The recording devices picked up the entire exchange.

On the projections available to all citizens, and those above the arena grounds, three groups appeared from the sides of the main chamber.

They all stood still while staring at each other.

A tense atmosphere suddenly enshrouded the surroundings. Be it within the chamber, and outside.

All spectators stared at the scene with bathed breaths.

In the middle, a colossal figure resembling a large elephant appeared. It towered over everyone, restrained by heavy chains binding its legs, it remained at the center while all attention was directed towards it.

What particularly captured onlookers' attention was the creature's partially decaying form, illuminated by a subtle purple glow emanating from its body and the surrounding torches.

"It's disgusting."

"Uck...!"

Just looking at the creature sent chills down the spine the audience's spine. Even so, their eyes remained glued on the creature.

"...."

"...."

"...."

A strange silence suddenly took over the arena grounds as everyone's attention fixed on the screen.

They alternated between the three groups.

[.....What are you planning on doing?]

Johnathan's voice shattered the silence that took over the surroundings. All eyes focused on him as he looked towards Aoife.

Immediately, the audience became rowdy.

"What do you mean what do you plan on doing?"

"Get rid of the third group before attacking that beast!"

"They're the weakest group! There's no point in working together with them. Things will get too difficult for you both after you defeat the monster."

[Stick to the plan.]

Aoife's reply took the audience by surprise.

"What?"

"Stick to the plan? But why...?"

Frowning, Johnathan followed her line of sight.

His expression carried hints of doubt.

[What about them...?]

[Knowing him, he won't work with us. Hold them back.]

[What? Let's take care of them firs-]

Johnathan's voice was interrupted by Aoife's gaze. The way she looked at him was as though she was looking at a fool.

[.....Tell your team to keep an eye on them. If they make a move, you can try to stop them or have your team delay them.]

[Delay? What are yo-]

His words were cut off as Aoife extended her hands outwardly before squeezing them together.

All of a sudden, the surroundings shook and the chains around the mammoth rattled. Its eyes, which had been closed the entire time flared open to reveal its inky black eyes that seemed to suck everything its gaze fell on.

[Rumble Rumble]

The surroundings shook yet again. This time, with even more ferocity. The creature slowly stood up raising its head proudly as it growled in the air.

[Weeeeee!]

Its growl echoed loudly, making some of the audience members flinch.

A figure blurred above it all of a sudden, appearing just above it.

It was so fast that the audience was barely able to see it. Thankfully, the broadcast was able to slow the projection down.

"Wow...!"

"Ah!"

With a roar of excitement from the crowd, the projection gradually slowed, revealing two familiar gray eyes and a glowing sword. It was none other than Leon. With his looks, and rank within the Haven Academy, he was amongst the more popular male candidates amongst the masses.

With a decisive swing, his blade descended, cleaving down upon the enormous creature beneath him.

[BANG!]

The recording device shook slightly from the aftermath of the attack as shockwave swept the surroundings.

Once the sound cleared everyone was stunned to see the creature to be completely fine.

"Whaaaa?"

"So strong...!"

"Wait, look!"

As the confusion settled, amidst the collective belief that Leon's attack had done nothing, a handful of attentive spectators caught sight of a small dent on the creature's thick tusk.

"There's a dent...!"

"Ah!"

Similarly catching the dent, Leon took a deep breath and pressed his foot against the creature's tusk as he stood on top of it.

[BANG!]

Leon's attack was followed by another.

And then another.

[BANG!]

The resounding echo reverberated throughout the arena grounds, enveloping the spectators in an immersive sensation that made it seem as though they were relieving the entire experience through the lenses of the participating cadets.

Just as Leon was about to slash again, the creature let out a shrill cry and stomped the ground.

[Weeeeee!]

The chamber shook fiercely, and Leon was sent flying back.

"Ah!"

"No!!"

Panic erupted among the audience as Leon's figure was flung backward, hurtling towards the wall with alarming speed. Yet, moments before impact, his body abruptly halted in mid-air.

Before the audience could understand what had happened, Leon lowered his head to glance at Aoife whose face was twisted.

[.....Go again.]

And then, waving her hand, his body shot forward at rapid speeds.

[Kracka! Kracka!]

Bolts of lightning erupted from above, striking the creature's body with incredible force, etching scorched marks upon its surface upon impact.

[Hieeek!]

The creature roared with pain as its trucks trashed around, sending a few cadets flying away in the process. Even Leon wasn't spared as he was unfortunately unable to reach it as he skidded back several meters.

[Haaa... Haa...]

In the process, the audience could hear his rough breathing as he looked ahead at the creature with a solemn look.

Then, gripping his sword, he whispered something to himself.

His voice was just loud enough for the recording devices to pick up as his voice gently echoed within the confines of the arena grounds.

[.....We've hardly scratched it.]

