WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 37: Alice’s Nightmare (2)

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About twelve hours had passed since the practical training began.

We were making our way through a dense forest.

With greenery growing thick all around us, our visibility was limited.

Rustle!

Monsters lay hidden throughout the woods.

We pressed forward, fending off their ambushes.

“Sir Viktor! They’re coming from behind too!”

A brief cry rang out.

A few wolf-like monsters charged at us.

Hideous fangs. They were closing in fast.

There were seven of them, perhaps because they hunted in packs.

-Kyaaaak!

-Woof! Woof!

But I didn’t flinch in the slightest.

“I’ll handle them.”

I quietly raised my scythe.

A pocket watch rested in my palm.

Click.

The moment I pressed the button, everything in view slowed.

It was like watching a scene in slow motion.

I leaped lightly and swung my dark crimson scythe.

‘Parry.’

Whoosh!

I narrowly deflected its attack, sending the wolf’s bite off in an absurd direction.

The wolf was knocked away without knowing what had happened.

-Yelp...!

It hung suspended in midair.

Keeping my scythe trained on it, I murmured,

“Activate. Thorns.”

Shhk, stab!

A single thorn shot from the tip of my scythe.

It pierced the wolf’s heart.

The monster went limp and collapsed.

-Grrr...!

-Kyaaaak!

The remaining creatures rushed at me, but the result was much the same.

The pocket watch clicked in my hand again and again.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Each time I pressed the button, another monster was reduced to pulp by thorns.

Only after dealing with the last one did I let out a breath.

Sweat had beaded inside my mask.

“Phew...”

My overall stats were E-rank.

Maybe my body just couldn’t keep up, but I ran out of energy especially quickly.

Even this much movement had left me short of breath.

As I stood there catching my breath, my teammates approached.

“Sir Viktor!”

“Ah... Miss Ranne.”

“We’ve finished up over here! I never expected them to attack in such a large pack...”

“I’ve cleared my side as well. Still, we raked in a lot of points at once.”

“That’s thanks to you, Sir Viktor! Those movements were incredible!”

“It’s just a small trick. More importantly, is everyone all right? Is anyone hurt?”

“I’m fine!”

“M-Me too...”

Ranne was as spirited as ever, while Alice seemed somewhat intimidated.

Neither appeared to be hurt.

I checked the crystal ball.

[Monster ‘Juglin Wolf’ defeated.]

[You have obtained 20 points.]

[Monster ‘Juglin Wolf’ defeated.]

[You have obtained 20 points.]

[Monster ‘Juglin Wolf’ defeated.]

[You have obtained 20 points.]

[Monster ‘Juglin Wolf’ defeated.]

[You have obtained 20 points.]

.

.

.

[Points accumulated so far: 1872]

We were already nearing 2,000 points.

All that diligent hunting had paid off.

Ranne’s performance had helped too.

A runner-up was a runner-up for a reason. Every one of her attacks packed impressive power.

‘Well... she is the protagonist.’

It felt strange to be impressed by that all over again.

Alice, on the other hand, had done nothing.

Rather than hunting, she had stayed at the back, trembling.

“Miss Alice. You don’t look well.”

“N-No... It’s just, I-I’m sorry. I haven’t done anything...”

“It’s all right.”

Of course, I’d brought her along knowing this would happen.

Alice wanted to hide her abilities.

No, it was more accurate to say she had to hide them.

The girl feared her power leaking out into the world.

‘Certainly...’

Uncontrolled power.

Trauma.

Nightmares.

The third calamity that would one day descend upon the continent.

The gateway that would bring the girl’s nightmare into reality.

‘Wonderland.’

It was power nobody could bear, not just her.

If it ever went out of control, it wouldn’t end with an ordinary accident.

‘Of course... it’ll be fine if I’m with her.’

As I mulled things over, I tapped the crystal ball in my hand.

A ranking window appeared on its screen.

It showed the current point standings.

[Point Collection Status]

1st Place - 3903 points (Team Leader: Rin Glacia)

2nd Place - 2140 points (Team Leader: Gelik Rriboot)

3rd Place - 2031 points (Team Leader: Ruska Venity)

4th Place - 2000 points (Team Leader: Zenorine Kymbet)

5th Place - 1872 points (Team Leader: Viktor)

.

.

.

[Total Teams: 51]

‘Things are going smoothly.’

We had already entered the top five.

Other than the overwhelmingly dominant first-place team, everyone else was neck and neck.

The rankings kept shifting as they fought for position.

‘First place is impossible, but I think second is within reach.’

I quietly checked the first-place team.

Its team leader was Rin Glacia.

The top student of Class A.

She was the girl who had crushed Ranne by an overwhelming margin on the entrance exam.

‘Her score keeps shooting up too.’

That side was clearly in a league of its own.

Of course, if I gathered every bug I could find, it wouldn’t be impossible...

‘There’s no reason to exhaust myself.’

A sub-quest had appeared, but that was only secondary.

What really mattered was the incident that would soon break out during the practical training.

That was why I was moving in the first place.

‘Two hours left.’

Two hours until the incident.

It was about time to head to the point.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes!”

“Y-Yes...”

I led my teammates toward the heart of the forest.

A blue window floated before my eyes.

[Sub Quest]

-Title: If You’re Going to Do It, Do It Properly!

-Details: Place third or higher in the practical training.

-Penalty upon Failure: None

-Reward: Consumable Item ‘Very Stealthy Necktie (B-)’

[Time Limit: Until the practical training ends]

“Hmm...”

How should I put it?

I did have some lingering regrets.

