¡Slap! The sound of the slap echoed through the office, which had a rustic and high-quality appearance.
-How can you despise our daughter!
Edmunt didn't flinch at the blow, didn't move, and simply remained silent.
-seriously, I can't stand you.
The door slammed shut, Edmunt walked to his seat where the table was covered with papers.
His head was resting on the wooden chair while he crossed his hands and looked at the ceiling for a few seconds.
He slowly got up from the chair and walked to the window. By the height he was at, it was clear he was on the second floor. Looking at the landscape, he observed the moon.
Playing and running with his servants in the garden, he paused for a moment to gaze at the playful moon.
Track, Edmunt's forehead hit the window, not with force, but he seemed slightly lost.
Time passed after that.
-Dad!, let me introduce you to my friend! , hehe, this is Javier Gladius.
Luna had a cheerful and radiant face, stunning enough to even polish the hallway with her smile.
-It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Edmunt, I'm Javier Gladius.
Javier placed his hand on his chest and leaned slightly, he had the demeanor of someone who already knew the rules of the upper class.
-it seems you know ethics.
-That's right, my family taught me etiquette since I was born.
Little Javier also seemed happy, Edmunt looked at him cautiously.
-Which family do you belong to?
-I belong to a small family of warriors.
-It's okay, I understand.
Edmunt turned around and walked naturally.
From afar, the two were seen playing; Javier was chasing Luna while she ran outside the mansion.
Before Javier leaves, Edmunt turned to look at him, whispering a few words.
That boy had something peculiar.
That was the first meeting between the two of them.
Javier started spending more time at the mansion, always playing with Luna doing anything.
Edmunt might have been expelled from the church, but with money and power, he was able to hire a sister from the church.
He hoped that one day his daughter would wake up as a candidate for hero.
-I'm sorry, Mr. Edmunt, nothing has changed.
Edmunt hit the wall hard, the church sister was startled by his reaction, this was not the first time.
But he never gave up, hopeful that one day something would change, until one day.
-Mr. Edmunt.
-What happened, my daughter finally woke up like one?!
The words burst out of Edmunt's mouth.
-n-no, it's not that, rather it has traces.
-traces?
A term he hadn't heard anywhere related to the candidates piqued Mr. Edmunt's curiosity.
-your daughter is not a candidate, but she has traces of one, I mean she has been with someone who is.
Edmunt's eyes opened and he thought.
The only person by his side is that child.
It couldn't be any of the mansion's residents, due to their age of majority, and he knew it.
-Sister, could you check on a child before leaving?
-A child? T-this is important, I must tell the archbishop!
-No! Don't do it.
Mr. Edmunt grabbed the sister, who tried to run away.
-but.
The guards surrounded her, carrying spears and armor that covered her entire body from head to toe.
If it was revealed that Javier was a candidate for heroism, the Catholic Church would welcome him and try to separate him from other connections that would try to form with him.
Edmunt knew this, he couldn't honor his father's memory, but... if not with his daughter, maybe with Javier.
But how?
At that moment, a crazy idea came to him.
-sister, I heard my words.
The sister was scared, trembling from the situation she was in.
Breathing in and exhaling forcefully, he listened to Mr. Edmunt's proposal.
Everything ended quickly and things were left that way; the sister wouldn't say anything to the church, buying her silence, she would receive the church's prestige in the future anyway.
It was just a matter of waiting for Javier to join Mr. Edmunt's family, to have it documented on paper confirming his status as a candidate for hero.
It was just a matter of waiting; both would win in the same way. Maybe she could get ahead by notifying right now, but no one knows how Edmunt would react.
He didn't become who he is now through good manners and formalities; in the business world, hierarchy and betrayal last until the end if you want to move forward.
So if this is the best path, the best path it will be without a doubt.
No one was left in the hall, the guards in their places, the sister in the church with the confidence of her word, everything ended in a brief silence.
Edmunt stood staring at the mansion's exit, but if it were explained another way, it would seem like he was staring into the void.
∆
We spent three hours walking and the high plateau remained the same.
-Damn, why does everything look so boring?
Daren scratched his head, filled with frustration.
