Chap 79-Peace of Mind

 

Throughout the journey through the forest, my mind was consumed with thoughts of the impending attack.

I pondered.

How could I save more students?

The original plan was undoubtedly effective, but variables always existed.

And I wanted to create even one more survivor within those variables.

And the solution, surprisingly, was quite simple.

“Um, I think that’s another team?”

Clara said, pointing ahead.

As she said, five students of similar age to us appeared from the other side of the forest path.

Probably another team.

They spotted us and paused for a moment, then began to approach with wary eyes.

I slowly walked towards them.

And taking advantage of their moment of carelessness, I moved without hesitation.

Crack!

Thwack!

“Cough!”

“W-What! Suddenly!”

My fists and kicks accurately struck the abdomens and solar plexuses of two members of the opposing team.

They couldn’t even scream properly and fell to the ground.

‘The limit for fatal injuries seems higher than I thought?’

I thought I could trigger it with that much.

Come to think of it, if they were eliminated by mediocre attacks, there might be a surge of eliminations, so I understood the professors’ judgment.

“D-Dodge it! How can she move so fast!”

“Damn it, block!”

The remaining three were flustered and tried to take a defensive stance, but it was already too late.

“Aaaagh!”

A blue defensive magic circle erupted from the body of another one who couldn’t avoid my next attack.

‘One team down for now.’

I thought to myself, lightly eliminating the first team I encountered.

Shortly after, a giant Teleportation Magic Circle opened above our heads, and several professors appeared.

They checked the condition of the two fallen students and the one already teleported away, then announced through amplification magic.

“Team F, survival magic item activated. Team F is eliminated from this practical exam.”

There were some suspicious glances directed at me, but there were no particular restrictions since it wasn’t a violation of the rules.

They took the fallen students and disappeared back into the magic circle.

Our team members stared blankly at the professors taking away the opposing team members.

Especially Lina and Lea had expressions of disbelief.

Clara was already sitting on the ground, pale and trembling.

Camilla…

She was lost in thought, looking at the eliminated team members with a serious and unreadable expression.

While the other team members were distracted, I secretly spat blood on the ground without anyone noticing.

‘Ugh… Ptooey.’

I had deliberately bitten my tongue a little for the attack just now, so my mouth was filled with blood, which was unpleasant.

Biting my tongue amplified my Mana along with pleasure, so the effect was certain, but the problem was that I had to swallow all that blood, which was quite uncomfortable.

Besides, the fishy taste, like sucking on rusty iron, lingered on my lips, which wasn’t great either.

I immediately used a regeneration magic circle to restore my tongue to its original state.

After spitting out all the blood, I spoke to the team members who were still standing there blankly.

“What are you doing? Aren’t we going?”

They still had dumbfounded expressions, but they started following me for now.

The method I chose.

It was to use the System of this exam.

After all, the farm is a dangerous place, and a terrible attack will happen soon.

Then, wouldn’t it be better for everyone to eliminate other students in advance and send them to a safe place before being exposed to that danger?

Eliminate as many students as possible with my own hands.

And for this…

I would have to bring back the ‘villainess act’ that I had put aside for a while.

…

Our Team H… or rather, to be precise, I began to sweep through the inside of the farm like a huntress.

And I mercilessly eliminated every team I encountered.

“Team G, all survival magic items activated. Eliminated.”

“Team I, all survival magic items activated. Eliminated.”

As I expected, most of the students couldn’t properly respond to my sudden attacks and fell helplessly.

Of course, in the process, our team members’ expressions grew increasingly stiff, but I didn’t care.

“Team K, all survival magic items activated. Eliminated.”

Another examiner’s cold declaration echoed.

On the ground, the Team K students, who had been charging at us so boldly just moments ago, were either unconscious or sitting in a daze, utterly stunned.

“W-Wait a minute! This is invalid!”

Then, a student who appeared to be the leader of Team K shouted furiously, his face flushed red.

