BOOM!
And just as the group walked a little more, suddenly, they heard the voice of something exploding as well as the sounds of shouts all around.
“I guess we reached the boss monster.”
Byron mumbled as he felt the tremors under his feet. The smoke of white color was rising from where the tremors were coming from, but even between the smoke, the sound of clashing could be heard.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
It was a sound that everyone here was familiar with.
The sound of a sword clashing with another. That meant the fire was close.
Just as the party was about to discuss what they needed to do, suddenly Irina revealed a smirk, turning her frowning face to the face she always made.
“Finally, I can take my anger out.”
BLAST!
And with that mumble, she immediately blasted herself off with a boom sound. And thanks to the after-effects of the blast, Irina shot off like a rocket towards the direction of the boss monster, flying in the sky like she was a bird.
However, for those who were watching the scene, rather than a bird, she looked more like a missile shot from those old weapons from ancient nations.
Byron, his eyes widening, shouted after her, “Irina, that’s too reckless!” But Irina was already gone, her fiery fires carrying her into the heart of the battle. “Seeing her grinning with her teeth out like that, I guess I should have expected something like this.” He sighed as he also readied her weapon.
“She’s not one for subtlety, is she?” Leon also looked at the small fire in the sky with both awe and envy. “Always stealing the spotlight, that one.”
Nora was both amazed and slightly worried. “Well, she’s definitely going to make an entrance.”
Just as the team members were mumbling to themselves like that, Geoge and Jake started running towards where Irina flew.
“Let’s not waste any more time. Even if she is Irina Emberheart, we can’t ever be sure what may happen.”
“Right.”
As Byron also agreed, the members of the team immediately started running to the source of the sound. Everyone was already tired from all that constant fighting, at least mentally, so they wanted to finish this exploration as fast as they could.
And, with Irina flying herself on her own, the source of their warmth had also left, so they were more eager to fight the monster than ever.
But, there was one person who stayed behind while everyone was running to the fight.
“This amount of pressure is certainly not normal.”
Astron mumbled to himself as he felt something that shouldn’t have existed in this place.
“Bloodlust.”
He had been exploring the dungeons and fighting with monsters all this time, and he was already aware of the fact of how different the real monsters were from those in these artificial dungeons.
That was also one of the reasons why he didn’t care much about these explorations since, in the end, nothing could be more helpful than a real experience.
Of course, this was what the academy also knew, and these practical sessions were there to set the base up for real explorations in the future, but even then, for now, things were less serious.
In any case, the moment Astron sensed the bloodlust around the air, he immediately understood where that came from and what the reason for that was.
“The boss monster must have also been tempered.”
If that was the case, that meant the demon followers were basically moving, just like in the game.
However, this time, there was one thing that was different. It was the fact that which students took which path and which teams were paired up to go against the monster.
“I guess, where situations like these with multiple options occur, it will be very hard to rely on the knowledge of the game, huh?”
Right now, he didn’t know which team was confronting the monster ahead, but even then, nothing would change.
‘Since things are progressing as usual, nothing must have happened.’
In the game, Irina had gotten away uninjured from this event, so Astron guessed this would be the same.
‘But it is better to be safe than sorry.’
However, with that thought, he collected his thoughts and also started running to the place where the tremors were coming from.
No matter what, he could also collect some clues about the demon followers and possibly interfere with their plans in this place.
*****
BOOM!
As the fire of explosion occurred around where the boss monster resided, the members of the party understood that it was Irina’s attack. Only she could make such a huge explosion before their eyes.
“Hurry.” Even though Byron knew Irina was reckless, he also wanted to contribute to the battle to raise his grades as well as impress Irina.
He hadn’t had enough opportunity to do that, and he was getting more impatient with each second time.
He didn’t know when he could even get such an opportunity before, after all.
ROAR! BOOM!
But, just as the team was about to reach where the monster had resided, suddenly another explosion occurred, but this time, rather than the fire rising, it was the smoke of snow, followed by a bunch of tremors.
SWOOSH!
And before the party’s eyes, Irina flew out from the raised smoke, blood flowing from her nose.
“Huh?”
Everyone was left dumbfounded seeing the unexpected scene. Rather than Irina flying out, they thought she was the one to make that attack.
However, that wasn’t the case at all. Even then, they were the cadets of the world’s one of the best Hunter Academies.
“ROAR!”
They immediately understood the situation with the roar of the monster reaching their ears.
“I will take care of her; you guys go and help the fight with the boss. The other team seems to be in need of help.”
Byron immediately assessed the situation in his favor as he started running to where Irina flew. He knew gaining the favor of Irina would help him in the future, and he didn’t want to miss such a chance.
She looked unconscious, and that was one of the rare moments.
“Okay.”
The others didn’t say anything against it either as they simply nodded their heads and started running towards the boss monster, with the intention of helping the other team and raising their grades.