Liria also looked slightly disheartened, which was to be expected, we were just wandering aimlessly.
Time passed, we weren't scoring points, and the more we continued, the more we felt like we weren't getting anywhere.
Daren, as soon as he finished scratching, let himself fall into the snow.
-it must be a joke, two damn hours and we haven't found any other students!
Hey...get up...you can't just rest.
Liria, a bit annoyed, started giving Daren small kicks.
...pff, haha
It was fun, a few hours ago everyone was at their wits' end.
-What is so funny?
Liria looked at me angrily, sharpening her eyes.
...no-no, it's not what you think! I just remembered...
Now that I remember, everything was lost; you could say it would be a quick disqualification when not even a day had passed.
He had the habit of remembering the bad with a smile.
At that moment, something crossed my mind.
...Liria, how did you end up in those situations?
-mnh, is it necessary for you to know?
...I'm just curious.
Elia relaxed her face and let out a short exhale.
-it wasn't complicated at all, really.
When the explosion happened, it cut through and obscured the vision around, it was madness for those who saw it up close.
Elia and Liria were there, covering their faces with their arms to prevent the snow from getting into their eyes.
Since they weren't disqualified, they assumed Noah had come out unscathed from the explosion.
That's it, Liria was caught off guard by Alex through the dense smoke, who was wielding a pocket knife. Liria tried to use physical protection magic, but the knife pierced the palm of her hand.
Elia tried to attack Alex, but Rion grabbed her bow and, through her arm with a superficial cut, tried to stab her with his sword.
Quickly retreating, I tried to use his bow, but it was already broken; Rion had shattered it with sheer fist pressure.
Liria pulled away the stabbed hand and used fire magic in the form of a shot, Alex dodged it by moving from side to side.
Liria could only move further away from Alex, while Elia fought with the arrows she had, using them as a type of close-range weapon.
Both separated, going in opposite directions.
Liria managed to defeat Alex by causing a mistake in his magic that resulted in a tiny explosion in Alex.
That cost him dearly, leaving him on the verge of fainting.
Elia, on the other hand, did not defeat Rion; in her pursuit, the giant bear was on top of the ice wall.
Seeing the fight, the bear decided to jump on them, thus ending Rion, but Elia managed to get into the hole in time.
Saving themselves but not for long.
That's how they ended up in tremendous situations.
...it was indeed frustrating.
-Yes, but thank you Noah, for helping us until the end.
Liria thanked him with soft words that were hard to believe coming from someone who seems to see life in a boring way.
That mystery I had was over, but at that moment Elia asked something.
-and how did it go?
Elia pointed at Daren, who was sitting in the snow.
-Me? I...fainted...because of the awful smell.
-...
Well, that's how I found it. Honestly, I'm surprised at how far the equipment stone allows us to stay.
Liria put her hands on her hips and spoke to Daren.
-couldn't you have lost in another way?
-What?! First of all, I had a confrontation with their leader!
Daren got up in an instant, but Liria kept talking.
-that doesn't justify that a few smells brought you down, and if I remember correctly, you had a wound on your back, you didn't just lose because of the smell, you couldn't even defeat a guy properly
-huh? Y-you're not in a position to tell me that!
-we fight at a disadvantage unlike you, who were supposed to be in control in that fight
-ugh you.
Things are getting a bit tense, it would be better to intervene.
... calm down, let's leave it as a bittersweet memory.
-well, anyway, it's already happened.
-That's how the past stays in the past.
Both calmed him down, but I still saw a small dispute in their actions.
While I was watching the two of them, Elia tugged at my shirt.
...Huh?! Is something happening?
I looked at Elia for a moment, she was pointing with her finger down the mountain.
What is it that you want me to see?
I sharpened my eyes to see better the place where I aim.
...!!!
In the distance, barely visible, there were students, at least six were located.
But what surprises me more is Elia's vision.
Could it be because she is an archer?
It's a great opportunity, other hunter teams are far ahead of us and the event hasn't even been going on for a day.
Besides being constantly monitored by the teachers.
...liria, Daren.
-what's happening.
Daren responded, while Liria seemed to notice first.
