Chapter 17
Right when my legs were about to give out again, we finally found our target: the Quivixx was sprawled out in the mud, its body rising and falling in a heavy slumber, only its pores and closed eyes visible.
Whitney signaled for us to approach the monster cautiously, urging us to avoid disturbing its slumber. Junichi and Gregg immediately drew their weapons, a sword and an axe respectively, while Jawn prepared his bow next to Whitney, his eyes sharpened with focus.
"Make sure the two of you fall back and be on standby when you ambush it," Whitney instructed. "The pores will immediately throw hundreds of baby toads at us, so Jawn and I will handle that. Wait for my signal before attacking the body. Fighters need to save their mana as much as possible."
I waited for my task but I realized that she wasn't even glancing at my way. My frustration simmered beneath the surface.
Umm, hello?! I can't help but roll my eyes at her. I am a close-range fighter too! So should I join Junichi and Gregg or should I just stand here? Since no one bothered to talk to me I was mentally talking to myself.
I gritted my teeth, suppressing the frustration welling up inside me. I swallowed the urge to express my irritation and instead stood behind them, clenching my hands into fists. Sir Jude might have grouped us, although that didn't mean our performance would only be graded as a whole but also individually.
Since the moment we were grouped, I immediately saw past Whitney's facade. She was deliberately getting me to receive low grade. If they won't let me participate as a group, I might as well act on my own then.
"Ready?" Whitney's voice snapped me back to attention.
Junichi and Gregg exchanged a brief glance, then nodded in unison. They took a deep breath and, with a quick surge of energy, they sprinted side by side toward the slumbering Quivixx, deliberately making noise to rouse it from its sleep.
"HEY, YOU UGLY FROG!" Junichi shouted, his voice echoing through the clearing.
"COME AND CATCH US!" Gregg added, laughter lacing his words, but beneath the mirth lay a thread of intensity.
The Quivixx stirred, its eyes snapping open, revealing the unsettling brightness within. It blinked several times, momentarily disoriented, before fixing its gaze on the two figures making ruckus in front of it. The monster rose from the mud, its bulky body creating a ripple in the terrain, and its wide, watery eyes locked onto Junichi and Gregg.
"Junichi! Greg! Get out of the way!" Whitney yelled.
In that split second, hundreds of baby toads shot up into the sky, their tiny bodies glimmering against the daylight as they spiraled toward us like a living rainstorm.
Whitney was already on high alert, readying her whip and infusing it with her aura same with Jawn infusing his aura to his arrow. But just as they were poised to launch their attacks, they spotted a shadow darting past them.
It was so swift, it almost blended into the dim light filtering through the trees. But when Whitney and Jawn focused their gaze, they shockingly realized that it was me who was racing straight into the oncoming swarm of baby toads.
"Hey!" Whitney shouted in alarm. "What are you doing?! Move back!"
But I ignored her command, just as she had ignored me earlier. Surely after this, they would include me as a group and not just a bystander.
'Serenade of Daggers,' I thought, and with that activation, I felt a rush of energy surge through me. My eyes glowed a brilliant golden, sharpening my perception and allowing me to see the world in a way that was almost supernatural. Time itself seemed to slow, and in that precious moment, I could predict the chaotic movements of the baby toads swirling through the air.
As if guided by an unseen force, the daggers danced through the air, flashing back and forth like a well-rehearsed performance, striking the baby toads with deadly precision. One by one, they were cut down mid-air, their tiny bodies scattering into harmless splashes of muck and mucus, leaving behind trails of goo.
After I shot what felt like a hundred daggers, the world around me began to settle back into its normal rhythm. Time resumed its course and my vision gradually returned to normal. I caught the final dagger as it flew back to me, the last of the baby toads falling with an unceremonious plop onto the ground.
But then, without warning, dizziness washed over me like a wave, causing my knees to buckle. I slumped to the ground, panting heavily, my body was overwhelmed as if I had just completed a grueling training session. 'Is this the side effects of using my ability?' I thought, struggling to catch my breath.
As I took a moment to calm myself, I suddenly realized that my teammates had all frozen in place, confusion clouding their faces.
"Did we inhale any poison right now? Are we hallucinating?" they murmured in unison, their voices tinged with disbelief. It was as if they were trying to process what they'd just witnessed. They had seen only a handful of daggers slicing through the air, but the aftermath had painted a different reality—one where it felt like hundreds of blades were swirling around me, striking the baby toads effortlessly. Only someone with incredible power, like a witch, would possess the ability to manipulate such forces.
Jawn was the first one to quickly broke free from his daze. He noticed my weakened state and instinctively positioned himself in front of me, shielded me with his body as he unleashed a flurry of arrows aimed at the creature. "Quickly, before the main body generates more baby toads!" His voice rang out, urgency carrying his words.
I glanced up at him, surprised. This was the first time I was hearing him speak. He has a deep voice and I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't speak more often; it had a magnetic quality that might make girls swoon over him.
"Slash it now!" Whitney yelled, her tone sharp as she turned to address Junichi and Greg, who still seemed momentarily paralyzed by the aftermath of my attack.
The two of them snapped back to reality as they tightened the grip on their weapons. They rushed towards the Quivixx who was in the middle of generating baby toads.
