Chapter 192: Chapter 173 : True Gap

With the Event running its course, the students were herded to a train station and sent back to the central region, not to spend their free time as they hoped but instead…

[We’ll be holding a post Event review session. Everyone is to attend,] Cole announced not long after declaring Ralf the victor.

The news caused a collective groan to sound from the students. Tired and bitter from the Event, no one was looking forward to the review session. A few rebellious souls even decided to skip it outright, Anton being the most notable of this handful. The prince was molten, having been eliminated early by Elena. He and his posse bailed out on the review session, choosing to head to the student hotel instead.

The rest headed to the education block and seated themselves in the same venue they had their first introductions in. The train ride back was one dominated by gloom, sourness and frustration, and back in the class, nothing had changed. Most weren’t happy with their performances. Ralf coming out on top again sank their moods and filled them with bitterness.

The sight of the Transmigrator’s face only furthered these feelings. Fresh from victory, he sported a radiant smile, stroking the ire of everyone who caught sight of it. He joined up with Lane and the others. The group, like their fellow students, recounted what they did and how they were eliminated. When they learned that Ralf had eliminated them ‘all’, their expressions twisted up.

“Arr, so frustrating,” Charlotte released.

“Really is,” Yuki followed up, her face similarly sour.

“This day couldn’t get worse - wait, the bet,” Charlotte’s words prompted the group’s collective recollection. “Ralf, your requests, what are they? What sick requests will you have us perform?” she asked, her gaze becoming more curious than anything.

“Mm,” Ralf didn’t immediately answer but instead threw out a question of his own. “Charlotte…tell me, what are the strongest chains made of?”

The question caused the group’s eyebrows to collectively raise.

While Yuki’s, Lane’s and Violet’s minds took the question literally, the twins showed their merchant lineage.

“Debt…ah,” uttering instinctively, Charlotte’s eyes widened as she put two and two together. “You’ll…”

Ralf nodded. “Yes, since we didn’t set any time limits, I can make the request whenever I want. I won’t though…that would be a waste,” his lips curled up deviously as Psi slithered out from him. From his hand, four Psi chains emerged before seeking out the four’s wrists.

The four could only watch helplessly as the chain wrapped around them. “For the rest of your lives, you’ll owe me one. You’ll be chained by a debt I’ll never let you pay, ever,” he said, emphasising the final word as a wicked light flashed through his eyes.

The four - no five were stunned at the diabolic display. Losing their voices, they traded glances amongst themselves, all seeming to read with one clear message, this guy is something else.

“Ah, we meet at long last.”

Before the group could exchange another word, a spirited voice sounded from the entranceway. The class’ attention shifted over to capture the speaker. Cole strode in with a subtle smile on his face, something the students would soon learn was a permanent fixture.

The Event Coordinator was in his late twenties. He had black hair, green eyes and caramel skin. He wasn’t quite a midget but he was very short, so short, the podium nearly blocked him out entirely. From their seats, the students were only given a head to look at.

“Once again, greetings everyone. Good to officially meet you all, I’m the disembodied voice from earlier, Cole Brown,” the man said with a toothy smile, revealing the gap between his top middle teeth. The students reacted to the sight, mostly negatively. Still, this didn’t dampen the EC’s smile one bit, seemingly very comfortable in his own skin, flaws and all.

“Whether you like it or not…we’ll be seeing a lot of each other during these next few years,” he said, causing many of the students to cringe. Cole took their reactions in stride and continued. “I see there are a few missing faces, hmm, that’s no good. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it haa…well, these words are wasted on you all, you obviously know this. Anyway, let’s begin.”

Cole snapped his fingers and telepathic links reached out to every student until all were connected.

“As I mentioned, we’ll be doing a review session. While you were making your way over here, our Naturals went through and edited all the collected footage from the forest, whipping up a video showcasing everyone’s actions during the Event. We’ll be going through it together, in the order of every elimination and, as a class, point out and discuss what went wrong and possible actions. Okay, now with that said, let’s get into it, shall we….”

Following the explanation, the review session began.

