Chapter 29: THE STORY IS CHANGING

VIVIAN

"Shit.." Vivian hugged the tree tighter.

BOOM!

The mutated crocodile’s enormous tail slammed into the trunk beside her.

The entire tree shook. While Vivian’s teeth rattled. Her lips were shaking..."Beeny...I don’t want to die now..."

"Yes, Pretty Sister?"

"Are you sure this thing can’t climb trees?

"Yes..pretty sister. It can’t."

"What..if...what if..it flys?""

Beeny stared at her from inside her consciousness.

"Why all these questions?...Aren’t you going down there to fight it?"

Vivian looked at the battlefield below. "Fight what?"

"The mutated crocodile."

Vivian pointed at herself. "Have you forgotten that I’m Zero-Class? One swing of that thing’s tail and I’ll become a pancake."

Beeny slapped her tiny forehead. "Pretty Sister, why are you so dumb? It’s an S class beast. You don’t want the core anymore?"

"Excuse me?"

Before Vivian could argue, another explosion came from below.

She looked down. Elena and the others had surrounded the mutated crocodile.

Elena stood several meters away, two fingers pressed against her temple.

Her eyes glowed.

She used her Mental Control!

Her consciousness slammed into the beast’s mind. For a few seconds, the crocodile froze.

Elena smiled. It’s working!!

Then...BOOM! The crocodile’s consciousness violently pushed her out.

"AH!"

Elena stumbled backward and coughed blood.

"Elena!"

One of the boys rushed toward her.

"I’m fine!"

She wiped the blood from her lips. The battle continued.

One of the male student with wood ability slammed his palms against the ground.

Massive roots erupted from the earth and wrapped around the crocodile’s legs.

Another student charged forward with a sword.

An ice ability user raised both hands. Ten enormous ice swords formed in the air.

"Fire!"

The swords shot toward the beast.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The mutated crocodile roared. Behind them, several girls in the pink uniforms of Saint and Saintess Academy huddled together.

"I want to go home!"

"I don’t want to die!"

One girl suddenly screamed.

"You’re supposed to be an SSS-Class! Why can’t you even control an ordinary S-Class beast?"

The others went quiet.

Another girl whispered, "What if her rank is fake?"

"Her mother is Princess Emelianna. She could have faked the result."

Elena’s expression darkened. She heard them all but she pretended not to. She sees them as ants. One minute they are fawning over sugar, another minute they are eating spoiled food.

Vivian watched from the tree. She couldn’t help smiling.

Dogs eat dogs.

But then her eyes moved toward the battlefield.

She was fascinated.

So this is what awakened abilities look like.

Wood. Ice. Mental control. And Strength.

Every awakened person could develop different abilities depending on their bloodline and rank.

And the higher the rank... The stronger the ability. Vivian glanced into her consciousness.

Her golden Lotus was trembling with excitement.

Hungry!! I went to eat that. I want to eat.

She sighed. "Beeny."

"Yes?"

"Tell me when that thing is almost dead."

"Why?"

"So I can eat its beast core."

Beeny blinked.

"You mean your Lotus can eat it. But people are here!! What if they stone you to death for being a monster."

"Just Shut up and tell me when!!"

Suddenly...The crocodile stopped struggling.

Beeny’s expression changed. "Pretty Sister."

"What?"

"It’s weak now."

"I can go now.." Vivian tried to move. Beeny screamed.stop!!

"It’s weak now but it’s about to use its strongest attack."

Vivian’s smile disappeared. "What?"

The crocodile opened its enormous mouth.

GLLLLRRRKKK! Green smoke poured from its throat.

Vivian’s eyes widened. "What the fuck is that?"

The smoke spread across the battlefield. The students began coughing.

One girl collapsed immediately.Another grabbed her throat. "It smells horrible!"

Vivian covered her nose. "Did this thing eat from a sewer?"

She quickly opened her backpack and pulled out a mask.

Below, the fighters were losing strength. The green gas wasn’t merely disgusting.

It was weakening them. But surprisingly Vivian didn’t feel the weakness. Maybe because she was far away and reacted quickly?

The boy using the wood ability dropped to one knee.

His roots loosened. The crocodile ripped them apart.

Elena covered her mouth. "Get away!"

A male student immediately removed his long coat and wrapped it around her.

"Cover your face! I will protect you."

Then he turned and charged back into battle.

Vivian’s eyes narrowed. It’s really a Marysue story. Every man revolves around her.."Gross."

Beeny suddenly smiled. "Pretty Sister."

