Volume 1 Chapter 1.2
A Bus Coming to an Abrupt Stop,
Floating Spheres,
and
the Philosophy of Deception Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
Finally, about the
third from the last, his name was called and Jin had to enter the forest as
well.
He proceeded, his feet
repeatedly getting caught in the decomposing ground and the roots of large
trees. The instructor said it would take an hour to get there on foot, but that
would be no easy task for an average 15-year-old. Emma, who had started a
little earlier, must be having a hard time as well.
There were several
cameras set up in hollowed-out bushes and tree trunks. But not enough to cover
the entire vast forest.
In other words, there
is really no point in this test other than to eliminate them. The instructors
are probably too busy preparing for the entrance ceremony and can only allocate
a minimal amount of effort for a group of failures.
As Jin proceeded,
while sharpening his sight and hearing to the limit, he spotted a young girl
sitting with her back leaning against a large tree.
"...... What are
you doing, Emma?"
He approached her,
wary of his surroundings, and called out to her with dismay.
He felt his headache
because of her out-of-place, cheery smile.
"Ah, here you are
at last! Hey, Jin-kun, let's work together, shall we?"
"What is this,
some sort of new nightmare?"
Feeling the need to
revise his plan, Jin let out a sigh.
"A~ ....... Emma,
why are you here?"
"Because,
Jin-kun, you got into a fight with another student earlier, remember? I was
worried about leaving you alone."
"I told you I
would be fine."
The words
"good-natured" were somehow ingrained in his mind.
Perhaps Emma is simply
too naive, rather than having poor instincts. She has little experience of
people's malice, so she doesn't understand the dangers of staying in one place
like this.
Of course, that might
even be called a virtue in the general society.
"Listen here,
Emma. Are you aware that we are in the middle of <Screening Test> right
now?"
"That's a
given."
"Then, are you
also aware that we're being targeted by some of the students right now?"
"Eh~! Is that
so?"
"Wait, don't talk
so loud", Jin rushed to cover Emma's mouth with his hand. "...... In
this test, each student went into the forest every thirty seconds, didn't
they?"
After making sure she
nodded, Jin continued cautiously.
"That means this
is a game where whoever enters the forest first has an overwhelming advantage.
You can hide in the forest, watch for latecomers, and then ambush them when you
see an opening. We were last in line, so it's not surprising that we've already
become someone's target. So to stand still near an entrance like this is
ba-...... no, I just thought of words I shouldn't have said."
"B-But, you know?
Why would students have to fight against each other? The teacher never said anything
about that, did he?"
Since it came to this,
Jin has no choice but to tell her the truth.
"The bald-looking
old man explained it to us during the entrance examinations, remember? He said
that points would be allocated to each student according to their results in
the examinations."
"Well, in order
to advance, we have to earn points in the weekly exams, right?'
"Yes. In the
academy, the few students with the lowest points are expelled every month.
Especially for the lower grades like us, the points are set so low that we're
suddenly on the precipice."
"What does that
have to do with our current situation?"
"Why do you think
the instructor kept such a basic rule from us earlier?"
Emma thought about it
desperately, but no clear answer seemed to emerge.
After a short delay,
Jin cut in.
"Below the
surface, the battle for points has already begun."
The biggest clue was
that before the test started, the instructor went out of his way to declare the
rule that [Every action that results in death is prohibited].
So some of the
students understood the nature of this test and took the right to carry out a
one-sided attack on the students who were enjoying their hiking in a relaxed
atmosphere.
On the flip side, the
school doesn't need any morons who don't even realize that.
"Do you
understand now that we shouldn't stand still here?"
"...... Yeah.
Thank you, I didn't realize that at all."
"Well, you don't
have to be afraid any more than necessary. Nothing terrible will happen. Even
that instructor had a kind face, too, didn't he?"
"He looked like a
terrifying soldier, though......."
"There's
something warm behind that. He's the type of guy who probably has family photos
on his desk."
