The next day, the stadium was once again packed and brought alive by the loud cheers of the audience. The exam had already started, and the announcer was busy running his mouth as he described the spectacular performance put on by the group of second years.
"...With coordinated teamwork and a desperate gamble, the group of second years has managed to rescue the fairy maiden from captivity!" His voice bood across the stadium as the crowd erupted in another round of cheers.
However, the audience’s excitent soon shrank as a massive figure made its way onto the screen, its size at least twice as big as the students.
BAM!
PHEW!
"Shit!" Zeke cursed loudly as he was sent flying from blocking the giant’s club with his spear. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as his eyes searched the room for a way out of this predicant.
Glancing behind him, he saw that the remaining students had picked up Iris, who still remained unconscious at this mont. Looking forward, he saw the fifteen-foot-tall gray giant blocking the only exit to the chamber they found themselves trapped in.
Feeling his hands still shaking from just blocking a blow from the giant, he knew that fighting that thing was not an option, but neither was abandoning the people behind him.
After all, one of the optional objectives for their exam was to save the captured fairy. Although it had nothing to do with their main objective of mapping the castle or any promised rewards, none of the students dared to believe that there wasn’t a hidden plot sowhere here.
That’s why, despite the danger, he, along with a few elite students from his class, made the daring trip to enter the castle’s dungeons in search of Iris. They had already lost more than half their numbers just trying to get here, and now they found themselves cornered by a seemingly unbeatable foe.
Even as he looked for an escape, the giant was already fast approaching their group, its massive club scraping against the cobble floor.
"Everyone, prepare to run!"
Zeke shouted as he got up, facing off against the charging giant head-on. At that mont, his body temperature started to rapidly rise, his body taking on a shade of red as a strange blood mist began to seep out of the pours of his skin. Under that state, he looked no different than a devil as he crouched down with his spear pointed forward.
Just when the giant was only a few feet away from him, Zeke suddenly dashed forward at an incredible speed, his figure transforming into a red blur.
The giant, who barely had ti to raise his club, was unable to respond as Zeke slipped between the gap in his legs before spinning on his heels.
"Hup!"
Taking on a traditional martial stance, Zeke spun around and slamd his shoulder into the giant’s back! The blood mist aura around him rising sharply!
Mountain Crushing Shoulder!
BOOM!
An imnse force collided with the giant, causing it to stumble forward as it fell to the floor.
In that ti, the other students had already manage run around the fallen giant and were quickly rushing towards the exit of the chamber.
"Argh, fuck!" Zeke cursed again as he felt his shoulder go numb, the bloody aura around him rapidly fading.
"Zeke! Hurry up!" The other students called for him from the exit.
He didn’t stick around to wait until the giant got back up and quickly exited the dungeon, catching up to the rest of the group as they traveled down the long corridor.
"ARRRH!"
Just then, a loud roar erupted from behind them. Everyone’s expression instantly turned pale hearing it. Zeke took one glance behind his back and saw the massive figure of the giant rushing down the hallway, its every step causing the room to shake.
"Run faster!" Zeke shouted as he turned back to the front, no longer daring to look back. To speed things up, he even picked up Iris from the other students and slung her over his back.
Using his Mid Rank Martial Warrior strength, he surged ahead of everyone, running more desperately than the others.
While Zeke’s rescue group continued to run for their lives, the rest of the second years had already made significant progress toward completing their main objective.
More than 90% of the castle had already been mapped, with only the inner courtyard needing to be finished.
Thankfully, a group of students had already infiltrated it and were busy running around the map as fast as possible, opting to complete the objective instead of engaging in combat with the pack of ferocious monsters chasing after them.
In this manner, the final 10% of the map was completed, with the remaining students being teleported out.
In the stadium, Bramble released a sigh upon seeing Iris slowly wake up in the middle of the field along with the other students.
After another round of exciting announcents from Sheldon, the contents of the third-year exam scheduled to be held tomorrow morning were revealed.
Thanks to the second years’ relentless mapping of the castle, a few important clues were discovered. First, the Demon King is said to reside in the throne chamber, sealed by a powerful barrier that prevents him from leaving. Unfortunately, the barrier is rapidly weakening, and by tomorrow it is expected to completely shatter.
Second, stationed around the castle are three elite boss monsters, thematically nad the three horsen of the demon castle, and upon defeating them, a portion of the demon king’s power is sealed.
Just from these two pieces of information, the contents of tomorrow’s exam were made clear to anyone.
Defeat the Three Horsen and weaken the demon king before the seal is broken. Only then will they be able to fight the demon king.
