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Chapter 402: Blood Stained Innocence

They looked around collectively, scanning each other and the relatively empty room.

The space was equipped only with laid-back chairs, each outfitted with deep dive systems connected to their necks through many wires.

One by one, the students removed themselves from the chairs, the deep dive systems hissing softly as the wires retracted with a faint click.

Fully disconnected, they were left blinking and adjusting to the dim light of their classroom.

...Did they really come back to the real world?

Was Emir\'s lesson over? Just like that?

No, he never ended a class early.

There had to be something-

A large hologram materialized in front of them, cutting off their thoughts.

It displayed one hundred images, matching the number of students present.

Each image showed a face that at least one student had become very familiar with in the past hour.

They were the same digital creations they had killed... and they weren\'t in the best of shape. In fact, they appeared to be dead, limp on the cold ground, their mouths open, as well as their hazy eyes, which stared at the walls and roof, their bodies showing no visible injuries.

Most of the students struggled to understand what they were seeing, unable to piece two and two together.

Emir, who stood next to the holoscreen, noticed that and, with deliberate calmness, announced:

"Congrats on your first kill, everyone. You successfully learned of death."

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""

""

They didn\'t know how to respond.

His tone was too relaxed, but his words shook them deeply.

Those digital creations they had repeatedly killed were real people.

Death had visited them in the real world, even though there was an obvious absence of injuries on their bodies.

That could only mean one thing:

Their minds were directly connected to their icons.

Every punch, kick, twist, shot, spell, and choke had been felt in a visceral way.

With each virtual death, the death of the mind came closer, until eventually all was gone.

Not one student had managed to come out of that realization unscathed, or, as Jake would crudely put it, all their cherries were popped.

Thankfully, none of them had lost control of their bladders like he did, but they weren\'t doing

much better.

While they hadn\'t fully lost their innocence yet, as these deaths fell on Emir\'s already heavy shoulders, the experience had left its mark, staining what was left with dark, coagulated blood.

Blergh!

That sound-a sudden, involuntary retch-served as the catalyst, allowing the students to finally process the grim reality of what had just happened.

"Did we really... kill them?"

"I thought it was just a simulation!"

"How could this happen? They didn\'t even look injured."

"Are we... murderers now?"

"I can\'t believe it. I didn\'t sign up for this."

"Those poor people... did they feel everything we did to them?"Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

"I... I never wanted to be a killer."

"I can\'t handle this. I just can\'t."

"I feel sick. I can\'t believe I did that."

"I can\'t get her faces out of my head."

"This is so messed up. What kind of lesson is this?"

"Is this really what it means to be a hunter?"

"Did anyone else know this would happen?"

"Doesn\'t matter, we\'re first years. How could he do this to us?"

"You would\'ve done this eventually, it\'s better that you did it early unlike us."

"Yeah, you have to live with this now. There\'s no going back."

"Right, once you do it once, the second time is always easier."

"But why didn\'t the professor tell us the truth?"

Emir listened to their reactions, his ears picking up on every word that was uttered.

The \'unnamed\' were certainly going through it, and as he expected, the second years stepped

in to help them process what happened, stopping their emotions from spiraling out of

control.

The \'named\' students, though better prepared, were not untouched by the ordeal.

Elijah and Junior, who had anticipated a similar outcome, still felt a chill run down their

spines.

"We actually... killed them."

Elijah swallowed hard, feeling a heavy weight settle in his chest.

During all his ruin dives and journeys through the wasteland, he was never once forced to kill

another human being.

His cohort had always taken on that responsibility.

But now...

Junior nodded in silent agreement and patted Elijah\'s back, offering what comfort he could.

"Sometimes there\'s no other option. I know that well..."

Aria, sitting behind them, had her usual defiance waver as she relived every strike she had

delivered.

"...F-Figures he\'d pull something like this."

In stark contrast, Max\'s reaction was explosive.

Rather than feeling saddened, he was excited, knowing that he had taken another step toward

becoming a man like his father.

"I don\'t know how this\'s allowed, but I ain\'t complaining!"

Ava though, felt the same as her blonde friend.

"Oh, fantastic. Now we\'re m-murderers too?"

Her sarcastic demeanor faltered, her tone lacking its usual bite, failing to sound nonchalant,

quivering almost.

"Just great... as if I needed another reason to hate this place."

Sofia\'s cold exterior remained mostly intact, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of shock.

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She stared at Emir, her mind racing to comprehend the full implications.

\'So, it was real-every single one of them. Just what did he go through to think this is normal?

And where did he even get that many people for us to kill?\'

This time, Arthur finally had some input as well, though it was internal and unexpectedly

muted.

\'Somehow... I\'m fine. Maybe it\'s because of those two.\'

His initial reaction wasn\'t so calm, however.

At first, he was visibly confused, evident in the furrow of his brow and the way his mouth

opened and closed as if searching for words.

After that, his eyes darted around, seeking answers in the faces of his classmates, but he

found none.

Only then did the weight of what they had done slowly settle on him, though that left him unaffected with a disconcerting sense of detachment, as if he had done nothing wrong.

[...You guys do anything?]

[Noo~.]

[Do \'anything\' about what?]

While he talked with his two AIS that tried their best to act dumb, Quinn, who sat at the

opposite end of the classroom, whispered:

"I get it now... This is what he meant by teaching us the reality of death."

Her earlier reaction was a mix of shock and cold indifference.

She did feel a pang of something, perhaps guilt, but she shoved it aside.

There was no room for emotions when the bastard was still alive.

Said "bastard" didn\'t comment on any of their reactions; he simply waited, allowing them to

let out their emotions.

This process was necessary; he knew it firsthand as he had vomited when he accidentally

killed the young \'spark\' two years ago.

It was a moment that he would never forget.

He almost smiled at the memory but stopped himself, choosing to remain composed instead.

The students didn\'t take much longer to settle down-only a few minutes-prompting Emir to pause his unfocused circulation and walk to the middle of the room. "Those you killed are prisoners. Some had committed grave crimes, but most were hunters

who couldn\'t repay their debt... They\'re not entirely bad, but are still considered \'bad\' by the UEF."

He scanned their faces, noting the relief that began to surface as they convinced themselves that they hadn\'t done anything wrong.

The guilt that had weighed heavily on some of them seemed to slightly lift as well.

\'As expected.\' Emir delayed the reveal for a reason, waiting to share it until the right moment while

carefully managing their emotions, and guiding their thoughts, simply stringing them along.

His goal wasn\'t only to grow his Puppeteer Embodiment but to shape their perceptions, making them believe that killing \'bad guys\' was justified.

And judging by their visible relief, it was clear that he had succeeded. Thankfully, the principal had allowed this, only after much discussion and negotiation of

course, as he was the one who supplied the prisoners.

Those pitiful men and women were condemned to work under the UEF for life, stripped of their rights, and treated like slaves.

This meant that killing them would be a loss to the UEF.

To compensate for that loss, Amon reimbursed them with billions of credits from his digital

pocket, declaring it as Emir\'s second reward.

It was an obvious attempt to make him feel grateful, but he shamelessly accepted it without a

word of thanks.

This conversation had taken place yesterday morning, just before Emir\'s usual homeroom

class.

Amon had mentioned a follow-up meeting, which Emir was now heading to as the class was

over.

The bell rang the moment he stepped out the door, perfectly timed as always.

But while on the way to the top floor, inside the elevator, Lyra suddenly unmuted their

channel and reported: [Nathan\'s report is in.]