He pointed at the examiner and yelled.

“That woman! Yeon Bennet! That woman must have used some kind of evil trick! Otherwise, there’s no way we could have been defeated so easily…!”

I shrugged at his absurd claim and gave the professors a sly smile.

“If I had used such great tricks, the wonderful professors here would have noticed it first, right? Isn’t that right, professors?”

At my words, some of the professors cleared their throats and avoided my gaze with displeased expressions, but they didn’t say anything in particular.

“Don’t lie! There’s no way we could lose to someone like you!”

He ignored my words and charged at me as if he had lost his mind.

But his attack was too obvious and clumsy.

I easily dodged his fist, and he lost his balance and fell flat onto the floor all on his own.

“Oh, dear. You have to be careful.”

I looked down at him and sneered.

Soon, other professors rushed over, subdued him, and began dragging him away.

He struggled and glared at me with a resentful expression, but that was all he could do.

“Ugh, how noisy. Please get rid of the loser quickly. I need to find my next prey.”

When I said that indifferently, the student glared at me with an even more resentful expression, but.

“…Enough.”

Professor Merlin’s low, cold voice ended the situation.

She glanced at me once with a complex and unreadable expression, then returned with the other professors and the eliminated team members without saying anything more.

‘…Was I too harsh?’

The student’s angry face as he was dragged away by the professors.

I felt a little sorry, but it couldn’t be helped.

Now that it had come to this, it would be more advantageous to play the villainess role thoroughly to hide my true purpose without being suspected in any possible future situations.

I was about to take another step towards the place where I felt the next presence.

But then,

“W-Wait a minute!”

An unexpected voice stopped me.

It was Clara.

‘Hmm? What’s wrong? She’s actually talking to me.’

I turned to look at her with a puzzled expression.

Clara had a very nervous expression, but unlike usual, she began to question me in a rather firm voice.

“Wasn’t our team’s plan to head to the Ending Point as quickly as possible? But why do you keep attacking other teams and focusing only on eliminating them?”

Her voice was mixed with dissatisfaction and even a bit of anger.

“Why? Because it’s fun.”

When I answered with a nonchalant smirk, Clara’s face was filled with shock.

“…Fun? Was this exam just a game for your amusement?!”

Her voice was trembling.

“Do you even know how hard those kids worked to get into this academy, and how hard they prepared for this exam?!”

She shouted, almost crying.

“Unlike you, who just plays around and lives comfortably without any effort and got into the academy with the power of your family, they are kids who have truly gathered here to protect Terra! And you’re trampling on their efforts just for fun?”

“So what?”

I asked back with a still indifferent expression.

“Did I do anything against the rules? Combat is allowed according to the exam rules.”

“That’s hard to say!”

Clara retorted sharply.

“And even if it wasn’t against the rules, it’s a clear act of deception that you’ve been hiding your skills from others just for fun!”

“Why are you suddenly acting so righteous?”

I said sarcastically.

“It would have been nice if you were so righteous when you were torturing me, don’t you think?”

At my words, Clara’s face turned pale and she was momentarily speechless.

Her eyes trembled uneasily.

“Stop it, that’s enough.”

Then, Camilla, who had been silent, stepped forward.

Her voice was coldly subdued.

“W-Wait a minute? T-Torture? What are you…”

Lina, who had been watching this whole situation from the side, asked with a flustered expression,

But I lightly ignored their reactions and turned my back again to move forward.

I didn’t have time to waste on petty arguments with them anymore.

There were still students to save…

“You…!”

Just then, Clara shouted desperately from behind me.

“You’re a woman who deserves to be treated like that! If only you had properly paid for the terrible sins you committed in the past!”

“Clara, stop!”

Camilla hurriedly tried to stop her, but it was already too late.

At Clara’s words, I unknowingly stopped walking.

And…

A smile that naturally appeared on my lips.

‘A woman who deserves to be treated like that.’

For some reason, I felt strangely relieved by those words.