While people were still theorizing about who or what the Three Horsen could be based off snippets of information they saw during the stream, the rest of the second years along with Iris had already retreated backstage.
****
"Urgh, my head..." Iris grumbled, stumbling out of the lobby entrance and squinting in the daylight. A wave of dizziness made her reach for the wall to steady herself.
"Iris!"
A blur of green and gold shot through the air before soone collided with her midsection, small arms wrapping around her in a vice-like grip.
"Oof! Sylph?"
Iris was taken aback by the sudden assault, but upon laying eyes on Sylph, a small feeling of warmth swelled in her heart.
"Are you okay? Do you feel unwell anywhere? Should I heal you? Do you need sothing to eat? Are you thirsty? Are your wings okay? Can you fly? Should I carry you?"
Question after question exited Sylphs mouth without any signs of stopping.
"S-Slow down, Sylph. You’re speaking too fast..."
Sylph’s rapid-fire questions naturally left Iris feeling sowhat overwheld, especially after having awoken from that recent ordeal.
"Ah, sorry! You’re probably still dizzy, aren’t you?!" Before she even finished speaking, she raised her hand as a gentle glow enveloped her palms that massaged Iris’s temples. "Don’t worry! I’ll heal you right away!"
Although Iris was slightly surprised by how proactive Sylph was being, she stayed still and accepted the treatnt.
"It’s good to see you safe, Sis."
Just then, Bramble approached from the side, followed by Kate and a few other first-year students.
"How are you feeling?" Kate asked.
"Mhm, I’m fine, just a little dizzy." Iris replied.
"What happened during the exam? How did you suddenly get kidnapped?" Another student asked.
"Urgh, I don’t know." Iris furrowed her brow in frustration as she continued, "I was following behind everyone one mont, and in the next, I suddenly blacked out. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the middle of the field a few minutes ago. I didn’t even realize I was captured."
"Mhm." Kate nodded but didn’t continue to question her. "You should rest for now. The finals for the exam are happening tomorrow. Perhaps you can figure out how you got captured by watching then."
"That doesn’t sound too bad." Iris released an exhausted sigh as the other students continued to ask her a few questions. Iris also asked back a few questions and got a rough idea of what happened while she was unconscious.
Just then, Iris had a thought and suddenly asked, "Speaking of the exam, where the hell was that bastard?"
Everyone’s expressions subtly froze at Iris’s question. They didn’t need to hear a na to know who Iris was referring to.
"Oh? I wondered about that, too..." A slightly tranquil voice ca from Kate, who folded her arms. She had a subtle smile on her face, but a bone-chilling iciness radiated from her that caused the other students to shrink back.
"Why don’t we find him and ask him?" There was a subtle edge to Kate’s voice that left no room for negotiation. She hadn’t forgotten how he had up and left without explaining anything yesterday and was still fuming underneath, even if she restrained herself from openly showing it.
Seeing the mood, Bramble couldn’t help but interject, "Not that I object to finding him... but how exactly are we to do that? He isn’t exactly known to be readily available whenever we want him to be."
Bramble’s words poured a bucket of cold water onto Kate’s and Iris’s building fury, causing them to visibly deflate as they sighed. They both knew what Bramble said was true, but it did little to ease the frustration in both of their minds.
"Hm?" Sylph, who had been anxiously wringing her hands, suddenly perked up, her elongated ears twitching. She tilted her head, listening to sothing only she could hear. A tiny spark of recognition lit her eyes. "He’s... close."
Before anyone could question her, she zipped away, a green streak darting towards the main entrance.
"Sylph, wait!" Bramble called, but she was already rising above the departing crowd, her airborne form drawing curious looks.
The others hurried after her, arriving just in ti to see Sylph hovering in mid-air, her face lit up with joy as she spotted a familiar figure. She opened her mouth to call his na, but—
"Mmph!"
Her words were smothered by an invisible force. Confused, she clutched at her throat, only to see Lake looking directly at her, a single finger raised to his lips in a clear, urgent signal for silence.
It was then that Sylph, and the others catching up behind her, saw her. The stunning, unknown woman with her arm linked possessively through Lake’s, leaning in to whisper sothing in his ear.
The group stopped dead in their tracks. All the frustration, the questions, the planned confrontations—everything vanished, replaced by pure, unadulterated shock.
Snap.
The jaw dropping shocking scene was suddenly interrupted by the subtle sound of a cara. One of the first year student following behind had aid his wristwatch’s cara function at Lake and took a picture of the woman linking arms with him.
"This is going to blow up..."
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