9th tier monsters and snatched the ankles of those manifesting mana.

In such a situation, only a few groups acted calmly.

Spider Leg

Queen of Hearts' Declaration

Hayang, who detected the monsters' approach in advance, deployed protection magic to protect her group members.

Meanwhile, students from other groups following her instructions were able to avoid mishaps.

They quickly regrouped and then spread out with Bae Subin to take down the attacking monsters one by one.

Although it took time, it was a tactic that could minimize student casualties.

[Those with enough mana, deploy barriers in the air, and those who can move, quickly transfer the injured first!]

Jung Hayang also asked the Ain in her group to relay her words to Seona.

Although it was an instruction relayed twice, Seona was able to deliver the voice to all Academy students without any distortion.

The players who had only been blocking urgent attacks sparkled their eyes at her appearance.

"Kids, injured people gather over here!"

"Jin Parang! I told you not to jump out too far ahead!"

"Shut up! I can do it alone!"

Also, Minho and Parang's groups, who were in close proximity before the monsters rushed in, gathered together and performed their roles.

Eunwoo, who deployed a barrier, gathered injured students from nearby, and Minho kept the monsters in check so they could enter the barrier.

Parang rushed at the monsters excitedly as Minho's group protected their members.

Then he slipped spectacularly on a banana peel thrown by a monster hugging a tree trunk and tripped on vines.

And Eunha—

"—Those who can't fight, just deploy barriers in place. Those with guns, aim at the ones hanging on trees first."

After saying this, he aimed for solo play.

Just as he had done until now.

Having realized that there was no one in his group worth paying attention to, he didn't try to help their growth.

Although he removed dangers himself, he didn't give much advice to the struggling group members.

The only advice he occasionally gave was when he found them pathetic and blurted something out.

Nevertheless, his group members had long since become accustomed to fighting without Eunha, so they could remain calm even in this situation.

"Noh Eunha! We'll take care of this, so you go help other groups!"

"...Okay."

Although the students' response was fine, they were tied down for quite a long time.

Meanwhile, the students' stamina was gradually dropping.

The instructors gradually intervened in the situation, instructing some students to move the front line so that students could overcome this situation on their own as much as possible.

Eunha, who had somewhat blocked the rear, nodded and quickly ran along the guardrail.

Squeak, squeak!

He jumped up from the guardrail that was difficult to run on and struck a monster hanging on a tree.

Yet his body moved forward, and Eunha grabbed the tree trunk that the monster had been hugging with one hand to brake.

A rough sensation was felt in his hand.

Eunha, whose palm was scraped by the tree bark, didn't look back at his palm and immediately jumped to the next tree.

A monster hanging at a slightly lower height than the one he had just taken down threw something in its hand.

He deflected it with mana manifested outside his body, and he struck the monster's head with the black thorn tree.

As its skull split in half, the contents inside spurted out.

Covered in blood, he grabbed the tree trunk again and used centrifugal force to turn behind the trunk.

At that moment, a blunt weapon flew towards where he had been.

Monsters angered by their comrade's death were crying while hanging on the tree right in front of him.

If you're going to cry, cry in front of me.

The objects thrown randomly by the creatures didn't hit him as he was hiding his body behind the tree trunk.

Soon, Eunha, who peeked his face out from beside the tree trunk, was holding an automatic pistol in the hand that had been holding the black thorn tree.

The 9mm caliber automatic pistol issued by the Academy could be equipped with 12 rounds of ammunition.

It wasn't that difficult to shoot monsters gathered on one tree with a gun.

At first, he pulled the trigger without even looking at the sight.

As many times as the continuous gunshots were fired, the creatures fell from the trees in droves.

When only a few were left, he aimed with the sight and shot the targets hanging on the trees.

Then he quickly exchanged magazines and dropped a monster that was trying to climb up the tree behind.

Eventually, Eunha put the gun in its holster, took out the black thorn tree from its scabbard, and fell onto Gyeonggang Road.

He decided to deal with the 9th tier vine-type monsters snatching students' ankles first.

There was no need to use magic.

After cutting all visible vines with a blade imbued with mana, he started sprinting towards the trees where monsters were hanging.