"Jin-kun, you
sometimes say incredibly random things, huh?"
"I'm always serious.
Here, look straight into my eyes."
"It's awfully
murky, though......"
"It's just that
the lighting is a bit off. ...... Never mind, let's just get going."
This is a completely
unexpected situation for Jin, who had planned to act alone.
However, it is also
true that few people actively try to target them. For now, he has no choice but
to be flexible and move by incorporating the uncertain element of Emma into his
strategy.
While being drained of
their strength by the unstable foothold, as if they were constantly being
harassed, the two of them steadily advanced their steps.
After working together
for a little while, he found out that Emma's athletic ability was quite
extraordinary.
She is not out of
breath even though she has been walking at a fast pace for nearly 20 minutes,
and her movements are very flexible as she jumps over the roots of large trees
and rocks laid bare on the ground surface. She moves nimbly onward with a cool
expression on her face as she sucks on a stick of candy. It is difficult for
Jin, who has basically lived his life detached from exercise, to even keep up
with her.
"Emma, aren't you
moving a bit too fast?"
"Ah, sorry! I
thought I was already moving quite slowly."
Whenever Emma spoke,
the white stick that protruded from her mouth also shook.
"My psychic
ability is to double my physical abilities for as long as I lick this candy. My
teachers at middle school named it <Ferocious Sweetener>."
"...... Are you
sure it's okay to reveal it to me?"
It is considered basic
knowledge that the details of one's psychic abilities should not be known to
anyone.
This is because there
are various restrictions on psychic abilities, such as [activation condition],
[duration], [range of effect] and [number of uses], and if these are known,
they can be easily exploited.
However, the
activation condition of licking candy is quite lenient, and as long as the
ability itself is a simple one with no special disadvantages, there may be no
problem in telling someone about it.
Jin thought that it
would be a good use of his strategies.
Although his original
plan had gone awry, with Emma by his side, with her relatively powerful
abilities, he might be able to cope adequately with any attack from someone.
After walking for a
while, Emma, who was a little ahead of him, asked him.
"Jin-kun, why did
you decide to become a member of the <White Knights>?"
"I was told by a
fortune teller I met in a back alley. If I don't graduate from Heiberg Academy
and join the <White Knights>, I'll fall into hell within five
years."
"That's awfully specific ......"
"I was also
forced to buy a ridiculously expensive vase, but I wonder if that's what helped
me pass the exam."
"You're
definitely being scammed! Wake up!"
"No, it's all
thanks to the vase. I'm not a psychic after all."
"Even I can tell
that's a lie ....... There is no way someone with no psychic abilities can
enter the school."
It has always been
Jin's bad habit to fabricate random stories and make things vague in order to
prevent people from realizing his real motives.
However, there's no
way he's going to tell others his true objectives here.
"...... Hey,
Jin-kun. What is that?"
When Emma suddenly
stopped, a scene of destruction spread out beyond her gaze.
The trees in a space
with a radius of about five meters had marks on them as if they had been eaten
up by beasts, and some had snapped off at the root and collapsed. The gouged
trunks at a height that was out of reach of human hands also indicated that
whoever had done this was not a normal being.
"Ah, someone's
knocked down. I have to go help. ......"
"No, wait."
Jin grabbed Emma's arm
when she was about to rush forward and forcefully took her into the bushes.
As Emma demanded an
explanation, Jin cautiously muttered to her, wary of his surroundings.
"The one who did
that is still nearby. He uses the prey he hunts like that as bait. It's the
basis of hunting. If you approach carelessly, you'll be taken by surprise and
it'll be over in an instant."
"B-But that boy
is hurt."
"Look carefully.
There's no sign of bleeding, and he hasn't stopped breathing. He's just
unconscious."
"Is that
true?"
"Anyway, it means
we need to hide for a while."
After confirming that
Emma nodded repeatedly with exaggerated gestures, Jin let out a sigh.
