I stood up, looking at the beasts surrounding Lumia and me.
I had expected some trouble during this lesson, but this wasn’t what I had imagined.
Kragnols are among the more intelligent of the beasts.
They can dig traps, live in tribes, and even use tools or torment their prey for fun—hallmarks of advanced intelligence.
But this? I didn’t expect this level of strategy.
They had waited for Lumia and me to fall behind. By feigning weakness, they forced Kalian and Evelyn to quicken their pace, leaving Lumia, whose stamina was weaker, to lag behind.
All to eliminate the weakest among us first.
Could this even be possible? I’ve seen plenty of beasts with intelligence rivaling or surpassing humans, but to think such creatures could mimic humans this well…
This is troublesome. I’m supposed to maintain my “underachiever” persona.
Saving Lumia is Kalian’s role, so maybe I should just buy time.
“What is going on here?”
I got up and glanced at Lumia.
She stood there dazed, completely defenseless—not drawing her sword or preparing for battle.
“Lumia.”
“…”
“Lumia, you idiot!”
“Huh? What?!”
“What are you doing? If you want to live, draw your sword. Or are you just going to sit here and die?”
At my harsh scolding, she finally drew her sword.
Lumia’s past trauma prevents her from properly using mana. Still, one can’t cling to the past forever. Over time, she’ll overcome it.
Of course, she won’t conquer it all today, but for now… Let’s see where she stands.
I stood back-to-back with her.
“Let’s hold out until Kalian arrives.”
“But… there are so many beasts… If this keeps up, we’ll both…”
“They’re coming!”
The beasts charged at us from all directions.
They were slightly smaller than us, about the size of a large elementary schooler, but one couldn’t compare their strength to that of a human.
They swung massive wooden clubs. A single hit could be fatal for an ordinary person.
Whoosh!
Lumia dodged their attacks with relative ease and slashed back at them.
Her movements were good—although stiff with fear, her extensive training was evident.
Better than I thought.
I expected her to give up and sit down, but she’s putting up a decent fight.
While keeping an eye on her condition, I dealt with the beasts swarming at us.
“Hah… Hah… Hah…”
But Lumia’s breathing grew labored.
Stamina is the issue.
Even a trained knight like her, without stable control over mana, has limited endurance.
Crack!
“Argh!”
She began failing to block attacks. Her armor barely held up, but the longer the fight dragged on, the more likely a fatal blow would land.
What now? By now, Kalian is probably dealing with the Kragnol tribe leader, but I can’t wait for him to come.
Should I drop my “underachiever” act and save her myself? But if I do, Lumia might develop feelings for me instead of Kalian…
“Am I going to die…?”
Just as I was about to reveal my strength, Lumia murmured.
“I’m going to die. I’m going to die. It’s over.”
“Lumia, snap out of it.”
“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. Please…”
“Lumia?”
Her trembling eyes and uncontrollable shaking caught my attention.
She kept muttering blankly, then suddenly dashed toward a weak point in the beasts’ encirclement.
“Lumia, where are you going?! Hey!”
She managed to slip past them, escaping outside.
…Did she just abandon me?
She must’ve hit her mental limit as her stamina dwindled.
Understandable, given the endless wave of beasts, but running like that was the worst choice.
The gap in the encirclement was likely a trap set by the Kragnols to toy with their prey.
If I leave her like this, Lumia will die.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue, staring at the sword she had discarded in her panic.
I didn’t want to save her myself, but now I had no choice.
At least we’re apart for now.
I shrouded myself in black smoke.
The smoke formed armor around me and concealed my face.
When it cleared, I wore a white mask and a black suit.
I can’t afford to let her recognize me.
“Oh, right. Before I go, I should take out the trash.”
I finally turned my attention to the beasts.
The ferocious creatures that had been relentlessly charging at us froze.
They held their breath like prey before a predator.
Lumia, meanwhile, had managed to hide in the hollow of a tree.
The darkness calmed her frantic mind.
Finally, she noticed her pounding heart.
It felt like it would burst any moment, her body drenched in sweat.
As her breathing steadied, she curled up like a child.