The monster seemed to falter as Junichi and Greg unleashed their first attacks, blades striking the Quivixx with precision. It staggered back, clearly disoriented, leaving its core exposed for just a moment.
"Now's our chance!" I shouted, still sitting on the ground despite the lingering dizziness. "Aim for its core!"
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The battle in defeating the Quivixx was successful. It ended about 5 minutes and 36 seconds.
Each member of the team had fulfilled their roles flawlessly, methodically taking down the monster that we were assigned to.
Except for me since I had no role to complete to in the first place.
Just by using one my abilities had drained me far more than I had anticipated. At least I could still move my limbs, even for a short while.
Each step I attempted to take afterward felt like dragging my feet through thick mud. I just needed a moment to catch my breath, so I made my way to a nearby tree, hoping to find a place to rest.
However, just as I took my second step, my legs buckled beneath me, and I stumbled to the ground. I managed to stand myself a few more times, but it was only a matter of moments before I found myself crashing down again. I was trying to push through the exhaustion, but my body protested each time.
It was supposed to be the fifth time I fell that I felt someone catch me. I looked up, slightly dazed, and saw Jawn's calm, steady face. Without a word, he hoisted me up effortlessly and carried me over to the tree, where he gently sat me down against the trunk.
"Thank you," I managed to say, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. It was humiliating to be so reliant on others. Waiting for me as I catch up with them, giving me water, and even carrying me just because I couldn't walk.
He nodded, not breaking his silence. He turned and walked away and looked for a place to rest.
A sigh escaped my lips. For sure, they were irritated at me. What kind of teammate was I if I couldn't even stand on my own two feet after a fight?
Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly noticed a pair of shoes standing directly in front of me. I blinked and looked up to find Whitney, arms crossed, a smile on her face, but fury simmering behind her eyes.
"Why didn't you follow my orders?" she asked, her tone was gentle. She was furious. But I didn't care, I would annoy her again and again if she won't even talk to me as her classmate.
I couldn't help but match her smile with one of my own. "Isn't it impressive? Well, you didn't give me any order, so I acted on my own," It was the kind of smirk that I knew would annoy anyone, especially her.
Before she could shoot back a retort, a pair of excited voices erupted from behind us like an unexpected wave.
"It was you, right? The one who singlehandedly killed all the baby toads? Without you we could have killed that Monster in thirty minutes! I didn't know that daggers can do that," Junichi exclaimed, his eyes practically sparkling with excitement and admiration.
"That was amazing! Was that your Gift?" Greg chimed in, his voice full of energy as he approached, both of them glistening with splatters of green blood and mucus from the Quivixx.
Instinctively, I took a step back, attempting to distance myself from the pungent stench of decay that enveloped them. The odor was growing stronger by the moment, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
I cast a hopeful glance at Whitney, only to find she had retreated a good distance away, likely trying to escape the smell.
"Give her some rest," Jawn interjected, his tone calm as he stepped forward to shield me slightly from the chaos.
For the third time, I was thankful of this guy.
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Whitney's POV
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Monster Hunting Ranking
1st. Team 1 (Time: 5 minutes 21 seconds)
2nd. Team 3 (Time: 8 minutes 11 seconds)
...
5th. Team 5 (Time: 12 minutes 01 second)
...
10th. Team 7 (Time: 35 minutes 56 seconds)
...
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10th place out of 50 teams.
Tenth place out of fifty teams. A mediocre showing at best, and it stung more than she cared to admit. A bitter feeling settled in her stomach as she noticed the names: Cypher leading the ranking as always, followed closely by Edge. Those smug expressions on their faces were enough to make her blood boil.
But what really irked her was seeing Angela's team above them at second place. Whitney clenched her fists, feeling a rush of resentment toward both Angela and her own team.
'We could have finished in third place if it weren't for that girl,' Whitney thought, a wave of irritation washing over her. She tried to shake it off, reminding herself that blaming teammates was a toxic path to tread. But Remillia's constant stumbles and slow pace had clearly cost them precious seconds.
"As you all noticed, your smartwatch was blinking red, signifying that you were being tracked down—and as a result, drones recorded your performance. Make sure to watch them and analyze where you need to improve your combat skills," Instructor Jude announced.
Whitney couldn't help but slightly turn her head to survey her teammates. There, at the far end of the clearing, a girl was rubbing her eyes, desperately trying to stifle a yawn.
It was clear that Remillia had pushed herself too hard during the mission. Jawn had carried her all the way back to the meeting point, managing to keep her upright despite her weakened state. Junichi and Gregg had wanted to help, but the thick layers of monster blood still coating their clothes had made them undesirable companions for lifting someone in Remillia's condition.
Whitney can't help but become annoyed again. It's her fault why they were in 10th place because of her. They couldn't reach the location of the monster quickly. What should have taken just five minutes in running ended up taking 30 minutes.
Yet, wasn't it also Remillia's unique speed that had allowed them to finish at all? Without her decisive action against the baby toads, they might have fared far worse. But if she had that much speed in the face of danger, why hadn't she sprinted to the monster's location with the same intensity?
'Is she playing with us or is she just hiding her strength?' Whitney's mind raced with questions as she wrestled with her frustration. In the heat of battle, Remillia had been like a different person—fast, decisive, and powerful. Yet, now here she was, apparently vulnerable and sluggish, prompting a cascade of doubts to flood Whitney's mind.