Chapter 168
"What kind of test will it be?"
"It's clear that it includes real combat. A duel with the instructor will definitely be included."
"Please... I hope someone with a weak heart is in charge of me!"
Somewhere in the eastern forest, slightly away from Annwood Academy.
Kids gathered in groups of three or five, each muttering a word.
And we were no different.
"It's the day of the decisive battle. Zero, how's your condition?"
"Keke, not bad. You can tell by looking at my shining appearance."
"Seeing you joke around, you seem fine. Our Rezé is......"
Tremble tremble tremble tremble tremble-.
"I-I-I-I'm f-f-f-fine..."
"...Doesn't look fine."
That's right. Rezé was in a state of extreme anxiety.
Even an alarm clock that wakes you up every morning would shake less than this.
"Zero! Do something! At this rate, the kid will collapse!"
"Keke, look closely. There might be a power-off button somewhere on her body."
"Should I put a button on your body too? A really big one at that?"
Hmm, I see. Our Luna can even make buttons on people's bodies?
Having slit eyes is already a big deal, but if I also have a button on my body? Just imagining it is horrifying.
I politely expressed my refusal. Having one big thing(?) on my body is enough.
"Keke, Rezé. There's no need to worry at all. As I told you before, it's a very simple test where you just need to follow your teammates to pass."
That's right. This pop quiz is a test where twenty people form a team.
Caron will personally make an announcement before it starts.
'Don't make enemies recklessly or you'll be in trouble at the end', he'll say.
It means they won't just point their weapons at Rezé just because she looks weak.
'Well, not everyone will have the same mindset.'
There will be kids who knock down their teammates to raise their ranking even a little.
But they won't be able to easily see through Rezé's [Stealth].
Rezé will easily break through the labyrinth, and with the power of artifacts, she will smoothly pass the 2nd stage, the illusion test.
"B-But! T-The last one isn't, right?"
The last. She's talking about the 3rd stage of the pop quiz.
The 'group duel' test where the survivors form a team and fight Caron.
How to face a strong opponent?
It's a test to find that out.
'Well, most of the kids will probably give up before even fighting.'
Just like the entrance exam, Caron's grading criteria are not disclosed.
But most users said this about this pop quiz.
It's a test that looks at the 'unyielding spirit'.
You could say it's a very Caron-like test. Meaning it's a very perverted test.
"F-Fighting Teacher Caron... T-There's no way I can do it."
"Keke, it's enough if you just follow the plan."
"T-That plan is the problem!"
At first, it's a many-vs-one fight, but if it goes as I expect, it will turn into a 1:1 duel at the end.
A duel between the Killing Machine and the Pufferfish Rabbit!
Anyone can see that in this duel......
"Rezé, you have the advantage."
"D-Don't say such nonsense!"
Rezé shouted loudly.
She has quite a voice for a rabbit. No, is it a scream?
'But it's true that Rezé has the advantage.'
Rezé says it's absurd, but anyone would say Rezé has the advantage.
You can tell just by looking at folk tales like the Tortoise and the Hare.
Everyone expected the hare to win, but through steady efforts, the tortoise wins in a touching tale.
So you can't say the Killing Machine will definitely win against a rabbit either.
Huh? It's unsettling that the rabbit is the main character in both the folk tale and now?
...Our Rezé is different. She's a pufferfish rabbit who faints just from making eye contact, let alone being touched.
She can't be compared to something like a tortoise!
Moreover, she's not just an ordinary pufferfish rabbit. She's...
"Keke, Rezé. Do you know?"
"Kn-Know what?"
"A person dies when shot by a gun."
"...?"
This applies even to the Killing Machine Caron.
Hmm... Maybe not? Since he's a machine, bullets might not work?
Well, it's none of my business. The one who has to fight Caron is not me, but Rezé.
"I-I'll die even if I'm stabbed by a blade too, you know?"
"That's true. But the range of a magic gun is much longer."
"......"
"Look at Luna. She's confident even though I said she has to fight Teacher Caron."
"Because a person dies when stabbed by a sword."
"That's right. As expected, Luna is smart. Rezé, you should learn from her."
"......"
Perhaps because even Luna, her last hope, agreed with my opinion.
Rezé hung her head low and entered despair mode.
At that moment, Luna approached slyly and whispered.
"By the way, I've been curious since last time... How do you know the content of the pop quiz?"
"Keke, well......"
"If you say 'Keke, it's a secret', I'll kill you."
Grrr-.
Luna bared her teeth.
I've already been bitten once in the morning. At this rate, my ear won't survive.
Here, I have no choice but to tell the truth.
"Keke, I just found out through my personal information network."
"Hmm~ Information network. When did you make such a thing?"
"Information is essential in today's world. Luna, if there's something you're curious about, just tell me. I'll get it for you cheaply."
"We're friends, so do it for free. What's the point of having a good friend?"
"Friends are free... Keke, then yours will be free too, right?"
"Isn't that obvious? If there's anything you want, just tell me."
"...Anything?"
"Yeah! I can give you anything!"
Luna said with a bright smile.
Ugh, showing such a pure smile. That's cheating.
Because I just put a lot of meaning into '...Anything?'.
Of course, I'm talking about the legendary artifact Luna has.
"Keke, I'm trash."
