Chapter 105: Rejoice!

Da, da…

Cliff’s head was square.

It bounced twice on the ground before coming to a stop.

The headless body collapsed heavily, making a dull sound.

Blood spurted from the opening like a flood, staining the ground a deep red.

Cass, gasping for breath, tried to turn around to check on Cliff.

But he couldn’t.

Sweat poured down his forehead like rain.

Blood beads appeared—one after another, dripping onto the ground at his feet.

He staggered and collapsed.

The first to react were Bried and Kersey.

Though their faces were also filled with disbelief, they quickly lifted Cass and moved him away from Cliff.

Bried took a Pressureless Injector Healing Potion from her pocket, and Kersey cast on him.

Next, Beiren and the Head Nurse climbed onto the battle stage, checking Cliff and Cass respectively.

Soon after, a group from the Rescue Squad arrived, carrying Cliff’s body and head away.

Cass sat on the ground to rest.

Beiren glanced at the audience, met Siloque’s eyes, and left the scene with the Rescue Squad.

For a moment, the audience was silent.

Is it… over?

What just happened…

This expression was on almost every face.

“What did he do…?”

Lorraine whispered, staring at the battle stage, trying to figure out what had happened.

Before the battle began, she had used and clearly saw that Cliff’s level was higher than the other three.

She expected a fierce fight, but instead—

The outcome was utterly one-sided.

Cliff hadn’t even taken a step from the starting line before he collapsed.

In the silent hall, the words “Blue Side Victory” appeared at the center of the battle stage.

Only a female electronic voice read the message of Cass and his team’s victory, announcing the end of the duel.

“Hu hu… guh…”

And Priss’s snoring.

Pop.

Priss’s snot bubble burst.

She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the stage.

“Ah… as expected, Cass won.”

She tilted her head, changed positions, and went back to sleep.

“Finish him.”

Siloque hurriedly covered his mouth.

He almost blurted out a FLAG.

He couldn’t help it; the outcome was just that surprising.

In the blink of an eye?

A flash of lightning?

Maybe even faster.

At the start, Cass used a speed almost impossible for anyone to catch, slicing through Cliff’s neck.

Recalling Cass’s opening move on the stage and the scene before him, there was only one explanation.

After confirming this, Siloque felt no sense of reality at the victory won so quickly.

He touched the metal railing.

The coldness told him—this was real.

Cliff, defeated.

The enemy, dead.

The scenario he imagined, where Cass and his companions struggled, countered moves, fought on the edge, and then reversed the situation, never happened.

Siloque downed his cola in one gulp and belched, accepting the truth.

The elite monster he’d struggled against for a month, the Newbie Village Boss, died before him in less than a second.

He had to admire Cass’s tactics.

He didn’t choose any of the options Siloque had offered.

But that “Fake Iai Draw Slash” was from his own materials.

Cass had clearly combined the content of the documents with some strange sword technique, then added his own [Friction] talent to explode with overwhelming speed.

Originally, that move required a scabbard.

Cass instead gripped the blade with his hand, intentionally using the sheath to lock the blade, accumulating power to gain far greater speed and force than a typical slash.

It was similar to the principle of flicking a forehead.

No matter how fast you swing your finger, you can’t make a sound.

But if you hook your thumb over your fingers, build up force, then release, you can create a sharp crack.

As long as you kill your opponent before the Thorn Armor forms, there’s no need for prolonged contact or a drawn-out fight.

A simple, brutal, and aggressive approach.

Looking down at Cass sitting on the field, looking exhausted, Siloque thought the move must have side effects.

At this moment, he deeply understood what Cass’s so-called “full power” meant.

Cass defeated his opponent.

While Siloque felt joy, he also had some worries deep down.

To be honest, killing Cliff wasn’t part of the plan.

It wasn’t even in the game’s storyline for the first or second week.

Even in the harshest scenarios of the second week, Cass and Bried merely joined forces to hack Cliff into a cripple, sending him to the ICU, after which the Evil Demon Society abandoned him.

Because, as a Class C, he lost to a lower-ranked Class F, causing a huge scandal that made it impossible for him to stay at school.

He never returned.

The next time he appeared, he was on the list of victims in a mid-game television news report, crushed to death under the ruins of his own house.

Now that Cliff had died early, what would happen?

