Ken left for the Survival Event, and the fourth night arrived.

In the dark room of the tower, even though it was already late at night, Raphne hadn’t gone to bed.

She sat down on the floor, surrounded by her dolls.

Her eyes stared blankly at the ground, hugging her knees pitifully.

Tears had stopped flowing since the third night.

She spent her time in the same position, engulfed in endless solitude and despair.

And when she sat like this, surrounded by her dolls, soon the dolls would start talking to her.

"Raphne, you've been abandoned again.

Poor thing." The first doll she received gazed at her with pity.

"But it's okay!

You've got us, Raphne!" The second doll she received tried to comfort her.

"We would never abandon you, Raphne!" The third doll chimed in to join the comfort.

Of course, the dolls did not actually speak.

It was just the product of Raphne's imagination, deluded by despair.

Nonetheless, such imagination only heightened her anxiety.

...

"No, no.

He said he would come...

Ken definitely said he would come."

As the tears that had stopped once again formed, Raphne started to murmur, and the dolls around her mocked her.

"Raphne, were you tricked again?"

"Don't expect anything.

You're getting hurt because you're hoping."

"Give up on that man.

He's probably left to live a happy life with another woman."

"No, no, no, no..." The whispers born from solitude and anxiety.

Those whispers again created anxiety, and that anxiety pulled Raphne back into solitude.

In this repeated cycle, Raphne sank deeper into despair.

At that moment, one of the dolls spoke up.

"Then go confirm it, Raphne."

"...Huh?"

"If you can't believe it, then go and check for yourself."

As the doll's words were internalised, what came into Raphne's vision was the door to the room where Ken always entered.

The day after reuniting with Emily.

During the meeting over a meal, I explained the strategy for the remaining survival period.

“Huh?

We're not doing anything?”

“Is that really, okay?” Emily and Alicia questioned my decision.

The end time of the survival game is noon on the fifth day.

Until then, we were to hide and wait.

“If that's what Ken suggests, I don't oppose it...

but why?”

“Uh!

Senior Emily, are you okay with Ken's strategy?”

“Idiot, Ken wouldn’t suggest something without a reason!” Alicia's reaction of confusion wasn't surprising.

After all, now that three of us had formed a team, it would be good to collect as many badges as possible.

But I had a different idea.

In any case, there is a specific place where the badges will ultimately come together in this game.

“We're aiming for the Golden Goblin.”

“…Golden?”

“A g-goblin?” Well, of course it’s not an actual goblin.

The Golden Goblin I’m referring to is the most likely candidate for first place in this survival game.

Adrian Faraday.

If I were alone, Adrian would be the number one person to avoid.

However, with the three of us together, it's definitely worth challenging him.

As the final day approaches, the number of participants will decrease, while the number of badges individuals possess will increase.

Therefore, it would be more efficient to target a single person carrying a large number of badges.

This strategy also minimizes the risk of engaging in multiple battles with unspecified opponents.

With unknown abilities that participants may possess in this survival game, the more battles we have, the higher the chance of encountering unexpected dangers.

Hence, targeting Adrian, whose abilities I know well, makes the most sense.

“Alright, let me explain the strategy.”

Time passed, and it was now the morning of the fifth day.

A man was walking through the silent forest.

‘As expected, I don’t see a single trace of anyone around here.’

With golden blond hair that shimmered and red eyes, the noble young man, Adrian, was exploring the forest.

Five days had elapsed, during which many participants had fought and been eliminated.

And Adrian was at the centre of these events.

With overwhelming force, he had taken down numerous participants and already possessed a significant number of badges.

Still, he was walking through the forest, searching for anyone who might be hiding.

At that moment, he spotted a figure across the trees and bushes in an open area.

“S-Sob, please help me…” What reached his ears was the voice of a crying girl.

The incongruous sound of a girl’s sobs in the silent forest clearly caught Adrian’s attention.

Seeing this, he walked toward the clearing.

‘Is it a trap?’ In the middle of the clearing stood a small girl.