"Huh? Suddenly? Why?"
"I'm just trash. From now on, call me trash!"
"I-I'm going to die! I-I'm telling you, I'm going to die!"
"C-Calm down! Calm down, you two!"
It was when I was hugged in Luna's arms along with Rezé.
Smack!!
Someone grabbed my head.
It's Caron.
"Have you now reached the point of degrading yourself? I'm amazed you've far surpassed the category of a pervert at that age."
Only then could I come to my senses.
To think she would confuse me by saying something any man would react to.
Luna. She's a scary kid. Was she not a cat, but a fox?
"It's unfair. This is all because of Luna."
"Don't blame that child for your perverted nature. This is just your problem."
M-Me, a pervert? No way!
Anyone would have had the same thoughts as me in that situation. Right?
"Zero, as punishment for having unhealthy thoughts, I give you 1 demerit point......"
Sparkling-.
It was the moment Caron was about to give me a demerit point.
Luna's eyes sparkled. As if telling him to let it slide this once.
"...I was going to, but I'll specially let it go. Shaking your mentality before the pop quiz would make it an unfair test."
After finishing his words, Caron swiftly left.
Look at that. How is that a cat? She's a fifteen-year-old fox.
"Hmm... So even Teacher Caron is weak to a beauty in the end? Well, it's also because I'm a good student."
"A beauty? Where is she?"
"Right in front of you!"
"Oh, it seems she's far away. Could you move a bit? I can't see well."
Crack-.
My neck was twisted to the right. Of course, by Luna's hand.
Hmm, a neck that doesn't move in the desired direction. It's a sensation I haven't felt in a while.
Luna's face filled my limited field of vision.
"Anyway, this big sis specially saved you. Let's consider it the price for the information about this test."
"Keke, isn't that too cheap?"
"Should I twist it again? Of course, in that direction."
Luna's finger pointed to the right.
She means to make my face face backward.
In the end, I had no choice but to nod.
"From now on, only look at me. Like now."
Yes...
*
"We will now begin the team drawing!"
"Team drawing?"
"That's right. Twenty people per team. You're free to fight or not, but remember this. If you recklessly make enemies, you'll be in trouble at the end."
The forest instantly became noisy.
"We're doing activities in teams? Is this a group test?"
"You'll be in trouble if you make enemies?"
"After achieving certain conditions, we might have to fight other teams."
"Then a group battle between the surviving teams? This might be tougher than I thought."
"The premise itself might be a trap. Maintaining a minimum number of members might be the selection criteria for the advanced class."
Regardless of the kids chattering away.
Caron was just silently doing his job.
"For fairness, we'll form teams by drawing papers. Come forward one by one."
One by one, they go forward and draw a piece of paper from a box.
1~14.
Those with the same number written form a team.
An outdated method. But nothing could be as fair as that.
"Please let me be on the same team as my friends......"
"Is it good to be on the same team? Or bad?"
"Just draw! It's luck!"
The team drawing began. My mouth became slightly dry and felt stuffy.
I unknowingly became nervous. Why, you ask?
'Even I don't know which team I'll belong to.'
I know which teams the main characters belong to, but I don't know which teams Luna, Rezé, and even I will belong to.
In the game, Luna retired at this point, and Rezé wasn't a character I mainly played, so it's impossible to recall.
'I'm a created character, so I'm assigned randomly.'
Knowing the future and preparing for it is my greatest weapon. But even if I know about something random like 'drawing', I can't prepare for it.
'The butterfly effect I've caused through my activities so far can't be ignored either.'
The worst case is that the teams of the main characters get switched up because of us and it interferes with the story.
Based on my experience of playing the game thousands of times, I know such a thing doesn't happen, but I can't be certain.
Eventually, the drawing ended.
"That's it. Gather by teams."
"We're all in different teams?"
"Keke, it's only natural probability-wise."
"I know that too. I'm just saying it because I'm disappointed."
Our teams are as follows.
I'm in Team 13, Luna is in Team 14, and Rezé is......
"T-Team 4! I-I'm going to die! D-Death is waiting for me!"
Rezé collapsed and screamed. In her hand was a piece of paper with the number 4 written on it.
"Move quickly!"
Urged by the instructors, we were scattered.
After arriving at Team 13, I looked around.
For now, let's take a look at the teams that include the main and supporting characters.
Team 2. Alex, Raymon.
Team 4. Yuridia, Teron.
Team 13. Me.
Team 14. Luna, Daike.
'I didn't expect Luna to be on the same team as Daike, but the rest are according to settings.'
The team I'm included in only has extras whose faces I don't even know well.
I was worried about the butterfly effect caused by my existence and Luna's survival, but to this extent, it's negligible.
'Huh? Come to think of it, Rezé's team is definitely......'
I shifted my gaze to where Team 4 was. And I saw it.
"Kuku! To think such an opportunity arises. Yuridia, your life ends here too."
"Oh my! Wouldn't Teron's life end first?"
Kraaaa-!
Grrrr-!
Between Yuridia and Teron, and below them, a rabbit trembling with both hands on its head.
...What the. Why is she stuck there?
A rabbit caught between two carnivores.
"Teams 1 to 5, depart first!"
And so, Rezé left.
Stuck between two carnivores.
--TL Notes--
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