Chapter 78

this is a fictional story by realTensai

“What do you think about this?”

Lia’s eyes trembled as she looked through her system and all these changes.

“He got us,” Alvis responded.

Lia bit her lip, her clenched fists a testament to her mood.

“You’re right. This game can’t be stopped now.”

They both knew the students wouldn’t start killing each other now, yet that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t take part in this game. With quests and a shop, it was seemingly impossible not to participate. However, as soon as one started the game, there was no going back. The school’s approach to just not participating in the game already failed on the second day.

“All these changes…” Sekki said, his eyes darting over his system, “My brain can’t even keep up.”

“It will take some time before I get used to it too,” Maya said, looking just as troubled as Sekki.

“Huh? I think it’s pretty easy to understand.”

“Not everyone is a gamer like you.”

“Ha, and people say gaming doesn’t have any advantages.”

“Do you even take this seriously?” Sekki said, staring Dane into his eyes with an unusual intensity. “This isn’t a video game. If you die here,… you’re dead.”

His voice trembled as his shaking hand showed his feelings. Dane’s eyes widened, and he clenched his fist.

“I won’t let that happen.”

His voice was the opposite of Sekki’s, as it was filled with resolve. However, it was far more than regular resolve. It was a resolve that stated that he would do everything it took to achieve his goal. No matter what, he would protect his friends.

“DING DONG DING!”

“We better hurry.”

The bell’s sound cut through everyone’s thoughts, reminding them that they still had to go to their classes. Not wasting any more time, the five of them got going. It didn’t take them long to arrive in class.

“We are sorry we’re late. The..”

“No need to explain yourself,” Ms. Myth said, interrupting Lia’s apology. “Just sit down so we can start.”

They did as they were told and went to their seats. Alvis looked around and noticed how some of his classmates were still walking through the class, a clear indicator that they weren’t the only ones who were late. As everyone settled down, Ms. Myth started.

“Instead of having our regular lesson today, we will talk about our current situation.”

The first half of her sentence would have been a reason to celebrate if it wasn’t for the survival game they were in. However, one glance at his classmates was enough for Alvis to realize they were relieved nonetheless. Though this might be because they could finally figure out their thoughts.

“Before we talk about the quests, I want to know how you feel.”

Ms. Myth’s words were soft, unusual so for her. Her eyes had a comforting lightness to them that made it easy for her students to trust her. She, who normally was a strict teacher, showed her caring nature, almost seeming like their mother.

“Will we be alright?” Joel asked, opening up to her, his voice trembling. “Even though I’m a beast-man, I’m not strong. I’m also not smart or have a lot of friends. Can someone like me even survive?”

The always happy and joking Joel was almost tearing up as he said these words. However, he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. As Alvis looked around, he saw several people who had lowered their gazes whilst shivering.

The new update had more to it than just introducing quests and the shop. It made people realize that this game was real, and they had no choice but to take part in this survival game.

Ms. Myth looked at her students, her eyebrows drawn together and her lips pursed. She opened her mouth, yet closed it again without saying something. However, she took a deep breath in and out and continued.

“We will all survive,” she said, her voice clear and void of doubt. “The WRO will free us from this barrier. All we have to do is to endure.”

An icy silence followed her words as the students still looked down.

“You don’t trust me?”

“No, no, this isn’t it,” Joel said, waving his paws. “It’s just that… the Priest said we couldn’t be saved.”

“So you trust him?”

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“No, of course not.”

“Then there you have your answer,” Ms. Myth said with a soft smile.

Joel’s eyes widened and his mouth too, but he said nothing and just sighed.

“Ms. Myth, can I ask something about the quests?”

“Go ahead, Ulmi.”

“Yesterday, Mr. Woltzer had said that we shouldn’t take part in this game. However, I doubt this is still the case with the quests now. So how do we go about it?”

Ulmi immediately understood the situation and asked the right question. Just like Alvis and Lia, she knew that people would do quests even if Mr. Woltzer tried to stop them. The rewards one got were far too valuable. Considering one could buy food with the coins and the school’s food reserves were limited, Mr. Woltzer couldn’t even find an argument for stopping them.

“Mr. Woltzer is still working on finding a solution. However, he had sent every teacher a message. He told us that students could take on quests as long as those quests didn’t demand them to hurt others.”

“But how do we decide who takes on the quest?”

“He said that until he found a better solution, it will be first come, first served.”

“This will only lead to problems!”

“Like I said, this is only until he finds a better method.”

Ulmi still didn’t seem convinced, yet she had no choice but to accept what Ms. Myth said.

But she is right.

Having students battle over quests couldn’t end well. They were limited, but their rewards were tempting to everyone. Even Alvis would try to complete them. He already had a quest in mind he wanted to complete for today, yet he had to hope no one would do it faster than him.

“Any more questions?”

The class went on and they kept talking about the quests and their situation.

——

“I hope we aren’t late,” Sekki said, increasing his tempo once more.

“The quest is still on the map,” Ulmi said, looking at her system. “However, that doesn’t mean no one is working on it right now.”

“Right,” Alvis said, also picking up his pace now.

