Ep. 9 — Chapter 37: Youngest Prodigy (2)

Several hours had passed, and it was soon time for the second round to commence. I had been gradually increasing my strength. And by now, I had killed several wolves and other creatures within the forest. The 'Wind Cloak' had proven to be extremely useful, increasing my overall speed and even reducing the stamina intake.

I could run at full speed faster than before and for an even longer time now. And since it lightened my body, I could also fight for a longer duration without getting struck with intense fatigue.

And now, the darkness of the night has already enveloped the skies over the forest. It was at that moment when the [Cube] rotated and a horn blared from it.

[Intermission time has ended. Initiating the second round…]

Suddenly, my body began to disintegrate into blue squares and I lost my vision for a moment. The next second, I found myself in the waiting room again. This time, there were slightly less people, a lot of which I hadn't remembered from the other round. Then, this means that…

[Your role has been chosen!]

[Your chosen role is a 'hunted'.]

As expected. Of course, it wasn't impossible to be given the same role twice in a row. It was most likely by chance that I was able to become one of the 'hunted' again.

And I was lucky that I was still in the same room. Room #3, so the Points I had accumulated for the group are still the same.

No, maybe this was my set room.

I looked around. Alicia was gone, so it's likely that she's become a 'hunter' for this round. And Iris Falcone was gone as well. I doubt she would anticipate in the Game switching roles between rounds. I can just make out the face she's making now.

After all, she worked hard in manipulating these people.

"Excuse me?"

"Hm?" I turned beside me and saw a group of people approaching me. They were unfamiliar. Their faces were dirty, probably from the long day of fighting against the monsters.

"You are Rayes Kim, correct?"

"Yes. What of it?"

"Ah, we're not here to do anything bad. But you were the one who activated the monolith in the other round. So, we thought it might be best to follow your lead."

I stared at them for a while. As much as I didn't want to be rude, it seemed like they were on the verge of collapse. Any more encounters with other players and they might be killed. However, I wasn't in a position to judge them.

"Stop thinking like that. This isn't a Game about choosing a leader. Our teamwork is only temporary, and after two rooms have passed, we would all stab each other's backs." I told them sharply. Their bodies flinched from my words. "I suggest you all focus on finding your own ways to survive and gather as many Points as possible early on."

They all looked at each other. Anxious expressions overcame their faces and I continued, "Qualify early so you won't have to worry about it later."

The group looked flustered but nodded quickly before leaving. I could see them whispering to each other, most probably about me. But I didn't care. In fact, it was a good idea for them to have a leader so they could be guided. However, taking care of other players isn't my strong suit. If something were to go wrong, I don't want to be held responsible.

Despite a lot of the players being new, there were still some familiar places. The kid from earlier was there. I could see him grumbling visibly, probably wanting to be a 'hunter'. For some reason, he looked like the type to have fun beating people down.

We met eyes and he scowled before turning away from me.

"What is his problem…?"

Unlike the first round, the game didn't give us time to actually strategise. Instead, they provided the map and moved the locations of the remaining six monoliths. I looked at the map and tried to remember the location of all the monoliths. It'd be bad if I were to be switched to a different role after getting two monoliths for this room. So I might as well get all of them at once.

[Updating map changes…]

[Transporting players…]

Once again, I felt my body disintegrating and soon, we were back in the forest. This time, I was near a campsite. It must have been set up by some other players early on, in the morning. I immediately searched the campsite for anything, but of course, it was all emptied out. The way it looked, the 'hunters' must have looted the entire place already.

[Second round of the 'Hunting Game' has begun!]

.

.

.

"Who would've thought we'd be in the same team now?" Ali was cutting the meat with his [Greatsword], eating the cooked meat of the wolves they had killed a while ago. Since they were both chosen as 'hunters' they weren't moved to a different location.

"But those guys are gone, huh?"

Leon was also eating with him. The [Treasure of Ancient King] stuck to the ground beside him. "I wonder if Sir Rayes is also a hunter for this round. Too bad we weren't all at the same spot like the first round."

"By the river, with food supplies…and even the monolith. Don't you think we've just struck gold now?"

Indeed, what Ali said was true. The monolith appeared and was planted right beside them earlier. Because of that, they wouldn't have to move to find a nearby monolith to protect.

"Are you close with that guy?" Ali asked, still eating. The food they had made was nowhere as good as Alicia's cooking, but after a long night of hunting and an entire day of fighting, this was what he needed.

"Rayes, I mean. You guys even came together."

"Ah, yeah. He's the one who helped me since I didn't know much about this place. We actually met for the first time a few minutes before this whole thing happened."

"So you guys have been together since? Must be nice to have a friend from the beginning."

Leon thought about it. "Hm, no actually. We got separated for the Tutorial phase and I found him later again. That reminds me…he did say something about me carrying him."

