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Chapter 376: The Sharpest Tool In The Shed II

[I... you proved yourself. We\'re sorry for encouraging you to come here.]

The two weren\'t lying by saying that.

They only wanted him to lose a limb or two-nothing major.

But this was more than that.

Two students were about to lose their lives.

They had to run away.

[You should run, Ar-]

[No.]

With that single word, Arthur denied them and stepped forward.

He wanted to show them-truly show them that he was something to be reckoned with.

The reward didn\'t matter anymore.

For the first time in his depressing life, Arthur felt a glimmer of hope.

Maybe the current him wasn\'t as useless as he thought.

Maybe he could do this with his own efforts.

The systems be damned; he was enough!

***

"HELP US!"

"PLEAAASE! ANYONNNEEE!!!"

"WE\'RE ACADEMY STUDENTS!"

The cohort walked in on a disaster.

Their trek to the fourth drop-off point didn\'t take more than two minutes as they went full speed ahead.

And in those two minutes, plus a few before, Arthur had lost all his will to fight.

He left Max on his own as he ran around like a headless chicken, barely making it by the skin of his teeth.

Every attack missed due to his insane luck.

The constructs tripped, attacked each other, or simply missed.

Arthur, despite his earlier resolve, found himself cornered at each turn, his back pressed against the cold, damp wall of the underground chamber as he dodged yet another swipe. His trembling hands held on to his assault rifle for dear life, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Meanwhile, Max, bleeding and battered, swung wildly at the Glaivemantis constructs, his rage fueling his every move.

He was taking most of them on, getting hurt with each exchange.

They had to interfere now if those two were to survive.

"Arthur! Max!"

Junior\'s voice boomed through the chaos, and they snapped their heads at him, surprised. "X-Xavier?!"

"The fuck?"

They weren\'t the only ones who had their attention taken away, as the Glaivemantis and larger Berta Scorpions had also focused on the incoming intruders.

"We\'re here to get you out! Professor\'s orders."

At Jake\'s statement, the cohort moved with practiced precision, their teamwork strengthened by the battle against the Cannonjaw Crocodile.

Junior led the charge, his shield and sword at the ready, while Jake and Sofia provided covering fire.

Emma and Aria flanked them, their staffs glowing with Ice and Flora.

Elijah darted between the constructs, his daggers gleaming in the dim light.

"Focus on the Glaivemantises!"

Jake commanded, and Junior planted his shield firmly into the ground.

"AETHERIC BULWARK!"

A translucent barrier shimmered into existence, setting a temporary safe point and deflecting the incoming attacks from the Berta Scorpions.

The Glaivemantises were still taken aback by the sudden reinforcements, but they didn\'t hesitate for long, joining the scorpions in their attack by blending into the wall, attempting to flank the group.

"Aegis Of Radiance!"

Once he got the buff, Jake aimed his assault rifle at the nearest of them and fired a burst of runic bullets, not allowing them to get close.

The projectiles struck the creatures\' carapaces, cracking them and causing them to screech in

pain.

Sofia, positioned at the back, lined up her anti-material rifle and fired precise shots, severing the Glaivemantises\' limbs one by one.

"Ice Bolt!"

Emma chanted, launching arrow after arrow of ice that struck the constructs in their eyes.

With each successful hit, the creatures recoiled, momentarily blinded.

"Entangling Roots!"

Aria followed, her spell sending roots snaking across the ground to ensnare the blinded Glaivemantises as they were easier targets.

The roots tightened around their legs, restricting their movement, and then slowly crawled

up the constructs.

When inside, they squeezed, slowly killing them.

Elijah seized the opportunity as well and killed the other blinded ones that Aria couldn\'t,

leaping onto their backs with his Spectral Scythe in hand.

He drove it into the creatures\' exoskeletons, repeatedly striking them as they thrashed wildly

until death was a result.

They killed many, but it wasn\'t enough, even more attacked, while most of the Berta

Scorpions remained uncontested.

Junior\'s barrier began to crack under their assault, but he held firm.

"Now, while they\'re distracted!"

With his signal, Max came at them from behind, punching them to death with his Rapid

Strikes.

He had just killed those in the background, leaving only the constructs attacking the cohort.

That allowed him free reign, and he went as wild as his strength allowed, forsaking defense for all-out offense, trusting that Junior\'s bulwark would last.

While all that happened, Arthur stood alone, quite a distance behind Max, still in shock.

[It\'s fine boy, you can redeem yourself!]

[Blame it on us and go. There\'s no shame in being scared.]

His AIs urged him to move, trying to quell his emotions about what had happened, but it was

no use; his feet felt stuck to the ground.

He was still terrified.

If Jake\'s cohort hadn\'t arrived, he might\'ve even pissed himself.

But when Max\'s voice echoed through the chamber with a powerful "DRAGONS ROAR!"

freezing another construct in fear, Arthur felt the opposite.

The fear drained away, leaving him truly resolute.

He moved, not wasting the chance, and emptied his magazine into the immobilized creature.

Ratatatatatatatatatatatat!

His assault rifle spat out bullets, each one finding its mark.

The Glaivemantis he targeted shrieked as its carapace shattered under the onslaught, and it

died not a second later.

"We\'re almost done!"

He celebrated his kill, about to pump his fist, when he barely stopped himself.

Those who saw that ignored it and focused on their own battles.

