Chapter 36: Just a Little Water Play "What in the world…"
Akito stared blankly at the sight of a massive inferno swallowing the island.
Small animals scrambled to escape the flames, and trees, glowing a brilliant crimson, collapsed toward him.
Slash—
The sound rang out only once, but in that brief moment, Kurumi had swung her blade multiple times, carving the burning tree into pieces. She turned to Akito and shouted.
"Lord Akito! We cannot stay here!"
"Brother, we have to evacuate to the sea immediately. Using magic to hold out will consume too much mana."
As Shiori blasted a path forward with a massive torrent of water, Akito snapped back to his senses and began to run with the group.
"Did Yggdrasil prepare this too? There's still quite a bit of time left until the end."
"That doesn't matter right now. Just focus on what's in front of you."
Shiori snapped at Ailee, rebuking her for the question.
The members of Akito's Team 7 weren't exactly fond of Shiori and Kurumi. After forcing their way into the group, the two were now acting as if they had been part of Akito's team from the start, subtly ignoring or trying to boss the others around.
Angelica, being timid, couldn't voice her thoughts, but Ailee scowled, on the verge of venting her frustration.
"Ah, Akito, thank you. You're so wonderful—"
Before Ailee and Shiori could clash, Emma's coquettish voice intervened. Claiming she had injured her ankle earlier, she was currently being carried by Akito, doing everything she could to be a nuisance.
Shiori, who lived only for Akito, and Ailee, who had developed feelings for him during this exam, both glared at Emma as she clung to him, pressing her breasts against him shamelessly.
"That bitch…" Shiori muttered through gritted teeth.
Ailee, sharing the sentiment, forgot the argument and kept running.
In this fragile symbiosis, Team 2 and Team 7 broke through the flames and reached the shore.
Boom! Crash!!
Even the shoreline, untouched by fire, wasn't safe. With the habitable area shrinking, students were forced to cross paths. By the time Akito arrived, others were already locked in combat.
"Should we attack?"
"No, wait. No matter what happens, you mustn't attack."
"Brother, it's dangerous!"
Akito stopped Ailee, who was preparing a spell the moment she spotted the others, and dove straight into the center of the fierce battle. He stepped between two clashing blades, blocking them both.
"Wait… can you stop fighting and listen to me? Amagi-san… it is Amagi-san, right? And you're Jessica from Class B."
"Daihara…"
Shizuka stared at Akito, who had easily parried her blade, before taking a step back. Jessica, who had been locked in a death match with her, watched Akito and Shizuka in silence before relaxing her stance and lowering her sword.
Both girls were wary of Akito, who had intervened and blocked both their attacks with such ease.
"Everyone is going to gather here because of the fire. I was worried things would get too heated."
"We have to fight for the exam anyway, don't we?"
"Yes, it's an exam. But we're classmates at Yggdrasil, not enemies. If we keep this up, it'll just turn into a scene of madness and slaughter."
As Akito spoke with a wry smile, Jessica's expression turned indifferent. She thought his words were idiotic, yet she felt strangely persuaded. She looked over at Shizuka, who remained silent.
"Hmm~ Could you tell me in a bit? I'll listen after I finish her off quickly."
"…I find myself agreeing with that sentiment."
"Wait! I'm asking you. Please, just for a moment, don't fight."
The two girls stared at Akito as he bowed deeply and defenselessly, pleading with them. After a brief glare at each other, they reverted their weapons back into sticks. Even as they disarmed, they couldn't understand why they were following Akito's lead.
Their teammates had already been eliminated in the previous skirmish; only Shizuka and Jessica remained.
Soon, more students emerged from the flames. Akito approached the wary newcomers and proposed a temporary truce.
"Honestly, Brother is too kind for his own good."
"With Lord Akito's character, it can't be helped."
If Yeon-woo had been there, he would have been gagging in disgust, but the heroines watched Akito's back with proud smiles as he persuaded the students.
As the number of non-combative students grew into a large crowd, the burning forest in the distance parted. A woman with long, refreshing sky-blue hair emerged, laughing alongside her exhausted teammates.
"What's this? Are you guys having a party? Fireworks are always fun, after all."
"Park Yu-jeong…"
Kurumi frowned as she recognized her. Despite her bright and cute appearance, her personality was unpredictable and free-spirited—the polar opposite of Kurumi, who valued self-restraint. In Kurumi's personal estimation, Park Yu-jeong was of the same breed as the filthy, petty, frivolous trash that was Seo Yeon-woo.
Akito stepped forward again to explain the situation. Park Yu-jeong listened with a bright smile and a cute tilt of her head before clutching her stomach and laughing out loud.
"Ahahaha! You guys are seriously hilarious."
"… …"
"You think the teachers did this? No. There's someone else who did it."
"Someone set the fire?"
"Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes. I'm sure you Class A students know him well?"
A madman capable of setting the entire island on fire. And from Class A.
At Park Yu-jeong's words, every student gathered there—not just those from Class A—thought of the exact same person.
"Seo Yeon-woo? That bastard again? Why?"
"Who knows? Maybe he was bored because everyone was so desperate to survive. I was getting a bit bored myself."