Siloque pressed his temples.

Forget it.

When the soldiers come, block them; when the water comes, cover it with earth.

Cass killing Cliff was now fact.

In terms of results, it was different from the second week, but the effect was the same—Cliff was eliminated, and wouldn’t appear again.

Right now, Siloque wanted nothing more than to throw Cass up in celebration.

The only problem…

Now the bond event was lost.

Battling a powerful enemy is the best opportunity to deepen relationships.

Bried and Kersey had no chance to shine.

But seeing Bried and Kersey’s quick reactions, it was clear Cass had coordinated with them.

Cass, you’ve grown.

You even learned to keep things from me.

Siloque felt both amused and helpless.

If there really was a butterfly effect, that would be a problem for the future.

Of course, he hoped there wouldn’t be any chain reactions.

As he thought this, Siloque noticed something.

The scene was unusually quiet.

It had been silent for a long time.

Most of the audience were frozen like statues.

Well, that was expected.

Although these students also delved into dungeons and had seen plenty of killing, what happened here—a human killing another in a man-made setting, against someone you could communicate with—was, in civilized society, real murder.

Most likely, they were in shock.

But Cass had just taken out a minotaur scumbag; he should be praised.

With that thought, Siloque stood up and raised both hands.

Clap, clap, clap, clap…

He applauded.

He was the first to give Cass a loud round of applause.

This act drew everyone’s attention.

On the battle stage, Cass, Bried, and Kersey all looked at Siloque.

“You did well, Cass. In a mutually agreed real duel, you eliminated Cliff, the thug, making campus life safer and more comfortable for everyone, and protected Class F. Well done.”

Siloque’s words and applause echoed through the silent hall, waking everyone up.

“R-right, I’m sorry, I just, felt that way…”

In the end, Siloque shrank back, his voice growing smaller.

But everyone’s attention was no longer on him.

“That’s right, I heard from Teacher Priss that they chose real-mode duel.”

“Eh? Really? If someone dies, it can’t be helped.”

“A thug… My friend told me about Cliff before, that he and those scumbags forced people to take nude photos.”

“That wasn’t just a rumor?”

“I think it was real. He always gathered people to fight and bullied others in groups.”

“Wasn’t he the one causing trouble at the school gate yesterday, until Vice President Sharp intervened?”

“Come to think of it, my friend at the girls’ school said there was always a red-haired thug loitering at the gate.”

“No need to ask—it had to be Cliff! Weren’t there a bunch of scary guys hanging around too?”

“Yes, yes, I remember now. Maybe his family was involved in the mafia.”

“My dog at home has diabetes; maybe Cliff’s men did it too.”

They really were blaming the dead.

The students of Class F, especially the girls, all chimed in, digging up Cliff’s crimes from all over, as if every bad thing was his fault, and offered applause to Cass and the others.

Cass felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his cheek.

The mood on site grew lively.

The girls from Class F ran onto the stage, lifted Cass up in celebration, and started talking about holding a victory party, overwhelming him with their enthusiasm.

Bried and Kersey were pushed far to the side by the surging crowd.

“Bried, I guess there’s nothing for us to do.”

“…Yeah.”

Kersey smiled at her friend.

“From now on, we can live safely on campus and don’t have to worry about bad guys ambushing us on the way home. But with Cliff like that, the Map is lost. What a shame…”

“…Yeah.”

“By the way, your childhood friend is pretty nice. At first, I was thinking, ‘Oh no, someone died, what now…’ But his words changed everyone’s focus. He’s not as timid as he seems.”

“Yeah.”

“Bried?”

She wanted to say something, but when the words reached her mouth, all she could manage was a feeble “yeah.”

Because now that it was all over, Bried felt strangely empty.

She was a participant, but she didn’t feel the thrill of defeating evil.

I worked hard for a month, and this is it?

A little boring.

No, I’m glad Cliff is gone.

Evil has been destroyed, and I do feel satisfied.

But this strange feeling of being a bystander despite being involved…

It’s hard to digest.

Unconsciously, she searched for her easily misunderstood childhood friend.

Looking on the bright side, if it was him, maybe he’d cook a feast to celebrate…

But no matter how much she searched the surroundings, the black-haired boy who had been clapping and cheering moments ago was nowhere to be found.