"What was that?" Ali asked, not hearing the last part since he was busy eating.

"It's nothing."

The surroundings were quiet and it doesn't seem like anyone was nearby. After Ali finished, he tossed the big bone to the side and wiped the grease somewhere before picking up the [Greatsword] again.

Leon was still sitting, running his hand over the [Treasure of Ancient King]. He had been doing that since.

Some time has passed and Leon sees Ali returning. He hadn't realised that Ali left to begin with, so he asked him as he saw him returning. "Where did you go?"

"To tinkle."

"Tinkle?"

"…"

"Ah. Oh, right. Okay."

The two sat awkwardly, Leon tried his best to not look at Ali. But he could feel the latter's gaze piercing through him and he desperately tried to avoid it. Instead, he turned to the [Treasure of Ancient King] to get his attention away and ignore Ali's gaze.

The sounds of footsteps alerted the two men and they quickly shot up. Leon immediately unsheathed the [Treasure of Ancient King] whilst Ali also raised his [Greatsword]. They looked at each other and Leon moved first. He followed the sounds coming from the left side and found a number of 'hunteds' coming to them.

"Look! There are 'hunters' here! We found the monolith!"

"Ali, over here!" Leon cried out and the two men were now facing off against the group of 'hunteds'. The group faced Ali and Leon, but trembled when they saw the two weapons they wielded. With a single glance, anyone could tell just how powerful the two weapons were.

"It's only two of them! Doesn't matter how strong they are, they can't take us all at once. Kill the both of them and get the monolith!"

At his cry, the group advanced forward. Leon unhesitatingly jumped ahead and swung his golden blade. It caused the group's advance to falter but they quickly regained their composure. However, Leon wasn't able to fully fend them off as he was holding back slightly. The pure white steel swung in arches, cutting them down, but not to the point of fatality.

Ali watched this and clicked his tongue. It was clear that Leon had no intention of killing them, or even dealing fatal attacks. Ali ran ahead and brought down the [Greatsword] upon the people. The big sword cut through the arm of one of them and he swung it sideways, cutting right through his chest. Large amounts of blood spilled and the man's body went flying. The group immediately fell back at the gruesome scene.

"Hey, blondie. If you don't have the balls to kill them, don't just rush in like that. You watch my back. I'll murder these bastards for you."

The group rushed back in. But only half of them did so, and Ali went ahead and began cutting them down. With a single swing, the blade reached several players and tore them apart mercilessly. Leon watched Ali in amazement, but also saw his face. There was the look of anguish and disgust.

He hated the idea of killing other people. That was the look his face gave. But he did so anyway, forcing himself to adapt to the situation of this new world.

But no matter what, Leon wasn't able to do it. However…

"I'll take the ones at the back!"

When he murdered the monsters before, it was easy work for him. Still, he felt bad but those beings didn't look humanoid to begin with. But now, he could really see another person before his blade that he will cut down.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" Ali asked, taking his eyes off the people and to Leon. He watched as Leon moved and swung his blade, pushing them back.

Don't force yourself to lose your humanity. Ali wanted to tell him that. To tell him that it isn't wrong to have a good heart that still holds sympathy, even when this world has gone to hell. It was something he wanted to tell him, because he dearly wished someone could have told him these words before.

But he couldn't.

However, he didn't need to.

"This is going to hurt a bit…!" Leon cried and swung his blade, slicing the person's arm just enough to make him drop the blade. He then struck the person and knocked him out.

Ali watched and turned back around. Without giving them a chance, he swung the blade and tore off their arms and heads instantly. Seeing Leon, he chuckled to himself and mumbled, "I guess he won't be needing my help then."

After a few moments, the surrounding groups were either out cold or dead. Ali spat on the ground and kicked one of them that was still groaning in pain, cursing him out with all his heart before turning back to Leon.

[250 Points have been obtained!]

[You have qualified to exit the Game after this round!]

Ali turned to Leon who also looked happy. Perhaps, both of them had qualified. He put down the [Greatsword] and began wiping off the blood from the blade's surface with his sleeves. Then he turned to Leon who had sheathed the [Treasure of Ancient King], "I qualified. What about you?"

"Same here. I guess we get to leave after this round?"

They both walked and got near the monolith. But before they could have any time to settle, the sounds of footsteps were heard and they both got back into battle position. Ali picked up his blade again while Leon unsheathed his sword.

"Give it up, man! We'll kill you too!"

"Calm down, Ali…"

The figure approached and they watched. The person tapped one of the bodies' heads before walking over it. "Well, they were weak. I guess old grown men can't do anything by themselves. They only talk a lot."

Leon's eyes widened. He turned to Ali who also had a dumbfounded look. "It's a kid…"

The boy appeared in front of them, pointing a staff at them. A grin appeared on his face and he brushed back some of his messy hair and spoke to them, "I think I will be taking that monolith from you two."