I kept slaughtering. Every Rabid Rooster that approached, every monster still rampaging, beca a target for [Mindrender]. My movents might not have been as fast or lethal as at the start, but they were still enough to finish off these disorganized creatures.
My eyes weren’t just focused on the monsters, but also my surroundings. I watched the other contestants struggling, so nearly falling, others managing kills. But in my heart, a colder thought ran: If possible, let them get eliminated by these chickens first before I kill the monsters. Fewer contestants ant less competition for points later. And with my body this tired, every little advantage mattered.
The battle continued brutally but one-sidedly. Without their leader, the chicken horde lost direction. They were still dangerous, but uncoordinated. One by one, they fell. Sotis by , sotis by the remaining contestants.
About fifteen minutes later, the last crowing and roaring echoed, then... silence.
The area that had been full of chaos and fury was now quiet, broken only by heavy breathing and the sounds of people trying to calm themselves. I looked around.
Of the thirty-one contestants who fought alongside , only nineteen remained standing. The other twelve had been eliminated—severely wounded by monsters and extracted by the system.
’They really aren’t to be underestimated,’ I thought, looking at these survivors. They endured the monster wave and internal competition. They were indeed selected students.
I didn’t join them. Instead, I walked a short distance away, found a pile of rubble high enough to sit on, and took a seat.
The distance between and the other group was about ten ters—far enough for privacy, close enough to see any threats. I needed to rest. Really rest. My body demanded sleep, but the best I could get right now was to sit and catch my breath.
In the distance, the nineteen contestants seed to form smaller groups. Though from different academies, they clustered based on who had fought side-by-side earlier—one group of four, a group of three, several pairs, and a few loners like myself. They were talking amongst themselves, maybe sharing experiences, or... planning sothing.
I observed them through half-closed eyes, trying to look more tired than I actually was.
And right on cue, a mont later, three n detached from their groups and started walking towards . They were from an academy whose uniform I didn’t quite recognize—dark brown with a tower-like emblem. All three were young n, about my age, with friendly expressions.
"Hey," said the one in front, a guy with curly brown hair and a wide smile. "Mind if we sit here?"
I just nodded.
They sat around , not too close, but close enough to be uncomfortable.
"Why not join the others?" asked the second guy, a larger man with a voice trying to sound familiar.
"I prefer being alone," I answered flatly, my eyes looking straight ahead, not at them.
"Ah, understandable," chid in the third, a skinny guy with glasses. "That fight was really impressive. You... you actually killed a Rank S monster solo. And you’re still a student, amazing."
I just nodded again. Inwardly, I sneered. A few minutes ago, you were probably among those cursing for bringing the monster horde. Why the sudden friendliness now?
"I... I’m actually a huge fan of your father," the curly-haired guy continued, his smile widening. "The Sword Saint. A legend. I idolize him. So seeing you fight earlier... it was like seeing his shadow."
I didn’t respond to their flattery or confessions. I just sat there, regulating my breath, while my hand rested casually near the hilt of [Mindrender] which I’d leaned beside .
They exchanged a brief glance, then the burly man spoke again.
"But... this tournant is about teamwork, right? Our academy... we’re not from a big one like Nine Stars. So we have to cooperate."
And in an instant, all three moved.
"And sotis... to win the tournant and make our academy proud, we have to do difficult things," the bespectacled guy added, his voice now losing all pretense, becoming flat and dangerous.
The burly man lunged forward, his fist aid at my face at full speed. The guy with glasses next to produced a short dagger from his sleeve, stabbing towards my ribs.
And the curly-haired guy behind —who had apparently repositioned without noticing—brought out a rope with a weighted sickle at the end, trying to snare my neck.
But I was already wary.
I threw my body to the side, dodging the fist that nearly hit my face. As I spun, my hand clamped down on the wrist of the glasses guy holding the dagger, twisting it hard until the bone cracked. The dagger fell.
"ARRGH!" the man scread.
But I didn’t stop. In the sa motion, I pulled the now-stumbling bespectacled man in front of , using him as a human shield against the weighted rope from behind. The rope landed on his own teammate’s back, entangling him.
