Episode 168 – Second Test (4)

Second Test (4)

Inside the broadcasting station room. In that rather spacious place for a broadcasting station, I was broadcasting.

“…The number of enemies rushing in with each wave is steadily increasing.”

I was conveying my countermeasure to all the seniors throughout the dormitory.

“Therefore, as the number of seniors decreases, Magic Space becomes increasingly disadvantageous. It means you can’t ‘compete’ to last 120 hours.”

Without everyone’s cooperation, the test is impossible to clear from the start.

“It’s important to form a front line rather than being defeated separately.”

Even if they are all full of pride, they would cooperate in the face of elimination.

“I recommend the park in front of the dormitory as the location.”

Fortunately, the stone statue next to me is quiet. It doesn’t seem to have any intention of interfering.

“Form a front line and barricade in the open field.”

Only the top talents from all over Edsilla remain. They would quickly form a front line.

“…Well. Whether you listen to my words or not is up to you.”

Kyaaaaa───!

The faint cries of monsters outside the booth. The sound of footsteps rushing up like crazy. The fluctuating vibrations.

I glanced in that direction and said,

“I wish you luck.”

Thud───!

The monster’s fist pounded on the booth’s door.

Click-

I turned off the microphone. I looked at the stone statue. The stone statue was also looking at me.

──What are you going to do now?

“Well.”

Fortunately, I have a lot of AP left. Even if I give up now, I can maintain the upper-middle rank.

──Are you going to give up?

“…I have to at least try.”

I drew my sword.

These monsters are surprisingly honest. They only rush in through open doors or windows. Whether they can’t break the walls or choose not to, I don’t know.

Since this soundproof booth has no windows, I only need to guard ‘one door’.

Thump-.

“?”

A [fruit] fell from my head.

“Ah.”

I quickly swallowed one.

Gulp-

It doesn’t seem much better. About 20%?

How many hours can I hold out with this?

──Thump thump thump thump thump!

The sound of knocking on the door is intense. The beast’s beastly howl also seeps in faintly.

I drew my sword.

“…Huh. I wonder if this will work.”

I drew a ‘line’ on the floor right in front of me.

Also, I opened 「Notepad」.

Efficiency alone is not enough to endure the remaining time.

So, I plan to write a very simple ‘algorithm’ in 「Notepad」.

This is my first time using it this way, but there’s no better time to try.

[Condition: If they cross this line.]

The condition of the algorithm is simple.

If these monsters cross this ‘line’ I’ve drawn.

[Result: Cut them down efficiently with Eight Swords.]

The output is also simple.

Self-modification or automation mode performed by 「Notepad」.

Now I just have to entrust my body.

Like a gatekeeper.

Crash────!

The door was broken through. Monsters poured in from beyond. Dozens of entities crossed the ‘line’.

At that moment, my hand moved on its own.

Swoosh─!

I swung the sword as fast a bullet at them.

* * *

At the same time, in a separate room within the VVIP monitoring room of the College Board.

Jade, was preparing to leave due to prior commitments, but Zia was still glued to her tablet PC.

“……Hmm.”

As Jade straightened his tie, he glanced at her.

Her posture was odd. She had her legs up on the chair, her knees almost touching her chest.

“Do you like it that much?”

“……Yes?”

Zia looked back at him. Jade pointed his chin at the man on the screen.

“I mean him.”

Her subject of observation was still Shion Ascal.

For the first three hours, she had been observing one by one, but once her eyes settled on Shion Ascal, her eyes locked onto him for almost the entire day.

“Ah…… It’s peculiar…… and fascinating……”

Zia answered with a sleepy face.

“He is indeed peculiar, but you should sleep first. Your complexion doesn’t suit Libra’s constitution.”

Dark circles were heavily under Zia’s drooping eyes.

“……Yes.”

Even though she said that, her eyes were still glued to the screen.

That’s how peculiar Shion Ascal was.

Zia had seen Gerkhen, Soliette, Elise, Layla, Kielli, Asher, Kain, and Mel. She had observed everyone from the children of influential families to famous commoners.

However, they were somewhat stereotypical in the category of ‘promising’. They were in the stage of learning ‘standard’ rather than ‘individuality’.

“What’s the most peculiar thing?”

“Just…… different……”

Shion Ascal was not. It’s not just a little different. His individuality is completely foreign. It’s impossible to grasp his talent.

Where the high point is, where the low point is, it’s impossible to predict the ups and downs.

Simply put── it’s like a lottery.

“Hmm. Just watch it moderately.”

