Chapter 24 Hunting Monsters, Capturing Flags (1)

Chapter 24 Hunting Monsters, Capturing Flags (1)

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I moved very carefully while my eyes were glued to the map interface.

"If I remember correctly, it's somewhere around here...". I muttered, constantly being alert to my surroundings.

The last flag, according to my memories, should be near the border between the central area and the southern area. But I'll have to find the exact location myself, I don't remember anything.

While I was busy searching my memory and thinking of ways to avoid the flag-guarding monster, a rustling sound was heard. That sound instantly made my spirit tense up.

I cautiously placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, preparing for the worst.

'It's coming!'

A figure appeared from the bushes. I immediately drew my sword and got into an attack stance.

"Hey hey, I'm a human!"

The voice that came from the direction of the bushes made my attack stop for a moment. Only then did I clearly see the figure of the person in front of me. He was indeed a human. A young man with long blond hair and blue eyes. He had two daggers hanging from his waist. Seemed like he was an assassin.

"Haaa... I thought I was dead." He let out a sigh of relief.

"Who are you? What's your purpose here?" I stared at the person in front of me.

I still couldn't let my guard down. You know, there's no rule against students killing each other. What if he wanted to kill me?

"Calm down, I have no intention of attacking you." He waved his hand awkwardly.

But I still didn't put down my sword. I didn't have the confidence to trust someone I had just met for the first time. Especially since he was an assassin with an extremely fast attack speed.

Seeing that I still hadn't let down my guard, he sighed and dropped his two daggers on the ground. He raised his hands to show that he had no intention of attacking.

"See? I'm not an enemy." He sighed helplessly.

"...Alright." Seeing that, I slowly sheathed my sword while my eyes never once left him.

"What do you mean? You don't look lost." I asked.

"I didn't say I was lost..." He said with a pout.

Exhaling, he continued speaking.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Francis Aster, a student of class 1-B. What about you?"

"...Danz Grayson of class 1-A. Pleased." I replied.

Noticing that the wariness on my face hadn't diminished, he smiled bitterly and asked.

"I've already introduced myself, why are you still wary of me?"

"I still don't know why you approached me." I replied seriously.

"Ah... it's not actually that important. I happened to discover you while scouting the surroundings and came up with the idea of ​​forming a team with you." He scratched his head and said with a smile.

Hearing this, I frowned.

"Form a team with me?"

Is there really someone who wants to form a team with a Rapier user like me? There was no way I believe it. Let me see what your intentions were.

I pretended to relax my facial muscles and smiled, trying to show that I had let down my guard.

"I thought you were going to attack me, so I was a little too cautious... I'm weak so I've been hiding, I haven't killed any monsters since the beginning. It would definitely be safer to form a team."

I let out a sigh of relief. Of course it was fake. Then I started to tell him my "misery". Trying to act like a weakling to lower his guard against me. Well, I really am weak...

Seeing my expression, he immediately cheered up.

"So you agreed to join our team, right?"

"Wait, our?". I asked back with a bewildered expression.

"Oh, I forgot to say. I've also formed a team with a few other people. They're waiting somewhere else. Let me lead you to them. We're planning to attack an F+ rank monster so we need a lot of people to support us." He scratched his head and replied.

First they invited me to form a team, then they invited me to attack the monsters...

'Don't tell me he will use me as bait?'. I couldn't help but curse.

The only big monster in this area is the one guarding the flag. And the fastest way to get there is to use this guy.

"Okay...but I'm really weak. I probably can't help much." I said with a worried expression.

Let's see, since you guys want to use me, don't blame me for using you in return.

If this was the real world, I would probably run away to save my life when I realized I was about to become bait. There's no way I would do something self-destructive like putting my head in a trap or using them in return. But what can I do? This is a virtual world, here, no matter if I kill someone or do anything, I won't feel guilty. In my previous life, I just never killed anyone, but I've seen a lot of dead people.

"Don't worry, the more people there are, the higher the chance of killing it." He smiled.

Then I followed him towards the monster.

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'Why do I feel like he looks familiar…'

On the way to the meeting place, I kept observing Francis. I always felt like his appearance and name were mentioned in the original novel. But my crappy memory didn't allow me to remember who he was and what role he played.

