Ch.121120. Empty Seat (5)

# 120. Empty Seat (5)

A rough and coarse energy.

Similar to demons, yet clearly different.

That sensation I’d felt millions of times before now coursed through my entire body.

“That’s more like it.”

The unmistakable killing intent, and the faint magical power emanating from it, was enough to make my heart race.

*-Woong!-*

I instinctively activated [Mortal’s End] and ran as if entranced.

Toward those energies.

“Hey! Where are you going…?”

“Just shut up and follow me.”

“Huh?”

“Those red dots are…”

The location of those energies matched exactly with the position of the red dots, and their numbers were roughly similar as well.

After running hard until my position marker on the city map touched those red dots, the true identity of those dots revealed themselves before us.

They were showing off their noble figures on the rooftop of a towering building, and I pointed at them saying:

“Those are them.”

“Wolves…?”

“Not just any wolves.”

Even ordinary wolves often have status windows since they level up by hunting and devouring many creatures.

That’s why ordinary wolves are often classified as monsters.

But these wolves are on a completely different level from ordinary ones.

“Belly Wolves.”

Golden eyes that contrasted with their pitch-black fur.

These monsters, with impressive claws and teeth that could tear through even decent steel, were staring at us with arrogant eyes.

“Looks like they’re still pups though.”

Belly Wolves possess formidable killing power even when not fully grown adults.

Fortunately, judging by their size, these were newborn-level individuals.

“How dangerous are they?”

“If they were adults, we’d have to run away without looking back.”

“Huh? That serious?”

“Even worse than that.”

An adult Belly Wolf, especially a strong one, has enough destructive power to appear as a boss in even S-low rank dungeons.

In truth, if they had been adults, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we’d already be dead, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

“We can still take them though, since they’re babies.”

“Really? Then let’s hunt them.”

Everyone was fired up by my somewhat positive words, and I felt the same way.

However, there was one thing we needed to know when facing these monsters.

“And never look directly into their eyes.”

“Their eyes?”

“Yeah, that golden color. Never look at them head-on. You could get eliminated right here if you do. And they’re almost as fast as we are, so be careful.”

The reason Belly Wolves are strong enough to appear in S-rank dungeons isn’t because their stats are overwhelmingly high.

It’s because of their unique agility and special abilities.

Even though these were practically newborns, their agility stats were only slightly lower than or similar to ours.

But that’s not the Belly Wolf’s true identity.

“Think of their eyes as having the same effect as my skill.”

“The stat reduction?”

“Yeah.”

A Belly Wolf’s eyes are also one of the means to intentionally create intimidation.

And once affected by this intimidation, the effect lasts for at least 30 minutes unless one of you dies.

That’s why Belly Wolves are classified as high A-rank monsters.

“But they don’t seem to be targeting us?”

“Let’s approach them this time. They seem content to just stay there.”

Normally, Belly Wolves would approach and attack people even if they did nothing.

But these ones were just quietly watching us.

That was evidence that we were either similar to or stronger than them.

As I headed toward the building where they were, I said:

“They won’t run away easily, so assume we’re definitely fighting. And obviously, don’t get hit.”

***

At that same time.

In the direction opposite to the south where those who first discovered the identity of the red dots were located.

A brutal battle was taking place, and at the center of that battle was the team of one of the winners from the previous survival test.

“Come this way!”

They were only six people, but the number of opponents was overwhelming.

There wasn’t any particular alliance, but they had encountered too many teams at once.

Moreover, those teams, like hers, had positions that were quite effective in this kind of fight.

“Aelin, please target the rear as much as possible.”

“Yes…!”

“Rachel, keep watching the front line.”

“Yes…”

Aelin and Rachel were among the top ten mages attending the Academy.

But even with their skills, they couldn’t overcome the overwhelming numerical difference.

*-Crash! Clash!-*

She and Rachel had to block the enemy’s front line from breaking through and support Chris and Briton, so they had no choice but to leave the attacks to Aelin.

However, the number of mages on the opposing teams exceeded 40, so even Aelin, who had an advantage in firepower, was being pushed back.

*-Bang! Bang bang!!-*

The good news was that thanks to Riel, who was sniping one by one from a distance, the opponents were being eliminated one by one.

Of course, despite that, she couldn’t help but think:

‘If Albert were here…’

Albert’s absence was much bigger than expected.

If he had been on her team, he would have broken through into that crowd and cut off their back line.

Not only would they not be dragging out the fight like this, but they could have also identified those dots much faster.

And she wasn’t the only one thinking this.

‘If that guy were here…’

‘If my brother were here…’

‘If Albert were here…’

Everyone experiencing this situation was thinking the same thing.

But they knew well that such wishes could never come true and that thinking like that had no meaning.

They also knew that they had to fill that empty space themselves.

Instead of blaming that absence or the current situation, they accepted reality and pondered how they could fill that void.

And because they realized these facts and had such concerns, they could think:

‘I just need to do a little better.’

Because they had such thoughts, they could maintain their concentration and fight even in such a tight situation.

*-Bang! Bang bang!-*

The main force struggled at the front, buying time, which allowed Riel to comfortably clean up the back line.

“It’s been a while since I used a gun, so my aim is a bit off…”

Despite using a sniper rifle instead of her usual bow, Riel showed almost perfect accuracy.

The reason Riel was using a gun was simple.

“Still, the range is good, definitely safer.”

In terms of power, the bow with its numerous related skills was superior to the gun, but the range of the gun was much longer.

And in a survival situation like this, range was much more important than power.

Moreover, most students now were at such a low level that they couldn’t even react to bullets, let alone block them.

“They’re all getting hit… but I’ll have to use the bow later…”

While she could safely snipe now, the reality was that she couldn’t do that when fighting students like Albert.

“It’s fine for now.”

Riel confirmed that the main force had finished off the enemy team whose back line had been cut, and as soon as she verified this with her own eyes, she packed up the equipment she had set up.

Then she quickly moved to the next designated location.

“Huh?”

After moving to the next location and finishing her setup, while scanning the surroundings for safety.

Familiar faces caught her eye.

“That team is over there… but what are those…? Wolves?”

They were hunting what appeared to be wolf-like creatures at a considerable distance from here.

“Should I take a shot?”

It was far, but just barely within range, and at this distance, it would be burdensome for them to come for retaliation.

There was no battle happening with the main force yet, so she had some leeway.

‘Let’s see how he reacts… but of all people, only he’s visible.’

The others had gone inside the building after dealing with those monsters, and only Albert remained outside like that.

So she had no choice but to target him.

‘He probably won’t be able to react. It would be boring if Albert got eliminated like this…’

Riel was daydreaming as she aimed at him.

‘Well, whatever works… goodbye.’

With that thought, Riel pulled the trigger.

*-Bang!!!-*

Since the target was stationary, there was no problem aiming accurately, and so the bullet flew precisely toward him.

However…

He instantly, and with surprising ease, dodged the bullet just by lowering his head.

He shouldn’t have even heard the gunshot due to the supersonic bullet speed.

“Even if he heard the gunshot, it should be impossible to dodge… how is that possible?”

As if that wasn’t enough, he was now staring directly at the direction the bullet had come from, exactly where Riel was positioned.

Then, with a leisurely smile in that situation, he slowly entered the building where his teammates were, leaving Riel furious at the sight of Albert.

“Ah! This is so frustrating! That expression…!”