Chapter 35
“Good morning.”
As I entered the classroom, the class president greeted me as if she had been waiting for me.
When I nodded in response, she smiled slightly and took some cleaning tools from the storage room.
Naturally, we quietly cleaned the classroom together in the morning.
Seeing the smiling class president complicated my feelings.
When I was having lunch alone with Sylvia, the class president had been staring at me intently.
Even though she had apologized and could have sat next to me, she kept a bit of distance, perhaps still worried about what she had said to me before.
I knew what kind of relationship she wanted to have with me.
I also knew what to say that would make her happy.
However, I thought I had no right to be that person, as I had originally planned to ignore her fate despite knowing what could happen to her.
So, I forced myself to act like I didn’t see her whenever she hovered around me during breaks, and even when we did talk, I kept it short on purpose.
Still, the kindness wrapped in the chocolates she had given me, along with the promises we had made, meant that the time we spent together every morning was accumulating in my heart, growing too significant to ignore.
As a result, I couldn’t help but think about it.
I didn’t want the class president to die.
*
“Everyone, attention! Today, we’re going to have a mock combat training just like last time! But this time, we’ll be divided into teams of five, and instead of choosing each other, you’ll be paired up with people pre-determined by the teacher!”
Eve shouted to the students gathered in the gymnasium, where construction materials were still piled up and the entrance was open.
I recalled the mock combat training we had last time.
The class president and the spear thrower had practically carried me through it.
Other than making a big goblin drink something called Fire Punch at the end, I hadn’t really done much.
It would be nice if today’s training could be as easy as the last.
As if she could read my thoughts, Eve said with a meaningful look, “The previous combat training was set to a child’s level since it was your first time. Today, you’ll face not weak monsters like before, but beasts! So be mentally prepared!”
The expressions of the students stiffened at the mention of the beasts.
The students who had enrolled in Aegis Academy to become heroes were relatively strong.
At least compared to ordinary people.
But when the comparison turned to beasts, it changed the story.
Most of the students in this class would struggle to face even a single low-level beast on their own.
That was also why the students had panicked when Eve had shown them a projection of the beast on the first day.
Beasts with unique abilities, like creating barriers that keep intruders from escaping, are usually classified as intermediate or higher.
When they couldn’t leave the classroom due to Eve’s illusion, they mistook it for an intermediate beast. An intermediate beast is already a tough opponent for active heroes, so it was normal to panic.
People like Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia, who could charge at an intermediate beast without fear, were exceptions.
Those two could probably excel right away if they stepped onto the field as active heroes.
The point was that unless I was in the same group as Sylvia or Yoon Si-woo, it would be a challenging training session.
Please, please let me be in the same group as Sylvia!
“Alright, I’ll call out the teams! By the way, Si-woo, Evande, and Sylvia are all in different teams this time!”
My expectations were crushed from the very beginning.
The only consolation was that I was in the same group as the class president.
The other team members were two male classmates whose faces I recognized but had never spoken to, and a girl who I remembered for her intense dislike of bugs.
As I nodded to the team members who greeted me, I heard Eve’s voice.
“Today’s training will be set up to resemble a real battle as closely as possible, so be careful not to die while training. We’ve set up some safety measures, so it won’t feel like you’re really dying, but it won’t be a pleasant experience. After all teams complete their training, we’ll review the training footage together to discuss what needs to be improved, so let’s start with team 1.”
Eve, who usually spoke cheerfully, was now serious about the gravity of the situation, which drained the color from the students’ faces.
Team 1 was Yoon Si-woo’s group.
As Yoon Si-woo and four other students stepped forward, Eve snapped her fingers.
With the snap, the students’ images vanished.
Unlike last training, there wasn’t a screen displaying what was happening, so we couldn’t see what the students were doing.
The students reappeared after ten minutes.
The members of Yoon Si-woo’s team looked at him with expressions full of awe and admiration.
Since the original story hadn’t provided a description of this training, I had no idea what had happened inside, but judging by their reactions, it seemed like Yoon Si-woo had put on quite the show.
Next up was team 2, which included Sylvia.
