NOVEL NEXT chapter 7
7 – First Place is Mine (2)
[Remaining Participants: 452]
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Tick.
[Remaining Participants: 449]
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Suddenly, a dome appeared.
Was it because of the pressure from the narrowing dome surrounded by an electric field?
Those who had tried to eliminate their competitors.
Those who sought hidden items to score points.
Those who had hidden to acquire a fishing rod.
All stopped their activities and moved towards the center of the island, avoiding the dome’s electric field.
But not every participant could do that.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Hey, what the hell is this!”
“Ahh! What is happening!”
“…Please, spare me!”
The participants in the forest area, now moved, were paralyzed one by one by bomb pouches raining from somewhere and the sudden burst of green powder beneath their feet.
Witnessing the pathetic state of these participants, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Even though killing was prohibited, this place was designated as a Battle Royale test site.
Literally, it’s no different from a battlefield.
But to just run without any preparation, defenseless like this.
That’s asking for trouble.
Of course, even if you prepare, if you don’t have talent or skills related to poison and resistance, you’ll be in the same situation.
“We’re almost there.”
At the end of the relentless run, the edge of the forest begins to come into view.
And at the right moment, the bomb pouches are completely depleted.
Although bomb mushrooms are still in the inventory, they alone can’t have as much impact as a bomb pouch.
Inside the pouch, not only bomb mushrooms but also additional ingredients that enhance the effect of bomb mushrooms are included.
It’s not entirely useless, though.
Even if it’s not effective for the majority, it should be usable for an individual.
Just as I finish that thought.
“Hey, you!”
A hostile student approaches unexpectedly.
And he yells at me confidently.
“…”
Unbelievable.
It’s not even a fight between kids.
Ambushing an enemy, and yelling while at it?
“Tsk.”
I click my tongue and ‘transmit’ an item from my inventory to the guy in front of me.
As a small amount of mental strength and mana is felt being consumed, the designated item disappears from the inventory.
In its place, a brown leather pouch, similar to the one containing bomb mushrooms, appears in front of him.
“Ha! Poison again? But what now? I have poison resistance, so this won’t work on me!”
He shouts with a sneer, swinging his knife towards the pouch.
Watching him, I smirked, letting out a snicker.
“Oh, really? That’s a shame.”
Saying that, I ‘transmit’ another item from the inventory behind him.
“But what now? What’s in that pouch isn’t poison.”
“What?”
The guy’s face turned dumb at my words, but his blade had already torn through the pocket and was cutting through its contents.
Slish.
Simultaneously, a sound of something being sliced.
Boom!
A shockwave accompanied by a loud explosion burst out from the severed pocket, sending the guy flying backward.
“aaargh!”
He screamed as he flew backward.
After a brief moment of flight, he crashed into a thick tree.
And…
“What… What the hell! Why isn’t my back falling off!”
The guy, stuck to the tree like glue, panicked and flailed around.
Watching this pathetic sight, I couldn’t help but comment.
“You fool.”
Does he even think?
Even if his thinking got short-circuited due to panic.
“Just take off your shirt.”
Since I was still inexperienced with the transfer skill and could only transfer objects outside of clothing.
He had no clue about that.
“Just accept your elimination like that.”
Thinking so, I turned away.
Then, I ran towards the outskirts of the forest again, checking the remaining quantity of the items I had just used.
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【Deafening Pouch (C)】
A pouch containing scrolls enchanted with ‘Deafening Mushroom’ and ‘Sound Amplification (D)’ magic, causing them to make a deafening noise when impacted.
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I still have two Deafening Pouches left…
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【Sticky Glue】
A sticky substance oozing from the plant.
*Due to the abundant mana on the deserted island, its size has increased, and its adhesive strength has been enhanced.
The sticky grass was still abundant.
‘Sticky grass…’
Gathering this stuff was a complete pain. Normally, the sticky grass used in making magic potions wasn’t that big or sticky to the touch, akin to a sticky spatula in the plant world. But the kind growing on this uninhabited island was infused with the island’s essence, massive and with a Bond-like adhesive strength.
