CH 96

Chapter 96

"----Who's there!?"

George suddenly sensed the presence of someone.

Although he was not a pure detection-type divine talent holder, he had honed his skills as a scout through his experiences up until now. Still, being able to sense a person's presence----sounds emitted by people, unnatural noises from plants, unnatural light refraction, ominous shadows, etc.----meant that he had been polishing his skills under his mentor's guidance every day.

To begin with, having such talents might be a prerequisite for enrolling in Mallorca Escuela.

The direction George looked, that was----.

[Is it not me? Who is it?]

It was not in the direction where Tenji was hiding, but in the bushes on the right side about twenty meters away.

Inwardly, he felt somewhat relieved while wondering if three people would really meet in such a vast field so soon after the start.

Perhaps this test deliberately started with a concentrated group of students.

"Ahahaha, it's me, me. I'm Mohamed Pyne."

"What, it's you?"

George exhaled as if relieved a little. Then he slowly lowered the weapon he had in his right arm.

Seeing this, Pyne chuckled mischievously, sensing that there was no hostility.

"That's harsh, isn't it? Hey, what was George's 'role'?"

"Wait. Don't come any closer to me."

"Alright. I won't approach you until I find out what your role is."

A quiet awkward moment arrived, and only the sound of rustling plants dominated the scene.

Both were concerned about the "role" element that Illonka had mentioned, and they were indecisive about how to interact with their classmates.

George was the first to move, as if giving in.

"Sigh... why do I have to tell you my role? In this exam, I'm most cautious of you. As someone who holds the same first-grade calling, I won't give you a single piece of information."

"Well, that's to be expected. Then I won't tell you anything either. I don't even know what kinds of 'roles' exist."

"Wise. Well, I'm leaving. Don't come this way, okay? If our paths cross, the number of kills will drastically decrease, and that would be troublesome."

"Of course. I want to be number one, too."

"Then... give it your all."

George calmly finished the situation and began to climb the mountain path, while still being somewhat cautious of Pyne.

Pyne looked at the miserable appearance of the chopped-up Gochinentoy at the scene, made a slightly disgusted face, and turned pale. Apparently, this was his first time seeing such a tragic sight.

In Pyne's hand, she had a thin sword gripped..

The name of the sword was "Stealth Voltacker," classified as a first-grade weapon.

It seemed that if you poured MP into it, - the entire blade, from the blade to the hilt -, it would be covered in optical camouflage, making it invisible. In addition, in stealth mode, a passive skill called "electroshock mode" is overlapped and activated.

As the name suggests, it is an ability that adds high-powered electroshock effects to normal attacks.

Pyne apparently obtained this unparalleled weapon by using her first-grade calling.

When awakening to a first-grade, one can choose from experience points, first-grade weapons, or recovery.

[That weapon is like an enhanced, blitzkrieg version of my Red Demon Glove. I haven't seen Pyne's real fight yet, so I want to see it with my own eyes at least once. Maybe I should follow her a bit?　Ahhh, but you know... ...... Pyne is an assassination type...]

Stealth Voltacker is probably one of the strongest swords in the world. Tenji was thinking this as he looked at Pyne's weapon.

Perhaps he had let his guard down a little.

Pyne suddenly noticed a mysterious presence and instinctively turned her gaze in the direction of the tree where Tenji was hiding.

"...There's a human here, right? Who is it?"

[Oh no ssshhhhhhhhhi... Pyne is so sharp at sensing people's presence. Maybe I underestimated her. She really is a first-grade explorer  with an assassination skill.] Tenji thought to himself.

Tenji quickly considered how to handle the situation.

[Should I just hide somewhere else? ...No, that wouldn't be fair to Pyne. We're only being controlled by the concept of "roles," and normally we're just regular friends. ...But I don't need to worry, do I?]

Tenji's self-confidence likely led him to think this way.

Normally, even if they were students who knew each other, they would be wary of each other in this situation.

Especially if their strengths were evenly matched, people would be even more likely to make that judgment.

Well, it would be different if they had a liking or disliking for each other as the opposite sex, but unfortunately they weren't in that kind of relationship.

"Long time no see, Pyne."

"Ah! It's Tenji!"