Click. Jade changed his cufflinks. Looking at the expensive accessory that would cost 300,000 Ren each, Zia asked blankly.

“But…… Is it okay……?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The head of the Arkne……”

Jade had picked a fight with Igris. There was no need to do so. There was no need to make enemies.

Jade frowned.

“I didn’t like him from the start. I don’t wear a mask and flatter. I’m different from those who claim to be nobles and act like servants.”

……It was a very arrogant statement.

Zia blinked her eyes quietly and changed the subject.

“That person also…… was watching Shion Ascal……”

“He must have noticed [Eight Swords]. It’s a family that takes pride in mere swordsmanship.”

Shion Ascal freely and arbitrarily increased and decreased the [Eight Swords]. To Jade, and to Zia, that in itself was a talent.

However, Igris dismissed it as a mere gimmick, a mere trick, or even ‘immature display’.

“If you take pride in swordsmanship itself, you end up like that person. You end up pursuing swordsmanship for the sake of swordsmanship. You don’t even know what it means and what is the end.”

Swordsmanship cannot precede humans. It’s too obvious a fact.

Therefore, a person who sees swordsmanship as the goal is no different from a monster swallowed by the sword.

“But still… Igris is the First Sword of the continent…”

First Sword of the Continent. Igris is certainly called that in the world. His name always comes up when you mention the strongest on the continent.

“I don’t care.”

Even so, Jade doesn’t care.

‘I don’t care’ is the perfect expression.

Jade can measure the strength of his opponent as much as his own strength. In that regard, Igris is a clear powerhouse. He’s one of the top on the continent.

However, ‘one of the top’ and ‘the top’ are different.

Jade has never met anyone stronger than himself.

It’s somewhat embarrassing to that extent.

“Being the best on the continent, the strongest, there’s nothing more despicable than a person who takes pride in mere physical strength. It’s no different from the worthless gossip that the social butterflies chatter about.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Because human nobility does not originate from the strength of the body.”

Those who show off their strength look rather pitiful.

That’s why Jade despises the clans who boast about being martial families.

“Zia. Will you stay here longer?”

“Yes… just a little more… to watch…”

VVIP monitoring of the College Board. Even for Libra, a baseless youngest member would not normally be invited. She came thanks to Jade, so she intends to take advantage of it.

“Contact me when you’re done.”

“……Yes.”

Jade left the room like that, and Zia looked at the tablet PC again.

Shion Ascal.

She followed the sword he unfolded with her two eyes. Her two pupils were dyed as colorful as the screen of the PC.

Kwarururu───!

Shion Ascal, who drew only one line on the ground, faced countless monsters alone. A spectacle that unknowingly makes her clench her fists.

Suddenly, Zia became anxious. What if other families are also noticing this guy…

She has a desire to collect talents like this. Her radar is also developed.

That intuition is telling her.

Shion Ascal is definitely a lottery ticket that must be scratched.

* * *

Immediately after Shion’s broadcast ended.

The seniors ran out of the dormitory. Some jumped off the roof or out of the windows, some came down the stairs honestly, and some ran with their phantom beasts.

“Join us.”

Of course, Gerkhen, who jumped off the roof with the upper ranks.

“Elly!! We’re here too!!”

Layla, Kain, and Asher, who came looking for her, waved their hands.

One, two, three, four… Elise took control of the rapidly gathering seniors.

She formed a front line centered on Shion’s supply wagon and the park lake, and constructed a circular barricade like a temporary wall with the seniors who were 「Flexible」.

“Six hundred people?”

“Yeah. Including you, Elise, exactly 613!”

This guy was the senior who Shion threw chocolate bars and meat at and sent back.

They were somehow alive, and he, whose Five Senses were his Spectrum, accurately conveyed the number of people.

“We’ve lost a lot.”

“There might be a few more people, maybe they’re hiding underground?”

Hiding is, of course, one of the methods. If it’s a cheeky Spectrum that can hold out for 120 hours.

Anyway, from Elise’s perspective right now, they are cowards.

“Tsk. I’ll arrange the personnel first. Everyone listen carefully──!”

Elise shouted loudly and partitioned the space.

Soliette to the east, Gerkhen to the west, Kain and Asher to the south, Mel to the north as the person in charge, and distributed the appropriate personnel to each direction.

“Elly, why don’t you make me the person in charge?!”

“You’ll steal the supplies when you’re hungry.”

“What? When did I?!”

“Soliette. Take her with you.”

Elise placed Layla under Soliette to the east.

“Layla. Please come.”

“Uh, uh-huh……”

She seems unable to move when it comes to Soliette.