The forest where the survival game was taking place was under the control of the Academy, and the entry of outsiders was strictly prohibited.

Therefore, the girl standing there had to be one of the participants.

‘An obvious trick.’ He had already encountered such traps several times in the past five days.

Participants who had formed teams would often set a simple trap by using one person as bait to ambush those who fell for it.

‘However.’ The survival game was nearing its end.

At this point, it made more sense to secure one's badges rather than set up sloppy traps.

So, there was a chance it might not be a trap.

‘Maybe she’s really lost…’ There was a possibility that she was an eliminated contestant wandering around, unable to find the exit.

With this in mind, Adrian approached cautiously.

Sure, it could be a trap, but opponents who resorted to such crude tactics were easy prey.

It was also a chance for him to take their badges in a counterattack.

And the chance that the girl might actually be in trouble was one he couldn’t ignore, since he found it hard to turn away from someone crying.

“What’s wrong?

Are you lost?”

“Aah!” The girl, who had been crying, brightened up with relief as soon as she saw Adrian stepping into the clearing.

“Oh, thank goodness!

Sniffle I-I couldn’t find the way out…” While the girl explained her situation, Adrian carefully looked around her.

‘Nothing unusual.’ He checked the surroundings to see if there were any magical traps, but he found nothing suspicious.

“I’ll help you.

Come on, let’s go together.” After all, it was just a little girl standing in this clearing.

Even if someone did appear, he could handle it.

Adrian had confidence in his strength.

So, he smiled reassuringly and extended his hand to the girl.

“Oh my, a kind older brother...

and he's handsome too.” The girl took Adrian’s hand, smiling and blushing.

The child who had been crying so timidly just moments ago now seemed playful.

“You’re a handsome oppa and your eyes are pretty.” The girl looked at him with an enchanting expression, like someone in love gazing at the prince who had come to her rescue.

Then, she smirked mischievously, and a peculiar pattern appeared in her eyes.

‘The Mystic Eye!’

Realizing the sudden change, Adrian tried to pull back and put some distance between them, but it was already too late.

There were many types of Mystic Eyes.

The girl, Alicia, possessed the Hypnotic Mystic Eye.

The moment their eyes met, Adrian was already within her grasp.

"Don't move for 10 minutes." Alicia's chilling smile accompanied her voice as it echoed in his mind.

Her will penetrated Adrian's consciousness through her gaze.

"...Damn." Adrian's body stiffened, and he was rendered immobile.

"Yay!

Operation successful!

Golden Goblin secured!" Alicia, who had trapped Adrian with her ability, laughed joyously and jumped up and down on the spot.

"I certainly didn't foresee a Mystic Eye."

"Hehehe!

That's why you shouldn't let your guard down!" Alicia arrogantly waggled her finger in front of the frozen Adrian.

Despite the cocky girl's demeanour, Adrian remained calmly composed and assessed the situation.

His body felt as if it had turned to stone.

He couldn't move a single finger.

'I can't move...

but.' Although the Hypnotic Mystic Eye restricted his movements, he could still control the flow of his magic.

In that case…

"Ugh, uwaaaaaah!" With Adrian's will, the magic within him surged, igniting into a tremendous blaze.

"So, it’s too early to think you’ve won just because I can’t move?"

"Th-that’s right?!" Alicia, startled by the flames rising around Adrian, quickly backed away to create some distance.

‘I need to hold out for 10 minutes.’ While the appearance of the Mystic Eye was indeed unexpected and potentially game-ending, as long as he could use his magic, there was still hope.

As Adrian focused his magic to heighten the power of the flames.

Schwing!

A glittering mass of chains suddenly pierced into Adrian's body.

"This...

Emily?!" Adrian instantly recognized the ability now infiltrating his body.

The chains, formed from pure magic, disrupted the flow of power he had been channelling.

The flames protecting him began to wane.

"Sorry, Adrian.

I really want to win this prize." From Alicia's direction, Emily and Ken emerged, smiling.

"Well, now I truly have no means to counter this." Adrian found himself completely immobilized, unable to even cast magic.

