"Very well. Then, I hope you can endure the pain. I am sorry, Olympia."
Jake stood up and let Olympia rest. After that, he looked at the situation ahead. The snake had stopped its rampage and was looking for its prey. It was only a matter of time before it could find them.
"What should we do, Butler?" Reina asked. "Do we really have to wait?"
"Marilyn is not a fool. If we cause commotion, she can find us through the mana fluctuation. So... Let's try defeating that snake, Reina, Warren."
"Are you serious?" Warren asked.
Jake smirked. "What? Chickening out?"
Warren clasped his fist and grinned. "Nah, it sounds fun. Let's do it."
"Good. You and Reina will become the damage dealers. I will keep the snake's attention," Jake said. He also saw Cody who was eager to participate too. "As for you, Cody, you have to guard the ladies."
"Why? I want to participate too!"
"Don't be greedy, Cody. Everyone has their own talents. You are not suitable for frontal assault. Your talent lies in assassinating and scouting."
"I can become bait too."
"For now, you lack experience. Just do what I told you. This is an order from the class president," Jake asserted. While he felt bad for Cody, someone had to watch the injured ladies. He didn't want to spend time convincing someone when the snake could find them at any moment.
"Cody, I know you want to become useful, but protecting your injured classmates is an important task too. Can you please keep my friends safe? I beg you," Reina begged in a softer tone
Cody frowned when Reina talked to him, but he didn't talk back and nodded.
With that, the problem between teammates was solved. As expected, a girl was better at convincing a man.
The next thing he did was discuss a plan with Reina and Warren. After that, Jake came out first.
When he appeared from behind the boulder, the snake immediately noticed him. It raised its head and hissed at him.
"Okay, shall we see your first move?" Jake charged toward the snake first, making it bewildered.
The snake opened its mouth and aimed its fangs at him. Layers of mana flowed to the tips of the fangs and condensed into a frost orb. After that, the snake fired it at him.
When the frost ball advanced, everything on its path froze. Cold steams also came out of inside it and cracked its outer body.
Jake had experienced the ability beforehand, so he knew the ball would explode and spread cold damage. Even if his endurance was high, he wouldn't survive the attack.
Jake extended his arm forward and let the [Attraction Force] pull his body upward. He reached the upper part of a boulder. After that, he flipped his body to the other side and hid.
At the same time, the frost ball exploded and spread ice layers to a fixed radius including the boulder Jake was using to hide. The ice layer spread to the front side of the boulder. However, it didn't reach the rear side.
Jake was lucky he had a chance to hide, but he couldn't stay in this spot any longer. He knew the snake had figured out his location.
And just like his prediction, the giant snake appeared in front of him. It raised its head and bared its fangs against him again.
At this moment, Warren suddenly descended from above and landed a drop kick at the snake's head. The kick contained Warren's maximum added weight, and it successfully slammed the snake's head to the ground.
Even though he had landed a free heavy attack, Warren didn't put on a happy expression. After all, his kick could only crack the scale around the snake's head.
"Are you serious? How sturdy is this guy?" Warren exclaimed.
As if mocking him, the snake raised its head again and tossed Warren to the air. After that, it opened its mouth and waited for him to drop into its mouth.
Warren usually could make himself float, but he had used all his mana in his previous attack, so he couldn't exert his ability at the moment.
Warren cried when he was falling toward the creature's mouth. "Ahh, help me, Jake!"
Jake applied [Repulsion Force] on his feet and jumped to the air. He snatched Warren before he entered the snake's mouth. After that, he landed on the ground and ran away while carrying Warren in a princess position.
"Are we going to run?" Warren asked.
"Even I can't injure the snake at my level," Jake said bitterly. If Warren and Reina, two of the people who had the biggest firepower in the class, weren't present, he wouldn't have dared to challenge the giant snake. "We have discussed this. We will lure it to Reina."
Jake felt the snake's presence behind him, so he hastened his footsteps. Reina was hiding quite far because she needed to do something that could end the giant snake's life in one attack. He just had to reach her. However, it seemed like a hard task.
Behind him, the snake fired shards of ice at him. Jake could evade some without looking, but a few hit him from behind, making him fall.
Warren dropped to the ground and immediately stood up. He approached Jake and helped him to stand. "Butler, are you okay?" he asked.
"I was careless. I didn't know the snake could use more than one ice-attributed spell," he said. Ice shards penetrated his back and calves. The cold shards numbed his muscles, but he stood up without complaining.
"Can you move? Let me carry you."
Jake couldn't reply to Warren as he was alerted that the snake was behind him. Even though he had a hard time moving, he still could use his mana. He applied [Repulsion Force] on his feet and propelled himself forward while pushing Warren.
They evaded the snake's attack, but they crashed against another boulder. However, Jake had placed himself behind Warren, letting himself become a cushion. Thanks to his actions, Warren didn't suffer the crash damage too much, so he could stand up and carry Jake on his shoulder.
Warren was about to run, but the snake was faster than him. The snake stood before them and raised its head in aggression.
"Oh, no. I think this is our end," Warren said.
"It seems so. Sorry, man. I could have planned better," Jake replied.
"No. As you would like to say, don't sweat the small stuff."
Jake smiled at his joke. Thanks to Warren, he didn't feel guilty too much. At least, it was only Warren and him that would fail the test. So, he only owed him one and not anyone else.
Jake accepted his fate when the snake opened its mouth. However, a rock suddenly hit the snake's injured eye and averted its attention from them.
Not far from their spots, Cody stood with rough breathing. He also carried chunks of rock in his hands.
Cody drew air into his lungs and shouted, "Come and get me, you coward! I will blind your other eye!"
Even though the snake couldn't understand his language, the snake sensed a threat from Cody and decided to approach him.
"Cody, run!" Jake shouted when the snake left him and Warren. He forced himself to stand. Even though he was staggering, he didn't stop trying.
Jake propelled his body forward with the help of [Repulsion Force] and landed on his feet safely with [Attraction Force]. With this method, he could move his body while he was in a numb state. Still, the snake was faster than him.
Cody could have run too, but his legs were numb. He could only stare in fear as the snake arrived in front of him. However, he was lucky. When the snake was about to attack him, Reina jumped from a certain boulder and landed on the snake's head.
Reina's body emanated aura, but something was unusual about her aura output. It felt immense. It was two times stronger than the normal [Aura Ignition].
As someone who had [Swordmaster] talent, Reina naturally could use [Aura Ignition] and several swordsmen techniques like [Aura Slash] and [Magic Slash]
When she combined her aura and magic, Reina couldn't contain it within her body and needed to release it immediately. So, Jake gave her a manual on how to contain two combined energies within her body. Of course, she had learned the technique, allowing her to use another advanced magic swordsman's ability called [Aura Magic Ignition]. The effect of this ability was two times more potent than a simple [Aura Ignition].
And thus, Reina planted her sword into the snake's cracked scale. As the snake let out a painful shriek, she ran along its body and moved toward the tail while dragging the sword, slicing the monster's body.
As she was halfway toward the tail, the snake bounced her off its body, making her fall. After that, it went berserk, knowing it would die sooner or later. Its head was split into halves, so it knew well it wouldn't survive. If it was about to die, it would take people's lives too.
The snake whipped its body violently, and it almost hit the stunned Cody and the unconscious Reina a few times.
Jake couldn't let his classmates suffer, so he controlled his halberd to float and pushed it with [Repulsion Force]. The halberd came like a precise arrow and stabbed the snake's second eye.
The snake let out one final hiss before dropping dead.