In this way, he steadily killed the monsters restricting students' movements.

Thanks to this, students were able to buy time to catch their breath and then deal with the creatures.

...This should be enough.

As it was a jungle area with a changed environment, it was very hot and humid.

He frowned at the sensation of the white shirt worn inside his school uniform jacket sticking to his skin with sweat.

Eventually, Eunha took off his school uniform jacket and hung it over one shoulder.

There was no need to use the automatic pistol, and he could easily wield the black thorn tree with one hand.

""""...."""

He felt gazes.

The players' eyes were shining, and the instructors were nodding with satisfaction.

And the students were blankly staring at him walking on the road, brushing past attacking monsters.

"You'll get hurt doing that."

"...Huh?"

You shouldn't die yet.

Clicking his tongue, Eunha pushed the shoulder of the male student standing blankly and cut down the monster that jumped into that spot.

The male student who fell to the ground was still looking up at Eunha with a dazed face.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, oh...! I'm really fine! Thanks for saving me!"

A cold gaze scanning the male student.

However, the student who received help from him didn't notice the meaning of the gaze.

Rather, he was happy to have received his attention.

"Here."

"...Thanks."

So the male student took the hand he held out without any suspicion.

After helping the male student up, Eunha personally dusted off the dirt on his jacket.

The male student was deeply moved—

"—Hang in there a little more."

Eunha hid his true intentions and stuck ghost spider silk on his shoulder.

Ghost spider silk that's invisible unless imbued with mana.

Eunha cut off the spider silk so as not to arouse others' suspicion and moved again to save other students.

"Eunha talked to me!"

"...Eunha is really cool."

"...Have I become friends with Eunha now?"

They shouldn't die yet.

If they died here, the final evaluation would be stopped immediately.

Or if they were severely injured, they would drop out of the final evaluation midway.

That can't happen.

Opportunities like this are rare.

Opportunities to kill them.

That's why he had to save them.

Because that's how he could kill them.

"Get your wits together and hold your sword. Do you want to die?"

"...Sorry. And thanks."

"Eunha! Help over here!"

The wait is long and the harvest is sweet.

But the fruit of death will surely be sour and bitter.

That's why it's better.

So it can be savored slowly.

☆

There were no deaths.

However, there were many injuries.

Fortunately, there weren't many students who were severely injured.

This was because the number of escorting players was greatly increased after the Slayer k********g incident.

Above all, the students' coping abilities were also excellent.

The promising rookies of the 031 class, led by Jung Hayang, Jin Seona, Bae Subin, Mok Minho, Cha Eunwoo, Choi Eunhyeok, Jin Parang, and others, showed near-perfect abilities in this situation.

The instructors were no longer so surprised by their skills, but the players hired this time were quite different.

There was even a battle of wits among the players to get close to them.

And those who won the battle of wits escorted them and casually approached to invite them to join clans or parties.

Of course, middle school academy students couldn't accept invitations to join.

Nevertheless, the players were satisfied with having somewhat made acquaintances with the promising rookies.

Because when the time comes to recruit them, they would remember their existence even a little.

Connections seep in like sleeves getting wet in drizzling rain.

...Was it Noh Eunha?

The navigator of Clan Jeongseon Knights recalled the battle that broke out this afternoon between Jogok-ri and Gojipgol.

Although it was an attack by low-tier monsters, they weren't monsters that middle school academy students could handle.

So the escorting players planned to let the students gain a little experience and then clean up the surroundings.

But the instructors stopped them.

The players, who were puzzled at first, were able to see the students, led by promising rookies, blocking the monster attack while watching the situation for a while.

That kid isn't an academy student.

Even Ryu Yeonhwa, the disciple of the "Sword Saint" who's graduating next year, wouldn't be such a monster.

How is that possible?

Those whom the instructors praised in unison.

Among them, Noh Eunha, called the protagonist of the 031 class.

He was a monster.

Only a few players could perform tactics of running on guardrails and climbing trees.

All the players present, including her, felt how shabby their skills were.

A monster whose talent couldn't be fathomed.

The navigator got goosebumps the more she recalled Noh Eunha.

