By Zephyria 
While I was sound asleep without a single dream, a strange noise that gave me a sense of crisis seemed to ring in my ears, and I woke up involuntarily.
“……?”
I thought it was a momentary illusion, but it wasn’t. In reality, a sharp and loud alarm was ringing loudly from somewhere.
‘What is it.’
At first, I couldn’t grasp the situation properly and just frowned. I rubbed my eyes, got up, and slightly pulled back the window curtain to look outside. And when I saw Polargehen and Cloud standing in front of the villa, I woke up with a start.
Something was about to begin.
I was convinced of that thought when Polargehen turned off the alarm, used Amplification magic, and opened his mouth.
《Ahem.》
Polargehen’s voice echoed throughout the villa.
This is… not just simple Amplification magic.
It was that applied Magic that was also used during the festival.
《From now on, we will begin the survival game.》
I was already wide awake, so I watched the situation below with a clear mind.
Suddenly, Cloud, who had been standing with his hands in his pockets in a relaxed posture, raised his head. As if he had noticed my gaze, he smiled directly at my room’s window.
《The time limit is one hour.》
Immediately after, Cloud took his hands out of his pockets.
《Try to escape well from Cloud Hunter.》
I felt a sense of crisis and took a step away from the window. And not long after. A scream was heard from the hallway. I turned around in surprise and looked out the window again.
Cloud, who had been standing there just a moment ago, had disappeared without a trace.
“……!”
I was momentarily flustered, but only for a moment.
I quickly regained my composure and racked my brain.
‘A survival game.’
Come to think of it, Polargehen said that it would be the full-fledged form of the practice.
It was a sudden start, but considering that enemies don’t always announce their arrival in real battles, it was rather natural, so there was no point in complaining.
‘I have to leave the villa first.’
The condition this time is to escape from Cloud for an hour. So this place is too small. If I stay inside the building, I’ll be easily caught by him.
‘Let’s go to the forest.’
While he’s wreaking havoc inside, I’ll try to buy as much time as possible by roaming the mountains with dense forests.
So, when I threw open the window.
“Where are you going?”
I heard his voice from the door. When I turned around sharply, I saw Cloud leaning against the doorframe. His narrowed eyes scanned me. His intensely shining gaze was like that of a beast aiming for its prey. Yet, he didn’t come closer to catch me right away.
‘Try to run away if you want… is that it?’
Fine.
If they provoke me, I have no choice but to respond.
I placed my hands on the windowsill and jumped down without hesitation. As I landed softly on the ground and headed towards the forest, I felt signs of others scattering at a similar time. It seemed that some of the children who understood the flow of the situation had also chosen to head to the forest to buy as much time as possible.
If Cloud targets the others first, I can buy that much more time. Creating a situation where the ‘enemy’ has many options to consider, causing confusion, wasn’t bad.
STM
‘But how far can I run from someone who uses Space Transition?’
When I first met him at the Longcrew Library, he definitely used Space Transition. Now that he has no restrictions… it was crystal clear that he would use Space Transition to hunt me down.
‘I need to hide my location as much as possible.’
It was around then.
Not far away, another scream rang out, mixed with rough noises like things being overturned.
A dull thud came from the opposite side.
That wasn’t a distance that could be covered by running. He was using Space Transition after all.
‘Tch.’
Clicking my tongue softly, I slowly moved, trying to make as little noise as possible. Because he was a Space Transition user, I couldn’t predict where he would suddenly pop up, so my senses were sharper than usual.
Then, I suddenly felt something was off and raised my head.
It’s too quiet.
Just a moment ago, there was a commotion everywhere. Could it be that he couldn’t find me and went back to the villa?
‘Then, in this gap….’
Just then, a strong wind blew from somewhere. At the same time, I felt the energy of Mana mixing and spreading in the air.
“……!”
This is Magic that applies Mana Detection, Sense Perception.
In an instant, I realized I was in trouble.
Cloud must have spread this Mana, and since he would find anyone caught in the Mana and move with Space Transition, escaping was nearly impossible.
Now that it’s come to this, hiding my presence is useless.
I was about to get up and move quickly.
“Peek-a-boo.”
As if not giving me a chance, Cloud, who appeared blocking my path, smirked, raising the corners of his lips.
At first, I was surprised and flustered, but since I had already anticipated this situation, I quickly composed myself. I didn’t like the relaxed attitude of the guy who knew so well that he was in a superior position.
Kiiing!
A skeleton was constructed and appeared from a rapidly forming Magic Circle.
