Chapter 380

“So, uh… a wheel battle strategy? Attacking non-stop?”

“Yup.”

“You guys chose that because you have the numbers?”

“Yup.”

Time passed, and it was the last day of the exam.

During that time, I had caught students like rats, which helped me gather new information.

I figured that fighting when I’m in peak condition would be pointless, so I decided to chip away at them gradually.

We would take turns battling in preparation for later skirmishes.

‘Are these guys complete idiots?’

Hearing that left me speechless. Were they really that clueless about me?

Not just me; my teammates who were listening were equally astounded.

“Don’t you guys know about Sivar? Do you even know where he came from?”

It was Kara asking. She had an equally bewildered expression.

The student who was bound tilted his head. His face was swollen from the previous battle.

“I know he came from the Chaos Forest. What does that have to do with anything?”

“What does it have to do with it? He lived there! Sleeping must have been a challenge!”

“I didn’t sleep.”

Even though my body didn’t need sleep, I hadn’t had the time for it anyway.

Were predators the reason? That was partially true.

What really bothered me were the snakes and insects that kept crawling around.

Predators are at least big; those little pests forced me to be constantly on guard.

‘They eventually turned into snacks, though.’

Every day was a wheel battle until I fully acclimated. So my physical strength was my only asset.

Yet this tactic was used without knowing that. This is why knowing your enemy is crucial.

Anyway, putting that aside, I could somewhat tolerate the ambushes until now.

But I absolutely couldn’t stand this one.

“You guys are from the Eastern Empire. Right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Th-that’s right, but…”

Well, it seems communication would be smooth now. I glared at them, my usual silly expression replaced by seriousness.

The students looked overly tense, as if they had a vague sense of what might happen to them.

Until now, students had just ripped off bracelets, but not these guys. They committed an unforgivable crime.

“Even dogs won’t mess with you while you’re eating.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve heard that before, right?”

“Uh, well…”

One student hesitated. Being from the Eastern Empire, he seemed to realize what I meant.

One of the worst offenses they committed was ambushing us during mealtime.

They even knocked over all the food we had painstakingly prepared, ruining our whole meal.

So I was extremely angry and captured them directly. I wanted to ask why they had done this.

‘I’d love to put a wet towel over their faces, but…’

That could lead to disciplinary action. Torture is strictly forbidden by regulations.

But I couldn’t just let them go. I’d make sure to harass them in some way, just out of spite.

It was also a coincidence that Kara was quite angry herself. I consulted with her while leaving the bound students behind.

“What do you want to do? It looks like a final battle is coming up soon.”

“Attach bombs to their bodies?”

“If you do that, you’ll get expelled, not just disciplined.”

Hmm. Yeah, hostage bombs might be a bit extreme.

Moreover, this exam didn’t even allow bombs. I heard they got banned from the test.

You might ask why Karas wasn’t here, but honestly, I have no clue where he is.

I don’t know if he’s running around or coming up with his own strategy; it’s unclear.

‘Well, he’s not the type to do something pointless.’

He has a brilliant mind, even if it’s sometimes used for strange things.

So, there’s no real need to worry; I’ll just focus on the final battle ahead.

“Ah, I have a good idea.”

“It’s not strange, is it?”

“Nah. Bury them with just their heads above ground.”

If someone else heard that, they’d probably think, “What kind of barbaric idea is that?”

You could argue that leaving just the heads above ground isn’t barbaric, but it’s not exactly something they can just escape from either.

Plus, adding honey or fish bits on top of their heads would lure in animals to eat them.

Some countries have even used that as a method of execution, so you can imagine how vicious it is.

“…Where did you see that? A book?”

“No? It’s what I thought of.”

“How does this guy come up with these ideas…?”

Kara muttered with a puzzled tone after hearing my suggestion. She was in disbelief.

Anyway, I let that slide, and in the end, I had no choice but to harass them in a humanitarian way.

Even that was a kind of mercy when done upside down.

“Mercy? Have you ever been hung upside down?”

“Uh huh.”

“If done wrong, you could die.”

“Oh yeah?”

That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Is it because blood rushes to your head? I started walking while receiving Kara’s nagging.

“Don’t compare a normal person with my standards.” But honestly, I wanted to argue about that.

‘There are only monsters around.’

There are often times of cognitive dissonance about the state of this world.

Some can withstand spears and swords, while others can’t even lift a spoon.

I guess you could say the polarization is severe. Whether due to magic or not, the strength of people varies extremely.

‘Things happen that science can’t even explain.’

From cutting space to teleporting, there’s just so much that defies scientific explanation.

I truly admired Jane, who accomplished incredible inventions in a world where science is neglected.

Especially since she just had her talents awakened, there’s so much more room for growth.

‘By the way, I wonder what she’s making now?’

In the Soul World, the budget was so lacking, the Steel Suit only came out late.

But now with full support, the Steel Suit appeared early. So what is Jane working on now?

I predict she’s looking for improvement points. The prototype indeed has its shortcomings.

“…Bar.”

“…”

“Sivar? Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah?”

I missed what Kara said while lost in thought. I blinked and stared at her.

Kara made a sulking face and gently pinched my cheek.

“Were you not listening and lost in thought?”

“Ugh.”

