Chapter 14: Before viewing ②

The red crow spread its wings wide.
With a fluttering flap, the crow soared into the sky.

The scene, synchronized with the crow’s vision, showed a bird’s-eye view of the forest below.

Leaves densely packed together covered the entire forest like a green roof.
Beneath that canopy, nearly a thousand young villains were likely steeling their resolve.

Then, two announcers shouted in unison.

[“[“Evaluation Match, begins now!”]”]

Over a hundred split screens filled the 100-inch TV in a chaotic flurry.

“Who do you think will win~?”

Elysia, an elite hero directly under the Association Headquarters, watched the screens with sparkling eyes of anticipation.

“No more than a bunch of rookies brawling. No matter how good they are, they’ll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. That Crown guy will take it easy.”

Skull Knight, popping a wine cork, declared with full confidence.
Elysia tilted her head to the side.

“You think so~? That girl named Yu Hyesun seemed pretty skilled too…”
“Too early to jump to conclusions.”

Dohyeon, who had been sitting on the floor polishing his sword, joined the conversation.
He stared at the blade, which shimmered with a chilly gleam, and added:

“I’m curious about Kizel.”
“The sword demon from the villain side, huh? He is one to watch~.”

Every hero spectating the Evaluation Match had their own picks.

Elysia chose Yu Hyesun.
Skull Knight picked Crown.
Dohyeon had his eye on Kizel.

Soon, other heroes joined in.

“I heard Yu Hyesun’s skill is in the mid-thousand range?”
“That’s probably an exaggeration. In terms of ranking, Kizel is still the highest.”

The three most dominant contenders were being called the “Three Royals.”
Some believed an underdog from the Top 12 might pull through, but that was a minority opinion.

As the others chattered excitedly, Elysia scanned their faces and gave a bitter smile.

‘It would’ve been nice if Seoran were here too.’

Seoran, Dohyeon, Elysia, and Skull Knight.
They had always gathered like this during Evaluation Season to watch the matches together.

They’d discuss the potential of new villain recruits, who to be wary of, how to counter certain abilities.
This time last year, their debates had been heated and passionate…

But now, all three were quiet and reserved.

‘She’s a duty-driven person. I’m sure she’s watching on her own.’

Elysia closed her eyes for a moment.

–Do you… maybe like cookies?

Every time she thought of that girl, a deep ache stirred in her chest.

If she felt this way, how much more painful must it be for Seoran…

Those thoughts always dragged Elysia deeper into a pit of grief.

But after a breath and a shake of her head, Elysia turned back to the TV.

[“The participants are on the move! As expected, the first screen is focused on a top contender—Yu Hyesun!”]

They were heroes.
People others depended on.
They had a duty to bury the pain of the past and always keep moving forward.

And the noblest among them surely knew that best.
Someday, she would overcome the scars etched into her soul and return stronger than ever.

Elysia simply believed in that and continued to wait.

I pulled out a hair tie and tied my hair into a ponytail.
It was long enough to reach my waist, but it didn’t look too bad.

Just then, a cat jumped out from a hole in the ground.
The cat—Yu Hyesun—circled around me, observing like a little scout.

[With that face shape, this style really suits you!]
‘I’m wearing a mask, though.’
[Hast thou forgotten my powers?]

Yu Hyesun tapped her eyes with one dainty paw.

Some familiars possess irreplaceable, unique powers—just like this crow observing us so intently.

Yu Hyesun, too, claimed she was a familiar and had a special ability of her own.

Her gift? Sight.

‘Let’s do this.’

The cat leapt onto my shoulder.

[I shall borrow thy mana.]

Yu Hyesun drew from my mana.
Soon, her eyes gleamed with a bluish glow as she scanned the forest in all directions.

[There’s one 1.5 kilometers to the north, and another 2.8 kilometers to the southwest.]

Clairvoyance.
A broken ability that let her see anything within a 3-kilometer radius—down to an ant crawling past.

It wasn’t cheap on mana, but it saved far more by helping me avoid unnecessary fights.

