Chapter 54: Ice-Yetis [4]

"FUCK YOU!"

Joseph’s scream echoed across the mountainside.

There was no way he was going to believe Lorenzo’s bullshit.

Looking at the monstrous horde charging behind him, Joseph could already imagine what had happened.

This bastard had somehow attracted hundreds of Ice-Yetis and was now trying to drag everyone else into his mess!

"RUN!"

Lilly was the first to react.

She grabbed John’s arm and immediately turned around, sprinting down the mountain.

The other students followed without hesitation.

Nobody was stupid enough to remain in place when a horde of monsters was charging toward them.

Especially when one of them was a D-rank monster!

"Wait! What the hell are you doing?!"

Joseph shouted as he watched his supposed companions abandon him.

However, nobody bothered to answer.

Within seconds, the group had scattered, leaving Joseph standing alone on the snowy path.

His expression twisted.

"You fucking cowards!"

Then he heard Lorenzo’s voice again.

"Why are you standing there?!"

Lorenzo waved at him with an expression of genuine delight.

"Come on! Let’s run together!"

’I’ll fucking kill you!’

Joseph nearly crushed the shaft of his spear.

He had never hated someone so much in his entire life.

They had only met that morning, yet Lorenzo had already humiliated him in front of the entire academy. And now, as if that hadn’t been enough, the bastard was deliberately bringing a monster horde toward him.

There was no doubt about it.

Lorenzo was his sworn enemy!

Unfortunately, Joseph couldn’t afford to dwell on his hatred.

The ground was shaking more violently by the second, and the D-rank Ice-Yeti was getting closer.

He immediately turned around and ran.

----

Alice Storms was still having a bad day.

She had spent the past four hours hunting Ice-Yetis on Falcon Mountain, but every single monster she encountered was either E-rank or E+-rank.

It was getting ridiculous.

She was currently E+ rank and expected to break through to D-rank within the next month or two.

Yet here she was, wasting her time slaughtering monsters that posed absolutely no challenge.

"How boring."

She shook the blood off her blade.

At this rate, she might as well return to the temporary camp and spend the remaining time practicing her swordsmanship.

At least that would be more productive than killing weak monsters all day.

Just as Alice was about to leave, the ground beneath her feet began to tremble.

She paused.

The tremors grew stronger, causing loose snow to slide down the mountainside.

Alice glanced at the surrounding trees.

An earthquake?

She quickly dismissed the thought.

The Spirit Realm was filled with strange phenomena, but this was Earth. Although the Fall had drastically changed the planet, earthquakes were hardly unusual.

However, the intensity of these tremors suggested that something else was approaching.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Something large was coming.

Alice’s red eyes brightened.

Could it be a stronger monster?

She turned toward the source of the tremors, her boredom disappearing as anticipation crept into her expression.

Then she heard it.

A distant roar echoed across Falcon Mountain.

It was so loud that several birds scattered from the nearby trees, while the remaining Ice-Yetis began shrieking in agitation.

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Another roar followed.

This time, she could feel the mana contained within it.

It was considerably stronger than anything she had encountered during her hunt.

Her lips curled into a smile.

"Finally!"

Alice gripped her sword and dashed toward the source of the disturbance.

She moved swiftly through the snow-covered forest, leaping over fallen trees and cutting down any Ice-Yeti unfortunate enough to block her path.

The closer she got, the more intense the tremors became.

And then she saw them.

Hundreds of Ice-Yetis were charging down a snowy path, their enormous bodies kicking up clouds of snow.

At the forefront was a gigantic monster nearly ten meters tall.

Its icy hide was covered in thick fur, and its massive fists dragged along the ground as it charged forward.

A D-rank Ice-Yeti.

Alice’s eyes widened slightly.

She had finally found something worthwhile!

But there was one small problem.

The monster wasn’t alone.

Hundreds of smaller Ice-Yetis were following behind it, forming a monstrous stampede that threatened to sweep away everything in its path.

And among the fleeing students ahead of the horde, two particular figures caught her attention.

One was a golden-haired young man running for his life while clutching a spear.

"LORENZO!"

His furious scream echoed through the mountains.

Behind him, another young man was running with a cheerful expression, occasionally waving as if he were bidding farewell to an old friend.

Alice stared at the bizarre scene.

She recognized both names.

Lorenzo Riina, the second-ranked student in the entrance examination.

She had actually met him once before, in a parking lot where her grandfather and Lorenzo’s father had nearly gotten into a fight.

Fortunately, the confrontation had ended before things could escalate.

And Joseph Goldberg, the first-ranked student.

What the hell are those two doing?

Before she could figure out the answer, Joseph suddenly spotted her.

"You! The girl with the sword!"

Alice blinked.

Joseph pointed at her with his spear, his face filled with desperation.

"Help us! That bastard brought a monster horde here!"

Lorenzo immediately turned his head.

The moment he noticed Alice, his eyes lit up.

"Oh! Alice Storms!"

He waved enthusiastically.

"Perfect timing! There’s a D-rank Ice-Yeti over here! You should try fighting it!"

Alice’s smile froze.

Excuse me?

She had been searching for a strong monster all morning.

Now that one had finally appeared, someone was telling her to fight it while dragging hundreds of other monsters along with it?

And judging by Lorenzo’s expression, he had absolutely no intention of helping.

In fact, he seemed delighted by the situation.

Alice’s gaze shifted toward the enormous Ice-Yeti.

Then she looked back at Lorenzo.

A vein throbbed on her forehead.

"You bastard!"

Lorenzo’s smile widened.

"Like I don’t know!"

Alice had met him only once before today.

Yet somehow, she already wanted to beat him to death.

Unfortunately, the D-rank Ice-Yeti had no intention of waiting for their introductions to finish.

It raised its enormous fist and smashed it into the snowy ground.

BOOOOOOM!

The mountainside shook violently.

A wave of snow surged outward, sending several trees crashing to the ground.

Alice’s expression changed.

The monster was stronger than she had initially estimated.

Even at E+ rank, she wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate a [D-]rank monster, especially one accompanied by hundreds of weaker creatures.

She could fight it.

But doing so while surrounded by an entire horde would be suicidal.

"Tch!"

Alice immediately retreated, sprinting after the other students.

She was not running away, it was tactical retreat knowing her few options.