Some pear fruits

The other cadets weren't as lucky as William and his friends. Although there were about a hundred year-1 cadets and only 20 Mob Bots, they found it difficult for them to escape from them.

It could be seen that many of the cadets were lying on the ground while groaning in pain. Some were stuck in the same place trying to fight the Mob Bots while others were getting chased as they ran towards the hill.

Noir was one of those people who was chased by the Mob Bots.

While the others ran following the plain road, Noir on the other hand ran in the nearby forest which was located on the right side, in Noir's perspective, before reaching the foothill.

Inside the forest, she stopped beside a large tree.

Then she used her hand to lean on it. She felt exhausted after running this far. Summed up to that the tension she felt from her chaser; she needed at least a few seconds of rest to recover.

Haa~

As she let out a deep breath, cold smoke came out of her mouth. After wiping her sweaty forehead with her forearm, she looked around and noticed she was alone. There were only trees and bushes around accompanied by the cricketing of insects and chirping of birds.

Inside the forest, the surrounding was kinda chilly and musty, perhaps because it was still very early and the humid air had yet to settle down.

"Where's everybody… and him?" Noir looked left and right. She could not spot anyone and Cross too.

The last thing she remembered, he was running beside her when the sprint had started. And, that was the last she remembered of seeing him before the Mob Bots appeared.

"I hope he also managed to escape—" she muttered to herself but stopped when a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

Wait! Isn't he a manaless person? That means his overall strength is weak. He definitely won't survive if those Mob Bots attack him. Right after thinking that, she shook her head. "No no no. I'm sure those Mob Bots are not there to kill us", she calmed down. Or more like, she used that as an excuse to calm herself down.

Then why did she run away if those Mob Bots weren't harmful? She ran away because she wanted to avoid being disturbed by those machines. She wanted to climb the top of the hill as soon as possible.

Noir started debating against herself.

But… are those Mob Bots really won't kill them? She wasn't naive, so her answer was 'yes'. But they could at least cause injuries that are in fact very painful and troubling.

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Are you crazy? You think those machines won't kill you?"

Huh?

Noir was shocked to hear that. She looked around but saw no one.

The voice continued speaking, ignoring her shock.

"Mob Bots are used by militaries in their infiltration and assassination missions. That includes taking the lives of their targets."

Noir's face could be seen frowning upon hearing that. But who is speaking? It can't be her conscience directly talking to her, no? If so, she needed a proper checkup.

Yet, the voice continued talking to her.

"If you think those things can't kill, then you're wrong."

Listening to the voice, Noir thought it sounded like it came from behind the tree. "Don't be silly. They are..." the voice continued speaking and Noir noticed it sounded familiar as she further listened to it.

It fanned her curiosity, so she slowly stepped forward to take a peek. "They are--" the voice repeated, but she finally discovered the owner of the voice.

As she expected, "You?!" Noir exclaimed. She saw Cai Lyn hugging her knees. She also looks scared and shaking.

Cai Lyn immediately looked at her.

Looks like Noir wasn't the only one who thought of heading here.

Everyone had scattered because of panic.

While Noir and Cai decided to head to the forest, Rebecca and Naomi were left behind. They couldn't run immediately because a Mob Bot immediately blocked their path. In addition to that, another Mob Bot came up behind them. They were trapped and unable to escape.

"R-Rebecca..." Naomi called her friend's name.

Rebecca frowned as she hugged her friend tightly. Instead of being discouraged, she thought of a way to escape.

It entered her mind to fight them, but the question was… was she capable enough to defeat them?

Besides that, she didn't know how to defeat them. She wasn't even sure if she could dent them.

Not far away from them, she noticed Brittle Joe fighting a Mob Bot. He landed some blows while deftly avoiding the Mob Bot's attack.

As far as she knows, Brittle Joe is the son of a brave military soldier who was one of the brave soldiers who fought in the war a decade ago. Being a good warrior is in their blood. And Rebecca also heard that their family owns a dojo where anyone who wants to learn how to fight and how to be strong is taught whether you are an ordinary person or a person with mana.

Joe did well against the Mob Bot. But it didn't mean that since Joe did well against it, she could also do well against these Mob Bots around them. Although she knew a little about martial arts, she was doubting whether her skill was capable enough to defeat them.

No! She should try in order to protect Naomi and herself!

Rebecca's eyes lit up. The desire to save her friend drove her to fight.

Just when Rebecca had decided to fight, she saw Joe run towards the direction of the hill. The bespectacled cadet followed behind him while asking Joe to wait for him.

The two of them were being chased by the Mob Bot.

Just when she was prepared to fight, those idiots had to spoil it! Rebecca's rising desire to fight took a nosedive immediately.

Briii!

Rebecca and Naomi shuddered when they heard that peculiar sound from the Mob Bots around them. Rebecca glanced left and right and noticed they were approaching them. It looks like they were aiming to catch them. The reason was something she didn't know.

Right at that moment, an object flew and hit one of the Mob Bots. The hit produced a dull thud.

—Thud!

Eh?

A question mark floated above Rebecca's head.

The Mob Bot on their left got distracted and stopped moving. Then another dull thud followed. This time, the Mob Bot on their right also stopped moving.

Rebecca blinked her eyes and noticed a familiar figure not far from them. Like a bystander, he was standing there with a carefree look on his face. And on his chest, he was hugging some pear fruits with his arm.

"You?!" Rebecca exclaimed.