player POV-Chapter 73: The meeting once again 3

Zion’s Point of View

Zion stood frozen in place, unable to move, after Alexander the Red accused Rion. He had not yet recovered from his shock, nor had he been given the chance to even comprehend what had happened, before he heard Lina’s voice screaming at the top of her lungs—a scream filled with rage, pain, and sorrow—as she charged madly toward Alexander the Red.

"Spit Rion out alive, you filthy snake!"

She rushed toward him blindly, without thought or hesitation. She saw nothing but him; her emotions had completely taken control of her. Alexander the Red looked at her for a brief moment, a cold gaze devoid of any expression, then spat his venom directly at her.

The venom shot toward Lina at tremendous speed.

She could not evade it; she had charged toward him too quickly and had completely dropped her guard because of her emotions at that moment. The venom was about to strike her, and only a single instant remained before it touched her body.

But at that moment, an ice wall suddenly appeared in front of her, preventing the venom from hitting her. The wall did not last long, as it began to dissolve after blocking the attack, but Lina had already retreated backward safely.

She quickly raised her gaze to see who had created the ice wall, and she saw Silvar staring at her with a steady look. Silvar spoke in a calm voice, directing his gaze at her.

"You must control your emotions. And Rion is already dead. If you want to follow him, you can do so after we survive this place. At that time, you can kill yourself however you like, and no one will stop you then."

Lina did not listen to Silvar’s words at first, and tears began to gather in her eyes against her will. She looked around at the place and saw that everyone was in bad condition, and that death could reach any of them at any moment.

After witnessing the scene around her, she forced herself to control her emotions. She raised her hand and wiped the tears from her eyes with her right palm, then lifted her head again and cast a cold, hatred-filled gaze toward Alexander the Red...

Zion sighed in relief after Silvar saved Lina, feeling as if a weight that had been pressing on his chest had been temporarily lifted. But that relief did not last long, as his expression darkened slightly when he heard the harsh words Silvar had directed at her.

He could have been kinder in his words to her... Zion thought silently as he watched Lina’s reaction. But at least he made her regain her composure, I suppose. So... he did a good job, didn’t he?

He had barely finished his thoughts when the ground beneath them suddenly shook—a violent tremor that threw everyone into confusion. Zion felt the earth rise slightly, as if it were angrily convulsing, and in the next moment massive stone pillars emerged from its depths, causing some of the students to lose their balance and fall or stagger where they stood.

But it did not end there.

The ground beneath their feet began to change in a horrifying way, gradually transforming into something resembling sharp spikes—solid protrusions capable of stabbing anyone to death without mercy. The sight was enough to plant terror in the hearts of the remaining students.

Fear grew within everyone, a suffocating fear that crept into their chests, and at that moment there was only one thought circling in all of their minds: We are doomed to die... all of us.

The thought repeated madly inside their heads, to the point that some students wished for death itself just so this nightmare would end, so they would not have to endure any more terror. But their instincts would not allow it; no matter how much a person may wish for death in a moment of despair, deep down they do not want to die.

They felt this harsh contradiction clearly, which made them resist despite everything, clinging to life with the faint hope that luck would open its doors for them and they would survive this disaster.

...

Zion ran swiftly across the stone pillars, heading toward Alexander the Red. He raised his sword in an arc before him, then began spinning his body at a frenzied speed, until he resembled a bullet heading straight for Alexander the Red’s right eye.

Alexander the Red watched Zion carefully, and as the latter approached, he spat venom in his direction. The venom shot toward Zion at an astonishing speed, but he didn’t even flinch, as he had anticipated this from the beginning. Zion continued his attack without stopping, until the venom was just a few centimeters away from him.

At that moment, an icy path twisted into a circular loop around the venom, with the starting point of the path in front of Zion, allowing him to climb onto it. He spun along the loop around the venom, carrying his body steadily, while the sharp ice slightly cut him as he slid, though he felt no pain thanks to his body’s skillful indifference.

With each rotation around the venom, Zion’s speed grew insanely, and he launched toward Alexander the Red at an incredible velocity. Alexander the Red was surprised by Zion’s speed; he did not have enough time to evade the strike aimed at his right eye. Zion pierced his eye with precision, his body passing from one side to the other, covered in a sticky fluid from the wound, but he paid it no mind, as his plan had succeeded perfectly in hitting Alexander the Red.