“Alright. Sister will ask again. So what are you going to do next?”

What am I going to do? I thought while she pinched my cheek.

She must be talking about the upcoming grand battle. I rolled my eyes, glancing at her finger.

The orange ring that should have been on my left index finger was replaced with a red one.

That was a treasure taken from Reina, while the orange ring was over there. The same went for the green treasure.

“You know, these aren’t people you can underestimate. It’s possible for you to take them down alone, but they might just stubbornly target the bracelets.”

“Mmhm.”

“So let me ask. Should I fight by assisting you, or should we go our separate ways?”

I answered without hesitation.

“Am I not protecting you?”

“…”

Kara looked at me with a dumbfounded expression at my reply. It was a reaction she hadn’t expected.

Then her face turned slightly red, and after clearing her throat, she averted her gaze.

“Um, I didn’t think of that. I’ve never been protected before.”

“How does it feel?”

“Well…”

Kara touched the back of her neck, a habit she had when having difficulty answering.

Eventually, after observing me for a while, she smiled softly and said in a clear voice.

“This treatment isn’t bad.”

“Really?”

“Just don’t do that when we go to Tartar. It’ll be so awkward I’ll die of embarrassment.”

“Then I’ll do it more.”

“Don’t you dare!”

When someone says not to do something, that makes you want to do it even more.

I stared intently at the embarrassed Kara. She flinched under my gaze.

Eventually, the words that slipped out of my mouth were in Tartar language, not the common tongue.

“Princess?”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Well. That reaction was priceless.

I’ll have to use that one again and again.

As Kara was having a fit, I continued to chuckle as I walked on.

The place we arrived at was a village. As soon as we got there, I could sense it.

‘They’re all gathered here.’

Before long, all the students would swarm us here.

The sun had started to set, and there wasn’t much time left until the exam ended.

*****

“You’re here.”

Namgoong Seokdae muttered calmly. His murmuring caused the students around him to wear tense faces.

Currently, they were hiding in one of the village houses. Preparing for the impending final battle.

If the students sent just before had been eliminated, they would likely have resurrected by now. Of course, that was only his assumption.

He didn’t know that they had been turned upside down for ambushing us during mealtime.

“What do we do now?”

“What about the Frozen Princess?”

Namgoong Seokdae searched for Reina. For the students, she was a crucial part of their battle power.

Even though they had lost the red treasure, her strength was vital.

To exaggerate slightly, she accounted for about half of their forces.

“She says she’s eating a can of food because she’s hungry.”

“Well, there’s not much we can do about that.”

You can’t help being hungry. Excluding Reina, Namgoong Seokdae began planning their strategy.

It was nearly impossible to defeat that grotesque creature, Sivar, in a direct fight. Having fought him once, he knew that.

Still, it was nearly impossible, not entirely. If they could just remove the bracelets, they could temporarily incapacitate him.

“But doing that would require a significant sacrifice… Is there any sharp method?”

“What if we all rush in and grab an arm or leg each?”

“Maybe if it were just one person, but now we have the Tartar princess. Rejected.”

“How about sniping just for bracelets?”

“Then, we might get hit by another meteor. Rejected.”

A decent strategy was hard to come by. First, the balance of power was mismatched.

Some fought with spears while others lifted the earth with a gesture.

Having both mages and sorcerers didn’t help either. Namgoong Seokdae’s head started to ache.

‘Why is someone who could step into the general’s position like this…?’

He hadn’t realized before, but having fought directly, he understood. Sivar was not someone who belonged in the academy.

He possessed enough strength that it wouldn’t be surprising for powerful countries to try recruiting him.

However, because of his ‘background’ and ‘origin,’ there were hardly any who would openly try to take him away.

In fact, it was Rod who was preventing Sivar’s comfortable school life, but there’s no way to know that.

‘Bringing him to the Hwan Empire… is probably difficult.’

Namgoong Seokdae shook his head.

It was fortunate if they didn’t cruelly abandon him or point fingers at him simply for lacking a proper background.

The Eastern Empire was conservative in many ways, so this kind of thing wouldn’t easily be forgiven.

Would it be fine if a civil war broke out? That’s a laughable thought.

Even if a sword were shoved in their bellies, those old farts wouldn’t easily approve.

“Still, compared to before, the chances are higher now. Is everyone ready?”

“I’m ready! Let’s go!”

“…Huh?”

Whose voice was that? Namgoong Seokdae and the other students looked on in bewilderment.

It was a familiar voice, but what the owner did next left them utterly confused.

-Bang!

First, she kicked open the door of the house with a bang.

“Uraaaaaaaaaah~!!”

Reina charged at Sivar and Karas, her azure hair flowing in the wind.

In her empty hands, an axe flew in and landed perfectly.

Namgoong Seokdae and the students watched helplessly as Reina rushed in without a plan.

“…Goodness. That person just jumped in alone?”

“Run after her! Follow the plan!”

“W-what plan?!”

At the flustered question from a student, Namgoong Seokdae shouted.

“What else could it be! We’re hunting beasts!”

The dogfighting had begun.

Meanwhile, the recklessly charging Reina, or Leroy rather…

‘Since winning is hard anyway, I might as well throw myself into the fray!’

Her mind felt utterly liberated.

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