Chapter 92: The Calculated Harvest
Chapter 92: The Calculated Harvest
Elaria drew the bowstring.
The wounded bear no longer had the strength to evade.
Victory was only a heartbeat away.
Then—
A ripple spread through the air.
High above the battlefield...
Andras moved.
Echo Resonance flowed into his sword.
Countless microscopic vibrations enveloped the blade, producing a faint humming sound as the vibrating mana sharpened its edge to an extraordinary degree.
At the same time—
The Sovereign Predator Physique awakened.
Power surged through every muscle in his body.
His senses sharpened.
His strength multiplied.
Without the slightest hesitation—
"Echo Steps."
A ripple spread beneath his feet.
"Shadow Step."
His figure dissolved into darkness.
For a single instant...
He vanished completely.
The next moment—
He appeared directly before the dying monster.
His expression remained perfectly calm.
"Execution Line."
A single arc of violet light swept across the battlefield.
Slash!
The blade passed effortlessly through the Obsidian Earth Bear’s neck.
For a brief moment...
Time itself seemed to stop.
Then the enormous beast trembled.
Its massive body dissolved into countless particles of light that drifted silently into the air.
The strongest B-Rank monster in the examination...
Had fallen.
Silence descended over the ruined battlefield.
Only shimmering motes of light remained where the monster had stood moments earlier.
Elaria stared blankly at the empty space.
Her fingers loosened around the bowstring.
Then...
Her emerald eyes slowly shifted toward the white-haired young man standing exactly where her prey had been.
For several long seconds...
She simply stared at him.
Her thoughts struggled to catch up with reality.
He...
He had waited.
He had watched the entire battle.
Every spell she had cast.
Every injury she had suffered.
Every ounce of mana she had exhausted.
Only to appear at the very end...
And take everything.
A flicker of anger ignited within her emerald eyes.
"You..."
Her voice was cold.
"...Did you just steal my kill?"
Andras glanced at her before casually looking toward the place where the monster had vanished.
"Oh?"
"Were you fighting that monster?"
He rested his sword upon his shoulder with a faint smile.
"I merely came across a dying beast lying in the forest."
"I assumed the Goddess had graciously decided to leave me a few free points."
A vein twitched on Elaria’s forehead.
"Do you take me for a fool?"
"The entire forest shook because of our battle."
"You watched everything."
"You heard every roar."
"And now you expect me to believe you simply happened to wander by?"
Andras placed a hand against his chin as though genuinely considering her words.
Then he sighed dramatically.
"Oh..."
"So you aren’t a fool."
"What a shame."
"I wasted my time trying to make that excuse sound convincing."
Silence settled over the devastated battlefield.
The corners of Elaria’s eyes twitched.
For the first time in years...
Someone had angered her this much.
Andras gave a small shrug.
"Very well."
"I stole your kill."
"So what?"
His tone was so casual that it nearly made her lose her composure.
Elaria slowly raised her bow.
The emerald mana surrounding her intensified.
"Then fight me."
Andras smiled faintly.
"You really shouldn’t be this angry."
"It’s bad for your health."
His gaze briefly swept across the blood staining her armor.
"And you’re already injured."
He slowly raised his sword.
The amusement disappeared from his face.
Only calm indifference remained.
"But..."
"If it’s a fight you want..."
"...then a fight it shall be."
---
The battle began.
Elaria moved first.
The bowstring rang sharply.
Three emerald arrows streaked through the air with astonishing speed.
Each one carried enough force to pierce steel.
Andras disappeared.
Echo Steps carried him across the shattered battlefield in a blur.
The first arrow narrowly missed his head.
The second grazed his shoulder.
The third carved a shallow line across his side.
Blood stained his clothes.
Yet his expression never changed.
He continued advancing.
Another arrow flew.
Then another.
Then three more.
Each shot was impossibly precise.
The surrounding forest seemed alive.
Branches shifted.
Roots altered the terrain beneath his feet.
Even the wind subtly favored the elf’s arrows.
Nature itself fought beside her.
Andras deflected one arrow with his sword.
