Chapter 308: Hell Tree (4)
[Wi ll yo u sur vive ? ]
Due to its unique oral structure, the end of the word always ends in a high tone, making it sound like an interrogative.
But no one had enough time to worry about such small details.
<Hell Hound>
Danger Rating: B
Size: 3 meters
Found in: Red and Black Mountains, Ridge 2
-A.K.A 'the dog that drives hell'.
It brings terrible disaster to anyone it encounters, and once bitten, no one survives.
The sulfurous fire that spews from its eyes and mouth is drawn from the depths of the Oilpole Hell, and will not be extinguished until the life it has used as fuel is completely consumed.
Hellhound. A sinister beast that breathes sulfuric fire from its eyes and mouth.
The number of hellhounds charging toward the 108 students was exactly 108.
[ It's ok ay to be 100 tim es wea ker, rig ht? You gu ys are 108, th ese chil dren are al so 108, Ple ase ho ld on we ll ? ]
The fairy was twisting her body like she was going crazy with joy.
And then, an aristocratic female student who belatedly realized the situation screamed.
"Kyaahhhhh! What is that!""
The game was begun.
-Ding!
The number "108" appeared in front of everyone's eyes.
All the students realized that the number was rapidly decreasing as time went on.
'108 people survive 108 hellhounds for 108 minutes.'
This was the mission of the second floor of the basement.
"Hiii! How am I going to beat this!"
"You idiot! You don't have to fight! You win if you survive!"
"We can run and hide! This is an academy, even if it's in ruins!"
"This is where we've been living for the past few years! I know where we can hide!"
'If I could use my full power, I would form a party and fight, but it is impossible to fight against a pack of hellhounds now that I am 100 times weaker.'
"Let's go to the girls' dormitory! The roof there should be enough to keep them at bay!"
"No, we have to get into the water tank!"
"There's an underground bunker in the grocery store! The doors there are thick!"
"Let's go to the gym! There are lots of things that can be used as weapons!"
The students rushed to the places they knew best.
But there was something they overlooked.
The terrain here is subtly different from the Academy.
Everything was in ruins.
"What! Oh, the roof's collapsed! Eek! Hellhounds are coming! Jump!"
"What, the water tank is full of rotten water! We can get in, but we can't hold our breath for 108 minutes!"
"Ugh, the doors to the underground bunker are all rusted and corroded!"
"There's not a single workout machine in the gym! Damn it!"
The big terrain was the same as they knew it, but the small details were different.
The students frantically ran and hid from the swarming hellhounds.
...And one of them was Grenouille, a first-year vice leader student at the Hot Class.
"Ugh! Aaaah-"
Grenouille ran frantically, his face covered in tears, snot, and drool.
Behind him, he could hear the clashing teeth of the hellhounds.
That means they're close.
'No, you're wrong, It's hard to even escape with a body that's 100 times weaker!'
If he didn't hide somewhere right away, he would die a horrible death that would leave his body untouchable.
Then.
"Hey! Aren't you Grenouille?"
"Hey! It's dangerous! Get over here! Now!"
A voice called out for Grenouille from the side.
A girl with a slender and pretty appearance and a boy with a sturdy build and an imposing appearance.
They were Grenouille's direct seniors, second-year students of the aristocratic faction.
Grenouille's face widened when he saw their faces.
Since they are direct seniors of the aristocratic faction that raised Grenouille with care, he would not hesitate to mention their names when asked to name his closest connections.
"Come on, seniors!"
"Hurry up, you're in real danger, buddy!"
At the male student's warning, Grenouille quickly ducked his head.
Above him, the sharp claws of the Hellhound sliced through the air.
In his despair, Grenouille thought he saw a glimmer of hope.
'That's right. No matter how difficult a crisis is, we can overcome it if everyone works together!'
But the very next moment, that glimmer of hope is shattered.
...Tud!
As Grenouille came running, the female student stretched out her long leg and stepped on Grenouille.
"Huh?"
Grenouille fell to the ground without knowing what was happening.
Then he saw the senior girl and the boy ahead of him smirking.
"Sorry. I'm a little slow on my feet."
"We thought we'd get caught if we didn't bait you."
They darted forward as Grenouille fell to the ground, attracting the attention of the Hellhounds.
"...This is impossible."
Grenouille despaired.
Both the current situation and the fact that their bond outside of the tower was actually nothing.
So what was the point of all his time and connections at the Academy?
'...Have I lived wrongly?'
