Chapter 24: Training Complete!
Kazuma, having instantly defeated Shunsuke and Kaori, twirled his knife skillfully and turned his gaze towards the two protectees hiding in the shadows.
When their eyes met, the two understood they were about to be “killed” by Kazuma, and a cold sweat trickled down their backs.
“Ah, don’t worry, I’ll make this quick.”
“Even that ‘quick’ sounds scary…”
“It’s fine. I’ll pierce your heart in one go and get an instant death judgment!”
“Knowing my heart’s going to be pierced makes it even scarier…!”
The two protectees, Kazuma’s former classmates, shivered violently knowing their hearts would be pierced.
They could sense his intention to alleviate their fear, but combined with the scene from moments ago, Kazuma looked like nothing but a terrifying monster to them.
However, this was a Virtual Space, designed so they wouldn’t feel pain.
Compared to the violence that used to occur in the Combat Course, Kazuma’s consideration was somewhat better.
“I-I’ll close my eyes, so please get it over with quickly…”
“Alright. Then, close your eyes.”
As told, the two closed their eyes.
Kazuma confirmed they had closed their eyes and swung his knife.
Piercing both their hearts in an instant and causing their immediate “deaths,” Kazuma turned on his heel and left the scene.
Seeking his next targets, Kazuma ran through every corner of the urban area, and after confirming no targets remained, he headed for the forest area.
Having reached the forest area, Kazuma stepped into the woods to search for targets.
Kazuma advanced through the dense, overgrown forest, carefully scanning his surroundings as if searching for his targets.
“Hm?”
Kazuma, who was hiding amidst the overgrown grass, heard an unfamiliar sound.
To be precise, the sound waves struck his entire body, leaving a strange sensation.
“…Sonar pings, huh?”
A normal person wouldn’t be able to perceive it, but Kazuma was no ordinary human.
Kazuma swiftly headed in the direction the sonar pings had come from.
Convinced that his targets were there.
“We’re moving.”
“Eh, but weren’t we going to hide here and wait it out?”
“That was the plan, but the sonar picked up a reaction just now. It was a reaction from one person, so it must be Satsuki-kun. We need to escape, quickly.”
Hibiki, who had been scouting the surroundings by emitting sonar pings with her sound Gift, detected Kazuma’s presence and immediately tried to flee.
She too had witnessed Kazuma’s abilities and knew all too well that she stood no chance against him.
If she could launch a surprise attack using her sonar-based detection, she might be able to defeat Kazuma, but it would be a risky gamble.
Hibiki had concluded that it would be wiser to protect her charge until the time limit and escape.
However, Hibiki probably never imagined that those very sonar pings would lead to her defeat.
“No way…”
“Man, I never thought someone could scout the area with sonar pings. But thanks to that, I was able to find you.”
“No, no, normal people can’t detect sonar pings! How did you know!?”
“That’s because I’m special!”
Hibiki’s veins throbbed as Kazuma flashed a smug grin, his teeth glinting.
Seeing Kazuma’s flippant attitude when she was asking seriously, Hibiki took a deep breath.
“In that case, even if I have to force it—”
“I’ve seen that once, so I know it, but the opening is too big. You should try to be more creative. It’d be more effective if you tried turning those sonar pings from earlier into an attack.”
Hibiki opened her mouth wide, about to unleash a sonic barrage akin to a dragon’s roar, but Kazuma, who had moved faster, easily dispatched her.
Immediately after, Kazuma stabbed the nearby female student protectee with his knife, forcing her to retire.
“Now then, two left, huh?”
About twenty minutes remaining.
With Shunsuke, Kaori, and Hibiki defeated, only two remained.
Since teams were mixed-gender, the remaining two were either a male-male pair or a female-male pair.
No matter who the opponents were, they posed little threat to Kazuma.
After defeating Hibiki, Kazuma thoroughly searched the forest area, and after confirming no one was left, he headed to another area.
The place Kazuma headed to was the rocky mountain area.
Jagged, rocky mountains stretched on, a perfect place to hide.