When they reappeared ten minutes later, all team members except Sylvia were panting heavily.
Sylvia was pretending to be fine, but her posture was a bit off, indicating that it had not been easy.
Seeing the other team members exclaim how amazing Sylvia was, I could understand the gist of it.
And then it was our turn, team 3.
The members of team 3, including the class president and me, lined up in front of Eve.
Eve snapped her fingers, and the scenery changed.
Before our eyes was a residential area with buildings.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary city.
However, because we were aware that this was a combat training scenario, the team members formed a defensive formation, placing the girl with the intense dislike of bugs in the center while the rest surrounded her, keeping a vigilant lookout.
Since she was a telekinetic, we had agreed beforehand that the melee fighters would protect her.
As we slowly moved forward, a large dog-like monster appeared around the corner.
Just as I was about to warn everyone, the class president and the team members spoke up.
“Beast spotted up ahead, looks like it’s targeting us!”
“Ugh… I see one over here too!”
“I have one on my side…”
It seemed we were surrounded by beasts.
With the girl in the center taking on a commanding role, she spoke in a trembling voice.
“Everyone, take on one beast each! I’ll try to create openings for you from the center!”
As she finished speaking, the dog-like monster lunged towards us.
Its ferocious appearance made my heart leap, but I had to manage at least one on my own.
Clenching my fist, I prepared for a counter-attack while dodging its attacks.
Attack, attack.
With my superior physical abilities, I could see and react to most attacks.
So, I planned to dodge and then land a punch somehow.
Just as I was filled with the thought of dodging the charging monster, something unexpected happened.
The beast leaped over my head instead of attacking in front of me.
Caught off guard by the monster’s surprising behavior, my mind and body froze for a moment.
This is bad, I thought as I turned my body quickly.
The class president and the two male students were holding off one beast each with their weapons.
The beast that had jumped over me was now rushing towards the girl in the center.
In a panic, the girl stretched out her hand towards the beast, and suddenly, its body froze mid-air.
It was her telekinesis.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Taking advantage of the beast’s pause, I engulfed my fist in flames and struck it.
The monster fell limp, as if breath was snatched away.
Once we helped the struggling boys bring down their beasts, soon the class president also managed to take down hers, catching her breath.
Thank goodness, there were no serious injuries.
Despite my superior physical abilities allowing me to cover for others, I wasn’t accustomed to actual combat, so sometimes my mind couldn’t keep up.
“I’m sorry. I should have handled that better…”
“It’s fine. I’m in the center to manage such unexpected situations.”
I bowed my head and apologized to the girl, who waved her hand, saying it was alright.
“You can reflect on this later. Get ready again; it looks like more are coming,” said the class president.
Surprised by her words, we quickly looked around to see big dog-like beasts charging toward us, identical to the ones we just defeated.
We quickly reformed our formation and prepared for battle.
“There are five of them! Everyone take one! I’ll try to hold one back as much as possible!”
The girl’s voice rang from behind.
Five of them? This time, we absolutely couldn’t let one slip away.
With that thought, I grabbed one of the charging beasts with both arms.
As I set my hands ablaze, the beast let out a painful scream.
My hands trembled.
If I could end it in one blow, it would at least be better.
The roar of the burning creature pierced my ears.
No matter how hard I tried not to, I couldn’t help but hear it.
The modern person’s sensibilities, unaccustomed to violence, churned my stomach.
Because of that, it took me longer to strangle the beast’s breath away, and I reacted too late to the girl’s scream behind me.
When I turned around, I found that the beast had broken free from the telekinetic grip and was lunging at me.
The beast in my arms was still struggling for breath.
As I barely managed to finish it off, another beast was already inches away from me.
“Scarlett!!”
I heard the class president’s shout.
Before I knew it, she had rushed toward me and plunged her sword into the back of the beast that was about to attack me.
At the same time, I saw another beast sink its teeth into her neck.
Blood gushed out, and I screamed something while smashing the head of the beast that was biting her.
But the class president, sprawled on the ground, no longer moved.
The class president was dead.
Because of me.
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