“Ha… Ha…”
A sound escaped her lips, neither laughter nor sobbing.
A hand had finally been extended to her, but here she was again—abandoning her friends to run away.
Lumia thought to herself that if they had escaped together, their chances of survival would have been blocked.
Someone had to make a sacrifice—that’s what she calculated.
Even she admitted it was a despicable act.
“If I’m going to rot away, I’d rather stay hidden in this darkness until I disappear. Nothing I do outside will ever make me a better person,” she thought, curling herself up tighter.
Suddenly, there was a faint rustling sound outside the tree hollow where she was hiding.
Regular footsteps.
They moved around as though searching for something, then stopped and sat down nearby.
Then came a familiar sound—shaaaak shaaaak—the sound of a blade being sharpened.
It was the noise of someone tending to their sword after a fierce battle.
“Could it be Wade?”
She quickly dismissed the thought.
There was no way Wade could have survived alone against so many beasts.
He wasn’t particularly more skilled than her, after all.
But still… what if?
Maybe Kalian and the others had noticed something was wrong and came back to help.
Maybe Wade had somehow held on until they arrived.
If that were true, then Wade might not even be seriously injured.
It could really be him outside.
Her heart wavered.
If it truly were Wade, he might greet her with a relieved, joking comment like,
“Where did you run off to? I almost died out there alone!”
She’d then bow her head repeatedly, apologizing profusely.
Unable to ignore the possibility, Lumia slowly emerged from the hollow.
“Huh…?”
But it wasn’t Wade she saw.
Crrrk crrkrrk
It was a Kragnol, imitating the act of sharpening a sword, mimicking human movements to lure her out.
They had known she was blind to what lay outside her hiding spot.
Fearful eyes locked onto her.
The Kragnol held a sword—Wade’s sword.
Seeing that, there was no other conclusion to draw.
Wade was gone.
Tears welled up, streaming down her cheeks.
If I was going to die so pathetically, I should have risked my life to help Wade.
At least then, I wouldn’t have any regrets.
As the beasts closed in, Lumia shut her eyes, too exhausted and defeated to resist anymore.
“If you ran away because you wanted to live, then you should at least see it through to the end.”
A voice spoke above her.
It was distorted and strange, yet unmistakably human.
Why was there a person here?
Her curiosity overpowered her despair, and she opened her eyes.
A masked man sat casually on a tree branch, looking down at her.
Though she couldn’t sense any mana from him, his aura was far from ordinary.
“Wasting a life you bought by sacrificing your friend—is that what you intend to do?”
“I’m sorry…”
“Your apology should be directed at the friend you abandoned. But never mind that—I have one question for you.”
The Kragnols encircled them, yet the masked man remained utterly calm.
“You’re going to die here. Not right away, but likely after being toyed with by those things for about a week. But if you were given a second chance at life, how would you use it?”
“Ah…”
Who was this person? What was his purpose?
Why was he asking such a seemingly useless question in this life-or-death situation? If he intended to help, he should act; if not, why waste time?
Yet, even as she thought this, her body trembled—not from fear, but from regret.
Her pathetic life flashed before her eyes, and tears burst forth again.
She had always known the answer to his question.
She had always known what kind of person she wanted to become.
But she felt unworthy of saying it aloud.
She didn’t even have the strength to hold back her sobs, let alone voice her dreams.
So, she stayed silent.
“Good answer,” the man said.
Shk!
Without any visible movement or use of mana, he severed the necks of all the Kragnols around them in an instant.
The forest, once filled with cries and growls, fell eerily silent.
Lumia froze at the overwhelming sight.
“I’ve dealt with the beasts. I’ll be leaving now. Stay here and wait for your friends,” he said.
“Huh?”
“I’ll be watching to see how you live your second life.”
“W-Wait…!” she called out, but he simply waved his hand. Darkness enveloped her, and her consciousness began to fade.
She had so many questions.
Who was this man?
Why had he saved her without asking for anything in return?
And why did his words pierce her so deeply?
She also wanted to ask—if given a second chance at life, how could she change?
How could she become someone better?
But before she could speak, the darkness swallowed her whole.
To be continued.