My Roleplay System-Chapter 220: Flash Of Lightning

The sounds of rushed footsteps echoed loudly throughout the forest.

Students fled from the disastrous battle raging behind them.

Even now, they could still hear the thunderous explosions and feel the earth tear asunder through the soles of their feet. Some students wondered just how high-level the battle behind them had to be to wreak such havoc on their surroundings.

Nevertheless, not a single one dared to look back. Their focus remained solely on running. They were drawing near to the castle—the exam was almost over.

Unfortunately, before they could reach the perimeter, another wave of monsters ambushed them.

"ROARH!!"

Terrifying roars resounded across the forest as several Rank Two beasts appeared in droves, mowing down the escaping students.

"Shit-!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Connor barely had time to raise his spear before the impact sent him hurtling backward. Fiona materialized behind him, bracing his fall with one hand. Their eyes met, then locked onto the ram-horned beast bearing down on them.

"Come on, we’ve got to go!" Fiona urged, yanking Connor back onto his feet.

But it was too late. The ram-horned demon lowered its humanoid body onto all fours and began to gallop toward them, its fists pulverizing the ground with each thunderous step.

"RAORH!"

Connor and Fiona had already put several meters between themselves and the creature, but it closed the distance in seconds. With a shared glance—a silent, instantaneous agreement—they spun around. Connor leveled his spear; Fiona raised her sword. Together, they met the charge head-on.

BOOM!

The collision sent shockwaves rippling through the air. Connor’s arms trembled violently under the feedback; searing pain radiated from his wrists to his shoulders. The skin on his palms split open as he gripped the spear shaft, pouring every ounce of his strength into halting the creature’s advance.

Fiona wasn’t faring much better. Gritting her teeth, she held her ground against the overwhelming pressure. Under Lake’s brutal tutoring and the academy’s relentless training, both had reached High-Rank Martial Apprentice—each capable of kicking a semi-truck into a ditch. Yet the force of the ram’s charge dwarfed anything they’d faced. Staggered, they were driven back several steps, boots digging furrows into the torn earth.

They skidded to a halt more than a dozen meters away, breaths coming in ragged gasps. Just as a sliver of relief began to seep into their battered bodies—

The ram-horned demon suddenly stood upright, effortlessly knocking their weapons aside. In one fluid motion, it swung its massive arms upward with devastating force, catching both students square in the chest. The blow launched them into the air like ragdolls.

A wicked smile spread across its goat-like face as it leaped after them.

Connor’s mind raced. They hadn’t even reached the apex of their ascent when the creature reappeared beside them, arm raised for a final, crushing blow. He knew—one hit would eliminate them both.

’Damn it!’

He tried to move, to react, but his body refused to obey. Every muscle screamed in protest; his spirit wavered. As resignation washed over him, his mind filled with curses for the instructors who’d designed this nightmare—

Then—a flash.

A streak of lightning tore through the sky, moving faster than thought. It struck with surgical precision, shearing clean through the ram-horned demon’s neck. Its muscular body hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Connor and Fiona collapsed beside it, groaning as they impacted the torn earth.

A sharp curse hissed through Fiona’s teeth, swallowed by the ringing in her ears. Connor managed to roll onto his side, vision swimming, just enough to make out the figure standing where death had been a moment before.

Slightly curly black hair, eyes deep and dark as the abyss between stars. With sharp features and a slender sword held loosely in one hand, he looked less like a student and more like some fallen sword immortal from an old legend.

Connor instantly recognized him as one of his classmates, though they had rarely spoken.

"Are you two okay?"

Bradford’s voice was calm, but his eyes were already moving, tracking two more goat demons emerging from the treeline. Their vertical pupils rotated independently, and wicked smiles split their grotesque faces as they loped forward.

Without another word, Bradford’s frown deepened. He raised his sword, and silver lightning snaked down the blade, crackling with pent-up energy. Then he vanished—not in a blur, but a flash of light that left afterimages on the retina.

Crack-CRACK!

Two precise strikes. Two heads tumbled from shoulders.

Bradford reappeared behind the headless bodies, lightning still dancing across his shoulders. He didn’t bother looking back at his handiwork, his gaze instead sweeping the chaotic forest. With every new cry of alarm or burst of energy in the distance, his expression grew grimmer.

A chime echoed from their wrists, cold and impersonal.

[Number of Students Eliminated: 37.]

[Number of Students Remaining: 73.]

The numbers were dropping fast. Bradford’s jaw tightened. He’d cut a path here, trying to save whoever he could, but it was like trying to hold back a flood with his bare hands. At this rate, they’d be wiped out long before they ever saw the castle gates.

Just then, Bradford caught the sound of something fast approaching. His grip on his sword tightened by instinct, but upon recognizing the noise, he loosened immediately.

Flutter!

The rapid beating of wings buzzed in the air as Sylph’s haggard form came into view.

Her uniform was smudged with dirt, and her breaths came in short, sharp gasps. She flew straight to Connor and Fiona’s side, barely acknowledging Bradford as she knelt, her hands already glowing with soft, green-gold light as she pressed them to the worst of their injuries.

Seeing her take charge, Bradford turned his back to them, becoming their silent sentinel. He fell into a ready stance, his electrified sword humming a low threat to any who might approach.

Within seconds, the color returned to Fiona’s face and Connor’s ragged breathing evened out. In under a minute, they’d be combat-ready again.

’Her power is incredible,’ Bradford mused silently, a flicker of recognition cutting through his focus. But that flicker was quickly followed by a sharper, more analytical observation.

’Hm? She seems... different from before.’

He caught the subtle shift in her demeanor almost instantly.

Though his expression never changed, curiosity stirred within him.

’Did Lake upset her?’

The guess was surprisingly close to the truth, but Bradford left it alone. He didn’t mind helping Sylph, but he wanted nothing to do with whatever lover’s quarrel she and Lake had brewing.

What Bradford failed to notice was that, while he was watching Sylph, she was watching him as well.