I wasn’t afraid of other contestants.
But if I ran into someone on the level of the Top 12, it’d be annoying to deal with.

Using clairvoyance, I avoided others and pressed on toward my goal.

…
…

I arrived at the rendezvous spot first and waited.

Before long, the kids from Class 8 began to arrive one by one.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if one or two had been eliminated before making it here, but luck was on our side—six of us gathered without any trouble.

I picked up a stick from nearby.

As I scribbled in the dirt, five heads leaned in to read.

–From here on out, I’m not using any more mana. You guys will have to handle the fighting as much as possible.

The crow on my shoulder stared intently at the scene.
The only reason I was going through this hassle to communicate like this was because of it.

If, by any chance, the Heroes recognized my voice, it would complicate everything.

–Can you handle it?

The five of them nodded with conviction.

Five months ago, I wouldn’t have trusted them. But now, they were reliable in their own right.
I wasn’t the only one who’d grown during these past five months.

The term “rejects” no longer suited these kids.

Not that they’d become exceptionally powerful or anything, but when the six of us moved together as a unit, we could probably take on mid-tier teams without much trouble.

After all, we had Ariel, who was ranked in the early 6000s.

But we weren’t strong enough to go head-to-head with the top-tier groups, those in the 4000s and 5000s.

In this evaluation match, we were still the underdogs.
And as underdogs, it was time to use the survival strategy of the weak.

–Ellie.
“Yeah.”

From beneath her feet, a mole poked its head out of the dirt.
That cute little mole was Ellie’s contracted D-rank summon.

Its element: Earth.
Its specialty: Sonic detection.

“Mango, let us know if you hear footsteps from another team.”

The mole nodded and burrowed into the ground.

–Let’s move.

The underdog’s survival strategy was all about nonviolence and patience.

In simpler terms: turtling.

---

「Looks like this team is trying to avoid combat, huh?」
「In the end, it’s all about the results, not the process. I’d say most of the weaker teams will try the same thing.」

---

One day passed.

If some are specialized in hiding, others are bound to specialize in tracking.

We were ambushed twice.

Once by a six-man team that approached silently.
Once by a three-man team waiting in ambush near a cliff.

Their skill levels were average, but since we were caught off guard both times, the advantage was clearly theirs.

And yet, the kids handled both situations on their own.

That’s right—we won.

The lowest of the low, lazy old Class 8.
It reminded me of chasing them all over the place when they used to run from training because it was too hard.

Can’t lie, I got a little choked up.

“Layla! Did you see that?! We won again!”

Serena came running up to me, shouting my fake name, cheeks flushed with excitement.

It felt like just yesterday she was sneering and handing me melon bread like she was better than me.
She’s really changed.

But I found myself wondering:
If someone stronger than me came along… would she turn her back on me again?

I was lost in that thought when a sudden chill ran down my spine.

At the same time, I heard Yu Hyesun’s voice ring loud in my mind.

[Incoming!!]

No time to think—I grabbed Serena and pulled her close.
She looked up at me, startled, but I had no time to explain.

I threw myself forward.

Boom!

“You dodged that?”

Dust exploded where we’d been standing a moment ago.
A faint silhouette emerged, yanking a sword from the ground.

Serena, still in my arms, started shaking once she realized what had just happened.

I held her hand tightly. Slowly, the trembling subsided.

“Not some throwaway mob, huh?”

As the dust cleared, our attacker revealed himself.

“Still, not much more than trash.”

His style was… wild, to say the least. Half-black, half-white?
His hair was split vertically—white on one side, black on the other. His eyes were mismatched too, probably due to colored lenses.

And to top it off: a fluttering black cloak and a jet-black sword.

“You’re the leader, right?”

He may have looked eccentric, but this guy wasn’t going to be easy.

There’s a phenomenon called mana resonance.
It happens when the mana in the air responds to a powerful source of magic.

At higher levels, you could suppress resonance.
But for those of us still climbing, mana resonance was a pretty accurate measure of strength.

