Leading Students

Gabriel wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his face glistening with exertion.

Despite the relentless combat that had consumed nearly an hour of his time, he remained surprisingly composed, thanks to the rigorous training he'd endured in the past.

As his eyes watched the flickering words before him, a mischievous smirk crept onto Gabriel's lips.

"What do we have here?"

[Critical hit]

[Ding! You've slain the mini-boss — Bloodsucker fiend]

[Experience is awarded]

[You've leveled up]

[You've leveled up]

[You've leveled up]

[Mosquito meat was dropped]

[Monster shard was dropped]

[Flaming sword of Annihilation was dropped]

[Access to the main reward room unlocked… error locked. Slay the man boss to gain access]

This was the most exciting part! Even though Gabriel had traversed previous gaming realms like Dark Fantasy Online, Eden Online, and New World Rising — each one surpassing the next in greatness — he still felt an overwhelming rush of bliss when it came to reaping the rewards part.

Dopamine, was it?

Gabriel shook his head as he took a closer look.

The words that immediately captured his attention were the ones describing the coveted [Flaming Sword of Annihilation] and the fortified reward room.

Although the concept was self-explanatory, Gabriel couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation. Now, all that stood between him and the reward room was the mighty boss, who would undoubtedly be even more formidable with a wide array of devastating skills.

However, the primary concern was the boss…

"Where is the boss, then?"

Gabriel's gaze darted around in search of the boss, but all he saw were countless mosquito carcasses, which, apparently although strange, could be feasted on now, strewn across the bloody area.

Deliberating for a fleeting moment, Gabriel eventually shoved the thought to the back of his head as he approached the left flank of the hallway. There, a great sword with lusterless jagged blades that seemed blunt and uneven caught his attention. This seemingly unassuming sword had wisps of green flames billowing off it.

As Gabriel clasped the hilt of the sword, a thrilling surge of electric energy coursed through his being, sending waves of tingling sensations across his skin. Yet, it caused no pain. Once the faint tremor abated, a cascade of messages materialized before Gabriel's view.

[Flaming Sword of Annihilation (Rare Grade treasure): A treacherous sword forged in the depths of Hades itself, enabling the wielder to summon infernal flames. Equipping this weapon grants Strength +20]

"From the depths of Hades, huh?"

Gabriel didn't harbor any doubt about the system's words as he executed a sequence of slashes, and the air itself seemed to sizzle whenever the jagged, soulless blades sliced through space.

As Gabriel continued his unremitting onslaught, a mesmerizing trail of cerulean flames trailed along the blade.

Curious, Gabriel observed as the azure flames ascended towards the hilt. A sudden burst of sapphire fire erupted at lightning speed. In mid-air, the fiery jet etched an arc of ethereal blue light, closing in on a nearby wall.

And upon impact, the flame unleashed its fury, piercing the wall with a thunderous explosion. A cavernous, circular orifice remained, with wisps of smoke billowing into the air.

Gabriel's eyes flickered to the blade, and a grin spread across his face.

"Nice… nice. Very nice!"

After reining his excitement, Gabriel summoned his status screen.

Although all the mosquitoes were mostly mere level 1 at the cusp of level 2, with one, they'd nudged his levels to increase slightly. Now his stats look like this:

[Name: Gabriel Reyes]

Level: 6

Title: none

Status points: 6

EXP: 1,860/2,100

[Strength: 12 (+20)] [Agility: 10] [Stamina: 16] [Health: 200] [Mana/200]

[Proficiency Point(s)]

<Combat Proficiency: 5 <Magic Proficiency: 0 <Crafting Proficiency: 0 <Exploration Proficiency: 0 <Social Proficiency: 0

[Skills]

Power Absorption: 1-50][Active]

Thousand-Strike-Art: 1-50

[Treasure(s): Flaming Sword of Annihilation (Rare grade)]

By slaying the abomination, his combat proficiency had increased by two. His level had also taken a leap from three to six, granting him six free stats!

Glancing away, Gabriel's gaze descended upon the heap of radiant blue [monster shards], neatly fitting into his bag due to their relatively small size.

As he fought the creatures, Gabriel made an intriguing discovery — not all beasts carried [monster shards]. Only a few possessed these godsend shards that could make anyone become unparalleled even without leveling up.

...he'd a theory that the probability of a shard dropping was based on luck or some sort of factor.

"The developers sure know what they're doing."

Come to think of it, if every monster dropped a shard, wouldn't that make all the players OP?

"but is my luck just that bad?"

Looking inside the bag, Gabriel estimated that the [monster shards] were roughly 200 despite him causing almost 700-plus mosquitoes to their death.

Well, he wasn't someone who liked complaining, so he would make do with what he had.