“Heh….Fools.”
Byron mumbled to himself as he immediately understood their thought process.
“That’s why you won’t advance in society. Sometimes giving up the short gain for someone’s favor is the best choice.” With a smirk on his face, he continued running to where Irina flew.
However, in this world, things would always have the chance to not go in the way of someone’s plan.
And Byron was about to learn this firsthand. 𝗈𝓥𝗅xt.𝒞𝗈𝑀
“Grrrrr….”
Before his eyes stood the wolves they had encountered before.
“Tch.”
Seeing this, Byron clicked his tongue. He wanted to be on Irina’s side when she was in need, but these bastard wolves were on their way.
‘Irina roasted them with a wave of her hand. They are just small fries.’
Rather than studying, Byron was the type to train his physical capabilities more, so he didn’t know what these monsters before him were.
‘Snow wolves or whatever….You are in the way.’
SCHLINK!
Byron, overconfident and underestimating the snow wolves, unsheathed his sword with a haughty smirk.
He thought he could deal with them easily, given how effortlessly Irina had dispatched them earlier.
“Prepare to be impressed by my skill,” he taunted, attempting to strike a heroic pose.
“Grrrr….Harrrr…”
SWOOSH!
The wolves, however, had other plans. In a flash, they lunged at him with agility and precision that took Byron by surprise. They were different from the way the first wolves behaved.
“What?”
SWOOSH!
Feeling the surprised speed of the wolves, he panicked for a second and threw a swing of sword.
“Harrrr….”
SWISH! SCRUNCH!
However, the first wolf dodged his hasty swing and clamped its jaws on his arm, drawing blood.
“Ah!”
He grimaced in pain, hastily attempting to shake it off.
“Get off me, you mangy mutt!”
But before he could regain his composure, another wolf pounced, claws slashing across his chest.
“Grrrrrr-!”
THUD!
The impact sent him staggering backward, and his bravado shattered.
‘What is this? Why are they so fast and strong?’
He couldn’t understand it. He was unable to. They were faster and stronger than they were supposed to be.
He struggled to maintain his footing, trying to fend off the relentless assault.
“No, this can’t be happening!” He shouted, feeling the pain all around his body. He wanted to shoo the pain away by shouting, but he understood that it wasn’t possible. The cold wind and the snow weren’t doing good to him either.
“AAAAAH!
Seeing that, he activated the skill he had been hiding as a last resort.
[Strengthen]
It was a simple skill that increased his body’s strength for a short period of time.
SWOOSH! THUD!
With his body starting to shine, he immediately fended the monsters off, making them fly away.
However, the fight had yet to finish.
“Grrrrr….”
The third wolf circled him, looking for an opening. Byron, still reeling from the earlier blows, tried to defend himself.
However, the wolves were coordinated and relentless. They attacked in quick succession, their bites and claws tearing into him.
Even with his increased strength, Byron did one of the worst things a Hunter could do against a monster.
Losing their cool.
As he felt the desperateness of the situation, fear started enveloping his body. Without knowing, he was getting affected by the bloodlust the monsters were releasing, making him feel more desperate.
CLANK! CLANK!
“Don’t come closer, you bastards!”
Panicked and humbled, Byron fought desperately, but he was outmatched. He was able to deal blows to monsters, but none of them died.
Even though the monsters were wounded and losing blood, like frenzied maniacs, they ignored their own lives and continued attacking.
His bravado had turned into desperation as the wolves overpowered him, biting, scratching, and gnashing with a fury that belied their seemingly ordinary appearance.
At that point, he even forgot the reason why he was there. In a matter of one minute, from being a cadet of the academy, he became a random hunted fighting for his life.
“Somebody, help!” he yelled, realizing too late the error of his arrogance. He looked around for help, trying to find someone from his party.
But the party was too far ahead, engrossed in their own battle against the Yeti.
“Grrrrr…”
SWOOSH!
Of course, the monsters with their crimson eyes shining didn’t wait for him to call help in desperation but rather attacked him.
“STOP! DON’T COME CLOSER! I CONCEDE! I CONCEDE!”
As the onslaught continued, Byron’s vision blurred with pain and fatigue. He could feel his strength waning, and his struggles grew feeble.
He continued to repeat the same words, remembering if they encountered a monster they couldn’t win against, they would need to call for help.
“This can’t be the end… Not like this… Why is this happening? Wasn’t the academy supposed to protect us?”
SWOOSH!
However, just as he was about to lose consciousness, suddenly, he saw a bunch of arrows flying all over the place.
“Tch…..That is why you were an extra, and you will always stay like that…..”
And a click of the tongue with a voice filled with annoyance was the last thing he had heard before losing his consciousness…..
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You can check my discord if you want. You can see the illustrations of characters there.
The link to the discord server is in the description of the book.