Haruo's expression shifted from that of a hardened fighter to an awkward, shy scholar. The transformation was sudden and perplexing, but he didn't dwell on it for long.
"We got this guy as our teammate?" Ena exclaimed, her voice carrying a mix of disbelief and frustration.
Isaac managed an awkward smile, his head still bowed.
"Don't be rude; a noble should mind their manners," Haruo said.
"I'm Haruo, nice working with you." Though his tone wasn't particularly warm, it wasn't cold either.
He raised his right hand, signaling for a handshake. Isaac shook it without hesitation. Haruo narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at him. Isaac responded by shaking his hand with both of his hands, waving it aggressively, his light green eyes now visible.
"N-nice to meet you" Isaac said.
'His grip is firm. It's kind of weird, since people like him usually don't know how to fight,' Haruo thought before letting go of his hand.
"I'm Ena Hyakagure. You better not drag us down," she said, glaring at Isaac, sending chills down his spine.
Haruo then slapped her on the head again, making her let out a loud "Ouch!" She glared at him, but the sting reminded her to be more mature and keep her temper in check.
"How are you older than me?" Haruo said, raising an eyebrow at Ena.
"Alright, now that were here it's about time how about we start planning" Haruo said.
***
After a while, they finally came up with a plan. With everything organized and agreed upon, they all stood up from their sitting positions and looked up, waiting anxiously to hear the announcement.
"Alright ten minutes is up, the test is now beginning, you all will be transported separately. The six hour timer starts now." The council said before sending us all to the ruined city.
Large buildings towered over them, it was night and raining. the city was barren except for the large monsters that were 6 meters tall average. The buildings looked like their about to crumble.
'So this was what the world looked like before the Great Clean Up', Haruo thought.
"Alright, let's go. Don't make any noise if you're going to kill monsters. We don't want attention," Haruo said.
He pulled out the Monarch-13 and slid the barrel inward, flipping it over to attach a silencer before switching it to stealth mode. Now, every shot it fired would only do half the usual damage, but each shot would be as quiet and precise as possible.
All of them charged forward, killing monsters while searching for a place to set as a checkpoint. Isaac had a hard time keeping up with both of them as they ran through hordes of monsters, all while looking for a safe spot.
Haruo then stopped in front of a small building. It was tall, but not so tall that it would attract too much attention. He glanced at them before walking toward it, his hand on the gun's handle as he approached the door.
"Do it," Haruo said, and Ena shook her head in response.
Ena left a small trail of blood, making sure it didn't have a scent. She placed a tiny fraction of blood in the doorway, then continued to explore the building with the others.
They entered a room with enough space to set up the checkpoint. Ena placed it in the center of the room before they all split up, each taking on their own tasks.
Ena started to explore the building, setting as many traps as she could. She avoided placing them outside or at the entrances, as that would be too risky. Instead, she placed small amounts of blood at the entrance and scattered it throughout the building.
This allowed her to sense vibrations, using the blood as a surveillance method. She was in charge of guarding the building, a role that was perfect for her due to her ability.
Meanwhile Isaac, He was scavenging buildings near theirs. He was in charge of finding orbs and killing monsters. He made sure he was swift when it came to exploring the buildings, Having his short blade ready.
Of course he was scared, he was even shivering but at least he was doing his job properly, he saw a doorway with no door. He leaned his back on the wall and slowly peeked inside. There were three orbs inside, He was suspicious of it.
He entered the room, scanning the corners. There was no one there. He quickly grabbed the orbs—two of them were just glowing spheres, but the third one had a black spot in the middle. He swiftly placed it on his ring to absorb the points, though it wouldn't register until he returned to their checkpoint.
Finally, Haruo was in charge of stealing from and eliminating the targeted team. There were about 66 teams in total, and they were team 12. Their targeted team was team 39. They would identify their target by looking for a red highlight on the neck, visible only to their team.
He was on top of a building, his coat was dark but not his hair so he has to duck to not get attention from others. He pressed the right side of his ear, which was an blood shaped liked an earbud, all of them had one.
"Is everyone doing their tasks?" Haruo asked.
"Yeah, there's no intruders yet so I'm going to explore the building more to place more traps or find some orbs" Ena said.
"M-me too, there seems to be no one in the building next to ours. I currently have seven orbs." Isaac said.
"Good. Report to me if anything happens," Haruo said before pulling his finger out of his ear, disconnecting from the others.
Haruo continued to search the top of the building, moving to each corner of the building. His heightened perception allowed him to spot a man below, skillfully killing monsters. From what he could see, the man had a mohawk, moving with calculated precision.
'The Monarch-7 would've been perfect right now, but Master never told me where he put it,' Haruo thought before leaping from one building to another.
'I feel like I've done this before,' a huge sense of déjà vu washed over his body.
He finally got close to the man, but instead of charging straight in to fight, he chose to observe from behind a wall. Haruo concealed his presence carefully so the man wouldn't notice him and double-checked that his gun was loaded and ready.