From 4-star and above, it is possible to construct Extant Remains where a Netherworld Spirit can reside using only the caster’s Mana, without needing a medium, making the casting speed much faster. Furthermore, after researching a bit more, I found that if I create a ‘Simple Mana Heart’ along with the Extant Remains, the skeleton can even use Magic on its own.
Therefore, the skeleton I created now also had a Simple Mana Heart in its chest.
Cloud, who was staring intently while stroking his chin, narrowed his eyes and drawled, “Hmm.”
“You really use Black Mana?”
His gaze made me feel like I was a rare animal, and I frowned. Immediately, the skeleton pushed off the ground with force and charged.
Thud!
Cloud doesn’t avoid it. As expected. Then, as Cloud reached out to destroy the attacking skeleton.
‘Now.’
It was just before they made contact.
The skeleton, understanding my intention without me directly saying it, used Magic to carry out the order.
“……?!”
Explosion Magic placed on the Extant Remains, Ammonium Nitrate Explosive, was being cast.
In other words, the skeleton was a moving bomb itself, and the firepower it could unleash was the maximum I could achieve.
Kwaang!
With a tremendous explosion, a strong backdraft blew. Pitch-black smoke swelled up, swallowing my vision. In that gap, I retreated as far as I could and started running.
If I managed to briefly restrain him with that explosion, then it was a success.
From the start, I didn’t expect to inflict a fatal wound on him.
‘Come to think of it….’
The cave I found while wandering around the mountains yesterday. Suddenly, the Magic Circle drawn on the floor of that cave came to mind. It was definitely a Magic Circle that served a similar role to a Barrier, so if activated, it could block external access.
Why was such a defensive Magic Circle in such a place?
It’s not certain yet… but what if that cave was acting as a kind of safe zone during the survival game?
Just as that thought reached me.
“Thank you for showing me something interesting.”
I felt Cloud’s presence approaching from behind, suddenly.
I tried to quickly distance myself, but the movement of his arm, wrapping around my waist and grabbing me, was faster.
“Keuk!”
I was caught while moving through the trees, so I couldn’t land properly on a branch and ended up dangling from his arm.
But I wasn’t going to be caught helplessly like this.
When I forcefully struck his left side with my elbow, even that great Black Class seemed to feel the pain in his vital spot, and a small groan escaped him above my head.
“Be a little, quiet…! Tch.”
Cloud, as if intending to prevent me from struggling, hugged me even tighter and then covered my eyes with his free hand.
I was on high alert, wondering what he was trying to do, but contrary to my caution, an irresistible, intense sleepiness washed over me, and my mind began to blur.
And in the last moment.
“Just sleep for a bit.”
I heard Cloud’s voice whispering like that.
‘Damn… you bastard.’
I realized in my fading consciousness. That he had used Magic to force me to sleep.
And, I don’t know how long I was passed out.
When I opened my eyes again, I was already lying in front of the villa. I was blankly staring at the blue sky for a moment when Tom’s face suddenly appeared in my vision.
“Raymond! Are you awake?”
I sighed softly and raised my upper body.
“What happened?”
“Well, most of them couldn’t escape Cloud Hunter and were caught. Ardian and Zeon are the only ones still holding out.”
My head felt a bit heavy, so I touched my forehead with the back of my hand, and then, hearing Tom’s words, I finally looked around the villa. There were some children lying unconscious nearby, and some seemed to be injured and were receiving treatment from helpers who appeared to be healing-focused hunters.
It seemed Polargehen had called these hunters in advance to prepare for this.
I pondered Tom’s words and lowered my head.
Black Class was said to be a realm only those who were close to or had achieved the accomplishments of an 8-star could reach. If so, Cloud must also be an achiever of that level, meaning he was at a similar level to Zeon.
The two of them would be able to exceed the time limit.
And my prediction was correct.
Zeon and Ardian were the only ones who weren’t caught and dragged by Cloud or dragged unconscious until the end. However, the difference was that Zeon was injured as if he had fought a difficult battle, while Ardian was spotless.
‘As expected, that guy is….’
Ardian, who suddenly turned to look at me, came straight to me. I was flustered and pulled my head back, but he knelt down in front of me, making eye contact.
A quiet gaze scrutinizing me. His face, not smiling, was somehow inorganic and eerie. Around that time, his fingers reached out and brushed past my cheek.
Whether I had been injured without realizing it, it stung, and I squinted one eye, and the shadowed golden eyes that were looking at me rippled darkly, filled with a cold color.
“Ray, you weren’t hurt badly, were you?”