Chapter 148

Read on KatRea​di​ngCafe

Arin moved with urgency.

Eugene and Alice would buy time, but the true nature of the woman in the red fox mask was beyond prediction.

‘Danger Sense’ sent stronger warnings the greater the danger.

The warning when facing the woman was so intense it drowned out all external sounds.

She had faced such dangers several times recently, but such extreme peril was rare.

A life-threatening crisis.

Her ears were muffled, and no sound reached her.

Only the woman held Arin’s gaze.

Her vision turned monochrome, and the only thing with color was the woman.

Arin’s stomach churned violently.

Nausea surged up her throat.

She covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed hard.

Her vision blurred from the extreme tension.

Eugene and Alice were in danger.

She didn’t know how long they could hold out.

She had to act as quickly as possible, no matter what.

‘…Calm down. The more critical the situation, the more composed I need to be. Remember what I learned at the academy.’

Losing composure in battle was akin to throwing away one’s life.

She had always been taught that.

She had always engraved it in her heart.

Despite being driven by urgency and anxiety, Arin tried her best to remain calm.

She organized her chaotic thoughts and prioritized what needed to be done.

First, she requested support from the Celestial Corps.

In this regard, Arin was in a much more advantageous position than others.

Her parents were the captain and vice-captain of the 2nd Division.

Next, she informed the exhibition hall staff of the current situation.

Showing her academy student ID, she explained that a dangerous individual was causing chaos and that the visitors needed to be evacuated immediately.

As an academy student and a provisional Hero, she had some authority to exercise public power in emergencies. 

However, since she wasn’t yet an official member of the Celestial Corps and was young, they didn’t listen. Arin resorted to smashing a wall with her bare hands to urge them into action. 

Using force to intimidate civilians wasn’t right, but time was of the essence. Lives were at stake—her friends’ lives.

Up to this point, things had gone relatively smoothly.

An emergency broadcast echoed through the exhibition hall, announcing the crisis.

The visitors, though anxious, followed the instructions and headed for the exits.

The problem arose after that.

“…What? Wait, huh?”

Arin stammered in confusion.

Danger Sense sent a fierce warning.

At first, she thought it was because of the woman in the red fox mask.

But no. This was a ‘different danger.’

“A spatial…rift? Here?”

A crack had formed in the exhibition hall’s ceiling. It looked familiar. She had seen it several times before. But the location was unusual. 

Spatial rifts occurred in the sky. Monsters poured down like rain. Like a downpour. Like a sudden shower. Like a sunshower. That was the usual. They didn’t occur underground or inside buildings. At least, not until now.

“Good grief.”

The unidentified woman alone was more than enough danger.

But now, a spatial rift had appeared here too.

It was like adding insult to injury.

Why were such horrific events happening one after another?

Arin wanted to grab someone by the collar and demand answers.

The situation had changed again.

Realizing belatedly that some of the speakers were broken, Arin went to spread the news herself, only to encounter the spatial rift. The area where the speakers were located had been shattered by the spatial rift, so no broadcast could come from there.

Thanks to the evacuation broadcast that had gone out normally, visitors were leaving the exhibition hall, but many still remained.

If monsters attacked in this situation, the casualties would be too horrifying to even mention.

It was only a matter of time before screams of terror filled the air.

Monsters began to emerge through the shattered space.

The ‘mental corruption’ of the monsters, which eroded the human mind just by being near them.

For non-supernaturals, withstanding such mental attacks was overwhelming.

People screamed in panic.

The uneasy murmurs were swallowed by explosive fear.

It was chaos.

Rules and etiquette crumbled.

People began pushing and shoving each other as they fled.

Arin clenched her teeth and gripped the sword at her waist.

As an academy student, she always carried a weapon for emergencies.

Yes, the reason she always carried a weapon, no matter how inconvenient, was for moments like this.

She looked down at her slightly trembling hand.

Her palm was damp with cold sweat.

She took a short breath and clenched her fist tightly.

Arin moved in the direction Danger Sense indicated.

A dangerous place meant there were monsters there.

‘The spatial rift just formed. Only low rank monsters are here for now. At least for now, I can handle it alone.’

