Lana, Luny, and the girl I had just saved were practically crushing me. Their hands gripped my arms and clothes as if I were the last lifeline in that sea of chaos. Their eyes were wide with fear, and their bodies trembled.
"Mr. Eclivel, please don't leave us!" one of them whispered, her voice shaking.
I sighed, trying to maintain composure. "It's alright, you're safe here with me. Just stay behind me."
Styg, who had been silent until then, finally couldn't hold his tongue. He looked at me with envy, his eyes almost glowing with jealousy. "Why were you born so lucky, huh? Surrounded by girls at a time like this?"
I rolled my eyes. "Man, we're going to die if this keeps up, and you still have the nerve to think about that right now?"
"You're not going to die," he replied with a mischievous grin. "The mages are about to make their move."
Even amidst all the chaos, my attention was drawn to the three mages dressed in white, who remained untouched by the giant Hawks. It was strange. It seemed like those creatures had some kind of instinct that prevented them from approaching the mages. They circled around them but never crossed an invisible line.
It was then that, thanks to my enhanced senses from the Virtual Lab, I caught the conversation between the mages. They made no effort to hide it, and I heard everything clearly.
"We need to do something," said a woman, her tone slightly irritated. "They've already killed too many of these cockroaches."
"Relax!" responded another voice, male and cynical. "So far, only 15 cockroaches have died. The limit hasn't been reached yet."
"But it's getting close," retorted the man, now more serious. "I still need to determine the stability model for this technique, damn it! The energy here is insufficient to complete the formula!"
That's when the third man, who had been silent until then, stood up. "I'll do it."
My eyes locked onto him as he stepped forward, his presence radiating an almost tangible authority.
"All of you, stupid and humble beasts," he began, his voice dripping with disdain. "You truly dare to disturb us, revered mages? You will die for committing such a sin."
He started chanting something, a sequence of words that made no sense at all.
"FireºFireºFireº," he intoned, and immediately the Virtual Lab reacted with bright red alerts.
["ALERT!"]
["Radiation source detected!"]
["Energy field discovered!"]
["Suggestion to retreat immediately!"]
Despite the warnings, I stayed still, watching. I wasn't scared. In fact, I was fascinated. Every word he spoke seemed to belong to an ancient language, something outside of our world.
"So, magic works like this?" I thought. "An ancient language, something like a tongue twister... Do you need to chant it to activate the spell?"
The man raised his hand, and the giant Hawks around him immediately recoiled, as if facing a natural predator.
"Deadly, explosive fire slash!"
When he finished the chant, a crescent-shaped blade of fire appeared in his hand, floating as if defying the laws of physics. The Virtual Lab immediately registered its properties.
["Estimated temperature: 1,000 degrees."]
["Distortion detected in the space around the blade."]
"Buzz~~"
The flaming blades left a trail of fire as they shot toward the heart of the giant Hawk.
"Down! Now!" I shouted, pushing the girls into a small compartment. But it was too late.
"BOOM!"
The explosion resonated like the roar of thunder, accompanied by a wave of devastating heat that sent everyone—humans and Hawks—flying through the air.
"Puff! Poi, poi!" Coughing, I got up from the ground, my mouth was on the brown breasts of the girl I had recently saved. The girls were passed out on top of me, but they were breathing. I gently pushed them to the side, checking they were ok.
I looked in the direction where the fire blade had fallen. The place where the leader of the giant Hawks had been was now nothing but a sea of destruction. Everything had been burned down to ashes.
"Monsters..." I murmured, my eyes fixed on the mages in white. "These guys... They aren't human..."
The giant Hawks let out agonizing screams before finally retreating, their massive wings kicking up dust as they disappeared into the horizon. The chaotic scene slowly gave way to silence, broken only by the fearful murmurs of the surviving students and the cold commands of the mages in white.
I stood there, watching the mage who had conjured that devastating fire blade. His power seemed incomprehensible, as if he could shape reality itself to his will. My eyes burned, reflecting the intensity of the desire growing inside me.
"This is power. True power," I thought, my heart racing. "I must obtain it. No matter the price, I need it in my hands."
The mages seemed indifferent to the chaos they had caused, and their leader spoke coldly, ignoring the fascinated—and fearful—gazes of the students around us.
