After Adonis' display, no one showed fear.

They couldn't, even if they wanted to. The overwhelming power that the Hero displayed was enough to inspire many.

It spurred even the most fragile of them forward as they desired to also slash through the enemies.

"We're not gonna let you have all that EXP, Adonis!"

"Haha! Here I come as well!"

"Save some of that EXP for us! Only God knows what Level you're in now!"

"Hehehe! I can't wait!"

As words like these rushed from the lips of his classmates, Rey felt a smile tugged at his lips as he watched Adonis step back from the new summoned monsters.

'He's going to give everyone a chance to Level Up now. How considerate of him'

The only reason Adonis had sprung up during the first round, snagging all the kills, was for the good of the entire class.

He must have thought that by doing something so radical, he would spur the rest to let go of the strands of hesitation that held them back.

Everyone would be willing to fight!

'And it worked! Looks like we're all motivated now'

He noticed how Trisha was grinning while brandishing her blade.

Even Alicia seemed to leak out a small smile as she prepared her Magic.

'It's weird to see everyone so excited about killing'

Rey knew it was probably hypocritical for him to think this, considering how much pleasure he also derived from slaughtering Monsters.

But, the thing is he had always seen himself as different.

'I thought I was just crazy and weird, but it seems that's not the case at all.'

As Rey observed the sadistic expressions of the teenagers around him, he became privy to a dark truth.

'Everyone wants to kill so badly'

Whether it was to relieve their stress, or to test out their abilities without any need to hold back they were raring to go.

Rey made a wide grin underneath his mask.

'So, all of this is normal, then? Merciless slaughter of our enemies'

He, just like everyone else around him, was normal.

However, once he had this thought, another contrasting one surfaced in his mind.

It was a darker proposal that he had no choice but to consider.

' Could it be that we're all just crazy?'

**********

~BOOOOOOM!~

Rey could see Billy's Fire Magic engulfing a bunch of DemiWolves that dared to near him.

The rest were met with his merciless blade that butchered their flesh and splattered their blood.

~SWISH!~

He could see how Trisha expertly wielded her blade and combined it with her Martial Arts prowess to plow down her foe.

The unparalleled skill with the sword that she had was unrivaled. Rey could not see anyone around him replicate it.

As her perfectly toned muscles bulged with each movement, her sword struck even faster, until it far exceeded the limits of the natural eye.

She was simply cutting through DemiWolves as though they were mere pieces of meat tossed in the air.

Then, there was Alicia.

~SHIIIIIIIII~

Ice pervaded everything around her, turning all of her enemies into nothing but statues.

The air around her grew so cold that even Rey shivered slightly as he ran away from her immediate location.

It felt like the perfect chance to escape, so he didn't waste it.

In-between Trisha's hack and slash, and the insane effectiveness of Alicia's Ice Magic, Rey was yet to find a single DemiWolf to defeat.

If he continued staying around them, there was a good chance he would never get to Level Up.

Rey didn't want that.

~WHOOSH!~

Amidst the commotion, a DireWolf suddenly lunged at him from nowhere.

At least, that was how it seemed like to everyone.

However, in actuality, Rey had activated his [Force] Skill to pull the DemiWolf in his direction.

'This way, it'll seem more believable!' Rey grinned internally, watching the beast near him from above.

"REY!" He could hear a few voices shout his name, and it sounded like they were worried for him.

'Please don't ruin this for me!' He begged internally as the creature now jumped on his body.

'I just want to Level Up!'

Rey fell to the ground, pretending to have been toppled down by the weight of the extremely lean creature.

He could sense incoming footsteps, but thankfully they were too late.

~SQUELCH!~

His bladed hand exited the back of the DemiWolf right as it was about to bite off Rey's face.

Blood and innards gushed out, causing the beast to groan a little before turning cold from death.

Rey shoved the monster aside, grunting as if he was affected by its practically weightless body.

'Urgh I'm covered in blood' Rey made a gag face as he rose to his feet, his official first prey drowning in its pool of blood and gore.

"Rey, are you okay?"

"That was dangerous! But you actually won? Badass!"

Alicia's worried face was sharply complimented by a shove from Trisha.

It seemed both girls were quite worried for him.

'My image as a weakling remains. That's good!' Was the only thing on his mind as all this was happening.

He could see a couple of eyes on him, but he ignored them.

'They're probably surprised that I managed to kill a DemiWolf on my own, even though I made it seem like an accident'

Rey stared at his bladed appendage and in a single ~GLUP~, he turned it back to his normal hand.

'I can just use the Skill that everyone thinks I have and kill Monsters by drawing my prey next to me.'

It was a perfect strategy.

"Do you need any help? I'm already in Level 3." Alicia asked with a smirk.

"Really? Me too!" Trisha responded with a big grin.

"Really? What's your EXP percentage? I'm almost going to be in Level 4"

"Ahh, well, I'm on the low end."

Rey noticed Alicia flashing a triumphant smile, as if she had just won some kind of game. He wanted to think it was just his imagination, but he knew what he saw.

"I guess I'll just have to work hard so I don't get left behind." Trisha raised her fist in a fierce, but good-willed competitive spirit.

"Sure. You can try." Alicia only responded with a nod.

Rey decided it was much better for his mental health, and also for his goals, to steer away from the two women.

"I think I'm fine on my own. Let me not get in your way" Rey's voice trailed as he took gradual steps back.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't really mind, but you do you."

Rey nodded vehemently as he ran off, waving at them while shouting "Good luck!"

As he ran off and spotted the next prey, he went over what had just occurred.

'I don't want to guess wrong, but for a moment there it felt like they were competing'

Rey never knew Trisha and Alicia had some kind of rivalry.

Perhaps it was something that just started.

'If that's the case, then am I the cause?' He wondered to himself, finally spotting a DemiWolf in the distance.

Rey smiled, chuckling lightly to himself as he shook his head.

'Na! That can't be'

*

*

*

Thanks for reading.

Seems we're getting a prelude to the waifu wars.

I like Trisha here, though.

She's chill