Chapter 39: Forest [2]

Everything felt so vivid.

From the dust in the air to the gentle breeze that wafted through.

....And in particular, the chill that enveloped my heart.

It all felt so real that for a moment, just briefly... I thought I was standing there, reliving the moment, and that this wasn't a vision.

'How...?'

I struggled to comprehend the sight in front of me.

How could Leon have died...? Wasn't he supposed to be the main character of the game? Why would-

I stopped my thoughts there.

It became clear to me shortly after. The reason why he died, and in such a manner...

It all became clear.

'It's because of me.'

My existence had caused this. I was the one who created this situation. Originally, he was supposed to be the Black Star.

The first ranker.

My presence had taken that away from him and changed the course of how the game progressed.

His death...

It was all because I existed.

'....!'

But it wasn't over.

Scrunch... Scrunch...

My head raised to stare into the distance. Toward the one responsible for all of this.

Ah--

My heart tightened further.

The figure responsible for all of this...

'....I can't see it.'

It was hazy. Almost obscured. The distance between us shrank, eventually coming to a step a few meters away from me.

I felt my body stiffen at the sight of it.

It felt as though he was looking at me. As if it knew that I was here. But...

It wasn't possible. And that proved to be the case when they lowered their head to stare at Leon.

Drip...! Drip...!

Red stained the ground as the shadow cast its gaze down.

'Blood....?'

Ah...

A realization hit me. Whoever the figure was, it hadn't come out unscathed from the conflict with Leon.

"....."

The silence that gripped the surrounding felt stifling.

Kiera, who was a few meters away, stood in silence, staring at the scene with a look of despair as she tried to force herself up.

"Ukh...!"

But it was to no avail.

Her legs were broken.

The last thing I heard before the vision shattered was...

"Y-you of all people..."

Everything grew dark again and I felt in control of my body again.

"Huaaaa...!"

I heavily gulped for air the moment I regained control of my body as I hunched over and leaned my hand on a nearby tree for support.

"Haa... Haaa...."

Sweat trickled down the side of my face as my breath left my body.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat in my mind as I tried to recover from the shock of the vision.

"Haaa...."

My head felt light and the world blurry.

But in spite of that, I had no choice but to recover fast.

"F... haaa... fucking shit."

A curse slipped my mouth and I ruffled my head.

'Now of all the fucking times...'

Just what sort of situation was this...? Couldn't I catch a break for once?

"Huuu..."

Though I complained, I was already rummaging through my backpack where I took a small red object.

[Emergency use only]

I stared at the device in my hand. It was something that all cadets were given. Although the area was safe, and most cadets were powerful, accidents could happen. The device was supposed to be used in case such cases occurred.

That said...

"....What kind of excuse am I going to use?"

There were repercussions to using the device in case there was no emergency.

I was afraid of such consequences, but...

"Whatever."

It wasn't something I could think about at the moment. At worst, I could just say that my injuries were too much for me.

With such thoughts, I pressed on the device.

Click--

But...

"...."

Nothing happened.

"What...?"

Click--

I clicked again.

But...

Yet again, nothing happened.

That's when I realized. My device... It was broken.

"This...."

I felt my stomach drop at the realization. This couldn't be a coincidence, right...?

There was simply no way. At the very least, I refused to believe that to be the case. It certainly had something to do with the situation.

But yet again...

It brought a new question to my mind.

"Why is the institute not aware of this?"

Was this perhaps another one of their tests...?

"No, it's not."

I could still recall Leon's lifeless expression as he fell by my feet. Kiera's shocked expression, and the intensity of the obscured figure in the vision.

This...

It wasn't a test.

This was real.

"Fuck..."

I could do nothing but curse. I was at a loss as to what to do. The figure was a lot stronger than me. To be able to kill Leon, a Tier 2 knight... It had to be at least Tier 3 in strength.

The higher the tier, the faster, and more efficient they were with controlling mana and utilizing spells.

I was merely at Tier 1.

How was I supposed to do anything about the figure...?

But...

"Damn it."

I clenched my teeth and grabbed my backpack.

I had no choice but to do something.

Leon couldn't die.

If he died...

I was screwed.

***

"...."

A strange silence gripped the surroundings as Leon carefully scanned the landscape.

There was something about the environment that felt...

Unsettling.

SHIIIIING----!

He unsheathed his sword and narrowed his eyes. A grave expression marred his features.

All humans were born with a [Innate] skill. Though the Academy didn't require one to share what it was, a few cadets with lower talents tended to expose it in hopes of getting accepted.

Leon's [Innate] skill was called [Instinct].

It was an innate skill that granted him the ability to feel when things weren't right.

It was for this exact reason that he was sure that the current 'Julien' was a fake, and that he hadn't been lying about his circumstances back then.

....And it was also for this exact reason that he was hesitant about fighting him.

