Chapter 315
Student Council Trials (4)
IAM felt wind rush violently through his hair as he dropped from a height of around three metres. He barely managed to react in time, instinctively twisting his body midair before slamming painfully onto his back. A sharp grunt escaped his throat as the impact knocked the air out of him, and he rolled across the ground once before coming to a stop.
This illusion reflected his current status perfectly. As he fell, he had been no different from a normal person. Lying there, he carefully touched himself, checking for injuries and it felt nothing short of a miracle that he hadn't broken something.
After a moment, he slowly pushed himself up, wincing slightly as he steadied his breathing. Once the dull ache settled, he lifted his head and surveyed his surroundings, his eyes narrowed as he took in the unfamiliar forest around him.
…
"Geezer, I really wonder what this poor kid did to gain your ire."
The woman who controlled the formation spoke lazily as she glanced sideways at Ari.
Ari was seated comfortably on an elegant chair, her posture relaxed yet regal, exuding the unmistakable aura of a queen addressing her subjects. The light wind gently stirred her brown hair streaked with blonde highlights as she calmly observed the unfolding scene.
She lifted a teacup from the small table beside her and took a slow sip, unbothered. Around her, the other Student Council members were also seated, casually enjoying snacks as if this were nothing more than light entertainment.
All of their eyes were fixed on what appeared to be floating, mirror-like bodies of water suspended in the air. Each surface displayed a different student as they arrived within the illusionary forest, their individual situations unfolding in real time.
This feature was part of the massive path formation—one composed of approximately three hundred and twenty-seven different paths. Each path embodied certain concepts, combining together to produce effects such as layered illusions, environmental manipulation, and even the ability to peer into specific sections of the illusion itself, among many other complex functions.
"No… nothing at all. I'm not a petty person who would allow emotions to get in the way of academy business," Ari said, a blank smile resting neatly on her face.
The woman's mouth twitched.
"Requesting to make him fall from the air… isn't petty?"
"No… what are you talking about?" Ari replied smoothly. "I never asked you to do such a thing… did I?"
With pursed lips and the expression of someone far too used to exchanges like this, the woman sighed lightly before answering, "No… no you didn't. It was my mistake."
…
The trees were tall and crooked asIAM watched their twisted trunks as he moved forward, the sight making him feel as though he had stepped into an entirely different world. Low fog clung to the ground, swallowing his feet from view as he walked, the damp air brushing against his skin while his mind began to race.
The first thing that occupied his thoughts was the glaring absence of an objective.
The woman had said that death would result in automatic failure, but that alone implied that there were other ways to fail. What if someone happened to be surrounded by five experienced-level deadline creatures and died as a result? How could that possibly be evaluated fairly?
This wasn't like the academy trials, where luck was clearly a factor and the purpose was simply to filter out unsuitable students. These were Student Council trials—the goal was to select new members. What could they possibly gain from throwing candidates into such an uncontrollable situation?
It was far more likely that failure would only be automatic if someone purposefully died, or acted with blatant recklessness that showed poor judgment rather than lack of ability.
So that begged the question of how someone would actually pass or fail.
The only clues given were that there would be deadline creatures, five flags dotted randomly around the forest, and that they were even allowed to kill one another.
But that was it. Nothing else to go on. Nothing that truly helped.
As IAM pondered this while moving cautiously and slowly through the forest, he realised this trial would be many times harder for him than for the others, for the simple fact that he had to complete it as a *normal human*.
He had to be wary of prying eyes, deadline creatures, and even his fellow peers as he moved. One wrong decision and it would be game over—there would be no room for recovery if he failed to play this right.
IAM set aside the possible objectives and instead focused on the single biggest requirement he needed if he wanted to pass.
He needed protection.
He wasn't embarrassed by the thought. He needed to find at least one of the others to help protect him as they moved together. They had already said they didn't mind, and IAM wasn't so narrow-minded that he would feel above accepting help from others.
The problem was that he had no idea where any of them were. He would have to rely purely on luck. The only other possibility was to somehow convince someone else to help him, which seemed downright impossible under these circumstances.
With that in mind, IAM decided to take the high ground.
Even as a normal human, he was far more physically fit than most. Muscle was coiled beneath his skin as he grabbed hold of a tree and began to climb, moving carefully upward as the forest swallowed the ground below him.
...
Reuel found himself laid out on the ground, fog and canopy filling his vision. With a sharp yelp, he sprang up, immediately patting and brushing through his hair with his fingers, his movements frantic and irritated.
"What the hell! Why would you do this to me—this ground is filthy! My hair! My hair!!"
Resentment twisted his face as he grit his teeth, still inspecting himself, when a faint rustling sound reached his ears.
His movements froze.
The irritation vanished in an instant, replaced by a serious expression as he straightened fully. In one smooth motion, he reached back and brought his exquisitely designed spear forward, gripping it tightly as he settled into a combat stance.
The rustling grew louder.
Whatever it was...was getting closer.