Hunter Hunting

Jack Blades' technique impressed everyone, whether they believed it to be actual teleportation or simply some method of camouflage or other deception. Regardless, it made many of the new students wonder if seemingly magical techniques and even teleportation itself might really be within their reach. Excited discussions began among the crowd, giving way to a veritable cacophony.

For his part, Alexandre was more skeptical. Teleportation, not to mention the concept of magic itself, was something that belonged to the world of fantasy, not the real world. Surely there was a scientific explanation for the things that Jack Blades had shown them.

To begin with, at the moment when Jack Blades had "teleported," Alexandre had felt a peculiar shift in Jack Blades' Hunter energy. Alexandre felt frustrated that he was still too ignorant regarding Hunter science to analyze it further… It was like showing a medieval man modern technology! He'd simply think he was seeing something magical or even divine.

Thankfully, Alexandre was finally in the place where he could start filling those gaps in his own understanding. 

A handful of students began trying to reproduce the weapon linking technique which Jack Blades had shown them. Alexandre, however, decided to postpone this experimentation. They were out in the middle of nowhere with no knowledge of the surrounding area… To experiment in such an environment would be sheer foolishness, since nobody would be focusing on examining their surroundings.

And beyond the potential for unseen, external dangers, there was always the possibility that one or more students would disobey the ban on fighting outside the arena. After all, Alexandre had just been awarded 100 points! Surely there were a lot of people jealous of him at the moment. "That makes me wonder," he said out loud to himself, "the school says it sanctions those who fight outside of proper times and places, but what exactly are those 'sanctions?'"

Regardless, Alexandre looked around him at the other students. There were almost a thousand of them there, and as they were getting more of their energy and breath back after the long run, many were shooting him murderous looks.

On the other hand… the students who'd made it to this point were at least smart enough to maneuver through all the entrance exam challenges. They'd sacrificed a lot to get there, so surely they wouldn't be prepared to risk their entire new futures just to get some petty revenge.

But Alexandre was nothing if not cautious. He'd delay practicing weapon-linking until he found a more secure location. He turned and started running at top speed away from the other students and into the heart of the island's dense forest. 

He looked around, then taking advantage of a relative lull, Alexandre quickly left the densely populated area where all the students had gathered and ran into the island's dense forest. Considering how fast his body regenerated, that short rest was all that it took for him to be able to run quickly again.

However, after about five minutes, Alexandre was startled by the crack and hiss of a bullet whizzing past his ear—someone was hunting him!