Deciding to absorb it later, Gabriel advanced towards the door where Fiona had previously run to.

"I wonder how Fiona is faring. Come on, Wolfe, let's go check on her."

Gabriel and Wolfe arrived just in time before the door finally shattered into fragments.

Fiona shot a quizzical look at Gabriel

"Huh? How did you get here so fast?"

As she glanced behind Gabriel, she shook her head as if trying to convince herself not to bother.

"You… Killed them all."

"Come on, let's go check what's inside."

Gabriel walked past Fiona. The young woman's gaze alternated between the carcasses of mosquitoes and Gabriel before silently muttering.

"Even in this new world, there is still this large gap between us, huh?"

Inside the classroom, dozens of male and female students huddled together. Fear was etched on their faces, their teeth clattering audibly. A few wet patches could be seen on their jeans, evidence of their fear.

But among them stood a blonde-haired girl at the front, gripping a metal pole. She appeared somewhat composed, although her hand gripping the pole trembled slightly from time to time.

The girl tightened her grip on the pole as the door shattered into fragments with a resounding crash. A gigantic creature, walking on all fours, lunged forward.

The blonde girl's eyes narrowed as she bolted forward. When she got closer, she raised the pole up, aiming to deliver a devastating hit to the obscured monster.

However, before she could even land a strike, she felt a hand stop her pole. A glint of confusion gleamed in her eyes as she stared at the owner of the hand.

It was Gabriel.

"President… president."

Gabriel spoke, taking the pole out of her hand.

"That wouldn't be needed."

The girl seemed bewildered a bit, but after seeing the creature, which happened to be Wolfe, she finally heaved a sigh.

Seeing the little commotion and the person who'd come to their rescue, the students began screaming.

"It's the president!"

"Haha, we're saved!"

"Who else could save us except President Reyes!"

"President!"

Hearing their cacophonous clamor, Gabriel cast a cold look at them.

"Will you all shut up! Do you guys want to attract the monsters?"

Their voices immediately shrank as some of them scratched their heads. Due to the excitement they felt, they'd almost forgotten about the savage creatures lurking around.

Gabriel shook his head at their childishness and looked at the blonde, who had her gaze transfixed on the great sword in Gabriel's grasp.

"What is your name?"

"Helen."

For a mundane human to keep her composure in this tumultuous situation was worthy of note. Gabriel developed a slight respect for Helen because if it wasn't for his upbringing, the white-haired boy doubted if he could be this calm.

Gabriel held the gaze of the blonde.

"Follow me. I can give you security and protection in this new world,"

His confident words made her set aside her doubts as she glanced back at him.

"I'll follow you… If that's you are still the same Gabriel I'd heard about."

"Of course,"

Gabriel nodded as he looked at the remaining students.

However, he didn't need to convince them. Thanks to his past reputation, the students didn't need any convincing.

Sometime later, Gabriel strode confidently at the front with about 100 students behind him. Fiona, who was standing close to him, had a questioning look on her face.

Knowing his childhood friend too well, Gabriel sighed.

"What?"

"The Asian?"

"She made her choice. If she dies, I don't care."

After hearing him, Fiona fell silent and walked over to Helen, who was lagging behind, her gaze fixed on the great sword in Gabriel's hand.

"You okay?"

Helen looked at her and nodded.

"I'm fine. How can I get something like that?"

Fiona followed her gaze. It was the great sword.

"That… I didn't know. He was empty-handed a few minutes ago. Maybe it was dropped by a monster."

Helen's expression turned serious.

"I want to fight. Can you teach me how to fight?"

"Huh? Sure. Yeah, I can teach you a couple of things. What do you want to learn?"

"If you want to learn how to fight, why don't you step forward."

Helen heard that deep voice as she stared at Gabriel with burning determination.

"Yes! I want to fight. I don't want to be weak again. I don't want to run from these monsters again—"

"A yes or no. That's all I want to hear."

"Yes!"

Gabriel casually threw the great sword towards the blond girl. It flipped in the air, and Helen caught it mid-air but later regretted that decision as her face contorted with a grimace.

"This is heavy. What is the thing made of?"

Gritting her teeth, Helen tightly grasped the hilt of the blade and, after a moment, managed to lift it up.

Gabriel spoke, still walking forward:

"Come to the front,"

Helen briskly made her way to the front.

Gabriel reached out and carefully positioned Helen's hands on the hilt of the blade.

"Tighten your grip. If your grip is too weak, the sword will fall out of your hand even before you attack."

Being so close, Helen couldn't help but feel her cheeks turn a slight shade of crimson. Even her heartbeats seemed to accelerate.

"When slashing…"

After Gabriel's lengthy explanation, Helen took the lead as he stepped back.

Soon, a creatures came into view with a loud bang! But the beast wasn't alone.