"Quickly! Clean the battlefield!" he ordered, his voice as cold as ice. He calmly walked back to the other two mages, as if the carnage that had just unfolded was a trivial matter.
I moved among the bodies scattered across the ground. As I passed by Charles's corpse, I couldn't help but smile faintly. The one who had once mocked me was now lying like a broken doll. But what really caught my attention was the small leather pouch hanging from his chest. With a swift and precise movement, I grabbed it and tucked it into my cloak.
"Everything is going as planned, without mistakes... Just perfection."
The sensation of the pouch against my chest brought an unexpected relief. I knew exactly what it contained: magical crystals, as valuable as they were rare.
Meanwhile, the murmurs of the students didn't stop. They were still in shock, but I was focused. My Virtual Lab was already processing the data, while my mind raced, connecting the dots.
"These mages... They brought us here for a reason. Not to protect us, but because we were disposable tools for their mission. They had a death quota. And the magical crystals from the dead... that's what they truly wanted."
"I hope to get at least 50 crystals from these cockroaches with no future."
Hearing one of the mages casually speak about the "cockroach crystals" turned my suspicion into certainty. "They would kill more if it weren't for the limit."
I took a deep breath, but couldn't help my face paling. "Is this the world of the mages? A place where logic and pragmatism reign, crushing any compassion? Cold-blooded to the point of ignoring lives, apathetic to cruelty. This is the real world I live in now. But if this is the price of power, I will accept it."
"Everyone, quickly return to your rooms so we can continue our journey. The smell of blood here will attract other predators!" shouted Wirk, the Servant Warrior, as he finished removing his cloak, torn by his secret skill. His breath was heavy, and sweat dripped down his face. He seemed more like a regular human at that moment, vulnerable, exhausted.
I watched him for a few moments. He had used a secret skill, but clearly at a high cost.
"So, even Warriors have limits," I thought, my eyes shining with a mix of understanding and ambition. "It seems that activating these skills requires something precious. Maybe vitality, maybe energy. Doesn't matter... This just reinforces the truth: any real power requires sacrifice."
I was about to enter the room with the girls when Styg appeared out of nowhere, dramatically pointing to the side.
"Dude, check this out!" he exclaimed, his tone full of teasing. "Cleo's in a sad situation... Looks like she lost her hat and a boot!"
I turned my face, following Styg's finger, and there she was. Cleo, sitting in front of another room, hugging her legs. Her shoulders had marks of dried blood, and her face was swollen, a clear sign that she had been crying recently.
"Charles was always the number one of Cleo's 'personal guard,' huh?" Styg murmured near my ear, a malicious expression on his face. "Now that this group is almost dead... I think her situation's not the best. You see it, right? This is your chance!"
Inside, I laughed. "Exactly as I had planned."
But on the outside, I sighed and shook my head, as if Cleo's tragedy was a burden on my soul. "Okay, but... what the hell is this?" I pointed to Styg's neck, which was marked with green stains and traces of lipstick. The marks extended to the collar of his clothes.
"Hehehe…" Styg laughed shamelessly, adjusting the scarf he proudly took from his chest. "Bro, it's only in moments like these that we, Prep Warriors, can show what we know! The girls always get close to those who protect them. That's the survival foundation, the first rule!"
He waved the scarf in front of my face like a trophy. "See that? Just today, I won the goodwill of three girls: two goblins and a dwarf."
I tried not to grimace, but the thought of Styg and those girls... It was too much. The smug grin he wore while mentioning his conquests... I felt my stomach churn.
"Yeah... Congrats," I murmured, wanting to end that conversation as quickly as possible.
I glanced at him one last time, shaking my head, before walking towards Cleo. "Time to strike."
As I approached, my eyes caught the movements of the Servant Warriors still working on the battlefield. They were rummaging through the acolytes' corpses, taking magical crystals and handing them to the mages in white robes. The mages accepted the crystals with disdain, as if they were trivial items, before gesturing impatiently for the servants to move on to the next body.
The sight only reinforced what I already knew. "In this world, we're just resources. Convenient sacrifices for the stronger."
I took a deep breath, clearing my thoughts. There was something more immediate to deal with.
Cleo looked so fragile, so lost. Her figure, curled up there on the ground, awakened in me the hunger of a starving wolf ready to devour a fragile sheep.
I smirked and continued walking.
...
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