### Chapter: 172
Kraush Triumphs Over Mary
After defeating Mary, Kraush staggered to the edge of the forest and leaned against a tree.
His mind was foggy.
His body ached everywhere.
He had pushed himself to the max just to move through Mary’s Incredible Speed Beyond Time.
“…What a monster,” he muttered.
Even after working himself to the bone to get here, the situation was still precarious.
He couldn’t help but feel again just how powerful Divine Spear really was.
This made him recall the days when he was at his prime and could barely touch someone like Mary.
Not even she could stop the impending doom of destruction.
Now, it was up to him to stop himself after breaking her spear.
[ Are you really going to take the exam looking like that? ]
The Crimson Garden asked, and Kraush sweat profusely as he barely exhaled.
“I’ll be fine after a little rest.”
[ Yeah, right. ]
“Chirp, chirp.”
The dead rat peeking out from his pocket seemed equally worried.
“It’s not like my clothes took any damage, so it’s all good.”
Probably due to his focus being at its peak, he managed to block all of Mary’s attacks despite his weary state.
However, his mental fatigue was screaming at him.
‘Damn, why do I keep feeling so sleepy?’
Kraush shook his head to clear his foggy mind.
‘But the score is the problem. What to do.’
So far, he had taken out a good number of Degradation Species along the way.
Mary, too, had eliminated quite a few of them to reach this point, so her score would be transferred to Kraush.
Thanks to that, his score soared to 1,632 points, putting him in the top position.
But that didn’t mean the other second-year students would just sit back and relax.
While reaching the red line might be impossible, there would definitely be those aiming for the orange line.
‘Especially those in the Special Class will definitely go for it.’
Thus, a sudden score reversal wasn’t out of the question.
‘At the very least, I want to hunt a few more in the orange line.’
He felt he needed to move as soon as he recovered.
Just as Kraush was confirming this in his mind…
Twitch!
Kraush’s shoulder jolted reflexively.
His gut feeling had detected someone approaching.
This was bad.
If he encountered someone now, it was clear they would attack the exhausted first place.
They wouldn’t get another chance to hunt down the tired leader.
‘Damn luck is really bad today.’
Kraush gripped Rain Thunder Prime again.
But his Annihilation Erosion didn’t properly activate.
It could barely muster enough power to create a blade.
‘The ones daring enough to come this far must be strong.’
Just as Kraush was narrowing his gaze on the forest…
Crunch!
As he was getting ready for a surprise attack, he heard a noise from the grass.
BAM!
A figure burst through the bushes.
At that moment Kraush stepped forward and spotted hair mixed with black and purple and a pin.
And then an ecstatic smile bloomed on the figure’s face.
“Kraush!”
Seeing her cheerfully call out his name, Kraush lowered his weapon.
“Haring.”
He couldn’t believe she had come all the way here.
Despite the fierce battle with Mary, Kraush had pushed himself to his limits beforehand.
That Haring managed to keep up at all showed just how much she had improved.
‘Guess I’m not the only one growing stronger.’
Kraush felt an unexpected swell of emotion.
He realized his influence played a role in Haring’s recent training.
When he called her name, Haring rushed to him but soon noticed his condition.
“Did you get into a fight?”
At Haring’s question, Kraush lightly lifted his clothes.
“As you can see.”
“Not with a Degradation Species, right?”
Her intuition was sharp.
Kraush nodded coolly, and Haring approached him.
Then she opened her potion bag and started pulling out items.
“These will restore your vitality. You should eat this, it’ll help.”
Kraush blinked in surprise as Haring offered him a potion.
Without skipping a beat, she urged him to drink it.
“…Haring, didn’t you forget something?”
“What do you mean?”
Haring tilted her head in confusion, not grasping what he was getting at.
In that innocent face, Kraush almost forgot this was an exam.
“You know we’re in the mid-term evaluation, right? You and I are both competitors here.”
Haring’s eyes widened.
She finally realized what Kraush was hinting at.
“I’m not going to get poisoned or anything.”
She confidently leaned forward, suggesting that he shouldn’t worry about the potion she handed him.
Although Haring belonged to the Lagrain family, his words made Kraush think twice.
Haring seemed to completely disregard that they were in the midst of an exam.
“And there’s nothing that says we can’t help someone in the mid-term evaluation.”
That was indeed true.
As Haring pointed out, there had been no prohibition against helping each other.
Plus, it made Kraush spot one critical flaw in the exam.
‘…How will the points be handled if we hunt down the Degradation Species together?’
It was something he hadn’t considered, at least not until Mary had pushed him to this point.
An orange line of sixth-level monsters was usually out of reach for most second-year students.
Not to mention, the seventh-level monsters on the red line were practically untouchable.
Only he could handle them without a scratch.
Yet, Professor Ganon had only arranged the competition among the students without instructing them not to cooperate.
‘So that’s why the score ranges are so vast.’
Once Kraush reached that conclusion…
‘It might be that the points are evenly distributed.’
If the score’s range was broad, then even an equal distribution would still be worth it to team up to hunt Degradation Species.
And Professor Ganon likely intended for that to happen, allowing students to form cooperative relationships instead of letting them tear each other apart.
Kraush instantly popped the potion Haring handed him into his mouth.
As he chewed and swallowed, he clapped a hand on Haring’s shoulder.
“Haring, you’re right.”
“Right?”
Haring jolted a bit, noticing his hand on her shoulder, and Kraush’s eyes sparkled.
“Collaboration, that’s what the professor intended.”
It was a relief that the second exam participant he met was Haring.
If it weren’t for her, he might not have caught on to the weaknesses of the exam.
“You and I are going to go hunt the seventh-level Degradation Species together.”
Had Kraush not been upbeat, Haring wouldn’t have blinked twice.
“Okay, I’ll do my best!”
Kraush found joy in the look on her face that showed she was happy to lean on him.
Suddenly, a wave of presences rushed toward them.
It was clear that some top-tier students were heading this way.
Feeling the slight recovery from Haring’s potion, Kraush got ready to move.
“Wow, look! It’s Kraush!”
“Kraush, is that really you?”
“Kraush-nim!”
Three figures suddenly materialized before them.
Belorkin Hogma
Glen Diana
Karandis Poseus
Sure enough, the trio from the Special Class was appearing from different directions.
The three exchanged glances and hesitated, aware that they were all rivals.
“Perfect timing, all three of you.”
The most necessary allies for this moment had gathered.
As Kraush grinned, the three looked puzzled.
Just then, Glen began surveying the area.
He felt another intense presence, different from Kraush’s, as he approached.
Without a doubt, it belonged to Mary.
Their gazes locked, and as Kraush nodded, Glen realized and tightened his grip on his spear.
“…I see.”
Mary had lost to Kraush.
In a part of his heart where he once idolized her, Glen raised his head.
“Kraush, you’re gonna pull off something impressive again, aren’t you?”
That was just how he operated—pulling off insane feats.
And this time, it seemed he was planning something extraordinary.
“Yeah, I’m about to do something fun.”
Originally intended to be a solo act, he thought it might work out better to collaborate under Professor Ganon’s guidance.
“Let’s go hunt some seventh-level Degradation Species together.”
After all, let’s create a temporary Alliance of the Skies.
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