He was utterly cornered.

"As expected, Ken!

I knew your plan would work!"

"Don't lie.

You didn’t believe it at all."

"Ugh." Alicia's face fell, caught red-handed by Ken's reply.

In truth, her scepticism was justified; who would fall for such an obvious trap?

But Ken knew Adrian's personality all too well.

Confidence in his own abilities.

And his kind personality, which couldn't overlook someone in trouble.

As a main character in the game's strategy, there was no way Adrian would ignore a crying young girl.

"Well then, Adrian.

Sorry, but we'll be taking the badge."

"Emily, isn't this a bit harsh to do to a friend?"

"Ugh, I-I'll make it up to you later."

"No, there's no need for that." However, Ken had overlooked something.

"This is not over yet."

"What do you mean?" He underestimated Adrian's belief that he was alone due to his abilities.

"I also have an ally, just like you."

At that moment.

Wham!

A massive ice wall surrounded Adrian.

"Kyah!"

"E-Emily!" Ken hurriedly caught Emily, who was thrown back by the impact of the ice wall.

"Pathetic, Adrian.

We were supposed to gather the badges individually and then join forces." With her blue hair fluttering, a girl with cold eyes appeared.

Mary slowly approached Adrian.

"M-Mary..." Mary's appearance turned the situation around.

It's true that Emily and Alicia could overpower Adrian together.

But with Mary joining in, the dynamics changed significantly.

'Of all people, it had to be Mary...' An unexpected collaboration.

Even among the few element wielders at the Academy, these two joined forces.

Mary, with her cold eyes, stared at Ken and his group.

And when she met Ken's eyes, she blushed and looked away.

“I-I'm sorry, Ken.

But all of this is for the meal tickets.”

‘Just how good is the food there for her to be this serious?’ Ken couldn't help but wonder at her reaction.

However, they couldn't afford to be defeated just because Mary appeared.

Now was a golden opportunity with Adrian currently incapacitated.

“Emily!

Did you get the badge pouch?”

“Y-Yes!

I have it here.” Thankfully, when she approached Adrian earlier, Emily managed to grab the pouch from his arms.

Then there was only one thing left to do.

With a clear decision, Ken immediately sprang into action.

“K-Ken?” He charged towards the most threatening individual at the moment.

“Emily!

Run away with that!

And Alicia!

You handle Adrian!”

“Y-Yes!” Taken aback by Ken's sudden charge, Mary found herself unable to respond quickly enough and allowed Ken to get close.

While Mary was flustered, Ken slipped behind her.

He then wrapped his arms around Mary from behind.

“Kyaaa!” Mary let out a cute scream at Ken's sudden approach.

“I apologize, but there's no other way right now!”

Although his approach might upset her, given the urgency of the situation, there was no time to worry about propriety.

Ken needed to prevent Mary from moving and buy Emily some time to escape.

With that judgment, Ken hugged Mary tightly from behind.

“K-Ken.”

‘Huh?

She's not resisting as much as I thought she would.’

Ken had expected her to struggle and try to escape his hold, but...

Strangely, Mary stayed still.

She just glanced back at him, blushing, and spoke quietly.

“W-Well, this way, I can't move at all….” Right, Mary must be physically weaker than he thought.

Relieved at Mary's inability to escape despite not holding her too tightly, Ken felt reassured.

“Emily!

Run away while Alicia and I restrain them!”

“Do you think you can escape!” But this time, Emily's reaction was strange.

Despite the opportunity to escape, she blushed and pointed at Ken and Mary with her index finger.

“Mary!

Are you playing around?

Stop blushing and break free from that weak hold, hurry up and escape!”

"N-No, but I really can't move."

"A-And Ken!

Why are you the one holding Mary?

If someone needs to hold her, have Alicia do it!”

Huh?

”Adrian can't move right now...

More importantly, Emily, run away quickly!

There's not much time left!”

“Aaah!

Really!"

Emily stomped her feet in frustration at Ken's urgent shout before finally turning around.