As soon as class had finished, the three of them got going. The quest Alvis had decided to do was the hidden chamber quest where one had to solve a puzzle. He was good with those sorts of things and he also thought of the rewards as alluring, so he had no reason not to do it. As for Ulmi and Sekki, they probably thought the same. Dane, on the other hand, went to the holographic monster quest, for obvious reasons. Lia chose not to do any as she still had to prepare for the student council meeting.

“You think you can solve the puzzle?”

“Who knows?” Ulmi responded. “I’m not good when it comes to stuff like this.”

“Liar,” Sekki said, upon which she only smiled.

“Why are you asking, then?”

Sekki grimaced as Ulmi got him good. Alvis just observed their little banter and suppressed his laughter as Sekki found someone more eloquent than him.

“Wait,” Ulmi suddenly said. “I hear people exiting the library.”

“What, I don’t see…”

Sekki didn’t even finish his sentence as a group of students came into view.

“How did you know?”

“I have good ears,” she said, pointing at her tufted ears.

Even with his advanced senses, Alvis couldn’t keep up with the lynx girl’s hearing.

“Then tell me what those guys are talking about,” Sekki said looking a bit troubled. “Did they complete the quest?”

Ulmi closed her eyes for a few seconds.

“No,” she said, her eyebrows drawn together. “They gave up.”

“Huh, why?”

“Stop asking questions. Let’s just go and see.”

They didn’t waste more time and followed Ulmi’s advice. It took them one more minute to arrive at the library. As soon as they went in, the odor of books welcomed them. However, his view didn’t fit this smell.

“It looks like an ancient ruin.”

The bookshelves had turned into old rusty wooden scaffolding with books on them that could have only been from the time of the Devil. Wall painting fragments decorated the room with ancient mosaics and golden statues adding to the atmosphere.

Alvis and the others just stood there in awe as they took everything in.

“What kind of magic does the Devil Cult’s Priest have?” Ulmi mumbled under her breath.

However, even Alvis wondered just how powerful Elric Zweistein’s curse had to be.

“Let’s go look for the quest.”

Yet as soon as Sekki said that, their view changed, the ancient ruin with its old bookshelves, wall paintings, and statues fading away, replaced by their regular library.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone completed the quest,” Ulmi said, her eyes looking at the person who came out of the depths of the library.

Her small steps echoed through the hall, yet it was her presence that captivated Alvis’ attention. It was a girl with a key in her hand and an amulet around her neck. She looked a bit older than Alvis, her pure white skin in contrast with her pitch-black hair. Yet it was her scarlet eyes that had Alvis staring at her. Those eyes were the eyes of a demon, yet she seemed human.

However, it was because Alvis knew who she was that it all made sense.

“Now I understand why the guys gave up on the quest,” Ulmi said, chuckling. “Who would have thought the genius fourth-year student, the talent who already is a master rank mage, decided to do this quest?”

Ulmi had intentionally raised her voice so that she could hear her, yet the girl stayed indifferent and didn’t even spare her a glance.

Alvis activated his skill Assassin’s Eye, however, he jerked back as a mental sting tormented his brain.

What was that?

Error: An artifact is blocking your skill.

Is it this amulet?

He looked at her again, though this time their eyes met and Alvis felt as if the time stood still. Her scarlet eyes pulled him into her world, making it impossible for him to look away. It wasn’t like Lia’s hypnosis technique, no, it was something different. However, Alvis couldn’t put it into words.

“Stop staring. Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

Ulmi’s words pulled Alvis out of his daze. The girl just went by and everything was over.

“So this was Jasmine,” Sekki said, still in awe. “She has the same rare mix as Hibea, right?”

“Yeah, she is half demon, half human.”

“This isn’t the time to admire her. She completed the quest we wanted to do.”

“Can’t change it now.”

“Idiot.”

The three of them went out of the library, not having achieved their goal. However, the second they came out, Dane came sprinting toward them.

“Did you complete the quest?” he immediately asked.

“No, we were too late.”

“So you also came too late.”

“Also?”

“Yes, this dude was faster than me,” he said, clicking his tongue.

“Wait, there is someone who is faster than you?” Alvis and Sekki said almost in unison.

“It was this huge fourth grader,” Dane said, still clenching his fist. “I think his name was Hercules.”

“If it’s a huge fourth grader who is even faster than you, then it has to be Hercules,” Ulmi said, stating the obvious.

“Another strong fourth grader,” Sekki said. “They will be problematic.”

“Do you know who went to do the last quest?”

“I think Kris.”

Alvis pulled out his phone and called him.

“Hey, who completed the quest you wanted to do?”

“—”

“I see.”

Alvis hung up as soon as he proved his assumption.

“Why did you call Kris? No, who completed the quest?” Sekki asked.

“It was a fourth grader called William.”

“Now I understand,” Ulmi mumbled, her face grim.

“Yo, what’s going on?” Dane asked, unable to follow.

“Every quest today was completed by a fourth grader,” Alvis said, starting his explanation. “It’s safe to assume that they’ve agreed to take this game on seriously.”

“You mean..”

“Yes. In the worst-case scenario, they might turn out to become our strongest enemies.”