Once the wall breaks, Matilda stepped into the light.
She looked back and stared at Kai.
Right now, Kai was sitting on the cold stone floor with his back against the wall. Even though they could now leave the tunnel, he stayed there, brooding in the silence. Perhaps fighting the students took a lot from him. Maybe it's because he killed for the first time. Or maybe he now despises her.
Either way, he didn't follow her.
A complex expression marred Matilda's face while she was looking at him.
After Kai showed her the tattoo, she didn't know what to say.
"Aren't you going to come out?" She asked.
"Go on ahead," Kai waved his hand, gesturing for her to leave him alone. "I'll rest for a bit longer."
Matilda nodded and leaped off the edge.
Once she was gone, Kai glanced at the exit and then quickly scurried towards the dead student. He doesn't want to waste his effort on making his first kill. I already maxed the exp needed. I wonder whether I can still stack more exp.
Kai already completed the exp needed for the Perfect Slash.
But it was still incomplete.
He ought to try gaining more exp to see if he can find a way to make it complete.
"Deep Slumber…"
Just like what happened to his sister, darkness claimed the corpse fully.
[You fed the House of Night with a low rating divine blood (Awakened Supernal)]
[Gained 5 exp]
[A quest has been issued]
...
[Quest: Complete an Ending]
Gather enough exp to call out Noxian in the House of Night.
Exp: 5 / 20
…
"Yes!" Kai fisted the air as his experiment yielded results. He had only been waiting to return to the void, the House of Night, but hadn't gotten the chance to do so. It'll be bad if he needs to get there again before knowing what to do next.
But luck was on his side this time.
"20 exp?" He read the quest again. "That's double the exp to obtain the Perfect Slash."
Remembering the spiders, Kai went deeper and tried to use Deep Slumber on them.
Surprisingly enough, the Deep Slumber worked on them.
[You fed the House of Night with a mutated blood]
[You fed the House of Night wit—]
[Gained 0.5 exp]
Kai clicked his tongue in displeasure. He only got so little exp even after feeding five spiders to the House of Night. He was hopeful for more exp, but this doesn't surprise him at all.
All of the spiders have no mana in them, so this was to be expected.
Upon returning to the exit, Kai decided to see what the Perfect Slash really was.
He hadn't gotten the time to do that, but now he has.
…
[Ending Fragment: Perfect Slash (Incomplete)]
You have perfected the slashing motion. There is no hesitation and wasted motion in your slashing strikes, no matter the angle, speed, and bodily conditions. Upon completing this Ending Fragment, you will gain the Slashing Intuition.
…
Kai leaped down from the tunnel and was surprised by a lush green before him.
A thick, lustrous forest spanned ahead.
Behind him was the small hill with multiple cave mouths. There are about twelve of them, and if each cave has the same number of students in it, there should be half of the class here with him.
Not too far away, there was a gathering of about twenty students or fewer.
All of them should be his classmates.
Now that I think about it, I don't even know what class I'm in.
"Whoa! Guys, look!" A student shouted, waving the others over. "You're not gonna believe this. Get over here!"
Nearly everyone moved toward him, Kai among them. They soon realized the student was standing at the very edge of a sheer drop. Below, a vast sea of clouds stretched to the horizon, thick and white as rolling marshmallow peaks.
"We're actually on a cloud? But there's a forest…"
"And a hill, don't forget. How in the hell can a cloud support these things?"
Kai was also surprised by this.
None of them knew what kind of world the Angels lived in, and now they realized it wasn't only clouds, moon, and sun. There are clouds that could carry diverse terrains, which open a whole new world for them.
"Have enough sightseeing?"
A voice startled the students.
Professor Hera hovered above on her winged boots, looking as tidy and neat as ever. She was wearing the same uniform as she normally wore, but now, there's a red cloak covering her frame.
And she was also wearing a wolf-shaped white mask.
"Congratulations on passing the second trial," she clapped her hands. "Now, the third and final trial will begin. Pass this, and your ordeal is over." Her gaze swept across the students. Some were relieved at the news. "But before I explain it, let's see who survived."
"Angel, Rakha Lindan"
"Here!"
"Angel, Abigail Snow"
"I'm here, professor."
One by one, Professor Hera called the names of every single student.
Her expression remained neutral even when there were many absences, which meant they were all dead. And her impartial look over them alone scares the students. "High Angel, Matilda Vance."
Matilda, standing on the other side of the group, lifted up her hand.
And then lastly, Professor Hera looked directly at Kai, "Lesser Angel, Kai."
Kai lifted up his hand.
All eyes snapped toward him. Surprise, and then cold disbelief, settled over the group. A Lesser Angel had no business surviving the ordeal. Luck in the first trial was one thing; the second trial should have been an execution.
But he survived.
Soon, the eyes of the students turned hostile.
Annoyed that a Lesser Angel was among them.
"Okay, that's everyone," Professor Hera nodded. "Now, let me explain the third trial."