At that moment, a tremendous
shock hit Jin's shoulder.
Intense pain rushed
through his brain at the speed of an electric current and was released from his
body as a gasp filled with anguish. In his scrambled vision, Jin somehow
managed to find out the identity of the attacker.
It was a sphere
floating in the air.
Its black-painted
surface was shining with a metallic luster, indicating that it had a hardness
and weight that could not be ignored if it were to be hit directly.
"...... What the,
you managed to twist your body right before it hit you, huh? I thought a single
blow would be enough to knock you out."
The one who emerged
from behind a large tree was the muscular student who had just had an argument
with Jin in front of the bus - Tedd Lieber.
Two of the same
spheres that had just attacked Jin were floating around Tedd.
The way they rotated
in a circle around Tedd was reminiscent of a planet and its moons.
"<Anti-gravity
satellites>, are they not? I've heard of it, your abilities."
Tedd whistled
deliberately in response to Jin's comment.
"Then you do at
least know what's going to happen to you, don't you?"
"Who knows? Are
you going to show me some street performances?"
"You're still
joking around? You should be purged after all."
"Now, now, calm
down, you look like crap you know? Why don't you take a look in the mirror
first?"
"...... Enough.
It's a waste of time talking to you."
Before he could finish
speaking, three black spheres rushed toward Jin and Emma.
The two ran away from
the spheres desperately, running at full speed with no sense of strategy.
However, the difference in speed was obvious. It was inevitable that they would
fall prey to the sphere before they could get out of the effect range of their
opponent's psychic ability.
"Whoa, your
boiling point is way too low! Calm down! Take your calcium properly!"
"Jin-kun, I think
that's just a superstition."
"Emma, do you
know what tension is?"
In the first place,
when he decided to work with Emma, he deviated from the original plan. If he
did not come up with an urgent revision plan, he might actually be killed.
"Emma, can you
activate your <Ferocious Sweetener>? I need your help."
"Hmm, that's
impossible!"
"You can double
your physical abilities, right? Isn't that amazing? You should be able to move
faster than that sphere and knock it away."
"No, that's not
what I meant!"
Emma said awkwardly.
"I can only use
that ability once a day......."
"............
Ha~? What did you say?"
"Like-I-said! I
just used it to show Jin-kun, didn't I? So I can't use it again for
today!"
"You-......"
The words he's been holding back from saying until now are finally leaking out.
"You idiot! Just how flowery your train of thought is!"
The spheres that had
been flying in the air above them easily caught up with them, increased their
speed by one more level and fell vertically.
Jin avoided the attack
by sliding halfway down the mountainside in desperation and continuing to roll,
letting gravity do the work.
As expected, the
spheres chased after him without paying any attention to Emma.
While glaring at the
spheres, which were closing in at a tremendous speed, Jin shouted.
"Emma! Forget
about me, just go ahead and escape!"
"No way! I can't
do that!"
"Just go! With my
psychic abilities, you might get caught up in it too!"
Tedd would not give
him the time to wait for a reply.
To escape from the
oncoming spheres, Jin whipped his aching body and stood up.
Using tree trunks and
rocks protruding from the slope as a shield, he ran and ducked the incoming
attacks by a hair's breadth.
Tedd didn't chase too
aggressively, but was determined to slowly drive Jin back to a corner.
Apparently, he enjoyed playing it slow and steady.
Despite his
remote-control abilities, he approached slowly down the slope, a behavior
typical of people who tend to have a strong sense of sadism.
This guy is the type
of person who gets a thrill out of watching his enemies being overrun by fear
and pain.
"...... Are you
sure you want to chase after me, Tedd-kun? Look, one of us has escaped."
He tried to sell Emma
out for a moment, but he knew it was pointless. Instead, he should be glad that
he was able to go back to his original strategy now that he got into a
one-on-one situation.
Tedd turned a nasty
kind of smile towards him.