'It's annoying not being able to remember something'. I frowned as I tried to rummage through my memories.

'Ugh, forget it. If I don't remember clearly, he must be just an unimportant supporting character'. After a while, I decided not to think about it anymore, the more I thought about it the more my head hurt.

According to my guess, he wasn't an important person. If he really played a major role in the plot, then my impression of him must be very deep. It's not something I can easily forget.

"Are you hurt somewhere? You don't look too good." Francis noticed that I was frowning uncomfortably and asked with a worried expression.

Look at him, if it was me in my previous life, I would have believed that kind of worry. But now that I've died once, I should be wise. I need to get rid of my previous naivety.

"It's nothing. It seems like I'm not very adapted to the virtual world, so I'm having a headache." I replied with a bitter smile.

In this world, there are some people who can't adapt to the virtual world. They often get headaches or worse, faint when they stay in the virtual world for too long. So it's not unusual for me to use this as an excuse.

"I see... then we should hurry up and kill that monster soon. Then you can rest." Francis said with a smile and started to speed up.

"Okay." I nodded in response and quickly chased after him.

It didn't take long for the two of us to arrive at the meeting place.

It was a small clearing in the middle of a large forest. In the middle, there were four figures sitting and talking to each other. Hearing the sound coming from the forest, all four of them turned their heads to stare at us. Suddenly, Francis spoke.

"It's me! I brought new member back. Now we can go kill that monster." He waved at the other four and said.

'This guy is indeed an assassin, he moves really fast. Just chasing after him makes me out of breath'. I cursed in my heart while breathing heavily.

The virtual world simulation system of this world is really amazing. Even the feeling of fatigue can be reproduced as realistically as this.

"Ah! I forgot to introduce. This is..." Francis was about to introduce the group members when a deep male voice interrupted.

"No need. Hurry up and go deal with that monster. We don't have time for things like introducing members." A tall man with tanned skin and a shiny bald head said impatiently.

An awkward atmosphere filled the air around me. The remaining members, including Francis, couldn't help but reveal a confused expression. I also pretended to force out a similar expression.

"Ah… but at least let's know each other's names." Francis tried to ease the tense atmosphere.

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After a while of persuasion, the bald man finally introduced himself.

"I'm Todd Baptist from class 1-B. Ranked 95th in the entrance exam. As for these three, you don't need to know them." He said with a proud expression.

'What are you bragging about... you're just a creep to the main characters'

I secretly curled my lips, disdaining the arrogant guy before me. But on the surface, I looked extremely respectful.

"You're so strong! But I'm really weak... I hope you'll take care of me." I scratched my head and made a shy expression.

Seeing me like that, Todd happily put on a proud expression. He patted his chest, asserting that he was a strong person, then made a face of disdain towards me. In his eyes, I was just an ant that could be trampled at any time. But did I care?

'But this guy is Zheng Kai's "attendant", right?'

Saying he's an attendant didn't seem quite accurate. He was just the son of a subordinate of Zheng Kai's father. He was arranged to serve Zheng Kai since he was a child, but Zheng Kai didn't care about him at all. Zheng Kai is a person who only cares about his own goals and never cares about the people around him. He only cares about the strong.

But don't think that he's not dangerous just because he doesn't care about others. Just try to bother him and you'll get "care" right away. That's why I'm afraid to interact with him.

Back to Todd Baptist in front of me. He's a real pain in the ass.

To be honest, I don't want to pick a fight with him. Because there's a high chance that he'll tell Zheng Kai...

Zheng Kai might not care about some little brats, but if that Todd guy says that I've insulted his honor, I'm sure he'll pay attention to me. After all, he's a guy with high self-esteem.

'Ugh...'

This situation was unavoidable. Either way, I'll find a way to kill them all later if I want to take that flag. I just hope Todd's pride is high enough not to report it to Zheng Kai. After all, being killed by an F- rank nobody isn't very honorable.

As for how I was able to kill these students? I don't remember what kind of monster it was, but I remember all the important monsters that appear in this virtual world.

My memory is really strange. It seems to pick and choose what it wants to remember. Because of that, I've collected a lot of stuff along the way. Maybe there's something useful in there for that monster.

"We should go now" Francis said, signaling the start of the hunt.

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