Grenouille looked out at the commoner students in the distance, running to help the wounded or fighting alongside them.
When Grenouille was in school, he wouldn't have even said hello to them because of their poor grades and insignificant backgrounds.
But now, they were united by the strongest bonds of motivation and comradeship.
Grenouille closed his eyes with deep regret.
He knew in his bones that the price of making the wrong friend was too high.
And then. The hounds approached.
He didn't have to look to know.
A chill.
He could feel the monstrous hounds with their terrifying teeth and claws reaching for the nape of his neck.
A hound that exudes such powerful force that Grenouille immediately gave up on life.
It bit down on Grenouille's neck with a strong, domineering force.
...Bam!
At the same time.
"What?"
Grenouille felt his body floating in the air.
He turned 180 degrees and saw the unthinkable in front of him.
"Don't stay down, get up and run."
Vikir. He grabbed Grenouille's back with his hand.
* * *
Some time had already passed.
The surviving students were hiding in various parts of the ruins.
The same was true for the boys and girls of the aristocratic faction who had run from Grenouille's feet earlier.
They slammed the doors of the grocery store shut and hid in the cellars.
"They won't find us here."
"Of course not, it's so well hidden."
The girl smirked at the boy's comment.
They talked about what had happened earlier.
"Shouldn't you feel a little sorry for him?"
"What are you sorry about? It's better than us dying."
"Yeah, but it's kind of weird that he was all red when I called him."
"He's a first year, so he's a bit naive. I only took him because he's from the Leviathan family, but ah- who cares about his status outside the tower when we're down here."
The male and female students smirked and nodded.
Just then.
[grrrr...]
From above, the Hellhounds stirred.
A single one had separated from the pack and burst through the door of the grocery store.
'Eek! Since there are no visible baits, let's search!'
'Don't worry. No one knows about this basement.'
The boys and girls crouched down, covering each other's mouths.
The hellhound slowly circled the store, scanning the area.
But when it saw nothing, it turned and started to walk out of the store.
Just then.
[...thump!]
The hellhound's eyes changed.
It immediately ran to the corner of the store and began scratching frantically at the floor.
Bukbukbukbuk-crunch!
His claws, heated by the sulfur fire, tore through the hardwood floor like paper.
Inside were a group of boys and girls with grotesque expressions.
"Ugh. How did you know!"
"Kyaahhh! You said we wouldn't be found out!"
At the same time, they realized.
The Hellhound's nose was flapping frantically.
'Wow, new Beatrice Newell! It's a limited edition perfume, and I couldn't find it because there weren't any celebrities who were said to be the king of the imperial capital!'
'Wow, this is a tobacconist's shop, with a stack of fancy cigarettes. Aren't these the cigarettes I never got around to smoking?'
'Well, maybe they're just trying to get us to relax before we get into the real game?'
And then they realize that before they hide in the basement, they've been sprayed with limited-edition perfume and smoked fine tobacco.
The Hellhounds used their keen sense of smell to pinpoint the location of students wearing perfume, cigarettes, and cosmetics, and they were in hot pursuit.
Anyone who wore even a drop of hand cream was not immune from the hellhounds' pursuit.
Meanwhile.
"...That's what it's going to be like."
"What, what? What did you just say?"
"Nothing."
Vikir looked away, watching the goings-on at the grocery store in the distance.
Behind him, Grenouille looked terrified, and in front of him was a pack of hellhounds.
The other hellhounds, who had been chasing the runaways, had caught up to Vikir.
Grenouille despaired at the dead-end alley behind them.
"Ugh! That's why I told you to go to the dormitory wing, there's plenty of places to hide in the area where my room was! You ignored me and came this way, and now you've brought all the hellhounds from everywhere!"
The hellhounds currently surrounding Vikir and Grenouille accounted for most of the total number of summoned.
With most of the Hellhounds concentrated here, the survival rate of the other students is quite high.
However, it's hard not to feel like a broken man in this harsh situation.
'I'm crazy! I shouldn't have followed this guy! I shouldn't have been so weak after all the help I got earlier...!'
Grenouille regrets his choice.
"Don't worry. There's a way out."
Vikir said simply.
Grenouille retorted in disbelief.
"There's no way, how are we going to run and hide from all these hellhounds!"
"...hide? Why hide?"
"Huh?"
Grenouille gives Vikir a blank look in response.
But Vikir is completely unfazed and replies with a nonchalant expression.
"I'll get them all."
The hellhounds here... No, all the chunks of experience.
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