"What—?!" the curly-haired guy yelled, confused.
I released my grip on the now-entangled glasses guy and jumped back a few steps, creating distance. My saber was already in my hand.
The three n were now in a chaotic position—one clutching his broken wrist, one entangled by his teammate’s rope, and the rope-holder looking bewildered.
"You think I didn’t know your intentions?" I said, my voice cold.
The burly man whose punch had missed now snarled, drawing his real weapon—a short war hamr. "Doesn’t matter. Three against one, you’re still tired. We’ll still eliminate you."
They repositioned, more cautious this ti. But their expressions had changed—from false friendliness to hard determination, and a little anxiety that their initial plan had failed.
I raised my saber, a thin, humorless smile touching my lips. "Go ahead. Try again."
At the sa mont, I glanced around quickly while keeping the three enemies in front of under observation. The atmosphere in the area had changed drastically. The post-monster battle silence had been broken by the sounds of clashes and ability explosions.
Across the field, a quiet guy from GOTE Academy who had fought calmly earlier was now being ganged up on by a group of four from a different academy.
He tried to hold his ground, using formidable earth manipulation abilities, but the numbers were against him and exhaustion was taking its toll. In seconds, a combined attack—an energy arrow from range and a shock attack from up close—sent him sprawling. His body glowed and then vanished. Eliminated.
On another side, Raven from Drakefield was also in trouble. She was surrounded by three people—two n and a woman—attacking her in coordination. Raven fought fiercely, her axes spinning fast to block attacks, but I could see she was being pushed back.
Of the nineteen contestants remaining, Raven and I were the only representatives from top-tier academies still in this imdiate area— from Nine Stars, her from Drakefield.
The other sixteen people, though from different academies, had sohow ford a silent agreent. An agreent to eliminate the biggest threats first: the contestants from top academies who were individually too strong.
I wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, it made sense. In a competition where only sixteen academies could advance, cooperating to eliminate the overly strong individuals was a good strategy to give their own smaller academies a chance.
Their reasoning was sound. But it wasn’t clever enough. And indeed, I had anticipated this possibility from the start.
The problem was: I was very tired. The fight against the Giant Rabid Rooster and clearing its horde had drained a lot of my energy. Plus, these sixteen people—each had their own unique skills and abilities they might not have fully revealed yet.
They were the selected Rank A and B Awakeners from their academies. As for ... aside from high physical stats, I had no real combat abilities. My cheat skills like [Ti Stop] or [Mind Control] were too precious to use here, in front of thousands of spectators and the monitoring system.
Two more people detached from the crowd and started walking towards . They joined the three already surrounding . Five against one. And at the sa ti, the three original attackers—now angry and frustrated their initial plan failed—decided to attack again.
The burly man charged first, his fist swinging with crushing intent. I didn’t dodge. Instead, I stepped forward, into the arc of his swing. Before his fist gained full montum, I kicked the side of his knee.
CRACK!
His knee bent the wrong way. He scread, losing balance. I gave him no ti. My right elbow slamd into his chin, sending him falling backward. He didn’t get up—but his body began to glow, a sign the system was saving him due to critical injury. Eliminated.
One.
The curly-haired guy with a short sword attacked from the side, a quick stab to the ribs. I pivoted, letting the sword miss by centiters, then my saber swung horizontally.
He tried to parry, but the force of my slash was too great. His short sword was knocked away, and my saber cut across his stomach. He staggered, clutching what he thought was a severe wound, but before that could happen, his body glowed and vanished.
The bespectacled guy with the broken wrist, seeing two of his comrades eliminated in seconds, panicked. He turned and tried to run. But exhaustion and pain slowed him. I threw my saber—the sword shot like an arrow, piercing his back. He collapsed, then also vanished.
All three were eliminated in under twenty seconds.
I took a deep breath, summoning my saber back to my hand. My body scread for rest, but not now.
The two new arrivals stopped several ters from . Their faces were pale, having witnessed firsthand how quickly and efficiently I eliminated three opponents at once, despite being exhausted.
"Monster," the woman whispered, her voice trembling. "You really are a monster."
I ignored her comnt, not waiting for them to attack. I took the initiative.
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