Repeating it to herself as if to reassure herself, Arin quickened her pace.

Her legs felt heavy. An unprecedented fear coiled like a snake in her chest.

This wasn’t her first time in a real battle.

Field training. The worst field training ever.

The cherry blossom festival. She had seen laughter turn to despair in an instant.

And now, it was the same. Peace had been overturned without warning.

Just like back then.

Like five years ago.

She thought she had gotten better after surviving life-and-death battles.

Why was she thinking about that time again now?

She wasn’t a child who could only run away from monsters anymore.

She had the strength to fight, the will to fight, and the weapons to fight.

She was no longer the helpless child thrown into the midst of a catastrophe…

‘…I’m alone…’

Arin felt the emptiness beside her.

Two real battles.

She hadn’t been alone then.

During field training, the entire Class A was there.

During the cherry blossom festival, Leo and Anastasia were with her.

That’s why Arin could be the academy student, the class president of Class A.

But now, there was no one.

Of course, somewhere in the exhibition hall, Eugene, Alice, and Lucia were there.

But right now, there was no one by her side to protect her.

If no one knew me as the class president…

Could I continue to be the class president of Class A at the academy…?

What am I now?

An academy student?

The little kid who ran away from monsters?

The screams of people.

The frantic footsteps of those fleeing.

The desperate voices calling for help.

The eerie howls of the monsters.

The reality that there was no one by her side.

It made her remember that day five years ago.

It cast the shadow of the catastrophe over her.

Arin found it hard to breathe.

She wanted to collapse and cry like she did back then.

‘If I knew it would be like this, I should’ve brought Leo along…’

I left him behind because I thought he’d just make a lot of noise.

But maybe it’s because, even if he acts immaturely, I can trust him to have my back.

Suddenly, I really missed that guy.

Slap.

Arin slapped her own cheek hard.

She didn’t hold back, and her lip split.

The pain, which brought tears to her eyes, cleared her hazy mind a little.

‘…Don’t look for a straw to grab when you’re drowning. It’s not here.’

Her unsettled heart slowly calmed down.

Arin took a deep breath in and out, as if out of habit.

Five years. Five years. What had she been working so hard for all this time?

Dad isn’t here. Mom isn’t here.

But I have a sword in my hand now. Unlike five years ago.

Swoosh. 

The sword made a clear sound as it was drawn.

Arin unleashed her supernatural ability.

Countless dangers drew a map in her mind.

She moved swiftly toward the closest one.

Eugene and Alice were both holding their ground.

Then, she too had to fulfill her role.

There was no time to be caught up in past traumas.

‘First, the people.’

Protect them from the monsters.

Evacuate them outside the exhibition hall.

◈

“This is…?”

I tilted my head as I examined the monster’s corpse lying on the ground.

It had been cleanly sliced in two.

Lucia is skilled with various weapons.

She can adapt to many tactics since she doesn’t limit herself to one weapon.

But in other words, she hasn’t mastered any one weapon deeply, making her somewhat ambiguous.

She can wield a sword, but her skill isn’t particularly high.

Even so, I could tell at a glance.

The strike that took down the monster was incredibly precise.

“A skilled one.”

Carlos glanced at the monster’s corpse and muttered.

I nodded in agreement.

Yeah, Lucia couldn’t mimic that kind of skill.

Even Eugene couldn’t deliver such a smooth slash.

Only someone at Arin’s level among the Golden Generation could pull that off.

We slaughtered every monster that emerged through the spatial rift.

To be more precise, Carlos did all the work, and I followed behind, carrying Anna.

As we headed toward the exhibition hall’s exit, I noticed that there were surprisingly few human corpses.

That’s a relief.

No, how can it be a relief when people have died?

But it’s definitely a relief that the death toll was lower than expected.

Considering the size of the exhibition hall and the number of visitors.

At the very least, the number of corpses found should have been several times higher.

Honestly, the number of casualties who failed to evacuate should have been dozens of times higher.

The exhibition hall is underground, and there aren’t many exits.

In such a situation, a spatial rift had opened inside the exhibition hall.

