...
"Look at the mess that that guy has created," commented Arthur as he looked at the chaos of the class.
Everyone was fighting one another while also dealing with the clay golems and mechanical puppets. The chaos spread through the entire field as right after Shin headed toward the strange mechanical puppet.
Arthur could not help but blame Shin for such a scene. "Tsk! Tsk! Things are always like this whenever he decides to do something."
Hearing that comment, Cloe, Leonard, and Lorraine could not help but give him a skeptical look. They knew that he was no better than Shin. In a sense, he was much worse than Shin when it came to certain situations as he always jumped in the middle of everything just to attract everyone's attention and stood in the limelight.
Understanding the gazes that they were giving him, Arthur quickly waved his head and shook his head, denying everything. "I haven't done anything yet though."
Unfortunately, his words already betrayed him. He admitted that he was much more of a troublemaker than Shin.
"We haven't said anything though," said Cloe with a smirk.
"Tsk!" Arthur could only click his tongue as he did not know how he was going to respond. He just avoided their gazes and act as if he was focusing on the mechanical puppet in front of him.
"So, what is the plan?" asked Alice as she paused her attacks to look at the field that now became a chaotic battlefield.
"Let's join the fun," blurted out Arthur, revealing his inner thoughts. And when he realized his mistake, he awkwardly smiled while clarifying himself. "I mean, we can just dump these puppets to the others and help Shin. Didn't he say that we prevent others from interfering with his fight?'
The group rolled their eyes at him after hearing his words. They then turned to one another, seemingly looking for each other's opinions.
"Let's do it. It seems like everyone is already accustomed to the restrictions that we have," said Jillian, being the first to give her opinion.
Molton and Alice nodded briefly while Lorraine seconded the opinion. "I think there shouldn't be a problem. And we will be at the advantage since our group has the greatest number of members compared to everyone."
Cloe thought for a moment before nodding her head. "Okay, let's do it."
"Then it is decided!" exclaimed Arthur as he suddenly became excited.
Fighting this mechanical puppet might improve his battle capabilities and his other aspects in battle. But it was too boring for him. He could not provoke this puppet that did not have any emotion. Instead, he would be the one who will get riled up for looking at such an expressionless face.
Leonard shook his head when he saw the excited Arthur from the corner of his eyes. He paused his movements and throw a powerful punch on the mechanical puppet to push it away before turning to the others. "Then let's draw out a plan."
...
In the meantime, Shin was rushing toward the strange mechanical puppet. He did not bother to halt his steps and even accelerated his speed when he noticed the others were also planning to do the same thing as him.
He also maneuvered his body to dodge the attacks that the others were throwing at him to slow down his advance. Unfortunately for them, his movement techniques were too fast and flexible. He could maintain his speed despite dodging their attempts to slow him down.
If they did not intercept him directly, then none of them would be able to stop him. And when that thought entered their minds, a few decided to make their move.
Dylan White and Ezio Williams were not used to working with other people since they were always alone. But given their current circumstances, it seemed like they had to do it. They could not let Shin took the first place in this competition once again, or else the gap between him and them would only grow larger.
It was the same for Diel Hendrickson and Jean Camus who were third and second on the rankings respectively.
They had a significant gap between Dylan, who was ranked fourth, and those three, so he had to prevent them from accumulating more merit points.
There was no need to ask for Ezio since he was currently ranked tenth. He had to put in more effort if he wanted to catch up with those guys at the top of the rankings.
The two exchanged glances with each other as they met on their way toward a strange mechanical puppet. Then they nodded their heads before separating and sprinting toward different locations.
Dylan's target was Shin. He had to prevent the latter from advancing and let the others deal with the rest. He was planning to sacrifice himself just to delay Shin and prevent him from accumulating more merit points.
Swoosh!
But before he could even reach his target, the sound of the air being cut apart could be heard from his side. Something was heading his way with an extreme speed and seemingly targeting him.
Without any hesitation, he quickly halted his steps before decisively turning to the side and swiftly swinging his sword.
Clang!
Sparks quickly flew in the air as his sword collided with a steel spear that was thrusting toward his way.
Then he saw Arthur, who was wearing a cheeky grin on his face. The guy was wearing an excited look while staring at him.
"Hey! You have already gotten your fill when you spar with him. It is now my turn to play with you," said Arthur as he pushed Dylan back before blocking the path leading to Shin.
He twirled his spear around as he stared at Dylan before saying. "It is our first time fighting each other in the real world, Zero. I wonder if the ranking will be the same."
Being addressed by his in-game name, Dylan could not help but raise his brows a little while staring at Arthur. He then shook his head and smiled bitterly as he was quite familiar with the in-game persona of this person despite not knowing each other here in the real world.
He then gave Arthur a smirking look before saying. "But I am still ranked higher than you, though."
The cheeky expression on Arthur's face immediately disappeared when he heard those words. It was true that Dylan had a higher rank than him in the class ranking. He was only fifth while the other was ranked fourth.
He then slightly lost his cool and refuted. "You are only ahead of me by two hundred points! Stop talking as if the gap between us is that huge!"
"Reasons," muttered Dylan with a soft and quiet voice. It was as if he did not want Arthur to hear it but he purposely focused his voice and directed it to the latter, so that it would not be affected by the noise in the surroundings.
The expression that Arthur had immediately turned dark. He then raised the spear in his hand and pointed it at Dylan. "Let's just get this started. I will teach you that it is going to be different here in the real world."
…
On the other place, Ezio was targeting Jean Camus, who was currently ranked second in the class rankings. But just like Dylan, he was also intercepted – Thomas Brook was currently standing in front of him and blocking his path.
He knew that it was not going to be easy to fight a fellow assassin in their current situation and setting. Since they were currently in an open field, there was no place for them to hide, nor a shadow that they could use.
It was going to be hard for him since he would not be able to showcase his real capabilities, but it was the same for his opponent, so it would still be fine.
At the same time, Simone Bartolomeo was currently engaged in an intense battle with Falcon Hawkins. Their battle quickly started right after they encountered each other. They did not even hesitate as they immediately unleashed their powers right from the start.
…
Jean Camus and Diel Hendrickson were currently standing across each other, not showing any intention of moving further.
"It looks like our time arrived faster than we expected," said Jean Camus while crossing his arms.
Diel Hendrickson shook his head and said. "I am guessing that you are also been sent here. I wonder what task your master has given you."
"I you tell me what your organization is planning, then I will not have a problem sharing it with you," replied Jean while wearing a crafty smile.
Diel shook his head and sighed before taking out a couple of talismans from his dimensional bag. "Let's just fight and finish this up. I have no plan on maintaining the rank right below yours."
"Still can't accept the fact that I am better than you, huh? Give me your best shot then," replied Jean while gesturing to Diel to come at him.
…
The class started taking on different opponents while the rest were left to deal with the clay golems and mechanical puppets.
But Shin was not concerned about them. He was currently standing in front of the strange mechanical puppet, starting at it with a curious yet cautious gaze.
After starting at it for a couple of moments, he started walking forward while placing his left hand on the pair of sheathed katanas on his waist.
He also circulated his Mental Energy around his body, making his body release a golden glow that resembled a dancing flame. His eyes released a golden glow as he used his 'True Sight' ocular skill alongside the release of his Spiritual Sense.
The intelligent mechanical puppet stared at Shin calmly before jumping down from the boulder that it was standing on. It extended its arm out of its cloak, revealing that it now transformed into a steel blade.
It then raised its head and looked Shin straight in the eyes, sending an intense shiver down Shin's spine.
Shin tightened his grip over his katana as the expression on his face turned even more serious.
...…
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