--- [Vaman’s perspective]
“The sixth contestant has returned. Only four flags remain.”
Only four left, huh?
The first round is getting close to ending now, I need to pick up the pace.
Every time someone makes it back now, my chances of passing the first round gets exponentially lower.
I got an idea for how I could find one though.
If I return to the place we started, but hide in the bushes, I could ambush whoever comes back with a flag, then steal it.
The risky part is that I’ll have to fight off people who were strong enough to get a flag and return with it in the first place.
I’m confident in myself though, I can do it.
Additionally, I’ll have the element of surprise on my side.
Attacking people when they don’t expect it is a huge advantage.
Even if it’s someone stronger than me, if I’m able to get the flag, then that’s as good as it.
There are only a few meters between where I would attack them and the finish line.
While thinking of the plan, I started running back.
“GUAH!” – Vaman
Suddenly, I get kicked in the head, and I fall to the ground.
Uahh…
I’m all dizzy after that…
“Hand it over.”
A small group of people, three to be exact, are standing before me.
The one who was talking seems to be the leader.
“You’re running back, clearly you have a flag on you. Now hand it over!” – Leader
My head is throbbing with pain, and my vision is blurry.
I try to stand up, but I get kicked down as soon as I tried.
“Hand it the fuck over!” – Leader
“Give him the flag, or you won’t be leaving this forest alive.” – Underling One
“Yeah! Give him the flag or you won’t be leaving this forest alive!!” – Underling Two
Underling One looks over at underling Two.
He hits him in the head then says:
“That’s literally what I said, dumbass. Stop copying me.” – Underling One
“Sorry…” – Underling Two
The leader turns around and looks at them both.
“Can you guys just shut up?” – Leader
“…” – Underling One and two
What the hell is this group dynamic?
Is this some sort of joke?
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As they squabble, my vision is slowly returning to me, and the dizziness fades.
“Sorry guys, I don’t have a flag on me.” – Vaman
The leader gets right into my face.
“Oh, is that so? Guess we’ll just have forcefully take it from you then.” – Leader
He moves his head slightly back, then goes for a headbutt.
This time I manage to avoid his attack.
I roll backwards, then get back on my feet.
I guess I need to deal with these guys first, it doesn’t look like they’ll leave me alone.
The leader looks annoyed that I dodged.
“Get him, boys.” – Leader
“Gladly.” – Underling One
“Gladly!” – Underling Two
“Can you please come up with your own one-liners!?” – Underling One
“JUST GET HIM FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” – Leader
They immediately drop their feud and start running towards me.
It doesn’t look like their chemistry is any good, I might be able to exploit that.
Underling One is using a longsword, while Underling Two is duel wielding knives.
The leader doesn’t have any weapons.
U1 tries to stab my in the chest with his sword, but he’s slow, so I easily dodge.
U2 jumps up and tries to stab me while still in the air, but he’s also slow.
I step backwards and he hits the ground.
His knives get stuck for a moment, and that moment was all it took.
I kick him in the head while he’s pulling them out, and he goes flying.
He’s not getting back up from that one…
U1 looks visibly upset.
“You little…!” – Underling One
Maybe he does care for him after all?
He screams while rushing towards me.
“Get back!” – Leader
It seems the leader understood that I’m too strong for them, and tried to get him to retreat, but it was too late.
He thrusts his sword forward, unable to stop his momentum.
I step away from the thrust, then slam his head down into the ground.
“Don’t worry, I held back. They’re not dead.” – Vaman
The leader cracks his knuckles while approaching me.
He gets more and more angry the closer he gets.
Eventually, it’s like he bursts.
“YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THEM!” – Leader
…
They’re so goofy…
He runs straight at me, much faster than they were.
Those kicks earlier also packed quite a punch.
He’s obviously not as weak as his underlings were
He throws a few punches, but I block them all.
I throw one back, but he jumps backwards and avoids it.
“Not bad.” – Vaman
He quickly rushes forwards and continues his barrage.
He’s pretty fast.
I’m able to either block or evade all his attacks, but he’s not giving me an opportunity to counterattack.
Eventually one punch slips past my defense, hitting me right in the face.
“Gehhh!” – Vaman
“THAT ONE WAS FOR ROGER!” – Leader
He manages to hit me with a follow-up attack as well.
“AND THIS ONE WAS FOR TATE!” – Leader
I get knocked back a little, and my face hurts.
Those attacks didn’t hurt as much as the kicks before though.
Being prepared for an attack makes all the difference.
This guy isn’t bad, not at all.
But…
He’s nothing compared to the girl I fought earlier…
Sooner or later, I’ll beat him.
He runs back up to me and goes for another barrage.
It won’t work this time, not when I’m serious…
I duck under his punches.
He sees me do it and attempts to knee me right in the face, but I grab his knee before it connects.
I push him backwards, and he falls over.
Before he’s able to get back up, I put my foot on his chest.
“Stop.” – Vaman
“…” – Leader
He understands that he lost.
If I wanted to, I could kill him right now.
Not that I’m going to of course…
He sighs deeply.
“Fine, you win…” – Leader
I step off him, and he continues to just lie there; he doesn’t try anything sneaky.
“I guess we weren’t cut out for this after all… We hadn’t been recommended to join the E-rank exam, but we still tried.” – Leader
“What’s your name?” – Vaman
“Milo.” – Milo
“No hard feelings, Milo.” – Vaman
I turn around and start running back to camp, I need to continue with my plan.
“Wait!” – Milo
Before I’m able to get away, he yells at me to stop.
I go back, and he sits up.
“Here.” – Milo
He reaches into his pants, and takes out a flag.
“Take it.” – Milo
“What?! You had a flag all along? Why are you giving it to me? You could have returned with it!” – Vaman
“Tate and Roger are in no condition to fight. What’s the point of this if we can’t all rank up together?” – Milo
…
So, he wanted to help his friends get flags too, even though he already had one himself?
He’s a good guy.
“Just take it, take it and continue into the second round.” – Milo
“Thanks…” – Vaman
He gives the flag to me.
“Now don’t you dare fail!” – Milo
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” – Vaman
We both laugh, but I quickly get going again.
I return without any more disturbances.
Leanne was standing there at the finish line, waiting.
“Congratulations!! You’re qualified for the second round now!” – Leanne
“Awesome.” – Vaman
“You can rest anywhere you like while waiting for the last few people to get back.” – Leanne
“Will do!” – Vaman
I walk over to one of the benches, but…
Wait…
Is that?
It is!
It’s the girl from before.
I almost didn’t recognize her; she’s covered in blood…
What happened to her after we parted???
Anyways, it’s good to see that she was the one who managed to return and not some random person.
Maybe we’ll get the chance to have a re-match…