His instincts...

They told him to not fight him.

That he wasn't someone that he could easily take on.

"Huuuu..."

There were hardly any times when his instincts had been wrong. There were occasions where they had been, but those times were rare and he always liked to play things safe. And it also wasn't like it was active at all times.

There were many times his instincts didn't detect anything. But in the rare times that they did... He always made sure to be ready.

Therefore...

Scanning around once more, he secretly started to run the mana in his body.

As a Tier 2 knight, his senses were rather sharp. Within moments, he felt every little detail of his surroundings.

From the speed of the wind to the number of grass stalks around him.

".....!"

It was also because of this that he was able to react in time, suddenly shifting his body by pivoting his foot and positioning the blade in front of him.

Bang--!

Sparks flew in the air as Leon felt his body skid several meters back before stopping.

"Ukh...!"

A groan inevitably escaped from his lips as he felt his chest cave slightly. The power of that strike...

It wasn't something he would've been able to take on unguarded.

Whoever this enemy was...

They were without a doubt stronger than him.

Scrunch... Scrunch...

Leon felt his body tense as the nearby bushes rustled and a figure gradually became clear for him to see.

When the figure became clear, Leon's eyes widened and his expression cracked.

"It's you...?"

***

"What am I supposed to do...?"

I was lost. I had no idea where to start. The forest was massive, and finding Leon was easier said than done.

The only thing that I knew was the exact details of the location.

I remembered almost every little detail about the space.

But that was it...

Where exactly it was, I wasn't sure. Even the map in my hand was of no use.

'Crap...'

By now he had most likely already met the enemy. For how long could he last? A minute? Two minutes? Ten minutes...?

The idea ate at my mind as I continued forward. I had no choice but to move. Leon couldn't die... His death would mean that the likelihood of me getting exposed as a 'fraud' was almost guaranteed.

What then...?

Go into hiding and wait for the world to forget about me? Even if that was possible, that wasn't what I wanted.

I had a clear goal in mind.

And Leon was the key piece to helping me achieve that goal.

....I couldn't do without him.

"He can't die..."

I reminded myself of the fact.

He couldn't die.

"Haaa.... Haaa...."

I had been running for a few minutes, when...

Rustle--

The bushes near me rustled and a voice followed suit.

"Found you."

***

"Tsk....."

Kiera clicked her tongue as she looked around. She was all by herself in the forest with no one in sight.

Her hands tingled and she instinctively reached for her pocket.

But they were empty.

"...."

Her heart started to beat faster.

So did her breathing as her fingers twitched. A sense of emptiness spread across her chest as her left eye twitched.

"Shit..."

Why did people smoke....? Each person had their own answer to the question.

Kiera's answer was...

'It's warm.'

Her lungs would heat up, her mind would relax, and she'd forget that she wasn't alone for a moment.

It was the gruesome reality of her life.

She was alone.

The people she called 'family' only cared about prestige and honor. It was for this reason that despite being one herself, she hated nobles.

She also hated the dark.

It felt stifling.

It was her curse. She didn't even know why she was like it. It had been like this for as long as she could remember. But it had haunted her for as long as she could remember.

It was for this reason that she smoked.

To her...

Smoking was her medicine.

It brought warmth.

Ziiiip--

Kiera unzipped her bag where she took out a pack of cigarettes.

[Milton's Rose]

The familiar box, and the the familiar smell. Briefly, it eased the darkness that surrounded her.

*Puff*

An orange light flickered in the dark as Kiera took a drag of the cigarette.

Her lungs burned with an all too familiar sensation, and her mind calmed down. But she soon frowned.

"....Looks like I need to change the intensity."

Cigarettes had different intensities. Mainly because superhumans that were capable of wielding mana had certain resistance to the chemicals in normal cigarettes.

It was hence why the cigarettes that Kiera was using were specifically designed for superhumans.

While normal cigarettes couldn't harm them, these ones could....

The higher the Tier she reached, the more intense the cigarette had to be for her to feel anything.

It was also because of this that the damage from smoking couldn't be healed.

*Puff*

But it wasn't like she cared.

Closing her eyes, she leaned against a nearby tree and savored the taste of the cigarette.

Her mind relaxed and all her worries disappeared.

By the time she was done, her mind was clear. The dark didn't seem as intimidating as it had been moments prior.

Her body felt warm.

"Let's get this shit done."

She tossed the pack back into her bag and took out the booklet for the task.

Flip--!

She had just opened the first page when...

--------!

A resounding roar reverberated. At the same time, the ground beneath her quaked, and the nearby trees shattered.

Her body's equilibrium shifted, leaving her with no time to respond.

"...Huh?"

Thump!

A figure skidded back, only stopping after impaling their sword against the ground.

Kiera's eyes widened at the sight of him.

And her mouth opened to mumble,

"Leon...?"