"What?"

"It’s weak now."

Vivian looked down. The crocodile was barely moving. She slowly removed her academy badge.

She placed it inside her backpack.

Then she tightened her mask.

Her eyes sharpened. "It’s Game time."

She jumped from one tree to another tree.

Her body moved almost weightlessly through the branches.

I can jump this far now?

She landed directly above a tree closer to the crocodile.

The students below were still struggling.

The wood-user was bleeding badly. His roots were almost completely destroyed. He tried to invoke more but the roots came out tiny.

The crocodile raised its head. Vivian pulled the sword from her backpack. "Sorry."

She jumped.

STAB! The sword pierced directly through the crocodile’s skull.

Green blood exploded across her mask. The beast roared.

Its tail used its last strength and whipped violently.

BOOOOM!The tail struck Elena.

"AH!"

She flew backward and crashed into a tree.

Vivian’s eyes widened for half a second. Then she smiled.

The crocodile’s body finally collapsed.

Vivian pulled the beast core from its chest.

Someone screamed. "STOP!"

"That beast core belongs to us!"

"Who the hell are you?"

Vivian didn’t answer. Her long hair was hidden beneath her hood, and her uniform was covered by her combat coat.

From a distance...

She looked like a male soldier.

She jumped into the trees.

"Catch him!"

But nobody could. The students were exhausted. Vivian disappeared into the forest.

""

She finally stopped several kilometers away.

"Huff..."

She bent over, breathing heavily.

Beeny floated out of her consciousness with her arms crossed.

"I had no idea you could be that evil."

Vivian looked offended.

"Evil?"

She held up the beast core. She puts it in her backpack. "My strike was the final blow."

"So?"

"So whoever delivers the last kill gets the reward."

Beeny rolled her eyes. "Despicable."

Vivian glanced into her consciousness.

The golden Lotus was glowing brightly.

But...Something was strange.

The entire space around it had become brighter than before.

Vivian frowned. "Wait."

She moved closer. "Where are the petals?"

The Lotus had no new petals. Vivian narrowed her eyes. "Where did the petal go?"

Beeny suddenly yawned.

"I’m sleepy."

Vivian slowly turned toward her.

"You know something."

"I know nothing."

"You look suspicious."

"I am a very innocent child."

Vivian sighed. "Whatever."

She was too exhausted to argue. She lay down beneath a tree. Within seconds, she fell asleep.

THE NEXT MORNING

Vivian woke up early. She had already gotten the beast core. So she could end the mission but Her first thought was simple.

The Lotus is hungry.

She packed her things. Heading out to hunt only low rank beasts..if she sees an S class beast. She will run away. After seeing that intense fight yesterday. A no rank female like her fighting it is seeking suicide. Avoiding is better than dying unjustly. She said to herself.

"I need more beast food for my lotus kid.."

She moved deeper into the forest.

Then...CRACK. Vivian stopped. Someone was nearby.

She immediately dropped into the tall grass.

Her breathing became silent. She slowly separated the grass and peeked through.

Her eyes widened.

"Nerion?"

Several enormous Orc Beasts surrounded him.

Nerion was on the ground. His body was covered in wounds.

His beautiful scales were stained with blood.

One of the Orcs grabbed his arm. "Hold him."

Another laughed. "These scales are valuable."

"We can be so rich for selling one."

Vivian’s stomach twisted. She remembered this scene.

She had read it.

Elena was supposed to save him.

She remembered exactly what happened afterward.

Elena rescued Nerion. He became loyal to her.

Eventually...He became one of her strongest followers in her team. Before he had a crush now with this scene, he became a certified doglicker. She sighed.

But...Vivian looked around.

There was no Elena.

Where is she?

Ten minutes passed. The Orcs continued beating Nerion.

15 minutes. Still no Elena.

One of them grabbed Nerion’s tail. Nerion couldn’t even fight back anymore. He was so weak.

Vivian’s hands tightened around the grass.

This isn’t supposed to happen.

The Orc raised a knife toward Nerion’s scales. Vivian’s heart pounded.

"Where is Elena?"

Nothing happened. No heroine appeared.

No miraculous rescue. The familiar scene from the book was gone.

Vivian stared at Nerion pitifully.

What if the story isn’t following the plot anymore? And he dies here? It’s not my business right? After all, he was among the MLs that killed the original Vivian. Not my business if he dies!!

The Orc’s knife touched Nerion’s scales.

Vivian’s eyes widened.

"...Oh, shit."