It was just a hunch, but Kazuma was convinced the remaining two were hiding here.
As expected of him, or perhaps just as Kazuma predicted, the two guards and their two protectees were hiding in a cave in the rocky mountains.
The four of them huddled together in the back of the cave, holding their breath, praying Kazuma wouldn’t come.
“We’ve camouflaged it with earth, but it’ll be okay, right?”
“I don’t know about that. Satsuki-kun is off the charts.”
“Still, we’ve been this thorough, right? Surely even Kazuma won’t be able to find us?”
“That’s why I said I don’t know! You watched the Academy Battle Tournament, didn’t you? If someone as off-the-charts as Satsuki-kun gets serious, there’s no guarantee he won’t find this place!”
“Ugh…! Well, you’re right, but…”
The one scratching the back of his head awkwardly was Shinya.
And the one lecturing Shinya was Shion.
“Ah, um, please don’t raise your voices so much…”
“”Ah, sorry…””
A female student from the Support Course who was hiding with them cautioned the two.
Since they were currently hiding deep inside the cave, they had to be careful not to make loud noises, or Kazuma would find them.
No matter how much camouflage they used, it would be meaningless if he found out they were hiding.
“Still, this is pretty handy, huh?”
“Ahaha… It’s just Paper Mache, though.”
“But you can change its color and shape freely, right?”
“Well, yes. For now, I’ve matched it to the cave’s shape, and the color is indistinguishable, so I don’t think we’ll be found unless it’s touched.”
Shinya was impressed by the male student from the Support Course who possessed the Gift to create Paper Mache.
His Gift was called “Paper Mache,” and as the name suggested, he could create Paper Mache objects as he pleased.
He was currently making a Paper Mache object shaped and colored to blend in with the cave.
“Kk! I hear footsteps.”
“…How many?”
“One.”
“Satsuki-kun, then…”
And the Gift of the female student who had cautioned Shinya and Shion was Enhanced Hearing.
She could enhance not only her own hearing but also that of others.
However, since it wasn’t suited for combat, she belonged to the Support Course.
Nevertheless, it was a highly useful and valued Gift, so there were many job opportunities for her.
“He’s coming this way!”
“Everyone, absolutely no noise!”
The other three nodded deeply at Shion’s words, holding their breath so Kazuma wouldn’t find them.
With their hearing enhanced, Kazuma’s footsteps echoed frighteningly loud in their ears.
As the footsteps drew closer and closer, tension ran down everyone’s spines, and their mouths began to dry up from the fear that even the slightest sound would alert Kazuma.
“…No one here, huh? I thought they’d be hiding here. Guess my hunch was off.”
Kazuma, who had come right up to the Paper Mache, muttered this and turned on his heel.
Hearing the footsteps recede, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief and smiled faintly at Kazuma’s departure.
The very next moment, a knife pierced the Paper Mache.
The sudden event made the four of them cry out in surprise, and Kazuma discovered their hiding spot.
“Foooound yooou~”
When Kazuma had reached the back of the cave, he had sensed people’s presence.
He had seen through their hiding spot and deliberately pretended to miss them.
He had aimed for the moment the four of them felt relieved.
He simply thought it would be more impactful that way.
“Damn you!”
Shinya kicked through the Paper Mache and extended Iron Sand towards Kazuma.
Though he had lost his knife, his opponent was Kazuma, a monster even barehanded.
Shinya mercilessly used his Iron Sand to attack Kazuma.
At the same time, Shion also moved, unleashing an Elec attack towards Kazuma.
If they attacked simultaneously, there was hope.
Or so they thought, but both the straightforwardly approaching Iron Sand and the Elec attack were like child’s play to Kazuma. He dodged them as if dancing, then instantly closed the distance and grabbed both their faces.
“Try to understand your own Gifts better. Both of your Gifts are powerful, you know.”
The two, their faces grabbed, looked at Kazuma, but the next moment, everything went dark.
Kazuma had slammed their heads into the ground, rendering them unable to fight.
With this, it was settled.
Kazuma had annihilated the enemy team all by himself, with more than ten minutes to spare.