Leaving the four behind, Emily ran into the forest.

“This is definitely effective; she can’t move at all like this.

Hehehe.”

“Even though the situation is tricky, it's amusing to watch."

Alicia and Adrian, standing next to each other, watched Ken and Mary with amused expressions.

A moment later, after some time had passed.

“Waaaaah!” Under a rain of icy arrows, Alicia, running beside Ken, screamed.

“Ten minutes isn't that too short?!”

“W-Well, it can't be helped!

The action hypnosis lasts a maximum of ten minutes!”

After buying time for Emily to escape, Alicia hypnotized Mary to restrict her movements, and we ran too.

If we had stayed in that situation, we would have been caught by Adrian after ten minutes.

Now, time has passed, and we’re in the present.

Breathing heavily as we ran through the forest, Mary and Adrian, who couldn’t move a moment ago, were chasing us.

Fortunately, Emily had sealed Adrian's powers, so no fireballs were flying at us.

But the icy arrows alone made the pursuit dangerous enough.

"S-Senior!

Can't you use that weight-loss skill now?!"

As we were running, Alicia asked me this question.

"Sorry!

It won't work right now!" Of course, if I used Calorie Burn to boost my abilities, I might be able to handle them.

However, Alicia didn’t know about the time limit.

With Mary and Adrian as opponents, there was no guarantee I'd finish in time and get to eat something afterwards.

Using my abilities recklessly might just dig my own grave.

All we could do for now was run away as long as we could until noon.

"Eh, Emily!" As we continued to run with difficulty, a familiar figure appeared ahead.

"K-Ken!

Isn’t that Mary right behind you?!"

Seeing Mary chasing us, gliding on the ice she created, Emily, scared out of her wits, joined us in the run.

'Oh no, what should we do?’ Originally, we planned to meet up with Emily at a pre-determined rendezvous point.

The initial plan was to seal Adrian's actions and abilities and hide with the badge.

However, the unexpected appearance of Mary threw our plans into disarray.

At that moment, BAM!

A gigantic ice wall suddenly rose in front of us, blocking our path.

"W-What is this!"

"The path is blocked!" Due to the sudden appearance of the wall, we couldn't go any further.

'...Did they deliberately chase us until Emily showed up?’

I wondered why Mary, who was chasing us quickly on the ice, hadn't caught us yet.

We were completely lured into a trap.

In the urgent situation, I couldn't think that far ahead.

"Now, Ken.

Please return that pouch quickly."

Mary and Adrian approached us slowly, as we stood there like rats trapped in a jar.

"Ken!"

"Senior, what should we do now?" With terrified expressions, both of them looked to me for guidance.

But my mind was also in turmoil.

If things continue like this, we'll lose all the hard-earned badges.

What should I do?

Should I use Calorie Burn to stop them?

Mary and Adrian likely wouldn’t expect much resistance from me.

So, there might be a chance.

But even with that conclusion, I couldn't easily decide to use my skill.

The risk of things not going as planned was too high.

If I missed the timing, it could mean instant death.

'Damn it, what should I do?

How can we...’ The twin calamities of ice and fire approached without stopping.

In a state of unparalleled urgency since the possession began, I racked my brain for a solution.

As I desperately tried to think of a way to get out of this situation...

“Caw, caw.” At that moment.

I heard a familiar bird’s cry.

The sudden, unfamiliar sound drew everyone's attention to the bird.

The bird that flew towards us was not an ordinary bird.

It was a familiar-looking familiar crafted from magic, one I had seen frequently in recent times.

This magical familiar flew over and perched on Adrian's shoulder.

When it opened its beak, human words came out.

"Raphne Bell Martinez has escaped.

Raphne Bell Martinez has escaped."

The unexpected appearance of the familiar, and the startling name from its mouth, left four of us with different reactions.

Mary and Emily showed puzzlement on their faces, while Adrian and I both hardened our expressions.

"The person is approaching this location."

Please support the series on NovelUpdates

Read Here for premium chapters