So when this island-specific sticky grass got stuck to you, you needed a potion to get rid of the stickiness.
How many contestants would actually know that, let alone bring along the solution?
Anyway, finding the natural habitat of the sticky grass was great, but gathering it meant using up all the potion brought specifically for this purpose.
It had stuck all over my body.
And because the potion was running low, I had to change gloves several times.
There might even be one of my gloves on the back of some tree-dweller.
“Die, you scum!”
“You die, you mongrel!”
Swish, swish! Bang! Crash!
Stepping out of the forest onto a vast plain, I stumbled upon a battlefield in full swing. Contestants were using magic and skills against each other, clashing their weaponries here and there.
I kept running past them, heading forward.
Rushing toward the central area and finding them fighting wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.
‘Isn’t the encroaching electrical field becoming visible yet?’
The dome encased in an electrical field started slow but sped up over time. You couldn’t track when an attack might come from within it.
It must’ve been at least another 10 minutes that had passed by now.
And visually, the narrowing of the dome had accelerated quite a bit.
Yet some competitors chose to halt the legwork that would reduce their rivals.
For me, that was a big thank you.
“Die!!”
“…Just because you say so, will I really die?”
Occasionally, there were those who saw through the disguise of my cloak and still dared to attack.
“Gasp…, ah…, uh, uh…”
As they ran towards the approaching assailants, a sticky trap was laid out through a transmission in the direction they came from. Like a slapstick comedy routine, they all fell forward together, faces hitting the ground.
Passing by those figures, running breathlessly, they found themselves near the central area before they knew it.
Stopping in their tracks upon hearing a sharp noise from that place, they dropped to the ground in a sprawl.
It was a flat plain with no hiding spots, so lying down on the ground was the only option. However, the probability of being discovered was not that high, thanks to the camouflage effect of the disguise robe.
After all, the ‘mimicry’ effect of the disguise robe adapted to the surrounding environment.
Still, if they were found, well… they could always fight.
With that thought in mind, I approached the source of the sound gradually.
Thud! Clang!
As I got closer to the source of the sound, the clashing of swords became louder.
And not long after, I could see the faces of the people in the midst of the battle.
“…Iseo Yeon and Aseo Pen Dragon.”
Iseo Yeon.
Aseo Pen Dragon.
Lead characters fiercely clashed swords.
And around them, inevitably, many extras lay defeated.
There was also Ascarla Noah.
It seemed like Iseo Yeon or Aseo had defeated her.
“Surely, those two are on another level.”
Iseo Yeon and Aseo, among the lead non-player characters, possessed talents, skills, and powerful attributes that could debut them as heroes right away.
Moreover, Iseo Yeon and Aseo had mythical-grade weapons from the beginning.
Iseo Yeon wielded ‘Blood Demon Sword (Dainsleif).’
Aseo carried ‘Divine Sword (Excalibur).’
Of course, they were sealed in the early stages and couldn’t be used properly, but even when sealed, these two weapons were of mythical grade, practically considered cheat items.
Clang! Clash!
They moved gracefully, clashing their swords.
Despite the protection provided by the equipment distributed by the guild, they did not flinch even as the blades sparkled before their eyes. With expressionless faces, they responded calmly.
However, upon closer inspection, the eyes of those two were constantly moving.
Where they were going to swing their swords.
Where their feet were moving.
Yi Seo-yeon and Arthur, without a single error, anticipated each other’s attacks and clashed their swords.
But it did not take long before the balance of the exchange began to crumble little by little.
“I, is Yi Seo-yeon losing ground?”
“…I heard she was so famous in England.”
“…Is this a battle between examinees?”
Ultimately, it was because of Arthur’s deceptive technique, ‘Fairy’s Embrace,’ that Yi Seo-yeon started to fall behind.
A touch of frustration crossed Yi Seo-yeon’s expressionless face.