It was essentially a slaughterhouse for the monsters.

I had prepared for the worst, but the damage was far below what I had anticipated.

‘Was it because there was another supernatural on the scene?’

The heat and explosions I could feel from afar.

A battle was raging with enough force to bring down the exhibition hall.

Moreover, a skilled swordsman had been cleanly cutting down the monsters here.

The cries of monsters and the sound of swift footsteps didn’t stop.

Someone was fighting. A supernatural. Against the monsters.

I don’t know who it is, but they seem reliable.

They’re evacuating people and dealing with the monsters.

Maybe it’s a Celestial Corps member on leave.

If that’s the case, it would explain everything.

Because it’s too skilled for an academy student.

For a student to perform at this level…

It would have to be a top-ranking third-year graduate.

Or one of the three troublemakers from Class D, the one in charge of combat.

Or someone from the Golden Generation of Class A.

‘Is it a coincidence…? These explosions and swordsmanship… somehow remind me of someone…?’

But I immediately shook my head to dismiss the thought.

Even if it’s not Arin, there’s no way Eugene or Alice would be here.

The two of them are probably enjoying their library date right now. They wouldn’t be at the exhibition hall in District 6.

“We’re almost there. The exit.”

Carlos crushed the head of a furry, humanoid monster, a gnoll, with one hand and spoke.

The area was already filled with the crushed bodies of gnolls.

Shaking the blood off his hand, Carlos took the lead.

As expected of the hunting dog raised by the Family.

His skills were impeccable.

Precise and swift. Quiet and stealthy.

And when necessary, he became more ferocious than anyone.

Low rank monsters, and the occasional mid rank ones.

Carlos slaughtered them all with unstoppable force.

Thanks to him, we were able to move safely this far.

Now, we just need to turn the corner to reach the exit.

I’m sure of it because we came this way when we entered the exhibition hall.

As always, Carlos rushed ahead first.

If danger approached, he would intercept it to ensure Anna and I wouldn’t be harmed.

Honestly, I think Lucia would be better suited as bait than Carlos.

Lucia can get hurt, right? She has super regeneration, after all.

There’s no one more suited to be a meat shield than her.

But Carlos wouldn’t allow it.

Really, even after seeing my abilities, he’s still so worried.

I even showed him how I regenerate my limbs.

You know, Lucia won’t die even if her head is cut off.

Don’t believe me? Want me to show you?

I sighed deeply and followed Carlos.

Carlos, who was a few steps ahead of me, turned the corner.

And then, a white flash surged toward us in an instant.

“Huh?”

I saw it. Lucia’s dynamic vision clearly recognized the incoming slash.

But her body couldn’t react.

The ambush was too stealthy and sudden.

In the slowed perception of time, the flash gleamed.

“…”

Carlos was different.

With reflexes like a beast, he twisted his body sharply.

The strike, which had been aimed precisely at his vitals, cut through empty air.

He took a step back, his muscles bulging.

His gray fur stood on end, as if he was about to pounce.

“A monster? No…?”

The reason Carlos didn’t immediately counterattack was because the person who had swung the weapon in the ambush wasn’t a monster—it was a human.

And the same went for the other side.

The reason the attacker didn’t follow up with another strike after the ambush failed was likely because Carlos wasn’t a monster.

“I’m human.”

“Ah, uh, sorry. I thought you were definitely a monster…No wonder the Danger Sense warning was weak…”

In his half-human, half-beast form, it’s easy to mistake him for a monster.

In fact, beast transformation users are often mistaken for monsters.

There are many bipedal, humanoid monsters, after all.

Like the ‘gnolls’ we just turned into mincemeat.

I looked at the person who had ambushed Carlos.

That slash just now. It was definitely this person who had been cutting down the monsters… wait… huh?

“Arin?”

Round glasses. Reddish-brown hair.

I called her name in a daze.

Why is the class president here?

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
The Golden Generation has an explosive growth rate.

Lucia is also growing steadily, although it is not apparent.

Frey’s training only accelerates that growth rate.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Man, those 3rd years gotta push harder if they are being compared to genius first years! 

Smh.