She knew that a boy with such talent would surely not show interest in clans operating in Gangwon-do.

So only players from clans occupying Gangwon-do's trade rights and clans based in Seoul approached him.

If only I had such skills.

The night was deep.

Although any night wouldn't be different, the nights in Gangwon-do were very dangerous.

Because it was the time when monsters inhabiting mountainous and jungle areas became ferocious.

She, who had no talent for combat, detected the surroundings while recalling Noh Eunha's battle today.

—Huh?

Her thoughts had wandered for too long.

As a result, she only then sensed something ominous.

She withdrew her detection network and deployed a new one, thoroughly scanning the area where the ominous feeling was coming from.

It was far.

Only a faint feeling could be sensed because the energy was approaching from far away.

Nevertheless, the deep dismay on her face couldn't be helped.

I need to inform quickly!

The academy students were currently camping at Ucheon Middle School.

And Ucheon Middle School was located surrounded by valleys and jungle areas on all sides.

A place easy to spend the night and good for defense in Hoengseong County, which had become a jungle area.

However, in front of numerous monsters, it was a target that stood out for attack and a place difficult to escape from the base camp.

I didn't think such a large number would appear.

If it were Seoul protected by the Cocoon, such a distortion wouldn't occur, but Gangwon-do, where only areas where national administration takes place are protected by the Cocoon, occasionally experienced monster waves.

Of course, even she had never felt such a massive energy before.

Moreover, it was night.

When monsters' ferocity increases.

This wave is just the beginning.

If it occurred from the direction of Dugok-ri, then surely in nearby areas too...

The navigator clicked her tongue.

A similar energy to that felt from Dugok-ri was also sensed from the direction of Munam-ri.

The energy occurring from two places was gradually coming down.

It meant that monsters from the wave had detected the mana of students gathered in one place.

Being gathered for safety became worse than being scattered.

No, it's better to be gathered.

If they were scattered, they wouldn't have been able to respond properly.

The navigator changed her thinking.

Fortunately, as they were able to detect the occurrence of the monster wave relatively quickly, they should be able to respond to some extent.

If the escorting players and instructors deal with the incoming monsters while the students provide support, they should be able to block it safely.

So she needed to convey this information to others.

She turned to relay the information to the telepathist who was acting in pairs—

"—Huh?"

She hadn't noticed because her mind was elsewhere.

When she turned around, the telepathist who had graduated from the academy and fought together with her was standing there, coughing up blood.

Ru, n.

The telepathist mouthed.

The Ain whose heart was pierced finally collapsed.

She couldn't even check if her colleague was alive or dead.

Because the one who killed the telepathist was coldly watching her.

There was no way she, a navigator, could do anything against him holding a sword.

Even if he was a student.

Because he was the person she had called a monster until just a moment ago.

"—I'm sorry."

The navigator doubted those words.

And her neck was cleanly cut off by a blade that seemed to absorb the black night.

The navigator's head, with eyes wide open in surprise, rolled into the bushes.

The boy, Eunha, deployed a detection network and checked if there was anyone else around.

There was no one.

"I went around just in case..."

The players hired by the middle school academy this time were quite disciplined.

Probably because of the Slayer attack incident.

So Eunha was secretly going around the outskirts just in case.

As expected, several players noticed the aura of the omnipresent being approaching from afar.

So I killed them.

Because I had no intention of stopping this situation.

It'll be a hassle to deal with.

A navigator whose throat was cut by a sword.

A telepath with a pierced heart.

The marks left by the sharp cross-section will certainly give rise to suspicion.

It had to be dealt with to some extent.

“… Okay. I’ll ask you guys.”

Then Eunha raised the corners of her lips.

The waves were coming together, and there was a ripple effect in the surrounding area in response to the waves.

There was also an outbreak right nearby, and the monsters were running towards us as soon as they were born, smelling the scent of blood.

Eunha listened to the sound of breathing coming closer and then left.

The monster will take care of the body.

So, he could take advantage of this confusion to kill those who need to be killed.

No one knows where the blood flowing down the blade came from.

Even if you mix blood with blood, in the end it will still be just blood.