As she began to be pushed back in the exchange, one of Yi Seo-yeon’s eyebrows twitched.
And then.
Whoosh.
The sound of the sword resonated from Yi Seo-yeon’s sword, and a crimson sword energy soared.
At the same time, Arthur’s sword gathered golden mana and formed his own sword energy.
I was astonished by their actions.
‘Wait, there are also fallen comrades around!’
The equipment provided by the headmaster is decent, but the bracelet’s rating is at most ‘B’ grade.
It does help to block the attacks of the examinees in the examination room, but there are limits to that as well.
Especially, it cannot block the sword energy emitted from their swords.
Sword energy is the power used by heroes of at least mid-upper rank.
In terms of equipment, it is equivalent to an ‘A’ grade.
Yet, even the ‘B’ grade equipment is overwhelmed in blocking their sword energy.
When the two collide their swords wrapped in sword energy, the fragments of sword energy will burst out in all directions.
Those fragments will ruthlessly attack the defenseless examinees.
“You fools!”
Think before you fight!
I stood up from my seat, cursing.
Then, activating the effect of the ‘Noise-blocking Anklet’, I dashed towards them at full speed.
– 10 seconds.
I took out two ‘Soundproof Pouches’ from my inventory and clenched them in each hand.
– 9 seconds.
I thought about what item to transmit.
– 8 seconds.
They still haven’t noticed me.
– 7 seconds.
The two of them took a stance, keeping their distance.
– 6 seconds.
Their feet stepped forward.
– 5 seconds.
Their bodies leaned forward, preparing to bounce off.
– 4 seconds.
The ground smashed, as their bodies rushed towards each other.
– 3 seconds.
I threw a noise pouch.
– 2 seconds.
As the noise pouch flew, the two entered the range of my skill.
– 1 second.
I haphazardly untied the straps on their backs, arms, and legs.
– 0 seconds.
– Noise canceling released.
“……!”
Finally, the eyes of both of them, who noticed me, widened.
And they swung their swords towards each other, aiming at the something flying towards them.
Slice!
The two pouches were mercilessly cut.
And…
Boom!
Along with the deafening explosion from the two pouches, a shockwave blasted them backwards.
Thud.
They landed flat on their backs.
“…?!”
“…?!”
When they were rendered immobile by the sticky goo, a blatant absurdity crept onto the faces of the two who had maintained a poker face.
Truly interesting faces.
“Hey! It’s Mr. 3rd place!”
“…You were ranked 5th in the first test, right?”
As Asuka and Noah, both rising from their seats and adopting sloppy postures, looked at me, they pretended not to know me.
I approached Arthur and Iseoyeon, who were lying down, after attempting to regain their focus upon seeing the sword energy emanating from Arthur and Iseoyeon’s swords. However, I swiftly intervened, causing them to lose their target and frantically scramble.
I shook hands with Asuka and Noah, then addressed Arthur and Iseoyeon, who were staring intently at me as they lay in the middle.
“Are you guys kids? Running wild without distinguishing places?”
Having probably undergone disciplined training in their respective families, they seemed thrilled with each other’s unequal skills.
Pointing at them with an instructive tone, I raised my hand and pointed to the sky.
“And anyway, even if you fight like that, you won’t be the ones in first place.”
As I said this, everyone’s gaze turned towards the holographic scoreboard hovering in the sky.
[Scoreboard]
1st: Lee Yujin: 17,800 points
2nd: Arthur Pendragon: 4,900 points
3rd: Iseoyeon Lee: 4,600 points
4th: Shuheii Asuka: 2,500 points
5th: Noah: 2,400 points
.
.
.
“……?”
Hooks hung over everyone’s faces as they checked the scores.
Seeing their puzzled expressions, I took off the gas mask I was wearing and chuckled.
“The chicken is mine.”
As I uttered these words, an alarm sounded from the smartwatch, and the holographic screen changed.
[Test Ended]
The final test had concluded.