...there's a group of students at the bottom.
-well, then.
Daren drew his sword while wearing a confident smile.
If I let him act deliberately, we would make the same mistake as before, especially when we would be facing more numbers.
I grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him.
...no, this time we'll think things through better.
Daren had a surprised look on his face, he stared at the sisters for a few seconds.
Both agreed with my idea.
-It's okay...
With a slow and depressing response, we decided to use some strategy to win without suffering too much.
-although we have the advantage of being in a higher position, we cannot assure a guaranteed victory.
-correct, it doesn't help that there are more of them than us.
The students still didn't know our location, but they were getting closer and closer.
We didn't have a concrete plan, but we can use the fact that they are very close to our advantage.
...I have an idea.
The others looked at me, Liria asking her question first.
-Really?
...yes, we can do this.
It wasn't a perfect plan, but it would work. I told them the idea, and they agreed.
Elia and Daren moved together, approaching the group of students without being noticed.
I positioned myself at the edge of the wall and stretched out my arm.
Aiming and simulating a gun, from the tip of the finger as if something absorbed the cold, a small piece of ice was formed, it had the shape of a poorly designed bullet.
(Skill [ice bullet] creates ice shaped like a bullet at the tip of the fingers, when it makes physical contact, it will generate a dangerous explosion in a fraction of a second)
Professor Selene, being a person who masters almost all bladed weapons, taught me how to use the bow and its aerodynamics.
Although I don't have it fully mastered, it helped me a lot before.
...Liria, you know.
Liria pointed her wand at the ice bullet, creating a blue layer that radiated small electric shocks.
Previously with the bear, since its skin was very tough, I needed a way to pierce its body, and what better way than with magical imbue.
Almost the same as what is done with weapons, but this one has attributes and is designed to prevent the bullet from exploding earlier.
We decided to use the attributes of lightning because ice is not a good electrical conductor, so it would insulate without making contact.
Preparing and aiming, I took my time, taking a small breath.... and.... Fire.
Traversing the area, cutting through the air with stealthy speed, the bullet pierced one of the students, eliminating him instantly.
With the spent casing and the friction, the bullet shattered in the midst of the surprised students.
Boom! At the scene, four out of the six students were caught in the explosion, also being eliminated.
-que...paso.
one of the students, despite not being eliminated, was seriously injured, but the other barely had scratches.
Carrying a huge shield, he was a stocky student.
Hey! Get up, they'll attack us again!
Carrying his wounded comrade, an arrow was shot at them.
¡tac! , protecting himself with his shield, the student began to run, leaving his companion behind.
-Help me, why are you leaving!
Shouting at his fleeing companion, he didn't notice that someone jumped on him.
With his broadsword, Daren split the fallen student in two.
-I-I have to run away, !!!
Despite running with all his might, the presence of something resembling an arrow caught his attention.
CLANK! With his shield, he protected himself, but as soon as he received the impact, he was sent flying, and his shield was destroyed.
-h-how-
In the end, the student fell, with an arrow in his forehead.
A satisfactory result [number of groups eliminated, two].
We met again in the same place after brutally looting the defeated students.
-hehe, it was easier than I actually thought.
Daren was excited.
While Liria and Elia were calm.
The moon was peeking out and the sun with its beautiful sunset among the mountains.
...it seems that the day has finally come to an end.
I'm surprised by everything we had to go through to finish the first day of the event.
-Yes, it was difficult.
Speaking, Liria stood up and walked away into the darkness.
It seemed strange to me, I tried to find out what it was, but Elia grabbed me by the shirt.
Shaking his head, I suppose those were things I didn't need to know, so I sat down in the snow,
Making a bonfire with the surrounding branches, we surrounded it so that the high temperatures wouldn't hit us.
I suppose there isn't a place to sleep.
Exhaling with fatigue, I looked at the night sky.
Plagued with stars, they left an incredible impression, something that wasn't seen in the city where I used to live.
...¿?
Elia brought me a glass with a bit of heated water.
...thank you.
Saying nothing and regaining his composure, he also began to take small sips of water from his glass.
And well... Daren, he was already asleep.