Another brushed past his cheek.
A third pierced cleanly through his left arm.
Blood splashed across the broken ground.
Even after battling the Obsidian Earth Bear...
Even while wounded...
Elaria remained one of the greatest prodigies of her generation.
Closing the distance against an archer of her caliber was far more difficult than most people could imagine.
Yet...
Andras never retreated.
Instead...
He deliberately accepted several minor wounds whenever they allowed him to advance another step.
Watching from afar...
It almost appeared reckless.
But only Andras understood the calculation behind every movement.
One step.
Another.
Closer.
Five meters.
Four.
Three.
Elaria’s instincts screamed.
Too close.
She immediately abandoned archery.
Mana erupted from the earth.
Roots burst upward.
Towering vines lunged toward him from every direction.
If she could stop him here...
The battle would end.
At that very moment...
A realization flashed through her mind.
He intentionally took my arrows...
Just to get this close?
A chill ran down her spine.
Every wound.
Every dodge.
Every step.
None of it had been desperation.
It had all been calculated.
He had willingly endured her attacks...
Simply to reach the range where a swordsman held the advantage.
Her expression changed for the first time.
This wasn’t recklessness.
This was patience.
Cold...
Terrifying patience.
But—
That single moment of hesitation...
Was enough.
Andras appeared directly before her.
His left hand shot forward.
His fingertips lightly brushed her wrist.
"Resonance Lock."
Invisible ripples spread through her body.
Echo Resonance invaded the flow of her mana.
The perfectly circulating currents within her body instantly descended into chaos.
The spell she had been casting collapsed before completion.
The roots froze.
The vines withered before reaching him.
Mana reinforcement throughout her body weakened dramatically.
Even her balance faltered as the disrupted mana threw her movements into disarray.
Her emerald eyes widened.
"My mana...!"
Impossible.
Before she could recover—
Andras stepped forward.
Because she had already exhausted herself battling the Obsidian Earth Bear...
Because she had sustained multiple injuries...
Because her mana was nearly depleted...
That brief opening became fatal.
His sword traced a single flawless arc.
"Execution Line."
A streak of violet light flashed across the battlefield.
Everything became still.
For a brief moment...
Neither of them moved.
Elaria looked down at the blade resting against her neck.
Then...
She looked back at Andras.
So this...
...was his plan from the very beginning.
A faint, bitter smile appeared on her lips.
"I see..."
"...I lost."
The next instant...
Her body dissolved into countless particles of light.
Elaria Sylvanis...
The student destined to finish first in the original story...
Had been eliminated.
The forest fell silent once more.
Andras slowly lowered his sword.
His breathing remained steady despite the several arrows lodged in his body.
"It seems..."
"...taking a few arrows was worth it after all."
He glanced toward the place where Elaria had disappeared.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
My plan worked.
I don’t know how many points I have now...
But it’s more than enough to secure a place in Class A.
After all...
I just eliminated the person who was supposed to finish first in this examination.
Without another glance, he sheathed his sword.
---
Elsewhere...
Lenore Noctis darted through the forest like a silver phantom.
Her earlier embarrassment still burned in her cheeks whenever she remembered what had happened with Andras.
"I actually begged him for more blood..."
She buried her face in her hands for a brief moment before shaking her head vigorously.
"No."
"I am never thinking about that again."
The next instant...
A D-Rank monster lunged from the bushes.
Her crimson eyes flashed.
The beast’s head separated from its body before it even realized she had drawn her weapon.
"I need points."
"Lots of them."
"If I want to reach Class A..."
"...I can’t afford to waste any more time."
With renewed determination, she disappeared deeper into the forest.
---
Elsewhere...
Princess Aurelia calmly led her four-person party through the woodland.
Under her composed leadership, Ethan, Noah, and Lena coordinated their attacks with increasing confidence.
Another C-Rank monster collapsed beneath their combined assault.
Aurelia nodded in satisfaction.
"Well done."
"There will be stronger opponents ahead."
"So conserve your mana."
The three exchanged determined glances before following their leader deeper into the forest.