As Tenji stopped hiding and slowly emerged from behind the tree, Pyne flashed a smile as bright as the sun.

Without showing any hesitation or confusion, she ran towards Tenji.

"Woah, woah!"

"Ah, sorry."

Tenji hurriedly stopped Pyne, who looked like she was about to hug him right then and there.

Pyne also came to a sudden stop about three meters away and scratched her head with a sheepish smile.

"By the way... What is Pyne's 'role'?"

"Mine? It just says 'commoner,' but... what about you, Tenji?"

"Oh, same here. Look, it says 'commoner' for me too."

Pyne peered into the goggles Tenji was holding out to her, but tilted her head in confusion.

"Tenji, I can't read Japanese."

"Oh, right. The writing is in Japanese. It would be great if this Aurelia translation device could also translate written characters."

With just that brief conversation, the two of them realized that they were trustworthy individuals.

Tenji understood that Pyne's quick answer of "commoner" was proof that she really was in that role, as he had no idea what other roles there were.

In the midst of it all, Pyne had met no one else and had not made contact with any other individuals. Tenji quickly trusted Pyne as she was willing to show him the proof, her goggles.

After all, he knew that Tenji was bad at lying. When he had to lie, he would subconsciously avert his gaze for a moment. Pyne noticed that he did not have this tendency in this moment, and quickly trusted him as well.

In this way, the actions they had taken over the past few months to build a close relationship led to a positive outcome for both of them.

"Hey, did you learn that hide technique from Chigo too? I'm really impressed."

"Hm? Yeah, I've learned everything from one to ten from Chigo-chan."

"Wow, Chigo is really great, isn't he? I'll ask her to teach me next time too. But she's so popular that I can't get a reservation at all."

"Then I'll tell Chigo next time, shall I?"

"Really? Thanks, Tenji. But I'm a bit relieved."

"What?"

Suddenly, Pyne stroked Tenji's head with a tender gaze, like a mother watching over a child. Unfortunately, Pyne is one centimeter taller than Tenji, so this sometimes happens.

However, Tenji has always been self-conscious about his height and stretched himself, half-forcing Pyne's hand away while snorting.

"I was really worried about how the swordsman Tenji would get through this exam. But after seeing your hiding technique just now... I thought, 'Oh, he'll be fine.'"

"Ah, I see. Even though I've been telling you not to worry all this time."

"Somehow, I feel like I can't leave Tenji alone. I wonder why?"

"Well, I don't know if I'm the one to ask."

"That's true. Anyway, I'm going now. We can't waste a second in this test, so I can't fall behind George!"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's meet at the top."

Pyne and Tenji surprisingly ended their conversation quickly, and both began to walk in separate directions. Pyne went to the left side of the path George had taken, and Tenji went to the right, each seeking a route with probability to meet fewer people.

--------- Fuyuki Kurou.

"Ah, I see. This year's exam is much more annoying than mine... Is it Principal Limey's doing? Or maybe Illonka?"

George and Pyne.

As Tenji encountered the two of them, Fuyuki was hiding and scoring Tenji's performance. Meanwhile, Fuyuki displayed the 1-A class list on his scoring tablet and confirmed the "roles" assigned to each student. There was only one "commoner" listed.

"That boy is... Ah, I see. The 'Avenger'."

Yes, this was a nasty rule devised by Illonka. Each student was assigned a unique role and obligated to fulfill it. Of course, fulfilling this duty would result in a significant increase in their scores, so the students become motivated. One such role was the Avenger, who had to lure a certain person to a certain place and trap them in a prepared snare, which would lead to a significant increase in points.

"This... is worse than my time. Even as an examiner, I can't help but feel repulsed by these roles. Fortunately, Tenji has the only normal role."

Having checked that far, Fuyuki put the list back.

[But that tan-skinned girl...interesting. A "Special Role Killer." No matter how much others investigate, she will only appear as a "commoner," but when she looks at it, it shows "Special Role Killer." Possessing both a hidden and public face... a true Black Explorer. This is going to be interesting.]

Assigning the role of Black Explorer to the assassination-specialized Pyne might be going too far. Fuyuki couldn't help but think so, but decided to watch and see how it played out.