And indeed, upon closer look, despite everything that had happened, the creature looked relatively fine.

It was then that the audience understood the severity of the situation.

This...

....Was this creature even possible to defeat?

***

I stared at the scene in front of me with nothing but amazement. Leon, Aoife, Evelyn... They were all amazing.

I could just stand where I was and admire their fights for hours on end.

They were good.

Brilliant.

Amazing...

There were no words that I could use to describe how amazing they were.

But...

I rolled the pill in my mouth. It had no taste and simply felt like a smooth pearl.

Orphion. The drug was originally meant to be used on the mammoth-like creature in the distance. Ultimately, I took it. The pill had the effect of boosting one's strength for a while. However, at the same time, it also had severe consequences.

But...

I was willing to face the consequences.

For my future, I had to do it.

"...."

As the pill rolled around my mouth, my eyes focused on the recording devices in the distance. They were currently floating in the air, capturing the creature and everything around it.

Me included.

I stared at it and took a good long look at it.

'You're watching, aren't you?'

I was talking to the audience.

Perhaps, they weren't. I wouldn't blame them if they weren't looking at me.

But that was fine.

I was going to grab their attention soon.

I had a tale to tell.

One that involved ten people.

Ten people that all looked different, spoke different, had different backgrounds, and yet, despite their differences, they were the same.

It was a tale that I needed to tell.

To the audience, and for myself.

And with such thoughts, I bit the pill in my mouth.

Cra Crack

Instantly, I felt my body tremble slightly. It was as if a volcano had suddenly erupted inside of my body.

It was hot.

Drip...! Drip!

Sweat dripped down from the side of my face.

.....The change was subtle, but it was still picked up by Kiera and the others who looked at me in shock.

"Julien?"

"Uh? What..."

Before they could say anything more, I stared at them and nodded silently. A silent sign of assurance. In the process, I tried to make it seem as though I was fine.

However, I was anything but fine.

The pain I was currently experiencing. It was hard to describe.

But pain... I could handle pain.

And it was with such thoughts that I took my first step forward.

Tok

That tale.

It was time for me to tell it.

***

Bang! Skidding a few meters back, Johnathan eventually came to a stop.

"Ukh...!"

His breath was labored, and his mana was running rampant. Staring ahead and seeing Aoife's group, he clenched his sword and pushed himself forward.

Clank

His sword cleaved at the exact spot where Leon had hacked during his first strike. Exactly as his sword made contact with the tusk, Johnathan felt his entire hand go numb.

However...

Cr-Crack! His expression grew excited as he noticed fine miniature webs forming around the tusk.

"A-almost...!"

He was just about to follow up when the creature jerked, and Johnathan was thrown a few meters back.

Bang!

His back smashed against the wall, and he felt a sweet sensation at the back of his throat.

"Cough! Cough...!"

'....This, it's so strong '

He wasn't the only one struggling. Staring ahead, Johnathan could see that the combined effort from the two teams was hardly doing anything to the creature. It was at that moment that they understood just how meaningless their plan was.

.....There was simply no way for them to get rid of the creature fast.

'Ah, at this rate, things will become more troublesome.'

"Haaa... Haaa..."

Johnathan's sword started to glow as he glared at the mammoth.

Looking around him, and seeing that everyone was struggling to deal with the creature, he was prepared to use one of his strongest moves when all of a sudden he felt a chill coming down from behind him.

".....?"

It wasn't just him.

The others felt it as well.

Looking back, a peculiar figure stood. He stood still, his clothes fluttering slightly alongside his hair as he stared at the mammoth with cold eyes.

"W-what are you doing...?"

Johnathan's voice came out hoarse. Having exhausted a lot of his mana, he could hardly speak properly.

Johnathan was just about to tell him to get away so that he wouldn't be a hindrance when he noticed his expression.

It was flickering continuously.

From the angle of his lips, the intensity of his gaze, and his expressions. They kept flickering into different intensities. Almost as if he was trying to replicate different people.

"What in the..."

Before Johnathan knew it, the glow around his sword had diminished.

"...."

Julien's current appearance seemed to suck away the energy out of him.

He didn't understand it at first, but lowering his head, he stared at his hands.

"Uh?"

....They were trembling.

"Haa... Haaa..."

His breathing started to grow rapidly. When he looked up again, Julien's expression had changed again. His eyes, they were empty. Devoid of any light.

And then...

"....!"

Before Johnathan knew it, threads appeared to surround the place. Covering every inch of the surroundings, everyone stopped.

All eyes fell on him then.

"Ah..."

Johnathan stopped circulating his mana as the sword in his hand stopped glowing.

In that moment,realization finally dawned on him. The reason for Aoife's words, and Haven's rankings.

"This..."

Why he was ranked first.

"....What is this?"

It all finally made sense to him.