Chapter 134: Enchanted Forest [Part 2]
Faced with the sudden change in their circumstances, the two boys remained calm and engaged the wild boars in battle. They wanted to end it as soon as they could in order to prevent anyone from taking advantage of them.
William didn’t bother to sneak attack the two boys, because he wanted to find a safe place to make his base. He was not in a hurry to collect points, since it was only the first day. What he prioritized first was his safety.
When William left the scene, two arrows came flying from somewhere in the forest and struck the backs of the two boys who were busy dealing with the wild boars. Although they had already heightened their senses, in order to escape being ambushed, the two arrows still managed to avoid their detection.
The two boars didn’t miss this opportunity and continued to charge at the two wounded boys. The impact of their charge sent the two boys rolling across the ground which aggravated the injuries they had received from the arrow.
The archer fired two more arrows which landed in the two boys’ necks, ending their lives and turning them into particles of light. The two red orbs that emerged from their bodies flew towards the archer who was hiding a hundred meters away from them.
After receiving her spoils of war, she left the scene in search of easier prey to kill. If possible, she wanted to eliminate the red-headed boy first, but he was as slippery as an eel. As an archer who took the second exam, she had watched William’s battle against Psoglav through a telescope.
She was one of the first to arrive at the flag during the second exam, which gave her plenty of opportunities to observe the other candidates.
Although she couldn’t see the entire battle unfold, she was still able to see how the boy fought fearlessly against the Ruler of the Forest. Because of this, she had marked William as the greatest threat in this competition instead of Drake and Spencer, and wanted to eliminate him early.
Unfortunately, she failed on her first try, and wasn’t able to get an opportunity on her second. In the end, she decided to just hunt the small fries and farm points until it passed the hundredth mark. After that, she would hide somewhere inside the forest and wait for the competition to end.
—–
William encountered several more students as he continued to look for a place to hide. He avoided them like a plague and refused to engage in battle. Earlier, he had climbed a tree and surveyed the terrain. The forest extended for miles in all directions. All that William could see was a sea of trees without end in sight.
‘This is going to be tricky,’ William thought as he extended his senses. Aside from the candidates who were aiming to become the Head Prefect, William had sensed some other threats inside the forest as well.
Although they were not as powerful as Psoglav, they were in the same league as his Mama Ella in her War Ibex Form.
‘At most, Threat Level D’s and C’s,’ William rubbed his chin with his fingers. ‘They are scattered quite evenly. I guess they have already established their own territories.’
After pondering for a while, William decided to ask for a second opinion.
‘System, any recommendations?’ William inquired.
‘Why the sudden change?’ William asked back. ‘What happened to the promised friendship between the protagonist and his system?’
‘I don’t know if I should be happy or not, but you do have a point.’ William sighed. ‘Fine. Please change my subclass to Cavalier Class.’
‘Thank you.’
William hurriedly climbed down the tree and headed in a certain direction. With the passive skills of the Shepherd Class, he had found a way to use the terrain to his advantage.
—–
“Wait! Why don’t we team up?” a skinny boy proposed. “You be the boss, and I’ll be your underling. It’s a win-win for everyone, right?”
“Your offer is good,” a cool looking boy said with a smile. “However, what I need right now is… your points!”
Spencer took a step forward and traversed four meters in a single step. His spear stabbed forward and a scream of pain reverberated in the forest. Soon, the body of the skinny boy changed into particles of light as a red orb floated in the air.
The cool looking boy grabbed the red orb with his right hand. As soon as he touched it, the orb disappeared and the back of his hand glowed showing the number 12.
‘Contrary to his looks, he was very capable,’ Spencer thought as his points increased by four. ‘Now, time to gather more points.’
Spencer walked towards the depth of the forest where the other candidates hid. He walked with confidence, for he knew that only a handful of people could threaten him in this battle for the title of Head Prefect.
‘Wash your neck, Drake.’ Spencer sneered. ‘The next time we meet, I will not hold back.’
—–
Two red orbs appeared in front of Drake as he sheathed his greatsword.
“Bunch of weaklings,” Drake spat on the ground. “It seems that only that bastard, Spencer, is the only threat in this competition.”
WIth a wave of his hand, the two orbs flew in his direction. The number twenty appeared on the back of his hand, which proved that he had killed more than Spencer had.
The total number of candidates gunning for the position of Head Prefect was less than three hundred. It was around two-thirds of the First Years in the Martial Class Division. After making his initial estimate, Drake knew that he only had to kill over a hundred and the position of Head Prefect would fall in his hands.
“Don’t let me see you, Spencer,” Drake muttered as he set his sights on his new target. “I’ll make you regret enrolling in the Royal Academy.”
—–
“I see plenty of rough gems in this year’s competition,” Grent said with a smile. He was looking at Spencer’s and Drake’s battles and he was very satisfied with their performance. He had also discovered the archer girl who was sniping people from afar. “Perhaps we don’t need to wait three days in order to see who the winner will be. What do you think, Andy?”
“I think those two brats are overestimating themselves,” Andy replied in a lazy manner. “As for the hunter girl, she holds promise. I might take her as my apprentice if she gets a good rank in this competition.”
Grent snorted. “You’re still hung up on that boy, William.”
Grent looked at the shepherd who was currently inching his way towards the depths of the forest. He had seen how the red-headed boy had escaped from his pursuers and Grent was very dissatisfied with him.
Naturally, he was hoping that the boy could bring him another surprise. After all, he was there when William fought against the Ruler of the Forest.
“Just wait,” Andy said as he sipped a mug of ale. “I’m sure that he won’t disappoint the two of us.”
“That better be the case. I have a lot of expectations for him.”
“How about we make a bet?”
Andy grinned as he proposed the stakes to his superior, “Half a month’s salary if we can guess who will become the Head Prefect for the First Years. What do you think?”
“Do you think of me as a fool?” Grent asked back. “My salary is six times your salary. I have nothing to gain if I make a bet with you.”
Andy clicked his tongue because his plan to earn easy cash went down the drain. As he returned his attention to the red-headed boy, who was currently running away from four forest wolves, Andy felt as if his blood was boiling.
It was not boiling from anger or rage, but in anticipation. He didn’t know where his blind faith was coming from. However, when he saw William’s performance in the forest, he had a feeling that this boy would change the way the other Divisions looked at their Martial Class Division.
For the past few years, the Martial Class Division had always been looked down upon because there weren’t many promising talents who were able to fight against the representatives of the Magic and Spirit Class Divisions.
Andy had long accepted this fact and buried his complaints deep inside his heart. However, every night, after the exams had ended, he would always see a shining banner fluttering in the darkness when he closed his eyes to sleep.
Andy saw a boy, with flaming red hair, holding a golden banner in his hand. He rode on top of his Angorian War Ibex, while his other hand was holding a lance that seemed to emit a light of its own.
Andy recalled that one glorious moment when the boy raised his lance up high as if to challenge the world of darkness by himself. He watched in awe as the boy thrust his lance forward.
With that single thrust, light illuminated the world. That scene was so beautiful, so surreal, that even someone as numb as Andy could feel that all hope was not lost.
‘Perhaps, this time around, a miracle will happen,’ Andy thought as he stared at William with an almost fanatical gaze. ‘Little shepherd, may you pierce through the darkness and illuminate the world. That way, people like us will be able to raise our heads up high and regain the honors that we have lost long ago.’