Maybe it was because I kept checking the rankings.

‘The quest only says I need to place in the top three...’

But quests like these had a concept called overachievement.

If I finished the practical training in first place, there was a good chance I’d receive a [Bonus Reward] on top of the originally planned reward.

That was how it had been in the original work.

An extra reward for a perfect clear.

‘I’m curious what it would be...’

Of course, I had no intention of getting distracted.

Even if I started hunting other students now, there wouldn’t be enough time.

And targeting the top teams would be far too wasteful of our strength.

Well, unless the lower-ranked teams came rushing over to donate their points while begging me to catch them...

‘Tch... as if that would happen.’

I could only smack my lips in disappointment.

It couldn’t be helped.

Chasing two rabbits could leave me with neither.

‘This is the right choice.’

I reassured myself and crossed the forest.

Just as we nearly reached our destination, Ranne, who had been walking beside me, suddenly stopped.

Her purple eyes swept across the surroundings as though she had sensed something.

“Sir Viktor.”

“Miss Ranne?”

“I believe we’ve been surrounded.”

Rustle.

People quietly emerged from the bushes, blocking our path.

There were many of them.

Around thirty, perhaps.

That made about ten teams.

“Well...”

I turned around, but the path we had taken was blocked too.

There was no escape route.

I looked forward again.

Had they formed an alliance among themselves?

Or perhaps they had been one team from the start...

As I thought it over, someone who seemed to be their leader stepped forward.

“Viktor.”

The face looked vaguely familiar.

I tilted my head and asked,

“Hmm? You know my name.”

“Of course I do...! How could we possibly not know your name?”

“I’m sorry, but who are you...?”

“Ha! Are you going to pretend you don’t remember just to show off?”

“...”

No.

Who are you?

I really don’t know.

“We came to repay the humiliation you inflicted on us!”

“Humiliation...?”

“Are you going to keep pretending? The Freshman Welcome Test was only a week ago! Or are you afraid? Where did all that nerve go, when you so boldly provoked our Class C?”

“Ah.”

Now I remembered.

The Class C students.

The ones who had gleefully mocked Class E during the Freshman Welcome Test.

They were Shariel’s lackeys, the ones I had knocked unconscious on the spot.

It had only been a week ago, but so much had happened lately that I’d forgotten.

“Ha! Now you finally look like you remember!”

“My apologies. I’m not very good at remembering weak people...”

“Ghk, ngh...! You’re arrogant to the end! Let’s see how long you can keep smiling like that!”

“I naturally look like I’m smiling. More importantly, where is Lady Labriell?”

“Lady Shariel isn’t here! She went to Purgatory for her practical training!”

“Oh?”

“Only the rest of us came here to meet you today!”

Shing, click, thud.

The Class C students pulled weapons from their sleeves.

Their eyes, filled with vengeance, locked onto me.

“Lady Shariel said we should let it go, but we can’t accept that!”

“How dare you humiliate Lady Shariel like that! We came to take revenge for her!”

“Ever since she was defeated by you, Lady Shariel has changed.”

“She’s lost the spirit she once had!”

“We don’t know what you did to her, but we’ll crush you and raise Lady Shariel’s spirits again!”

They went on and on about their circumstances.

A story too tragic to hear without tears.

They truly were loyal retainers of this age.

To come rushing over in a group for their dispirited liege...

“Ehehe...!”

I couldn’t help but smile broadly.

The corners of my mask’s mouth split as if they might reach my ears.

Dark crimson mist spread through the forest.

“Everyone.”

Exactly nine teams.

I pointed my scythe at the students.

I never expected things to work out this well.

“You all have 300 points each, right?”

First place was mine.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest.

A girl walked between the bushes.

“...”

Her blue hair was a mysterious shade.

Her eyes seemed devoid of emotion.

Her features were so sharp they felt almost pointed.

She was beautiful enough to make anyone, man or woman, stop breathing for several seconds.

The corpses of mercilessly slaughtered monsters lay scattered around her.

Click.

A pure white blade slid into its sheath.

A frigid wind, unfitting for the season, swept through the air.

Snowflakes fluttered down from above.

The girl’s presence seemed capable of freezing the entire hunting ground.

“Haah...”

Her breath bloomed like a flower.

The girl’s name was Rin Glacia.

She was the most overwhelmingly gifted first-year top student in Grandia Academy’s history.

“...”

Rin was alone.

She didn’t bother looking after her teammates.

From the moment the practical training began, she had acted on her own.

Every time her winter-laden sword swung, dozens of monsters were swept away helplessly.

Shhhhk!

She didn’t seem to tire and didn’t even take breaks.

She simply slaughtered monsters like a machine.

‘The rankings...’

Perhaps the thought had suddenly occurred to her.

Rin took a crystal ball from her pocket.

Thick white frost had formed along its smooth surface.

‘...I should be in first place.’

The result was obvious, but she activated the screen to confirm it anyway.

After flickering several times, the rankings appeared before her.

Rin scanned the chart with emotionless eyes.

But then,

“...?”

She couldn’t help but pause after seeing the result.

The rankings displayed on the screen completely defied her expectations.

[Point Collection Status]

1st Place - 5839 points (Team Leader: Viktor)

2nd Place - 4394 points (Team Leader: Rin Glacia)

3rd Place - 2531 points (Team Leader: Ruska Venity)

.

.

.

[Total Teams: 51]

Instead of Rin, Viktor’s name stood in first place.

His score was 1,500 points ahead of hers.

The blue-haired girl came to a stop.

“...What?”

Her cold eyes froze over.

Footnotes:

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