'The mohawk guy, the one Ena had a bad feeling about. Not really seeing it—must just be the mohawk,' Haruo thought, dismissing the notion as he continued to watch closely.
Haruo then put his hand on his ear, pressing the ear bud lightly.
"I found another participant. I'm currently watching him. I'll be offline for a while—only contact me if it's really urgent," Haruo said before cutting the connection.
"Alright—" Ena started, but Haruo cut the line before she could finish, leaving her irritated.
Ena then felt a vibration at the entrance, which immediately made her vigilant and washed away her irritation. She carefully moved back toward the checkpoint, eyes sharp and senses on high alert.
She pressed the earbud carefully whispering.
"An intruder has entered the building, Isaac go to base immediately"
"U-understood"
"Make sure your vigilant about it," Ena added before putting her palm on the wall to sense where the intruder is now.
'He's currently on the first floor, it looks like he's in a room. the storage, his also armed.'
"Isaac, when you're entering the building, hide your presence. He's on the first floor," Ena said, drawing her emperor blades and preparing herself.
'I haven't placed enough traps yet. I didn't expect someone to reach our building this fast,' Ena thought, her mind racing as she steadied her grip on the emperor blades.
Isaac had now entered the building, his short blade ready as he carefully chose his path, staying as quiet as possible. He looked around trying to find the intruder.
"W-where is he?" Isaac whispered, his voice barely audible through the connection.
"He's in the next room, towards you. He's currently searching for orbs, I think. Get ready to attack him," Ena instructed, her focus sharp as she awaited any sign of movement.
Isaac slowly made his way toward the room, sweat dripping down his forehead as he neared, every step measured and cautious. He made sure his movements were as quiet as possible, his senses sharp, listening for any sound that might give him away.
Then, Isaac saw the back of the intruder. He carefully approached and tried to knock him unconscious, but it didn't work. The man slowly turned around, causing Isaac to shout in surprise. Before he could react, the intruder collapsed to the ground.
"Nice work," Ena said entering the room, startling Isaac.
"I know you're a pussy, but I didn't expect you to be this much of one. Go to the checkpoint and register the points, I'll take care of him," Ena said, her tone sharp as Isaac hurried toward the checkpoint.
Ena watched Isaac run off toward the checkpoint before turning her attention back to the intruder. A wide grin spread across her face, her eyes glowing with intensity as her expression darkened.
"I mean, torture isn't against the rules, is t it?" Ena said menacingly as she giggled a bit.
"I can probably figure out where his checkpoint is," she said, her voice cold as she tied him to the wall with blood, the crimson tendrils forcing him to wake up.
She pulled his hair, causing him to tremble in fear.
"Alright, tell me where your checkpoint is. Don't be scared, I won't torture you if you just tell me," she said, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she released his hair.
Isaac watched in horror from the doorway, both palms pressed to his mouth as he stood frozen, unable to look away.
"You aren't going to say? Isn't two balls too much for you? How about we make it one?" She laughed wickedly, her foot raised as she prepared to deliver a brutal kick.
The intruder quickly began to speak, his voice trembling, just before she could deliver the kick. Ena's expression soured with disappointment, but she still got the information she needed.
She then stole his points by pressing their rings together for a minute. When she finished him off, a blue aura erupted from his body, signaling his disqualification.
"Glasses!" Ena exclaimed.
"Y-yes, ma'am?" Isaac said, straightening his posture and lifting his chin.
"Go to their base, and get all their points. I wanna go myself but i have to defend this place, besides your ability is perfect for stealing."
"O-Okay," Isaac stuttered, but he didn't hesitate to run to their checkpoint.
Ena watched him sprint away, he sighed before stretching her body. She began to place traps in the first floor, but avoiding the entrance. Finally she finished with the first floor.
She tapped her earbud, contacting Haruo.
"Hey Haru, we found an enemy checkpoint. Isaac is on his way to steal their points. Any updates on your side?"
***
"Hello?"
"Now is not the time!" Haruo replied
"What why?"
"A wild Russian is currently chasing me down!" Haruo exclaimed.
Her voice echoed in his ear as he quickly ran, glancing over his shoulder. Theodor Andreev was right behind him, chasing with a spear. Haruo was about to respond, but Theodor thrust the spear forward. In a split second, Haruo crouched, narrowly dodging the attack.
"I can't talk right now! Ill call you both later!"
Haruo quickly jumped to dodge a slash from Theodor, then landed with his hands, doing a cartwheel to regain his balance. However, he realized too late that it was a bad move—he had forgotten that he was inside a building. Looking down, he saw just how high up he was, and panic set in as he realized he was about to fall.
Theodor followed him, their eyes locking as they both plummeted. A distant thunderclap echoed through the sky, adding to the tension of the moment. Falling wasn't necessarily the problem; it was the fact that his opponent could reach him before they hit the ground. Haruo's thoughts raced as Theodor closed in, spear poised for a deadly strike midair.
'Why are we the target for him, out of all the teams!?'