Chapter 78
Keyzen Training Center.
Fwoooosh.
A man was lifting a massive barbell late into the evening. With each upward press of the Darkness weights, the muscles in his upper body and arms swelled, then contracted repeatedly.
Beside him, a male student fiddling with a dumbbell glanced over hesitantly and said,
“H-Hector.”
THUD!
The heavy barbell dropped with a loud crash that shook the floor. The student flinched and hunched his shoulders.
Fwoooosh…
Hector wiped sweat from his neck with a towel. The black hue shimmering on the barbell faded, and it returned to its original steel form.
“Where are the others?”
“Uh… oh! They’re all gathered in the next building.”
“No need for a long talk. Just relay my words.”
Crack, crack.
As Hector touched his neck, a threatening cracking sound echoed.
“During this island survival assessment, we will take down Simon Follentia.”
Flames blazed in Hector’s eyes.
Finally, the opportunity to crush Simon had arrived. There was no need to wait for a duel evaluation where they might be matched up.
“You guys realized it during the Cyclops evaluation too. As long as that guy’s standing with both eyes wide open, we can never dominate Class A, nor take the top score.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s true.”
“Class A is directly overseen by vice-chancellor Keyzen herself. Taking control of this class is of utmost importance.”
The male student listening to the speech gave a bitter smile inwardly.
At Keyzen, eliminating rivals or competition was an entirely normal and frequent occurrence. Even the factions and alliances would accept such a goal.
But there was something more intense in how Hector dealt with Simon, more than just eliminating a rival.
Why was he so obsessed with suppressing Simon? Was there some grudge between the Moore family and the Follentia family?
“If you understand, then go.”
“O-Okay!”
As Hector lifted the massive barbell once more, it turned pitch black again. It was a training method that honed both physical endurance and mastery of Darkness simultaneously.
Huff!
Sweat poured from Hector’s body like rain.
He was filled with killing intent.
* * *
Keyzen Outskirts.
An abandoned building left unattended for years, worn down and dust-covered, looked like it could collapse at any moment. Moonlight seeped through the holes in the ceiling, and a few flickering bulbs added to the eerie atmosphere.
Into this abandoned building walked a male student, brushing away spiderwebs in annoyance. It was none other than Haren Koak, who had been defeated by Simon in the duel evaluation.
Arriving at the promised meeting place, he looked around. The person who had called him hadn’t arrived yet.
‘I hope this isn’t a waste of time.’
Haren stuffed the crumpled letter in his hand into his pocket and crossed his arms, closing his eyes.
‘...Simon Follentia.’
Even now, he couldn’t forget Simon’s final words.
—I don’t know what kind of grudge you have against me, but with that kind of power, you’ll never beat me.
Grit!
His teeth clenched. That tone, as if he knew everything.
Simon seemed to either know or at least suspect that Haren had undergone procedures by Bahil.
It was dangerous. Haren didn’t understand why Simon hadn’t reported it to Keyzen yet, but as long as his secret was known, it had to be dealt with swiftly.
Haren clenched his fists tightly.
‘This power…’
Even though he had lost to Simon, this power was real, no matter what anyone said.
In last week’s duel evaluation, he had overpowered a student considered superior in every way and advanced into the mid-tier squad.
Because of that, Haren Koak had earned the respect of his classmates and was now mingling with some of the top students.
His self-esteem had been soaring sky-high every day.
‘But…’
He could feel the power gradually fading. Bahil had said the power would only last about two months.
‘No matter what it takes, I need to get back into Professor Bahil’s good graces.’
The only way was to become Bahil’s direct disciple. To do that, he needed to complete the mission he had failed last time.
This time, he would defeat Simon and prove his worth to Bahil.
“W-Who’s there?”
A strange female voice rang out in the abandoned building. Haren replied,
“I’m here alone. Who is it?”
“Ah.”
A girl cautiously peeked her head in, then relaxed when she saw Haren’s uniform and stepped inside.
“You got a letter too?”
“You as well?”
She nodded.
“My name’s Jessica Kananor, from Class H.”
“Haren Koak, Class G. You got a grudge against Simon too?”
She avoided his gaze slightly.
“N-No. He apologized, and it’s not like I hold a grudge or anything…”
“Then why?”
“Just…”
Jessica had felt something during her duel with Simon.
That towering sense of inferiority, like facing a monster born different from the start. And yet, looking back on it, there had been a strange exhilaration.
She wanted to be like that. She wanted to grow stronger than she was now.
Clang—
Just then, a clear footstep echoed through the abandoned building.
Clang— Clang—
Haren and Jessica tensed and scanned their surroundings. Haren shouted,
“Who’s there?!”
The footsteps abruptly stopped. As the two of them began drawing Darkness from their Cores in preparation…
Fwoooosh—
Moonlight poured through the ceiling of the building. The two winced and shielded their eyes.
From the sky—
Someone descended.