Park Yu-jeong answered a student's question while scanning her surroundings.
"So, are you not going to fight?"
Even though her teammates were exhausted and Akito was backed by a crowd of students, Park Yu-jeong showed no fear. Shiori, wary of the girl's reputation and skill, spoke quietly.
"If that man is the one who set the fire, then he has declared war on all of us."
"Heh—so that's the angle you're taking."
"…That man is so pathetic that he can't do anything without these kinds of dirty tricks. He's a cowardly man who picks a fight with everyone and then tries to dodge the responsibility."
Ignoring Park Yu-jeong, Shiori continued to incite the students.
"This isn't the end. The exam lasts until the 7th day, but it only truly ends on the 8th. Now that the island is burned, we have nothing left to eat. That man ruined the exam for everyone just for his own greed."
"That's right! Last time, he just did a suicide attack with Angelica! He only ever uses cheap tactics!"
"Why should we fight among ourselves just like he wants? Aren't you angry? We are the great students of Yggdrasil. We shouldn't be toyed with by such cowardly schemes."
"He needs to be taught a lesson so he never does this again."
"Akito! We'll help too. Let's take that guy out first."
One by one, more students joined in, their voices growing louder. Angelica kept her mouth shut, looking uncomfortable as the incident from the entrance ceremony test was brought up. Once the majority consensus shifted toward punishing Seo Yeon-woo, Shiori looked at Park Yu-jeong.
"Will you help as well?"
"Hmm—hunting a raccoon hiding in a burrow sounds fun. And you're quite…"
Park Yu-jeong trailed off, agreeing to cooperate. She had been about to say that Shiori was just as petty as Seo Yeon-woo despite badmouthing him, but she stopped herself and looked at Akito's dark expression.
Akito had been the one to lead this gathering, but now the collective will of the students was taking over, and Akito was being dragged along by it. Park Yu-jeong laughed, finding the sight of the students swept up in a frenzy to hunt Seo Yeon-woo highly entertaining.
Only the survivors remained at this point. Though exhausted, they were all capable. Proving their skill, the students pushed through the massive inferno using various spells and headed toward the cave where Seo Yeon-woo was hiding.
"…He really is good at using his head."
"Why?"
"Look. The area around the cave has been completely cleared of trees. The fire won't reach here. They did this to keep themselves safe."
At one student's remark, the others looked around. The forest surrounding the cave was desolate, filled only with stumps. They had assumed the trees were cut to build the log walls and stakes near the entrance, but it turned out he had planned the fire from the very beginning.
"Since Angelica is here, shouldn't we just blast the entrance with magic before going in?"
"It's not a properly built tunnel. It looks flimsy. If we use high-output magic recklessly, the tunnel will collapse."
"Being buried alive sounds good."
"It's good for them. They have food inside, so now that the island is burned, they'll just sleep soundly until the exam ends."
"I can't stand that."
While the students were strategizing at the entrance, Akito stared at the opening with a gloomy face.
"Lord Akito, there is no need to be swayed by that frivolous man's words. He must take responsibility for what he has done."
"…Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for worrying."
Akito gave a weak smile and transformed his stick into his weapon. When he stood on the battlefield, everyone's resolve unified into a single force. The 'singularity' evaluated by Yggdrasil manifested as Akito took the lead, and the students followed.
As they rushed through the deep cave, light from magic being cast leaked out from the darkness and was fired all at once. With people following behind him, Akito, at the front, couldn't dodge.
Masayoshi, stationed at the first line of defense, thought that a simultaneous volley from the five of them would be enough to stall the attackers or eliminate a few.
However, Akito swung his sword with blinding speed, nullifying the barrage of spells coming from the front. He didn't even stop to block. As he ran, he erased every spell in his path, making the students at the defense line see him as something other than human.
"K-Keep firing! Hold them back somehow!"
Masayoshi urged them on, but the students were already firing rapid-fire spells as fast as they could; they couldn't go any faster. Yet, if they stopped attacking just because it wasn't working, they would be caught instantly.
As Masayoshi watched death approach helplessly, a blue light flickered behind him.
"Get… down…"
At Yukina's voice, everyone who had been spamming magic hit the floor. Above them, blue flames filled the tunnel and surged forward. Shiori, who had been following Akito, stepped to the front.
Sshhhhhhh—!
The blue flames collided with a massive wall of water blocking the tunnel, leaving nothing but steam in their wake. Shiori, who had been thickening the wall by continuously generating water, sensed something strange and canceled the spell.
The flames had been a mere decoy. The tunnel was empty; the defending students had already retreated.
"…She's triggered the penalty."
Though information on Yukina was scarce because she rarely showed her skills in public, Shiori knew her Ghost Fire wasn't supposed to be this short-lived or weak.
Just as she suspected, Yukina was currently being carried away by Mary. She had only used a single short spell, but her face was deathly pale, and she couldn't even walk properly. Mary was running while carrying her in her arms.
"Keep running! Just a little further!"
Rio encouraged the other students and then transformed his stick into his weapon. It was a sword his family, who weren't well-off, had saved up to have engraved on his stick when he got into Yggdrasil.