With coordinated efforts, the cohort whittled down the remaining constructs.

Sofia\'s AMR rounds, Jake\'s enhanced gun, Emma\'s ice arrows, and Aria\'s roots created a

relentless barrage that the constructs couldn\'t withstand.

Elijah, and Max, with the help of Junior, ended those closest, protecting those four and allowing them to go all out without worry.

Arthur had a kill here and there, helping them slightly.

His time to kill was random, unlike Jake, as not every bullet he shot had the buff of the runes

he inscribed.

After all, luck was what made his runes be of use, his casino-like build going hard at work to

make up for the mistakes.

And as he was dumping another mag into a Berta Scorpion, shooting it even though it was

already dead, a loud bullet rang out.

Bang!

It was Sofia\'s, and it marked the end of the battle.

A final, thunderous screech, announced the falling of the last construct.

The hall fell silent, save for the heavy breathing of the exhausted hunters.

Junior lowered his shield, panting, his cracked bulwark dissipating.

"Is everyone alright?"

Max staggered to the nearest wall, rested his back on it, and glared at Arthur.

"You... actually helped."

Arthur, still trembling, managed a weak smile.

"Yeah... I guess I did."

Elijah sheathed his daggers, surveying the carnage.

"We need to get out of here before more of them show up."

Emma and Aria nodded, their staffs\' elemental light fading.

"That was something!"

"You two better be thankful!"

Sofia kept her AMR at the ready, her eyes scanning the shadows.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

|| ||

Jake clapped a hand on Arthur\'s shoulder.

"You did good, kid. Let\'s get out of here, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah..."

As they made their way back to safety, Arthur couldn\'t help but feel a sense of

accomplishment.

Even though he barely contributed to the fight, for once, he had faced his fears and emerged

victorious.

The AIS might have led him here, but it was his own determination that saw him through.

While he would\'ve liked a reward, he actually didn\'t mind this...

"Are they gone?"

A voice resounded in a whisper, just where their battle took place.

It was cold, monotone, and almost familiar.

"They are."

Stepping out from one of the many holes in the wall, a man dressed in black, with every limb

and part of his body covered, surveyed the area.

"So what do you think, Ben?"

Another man joined him, barely visible under the flickering light.

"Not bad. Guess we weren\'t needed."

They truly weren\'t.

Or so some might think.

"For this? Sure, but if not for me, that Quinn and Xavier would be without legs."

A third man revealed himself, joining the rest.

"Right, good job deflecting that rocket, but well..."

The fourth and last person in this group was now revealed, as he dropped down while saying:

"Technically, if I didn\'t manipulate that dumbass into pushing her, she would\'ve escaped

without help."

The second one chuckled.

"Maybe, but Max wouldn\'t have caught up with Arthur if we hadn\'t done that."

Ben shook his head, his tiny slits for eyes blinking.

"Don\'t bother thinking too much. We did good, bossman told us to make sure that she suffered, and that\'s what we did."

Indeed... \'Bossman\' was the one who commanded this ninja group.

It was the same group he had used to keep track of Arthur before the entrance exam, his

hidden card among many.

The group was made up of Nathan\'s men, as well as tens of others that Emir had picked after

much scrutiny.

And yes, it wasn\'t only them here; they simply were the best of the lot, made to protect the \'named\' characters while the rest took care of the \'unnamed.\'

If it wasn\'t obvious by now, Max had met Arthur because he chased the third one around.

Even though Max lost him, he still managed to sniff their location like the mad dog he was, baited into joining Arthur.

So that whole time he cried to his mommy who abandoned him, Arthur was safe from harm, with four guardian angels watching over him.

Emir could\'ve had them save Arthur, but he wanted to train the students as well.

Jake and Emma were no exception, they were still far from where he wanted them to be.

And true enough, everyone got closer to what he wanted from them today.

His flaw didn\'t start acting up and that was to be expected.

The plan went smoothly if one ignored a few hiccups, mainly the unexpected appearance of

the Cannonjaw Crocodile.

No matter how strong one got, accounting for every variable could only be deemed

impossible.

But he didn\'t plan for that.

His personality was careful, perhaps too careful, all due to the unending paranoia he felt, but

even he knew that such a goal was an utter delusion, no matter how pristine it sounded.

So even though there were many moving parts, he retained control, not trying to overstep any

boundaries.

The \'puppets\' danced along nicely to his tune as if he was there, pulling them into place.

"Truly... there is no one sharper."

The second of the four smiled as he said that, proud to have such a leader.

"He\'s not here, you don\'t need to lick his shoes so much."

"Nah, wait till he\'s around; this guy will shut his trap and won\'t even breathe."

"True true..."

While the others began to ridicule him, Ben pulled up his terminal.

"I\'ll check up on bossman. Stand down for now."

Ring... Ring...

Ring... Ring...

Ring... Ring...

Ring--

[...]

[Hello, Sir Emir, can you hear me?]

[...]

[We\'ve completed our mission. Do you copy?]

[...]

[...Sir?]

Toot-Toot~

"Fuck!"

The call suddenly ended, and he grew worried, turning to his contacts once more, about to

dial Lyra, but the second of them stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Check the weather."

Ben did that at once, not questioning him, the information appearing in his HUD, a tiny

hologram before his eyes.

And in a moment...

"What?"

His eyes widened.

"It\'s raining?"