The sound of giant footsteps thundered through the forest under the blazing sun.
Arthur's vision began to waver, blood streaming from his nose.
"Cough, cough—"
His coughing sounded harsh, followed by blood.
Excessive mana usage had injured his internal organs.
Slowly, the red aura forming the giant began to fade, and Arthur gradually fell to the ground.
Thud.
A groan escaped his bloodied lips, his hand clenched the soil, and once again he tried to push his body up.
His body trembled, Arthur leaned against a tree to help himself stand.
Rough breaths escaped from his lips.
'That bastard… I have to smash him into pulp'
Arthur slowly stepped through the forest, a bit of harsh sunlight illuminating his face.
His steps were slow but steady.
'Why am I trying this hard?'
'Is it because that bastard keeps mocking me?'
Arthur grabbed onto a tree.
'Is it because I'm afraid of being scolded by my older sister?'
Arthur's steps gradually became more unsteady.
'Did that bastard force me to become like this?'
A faint smile formed on his face, his breathing this time calming his heartbeat.
'I have to train harder, so I can crush that guy as easily as swatting a mosquito'
Arthur's steps gradually became firmer.
But the movement of another figure that just entered his vision made his brows twitch.
There, Alex walked away from Arthur with staggering steps, his body covered in blood.
Arthur's anger surged.
"HEY!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING, YOU BASTARD?! ARE YOU SCARED NOW?!"
Alex ignored him, his steps undisturbed.
Arthur increased his speed to catch up with Alex.
And suddenly, Alex stopped.
Arthur managed to catch up and looked at Alex's back.
Alex turned around, his body looked far worse, his VR uniform torn everywhere.
Arthur swallowed and took a deep breath.
Meanwhile, Alex only gave a weak smile.
Arthur stared at Alex.
Alex spread both his arms and closed his eyes, inhaling as much air as possible, his eyes slightly peeking at the surroundings, he saw several traps that had been set.
'Damn, this isn't all of them. Should I walk a bit further?'
Krystal clicked her tongue.
'Just hit him with what you've got, he's already beaten up anyway'
Alex opened his eyes and looked at Arthur, whose condition wasn't much different from his.
Arthur's face turned confused, one of his brows raised.
"What, are you mute now? Where's all your trash talk from before?"
Alex chuckled even though his throat hurt.
"Look at the cleanliness freak, all dirty and beaten up like that hahaha"
Veins bulged on Arthur's forehead, his breathing became heavy again.
Alex looked at him and extended his hand, inviting Arthur to come forward.
"Come… come here, I'll make you kiss the ground"
Arthur couldn't hold it anymore, he charged at Alex without using mana.
Alex smiled in excitement, he directed his hand toward a tree beside the path Arthur would pass.
There was a small paper with a symbol, the paper was glowing.
Arthur's attention was distracted by the light as he charged.
From the paper, a knife shot toward a tree across from it, carrying a tied rope.
Arthur, who couldn't react in time and whose body was badly injured, tripped over the rope.
A small groan escaped from Arthur.
Thud.
He fell face-first into the ground.
Arthur tried to stand up.
But Alex approached him, Arthur saw a wide grin on Alex's face.
Alex launched a kick straight to Arthur's face.
Thud.
Arthur was thrown backward, blood gushed again from his nose.
Arthur groaned while holding his nose.
He tried to get up immediately before Alex attacked again.
In his vision, Alex walked toward him with the same wide grin.
But his foot also got caught in the same trap that had brought Arthur down.
Thud.
Alex groaned in pain, his entire body creaked.
'Idiot! How did you trip over that!'
Alex tried to stand.
Arthur hurried toward him, though slower.
He raised his leg and kicked sideways at Alex, who was still kneeling.
Thud.
Alex endured it, another groan escaped, but he grabbed Arthur's right leg.
Alex chuckled crazily again.
Meanwhile, Arthur's expression twisted in pain.
Alex lifted Arthur's leg, making him lose balance and step back a few steps.
His exposed posture was immediately exploited by Alex with a sideways punch that hit Arthur's left ear.
Arthur fell again, ringing filled his left ear, his vision became blurry.
Arthur saw Alex's silhouette approaching, he gritted his teeth and kicked Alex's shin.
"Arghh"
Alex fell beside Arthur.
Thud.
Arthur looked to the side, Alex tried to choke him, he climbed on top of Arthur.
Arthur grabbed Alex's choking hand.
An unconscious scream escaped from Arthur.
"Uwarghhhh"
Arthur released his grip and pulled Alex's arm, while his forehead was directed toward Alex's nose.
Thud.
The sound of impact was heard, Alex staggered before collapsing.
Meanwhile, Arthur's head throbbed.
Arthur tried to distance himself, and slowly stood up while staggering, his whole body trembled violently, he could no longer hear anything.
Arthur looked at Alex who was still lying down.
Alex's body slowly convulsed.
But his right hand repeatedly slammed the ground hard. And a deafening scream echoed through the forest.
"Argh…."