"I've already purged
four people, so I've fulfilled my mission plenty. Now it's time to finish it
off by crushing you to death."
"I thought I
heard someone say kill just now. Was it just my hallucination?"
"You have good
ears. It's good that you're healthy."
"Thank you. But
I'm not happy to be complimented by you though."
Tedd's confidence
remained unshaken, even as he tried to look relaxed.
He approached Jin step
by step while being protected by the satellites revolving around him.
"Come to think of
it, I haven't heard your name yet. Tell me your name before I kill you."
"I'm sorry, but I
can't give my personal information to a suspicious person."
"Suspicious
person, huh? You really don't know anything."
With a sneer, Tedd
pulled a white envelope out of his pocket. Perhaps it was very important, it
was protected with plastic to prevent it from getting dirty.
"It's a letter of
appointment from the headmaster. I've been given the role of gatekeeper to make
sure no small fry pass through by mistake in this <Screening Test>."
"What a very
creative delusion you have. When did you come up with it?"
"Suit yourself.
Exchanging letters with the headmaster is something that a bottom-feeder like
you can't even imagine after all."
"...... I see,
very impressive then."
The distance between
them has already closed to about three meters.
Tedd, looking
completely triumphant, swirled the three spheres above Jin's head. The spinning
spheres, mocking the sacrifice that had lost its escape route, descended,
gradually narrowing their radius.
Now, everything was
set to end with a single signal from Tedd.
There was no way to
avoid it.
It was obvious that
Jin would be hit by the black spheres one after another, and his entire body's
bones would be shattered.
"Oh, by the way,
Tedd-kun. Is there an option to overlook me ......?"
"There's no such
an option, you idiot."
"Really?"
"You're
persistent."
"Come on, let's
really talk this through. I'm saying this for your own good. I can't guarantee
I'd go easy on you in a real fight."
"Are you serious?
You're still lying even after all this......?"
"I'm not lying.
It's true. There is no one in this world as honest as me."
Jin formed a gun shape
with his right hand, pointed at Tedd's heart, and used his index finger as its
muzzle.
"...... You think
you can scare me with such childish threats?"
"Then why don't
you give it a try? If you want to get out of here, this is your last
chance."
After letting out a
long sigh, Tedd took another step forward with the expression of a heartless
monster.
"Cut the crap and
just die. Fucking bastard."
This means he has
missed his last chance.
Taking pity on the guy
who had lost his cool and fallen into the trap, Jin said.
"Well then, sorry
to say this but you're done for."
At that moment, the
ground behind Tedd exploded.
The sudden sound of
the explosion caused his body to stiffen, and the rolled-up soil of rotting
leaves fell on him.
Seeing the white smoke
rising from the tip of Jin's index finger, Tedd understood that this was a
phenomenon caused by Jin's psychic ability.
"Unbelievable, I
didn't see anything ......."
"Hey, Tedd-kun.
Are you sure you're okay standing still?"
The index finger was
pointed at him again, and Tedd felt his whole body stiffen.
Even if he let the
spheres attack Jin, he would probably take five hits in that interval. That's
how fatal the difference in speed is.
Abandoning his pride
that he had been given the mission of gatekeeper by the headmaster, Tedd
decided to run away.
He ran down the slope,
almost rolling, trying to gain as much distance as possible.
The sound of
explosions kept echoing, the ground nearby rumbled, and the fear of death was
slowly overtaking Tedd.
"Damn it! I can't
move forward, the rocks are in the way......"
In this area, a large
number of rocks were protruding on the ground surface, limiting his escape
route to only one. Perhaps because his movements had been read completely, the
attacks were also gradually becoming focused on him.
──If I can't escape anyway,
I have no choice but to expose myself.
It was quite natural
for Tedd to make that decision.
"What, have you
given up already?"
Jin slowly made his
way towards him with a fearless smile, just as he had done when they first met.
