STM 056

“Hunter Cloud!”

Ibelia’s bright voice was heard. The children’s eyes were sparkling as they looked at Cloud as if a savior had come down.

Polargehen was no different. He was still busy dealing with the Fiends, but he seemed to have a lighter burden on his shoulders than before.

I quietly twisted my arm out of his grip.

Then Cloud glanced down at me. His amber-colored eyes were more serious than usual. Suddenly, his outstretched hand rested on my head. The face of Cloud, visible beyond the hand that had brushed over my head once as if stroking it, was smiling as usual, as if he had never been serious.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you smitten?”

I roughly ignored Cloud’s nonsense, which had no nutritional value. He seemed to be properly aware that this was not the time to joke around, so he laughed it off and turned to look at Polargehen.

“Professor. Please step aside for a moment.”

Then Polargehen quickly stepped back.

Immediately after, Cloud reached out towards the Fiends.

Zhiiiiing.

A Magic Circle, too large to fit in my eyes, unfolded above my head.

I felt the surrounding air become heavy for a moment. At the same time, the movements of the Fiends, who were screaming like cries, were slowing down. It was as if they were fish caught in a net.

‘This is… Magic that uses gravity.’

I recalled the identity of the Magic by looking at the Formula of the Magic Circle and dredging up my memories.

It was Magic that used the energy of nature called gravity to block the movement of a specific target and even destroy it.

Soon, the Fiends were flattened as if they were being crushed by something.

The sound of the internal cores of the Ramble, which had been hideously distorted, being destroyed and shattered began to be heard everywhere. The Fiends that had been swarming in this area were all disappearing with that one Magic.

So simply.

In the suffocating silence, the corpses of the scattered Fiends were disintegrating into Mana one by one and scattering beautifully. The children, as well as Polargehen and the Assistant Hunters who had stepped back to watch, were amazed and only blinked their eyes.

‘Amazing.’

Even I was genuinely impressed by his skill at this moment.

The Magic itself was comparable to 7-Star, but it wasn’t an appropriate Magic to use in a situation where there were so many people.

Unless he was going to massacre everyone in this place, he needed a considerable level of skill to select a specific ‘large number of targets’ under a Magic Circle that affected everyone. The reason why Polargehen, a 7-Star Achiever, didn’t use that Magic was because of the high level of risk that came with it.

But Cloud did it so skillfully that no one could find fault with it. He was a very daring guy.

No, was it daring or confidence?

As expected, 8-Star was different.

‘There are four more skilled people like him.’

If you include Ardian, who hasn’t yet made it onto the Black Class list, there were five more.

I had already experienced the greatness of 8-Star firsthand, but… seeing it like this, I couldn’t help but think that it wouldn’t be easy to face them as enemies someday.

‘I can’t afford to rest even after reaching 8-Star.’

I was lost in thought when.

“I’m going to go find the ‘mastermind’.”

Cloud turned to look at Polargehen and said.

The mastermind….

They seemed to fully understand that the low-intelligence Ramble couldn’t have shown such disciplined movements, so there must be someone behind them who was commanding and coordinating them.

Polargehen nodded with a small sigh.

“Yes. I’ll leave it to you.”

Cloud, who had received the request, glanced at me once before disappearing in an instant. He had used Space Transition.

It seemed that he was going to use Space Transition and Sense Perception in conjunction to move around, as it would be much faster to find them that way than just running around.

‘Mana consumption must be very high….’

Was he thinking of finding them quickly and ending it in a short battle?

Anyway, there was no need to worry too much about that.

I sat down in a suitable spot.

Tom, who had been very nervous, seemed to think that he had relieved himself of a burden, and he slumped his shoulders and made a fuss next to me.

I don’t know how much time had passed.

What was clear was that it wasn’t a very long time.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t wait any longer and got up from my seat. I was going to go and find Zeon and Herman, who hadn’t come, myself.

Of course, I wasn’t making a reckless move without anything to rely on.

I could easily take care of the mid-level and low-level Ramble on my own, and in the case of the high-level Ramble, I could use my combat experience to deal with them without much difficulty.