The convulsions stopped. He slowly stood, his body had reached its limit.
He looked at Arthur with an empty face, only curses coming out of his mouth.
"Damn damn it, I can't focus on the traps anymore"
Meanwhile, one of Arthur's brows was raised, he didn't know what Alex was talking about.
Alex's breathing became heavy, he raised his hand again to provoke Arthur.
Arthur took a deep breath, focusing his remaining mana into his right hand.
A thin aura wrapped around his right hand.
A wide grin formed on Arthur's face.
"Finally you're going to die, bastard!!"
Alex narrowed his eyes, he took out a small paper from his smart bracelet, Arthur ignored it.
Arthur charged toward Alex with his remaining strength.
Raising his right hand, he threw a punch toward Alex's left face.
Alex smiled faintly, he didn't dodge or try to block it.
Thud.
Blood sprayed out of Alex's mouth along with several broken teeth, Alex's right hand threw the small paper into the sky while he was sent flying backward.
Thud.
Alex collapsed on the ground, unmoving.
Meanwhile, Arthur who saw it felt relief, but his heart pounded rapidly.
Alex smiled faintly while looking at the sky.
The paper floated right above Arthur.
Arthur swallowed while looking at Alex.
Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, he felt a small movement above his head.
He tried to look up at the sky.
The sun at its highest point blinded him, Arthur covered it with his left hand.
His vision slowly focused, and Arthur's eyes widened.
A piece of paper danced in the sky above his head, the paper slowly glowed.
Arthur's heart seemed to stop.
A giant statue emerged from the paper, the previously blazing sunlight was now blocked by that giant statue.
Arthur swallowed.
'Damn… that bastard'
The statue crashed down onto Arthur who stood staring at the sky.
BOOM!
The tremor reached Alex.
Alex smiled faintly, a small laugh escaped from his blood-filled mouth.
"Damn, that was close…"
Alex no longer had the strength to stand.
A breeze brushed against his body.
A small vibration approached him, it was the sound of someone's footsteps.
Slowly, in his blurred vision, Alex saw the silhouette of someone with long dark red hair.
Alex's smile became brighter.
"How is it, Katarina? I did it, right?"
Katarina sighed, and massaged her forehead, her face and hands were filled with scratch wounds.
"Why are you always so beaten up? Isn't this moment not unfamiliar?"
Alex chuckled softly.
"Yeah… this isn't unfamiliar"
Alex swallowed.
"Hurry and give me a healing potion like before! I'm going to kick that blonde bastard's ass"
Katarina just sat beside Alex.
Alex looked at her in confusion.
"What's wrong? Hurry up with the potion or Ken will get beaten up"
Katarina shrugged.
"That won't be necessary, because the simulation will end. You better prepare for something more serious"
Alex's face was filled with confusion.
"What's going on? What will happen?"
Katarina didn't answer, she just looked at the giant statue crushing Arthur and sat calmly beside the battered Alex.
The scene was displayed on the monitors in the observation room.
Arkan held his head with both of his hands.
A look of disbelief was clearly seen on his face.
"Crazy… that's insane. Alex defeated Arthur!"
Arkan turned to the side where Kartika was.
There, she was biting her fingernails anxiously.
Arkan patted Kartika's shoulder.
"Are you worried? Arthur has already shown his quality as one of the strongest in Class 1. He lost to Alex because Alex had solid preparation and unexpected abilities."
Kartika just stared at the monitor.
A growl came from her lips.
"That bastard… how could he lose!"
Arkan tried to calm Kartika.
"Hey hey you can't be like that! Arthur fought until he was nearly dead! His opponent is a combination of cunning and extraordinary technique, Arthur has never faced something like that"
Kartika sighed and looked at Arkan.
"Should I train Arthur again? Should I also train that Alex?"
Arkan looked at Kartika in confusion.
But before he could answer, a tremor was felt in the observation room, making the lights and monitors turn off for a moment.
Arkan swallowed and approached the operator.
"What happened sir? How's the connection with the VR world?"
The operator fiddled with his equipment.
"The connection is still safe! We only lost the visual feed for a moment"
The screens slowly turned back on.
Kartika wanted to walk out to check on the people inside the VR capsules.
But her steps stopped because of an alarm.
Ring! Ring!
The operator informed.
"There's a call from the principal in the meeting room"
Kartika replied.
"Connect it quickly"
The principal's voice was heard in the observation room.
"Arkan, Kartika. I'll make this short. The city is under attack, our communication is cut off, end the simulation now, and instruct the first-year students to stay within the academy area and help the injured civilians, then both of you immediately join your respective cohorts"
Arkan and Kartika swallowed and looked at each other.
"This might become a national-level incident, and one more thing, there is an anomaly happening with the subordinates of the Clay Overmas family. Almost all of them suddenly disappeared"
Arkan's face turned confused.
"Is there any connection with this attack?"
The principal cleared his throat.
"No one knows, but there is suspicion that other cities are also being attacked"
"The point is end the simulation now and instruct the first-year students to defend the academy and protect the civilians, and you along with your cohorts will become support for the professors and security forces"
Arkan and Kartika answered together.
