Horas looked down at the protagonists that were caught in the hole. He did not remember writing this or even a club trip this early.
But Horas also knew it could be an event that had likely happened in the book. He had not detailed everything that had happened before he had published so many events had been glossed over.
"Let's see. There is no visible indicator of mana usage so the caster has to be without a 30-meter radius. I should start combing things out, right?"
Horas had a general idea of where to start looking for that trap's source. There was an open field on the right and a dense plantation on the left.
The only place to start looking for the intruder was to start combing the left clearing. But if people applied the logic of a novel.
"Yeah, let's head right. I am sure our attacker has some kind of skill that would help him hide better."
By now, Horas had gotten plenty used to this place. What seemed logical in a scenario might change depending on what kind of skills one had. And sometimes, trusting one's gut turns out to be right in the end.
Horas walked toward the empty field and knocked on the ground. It seemed normal but there was a hint of energy coming from beneath Horas's feet.
'So he is hiding in here. My scanner is picking up a skill being used here.'
This was another invention that was in its testing stages but it seemed to be working just fine. It was showing a reading of energy that Horas knew did not belong to any of his known people.
'Bingo. Looks like I found you.'
Horas charged his gun, finally having enough mana and bullets to break the earth. His bullet managed to graze the person hidden in the earth and Horas smiled a victorious smile.
"Are are sure you do not want to come out even now? I will spare your life if you show your face right now."
Horas bluffed, not expecting the villain to be foolish enough to fall for his tricks. And as he expected, the villain did not fall for it either. He was an intelligent person who kept himself hidden.
The villain tried to move underground, wanting to lose Horas but Horas was tracking his every move.
'I got lucky this time since I brought the mana-vision glasses with me. These things are so handy.'
Horas shot at the ground and the small bumps of energy that traveled through it. One of his bullets finally hit the ground, causing the momentum of the villain to halt. He had to come up as the earth shook more and more around him.
'Darn it. It was supposed to be an easy job for me. How did it turn into such a mess that even I could not handle?'
The villain questioned inside his mind as he was faced with a gun barrel in his face. Looking down at him was the grim reaper of the academy, the one person no villain currently wanted to run into.
"I want to say that you did well but that would be a lie. Now, why don't you tell your partner to stop so that I can catch both of you?"
Horas questioned as he pulled the desperate villain closer to his face. The villain looked at Horas with wide terrifying eyes but he did not betray his command.
'I have to commend the sense of loyalty these villains have for each other. They go the extra mile to ensure their partner is not caught.'
Horas was genuine in his praise. He did think that being villains and running away from the law caused the other side to become closer. That was also why, despite having been harassed by the villains in the past, Reed warmed up to them in the end.
"Go to hell. I will never betray my partner, no matter what you say to me. I am not like you cowards, willing to sell your comrade out. We will all find the promised land together."
Horas shook his head at the stubbornness of the person before him. It was honorable of the villain to try and stop Horas from going after his partner but it was of no use now.
As soon as he had caught this villain, Horas disabled his powers. That meant that the first-year kids were free to roam around now. And these kids were the best, the protagonists, so they will manage somehow.
The ground shook again, indicating that the captured villain was not the reason this island was quaking. This time, there was some smoke coming out from the center of the mountain as well.
"Shit, this is bad. Hey man, I know I am a villain and you have no reason to believe me, but please believe me when I say we need to leave this island now. It is about to become home to an active volcano soon."
Horas turned to look at the villain with a vigilant eye. But it seemed like the villain was genuine when he said those words.
The shade of white the villain had gone was especially revealing of his intentions and sincerity. The villain was not lying.
"Are you serious? How did this happen on the very first trip-? Of course, it did. Those troublemakers are here, so it was a possibility."
Horas muttered these words to himself, knowing fully well that anything was possible when the protagonists were involved.
"Oi, is your partner going after my kids? Hurry up and tell me or I will shoot your partner as soon as I spot him."
Horas shook the man in his grip and the villain went dizzy. He had never seen an adventurer behave like this. Most of them would have outright threatened him.
"Stop. Slow down a little. I don't know where my partner is, alright. We did not tell each other our locations for safety reasons. I don't know where my partner is, even if you ask me."
The villain was good and his worry seemed genuine. He cared about his partner's safety.
Horas felt for the man but could also not allow a villain to run without an escort.
"Listen, I will uncuff you now but mark you with a taser. If you try anything funny, I will cut off your powers, alright?"
Horas warned the man who looked up at him with a grateful face. Horas quickly chipped the man and then let him go.
The villain likely thought that Horas was bluffing and he tried to use his powers. He was instantly clapped by Horas as his powers went shut. It caused him to get stuck in the ground all of a sudden.
"No funny business, alright? Next time, I will not be half as nice as I am right now."
Horas warned the man who was held captive. The prisoner hissed as soon as he felt his body being let go. It had not been his intention to be held against his will.
'Shit, this is so bad. This reaper is not giving me any breathing room. At this rate, I will end up failing my mission.'
This was something the villain was deadly afraid of. He knew he had to make some kind of desperate hail mary play and try running away once Horas was looking away.
Too bad for him, Horas gave him no such opportunity. They soon reached the bunch of kids that were his target and they looked unharmed and vigilant.
They had even managed to catch his partner and now had his partner captured and tied up.
"Whoops, now that took some time. Hey Horas, we are over here and we are alright. Did you catch your man as well?"
Howard cheered as soon as he noticed Horas walking toward him. Horas waved his arm in return, showing that he had heard Howard's words.
He threw the villain at his partner, hoping that this would be the end but the volcano had other ideas. It ended up erupting and the sky turned red.
'Shit. a dungeon formed on this island. Now we cannot escape it without clearing this dungeon first.'
Horas was not the only one to realize that they were in trouble, everyone else seemed to have noticed as well.
But unlike Horas, they did not know just how bad things had gotten all of a sudden because of this change.