And the mana in the area was swirling violently around that boy.

To generate resonance like that… he had to be ranked at least in the 4000s or higher—a real deal.

“I asked you a question. Are you the leader?”

Resting his sword on his shoulder, the boy asked with a cocky, casual tone.

I wanted to answer.
God, did I want to.

But in the end, it was Serena who couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“Our leader damaged her vocal cords.”

“What, she mute or something?”

That moment, Serena’s body, which had been faintly trembling, froze completely.

“Watch your mouth.”

“Oho, loyal little soldier, are we?”

I could sense Serena’s energy shift, so I grabbed her arm, signaling her to calm down.

Whoever this guy was, we were still in the early stages of the match.

Fighting someone like him now would be a waste. If we could avoid the fight, we should.

And considering he was talking to us instead of swinging his sword, it didn’t seem like he was itching to brawl just yet.

“Not bad…”

Murmuring to himself, the boy walked toward us.

Class 8 tried to block his path, but I waved them back.

One side of his mouth curled up into a smirk.

The boy stopped directly in front of me.
The others were on edge, ready to strike at any moment.

“……”
“……”

He studied me, hand propped on his chin like he was evaluating a painting.

Then, without warning, he reached out.

“Take that off.”

His hand darted like a snake, twisting midair. Its destination—my mask.

The hell is this guy doing?

I tilted my head slightly, dodging his hand.

A flicker of intrigue lit up in his eyes.

“Knew it. You’re no grunt.”

Before I could even call him out, he threw something totally unexpected at me.

“Join me. Be my subordinates.”

---

Somewhere in a forest, devastated like a bomb had gone off—
A girl, bloodied and broken, was desperately crawling across the ground.

Her trembling hand reached out. Then again, with more force.

Crack!

A black shoe came down hard, crushing her fingers mercilessly.

She looked up—and saw a wide, jagged grin stretched across a clown’s face.

「And there goes another one of the Elite Twelve! Just one day in, and the northern Yarne Great Forest has fallen to the Alliance!」
「More than a hundred participants moving like one army! And at the center of it all is Crown! How does a kid that age have that kind of charisma?!」

“Kids these days are terrifying~”

Elysia feigned a shiver, while Skull Knight looked at her like she was nuts.

“Anyone who treats people like puppets is a real pain. Remember that face.”

“I wanna see Yureon fight~”

It had only been one day since the evaluation match started,
But the biggest wildcard so far was Yureon.

Contrary to predictions that she’d crush everyone like a tyrant from the get-go, she hadn’t fought a single battle yet.

“What do you think she’s planning~?”
“Doesn’t matter what she’s preparing. The game’s already tipped.”

Skull Knight sprawled lazily across the sofa.

“Crown’s faction isn’t shrinking—it’s growing. He’s recruiting others constantly. I don’t care how strong Yureon is—what’s she gonna do against over 200 people?”

Elysia silently agreed.

They couldn’t afford to let Crown continue.
If his forces kept growing, not even someone as strong as Yureon would be able to handle it.

Unless we’re talking triple digits—Hundred-Class level…

「Meanwhile, another one of the Elite Twelve—Darkblack—is hunting down weaker groups in the East. But wait? This time his opponents aren’t going down so easily!」

Darkblack, with his iconic half-black, half-white hair, was squaring off with a masked girl.

“Huh?”

Kim Dohyeon dropped his sword.

He quickly snatched it before it hit the ground, but his eyes remained glued to the screen.

“What, did you see something in that Dark-whatever guy again?”

Skull Knight teased him, knowing full well how fired up Kim Dohyeon got whenever he saw a talented swordsman.

But Dohyeon shook his head silently.

‘…It just looks similar, that’s all.’

What had caught his attention wasn’t the boy.
It was the girl.

He brushed off the sudden thought that had surfaced.

Her hair color, her build—there was some resemblance.
But the vibe was totally different.

‘Still, that move just now… she’s no amateur. Who is she?’

Dohyeon’s eyes refused to leave the golden-haired girl.