Vol3 Chapter 6 Click and flash game

"Let's play."

Amos vanished into the forest.

The moment his feet hit a branch, he surged forward again. One step. Two. Three. Every movement was sharp and exact. Mana strengthened his legs only at the instant they touched down, then flowed away without delay—no waste, no excess, no flashy aura. Just pure, flawless efficiency. Branch. Rock. Tree trunk. Cliff edge. Amos darted through the forest, green eyes scanning quickly broken branches, heavy footprints, faint traces of mana, and territorial marks.

"...That way."

He changed direction instantly.

Behind him.

"HEY!"

Amos’s ear twitched as three applicants stepped out from between the trees. One carried a sword, another gripped a staff, and the third wore heavy gauntlets. They had already formed a team, and the swordsman raised his blade.

"Stop!"

Amos stopped nd the three applicants froze.

"..."

They clearly hadn’t seen that coming. Amos spun around. The swordsman squinted, his gaze sharpening.

"Your badge."

Amos blinked. Then looked down at the silver badge pinned to his chest. Then back at them.

"You want it?"

The gauntlet user grinned.

"Three against one. Don't make this difficult."

"...Oh."

The mage frowned.

"Oh?"

Amos smiled.

"Convenient."

"...What?"

The swordsman's eyes widened.

"WH—"

Amos appeared right in front of him. With a single motion, there was a click, and the swordsman’s badge was gone.

"..."

The boy looked down. Amos was already gone.

"What?"

With a sudden flash, the simulation pulled him out in an instant, and the mage let out a scream.

"BEHIND—"

Too late.

Amos tapped the bottom of his staff. The staff tilted upward. The mage's own spell fired into the sky.

BOOM

His face drained of color. Amos closed in, slipping past his guard. Click. The badge was gone.

"...Sorry."

Flash.

Gone.

The gauntlet user stared.

"..."

Amos turned toward him.

"..."

The boy raised both hands.

"I surrender."

Amos blinked.

"You do?"

"Yes."

"..."

The boy slowly reached toward his badge. Then suddenly grinned.

"Idiot!"

His gauntlet burst with a surge of mana, and a fist flew straight toward Amos’s face.

BOOOOM!

The forest floor split open, sending up a cloud of dust. The applicant grinned.

"GOT YOU!"

A hand touched his shoulder.

"...?"

Amos stood behind him.

"That was actually pretty good. Nice try man."

The boy turned pale.

Click.

Amos took off his badge.

Flash.

Gone.

Amos stood by himself, holding three badges in his hand, his gaze fixed on them.

"..."

Then smiled.

"Three eliminations."

He placed them into his pocket.

"Not bad."

ROOOOOAAAAAR!

The forest trembled, and Amos’s head whipped toward the noise. A sudden grin spread across his face.

"Right."

He had almost forgotten.

"Item."

And once again, He begun running.

High above the artificial world, Arianne Academy had become considerably louder.

"WHO IS THAT?!"

"CAMERA! CHANGE THE CAMERA!"

"HE TOOK THREE BADGES IN LESS THAN TEN SECONDS!"

"THE THIRD GUY EVEN TRIED TO TRICK HIM!"

"Forget that! How did he get behind him?!"

One student pointed wildly at the screen.

"THAT'S KYROS!"

"...Which Kyros?"

"HOW MANY KYROS HEIRS DO YOU THINK THERE ARE?!"

In another viewing hall, several third-year students stared at the projection. One slowly lowered her drink.

"Haaaaaaah."

"Are you okay, Elena?"

On the screen, Amos was sprinting directly toward the roar of a dangerous magical beast.

"Just a permanent headache."

***

The forest had changed, and Amos noticed right away. There were fewer birds, no small animals, broken trees, and deep claw marks. The mana in the air felt heavier—hostile and territorial.

CRASH

A massive shape burst through the trees. Amos stopped.

"..."

The creature loomed nearly four meters high, its massive form like that of a black bear clad in thick stone plates along its shoulders and spine. Two curved horns jutted from its skull, and red mana glowed faintly through the cracks in its rocky armor. A Stonehorn Ursar. Amos didn’t know its exact simulation classification, but one detail was clear—above its head hovered a small golden symbol. A chest. He stared in silence. The monster roared.

ROOOOOAAAAAR!

"You."

The Ursar charged.

BOOM.

Each step shattered the ground.

Amos's smile widened.

"You have MY loot."

The monster swung. A massive claw tore through the air. Amos ducked.

BOOOOM.

Three trees exploded behind him.

"Woah, strong."

A second claw shot up from below, making Amos jump. The monster’s jaws yawned wide as mana began to swirl, and Amos’s eyes went wide in shock.

"Oh that."

BOOOOOOM

A blast of red energy tore through the forest. From the academy viewing halls.

"HE'S DEAD!"

"No, extraction!"

"Wait!"

The smoke cleared. Amos stood on top of the monster's head.

"..."

The entire academy went silent. Amos looked down.

"Interesting attack but I seen it before."

The Ursar's eyes crossed upward. It realized something was standing on it.

"..."

Amos lifted one foot. Mana pooled—just a little, but enough. Focused, precise, perfectly contained.

"Sorry."

He stomped.

BOOOOM!

The monster’s head smashed into the ground, sending dirt and rock flying. The earth caved in with a deep crater. The Ursar let out a furious roar, hurling its massive body upward. Amos was flung into the air. Midair, his gaze darted—stone armor, gaps at the joints, the flow of mana. Weak points.