For the third trial, three teams would be pitted against each other in Ixos. Their team will be called Team Crius, and they are spawned at the southern side of Ixos, while the others are Team Coeus and Team Hyperion. Both came from different academies.
It made Kai slightly feel liberated to hear that.
He couldn't find Bree, so he was afraid Bree is in another team.
But she apparently is not.
Out of the three teams, there can only be one winner. And the number of students in it is capped at fifteen, which was lesser than their starting number. Assuming the other team also has about twenty, then a lot of people are going to die.
A wave of nervousness swept across the entire group.
One team being the winner is already chilling enough, and then there's this rule that terrifies them.
Considering what happened in the last two trials, the academy is pushing them to kill the other teams. After what happened to them earlier, the prospect of killing more made them nervous.
All of them are normal people living a normal life before this.
It's natural for them to feel extremely nervous.
But perhaps the two trials earlier were there to make them get used to killing.
First trial to see someone die, and the second to take a life.
Seeing the fear in her students' eyes, she sighed, "Don't worry, you are not obligated to hunt and kill the other teams. To pass, you have to fulfill these two conditions. First," she raised a single finger, "retrieve the Blue Gem inside an Awakened Monster's head. There's only one monster, and it's hiding somewhere in Ixos.
"Second, you must open your second Divine Lock," She raised another finger to make sure the students remember. "Once both are complete, come to the tallest peak where I'll be waiting. But it's better for you to use this rite to show off your skills. Those who performed better will be rewarded.
"Specifically, the one who killed the Awakened Monster. The one who performed the best. And the one who has the highest kill count." She added.
Rakha, a student with charcoal black skin, raised his hand.
"What happens to the teams who failed this rite?" He asked.
Even though everyone already somewhat knows the answer, he still needed to ask.
"Natural selection happened," Professor Hera said in a monotone. "Mankind would be benefited more with them dead than them alive. Remember, your lives as Angels are on borrowed time. If you fail to perform, then your sins will devour you."
Almost instantly, the students' faces turned grim.
And on cue, their heads turned towards Kai again with immense hostility.
"You can use whatever means necessary," Professor Hera floated higher. "And best of luck."
Kai stood alone, surrounded by enemies. Shit… I need to run.
Every student in every academy knew the truth about Kai.
Everyone saw the broadcast.
He was the only Lesser Angel and had to kill his own sister because he only had one Divine Lock. Now, with the third trial requiring all of them to open their second Divine Lock, that truth became a death sentence.
In their eyes, he wasn't only behind—he was dead weight.
One clog that would inhibit their team from passing this rite.
Kai scanned the surroundings with his eyes, searching for any escape route before his gaze was pulled toward an approaching man. Rakha approached. He was a few inches taller than Kai, with an athletic build.
"You heard the professor," He said, cracking his knuckles. "Unless you die, our team will never pass this rite."
"How do you know killing your own teammate will not have consequences?" Kai took a step back and raised his arms to defend himself. His chest and hand were still bleeding, and yet he was now going to fight again. "Don't be reckless."
"Does anyone object to taking this… Lesser Angel out?" Rakha asked without turning.
None of the students spoke up.
Nobody objected.
Seems like this Rakha is also well-known in class as one of the more capable.
"See?" Rakha grinned from ear to ear. His fists glowed with fire from within, turning their charcoal color to orange. "Everyone is in agreement that you have to go. We'll take the risk. So, be a good team player and fall quietly."
Kai gritted his teeth and turned to dash towards the forest.
But a voice stopped him.
"Stop!" Matilda walked out of the crowd and crossed her arms. "Who said you can lead us?"
"Huh? This is not a matter of who leads," Rakha barked. "This is a matter of what the team needs."
"And only the leader can determine what the team needs," Matilda raised a brow tauntingly, "I'm the only High Angel here. I'm naturally the leader, and I'm telling you to stop. He's a Lesser Angel, but we need all the help we can get to pass this trial. Once we all fulfill the conditions to pass this trial, then we can decide whether to kill him or not."
Seeing that Rakha was still not moving away, Matilda lowered her arms.
She summoned a golden sword of light from thin air. It hums with mana.
"Of course, you can challenge me to be the leader and kill the Lesser Angel right now," She infused the golden sword with more mana, causing it to hum louder. It even prickles the surface of the ground. "I am more than happy for you to try."
A tense silence enveloped the entire area.
Nobody dared to make a sound as they waited to see how this confrontation would end.
Matilda, as the Supernal of Athena, is one of the strongest in class.
But Rakha, a Supernal of Melinoe, the Goddess of Nightmare and Madness, is not in any capacity weak. He has shown incredible physical prowess during their exercises and even been unbeaten during combat training.
It would be a fierce battle if the two clashed, or at least most thought that way.
After a long pause, Rakha offered a smile and held up his hands.
"No need to get worked up, Matilda. We're on the same team, here," He backed off.
Matilda snorted and retracted her golden sword.
She glanced at Kai and saw him already walking away from the group to be closer to the forest entrance.