"Argh...!" I groaned, clutching the clean stump where my right hand used to be—the hand I'd held the gun with. Pain pulsed through my arm as I glared at the lifeless body of that girl.
"Damn, she was dangerous!" I admitted, my eyes narrowing at the corpse of the archer.
**[You're lucky you reacted at the very last second,]** the system chimed in, as unhelpful as always.
"Yeah... thanks for the assist," I shot back sarcastically.
But, in all seriousness, that was a lucky break. If we faced off again, I wasn't sure I'd come out alive. At that moment of truth when we both fired, I made the best decision I could—leaning to the left at the very last second. Good thing too, because she had aimed for a headshot, sacrificing her life in the process.
"Haah," I sighed, checking my graphto-watch.
**[Number 473: +3800 points]**
"Well, what do you know? Seems like she had snagged more than enough points to pass the exam herself. So why the hell was she so fixated on taking me down?" I muttered, shaking my head.
...Oh well, better get moving before she somehow comes back for vengeance.
I glanced down the aisles in front of me. Empty. Not a soul in sight.
Come to think of it... it was eerily quiet.
Wait—was she the source of that explosion earlier? That would make sense.
**Let's leave.**
I tapped my graphto-watch, and my last healing potion materialized in my left hand. Haah... using this on the first day felt like a waste, but with my condition, I wouldn't be going far without it.
"Yeah, I'm not leaving the next safe spot I find until the exam is over," I grumbled. I chuckled to myself, imagining hunkering down for the rest of the event.
"Oh!" My eyes landed on something—a newer, better-looking bag than the tattered one I had. I rushed forward, grabbed it, and began stuffing it with anything that seemed remotely useful.
But then... where was my spear?
"Hah... that piece of garbage took a whole hour to make and turned out to be utterly useless!" I cursed under my breath.
**[Shut up and leave. Someone's coming.]**
"Who...?" I asked, frowning as I scanned my surroundings.
**[Someone you wouldn't want to meet face to face...]**
At those words, a dozen faces flashed through my mind, none of which I wanted to encounter.
"Crap!" I hissed, immediately bolting down the aisles, frantically grabbing anything I could along the way. In no time, I spotted an exit.
But wait... that would be stupid.
Yes, it would be downright idiotic to walk out as if I owned the place.
Some bastards were probably lurking, just waiting for the next fool to step outside. Was that why everything had gone so quiet? Had the first few students to leave decided to camp out and ambush anyone who tried to escape next?
**[...Hm, you really surprised me there...]**
"Fucking asshole!" I snapped, my voice seething with irritation. "You knew all this, yet you told me to leave?" I kept moving, heading to the other side of the building. I prayed there was an emergency exit or something similar—otherwise, I was toast.
"Well, what do you know!" I laughed with a touch of disbelief as I spotted another door.
Quickly, I tapped my graphto-watch, materializing my dagger. I swung it at the door.
*Thwack!*
The door broke open, leading me to the back of the building. I glanced left, then right. No one. Just dumpsters and debris. Perfect.
"Alright, let's find somewhere to lie low until this exam ends," I muttered, a smirk crossing my face as I slipped into the alleyway, moving away from the supermarket's entrance.
As I turned a corner, a thought nagged at me.
Who exactly was I about to run into if I hadn't left?
**[As I said before... you really don't want to know.]**
"Ugh," I grimaced as a particular face finally surfaced in my mind.
Please.
Anyone but her.