Chapter 279 Leaf Boy
'The forest outside of the campus,' Lyrian mused, quickly surveying the area as everyone else did the same.
'But... It's different. Nothing is too familiar, and nothing looks marked.' He noticed that all of the grass strands were untouched. The bushes weren't bent or curved in any way, and the trees looked wild.
'We are far. Really far.' He had wanted to come out this far anyway, so this was nothing but a good thing.
"Look! There's the dungeon!" A kid from Gator's class pointed to a cave opening under a hill nearby.
The opening was large, over 20 feet in height and length. It was pitch black inside, so no one could see past a few feet.
At that moment, a few stragglers separated from the one large cluster of students and ran towards the cave.
"Ya-hoo! I'm gone!" One with red hair said, running into the cave.
"I'm gonna win this! It's not a team activity, it's a solo one." Another followed.
"Hey! Fools!" A few didn't like their idea, as it went against what Gator said right before the teleportation.
"Don't be stupid like them. If you are still here, then let's form groups!"
Just like that, the two classes split up and began to plan outside of the cave.
Lyrian observed both of the classes carefully. His class looked to be led by a loud but higher-status noble boy.
"Move in a close-knit group so we can take out as many beasts as possible in the shortest amount of time without losing anyone either. The only way we can get robbed is if someone is alone, but if we stick together, we won't lose our materials unless a full-on war breaks out." The kid, who had a long gray robe and a large specter attached to his waist said.
"Kaith, that's a good idea, but won't we be too slow?" A boy in a red robe challenged, him, as everyone listened on. "I feel we should split into at least 3 teams so that we can all move faster and ahead of the other team."
"Nope, no way." Another kid intervened. This kid was the glasses-wearing, small physique boy that Lyrian noticed in the track jog.
"If we do that, then we will have a higher chance of getting robbed. What if the other team decides to go as one large group? We won't be able to compete."
Finally, the gray robe-wearing—addressed as Kaith—chimed in again, "Yes... on top of that, there are different paths in the dungeon, so there is no need to worry about being too far ahead or behind the group."
The red robe-wearing kid couldn't help but exclaim, "There are different paths... but they all lead to the same place."
But his words were almost ignored, as Kaith moved forward. "Let's do a head count before going in!"
As they did this, Lyrian changed his view of the other team. He had already been taking note of what their strategy was.
"Hey! We're missing one!" The red-robed kid said.
"Huh?" Kaith exclaimed in confusion. "Tact, can't you do anything correctly?" He exclaimed in frustration.
After doing a head count himself, he was puzzled to announce that there truly was someone missing from the group.
"Who could it be?" The kid wearing the red robe—addressed as Tact—said, as everyone slowly turned their heads to him in slight irritation.
"What do you mean, who!? It's the MVP, Lyrian Theageld!" Kaith said, furious.
Lyrian smirked, as he had been observing both teams from the bushes this entire time. There was a reason for this, which would be revealed later on...
'This plan should go well...' He mused.
*Rustle*
Lyrian looked to his side, noticing something move in the bushes. It caught him off guard, as he made sure he was the only one in there before entering.
All that look to be there were some green leaves... so he quickly shrugged it off as some critter happening to pass by.
"We lost the MVP!? Damn it! He was our ticket to victory!" Tact yelled in shock, garnering a few head turns from the opposing team.
"They lost the MVP! That was our main worry!" A kid from Gator's team exclaimed quietly, excited.
The entire team celebrated slightly as they heard the news. While they did, Lyrian noted each and every one of their faces.
'This blue robe looks to be the leader since he's talking the most.' His gaze darted to another kid, 'That calm and quiet one... he's strong, I know it. He will most likely get the most materials.'
At that moment, Gator's team began walking toward the cave, while Rerth's class was still in shambles from Lyrian having gone missing.
"Fool! How could you reveal that!" Kaith scolded angrily.
"Screw that! Where did Theageld go!?" The nerdy kid yelled desperately, "Surely, he didn't go in alone at the start, did he?"
"No! I was looking at all the fools that ran in. He definitely didn't go in, I swear my life on it." Kaith exclaimed, still in a bad mood. "We don't have time to waste. Forget about that weirdo for now... let's just go in!"
As Rerth's class began walking toward the cave, Tact exclaimed in confusion, "What did he do then? Walk into the damn forest?"
"I wouldn't be surprised... he's an odd one."
"Did you hear his entrance speech?"
"Did I—of course I did!"
"Fucker wanted to rule the world!"
***
"Kahaha! I can't believe they actually lost their MVP though."
"Shush! We can't be focusing on him right now."
Gator's team walked into the cave hesitantly, as it continued to go down a steep path. The small amber stones lit the way slightly, but it was still quite sketchy.
Before long, they came across a fork in the road. Between the left and right pathways, they chose the right and soon discovered a giant opening.
"Stop! Do the headcount again before we enter!" A kid exclaimed, as another one quickly turned around and began counting.
"25, 26, and... 27?" The kid counting had a brow raised, "Did I see you before? Why do you look so... weird?"
The kid he was referring to was decked out in woven leaves and had a leaf hood over his head. Although he looked odd, his boring stance gave him an unsuspecting look.
Heads began to turn as the main boy who said to head count turned around to deal with the delay.
"What's wrong? Oh, him?" He looked at the leaf outfit boy for a few seconds, squinting his eyes as he stared.
"Yeah! He was with us when we did the first headcount. Now stop wasting time and let's move on!"
...
'Ha...hahaha! It actually worked.' A certain someone mused in relief under the leaf hood.
"No! Wait!" The boy who just did the head count said. "You." He stepped forward, right in front of the leaf boy.
"What's your name."
After a short pause, the boy said, "Linkus Oatas of Veridrake."
Another few seconds of anticipation followed... "Alright... you'll be sticking with me, Linkus." The boy turned around.
'Phew...' Lyrian exclaimed to himself in relief.
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