“Uh, Raymond. Where are you going?”

Tom grabbed my pants in a panic. Polargehen, who had been standing guard to prepare for a Fiend attack that might occur again, also turned around in a panic.

So I explained the reason why I was trying to act alone.

“There are students who haven’t come. There’s a high possibility that something has happened, so I’ll go and look for them for a while.”

Polargehen approached me, trying to stop me.

“It’s dangerous for you to go. Let’s wait for now….”

It was then.

Polargehen’s gaze shifted to behind me. He narrowed his eyes as if he had found something, and then his eyes widened. I, too, turned around quickly, feeling a strange sensation. A shadowy, unfamiliar figure stood there quietly, bathed in the moonlight.

‘…Who is it?’

He was a tall and large man with a considerable build.

His face, which was covered in shadows because he was bowing his head, couldn’t be seen properly, but it certainly wasn’t a familiar feeling. His strange attire, too….

Around that time, he slowly raised his head.

As if the dark clouds were receding, the darkness that had been cast over him was lifted. Within it, black eyes and milky-white pupils slowly began to be revealed.

“……!”

It wasn’t a human, but a humanoid Fiend, Balkan.

“Raymond Valentasia.”

Balkan, who was staring straight at me, recited the name of this body accurately. I narrowed my eyes. How did a guy I was seeing for the first time today know the name of this body?

That was surprising, but what was even more surprising right now was that he was speaking the human language fluently. Of course, I couldn’t tell whether he was mid-level or high-level just by uttering a few names….

‘I should keep in mind that he might be a high-level Balkan.’

I glanced at the humans.

Everyone who recognized him as Balkan was tense.

Then Balkan took a step closer.

Exactly towards me.

The Assistant Hunters, including Polargehen, were on high alert and ready to attack, but he wasn’t even looking at them.

Even if he was a high-level Balkan, he would be comparable to 7-Star, but he was being so relaxed in front of a 7-Star Achiever who was similar to him.

I didn’t know if he was arrogant or what.

‘Anyway….’

Facing Balkan, who was staring intently at me, I had to recall the attack incident during the previous practice session again.

I strongly suspected that he was related to that time… and that he had come to find me for the same purpose as that time.

“R, Raymond….”

Tom’s voice, full of fear, trembled as it was heard. I briefly looked back at the frightened children. There was a different level of tension flowing than when they had faced the Ramble.

“…….”

It wasn’t that I felt sorry for them, who might have been caught up in this because of me, or that I had to save them. It wasn’t my business whether humans died or not.

So it was just a whim.

I moved on impulse. As I headed away from the villa to lure him elsewhere, just as expected, Balkan’s gaze followed me from behind.

“Raymond!”

I heard Polargehen’s urgent shout from behind me, but it was only for a moment. The sound of rustling leaves brushing past quickly buried and erased his voice.

Soon after, a single presence followed me.

Though it wasn’t murderous, I could tell it was an unfamiliar presence. The one hot on my heels was that Balkan.

‘So his target really was me.’

What could be the true intention of the Fiends targeting me? I couldn’t even clearly distinguish whether they were after this body or the me dwelling within this body, and it was frustrating.

Anyway, for now… I run as far as I can. I had no choice but to endure until my pride was bruised or until Cloud, who had disappeared saying he would find the mastermind, noticed this situation.

Then, a shadow abruptly appeared in front.

“……!”

I stopped mid-stride across the mountain path. It seemed he had no intention of playing along with my pace for long, as Balkan had instantly overtaken me.

I took half a step back to put distance between us. In contrast, as if intending to act leisurely, he simply stared at me. As if confident he could catch me again even if I ran, it thoroughly grated on my nerves.

But… as frustrating as it was, that was the reality.

In my current state, I had no way to completely escape from him. All I could do was buy as much time as possible.

While quietly watching Balkan, I opened my mouth.

“You. What is your purpose in targeting me?”

A brief silence hung in the air. Balkan blinked once, his face as inorganic as ever, showing not a speck of emotion, and opened his mouth a beat later to answer.

“There is a place you must accompany us to.”

For someone who came to capture me, his attitude was quite polite.