"Yes sir!"
The communication ended.
One of the operators raised his hand.
"The simulation will be terminated!"
Arkan added.
"We will head to the first-year students"
Everyone became busy with their respective tasks to handle the ongoing attack.
Meanwhile in the VR world, Alex was still confused about what Katarina said, he kept staring at her closely.
Katarina sighed.
She began counting down.
"3…"
"2…"
Alex became even more confused.
"What are you doing?"
Katarina ignored him.
"1…"
As Katarina finished counting, Alex's vision suddenly turned dark.
Now he was alone, all the injuries he had received disappeared without a trace, Katarina who was beside him also disappeared.
Alex swallowed.
'What's happening, Krystal?'
'Hmm… it seems like the connection to the VR world was suddenly cut off'.
One of Alex's brows raised.
'What happened?'
'How would I know, idiot? I'm with you'
Veins appeared on Alex's forehead.
'Damn it, Krystal'
A point of light appeared and slowly grew bigger.
Alex's vision changed, he saw the capsule cover.
Sreet.
The capsule cover opened, and what greeted Alex was the noisy voices of other students.
"What happened?"
"Why was the simulation suddenly stopped?"
Alex sighed, the forest's scent had now disappeared.
He slowly got up, looking around where the students were confused.
Alex stretched his stiff body.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, there he saw a short brown-haired girl talking to a dark red-haired girl.
Alex yawned and walked toward them.
"Hey, miss who got eliminated first. What's going on here?"
Alex then looked at the dark red-haired girl.
"What's going on, Katarina?"
Katarina looked at him.
"The city is under attack"
Alex's eyes widened, shock was clearly visible on his face.
"What?!"
Katarina looked at the brown-haired girl.
"Explain the details, Reva"
Reva looked at Katarina and Alex.
"When I got eliminated, I returned to the waiting room and watched. After a while, suddenly there was a small tremor and the sound of explosions, after that the alarm rang and I was told to gather here again"
Alex held his head with both hands.
"Damn…"
Alex wanted to continue but a young man's voice cut him off.
"The city is under attack?"
The three of them turned, there stood a young man about 2 meters tall.
The young man didn't wait for an answer from Alex, Katarina, and Reva.
He immediately rushed off.
Alex held Aril back.
"Hey hey calm down, my friend. The others must have already started the evacuation."
Aril looked at Alex, anger and worry clearly visible on his face.
"How can I stay calm?! My mother and my siblings are there!"
Alex fell silent. Katarina and Reva approached.
"I have already sent my guards, it should be enough to bring your family to the academy, let's just wait, Aril. Calm yourself"
Aril let out a long breath, he crouched down because his legs could no longer support him.
Their commotion attracted the attention of other students.
Mira also approached.
The noise continued, but their voices were interrupted by a woman's shout.
"Everyone! First-year students! Listen carefully!"
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
There, standing on the podium, was Kartika, the vice president of the student council of Osteria Academy.
"The city is currently under attack, the principal asks all first-year students to remain within the academy and help the civilians who will be evacuated here"
The students looked at Kartika anxiously.
"This is not a drill, this is a real war!. But your task is only to stay here and protect the civilians"
Kartika cleared her throat, her voice heavier than before.
"And there is a possibility that this is happening in other cities within human territory"
Her words caused an uproar among the first-year students, they were worried about the safety of their families in other cities.
Kartika sighed, her gaze swept across the crowd of first-year students and stopped at a blonde, blue-eyed boy.
Kartika took a breath and continued speaking.
"Now all of you immediately head to the academy field and start helping the civilians, especially those of you who have healing talents"
Kartika stepped down from the podium and was approached by a white-haired young man.
"Big sis, how's the communication? What about father?"
Kartika's brow twitched, she hit the white-haired young man's head.
"Why are you thinking about father?! Just think about yourself first, hurry to the field, Arthur"
Arthur rubbed his aching head, his shoulders slumped.
"Alright…"
The first-year students gradually dispersed and headed toward the academy field.
Alex extended his hand toward Aril.
"Come on, my friend, we have to go. We'll look for your family"
Aril let out a long breath.
He grabbed Alex's hand and stood up.
They headed toward the academy field.
The wind brushed against Alex's skin, the sky was now orange, time in the real world and VR world was different. The sun was slowly setting.
The noise filled the field, Alex's gaze fell on a line of buses at the edge of the field unloading civilians and quickly returning to the city.
Alex swallowed.
Several academy doctors were busy treating injuries, there he saw someone he knew, Doctor Amel.
The smell of blood entered Alex's nose, his hands trembled slightly, his gaze kept shifting, the sound of children crying and screams of pain became a heartbreaking background.
His breathing became heavy, his heart pounded rapidly.
"Damn… this is more chaotic than I thought"
A tremor shook the ground beneath them, their activities paused for a moment.
Black smoke rose higher from the direction of the city.
Alex took a deep breath. And walked toward the injured.