Ascension: Online

Soon after, the water was all drained into the forest. Normally, this wouldn't have happened that quick given the sheer volume of the water, but I'm guessing this forest's soil had special consumption qualities. After all, the first wave of water had been absorbed quite quickly as well.

In any case, once all the water was gone, all that remained was the Turtlez's dead body. I didn't know whether it was really dead or not, so to make sure, I dropped down from the tree and moved closer to check. Just when I reached it, however, the Monster's body turned into dark shards of light and flowed into my body.

"Huh…"

[Obtained Monster Crystal (Tier VII) x1.]

[Level Up!]

[Lv. 40 -> 44.]

[You received 40 SP and 20 AP.]

My eyes widened. 4 levels from one single kill… that I didn't even try all that hard for. I was somewhat surprised that the System still counted this as my kill, when all I did was trick it into killing itself, but hey — I'm not about to complain about free XP and loot. I still didn't know what these Monster Crystals really did other than using them as proof we defeated said Monster, but I'm sure they'll come in handy later on.

I suppose now really wasn't the time to be worrying about this, though… as I noticed several pairs of hostile eyes staring into my back.

I smiled and turned around to face them.

"Why, hello. Done admiring my body?"

"… You stole our kill," a boy said, stepping forward with his eyes narrowed in hatred. "And we're going to have you return what's rightfully ours."

"Ohhh," I laughed, as if just realizing what they're talking about. "So, you're the ones who nearly got wiped out by one attack? I see, I see… you guys made for good bait, thank you."

"You…!" The boy's fists tightened in anger, but I merely continued smiling.

"Now, now… if you want to fight right here and now, I'm fine with that. But…"

I spread my arms as my allies dropped down beside me, one by one. Mei'Er, Monica, Hina-nee, Nadeshiko, Furuwa, Ming Yi, Koroth, and I — we made eight people, thus being equivalent to them in terms of numbers. However, our individual strength was a lot higher, thus making our overall power as a group higher as well.

"… You may want to reconsider before challenging us."

"Wait, you two… why are you on his side?!" The boy shrieked, pointing at Ming Yi and Koroth.

I raised an eyebrow, turning to them. "Is he…"

The two nodded and sighed. "Yeah… that guy is our team leader."

"Hm. I see. I wouldn't blame you if you were to join their side," I said to them, shrugging.

"Nah. Even if we go back now, we'll just be treated as traitors, used as bait," Ming Yi replied, which was a fair point. "In this exam, working together with your team is best, but all four team members can work individually and still collect enough points for the team to take first."

I nodded. "Definitely."

Then, turning to the group staring at us from above, I smirked.

"You heard them. Still want to fight?"

The boy had a conflicted expression on his face, but then, another disciple patted on his shoulder and spoke.

"Brother Leng, they are dangerous. My team and I were on our way to Zone A last night, but we heard the chaos inside and decided not to join in. Yet most of the people here… are survivors of that place. In other words, they decimated everybody else."

"Fufu, how unfortunate~" Nadeshiko giggled. "You should've came and joined the fun~ I would've loved to murder you too~"

"Tch…" The boy averted his gaze and fell into thought. After a few seconds, he turned back to us and folded his arms. "In that case… how about we form a deal?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Let's hear it."

"You let us live in Zone A, and in return-"

"Nope, sorry. See ya."

I turned tail and walked off, the others following me.

"Hey! You didn't even let me finish!"

"Because I don't care enough," I replied with a chuckle as I continued walking away. "Zone A is mine, and I don't trust someone who just tried killing me enough to let them in. Who knows when you'll backstab me?"

Just before I went out of their sight, however, I stopped and left behind one final message — a challenge.

"Of course… you're welcome to try and force your way in. But hey, just know: it's your funeral."

*****

After returning to Zone A that day, I called everyone allied with me to meet up in the main hall of sorts. It was a large room with a long rectangular table inside, surrounded by chairs — the perfect place to host a meeting.

"Alright… now that everyone's gathered here, I want to discuss our plans moving forward for this exam. Since we are working together here, I'd like to ask for all of your opinions. If you can convince me, I'll gladly take your suggestions. So — to start off, I want to talk about forming alliances with other groups of disciples. Should we do this or just remain as we are right now?"

"We are doing fine as it is," Furuwa said calmly. "Forming alliances comes with the risk of being stabbed in the back, just as you mentioned earlier. In fact, I think our current group is too large, even. For example…"

She turned to Monica and Mei'Er, eyeing them in suspicion. "I do not trust those two one bit."

"Well, whether you like it or not, they're useful to me," I replied. "They are staying here… though regarding your proposal about not forming any new alliances, I do agree with."

"What do you need me for, anyway?" Mei'Er asked, frowning in annoyance. "You said you would let me live if I did something for you, but you still haven't said what that something is."

"Oh, all you have to do is be a witness," I replied. "You remember when I showed you my wristwatch? Don't think I didn't realize you recorded all of that."

"W-Wha…" Her eyes widened, as if shocked I had found out.

"I'm not going to ask why, but I can tell what that necklace you're wearing does. Don't ask me how."

The real reason I knew was because the necklace, when inspected closely, actually had a camera lens within it. I had seen this last night when she was brought in front of me by Nadeshiko.

Now, I didn't know she managed to get her hands on such a thing in this world, but the technology was the same. Since Hina-nee's father was a news reporter, there were plenty of cameras around the Sakura Family's household. I was able to recognize them on sight.

"All you need to do is show that recording to certain people when I ask you to," I replied. "The only reason I didn't kill you is because I don't know whether or not I could activate that necklace myself, so keep that in mind."

"… I see. If that's all you need, then sure, I suppose."

"What about me?" Monica asked, frowning in confusion. "You said you would overthrow Elder Zhang, but how exactly will you…"

"Oh, right. You must know how to contact that bastard, right? Some sort of secret communication method?" I chuckled.

She nodded and took out a golden leaf of some sort. "After activating this, I can talk directly to him."

"I see… well, just tell him you want to see him to discuss something tonight. Once you meet, find a way to make him say what he wants you to do, exactly, and what he's offering you in return. Then… discretely record the whole conversation."

"With the necklace…?" Monica asked hesitantly.

I nodded. "Mei'Er, can you teach her how to use it?"

"Only I can activate it, but there is a workaround," Mei'Er said firmly. "I can start the recording process before you leave, thus recording the whole time until you bring it back to me. I can trim the clips, so don't worry."

Monica rubbed her chin. "I see… but how can I make him say the same thing he already told me once without seeming suspicious…?"

"That's up to you to figure out," I replied. "I can't predict how your conversation will go, so I can't help there. But even if you fail to make him say it this time, don't worry too much as long as you don't expose yourself. There will be more chances. Just remember, keeping your betrayal hidden is top priority."

She nodded in understanding. "I know. I'll do my best."

And so, with that decided, we spent the rest of the day hunting Monsters and Magic Beasts near Zone A. We came across a few teams, but they all ran away for some reason after seeing us. Having a fearsome reputation was quite nice.

For once, I was grateful for Nadeshiko being here.