“Terence. You divide the water and food here and split it into supply boxes.”

“Yes! And here!”

Terence pulled out a megaphone.

“Ah, thank you. I needed it.”

Elise put it to her mouth.

“──Everyone! If there’s a problem with the front line, send a messenger right away! From now on, exactly 110 hours left!”

* * *

The seniors gathered together and formed a front line. Golems, turrets, and familiars took their places on the barricade.

─Don’t be penetrated!

Numerous monsters flooded into one point─the park, but it was manageable. 600 seniors were indeed a legion-level force.

─If it seems like it’s going to break through, switch!

Through rotation, they even had the luxury of resting during battle.

With the park’s lake inside the barricades, the food problem had been solved to some extent.

“……Hmm.”

However, the problem still remains.

Elise, with her arms crossed, quietly stared at the walkie-talkie on the field desk.

She picked it up and pressed the click- button.

“Hello.”

There was no response from the walkie-talkie. Whether it’s broken or not receiving.

He’s probably in the broadcast room.

But rescue is impossible. The facility management room is too far from the park, and the waves don’t stop.

We have to hold out in our own way, and Shion has to hold out in his own way.

“……Can you hear me?”

Elise quietly asked.

“……Or have you given up.”

There was no answer.

He probably gave up. His stamina was almost at the bottom when he left.

As Elise sighed a bitter sigh.

─No.

The voice flowing with the crackling- sound.

─I haven’t given up yet.

“!”

Elise quickly picked up the walkie-talkie.

“You, are you still in the broadcast room?”

─Yeah.

“Can you hold out?”

─……It’s hard. How many hours have passed?

There was no strength in his voice. It felt like his soul itself had shrunk.

“There’s not much left. Just hold out for 90 hours.”

─Are you crazy.

Elise smiled for a moment.

“So, are you going to give up?”

─Well, I’ve earned a lot of AP. At this rate, it seems like I’m a bit in Edsilla’s comfort zone?

“Stop talking nonsense.”

She stared at the radio, her eyes wide.

“You’ve found a way, but what if you die? You don’t seem to care. Or are you just heartless? Pathetic.”

─No, I won’t die. What is this, a movie? I can just give up.

“……There are many who ride for free, you know. Those who hide underground, waiting for others to do their work.”

─You’re just saying what you want to say again.

“Are you listening?”

─I’m listening.

Kwaah─!

A large explosion occurred. It was some senior’s Spectrum.

Elise let out a small sigh as she looked in that direction.

“……You know.”

─Yeah.

She lowered her head slightly.

“I…….”

She gently bit her lip.

Every night, she was in deep thought.

Petra.

About Petra.

Should she confess everything?

Or should she keep it all to herself?

─What.

He said. Elise slowly raised her head.

─If you have something to say, say it.

Something to say.

Elise gently closed her eyes.

“So…….”

─Yeah.

“……If I-”

─Ah, shit, I’m so tired, and you’re making a movie by yourself. I’m hanging up.

Click-

The radio was cut off.

“……?”

Elise tapped the radio a few times.

“Hello, can you hear me?”

There was no response.

“Damn…….”

Elise stared at the radio with sunken eyes. She slammed it down on the desk.

“……Ha.”

But she couldn’t choose either way.

If she confessed to Shion, she would have to abandon Petra. She would trample on her family, her father’s dreams and ambitions.

“But why…….”

Suddenly, a fundamental question arose from deep within her heart.

Why am I having this dilemma?

It should be obvious to choose family over strangers.

Why am I so tormented?

……Suddenly.

An old memory popped into her head.

The days when the Endex students, including Kain and Asher, bullied and ostracized Shion.

The reason was simply ‘because Elise disliked Shion’.

And the foolish her who even condoned it.

“…….”

Elise covered her face with her hands. She quietly thought about Shion Ascal.

He is special.

He is special in many ways, peculiar, and a person she feels sorry for.

These days, thoughts about him occupy half of her mind.

Then, the reason is…….

To be honest.

Elise thinks she vaguely knows.

Why she keeps dreaming about Shion, she thinks she knows a little.

But she’s suppressing it.

She’s deliberately turning a blind eye.

Because she ‘shouldn’t’ be.

Because she doesn’t even ‘deserve’ to……

“Miss Elise!”

Just then, Terence arrived.

“The supplies are here!”

He, who was in charge of supplies through fishing and water collection, brought out the supplies from the 「Home」.

Fish and water were piled up on the floor.

Flap-flap- flap-flap-

“……Good job.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Salute! Watching him salute, Elise nodded.

This guy, he might be more competent than I thought?