"Why am I thinking about this now…"
It was just an exam, and he wasn't actually going to die, but Rio gave a wry smile as thoughts of his family surfaced.
"Rio, are you staying?"
"Yeah. I don't do it often, but I'm a man who steps up when it counts."
As Mio retreated further inside with a worried look, Rio struck a pose and smiled. However, Mio noticed that his hand holding the sword was trembling.
"W-What are you doing?"
"I'm a woman who steps up when it counts, too. We have to hold them off for at least a little bit so the others can get away safely."
"Mio…"
"It was short, but I really enjoyed being with you guys. It would've been better if we were in the same team from the start."
Mio laughed brightly and playfully bumped her shoulder against his. Rio stared at her blankly, savoring the brief sensation of her shoulder touching his, and raised his sword.
However, the two of them were nowhere near enough to stop the mob led by Akito and the heroines. They tried to focus purely on defense to hold out, but they were swept away helplessly after stalling the crowd for only a single step.
Yet, even as they fell, Rio and Mio looked at each other and smiled as they were eliminated.
As the end of the cave—past the living area—came into view, Chika leaned her back against the wall and acted as a stepping stone for the retreating students. At the end of the tunnel was an upward passage, and the students climbed up to crawl through a small tunnel that led to the opposite side of the path they had come from.
Time had been short, and evacuation was the priority, so the tunnel was so narrow that a person could barely crawl through, making progress slow. Mary and Chika carefully helped the students with red spots and the half-dead Yukina up.
Masayoshi, the last to arrive, didn't climb up but faced Chika.
"… …"
"Got something to say?"
"You… you can hit me after you hear this… or get mad, it's fine."
"So you're saying you don't trust me."
Chika curled her lip and glared at Masayoshi.
"I'm sorry… but you and Akito…"
"I know. Honestly, I was wavering a lot. But… I've come this far. What would it make me if I suddenly took Akito's side now? I'm Chika Fraser. I don't do cheap things like that. And Seo Yeon-woo… I still hate that guy, but right now, I'm in Team 4."
At the mention of Team 4, Masayoshi nodded with a smile. Chika interlaced her fingers to create a step, and Masayoshi stepped on her foot to leap upward.
In all the time since they entered Yggdrasil—no, throughout the entire exam—this was likely the first time Masayoshi and Chika had any physical contact.
"Chika…"
As soon as Masayoshi climbed up, Akito, who was at the front of the mob, spotted Chika. Masayoshi looked down anxiously from above, and Chika gave Akito a sad smile.
"Akito… I'm sorry."
Chika raised her arm and slammed it into the wall she had been leaning against.
Boom!
As if one hit wasn't enough, Chika reinforced her body to the limit and struck the wall with all her might. The wall crumbled, and as streams of water began to leak through the cracks, the expressions of the students who could see her froze.
"…Run!!!"
Akito, who had been stunned for a moment, snapped out of it and screamed. The students turned around in unison.
"Run to the entrance!! Seawater is going to flood in!!"
"Don't just stand there, retreat! Run if you want to live!!"
The students scrambled in a panic, fleeing as massive torrents of water burst through the broken rocks. Shiori and the other students at the front quickly cast defensive spells, but having consumed so much mana during the exam, they couldn't hold back the sheer volume of the rushing tide.
"Huff! Huff…! Got you…"
"What… you should've just let me die."
"Because we're Team 4."
Masayoshi, hanging precariously, grabbed Chika's hand just as she was about to fall and pulled her up with a dashing smile.
The fleeing students ran with everything they had. They diverted all their reinforcement magic into speed and grit their teeth. The ominous sound of rushing water and the vibrations behind them acted as a whip. It turned into a scene of absolute chaos; if someone tripped and fell, the student right behind them would eliminate them instantly so they wouldn't become an obstacle.
Fortunately, they were all skilled enough that they hadn't been swallowed by the water yet. However, they couldn't completely outrun it either. If they slowed down even slightly, they would either be killed by the person behind them or swept away by the flood.
They were shocked, but that was as far as it went. The entrance was visible in the distance. Now, even if they were swept away, they would just be pushed outside, out of danger.
Sara, who had been at the very back but was now at the very front, was just starting to feel relieved.
Suddenly, a hand burst through the ground at the entrance.
It was a scene straight out of a zombie movie. The hand flailed in the air before gripping the ground, and a man rose as the earth shifted upward.
Seo Yeon-woo.
The moment their eyes met, goosebumps erupted across Sara's back.
Why is he there? That's where we just came from! No one saw him? Has he been buried in the ground this whole time?
While Sara was busy denying reality and harboring useless questions, Yeon-woo gave a broad grin and pulled out his Etiquette Infuser.
"No…!!"
Her desperate cry couldn't stop him. His full swing connected with the tunnel wall.
Rumble— CRASH!!!
"Good work, everyone. See you at Yggdrasil."
Sara would likely never forget Yeon-woo's smile, visible through the collapsing entrance, for the rest of her life.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 323 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/the-eroge-is-too-harsh-on-extras
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━