"Don't stop running!"
"We can't do this anymore!"
"Whatever you do, don't stop running! We're bound to run into another group. Just don't stop running!"
Gran Expatrio is a middle-aged man who had been unanimously assigned as the team leader of their three-man team. He had no idea that his team members were actually proficient as support, and they were completely useless when it came to offense.
Of course, they had skills that enabled them to survive, but with the three-man team, they had to balance defending and attacking. They couldn't just focus on one side and pray that it would work out. After all, the entities were all-rounders as well, excelling in both offense and defense.
And by a stroke of bad luck, Gran Expatrio was actually a Disciple focusing on speed— which meant that his attack speed was outstanding but his offensive throughput was severely lacking.
In any case, it didn't take long before their group fell apart, and the entities overwhelmed them. It hadn't even been a couple of hours and their defenses had already been compromised.
Which led to the current scenario of three people gunning it through the forest. Gran Expatrio led the way while the two healers behind him struggled to keep up with him. He couldn't believe that these two people were actually Disciples.
Then again, the moment he arrived at the training camp, he also realized how he was at the bottom of the barrel. On his planet, he was one of the strongest, the fastest superhero to ever live. But here, there were people who were much faster than him, and it really dealt a sizeable blow to his pride.
Simply put, he also couldn't believe that someone like him was a Disciple as well. After all, he was too low-leveled compared to the other Disciples.
"Do you have your tamed beasts with you?" Gran Expatrio asked his teammates.
"I know this would sound stupid but... I only have a tamed beast that boosts my healing abilities. He won't be of help in our escape." One of his teammates answered.
"I... left mine at the dorms." The girl on their team whimpered as she continued. She was already out of breath, but she pushed forward, fully aware that they'd fail the test if one of them fell into the hands of the entities.
Even though they knew at the back of their minds that they won't die at the hands of the entities, they still ran as if their lives depended on it. In hindsight, their lives really did depend on it. They might not die, per se, but there was a good chance they'll be gravely injured by those entities that resembled man-eating monsters.
"Come on!" Gran thought of using his mammoth tamed beast as their ride out of there, but he knew just how slow his mammoth was so put the thought at the back of his mind.
The three of them ran with bated breaths, trying to figure out what to do before their exhaustion caught up to them. Hopelessness was beginning to fill them up with every step they took. Their consciousness even dwindled for a moment due to how physically taxing it was to run away from the entities.
One might ask why they didn't just use their superpower or something like that. But they've already exhausted their energy reserves and if they use them all up right now, they won't last until the third day.
It was either giving up now or holding on until they ran out of options. Of course, they would choose the latter since this was a survival test that they needed to pass no matter what. They were Disciples, the best of the best, if they couldn't survive such a test, then they don't belong here— or so that's what occurred in their minds while they were running for their lives.
From a distance, the three of them saw a billow of smoke slowly rising up into the sky— a sign of danger or a sign that someone was camping nearby.
Judging from the calm smoke, they immediately assumed that another team had fallen prey to the hands of the entities. If the smoke was big and heavy, then it was indicative of a struggle. But the smoke that they saw was so calm and that could only mean one thing.
It was a remnant of a team that was completely wiped out by the entities.
"We can't go there!" Gran screamed at his two teammates as he steered from their straight path. He knew that they won't see anything there, just plain debris and ruin. That's why he advised the other two to follow him as he headed the other way.
However, the other two had a different idea. Even though they were exhausted, and that there was nothing they could do except wait for exhaustion to overtake them, they turned towards the direction of the smoke and headed towards it.
The guy who was the second team member of the team almost tripped on a tree root and one of the entities almost pounced on his back. Fortunately, he dodged it in the nick of time and he let his momentum carry him forward. "Someone out there might need our help! We're going in no matter what, Gran."
"Yeah, if we can't survive this test, then we should at least save someone and help them out so they could pass it in our stead. We're not going to leave them out there to suffer." The girl, who was the third member of the team, agreed with the guy and they both headed to the smoke.
Left with no choice, Gran grunted as he too followed right behind the two. Despite their lack of options, they still chose to help someone instead of running for their lives. They were truly the epitome of support superheroes— putting others' lives first before theirs.
"Fine, but if that's where we end up failing, then don't blame me, all right?" Gran called out to them, conceding as he went with their decision. "I'll provide support, buy you a couple of seconds while you aid those who need help."
Forcing a smile on his face, Gran quickened his pace as they found a new purpose in this survival test. "If we're going out, then might as well go out helping someone, right?" He said, voicing out the ideal of the other two. A moment ago, he disagreed with them, but he was affected by their selflessness and it changed his mind.
"Right!"
"Right!"
Physically, they were drained, but their energy was renewed when they thought of saving people. It didn't even occur to them that right now, they were leading a group of entities to a group which they were supposed to help... that is, if there were still survivors in that area.
But what they saw from a distance was something else entirely.
It was a huge entity, as big as a two or three-story building. But that wasn't the weirdest part of it. The huge entity was actually attacking the other entities, flinging them everywhere and eliminating them from this life with ease.
From the corner of their eyes, they saw a group of three people gathered around a campfire. The difference between the area around the campfire compared to the outer area was like the difference between heaven and earth.
On one side, there were three people casually talking over fire while eating a newly-cooked stew. And on the other, there was the huge entity protecting the group from the other entities, massacring them without mercy.
"What's going on?" Gran asked while the other two shook their heads in puzzlement.
They rushed here, putting their lives on the line, only to find the weirdest situation they could possibly encounter.
As if they were waiting for them, Lucy actually approached the group, welcoming them to their camp while directing them to join them. "We saw you running from afar, we thought you needed help," Lucy commented as she gestured for the three of them to sit with them around the campfire.
"What's going on?" Gran asked as his eyes wandered towards the huge entity that was soloing all the other entities. It was truly a sight to behold, something that would be imprinted in his mind for a long time even as a Disciple.
"We thought you needed help so we came running after you. I'm Gretel Grimoire." The girl promptly introduced herself. "And this is my brother, Hansel."
"Wait, you're siblings?" Gran exclaimed. He had no idea that the two were actually siblings. It did strike him as odd that they have an uncanny resemblance with each other.
"Twins." Gretel corrected.
"But what's going on? Who's superpower is that?" Hansel asked, pointing at the huge entity that kept on flailing its appendages and knocking all the other entities out of the way.
"You should ask him, even we don't understand what kind of superpower that was." Bruce casually shrugged, jerking a thumb towards Satoshi who was quietly eating a bowl of stew.
"Hmm?" Satoshi mumbled, cluelessly looking at Bruce and Lucy while they stared straight back at him.
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