"...There."

He touched down just as the monster lunged again. Amos rushed forward to meet it, while the academy students screamed in panic.

"WHY IS HE RUNNING TOWARD IT?!"

The distance disappeared—ten meters, five, two. The Ursar swung, and Amos slid half a step to the side. The claw missed his face by mere centimeters. His hand pressed against the creature’s chest, mana flowing in—not with force, but with precision. It slipped through the gaps, past the stone armor, straight into the unstable current beneath.

Amos smiled.

"Found it."

He twisted his wrist. The monster froze.

"...?"

BOOM!

Its mana surged from within, not enough to destroy it, but enough to throw it off balance. The Ursar crumpled, and Amos stepped in, delivering one final blow. The creature shattered into countless particles of light.

Ding.

Amos froze.

"..."

A small golden object hovered where the monster had vanished. His eyes widened as he moved toward it, slow and almost reverent. It looked like a pair of black boots, streaked with silver lines. Then glowing words appeared:

TEMPORARY ITEM ACQUIRED

Gale Striders

Effect: Greatly boosts movement speed for thirty minutes.

Cannot leave simulation subspace.

Amos stared.

"..."

He gulped and his hands trembled a bit.

"A speed item."

The academy professors watched. One frowned.

"Why is he reacting more strongly to that item than his perfect mana score?"

Another professor had no answer.

Amos quickly slipped on the boots, their silver lines beginning to glow. He took a single step forward.

FWOOOSH!

He disappeared.

"..."

A second later.

CRASH!

Amos flew through a bush three hundred meters away.

"..."

He sat quietly, leaves tangled in his hair, a branch resting on his shoulder. The silence lingered until he slowly lifted his head, eyes glinting with a mysterious light.

"Oh." A smile spread across his face. "Oh, this is fantastic."

***

Five minutes later. Two applicants were fighting.

"Give me your badge!"

"You first!"

Sword met spear.

CLANG!

very epic.

They separated.

FWOOOSH!

Something passed between them.

"..."

"..."

Both froze. The swordsman glanced down—his badge was gone. The spearman checked too—his was missing as well. They slowly turned. In the distance, Amos slid to a stop, two badges dangling between his fingers.

"Double elimination."

Flash.

Flash.

Gone.

Amos looked at the badges and his smile widened.

***

Seven minutes later.cA team of four moved carefully through the ruins.

"Stay together."

"The simulation will shrink soon."

"Watch the rooftops."

"Don't trust anyone."

A voice came from above.

"Good advice."

All four looked up.

Amos sat on a broken wall.

"..."

One pointed.

"KYROS!"

Amos blinked.

"You know me?"

"Everyone knows you!"

"Oh?."

The mage shouted.

"ATTACK!"

Four spells erupted.

Amos vanished.

FWOOOSH!

"...Where?!"

Click.

One badge.

Flash.

"Behind us!"

Click.

Second badge.

Flash.

"FORM UP!"

Click.

Third badge.

Flash.

The last applicant turned.

Amos stood directly in front of him.

"..."

"..."

The applicant slowly covered his badge.

Amos tilted his head.

"...Please?"

"No."

Click.

Flash.

Amos walked away.

***

Ten minutes later.

A monster dissolved.

Ding.

TEMPORARY ITEM ACQUIRED

Hunter's Eye

Effect: Reveals nearby badge signatures for ten minutes.

Amos stared at the item.

"..."

He activated it, and the world shifted. Golden lights shimmered into view—one, five, ten, twenty, then thirty-seven distinct nearby signatures. Amos’s smile slowly spread.

"Oh no."

High above, one professor whispered.

"Why did you give him that, Fred?"

Another professor immediately defended himself.

"It's random!"

"Remove it."

"We can't!"

On the screen,

Amos turned toward the nearest cluster of golden lights.

Thirty-seven players.

His Gale Striders glowed.

"...Found you."

FWOOOSH!

The professor covered his face.

"This is going to be a massacre."

***

In the forest, six applicants had formed a temporary alliance.

"We stay together until the next contraction."

"Agreed."

"No betrayal."

"Agreed."

"Once we're in the final three hundred."

A blond head appeared upside down from the tree above them.

"Hello."

"..."

All six looked up.

Amos smiled.

"Players."

One applicant frowned.

"What?"

Another drew his sword.

"Forget it! Get him!"

Amos dropped. The Gale Striders activated.

FWOOOSH!

Click.

Flash.

Click.

Flash.

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Click.

Flash.

"PROTECT YOUR BADGES!"

Click.

Flash.

"MY BADGE!"

Click.

Flash.

The final applicant ran. He ran with everything he had.

Amos watched him.

"Should I let you go?"

Then looked down at his boots. Then back at the fleeing boy.

A childish smile appeared.

"No."

FWOOOSH!

"NO, NO, NO, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT—!"

Click.

Flash.

Amos stood alone again.

He counted the badges.

"..."

His pocket grew heavy.

Really heavy.

He glanced at the golden signatures glowing through Hunter’s Eye.

More players, more monsters, more loot and the zone hadn’t even begun to close in. Amos felt his blood start to race.

"This academy..."

He placed the badges away with his smile became brighter.

"...really is amazing."

He vanished toward the ruins.