***

The video’s runtime was just short of an hour. It wasn’t just a compilation though. The Naturals composing the video had a flare for cinematics and storytelling. The final product was no different than a film, displaying a thrilling and exciting battle royal. The students took to it; they had been curious about what everyone else was doing during the Event, with the actions of Ralf’s group being of great interest.

Ralf also enjoyed himself; he held the same interest. Watching the video, he was allowed to see some amusing things unfold. He wasn’t the only one who employed tricks and traps.

Students hid atop tree branches, hid beneath the dirt, rolled boulders down the slopes, made pitfall traps, used branches as weapons…

One that caught his eye belonged to Illuya. At the hotel, she surprised everyone when she opted to don a lot of jewellery. Most thought her foolish, having not learned her lesson from the Roxy encounter. As it turns out, she did.

She started the Event near a small cave, artificially carved out from a giant boulder. After exploring it, she began employing her thought-up tactic. Using branches and a bunch of clear string she had brought with her, she fashioned a simple scarecrow. She then added all her bangles and placed said contraption in the cave’s depths before hiding herself in the bushes just outside the cave’s entrance.

There, she would stay, one hand holding her gun while her other hand held a thin string. The string connected to the scarecrow, which she tugged at periodically. The chime, amplified by the cave’s echo produced a significant sound, and like moths to a flame, many students rushed in, hoping to get an easy kill. An easy kill came, but not as they expected.

This tactic was super effective, netting her the second-highest kill count behind Ralf. Had she not been spotted on her way to hide her latest victim, she would have surely killed many more with this tactic. Unfortunately, Elena spotted her from a distance and moved to eliminate her. The Luxen-born psionic was another reaper of note, with nine kills, she took third place.

The video was designed to give everyone their fifteen seconds of fame, though some didn’t last that long. The focus shifted from student to student following their elimination. After every segment, there would be a pause where Cole and the class discussed the errors the students made and proposed solutions and alternative lines of action.

Students felt the spotlight clearly during these moments, and many of them were prompted to articulate their thought processes and plans during their video segments. Things got real awkward for those who got eliminated during the initial chaos, as most reasons boiled down to hot-headedness.

The spotlight moved over student after student until finally settling on the group the class was most interested in seeing.

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When it got to this point, the already high production suddenly blasted through the roof. The students watched in shock and awe at the film-like presentation of the events.

Violet’s section was first. Students swooned as they watched the beauty eliminate foe after foe with surprising skill and efficiency. Ralf would praise the Naturals for picking the best angles, but couldn’t, knowing that there were simply no bad angles to be found.

Just like others who were eliminated by another with a higher kill count, Violet’s end wasn’t shown and instead the video faded to black as she exited the sea of trees to face Ralf.

Next was Yuki. While not exciting or eventful, no one’s attention waned during the two-minute-long trudge, finding her cautious scrunched-up form very cute. Her section ended as Ralf’s voice sounded.

Skye was next. His section was the most hilarious by far, with Leonard’s and Vorusu’s elimination and subsequent several-minute-long existential crisis taking the cake. The pair in question held both hands on their face during the section, unable to bear the stares. Skye’s section ended with him running towards Ralf’s trap.

Charlotte’s section followed. Her run through the forest with Emma in tow was very much appreciated by the students, especially the male ones; wealth wasn’t the only area she was well endowed in. Her section ended as she entered the open sandy patch.

Lane was next. There wasn’t much to see or explain in his section, which ended shortly after he left his starting position. The former assassin’s section served as the perfect contrast to what followed, as Ralf’s section was the longest and most eventful by far.

Anger, irritation, frustration, indignation, amusement, infatuation,…

While the viewing provoked all sorts of emotions in the students, it was incredulity that was most prevalent in their hearts. Ralf’s masterful skill and monstrous physical prowess were noteworthy, but it was his nature that truly fueled the collective disbelief and bafflement.

If they hadn’t been sure before, they now knew what type of soul resided in Ralf’s body, a mischievous one.