They wore a black robe that covered their entire body, and the hood was pulled low, concealing their identity.
Floating midair, their build, age, and gender were impossible to determine.
But the power they radiated was clearly unnatural.
“W-Who…?”
Jessica’s pupils trembled up and down in fear.
This must’ve been the person who sent the letters.
Rather than answering, the figure slowly raised a hand.
Flap!
“…!”
From beneath the robe, massive wings unfurled. Then, raising their hood with a fingertip, they spoke.
“I bring to you an offer you cannot refuse.”
Haren’s eyes widened upon seeing the face beneath the hood.
“Y-You’re…!”
* * *
Island Survival Day.
With a major event approaching, the students of Keyzen were abuzz with excitement, their faces filled with anticipation.
Fourteen large-scale teleportation magic circles were being prepared, and Class A stood on one of them.
A giant central magic circle was inscribed in the center, with smaller ones branching off like leaves. Students stood on the smaller circles.
“I-It’s a bit nerve-wracking, isn’t it?”
Kamibarez trembled slightly as she spoke.
“What if I’m the only one who gets separated from everyone?”
“Your location doesn’t matter, Kami. It’s totally random teleportation.”
Simon replied with a gentle smile.
“If you’re nervous, want to switch spots?”
“N-No! I’m fine!”
“By the way, girls.”
Dick said, resting his arm behind his head.
“Are you really gonna butcher monster meat and eat it?”
“W-Well, I just practiced fishing. Hehe…”
Kamibarez said with a forced smile. Maelyn also let out a light sigh.
“If we’re really starving, we’ll have to eat monsters like we were taught, but for now, let’s aim for the supply drops.”
Supply drops were one of the detailed rules of Island Survival. During the event, occasionally, a large magic circle would appear in the sky.
Then, exactly one minute later, supplies would descend from the magic circle. These included food, and sometimes special artifacts that could only be used during the survival.
The competition was naturally fierce. Any students nearby would definitely be after the supplies.
“Alright! Please get ready!”
At that moment, staff members ran around making announcements.
“We’ll begin teleportation to the island now!”
“Please do not, under any circumstances, step outside the magic circle!”
The students, faces tense, gathered their feet together and waited inside the circles.
Simon waited with his arms crossed, his heart pounding, when he noticed Hector glaring at him from afar.
‘If I run into that guy, we’re definitely gonna have another huge fight.’
He couldn’t understand what he’d done to make Hector so rabidly obsessed with bringing him down.
Still, if they were bound to clash eventually, maybe now was as good a time as any.
Wooooong!
Woooong!
Lights began to glow from the magic circle. Cheers and shrieks erupted from all around.
“E-Everyone, good luck!”
Kamibarez cried out, eyes squeezed shut.
“Hehe, survive and see you back at Keyzen!”
“I told you, right?! Don’t go rushing toward the center like a hotshot and get yourself killed! Just do whatever it takes to not score last!”
Fwoooosh!
Maelyn’s nagging voice scattered as the light from the magic circle grew stronger and stronger.
Simon’s vision turned blurry, and he felt both feet lift lightly off the ground.
The world, which had been filled with only blinding light, slowly began to take shape.
Before his vision returned, Simon’s sense of touch came back first, the sensation of wind tickling his skin. He didn’t rush. He waited patiently until his sight returned, then looked around.
“…Whoa.”
He really had been dropped right into the middle of a jungle.
No matter where he looked, green. Everywhere was green. He had never been in a place with such dense foliage and high plant reproductive density.
Huge-leafed tropical plants, vines wildly overgrowing and blanketing trees. On top of that, an extremely hot and humid climate. The air was heavy, and the ground was damp, as though it had recently rained.
“So we have to survive here for four days, huh?”
Simon’s body trembled slightly.
A strange tension climbed his spine and spread throughout his body. A surge of explosive catharsis bubbled up from within.
“This is gonna be fun!!”
Startled by his shout, birds flapped and scattered from the trees. Feer’s doppelganger, still clinging to Simon’s uniform, woke up and looked at him.
[We’ve arrived, I take it. But why are you so excited?]
“Adventure is calling to me.”
[…You lunatic. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten our objective?]
Simon grinned.
“Of course not. We’ve got to find the Giant Troop’s General, Vikroom, faster than anyone else, right?”
With that, Simon raised a leg and stomped hard on the ground.
Crack!
A sharp sound like something bursting echoed out.
“Nice.”
Simon bent down and picked something up.
[Ugh! What is that? That disgusting thing!]
Simon replied with a beaming smile.
“Today’s snack.”
A massive snake with a net-like pattern lay limp in his hand. Cheerfully, Simon stuffed the dead snake into his subspace.
“Finding snacks this easily, it’s a good start!”
[…Boy, you seem more excited than usual today.]
“I am.”
Simon looked around at the jungle, then smiled confidently.
“No matter what anyone says, this is my stage.”
Leshill’s crazy survival expert had landed on Kera Island.
Superb.