"Then, will you
surrender quietly? I won't be angry with you."
"...... I've been
handed a mission by the headmaster. If I don't crush you here, I won't be able
to enroll with pride."
"Wait, wait. Why
are your pupils so dilated? Can't you calm down for a moment?"
"Listen, Easterner.
I'm going to kill you for sure. I'll crush you with everything I've got."
Even with an index
finger pointed at him, Tedd glared at Jin without fear.
Indeed, there would be
no way to sneak past an attack so fast that one couldn't even see its trajectory.
─But does this guy really intend to attack me?
In fact, even
when it seemed certain that this guy could finish me off, he shot at the ground
to force me to surrender. Since he has no intention to kill, then there is no
need to dodge the attacks. All I have to do is not move from my position and
let the three spheres strike him at maximum speed.
In the end,
it's the same as always. It's just the start of a one-sided violence.
"It's a pity that
we had such a well-matched psychic ability."
Again, bursts of sound
could be heard, but all of them were coming from the wrong direction.
─I knew it, this guy's not prepared to attack human
beings.
Tedd grinned and
manipulated the trajectory of the spheres floating in the sky. At a speed that
would surely kill someone instantly if a direct hit was made, he sent it
rushing towards Jin who was standing in front of him.
"......I've been
meaning to tell you this for a long time", said Jin, who did not lose his
fearless smile even in the face of the looming presence of death. "You're
quite naive, aren't you?"
Above Jin's head, an
ear-splitting explosion rang out.
Of course, this
happened just before the spheres slammed into Jin. Suddenly, the three spheres
burst above Jin's head, sending countless black shards flying all around him.
Tedd's eyes widen in
astonishment and he rants.
"What happened
......! T-Those spheres were as hard as iron, you know!? You, how did you
......!"
"They're just
rubber balls that have been hardened by your psychic ability, right? Otherwise,
there's no way you could carry three of them in your bag."
"How the fuck
......! Damn it!"
Tedd, having
completely lost his chance of winning, turned his back on Jin this time and
started to run.
"A~a, you can't
go that way. That's dangerous."
Jin pointed his index
finger at Tedd, who was running away through the rocks and tree roots. With his
thin lips twisted into a sarcastic smile, he said in a mischievous tone of
voice.
"Bang!"
At that moment, Tedd's
figure disappeared.
Of course, it wasn't
that he had actually disappeared. Nor has his body been caught in the explosion
and shattered into pieces.
It was just that the
ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed and he was dragged underground at a
tremendous speed.
When Jin reached
there, Tedd was waist-deep in thick, viscous mud and in a state of complete
helplessness. His thought processes had short-circuited, and he had no idea as
to what had happened to him.
He would never be able
to realize that what had dragged him underground was just a pit.
Jin picked up the
black stick he had hidden in the bushes nearby, as he had originally planned.
He knew from prior reconnaissance that there were no surveillance cameras set
up in the area.
Tedd in the hole
finally came to his senses.
"......W-What the
hell is this!? How were you able to destroy my iron ball......!? What's your
psychic ability!? Tell me!"
"You ask too many
questions, I don't have the energy to answer them."
"A stun-stick!?
Isn't that a violation-......"
"No, no, no. Have
you forgotten the rules?"
Jin pressed the
glowing tip against Tedd's neck.
Looking down at the
guy who was screaming out in extreme pain, Jin proceeded to say.
"If you don't get
out of this forest within the time limit, your memories will be erased and you
will be expelled. How is someone with no memory going to report what happened
here? ...... I mean, you're not even aware that you've been tricked all this
time, aren't you?"
Tricked? What
do you mean?
Don't tell me
I was led here all along?
The questions that
kept coming up one after another were drowned out by the electric currents
coursing through his body.
The last thing Tedd
saw in his fading consciousness was a heinous gleam in the depths of Jin's
dilated eyes.
"You're finished,
heretic. You weren't worth deceiving."
◆
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