Other students also employed traps and tricks, but where they differed from Ralf was, where they used them to gain an advantage or because they had to, the Transmigrator employed them for fun’s sake alone. His frequent villainous grinning, cackling and laughter during the Event made that apparent.

Also, while Ralf was unaware that the footage would be turned into a compilation, he was an entertainer at heart and put on a show regardless. He was self-aware about the whole thing, making sure to talk to himself to explain his thoughts and even winking at the ‘camera’ from time to time.

He would join the Assistants on the branches several times throughout the Event. The first time was after spotting a student up ahead. Ralf took a coin out and flipped it to decide if he should go after the student or let them go. Ralf made it a thing, doing this several times, though, his luck made him lose every time. When the targeted students watched this, they couldn’t help but release a relieved breath, having been spared the experience of facing their monstrous classmate.

Out of luck on that front, Ralf moved to narration and commentary, where he dubbed over competing students at a safe distance, adding an epic element to their clashes.

Once five minutes passed, Ralf switched gears and began ‘hunting’. The students watched as he eliminated his opponents in all sorts of ways, all the while, releasing maniacal laughter in his wake.

The students' interest was piqued once Violet and the others’ turns arrived. They had been interested in the continuation of their stories. Ralf’s section put their curiosity to rest while at the same time, awakening a plethora of energetic emotions.

Things went in chronological order. Yuki’s elimination wasn’t anything special, but her sweet revenge made for an adorable viewing, so much so that the video lingered on her for a whole minute.

Ralf’s eyes flickered when it came to this part and he turned to the culprit, who simply greeted him with a smile, clearly proud of her work. He smiled wryly before sighing in defeat.

Following Yuki’s part, the video shifted to Ralf, looking towards a boulder and nodding in satisfaction. The students watched as he approached it, placed his spare paintball gun down and began carving a drawing into the surface with a sharp rock.

The room went quiet as students appreciated his working form, craftsmanship and the tune he hummed. The video didn’t zoom through his work like it did Lane’s sprawled state but went on until Violet appeared at the bottom of the slope.

The two’s conversation was of great interest, many people taking mental notes, with some already planning on inviting the princess for salavora. Their thoughts were bold, but Ralf’s actions were…

Exclamations sounded as the students witnessed Violet’s elimination and Ralf welcomed an array of glares and angry remarks. The Transmigrator shrugged them off while showing a smug look, fanning the flames of enmity further.

Next was Charlotte’s elimination. This too caused a great uproar for similar reasons, but this time, Charlotte joined in on the glares. Unlike the others, Ralf couldn’t withstand hers and turned away to Yuki, who flashed a grin at him, all too happy to see his troubled expression. Ralf released another sigh before joining Leonard and Voruso in the facepalming.

The video shifted to Ralf’s final trap. Before employing it, he was shown visiting an Assistant and asking whether it was allowed. It was, with many previous students making use of the tactic. Getting the go-ahead, Ralf found an ideal spot and decorated it and himself appropriately. Skye was the first victim, followed by several others. The victims’ faces scrunched up as they watched themselves fall for the ploy, and the smirk Ralf wore in the aftermath. Finally, Lane arrived.

“Ah, don’t tell me that’s how he was eliminated, that’s lame as hell.”

“How disappointing.”

“Cheap victory.”

These commenters quickly ate their words as the video continued to play. Agitation and excitement surged in the room as the subsequent clash was shown. Even knowing the result, many couldn’t help but cheer Lane on, hoping that he’d somehow overturn their current reality.

“Not bad Lane, nice fight,” Skye complimented while patting Lane’s shoulder as the clash concluded.

“Yeah, you did great. Without Elena’s assistance, he was toast, no doubt,” Charlotte followed up.

Following the twins, the former assassin welcomed a host of compliments from his fellow students, all impressed by how close he got to defeating Ralf, the class’ common enemy.

After eliminating Lane, Ralf dropped his antics and cleared the rest of the competition with clinical efficiency, speedily zigzagging across the map, spending no more than five seconds dealing with any of them. The video quickly came to an end, with Ralf’s cheeky smile and victory sign being the last thing shown.

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