A deafening scream erupted from Alexander the Red, so loud that everyone present covered their ears, trying to shield themselves from the piercing, painful sound. They froze for a moment while the echo of the scream reverberated throughout the place. After a few moments, Alexander stopped screaming, slowly lifted his head, his eye still blazing with anger, staring directly at Zion as if it alone could burn him.

Zion stood firmly on one of the stone pillars, his body tense, eyes observing the furious serpent before him. A sense of satisfaction crept into his heart, for he had succeeded in executing the plan, and all that remained now was one final touch to complete the mission and finish what he had started. He took a deep breath and slowly, calmly gestured with his fingers toward Silvar and the rest of those present.

The attack he had executed moments earlier had also been a signal to Silvar to create an ice path, and everyone understood the signal immediately, nodding before beginning the execution.

Several rocks rushed toward Zion at a terrifying speed, but he managed to avoid them with a precise circular movement. However, one shard of rock was heading straight for his head, and there was no time to dodge it. Still, Zion felt no need to react because he noticed an arrow heading toward the shard; it struck the shard before it could change course. The arrow had been shot by Alisa.

Zion placed his feet on a tree to gain a strong push and launched forward at incredible speed. But he was not rushing alone; Lina was running beside him.

Alexander the Red crawled toward them at a terrifying speed, opening his mouth, ready to release his venom. But at that moment, violet threads shot toward his open mouth like lightning, exploding inside it, preventing the venom from launching and forcing it back into his throat. Alexander felt pain and anger and looked at Gina, who had attacked him.

Gina was in a bad state; standing had become difficult for her after she had used all her remaining fangs in the last attack, and she was breathing extremely hard. Zion glanced at her for a moment, then directed his gaze forward.

Alexander the Red crawled toward them angrily, hurling several rocks in their direction. Zion and Lina blocked these attacks with their swords, but they paused for a moment, which made Alexander think this was his chance to eliminate them. He lunged toward them, but fell into a trap that Zion had prepared from the beginning.

A bluish-purple arrow shot swiftly from between the rocks Alexander had launched, striking his remaining eye, causing him to scream in rage and retreat backward. At that moment, Alexander lost his balance because he was crawling on the ice that Silvar had created from the start, causing him to fall to the ground and triggering a massive explosion.

Zion and Lina then rushed forward, their swords radiating their maximum power; Zion’s sword gleamed with gold, and Lina’s sword radiated black...

The Impact

The attack struck Alexander the Red, leaving a long wound across his body, with blood gushing profusely, while he staggered backward, though he had not yet fallen completely.

Lina fell to the ground, breathing heavily, her body drenched in sweat. She tried to rise, but collapsed again, as her body had reached its absolute limits. She was not alone; both Silvar and Alisa had also reached their maximum limits, having exhausted all their strength in the previous attack.

"Damn..." Zion clicked his tongue for a moment, directing his gaze at Alexander the Red, who was struggling to stand after sustaining a serious injury. Zion thought: All I have to do is launch one final attack, and then everything will end. He raised his sword before him, determined for the decisive moment.

But suddenly, a sharp pain surged through his entire body, and he fell to the ground, vomiting blood from his mouth, his consciousness beginning to fade. His body’s "indifference skill" had ended, and the pain returned in full force, crippling him. Zion muttered to himself: Damn... if I lose consciousness now, everything will be over... all of us will be finished. He tried to get up again, but failed.

At that moment, Alexander the Red crawled toward him, despite losing his sight; he had become reliant on his sense of smell to track Zion’s scent. The serpent was now right in front of Zion, opening its mouth to attack him.

"Am I going to die here? What about my revenge? Damn it, I won’t allow it... Move, damn body!" Zion thought internally, but he couldn’t move a single muscle. Alexander was about to strike, when suddenly... he stopped, His stomach swelled unnaturally, then exploded, scattering his flesh across the area like a waterfall.

Rion suddenly appeared in the explosion site, his eyes purple, staring at Zion for a moment in a gaze so cold that Zion’s body trembled. Sweat poured over Zion’s body, but after a moment, Rion’s eyes returned to normal, and he collapsed unconscious beside Zion.

A moment of silence passed, then a mechanical voice echoed through the place:

[One C-class monster has been eliminated. All remaining teams have successfully passed the test. The test is now over, and the remaining students will be transferred immediately.]